What Is Truth Today?

We live in a day and age where, if we so choose, we can be bombarded with information.

You are probably reading my blog for one of two reasons. Either you subscribe and it comes in your email, or it showed up on your Facebook feed and you followed the link. Whichever way it was, you are online and so likely as you read this that there are other links being suggested to you. Being that I am a pastor and generally writing in a theological and devotional line those links may be similarly inclined. But I don’t have any influence over what is being suggested to you and I know through my own experience that some of those suggestions are good and others can be most charitably described as “theologically suspect.” The simple act of being online invites all kinds of information into our lives, in virtually limitless amounts. Such is life in 2020.

It is one thing to take in some information, such as a news story, or my blog post. But then what are we to make of it? Imagine a particular news story. One commentator says that it is the greatest news ever. And another commentator looks at the same story and says that it is the worst news, ever. Same story, but completely opposite conclusions. I can virtually guarantee that you can go online for yourself and within 30 seconds find an example of what I’m talking about.

How do we separate truth from what is not true? What do we stand on as we decide what to believe? In John 18 Jesus is on trial before Pilate and in verses 37-38 they have this exchange:

“For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” Pilate said to him, “What is truth?””

We live in world where it seems as if Pilate’s point-of-view has prevailed. We live in a world where it would seem that truth is ultimately unknowable. We live in a world where at day’s end we each decide for ourselves what is true.

In contrast to the view of Pilate, and our world, yesterday I read this definition of truth from Julius D. Twongyeirwe, a pastor in Uganda. Asking if Christians are giving up on truth he went on to say that:

“Truth is that which is consistent with the mind, will, character, glory and being of God. It is the self-expression of God. And because the definition of truth flows from God, truth is theological. Therefore, God is the author, source, determiner, governor, arbiter, ultimate standard, and final judge of all truth.”

Rather than truth being something nebulous and slippery, that truth is whatever I, or you, might decide at any particular point in time, Twongyeirwe points us back to God to ground truth. He points us to God’s mind. His will. His character. His glory. His very being. He grounds all truth in all of God. His definition excludes the possibility of any exceptions.

Are there truths in science? Yes, and they are grounded in God. Are there moral truths? Things that are right, and things that are wrong? Yes, and they are grounded in God. Are there truths that we should seek to understand and shape our culture? Yes, and they are grounded in God. Can we know truth? Yes, as we listen to God speak through His word, which, to carry us back to John 18, is done most clearly as we listen to Jesus, who only, and always, speaks God’s truth.

In our day we are bombarded by information and completing claims about what it all means. But as we turn to God we can discern what is true, and then live according to His truth, and for His glory. Amen.

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

I Don't Think So

I was skimming the news online this week when a headline grabbed my attention. It said "God has a lot to answer for." It is an opinion piece on CNN from Arnold M. Eisen, the chancellor of The Jewish Theological Seminary. Here is the opening sentence of the piece:

"My father, a good and pious man who thanked God every morning for the gift of another day, would have said -- were he alive right now -- that God has a lot to answer for."

Eisen then goes on to talk about several things related to COVID-19, including the impact on, and opportunities for, religious communities because of the pandemic. But one thing religious communities and religious people have no right to expect, let alone demand, is that God provide us with answers.

Of all the distinctions in the Bible perhaps the most fundamental is that God is holy and we, all humans throughout all history, are most certainly not. God's holiness means that He is absolutely perfect, absolutely flawless, in every possible way that we could think of.

He is perfect in beauty. Perfect in power. Perfect in knowledge. Perfect in wisdom. Perfect in mercy. Perfect in judgment. Perfect in kindness. Perfect in grace. Perfect in glory. Perfect in righteousness. The list goes on. In my opinion the sum total of all of God's perfections are found in His holiness.

Because God is holy, nothing that He does, and also nothing that He allows to happen, is wrong, or incorrect, in any way. There are many times we don't understand how or why things happen in the world, but that does not mean that we can call God to task and demand an explanation. We, as created beings, have no right to make demands on our Creator. In the Bible this truth is made clear in Job 38-41. (Here is a link to an excellent series on Job, which is free through the end of June.)

Like so many others there are many things I don't understand about this pandemic, questions I would like answers to. I have personally known two people who have died of COVID-19 infections and have prayed for others who are seriously ill. But perhaps the most important question I could ask God, one for which I could presume that He would answer, is this one: 

Today Lord, how can I best serve you in the place where I am at?

