2007-05-04
Good Morning Cherished of God,
Last week I was led to write about the head, heart, hands connection that we are commanded to make between His word and our response to it. This certainly applies to the issue of materialism, just as it does to anything else. That is why we can understand that spiritual maturity doesn't focus on material wealth or poverty. What it does point to is our basic beliefs and how we respond to them. Today, I'm led to begin writing about five statements of faith-ones I've written about before, but not in this context of materialism.
1) God is Who He says He is. God has said over and over again that He will see to the needs of those who are obediently faithful to Him. PS 37:11, "But all who humble themselves before the Lord shall be given every blessing, and shall have wonderful peace." A careful inspection of promises He has made can reveal that He is a Promise Keeper. For example, in EX 2: 23-25, He remembers His covenant to the Jews. "...There cry went up to God who heard their groaning and remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He saw the slavery of the Israelites and was concerned for them." Later, Moses is commissioned to lead them out of Egypt. That wasn't all God did for them. He fed them and gave them water from the desert during their time of wandering [EX 16: 31; EX 17: 6]. If we fast forward to Christ's time, how can we not see the foreshadowing of something even greater? 1 COR 10: 2-4, "In the cloud and the sea they [the Jews] were all baptized as followers of Moses. All ate the same spiritual bread and drank the same spiritual drink. They drank from the spiritual Rock that went with them; and that Rock was Christ Himself." And from Christ's Atonement to now and beyond,1 COR 11: 23-25 is the Covenant of Grace established. God understands the difference between needs and wants and is still trying to teach us what it is. When God says that He loves us enough to provide for us, this love is real. PHIL 4: 19, "And with all His abundant wealth through Christ Jesus, my God will supply all your needs." I could write an entire devotion on each of the five statements of faith, but we must move on.
2) God can do what He says He can do. Long ago, God told us through Ezekiel that He has the power to give His sinful human creation new hearts to replace their "stubborn hearts of stone" [EZK 36: 26-27]. When we really delve into this subject, we have to believe that this was His intention right from the time even before the original sin was committed. God undoubtedly knew His entire plan before it went into being. That's because of His omniscience. If we look at Scriptures which deal with what His plan was before the creation of the world, we can see this. In JN 1: 30, John the Baptist utters, "A Man is coming after me, but He is greater than I am, because He existed before I was born." JN 17: 5 [Christ praying], "Father! Give Me glory in Your presence now, the same glory I had with You before the world was made." In the context of the believers praying for boldness, there is AC 4: 27-28, "For indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together in this city with the Gentiles and the people of Israel against Jesus, Your holy Servant, Whom You made Messiah. They gathered to do everything that You by Your power and will had already decided would happen." In the context of our being called to holy living, Peter writes in 1 PET 1: 20-21, " He [Christ] had been chosen by God before the creation of the world and was revealed in these last days for your sake. Through Him you believe in God, Who raised Him from death and gave Him glory; and so your faith and hope are fixed on God." There would be no believers had it not been for God's intervention, had it not been for His power to "transform us inwardly by the complete renewal of our mind" [RO 12: 2].
Once again, we might ask: what this has to do with materialism? The answer would be everything! Why? Because our mind-set is what begins the direction of our decisions about material acquisition. Our heart is what puts the final stamp on these decisions and the actions we take that follow. Right now, our church is getting ready to send a group of men down on a short-term mission to Quito, Ecuador. Funds are being raised for this effort and a list of items which people can donate has been put out. There are street children living on a garbage dump who need various ministries to be done for them. Construction projects will be carried out at Hacienda el Refugio, Youth World's Christian retreat and leadership training center. The idea that these requests might be fulfilled and service done wouldn't be possible, if it weren't for the fact that God can do what He says He can do, e.g. transform deceitful and sinful human hearts to ones of obedient faithfulness to Him. Without God, the list of men willing to go on such a mission wouldn't exist itself! The same can be said of all the Katrina Hope teams that have gone down to weather-ravaged Gulf coast areas bringing volunteers and materials to help take care of the people whose homes were destroyed. None of this would have been possible without our amazing God Who really does come through for us. And believe me, our church is only one of many who carry out the will of God this way. I find great comfort in Christ's and God's mission statements, which we can read in JN 6: 39-40 and EPH 1: 4-5, respectively. Please review them and see what I mean.
PRAYER: Dearest Abba, we come before Your mighty throne with heads bowed in praise and thanks for all You are and all You do. Because of the limitations of human understanding, we need to spend our lives seeking You out and watching for Your amazing deeds. PS 105: 1-2, " Give thanks to the Lord, call on His name; make known among the nations what He has done. Sing to Him, sing praise to Him; tell of all His wonderful acts." We must understand Your attributes, which are supernaturally revealed to us through daily time in Your word and through prayer. Your deeds can be seen all around us, if we take the time to look for them. You are a faithful God, one Who is always true to His part of the Covenant of Grace sealed for us at the time of Christ's death on the cross. LAM 3: 22-24, "Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. I say to myself, 'The Lord is my Portion; therefore I will wait for Him.'" PS 9: 10 [TLB], "All those who know Your mercy, Lord, will count on You for help. For You have never yet forsaken those who trust in You." You have called us to righteous living, and we must remember that You never ask us anything for which You have not first equipped us to do or provide. What You ask us to do is often tough for us. But, we have this comfort provided: PS 55: 22, "Cast your burden on the Lord, and He will sustain you; He will never permit the righteous to be defeated." We remember the tests of our faith, knowing well from 1 COR 10: 13 that any test we face will not be one that will be beyond our ability to remain firm in our faith in You and Your help. You encourage us, sustain us, provide for us, and love us. For what more can we ask? We offer You our eternal worship, adoration, thanks, and praise. In Christ's name, we pray. Amen.
Since there are five statements of faith, it is obvious that I'm led to pick up with the third one in next week's message. When we review every verse or passage given in today's message, we find the outgrowth of God's love for His human creation. How can we miss it? If any of us ever feels unloved, he doesn't know God. God never abandons those who love and obey Him. PS 9: 9-10 [GNV], "The Lord is a Refuge for the oppressed, a Place of Safety in times of trouble. Those who know You, Lord, will trust You; You do not abandon anyone who comes to You." As for God's will concerning money and other material things, He has made this clear. HE 13: 5-6, "Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, 'I will never leave you; I will never abandon you.'" God brings cleansing forgiveness into our lives. His blessings for His children are so many that they can't be counted. IS 64: 4, "No one has ever seen or heard of a God like You, Who does such deeds for those who put their hope in Him." 1 JN 4: 12, " No one has ever seen God, but if we love one another, God lives in us and His love is made complete in us." I would be remiss in ending this message without at least one verse regarding God's magnificent presence in the lives of all who believe. PS 145: 18, "He is near to those who call to Him, who call to Him in sincerity." Are we blessed? You bet we are! Praise be to God!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn