When I ran cross country in high school, my strength was running uphill. If we ran a course with hills, I would lean forward, push hard, and easily churn past struggling runners. But the problem was, the weakest aspect of my running was the downhills! I remember running the Mt. Sac Invitational, a course feared for some of the most hilly terrain in Southern California. What I recall most is miserable dustiness of the first mile!. There were parts of the course that even had nicknames ascribed to them, like the "Switchbacks" and "Poop Out Hill." My final time running the race, I passed about 20 runners heading up "Reservoir Hill," the last hill before the finish. Problem was, at least 10 of them ran past me on the downhill!
As I've been running up and down the roads and trails in Drewvale, I've had to maneuver plenty of hills. Today during my run I thought about the downhills, how the temptation can be to take it easy. It's tempting to relax on the downhills using gravity and not press forward with power from the legs. When I push on the downhills I find I can run faster easier, and I arrive at my destination much faster. I am able to cover more ground with less effort. There's a spiritual application here, I thought to myself. Maybe not the most profound spiritual truth, but a truth just the same.
Our daily schedules are often dictated by work and necessity. If I need to be on the jobsite at 6:30am, I must get up early enough to pray, read the Word, brush my teeth, put on some clothes, and maybe eat breakfast. Therefore I set my alarm for 5am. But on Saturday when I'm not working, I forget the alarm and sleep until much later. I have found that I must guard my evenings to have good mornings. If I stay up until 1am, my morning devotional life with God suffers the next day. When I don't wake up on a schedule, the day is well underway with the busyness of the home and family and spiritual matters are neglected. We've all experienced this. For me, times of vacation can be the worst for consistent times of devotion with God. Because my schedule is not dictated, I stay up later, rise later, and miss time of fellowship with my heavenly Father.
I have now been in AUS for one month. I have been one month without a schedule of when I need to rise and go to bed. But I've been setting my alarm and trying to stay busy with prayer, personal devotion, this blog, and writing messages and studies. Don't think that I'm a spiritual stud or anything, because I have certainly frittered time away with aimless conduct here and there. But I am growing more sensitive to that wasted time. It leaves me dissatisfied and more focused on doing better.
Right now I'm experiencing a downhill and my flesh wants to relax and take it easy. "You won't be preaching for another two weeks...take a couple days off." I could do that, and no one would know or likely care. But I want to be further along in my spiritual progress when I reach the bottom of the next mountain that stands in my path. I have found that it is easier to press a bit on the downhills than relying on gravity alone. At least the same amount of physical effort and strain on my body is utilized in holding myself back than if I pressed the pace.
There was a brother a couple of years ago who was inspired by the Holy Spirit to say to me, "You're holding back." And you know, I was. The Spirit impressed upon my heart the exact area that I was holding back in. I ask you: are you holding back? Are you taking it easy on the downhills, relaxing your spiritual guard, and taking it easy when the going is smooth? That is when we need to press the pace! We treasure weekends and vacations: how about giving them to God as well as your weekdays? Will not be this sacrifice rewarded with communion and blessing from the Father? Cannot God gird up the loins of your mind and strengthen you in your times of devotion?
There is a story in the Old Testament when the prophet Elijah outruns King Ahab in his chariot. Elijah and King Ahab were both on Mount Carmel. There had been no rain in Israel for over three years. Elijah knew that rain was coming and told Ahab to prepare his chariot and ride. 1 Kings 18:46 reads, "Then the hand of the Lord came upon Elijah; and he girded up his loins and ran ahead of Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel." This reminds me of the question in Jeremiah 12:5: "If you have run with the footmen, and they have wearied you, then how can you contend with horses? And if in the land of peace, in which you trusted, they wearied you, then how will you do in the floodplain of the Jordan?" We cannot contend with horses or footmen without the power of God. We can't make it through a workday or weekend without His spiritual sustenance. Our God is able to empower us to push it on the downhills.
