Does God Care?

One of the most fascinating aspects of God is the fact that He makes everything personal. God is an active God and is interested in what occurs in His creation. No matter what occurs on earth God is aware, interested, concerned, and active to keep good occurring in the midst of bad. Yet, we can often forget this fact about God for even one of his great prophets did as Habakkuk viewed all the bad events occurring around him, and a seeming lack of response to his prayers. No wonder Habakkuk opens his discussion with God with the phrase ‘How long?’ (Habakkuk 1:2), or in other words, ‘Why don’t you care? Why aren’t you personally involved?’

The rest of this great book is God’s showing His servant just how personal he takes the affairs of His people and His creation. In one poignant moment as Yahweh begins to reveal His plans to deal with Babylon He even uses the same exact phrase of the prophet —“For how long” Habakkuk 2:6—to say that He does view all events as personal, and that He has a designated time to respond to them all.

Is there a ‘How long?’ in your world right now? Do you ever catch yourself wondering if God is taking your issue personally, does he care? Let me remind you that God makes everything personal, and especially those things that directly relate to His children. If He has not answered yet, He has a reason. Continue in faith to wait on the Lord (Isaiah 40:28—31).

This week we’re in Habakkuk 2:9—20 so take some time to prepare for our gathering Sunday.

Remember the Character of God.

One of the key attempts of our soul’s enemy is to have us forget the nature of our God when we are going through difficult times.  If Satan can get us to question God’s commitment to us, the goodness of His nature, the purpose of His actions in our lives then he achieves victory because in that moment we oppose God’s working in our lives rather than embracing, trusting, and looking forward to His loving touch.

In light of our enemy’s strategy it is no wonder that James, the half brother of Jesus, states “Blessed is the man who keeps on going when times are hard. After he has come through them, he will receive a crown. The crown is life itself. God has promised it to those who love him. When you are tempted, you shouldn’t say, ‘God is tempting me.’ God can’t be tempted by evil. And he doesn’t tempt anyone” (James 1:12-13).

To guard his own heart from the waves of shock at God’s actions and doubts about the goodness of God that were washing over his mind, Habakkuk begins his interaction with God with what he knows of the character of His God:

Lord, haven’t you existed forever?
    You are my holy God.
    So we won’t die, will we?
  Lord, you have appointed the Babylonians to punish your people.
    My Rock, you have chosen them to judge us.
Your eyes are too pure to look at what is evil.
    You can’t put up with the wrong things people do.
    (Habakkuk 1:12—13)

Whatever you are wrestling with today remember the character of your God, the strategy of your soul’s enemy, and the only response we are to have. Take a moment and talk to God about these challenges, inserting throughout it the truths you know about your God.

Remember to read Habakkuk as you go through the week.

What Does Peace Mean?

There is a common theme in Scripture of describing Jesus as the source of ‘peace.’ In its use of this term the Bible is noting that Jesus is the source of our having a right relationship with God, our fellow humans, and the experiences of life that we encounter. But please don’t think that peace denotes a life without any challenges. This peace does not refer to the absence of problems or challenges in life but to the addition of power to deal with these challenges.

My prayer for you is that the Prince of Peace will bless you this day and through this Christmas season with the gift of abiding peace that only He can provide.
The memory verse for December—“Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.”  Colossians 3:17

Losing Something Important

Isn’t it frustrating to lose or misplace something and not know where it is? It can drive you crazy, can’t it? I hate searching for smaller items like a small link to a chain, a contact lens, a valuable coin, a wallet or purse, or something as small or smaller in size. I am most frustrated though, when I lose something that is big. Have you ever placed your coat or parked your car somewhere and not remembered where it is?

Yet, do you know that the biggest item we lose most often is our God? I know that we considered this truth a few weeks ago but I have not been able to shake it since then. In the hectic pace of this holiday season let us not lose sight of the God who says ‘I am with you always’ (Matthew 28:20).  A great way to keep our focus on our God is by remembering to give Him thanks in everything  (1 Thessalonians 5:18). 

Over the next few days what can you give God thanks for that you have not thanked Him for to this point? Remember, the command says IN EVERYTHING.

