Mysteries of God

By Rachel | June 3, 2012 - 6:39 pm | Thoughts for the Day

There is no attribute of God more comforting to His children than the doctrine of Divine Sovereignty…on the other hand, there is no doctrine more hated by others…Men will allow God to be everywhere except on His throne. They will allow Him to be in His workshop to fashion worlds and to make stars. They will allow Him to sustain the earth, or light the lamps of heaven, or rule the waves of the ever-moving ocean; but when God ascends His throne, His creatures then gnash their teeth; and when we proclaim an enthroned God, and His right to do as He wills with His own without consulting them in the matter, then it is that men turn a deaf ear to us, for God on His throne is not the God they love. (C.H. Spurgeon, “Divine Sovereignty” preached May 4, 1886)

There is more to God than we understand. Romans 9 makes that evident- as I try to wrap my mind around verses like 9:18- “So then he has mercy on whomever he chooses, and he hardens the heart of whomever he chooses.”

Can we accept that we will not always understand God’s motives? That there might be times in our life so painful and tragic- and we may never on this side of heaven understand why?

Can we accept that-based on what we know of God? The first eight chapters of Romans have talked about God’s love and sacrifice on our behalf- how He died for us as sinners.

“The only thing we brought to our salvation was the sin that made it necessary.” Pastor Dan, Lakeland Church

Let us remember- and come before God in humility and thankfulness- remember what He has done for us. When we can’t see or understand- we can trust in God’s Sovereignty.

Sometimes when we read a passage and we don’t understand it- or we don’t like what it says- it can be tempting to want to disregard it. To think to ourselves, “I will just ignore that verse and pretend it is not in the Bible.”

Can I challenge you, as I have challenged myself- wrestle with it? Don’t put it aside and try to forget about it, pray about it, talk to someone you respect and ask them to help explain to you what it means. Talk to God about it.

Regardless of the outcome, trust in the goodness of God. In His righteousness and justice- in His mercy.

God’s promises are not dependent on us- sometimes He uses people (like the pharoh in Egypt in Exodus) who are unwilling participants yet used by God nonetheless to accomplish His purposes.

Read Romans 9:1-18. Wrestle with the unknown aspects of God- ponder His mercy and justice. Ask God to give you a deeper knowledge of Him. Seek Him.

And when the question pops into your mind- “Is this fair?”

Remember- none of us are innocent- not one- we have all sinned- and our just punishment is death- but thanks be to God for His mercy and grace given to us through Jesus Christ His Son. His Son that He sacrificed for our sins so that we could be adopted as His sons and daughters into eternal life. The God who gave us the Holy Spirit- dwelling inside of us.

Even as we question let us not forget who He is nor what He has done for us. Let us temper all of our questions with the reality of what we do know- what He has done in our heart and life.

Please follow this link and read a short devotional called “Others May, You Cannot” and I pray that God will use it to help bring peace to your heart about those things that we may not know or understand as we endeavor to walk faithfully with Christ.

God bless you.

If God is for Us

By Rachel | June 1, 2012 - 4:20 pm | Thoughts for the Day

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If God is for us, who can be against us? Meditate on those words for a while. Now-consider- how does Paul start this verse (Romans 8:31)?

He says, “What then are we to say about these things?” Of what things is he speaking? Everything he has been telling us from the beginning of Romans.

Let’s recap- so that we can feel the true power of these words.

Romans 1- we are guilty- God is Holy- we are not. Our sin has separated us from God.

Romans 2- God’s judgment upon us is righteous- we are judged by the law.

Romans 3- There is none righteous, no not one (vs10, 23)- but we are made right before God through faith.

Romans 4- we see the example of Abraham- and his faith and submission to God.

Romans 5- we are justified by faith and have peace with God through Jesus Christ- who gave His life for us (vs1). God died for us in our sinfulness and weakness (v6).

Romans 6- we do not let sin reign in us- Enslaved to God.

Romans 7- We cannot overcome the desires of the flesh by moral effort- but rather through the transforming work of God in us- and His Holy Spirit convicting us.

Romans 8- No condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (vs1). God gives us the power to say no to sin and say yes to Him- through His power and Spirit working in us and through us. (Don’t Just Say No)

And here we are today at the culmination of all that Paul has shared up to this point. Hear the power of these words- let them penetrate into your heart and spirit today.

Romans 8:31-39

³¹What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? ³²He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? ³³Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. ³⁴Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. ³⁵Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? ³⁶As it is written:

“For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

³⁷No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Paul isn’t speaking in probably, or I think this might be true- Paul lived it (I am convinced). All the things he mentioned in verse 35 he had experienced.

