OUR IDEA OF FAITH VERSUS GOD'S IDEA OF FAITH

Our idea of Faith:

To believe that what the Bible says is true and to agree with doctrines that our church upholds as truth.

God’s idea of Faith:

"What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder." – (James 2:14-19)

OUR IDEA OF KNOWING GOD VS GOD'S IDEA OF KNOWING HIM

Our idea of knowing God:

To study the Bible and to learn as much as we can about His character and His covenant and how it all fits together.

God’s idea of knowing Him:

"He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. Is that not what it means to know me?" declares the LORD." – (Jeremiah 22:16)

"You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life." – (John 5:39-40)

OUR IDEA OF WORSHIP VS GOD'S IDEA OF WORSHIP

Our idea of Worship:

To close our eyes and lift our hands and to sing songs about Jesus for as long as possible in order to express to God our intense feelings of love and gratitude for His goodness to us.


God's idea of Worship:

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." – (Romans 12:1-2)

"Away with the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps. But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!"
– (Amos 5:23-24 )

OUR IDEA OF FASTING VS GOD'S IDEA OF FASTING

Our idea of Fasting:

To abstain from food or water (or any other activity) for a set amount of time in order to pray and hopefully find an answer to our prayers or hear God’s voice for direction concerning a specific issue or question.


God’s idea of Fasting:

“Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for a man to humble himself? Is it only for bowing one's head like a reed and for lying on sackcloth and ashes?
Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the LORD ?
Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter— when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.” – (Isaiah 58:5-9)

THE MINISTRY OF ROBERT HIGGINS TO ME

Just the other day, Robert asked if he was a burden to me or if I was getting tired of doing stuff to help him. Of course, I said it was no trouble at all and that I was happy to serve him. I reminded him that I loved him and that God loved him, too.

After I prayed for Robert, I went home to eat dinner with my family.

But on the way home I thought about this a little more. In the beginning, my times with Robert were a little challenging and frustrating to me. Back when he was still living in the motel he and I would often grind gears over certain issues. Usually, I was the one who made Robert angry because I was doing things for him that he hadn't asked me to do. Eventually, I learned that, unless Robert had specifically asked me to do something, I should not do it. In time, Robert had trained me to listen to him intently and only do exactly what he asked me to do. Otherwise, I allowed him to do as much for himself as he possibly could.

Lately, Robert has been unable to do very much for himself at all. Sitting up in bed is a struggle for him. He will not allow me to pull him up by his hand because the day he needs my help - or anyone else's - to do something as simple as sit up in bed, he knows that the end is near. I understand that he also wants to do as much for himself as he can - for as long as he can - before the cancer takes that away from him.

What I do for Robert is still not very much, in my opinion. Yet, in his mind, I'm already doing too much. It was after I had pushed him in his wheelchair from outside and I helped him take off his shoes and placed them in front of his chair that he asked me if I was getting tired of helping him. Of course, he stood up on his own, and he walked to his bed on his own, and he laid down by himself. All I did during all of this was to watch him, and to stand ready to steady him should he begin to fall backwards.

The truth is that it is actually getting easier for me to serve Robert lately. I think this is partly because, in the beginning, I was too wrapped up in trying to be his pastor. I was trying hard to change Robert's attitude on my own. I was feeling frustrated that he was stubborn and heard-headed. Of course, God used this frustration to show me how much Robert and I were alike. As I began to see myself in him, I found more patience with him.

Over time I've been learning how to be his friend instead of trying to change him. I've also begun to develop a new perspective on what God is doing in Robert's life, and in my life through Robert.

Now I can't wait to talk to Robert about all of this. I want him to understand what Jesus is doing in my heart as I spend time with him, and I want to thank Robert for being part of God's working in my heart to humble me and change me.

I think that's one of the unexpected miracles of serving others. We start out believing that we have the answers and all the resources they lack, but in truth we end up being blessed even more than those we hope to serve.

It's amazing for me to realize that, after all this time, the real ministry taking place might actually be from Robert to me. Or, at least, that both of us are being changed through this process of serving and being served.

What a wonderful mystery of life in the Kingdom.

Peace,
kg

The Secret Formula of the Kingdom

"In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps." – (Proverbs 16:9)

As human beings we crave security and gravitate towards areas of greater comfort. We are not content with unanswered questions or unresolved mysteries. We attempt to understand our lives by planning for the future and mapping out goals for tomorrow. None of this is necessarily bad, but it does prevent us from acclimating ourselves to life in the Kingdom of God.

In the Kingdom of God, there are no short answers. Sound bites are inadequate. Formulas do not exist. Your comfort zone is irrelevant. Tension is the new status quo for a citizen of the Kingdom of God, not resolution.

Most of us have a voracious appetite for knowledge. We prefer things to be predictable and if God did something a certain way yesterday, we expect Him to do it the same way again today. God does not play this game.

