Sunday, November 16, 2008

Iron sharpens Iron

I'm so glad God made us a body, His body. We fit together and function to bring glory to His son. But just as sometimes there is distress in our physical bodies, there can be distress in our spiritual body also. As we join in the sufferings of Christ, and as our sin nature pops out its ugly head, things don't always go so well (from our point of view anyway).

The things God allows into our lives both physical and spiritual are to mold us into the image of His beloved Son. I love Philippians 4:6 which tells us to "be anxious for nothing". Interestingly enough, if you separate that last word into two, it says "be anxious for NO thing". And I take that to mean, NO thing - not money, not relationships, not food, not a place to live, not a job, not an addiction, not anything you can experience or think of - No thing. But instead, by prayer and supplication, AND HERE IS THE KEY, with thanksgiving in our hearts, make your requests be made known to Him.

Wow, we should be thankful for everything God allows into our lives. That, my friend, is easier said than done. Those things we can hardly speak of and don't want to think about such as abuse and abandonment, we are supposed to make our requests made known to Him with THANKSGIVING. How can we be thankful for such horrible sin? Well, it is not the sin we are thankful for, it is the process God lovingly uses to conform us into the image of His Son so we can more fully function as the Body of Christ. From our point of view, we think God surely could have used something else. But, He is all knowing, and all powerful and he allows circumstances into our lives for our benefit, not to hurt us.

I recently have been challenged by a brother (he did not challenge me, but our discussion about salvation and his beliefs did) who believes a Doctrine called Universal Salvation. It basically states that since God's desire is that all men should be saved and that none should perish, so that is exactly what will happen. Because, every thing God desires must surely come to pass since He is God. Even if the person dies in this life without accepting Christ as savior, he will still have a second chance through some sort of temporary punishment, because he believes that a loving God could never punish for eternity, this person will come to acknowledge Christ and thus be saved and live with God forever.

This challenged me to search the scriptures and see what the Bible had to say on the subject, thus Iron sharpening Iron. This brother's beliefs and his expression of them caused me to delve deeper into the Word and ask the teacher, the Holy Spirit, to reveal to me the truth. I am thankful for that.

So even though this situation might seem difficult, a clash of beliefs, it was good in that it caused me to seek Him more and ask that the truth of His word would resonate with the truth of Christ in my spirit.

So don't be afraid when our brothers and sisters, the other members of the body have a different view. Be as those noble Bereans and search the scriptures for yourself. Keep on loving that brother or sister and at this point just agree to disagree.

God has it all under control.

Saturday, October 11, 2008

Relying on Who God is

I'm convinced daily that if we as Christians REALLY pondered in our hearts, as Mary did at the news of her virgin pregnancy, who God is, we would have a whole lot less to worry about.

God is Elohim - the creator. All things are created by God, including our personalities and individual bents along with our spiritual gifts. So celebrate who God created you to be.

God is Jehovah - the great I AM. The self-existent one. He needs nothing or no one. And yet, He choose to create us to have an intimate and fulfilling fellowship with him.

God is Rapha - the healer. God is able to heal our physical bodies and our emotional hurts as well. Call on Jehovah Rapha today if you are in need of healing.

God is Shalom - peace. In need of peace today? Call on the God of peace and see if with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit you don't have the peace that passes all understanding even during the roughest times.

God is Jirah - the provider. Are you in need today? Need a friend to talk to, need a job, need money to pay the bills, need a more intimate relationship with your creator then call on Jehovah Jirah. He will provide.

God is Roi - the God who sees. God sees your every move. God sees the tears you cry. God sees the circumstances that seem bigger than He is right now. But, not only does God see, He cares. Zephaniah 3:17 reminds us that God is with us, He is mighty to save, He takes delight in us, He quiets us with his love and He rejoices over us with singing.

God is perfect Righteousness, He is Just, He is Sovereign, He is perfect Love, He is Ever-present, He is All knowing, He is all Powerful, He never changes, He is Eternal and God is Truth.

Need I say more.

Trust the God who is all these things today with the childlike faith Jesus talked about. We know His ways are not our ways and we know we can stand firm on the promise that if we trust in Him with all our hearts and don't lean on our understanding, if we trust Him in ALL our ways (physical, financial, relationships, spiritual, emotional) He will indeed make our paths straight.

But the best news of all, God is our Abba!

Our daddy who wants to comfort, instruct, and love His children. Know that today you are loved by your Abba. And rest in the knowledge that there is nothing you can do to make God love you any less than He does right and there is nothing you can do to make God love you any more than He does right now.

Rest my dear brother or sister in the Righteous Right Hand of the Almighty.