How it works

This week has been a lesson in the value of knowing how things work. As I was watching the Bible series episode for this week, I found myself especially attuned to how Jesus spoke to others. I've read some of those scriptures over and over again but when you see it in the context of a conversation, it adds even more power to the words. The pain of seeing his temple being used by tax collectors rather than being a place of worship was clear without words.
The old saying goes that the lord works in mysterious ways. His ways may be mysterious to us but there is a reason for everything. Getting into the word can reveal how God works through parables and stories of times past. We need only equate them to the times we live in now and find the principles to live by.
This week at work, we upgraded our database system and broke a lot of business reports in the process due to changes contained in the upgrade. Knowing how the system works allows us to quickly identify the broken areas and repair them to minimize customer impact. Otherwise, we would be stuck in a reactionary mode trying to fight fires with no real direction.
The same could be said about our biblical lives. Are you studying God's word to understand his purpose for our lives? Have you applied the word to your life and your perspective? Knowing how it works will give you clear direction in your life and purpose for your soul.

Putting it all into God's hands

Putting our worries and challenges into God's hands can be daunting if not impossible for many of us. We struggle with truly trusting our Lord and having faith enough to relinquish control of our problems to allow him to carry out his plan for our lives. Think for a moment. Let's say you had total control over your destiny. Could you possibly dream up a destiny as great as the one God has already planned for you? We are like drivers in the night. We have headlights and can see a short distance ahead of us. We have enough faith that the road won't suddenly disappear, or some obstacle won't jump in the way. We have a sense of direction and signs along the way that are illuminated at the right time and place for use to change directions to ultimately arrive where we want to go.
The difference in life is that we do not know the plan God has for us. We don't know where we will arrive or even when our journey on this earth will be complete. God is our light, he will illuminate the path at the right time and place for us to change direction along the way, in order to fulfill his purpose for our lives. We need only turn the key and step on the gas. Have faith, and enjoy the ride.

Job 23:14 NLT
So he will do to me whatever he has planned. He controls my destiny.

First time caller, long time listener

It's been just over a year since I asked Jesus to come I to my life. Throughout the first few decades if my life, I had a common world view of the church and a cynical opinion of God. The media and the scientific community constantly rail against God. The media highlights scandals about church leaders who stray from their walk with God. Leaders are human, and they make the same poor decisions we do or even commit evil acts. Ultimately, God will judge them. It is not our place.
The scientific community, by its very nature, cannot subscribe to faith or the possibility that something exists beyond discrete measurement. I believe the scientific community is in a constant search for definitive proof that God can't exist but will never find it. It is impossible to prove something doesn't exist. It is only possible to infer that something doesn't exists because of contradictory facts. Therefore, it will never be possible to absolutely prove it.
Likewise, the same argument could be made using science to prove God does exist. Hence, faith is a required ingredient in the recipe of salvation. Faith allows us to believe without the scientific proof of existence. Many Christians say if I'm wrong about my faith, ok. But, if I'm right, wow, I'm glad I chose wisely.

The Man God Uses - Chapter 3

I think one of our biggest challenges as believers is understanding God's power, authority, and depth of love for us. We tend to frame God from our perspective and from a human point of view. If we do this, we inadvertently place limits on what we think God can do in our lives. We pray for help and mercy based on human abilities rather than supernatural solutions. Often, when we think our prayers haven't been answered, it's because God may be answering them in ways we cannot understand. Because we can only imagine what we would do to solve a problem, we ask him for a specific solution instead of just asking him to solve the problem.

So, the next time you ask God for help or for his favor, ask for help, but don't tell God how to solve your problem, he will know what's best. Trust him.

Prayer time

I was talking with my wife tonight about prayer. We, as new believers, have been struggling with prayer. From thanking God for our meals to asking for his grace and favor in our daily lives.
Observing our Christian friends, prayer is second nature and natural for them. I imagine this will come in time as God changes our hearts and we grow spiritually. I find that my prayer time is spent thanking God, asking for forgiveness, and praying for others. A challenge that I have is meditating in his word in addition to my thanksgiving. This is a habit that I still have yet to refine. Meanwhile, I've been subscribing to reading devotional plans to work myself into more meaningful prayer time.

The Man God Uses - Chapter 2

Struggle, tragedies, disappointment, trouble, challenges, tests of faith. These words make up the basis of how God prepares us for his work. This is also the fork in the road where we, as Christians, either stand firm in our beliefs or, turn away from God. It's the hardest part of being a Christian as we often believe we don't not have the strength or conviction to hang onto the promises of God during times of trial.

This chapter was a good read because it reflects on many of the stories of the bible to demonstrate how God allows us to be tested to see how strong our faith is. The old saying says that God answers our prayers with a 'Yes', 'No', or 'Grow'. God may not answer our prayers with the response that matches our wishes. More often, he will say no because there is another blessing far greater and more powerful around the corner that we cannot see. Or, he may just not answer meaning it's time to work on our character and our faith in order to have the right heart to ask again later.

"You may not be experiencing the truth of God's Word, but that does not cancel God's truth." Henry and Tom Blackaby

Pride and Prejudice

As a new believer, I observe my fellow Christians a lot in order to learn from them and to understand more about what it means to be a Christian. Yesterday, on the radio, I listened to the disk jockey talk about how she was faced with a dilemma. She went on a cruise and purchased two identical pairs of earrings. While wearing the first pair, she lost one of them. She originally purchased the second pair as a gift for someone back home. Her dilemma was whether to keep the second pair and get another gift for her friend or to give the second pair of earrings to her friend. There wasn't any moral dilemma necessarily as only she knew she had even bought the earrings. It was more of a personal dilemma.

The Facebook page of the disk jockey was soon inundated with posts from fellow Christians that were judgmental and harsh saying that she was selfish if she were to keep the ear rings. She observed correctly how sad it was that we, as Christians, should be without judgment of our people. It's just not our job to be judgmental or to have a holier than thou attitude.

Looking inward, I find it a constant battle to refrain from being judgmental and prejudicial of others. I think that as we walk our journey of life and build our relationship with God, we tend to be very proud of our accomplishments. Conversely, we tend to believe others should be on the same path as we are and, if they are not, we judge them harshly.

If someone appears to be walking a dangerous path in life, it is our job to connect with them and guide them, not to ridicule them and put them down.

We help each other see the light but ultimately, even God can't make us do anything. But, he can make us wish we did. He gives us the gift of free will and choices to make a difference in our lives and other's.