Promise for Promise

This past Christmas, the professor I worked for gave me the book Radical by David Platt. I read it as soon as I moved back to Michigan and really enjoyed it. I decided to take on part of the “Radical Experiment” and read the Bible within a year. We are a third of the way through the year and I am going strong (which seems almost miraculous). I’m in the Old Testament still, and there’s one thing I’ve noticed that really struck me.

My Religion professors, Pastors, and Chapel speakers always talked about God’s promises, but no one talks much about the people's responses to His promises. God was (and still is) always faithful to carry out His promises. In fact, the only times in the Old Testament when He did not follow through with what He said were instances when He threatened to wipe out a people or cause harm. Sometimes His anger was waylaid by the prophets or others who were in His favor and the people were saved. And then other times He spared only the prophet and his family…I bet that people group wished their prophet was a better communicator/"convincer." Not that that’s anything to joke about.

Anyway, we hear about God’s promises and how faithful He is to fulfill His promises all the time. That is one of the many characteristics we attribute to God - His faithfulness. What I’d like to touch on, though, is our pathetic human nature. Reading through I Samuel - II Kings I really just wanted to bang my head against the wall sometimes. There were so many kings, SO many who were promised everything they could possibly want by God. They and their lineage would be the rulers of the kingdom forever. God would be on their side and help them in battle. They and their people would have everything they would need. They would be prosperous. What was the stipulation? They had to worship God and Him alone and follow His commands. So as long as they remained on God’s good side, they would have everything.

What I also find amusing is how God gives us guidelines in order to keep us on the right track. He even tells us that. He told the kings not to marry or fall in love with women from certain tribes/families, because those women would drag them into the worship of other false gods. Isn’t it funny how we women have such control over men? We’re very convincing. I bet if there were more female prophets, less people would have died. Still not funny…and I digress. God gave the kings rules to help protect them from the things that would anger God and keep them from the potential of God’s promises.

Time and time again, the kings under God’s favor would fail. Time and time again, God would leave those kings and find another one who He thought would be worthy of His promise. I just imagine God shaking His head and feeling ashamed that yet another one let him down and then scouring the Earth for one king with an honest heart that would be able to follow Him completely. A man that would be worth promising everything to.

I think when God makes us successful and prosperous, we start to lose sight of the goal. The only real goal those kings needed was to follow God and His will. They would start out that way, then as they began to reap the benefits their judgment became clouded and gave more meaning and worth to the benefits than to God. They forgot that, in order to take advantage of those benefits, they needed to love God more.

So many of us lose sight of what is really important. It isn’t the job, the house, the car, or the money. It certainly isn’t the clothes or décor. What is important is worshiping the One who blessed us with this life, and placing Him above all other things and persons. When God is in the right place in our hearts is when we will have abundant life. We need to make ourselves worthy of God's promises.



"Not one of all the Lord's good promises to the house of Israel failed; every one was fulfilled."
-Joshua 21:45

"I will listen to what God the Lord will say; he promises peace to his people, his saints - but let them not return to folly."
-Psalms 85:8

"Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God."
-II Corinthians 7:1

Driver's Seat

Today in church I was sitting in the very back of the sanctuary. To be honest, I was uncomfortable back there. It's really interesting to me how some people cannot stand to sit in the front pews while others (like myself) have a hard time sitting in the back. As I was sitting there, I started thinking of an analogy that I'm sure has its flaws, but I liked it pretty well. Also, I'm not trying to step on any toes here, just going off of observation...I know everyone has their differences. Anyway:

Imagine life as a highway and the cars are churches. The "back row Christians" sit in the back seat and let the driver take them wherever they need to go. They have very little to do with the driving process. The "front row Christians" sit in the passenger seat. They are a part of the driving process and even help give directions every once in a while. They're probably the ones who lead small groups or Bible studies and have made a place for themselves in the church. The pastor sits in the driver's seat. They know the way and the destination and they're willing to take the lead to get their passengers there. On the highway, semi trucks are of the Devil (again, no offense, but I really dislike them so it fits in my model). They get in our way, slow us down, scare us, and sometimes make us very angry. Even though they are larger than our little car, our driver knows how to deal with them and drive around them.

One thing I've noticed about SOME back seat Christians is that they tend to grumble to themselves or the person sitting next to them. They have their own ideas of how things should be done, and they won't be happy otherwise. They're the ones who quietly start "mini coups" (get the joke?) in the church when they're unhappy. Then, on the flip side, the passenger seat Christians are the ones who tend to talk to the Pastor about what's going on and how they feel about it. They may have their own ideas, but they deal with it respectfully.

