I have been wrestling with some problems in a local church that are near to my heart. It is a confession of mine that I have always been bothered by what I have experienced in some local congregations. So today The Lord led me to the second chapter of Acts, more to the point verse forty-two, "And they devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and fellowship to the breaking of bread and the prayers." The Holy Scripture continues to speak on how everything they held they held in common as to meet the needs of all. It speaks of attendance and of breaking bread in each others homes with generous hearts. Praising God and having favor with all the people, and because of all this God was/did generously add to their numbers daily.
I write this because I don't see this in alot of local congregations, this church in the text of Acts, it excites me. It compels me to drive no matter the distance. The first place the scripture parked, the first emphasis in the text was being devoted to scripture. It is here if we miss this one, the boat sails and the Spirit moves on. I get annoyed at anecdotes and inspirational stories, even if they are motivating and emotionally stirring they cannot compare to scripture. "MY WORD shall not return void to me," not your cute little story or sad event, MY WORD says the LORD. (Isaiah 55:11) "Your WORD stands eternal in the heavens" (Psalms 119:89) "Is not my WORD like fire, like a hammer that breaks the rocks into pieces" (Jeremiah 23:29) Your stories your anecdotes they don't break down walls, move mountains, they don't consume the hearts of the lost and ignite the hearts of the brethren, only THE WORD OF GOD, does those things.
So pastor I implore you, please, however clever or charming you may be, your words are like dust, you are a vapor, even the Bible says preaching is foolishness, why because you are only declaring the words of another, none of your own. (1Corinthians 1:21) This text also means because it's simple pastor, no funny jokes, no clever guises, no parlor tricks, it's simple take the text and preach the WORD, not your word, but THE WORD. So Pastor, give up the repetitive choruses that drone us into unconsciousness hoping to emote some response, Start with Scripture, then when we worship in song we shall know why and who we serve, not because we like the musician or band but because GOD is mighty to save, and HE alone is worthy of our praise, and Holy, Holy, Holy is HE who reigns forever. Teach us to know Him, take us to the Cross, instruct us in His wisdom, take us to the Throne room of Heaven, in the Scripture! It's the WORD of God that changes hearts, IT's the WORD of GOD that grows FAITH. IT's the WORD OF GOD, The Word of GOD.
I'll wrap up with a softer toned plea, don't steer away from the hard passages, don't veer from the hard questions, we need answers, we will face a foe that will not be merciful but seeks to Kill US, equip us dear pastor with the armor of GOD, point us to the answer of life's most difficult questions in the scripture, If you don't then the devil will, he will offer many reasons and difficulties to challenge us TODAY!
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Why do bad things happen?
This is a question that most rattles evangelical Christians when posed by either those outside the faith or by a close brother. And this week it hit close to home for me when a close friend of the family was struck head on by a driver who fell asleep at the wheel. Many of my family members seemed confounded in their understanding of how God could have let such a thing happen to our friend.
Our friend, a young man with a hard life story had just began to show promise and some normalcy to his life when what seemed as an "out of nowhere" tragedy struck him down. Even now, as I type this, he is fighting for his life in a small Texas army hospital. How does one respond to such events? What do you say to a person who has just experienced great tragedy and is trying to get a hold on the situation? I think as Christians it is our responsibility to have an answer to this question.
Now, the question itself will be posed differently and from different world views. Some might ask how could a loving God allow such tragedy to happen? Why didn't God stop it? Why did it have to be so and so, he was just getting his life together? All these are masking hurt and emotional pain and only with deep compassion should we even attempt to answer and offer guidance.
I've read the scriptures and I've read the commentaries on our state of falleness and how no one deserves anything good and that we all are wretched. And I do not deny the depravity of man, however I do not believe telling a emotionally distraught family member that their child or loved one deserved what they got, is the way to lead them into a healing place or share the love of Christ with them. It is my belief that that best approach comes from sharing two main principles or facets about God and life.
First, lets tackle the big issue why God allows things to happen in the first place. We exist in a fallen state; natural disasters, disease, and crime in all aspects are a direct result of this fallen nature of the world and mankind. And God so values our freewill that He chooses not to act in general sense diverting all bad things that might happen to man, so as not to violate this freewill. Another reason is He will not violate his word, and as Galations states, "whatever a man sows that shall he also reap," so He is voluntarily yet eternally bound in His perfection by His word. A simple illustration would be if you jump off a building without the proper safety gear then you will die depending upon the height of said building. Of course that illustration also brings into consideration the natural law of gravity God has set forth during creation. But let's not get sidetracked, so freewill is a high price for some tragedy but it's worth it.
The second part or facet, concerns God's personal choice of when He intervenes miraculously and when He doesn't. I would only loving offer some caution here as not to be to judgmental when asking why here. Job asked God why in Job chapter 40 and it didn't go so well, "Will the faultfinder contend with the Almighty? Let him who reproves God answer it." It is not ours to question God's will for our lives or the lives of our friends and family. When we search through scripture and seek God's direction or answer in why something happened or why something didn't happen the way we thought it right to be, then it is my feeling that at those times when not declared directly in scripture we must trust what we know about the nature and Character of God.
