Waiting....

"Now the people of Judah approached Joshua at Gilgal, and Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, 'You know what the Lord said to Moses the man of God at Kadesh Barnea about you and me. I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh Barnea to explore the land. And I brought him back a report according to my convictions, but my fellow Israelites who went up with me made the hearts of the people melt in fear. I, however, followed the Lord my God wholeheartedly. So on that day Moses swore to me, "The land on which your feet have walked will be your inheritance and that of your children forever, because you have followed the Lord my God wholeheartedly." 
'Now then, just as the Lord promised, he has kept me alive for forty-five years since the time he said this to Moses, while Israel moved about in the wilderness. So here I am today, eighty-five years old! I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I’m just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then. Now give me this hill country that the Lord promised me that day. You yourself heard then that the Anakites were there and their cities were large and fortified, but, the Lord helping me, I will drive them out just as he said.'
Then Joshua blessed Caleb son of Jephunneh and gave him Hebron as his inheritance. So Hebron has belonged to Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite ever since, because he followed the Lord, the God of Israel, wholeheartedly."
Joshua 14:6-14

This passage was part of my reading the other day, and I started thinking about the concept of waiting for the fulfillment of God's promises. The Bible is filled with people who waited long periods of time to receive the promises of God in their lives, and I think we can learn a few things from their stories.

Long before Caleb, there was Abraham. God promised to give Abraham and his wife Sarah a son in their old age. The problem was, God took too long to deliver on his promise. So these two decided to take matters into their own hands and "help" God. They used Sarah's maid Hagar as a surrogate, and Ishmael was born (Ishmael's descendants are the Arabs of today). When God finally gave Abraham and Sarah their own son, Isaac, Abraham was 100 years old. The promise was made when Abraham was around 85. So Abraham had to wait 15 years to receive his promise. During his waiting time, though, he and his wife made a mess of things, and we're still seeing the effects of it today.

Along came Joseph several generations later, the great-grandson of Abraham. As a teenager, God gave him dreams that indicated there would be a day when Joseph's family would bow before him. Joseph's brothers weren't all that impressed with these dreams, and sold him into slavery. Joseph ended up in Egypt, was falsely accused of something he didn't do, ended up in prison for many years, and through an astounding turn of events, became the second highest ruler in all of Egypt. When a world-wide famine struck, Joseph's family went to Egypt to buy food, and came face to face with their brother. Indeed, they bowed before him, just as his dreams had foretold decades earlier. Joseph was 17 years old when he had his dreams, and was around 32 years old when they were fulfilled. During those 15 years of waiting, Joseph conducted himself with integrity and industriousness, and was credited with saving not only all of Egypt, but Israel as well.

And then there was Caleb, who waited 45 years to receive the land that was promised as his inheritance. I find his declaration to be rather humbling. Rather than focusing on how long it had taken for him to finally get what was promised, he made it clear that God had preserved him during his long wait, not only in caring for his needs, but maintaining his stamina and vitality. I think Caleb was quite the spry octogenarian! There is no record of Caleb ever murmuring and complaining about his waiting. He just went about doing what needed to be done: persevering in the desert for 40 years and then fighting battles to route the Canaanites for another five years.

Centuries later, the prophet Samuel anointed a young man named David to be the king of Israel. The problem was, Israel already had a king - Saul. David had to wait more than 15 years before he could claim the throne when Saul and his sons were killed in battle. What did David do during his waiting years? He patiently and faithfully served the very king that he would one day replace, both as a court musician and as a fierce military leader.

There are many other stories in the Bible of people waiting for their promises to be fulfilled, but I think you get the picture. When God makes a promise, He keeps it. Our job while waiting for the promise to be fulfilled is to remain faithful and steadfast and continue to do what we know we're supposed to do. Whether you've been waiting 5 months or 5 years (or 45 years!), believe and trust that God will come through in His time. Be also assured that if you try to "help" God hurry along His promise, you will certainly accomplish two things: you will create a mess that God may or may not clean up, and you will most likely delay the realization of His promise.

What promise has God made to you that you have yet to see fulfilled? A new job or a career move? A spouse? A child? Financial stability? Restored health? A new ministry? Whatever it is, He is faithful and will bring it about. Don't lose hope and don't give up waiting. Keep plugging away at what you know and resist the temptation to hurry things along. The best is yet to come!

Have a blessed week!

