Discipleship

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Who’s In Charge Here?

Authority.

Who has it?  How do you get it?  What can be done with it?  How is it delegated?  What is the right amount of authority to have, and to have over us? 

Authority is one of those topics that nearly everyone has an opinion on because our nature is such that we generally want to be in charge — at least in charge of ourselves, and often we desire to be in charge of others as well.  We don’t like the way others plan things, organize things, or do things, and we definitely don’t want them telling us what to do.  Authority isn’t so bad if we are in charge of it — if we are in control — but then again, that isn’t really authority, is it?

I love the story I have heard from Ken Davis about a high school class that gets a substitute teacher for a day.  As is often the case with substitute teachers, the class pushes him to the limit, and beyond — seeing what they can get away with.  The classroom becomes chaotic — students running around, airplanes flying, chalk erasers and various items thrown around the room and at the teacher.  The commotion is so great that the principal hears from down the hall and walks into the room to see what is going on.  The scene is wild and out of control, the noise making it impossible to be heard.  The principal grabs the first person he sees and sets him in the hall, telling him not to move.  As the principal re-enters the room, the silence is deafening.  Everyone is silent and not moving, putting on their best behavior in hopes of convincing the principal that they were not a part of the earlier chaos.  In his frustration, now it seems like it is the principal who is out of control as he repeatedly yells, “Who’s in charge here?”!  . . . “Who’s in charge here?”!  . . . “Someone answer me!”  . . . “Where is your teacher?”  Finally, one of the students slowly raises their hand and quietly says, “Sir, I believe the teacher is out in the hall where you set him.”

When I reflect on that story, it raises questions in my mind about authority.  Who was the authority in this story?  The obvious answer for most people is the principal.  If authority exists, we expect it to take charge and make things happen.  We want it to be in control — at least according to our definition and comfort level.  We might even look at the story and say the students were the authority, at least for a time.  But that’s not really true.  It may appear that way.  We often mistake control and rebelling against authority as authority itself, but they are entirely different things.  In this story, the students never had authority; they were simply rebelling against it.  The authority that is often missed in the story is that of the substitute teacher.  What?  Did I read that correctly?  Yes!  The substitute teacher had authority.  Was it responded to positively?  No!  Was the class conducted in the way he had hoped, planned, and set forth? . . . Probably not.  Yet his authority existed — it did not depend on absolute obedience by the class.  It did not even need any obedience by the class.  Rebellion does not necessarily mean a lack of authority.  It does mean that in the presence of authority, consequences are on their way. 

Throughout the Bible, we read that God is authority.  Psalm 47:8 says, “God reigns over the nations; God is seated on his holy throne.”  God has authority over the nations.  As we read Biblically, historically, and currently, we might say, “Yeah, right.”  God’s authority over the nations often doesn’t fit our image of what that should look like.  Actually, God’s authority over the nations has rarely, if ever, resembled what mankind has thought it should be.  Particularly when thinking of God, we tend to replace the word authority with the word control.  When we equate control with authority, we begin to wonder about God.  If God has authority (control) over nations, why did the Pharaoh become so powerful and enslave God’s people?  Why did the nations invade Israel and Judah and take the people captive?  Why did the Romans, with Caesar and Herod come to power?  Why did Nero bring about such persecution of Christians?  Why did evil people throughout generations rise to power and control nations in ways that have been harmful to many people?  Many people will ask, “Where was God’s authority over the nations then?“. 

Actually, God’s authority over the nations was the same place then as it is now — and the same as it is in your life and mine.  Nations, and individuals, have shown a habit of rebelling against God’s authority.  This in no way means His authority doesn’t exist.  What we choose to do with God’s authority does not empower it nor does it cause it to cease to exist.  It does mean that nations and individuals should expect the consequences that will come.  Our free will — our ability to choose — puts us in a position of accepting or rejecting God’s authority.  As with any authority, there is a price to pay for rejecting it, but we choose.  

As you reflect on the authority God has as a Sovereign God, what will you do with it?  It is my prayer that you choose to live under that authority rather than rebel against it and receive the consequences for that decision.

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Isaiah 6 Discussion

Today’s text for the “View From The Top:  What Does God Say” study comes from Isaiah 6:1-8.  I wrote a blog post, “Who Will Go? . . . Do? . . . Serve? . . . ?” , a few weeks ago about that text.

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Worthy of Trust

Trustworthy!