Obviously there's room for the in-betweeners. Just like I enjoy conversing with my parents up front in the car, some back pew Christians have a healthy relationship with the pastor and they're not grumbling and blurting their opinion when it's not appropriate. They may also have a part in direction giving. Likewise, some front pew Christians aren't very good at helping with directions. They just enjoy the front seat and calling, "Shotgun!"

Then you have car crashes. Some cars crash on their own. They lose control, something hits them, the car breaks, whatever. Some cars crash into each other and cause much conflict. Some cars meet the semi (they are pretty big). If we're going to get into that, I should talk about the cars that break the law. Police Officers are like the Superintendents (in the Nazarene church, for those of you who don't know what I'm talking about). The Police sometimes have to stop drivers and make corrections, all for the purpose of a safer and more successful trip.

Honestly, there's no lesson in this...no Bible verse to go along with it. But it would be interesting to see where you think you sit in the car, and if you hold true to my observations. I'm not here to tell you what role you need to play in the church, I just thought my analogy was interesting and wanted to share. :-)

Facing Demons

The other night I had a dream about facing and fighting demons. I woke up the next morning and discovered bruises on my leg and hip in the shower. It's probably just coincidence, since I don't think I'm the type of person that the Devil would need to physically confront. Not even in dreams...the big sissy. Anyway, it did get me thinking about my personal demons and how I have had to confront them lately. Sometimes it just feels like an endless battle. Sometimes I feel I could use some therapy. But overall, I've dealt with many personal demons and come out successful. There are just a few that need work...

Student loans. I'm pretty sure they ARE a tool of the Devil. What's on my mind most of the time is my "investment in my education" and how payments are looming ahead, and I have no job still. I feel I've been pretty faithful to God's calling in my life, so I should have peace about all of it just knowing that He won't fail me while I'm following Him. As much as I want to have peace about it, I've tossed and turned many nights thinking about finding a job since I need money for a place to live, a vehicle, student loans...and the general upkeep of living (for me and my cat). Money. It's definitely a personal demon.

Men. Really, I should say "men." I tend to attract guys who act as boomerangs...they just keep coming back. They always expect me to treat them as a boyfriend, like we've never missed a beat. They also always want to go out for food/coffee and to catch up. I'm trying to find a way to act as a friend and helpful listener while also letting them know that there cannot be anything more than that. Ever. For some of them, it's even less than friendship it's, 'I'll be there if you're in trouble.' But I've never been one to be blunt when someone's feelings are on the line. I'm generally the nice girl, and it's really difficult when I'm forced out of that role. So you KNOW it's serious when I have to get in someone's face and hurt their feelings. And yet they still push it. So "men" and everything they bring with them...personal demon.

Self confidence. I would just like to say that this department has changed drastically within the last year. After my fiance and I broke up, I experienced the opposite effect from most people: I felt better about myself. Maybe just surviving that relationship had a lot to do with it, but that summer really helped too. I saw the changes in my appearance that I wanted to see, that I had been waiting to see for probably eight years. Once I tasted that confidence, I didn't really feel like letting go. I rarely have days now when I feel like I just hate the way I look...that was a frequent feeling in high school and some of college. Apart from appearances, I've also become really comfortable with myself and proud of who I am. I've learned to love who I am, and I think that loving the person you are is so important. However, I still have issues to work on: the days when I don't feel pretty, and the days when my humility might come into question. Personal demon.

You're probably wondering why you just went through a seemingly pointless list of MY personal demons. Well...they may not be important to you, but I think I know what might be: you're fighting demons too. Maybe you already know that you have struggles, just like I knew that I was dealing with issues. But what I didn't think about before that demon wrestling dream is that those issues really are demons, tools of the Devil that separate me from God. My issues with money, men, and self confidence create a chasm between God and myself that will remain or even widen if I keep dealing with them on my own and act like they're no big deal. You see, these are exactly the things that we are supposed to give over to God, our constant concerns and struggles. I think some worries become so day-to-day that we start accepting them as normal life instead of saying, "This is important and I need God's help to take away this burden."

Notice how, at the beginning, I said "I've dealt with many personal demons..."? It's not entirely true. The demons that I have faced and defeated have been the ones that I have taken to God in prayer, seeking His help to lighten my load and to help me deal. I don't want to say that that's what God is there for, but yes...it is one of His roles. He does want us to go to Him in prayer when we need help. And He will help us. Don't forget that we have that privilege, and don't take it for granted either. What a friend I have in Jesus...

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God."

- 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."

-Philippians 4:6