Fall on Your Face

I have often heard people say when I get to Heaven I'm going to tell God a thing or two. Or I'm going to ask Him why this happened or that happened. I say - no you won't.

My first knee-jerk response is that if your attitude toward the Lord God Almighty, Creator of all things, the only wise God is so demanding of your rights and so much in disregard of His power and His right to do as He pleases, you may not get to Heaven at all.

When Ezekiel had his vision of the 4 living creatures and the wheels, he stood in wonder and amazement at what he saw. Ezekiel then describes what he calls the "likeness of the glory of the Lord. When I saw it I fell on my face." (Ezekiel 1:22-28). We see it again in Ezekiel 3:23 as well as Revelation 7:11 and 11:16.

Paul tells Timothy that God dwells in "unapproachable light". (1 Timothy 6:15-16) God owes us nothing except damnation. But in His great love He has made a way for us to approach Him through His Son Jesus Christ. I am overwhelmed by that. 

Rather than demanding an audience to voice my grievances, I want to fall with my face to the floor in humble submission and gratitude that He chose me to be part of His family. I don't understand why things happen or don't happen as they do and so I will be the first to admit that I am not God. I don't need my questions answered because I know that God does no wrong. And there are some things I just won't understand this side of eternity.(1 Corinthians 13:12).

A Generous Heart

When Moses told the children of Israel about the contributions need for the construction of the Tabernacle, he said, "Whoever is of a generous heart, let him bring the Lord's contribution: gold, silver and bronze; blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen; goats' hair, tanned rams' skins, and goatskins; acacia wood, oil for the light, spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense, and onyx stones and stones for setting, for the ephod and for the breastpiece."  (Exodus 35:5-9)

The people gave so much that the craftsmen in charge of making everything told Moses to tell the people to stop bringing their offerings because "the people bring much more than enough for doing the work that the Lord has commanded us to do." (Exodus 36:4-5) They kept a record of what was used and it turned out to be over 1 ton of gold, about 3 1/2 tons of silver and 3 tons of bronze. (Exodus 38:24-31) Plus all the "soft" goods and precious stones.

Reading this made me wonder what it would be like if ALL God's people had a generous heart today. There are many very generous people in churches across the globe but statistically only 5% to 7% of "church" people tithe and that is down to around 4% with the economic downturn.

Imagine what would happen if 10% or 15% of God's children would tithe. Or what if 50% to 75% tithed. Can you even conceive of EVERYONE who claims Christ giving a mere 10% of their income to God's house? How would our country be different? Would we need less government intervention? Would God's Church take up their role to care for the poor and the widows and the orphans? Would we end hunger and homelessness in our neighborhoods or our country or even the world?

And what if we went beyond the tithe to New Testament giving which was much more generous than tithing? Unfortunately in America, we love our money and our stuff and our comfort. All too often we upgrade to a new data plan on our phones before we upgrade our giving to God's work.

"What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul." (Mark 8:36) It really is all about our hearts. Surrendering everything to Jesus including our money. "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:21).

Jealous God

When Moses went up on Mount Sinai to meet with God, Aaron and the children of Israel got restless and decided that Moses must not be coming back. The people came to Aaron and asked him to make them a god to worship so he gathered their gold, put it in the fire and fashioned a calf. This was put on an altar and the people began to worship it.

God sent Moses back down the mountain. Moses in his anger broke the tablets God had written on. God in His anger said they should leave but He wouldn't go with them because He would destroy them all. But Moses interceded with God on behalf of the Israelites and God said He would go with them. So Moses goes back up the mountain with new tablets so God can write the words again.

While Moses was on the mountain this time, God revealed a new name for Himself. He was telling Moses when the people came into the land of promise, God would drive out all the people living there. The children of Israel were to make no covenants with those people and they were to "tear down altars and break their pillars and cut down their Asherim (for you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God) (Exodus 34:13-14)

It's easy to see the "other god" when it is a golden calf or an altar or something like that. But what about in our day and age. Oh, we still see gods - little carved statues and tapestries in store windows or restaurants but do we recognize other gods in our own lives. Maybe it is money or perhaps our work or our children. Maybe it is that favorite TV show that we watch instead of spending time with God - when we haven't even thought of Him all day, until just now, but we just can't miss the next episode.

Whatever it is, God is jealous for His children. His jealousy is not an evil, manipulative jealousy but one of great love. He does not want His children to suffer the pain or loss that comes from turning away from Him. He knows way better than we do the agony and destructiveness of sin - it cost Him the the pain and death of Jesus on the cross - and He longs for us to walk closely to Him. The fact that God is jealous for me to worship Him alone gives me great comfort and strength to face whatever comes my way.

Sex in the Church

I am so proud of my pastor, Perry Noble, and his willingness to speak God's truth even when he knows he will get a lot of angry feedback. Yesterday's message, "Sex in the Church - part one" was a powerful message on the need to follow God's plans for marriage and for sex. 

