Author: Craig

Reading the signs

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5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.

6In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

7 Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.

8It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.

Proverbs 3:5-8
I recently saw this collection of signs at UBC. I laughed. Park, don’t stop, prepare to stop!

When the signs are confusing we have a decision making challenge. Sometimes the many voices available to us echo in the chambers of our heart… and we are not sure what do next. Everyone will have an opinion of what you should do and be. They may even seek to be the voice of God. Consideration and discernment is required.

The default in our society is “just be true to your heart.”

That is not what Christianity proposes. Rather we are called to be true to Jesus Christ.

We must learn to read the signs in light of who Jesus is and what He is doing in our lives. He is changing our heart. He can create a path for us even as we step forward not seeing everything, but just looking for Him. Trusting Jesus will lead us into a different kind of wisdom. Trusting Jesus will lead us into the wisdom of trust and obey, into the wisdom of dependence on Him, into the wisdom of our identity in Him and into the wisdom of love.

Commit Your Way to the Lord

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1 Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers!

2For they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb.

3 Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.

4 Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

5 Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act.

6 He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday.

7 Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!

8 Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.

9 For the evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land.

10In just a little while, the wicked will be no more; though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there.

11But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace.

 

Have you ever had the moment where you look around and think everybody else is so strong; I am not able to prevail. The powerful appear to be invincible. But they are not. The anxiety that accompanies new starts, or conflict, or struggle can leave us thinking small, and looking for short cuts.

David’s prayer in Psalm 37 ushers us into the presence of God. These words redirect us to not look upon others or even those who do evil as if they are going to last forever. But instead to delight in and wait on, and commit our way to Lord who lasts. He shall cause the meek to inherit the earth. Such controlled strength is a gift of the Spirit of God and it can be exercised as we enlarge our view of God.

Build a Life that Lasts

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Build a life that lasts

15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. 17And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

1 John 2:15-17

A life that lasts, it is what God wants for us. It is a movement from inordinate concern for our success to delight in our significance emerging in the truth and grace of our Saviour.

The elder John is concerned for the continued growth and development of the disciples of Jesus from their new birth in Christ Jesus, to their growth in His Word to become strong and courageous in character, and then to become reproducers sharing the Father’s heart. But John knows that Satan and the greedy desires of the heart can derail growth. So he commands them: Do not love the world.

The “world” here is not specifically a reference to creation or to people, but rather to the system of belief and thinking, attitudes and actions, that are independent of the Heavenly Father. He knows that we live “in” the world, but he also knows we do not have to be “of” it. Jesus has set us apart, even as He was set apart for the glory of the Heavenly Father. Such autonomy and independence from God does not originate in His love.

Three approaches to life that are “normal” to our cultures and societies ruin us for a life that lasts. John calls them the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes and the pride of life.

The desires of the flesh
The impulse of fallen human nature to satisfy physical desires in ways that are not of God.

The desires of the eyes
The shortsighted desire to live for only what one sees physically, without a thought for its real or eternal value.

The pride of life
The temptation to make worldly things and wealth our source of security and pridefully overlooking our need for and dependence on God.

Here’s the problem with this kind of life. It has destruction as its end. It will abandon the virtues God calls for in Christ and it seeks a victory that has nothing to do with Jesus. John says this kind of life will not last. The world and these desires are passing away (verse 17).

The Life that Lasts
But, the person who does the will of God abides forever. This person will last. Their life will last. It is the will of the Father, that you and I find our greatest joy, satisfaction, and even life in His Son, Christ Jesus. What you do in Christ Jesus, with Him, and in congruence with His character will last. Dependence on Jesus, humility and sacrifice, courage and love will matter into eternity. Its never wasted! This kind of life will last!

Praying for Our Extended Family

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12So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood. 13Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured. 14For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come. 15Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.16Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.
Hebrews 13:12-15
Religious persecution increases when those in government with power and those in society with social influence seek to control and dictate these matters of conscience. The rejection of religious freedom is a signal of greater dysfunction to come.
I have been praying for our Christian “extended family” in Iraq as ISIS advances. As many flee for their lives, others have not escaped. They bear the reproach of Jesus’ name. May the Lord Jesus comfort and strengthen them with grace. May the Kingdom of our Lord come. May those who bear His name offer praise and the confession of grace freely and be constrained to love in our broken world.

Me?! Are you kidding?

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9And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. 10Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” 11But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” 12He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.” 13Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” 14God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel, ‘I am has sent me to you.’”   Exodus 3:9-14

No doubt Moses believed something needed to be done to rescue the children of Israel from slavery. No doubt he thought it was awful. But he also knew this would be no easy task. He knew getting a hearing from the people of Israel and Pharaoh would be difficult.

He was not sure he was God’s go-to-guy.

In order to lead, leaders have to believe they can make a difference. Whether you are leading a work team with a project or a discipleship group with a vision of life change, you must believe you can make a difference. Moses was not sure he could make the difference. But if he was sent by one who could then perhaps he could lead.

Moses did not need the power to make a difference to be fully located in him. But he did need to know that The Power to make a difference was really sending him. The task — bring the people of Israel out of Egypt was bigger than Moses could have imagined. Because once “out of Egypt” Moses had to lead them into a life with God that would get the “Egypt” out of them. But now, Moses had to know he had access to God and so he asks, “Who do I say is sending me.”

God’s answer blows the doors off small and regional mentality of power. He says, “I AM — I Who was, Who is, and Who will be” is sending you.

Jesus calls His followers into a life of difference making. It flows first from knowing Him and being changed by Him. He said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…” He’s got the power. “All authority!”

Is it possible that our resistance to leading, giving, and serving may really be a product of our perpetually small view of God and not of ourselves?