In the mornings, before my son leaves for school, I have him listen to an audio Bible on my iPhone. They have one that is read by children, for children, and it's just a few short verses to start the day off right.
This morning, the text was 2 Corinthians 4: 1-12. As I was listening to the podcast, the words that were spoken began to grasp my spiritual attention. After the podcast was finished, I pulled up the text on my Bible app to read again, aloud. As I was reading those Scriptures something very interesting really stuck out to me. It was verse 8: "We are pressured in every way but not crushed; we are perplexed but not in despair..."
We are perplexed but not in despair.
We are perplexed....but not in despair.
As I read those words aloud, I began to get teary-eyed and hope began to return to me.
You see, I don't know about you, but there are a lot of things about my walk with God that perplex me. The problem of perplexity is that it has a way of despairing us. When I allow myself to become perplexed about something, I tend to lose all hope about that situation, because I simply don't understand it. I don't like not understanding something!
So here's the wonderful thing: we can be perplexed and be hopeful at the same time! How is this possible, you ask? It's made possible through faith.
Faith tells us that, despite not understanding something fully, we know that God has our best interest in heart. It's not a blind faith, but a seasoned faith, a tested faith. A faith that has been proven valid, because God has proven Himself faithful to us.
It's wonderful news for me, because it means I don't have to have all the answers in order for the plans that God has for my life to come into fruition.
So, I want to encourage anyone out there who may be experiencing some perplexity about a particular situation. Do not allow yourself to be in despair. If you continue reading that chapter, we are encouraged to trust not in what we can see, but in what we cannot see (v.18).
Trust in the unseen hand of the Almighty, the One who makes ALL things work together for your good!
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
The Father's Heart
How can we know God?
How can we find out what it is He has planned for us?
How do we discover His heart? How do we understand His love? How do we even know that He loves us?
These are questions that I'm sure most people have asked themselves, or others, at least once in their lifetime. We all have an innate desire to discover why we are here, and how we got here in the first place. We ask if there really is a God, and if there is, what is He like?
How do we go about answering these tough questions? Along with these questions comes a pleathora of others, such as, "If God does exist, why is there evil in the world?" Or, "Why does God allow bad things to happen to good people? Why is there sickness? Why is there death?" As little as we know about God, we do have an understanding that if God were good, He would allow good things to happen.
Are there answers to these questions? Sure there are, but most of the time they are not answers we want to hear. However, I'm not writing this post to answer those questions. I'm writing this because today I thought about the life of Jesus, and the words He spoke while He walked this earth. If they are true, they have a profound impact on how we view who God is.
You see, Jesus claimed that He was sent by His Father, and He claimed that His Father was God. The God who created the universe and who created us. That's a pretty wild statement!
Along with His claims, He performed many miracles, such as healing the sick, raising the dead, giving the blind sight, and allowing the deaf ears to hear. He had compassion on the poor, He loved children, and He fed the hungry. He spoke to people that most of us would never associate ourselves with, and hung out with prostitutes and thieves. He even provided mercy to a woman who was accused of adultery (a crime in that day that was punishable by death).
What does all this mean and how does it change how we view God?
Jesus said that He came not to do His will, but the will of His Father. He also said that if you have seen Him, you have seen the Father as well (John 14). Granted this does not settle the question of why there is suffering and evil in this world, but it does show us God's plan of redemption. His desire is that we be healed of sickness and be set free from things that hold us back from being all that we can be. His desire is that we be whole, physically and spiritually.
Although we witness heartache and disappointment and sickness in our lives, God's plan and heart is for us to allow Him to step into those very circumstances and bring redemption. He does not want us to suffer the consequences of sin in our lives: "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 6:23
You see, we all deserve death. All of us!! But God's heart for us was so compelled by love that He could not stand the thought of us living in eternal punishment. So He stepped into the scene of history and of our lives. He revealed Himself to us through His Son Jesus Christ. In Christ we see who God really is. He is a compassionate Father, who desires to bring us restoration from all the consequences sin has had on our lives. What greater love is there?
The Father's heart is for us to be well. His heart is for us to be whole. His heart is to come to us, in our messed up, crazy world. He wants to give us the greatest gift that is available to all humankind: the gift of life.
Are you willing to believe?
How can we find out what it is He has planned for us?
How do we discover His heart? How do we understand His love? How do we even know that He loves us?
These are questions that I'm sure most people have asked themselves, or others, at least once in their lifetime. We all have an innate desire to discover why we are here, and how we got here in the first place. We ask if there really is a God, and if there is, what is He like?
