Before your head hits the pillow

Are We Great Men and Women of Faith?

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As Christians we all fall short of the glory of God. We fail our Lord and fellow man EVERY day! But God knows this and wants to use us to fulfill his perfect will anyway. Romans 3:23-24 – for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;

Consider this… Hebrews 11 lists the great men and women of faith

Here are some excerpts…
–It was by faith Noah built and ark to save his family from a flood.
–It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land…
–It was by faith that Sarah together with Abraham was able to have a child, even though they were too old and Sarah was barren.
–It was by faith that Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice when God was testing him…
–It was by faith that Jacob, when he was old and dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons…
–It was by faith that Moses’ parents hid him for three months…
–It was by faith that Rahab did not die with all the others in her city…

Others mentioned in the great annals of faith are Abel, Enoch, Isaac, Barak, Jephthah, Samuel, Samson, David, and Gideon.

Now let’s look at each of these great men and women of faith

Noah – was found by his sons drunk in his tent
Abraham – Lied about Sarah being his wife
Sarah – Didn’t trust that God would give her a son and offered their servant Hagar to Abraham so he could have a child
Jacob – Deceived his father
Moses – was not allowed to go into the promised land because he disobeyed God and even killed a man
Rahab – was a prostitute
Samson – allowed himself to be seduced by a woman
David – committed adultery with a married woman and then arranged for her husband to be killed
Gideon – rather than simply trusting, needed God to send him a sign.

It should be noted that God did not select extraordinary people to become great men and women of faith. No they were shepherds, prostitutes, and farmers. God can use ANY of us!! We just need to want to be used and be willing to increase our faith!

So why did God list these obviously flawed people as great people of faith. First we must understand that any great person of faith is human, therefore destined to sin. Each of these people had sin in their lives, but each of them also had great faith in the promise of their God. I believe that this listing of great men and women of faith should serve as both a comfort and a challenge. We should be comforted that our faith will not come without stumbling, but that stumbling should not crumble our faith. Each of these people, although inherently flawed believed in the promises of God.

We too can believe in the promises of our God. He promises to give us comfort, He promises to take care of us through hard times. He promises to always love us and to never leave us. He promises that He has a better home for us in heaven. He promises that our Lord and Savior will once again return to bring each of us to our final home.

Now our faith comes into play. Do we believe all of His promises? Do we believe that He will not leave us? Do we believe that He can carry us through hard times? Do we believe that He has gone to prepare a place for us? What behaviors do His promises prompt in us? How is our faith demonstrated?

God uses very flawed, imperfect people to achieve his perfect will. God does not define us by our mistakes; we are defined by how we react to those failures. Each of these individuals although greatly flawed were still considered GREAT EXAMPLES OF FAITH.

We can’t earn salvation, but we can all be diligent in our service to Him. Let us each pray that God sees in us great faith and at that time when we meet our heavenly Father, He will say to us, “Well done though good and faithful servant!”

Before your head hits the pillow

A Christian’s Response to the Syrian Refugee Crisis

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This issue has been weighing heavy on my heart.  What is our responsibility toward the Syrian refugees attempting to seek asylum in our country?  Is it our responsibility to open our arms to people we know may have, in their heart, an intent to hurt the people of our country?

This question has been going around and around in my head.  I have come to a decision for myself which may or may not mesh with what you believe and I am eager to hear your thoughts on this issue.

This refugee crisis is unlike any in our nation’s history.  We have given many people a safe place to live but the people who came did not espouse a religion that calls for destroying the infidels (that’s us).  This is what makes this issue so much more difficult.

Proverbs 22:3 says, “The prudent sees danger and hides himself, but the simple go on and suffer for it.”  This refugee issue truly poses within it danger for this country.  The main purpose of our government is protection of its citizenry.  The federal government has taken upon itself many roles it had no right in which to engage, but the protection of our people IS its PRIMARY purpose.

I think we need to make a distinction between what we should do as Christians and what the Government should do.  Christians often place themselves in harms way to help others.  Christian doctors and nurses volunteered during the recent Ebola outbreak in Africa.  Some suffered greatly and others died.  They did this because they believed they were being called to do so.

However, if you and your family worked with your city’s homeless ministry you might decide to take one of the homeless into your home.  However, God would not judge you for determining to use prudence with whom to invite into your home.  If you had small children at home, would it be advisable to bring a convicted pedophile into your home?  Likely not.

We want to be loving and caring.  If you have a brother who becomes extremely violent when he drinks you will love him but you don’t need to accept his invitation to his New Year’s Eve Party.  That would put yourself at risk.  You want to be there for him but you don’t need to risk your own life.

