How fears point us to God

CNN has an article on their site called, "Who's afraid of snakes, spiders, vomit?" While the article deals with phobias it brings up a good point for Christians to consider. The very first time that we see fear mentioned in the Bible is when Adam tells the God that he heard Him and was afraid and hid himself (Genesis 3:10). Fear is a result of the fall and I think that in all of eternity this will be borne out. 2 Timothy 1:7 tells us that God has not given us a spirit of fear but God gave us a spirit of power, love and self-control. The main thing here is that power, love and self-control are all things that put fear to death. It is even this idea of self-control that counselors use to treat phobias. What should our goal be as Christian living a God focused life? To be so consumed with a desire for God and His kingdom that the things of this earth that produce fear in us are minimized. To put it another way we can say that we do not fear man or beast because God has ordained the day of our death (Hebrews 9:27). Men may try to intimidate us but we do not fear them because the power of God is greater than that of any man. Ultimately the thing that will fill our heart with the confidence we need to face and overcome fears of all kinds is the love of God filling and permeating our hearts. 1 John 4:18 says “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.” The love of God experienced in the context of a relationship with Him will fortify our hearts against fear.

What are we looking for in the search for freedom?

Today's blog has been triggered by an article on CNN called, "Bikini or headscarf -- which offers more freedom?" In it the woman who is being interviewed by Oprah is discussing how she married a muslim and how her daughter has taken to wearing a head scarf. She talks about the way that wearing a bikini as a young woman gave her a sense of power and freedom. She goes on to speak of how that same thing is happening for her daughter in a different way through the head scarf. What I find interesting in all of this is the base assumption that everyone tacitly understands. That assumption is that we need to be freed. No one really talks about what we are seeking to be freed from, just that we need to be freed. What kind of freedom does a woman in a bikini get? She gets the freedom to control the attention of men. She gets the freedom to express (or expose as the case may be) herself. This is essentially a grabbing of attention using her body. It is man centered. It is a re-enacting of the lie the serpent told Eve in the garden. You shall be as god's (Genesis 3:5). The head scarf is the same sort of thing turned inside out. The woman in the head scarf is submitting herself to Allah and essentially working her way to heaven. The same lie out of Genesis applies here. She is seeing herself as capable of appeasing god somehow. She has power with god because of what she does. Romans 3:10-12 sums it up nicely by saying no one does  good not even one. When people do things in the flesh that are for the sake of personal freedom pay attention. In most instances what they want freedom from is freedom from a righteous and holy God. The girl in the bikini wants to be free of moral restraint. The woman in the head scarf wants freedom from a God that you cannot please or satisfy with your actions. You see God has written His law on our hearts (Romans 2:15). Our consciences seek to accuse us or excuse us. Our hearts should go out to these people. We have found freedom in Christ (Galatians 2:4, 5:1). As we pursue a God focused life it is my prayer that God would cause us to share our freedom in Christ with those who have not yet come to experience that freedom.

Righteous anger what it is and isn't

What is righteous anger? Jesus had righteous anger when He made a whip of reeds and drove out the money changers and the sellers of animals from the temple courtyard (John 2:15). 2 Samuel 12:1-6 tells us the story that Nathan told to David about the stolen lamb. In the story it tells us that David became angry at the injustice that was done. I believe that we could call David's anger at the injustice done to someone else a righteous anger. The same David refused to get angry and take vengeance on Saul when he had the opportunity (1 Samuel 24). David spoke to Saul who was after him to kill him and he told Saul that he would not strike back and take vengeance but that he would look to God to avenge him (1 Samuel 24:12). Romans 12:19 exhorts us to not take vengeance but leave it to the Lord to do.
I take from these instances a general principle that I believe holds these tensions in balance. If there is a wrong done against me or my rights as in the case of the state or a company I will not retaliate. Why? Because in this case it is God's to avenge me. If there is a wrong done to a child, a woman or the poor and oppressed and it is within my power to be a defender of the defenseless then I will give vent to my righteous anger on behalf of someone else. Lets put it like this:

If it is against me I should flee, 

but against a defenseless other 

I should become a defending brother

This would take care of all the time wasted seeking our own rights and free us up to seek the well fare of those in need. We can discern these things easier in the context of living a God focused life.

Taking God for granted

I am sitting here in my living room with my wife. We had twins a little over three weeks ago. It's late and as I sit here it suddenly struck me how much of God's grace has been poured out on us that we take for granted. We are not wealthy by the world's standards but we have a comfrotable couch and a recliner that would have been the envy of the wealthy 100 years ago. A color TV hangs on my wall and 100 years ago that sort of thing was not even thought of. Electricity powers lights that let me see what I type. A fish aquarium churnes away in the corner maintaining a fish habitat for our viewing pleasure. Color photographs in frames crowd the top of our piano. Some of them were captured with a digital camera. Our newborn daughters rest comfortably in warm clothes that were acquired from virtually limitless choices at an abundance of stores. What we experience is truly amazing, and especially so when we remember John 1:3, "All things were made by Him (Jesus...God)." That puts an amazing perspective on it all. There is not one thing that we have that is not derived from something that God made. The life that we experience comes from God and all that we have comes from God. All the things that I see in my home exist because God allowed someone somewhere to have the mental capacity to figure out how to make it. 1 Corinthians 8:6 reminds us that all things are God's. All the things we take for granted are actually little signpost that should cause our hearts to cry out to God in wonder at His mercy and grace. We really deserve God's wrath because of our corruption and sinfulness. What we have received even in the common things of life is truly astounding. Because of Jesus one day I will dwell in Heaven with my God. But on the journey to that celestial city God has surrounded me and you with signpost to point out His abundant mercy and grace. So whether we eat or drink or whatsoever we do we could do all to the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31). May God grant us the grace to not take Him for granted but to live a more God focused life than ever.

The God who establishes our steps

Last Wednesday I had the opportunity to share my faith with a couple of guys at a street fair in Pleasanton. It was a great conversation and time of interaction. The guys I was speaking with did not believe that there is a God but walked away with a gospel of John (pray that they read it). One of the reasons that I believe I was speaking with them on Wednesday evening is found in Proverbs 16:9  “The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.” It is easy to see God establishing our steps for things like interactions where we get to share our faith. But how about the things that don't seem so kingdom of God oriented. Did God establish your steps to the grocery store? Did God establish your vacation? Did God establish the car accident you were in? How about the cancer you were diagnosed with? You see if we really believe that God establishes all of our steps and all of our interactions then the things we see as challenging that happen are to shape, restrain us, mold us and ultimately cause us to depend on God more. When we really see God as the establisher of our steps we come to realize that no matter what we have planned God has something more. So that little interruption that messed up your train of thought or the traffic that made you late all are God's hand directing us to trust in Him and the way that He establishes our steps.

Why the tea party movement will not save us

The reason that the tea party movement will not save us is the same reason that Obama and the democrats cannot save us. In both cases we are looking to a political movement to solve our problems. Lets think about what some of our problems are? (These are just a few of the general ways in which the public is talking.)

• Man is basically good and just needs a break - so lets have the government give him a hand out.
• Sexuality and what I do is my business and does not affect anyone else - so lets have the government protect my freedom of sexual expression.
• My rights of expression are being threatened - so lets have some laws enacted to protect them.

Freedom is essentially a moral issue (Romans 6:16-18). The ultimate question we need to ask is not which political movement will save us, but what must we do to be saved (Acts 16:31). The tragedy is that our society has drifted so far from a Biblical moral base that the first statement in my informal list is generally accepted everywhere. Man is fallen and born in sin and the thoughts of his heart are only evil continually (Romans 5:12, Genesis 6:5, Psalm 140 ). Government cannot save fallen man from himself no matter what programs they start. Sexuality was created by God for the sake of His glory (Ephesians 5:31-32). Perversion of God's intention for sexuality is man assaulting the God's picture of Jesus relationship with His bride the church. If you want to assault God's picture don't be surprised when He responds in retribution. Only faith in Christ and a love for Him can help us get our bearings in the sea of sexual perversion on which we drift. The extreme emphasis on personal rights within our society exist because we  are a self centered society. Only in the love of Jesus do we gain the freedom to die to self and minister to others as if we are ministering to Christ. A political movement will never be able to solve these problems. These problems need a real Savior to restore our hearts back to God. Lets pray that God will give more hearts a Godward focus on Christ and a desire to pray. For only when God steps in and hears our prayers will our nation be healed (2 Chronicles 7:14).

How a God focused life can save a marriage

The news has had several articles about the Al and Tipper Gore's separation. If you have not heard you can find out more in an article on Foxnews called "What Hasn't Been Said About the Gores' Split". There is a lot of speculation about the changes that have entered their lives since 2000 and the loss of the election. Al has made a lot of money since then and has become very popular especially with the environmental crowd. Most people conclude that the success and money has put a huge amount of stress on the marriage. Whether it has or not the reality is that God calls men to love their wives as Christ loved the church (Ephesians 5:25). This should be the second priority for any man who claims to know Jesus as his Lord. The first should be to love God (Matthew 22:37). If these things are in place then any money earned is a blessing and gift from God. Any success in life that is granted to us becomes a position that God has placed us in for the sake of advancing His kingdom. The way that fame and money destroys marriages is evidence that man centered solutions do not work. Even Tony Robbins the secular guru of personal achievement has not been able to make marriage work. In a day and age when everyone is looking for the quick fix and the perfect solution. There is no better time to turn to and follow the direction and calling of God. After all He designed marriage it would seem that following His advice would be the best thing we could do.