 

A Pleasing Theme

"My heart overflows with a pleasing theme"

Those are the opening words to Psalm 45, and when I read them before church began on Sunday morning they were just what I needed.

Last week had been a very full week, with a three-day retreat to Oklahoma in the middle of it. Nine people from our congregation had traveled all day Tuesday to a church camp a bit west of Oklahoma City. All together there were about 45 people connected with Native American ministry in the Reformed Church in America. Activities were planned for Tuesday evening, all day Wednesday and then Thursday morning, before getting back on the road and arriving home about 11 PM.

Friday morning it was back to work, with Sunday's sermon as the priority. I had spent most of Monday in sermon prep, taking my computer and notes on the retreat, hoping to work on it in the evenings, but that didn’t happen. Friday morning I intended to begin where I had left off Monday afternoon, but I wasn't so certain I knew where the sermon was headed anymore. Whatever "really good" ideas I had on Monday I seemed unable to find again on Friday.

I started to work and pulled a draft together Friday, and then I worked on it some more on Saturday. Sunday morning came and I looked at my notes, going over some parts aloud. I've learned, the hard way, that what looks good on paper can sound like a mess when spoken aloud. The general message seemed faithful to the biblical text, which was good. Application seemed particularly weak. I've been trying to work on bringing out ways in which the Bible's words have real meaning for the lives of those in the congregation. It's a weak spot in my preaching that I'm trying to improve. I wasn't crazy that in my view this sermon seemed so weak in that area. I know that God uses weak preachers and weak sermons to his glory, but I didn’t want to be a real-life example of that.

And so about an hour before worship I decided to read my Bible. Not the part I would preach, but something else. I checked the app for my Bible reading plan and saw that the next passage was Psalm 45. And so to Psalm 45 I turned and began to read. The first phrase brought me to a dead stop.

"My heart overflows with a pleasing theme"

Those words were a clear reminder of who I needed to focus on as I got ready to worship. I needed to focus on the Lord. My heart hadn't been overflowing at the moment, but

as I thought about who he was and what he has done I began to think much less about the sermon and much more about the God the sermon, and all of worship, was intended to praise.

May you also think about who God is, how he has shown himself to you time and again, and may your heart overflow with praise. Amen.

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Who Needs God?

Who needs God in this day and age? The average person can look around at the world and clearly see things that have come together as they are by chance. They can look at their lives and see the results of their own hard work.  We need snow in Dulce and this winter we are getting plenty of it. But if God is bringing the snow, can't he put most of it in the wild places, and only a little bit in town or along the roads, so we can travel safely and not waste so much time shoveling? And what does God have to do with my car payment? It is my hard work that provides for the things that make up my life, isn’t it?

The idea that God is irrelevant to many people is not one that is unique to our day.  In the Bible Job comments about the prosperity of the wicked. Job, someone who loves God deeply, has suffered greatly. Meanwhile he notes that very many things seem to go well for people who have no time for God. They live long lives. Their children are numerous and successful. They sing and enjoy prosperity all their days. Their lives end in peace. If God is mentioned to them, their basic response is: "Depart! We've got no time for you!"

Looking at their lives from a purely practical point of view, in Job 21:15 they say:

"What is the Almighty, that we should serve him?

  And what profit do we get if we pray to him?"

The problem, in the time of Job and today as well, is looking at God as a being whose sole reason for existence is to meet our needs. God exists so that I can get the things I want. If God isn't giving me what I need right now, then what's the point? It is a "me-centered" view of God, and it is fatally flawed.

"What is the Almighty" is the question that we can only really answer by looking into the Bible. Nature can give us hints about God, and so can the thinking of our own minds, when we sincerely set them to it. But it is the Bible, alone, that shows us God as he truly is.

The Bible shows us God's majesty. His power. His knowledge. His wisdom. His presence in all parts of the universe. His grace. His mercy. His love. His kindness. His providence. His love. His justice. His righteousness. His holiness. The Bible shows all of these things of God, and more, and it shows that everything about God is both perfect and unchanging.

