Month: February 2021

“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”  Hebrews 11:6

This verse in what is commonly called the “Faith Chapter” is talking about Enoch.  (Who?!)  The Bible has very little to say about this guy.  He was the seventh generation from Adam, he was the father of Methuselah, he lived to be 365 years old, and he was a prophet who prophesied against godless people.  But the most important information about this important man is found in Genesis 5:24, “Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.”

What a way to be remembered – as someone who walked with God!  He isn’t remembered for writing a book of the Bible, finding a cure for cancer, or even giving a great sermon.  He’s remembered for his relationship with God, a relationship so strong that he didn’t even experience physical death! 

What does it mean to walk with God?  Well, first it’s walking, not running.  It’s not running ahead of God, thinking we know better.  Nor is it sitting, doing nothing, waiting for God to do everything for us.  It’s walking.  Step by step.  Sometimes painful steps, sometimes joyful steps, but always putting one foot in front of the other.  The next word is just as important: with.  Sometimes I can get so intent on putting one foot in front of the other that I forget to look where I’m going.  If I’m wandering away from the path God is on, that means I’m on the wrong path.   

How do we know if we’re running ahead of God, or sitting when we should be moving? For that matter, how can we be sure we’re on the right path? Look for God. If you’re sure that He’s there, then you’re in the right place. But if you can’t see Him, then you may want to consider where you strayed from the path. How do we see God? Of course, He can’t be seen with our physical eyes, so how do we know if He’s there? Like looking for the wind, look for His movements. Do you see Him at work? Can you sense yourself growing in Him? When upsetting things happen, can you feel His peace? These are just a few of the ways we can know that we’re on God’s path. When you’re there, just keep putting one step in front of the other. If you keep walking and looking for Him, He’ll keep guiding and helping. Because you, like Enoch, will be walking with God.

“Do you see a man who speaks in haste? There is more hope for a fool than for him.” Proverbs 29:20

            Have you ever said something without thinking about it first? Of course you have. I think we all have. That’s just natural, right? According to this verse, it may be natural but it’s not what God wants. In fact, He says it’s better to be a fool than to speak too quickly. None of us wants to be a fool. And yet there is more hope for this person than there is for someone speaking too quickly.

            What does it mean to speak in haste? I think we’ve been seeing a lot of that in our culture lately. Opinions and emotions are running deep. As a result, many have been voicing those opinions without regard for the person who will hear or read those words. If things don’t immediately change or go our way, we say it again, only louder this time. And again and again and louder and louder. The problem is, those on the other side of the debate are doing the same thing and pretty soon we have a shouting match in which no one is really hearing the other side. There are times when we very much need to stand up to the wrongs of society. We need to speak up for those who don’t have a voice. We are called to proclaim the gospel of Jesus. Scripture tells us to “let the redeemed of the Lord say so.” I don’t think this is telling us not to talk. Rather, it’s telling us how and when to talk.

            If there is something I feel strongly about and someone voices the opposite opinion, I want to quickly correct their obviously faulty point of view. I hope you can hear the sarcasm there. I say obviously faulty because when someone disagrees with us, well, of course they’re wrong and we’re right. What if the opposite is true? What if they really are right? Wouldn’t you want to know that? After all, if I’m believing a lie, that lie is keeping me from God because God is truth. Therefore, if you’re right and I’m wrong, I’d like to have the grace and humility to hear what you’re saying and be open to the suggestion that there just might be some kernels of truth there. I don’t want to be like the child who sticks their fingers in their ears and sings, “La, la, la” so they don’t have to hear something that will force them to admit they’re wrong. But that’s exactly what we’re doing when we speak in haste. Somehow we think that if we just keep using a lot of words and don’t give the other person a chance to share their opinion, then we’ve forced them to agree with us. But we haven’t. We’ve just lost an opportunity to hear their side and possibly learn some new truths.

            The issue goes deeper than that. Not only have we cheated ourselves, we’ve devalued the other person. We’re basically telling them their opinion doesn’t matter. Perhaps their opinion was formed from wounds they’ve received. When we devalue their opinion, we’re also saying we don’t care about those wounds. In addition, we may very well be adding to those wounds. We usually don’t know when a person feels as if they are not worthy to have their own opinion. That’s not something people usually go around advertising. When we don’t let them have their own opinion, we are only enforcing that painful lie.

            I’m asking God to help me begin to really think before I speak. I want to see each individual as an opportunity to learn more, even if it’s learning something about which I disagree. More importantly, I want to value the other person more than I value my own opinion. I want to see each individual as someone created in God’s image, someone who is valued and loved by God enough to give His own Son for them. If I can show them I value their thoughts and opinions, maybe they’ll see just a little bit of how much worth they have in God’s eyes. If they see that, we’ve all won the debate.

“Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:12, 13

            Does it ever seem like God’s not listening? You pray, but the prayers seem to hit the ceiling and bounce right back down. There seems to be no connection. Or maybe it even seems like God’s left the building. Not only is He not listening, He’s not even there. You have a huge obstacle in your life, or a problem you don’t know how to tackle, or you’re completely worn down by the difficulties of life. You cry out to God. In fact, you cry over and over and still you’re met with complete silence. The kind of silence that is deafening. Where is God? Why doesn’t He answer? Why does He leave you to struggle alone against an army of difficulty?

            I want to make something very clear right away. God is always with us. There’s a fancy word for it – omnipresent. That just means that He’s everywhere all the time. So it’s impossible for God to not be present. He’s here with me and He’s there with you. All the time. Another thing I want to make clear is that God always hears our prayers. In fact, He goes beyond that. He knows our prayers even before we do. Here’s another fancy word – omniscient. That means that God knows everything. So He knows what we’re going to pray before we pray. He also knows how He’s going to answer that prayer.

            Here’s another fancy word – omnipotent. It means that God has all power. Knowing that can actually be frustrating for me. Since He has the power to answer my prayer, then why doesn’t He?! Because of His omniscience. He knows what’s best. I don’t. Oh, I think I do. I think that if only this happened, or that didn’t happen, things would be perfect. But God, who knows everything, has a better answer.

            So far I’ve been approaching this verses from a human perspective. But take a look again at these verses. I’ve been talking about God answering our cries. That’s certainly part of these verses. But where do these verses say that God will give you what you asked? They don’t. God does answer our cries, but at the right time and in the right way. But most of all, God gives us Himself. If we are truly seeking, He’s not going to hide. When you’re omnipresent, it’s pretty hard to play hide-n-seek. Besides, he doesn’t want to hide from us. He wants to be known by us. So why does it feel like He’s not there? Maybe it’s because we’re just not seeing Him. Our problems have so overwhelmed us that we can’t see anything beyond them. We’re choosing to see the difficulties of life instead of pushing them aside just enough to see a glimpse of God. But if we set our hearts on God, we’ll see His presence become bigger and bigger as our problems become smaller and smaller.

            How do we set our hearts on God? The word says we should seek Him with our whole heart. Does that even seem possible? No? That’s okay. Remember, God understands. He knows everything. See that tiny little glimmer of God in your life? Grab onto it! Hold on tight! You’ll soon see that little glimpse become bigger and bigger. Keep looking. Keep seeking. As your vision of Him becomes larger, you’ll find that more and more of your heart is filled with Him. It will be a filling so glorious and wonderful that the problems and difficulties pale in comparison. They may or may not still be present. But your view of God will become so big that they no longer matter. Only He will matter. What an amazing day that will be!

“Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 5:20, 21

            Are you someone who stores things? Or are you a pitcher? Are you more likely to save or dispose? I admit that I am a saver. Just this morning I found myself thinking of saving a piece of cardboard because, well, it was a good piece of cardboard. You never know when I might need a piece just like that for some project or another. Better sense won out and the cardboard is now in the recycle bin. But I did have those thoughts. I’m not sure that God cares if we save a piece of cardboard, or if we can’t throw away a plastic bag. But He does care about our hearts. So where is your heart? According to this verse, it’s wherever your treasure is.

            I’m sure we’ve all heard sermons on how materialistic our culture is. Wealth is very important in our culture. Don’t believe me? Think about this. It’s considered rude to talk about money. For example, we all know that we should never ask someone how much they make. Why? We can ask them almost anything else about their job but the subject of salary is taboo. I was always told it was so there wouldn’t be any hard feelings from someone who doesn’t make as much. Why would they have hard feelings? Because how much we make is a symbol of our value. If I get a raise but the person who sits next to me doesn’t, it must mean I’m better or more important. I realize there is also the issue of fairness, but even fairness includes a sense of our own value. To put it succinctly, our culture uses money to determine the value of an individual.

            That doesn’t make money an evil thing. There’s a misconception in our culture that the Bible says that money is the root of all evil. Actually, it says the love of money. Money isn’t the problem. Our hearts are. That’s why Jesus is telling us in these verses to not spend all our time and energy striving after money for the sake of having more money. Rather, we should be working for the Kingdom, investing our lives in things that will last for eternity. And sometimes that means money. There are those who have the spiritual gift of generosity. They tend to have a talent for making money but they also give money to further God’s kingdom and spread His love.

            So which are you? Where is your heart? According to the Bible we can answer that question but looking at what we treasure. If we hold onto our money and our possessions for our own gain or out of fear of the future, that means our heart is in the things of this earth. But if we’re willing to give away our time, talent and treasure for God’s purposes, our hearts are with Him. And He will bless us in ways we can’t even imagine, both here on earth and in heaven.