Pastor David

Formula Christianity

"They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man’s eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, 'Do you see anything?'
He looked up and said, 'I see people; they look like trees walking around.'
Once more Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. Jesus sent him home, saying, 'Don’t even go into the village.' "
Mark 8:22-26

I work on the 19th floor of a high-rise office building in downtown Phoenix. Needless to say, I spend a considerable amount of time riding the elevators. Many of these ear-popping trips are accompanied by an interesting and diverse assortment of people. Being a people watcher, I learn a lot by watching (and listening) as I pretend to be engrossed in the digital numbers changing as we pass each floor on our way to our destination.

On one such trip this past week, I overheard two women having a conversation about their struggles with weight. One of them remarked that she had participated in a clinical trial for a certain drug that was intended to help people lose weight. Unfortunately, our elevator arrived at the lobby and the women went their way, so I never heard the end of that story. But it made me think about diet pills and their spiritual implications.

As a person who has struggled with body image and weight issues my entire life, I feel entitled to say this (please don't jump all over me if you're struggling to lose weight): if you didn't take a pill to gain all that weight, what makes you think you can take a pill to lose it? I'm no weight loss expert, but the simple logic of weight gain and loss seems pretty obvious. You get fat from overeating and not exercising, and you lose weight by eating less and exercising more. Yes, I realize there are subtle nuances to consider, but the overall concept holds true.

So what does this have to do with spirituality? I have noticed over the course of my years as a pastor and Bible teacher that many people want to find some magic formula that will automatically turn them into "super" Christians. You know the type: they have their act together, they're victorious in every situation, they follow all of the spiritual disciplines, blah blah blah..... Every time they hit a road bump in life, they're off to another conference or seminar or to the local Christian bookstore to find the newest "secret" to successful Christian living.

Have you been to a Christian bookstore lately? The shelves are filled with books that promise to clue you in to something new that only the author has been privy to receive from God. If you just read their book (which you have to buy, of course), and follow their "secret" formula, your Christian walk will take on new meaning, your life will be fulfilling, the road you travel will be straight and smooth, and your kids will all turn out to be famous missionaries in Africa.

Without trying to totally disparage these authors (some whom I highly respect), I really have to question what exactly it is that they are trying to sell. I mean, if there was some formula to successful Christian living, don't you think that God would have revealed it to someone once, and the matter would be settled? It seems like every time a Christian author burps, they come up with a new revelation that no one has ever thought of before, and they write another book. Some don't even bother to write books. They boil down their revelations to twitter feeds and facebook memes (which I get to see daily from some of my well-meaning friends who repost everything they get from these "prophets").

In case you missed the newsflash, life is messy, and does not lend itself to nice tidy little formulas. The reason why I posted the passage from Mark above is to show how even Jesus had a messy ministry and didn't follow formulas. When the blind man was brought to Jesus for his healing, the people asked Jesus to touch him so he could see. Jesus then proceeded to do something completely unexpected. He took the man outside of the village (away from the gawkers, perhaps?), and then he spit on the man's eyes. I'm sure some of you germaphobes are grossed out just thinking about that last part. What's interesting is that the immediate result was a partial healing. So Jesus sealed the deal by putting his hands on the man's eyes and completely restoring his sight. Now, did the spit thing not work like Jesus expected? Or was he trying to show that things don't always happen in a nice neat little sequence? We will probably never know. What I do know is that, every time Jesus healed a person as recorded in the Gospels, he did things slightly differently. It's almost as if he wanted us to accept the fact that there is no one "right" way for things to happen. If God keeps changing the script to keep us guessing, what makes us think that we can figure it all out and boil our messy lives down into a simplistic formula?

There is no room for formulas in Christianity. Our lives are messy and will continue to be so until the day we leave this temporal world. Anyone who tries to tell you differently is a charlatan. People who go around acting like their lives are perfect are con artists and liars, or else in serious denial. Good things happen to bad people and bad things happen to good people. People get sick and die. People lose jobs and homes and relationships. And there isn't a formula in the world that will change any of that. Just because an author or popular speaker has found something that works for them doesn't mean that same thing will work for you. Take everything you read and hear with a grain of salt. The really cool thing abut being a believer is that God customizes our spiritual walk for each one of us. Don't try to be Joel Osteen or Joyce Meyer or T.D. Jakes or Rick Warren or Max Lucado. Learn what you can from them (or whoever seems to speak to your spirit), but remember that you are not them, and they are not you. Each of us has our own mess to deal with (just as they have theirs). Find the scriptural principles that seem to work for you, and leave the formulas alone.

