Praise Him in the Storm

As I read through Psalm 44 today, I was reminded of a song by one of my favorite bands, Casting Crowns.



Sometimes it seems as if we find ourselves in a place where it seems as if God has abandoned us. We can't feel Him, we can't seem to hear Him - it seems as if He has abandoned us. That is what the writer of Psalm 44 is expressing here.

When we reach that point in life, we need to do a couple of things. First of all, we need to look back and remind ourselves of everything that God has done for us in the past. We need to focus on His character and on His goodness and faithfulness. We also need to remember his promises - He has promised to never leave us or forsake us. So why do we sometimes feel as if He isn't with us.

I suppose that as with most things there are a couple of options here. First of all, sometimes God is silent and seems to be removed because He wants to test our Character - because through testing our character is strengthened. We are a work in progress - we are not today the people that God wants us to become. God has great plans for us - plans that often times we are not prepared to fulfill at this moment, but as we learn to trust in God and rely on Him and grow through our trials - we will become ready to fulfill the purpose and plans that God has for us.

Another possibility when God seems to be silent in our lives is that it has more to do with where we are than where God is. There is always the possibility that God has been leading us in one direction and we have been refusing to go in that particular direction. If God is going left, but we want to go right - we will become separated from Him and it will become more difficult to hear his voice.

Through it all, God is the same - yesterday, today and forever. We can and should trust Him - even when we can't see Him. God is God - I am not - I choose to trust Him.

Dave Says....

Dave Ramsey says that if you want to be rich - do rich people stuff. If you want to be poor - do poor people stuff. Rich people don't do payday loans, they don't borrow money on credit cards at 25% interest, etc.

That is exactly what John is saying in verse 11 of 3 John.

He says - "Do not imitate evil, but imitate good." Because whatever is good is from God - whatever is evil - is not from God. If you want to be tight with God - do what God does - do good stuff.

Who do you hang out with? Who are your role models? Are you intentional about your time and the things that you do?

Joined at the Hip

2 John 7-13 point out one of the simple, most basic, foundational truths of Christianity.

That truth is this - Jesus and God are inseparable. You can't have one without the other. Some religions teach that Jesus was a good man, a prophet of God, etc. But they stop short of recognizing him as not only the Son of God, but GOD himself - one part of a triune God that is completely and utterly inseparable.

Another concept presented here is the fact that you can't accept Jesus and yet reject any part of His teaching. If you say - you know the part about adultery or divorce or forgiving other people - I don't like that part - but I still believe in Jesus.

If Jesus is God - who are you or I to say that our own ideas on certain topics are better than His. If Jesus truly is Lord - we need to learn to live according to His teachings - regardless of whether or not they are popular - or politically correct.

Jesus, His Teachings, and God - completely inseparable - you may believe it - but do you live it?

Who is this Jesus?

2 John 1-7 (specifically verse 7) points out something that I keep coming back to in my journey to spread the gospel. That is - Who do you say that Jesus Christ is?

If you believe that he is anything other than the Son of God, come to earth in flesh, fully God and fully man - that He died on the cross and rose again and is now seated at the right had of God offering forgiveness to all who believe in Him and that He will return one day to take all who believe in Him as Lord and Savior back to Heaven with him to spend eternity in Heaven - then you are an Anti-Christ.

Beyond all Doubt

In 1 John 5:13-21, John gives us the hope that many people are looking for in their lives. That hope is not a hope in the sense of "I hope I get what I want for Christmas", but rather the hope that a person lost for days hiking in the wilderness must have when he sees the rescue party come over the horizon. It is at that point that the lost person know they are going to make it - that everything is going to be ok.

Well John tells us that the whole reason that he wrote this letter was so that we may KNOW that we have eternal life. What that means for us is that no matter how much it hurts, no matter how hard it is to keep on going - we can know for sure that one day, we will enter into the presence of the King and He will look at us and say "Well done, good and faithful servant - enter into Joy today".

What a promise - what a hope - what a purpose that gives us to keep on keeping on. Praise the Lord - HE IS GOOD.

By the way - in case you were wondering - yes, I posted this on the 19th - because I kept meaning to get to it on the 18th, but never did. Sorry about that.

Easy Peasy Lemon Squeazy

Today's reading is 1 John 5:1-12. Within this reading, verse 3 strikes me as incredibly simple and yet incredibly profound.

"Loving God means keeping his commandments, and really that isn't difficult." (1 John 5:3 NLT)

Jesus put the cookies on a pretty low shelf for us. The Pharisees and teachers of the Law and extrapolated over 600 different laws that people had to follow in order to be "right with God". Jesus boiled it down to two - Love God, love People. That's pretty simple.

