"Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died." John 11:21
Blaming God is nothing new... it started back in the Garden of Eden. "And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat." (Genesis 3:12) When things go wrong, or don't go according to our plans, or something bad happens, God seems to get the blame for it. Adam blamed God, Martha blamed God, Mary blamed God, many people all around the world blame God. They blame Him because He allowed something to happen, didn't allow something to happen, didn't stop something from happening, didn't work the problem out, didn't make a way, etc... the list is endless.
Blaming God is a two-fold mistake: 1) It's incorrect. When you blame God, you are misplacing the blame. God is never to blame for anything. 2) When you blame God, you are pointing a finger at your only true source of help. Job never would have made it through his time of suffering had he blamed God and turned his back on Him because God was the only One who could have gotten him through it. God was the only one who could bring him comfort, strength and healing. Mary and Martha blamed God/Jesus- the only One who could help them. He was the only one who could give life and hope into their situation.
Bad things happen and things don't always happen to our liking. There is usually a place to place blame when they do, but it's not on God. He is your source. He is your strength. He is your deliverer. He is your comfort. He is the fountain from which you can drink, find rest and receive comfort when bad things happen.
Have a great day. Don't blame God when things are bad, don't turn your back on Him, don't cut Him off... because you are cutting off your own source of help.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Friday, December 5, 2008
"Christmas Picture"
"And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh." Matthew 2:11
I quit going to the annual Christmas parade a couple of years ago because it's just too cold to be standing out there. Well, last night I braved the cold because my daughter wanted to take my granddaughter to her first parade, and of course, Nana couldn't miss it. This morning I was reflecting on the night, and Christmas in general, and began to think about the real meaning of Christmas---- CHRIST BIRTHDAY! The more I thought about it, the more I found myself making some comparisons between celebrating Christ and celebrating His birth. Let me explain.
We will stand in freezing weather to watch a Christmas parade, but we won't get out of our warm beds to go to our prayer closet in our warm houses to spend a few minutes with the Lord. We will fight the traffic jam afterwards just to get back home, but we won't get in our cars on Sunday morning and go to church. We take our child to the mall and stand in a line of screaming children for hours just to get a picture with Santa Claus, but we can't sit in church for more than thirty minutes without squirming and watching the clock. We will spend the money that we don't have, borrow the money or max out credit cards to buy Christmas presents that we don't need, but we won't give tithes and offerings. We will get up in the middle of the night to be the first in line at the store to buy that hard to find item, but we won't get up even a few minutes earlier than we have to in order to have time alone with the Lord. We go to great lengths to cover our houses with lights, but we hide the light of Christ within us.
All that I have talked about are the things that we associate with Christmas, but something is wrong with the picture. There is something wrong when we give more attention, time and money to the "trappings" of Christmas than we do to the One that Christmas is all about. There is something wrong when we celebrate His birth but we don't celebrate Him. I think we need to step back and individually make some comparisons of our own lives during this time to see where we are putting the emphasis... on Christ or on Christmas?
Have a great day. Are you celebrating Christ? Or events?
I quit going to the annual Christmas parade a couple of years ago because it's just too cold to be standing out there. Well, last night I braved the cold because my daughter wanted to take my granddaughter to her first parade, and of course, Nana couldn't miss it. This morning I was reflecting on the night, and Christmas in general, and began to think about the real meaning of Christmas---- CHRIST BIRTHDAY! The more I thought about it, the more I found myself making some comparisons between celebrating Christ and celebrating His birth. Let me explain.
We will stand in freezing weather to watch a Christmas parade, but we won't get out of our warm beds to go to our prayer closet in our warm houses to spend a few minutes with the Lord. We will fight the traffic jam afterwards just to get back home, but we won't get in our cars on Sunday morning and go to church. We take our child to the mall and stand in a line of screaming children for hours just to get a picture with Santa Claus, but we can't sit in church for more than thirty minutes without squirming and watching the clock. We will spend the money that we don't have, borrow the money or max out credit cards to buy Christmas presents that we don't need, but we won't give tithes and offerings. We will get up in the middle of the night to be the first in line at the store to buy that hard to find item, but we won't get up even a few minutes earlier than we have to in order to have time alone with the Lord. We go to great lengths to cover our houses with lights, but we hide the light of Christ within us.