"What is the Almighty, that we should serve him?"  After giving that question consideration from the Bible's point-of-view, the only possible answer is: "God is everything. There is no reason we shouldn't serve him." And instead of looking at prayer as a way to profit from God we should then see it as a great privilege that God, in all that he is, invites us to spend time with him.

Who needs God in this day and age? We do. And we are blessed that in the Bible God both shows us who he truly is, and invites us to draw near to him. Amen.

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Anonymous Names?

One of the places my Bible reading plan took me was to this week was the book of First Chronicles.  If a person who was generally familiar with the Bible was asked what part is the most tedious reading it is quite likely that the opening chapters of First Chronicles would be on top of the list. 

First Chronicles begins with nine chapters that are basically lists of names.  Name after name after name, literally hundreds of them.  They are not at random, for they are arranged to show various family relationships, and very occasionally there is a tidbit of other information mixed in.  But for the most part they are just names, and for a good many of them they are found nowhere else in the Bible.

I'll confess that I have never studied the early chapters of First Chronicles, and so I don’t have any kind of ready explanation for why the lists of names are there.  If you are interested in what might be gained from them I happened upon this useful article just this week.

One thing I do know is that these names matter to God.  I don’t believe that there are any extraneous words in the Bible.  While there may be many things I don’t understand, I believe that the entirety of God's word matters to God.

Last week I wrote about the complexities of praying for certain parts of my family.  I made mention of some lists of names that Robin and I pray through, although I didn't mention that those lists are memorized, and not written down.  The names of Chronicles, and something that happened when I was running this week, reminded me of another list I pray through. 

That list has the similarity with Chronicles of appearing to be simply a collection of single names.  While the lists of Chronicles are connected together by family relationship, this particular list of mine is connected differently.  It is people whom I know, or know of, in this community with substance abuse issues. 

Many of the people on that list I've met, and some I see somewhat regularly.  Others I see at random times.  I may see them often for a while, and then not see them for a long while.  And those times I see them often are as likely to be on one side of their struggle as the other. 

So I was out running and I crossed paths with one of those persons for the first time in quite a while.  He was walking in the opposite direction, I greeted him by name and wished him a good day.  He said some words of greeting in return.  And as I continued, I wondered how he has been doing.  I got a clue close to noon, as I happened to cross paths with him again.  No conversation besides "Hi," but he looked sober and that was good to see.  

My list, like the lists in Chronicles, can appear to be somewhat anonymous, but I believe that each are lists of names of people whom matter to God.  And so I'll continue to pray through my list, try to be helpful and encouraging when I cross paths with those people, and trust in God to bring forth a good result.

Hands

A pair of human hands has to be one of the most useful and versatile things around.  Think of everything that you can do with your hands, or perhaps said differently, think of everything that you need your hands to do.  All of the practical, everyday things, such as getting dressed, eating, doing the tasks of whatever vocation a person has.  In my former profession I often had to help people find new ways to get things done with hands that would never function in the same way again.  And that's not all, as hands perform other tasks of great meaning, such as gesturing to add emphasis to speech, or embracing someone to comfort them in sorrow. 

The many uses of the human hand came to mind as I was reading Psalm 144, which begins,

"Blessed be the Lord, my rock,

who trains my hands for war,

and my fingers for battle."

As a veteran of the US Navy I guess I could say that my hands were at one time trained for war, although pretty much all I ever used them for then in my work was to maintain the electrical systems of my ship.  But as I read the psalm I thought of a different kind of war, one in which my hands were preparing to fight at that very moment. 

My fingers had opened my Bible to the psalm, and my hands were holding the Bible as I read the psalm and then set the Bible back on my desk, to fold my hands and begin to pray. 

When the psalmist first wrote his words I have no doubts that physical combat was what was on his mind.  But the warfare that goes on every time a Christian folds their hands together in prayer can be just as intense.

Of all the many things that I can do with my hands, some of which are for better and some of which, quite frankly, are not good at all, perhaps the very best is to fold them together as I seek God in prayer.

And for those times when prayer involves spiritual battle and warfare, the Christian need never doubt that the Lord he seeks in prayer has never lost, and never will.

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

"Your right hand"

So yesterday I wrote a post that began by lifting up the surprising virtue of modern technology when reading my Bible.  An app on my phone occasionally brings things to my attention that I might have easily missed when reading from a print Bible.