Have a blessed (and not too messy) week!

Pastor David

Finding Contentment

"I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you have been concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength."

Philippians 4:10‑13

In Our Daily Bread, Philip Parham tells the story of a rich industrialist who was disturbed to find a fisherman sitting lazily beside his boat.

“Why aren't you out there fishing?” he asked.

“Because I've caught enough fish for today,” said the fisherman.

“Why don't you catch more fish than you need?” the rich man asked.

“What would I do with them?”

“You could earn more money,” came the impatient reply, “and buy a better boat so you could go deeper and catch more fish. You could purchase nylon nets, catch even more fish, and make more money. Soon you'd have a fleet of boats and be rich like me.”

The fisherman asked, “Then what would I do?”

“You could sit down and enjoy life,” said the industrialist.

“What do you think I'm doing now?” the fisherman replied.

What is contentment? More importantly, how do we find it in a world that seems designed to foster discontentment in our lives? I'd like to share my thoughts from a sermon I preached some years back.

Contentment means many things to many people, but I have found that it really boils down to three main concepts:

1) Contentment means that I am satisfied with my station in life. I am not constantly struggling to become something I'm not for all the wrong reasons. This does not mean that we cannot work toward bettering ourselves by obtaining more education or seeking a more rewarding career. But it does mean that, regardless of where we are on our journey, we are okay where we are if we never go any further.

2) Contentment means that I accept God's will, whatever that may look like. So many believers claim to want God's will in their life, but then complain because His will doesn't look the way they envisioned it. Accepting God's will isn't a passive act, either. If we truly believe that our loving heavenly Father will only do what is best for us, even when we can't see the positive outcome, then we also have to believe that His will revealed in our lives is for our own good, regardless of whether it resembles what we think we want or need.

3) Contentment means that I have the peace and rest that come from not struggling and striving for something I don't have. So often we are tempted to compare our lives to others around us (or the images we are subjected to in the media and various forms of entertainment). Those comparisons tend to foster a sense of discontentment in us, and we spend too much time, money and effort obtaining things that end up only fueling that discontentment.

There are three major area of discontentment in our lives:

1) Self (body, looks, intelligence, tal­ent, career aspirations, etc.). Ask anyone what one thing they would change about themselves and they will always reply with something. I have yet to meet anyone who isn't dissatisfied with some aspect of their life. We're too short or too tall, too fat or too skinny, too young or too old, we're not smart or educated or talented enough, we're not pretty or handsome enough. The list goes on.

I grew up with a very negative self-image, largely fueled by the constant bullying of my family members. It took decades for me to finally become comfortable in my own skin. And yet, at nearly 51 years of age, I still find plenty to criticize when I look in the mirror. But I have to remind myself that this is exactly how God designed me, and that I am a unique and beautiful creation of the master designer.

2) Relationships (spouse, children, par­ents, friends, etc.). Whether you are currently in a romantic relationship or not, chances are there have been times when you found yourself wishing you were with someone else (or no one at all). Or perhaps you have found yourself competing with your friends, trying to one-up each other. If you have children, there will come a time (or perhaps it has already happened) when you are convinced that there is no way these creatures are your progeny. Some of us feel the same way about our parents - surely I am adopted and no one has the heart to tell me.

Society sets us up to be discontent with our relationships. We seem to think that our relationships should make us happy and complete, and then become disappointed when they fail to do so. News flash: life is not a sit-com. Life is messy, and relationships are messy. If you are expecting your family, spouse, or friends to make you all warm and fuzzy day in and day out, you are going to be sorely disillusioned.

3) Wealth (money, possessions, plea­sures, power, security, etc.). In our American society, money is king. If you're paying the least amount of attention to what is happening in this country today, you will know that the gap between the rich and poor is becoming wider and wider, and the middle class is quickly vanishing. The people with the money are the ones in power, and they tend to make the rules in their favor. Success in this country is largely based on how much money you have, how big your house is (and how many toys you've managed to fill it with), what kind of car you drive, where you go on vacation, which designer's name is on your clothing labels, etc.

