Life is messy! For all our desire to live for God we still sin. We still make mistakes. We still choose poorly.
God is so good to us to graciously love us, care for us, and draw us to himself. It is such a blessing to already have our sins dealt with at the cross. It’s such a glorious thing that God has done to forgive our every sin and take care of it all when we receive him as our savior.
The rest of my life is a growing into God dependence, allowing him to do in and through me what I cannot do on my own (note Romans 7). It’s wonderful to have the sin issue taken care of, now my life is focused on the constant goal of setting myself aside for his use (sanctification), allowing him to live his life through me.
It’s messy, and I don’t always get it right, but it’s how he chose to work, so Lord do in me what I cannot do on my own, live through me and show the world what you look like, and thank you for forgiving my sins even before I asked….in all of this your grace is our blessing, and your glory is your goal. Thanks for working in spite of the mess.
If you’d like a first-person account of the Hezbollah attacks on Israel, and the Israeli response, head over to David Dolan’s site and subscribe to his e-mail list.
David is a Christian pastor and author who has been resident in Israel for many years. Last year, David spoke at our church, and even for someone like me, who has followed the Mideast conflict, and the region’s history, for many years, it was eye-opening.
One of the most frequent questions I have been asked during my years in the ministry goes something like this: “If God is all-good and all-knowing, and if He already knows what we need and want before we ask Him, why should we pray? Why doesn’t He just do it without our asking?”
As I was reading Greg Laurie’s devotional for today (free registration required), I couldn’t help but think about an acquaintance who has some of the feelings toward God Pastor Laurie mentions:
God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him. —1 John 4:16
Maybe you don’t believe God is good. Maybe you think that God is out to ruin your life. Perhaps someone misrepresented God to you somewhere along the line. Maybe you had a bad experience years ago. Maybe someone did or said something that disillusioned you.
Perhaps you had a father who mistreated you, and you may have transferred those feelings onto your Father in heaven. You think of God the same way you thought of your earthly father. I don’t know what your earthly father was like, but I do know that God is good. You need to realize that about His nature, about His purposes in your life.
Not only is God good, but God is love. It is not merely that God has love or is loving. The Bible actually says that “God is love” (1 John 4:16). There is a Hollywood version of love today that is very shallow. It’s probably closer to lust than anything else. This version of love says, “I love you as long as you are lovable. I love you as long as you are beautiful or handsome. But the moment you cease to interest me, I am going to move on to another relationship.”
In contrast, God’s love is unchanging. It is consistent. It is inexhaustible. He always loves us. He loves us when we sit in church with smiles on our faces and Bibles in our laps. But He also loves us when we are failing and when we are sinning. Though He is displeased by our sin, He still loves us no matter what we do.
We need to remember that about God. So don’t run from Him and His love.
When I passed on a copy of Hugh Hewitt’s Blog to Tim, stuff like this post was the sort on my mind: things he couldn’t, for one reason or another, work in to his sermons, but still wanted to share.
Dr. Marc Newman has a rather cool and unusual ministry: MovieMinistry.com. The site takes a look at the latest movies in theaters, and provides a synopsis of each, as well as topics and corresponding verses for discussion. For instance, Pixar’s latest, Cars, can be used to talk about pride, humility, respect for one’s elders, and service to others. This can be an engaging way to interact with others and present the Gospel.
If you’re following the “Quest for Reality” series Tim, our pastor, is doing, you can download a PDF of the study guide we’re using.
If you’re subscribed to the Crossroads podcast, and haven’t reloaded the feed lately, I encourage you to do so. The church has now posted the three sessions of our Winter Bible Conference, held last month, featuring Dr. John Hannah of Dallas Theological Seminary.
Dr. Hannah is pretty…quirky, but that does little to diminish his absolute brilliance when it comes to the Word. I got a lot of out of the conference, and I’m sure you will to.