Tag Archives: submission

Baggage: Why We Struggle

Church Bulletin, Daily living, Jesus, ,

The_Royal_baggage_-_geograph.org.uk_-_914627Solomon said the whole duty of man was to fear God and keep his commandments (Ecclesiastes 12:13).  Paul wrote that to know Jesus was the most important thing in his life (Philippians 3:8).  We also know that God does not create confusion (1 Corinthians 14:33) and that his word is truth (John 17:17). So why is it so hard to live the righteous life?

I would suggest that we struggle so because we have not yet fully surrendered to Christ. We’ve given him the nod but have yet to bow the knee.

The Problem With Our Reality

We may tend to discount some Bible teachings because they do not fit in with our view of how things are. For example, some people do not believe in eternal condemnation because it seems so harsh. Some go so far as to reject God because they cannot accept the idea of anything or anyone outside of our natural realm. Ideas about God and from God are ignored because they do not fit neatly within what we know or think we know.

Our struggle is to appreciate and accept the shallowness of our own knowledge. Job cries to God seeking some reason for his suffering. Do you realize that God never gave him an answer? He never told Job why he suffered. Instead, God put his own divine knowledge on display and told Job to answer questions God alone could answer. In Job’s humility he could only say “I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know” (Job 42:3).

Perhaps the greatest error we make is to assume that all things can be known. They cannot. Some things belong only to God (Deuteronomy 29:29).

Isaiah may have said it best when he wrote, “my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways” (Isaiah 55:8). Truly, our reality is limited.

The Problem With Our Wisdom

It is also probable that we struggle to know God because we allow our own human wisdom to replace the divine wisdom that comes from God. The Bible no longer reflects what God says but what we think it should say. We then develop our own way of living and worshipping and presume God will be pleased.

When reasoning with the brethren in Corinth Paul contrasted the difference between God’s wisdom and that of man. His example is the cross of Christ which seems foolish to the world but precious to believers. We must not view life as the worldly do. Our perspective is anchored in God’s wisdom. We accept that “…the foolishness of God is wiser than men” (1 Corinthians 1:25) and live accordingly.

Leaving the wisdom of the earthly and trusting in the wisdom of the divine is crucial to a faithful life. Only then can we say with Paul, “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways” (Romans 11:33)!

When our thoughts are worldly our actions will be worldly. When we think like those around us we will live like them. The Christian replaces his own wisdom with that of the Creator and draws closer to him daily.

To bow the knee to Christ means to surrender all and that includes my own intellect and wisdom. It is no longer what I think or what I believe but what God plainly reveals to us. No human thought approaches the wisdom of God. In moments when we do not fully understand and when confusion reigns, we stand upon our faith that is in Jesus Christ.

Trust his wisdom and despise your own.

Bryant Evans may be reached at bryant at bryantevans.com. You can follow Bryant on Twitter @jbevans.
Image: Stanely Howe via commons.wikipedia.org. Image copyright CC BY-SA 2.0.

 

 

What Will You Do With 2009?

Daily living, , ,

This morning 2009 lies before us like an un-plowed field awaiting the farmer’s disc. It is raw and unprepared and waits to produce whatever is planted among its rows.

What will we do with 2009? Put differently, what will we be saying about 2009 a year from now? That answer depends upon what we do today and upon the plans we make for our new and unbroken field of dreams.

Probably most people want a prosperous year. 2008 has been difficult and challenges will continue into the new year. But people are hoping that by this time next year they will be better off than today. There is nothing wrong with trying to improve your state financially. But the words of the book of Proverbs: “Give me neither poverty or riches…that I be not full and deny you…or that I not be in want and steal” (Proverbs 30:8,9). Seek moderation.

Perhaps more time with your family is a goal for the coming year. O that more would build their families! Jacob’s family, torn by infighting and jealousies, was, nevertheless, a tightly woven family. What a joy to see them reunited in Egypt before the death of their aging father (Genesis 46:5-7). Families today are often torn and twisted by those same kinds of jealousies and troubles Jacob experienced. But with God’s help family healing is nigh. Is there some family member you are feeling disgusted with? Is there a brother or sister or mom or dad who has hurt you to the core? Maybe it is time to make that phone call – right now – to start the year off with a victory!

But what about your spirit? What about that part of man that will live on forever? What will be its destiny in 2009? Family and finances are certainly important but the eternal home of the soul is far more important than any thing we choose upon earth. Jesus’ admonition in the Sermon on the Mount comes to mind when the Savior said, “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness…” (Matthew 6:33). There is nothing more important, nothing that stands above our relationship to the Father and his blessed Son. Jesus makes our task even plainer when John writes, “Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life…”(John 6:27).

So for 2009, use your time to focus intently upon your walk with Jesus. Sure, there are big obstacles and challenges – time is easily lost and before we realize what has happened with are again at the end of another year. Begin now, right now, by pausing a praying to God for the strength, resilience, determination and even courage to bring your life into his purposes.

2009 can be a great year if you want it to be. So what will you do with 2009?

Dead and Gone

Colossians,

“For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” (Colossians 3:3)

While preparing for lessons to be delivered at Indian Creek Youth Camp I came across this short but very powerful verse. It seems to strike at the very heart of Christian living. In fact, if we can ever fully appreciate what it says we will be changed.

In the context, the apostle Paul writes to Christians who were being slowly drawn back into the ancient Law of Moses. In the preceding chapter Paul warned them not to leave Christ for the old ways which could not save but instead to remain firm in their commitment and dedication to the Lord Jesus Christ. It is in this context that Paul delivers the statement above.

The Christian man or woman no longer belongs to themselves; Continue reading Dead and Gone →