COVID-19. USA elections 2020. Just reading/hearing/typing those words brings all kinds of thoughts to the troubled minds of most of us trying to navigate the changes and havoc it has brought into our lives. Rather than keep asking God “Why?” and imploring Him to make it go away, what if we asked the questions, “What do you want to do with this, God?” and “What do you want me to do as a result of this, God?” Maybe it is time to let our minds run free and let God reposition us to fulfill His command to “Go and make disciples.”
I recently listened to Dr. Lucas Leys' talk about the learning and teaching process as it relates to our churches and teaching/discipling believers. He noted that church-going Christians average listening to 50 sermons a year in our churches. But research shows us that the daily life of Christians who attend church vs. people in general is very similar – only a couple percentage points difference. This would indicate that most of us are not absorbing/learning what is being taught in our churches – or what is being taught is not transformational. We accept the salvation through Jesus Christ, but don’t submit ourselves to His lordship in our lives. We refuse to be discipled and transformed by the Gospel that saves us!
James tells us, “But don’t just listen to
God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling
yourselves. For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing
at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look
like. But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and
if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you
for doing it.” James 1:22-25 NLT (my emphasis).
This is not just a New Testament teaching. This morning, I found this nugget tucked in II Chronicles 24:20 NLT. “This is what God says: Why do you disobey the Lord’s commands and keep yourselves from prospering? You have abandoned the Lord, and now he has abandoned you!” I wondered about the full meaning of the word translated as “prospering.” It is a rich word as many Hebrew words are, and it takes many English words to translate the full meaning of it. Here is what Strong’s Definitions says about the word: “to push forward, in various senses (literal or figurative, transitive or intransitive):—break out, come (mightily), go over, be good, be meet, be profitable, (cause to, effect, make to, send) prosper(-ity, -ous, -ously).”
As I read that passage, I found myself weeping and mourning at the state of the nation of Judah. They had come through and era where the king listened to a priest and had brought the country into a time of peace and prosperity. But when the priest died, King Joash began to listen to other people and opened up the kingdom to worshiping other gods and in the end, stoned Zechariah for prophesying those words. I pondered the parallels of our nation as we have watched Christians go from making Jesus Lord to making politics lord in their lives. Christians who try to speak out with the Gospel of Jesus Christ are frequently “stoned” verbally even by other Christians. And I weep as I realize that few people are allowing the “Lord’s commands” to dwell deeply in us and transform us to be Christ-like in our attitudes, words, and behaviors.
I continue to ponder this and wonder if the problem is that we don’t read and respect the “owner’s manual” that came from the Creator of the world. It starts from a place of believing that God created the world and everything in it. If He created it, it would stand to reason that He knows best how it should operate and what makes it operate smoothly. He gave us annotated instructions and as Zechariah the priest said, when we disobey the Lord’s commands (instructions) we keep ourselves from prospering – moving forward, breaking out, coming mightily, being profitable, prospering!
Oh Lord! I confess that we do not read, learn from and follow your words of wisdom and instruction you have given us. And now we find ourselves in a huge mess! Lord, create in us a hunger for you that leads us to your Word. Change us! Remake us from the mess we have made with ourselves into the disciples you desire for us to be – so we can run smoothly, operate as we are designed to operate, and prosper in the world you created for us and in which you placed us. It is not just about our nation, but about our very souls. Meet with us and change us for your Kingdom here on earth as it is in heaven! Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment