God's Way Works

For a better life and a better eternity

relying on God

Embezzling a Place in Heaven

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Here is John Powell on our relationship with God. I was totally smacked down with this.

Each of us has a unique and very limited concept of God, and it is very often marked and distorted by human experience. Negative emotions, like fear, tend to wear out. The distorted image of a vengeful God will eventually nauseate and be rejected. Fear is a fragile bond of union, a brittle basis of religion.

…

Those who do not reject a distorted image of God will limp along in the shadow of a frown. They certainly will not love with their whole heart, soul, and mind. A fearsome, vengeful God is not lovable. There will never be any trust and repose in the loving arms of a kindly Father; there will never be any mystique of belonging to God. People who serve out of fear, without the realization of love, will try to bargain with God. They will do little things for God, make little offerings, say little prayers, and so on, to embezzle a place in heaven. Life and religion will be a chess game, hardly an affair of love.

(Why Am I Afraid to Love?: Overcoming Rejection and Indifference*, John Powell, Tabor Publishing, Allen, TX, 1982, pp 5, 8) 

I guess it’s time to quit playing chess with God.

*Yes, that is an affiliate link. Here’s another one:

God’s Way Works

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For a long time, I’ve misunderstood Matthew 7:13-14: “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”

I’ve treated that verse as if what it said was I needed to work really hard to put one foot in front of the other on God’s narrow way to show God how pleasing I can be to Him. I felt as if the narrow way was a test for me to show how good I can be. If I follow it close enough, God will deem me worthy of heaven.

I think I was wrong.

God has not established a narrow way in order to test my goodness. God wants me to have life and not destruction. He established the narrow way because it works.

What does this mean on a practical level? It means God hasn’t established His commands to make eternity hard for me to grasp. He has given His word to shine a light on the way and make it easier. Psalm 119:105 says God’s word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. He didn’t give His word to make it harder, but to make it easier. How hard would it be if I was left on my own to figure out how to journey into eternity?

Isaiah 50:10-11 talks to those who are walking in darkness and have no light. God says two things. He says they need to trust and rely on Him. Then He talks to those who light their own fires, that is follow their own ways. The end result, He says, is torment. Then there the two proverbs: Proverbs 14:12; 16:25 say, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.”

This is the point, if I want life, I can’t achieve it by being good enough. I can’t achieve it by earning it. I’ve already lost that. What then am I to do? Whatever God tells me. His way works. My way will just lead to death. If I go my own way, it’s not that I’m falling short of earning life, I’m simply not walking the path that leads to life. Think of it this way. I live off I-65 just south of Nashville, TN. If I wanted to go to Indianapolis, I’d hop on I-65 and drive north. Why? Why not turn onto I-40? Why not go south? Is it because going north on I-65 will earn my way into Indianapolis? No. It’s because that way works. When mapquest tells me to turn on to I-65, is it trying to stifle my expression, my creativity, my own strength? No. It is just telling me how to get there. It’s making it easier for me.

But God’s narrow way seems so difficult? I seem to keep falling off the side and into the ditch. I can keep getting up and getting back on the path because I know I’m not alone. God is working in me and through me (Philippians 2:12-13) and He is able to keep me from stumbling (Jude 1:24).

Today, instead of trying to earn your way into heaven by working hard on the narrow way, just do what God wants. His way works. Yours won’t.

I’ve Decided to Quit Trying to Go to Heaven and I Urge You to Do the Same

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Yes, you read the title of this post properly. I’ve decided I’m going to quit trying to go to heaven and I urge you to do the same. This has been a bit of a process for me. I’ve been struggling with this concept of going to heaven for a while now, but I’ve finally come to a conclusion.

I can’t do it, so why bother. No matter how hard I try, I can’t get myself to heaven. I can assemble with the saints every time the doors are open. I can give all my money into the collection and anything that is left over to the poor. I can sing all the songs as beautifully and meaningfully as possible. I can avoid big sins like adultery, murder, homosexuality. I can work on the sins I’ve struggled with like lust, angry outbursts, materialism. I can teach a person the gospel every day. I can build a huge tower reaching up to the heavens. It doesn’t matter. I can’t get myself to heaven. In fact, when I do all of that, it seems more like I’m just trying to make a name for myself.

So, I’ve decided to quit trying. I’m giving up on trying to go to heaven. If I go to heaven, it will be because God decided to take me there. I’ll leave my eternal destiny up to His decision. I’m no longer going to try to manipulate His decision.