Maybe you "need" a certain amount of sleep now. Is not our God able to strengthen you to function on less? Ask God to wake you up! Elijah was a man who knew God intimately. He prayed and God answered. He prayed that it would not rain and it did not. He prayed for fire from heaven and it fell, consuming the sacrifice on Carmel. God strengthened him to outrun Ahab's chariot, and God ushered him into the heavens in a whirlwind with chariots and horses of fire! We seem to realize we need God's strength on the uphills, but forget to rely upon Him during the downhill stretch. We need Him just the same! Let Him strengthen you to explore new territory! No matter the rise or fall in elevation of your course, ask God to elevate your walk.
19 October 2009
18 October 2009
Obeying God
One source of irritation in my life (besides house dust since I have an allergy) is when Christians look incredulously at the men and women of scripture and say, "How could they do that? Where is their faith?" I have witnessed people basically mock the failures of people in the Bible. God did not give us their examples for us to mock them or boost our pride but to learn from them. In every failure we can see our own foolishness. Should Peter be made a laughing stock because he took his eyes off of Jesus and began to sink into stormy Sea of Galilee? Should Gideon be chastised for not having the "faith" to meet the Midianites in battle without putting a fleece before the LORD not once but twice? It is wise for us to shake our heads over Moses striking the rock and robbing God of glory, or scorn David for not only committing adultery with Bathsheba, and later ordering the death of her husband Uriah the Hittite? We are not to condone these acts, but have not we all done things we do not condone ourselves? Have we sinned any less than these men of God?
As children of Abraham through faith in Christ, we ought lead lives of obedience and faith in God alone. Abraham had his faults to be sure, but there has not been an Abraham since. Now there is a man that God called and he obeyed God. That does not mean he was perfect. God told Abraham to leave Haran and his father's house and go "unto a land that I will show you" (Gen. 12:1). Abraham left his home, but he allowed his nephew Lot to travel with him (Gen. 12:4). God knew that Abraham wasn't perfect. God was seeking obedience and trust, not perfection. God has the perfection bit covered, and we can receive of His righteousness through faith in Christ.
Abraham later instructed his wife Sarah to lie about being his wife to the Egyptians "that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my soul shall live because of thee" (Gen. 12:11-13). We are gracious to Abraham for this first lie, but bristle at the thought that he later fibbed again with Abimelech, telling him that Sarah was his sister but not his wife! (Gen. 20:2) God does not apologize for Abraham's behavior when He came to Abimelech in a dream and said this in Genesis 20:6-7: "...I know that you did this in the integrity of your heart. For I also withheld you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her. [7] Now therefore, restore the man's wife; for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you shall live. But if you do not restore her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours."
Did you catch that? Who would Abimelech have sinned against if he had touched Sarah? Against God. And who was the prophet that God had called out of Haran? Abraham, the father of faith, one who was at times afraid (like us!), and sometimes unsure of what to do or say (like us!), and had the guts to do whatever God told him to do (usually unlike us!), even if it meant leaving home or slaughtering his only son as an offering to God. God told Abraham to take his son Isaac, whom he loved dearly, climb a mountain God would reveal, and offer his son as a burnt offering to God (Gen. 22:2). Put yourself in Abraham's shoes, an unenviable spot. The Father assumed this same role in the sacrifice of His only begotten Son Jesus, but that's another sermon! Can you believe that God had to stop Abraham from actually doing it? Genesis 22:9-10 reads, "Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood. [10] And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son." Abraham had made up his mind to obey God: in his mind, the deed was already done. There was no "if" when he picked up the knife. He picked it up to kill his son and planned on burning him to ash. And it took the command of God to keep Abraham from following through.