As Christians we need to listen to what God is calling us to do.  If he is calling us to take part in an effort to assist the Syrian Refugees then by all means we MUST do that!  It doesn’t matter whether these people are Christians or Muslims or hold to no religion at all, if God is calling us to their aide, then we must go.

But as for our Government, it is there responsibility to keep the people of this nation safe. It is their responsibility to minimize our risk.  It would be irresponsible not to do everything in their power to do so.  So adopting a more rigorous vetting process would be prudent.  Taking some time to determine who these immigrants are before they enter the country that would be prudent.

Our Government cannot be inviting people into our home, our country, who could pose a threat.  That is neither right nor responsible.  So my summary is this, as a people of God, let us serve and serve wherever He sends us.  As a government let us protect, for that is its purpose.

Before your head hits the pillow

He Giveth More Grace

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I love researching the great hymns and gospel songs. One thing is very evident, the writers of these amazing songs are very diverse. Some were written by people of wealth, some by people riddled by poverty, some by men and others by women, some by the intellectually superior and others by just plain ordinary people. But most were written by people who had experienced God’s grace in their darkest hours.

Tonight I wanted to post about a song written by Annie Johnson Flint. Annie lost her mother at a very tender age of 3. Her father felt he could not care for his two young daughters so he left them in the care of a friend, which turned out to be a less than positive experience for Annie. But the Lord interceded for the two young girls and they were taken in by Mr. and Mrs. Flint. Mrs. Flint, known as Aunt Susie was a kind school teacher who took the two girls in and raised them as her own. Mr. and Mrs. Flint were true Christians and raised the girls accordingly.

Annie, although cheerful and optimistic, had some faults. She was prone to quick temper flare ups and lacked patience (don’t we all!).

Shortly after she finished high school she suffered another huge loss when both of her adoptive parents died within months of each other and shortly thereafter she was diagnosed with debilitating arthritis.

She was an amazing writer but struggled to write as she gripped her pen through bent and hobbled fingers. But this did not dissuade her faith or her writing.

She wrote the song featured tonight from that horrible arthritic state. It was inspired by three Bible verses;

James 4:6 – But he giveth more grace; from Isaiah 40:29 – He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength; and from Jude 1:2 – Mercy unto you, and peace, and love, be multiplied.

He giveth more grace as our burdens grow greater,
He sendeth more strength as our labors increase;
To added afflictions He addeth His mercy,
To multiplied trials He multiplies peace.

When we have exhausted our store of endurance,
When our strength has failed ere the day is half done,
When we reach the end of our hoarded resources
Our Father’s full giving is only begun.

Fear not that thy need shall exceed His provision,
Our God ever yearns His resources to share;
Lean hard on the arm everlasting, availing;
The Father both thee and thy load will upbear.

His love has no limits, His grace has no measure,
His power no boundary known unto men;
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus

He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again.

Her song is an inspiration to each of us. We must KNOW that when the burdens grow greater, the Lord’s grace grows. The more we have to labor, the more strength He gives and when we are afflicted by disease, suffering or even death our Lord adds increased mercy!

God’s grace has NO limits. The bigger our struggles, the more His grace! Jesus just keeps giving and giving and giving again!

And then she continues with those amazing assurances of our Lord. When we are at the end of our rope, when we are exhausted and just finished with it all, when we have not even half finished the day and we have nothing left in us, our heavenly Father’s giving has only begun! God WANTS to share His love and His mercy, we need only to lean of His loving arms. He will carry us through.

I posted a meme some time ago that indicated that it is more important to KNOW what God can do than FEEL what God can do.

We must KNOW that He is sufficient for all of our needs before we can FEEL that He is sufficient for all of our needs!

His love has no limit; His grace has no measure. His power has no boundary known unto men. For out of His infinite riches in Jesus, He giveth, and giveth, and giveth AGAIN!

Before your head hits the pillow

Is Sin Irrational?

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I think at first blush we might say, of course not.  Sin is not irrational.  We know that “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” Romans 3:23.

Psalm 51:5 says, “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.”

So is sin really irrational?  I don’t think that it is rational to believe that we can be sinless but I believe that sin itself is irrational.  The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines irrational this way: not thinking clearly: not able to use reason or good judgment: not based on reason, good judgment, or clear thinking

In this way I certainly believe that sin is irrational.  Being rational would tell us to DO things that are good and conducive for productive and healthy lives.  If we were totally rational we would steer clear of things that would harm us or would cause us distress.