Instead, today I’m going to work on connecting to God, getting closer to Him, and glorifying Him. Why would I do anything else? This is the God who created a world perfectly suited for me to live. This is the God who gave me life and a body (and the more I learn about this body, the more amazed I am at God’s wisdom and majesty). This is the God who has given me food every day of my life. This is the God who has clothed me. This is the God who has provided me shelter. This is the God who has given me family and friends. More than all of this, however, this is the God who sent His Son to die for me that I could be forgiven of the horrendous sins I’ve committed. This is the God who sacrificed His Son not only so I could be forgiven, but so I could be set free from the enslavement of my sins. This is the God who is sanctifying me and making me righteous because I hunger and thirst for that. How could I do anything but get connect, get closer, and glorify Him? I love Him. How could I not? Look at how He has loved me.

On a practical level, here are ten things this means for me today.

  1. I’ll walk in God’s presence. I know that sounds kind of ethereal, but it actually means something very practical to me. I’m going to work on constantly remembering God is with me. While that means I’ll have a specified time of prayer, it also means I’ll strive to carry on a conversation with the God who is right beside me holding me up all the way. As victories occur, I’ll thank Him. As struggles arise, I’ll retreat into Him. As the need for decisions arise, I’ll petition His wisdom. As I pursue the ways today lays before me, I’ll acknowledge God for His power and providence in my life. As I walk through my day, I’ll talk to Him.
  2. I’ll abide in God’s word. Again, that sounds ethereal but means something very practical for me. It means first of all that I’ll spend time in God’s word. I’ll read it. But more than that, I’ll give attention to what I’ve read; I’ll think about and meditate on what I’ve read. I’ll strive to pick at least one thing out of what I’ve read with which to examine myself and see if I’m in the faith because I’m living what God said. I’ll hide God’s word in my heart. I’ll study deeply to understand God’s will and know God’s mind. Is there any better way to get to know God than get deeply involved in what He is saying to me?
  3. I’ll love my wife as Christ loves the church. Gary Thomas’s Sacred Marriage (be careful, if you click that link, it will take you to Amazon.com and if you purchase something while there, you will be helping me out financially) helped me grasp Ephesians 5:22-33 on a deeper level. I’ve learned that nothing will help me become like Christ more than my relationship with Marita. Therefore, nothing can glorify God more than how I approach that relationship. When I love Marita as Jesus loved the church, I proclaim for the world His love. So, I’ll talk to her with love, not disrespectful judgment. I’ll make thoughtful requests, not selfish demands. I’ll bring peace to our relationship, not angry outbursts. I’ll fulfill her needs by the grace and strength of God.
  4. I’ll love my children and bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. How I treat my children today demonstrates to the world what I think about God and what kind of Father He is. No doubt, it teaches my children how to view God. Let’s face it, if nothing else, it teaches my children how to view God. There is little else I can do to glorify God more than to strive to father as He does.
  5. I’ll resist the devil. James 4:7-8 demonstrates that resisting the devil goes hand in hand with drawing near to God. Based on my understanding of God’s will, I’ll resist the traps of the tempter, trusting in God’s way of escape and His grace and strength to see me through the battle.
  6. I’ll talk to others about God’s things. I’m doing it now through this blog. With my friends and family, while we may talk about the weather, we may talk about sports, we may talk about politics, I will make sure to make God’s things part of my conversation. I may talk about what I’ve studied in God’s word today. I may talk about God’s blessing in my life. I may talk about the gospel’s power to save to someone who is lost. I may talk about my decision to quit trying to go to heaven and just striving to connect to God.
  7. I’ll praise God. Perhaps this is just an extension of walking in God’s presence. But while typing this I looked out the window and saw three or four different kinds of birds. It just amazes me the intricacy and detail with which God has created our world. I want to praise Him for the red birds, blue birds, yellow birds, and black birds I’ve seen. I want to praise Him for the trees in my yard. I want to praise Him for the rain that continues the cycle of life. I want to praise Him for the seasons that are turning the leaves into hues of orange, yellow, gold, vermillion. I want to praise God for the coffee beans that have been roasted, ground up, and brewed and are now sitting next to my computer warming and refreshing me. I want to praise God for giving me the brethren with whom I ate on Saturday and Sunday, the friends and family with whom I played games over the weekend. I need to stop the list now or this point alone will dominate the post. I think you get the picture.
  8. I’ll serve others. I can’t help but think of the song “Make Me A Servant.” “Make me a servant, just like Your Son. For He was a servant. Please make me one.” If I get outside myself, sacrificing myself for others, I become more like God. What a glory that points toward Him, especially as I point others to Him as the motivation for my service. Of course, that will only be when they find out that I’m the one serving. To give God the glory, I’ll strive to keep the right hand from knowing what the left is doing. I won’t be out for credit. I’ll be serving because that in itself is a reward.
  9. I’ll spend time with God’s family. I can say this easily today because my family has been invited to another family’s house to have supper. While this may not be something I can do every day, it is something I’ll work on. After all, if I want to draw near to God, one of the best ways to do it is to draw near to God’s children.
  10. I’ll attend tonight’s assembly of the Franklin Church. This is obviously a very practical one for me today. It just so happened that I’ve made the decision to quit trying to go to heaven during the week the congregation I’m part of is having a special series on “Connecting and Conquering.” However, tonight, I’m not going to go because there is some rule about attending. Tonight, I’m not going to go because I’m the preacher and have to. Tonight, I’m not going to attend because the speaker is one of my best friends. Tonight, I’m going to attend because what could draw me closer to God and glorify Him more than meeting with other Christians to edify each other, praise God, and learn from His word as one of His children shares the fruit of his study of God’s word?

