Falter or Rescue

"If you falter in a time of trouble, how small is your strength! Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter. If you say, "But we knew nothing about this," does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who guards your life know it? Will he not repay everyone according to what they have done?" --Proverbs 24:10-12 (NIV)

Wow. How many times have I fell in a time of trouble? What kind of "time of trouble" is Solomon talking about?

I'm reminded of the account of Jesus and His disciples on the Sea of Galilee. Jesus is sleeping through a storm and the disciples wake Him saying, "Don't you care about us? We're all going to down!" (Mark 4:35-41) After calming the storm Jesus asks them, "Where is your faith?"

Faith in times of trouble. Seems like a new lesson to be learned daily. Maybe God doesn't give us enough strength in times of trouble so we will learn to rely on His. That's what develops our faith and our strength to hang on through it. We all will falter in a time of trouble if we're only relying on our own strength, but those who rely on the Lord have greater strength to stand.

Another thing that jumps at me is verse 11. We're to rescue those who don't have the strength. I think if we realize the "time of trouble" as a moment to stand for Christ instead of a moment to falter, our eyes will open to see what Jesus sees: There are many of us being led away to death! There are many people who need rescuing!

Again, another illustration comes to mind. I've been on a camping trip in which we had to hold back someone from falling into the fire pit. He was headed for pain and didn't realize how close he was. We rescued him. Think of all the people headed for something they don't realize or understand! So many people drunk with sin so that they don't see what they're headed toward! The don't know! Sin leads to death. Sin earns death (Romans 6:23). And if we saw someone headed toward disaster, it's our responsibility to save them! Just as we stop people from walking in the middle of a busy street if they're not paying attention, we need to stop people from walking down the wide path to destruction because they're not paying attention. Rescue.

Verse 12 gets louder. Those of us who believe in God have Him living within us. And if God perceives our heart and guards us, do we have any excuse to stop our ears and put on a blindfold so we won't notice the world heading for death? We know. Now, will we do?

It reminds me of the parable of the Kingdom of Heaven. The people are divided to His right and to His left. The right receives the kingdom because of faith lived out. The left did not receive it because of a faith held back to simple belief with no action. God redeems our hearts to live out our lives for Him. Faith without works is dead (James 2:17).

The last question of the passage is the accountability question. It's not meant to bring fear into our hearts, but to wake us up! We're asleep! Our strength is small, our reliance is on ourselves, and death is all around us but we refuse to see it! I'm guilty. Come awake, church! Pray for open eyes and a trusting heart! And maybe, when Jesus asks us, "Where is your faith?" we can point in confidence directly to Him.

Tough Steps

A person’s steps are directed by the LORD. How then can anyone understand their own way? --Proverbs 20:24 (NIV)


What a great question. I ask that of myself all the time. Sometimes I simply don't understand. Do you ever feel lost as you follow Christ? If we truly believe God to be true to His Word, the steps we take are directed by Him. At least half the time I'm not sure I understand them. I mean, why this step? 


Remember, God will never ask us to do something that would conflict with His character and nature. I also believe God allows tests of our devotion to Him in order to develop the discipline of trust. But sometimes it doesn't seem to make any sense. I wonder, have we gotten used to questioning the steps we take instead of the simple trust He desires? 


My kids give me a great example. Sometimes the things I ask them to do don't make sense to them. But my response tends to be the same: "Trust me." They'll fuss a little, maybe pout some. But they end up obeying and trusting me, and later see the reward from it because I remind them of what I said. 


I've experienced it through financial shortcomings. Depending on God to come through as we purpose not to go into debt is tough. But the long term reward from delaying immediate satisfaction brings peace in the end. And keeping a meaningless monthly payment off the books brings comfort, and extra cash when we need it.


Then there's family issues. They come up too. Trusting God with my family or events within the family is very hard. There's an obligation toward them because of blood and love. This is the hardest thing for anyone. When it comes to someone we love, our trust in God is tested harder than many other aspects. I believe the financial things are hard enough, but this is much harder. And when the financial thing and the family thing are combined, the trust and patience test can become unbearable. This is when the step "directed by the LORD" causes us to cry out to God just like my children do. "I don't understand! How could this happen? Why did You let this happen like this, God? Are you going to come through for me? Why can't I see it now? How come I don't feel comforted, God of comfort? How come I feel abandoned?" 


This is the toughest post I've ever written. And I can't say I have the answers. This is the paradigm that brings up the core of who we are, the depth of our faith in God, and the trust we really have in Him. How devoted are we? 