How many times have you said to yourself, "if I only had more money, I could...."? Or how about, "if I had enough money, I would never have to...."? We tend to see money as a hedge of protection against bad things happening, or as a means to a more fulfilling life. Trust me, as one who can identify with Paul's statement "I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty", I can tell you that having money doesn't make you any happier, and not having money doesn't make you any more miserable. There are plenty of poor people who are happy, and plenty of miserable people who have more money than they know what to do with. I know from numerous experiences that money can evaporate overnight, and that there are plenty of people out there more than willing to separate us from our possessions.

Of these three areas, wealth tends to be the biggest area of discontentment. We seem to think that if we have enough wealth, we can fix these other areas. Don't like your nose? Get a new one. Don't like your spouse? Get a new one. House too small? Get a bigger one. Don't like your kids? Send them to boarding school. 

The problem is, we never have "enough" money. Ask anyone you know if they have enough money, and I can guarantee you the answer will always be "no". No matter how much we have, we seem to think it is never enough. I can still remember when I took home $120 a week working at Circle K back in the mid-80s. Somehow I managed to live on that paltry sum. Years later, I was making significantly more money in my banking career, and so I bought a house. And a new car. And new furniture. And there was never enough money. My annual statement from Social Security tells me that I have earned well over $1 million dollars in my lifetime. I would love to know where all that money went, because it sure isn't in my bank accounts. I'm at the point in my life where I have everything I need, and much of what I want. And I'm no happier because of it than when I was living paycheck to paycheck as a store clerk. My happiness does not (and cannot) come from what I own or how much cash I've accumulated.

The paradox about money is this - the more you have, the more you tend to spend. We tend to want bigger and better things as soon as we can afford them (and often before we can afford them). We spend our excess money of self-indulgent pleasures that don't last, and then wonder why we never have money available for something really important.

There are three warnings in Scripture that speak to this situation:

  

Ecclesiastes 4:7‑8 

"Again I saw something meaningless under the sun: There was a man all alone; he had neither son nor brother. There was no end to his toil, yet his eyes were not content with his wealth. 'For whom am I toiling,' he asked, 'and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?' This too is meaningless – a miserable business!"

1 Timothy 6:6‑10 

"But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs."

 

Hebrews 13:5‑6

"Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.' So we say with confidence, 'The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?' "

  

So how do we find contentment? Here are six ways that I have found useful in my own life:

1) Acknowledge that everything you have comes from God. I determined a long time ago that all I have (money, possessions, relationships) belongs to God, and He just lets me enjoy it for a season. Sometimes that season is long, and sometimes it is surprisingly short. But when I have this attitude, then I don't get too caught up in the "stuff" of life because it's not mine anyway. When we start to think that we are solely responsible for what we have, we tend to become too possessive of it, which leads to an endless striving to obtain more or better "stuff".

2) Realize that God does not delight in depriving us of anything that is good for us. Psalm 84:11 tells us:

"For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless."

If you feel you are being deprived of something in your life, perhaps it is not a "good" thing for you to have (at least, not at the moment). I won't go into the "blameless" thing here because we are all sinners, but we are also "blameless" in Christ Jesus. Just make sure you're living a life that is pleasing to God as best as you know how.

3) Draw your strength from Jesus – Paul's secret to finding contentment is summed up in Philippians 4:13:

"I can do everything through him who gives me strength."

Regardless of your current circumstances and their attendant level of discontentment, remember two things: you are not doing it alone as long as you have Jesus in your life, and everything this side of eternity is temporary. The psalmist didn't say "my shepherd helps me avoid the valley of the shadow of death"; he said "my shepherd walks with me through the valley of the shadow of death" (my paraphrase).

4) Realize that you already have every­thing you need. Refer to the Hebrews passage above. As long as we have God in our lives, we can endure anything and face any situation. What you think you lack doesn't jive with God. He knows what you really need, and has already provided it.

5) Set your priorities in order.  1 Timo­thy 6:6 tells us:

"Godliness with contentment is great gain."

When we seek to live godly lives, we will have godly priorities, and the things of this world will no longer call to us, creating unsatisfied desires. When we are dissatisfied with our lot in life, we are essentially saying to God, “You have not done an adequate job of caring for me, so I will take matters into my own hands and provide the things I lack.” This is a slap in God's face and shows us to be the spoiled, greedy, impetuous children that we are.

6) Finally, be reasonable and responsible. If God chooses to prosper you, it's not so you can place your trust in your blessings, but so that you can glorify Him with those blessings. I have often said that we are not blessed to be blessed, but we are blessed to be a blessing. As long as you are a conduit for God's blessings to flow through, He will continue to bless you. If become a cistern, the flow of blessings will stop and what you have will become stagnant and unsatisfying.