More than conquerors does not mean being saved from suffering or tragedy- but rather we need to take hold of a steady assurance-make this our deep foundation- God is for us.

Nothing happens that He does not allow.

This is calling us to full surrender of our lives into God’s hands. Where we accept what happens to us and trust in faith because we remember all God has done for us.

We don’t doubt the love of one who has allowed His own Son to suffer and die on our behalf.

He is NOT one who calls to us in our sinful state demanding that we change- work harder, be better- and then He will come to us. No, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (5:8).

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, let the truth of this passage soak into you. I need to be reminded of this daily. God is for you. God is for me. God is for us!

Remember what God has done- the salvation that we live in daily- the Holy Spirit that resides in us and prays on our behalf. Jesus Christ intercedes for us (8:34).

Nothing can separate us from God’s love. Nothing. There is nothing in this world, no credible threat- that can possibly separate us from Jesus Christ our Lord.

There are many things against us. Yes, we will suffer in this life- but take courage in remembering that we know the end- and God has the victory. We are more than conquerors through Him that loved us.

This is what can transform our perspective when we face trials.

What are you facing today? Is your marriage experiencing difficulty, are you estranged from a family member, have you lost a dear friend, or are you facing financial hardship?

God calls us to seek Him in our sufferings and to cling to Him- and through the power of His Holy Spirit- to trust Him when we can’t see the outcome.

Pursue Him and live obedient to His Word- let it transform our life and bring us peace.

John 14:23-27

²³Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. ²⁴Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.

²⁵“All this I have spoken while still with you. ²⁶But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. ²⁷Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

When we are tempted to doubt, when we are afraid, when our hope is fading- Lord- renew us with this promise, let it soak down deep within our souls- and bolster us up in the daily battles we face.

Bring this Scripture to mind when our hearts are heavy and our will is crumbling- let it revive us- You are for us. You love us- we are more than conquerors through the power of God within us. Amen.

Work with Diligence

By Rachel | April 21, 2012 - 7:58 pm | Thoughts for the Day

2 Comments

I was reading and praying this morning, and wanted to share something God has been convicting me about as a parent.

Diligence- what does it mean?

Earnest and persistent application to an undertaking
Attentive care, heedfulness
Careful and persistent work or effort
persevering, painstaking effort

What does the Bible say about diligence? An author I am reading suggests several verses that speak to this character trait.

Proverbs 15:19

¹⁹ The way of the sluggard is blocked with thorns,
but the path of the upright is a highway.

Romans 12:11

¹¹ Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.

When I work at tasks around the house, sometimes I do not do things with joy. Sometimes I am tired and don’t want to be on my feet cooking in the kitchen, or doing dishes at the sink. Sometimes I don’t want to clean the kitchen floor even though it is dirty.

I catch myself grumbling, complaining, feeling sorry for myself. This morning, when I was reading this book my Mom gave me called “How to Raise Good Kids” (ok, totally lame title but FANTASTIC book!!!) by Barbara Cook- I was very convicted by some things she shared about diligence.

We are to work with a joyful spirit, one that does not complain or mope, but attacks tasks with enthusiasm- why?

Because we are an example to our children. We are teaching them how to respond to situations in life that call them to work hard, and to work when maybe they would rather play or do something else.

How can they learn and understand the value of hard work and the discipline of following through to the completion of a task, if we don’t teach it to them? And if our words and our example are not consistent…

So it is just as much about our attitude when completing tasks as it is the completion of the task itself. That was convicting and motivating to me- something I can pray about and be aware of as I work around the house through the day.

I hope that these thoughts inspire you to work with diligence today and to be conscious of your attitude and persistence in following through with the tasks set before you.

May the Mind of Christ, My Savior

By Rachel | April 12, 2012 - 8:06 pm | Hymns I Love, Random

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We sang this hymn at Bible Study Fellowship (BSF) this week, and I was so touched by the words I had trouble singing.

The words of this hymn could easily be a daily prayer- so beautiful and based in Scripture.

1 Corinthians 2:11-16

¹¹ For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. ¹² What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. ¹³ This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. ¹⁴ The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. ¹⁵ The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, ¹⁶for,

“Who has known the mind of the Lord
so as to instruct him?”

But we have the mind of Christ.

Romans 15:1-6

¹ We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. ² Each of us should please our neighbors for their good, to build them up. ³ For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: “The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.”^[a] ⁴For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.

⁵ May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, ⁶ so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.