God
Prayer is a Two-way Conversation (Part 2)
This is the conclusion of part 1 that I posted last week.
Now that I’ve laid out my case for God’s desiring a two-way conversation with us, rather than a monologue, it’s time for some hard questions. How do we go about achieving this ideal? How can we listen to God? How do we know it’s Him speaking?
God is the initiator of the relationship we have with Him. Immediately after Adam and Eve sinned, and hid from God, He came looking for them. Genesis 3, verse 9 is the beginning of a long dialog among Adam, Eve, and God: “But the Lord God called to the man, ‘Where are you?’” Even though Adam and Eve had sinned, God still wanted their company—and God still pursues us today.
I’m grateful that God wants to talk to me so much that He’ll go to great lengths to do so. Think how foolish Balaam must have felt, when God had to speak to him through his donkey! I certainly don’t want to take after Balaam. Since Jesus died to restore my relationship with God, I want to make it easy for Him! I want to open my ears and eagerly join the conversation.
Which Ministry is God’s Favorite?
“It’s all about widows and orphans!” Our pastor spoke with passion as he introduced the new direction our church would be taking. “The Bible makes it clear in James 1:27 that ministry to widows and orphans is the closest to God’s heart, so that’s what we’ll be doing.”
“May God judge those who have the Bible in their own languages or who have the same in their own houses if they do not obey the commandment of Jesus Christ and if they do not help those who have no Bibles either in their houses or in their own languages!” These strong words were taken verbatim from the website of a ministry dedicated to providing Bibles in the native tongues of India. Clearly, they believe every Christian should be involved in Bible translation.
“I don’t mean to offend you,” my friend explained, “I know you’re involved in world missions, but I truly believe my ministry is more important. Before these babies can come to Christ, they have to be born. I’m sure that the Pro-life movement is God’s number one priority!”
I agree wholeheartedly that these are all important ministries. We, as the body of Christ, should be involved in all of these things, and many more besides. But are any of these the most important? Does God really have a hierarchy of ministries? Are some of the ways we serve more important, more strategic, than others? And if they are, can we, as mere mortals, determine which is which?
Where Do We Look for Help?
I’ve been praying about a friend’s unwise choice of solution to a major problem in her life. I can’t fault her for wanting relief. This issue is consuming her, causing her deep distress, and needs to be addressed. She isn’t breaking any laws, she isn’t hurting anyone else… so why do I feel so uneasy about this whole thing?
God showed me clearly this morning what the problem is. I was reading Isaiah 31, which just happened to be my next reading as I go through the Bible. The problem isn’t the avenue she is choosing. The problem is where she’s looking for help. Starting in verse 1,
Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help,
who rely on horses,
who trust in the multitude of their chariots
and in the great strength of their horsemen,
but do not look to the Holy One of Israel,
or seek help from the LORD.
In a sense, my friend has gone down to Egypt for help. She’s relying on horses and chariots, but hasn’t looked toward God. In fact, even though she claims to be a believer, she’s currently flatly rejecting Him.
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Am I Giving God the Silent Treatment?
December is a hectic month. Our normal routine is disrupted by the special events of the season, and the accompanying overload. Most of the year, I easily include some focused time with God in my day. Yet, at Christmas time, when it would seem to matter the most, I get distracted. By the time January arrives, I’m almost afraid to go to Him. I assume He’s angry with me, and He has every right. He’s been shoved aside while I shop, bake, and decorate, all supposedly in His honor. I’ve procrastinated, invented excuses, and declared my independence.
We find ourselves giving God the “silent treatment” for many reasons, but they boil down to three main categories. Either we think He failed us, or we have failed Him… or we’re just too apathetic to care. Perhaps God isn’t top priority right now. Oh, we call Him our Lord, and overall desire to follow Him, but our schedule is so busy, He’ll just have to wait until we have a spare moment.
Then comes the wake-up call. God doesn’t like getting the silent treatment any more than we do. The actual call takes many forms, but inevitably, something happens that forces me back into His presence. This year, it was being shunned by a good friend.
An Oasis in the Desert
How many times have you laid in bed, staring upward, trying to pray, but feeling that your thoughts are being absorbed by the ceiling? Or you’re diligently reading through your Bible, hoping the Holy Spirit will speak to you, but all you get are meaningless phrases, and you’re not even in the genealogies? You’re praying, you’re reading, you’re listening, begging, for some sign of life, but all you get is silence?
If that sounds familiar, you’re not alone. We’ve all been there. When I committed to writing this blog, I realized that I was going out on a limb. Because, more importantly than the recipes, media reviews, and hopefully helpful advice, I want to share my walk with God. A hundred years from now it won’t matter how the carrot cake tasted, or even what our credit rating was. Our relationship with God is eternal .
For God’s Sake
Everyone knows the 23rd Psalm: “The Lord is my shepherd….”[1] It’s probably the most beloved chapter in the entire Bible. We love the first two verses that continue, “… I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, He refreshes my soul.” Green pastures and quiet waters sound lovely. I’d like that! That’s all about me enjoying life.
But how many people notice the second half of verse three? “… He guides me along the right paths for His name’s sake.” That’s all about God. Not us. His name. Not ours.
We had some good friends over to dinner last night. They do a lot of ministry in China and other southeast Asian countries. We were kept on the edges of our seats as they related stories about how God is working in that part of the world. The sick are being healed, the Word is being taught, people are coming to the Lord in droves. The kingdom of God is advancing.
No Excuses
If you will here stop and ask yourselves why you are not as pious as the primitive Christians were, your own heart will tell you, that it is neither through ignorance nor inability, but purely because you never thoroughly intended it. —William Law.
Profound statement—one which I must admit is true.
Often times I fool myself into thinking that perhaps it was easier for the early Christians to follow Christ so obediently (despite even their problems), and that as times have changed, it has made it much more difficult for those of now days to do the same. And yet, every time I’ve relied on such an excuse, I’ve always known it to be an outright lie.
Our challenges today may be different than those of the early Christians, but we most certainly cannot say that they are more difficult, or so much more difficult, that we can begin to excuse inferior behavior. If we (myself being no exception) insist on being inadequate followers of Christ, let us not blame our current social/political/environmental/economic conditions, but own up to the fact that our lack of obedience is nothing more than flat-out rebellion against God. Blame, unfortunately, is an easy thing to relocate to where it will do no good whatsoever.
—Jeremy Gosse
Everything I’ve Ever Worked For
“You can’t take it with you.” How often we hear this phrase, usually as a reminder not to be so materialistic. In our consumption-obsessed society, this is a much-needed adage.
But lately, I’ve been rethinking the truth of these words. We can’t take it with us. Or can we?
Contemplating our eventual demise isn’t the cheeriest of topics, and most of us prefer to avoid thinking along those lines. But something I saw recently brought the same concept to a more immediate importance.
Lessons Learned
[5th and last in a series about God’s provision]
By far, the best part of this whole experience is not how God provided for our every need—and even some wants. Yes, that was amazing. I am thankful, grateful. But that was just the physical outworking of an inner transformation.
Some of what we’ve learned was relatively straightforward. Material possessions do not create happiness. New stuff isn’t necessary. In fact, God put me on a “stuff diet.” Not only did we avoid shopping, we cleaned out closets. For several years, we took joy each day in finding three things we owned and giving them away. The surprise? It was easy. We recommend this as a wonderful way to count your blessings while blessing others.
On the other hand, we learned that receiving is hard. As our friends and family blessed us, we had to learn humility to be good receivers.
My biggest lesson, however, was much harder to grasp.
Compost 