Oh, to have such faith, to have such utter abandon of self and complete trust in God! Before we judge the men and women of faith in the Bible harshly, know we only invite God to judge us with the same harshness! Abraham would not be deterred from obeying God even if it meant separation, difficulty, pain, loss, or sorrow. Romans 4:3 says, "For what does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness." Jesus says in Luke 18:7-8: "And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? [8] I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?" Don't be too quick to answer in the affirmative. Never ASSUME you have faith. If there is faith on the earth, Christ will find it. The point of Christ's rhetorical question is so people would ask themselves, "Do I have faith?"
I am constantly battling the great advice of well-meaning people concerning my move and ministry in Australia: who I should call, what I should do, where I should go. The trouble is, a lot of what is being suggested by men has never been commanded by God. It's very easy for us to point fingers and shake our heads and shrug shoulders over the Israelites unbelief in the wilderness, or the foibles of David and Peter. But I ask you: how much of what you do every day is strictly because God told you to do it? A good portion of Abraham's life was Abraham doing what God told Him, like Moses, the prophets, and Jesus Himself. Abraham was not called the father of faith because of his multitude of counselors, but because He obeyed the commands of the One True God.
Malachi 3:16 teaches us, "Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord listened and heard them; so a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the Lord and who meditate on His name." We have our names written in the Lamb's Book of Life when we trust in Christ as Savior, and God also has a book of remembrance. Your name must be in the first book to grace the pages of the second. If your life was to end today, what would be written in the second book? Would it be written that you had faith in God, or you lived according to how others thought you should? Instead of following the dictates of our flesh or the advice of those who seem to live other's lives so easily, let us follow Jesus Christ. We may not be perfect, but we must be obedient to our LORD.
As children of Abraham through faith in Christ, we ought lead lives of obedience and faith in God alone. Abraham had his faults to be sure, but there has not been an Abraham since. Now there is a man that God called and he obeyed God. That does not mean he was perfect. God told Abraham to leave Haran and his father's house and go "unto a land that I will show you" (Gen. 12:1). Abraham left his home, but he allowed his nephew Lot to travel with him (Gen. 12:4). God knew that Abraham wasn't perfect. God was seeking obedience and trust, not perfection. God has the perfection bit covered, and we can receive of His righteousness through faith in Christ.
Abraham later instructed his wife Sarah to lie about being his wife to the Egyptians "that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my soul shall live because of thee" (Gen. 12:11-13). We are gracious to Abraham for this first lie, but bristle at the thought that he later fibbed again with Abimelech, telling him that Sarah was his sister but not his wife! (Gen. 20:2) God does not apologize for Abraham's behavior when He came to Abimelech in a dream and said this in Genesis 20:6-7: "...I know that you did this in the integrity of your heart. For I also withheld you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her. [7] Now therefore, restore the man's wife; for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you shall live. But if you do not restore her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours."
Did you catch that? Who would Abimelech have sinned against if he had touched Sarah? Against God. And who was the prophet that God had called out of Haran? Abraham, the father of faith, one who was at times afraid (like us!), and sometimes unsure of what to do or say (like us!), and had the guts to do whatever God told him to do (usually unlike us!), even if it meant leaving home or slaughtering his only son as an offering to God. God told Abraham to take his son Isaac, whom he loved dearly, climb a mountain God would reveal, and offer his son as a burnt offering to God (Gen. 22:2). Put yourself in Abraham's shoes, an unenviable spot. The Father assumed this same role in the sacrifice of His only begotten Son Jesus, but that's another sermon! Can you believe that God had to stop Abraham from actually doing it? Genesis 22:9-10 reads, "Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood. [10] And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son." Abraham had made up his mind to obey God: in his mind, the deed was already done. There was no "if" when he picked up the knife. He picked it up to kill his son and planned on burning him to ash. And it took the command of God to keep Abraham from following through.
