Have you ever heard the expression from a parent just before they discipline a child, “this will hurt me more than it will hurt you?” Perhaps in your home you heard it differently, perhaps not. I used to think to myself when I heard this said, “oh sure it will, if it hurt you more than me then why am I getting the spanking?” Humorously I’d try to find ways to protect my rear end from harm. Sometimes I would have enough warning because the phrase my mother used was “go to your room and wait for your father to come home!” And so I would sit up in my room and contemplate what I had done as I was considering how many pairs of underwear I could put on without my father noticing so that I could lessen the blow of the spanking. Truth be told, I didn’t get spanked all that often but I will never forget the phrase, “This is going to hurt me more than it will hurt you.”
I am convinced that our Father in Heaven feels that way too! He does not want to inflict pain and suffering on those He has created, yet because of humanity’s poor choices, at times, He has to. We were not created by a vindictive God who loves to punish. That wasn’t His purpose for creating us. God’s justice wasn’t initially a part of creation until the fall took place. Before the fall of Adam and Eve, God walked with us. God communed with His loved ones. The very fact that He had to drive out Adam and Eve from the garden must have been very difficult for Him! The pain in which He must have gone through because of their deceit and consequential sin. I can almost imagine God saying to Adam and Eve; “This is going to hurt me, more than it’s going to hurt you!”
After all, wasn’t it God who created for Adam and Eve their first line of clothing? (Gen 3:21) Even in the midst of their disobedience God was there to provide for them. God’s justice is something that He withholds until it is the absolute last resort. He doesn’t want to impose punishment on His creation, yet the consequences of willful and utter disobedience is punishment within the realms of God’s justice.
I know many have a very hard time comprehending the God of the Old Testament where it seems that all God does is wipe out whole cultures…yet we fail to comprehend how it must have cost God to do something so drastic. Mankind had ascended into the deepest darkest places of morality and sin. They had turned their backs on the One who created them, and because of this His justice had to take place.
Throughout all of history, God has made the attempt to reconnect with His creation. He has made covenants with them…and it should be noted that none of His covenants were ever broken by Him…they were broken by us, humanity. God knew that humanity could never find salvation by themselves, and so Christ, God’s one and only Son, enters the world to redeem us all. Once and for all, a perfect example of humanity’s blood can now cover all transgressions should they call upon the name of Jesus.
God’s justice should never be taken lightly. We must realize that how we live makes a difference. How we live dictates how God imposes love and justice towards us. If we claim to be Christians and yet our lifestyles say other wise we are knowingly sinning against God. To do so, places us in the path of His judgement. We know of God’s forgiveness and yet many use this as a ‘get outta jail card’ like in the game monopoly. Many think that because God will forgive they can carry on in sin and at some point ask for forgiveness and all will be right again…but to do this is willful disobedience and God will have His justice.
Yes God is a God of love and mercy, but He is also one of justice and judgement to those He loves. “because the LORD disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.” (Proverbs 3:12 NIV)
What do I stand for? I stand for a love relationship with God. I stand for obedience to God…am I always obedient? No! But, I do know better when I sin and when I fall. His Holy Spirit is given to all who call upon His name and He can and will provide prompting, discernment and even conviction when we go astray.
I stand for a God of Justice even when I feel sometimes His justice is harsh. Though I may feel this way, I am not all knowing and unlike God, I do not have all of the evidence. God does, and in faith, I have to trust that He knows what He is doing. I am NOT God, nor am I even close to His level…so why feel as if I know better than He does? Sometimes, this can be temptation, after all wasn’t it Satan in the garden in the form of a snake who told Eve to eat of the fruit because then she would have the knowledge of God?
God’s justice is difficult to understand from our point of view at times. Sometimes we feel it’s too harsh, sometimes we feel it comes to slowly. Yet one thing is absolute within this line of conversation, God will have His justice and everyone one day, will account for what we have done on this Earth both good and bad.
Evidence of this truth:
Matthew 12:35-37 (NIV)
The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”
Matthew 7:21-23 (NIV)
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
Matthew 25:31-43 (NIV) “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ “The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
What I Do Not Stand For:
Mankind taking God’s justice into their own hands; (Governments excluded they provide our base of law and keep us safe). Those who would Lord over people and inflict their marred understanding of justice are not speaking for God!