What makes something worthy of your trust?  What is it about a statement, or a person, that would  make you say, “I trust that.”?  Is there one characteristic that you can point to and say if that is present, then you will trust?  Is there a set time period that a person or statement must go through before you will trust?  And then, what happens when you do trust a statement made, or a person’s word, and you end up betrayed?  What then?  Can trust be regained?  Will the relationship or situation ever be the same?

Who, or what, to trust is a question people deal with on a consistent basis.  Everyone seems to have their own way of determining what is trustworthy.  The eternal nature of God provides us with a foundation that allows us to build absolute trust in His Word and His ability to keep His Word.  We read of this as Paul writes to Timothy these words:

Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance:  Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners — of whom I am the worst.  But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.  Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever.  Amen. 
1 Timothy 1:15-17

Wow!  A trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance.  Why is this statement trustworthy, and why does it deserve full acceptance?  Is it not because of the author — the one making the statement and bringing it to pass?  It is not simply a single characteristic that we like about God and hold on to as our sole reasoning for trusting Him.  It is not a matter of picking and choosing what we like about God and then discarding what doesn’t fit our image of what God should be.  How trustworthy could any statement of God be if we make Him like us?

Let’s look at how Paul describes for us, in the above verses, the nature of God that makes Him trustworthy. 

  • His purpose – As Jesus, God came into the world to save sinners.  His very nature is a Savior.  The nature of a savior is to save . . . to seek the best for someone else, even at your expense. 

  • His mercy – God’s nature is merciful.  He is not looking for people who deserve Him, He is willing to be merciful — even to the “worst of sinners”.

  • His patience – God does not grow weary or give up prematurely.  He willingly holds back judgement and wrath because “He is not willing that any should perish but all would come to repentance.”

  • His position – He is King of kings and Lord of lords.  His postion as king gives Him the authority to make things happen.  He needs no man’s counsel and does not need permission from anyone to make what He says happen.

  • His presence – The eternal nature of God as King means there is no asterick or limited “lifetime” guarantee.  No concern of a “new sheriff in town” that does things differently now, so everything you’ve heard before goes out the window.  Not with an eternal God.  No one was in charge before Him and no one will be in charge after Him.  No changing of the guard.  He was and is and always will be.

  • His deity – An immortal God is not bound by the fickleness of mortal man.  Immortality goes way beyond never dying.  It is the unchanging, spiritual nature that God is.  It is an incorruptible being that is not influenced by the “desires of the flesh” that make mankind so untrustworthy.

  • His form – The invisible nature of God is loosely tied to the ever-present nature of God.  God does not have to by physically seen to be “an ever present help in time of need.”  His presence with us teaches us, and allows us, to learn daily just how trustworthy He is.

  • His uniqueness – He is the only God.  He is the only “I AM!”  There is none like Him, so any comparisons that we try to make will always fall short.  There is none like Him, so all of the excuses about people who have let us down and have been untrustworthy do not apply. 

The sum total of His characteristics show us a God beyond compare. . . . A God who can be trusted yesterday, today, and forever.  Only an eternal God with the characteristics that my God has can truly be worthy of all my trust with no exceptions.

I pray that you also know this eternal God that is beyond anything you could hope or imagine.  I pray also that you would recognize this eternal God is worthy of trust.   

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Who Do You Think You Are?

Have you ever tried to convince someone of who you are, but they just wouldn’t believe you?  Or perhaps you’ve been on the other end of the discussion where you’ve been unwilling to accept a person for who they say they are.  In today’s era of identity thefts and complex technology, it seems like it gets harder and harder to prove that a person is, or isn’t, who they say they are.  Yet, this isn’t a new problem.  Read the following exchange of words as an identity is being questioned.

At this the Jews exclaimed, “Now we know that you are demon-possessed!  Abraham died and so did the prophets, yet you say that if anyone keeps your word, he will never taste death.  Are you greater than our father Abraham?  He died, and so did the prophets.  Who do you think you are?” John 8:52-53

Who do you think you are?  The people of his day often asked this of Jesus.  Not so much because he was always so mysterious and hard to understand.  Rather, it was a question of his authority.  It was that very authority that people marveled at when they would state, “He teaches like one with authority, not like our teachers of the law.”  The authority was inherent in his teaching — it was the acceptance and submission to that authority that people were often rebelling against. 

We’ve all been there in relationships with people, right?  You know, “Who do you think you are to tell me what to do? . . . what to listen to? . . . who to see? . . . what to wear? . . . when to be home? . . . where to go? . . . how to treat others? . . . how to treat myself? . . . Who do you think you are to have any input into my life whatsoever?”  We like to believe, and we try desperately to convince ourselves, that we are in complete control of every aspect of our life.  No one can take that autonomy away from us.  Pity the person who tries, because they are going to get an earful.  Who do they think they are, anyhow?

