Goals – BibleJournal.net

I AM

What a fitting way to close out the year. Psalms 150

Let Everything Praise the LORD
Praise the LORD!
Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him in his mighty heavens!
Praise him for his mighty deeds;
praise him according to his excellent greatness!
Praise him with trumpet sound;
praise him with lute and harp!
Praise him with tambourine and dance;
praise him with strings and pipe!
Praise him with sounding cymbals;
praise him with loud clashing cymbals!
Let everything that has breath praise the LORD!
Praise the LORD!

So much of our year-end focuses on either what happened last year or what we want to happen next year. Psalm 150 is about right now, this very moment. Don’t miss it! Set aside, for a minute, who he was last year and who he is going to be next year. Let’s praise him for who He is. He is, after-all, I AM. He is present. Right here, right now! Praise him with whatever instrument you have available to you. Clap your hands, shout with your voice, stomp your feet. When we recognize his mighty deeds and his excellent greatness, it happens.

“He may have given us the power to be, but he is I am. Worship is our response to all that god is” – Matt Ludwig, Eastview Christian Church

Men Who Want to be Pleased

As we transition from Paul’s letters to the Corinthians to his letters to the Galatians we might hope for a more peaceful episode. The Corinthian church, along with Paul directly, was attacked by false teachers. Paul’s letters to the Corinthians were tough to read, in the sense that it is uncomfortable to read about the church under attack. Though we might long to turn the page and find a pleasant account of everything going right easily, that is not what we get. The church is again under siege by false teachers. This time in Galatia.

Free from man-pleasing

Paul opens this letter and gets right to the point. In first-century letters, the first thing the writer did was identify himself. Whereas now, we identify the writer at the end of the letter. Paul fits in the point of his letter directly in the first order of business. This tells us how aggressively he pursued to cleanse the church in Galatia of man-pleasing.

Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;) – Galatians 1:1

Paul is an apostle and he was made one by Christ, who God raised from the dead, not by anything of men nor by men. This opening chapter and this letter go on to lay out the doctrine first revealed in John 8:32:

And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. – John 8:32

Jesus is the truth. The false teachers were holding on to a false position in legalism that placed them above others, claiming God through the law. Jesus sets his followers free from the law’s eternal wages. (Galatians 2:16)

Two types of man-pleasing

6 I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: 7 Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. 9 As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed. 10 For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ. – Galatians 1:6-19

There is so much here to discuss but I want to focus in on verse ten. The strait statement that if Paul should seek to please men, he would not be a servant of Christ. A simple if, then, statement of truth. If we seek to please men, then we are not serving Christ. Are we seeking pleasing men?

The first type of man-pleasing that comes to mind is the exhausting burden of trying to please people. The other day my business partner and I were at lunch discussing a seemingly difficult situation. After too much talk, he said, “What if we just focused on God’s glory and didn’t worry about anything else?” Amen! Amen! The weight was lifted and our trust in the LORD ushered in the peace that transcends all understanding. He is Good! He is worthy of our trust! He is trustworthy! Praise God for freedom in the truth!

The second type of man-pleasing is found in the introspection that there is another man who desires to be pleased. Self. It is not enough to let go of aiming to please others, we must also die to ourselves to be truly free. Here is another question that brings freedom, this time from self.

“What if we set aside all our goals, everything we desire, weather seemingly good or not, and focused on God’s glory, trusting Him with everything we desire?” Do we trust in God’s promises enough to commit all our goals to him and pursue His Glory alone? (Matthew 6:32-34, Proverbs 16:3, Mark 10:29-31, Luke 6:38 (what if we gave our desires to the LORD?), Matthew 6:10, Matthew 6:19-24, Luke 12:29-31, Colossians 3:1-4, Romans 8:5)

The last questions were in a different business conversation this past week as a friend and I wrestled with the “balance” of letting go and pushing/working hard. I have come to believe that there is no balance required when trusting in God. I am suspicious that any advice that points to balance as what is needed when considering priorities is faulty. God wants to be number one on a list of one. He wants us all in. (Luke 9:62, Luke 9:23-24)

God, may we have single eyes for You. May Your kingdom come reign in our hearts. May Your will replace our will. May our hearts and eyes be for You and on You always. May our desires be committed to You in thanksgiving and contentment. May we release them to Your care and loving kindness. May You be gentle with us God. We are sinners in the world. May we never be of the world. Amen.