I could go on, but I hope you get the point. Today, I’m going to put my eternal destiny in God’s hands. I’ll let Him decide what to do with me for eternity. I’m no longer trying to manipulate Him, impress Him, or earn anything from Him. Today, I just want to get close to Him. I hope as I spend time with Him, I’ll see you hanging around with us.

    The Struggle with Surrendering to Jesus (A video)

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    I know I said I usually don’t like those videos that has someone playing Jesus or God. But, here’s another one that I thought really hit the nail on the head.

    This reminds me of what a friend once said about Romans 12:1-2 and the living sacrifice. “What is the problem with a living sacrifice?” “I don’t know.” “It keeps crawling off the altar.”

    Check out the video and give Jesus the stool.

    My Initial Thoughts About Jody Lusk’s Sins

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    I’m sorry today’s post is so late. I try to get Monday’s post done over the weekend so it can be ready to magically appear at 8 am Monday morning. However, this weekend I learned of something that just made it hard for me to write. Even through this morning it consumed my mind so much I could hardly think of anything else. So, despite the fact that I know it will upset some, I’m going to write about what has been consuming my mind the last two days.

    On Saturday morning, I learned about a brother in Christ, a preacher of the gospel, who had disappeared under mysterious circumstances. I had not even heard of the brother until that news report. I spent the day praying for him off and on. On Saturday night, I learned he had faked his disappearance in order to commit sexual immorality with a 13-year-old girl. My heart broke for him, for the girl, for their families, and for their congregations.

    *****EDIT: If you have already read this post once, I am adding in a clarifying statement based on some private comments I have received. I want to clarify some things before you read my initial thoughts. I guess you could say I want you to hear my second thoughts before you get to my first.

    I do believe what our brother Jody did was reprehensible and wicked. I do believe he should be prosecuted for breaking the law. I do hope he comes to realize what damage he has done to that little girl, to her family, to his congregation, and to his own family. I hope having seen that bottom, he will turn to the only power that can help him overcome this sin. Please do not take my post that follows to mean I am turning a blind eye to how awful this sin was. It is its awfulness that scares me and causes me to fear for my future if I dabble in sin. It is its awfulness that prompted my thoughts. 

    My prayers and my heart go out to the little girl and the family. The damage done to her is immense. The damage done to her family is equally immense. I am praying for them as they strive to recover from being victims of sin’s awful effects. 

    Please understand, my point in this post is not to defend Jody’s sin. My point is to help us see the warning that Jody’s sin should provide for us. With that in mind, I realize I probably can’t clarify enough to make everyone happy or even agree with me. But I hope you can at least see my point.

    As news of this leaks out to more and more people, the responses will be myriad. Here is what saddens me the most. It breaks my heart to know how Satan is going to use this. Satan will twist this so that many people will glory in their own power. “I may have made some mistakes in my time, but at least I never did that.” Kind of sounds to me like, “God, I thank you that I’m not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers…” (Luke 18:11).

    Instead of using this as a testimony for our own power, we need to see it as a testimony to the power of sin. We need to take the warning about what sin can do to us. Romans 7:14-24 describes this power. I’m going to include the whole passage here because we need to read it again and again.

    “For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.

    “So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?”

    This brings to my mind what God said to Cain near the beginning, “…sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it” (Genesis 4:7). Sin wants us. It wants to run our lives. If we give it an inch, it will take a mile. No wonder we must all concede what Paul says in Ephesians 2:1-3:

    “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.”

    Every single one of us gave sin control. Every single one of us became by nature children of wrath like the rest of mankind. Do you see what this means? This means instead of saying, “I’ve made some mistakes, but I would never do that,” we need to be shaking in our boots saying, “That could be me. Sin could do that to me too.”