All that I have talked about are the things that we associate with Christmas, but something is wrong with the picture. There is something wrong when we give more attention, time and money to the "trappings" of Christmas than we do to the One that Christmas is all about. There is something wrong when we celebrate His birth but we don't celebrate Him. I think we need to step back and individually make some comparisons of our own lives during this time to see where we are putting the emphasis... on Christ or on Christmas?
Have a great day. Are you celebrating Christ? Or events?
Thursday, December 4, 2008
"He's A Big God"
"Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?" Isaiah 40:12
On Wednesday nights at church we have been watching a video teaching by John Bevere. Last night he was talking about the awesomeness of God- exactly how big and how great God is. He used the scripture above and began to compare the size of God with the universe in terms we could understand (although it's still hard to wrap our little finite minds around some of those figures). He talked about the size of the universe and how long it takes to get to our closet star. If we traveled in a jet from the earth to the sun it would take 21 years to get there. Our next closet star is over four million light years away. He went on to say that our galaxy is only one of millions that are out there, yet as big as the universe is, God can measure it with the span of His hand. There are billions of stars in the universe, but the Lord not only created them, but calls each one by name (and never forgets a name).
Personally, I can't fathom how big the universe is, but God measures it with His hand. I can't even fully comprehend the size of all the oceans in the world, but God counts every drop of water in them and holds them all combined in the palm of His hand. He knows how much the earth weighs. He sets the mountains and hills on a scale and weighs them like you would weigh a pound of meat. He knows how many grains of sand on the seashore. He knows how many blades of grass in my front yard. He knows how many apples on each tree, and He knows how many apples are in an apple seed waiting to be planted. He tells the ocean how far it call go on the shore. He knows the number of fish in the sea, birds in the air, cattle on the ground. There is no way to fully comprehend how big God truly is.
But at the same time, this big, awesome and amazing God knows me. He knows how many tears I cry when I am hurting. He knows the number of hairs on my head. He knows how many times my heart beats a minute. He knows my DNA without looking at it under a microscope. He knows how many blood cells are in my body. He knows my every thought even before I think them.
Don't limit the Lord, He is bigger and greater than we have the ability to understand- He can do anything! But don't limit Him either by thinking that He is so big that He doesn't care about you or have time for you. You are more important to Him than the stars of the sky, the sands of the sea or the vastness of the universe. These are all evidence of the greatness of God. But He humbled Himself and took on the likeness of sinful flesh then died on the cross to take away your sins-- that was His evidence of how great His love is for you.
Have a great day. He is bigger and greater than we will ever be able to understand but He loves us so much.
On Wednesday nights at church we have been watching a video teaching by John Bevere. Last night he was talking about the awesomeness of God- exactly how big and how great God is. He used the scripture above and began to compare the size of God with the universe in terms we could understand (although it's still hard to wrap our little finite minds around some of those figures). He talked about the size of the universe and how long it takes to get to our closet star. If we traveled in a jet from the earth to the sun it would take 21 years to get there. Our next closet star is over four million light years away. He went on to say that our galaxy is only one of millions that are out there, yet as big as the universe is, God can measure it with the span of His hand. There are billions of stars in the universe, but the Lord not only created them, but calls each one by name (and never forgets a name).
Personally, I can't fathom how big the universe is, but God measures it with His hand. I can't even fully comprehend the size of all the oceans in the world, but God counts every drop of water in them and holds them all combined in the palm of His hand. He knows how much the earth weighs. He sets the mountains and hills on a scale and weighs them like you would weigh a pound of meat. He knows how many grains of sand on the seashore. He knows how many blades of grass in my front yard. He knows how many apples on each tree, and He knows how many apples are in an apple seed waiting to be planted. He tells the ocean how far it call go on the shore. He knows the number of fish in the sea, birds in the air, cattle on the ground. There is no way to fully comprehend how big God truly is.