And today…my surprise was found in the virtue of reading from print as I read Psalm 17, where verse 7 says,

"Wondrously show your steadfast love, O Savior of those who seek refuge from their adversaries at your right hand."

Your right hand? Really?  Didn't I just read "your right hand" somewhere else?

I most certainly had read "your right hand."  It was in the Psalm I read only a minute or two earlier, Psalm 16, in the left-hand column of the same page holding Psalm 17, where verse 11 says:

"You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures for evermore."

I spent a little time with my eyes going back and forth between the verses, thinking about how the same place where we can find certain refuge is the very same place we can receive God's blessings.  The right hand of God.  And then I went for a run.

While I was running I continued to think about this idea of refuge and blessing being found in the same place, and then I began to think of a particular friend of mine.

An adversary is "a person, group, or force that opposes or attacks; opponent; enemy; foe," and my friend has a struggle with one.  From my point-of-view, my friend desperately needs deliverance from his adversary.  From my point-of-view it also appears that my friend has a love/hate relationship with his adversary. 

The idea from Psalm 16 of enjoying pleasures for evermore sounds very appealing, particularly to our human nature, but it is hard to enjoy a pleasure from the hand of God when we are not seeking for Him to provide a safe place for us to enjoy His gifts.

I don’t get enough opportunities to personally encourage my friend in the struggle with his adversary.  But the Lord God gives me unlimited opportunities to lift my friend up in prayer.  And so while running I prayed that God's right hand would rescue my friend from his adversary, so that my friend could truly enjoy the abundant blessings God has already poured out in his life. 

May you find refuge, and blessing, at the right hand of the Lord God. Amen.

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The Critical Difference

This week I did some reading from the book of Job.  One of the thoughts that comes to mind when I think about Job is his friends, who sit with him as he suffers and then begin to offer him their wisdom.  I have this default idea that the "wisdom" of his friends is not really wise and that perhaps Job would understand his circumstances, and the God who is always present in them, if his friends would just keep their mouths shut and let him grieve and process things on his own time.

That is kind of my default about Job's friends, but on closer examination it just isn’t true, at least not all of the time.  Sometimes when Job's friends speak, everyone should listen. I saw that this week as I read Job 4:17, where his friend Eliphaz says:

"Can mortal man be in the right before God? 

  Can a man be pure before his Maker?"

Whoa!  We can read Job's story and think that God has acted beyond what is reasonable in allowing the tragedy that has come upon Job and his family.  Or closer to home we can think that perhaps God doesn’t really understand something that is going on in our lives or in the world.  God should have intervened sooner. God should have understood how hard this season of life really is.  God should not be absent as so many things are piling up on me.  It is so easy for us to think that in all things we know a bit better than God and that maybe he should check for our advice before doing whatever it is he will be doing next.

But Eliphaz grasps that there is a fundamental difference, a clear and unambiguous distinction, between Creator and created.  And that difference should guide the way that we approach God, no matter what are circumstance are. 

The song may say with a measure of truth "I am a friend of God" but he is not the kind of friend we joke around with at school or work.  First and foremost God is, was, and always will be God.  Therefore our approach to him should always have reverence for who He is, which is as Eliphaz noted, has a purity that on our best days on earth we will never come close to having. 

This is Job's God, who loves him in the midst of tragedy that defies human understanding. May you know and love Him as your God too.  Amen.

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Bumping Along

The picture on the right is of the rear wheel of my daughter's scooter. What I tried to show in the picture are the flat spots on the wheel.  Kat races down the sidewalk and then jams on the brake, sliding on the concrete.  This, of course, makes the wheel a little less round, so that instead of going in smooth circles you can hear it clunk every once and while if she is riding slowly.

That clunking wheel is how my morning felt today.  The very first parts of the morning were normal for a Sunday, but once I made my first trip next door to get things ready for church things began to get out of sync.  Without getting into the details there were numerous times in getting ready for our breakfast potluck, setting up for worship, and worship itself, where, from my point-of-view, things were just a little off.  Like the wheel on the scooter, the morning was moving along but with an occasional bump to remind me that some things just weren't quite as smooth as I would prefer.

And still…God was at work.  Not that He takes the morning off just because this or that thing that I'm up to isn't working out.  As Psalm 121:3-4 says,

"He will not let your foot be moved;
    he who keeps you will not slumber.