    Perhaps the sin that has had control of you is not lust and immorality, but arrogance, outbursts of wrath, slander, malice, drunkenness, greed, materialism, gluttony, or on the list could go. It doesn’t matter what sin you have given control in your life, it will take you farther than you ever imagined and it will destroy you. How many gluttons have abandoned their families after a heart attack? How many materialists have destroyed their families in pursuit of more and more things? How many covetous have driven away every relationship they’ve had as they wasted their money on the lottery and at casinos? How many who consistently had angry outbursts ended up killing someone even in their own family? Did they flee with a 13-year-old? No, but was the end result much different?

    Five years ago, if anyone had asked our brother, Jody, about sacrificing his family, his work, even his soul in order to have a few moments of pleasure with a 13-year-old, he would have reacted exactly as we do today. “Absolutely not. I’ve done some bad things, but I would never do that.” Yet, he did. That makes me think of I Corinthians 10:12, “Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.” Today, I want to say, “I’d never do that.” But if I let sin have control, that is exactly where sin will take me. If you let sin have control, that is exactly where it will take you. If your favorite flavor of sin is some other matter, it will destroy your life in some other way. It will lead you to do things you had never imagined. We cannot control and enjoy sin at all.

    This is not just the obligatory reference to King David, but think about him for a minute. Here was a man after God’s own heart. But he let lust weasel its way in to that heart. I don’t know exactly what happened. Perhaps it all happened in one fell swoop of sin’s axe. He may have seen her, called for her immediately, and before the night was over had committed the sin. But I can also imagine a different scenario. He lusted for Bathsheba, thinking how great it would be if she were one of his wives. He fed that lust a little bit by inquiring after her. He found out he was one of his mighty men’s wife. So he tried to put it out of his mind. But he lusted some more. He argued with himself about how wrong it was. But that lust kept tickling his heart. He finally called for her. I can even imagine that the first time she came he didn’t do anything but meet her and perhaps flirt a little. Finally, he committed immorality with her. Then, to cover up what he had done, he didn’t fake his own death; he actually killed the woman’s husband. At least our brother Jody didn’t do that. This is the power of sin in our lives.

    Sadly, many of us think we can control and enjoy some level of sin. Let this story be a warning to us. Sin will take over. It will take us where we don’t want to go. None of us is immune from its power. In the end, it will destroy us.

    My friends in 12-step-recovery programs have a saying about their addiction. They explain that they only have three choices: 1) locked up, 2) covered up, or 3) sobered up. That is, if they stay in their addiction it will either send them to jail or kill them so their only solution is sobriety. While Christians everywhere will be saying, “I’d never do that,” my friends in recovery will be saying, “Have I done that? Not yet.” They will understand if they don’t surrender their acting out behavior to God and start giving him control, there are all kinds of things they think they would never do that they eventually will. This attitude shouldn’t just be for those recovering from alcoholism, sexaholism, gambling addiction, or drug addiction. This attitude should also be in all of us who are recovering from our sin enslavement. (Dare I say sin addiction?)

    Let me say something specifically to anyone who is reading this whose favorite flavor of sin is right up this alley. If lust is your problem and you’ve been looking at pornography, let me assure you, this could be you. It will be you if you don’t surrender this sin now and start surrendering it every day. Take a good long look at where sin took even a gospel preacher. I guarantee you when he became a Christian 15 years ago, he thought he would never commit the sin of lust and immorality again and that he would never, ever do anything like he did this weekend. But sin is relentless and progressive.

    If you are a preacher and you’ve been looking at pornography, do not say to yourself, “At least I’ve never done that.” If you keep looking at pornography, you’ll do something like it eventually. That is what sin does. You cannot control and enjoy it. It will control you. Please, no matter what it costs you get some serious help for this.

    However, Paul didn’t end Romans 7 with despair. He asked the question who will deliver me from this body of death. Then he gave an answer in Romans 7:25: “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” Jesus can deliver us.

    This doesn’t mean Jesus will simply forgive us. No, it means Jesus will actually deliver us from the body of death, the body that is being controlled by the law of sin. Let me tell you what won’t deliver you. You won’t deliver you. You aren’t strong enough. You can’t set up enough rules, enough accountability partners, enough safeguards to deliver yourself from a sin-controlled body of death. The lion is attacking you (cf. I Peter 5:8). Quit thinking you can beat him. Instead, retreat into the only protection you have. Let God be your fortress of protection (Psalm 18:1-3). Put on the armor of God and be strong in His might, praying with all perseverance and petition (Ephesians 6:10-18). Live by faith in Jesus, not by faith in your power to keep Jesus’ rules, but by faith in Jesus (Galatians 2:20) and He will deliver you from your body of death.

