When Jesus taught His disciples He often spoke in parables. This is a parable that God used to teach me with an encounter I had with Him. Years ago I was trying to figure out what God wanted for my life and what I should do career wise. I was praying and asking God what He wanted for my life, but never heard anything back. I had graduated the police academy and was looking for a job with an agency and was also being offered a job in the church as a student pastor. I wanted to make the right choice career wise so that I would be in the center of God’s will and direction for my life, but was not sure what to do so I decided to go on a prayer walk for my quiet time and seek God.
I opted to do what I like to call walking in God’s garden. I love nature and am completely amazed by how creative God is in the creation of the universe we live in. I decided to take the day off work and go to Honeymoon Island and walk their nature trail. On my way there I meant to stop and get bug spray because it was the middle of the summer and I knew that the mosquito’s would be out, but forgot to do so. As I began to walk the trail I started to get bit by mosquitos. I walked faster but could not get away from them. I was now frustrated not only by the fact that I was getting eaten up but was itchy, sore and mad because they were distracting me from my time alone with God.
I was fixated on the idea that I came to get close to God but could not because of the bugs that were biting me. I became even more frustrated because this was supposed to be a solemn time alone with me and God and could not understand why God would allow these pesky bugs to attack me when I was trying to spend time alone with Him. I finally made it through the trail and was pretty mad and found a picnic table out of the woods alone and sat down and opened my Bible thinking this would be the time when I would be left alone to hear God speak to me. I was not there for a minute when I got bit again. Frustrated, I slammed my Bible closed and left to go get bug spray so I could concentrate.
After dousing myself with bug spray I entered the trail again hoping to be left alone so I could admire God’s creation and hear him speak to me. I begin to walk the trail again and it is late afternoon and the sun is going down and the bugs are really starting to come out. I stopped to watch this owl family up in the tree for a minute. There was a baby with the mom and dad. It was a pretty cool scene. But before I moved on I looked around and it was like a mosquito wall surrounding me. I reached my arm into the wall of mosquitoes and they would move away. I was as if I had a force field around me that they couldn’t penetrate. This is when God began to speak to me. He said I have been trying to talk to you this whole time but you couldn’t hear me because you have not been protecting yourself from sin like you knew you needed to. Just like you knew you needed the bug spray to protect you from the mosquitoes and didn’t and got eaten alive. You also knew that you should be protecting yourself from sin and you haven’t and you have been letting yourself get eaten alive by sin.
This was like a punch right between the eyes. I remember thinking “wait a second God. I didn’t come here so that you could call me out on my sin. I came so you could give me direction.” This was a very harsh reality for me to come to and to this day I will never forget it. There much more to this story but the question I have is what are you doing to protect yourself so that you do not get eaten alive by sin. What is it that you know you need to do but are not doing and is this hindering you from hearing God speak to you? For me I honestly say that it was. Are you in the same boat? If so what will you do? God spoke to me clearly and I heard His voice of direction when I finally put the defenses back up His voice was not muzzled by the world. Maybe you have been there or maybe you are there now. Stop and put on the full protection/armor of God so that you can hear Him lead you where He wants you to be.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Friday, October 16, 2009
Honesty... it can make or break you... stepping out on a limb
So my grandmother had a heart attack this week and can no longer live alone. She needs supervision, but she owns a house that is close to Orlando FL. My parents asked me if I would like to live there for security purposes to make sure the house does not get broken into. My first reaction was heck no! But is this a new opportunity for me to reach a new community? Is this what God wants for my life? Can I honestly say I am confused? Can I post all the questions revolving in my head?
I don’t think I can, but the question is what does God wants for me? So confused! Anyone ever been there? I think I may be a missionary overseas. I also think I may be a missionary to my Jerusalem. I wish God was clearer and didn’t rely on faith. Life would be so much easier.
I don’t think I can, but the question is what does God wants for me? So confused! Anyone ever been there? I think I may be a missionary overseas. I also think I may be a missionary to my Jerusalem. I wish God was clearer and didn’t rely on faith. Life would be so much easier.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Retribution Theology Fails
In my years of schooling I have become all too familiar with retribution theology. The idea says that if something bad happens to a Christ follower it is because you are out of bounds with God and that is His punishment on you. The only problem with that is it is not a Biblical concept. It is easy to come to the conclusion that bad things happen to those who are at odds with God but scripture does not teach that at all. While sometimes it can mean punishment for a repetitive action that is not always the case. Those who are strict legalists say that when something bad happens it is because you have done something wrong, but that does not answer the question as to why bad things happen to people who are chasing after God with all their heart.