 Behold, he who keeps Israel
    will neither slumber nor sleep."

Those are true and reliable words, and good ones to remember at many points in life. 

The working of God became evident to me even as worship was going on, when I closed an extemporaneous prayer, one that I wasn't really sure had been very clear, and I heard a soft "Amen" from one of the people I was praying with.  My awkward words were used by God to touch that person. 

There was more evidence in the short, quiet conversations I had with several people after worship.  And there was still more evidence as I gathered the prayer requests.  God had been at work, through me, even though I thought the morning was moving along in a raggedy sort of way. 

I would have preferred a morning where things roll along smoothly but I am glad for the gentle reminders this morning that I am but a servant of God, and the results are in His hands.

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Seeing God Face-to-Face

Are you excited about one day seeing God face-to-face?  This is one of the promises of the Bible, that all people will one day be directly in the presence of God.  It's a promise that comes with a catch though, which came to mind as I was reading Psalm 68.  The catch is dependent on the attitude that a person has towards God in this life. 

Verses 3 & 4 read:

"But the righteous shall be glad; they shall exult before God; they shall be jubilant with joy! 

Sing to God, sing praises to His name; 

lift up a song to Him who rides through the deserts; 

His name is the Lord; exult before Him!"

Those who love God will delight in His presence.  Praise will be their natural and joyful response to casting their eyes on Him.

But… 

That small word, 'but', starts verse 3, because those two verses stand in contrast to verses 1 & 2, which read:

"God shall arise, his enemies shall be scattered; 

and those who hate Him shall flee before Him. 

As smoke is driven away, so you shall drive them away;                       

  as wax melts before fire, so the wicked shall perish before God."

The first two verses speak to all people who don’t love God.  The people who hate God.  The people who dislike God.  The people with no time for God.  The people who consider the very idea of God as being, at best, an old-fashioned idea, a myth to be cast aside like any other fairy tale. 

The Psalmist is clear.  There are two groups, and only two groups. One group includes all who love God and the other includes everyone else.  There is no middle ground, no place of compromise.  Nor is there a middle ground in terms of response to God's appearing.  There will be joy and delight on the one hand, and unimaginable fear on the other.

There are days I feel worn out.  Days when I know the promises of God for those who love Him are good, and that they are promises that will one day come my way.  But the fulfillment of them seems to be so far away that I can't get very worked up about them.  And on a day such as that my eyes came to these words of Psalm 68 and I saw the sharp contrast between what I have been delivered from and what lies in my future.

The Bible promises that by faith in Christ Jesus as your Lord and Savior you can be certain that you are among those who will rejoice to be in the very presence of God.  So re-read the words of verses 3 & 4 and know with confidence that they are meant for you.  They will apply to other people as well, but know with certainty that they are meant to encourage you.  Whatever is wearing you down today will one day pass and you will rejoice and sing praises in the very presence of God.

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Who are you?

I have "no Facebook" a rule when I'm writing my sermon, meaning I don't go on Facebook that day until after I do the writing I intend for the day. My original plan today had been to write but late in the day, when it was apparent that I wouldn't and I had the other work-related tasks for the day finished, I spent some time catching up with the world on Facebook.  And in doing so I came across something I couldn't pass up.

It was a quiz. I usually skip quiz's. This one was called Which Bible Character Are You? and I passed it by, but then came back.  A friend had done it and was told he was King Solomon. So I decided to check it out.

I was asked a question about who I was (curious, because they already knew I was Brad) and then, with a single click, I would be told which Bible character I was and put that information on  Facebook.  I paused.

My friend was told he was Solomon.  Not too bad at first glance.  Most powerful of all the kings of Israel.  Unparalleled wealth and wisdom.  But there is also the matter of 700 wives, 300 concubines, and most seriously, the words of 1 Kings 11:4,

"For when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father."

For all that God had given to Solomon, his story ends with him being a long ways from God, worshipping everything but God. 

There is a character in the Bible that I do identify with, although I suspect that the quiz didn't include many of the lesser-known people found in the Bible's storyline.  He is a man who speaks but six words.  Luke 18:13 says,

"But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’"

A man who knows the distance between God and himself.  A man who knows that his sin against God lies in that distance.  A man who knows that God is a God rich in mercy, and who will lavish His mercy on all who turn from their sin and seek Him.