How do we go about answering these tough questions? Along with these questions comes a pleathora of others, such as, "If God does exist, why is there evil in the world?" Or, "Why does God allow bad things to happen to good people? Why is there sickness? Why is there death?" As little as we know about God, we do have an understanding that if God were good, He would allow good things to happen.
Are there answers to these questions? Sure there are, but most of the time they are not answers we want to hear. However, I'm not writing this post to answer those questions. I'm writing this because today I thought about the life of Jesus, and the words He spoke while He walked this earth. If they are true, they have a profound impact on how we view who God is.
You see, Jesus claimed that He was sent by His Father, and He claimed that His Father was God. The God who created the universe and who created us. That's a pretty wild statement!
Along with His claims, He performed many miracles, such as healing the sick, raising the dead, giving the blind sight, and allowing the deaf ears to hear. He had compassion on the poor, He loved children, and He fed the hungry. He spoke to people that most of us would never associate ourselves with, and hung out with prostitutes and thieves. He even provided mercy to a woman who was accused of adultery (a crime in that day that was punishable by death).
What does all this mean and how does it change how we view God?
Jesus said that He came not to do His will, but the will of His Father. He also said that if you have seen Him, you have seen the Father as well (John 14). Granted this does not settle the question of why there is suffering and evil in this world, but it does show us God's plan of redemption. His desire is that we be healed of sickness and be set free from things that hold us back from being all that we can be. His desire is that we be whole, physically and spiritually.
Although we witness heartache and disappointment and sickness in our lives, God's plan and heart is for us to allow Him to step into those very circumstances and bring redemption. He does not want us to suffer the consequences of sin in our lives: "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 6:23
You see, we all deserve death. All of us!! But God's heart for us was so compelled by love that He could not stand the thought of us living in eternal punishment. So He stepped into the scene of history and of our lives. He revealed Himself to us through His Son Jesus Christ. In Christ we see who God really is. He is a compassionate Father, who desires to bring us restoration from all the consequences sin has had on our lives. What greater love is there?
The Father's heart is for us to be well. His heart is for us to be whole. His heart is to come to us, in our messed up, crazy world. He wants to give us the greatest gift that is available to all humankind: the gift of life.
Are you willing to believe?
Monday, August 6, 2012
Death and Life
We carry the death of Jesus in our own bodies so that the life of Jesus can also be seen in our bodies. 2 Corinthians 4:10
This verse is prefaced by Paul recounting all the troubles that he and his missionary team had faced. Difficulties that have come against them, but that have not overtaken them. He equates these sufferings with the sufferings of Jesus and concludes that they simply are a continuance of the death of Jesus being displayed in their lives, in order for the life of Christ to be displayed. With Christ as an example, we see that before the dawn there is darkness. Before Christ could triumph over the grave, He first had to die. The same is true in the life of a believer. In order for the life of Jesus to make us truly alive, we first have to die as Jesus died. This should help us look at suffering from a new perspective. Not to minimize suffering in anyway, but to realize its ultimate purpose. To realize how God can take ALL things and use it for our good. To show us how He truly is a redeemer. God wastes nothing but makes ALL things new. When we face trials and uncertainties, we can look at them as an opportunity to carry the death of Jesus, in order that the life of Jesus may also be evidenced. If Jesus did not shirk away from the death He faced, neither should His disciples. It should be considered an opportunity for death to be swallowed up in victory (Isaiah 25:8, I Corin. 15: 54)
This verse is prefaced by Paul recounting all the troubles that he and his missionary team had faced. Difficulties that have come against them, but that have not overtaken them. He equates these sufferings with the sufferings of Jesus and concludes that they simply are a continuance of the death of Jesus being displayed in their lives, in order for the life of Christ to be displayed. With Christ as an example, we see that before the dawn there is darkness. Before Christ could triumph over the grave, He first had to die. The same is true in the life of a believer. In order for the life of Jesus to make us truly alive, we first have to die as Jesus died. This should help us look at suffering from a new perspective. Not to minimize suffering in anyway, but to realize its ultimate purpose. To realize how God can take ALL things and use it for our good. To show us how He truly is a redeemer. God wastes nothing but makes ALL things new. When we face trials and uncertainties, we can look at them as an opportunity to carry the death of Jesus, in order that the life of Jesus may also be evidenced. If Jesus did not shirk away from the death He faced, neither should His disciples. It should be considered an opportunity for death to be swallowed up in victory (Isaiah 25:8, I Corin. 15: 54)
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