Today's reading affirms that for us. If we base every decision that we make on how what we are going to do either does or doesn't love God and how it does or doesn't love people - we can rest assured that we are following God's commands. Love God - Love People - pretty simple.

We Ain't Got Money Honey - But We Got Love

Wow - today's reading (1 John 3:11-24) contains some challenging ideas when we stop and think about the implications of what is really being said.

For instance - verse 18 says - "Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions." This is something that can be said and people can shake their heas up and down, but what does it really mean.

Well to put it in context - look at verse 17 - "If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister^[d] in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person?" What does it mean to show compassion? It means to take action - not to just sit by and watch.

Notice that it does not say that it is wrong to have enough money to "LIVE WELL" - but if you have enough money to "LIVE WELL" and refuse to help someone in need - that is wrong.

So what does it mean to "LIVE WELL" - I can't define that for anyone - but I would wager that in a society where self-storage units are one of the fastest growing businesses around, living well is probably a lot lower standard of living than we think necessary. The United States a consumerism driven culture intent on always having more and more.

Is it a sin to have nice things and enjoy them and have pleasure in life - not at all (look at my blog from Wednesday). But is it a sin to refuse to help someone in need because we are saving our money to pay for a new boat, car, motorcycle, or other toy? Or maybe we aren't saving our money, maybe we have already "bought" those things on credit and are making payments taht prevent us from helping others in need.

This is one of those areas that is a little gray and hard to understand. Where is the dividing line? Verse 21 says that if our conscience is clear, we can come to God with bold confidence.

If we are living in fellowship with God - He will lead us to the right balance.

What's Love Got to Do With It?

1 John 2:15-27 presents us with some challenging thoughts.

Looking specifically at verse 15, John warns us against loving this world and the things of this world. I want to point out however, that as we continue reading in verse 16 and 17, it is not the things of this world, or even enjoying things of this world that is wrong. It is not pleasure but "THE LUST FOR PLEASURE", it is not possessions but "PRIDE IN OUR POSSESSIONS". God created us and gave us the ability to experience pleasure, to distinguish the taste of good food and mediocre food, to experience the adrenaline rush when we do something exciting. These things are not wrong, but when they get to the point where they drive us or consume us - we have then taken control over these emotions away from God and given them over to the things of this evil world. That is when we are in danger. So enjoy life, enjoy the things of this world - but never let your desire for pleasure or enjoyment to lead you away from God as your primary focus in life.

The last part of today's reading is interesting because it talks about the Anti-Christ. In light of speculations amongst Christians that our new President Elect is the Anti-Christ (for the record, I do not believe this to be true) - it is interesting to see how John defines Anti-Christ. John basically says that anyone who denies Christ is an anti-Christ - and he mentions the possibility of several anti-Christs.

Anyone who says that Jesus is not the Christ - the son of God - the Messiah - that person is an anti-Christ. I want to point out - that many people believe in Jesus as a Historical figure - they know about Jesus - but they have not committed their lives to Him. They have not accepted Him as Lord and Savior of their lives.

Many false religions recognize Jesus as a good teacher - or even a prophet - but any teaching that denies Him as the one and only Son of God through whom we are saved is a false teaching or religion. That is what set's Christianity apart from many other religions.

Anyone who denies the Son doesnt' have the Father either. But anyone who confesses the Son has the Father also.

Beyond all Doubt

Today's reading, in 1 John 2:1-14, contains one of the greatest promises in Scripture, and yet it is also one of those things that makes some people sit back and scratch their head.

Verse 3 states that we can be sure that we know God if we keep His commands. Verse 4 goes on to say that if we claim to know God and yet don't keep His commandments we are liars.

The question that arises here often revolves around the fact that just because a person is a Christian, does not mean that he or she will never sin again. So if I sin, I am obviously not keeping God's commandments at the time, does that mean that I don't really know God?

We all make mistakes - the question really is, how do you respond when you sin? Do you confess your sins? If so God is faithful and just and will forgive us for all unrighteousness. Or do we pridefully and arrogantly choose to sin over and over again? I believe that when John says that if we love God we will keep his commandments, it is not an all or none type of deal - John is talking overall about the condition of my heart.

Am I a Christian? Yes. Do I still sin? Yes. But when I do, I humbly accept God's forgiveness and choose to learn from my mistakes so that I can continue on the journey of becoming fully like Christ like in my attitudes and behaviors - recognizing that I will never fully achieve that until I stand before God in heaven.

I think that it is also noteworthy that the passage on following God's commandments is followed by an old commandment - made new again. The commandment to Love Each Other. Surely our attitude towards each other is a good indicator of our hearts condition and whether or not we know God. How could we love God if we don't love His creation - made in His image - our fellow man?