1. A Godly Man - a man who loves Jesus and has surrendered his life to Him

2. A Godly Woman - a woman who loves Jesus and has surrendered her life to Him

3. Marriage - defined by God as a man and a woman; government nor culture can change that definition

4. Sex - for procreation, enjoyment and intimacy

Putting sex before marriage negates the "godly" in the equation because it means the person is not willing to fully submit to Jesus and deny their own fleshly desires.

Next Sunday he will be speaking about specific issues affecting people in the church including pornography and homosexuality. These are not politically correct issues to address but God's love extends to all sinners who are willing to repent and surrender to Jesus as Lord. And there are people in just about every church who struggle with these and other sexual issues. The Church just usually chooses not to "offend" people with what God's word says.

Praying for Pastor P with more fervency this week as he prepares for "Sex in the Church - part two."

Holiness

One of the things I like about reading the Old Testament is seeing the holiness of God. Sometimes I forget who God really is. Jesus taught us to think of God as Father (Matthew 6:9), and even more intimately as daddy (Mark 14:36, Galatians 4:6). Jesus calls believers friends (John 15:15) and Paul assures us of our adoption into the family of God (Ephesians 1:5).

God didn't want the children of Israel to forget who He really is. So as God gives instruction to Moses about Aaron and his sons, about the altar and the sacrifices, about the incense and anointing oil, He tells Moses they are holy, it is holy, it shall become holy or it is most holy to the Lord. Not just anyone could approach God because He is so holy. (Exodus 29-30) Later they will be taught that God is a consuming fire, a jealous God. (Deuteronomy 4:24)

Jesus changed the need for sacrifice when He died on the cross (Revelation 1:5) and the curtain in the temple was torn (Mark 15:37-39). Direct access to God the Father through Jesus Christ the Son with the help of the Holy Spirit was given to all who have called on the name of the Lord. However, the majestic holiness of our God and Father, the consuming fire jealous God, was not diminished one bit. He may be Daddy but He is still God and as such demands attitudes and a lifestyle of respect and a sense of awe that He would even stoop down to earth to concern Himself with us.

The Bible tells us "be holy, as I am holy." (1 Peter 1:16 Leviticus 19:2). It also tells us to strive for holiness "without which no one will see the Lord." (Hebrews 12:14) Since God is the picture of holiness, I need to understand - by reading the Old Testament - what holiness looks like. Everything that was set aside for God's purposes was redeemed and made holy. The same is true for me. I have been redeemed and set aside for God's purposes by the cross of Jesus Christ. So I must act and think and speak and live in such a way that holiness becomes a natural part of my life. How? Read the Bible and do what it says!

God is in the Details

I'm reading now about God's conversation with Moses on Mount Sinai about the tabernacle and it's furnishings. (Exodus 25-27). God was very detailed in His descriptions of how His dwelling was to be made. Not only did He give Moses a verbal/written description, He also gave Him a picture. God wanted to be sure His house met His specifications so no detail was left unmentioned.

God cares about every detail of my life as well. However He doesn't give me a detailed picture of where to live or work or what car to buy or whom to marry. If I seek Him, He will speak to me about the issues of my life. He will guide me to make right decisions. He has already given each person who claims Jesus Christ as Savior a guiding light in the person of the Holy Spirit. Coupled with the Bible the Holy Spirit will guide me to go and do and be just who God created me to be.

There is great joy in doing life God's way!

What Now

Yesterday was a huge day at NewSpring. For weeks we have been encouraged to invite our friends to church on August 21. So August 21 finally came and we had around 18,000 people attend one of our 14 services in 5 locations through out South Carolina. We saw 490 people cross over from death to life by surrendering their hearts and their lives to Jesus. To commemorate the day of their spiritual birth, we put a hospital bracelet on each person's arm with "DOB 8/21/11" and the scripture Perry emphasized John 3:3.

They also were given a Bible and a Bible reading plan plus some other information. We got their pertinent details so we can follow up with them. We want to be sure they are baptized. We want to get them involved in a small group to be discipled in their new faith. We want them to becomes owners of NewSpring. We want them to continue to walk in the victory that is theirs through the cross of Christ.

But this morning as I was thinking about yesterday and praying for these who made decisions, I wondered how many would leave the hospital bracelet on to wear to school or work today. Would each boldly proclaim on Monday what Jesus did in their life on Sunday? It also made me think about my responsibility to them. I will contact some of the 86 from the Greenville campus who surrendered to Christ, to talk about next steps and to encourage them.

Beyond this, though, I should also boldly proclaim what Jesus is doing in my life right now as well as how He rescued me from death and a meaningless life to live an abundantly joyful life because of His great love and sacrifice, knowing that I will spend all eternity in the presence of Jesus. Jesus is always at work around me. If He is not doing something in my life now, I certainly can not pour into the lives of others. I must make time to seek God in the Bible and in prayer so that I might see Him in my circumstances, my family, my friends so I can proclaim His love and faithfulness to others.