God’s justice is like the parent that says “It will hurt me more than it will hurt you”. He never wanted to punish His creation, yet without that correction His justice would be the consequence of disobedience.
***Tune in tomorrow as I explore “Social Justice”…an extension of this conversation today!*** “Same bat time, same bat channel” 😉
Sometimes there are days, like today that people just don’t make sense…and circumstances don’t make sense either. I heard it on the radio today that an act of terrorism (yes let’s call it what it is) took place within our country, this time in Boston.
My prayers go out to those effected by this horrific event…no one should have to experience something like this. Acts of violence perpetrated by single individuals or groups all end be same way, more blood shed.
I won’t sermonize this event…I just want to ask that we pray for those who have been injured and effected in other ways.
PRAYER:
Lord be with those who are hurting right now, for those who are afraid…be their Rock and Fortress. You are the Great Physician, please provide healing and miracles. Lord, you are a God of love and justice, and we ask that those who harm others would find your justice as we too consider out actions daily. Provide your understanding in times like this when nothing makes sense. Your Kingdom and Will be done in our lives today. -Amen.
What do I stand for? The music video linked here by ‘Fun.’ asks a very good question, and within the context of living as Kingdom people, followers of Christ, this question begs an answer in all of us! If we are truly honest with ourselves we have asked this question a time or two. This question encompasses a whole spectrum of things from political beliefs and ideologies to intrinsic ethical and moral convictions of our personal worldviews. This question can be a very existential pondering. For when we ask this solitary question, other questions in the sequence of our lives beg to be asked as well.
Automatically, when thinking about what we stand for, we will recall the ‘golden rule’; “Do unto others as you would have done unto you”. And certainly this is applicable, but what is it that we would like others to do unto us? Love us? Yes. Treat us fairly? Check. Be honest? Certainly. Be kind? Absolutely. All of these qualities and more is what we would have others do to us.
Enter Selfishness:
We hold to those truths listed above for others, but what about the way we treat other people? Do we treat others the same way? All too often we peer through rose colored glasses in how we treat others but if we were to look harder at our motives and intentions, we would quickly realize that many times we do things that will benefit us. If there isn’t something in it for us, then we quickly lose interest and pursue things more self-involved and self-fulfilled. Selfishness is our down fall most of the time. If we aren’t fulfilled by the things we do, then no one will be fulfilled. This is our old sinful self that is rearing its ugly head. If there was a weakness in the Christian armor, the chinks in the armor would be selfishness and pride. If we let our selfishness reign supreme in our decisions and in our lifestyles then we aren’t fulfilling our calling as Christ-followers. Selflessness and Selfishness cannot take up the same space within our hearts; it’s either one or the other. This is the crux of our world today, many of our sin issues that is crumbling any sense of morality comes from our pursuit of selfishness.
What Does Selflessness look like?
“Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,
and whoever wants to be first must be your slave– just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Matthew 20:26-28 (NIV)
If we stand for Christ and for what He seeks to do for the lost in our world then we must become servants and serve! Becoming a servant of Christ isn’t easy, and it never will be if we still operate from our old selfishness. Before we knew Christ we were consumed by this selfishness. Now that we know Him and identify with His suffering we too must stand for more than just ourselves. That old operating system of self cannot and will not lead others to God. It will only perpetuate that sinful selfish cycle that this world is so used to. What Christ did, was turn selfishness on its head. What He asks of us as Sons and daughters of God is to follow in His footsteps as we fulfill that great commission:
“ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20 (NIV)
When we ‘go’ we are called to leave our selfishness behind. This, from the start is where we begin this journey of what we stand for!
TO BE CONTINUED….
Like a television series, imagine the old announcer say, “Tune in tomorrow, we’ll explore ‘Standing for God’s justice’.”
Next week…I will write a series on “what do I stand for”.
Check it out and let me know what you think!
I believe this is such a pivotal subject that its helpful to discuss it, explore it and actually live it, because without action the words on a page or blog are just empty…my goal has always been to live what I preach.
So tune in Monday…so to speak, and join me in this dialogue on “What Do I Stand For?”
This is my biggest pet peeve in my house. I have a pre-teen boy, and his teenage brother, and both of them use this phrase all of the time. It drives me absolutely crazy! To me, it speaks of an apathetic life style that I can not tolerate in my life or the lives of those whom I love. The world, unfortunately, has far too many people who are apathetic to circumstances and other people.