Proverbs tells me something here. Solomon, in all his wisdom, being the wisest man to ever walk the face of the earth didn't understand his own way either. He said it here. And to conclude his other book of the description of meaningless things with this:

Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind. --Ecclesiastes 12:13 (NIV)

Maybe it's not our job to know or understand. Maybe it's our duty or responsibility to only trust God. Maybe after we've questioned the Father we should conclude with obedience, just like my kids. And maybe God will remind us after we've obeyed, "See? Do you see why now?"

Planning

Ever heard the statement, "Want to make God laugh? Tell Him your plans"? I think that's terrible. I don't think it's true at all. If God laughs at your plans, why is He so concerned for you?

I found something in Proverbs that really opened my eyes to show me just how much God cares about our plans and wants to work in them with you. Of course His will is going to be accomplished regardless of us, but He doesn't laugh at our plans. Let me show you something:

1 To humans belong the plans of the heart, but from the LORD comes the proper answer of the tongue. 2 All a person's ways seem pure to them, but motives are weighed by the LORD. 3 Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and he will establish your plans. 4 The LORD works out everything to its proper end--even the wicked for a day of disaster. 5 The LORD detests all the proud of heart. Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished. 6 Through love and faithfulness sin is atoned for; through the fear of the LORD evil is avoided. 7 When the LORD takes pleasure in anyone's way, he causes their enemies to make peace with them. 8 Better a little with righteousness than much gain with injustice. 9 In their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps. --Proverbs 16:1-9 (NIV) 

Let me preface what I'm about to say with this: those who seek the Lord in all they do will see a change in heart and a change in plans. It all comes from complete submission to His will. Plans do belong to the us. God has His plan and has clearly shared it with us as well. But when we communicate our plans and put them into action, our response to those who question us comes directly from the Lord.

Plans can change as God gently directs us in alignment with His will. If we're alert enough, we can watch Him work in our lives.

God sees our hearts and knows what motivates us to work toward these plans. And this is where we get that statement I mentioned earlier. I think we need to change our vision and see things through the lenses of God's eyes. We can see from the context of these verses that committing our plans to the Lord allows Him to bring them to fruition. And the fruit of those plans committed to Him brings Him glory, which is exactly what He's looking for.

This is how God can work in our plans. We need some changes of heart to see what He has in store for us.

1. Pure motives (vs 2)
2. Surrender and commit to His will (vs 3)
3. Trust and faithfulness toward God (vs 4)
4. Humility (vs 5)
5. Love and respect (vs 6)
6. Pursuit of peace (vs 7)
7. Integrity (vs 8)

Our objective must begin and end with God. Our focus must be on the reason why He made us: to bring Him glory. Our mindset is based on our response to His love and faithfulness toward us. Our attitude toward others should demonstrate our devotion to Him. Our response is confidently founded on our faith in God. Our actions display our deep conviction. Our result is establishment from God and peace with our enemies. 

We can see that God is invested in our plans. But a heart that pursues Him brings a change in course. The more we seek Him, the more we are made to be like Him. His plans become our plans. And those plans we have stem from a different kind of motivation; a motivation to bring honor and glory to God alone. 

Seasoned Well

Steak. Make a nice good marinade, let it set for a few minutes and slap that on the grill. Sear and grill to a nice medium and I'm lost in the flavor. There are good marinades and bad ones. But you don't know until you try. I've been to some restaurants where they could really use some help in the kitchen. It was obvious they didn't know what they were doing to ruin such a good cut. I've also been to another steakhouse where the menu would tell me all their different cuts and styles of steaks, but no matter which one I would order they would all taste the same. Talk about epic fail! But then there's that great steakhouse, perfect amount of seasoning, grilled to perfection, can be cut with a fork, and melts in your mouth. Hungry for steak? But not just any steak, the one with the right seasoning?

Our speech is seasoned with something. Notice tonality and body language in delivery. There are many ways we communicate to people. This is what I'm getting at. Let's read this:

Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. Let you speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person. --Colossians 4:5-6 (NASB)

Conduct ourselves. What a neat word to describe "a way of life." Our conduct tells people who we are, who we belong to, and develops a reputation of what we're known for.

If we think back to an earlier post, My Prayer This Year, I explained what I believe wisdom is. At its core, wisdom is fearing and knowing God, believing in Him, and His affect on our lives. It's revealed through the Holy Spirit as we seek to know God more through His Word. So in context, since this text is in the same letter, I believe the wisdom Paul is talking about is the same thing: Godly wisdom. Wisdom is displayed in our lives from the depth of our relationship with God. Understanding that every moment is a moment to please Him in every way, our conduct presents God's grace to those who don't know Him.