This is not an easy one to convey to the lost about why tragedy happens, so salvation would be my first goal. Salvation prayed for through deep prayer and intercession. Ultimately, God's plan for us is to bring freewill agents to a saving knowledge and a relationship with and to Jesus Christ. He may choose to use tragedy to turn our minds to Him, to remind us that life is short, as He did in the New Testament with the tower of Siloam, He may use the circumstances to display His glory and heal or repair the situation or tragedy.
I want to reflect and bring this to a few short points so we don't get lost in thought. One - some tragedy is a result of man/world's fallen state. Two - God so cherishes our freewill that He does not generally violate our will and prevent these things from happening. Three - God can and does heal us, prevent tragedy in our lives, and change the course of events from time to time to demonstrate His grace and mercy in our lives or to show His mighty power over sin and death. Four - If God does not choose to do so, then we must trust in what we know about Him and trust that He knows best and loves us more than we can imagine. Do not lose that fact when times go bad, God infinitely , jealously , perfectly loves you, He pursues you, you didn't get right and then He chose to love you, the bible says that God demonstrates His love for us in that while we were YET sinners, (porn addicts, thieves, alcoholics, child abusers, gang bangers, murderers, self-righteous false converts, prostitutes...etc), Christ died for us.
It is not my intent for this to be a complete answer for every situation as to why all bad things happen. I just hope that it offers some guidance and direction for anyone locked in confusion or hurting.
Our friend, a young man with a hard life story had just began to show promise and some normalcy to his life when what seemed as an "out of nowhere" tragedy struck him down. Even now, as I type this, he is fighting for his life in a small Texas army hospital. How does one respond to such events? What do you say to a person who has just experienced great tragedy and is trying to get a hold on the situation? I think as Christians it is our responsibility to have an answer to this question.
Now, the question itself will be posed differently and from different world views. Some might ask how could a loving God allow such tragedy to happen? Why didn't God stop it? Why did it have to be so and so, he was just getting his life together? All these are masking hurt and emotional pain and only with deep compassion should we even attempt to answer and offer guidance.
I've read the scriptures and I've read the commentaries on our state of falleness and how no one deserves anything good and that we all are wretched. And I do not deny the depravity of man, however I do not believe telling a emotionally distraught family member that their child or loved one deserved what they got, is the way to lead them into a healing place or share the love of Christ with them. It is my belief that that best approach comes from sharing two main principles or facets about God and life.
First, lets tackle the big issue why God allows things to happen in the first place. We exist in a fallen state; natural disasters, disease, and crime in all aspects are a direct result of this fallen nature of the world and mankind. And God so values our freewill that He chooses not to act in general sense diverting all bad things that might happen to man, so as not to violate this freewill. Another reason is He will not violate his word, and as Galations states, "whatever a man sows that shall he also reap," so He is voluntarily yet eternally bound in His perfection by His word. A simple illustration would be if you jump off a building without the proper safety gear then you will die depending upon the height of said building. Of course that illustration also brings into consideration the natural law of gravity God has set forth during creation. But let's not get sidetracked, so freewill is a high price for some tragedy but it's worth it.
The second part or facet, concerns God's personal choice of when He intervenes miraculously and when He doesn't. I would only loving offer some caution here as not to be to judgmental when asking why here. Job asked God why in Job chapter 40 and it didn't go so well, "Will the faultfinder contend with the Almighty? Let him who reproves God answer it." It is not ours to question God's will for our lives or the lives of our friends and family. When we search through scripture and seek God's direction or answer in why something happened or why something didn't happen the way we thought it right to be, then it is my feeling that at those times when not declared directly in scripture we must trust what we know about the nature and Character of God.
This is not an easy one to convey to the lost about why tragedy happens, so salvation would be my first goal. Salvation prayed for through deep prayer and intercession. Ultimately, God's plan for us is to bring freewill agents to a saving knowledge and a relationship with and to Jesus Christ. He may choose to use tragedy to turn our minds to Him, to remind us that life is short, as He did in the New Testament with the tower of Siloam, He may use the circumstances to display His glory and heal or repair the situation or tragedy.
I want to reflect and bring this to a few short points so we don't get lost in thought. One - some tragedy is a result of man/world's fallen state. Two - God so cherishes our freewill that He does not generally violate our will and prevent these things from happening. Three - God can and does heal us, prevent tragedy in our lives, and change the course of events from time to time to demonstrate His grace and mercy in our lives or to show His mighty power over sin and death. Four - If God does not choose to do so, then we must trust in what we know about Him and trust that He knows best and loves us more than we can imagine. Do not lose that fact when times go bad, God infinitely , jealously , perfectly loves you, He pursues you, you didn't get right and then He chose to love you, the bible says that God demonstrates His love for us in that while we were YET sinners, (porn addicts, thieves, alcoholics, child abusers, gang bangers, murderers, self-righteous false converts, prostitutes...etc), Christ died for us.
It is not my intent for this to be a complete answer for every situation as to why all bad things happen. I just hope that it offers some guidance and direction for anyone locked in confusion or hurting.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)