I'm only human...

I caught myself uttering these words yesterday, and afterward thought about what God must think of our making that excuse.

It's usually when we can't keep up with something, or we find it extremely difficult to do something, or when we outright fail. We're only human, after all...

But does God see that as somehow justifying our behavior? Does God realize that humans are imperfect creatures? He certainly didn't make us that way! We were created in the very image of God. We are as perfect a creature as God has made.

Next time you are tempted to say you're only human, think about what it means to be human, to be made in God's image, with the free will to follow Him and be in fellowship with Him. Being "only human" is one of the greatest blessings we have. It's not a curse.

And maybe when we fail, we should remind ourselves that we are fallen, that we are sinful. We weren't made that way. That's where any curse might come from, from deep within ourselves, our sinfulness.

Isn't it great that we are "only human." Isn't it a shame we couldn't stay that way. Maybe with the help of the Holy Spirit, God will help us act as human as he intended us to be...

Life seems unfair...

Have you ever wondered why some seem to get everything they need and much more, and others seem to struggle for every little thing? Doesn’t the whole thing seem so unfair at times?

I suppose you’ve felt that way from time to time. I’m sure you’ve seen some of the unfairness of life, and wondered why God seems to allow this.

I don’t write this to give you any answers today. Because I have to admit that I don’t understand it myself. Sometimes I see sinful people get so much, and righteous, God-fearing people that don’t have anywhere near enough, and it makes me ask “Why, God?”

And I have to admit that hasn’t answered that question to me yet. I know that it’s a question that many others have asked, and I bet that they haven’t received an answer to their question either. But I have found a passage in Scripture that reminds that God is in charge. That he is aware of the unfairness here, and in the end it will be okay.

The passage involves John the Baptist and some of his followers. After John had baptized Jesus, Jesus and some of his followers also baptized people in the Jordan. And it got to the point where far more people were going to Jesus than were coming to John. Some of John’s followers thought this was very unfair, and so they brought it to John’s attention and asked him about it.

John was very wise, and knew that Jesus was the Christ, and replied in John 3:27, “A man can receive only what is given him from heaven.” We can’t know why God chooses to bless some and not bless others. But we can know that God has a reason for those he blesses.

And that in the end, we can only receive what is given to us from heaven.

Are we relevant?

There is article in the latest REV! magazine that indicates that after decades of talking about the church being relevant to people, particularly to our youth, most churches aren’t any further along than they were at the end of the 20th century.

I was thinking about that, and I suppose that many in our community would agree with that statement. And as much as we do to try to be relevant, in the end, we are still perceived as not being terribly relevant.

But on the other hand, most in our church would disagree, and claim that we are very relevant. The church holds the answers to many of the struggles we face. More specifically (I hope) that Christ has the power to transform us from our pain and trials into lives of hope and peace in the midst of chaos. I agree with them.

Yet I also agree with those who still hold that the church is irrelevant. I think that both statements are true to an extent. Perhaps this is another example of perception being everything. For those that are outside the church, and have not benefited from the church, they find us irrelevant to their daily lives. Yet for those who have had contacts with the church, or are part of our church family, they see how relevant we can be.

After all, we have a food pantry that feeds the hungry, we have a Samaritans Loft that houses the homeless, we have many outreaches that help those outside the church know that we care – Valentines Share Boxes, Memorial Day Remembrances, Funeral Dinners for families who have lost a loved one, Prayer and Visitation ministries, sponsoring families at Christmas time, Samaritan’s Purse Christmas Boxes that reach children all over the world. How much more relevant can you be than these? We reach out and touch people when they are hurting and when they need help the most.

Perhaps the bigger issue is how are we communicating this to people outside the church? How do we let them know? How can we be relevant to those that we aren’t currently relevant to? I would love to hear your thoughts…

Seeing the living Christ

I was very blessed in that I grew up in the church. Perhaps you have grown up in the church – you were blessed, too. I say I was blessed because I learned growing up about God, and about His love for me, his love for each of us. I grew up knowing what He expected of me, I grew up knowing the basic fundamentals for a life of faith.

I didn’t always do them. There was time I wandered away, and didn’t always do what I knew I should do. But because I grew up in the church, I had the fundamentals in place, and I knew what I had to do to get right God.

Many don’t have that foundation. Many are wandering through life with no moral compass, no foundation of faith, no idea how to be right with God. And with all of that comes no hope. Probably the most serious of these is no hope. Our streets are full of people with no hope. Christ brings hope.

The Apostle Paul had a foundation, but he found out that it was the wrong foundation. He persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. He was advancing Judaism and was extremely zealous for the traditions of his fathers. But he found out that these traditions were not godly traditions. He didn’t know God. He thought he did. But his actions were actually taking him farther from God.

