Humble thyself…

Now Herod was angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon, and they came to him with one accord, and having persuaded Blastus, the king’s chamberlain, they asked for peace, because their country depended on the king’s country for food. On an appointed day Herod put on his royal robes, took his seat upon the throne, and delivered an oration to them. And the people were shouting, “The voice of a god, and not of a man!” Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down, because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and breathed his last.
But the word of God increased and multiplied.
And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem when they had completed their service, bringing with them John, whose other name was Mark. (Acts 12:20-25 ESV)

Have you ever seen an angel of the Lord descend from Heaven and smite someone? Herod was struck down as he spoke to his people because he did not correct them. He did not tell them that he was not a god, but allowed them to continue chanting the words of a god, not a man. He allowed what they were saying to him to go to his head and he maybe thought he was a god.

Have you ever felt like you were a god? Have you ever done something so well, that people say that no one has done it better. That you really are the best person in the world to do this. These things can easily go to our heads, but we must be careful. There is nothing in this world that you do that can not be done by someone else. And probably just as good or better than you, no matter what someone else says. And that is ok. Someone else can do the stuff you do, but no one else can be you. You are unique, created by God that way, and that is who deserves all of the glory. God is the one who deserves the glory and who is the only God.

So we have to be humble and say we do the things we do only by the grace and power of God. As Bach wrote on each piece of music he composed the initial SDG for Soli Deo Gloria, “To God alone be glory”. Remember to humble yourself, so you will never see the angel of the Lord descending from Heaven to smite you.

Called to be Bold!!!

Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus. But seeing the man who was healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition. But when they had commanded them to leave the council, they conferred with one another, saying, “What shall we do with these men? For that a notable sign has been performed through them is evident to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. But in order that it may spread no further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name.” So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” And when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way to punish them, because of the people, for all were praising God for what had happened. For the man on whom this sign of healing was performed was more than forty years old.
When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them. And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit, “‘Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord and against his Anointed’—
for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness. (Acts 4:13-31 ESV)

We are called to be bold in a world that does not always want to hear or see the message we bring. We are called to be bold about who has given us power to be and to move in the world. We have not been given a spirit of timidity but one of power and boldness to go and be bearers of the message of the Gospel. The good news that Jesus wants to be in a relationship with all of us and in order to get us to this point He was faithful to go to the cross and die for all of us.

You see Peter and John were uneducated but the words they needed to speak were given to them by God. So we are are filled with the words to say in a world that needs to hear a message from God. We must boldly go into our communities and speak the truth we have from God.

For you see just as Peter and John were told to be silent by the religious authorities, they knew they could not because God had given them the words to say. So like those uneducated men, we must boldly follow God and speak what He has told us to.

Do not fear for God will be and is with you. Boldly speak the truth He has given you to speak even in the face of the religious authority, so we all might grow and hear the words that need to be spoken!

Called and sent…

Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.” But the LORD said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’; for to all to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, declares the LORD.”
Then the LORD put out his hand and touched my mouth. And the LORD said to me, “Behold, I have put my words in your mouth. See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.” (Jeremiah 1:4-10 ESV)

Have you ever been called and sent to do something?

That of course is a trick question. I believe all of us are called and sent. I was called to be pastor in Northwestern Ohio, and then in Southwest Texas. I am currently waiting my next call, but while I wait for the official piece of paper and the documentation of a congregational call, I live out the other calls God has given me.

You see I am a husband for 16 years now and I have a responsibility to my wife, to help her and honor her and be with her in good and bad, to be a companion for her for the journey we are on. I am also a father and so I have to be there for my children and honor them and help them grow up and be the people God has created them to be.

I also have this blog which has followers. I have a call to all of you who read this, to be a guide or a stimulus. To help you engage with the God who loves you and wants a deeper relationship with you.

We are all called, and sent. We have been given gifts by God to use in the world and to help our brothers and sisters draw closer to God and to help those who may not yet have that relationship.

Jeremiah tried to get out of the call, much like many of the pastors I know, we run from God trying to make excuses. Jeremiah was young and he thought he was not able to speak. But God told him, “I have known you since before you were a twinkle in the eye of your mother, I am the one who knit you together in your mother’s womb, I know all about you, your strengths that you deny, your weaknesses that you brush to the side. I know who you are and what you are capable of, and I will be with you.” Then God touched his mouth and said, “I have given you the words to speak, so do not fear what to say, but know that my Spirit is with you and will give you the right words to say.” And just like God did this to Jeremiah He does it to you!

God loves you and wants to see you use the gifts He has given you in His kingdom here on earth. So go and do what He has called and sent you to do, and do not fear, for He is always with you.

Why do we falter?

O LORD, you have searched me and known me!
You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from afar.
You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.
Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O LORD, you know it altogether.
You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is high; I cannot attain it.
Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where shall I flee from your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me.
If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light about me be night,”
even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is bright as the day,
for darkness is as light with you.
For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.
How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
If I would count them, they are more than the sand.
I awake, and I am still with you.
(Psalm 139:1-18 ESV)

God knows us. Scary as that is it should also be the most comforting statement ever made!

Scary that God knows us because He knows what we will say and do before you do it. And He loves us enough to let us make those stupid mistakes. Have you ever done that as a parent, told your kid not to do something and then stand back and watch as they did the thing you just advised them not to… They learned a lesson didn’t they. Well sometime we get it and sometimes we don’t, but He allows us the freedom to be who we are and He still loves us.

And God’s knows us is a comforting statement because He knows what is going to happen and has our life in view. He knows what He needs for us to do and works in and through our lives and the loves of those around us to will His plan for the world. There is nothing that happens that He does not know about. It is like the song from Casting Crowns Already There. One day we will stand with God and look back over the dvr version or Tivo of our life. But God has already seen it, because He is already at the end of our lives waiting on us to get there with Him.

SO why is it that we are so hung up on making sure the decision is right before we move and do what we feel God is calling us to do? Why do we want the road map laid out in front of us. We need to know every bump and turn so we can be prepared.

Well you know what?

We do not need to be prepared because God already is. He has the plan, we need to trust and have faith. We need to trust that the God who created us, who knows everything we will say and do before it happens, but loves us anyway, will be there to guide us on our paths.

Below is a song from David Wilcox called Hold it up to the Light. It is one of my all time favorite songs, and I listen to it when I have a big decision to make. I prefer the live version off of his album Live Songs and Stories. There David interjects the poem The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost. Two roads diverge in the woods and sorry I couldn’t travel both, but the choice is not between 2 it is actually 4 different things that we could choose. We can go left, or right, or turn around and go back where we came from, or stay right where we are. But no matter what choice we make, we have to make a choice, and our life will be what it is because of that choice, and whether it is the right choice for the plan that God had is something we might see when we rewatch our life, or it may just flow like a wonderfully orchestrated mess. No matter where we are and if you have a major decision or a minor one, step out in faith, knowing that God is there with you, and He will never let you fall.