To me one of the worst qualities in our culture currently isn’t hatred, lust, or envy, it’s apathy. From this one faulty characteristic flows all of the rest of that which is broken in our fallen world. The “I don’t care” mentality strikes and literally breaks the heart of God. I believe this to be absolutely true especially in the Church.
If the church, of all places, cultivates an “I don’t care” mentality then its doors should just close today, because with it dependence on God evaporates. With this mentality intact inside the doors of the church, it becomes the church of Satan. Harsh words? Of course, but isn’t that what Satan wants most from those who are Christ-followers; to quit, to stop caring, to give up the fight?
I’m not sure about you, but I never want to embrace the “I don’t care” mentality. Because to do so, I give up that which does matter, and the One the does care…for me, and the rest of this world.
I DO CARE! Should be our motto when faced with this apathetic attitude even within us. I DO CARE, because God cared for me even before I knew Him. I DO CARE, because I didn’t deserve redemption yet Christ gives it to me freely! I DO CARE, because I have been charged by Christ within the great commission to care for those who still needs to hear the good news!
Why do you care? Praise God for simple reminders, and those moments of conviction in all of us! I DO CARE, how about you?
“Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called…” (1 Timothy 6:12)
Rocky is training for the fight (yeah I know this does age me doesn’t it?) he is running, he is working diligently for the fight and every ounce of sweat, tears and endurance is focused on THE EVENT, when he will face Apollo Creed. He is trained, ready and focused on the goal.
In this Academy Award winning film, the main character ‘Rocky’ pushes through a lot of adversity to face off with the world champ in the ring. The main theme of this film is on focus, determination and perseverance.
Aren’t these qualities what every Christian needs in this world today? Haven’t you ever felt like giving up? Have the pressures of the world around you seemed insurmountable? When you get knocked to the mat by criticism, gossip and even slander have you wanted to quit? I imagine each of us in our own power would have quit long ago!
Having perseverance in the faith requires us to have a firm footing in whom it is we worship and count on to lead us. God wants so very much for us to keep fighting no matter what! It’s not a physical fight we wage in this world, but this very real spiritual battle does spill over into the physical world doesn’t it?
Today, whatever you are facing, whatever trouble that might come your way, know that God is in your corner! He wants you to keep going and not to quit! He gives us His strength when we are weak, the supports us when we don’t have the power to stand on our own. So if you’ve been knocked to the mat, and the referee is counting there in front of you, get back up! Don’t quit…Eternity is our goal and Christ is our coach!
The Salvation Army is steeped in its rich heritage, traditions and doctrines…It’s ministry has been felt around the world since 1865. Below I have compiled two basic lists. The first, “The biggest challenges for Corps (local chapters of The Salvation Army).” The second, “the biggest potentials for corps”. These are not absolute by any means, some will not apply to all corps, but are general, though in essence something that should get us thinking.
The Biggest Challenges for Corps:
1. Proper Time (Ministry application and usage) Management
2. Consumed with reporting and other non-spiritual materials
3. Lack of responsible local officers
4. Lack of a clear vision and mission (locally)
5. Financial Concerns
6. Poor Spiritual condition of corps members
7. Corps property lacks adequate space for current programming
8. Traditions and regulations limit innovation and “out of the box” creative thinking & planning
9. Leadership and Lay person role perceptions/misperceptions
10. Clinging to inadequate and or antiquated programs which no longer meet the needs of the community.
The Biggest Potential for Corps:
1. Clear and concise doctrines
2. Most public perceptions are positive, Salvation Army is a trusted name.
3. We were founded upon the notion of taking risks for Christ and being bold in action planning!
4. Holiness Movement means we MUST rely and listen to the prodding and direction of the Holy Spirit!
5. The Army Mission statement is clear.
6. Strong sense of purpose in communities (Holistic Ministries)
7. Vast, sometimes untapped resources of other command units & officers.
8. Continued education of its leadership and officers
9. Discipleship initiatives and weekly bible studies
10. Application of Christ like teachings outside of the four walls of the corps building, through cell groups, ministry teams and relational ministries.
As I mentioned, these are not all inclusive, and are probably similar to other denominations. It does help in any process organizational planning to have a clear understanding of your local ministry and its strengths and weaknesses. Some food for thought.
Pastor's Ponderings 