WE WEARY GOD

It’s a peculiar thing to imagine the God who created and continues to sustain the world as wearied.  But the prophet Malachi tells us that we weary God.  How do we weary God?

       “You have wearied the Lord with your words.  But you say, ‘How

Have we wearied Him? ‘By saying, ‘Everyone who does evil is good

in the sight of the Lord, and he delights in them.’ Or by asking,

‘Where is the God of justice” Malachi 2:17.

Throughout the history of human beings God has been faithful in His provision and desires for us.  Throughout the history of human beings we have been faithful in forsaking Him and doing things our own way.  That would weary me.  But, we have raised the level by calling what is evil not only good, but those who do evil are good in God’s sight and He delights in them.  That is the level that wearies God.  Then to top that off they ask where the justice of God is.  Thankfully the God of justice is slow to anger or they would get what they asked for and be no more.

A LOVING GOD WELCOMES HIS PRODIGAL CHILDREN HOME

The father of the prodigal son had no idea why his son was returning home; but he dropped everything he was doing and came running out to meet him, embrace him, and welcome him.  It wasn’t because the boy had repented, came to his senses, or returned home to where he belonged.  It had nothing to do with anything the boy did.  The father’s heart was filled with love for his son and he simply overflowed with joy to see him walking towards him.  I wonder if more people really knew that would be God’s response if they would turn around, come to their senses, and return to Him where they belonged.

Eventually the emptiness of the pleasures of this world becomes evident.  Eventually people will come to themselves and find their souls depleted.  They need to know that a loving God is watching and waiting for them to come home where they belong.  Eventually they will desire to repent and be filled with the life that God blew into their nostrils that gave them life.

The futility of sin, abandoning God, becomes obvious to the soul at some point.  All the other things we try to fill that space with fail; when that happens people will come to their senses.  It is not helpful to have people encourage the sin in another’s life just to make them feel better.  What helps is to have people point the way to the road back to where one can take his spent soul back to a loving God that will fill it once again; with his welcome, with His love, with Himself.

Jesus did not condemn the woman caught in adultery; he actually protected her from those who would have been right to punish her.  But, neither did he commend her lifestyle and tell her to continue in it.  He told her to go and sin no more.  I believe that is what she needed to hear and therefore she regained the self she had lost and found the self that God created her to be.  I believe that’s the way God works; the way Jesus works; the way God’s representatives one earth should work.  Helping one find true freedom in the ways of God is the most loving thing one can do for another.

BLUEPRINT FOR THE CHURCH THAT JESUS IS BUILDING

“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God…upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” Matthew 16:18

If the gates of hell are prevailing against the church, it is not the church that Jesus is building.  Jesus gives us the blueprint for building his church.

Matthew 7:24-27

1. Hears these words of mine and does them:

          -> builds on The Rock

          -> will not fall

          -> founded on the Rock

2. Hears these words of mine and does NOT do them:

          -> builds on sand

          -> will fall

          -> great will be the fall of it

Jesus didn’t tell his disciples to go and make converts, Christians, or churches.  He told them to go and make disciples, teaching others what he had taught them.  That was his emphasis; it needs to be the emphasis of all who follow Christ; the center of the ministry.  Denominations will dissipate; churches will crumble; but Christ’s church, his people will prevail.  He gives us his word on that.

GOD'S WAY OF BUILDING A CHURCH

I am wary of movements.  Behind every movement is an agenda, a human agenda.  Then there’s organization, fund raising, and a lot of time and energy to get the movement moving forward.  Often the movement itself takes precedent over reason for the movement itself.  I see this in worldly organizations and in church organizations.   Things begin pure but quickly get adulterated.  I have seen many wonderful and well intentioned people, who want to make church more relevant in the world today begin these movements.  I have seen many of these movements fail leaving people shipwrecked and blaming God for all the confusion.  It is sad but true, but too many times we think we have a better plan than God for His church.  Rather than surveying people about what they want in a church, I think it might be more constructive to ask God to remind us of His plan; one that is substantial, seasoned, and sustainable.

GOD’S PLAN

I (Jesus) will build MY church.

I am the Christ the Son of the Living God. The rock upon which the church

                                                                    will be built. 

GOD’S OBJECTIVES

1. Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made

   him (Jesus) both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.

2. Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness

   of your sins.  Receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

3. Save yourselves from this crooked generation.

4. Devote yourselves to the Apostles teaching, fellowship of breaking of

    bread, and prayers.  Have all things in common as any has need.  Praise

    God. Have favor with all people.

RESULTS

AND THE LORD ADDED TO THEIR NUMBERS

THOSE WHO WERE BEING SAVED.

This probably is difficult to do in our “Post Modern” World today.  Why?

No right or wrong -> no need of repentance

                             -> no need of forgiveness

Redefining right and wrong

In “our” time.   -> Not from a timeless eternal God

                            -> personal preferences

                           -> personal agendas

                           -> political correctness

No repentance; no forgiveness:             Therefore no need for Jesus

No right or wrong; no Absolute Truth:   Therefore no need for God

No God…No Jesus ->  Void & Chaos…Back to the Beginning

WHAT IS YOUR GOD VIEW?

I hear a lot of talk about world view people have these days.  I am more concerned about what God view people have these days.  It seems to me that my God view strongly affects my world view. I read this quote by A.W. Tozer.

“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us…Worship is pure or base as the worshiper entertains high or low thoughts of God.  For this reason the gravest question before the Church is always God Himself, and the most portentous fact about any man is not what he at a given time may say or do, but what he in his deep heart conceives God to be like.”

To me this not only deals with worship or the Church.  It deals with life and

how I respond to it in every situation of my life.

This world has a propensity to “dummy down” everything.  Things are lowered to meet our standard of knowledge so that we can feel like we know a lot more than we really do.  There is a lot of information being transferred to people in bits and pieces, enough for us to form an opinion and enter into a discussion on just about any matter.  All that is required is to hit Like-Comment-Share, without any research, deep thought, or pondering before the news stream moves on.  Our world view become superficial, built on information and fast facts alone.

This world view that is going around has a propensity to “dummy down” God, if it even includes God at all.  Culture is looked to as the end all and be all.  What is relevant in the here and now is what matters.  Quick answers to problems are merely band aids and merely cover the wounds, not heal them.

The world view that leaves God out of it, or puts forth a “dummy down” portrait of God, will not have substance.  Without substance life is not sustainable.  Without sustainability life will decay and die.

God created the world.  God loves the world.  It makes sense to me that if God is the center of the world view that we hold, it will be a truly better world than anything that human beings can construct.

What comes into our minds when we think of God is the most important thing about us, and the most important thing we can do to create a whole and healthy world view.  That is where to begin…that is where to focus…that is the only thing that will produce and bear good and lasting fruit.

TheElusive Word of God

The elusive “word of God”

That is not the Bible,

Not Jesus,

Not written down anywhere except in my heart. 

What is that? 

It creates light and life;

It produces wisdom;

It communes Spirit to spirit. 

But what is that?

 It testifies to God’s greatness and glory

 But is silent to the ear;

It is known yet vaguely,

Like through a dark glass. 

But what is that? 

It is the word behind all other words

That manifests Truth. 

It is recognizable yet unrealized. 

But what is that? 

I know but I don’t know;

But I know.