Do have a firm foundation of faith? Do you Scripture, and believe it all – or does some not really agree with what you believe? Could your foundations be faulty like Paul’s were? Pray that Christ might reveal himself to you. After seeing Jesus, Paul was never the same. When Jesus reveals himself to you, you will change, too!

Peace

I wonder how much there is truly is in the world today.

I know that we see the news each evening and see the wars, persecutions all over the globe, violent crimes in our own neighborhoods, and we might easily question whether there is any peace anywhere.

But I wonder if real peace isn’t found out there somewhere. Maybe it’s found inside, deep inside, those who seek it.

I think maybe peace is something like joy or happiness. It isn’t dependant on what others do for us, or to us. It isn’t dependant on circumstances that are outside our control. Those who need the circumstances to line up, need others to do things, or need things to make them complete, aren’t really happy. Even if they get everything they want, they will one day find something else they want, and once again, won’t be happy until they get it. Real happiness and joy comes from within. People who are genuinely happy don’t need things. They don’t need circumstances to line up just right. Their happiness comes from deep inside, and others can’t take it away.

I think peace is like that. We can be at peace with our neighbors, regardless of what our neighbors do. Sometimes it’s difficult, but I think that’s why it has to come from within. Too much can happen on the outside – peace from the outside doesn’t last. Peace from deep within does.

The question, I suppose, is where does that peace come from, and why don’t more people have it? Peace is listed in Galatians chapter 5 as a fruit of the Spirit. Jesus said, in John chapter 14, “Peace I give to you, my peace I leave with you.” In light of these passages, I would have to say that peace comes from God. It is one of those “fruits” that comes when we are filled with the Holy Spirit. It comes from faith in God, through Jesus the Son. It is a gift.

Cherish this peace. Don’t let outside circumstances rob you of your peace. Your peace is a gift from God and is as valuable as any other gift you’ve ever received.

Homeostasis

HOMEOSTASIS: is the property of an open system, especially living organisms, to regulate its internal environment to maintain a stable, constant condition, by means of multiple dynamic equilibrium adjustments, controlled by interrelated regulation mechanisms. Simply put: people and systems of people (churches) often work hard to avoid change EVEN if change is inevitable.

I came across this definition last week, and I thought it was worth taking a look at. It sounds terribly difficult to understand, but to try to put a little simpler, people fight all change as a way to regulate their environment. When things seem out of control, people do everything they can to hang on to what they are used to. It’s the only thing they may be able to control.

The problem is, when things are out of control, often change is required to restore control, and resisting change, though very natural, may tend to keep things out of control.

To apply this to churches, declining attendance in mainline denominational churches is one of the biggest threats to the church, at least here in America. In order to halt that decline, change is desperately needed. Yet churches resist that change at all costs. Many churches actually close, rather than change.

I find this very sad. The body of Christ is suffering because some churches in the body resist change. But God is bringing restoration and new life to those churches that will change. Which church is more like your church?

God's Choice

Today's thought is the last of our reflections from the book, God’s Blessing for You. This one is also by Max Lucado, and is also from his book, The Great House of God.

“Long ago, even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. And this gave him great pleasure. (Eph. 1:3-5 NLT)

“And you thought God adopted you because you were good looking. You thought he needed your money or your wisdom. Sorry. God adopted you simply because he wanted to.

“You were in his good will and pleasure. Knowing full well the trouble you would be and the price he would pay, he signed his name next to yours and changed your name to his and took you home. Your Abba adopted you and became your Father.

“You and I both know that an adoption is not something we earn; it’s something we receive. To be adopted into a family is not a feat one achieves, but rather a gift one accepts.

“The parents are the active ones. Adoption agencies don’t train children to recruit parents; they seek parents to adopt children. The parents make the call and fill out the papers and endure the interviews and pay the fee and wait and wait. Can you imagine prospective parents saying, ‘We’d like to adopt Johnny, but first we want to know a few things. Does he have a house to live in? Does he have money for tuition? Does he have a ride to school every morning and clothes to wear every day? Can he prepare his own meals and mend his own clothes?’

“No agency would stand for such talk. Its representative would lift her hand and say, ‘Wait a minute. You don’t understand. You don’t adopt Johnny because of what he has; you adopt him because of what he needs. He needs a home.’

“The same is true with God. He doesn’t adopt us because of what we have. He doesn’t give us his name because of our wit or wallet or good attitude. Paul states it twice because he is doubly concerned that we understand that adoption is something we receive, not something we earn.

“God is no fair-weather Father. He’s not into this love-‘em and leave-‘em stuff. I can count on him to be in my corner no matter how I perform. You can, too.

“Your Father will never turn you away. It is right to call him Holy; we speak truth when we call him King. But if you want to touch his heart, use the name he loves to hear.

“Call him Father.”