When it comes to the characters of the Bible, I am the tax collector coming to God, seeking His mercy.  Who are you?

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Always at work

At work.  Always at work. 

"Always at work" isn’t me.  I have a job and I believe I'm conscientious about it.  I do some parts better than other parts but I don’t work at it from dawn to dusk.  And when I'm not "at work" but working on things at other places, such as around the house, there are breaks and periods of distraction.  And each day has its times of recreation and relaxation.  "Always at work" doesn’t describe me.

"Always at work" doesn’t describe my wife either, and she is probably the most diligent and energetic person I've ever known. 

"Always at work" does apply to God, and sometimes we see this in the most surprising of places.  I have been preaching through the book of Ruth and last week we reached the final paragraph, where this is written in chapter 4, verses 18-22:

"Now these are the generations of Perez: Perez fathered Hezron, Hezron fathered Ram, Ram fathered Amminadab, Amminadab fathered Nahshon, Nahshon fathered Salmon, Salmon fathered Boaz, Boaz fathered Obed, Obed fathered Jesse, and Jesse fathered David."

It looks like a collection of names.  The heading in my Bible says that it is the genealogy of David.  It would be easy to read the names and think, "Nothing going on here.  Kind of a flat way to end the story."  And coming to that conclusion would be missing something.  Something powerful.

The story of Ruth takes place during the time of the judges.  The book of Judges comes right before Ruth and reading it we see the Hebrew people in trouble, over and over again.  God raises up judges to lead them, but the author of the book doesn’t shy away from showing the character flaws of the leaders.  And the flaws become increasingly obvious as the book progresses.  The closing words, Judges 21:25, say,

"In those days there was no king in Israel.  Everyone did what was right in his own eyes."

So Ruth takes place during this dark chapter of the history of God's people.  But God is not absent.  The ending of Ruth shows that God is at work, keeping a family line intact, a family that He has promised will one day produce the Savior of His people. 

The time of the judges was a dark time for the people of Israel, but God remained at work among them, for His purposes, and this is what we see in the closing verses of Ruth.

And He remains at work today.    

The closing verses of Ruth, and the time period in which it is set, remind us that whatever the world may look like from our point-of-view, that God is at work, always at work, for His purposes.  And His purposes are always better than our purposes and our desires.     

We sometimes wonder what God is up to, or if He is paying any attention to our world and the troubles in it, troubles that seem so obvious.  Some of those troubles are on the TV news, and some of them are within our hearts.

Whatever you may be going through right now, know that God is at work.  Seek Him, and you will find Him.  Seek to know the peace of His presence.  Seek to know His purposes in your time of trial. 

For God is at work.  He is always at work.

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Forsaking all others

Last Saturday I conducted my first wedding.  In meeting with the bride and groom to plan their wedding there were several options as far as the vows they would make to each other.  The different options said the same basic things, but in differing ways.  One of the options included this phrase:

"Will you love her, comfort her, honor and protect her, and forsaking all others, be faithful to her as long as you both shall live?"

Those were words for the groom to speak to his bride, and there was a parallel option for the bride to speak to the groom.  Within those words of promise is a phrase that makes it an exclusive promise, "forsaking all others."  The bride and groom promise that the faithfulness they have to each other will by its very nature exclude anyone else from entering into the closeness that they will share with each other.

For Christians that commitment to forsake all others doesn't just apply to marriage.  More importantly, it applies to our relationship with God.  In Deuteronomy 5:6-7, God speaks these words in the first of the Ten Commandments:

"I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.  You shall have no other gods before me."

We are told to "have no other gods" but it seems as if other gods are continually in front of us.  They may take the form of relationships, or habits, or pastimes.  They may look completely innocent to people seeing us from the outside, people who may even applaud our commitment to some aspect of our life.  But what those other people don’t see, what sometimes we don’t even see, is that those other things have a place in our lives that bumps God from His place. 

Sometimes it seems as if dealing with "other gods" is a never-ending struggle.  But is it too important of an issue to ignore.  And God is full of grace and mercy.  There is never a time when we can’t come to Him, confess our pursuit of other gods, and take comfort in His embrace. 

So take a look at your life, and take a look at the Lord, and then do what it takes to make sure each is in their proper place.  For God alone deserves our praise and glory.  All day, every day.

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.