A Working Man

How many guys like to say, "I'm a workin' man"? I think we all do. It is a pride thing. We earn our keep. I love how the Bible encourages this, "Whatever you do, do it for the Lord." (1 Cor 10:13, Col 3:17) On a more sobering note, "whoever doesn't work doesn't eat."(2 Thess 3:10)

But we need to make sure we understand the difference between our physical work and "spiritual work." We need to understand that we cannot "earn our keep" with God.

"Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation." (Romans 4:4)

This concept is crucial: God owes us nothing.

"However, to the man who does not work (spiritually) but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited (to him) as righteousness." (Romans 4:5)

David, the psalmist, got it right when he wrote this around 1,000 years before Jesus, "Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him." (Psalm 32)

You see, God loves giving. Actually, He loves giving freely. He loves giving more than the most spiritual person and yet, He owes us nothing. Even people who live "perfectly" don't earn God's favor. (Rom 5:13). But God gives generously to all who ask. (James 1:5)

So what will you choose to follow? What you do or what God does?

"...He saved us, not because of righteous (good) things we had done, but because of His mercy."

(Titus 3:5)

I find it interesting what Jesus says about "hired hands" or men working for their keep.

"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays his life down for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. The the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep." (John 10:11-13)

People who are concerned about earning God's favor or blessings (or whatever else people try to earn) have a hard time caring about people. They do not understand how to give because they do not realize how much God loves them and how perfectly Jesus has forgiven them.

These people preach rules and laws. You have to "do" to get blessings, but the Bible is clear that God does not give out of obligation. Only when a realization of God grace comes into your life will you understand that God gives life into your dead bones.

Preach Grace.

(I like this font better than the font on my previous posts.)

Elijah's Fire

What do we hear about God these days? Let me tell you, I don't hear very many good things. Even in Churches people are saying that God is good and yet blame God for all of their trial and temptations. They blame Him for leaving them to fend for themselves so that they can learn a lesson. They think that sometimes He is distance, not answering them.

Frankly, the rest of the world thinks that Christians are morons for serving such a lousy God.

We need to repent. No, not ask for forgiveness; we need to change our thinking.

Let me show you something awesome from the Word of God.

I want to tell you about a man in the Old Testament named Elijah. First of all you need to know what Elijah means. "My God is Jehovah" is literally what his name translates to. Jehovah is the most supreme name for God that Hebrews have. Jehovah means "The self-existing one." This name shows how God needs no one to create Him but in fact He is the one that creates.

So, on to Elijah. We pick up in 1 Kings 18. God had Elijah challenge the 450 prophets of Baal (a false god) to a sort of competition to see which god was the true God. This is what happend...

• Elijah had the prophets set up an alter to Baal and offer a bull as a sacrifice to him.
• From morning till noon they begged and begged for Baal to answer them.
• Elijah taunted them, "Shout louder! Surely he is god. Perhaps he is in deep thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and needs to be awakened."
• So they begged more and even cut and harmed their bodies to please him and to get him to answer. Of course nothing happened.
• Elijah took his turn.
• He built an alter out of 12 stones to represent the 12 tribes of Israel.
• He dug a trench around.
• He had water poured all over the the alter and his sacrifice until the water filled the trench.
• Then he asked God to show up and prove that He was the one true God.
• Fire fell from the sky and devoured the sacrifice, the alter, the water, and the soil on the ground.

Wow! What an awesome story. There are several things we can take away from this.

1. Why are we treating God like a false god. One who doesn't answer our prayers or who leaves us high and dry? Is it not clear in the Bible that God has said, "Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you..." or "The Lord your God is with you..."?
2. Why have we let our circumstances fool us into thinking they are truth. God's word is truth. Our circumstances don't dictate God's Word. If you allow it, God's Word will dictate your circumstances. God doesn't want you sick or poor.
3. We can see Elijah's Fire (or really God's Fire) as evidence of a loving and faithful God who is always ready to respond to His children. His love and power are tangible and create tangible results.

When we say, "God is good", we need to realize just how good He is. He who did not spare His own son (Jesus Christ) but delivered Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? (Rom 8:32) When you understand just how forgiven you are, you will realize that there is truly nothing separating you and God.

Personal testimony - My wife was in a car accident a couple months ago. Thankfully, she was ok but the car was a bit messed up. The one of the doors was bent and wouldn't seal all the way. We live in northern Indiana where snow and rain are pretty common. We knew we needed a good car but that we didn't have money for a brand new one. God had already made a way though. She works with a guy who just started a used car dealership and had a Honda Civic on his lot that he really wanted to sell. We got the car for a fair price and were able to pay cash for it.(No extra debt!) The Honda runs better than the car that was wrecked and is in better shape and should last for many more years. Thank God!