God is not a genie in a bottle…

 

Those who are critical of the church and call ‘Christians’ hypocrites may not realize that not all who label themselves with those terms may not be the genuine thing. Jesus warned that those who call Him “Lord, Lord” and did things in His name could be those without a relationship with Him.

Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ (Matthew 7:21–23)

While people pray to God for help in trials, or put their faith in Him for protection, healing, and many other things, this may not be saving faith. The following passage explains that some who claim to be believers are actually not His people. It begins with Jesus walking across the water and the crowds following Him and asking why He came there…

Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.” Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” So they said to him, “Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ ” 

This question is a clue to their motivation. They were more interested in having their physical need for food met than their spiritual need for a relationship with Him.

Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.” Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. 

Faith is about our eternal destiny, not about having a full belly, or as that implies, the ‘good life’ here and now. It is about trusting Jesus, no matter what.

All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” (John 6:24–40)

Genuine faith is not something anyone can conjure up. We are told to have faith yet it is in what we cannot see — not a full pantry nor the good life, but in Jesus for eternal life. That means dealing with the sin that separates us from a Holy God. Scripture is clear; the offer is made, but without His grace and mercy no one is able to say yes to it…

No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. (John 6:44)
It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.) And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.” (John 6:63–65)

PRAY: Lord, Your Word tells me to beware of false teachers whose god is their belly. By tolerant acceptance, genuine Christians so easily get lumped into the ‘false’ category. My task is to be so much like You that I shine like stars in this dark world. Enable me to shine for You this day. Amen.

Two kinds of comfort…

 

Consider this chain of events: The world is in a mess > It makes me feel awful > I want to be comfortable > I shut out what is going on > My world is a happier place. OR this one: The world is a mess > My heart is burdened > I realize I cannot fix it > I call out to God in prayer > He assures me that His will is done > I am at peace even though the mess does not go away.

God often comforts by removing the cause of my distress, or by giving me the ability to trust Him in the distress, but no real comfort comes if I try to get rid of it (which is beyond my power anyway) or ignore it, which can produce ulcers if nothing else.

How does God provide deeper water? It is not mysterious. In the power of the Holy Spirit, He reminds me of truth concerning Himself, a passage of Scripture, a verse from a hymn, a word from a Christian friend, a sermon, even the beauty of creation. In other words, He tells me about Himself and diverts my focus to His incredible goodness. Thinking truth about God comforts me.

Most marvelous is that God is honest, not two-faced. He is not like we humans can be with our mouth saying one thing and our mind thinking the opposite. This can show up even in my prayers so when distressed, I need to pray with integrity, not saying what sounds good but having my words match what I really think, like the psalmist who knew — God knows the heart:

Hear a just cause, O Lord; attend to my cry! Give ear to my prayer from lips free of deceit! (Psalm 17:1)
And not deserving the rebuke God gave to those whose words did not match their deeds:
Have you not just now called to me, ‘My father, you are the friend of my youth— will he be angry forever, will he be indignant to the end?’ Behold, you have spoken, but you have done all the evil that you could.” (Jeremiah 3:4–5)

God is not fooled by pretense. Jacob duped his father into thinking he was Esau. Those tribes apostatized from the true religion went to seek the Lord and sacrifice yet God’s prophet said of them:

With their flocks and herds they shall go to seek the Lord, but they will not find him; he has withdrawn from them. They have dealt faithlessly with the Lord; for they have borne alien children. Now the new moon shall devour them with their fields. (Hosea 5:6–7)

As if God did not know their hearts. To do such things and continue to outwardly claim faith and obedience is saying my comfort is more important so if I flatter God with my words and outer actions, I’m okay. This is deceit and an unworthy concept of God. How can I satisfy the guilt of inward sins by external service, or by a loud voice with a false heart? God is far more interested in honesty and truth than any sacrifice with pretense or for outward appearance.

For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. (Hosea 6:6)
(God)  stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk in integrity, (Proverbs 2:7)

That said, God does not want me to say “I am fine” to impress others (or Him) when I am hurting or setting inside. This is not integrity. Yet if I am hurting but also experiencing that ‘deeper water’ that James 1:2-4 offers, then I can honestly say “I am fine” because God has given me the joy of the Holy Spirit in my trials. It all boils down to who or what I am listening to — truth from God or the ideas of the world, my flesh, or the devil.

PRAY: Jesus, I remember reading how the way a person handles stress will predict their health (When the Body Says No: The Cost of Hidden Stress by Gabor Maté) and one of those ways is faking on the outside what is going on in the inside. Your Word speaks of this also. How vital to be honest about my inner life, whether it is rocky and uncomfortable, or rocky with enough deep water from You to glide over the rocks with joy. Your truths are blessing me and today I am still joyful — my body is tired and sore, but that joy makes such a difference!

Focus — God is my Father

 

Last night at our small group Bible study we discussed the Ark of the Covenant. Our study leader said it is not available to anyone and began to describe what it looked like. I remarked that God didn’t leave it here because He knew some people would worship it instead of Him. A few chuckled and as the leader continued, I did a quick search on my laptop for images of this Ark. Surprisingly, hundreds of places sell models of the Ark of the Covenant at prices beginning below $100 up to several thousand if you want pure gold. This says something about human idolatry!

Today’s devotional tells of a man with another perspective of God. His life was stressed and his doctor told him he needed fellowship with God. He replied, “What? That—up there—having fellowship with me? I would as soon think of cooling my throat with the Milky Way or shaking hands with the stars.”

It also mentions two other people who said, “Prayer is useless because there’s no one to pray to except that dreaming, dark, dumb thing that turns the handle of this idle show” and “Life is a bad joke . . .Bring down the curtain; the farce is done.”

This is blasphemy but also the deep despair of all who think that God is uninvolved in human affairs. To call Him, “Our Father in heaven” would be a joke in their minds.

Of course, those who do not know God cannot call Him their Father. This distancing from our Creator started in the Garden when Adam and Eve hid themselves and were ashamed of their sin. That sense of shame grew into a great human effort to either wallow in it or overcome it with ‘goodness’ or insisting that a relationship with God is not necessary.

Greek and Roman philosophers rejected God as Father, choose instead to believe that all gods were apathetic and without emotions. Epicurean philosophers believed all so-called gods were calm and in perfect peace, but to maintain their serenity, they needed to stay isolated from people. This reminds me of a billboard advertising a certain Bible school as being located several “miles from sin” — as if we can put distance between ourselves and our human condition.

Scripture reveals God is nothing like the ideas godless people come up with. For those who put their faith in His Son whom He sent to die for our sin, God declares them as His adopted children, His family — and He is our Father who loves and cares for us in significant and even startling ways. He conquer our fears and comforts us in times of distress. He forgive our sins and gives us eternal hope. He provides all resources we need for physical life and for living a godly life, including wisdom and direction as well as enablement. He is always near and speaks to us in intimate fellowship. He even invites us to call Him Abba, the ancient word for ‘Daddy’.

He is our Father in heaven, above the situations and stresses of this life and yet able to take us through it with grace, joy, peace and the assurance of spending eternity with Him where He is — in heaven.

Lord Jesus, because of You I am a child of God. Your Father and my Father are One and we commune together with great and yet often amazed delight. Having a place in this eternal family is a wonder and such a privilege. Thank You for making it possible to know God as Father and to be who I am — His child.

TO THINK ABOUT: Read Exodus 3:1–5 and Isaiah 6:1–5. What attitude should I have when I pray to my Father in heaven? According to Hebrews 4:16, what is there for me at His throne of grace?