    Don’t let this story cause you to glory in your own supposed power. Instead, if you haven’t done anything like this, thank God for His grace that He hasn’t let your sins take you this far. Develop some respect for the power of sin, recognizing that it could have been you, and start surrendering it to God. Give praise to God for His power that despite all of sin’s power, we can rule over it by the power of God.

    Believing in the God of the Psalmist, Part 4: God is the Source

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    (If you want to learn more about prayer from the Psalms, start at the beginning of the study and follow the links to each successive entry.  Or check out the index for this entire series of posts.)

    Last week we learned that to the Psalmists, God was not just the creator in general, but God is my creator. This week we look at what I believe is one of the most shocking points of learning to pray like the psalmists. they prayed to God not simply because they saw Him as their creator. They prayed to Him because they saw Him as the source. 

    God is the source of all good things. God is the source of life (Psalm 36:9). He is the source of blessing (Psalm 24:5). He is the source of truth (Psalm 43:3). I’m really comfortable with this. After all, James 1:17 says, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” 

    But the psalmists didn’t stop with good things. They went on to view God as the source of the bad things that happened to them as well. He was the source of illness (Psalm 102:3-11), enemies (Psalm 13:2), financial ruin (Psalm 62:9-10), struggles (Psalm 88:3-7). Sometimes they saw God as the source because they viewed the bad things as retribution (Psalm 6:1-3). Sometimes they saw God as the source because if He had acted on their behalf it wouldn’t have happened, but He didn’t (Psalm 31:1-2).

    Hermann Gunkel saw this is as on of the profoundest differences between the Hebrew psalms and the psalms of the culture’s surrounding the ancient Hebrews. 

    A profound manner of thought stands alongside this immediate and apparently primitive manner of thought. It seeks connection between YHWH and the illness, which is very different from Babylonian prayer where illness and distress are generally traced back to evil demons and magicians. Even at this point one can see how Israelite religions sought to trace everything that happens in the world back to YHWH, and to understand everything in relationship to YHWH (Introduction to Psalms, Mercer University Press, Macon, GA, 1998, p 136). 

    I hate to admit it, but I’m much more like the Babylonian’s on this. I am quick to see God as the source of the good, but want to add in all kinds of buffers between God and the bad. I am happy to attribute bad things to Satan or to time and chance. Why? Because I am afraid if we treat God as the source of the bad things that happen to us, people will start getting mad at God and start turning their backs on Him.

    However, I can’t help but notice for the psalmists, seeing God as the source of these negative occurrences didn’t weaken their faith. Rather it strengthened it. These psalms, even when they blame God for bad things (see Psalm 88), are amazing attestations of faith. They believed God was there. They believed God was listening. They believed God should act. They didn’t turn from God when they saw Him as the source, rather, they cried out all the more.

    I certainly don’t think this means God micromanages the world. I don’t think this means God is the direct cause of everything in the world. I don’t think this denies the free will of the men, women, and sinners involved in so many bad things that happen. I know that when the enemies attack I can attribute it to their free will. I know I can attribute it to Satan trying to tempt me. At the same time, when the psalmist started tracing the bad things back to their ultimate source, they couldn’t help but see God as the sovereign ruler of the universe. If God had acted, as they expected Him too, they wouldn’t suffer the bad thing. Therefore, He was the ultimate source. Even if it made them mad at God, they still just took it to Him. 

    I’m beginning to wonder if I haven’t made a mistake in the past. In order to protect God from the anger of His children, I’ve told those who’ve suffered illness, financial struggles, family turmoil, and even the loss of loved ones not to blame God. I’ve told them to turn their ire at the devil. With some, they did and they moved on. Others, however, couldn’t just stuff their feelings of anger toward God. Rather, they simply grew in bitterness and learned that I wasn’t a safe one to talk to about these things. Perhaps if I had simply taken them to some psalms and said, “I get it. You blame God. You’re mad at Him. I understand that. Look at this psalmist. He was right where you are. You know what he did? He prayed to God about it. Why don’t you read his psalm and pray with him?” God doesn’t need me to run interference for Him. Rather, He wants me to send His children to Him when they are upset at Him.

    The long and short of it for me is this. One reason the psalmists prayed so amazingly is because they saw God as the source. Therefore, whether times were good or bad, they knew where to turn. Whether they needed to offer praise or lament, they knew who they needed to direct it to. They had no question about it. If things were good, God be praised. If things were bad, God be petitioned. Where else was there to go? God is the ultimate source of it all.

    Tell me what you think.

    (Come back next Monday for the next installment as we learn that God is the Judge.)