Elucidation

Sometimes a single sentence like the one from yesterday’s post says it all. Other times a single sentence can mean something different to each reader. In this case the sentence needs further explanation.

Here’s the sentence: What we give to the Lord opens the way for us to receive from Him.

Some might think this means the more I do for God the more He’ll do for me. I strongly disagree with that. God doesn’t have favorites and He can’t be manipulated, not to mention the question of motive. You could also read this from a monetary viewpoint and while scripture is clear that you can’t out give God, manipulation and motivation can be heavily at play here too.

What I’m trying to say in this statement is that we get to be part of the process together with God and to a large degree allow Him to mold us, make us, change us, heal us, grow us and so much more. You see, as we give more and more of our lives to Him we become more and more able to receive.

Seen the Father

I’ve been thinking a lot about the scripture where Christ says “If you’ve seen Me, you’ve seen the Father.” He doesn’t seem to be saying, that in Him we can see some of the Father or a glimpse of the Father. It sounds like He’s telling us that if you want to see God, look here, if you want to know God look to me. Why do we so often think of Jesus as only a partial representation of God, or the nice part? I think Christ is the complete realization of God.

Sometimes I think I feel…

I love the last sentence in Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase of Philippians 1:8 that was posted here yesterday, “Sometimes I think I feel as strongly about you as Christ does!” How wonderful to have people around that feel like this towards us. After all didn’t Christ say love Me and those around you? You can even make a strong case from scripture that we love Him when we love others. There is someone that you will encounter today that will really appreciate seeing that you care for them.

Family of God

I think the family of God is much more inclusive than many would have us believe. Scripture tells us His perfect sacrifice is for all. And while we see things only as they are now, He also sees them as they will be. God’s view is always so much clearer than ours. Let’s ask Him to show us what He sees in people and for Him to let us be a part of bringing them into the family.

Trusts Me

I love the way Eugene Peterson interprets yesterday’s scripture and the thing that stands out to me is that he begins with, the person who trusts me. Trusting God is so vital to every aspect of our lives. Not just the big miracle things as referenced yesterday, but even the day to day things. So many of our struggles in life could be made easier if we would trust Him enough to let go of them.

Try this at home, you could become proficient.

I hope we’ve been able to put some of the doubt about hearing from God behind us. If this is new to you, here’s an idea on how to start. Set some time aside and find a quiet place to be alone with God. Thank Him for loving you and ask Him to join you right here, right now. Call on Jesus. Open your heart to whatever He may want and put aside any agenda you might have. Ask Him to remind you of a scripture. Find that specific verse and then memorize it. Pray for God to show you who to share this verse with. In the next few days you’ll see God present you with an opportunity.

 

I’ve suggested this exercise here before and have heard some great stories that came of it. If we will meet Him and be faithful in the little things we’ll see Him do the amazing. The results of this exercise will be having heard from God, knowing that He heard you and building trust and intimacy. As we’ve said before, there’s nothing better.

Pissed Off

Can you say that when talking to The Lord? Hell yes. There is nothing He can’t handle with or from us. Being angry with God should not be an excuse to avoid Him it should draw us closer. We have nothing to fear, we can be completely honest with Him. In fact that’s exactly what He’s looking for in our relationship. I don’t doubt scripture when it says we can count it all joy… but that’s not always our first stop. Sometimes we have to wrestle with Him to get there and wrestling is part of the intimacy we need. Nothing builds trust like being able to take anything to Him and getting His perfect love and understanding back.

Reason

Here we take another look at the deist’s view of God and how we can connect with them. Reason is a huge part of this outlook on God. The deist has reasoned from his observation of nature that there is a Creator but that He is not involved in what goes on here any longer. This creates a big question for me, “Why did He make us? What was (is) His reason?” And as I have asked this over the years, the only explanation that makes any sense is that He wants to interact with us. Not just through scripture or in tough times but everyday, even in the littlest things. Each of us that know Him have stories to tell that can’t be dismissed and through our experience others get to be introduced to or encouraged to better know God. Motive is a really big deal in understanding the people in the world around us. It’s an even bigger deal in understanding the One that made us.

Inconsistent

Deists and those that hold various other views of God, often label Scripture as inconsistent or full of discrepancy while many of us believe the Bible is without error. This contradiction causes many to reject the scriptures as a reasonable interaction with God. What turns out to be the case most often though is not that scripture contradicts itself but that man’s interpretations of scripture sometimes differ. One man or group sees that scripture says this and then make conclusions far out in one direction while another man or group sees that scripture says that and make their conclusions just as far in the other direction. From anywhere you stand you can see how confusing this can be.

We mustn’t allow the Bible to be dismissed along with the incompatible conclusions of men. Scripture is clear that without God we are unable to understand it. The Bible is just one of the ways God interacts with us. It’s a good place to start for many but is not all that is needed to know God. Knowing Him is a lifelong endeavor that will occupy eternity for us. We have the honor of helping those who doubt find reasonable answers to their questions so that they can see the God who loves them and wants to be involved in their lives.

He Made Us, Then Left Us Alone

This is also known as deism. Deists hold that reason and the observation of nature indicate that the universe is a product of the all-powerful creator. They typically reject the supernatural and don’t believe God involves Himself in human affairs. Essentially, their take is that God set the world in motion and is letting it play out however it may. This is also known as the “Clockwork Universe Theory”. You would think that scripture would be a good tool for discussion with deists, especially as it relates to prophecy and historically documented miracles. However it’s the apparent inconsistencies in the writings that have led many deists to their position. Tomorrow we’ll continue looking at the deist point of view and from there to some reasoning ourselves.