If we continually squander our material blessings, we become in­creasingly dissatisfied with our lives and want more. The more we strive for what we do not have, the emptier our lives become; we must focus on what we do have, not on what we do not have.

In my quest for contentment, I have identified three truths: 

1) God is sovereign and does whatever He pleases. The sooner we accept this fact, the sooner we will be at peace with the situations and circumstances in our lives, instead of constantly ragging on God about what we think should or should not be. 

2) It pleases God to do only those things which are in our best inter­est. Unlike the God I grew up with, our loving Father is not "out to get us". He loves us and wants to make our lives a joy and not a burden.

3) We cannot fight these truths and remain in communion with God. If we turn God into a "cosmic Santa Claus", we are missing the big picture. God created us to be in communion and fellowship with Him, not to be spoiled little brats who get anything we ask for regardless of its intrinsic value.

It is only when we accept the fact that God is in control, and that He loves us more than we will ever under­stand, can we rest from our struggles and find contentment in Him. My challenge to all of us is that we will begin to look at our pursuits in life and ask the question:

“Am I doing this, or wanting that, or unhappy with my situation because I have not found contentment with what God has chosen for me?”

If we are truly honest with ourselves, we will all find areas in our lives that are a direct result of discon­tentment with God's will. May we all one day honestly be able to say with Paul, “I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation.... I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.”

Have a blessed week!

Pastor David

Divinely Human

"Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants. For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted."
Hebrews 2:14-18

"His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires."
2 Peter 1:3-4

I've been thinking about suffering a lot lately. Mostly because I see a number of my friends going through some really difficult circumstances, but also just because there is so much of it in the world in general. As I think about my own trials and tribulations over the years, I can honestly say that I could have never overcome them without the very real power and presence of Jesus Christ in my life. And those believing friends of mine who are currently walking through floods and fires (literally and figuratively), I know that they are hanging on by their unshakeable faith as well.

As I contemplated this, I began to realize something: to experience joy, happiness, peace and love, is to experience the divine nature of God. Conversely, to experience sorrow, grief, turmoil and hatred is to experience the fallen nature of humanity. When God originally created humans, they shared in His divine nature and only experienced the things He experienced. But when sin entered into the world, this perfect state of existence was marred, and humans began to experience things God could not.

Because God knew from the beginning that He would have to provide a remedy that would correct the sin problem in His creation, He also knew that the perfect solution would have to transcend both the divine and the human. If He were to sacrifice someone who never tasted what it is like to live in this corrupt flesh, that sacrifice would be academic at best ("I will die to save those poor pitiful humans"). But if God sacrificed a person who was fully human, their death would be meaningless, since death is the ultimate end for all humans. So God had to sacrifice someone who was both fully divine and fully human. And so His son Jesus entered into this world in the flesh, taking on the full nature of humanity, minus the sin, while retaining His fully divine nature.

I believe that only when Jesus had experienced all of the conditions of fallen man could He truly empathize with us and understand what it was that He was saving us from. Because Jesus knew what it was like to be angry, rejected, tempted, tormented, tired, hungry, sorrowful, lonely, betrayed, humiliated and abandoned, He could grasp the full extent of our depravity and lost condition. I believe this, as much as obedience to His heavenly Father, motivated Him to go through with His trial, crucifixion and death.

I am thankful that Jesus had to experience everything we experience. Because of this truth, I am comforted in every trial and difficulty I face, because I know that He knows exactly what I'm going through and how I'm feeling. Whenever I am tempted to feel sorry for myself, I have to be reminded that Jesus already walked through this and overcame it. And so I am encouraged to press on.

I love how Peter describes the victorious Christian life, in that we are now able to participate in the divine nature (once again), the way we were always meant to live. This doesn't mean we won't have hardships, sorrow and grief in life, but it does mean that we have the opportunity to experience more of the divine characteristics embedded in our DNA and not have to respond to life the way the rest of the world does.

And for that I am truly thankful.

Have a blessed week!

Pastor David

Chasing Shadows

"The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. Otherwise, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins."
Hebrews 10:1-3

I was in my back yard watering yesterday. While doing so, I noticed my dog Buddy frantically running around the yard in erratic patterns. Knowing how he likes to chase things, I stopped to observe him and see what had caught his attention. It turns out that he was chasing the shadows of birds and butterflies flying overhead. Rather than chasing the things making those shadows, he was perfectly content to chase their shadows, even if it meant he never actually caught anything.

