Pastor John’s Blog

When bad news comes our way it is sometimes difficult to organize our thoughts enough to pray. It could be that bill that seems impossible to pay, or that medical report that gives a bleak diagnosis, or a menacing lawsuit. This is why it is good to know that God knows how to read. All that we need to do is lay the bill, the medical report, the court paper or whatever else before him. He knows what those documents contain. King Hezekiah knew this. Upon receiving a letter from King Sennacherib of Assyria stating the terms of surrender for Israel, Hezekiah “went up to the Lord’s Temple and spread it [the letter] out before the Lord.¹⁵ And Hezekiah prayed…” (2 Kings 19:14-15, NLT). Certain that God knew all of the details contained in that letter Hezekiah proceeded to tell God “Bend down, O Lord, and listen! Open your eyes, O Lord, and see! Listen to Sennacherib’s words of defiance against the living God” (2 Kings 19:16, NLT). No fancy prayer was needed. No mention of every detail was necessary, because he had spread the letter before the God that is able to read. You too can do this. Take that document that is troubling you and lay it before the Lord, and ask Him to help you. Then trust in Him and walk away knowing that God has read the letter and is handling it.

If you have been praying for something for some time now and there has been no answer in sight then you are probably feeling discouraged. You most likely feel tempted to walk away from your request wondering why God never answered. But Jesus teaches us not to give up on prayer. Our Lord told a parable in Luke 18 about a widow that needed justice done concerning a financial issue. She begged an unjust judge to do something about it but he ignored her request. But as she persisted day after day “…he said to himself, ‘I don’t fear God or care about people,⁵ but this woman is driving me crazy. I’m going to see that she gets justice, because she is wearing me out with her constant requests.’ Then the Lord said, ‘Learn a lesson from this unjust judge.⁷ Even he rendered a just decision in the end. So don’t you think God will surely give justice to his chosen people who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off?” (18:4-7, NLT). So don’t get discouraged if your prayer has not been answered. Keep at it day and night. God won’t put it off forever!

Standing up for one’s beliefs can get tough when no one seems to share them. It seems easier just to compromise and blend in than to stand for something that might be perceived as controversial and unpopular. But God is not concerned with whether or not we’re popular or if we feel any level of social discomfort. He wants us to stand by our beliefs irrespective of how others might react. The Book of Daniel tells the story of three young Hebrew men that were taken into Babylonian captivity. Nebuchadnezzar the King had ordered that at the sound of the music all people bow down to the golden statue that he had made and worship it. As the music sounded everyone, perhaps hundreds, thousands or tens of thousands, bowed before the statue, but these three young men stood out by remaining standing. If ever there was a time for them to compromise their belief it was right then for the penalty of disobedience was to be thrown into a burning furnace. Upon hearing of their social disobedience the king summoned them, warned them and gave them one last opportunity. Their reply captures their unbending conviction: “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you.¹⁷ If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty.¹⁸ But even if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up” (3:16-18, NLT).

After their brave speech they were thrown into the fire, but God honored their conviction for they were unharmed, and as the king looked inside the furnace he saw a fourth man in the oven that looked like the Son of God. This caused Nebuchadnezzar to praise God! You see, when we do not compromise two things happen. First, God stands with us. And second, God is glorified as others take notice. Therefore, if today you are feeling the pressure to compromise your beliefs, don’t. Ask God for help and then take a stand. You will be glad you did!

There are times when we feel so weighed down by burdens that it becomes difficult to articulate what we want to say to God. Such heaviness provides us an opportunity to pour our heart before the Lord. This type of prayer does not require eloquent speech, only tears, and the soul cleansing that it affords us is significant. Hannah did such a prayer when she went before the Lord to ask for a child because she was barren. 1 Samuel 1:10 tells us that “Hannah was in deep anguish, crying bitterly as she prayed to the Lord” (NLT). The priest Eli, “Seeing her lips moving but hearing no sound…thought she had been drinking” (1:13, NLT). But she could not form words because the sorrow was so great and the tears were so many. We get a sense of the depth of her anguish in her reply to Eli: “I am very discouraged, and I was pouring out my heart to the Lord…I have been praying out of great anguish and sorrow” (1:15-16, NLT).