But sin is irrational.  We lie even though we know we could be caught and cause ourselves and others great discomfort.  We gossip even though we know that it could hurt others and might even hurt our relationship with others.  Some drink too much even though they know that getting in their car after a night of drinking might result in an OWI or worse in an accident.  Others may cheat on their spouse even though they know that NOTHING good can come from this.

Sin is TOTALLY irrational.  Paul says in in Romans 7:19 – : For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.” Now that sounds irrational!

It would seem that we would keep ourselves from sinning because sinning ALWAYS hurts us.  Sinning hurts our relationship with others and it certainly hurts our relationship with God.

The irrationality of our sin has consequences.  Wayne Jackson in “Have you Considered the Consequences of Sin?” states that our sins have MANY consequences. He says that sin can have national consequences. When nations move away from the moral standards that God expects and wickedness is all around, the Lord imposes judgment.  God severely judged Israel and Judah, His chosen people, but he also judged the Assyrians, the Babylonians and many other secular countries for this mistreatment of His people

Sin can also have physical consequences.  When Adam and Eve sinned, their physical consequence was death, a death that would then be imparted on all mankind. Adam and Eve were living in perfection, walking in the beautiful Garden of Eden with the Creator.  But then Eve decided that she would rather believe the snake than the God who had created her.  How irrational!  But this irrational sin had gargantuan physical consequences.

Sin can also have mental consequences.  Sin can cause someone so much guilt and grief that they find it hard to sleep at night.  2 Corinthians 7:10 tells us that,”Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.”  So that mental anguish caused by sin in the life of a Christian should bring about repentance but to a non-believer it will bring death.

Sin can also bring about societal consequences.  I believe the sin of abortion has taken a huge toll on society.  Have you ever wondered why social security is almost bankrupt?  Well think about the more than 50 million children who have been aborted.  Many of these same children would have been working and paying into the social security roles but instead, the number of people involved in this program has diminished so drastically because we have aborted generations of people, that his program is no longer sustainable.

Sin also has spiritual and eternal consequences.  If we continue in our sin, our relationship with the Lord is diminished.  If we fail to accept Jesus and repent of our sins, we should expect nothing less than eternal condemnation.

So if we believe that sin is irrational and that sin ALWAYS hurts us, then let’s pray that God places within us a rational heart, a heart that sees the consequences of sin before they are committed so that we can spare ourselves the pain of those consequences and instead of feeling pain, feel the blessings of God.  For not only do we hurt ourselves when we DO sin but we live in harmony and peace with God when we DON’T sin!  Pray for a rational heart!

Before your head hits the pillow

Pesky Prayer

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Jesus’ Teachings on Prayer

We all know the Lord’s Prayer. We find His teachings on this instructive prayer in Luke 11:2-4 “And He said to them, “When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, For we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.”’ (NASB)

But how often do we think about what Jesus said next. In Luke 11:5-8 Jesus tell us about a man who went to a friend’s house at midnight. The man began knocking on his friend’s door asking if he could borrow three loaves of bread. The man’s friend is likely irritated, he tells the man that his door is locked for the night and that his family is all in bed. He really didn’t want to get up to help his friend, not at this hour.

So what did Jesus say? He said that even if the friend didn’t want to help the man because of their friendship, if the man knocked for long enough, the friend would give up and give him whatever he wanted just because of the man’s shameless audacity. The King James Version uses the word “importunity.” Importunity as defined in the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia as – impudent insistence rising to the point of shamelessness.

This section of the lesson of prayer cannot be divorced from the first part of Luke 11. We must pray as Jesus taught us. We must worship and praise God in our prayers, we must ask God for our sustenance, relying only on Him for the things that we need, we must forgive others, just as Christ has forgiven us and we must pray that God keeps us from temptation.

But we must pray ALL of these things with importunity, with insistence rising to the point of shamelessness. We must go to God again and again and again. How often don’t we go to God with a concern in our lives, once or twice and then wonder why He hasn’t listened? God wants us to come to him with reckless abandonment. He wants us to come to Him over and over and over again!

If you think God is not listening, don’t give up. Keep knocking; keep asking, for he will answer you. And you can be assured that He will give you what is best for you. He is not going to give you a snake when you need a fish (vs. 11).

God is more loving than ANY earthly father. If an earthly father wants to provide for his children, think how much more our heavenly Father wants to provide for us!

When you pray, be the pesky friend. Pray again and again and again. Go to the Lord over and over, keep knocking. But then have faith that He will come to the door and give you what you need! He will give you what is best for your, what most blesses you. God is good that way. Begin your pesky prayer life tonight and watch and wait to see how God blesses you!