We do the same with God, don’t we?  When God calls us to live out our professed love for Him through obedience, we say, “who do you think you are?” . . . “You don’t understand what I’ve been through.” . . . “If only you knew what that person did to me.” . . . “Who do you think you are to expect me to love my enemies? . . . to care for widows and orphans? . . . to share with the poor and needy? . . . to talk to my friends, neighbors, co-workers, and others about my relationship with Jesus?  Who do you think you are to have any input into my life whatsoever?” 

It is through an ongoing dialogue with Jesus in John chapter 8 that He challenges His listeners to know true freedom through the truth found in holding to His teachings and living in submission to His words.  The response of the people is quite typical; “we are not slaves, so how can you say we will be set free?”  As Jesus explains the truth to them of who He is, who they really are, of the bondage they are really under, they reach the point where they have had enough. . . . enough truth. . . . enough of being exposed. . . . enough of the challenges to their trust in Abraham. . . . enough of this man Jesus making veiled claims that add up to him being an imposter.  The time had come to insist on an answer to that all important question, “Who do you think you are?”  “How can you have seen Abraham and talk like you have perfect knowledge of both his actions and his thoughts?”

I don’t think they saw it coming.  They were begging for an answer, but only for the answer they already had in their minds.  “Jesus, agree with us.  We’ve already figured this out, so just confess and be done with it.”  “Get over this craziness that has you speaking words that make absolutely no sense.”  “Jesus, what you keep saying is impossible.  You are a young man.  Abraham and the prophets died long ago.  Yet, you keep speaking as if you knew them — actually as if you know them.  This is completely impossible.”  And as the questions kept forming in their minds and spilling out into the air, Jesus makes a simple statement: “I tell you the truth, before Abraham was born, I am!”  With this statment, His hearers pick up stones to stone Him because they understood what Jesus was saying and refused to accept it.

Who do you think you are?  Jesus replies, “I AM!”  The I AM that we discussed in a previous post where God introduced Himself to Moses as such.  The answer hasn’t changed.  When we fight against living faithful, obedient lives in submission to Jesus and we cry out to Him, “Who do you think you are?”, His answer is the same: “I AM!”

What will you do with the “I AM”?  Will you pick up “stones” and try to run Him out of your world — to attempt to destroy His existence in your life?  Or will you surrender completely to the God who was, and is, and is to come?  Will you submit to the God who always has been and always will be, to the only God whose true being is “I AM!”

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What Child Is This?

You’re Pregnant! 

Words that have caused many parents to begin wondering — wondering, what if?  What if this child is the next Bill Gates? . . . the next Condi Rice? . . . the next Peyton Manning? (How about them Colts?) . . .  the next Oprah Winfrey? . . . the next Billy Graham? . . . the next Katherine Hepburn? . . . the next Tiger Woods? . . . the next Mother Theresa? . . . the next Jonas Salk? . . . the next Clara Barton?  And on the list could go, based on who the parents view as successful, motivated, honorable, and meaningful contributors to society.  We all have our list.  If I could just be more like . . ..  And then we have children and we transfer our list to them.  If they could just be more like . . ..  The pressure and expectations soar off the charts.

Speaking of high expectations, take a look at the following birth announcement. 

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.  And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end.  He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.  The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.”  Isaiah 9:6-7

Oh, yeah — a birth announcement given centuries before the actual birth!  Can you imagine the “what ifs?” of growing up in that culture during that span of history?  The discovery of each pregnancy.  The joyful announcement, “It’s a boy!”  The mind begins to race and wonder, “What if?”.  What if this son will be called “Wonderful Counselor”? . . . “Mighty God?” . . . “Everlasting Father?” . . . “Prince of Peace?”  It seems the questions and wondering would consume families for years, for decades, and for generations.  And then the generations turned into centuries.  What now?  Did many even think it was still possible?  Was there widespread hope or had the multitudes given up? 

I don’t know, but given the underwhelming response to the fulfillment of this birth announcment when it finally happened, I would have to say most had given up on the dreams and the “what ifs” — most, but not all.  When the time comes for this promised son to be born, the young lady chosen by God to give birth to the “Everlasting Father” responds to her task in Luke 1:38; “I am the Lord’s servant.  May it be to me according to your word.”  Mary got it.  The “what ifs” that had been asked for generations were more than just possibility, they were coming to reality and she was going to be part of it.