A life devoted to knowing God more and pleasing Him in every way, stemming from a habitual search for a closer relationship with God, naturally makes the most of every opportunity regardless of the circumstance. With this "seeking God" mentality, our entire lifestyle is affected and is seen in our conduct and heard in our speech. Just like the seasoning in the steak left to marinade so the flavor permeates every bit, so the seasoning of Christ, the flavor of His grace and love toward us, permeates our speech, our thought process, and conduct.

Everything is seasoned with something. We have to decide what kind of seasoning we're going to use before we act, think, and talk.

If we keep that grateful spirit mentioned throughout the letter to the Colossians toward the cross and God's love for us, Christ is allowed to season our lives with more of Him. Keep that attitude! Don't forget the price paid for you! And allow the seasoning of grace that was given you through the cross to flow through your speech, conduct, and how you respond to each person.

A Battle Field

"Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving;" Colossians 4:2 (NASB)


Over the course of the letter to the Colossians, Paul doesn't hide our need for God and salvation through the cross. Our connection to God and His guidance is through studying and knowing His word and prayer (chapter 1). In this particular text God showed me something I haven't really taken to heart fully and don't completely understand. But here it goes.


I've been told growing up that "our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." (Eph. 6:12 NIV) And it's true. I'm not in a battle against those I have conflict with, but the disagreement comes from an attack the enemy is trying to use to cause division and destruction. Let's be honest with ourselves. A majority of the time we don't see what's really going on beyond the surface of things. And we all know that giving in to the surface issues causes grief for all those involved and affects more relationships than the one we have the conflict with. 


But what about prayer? Do we notice the conflict going in it? Why does Paul say to be alert in it?

I've read the other translations I normally use to get a better picture of what he's talking about, but none of them could get to clarity. I wondered why the New American Standard Bible said, "alert in it (prayer)." I've also pulled out the Greek and went through each word to see who was more literal. That's why I've chosen this translation for this passage. Paul doesn't say to simply be watchful or alert in life as a whole. He's talking specifically about prayer. Now, I'm not saying we shouldn't be alert in other areas of our life. By all means we should be very alert. But what we must be alert in is prayer.

Check this out. When we begin communicating with God through prayer, we are leaving a physical realm to enter into the spiritual. This is where faith comes in. If we don't believe in God, we have no reason to pray. So faith is a spiritual weapon. There's a much deeper battle going on beyond the surface of things, like I mentioned earlier. When we begin to pray, we enter into the thick of the battle we don't typically see or understand.

We're communicating with our Commander and Chief. And the first thing the enemy tries to do is cut the lines of communication. Ever notice how often we easily get distracted while praying? We hear coughing, a child act up, our minds wander and don't focus (did I turn off the iron?), our throats get dry and we need a drink, suddenly our bladder can't hold it any longer, there's an itch and I can't reach it, their shoelaces are untied, and the wind is really strong today. Lines get cut. Did we notice it? Now we do. The enemy has a pretty good idea of when we're praying. He notices when he begins to lose and he'll raise hell to do everything he can to start winning again.

We receive our instruction from God's Word, the manual for a life that pleases Him and a letter that expresses the most needed, faithful, and gracious love. The weapons the enemy uses and works the best is busyness. It's easy to put things off. And because our priorities are messed up in life, the most important thing given to us on this earth collects dust on the sofa table. We keep it out so we remember. But it can easily become a decoration instead of our Life Blood. This is why an attitude of thanksgiving is so important. The more we realize with extreme gratitude the depth of love that brought Jesus to the cross for us, the stronger the lines of communication become with our Commander and the more alert we become to the things that try to cut those lines.

So devotion to prayer is necessary. It's a must in our life. Keeping the lines open with God give us more of the life He freely gives to the faithful. The signal gets stronger, the message gets clearer the closer we move in the direction of Him. Prayer is the force that moves the powerful hand of God. Paul knew it and that's why he asked the Colossians for prayerin the next few verses that God would open a door for the word, to speak our boldly and clearly for the cause of Christ, to proclaim the message of the gospel. Yes, the battle is much fiercer than we realize and those on the front lines must be lifted up for protection and courage.