As much as I love Buddy, I will be the first one to admit that he's not the brightest bulb in the chandelier. His adorable face is a distraction from the fact that he's one sandwich shy of a picnic. Truth be told, his sister Molly got all the brains and he got the good looks.

As I was watching him and amusing myself at his antics, I was thinking that people aren't a whole lot different than Buddy when it comes to chasing shadows. How often do we expend time, energy and resources chasing after things that only have the appearance of what it is we really want or desire? Even the Bible talks about shadows in this regard. The writer of Hebrews stated that the law was only a shadow of the life that is perfected through the perfect sacrifice of Jesus. He acknowledged the futility of making annual sacrifices that could never permanently resolve the sin problem of the one who desired to worship God and be in constant fellowship with Him.

What are some of these shadows that we waste our time chasing?

• We chase the shadows of money, thinking it will provide us security.
• We chase the shadows of material possessions, thinking they will provide us with happiness.
• We chase the shadows of sex, thinking it will satisfy our need for companionship and love.
• We chase the shadows of youth and beauty, thinking they will make us more desirable.
• We chase the shadows of alcohol, drugs or food, thinking (and hoping) they will erase our physical or emotional pain.
• We chase the shadows of successful careers, thinking they will provide us with admiration and approval of our families and friends.
• We chase the shadows of legalism, thinking it will bring us closer to God.

I'm sure there are many other shadows that we chase, but these are a few that came to mind.

The fact is, there are many things that we chase for all the wrong reasons. There is nothing wrong with having money or possessions or a satisfying sex life (with your spouse, of course). And I am the first one to enjoy a good meal accompanied by a fine glass of wine. And there is nothing wrong with excelling in your chosen profession, using your God-given talents to provide valuable products or services. And there is nothing wrong with having a moral code of conduct to live your life by.

But when we chase these things for the alleged benefits we associate with them, we soon find ourselves off track and misplacing our priorities. We run the risk of replacing God's blessings in our lives with the shadows of those blessings, and sooner or later we will discover that we have been chasing nothing more than wind.

Just as a shadow quickly disappears when the sun is obscured by the clouds, or a light is extinguished, so all those "shadows" I mentioned above can disappear in an instant. Money and possessions are fleeting, as are youth and beauty. Jobs are lost, addictions are insidious, and our moral compasses get out of alignment. The only permanent thing in this life is God's love for us. Everything else that we enjoy and take for granted has an expiration date. Just this month alone, one of my friends lost his son and and another lost his home and pets in tragic accidents that no one would have ever predicted. I've lived through enough recessions to have lost more money than some people will make in a lifetime. Yet through all these losses, one thing remains - the presence of a loving and merciful God, who sustains us and preserves us, even when we are crying out in the night for answers that may never come.

What shadows are you chasing today? Where do you need to realign priorities in your life? No one can answer that for you; only through personal introspection and examination can you determine where your time, energy and resources are being misspent. Ask God to show you those shadows, and He will. I know He's showing me mine.

As we enter this Holy Week during which we observe the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord, I pray that you will find a renewed sense of purpose in your life, eliminating the shadows and seeking out the true blessings of God.

Have a blessed week!

Pastor David

Your Ram in the Thicket

(Reprint of a sermon I preached on October 1, 2006)

The story of Abraham and Isaac is a familiar one to most of us. Most often, it is discussed in terms of Abraham’s faith. It also is an incredible allegory depicting God the Father sacrificing His one and only Son, Jesus. But there is another side to this story, and that is what I want to focus on today.

(Genesis 22:1-2)

Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!”

“Here I am,” he replied.

Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.”

As counter-intuitive as it may seem, sometimes God asks us to sacrifice that thing which is nearest and dearest to us, even if it is the very thing He promised to give us. This was the case with Abraham and his son Isaac. And just as Abraham's instructions were void of specific details, God doesn’t always give us all the information we need to understand our task. Sometimes we just have to move forward in faith, believing and trusting that God knows what He is doing. 

(Genesis 22:3-5) 

Early the next morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.” 

This was Abraham’s first faith declaration: “We will worship and then we will come back to you.” Even though he didn’t have the full picture, Abraham figured God knew what He was doing. Sometimes we need to involve others in carrying out God’s plans, but we can’t always tell them exactly what God has in mind. If we do, we may lose their support, or they may try to talk us out of our obedience.