Instead, God operates under the rules of the Kingdom, and these rules are not formulaic. The Scriptures give us a snapshot of the many different ways that God has worked in people's lives in the past, but this variety of methods is meant, in part, to illustrate to us that God does not follow any predetermined script.

He is the Living God. He is the One in whom we live and move and have our being. He is always at work, even to this very day. His agenda is eternal. He has an individual plan for every specific person and He is weaving everything together to work for the good of those who seek Him.

The key to following such an unpredictable God is to come to Him each and every day with a blank slate. "What are you doing today, God?" we should ask. And then we should listen. And wait. And only do what the Father is doing.

"Yet those who wait for the Lord will renew their strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not become tired."– (Isaiah 40:31)

Waiting is the key. Trust is the singular currency of the Kingdom. This is why Solomon encourages us to "Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all of your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight." – (Proverbs 3:5-6)

As our example for how to live the Kingdom life, Jesus exemplifies this beautifully. He is not afraid of unanswered questions. He only does what He sees the Father doing. He doesn't mind being the servant. He isn't afraid to offend the religious elite. He takes the time to give every person an individualized response to the question, "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" without once repeating Himself to anyone.

"Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus who, being equal with God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant." – (Philippians 2:5-7)

We long for control. Even though control is only an illusion. God is the One who is really in control of everything. Admitting this to ourselves and relaxing our grip on the steering wheel helps us to see that the wheel we were holding was only an illusion.

In time, our lack of control will become a source of relief to us. At first it causes us to fear and to worry. But, in time, as we learn to trust Him more. We begin to experience a peace within us which flows out of the realization that we are not in control. He is. And that is enough for us.

In the Kingdom of God, we are called to trust God in everything. We are to put all of our hope in Him. He is the One who provides for us. Our jobs are only temporary sources of income. God is our source. He can take care of us with or without a career, or a spouse, or a 401(k).

This is why Jesus teaches us to pray for "daily bread" (Matt. 6:11) and to take up our cross and die to ourselves daily (Luke 9: 23). Why? Because it doesn't work any other way. Unless we are daily seeking to lean on Him for everything, we will invariably lean on our own ability.

This is why it says that God's mercies are "new every morning." (Lamentations 3:22-23) It's also part of the secret that Paul spoke of when he said, "I have learned the secret of being content in every situation. Whether well-fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want." – (Philippians 4:12)


Formulas have no place in God’s Kingdom. Why? Because if we have a formula we will trust in that pattern and not in God Himself. However, if we continually come to God with an open hand and a sense of expectation it keeps us in a place of faith and humility and dependence upon Him alone.

Simply put, if we can do it ourselves and have God help us, we will. Most of us would rather live the Christian life this way. But God has another plan. It is not an optional plan. It is the only plan. His plan is to be the One we look to each and every day for life, for hope, and for truth. He knows us inside and out. He set aside a cross for you, and one for me, to carry one day at a time.

This is how we follow Jesus. This is how we live the life of Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit.

There is no secret formula. There is only a daily trust in Him alone.

-kg
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"Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the word of his servant? Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God.

But now, all you who light fires and provide yourselves with flaming torches, go, walk in the light of your fires and of the torches you have set ablaze. This is what you shall receive from my hand: You will lie down in torment." (Isaiah 50:10-11)

ENCOURAGING THE PERSECUTED CHURCH

I've recently started to sense that might be calling me to travel to encourage the Church in persecuted nations. Of course, first I have to apply for a passport and then wait for God to open a door, but someone handed me an envelope with enough cash to pay for my passport a few weeks ago, so I think I'm getting the hint.

As I was sharing this with our house church family recently, one brother asked me what I could possibly say to followers of Jesus who are already standing for their faith in the face of violence and death. I had to admit that I would probably only find out what God wanted me to share with them after the door had been opened. The best I could hope for would be to engage in a mutual exchange of encouragement with my brothers and sisters undergoing persecution.

But as I continued to think about this and pray about it, I realized that there was something I could encourage the persecuted church to do after all; “Love your enemies”.

A few days after this thought entered my mind, the floods in Pakistan become front page news. Thousands dead, millions homeless, complete devastation of entire villages. This was an opportunity for those who had been threatened to demonstrate compassion to the very people who hated them.

I know that Pakistan is one of the top nations in the world for Christian persecution. Can it be any coincidence that this tragedy has befallen these people? Not as a judgment of God against the persecuting ones, but as an opportunity for the persecuted to demonstrate the love of Jesus in tangible ways.

Certainly, our nation and many other governments and first-response non-profit groups will mobilize to show compassion from the outside. But this is the perfect opportunity for the Body of Christ in Pakistan to boldly stand up and love their neighbor as themselves.

May God give them grace enough to love those who have shown them such hate and may it turn many souls to the love of Christ.

-kg