When I read the “advance” birth announcment in Isaiah chapter 9 and then see the “actual” birth announcement recorded for us in Matthew and Luke, I am amazed at a God who understands and is concerned with both the “big picture” and the “details”.  I begin to grasp, along with Mary, the reality of this baby being born whose life was not beginning with that birth — but who is the Everlasting Father.  I start to understand that because of the eternal nature of God, life for Jesus did not begin with His birth and did not end with His death on the cross.  He was everlasting prior to His life on earth, during His life on earth, and after His life on earth.

May you and I live in great hope, knowing that this “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” has come so that the people — you and I — “walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.” 

I pray that you and I live in the light of an Everlasting Father and Mighty God.

 

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American Idols

“With whom, then, will you compare God?  To what image will you liken Him?”  . . . “Do you not know?  Have you not heard?  Has it not been told you from the beginning?  Have you not understood since the earth was founded?”  Isaiah 40:18, 21

Isaiah 40 is an interesting chapter of the Bible.  It begins with words of comfort for a people who have endured the consequences — punishment for their sin.  The chapter ends with words of comfort and encouragement for those who are weary and weak but would put their trust and hope in God.  The bulk of the chapter uses a series of statements, questions, and potential comparisons to show that God is the only person, place, or thing deserving of worship and capable of bringing the comfort written about.

Yet, how often do we as a national culture, as a church culture, or even as an individual, put a person, place, or thing in a position of highest worth in our life — even over God?  In the U.S. culture that I am familiar with, American Idols are more than just people who want to make it big in music or show business.  American idols are diverse and widespread, taking countless forms and means to draw our worship and devotion to something other than God.

Through Isaiah, God addresses these three major categories that people tend to worship, expecting comfort but ultimately finding none. 

Often times, we try to put a person — another human being — in the place of God to provide our comfort and even our salvation.  God says that this will never work because “all people are like grass, and all human faithfulness is like the flowers of the field.”  Physical life and relationships as we know them here on earth are temporary.  When we set a person in the place of God, gaining our full devotion and worship, we can never be comforted fully because we have no certainty of their continued existence and presence in our life.  This frailty of both human life and human faithfulness is in stark contrast to the everlasting nature of God whose Word endures forever.

There is also a tendency by some to take notice of places where God’s incredible handiwork is evident and worship creation rather than the creator.  We see the forests, the mountains, the farmer’s fields, the oceans, and the heavens and we get a sense of something greater than ourselves.  We sense a permanence, at least beyond our life, that we count on for stability, strength, and comfort when all else fails.  We worship — place our trust and devotion in — land we own and the security of real estate being forever.  This is a false sense of security . . . a security that ignores the creator of that which we worship.  If nature looks so incredible that it draws you into worshipping it, God says, “Think again!”  If you want big and majestic, think about who measured the waters of the earth in the hollow of His hand. . . . Think about who marked off the heavens with the breadth of His hand. . . . Think about who has held the dust of the earth in a basket. . . . Think about who can weigh the mountains and hills on a scales or balance.  When you do, you begin to think about God and how all of the power of nature is held in the palm of God’s hand — a small measure of His strength and ability.  Do you want something big and permanent to worship and provide comfort in your life?  God is much better than nature because God created and has power over nature.

Finally, we have a tendency to be drawn to things of our own making or design to bring comfort and strength to our life.  It may be a physical item, not necessarily a statue that we label as our god but nonetheless an item that we worship as our god.  It may not be so much of a physical thing, but a philosophy — a way of life or system of living, a government or nationality — that becomes our god that we worship and expect to comfort us.  Either way, we are left wanting.  God says that compared to Him, the nations are nothing — like “a drop in a bucket”, like “dust on the scales”.  If we look to America, or any other nation, to be our source of comfort, strength, and salvation–our god–we will have settled for an incredibly inferior and inadequate god. 

How can we compare God to anything of our making?  God is not someone, or something, that we designed or constructed for our purpose and pleasure.  Indeed it is us who were designed and constructed by God for His good and perfect purpose. 

As you contemplate the eternal nature of God, recognize that nothing you and I would attempt to put into His place will ever have the ability to provide the lasting comfort, strength, and salvation that we need.  Only a God whose name is “I AM” can do that!

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Seeing The Invisible

Mt Rainier Watefall

We are on a year-long journey at the Deer Run Church of Christ of focused learning and listening to God.  We have begun a theme for the next twelve months of “A View From The Top:  What Does God Say?”.  I am excited about what God is doing, and will do, as we make a serious effort to listen to Him and to put into practice His directions in His timing.  Part of this approach involves a daily text and questions for each participant to study and consider.  Much of my writing over the next year on this blog will likely be thoughts and responses to what God is saying to me through these daily texts and questions.  You can follow along with the texts and questions at deerrunchurch.wordpress.com.  . . . Now, back to the blog.