But at the same time, this big, awesome and amazing God knows me. He knows how many tears I cry when I am hurting. He knows the number of hairs on my head. He knows how many times my heart beats a minute. He knows my DNA without looking at it under a microscope. He knows how many blood cells are in my body. He knows my every thought even before I think them.
Don't limit the Lord, He is bigger and greater than we have the ability to understand- He can do anything! But don't limit Him either by thinking that He is so big that He doesn't care about you or have time for you. You are more important to Him than the stars of the sky, the sands of the sea or the vastness of the universe. These are all evidence of the greatness of God. But He humbled Himself and took on the likeness of sinful flesh then died on the cross to take away your sins-- that was His evidence of how great His love is for you.
Have a great day. He is bigger and greater than we will ever be able to understand but He loves us so much.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
"Where Are You Looking?
"Therefore I will look unto the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me." Micah 7:7
Do you know why we get discouraged? Do you know why we get fearful? Do you know why we start murmuring and complaining? Do you know why we get discontent? It's because of where we are looking! When the Israelites looked at the giants that were in the land, they got fearful. When Peter looked at the winds and waves, he began to sink. When Lot's wife looked at the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, she became a pillar of stone. When the Israelite army looked at the size of Goliath, their hearts sank in fear.
When we look at what we don't have instead of what we do have, we become ungrateful and begin to complain. The Israelites looked at the meat they didn't have and complained against God instead of looking at the manna that He was sending them each day. When we look at our problem instead of looking to the "hills from whence cometh our help", we become fearful and faithless. When we look at the situation instead of looking to God, doubt and discouragement will come in. When we look at the mountain, we lose faith and give up.
When you read some of the writings of David in the Psalms, you'll read words of complaint and petition. He'll say such things as- my enemies pursue me, they are stronger than I am, they are out to get me, my soul is cast down, I am in distress, my strength is gone, etc. But don't stop there he always goes on to say- but the Lord is my helper, I will put my trust and faith in the Lord, the Lord will show me the way to take, He shall destroy my enemies, He is on my side. This is what I like must about David- one minute he may be acknowledging his problem, but the next minute he is acknowledging the power and provision of His God. You can tell when he turns from the problem to faith in God- there seems to be a 'dividing line'. Do you know what the difference was? He stopped looking in one direction and started looking in another. He stopped looking at his problem and started looking at God (his problem solver, the One who was greater than his problem, the One who was able to handle his problem).
Where are you looking this morning- at the storm, at the giants, at the mountain, at the impossibility of the situation? Are you looking at the great I Am, the Healer, the Deliverer, the Redeemer, the Supplier? Where you look will determine if you are defeated or have victory. Where you look will either make you grateful or ungrateful, fearful or full of faith, discouraged or encouraged, depressed or at peace. It all boils down to what you are looking at- God or the problem.
Have a great day. What are you looking at?
Do you know why we get discouraged? Do you know why we get fearful? Do you know why we start murmuring and complaining? Do you know why we get discontent? It's because of where we are looking! When the Israelites looked at the giants that were in the land, they got fearful. When Peter looked at the winds and waves, he began to sink. When Lot's wife looked at the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, she became a pillar of stone. When the Israelite army looked at the size of Goliath, their hearts sank in fear.
When we look at what we don't have instead of what we do have, we become ungrateful and begin to complain. The Israelites looked at the meat they didn't have and complained against God instead of looking at the manna that He was sending them each day. When we look at our problem instead of looking to the "hills from whence cometh our help", we become fearful and faithless. When we look at the situation instead of looking to God, doubt and discouragement will come in. When we look at the mountain, we lose faith and give up.
