2010-12-31
Good Morning Dear Ones,
In this series of messages in Our Covenant, we have been looking at a personally tough topic, Trust in God. Last week, we looked at the question: Do we give God a chance? This week, we ask: Do we believe God exists? This very basic question is hard for the average individual to wrap his head around. There are lots of reasons for this, perhaps the most obvious is that we can’t see God like we can see another person or a thing. And what do we do with a Biblical verse like HE 11: 6? “No one can please God without faith, for whoever comes to God must have faith that God exists and rewards those who seek Him.” I was raised in the household of a doctor in the military. Trained as a scientist, my father wanted me trained as he was, i.e. to think like and be a doctor. I finished four years of undergraduate school with a major in biology and chemistry and a minor in meteorology. It was the scientific method all the way! Imagine my father’s disappointment when I told him, his fourth child to do so, that I didn’t want to be a doctor, but instead thought at the time that I wanted to be a college professor! Even so he was proud of my good grades and that I graduated with honors. Being a doctor wasn’t in me, and, as usual, I was late in seeing what I should be. [I was 39 before I realized that I was called to the ministry]. Now that’s late!
Most people want to see something before they believe in it. But God demands something called faith, defined in HE 11: 1, “To have faith is to be sure of the things we hope for, to be certain of the things we cannot see.” My pal Les Feldick boils it down to “taking God at His word.” So, the limited bounds of earthly science are defied! We have to deal with something that is intangible phenomena, not readily seen. My first step in seeking faith was to go to a very faithful medical doctor and ask him the question: How can you be a scientist and at the same time have faith in God and in the Lord Jesus Christ? He scratched his head, sat down, and said, “You have a way of asking great questions, and I’ll bet God loves that!” Then, he went on to explain by giving me examples of ways that God has helped and blessed him in his own life. It goes back to something very elemental to the question found in RO 1: 19-20 discussed in the context of the guilt of mankind. “God punished them [those who sin and reject Him] because what can be known about God is plain to them. Since God created the world, His invisible qualities, both his eternal power and His divine nature, have been clearly seen; they are perceived in the things that God has made. So those people have no excurse at all!” Another way of saying this is that all of us are born with a “God consciousness” –the perception of some Higher Power that exists, and Who has created the natural things they can see, hear, touch, smell, and feel around them. Whether or not the person is born into a primitive society or a complex world like ours doesn’t matter. Both these principles apply, and thus, mankind has no excuse to reject God or to worship something other than God.
God wants to know: Do we believe more in other people, things, or in God? PR 3: 5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Never rely on what you think you know. Remember the Lord in everything you do and He will show you the right way.” I am astounded to think that God loves me enough that He was willing not to give up on me, despite my own ignorance of His existence in my life for the first 25 years of it. That He gently and with determination made me aware of Him and then had the willingness to call me to full-time service to Him, leaves me stunned! His power to soften my stubborn heart gives me hope that other traditionally Jewish people will be brought to saving faith in His Son, Yeshua in accordance with the statements made in RO 11: 25. “There is a secret truth, my brothers, which I want you to know, for it will keep you from thinking how wise you are. It is that the stubbornness of the people of Israel is not permanent, but will last only until the complete number of Gentiles comes to God.” How rather curious that God took me, raised in traditional Judaism- which was never a good fit for how I felt- and place me in a Christian environment with the clear instructions to show the people I’m around the wonderful connections and consistency between the OT and the NT. And, he wants me to share the beauty of my Jewish culture to boot! I am grateful to belong to a congregation which while celebrating Easter, also has a Jewish Passover seder [ritual meal with the retelling of the story of the exodus].
No discussion of this kind is complete without mentioning something about God’s will and His power. IS 46: 9-10 helps us understand God’s will. “I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.’” And as for His power…PS 77: 13-15, “Everything You do, O God, is holy. No god is as great at You. You are the God Who works miracles; You showed Your might among the nations. By Your power You saved Your people; the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.” I will close by citing 1 COR 2: 3-5, “So when I came to You, I was weak and trembled all over with fear, and my teaching and message were not delivered with skillful words of human wisdom, but with convincing proof of the power of God’s Spirit. Your faith, then, does not rest on human wisdom but on God’s power.” I can take no responsibility or compliments for the words I write or say, because it is God alone, who through His Spirit deserves all the credit [PS 115: 1]. PHIL 4 :13, “I have the strength to face all conditions by the power that Christ gives me.”
PRAYER: O Lord, we stand before Your throne with heads bowed in reverence to say, ‘We believe in You!” While we can’t see You, You make Your will known to us in so many ways. We hear Your direction when in prayer [PS 86: 5, 7]. You convey Your will to us when we take time to study Your marvelous word [2 TIM 3: 16-17]. Through the experiences of our lives, we see You in action-healing, blessing, guiding, explaining, providing, protecting, and all the other things You do. As we mature in the faith, You bring us closer to You; as we perceive Your amazing attributes, and our relationship with You deepens. At present, we are learning more about what it means to be in a covenant relationship with You. PS 86: 11-15, “Teach me, Lord, what You want me to do, and I will obey You faithfully; teach me to serve You with complete devotion. I will praise You with all my heart, O Lord, my God. I will proclaim Your greatness forever. How great is Your constant love for me! You have saved me from the grace itself. Proud men come against me, O God…But You, O Lord, are a merciful and loving God, always patient, always kind and faithful.” You have fitted us with unique talents to carry out tasks for You, to join You in Your work of bringing people to saving faith by the Holy Spirit in the Lord Jesus Christ, my Yeshua. You have saved us, forgiven our sins, given us the gift of the Holy Spirit, justified us, and guide us through our trials- so that we can have eternal life. What greater God can there be? We thank, honor, glorify, and praise You, in the holy, mighty name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: When will we come to faith? Do we fear death? These are the questions that will be the topic of next week’s message. In the meanwhile, we must remember that there really is no excuse to deny God’s existence. There are as many ways of viewing God as there are individuals to view Him. However, it is well neigh impossible to deny His existence. Should we be judgmental toward those not as far along as we are in their spiritual maturation? Of course not. God answers this question definitively in RO 14: 13, “So then, let us stop judging one another. Instead, you should decide never to do anything that would make your brother stumble or fall into sin.” As believing brothers and sisters in Christ, we have been charged with several responsibilities. 1) We should become very familiar with God’s words and choose to live them. 2) We should look for opportunities to witness to our faith, through our experiences related and the example of gentleness, respectful sensitivity, and genuine faith. 3) We should get in the habit of looking for God’s work around us and in our lives, His blessings, and the lessons He has for people. 4) We should have an active, dynamic prayer life. 5) We should feel the real joy and inner peace that knowing we are saved, forgiven, justified, given the Holy Spirit, and have the real chance for eternal life that our God gives us. Our God deserves our thanks and praise forever!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15