Living in the Light

I had a few people tell me that my blog was hard to read - hopefully this new layout will prove easier for you to read. Feel free to let me know what you think of it.

Today's reading come from 1 John 1. I love 1 John because it is so practical and so relevant to our lives. In fact that is how John starts out - he basically says - I am telling you about what I have seen and touched and experienced 1st hand. I'm not repeating rumors or telling stories - what I am telling you is real - I have seen it - I have touched it.

To me that is one of the Greatest Characteristics of Christianity. The God we serve is a personal, loving, involved God - He isn't "WATCHING US FROM A DISTANCE". Neither is Christianity dark and mysterious - like some other religions. There are no higher levels or deeper secrets within Christianity - it is all revealed in the LIGHT.

If we walk and live within the light. We have can have complete understanding - we can have fellowship with each other - and we can have complete cleansing and forgiveness of EVERY SIN. Not just the little ones, not just the big ones - EVERY SIN.

The problem is that sometimes people see the light - off in the distance, but as they start getting closer and closer to the light - it begins to hurt their eyes because it their eyes are used to the darkness. It's kind of like when we are sleeping - if someone turns the light on real quick - it hurts our eyes, but after a moment or two, our eyes adjust and it is much more pleasant to live in the light than to try to stumble around in the darkness - stubbing our toes and tripping over things that we don't see.

Unfortunately, some people are afraid of what the light reveals - if we live in the darkness we don't have to confront our messy hair, our imperfections and our blemishes. But once we decide to come into the light - it reveals certain things about ourselves that we need to change. Some people tell themselves that everything is fine the way that it is and they continue to live in the darkness - they continue to live in sin - because it is comfortable and they don't have to confront those issues.

But it is only when we come into the light that we can be all that we were created to be. Only then can we confront our sins and let the blood of Jesus cleanse us of those sins.

When God is Silent

Where do you turn for answers when it seems that God is silent? In 1 Samuel 28 - Saul, in desperation, turns to a medium in an attempt to get guidance from Samuel's spirit.

I think that this is similar to what we do when God seems to be silent. We will try anything - self help books, psychologists, friends, horoscope, fortune cookies - you name it.

But if God is truly silent - perhaps there is a good reason. Perhaps, as in Samuel's case, He as already spoken to us and we didn't like what we heard so we keep looking for a different answer. It's like when my kids come ask me for something and I tell them no or give them an answer they don't like - what do they do? Go ask Mommy thinking maybe she will give a different answer. (By the way - that is a big NO NO and they get in trouble for it).

Sometimes though God is silent because we are often seeking the wrong thing. Samuel was looking for INFORMATION - what should he do. God was interested in TRANSFORMATION - who should he be.

God is way more interested in WHO WE ARE than in WHAT WE DO. When the bible tells us that God has good plans for us in Jeremiah 29 - he doesn't say that he will necessarily tell us what those plans are - he tells us that if we SEEK GOD - we will FIND GOD - not the plans - GOD.

When God seems to be silent - don't keep looking for the plans or the information that you want - look for GOD - worship GOD as Lord - when you do, you will find God and you will be able to trust Him because HE KNOW THE PLANS.

Know when to fold 'em

1 Samuel 27 offers an interesting insight into the life of David. The end of chapter 26 finds Saul once again saying "oops, my bad - please forgive me". But David in his heart knows that he can't trust Saul. So what does he do, he packs up and leaves the country. He goes into hiding among the enemies of Israel - the Philistines. He ends up leading a double life raiding against the enemies of Israel while at the same time telling the Philistines that he was raiding against Israel.

I think that David had gotten tired of running. David was after all human, just like you and I. One thing I find interesting here is that this is one of the times where, as far as we know, David did not inquire of the Lord before he acted. And we will see in a few chapters how this created a lot of problems and grief for David.

I think that a lot of people assume that just because something is in the Bible, that it must be good and acceptable. In this case people could assume that the end justifies the means - David got a head by living a life of deceit and trickery - it must be ok for me to live like that in my business and life.

There may be times in life when it is ok to pack it in, call it quits, and move on to something new. But to hide from your problems through lies and deceit is not what the Bible is recommending here. Never forget to INQUIRE OF THE LORD before you move - and when it seems as if He is silent on the issue - continue waiting for him to respond.

Whoda Thunk It

I always told my wife that Montana was a great place to raise a family. Now I have proof.

100 Best Places to Raise a Family

I must admit that even I was shocked. Billings must score really high in some categories other than public spending on eduction per child, because last I heard we were below average (way below) in that category. Oh well, go figure.

Who's doing the stirring?

One other thought regarding today's reading.

Who is it that is stirring and motivating your heart and your decisions? Saul was encouraged to keep pursuing David by his friends and advisers - he followed through on those stirrings even after pledging numerous times to allow David to go free.

David was stirred by friends and advisers to kill Saul on numerous occasions. He chose not to do that even though it made perfect sense.

God uses GODLY friends and family that are in our lives to affirm or challenge our stirrings, but they are just one piece of the puzzle. We must above all else seek God's wisdom and use other people as a sounding board always remembering that they are not God. Just because it makes sense to them, doesn't mean that it is from God.

Know when to hold 'em

Good morning, I have missed sharing my thoughts with you over the past couple of days. I hope that you have kept up with the reading and spent some time doing your own reflection on 1 Samuel.

In 1 Samuel 26, we see a continuing trend that has always bothered me. David is running for his life, and on more than one occasion, it appears that God has indeed delivered Saul into David's hands, and yet David refuses to lift a hand against "the Lord's anointed one" (hmmm...I thought that David was now the anointed one). I understand and respect David for his commitment to not strike Saul down - even when given the opportunity.

But how do we know when God is opening doors and when we are taking matters into our own hands? David was clearly not above violence or killing - he was a war chief known for killing thousands and thousands of people. He was a man of action, and yet given the opportunity to bring an end to his life on the run - he chooses not to - not once by twice. I'm not sure that I would have shown the same restraint - and if David had done it, nobody would have thought less of him.

I'm not sure that I have a good answer for this - I do know some things - God is not a God of discord or strife. God does not pressure us to do things or make decisions - God is a God of peace and the bible says

Philippians 4:6-7 says "6do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

When we are truly seeking God's wisdom and direction we will experience true peace in our hearts and in our minds. If you feel compelled to do something - if you don't have peace in your heart and your mind, then most likely the opportunity is not an opportunity from God.

Don't miss out on the important pre-requisite to experiencing this peace, however. We must make our request known to God by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving. It's not that God isn't aware of our requests - I mean He's God right - the question is, are we willing to trust God with the outcome - that is when we truly experience peace of heart and mind.

David clearly trusted God with the outcome - encouraging Saul to let God judge between the two. How about you, do you trust God with the outcome of your major decisions, or do you simply walk through every open door - assuming that just becasue an opportunity arises, it must be from God?

Give Me Ears to Hear

In 1 Samuel 23 (again with the ESV), we see the first example of one of the things that in my mind sets David apart and defines him as "A man after God's own heart).

Verse 2 begins, "Therefore, David inquired of the Lord..."

For me, this has always been one of the things that fascinates me about David. We constantly see over and over again that David inquires of the Lord. Sometimes, even when the answer seems obvious. There are one or two examples later in David's life when he did not inquire of the Lord and it led him to trouble.

I think a lot of times in our lives, we go through life - doing the best that we can, and when we run into problems we may pray about it a little bit. But how often do we "inquire of the Lord" before we set out on our way. It seems like a lot of people tell God what they are going to do and ask God to bless them in their endeavors rather than asking God first what they should do.

Another difficulty that we run into is the question of how we hear God speak. I actually did a sermon series on this recently check out our sermonplayer and search for "Connecting with God" if you want to listen (although the sermone.net site that hosts our sermons seemed to be having difficulties this morning). P.S. I want to give credit to Rick Warren at Saddleback - I based this sermon series on one of his teaching series called Can You Hear Me Now.

Anyway, if you don't want to listen to the whole thing here is a synopsis. God is speaking to us. If we want to hear him speak we need to know how He speaks:

God Speaks Through the Bible
God Speaks Through Gifted Teachers
God Speaks Through Godly Friends and Family
God Speaks Through Impressions from the Holy Spirit
God Speaks Through Pain - that's a tough one
and God Speaks Through Silence - another tough one.

But even if we know how God speaks we need to know how to hear Him. If we want to hear God speak we need to:

Haved a receptive heart - be willing to listen to God
Get alone in a quiet place
Calm our own thoughts and emotions - don't listen to our own fears and "GOOD IDEAS"
We need to take time to listen - don't just listen for the information that we are looking for, listen instead for the voice of God. Sometimes he tells us something that we don't really want to hear.
And we need to commit ourselves to being obedient and following God's lead, even when he tells us something that doesn't make sense. I promise you - your better idea is not better.

Anyway, I want to let you know - it takes time and practice to hear the voice of God and to recognize the voice of God. It is a life long journey and progression. Keep at it. And don't be afraid to do what David did in verse 4 if you are in doubt:

Verse 4 says "Then David inquired of the Lord again...". If you wonder about something, ask for confirmation - God will not resent your asking.