The cause is great and the battle is hard. But there's something else I learned that brings more comfort and courage. The battle belongs to the Lord (1 Samuel 17:47). When we realize, like David, that it's all in His hands, our faith can take a leap because God is on our side! If God is for us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31) The war is already won! We have battles throughout where the enemy tries to take us down with him. But we must be devoted and ever alert in prayer, continually thankful to the God who saves us.

Obedient Children

The title says it all. Any parent longs for this more than most other things. And if obedience comes with joy, it's much sweeter to the parent's soul. It gets even better when the child takes responsibility and initiative to obey without being asked. 


My children are getting of the age when they begin to ask questions as to why they have to do what they've been asked. It takes time to explain my reasons, but I'd prefer they'd simply trust and obey. After all, isn't that kind of what we're supposed to do with God? Just trust Him and obey? But an issue arises within our children when an explanation is avoided. They get discouraged and fail to understand our parenting.


One of the most important things to me is making sure my children know and love God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength. Sometimes it's hard to take the time to teach them how to do it. And most of the time I feel I fail at the job of being a father. My intentions are good and the motivation on my end is clear, but it's not always that clear to them. I tell them to wait on me, but when they tell me to wait on them, I get frustrated. My idea of a level balance of judgment seems like daddy makes the rules and their opinion doesn't count. Well, if they're taught that their opinion doesn't count in some of these issues, are they going to look to me for love and advice later on when they're teenagers?


I'm reading a few books along with my individual Bible study I'd like to recommend to you. They've already changed my perspective in relationships with my family, friends, and acquaintances. 

"The Resolution For Men" book is something I'm very excited about. It's written by Stephen Kendrick, Alex Kendrick, Randy C. Alcorn. I've only just begun reading and already it has captured my attention and challenged me to become the father and husband God has always intended me to be, to fulfill my role as leader in the home. I'm hoping to eventually lead this or suggest this book as a Summer Bible Study for the men in our church. The lack of a father figure in the home can lead the children in the home to a dangerous and destructive way of life. Understanding what my role and God's purpose for me is crucial in knowing how to train my children in the way they should go so that when they're old they won't depart from it. 

After reading the first chapter, which was a little hard to get into, my life changed. This book, "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" has helped me understand people, why I don't like some and like others, and even the topic of this post. I want desperately to communicate effectively with my children, to inspire and challenge them to go farther and grow in maturity and what they're passionate about. The examples he gives in business is important too, but the illustrations on parenting impacts me even more. I'm not done with it yet, but if there was another helpful book (besides the Bible) I'd recommend to anyone on how to truly interact with volunteers, co-workers, bosses, and family, this is the book.

All in all, these are supplements to help with the understand of the Scriptures I've read today. They'll never take the place of the wisdom of God directly from His Word, but they do help me understand it in a very practical way. This is the passage for today:

Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged. --Colossians 3:20-21

The truth is obedience begins with us. My children will not respect me if I don't respect them. I could easily force them to do anything I want them to. I'm bigger, stronger, and have the final say anyway. But what I long from them is love and respect, not fear. So I must lead by example.

I remember in my childhood wanting to know the "why." Is it any different for my children? Enforcing my rules or ideology upon them in an authoritative way such as, "It's my way or the highway" won't encourage them to love me. It will discourage them, embitter them toward me, and will eventually encourage them to respond negatively toward me in the future.

Please understand, I'm not suggesting discipline isn't important. What I am saying is that if I'm disciplining because their behavior is an inconvenience for me, it's the wrong reason. Children are precious and must be nurtured. It takes time. So raising them should never be an inconvenience.

Ultimately, the reality sets in that their view of God comes from how they view me. If I'm harsh toward them, hearing that God is their Father isn't going to bring comfort. If I'm patient with them, it will.

Let me encourage you to consider how you are raising your children and how you can change to show them the love you really have for them. Pick up one of these books and grow. Nothing comes natural other than selfishness and change takes work. Be revolutionary in your life and take initiative to overcome the past and intentionally direct the future toward all that God has in store for you.

Finding Community

Diving right in, Colossians 3:15-17 (NIV):

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish on another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

 I read this and thought, "What's with all the thankfulness and gratitude? Why does it play such a big part in this portion of the letter?"

We've been going over such a neat section here about the fullness of God, understanding His will for us, and being hidden with Christ in God that this section bring a climactic understanding. I'm reminded of an actor that asks the director, "I'm not quite sure what I'm supposed to do. What's my motivation here?" This is the motivation, the application, what it looks like to be part of this community of God.