When Eli finally understood what was happening he gave her this blessing that contained a promise: “go in peace! May the God of Israel grant the request you have asked of him” (1:17, NLT). This was not just a desire that he was expressing but a promise of assurance, as if to say “God has heard you, so go in peace.” God heard this woman’s speechless prayer that was expressed only through thoughts and tears. This prayer had so cleansed her soul and the words of Eli given her so much comfort that she replies, “Oh, thank you, sir!’… Then she went back and began to eat again, and she was no longer sad” (1:18, NLT). So if your heart is heavy today go an empty it out before the Lord. No words needed, only tears. He will hear you!

What if your contribution to this world were captured in two short sentences? How would you like those sentences to read? Answer that question and you will have a good idea as to what changes to make now in order to get there. To help you decide how those two sentences should read I turn to a man named Shamgar whose entire life is presented in only one verse in the Bible, Judges 3:31. It reads, “After Ehud, Shamgar son of Anath rescued Israel. He once killed 600 Philistines with an ox goad.” The first sentence describes Shamgar’s success as a judge in effectively delivering the Israelites from Philistine servitude, a punishment brought about by their penchant to serve false gods. His rescuing them infers continued success in keeping them free from servitude and on the right path throughout his lifetime.

The second sentence describes one of Shamgar’s exploits. An ox goad was a weapon that looked like a spear having a point on one end and a flattened piece of metal on the other. To be able to kill 600 Philistine soldiers with such a weapon bespeaks dexterity and great prowess, a skill that God used to deliver Israel through Shamgar. This is the stuff of legends! So even if other judges have more verses in the Bible dedicated to their exploits, some even chapters, this one verse captures the fulfillment of Shamgar’s life’s mission. This brings me back to the question I posed earlier. Wouldn’t it be great if at least one of those two sentences described how you led others to freedom in Christ and influenced them to remain on God’s path? The other could be dedicated to describe the one thing that you were great at! To influence people to follow Christ and to be known for doing one thing really well would be a great epithet! I encourage you to take a moment to pray and ask God for guidance concerning the life mission that he has planned for you. May your two sentences be read one day before God and bring a smile to your face.

If you recall playing “hide and go seek” as a child you know that one of the best hiding spots was behind a tree, especially a bigger tree, because you could always move around the perimeter of the tree to avoid being detected by the person who was “it”. Adam and Eve knew this trick. After sinning by eating of the forbidden fruit they both hid behind trees as God entered the garden and called for them. But they were not hiding as part of a game. They were hiding from God out of fear and guilt. Sin makes us think that God is “it” and that we have to hide from Him. However, God has a better way of dealing with our failures. In Isaiah 1:18 He says, “Come now, let’s settle this,’ says the Lord. ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, I will make them as white as wool.” God calls us to stop playing the game of “hide and go seek with him” and act like mature adults. He tells us “Come now, let’s settle this…” And when we do he promises to wash us clean.

So today, if there is something that you need to make right with God come out from behind the tree and settle things with Him. You will feel so much better after God washes your scarlet sins and turns them white as snow!

The book of Judges portrays a time in Israel’s life where the people’s commitment to God fluctuated. Judges 17:6 tells us why: “In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes” (NLT). This is a problem that still exists today. We often do what seems right in our own eyes because we forget, or ignore, that we have a King ruling over us. Jesus’ words to His disciples in Matthew 28:20 remind us that we are not to live doing things that please our eyes, but His eyes. That verse says, “Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you” (NLT). So if you have noticed that your commitment to God has waned from time to time then you should probably ask yourself these two questions: Am I living my life as if Jesus were my King? Am I doing what He wants, or what I want? If you are not, then you can correct this today by praying and surrendering to Jesus’ Kingship. Live for Him!

