Last week I received an email from Thomas Nelson Publishers with the above title. Of course they were referring to a book, but I wondered if the double entendre had missed their attention. Thank God the Bible assures us the grace of God through Jesus is abundant in supply (Phil. 4:19).
Because we are finite creatures occupying a finite world, with finite minds, we are barely able to comprehend the word “limitless.” Perhaps because most of us are so self-consciously aware of our own intellectual and moral weaknesses, we cannot appreciate infinite power. And not only that, we are constantly reminded by evironmentalists that we are living on an earth with dwindling resources. If we live by sight rather than faith, we won't see God's unlimited supply. And worse, we'll live within the scope of our limitations.
The Israelites limited the God of Israel (Ps. 78:40-43) when they were in a desert with limited resources. They focused on their deprivation and forgot that God had just performed miracles and signs in Egypt. They provoked God by doubting His ability to provide (Heb. 3:16). But the same thing can happen to us if we forget that our heavenly Father’s power resides within us “to accomplish infinitely more than we could ask or imagine” (Eph. 3:20). And we don’t have to worry about supplies running out.
Showing posts with label cares of the world. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cares of the world. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Don’t You Care?
Who has not at sometime (or many times?) in their walk with God uttered these infamous words, “Don’t you care?” They are spoken when there seems to be a universal conspiracy to make your life miserable. Most famously, Martha spoke these words, “don’t you care,” when Jesus’ actions seemed unfair (Luke 10:41).
One of my favorite teachers, Zac Poonen, says his life was transformed when he realized that Jesus, as a man, was tempted in all ways that we are (Heb. 2:18; 4:15). And Poonen thinks many people do not really believe that Jesus was tempted like us, believing that Jesus’ temptations were different—because he was God. Well, since God cannot be tempted, it has to be that Jesus was tempted as a man—just like us.
The “don’t you care” that comes out of us when we are frustrated reveals how we see Jesus. If we don’t believe that He understands our feelings, we won’t see Him as one who cares. The next time you are tempted to say “don’t you care,” remember what Peter (who knew Jesus as a man before he knew Him as God) said: “Cast all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7).
One of my favorite teachers, Zac Poonen, says his life was transformed when he realized that Jesus, as a man, was tempted in all ways that we are (Heb. 2:18; 4:15). And Poonen thinks many people do not really believe that Jesus was tempted like us, believing that Jesus’ temptations were different—because he was God. Well, since God cannot be tempted, it has to be that Jesus was tempted as a man—just like us.
The “don’t you care” that comes out of us when we are frustrated reveals how we see Jesus. If we don’t believe that He understands our feelings, we won’t see Him as one who cares. The next time you are tempted to say “don’t you care,” remember what Peter (who knew Jesus as a man before he knew Him as God) said: “Cast all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7).
Thursday, March 17, 2011
"UNPRECEDENTED"
If you could invest in a ‘word’ that would increase in value and demand the way you buy ‘commodities,’ I would have become wealthy had I bought a copyright on the word “unprecedented.” In the last three years, the word has rapidly increased in frequency. From extreme weather to global financial disasters to geopolitical crises, the escalation of “unprecedented” events is almost exponential.
The 2008 financial meltdown was a global catastrophe of unprecedented proportion. The radical Islamic movement terrorizing the world’s nations has no precedent in history. The citizen protest movement in the Arab world has resulted in unprecedented ousting of wealthy monarchs and corrupt dictators—all fueled by unprecedented world-wide wireless access to new ideas. Even as I write this, the Japanese earthquake and tsunami is creating an unprecedented nuclear disaster which has North Americans stock-piling iodine pills.
Unprecedented happenings make predicting the future on past experience untenable. The world is frightened by the unprecedented. But we are not. Because we know that our God precedes everything. The Alpha and Omega, He knows the end of a matter before its beginning. God has a cosmic plan to redeem the world—and it is both timeless and timely. “The LORD Almighty says: I am the First and the Last; there is no other God. Who else can tell you what is going to happen in the days ahead? ... Do not tremble; do not be afraid. Have I not proclaimed from ages past what my purposes are for you? … is there any other God? No! There is no other Rock—not one!” (Is. 44:7)… “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God.” (Is. 41:10).
The 2008 financial meltdown was a global catastrophe of unprecedented proportion. The radical Islamic movement terrorizing the world’s nations has no precedent in history. The citizen protest movement in the Arab world has resulted in unprecedented ousting of wealthy monarchs and corrupt dictators—all fueled by unprecedented world-wide wireless access to new ideas. Even as I write this, the Japanese earthquake and tsunami is creating an unprecedented nuclear disaster which has North Americans stock-piling iodine pills.