A thankful heart understands what peace looks like in the area of community. We all suffer from conflict with others and sometimes try and do all we can to avoid confrontation. But there's no peace that comes with avoidance, only the possibility of bitterness and envy. Our excuses to find a way to compromise or solve the issue comes from a hidden falsehood that drives our rational against peace: we have nothing in common so we don't get along. Whatever! We have Christ! We've been redeemed by the same love! If we get back understanding and being thankful to God for what He's done for us, His sacrifice to stretch out the hand of peace in reconciliation toward us, peace with others comes naturally! Conflict can be resolved. We're striving for the same thing.

Showing gratitude to God helps us understand our place in teaching and training others in following Him. Our focus remains on the One who has given us a message of salvation, a message of hope and a future because of grace. With our focus on Him, our teaching is done in complete love. The wisdom refers to what we mentioned earlier in the post, My Prayer for This Year; knowing what God wants for us in our life, what life pleasing to Him looks like having been revealed to us by the Spirit through His word. Pride in our knowledge of God has no place in our hearts when we remain grateful for what God has done for us.

Giving thanks to God brings purpose to our work. Praise through work can be given to God through an attitude of gratefulness. Remembering His work on the cross should bring us to a place of unworthiness and a desire to praise Him in everything we do. It's why we strive for excellence. It can also give us a better understanding of being Hidden in Him.

To get to a place of community, it begins personal and individual gratitude to God and spreads through the rest of the church. Have you noticed that a grateful heart is contagious? Imagine the church constantly living in a state of gratitude toward God's faithfulness! This is what the community of believers is supposed to look like. Our collective witness to the world comes from a grateful heart to God for His Love for us!

I'm convinced that community has a difficult time forming when aren't truly grateful for God's gift, His grace and mercy toward us through His Son's sacrifice, and hope because of His raising from the dead. We must ask ourselves if the conflict within the church, the bitterness toward others in our family of believers, and our defiance of following Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength is because of a lack of gratitude for His love. Purpose with me to change our attitudes and regain a thankful heart, a grateful spirit toward God and His love for us so we may find and truly experience this community God has in mind for us. Maybe the church will shine so brightly in this world that the dark shroud of doubt and falsehood will fall with the big bang they say it came with.

Hidden

When something is hidden from you, what do you see? Think about it. The gift hidden in a box with wrapping around it conceals something precious. The object in the box then receives a new name: "present" or "gift." It doesn't matter the size or the weight, it has a new definition and a new form of being. It's still whatever it is inside the box, but the term of its existence has been defined by its concealer. Interesting thought.

I've been stuck on a passage in Colossians 3 for a few days now. This is the whole passage in context:

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.  --Colossians 3:1-4 (NIV)

 The sentences that sandwich this concept of being "hidden with Christ in God" give clear picture as to what our new life should look like and the results in the end.

Now, as a believer, think about that gift and insert your name. It doesn't matter what size you are, what weight, what you look like, you've been gift-wrapped completely with Christ as something special to God. The present He sees when opened or revealed is Jesus! If our lives are hidden in Christ, the power and influence of His life should be all that everyone else around us sees. All there is is the present, the gift, the Christ. But that's not all.

The beginning of the sentence is most important in being hidden in Christ. Something has to have taken place to allow our lives hide in Him. We must die. Ourselves, our desires, our goals and ambitions, our decided futures have to die in order to be hidden in Him. A few verses back, in chapter 2:20, it says that we've died with Christ to the elementary principles or spiritual forces of this world when we've chosen to believe in Him. If that be the case, the question is valid: why would we submit to the rules of the world as if we still belonged to it? If I'm not hidden with Christ in God, what difference does the world and it's rules mean to me in my life? The rules no longer apply. I've been redefined, renovated, transformed, re-born, redeemed, and what once was no longer is. I have a new name and my identity is defined by what conceals me: Christ.

So, since I've been changed and my old self, or old way of life doesn't apply any longer, this is what I do: my pursuits, my goals, my mind, all of my heart must be set on what's most valuable to Christ. And I should live a life consistent with the "gift" I've become. My "earthly nature" must die, must get starved to death and no longer live (v 5-11). All the things that once gave me a definition consistent with the world must be removed and replaced. The character of Christ takes over: compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forgiveness, and, most importantly, love (v 12-14).

Now I have to ask myself, and ask you the same thing. When people look at us, what do they see? Are we hidden with Christ? Have we been wrapped up in Him or in the things of the world? What defines us now? What do we need to change in order to keep our minds and hearts set on the things above? What character of Christ must be developed within us?