When you read some of the writings of David in the Psalms, you'll read words of complaint and petition. He'll say such things as- my enemies pursue me, they are stronger than I am, they are out to get me, my soul is cast down, I am in distress, my strength is gone, etc. But don't stop there he always goes on to say- but the Lord is my helper, I will put my trust and faith in the Lord, the Lord will show me the way to take, He shall destroy my enemies, He is on my side. This is what I like must about David- one minute he may be acknowledging his problem, but the next minute he is acknowledging the power and provision of His God. You can tell when he turns from the problem to faith in God- there seems to be a 'dividing line'. Do you know what the difference was? He stopped looking in one direction and started looking in another. He stopped looking at his problem and started looking at God (his problem solver, the One who was greater than his problem, the One who was able to handle his problem).
Where are you looking this morning- at the storm, at the giants, at the mountain, at the impossibility of the situation? Are you looking at the great I Am, the Healer, the Deliverer, the Redeemer, the Supplier? Where you look will determine if you are defeated or have victory. Where you look will either make you grateful or ungrateful, fearful or full of faith, discouraged or encouraged, depressed or at peace. It all boils down to what you are looking at- God or the problem.
Have a great day. What are you looking at?
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
"Did You Ask?"
"Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not." Jeremiah 33:3
Someone who I am close to has been calling me for weeks to help give them some advice for a situation they are in. They have a decision to make and the time is getting short- they have to make it within just a matter of days. I asked her yesterday what was she hearing from the Lord in prayer about this matter. She told me that she really hasn't prayed about it. This amazes me! She is a very godly woman and even teaches the Bible-- the same Bible that tells her not to lean to her own understanding but to acknowledge the Lord in all her ways; the same Bible that says that it's not in a man to direct his own steps; the same Bible that says that there is a way that seems right unto a man but the end is destruction; the same Bible that says, "Without Me, you can do nothing."
There is a two-fold message in this word this morning: 1) Be a doer of the word and not a hearer only. It does you no good to just know what it says, be able to quote it or teach it's principals to others. The benefit is in the application- in doing what it says, acting upon it, following it's instructions. The second is- you should never try to make decisions without the council of God. My friend keeps asking me what she should do-- I don't have any more of a clue than she does unless I seek the Lord for an answer. We (none of us) just don't know what's the best thing to do, we just don't have the answers, we just cannot make wise decisions on our own, we are so finite- confined to the knowledge of the moment- unable to see down the road, see the outcome or see the avenues that are hidden from our view. So it's no wonder she doesn't know what to do--- "you have not, because you ask not".
Let me combine the two messages into one word briefly: Look to God's word and apply it to every situation and decision you are faced with- no matter how big or small it may be- because you don't have what it takes to make the right choices on your own.... but He does, and He will show you as you "seek Him first."
Have a great day. Are you trying to make decisions on your own? You can't do it!
Someone who I am close to has been calling me for weeks to help give them some advice for a situation they are in. They have a decision to make and the time is getting short- they have to make it within just a matter of days. I asked her yesterday what was she hearing from the Lord in prayer about this matter. She told me that she really hasn't prayed about it. This amazes me! She is a very godly woman and even teaches the Bible-- the same Bible that tells her not to lean to her own understanding but to acknowledge the Lord in all her ways; the same Bible that says that it's not in a man to direct his own steps; the same Bible that says that there is a way that seems right unto a man but the end is destruction; the same Bible that says, "Without Me, you can do nothing."
There is a two-fold message in this word this morning: 1) Be a doer of the word and not a hearer only. It does you no good to just know what it says, be able to quote it or teach it's principals to others. The benefit is in the application- in doing what it says, acting upon it, following it's instructions. The second is- you should never try to make decisions without the council of God. My friend keeps asking me what she should do-- I don't have any more of a clue than she does unless I seek the Lord for an answer. We (none of us) just don't know what's the best thing to do, we just don't have the answers, we just cannot make wise decisions on our own, we are so finite- confined to the knowledge of the moment- unable to see down the road, see the outcome or see the avenues that are hidden from our view. So it's no wonder she doesn't know what to do--- "you have not, because you ask not".
Let me combine the two messages into one word briefly: Look to God's word and apply it to every situation and decision you are faced with- no matter how big or small it may be- because you don't have what it takes to make the right choices on your own.... but He does, and He will show you as you "seek Him first."
Have a great day. Are you trying to make decisions on your own? You can't do it!
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