The Bible does teach that when a Christ follower is in sin they can expect punishment from their Father. The bible says that Christ followers are adopted into God’s family through Jesus Christ and we are His children and just as a parent disciplines their children, so does God. But is that always the case? I beg to differ. I think of Job who was considered righteous in God’s eyes yet, he went through a very rough time that cost him his family. Job was confronted by three friends who said that he must have sinned against God and this was his punishment. They persisted to patronize him and tell him to confess this hidden sin so that God would redeem him.
The dialogue goes back and forth for quite some time before a man named Elihu comes on scene and rebukes Job’s friends. (With friends like that who needs enemies) In Job’s frustration of his friend’s accusations and his redemption from Elihu he demands God give him an answer for his problems. A long story short, God puts Job back in his place and restores him with a new family. How often do we do this with members in the church today? “Oh something bad happened; you must have done something wrong…” Not so much in my opinion and my studies of what the Bible teaches. While this may be the case it is not an absolute truth.
I say all of this because of a horror story I heard from my dad who recently conducted a funeral and was confronted by a person who challenged as to why he could offer hope to people because this was clearly God’s judgment on the person and family who lost a loved one. The victim was an infant that slipped and fell and died. It absolutely rips me apart to say this, but this person said that this was God’s judgment on the person and family because they were not living a life that brought God glory. It hurts me even more because I know them personally.
If retribution theology is indeed God’s judgment on those out of bounds with Him then I am in bad shape and you might be too. My truck died recently and I had to replace the engine, I had to shut down my business because the economy went south, I work at a job that I can barely get by, I broke my toe last week and missed some work, I feel numb in my relationship with God, He seems so distant and I want to yell at Him… I could go on but I kinda feel like Job. I want to scream and yell at God and demand an answer. He owes it to me, right? Not so much. Is it because I am out of bounds with Him? Or simply something He is putting me through something like He did Job?
The problem with retribution theology is that it is based on actions and Jesus says that it is not what you do but what you believe that gives you hope. Those who focus on actions are Pharisees. They focused on what you looked like and not what was inside. Jesus even called them out and called them white washed tombs full of dead men’s bones. We cannot impose the doctrines of man on people and expect them to live up to God’s standards. Jesus said follow me. That means even in the hard times but that does not mean that when bad things happen you are not following Him.
We must stop this pharisaic attitude and stop judging people by what is happening in their life. If you do then you are one of Job’s friends and you can expect God to call you out for your wrong accusations. (hopping off my soap box)
The Bible does teach that when a Christ follower is in sin they can expect punishment from their Father. The bible says that Christ followers are adopted into God’s family through Jesus Christ and we are His children and just as a parent disciplines their children, so does God. But is that always the case? I beg to differ. I think of Job who was considered righteous in God’s eyes yet, he went through a very rough time that cost him his family. Job was confronted by three friends who said that he must have sinned against God and this was his punishment. They persisted to patronize him and tell him to confess this hidden sin so that God would redeem him.
The dialogue goes back and forth for quite some time before a man named Elihu comes on scene and rebukes Job’s friends. (With friends like that who needs enemies) In Job’s frustration of his friend’s accusations and his redemption from Elihu he demands God give him an answer for his problems. A long story short, God puts Job back in his place and restores him with a new family. How often do we do this with members in the church today? “Oh something bad happened; you must have done something wrong…” Not so much in my opinion and my studies of what the Bible teaches. While this may be the case it is not an absolute truth.
I say all of this because of a horror story I heard from my dad who recently conducted a funeral and was confronted by a person who challenged as to why he could offer hope to people because this was clearly God’s judgment on the person and family who lost a loved one. The victim was an infant that slipped and fell and died. It absolutely rips me apart to say this, but this person said that this was God’s judgment on the person and family because they were not living a life that brought God glory. It hurts me even more because I know them personally.
If retribution theology is indeed God’s judgment on those out of bounds with Him then I am in bad shape and you might be too. My truck died recently and I had to replace the engine, I had to shut down my business because the economy went south, I work at a job that I can barely get by, I broke my toe last week and missed some work, I feel numb in my relationship with God, He seems so distant and I want to yell at Him… I could go on but I kinda feel like Job. I want to scream and yell at God and demand an answer. He owes it to me, right? Not so much. Is it because I am out of bounds with Him? Or simply something He is putting me through something like He did Job?
The problem with retribution theology is that it is based on actions and Jesus says that it is not what you do but what you believe that gives you hope. Those who focus on actions are Pharisees. They focused on what you looked like and not what was inside. Jesus even called them out and called them white washed tombs full of dead men’s bones. We cannot impose the doctrines of man on people and expect them to live up to God’s standards. Jesus said follow me. That means even in the hard times but that does not mean that when bad things happen you are not following Him.
We must stop this pharisaic attitude and stop judging people by what is happening in their life. If you do then you are one of Job’s friends and you can expect God to call you out for your wrong accusations. (hopping off my soap box)
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