Oh, to have such faith, to have such utter abandon of self and complete trust in God! Before we judge the men and women of faith in the Bible harshly, know we only invite God to judge us with the same harshness! Abraham would not be deterred from obeying God even if it meant separation, difficulty, pain, loss, or sorrow. Romans 4:3 says, "For what does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness." Jesus says in Luke 18:7-8: "And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? [8] I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?" Don't be too quick to answer in the affirmative. Never ASSUME you have faith. If there is faith on the earth, Christ will find it. The point of Christ's rhetorical question is so people would ask themselves, "Do I have faith?"
I am constantly battling the great advice of well-meaning people concerning my move and ministry in Australia: who I should call, what I should do, where I should go. The trouble is, a lot of what is being suggested by men has never been commanded by God. It's very easy for us to point fingers and shake our heads and shrug shoulders over the Israelites unbelief in the wilderness, or the foibles of David and Peter. But I ask you: how much of what you do every day is strictly because God told you to do it? A good portion of Abraham's life was Abraham doing what God told Him, like Moses, the prophets, and Jesus Himself. Abraham was not called the father of faith because of his multitude of counselors, but because He obeyed the commands of the One True God.
Malachi 3:16 teaches us, "Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord listened and heard them; so a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the Lord and who meditate on His name." We have our names written in the Lamb's Book of Life when we trust in Christ as Savior, and God also has a book of remembrance. Your name must be in the first book to grace the pages of the second. If your life was to end today, what would be written in the second book? Would it be written that you had faith in God, or you lived according to how others thought you should? Instead of following the dictates of our flesh or the advice of those who seem to live other's lives so easily, let us follow Jesus Christ. We may not be perfect, but we must be obedient to our LORD.
17 October 2009
The Big Pineapple!
I joined the Landman family on a special trip up north of Brisbane to "The Big Pineapple." I put together a video about the trip, where you can see everything from the inside of the Big Pineapple (and no, we did not find Sponge Bob!), the Nutmobile, and you can even learn how to grow your own pineapples like a real Aussie!
They also have some terrific animals on exhibit, including koalas and kangaroos. Follow this link to see us feeding and interacting with some of Australia's most famous wildlife!
They also have some terrific animals on exhibit, including koalas and kangaroos. Follow this link to see us feeding and interacting with some of Australia's most famous wildlife!
16 October 2009
New Construction
When I was working in the shipyard for PCI, work was divided between "Repair" and "New Construction." When many people come to Christ, they come to Him for repair. They would be happy for their life to be smoother, easier, with promises of peace, joy, and fulfillment. Before people trust in Christ, they spend their lives building upon the eroding sands of worldly philosophy from a secular vantage point. A man without a relationship with God does what is right in his own eyes. God never takes over a work in progress. The old way of life must be completely discarded so the new may begin. God does not repair the works of the flesh: He makes new in the Spirit.
Imagine you have been invited over to a friend's home for a housewarming party. He excitedly shows you around the place, pointing out the expensive chandelier on the vaulted foyer, the state-of-the-art kitchen with all modern conveniences. Your friend had spent his life savings on this home for himself and built it from the ground up. But as you walk through, you notice a lot of structural problems. Upon further examination you lift a rug and see that the house is built upon sand! Cracks have already begun to form at the corners of the windows, and ridge of the roof has begun to sag, and walls are clearly out of plumb. What would you say? You know your friend has poured his life into this house, and built it with the sweat of his brow. The house wasn't built properly without a solid foundation, and before long it will simply collapse.
All people without Christ are like those who have built a house without a foundation. Regardless of the superficial beauty, the house would be condemned. God is not interested in shoring up the condemned lives we've built to this point. He wants to start completely fresh and new. He will lay a new foundation of Christ, the Chief Cornerstone, that we are to build upon according to His plans. We find God's "set of drawings" in scripture, and the Holy Spirit is the foreman who directs us in building after supplying all the material.
I'm seeing that this can happen in a Christian's life as well. In California, people build what is commonly called a "California Room," a room addition that is often built without permits with the city. As a follower of Christ, we can begin to build on a foundation other than the original foundation of Jesus Christ. We can begin to follow preachers whose ministry is not founded in the Word of God. We can follow after commentators who tickle our ears and provide no spiritual nourishment. We can become side-tracked from building a structure on Christ and be more into building our two-story shed outside for our toys, our pet-doctrines we love to play with.