Unplanned

RMNP-BearLake-DSC07881

Numbers 21; Psalms 60–61; Isaiah 10:5–34; James 4

This last week, I had the privilege of taking my son to the Rocky Mountains. It was a short trip, just three days, so I wanted to make the most of it. I had two goals. First, I wanted to spend a lot of time with him, and second, I wanted to spend some time planning for the rest of 2016. If I am completely honest, one major purpose in spending a lot of time with Freddy is to examine how he is faring. I mean, we only have six, or so, years before he sets off for college! As a good father, I need to evaluate his planning and dreaming skills. Additionally, I want to influence what is in his head.

Among my few to-dos while I am on the road is this entry for BibleJournal.net. While reading James 4, early Monday morning, the Holy Spirit thumped my heart. In part, he reminded me that we are “a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.” (James 4:14) I couldn’t shake it. The Spirit instructed me, in that moment, that the reason we came to the Rocky Mountains was not to make great plans for the next several years (James 4:13). No, the purpose became clear as we approached Rocky Mountain National Park. Being absolutely captivated by its beauty, I understood that we were here to enjoy and celebrate breathtaking beauty. And that is exactly what we did. We did not sit piously and passively. How could we? The majesty of His creation blasted its way deep into our hearts. In reply, we stomped and shouted throughout his handiwork. We left giant footprints as our voices echoed throughout the valley. We sang stupid songs, threw snowballs and filled the air with laughter. We saw our breath in the cold mountain air and hollered over the thunderous roar of waterfalls. We pondered big questions like “why did God make it all,” and “why did he make it so complex?” We settled on really simple answers like “because He can,” and “so that we will never get bored.” We stood motionless and silent, marveling at how He did it. We worshipped!

After a long trip home, I find that I have planned nothing. Ironically, my celebration of His creation, left me with a bigger dream than I could have imagined. I want to enjoy God more. If the Lord wills me a tomorrow, my prayer is to see his beauty everyday, right here, right now, in the place that I live. Father, show me what to look for and where to look.

I found God this week. He was with us. He is with us. Will we be with Him?

Chasing the Wind

Leviticus 21; Psalms 26–27; Ecclesiastes 4; 1 Timothy 6

And I saw that all labor and all achievement spring from man’s envy of his neighbor. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. -Ecclesiastes 4:4

Eccleiastes has been proclaimed to be one of the greatest literary masterpieces of all time. King Solomon, the author (and son of King David) was considered to be one of the wisest and richest men who ever lived. He knew very well what he was writing about. I on the other hand am neither wise or wealthy, but I have been familiar with both through most of my life.

Please forgive me if this sounds boastful, but in my extended family I have seen or been made aware of fortunes that have come and gone. At times I have experienced the effects of both the windfalls and fallout from wealth; witnessing pride from accomplishments of innovation and industry.

Not surprisingly a sense entitlement had grown through the generations, it moved past sustaining yesterday’s achievements to the decadence of wealth without work. Like the withering vine of yesterday’s will to create enterprise, the generations grew into a future where they placed more value upon the worldly gains that had come before, than on the faith of the past. One by one they fell into despair and confusion. Their trust funds couldn’t save them from the emptiness that crept into their souls.

Despite the growing darkness, there was always a flickering light of truth in the distance. The family’s acts of philanthropy had brought hope and opportunity to the underprivileged and outcasts, and inspiration to the generations. Schools, colleges, centers and clubs were funded along with research to enhance life through science and service. In their acts of kindness and sacrifices of time and treasure, the light grew stronger.

I have witnessed the powerful reach of wealth beyond the grave, trying to control the destiny of future generations. Personally I was invited to live a life devoted to the power of self and the wisdom of the world, but I have also seen the power of a different legacy in the lives of those who pursued the true light of the world — Jesus Christ. Their lives reflected the light of personal transformation, one that was only possible in the surrender to the will of God. This offered a different life and a legacy for future generations.

Everyone I have known, including myself who have chased after the wind, to the best of my knowledge, have never found what they were looking for, only vanity.