Notice that Abraham described what he was doing as an act of worship. Our sacrifice must come in the midst of worship, or else we may give it grudgingly. Abraham equated sacrifice with worship. To him, they were inseparable.

Genesis 22:6-8

Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?”

“Yes, my son?” Abraham replied.

“The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”

Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together.

This was Abraham’s second faith declaration: “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” Again, Abraham did not know what or how, but he knew Who, and that was enough for him. Up to now, no one had questioned Abraham’s actions, probably because of his reputation as a man of faith. Only the curiosity of an innocent child saw that something was missing. But even then, he accepted Abraham’s answer and was satisfied.

Genesis 22:9-10

When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.

What was Abraham thinking? “He said sacrifice, not circumcise, right? God, do you know what you’re doing? God, I hope you know what you’re doing. What am I going to tell Sarah?”

What was Isaac thinking? “My old man’s really lost it this time. I knew I should have stayed in bed this morning. How sharp is that knife? I wonder if I’ll bleed to death before I’m burned to a crisp. Mom’s going to be fried when she finds out about this!”

What was God thinking? “I know exactly how you feel. One day, that will be my Son. I can’t bear to watch any longer. Quick, someone stop him!”

Genesis 22:11-12

But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”

“Here I am,” he replied.

“Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.”

Did God change His mind? No, He knew all along that this is how it would end. After all, this was a test He knew Abraham could and would pass. But there was something else God wanted to teach Abraham, and the countless generations to come after him who would read this story. God wanted to reveal Himself as Jehovah Jireh, God the Provider.

Genesis 22:13-14

Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided.”

What a “coincidence”! It just so happened that God provided exactly what Abraham needed at the precise moment he needed it. God’s original request for a sacrifice was still in force. He simply changed the object of that sacrifice. The amazing thing about God in this regard is that He always provides the sacrifice that He wants from us. He will never ask you to give Him something that He hasn’t already provided. And He will always replace the sacrificed item with something better.

Abraham thought he was about to lose a son. Instead, he gained his son, as good as dead. Hebrews 11:19 says,

“Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.”

Yet God still got His sacrifice and worship. What a deal!

The Bible is full of stories about people who had a need that God provided for at just the right moment. God is always right on time. Sometimes we think that He is late or that He has missed His window of opportunity. But He knows exactly the right time to come through with His plan of provision.

Sometimes He provides in a way that we do not expect. Were there not plenty of acceptable rams in Abraham’s flock back home? Was all this mental anguish really necessary? What was God trying to prove, anyway?

He was trying to prove that, when we step out in total obedience and choose to worship Him instead of questioning Him, He will open up the treasuries of Heaven and pour out such a blessing that we cannot even imagine it.

What is your ram in the thicket? What is that special need you have, that you don’t feel that God has provided for yet? What has he asked you to sacrifice in worship to Him, through faith and total, unquestioning obedience?

God is not a practical joker, or some sick, twisted individual that gets delight in dangling a carrot in front of you to see how frustrated you can get, knowing that you will never get that carrot, now matter how hard you try.

God is a loving Father, who wants the best for His children. But He also wants unyielding devotion and obedience from us so that He can be free to shower us with His provisions.

Philippians 4:19 tells us:

“And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.”

If you’re still waiting for your ram in the thicket, you need to ask yourself these questions in the following order:

1)	Is this truly a need in my life, or is it a distraction from what God wants for me?
	No:	Let it go, you’re better off without it. If you keep pressing God for it, He may give it to you just to teach you a lesson!
	Yes:	Go to question 2.
2)	Am I fully trusting in God’s ability to provide this need, or am I trying to bring it about through my own abilities and strength?
	No:	Know and believe that God is able to do anything better than you can, and if you try to make things happen, you will make a mess that He will need to fish you out of.
	Yes:	Go to question 3.
3)	Have I been obedient in everything that God has asked me to do, without questioning Him or trying to reason through His requests?
	No:	Start walking in obedience by doing what God says, and in faith trusting that He knows what He is doing when He asks you to do His will. He will never ask you to do something that He has not already equipped you to do.
	Yes:	Go to question 4.
4)	Am I operating on God’s timetable or mine?
	No:	Learn to wait on God and remember that to Him, a day is as a thousand years. God is not bound by our clocks and schedules. His timing is perfect.
	Yes:	Your ram is waiting!

Have a blessed week!

Pastor David