Now put yourself in the position of the friend who built a house from scratch without a foundation or someone who built his California Room or shed without authorization. What if it was brought to your attention that you've been building without the foundation of Christ? What if God told you that your whole life needs to be completely torn down and dismantled because He wants to start new? God must tear down all the works of our flesh so He can sanctify us with His Spirit. Would you be willing to have God raze your life down to the ground so you can start again, building by His set of plans? The rich young ruler was not willing that God should ask him to give away his money, the thing he treasured most. He went away sad, empty, and rich with money that perished with him.
It's your choice! Sometimes only a moment, a day, or a month's work must be undone so God can do it right. But other times, the whole house or room additions have to be destroyed. Are you willing to ask God to inspect the foundation of your life? If Christ is your eternal foundation, you will never fail. But if you have built your life upon any other foundation, doctrine, tradition, denomination, motto, philosophy, or conviction other than Christ, it must be destroyed and all that is fixed to it. Allow God to reveal to you as the Master Builder what you must do, and be obedient. Your amount of loss will give room for more gain than you could ever imagine!
Imagine you have been invited over to a friend's home for a housewarming party. He excitedly shows you around the place, pointing out the expensive chandelier on the vaulted foyer, the state-of-the-art kitchen with all modern conveniences. Your friend had spent his life savings on this home for himself and built it from the ground up. But as you walk through, you notice a lot of structural problems. Upon further examination you lift a rug and see that the house is built upon sand! Cracks have already begun to form at the corners of the windows, and ridge of the roof has begun to sag, and walls are clearly out of plumb. What would you say? You know your friend has poured his life into this house, and built it with the sweat of his brow. The house wasn't built properly without a solid foundation, and before long it will simply collapse.
All people without Christ are like those who have built a house without a foundation. Regardless of the superficial beauty, the house would be condemned. God is not interested in shoring up the condemned lives we've built to this point. He wants to start completely fresh and new. He will lay a new foundation of Christ, the Chief Cornerstone, that we are to build upon according to His plans. We find God's "set of drawings" in scripture, and the Holy Spirit is the foreman who directs us in building after supplying all the material.
I'm seeing that this can happen in a Christian's life as well. In California, people build what is commonly called a "California Room," a room addition that is often built without permits with the city. As a follower of Christ, we can begin to build on a foundation other than the original foundation of Jesus Christ. We can begin to follow preachers whose ministry is not founded in the Word of God. We can follow after commentators who tickle our ears and provide no spiritual nourishment. We can become side-tracked from building a structure on Christ and be more into building our two-story shed outside for our toys, our pet-doctrines we love to play with.
Now put yourself in the position of the friend who built a house from scratch without a foundation or someone who built his California Room or shed without authorization. What if it was brought to your attention that you've been building without the foundation of Christ? What if God told you that your whole life needs to be completely torn down and dismantled because He wants to start new? God must tear down all the works of our flesh so He can sanctify us with His Spirit. Would you be willing to have God raze your life down to the ground so you can start again, building by His set of plans? The rich young ruler was not willing that God should ask him to give away his money, the thing he treasured most. He went away sad, empty, and rich with money that perished with him.
It's your choice! Sometimes only a moment, a day, or a month's work must be undone so God can do it right. But other times, the whole house or room additions have to be destroyed. Are you willing to ask God to inspect the foundation of your life? If Christ is your eternal foundation, you will never fail. But if you have built your life upon any other foundation, doctrine, tradition, denomination, motto, philosophy, or conviction other than Christ, it must be destroyed and all that is fixed to it. Allow God to reveal to you as the Master Builder what you must do, and be obedient. Your amount of loss will give room for more gain than you could ever imagine!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)