It is easy to go to church on Wednesdays and Sundays and let others pay the price for our worship to God. Someone else prepares the song list and organizes the PowerPoint presentation. Others pay the price of preparing themselves in prayer to be anointed to lead us in worship. Others rehearse to get the music right to help us with our worship. Others put in the hard work to set up everything in order for things to be ready when we arrive. But what does it cost you? What part, if any, do you play in worship?

King David was all too aware that when it comes to worshiping God that it MUST cost US! 1 Chronicles 21 tells us that David committed the great sin of taking a census of his warriors. As a result God sent a death angel to strike Israel. Over 70,000 people died during the angel’s attack. But as David asked God to punish him alone for the sin, the angel told David to build an altar in the threshing floor of a man named Araunah and sacrifice on it. Verses 23-25 tell us what happened when David asked Araunah to sell him the threshing floor:  “Take it, my lord the king, and use it as you wish,’ Araunah said to David. ‘I will give the oxen for the burnt offerings, and the threshing boards for wood to build a fire on the altar, and the wheat for the grain offering. I will give it all to you.’²⁴ But King David replied to Araunah, ‘No, I insist on buying it for the full price. I will not take what is yours and give it to the Lord. I will not present burnt offerings that have cost me nothing!’²⁵ So David gave Araunah 600 pieces of gold in payment for the threshing floor.”

Araunah wanted to give David the threshing floor plus the oxen, the wood for the fire and the wheat for the sacrifice. But David replied, “I will not take what is yours and give it to the Lord. I will not present burnt offerings that have cost me nothing!” So why do we let others give us everything we need to worship without it costing us anything? Do you even sing? Do you even raise your hands and praise him with your lips? If not, worship is NOT costing you anything. It’s time to pay the price and offer God the best of our strength, our song, our tears, our raised hands, our devotion and our thanksgiving. If not, what is it costing us? Does God even receive it as a sacrifice of praise on our part?

To worship God requires expression on our part.  The degree of that expression depends on our understanding of who we are worshiping. King David was so aware of God’s greatness and goodness, and valued God’s presence so much that when the Ark of the Covenant was being brought to Jerusalem he humbled himself before the Lord by stripping himself of his kingly garments and danced, skipped and laughed before the Lord wearing only a humble tunic. He laid aside his dignity to give full expression to his worship. To David it was not about what people would say if he lost his kingly composure, but only about celebrating God. 

But I Chronicles 15:29 says, “But as the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant entered the City of David, Michal, the daughter of Saul, looked down from her window. When she saw King David skipping about and laughing with joy, she was filled with contempt for him.” Because Michal did not have an understanding of who God was she was more concerned with composure than with worship.

 Do you know who you are worshiping on Wednesdays and Sundays? The degree of your expression reveals your understanding of the one that you are worshiping. What does a lack of engagement and low participation say about our knowledge of God? Take time today to reflect on your level of expression in worship and then consider who God is in your life. Is there a disparity between your expression in worship and your knowledge of all that God is and has done for you? If so, then it’s time to make some adjustments in how you worship. It may be time to lay aside your dignity and stop worrying about the Michals that may surround you and worship God with all your might.

Since 2010 has brought us closer to the return of our Savior Jesus Christ, we must live our lives each day fully prepared to meet Him. But there are so many distractions that so easily pull our attention away from this state of readiness. This is where Hebrews 10:25 can really help us. It says, “And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near” (NLT). We are told in this verse that gathering together for worship brings an encouragement to our lives. The clause that says “especially now that the day of his return is drawing near” tells us what kind of encouragement this brings. It is an encouragement to persevere in good works, the works that Jesus expects us to occupy ourselves with before his coming. And to continue living victoriously for Jesus in the midst of all of the challenges and temptations that this world brings so that we might not shrink back in shame at his coming.

There seems to be a flow of the Spirit that is released only when we gather together for worship that brings encouragement to our lives and helps us stay focused on the return of our Lord. It would be so beneficial for our walk with Christ to stop being counted as part of those that neglect worshipping together. Today make the decision to congregate for worship on a regular basis without neglect. Then ask the Lord to help you honor this commitment. You will see that after just one month of attending worship on a regular basis that you will be stronger and feel encouraged for doing so!