Unprecedented happenings make predicting the future on past experience untenable. The world is frightened by the unprecedented. But we are not. Because we know that our God precedes everything. The Alpha and Omega, He knows the end of a matter before its beginning. God has a cosmic plan to redeem the world—and it is both timeless and timely. “The LORD Almighty says: I am the First and the Last; there is no other God. Who else can tell you what is going to happen in the days ahead? ... Do not tremble; do not be afraid. Have I not proclaimed from ages past what my purposes are for you? … is there any other God? No! There is no other Rock—not one!” (Is. 44:7)… “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God.” (Is. 41:10).
Friday, May 7, 2010
Improving Your Vision
Yesterday the stock market went out of control, perhaps mirroring just what you are feeling about your life. And you are trying to keep your mind set on Jesus. The author of Hebrews understood this: “We don’t yet see all things under Jesus’ control, but we see Jesus” (Heb. 2:9). Things in your life may indeed by spinning out of control, but in the midst of it, you will be stablized as you see Jesus. (Tell that to Wall Street!)
The question is: DO you “see” Jesus? “Yes, but not very well,” you say? Be encouraged! Your spiritual eyesight can be improved—as you learn to see through the eyes of your spirit (Eph. 3:17).
The writer of Hebrews explains that there are two things that will hinder us from “fixing our eyes on Jesus” (12:3): “weights” and “habitual sins” (12:1). The weights cause you to look down instead of up. And habitual sins make you nearsighted, or even blind (2 Cor. 4:4; 2 Peter 1:9). The weights are the cares of this world. The sins are what A. W. Tozer referred to as the hyphenated self-sins: self-esteem, self-confidence, self-worth, etc. They make you look at yourself: not Jesus!
Here are two things you can do to improve your vision. First, make it your goal to LOOK for Jesus in all things; you won’t SEE Him if you are not deliberately looking for Him! Second, PRAY for the “eyes of your spirit” to be opened. God can heal your nearsightedness and open your eyes to see Jesus.
The question is: DO you “see” Jesus? “Yes, but not very well,” you say? Be encouraged! Your spiritual eyesight can be improved—as you learn to see through the eyes of your spirit (Eph. 3:17).
The writer of Hebrews explains that there are two things that will hinder us from “fixing our eyes on Jesus” (12:3): “weights” and “habitual sins” (12:1). The weights cause you to look down instead of up. And habitual sins make you nearsighted, or even blind (2 Cor. 4:4; 2 Peter 1:9). The weights are the cares of this world. The sins are what A. W. Tozer referred to as the hyphenated self-sins: self-esteem, self-confidence, self-worth, etc. They make you look at yourself: not Jesus!
Here are two things you can do to improve your vision. First, make it your goal to LOOK for Jesus in all things; you won’t SEE Him if you are not deliberately looking for Him! Second, PRAY for the “eyes of your spirit” to be opened. God can heal your nearsightedness and open your eyes to see Jesus.
Friday, April 23, 2010
Hating Yourself is the Beginning of Loving God
Have you ever said “I hate myself; I’m a failure—I will never be good enough”? That’s a great place to be—hating yourself is the beginning of loving God. Jesus said: He that loves his life shall lose it; and he that hates his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal (John 12:25).
What does Jesus mean? He means we hate our sinful flesh as it manifests itself more times in a day than we want to admit. He means we hate our selfishness and self-centeredness. He means we hate our life when it becomes all about earthly things: obligations, duties, responsibilities—the cares of this world.
A holy hatred of all that keeps you from experiencing your victory in Jesus should rise up in your soul, where you cry out, 'Oh, God! I hate what I have become.' You must hate your present life so much that you cry out to God, “who will deliver me from this body of sin and death?” (Ro. 7:24). Then you are ready to make the great exchange—your emptiness for His fullness; your pride for His glory. Hate yourself? Yes. But don’t stay there. Let God’s love embrace you and lead you into the present reality of eternal life and love.
What does Jesus mean? He means we hate our sinful flesh as it manifests itself more times in a day than we want to admit. He means we hate our selfishness and self-centeredness. He means we hate our life when it becomes all about earthly things: obligations, duties, responsibilities—the cares of this world.
A holy hatred of all that keeps you from experiencing your victory in Jesus should rise up in your soul, where you cry out, 'Oh, God! I hate what I have become.' You must hate your present life so much that you cry out to God, “who will deliver me from this body of sin and death?” (Ro. 7:24). Then you are ready to make the great exchange—your emptiness for His fullness; your pride for His glory. Hate yourself? Yes. But don’t stay there. Let God’s love embrace you and lead you into the present reality of eternal life and love.
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