The Power of Prayer

In the account of Luke 22:31—32 we are told that Jesus lets Peter in on the fact that Satan has requested permission to examine him in order to see what he is all about (to see if there is more talk or substance) and that Satan has been given permission to do so. But as a source of comfort Jesus tells Peter “I have prayed” for him. 

Does that sound comforting to you? I must honestly tell you that it did not sound very comforting to me when I really started thinking about the arrangement. I would have wanted Jesus to say that He would do more than just pray; I wanted Jesus to just say ‘No!’ “No Satan, you can’t test Peter by deeply challenging him.” Yet, Jesus said all that He needed to say in order to truly comfort and assure Peter. You see what Jesus said is “I have already prayed for you so that your faith will not totally evaporate.”

The use of the past tense in the Greek was a way of saying that something is now firm and set so Jesus’ prayer was already given and the way the statement is written assures us that Jesus’ prayer was heard. Jesus was saying “Peter, you have to go through this testing because it will foster your growth. But I assure you that you will endure all that Satan will throw at you because I have called all the power of God into this situation to keep your faith from fully evaporating when you fail this test. For I assure you Peter that God the Father will do what God the Son asks!”

I want to assure you that Jesus is making this same statement to every one of us today. You see, God will allow each one of us to go through times of deep testing to foster our growth into the image of Christ but we must be assured that His focus is on us and His power is sufficient. He has prayed for us and like His action when Peter started to sink after walking on water Jesus will act to care for us in our time of need (Matthew 14:31).

Remember, we have an open mic service this Sunday so prayerfully consider what the Lord might have you to share with us your church family.

The memory verse for November—“Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart..” 2 Timothy 2:22

Giving Thanks To God

Do you know why giving the Lord thanks is such an important response for us as we encounter challenges in our lives? The reason is that this act of faith puts God in control and removes us from having the final word on whether our experience is beneficial or not. Here are a few passages that communicates this truth loud and clear:

Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. (James 1:2-3)

Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live.  (1 Thessalonians 5:17 The Message)

In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials,  so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ;  (1 Peter 1:6-7).

This Sunday we will give you the opportunity to take such steps of faith by sharing your testimonies of trust, thanksgiving, and requests for prayer as we celebrate the Thanks-giving season by having an open microphone time in the morning service. So, what will you give God thanks for this Sunday? Start preparing by giving thanks today.

The memory verse for November—“Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart..” 2 Timothy 2:22

Standing Firm For God

One of the greatest challenges we can experience is to stand in the minority when it comes to our views. This challenge is heightened when we are in a position of leadership. Such was the great challenge that confronted Aaron who stood before thousands who were crying for what he knew was not right, but he did not want to be in the position of an unpopular leader.

As our society continues to drift from rooting its moral standards in the Bible it is becoming more clear that we will have to stand against the tide in respect to such issues as truth vs. tolerance, marriage vs. cohabitation, sex only in marriage vs. premarital sex, heterosexuality vs. homosexuality, the sanctity of life vs. abortion, and many more issues. Are we ready to stand against the thousands who will confront us with the cry heard by Aaron—“Come, make us a god…” who is different than the true & living God whom you serve (Exodus 32:1).

The only possible way for us to stand against such a challenge, such pressure is for us to be constantly growing in our knowledge of who this God is. I believe that we are presently in the golden age of Bible communication where we can get truth via various avenues if we will but allow ourselves such access. At the same time almost every American has easy and inexpensive access to a Bible. Are you taking the time to daily gain truth from the Master? What I believe is the greatest way to gain such knowledge today though, is through the teaching ministries of local churches. Here you can not only get teaching but you can also ask questions thereby tailoring the process to address your specific issues. Are you utilizing such avenues of truth? Are you a member of a LIFE Group, do you attend Jesus University classes on Sunday morning, are you weekly attending Sunday worship service ready with a pen & paper to take notes?

Please note that Aaron heard the commandment to not make or worship any graven images of Yahweh (Exodus 20:4-6) and then received a vision of God that showed him that Yahweh was above all creation (Exodus 24:18) before he was confronted by his challenge. Therefore, let us consider this important pattern that we gain biblical truth so that we might then have it kneaded into our lives by the gentle hands of our Heavenly Father as we are challenged through situations we encounter daily.

The memory verse for November—“Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart..” 2 Timothy 2:22