For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities — his eternal power and divine nature — have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.  Romans 1:20

I love the outdoors.  There is something about wandering through a forest, hiking a mountain, canoeing a river, walking a sandy beach, or gazing out over a flowering meadow that makes me feel much closer to the very presence of God.  Not that I believe that God’s presence is greater at these places, I’m just more sensitive to it in some locations than others.  I give more thought to the unseen qualities of God when I am surrounded by His handiwork than at other times. 

Paul writes to the Romans, and to us, and states that God has made His invisible qualities clearly seen so we have no excuse for ignoring God’s existence.  His invisible qualities have been on display since the creation of the world.  God says that if we would just look around and observe, it is impossible to miss His eternal power and divine nature.  Yet we do miss it, don’t we?  Or we see it but don’t connect it to having anything to do with us.

We see God’s eternal power and we trust that the sun will rise each morning and finish it’s work through the day before setting.  Actually we are “enlightened” now and recognize that isn’t even a true statement.  The sun is stationary and continues it’s work even after the earth rotates and the sun appears to set from where we are.  Yet, how often do we question the Son rising with us each day and finishing His work in us through the day before we settle for the night?  Yet, His divine nature, visible in creation, is true. . . . He is stationary, always at work to bring warmth and light into our life as He draws us to himself.  Even when we “rotate” away from Him, He still shines and continues His work as God.

While science has gained great understanding of “how” many things work, they come short in trying to explain “why”.  They may be able to explain the mechanics of how the sun produces light and heat, but they can’t explain how it started and why.  We may understand the process of green plants taking our “exhaust” — carbon dioxide — and combine it with energy from the sun to produce oxygen.  Understanding at some level how that happens isn’t the same as knowing why trees do that in the first place.  I love the outdoors and I love God’s creation because the more we study and understand parts of how it all works, the more I realize just how incredible is God’s eternal power and divine nature.  At times I even marvel at the faith of the athiests and evolutionists.  . . . Misplaced faith, but an incredible faith it must take to believe that all that is and exists just happened without a designer, creator, intelligent, and involved God.

May you and I observe creation around us and may our faith in God, who displayed His invisible qualites through creation, grow stronger as we trust Him to make us a new creation.

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I Am Who I Am

God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.  This is what you are to say
to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.'”  Exodus 3:14

I AM!  Out of all the names and characteristics of God we discover in the Bible, this one seems to always take center stage, the foundational theme of who God is. 

I think I have always liked this account of God stating His own name because it is both simple and profound.  If you really think about it, how could have God answered the questions of Moses, “Who are you?  What is your name?”  If you could somehow imagine yourself as God, how would you answer those questions?  

We have a tendency to “prove ourselves” . . . to use every means possible to show why we are an authority and ought to be listened to.  We pull out our heritage, showing we are of the “right” family and background.  God could have done that.  He actually refers to that a couple of verses later as he gives instruction to remind the people that He is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  That wasn’t the critical part of who He is, but a connecting point for the Israelites that this God, I AM, is the same God who had been with them in prior generations.

We would have a tendency to pull out our “pedigree” . . . our list of accomplishments, degrees, and awards designed to prove why we ought to be listened to.  God could have used His list to have Moses say to the Israelites, “I am your creator God.  I am your provider God.  I am your shelter God.  I am your comfort God.  Even, I am your deliverer God.”  All just a fraction of the names He had been given and has gone by.  The list of titles and qualifications would have been quite impressive.  God’s point wasn’t to impress with words — His own or words spoken about Him.  His point was to impress with Himself, with who He really is . . . I AM!

God still wants us to know Him as the “I AM” in our life.  Not the “I was”, or “I could have been”, or even the “I will be”, but as the I AM.  I Am states a presence, an existence, a state of being that is complete and stands on its own.  I AM WHO I AM implies an inherent trust, a faith that does not require all the details and credentials but a belief that this is true.

When you and I found, or find, ourselves in bondage, in slavery to our thoughts, actions, habits, and sins in our life, we don’t need a lengthy dissertation on God’s qualifications to deliver us.  We need to trust a confident and capable God who says, “I AM” has come to set you free.

Will you allow the God who was, and is, and always will be — the I AM — to deliver you from everything that would hold you in bondage?