It's Show Time!
Show-off's are a strange species. We all say we don't like them, but we all have televisions in our homes, and the majority of our viewing is entertainment. Does it not strike you as strange that the actors, writers and general celebrities that we all watch at home, who give us such great pleasure, have to be very strongly inclined to show off? Also, do you ever consider how boring and mundane our lives would be without them? Yes, I know that they make a mountain of money and they are insufferable, but I'm putting a word in, here, for, well, showing off!
By now, you must be seriously confused, but bear with me, because I do have an important point. And here it is...
I saw something in my daily Bible reading the other day that made me stop stock still in my tracks. And I must tell you that this is not exactly something that happens on what you might describe as a regular basis. The simplest way is to tell you straight out what it was.
I was reading through the Book of Psalms, number 96. And there in the second verse it says this: "Sing unto the LORD, bless his name; show forth his salvation from day to day." These are the types of phrases and expressions that, if like me you read the Bible regularly, you have to admit that you skip over. Please don't misunderstand me here. I'm not judging or condemning here. We all have a high appreciation of them, but on this one morning I just couldn't get past that phrase. I suppose it collided with another part of this blog that I was working on (see below), so I asked it some questions. Questions like, given the character and personality of God, why would He ask us to praise Him in the first place? Also, thinking about salvation itself and all the immensity it means to us, and the power of God to save, and this is the real core, are we really being exhorted to show off? Surely, this is the very opposite of the qualities of meekness and humility that are taught to us by the Lord Jesus. Shouldn't these be the things that "shine" out from us? Well, the answer is simply, yes. But not yes full stop. Yes what, then, you might reasonably ask. Answer, yes but.
The truth is this. The salvation being proclaimed across the world in all manner of ways is unique. It was obtained at colossal expense by the life, death, resurrection and ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ. And one of the main reasons it is so annoying to people who opposite is because it is so easy for us humans to obtain! Literally all you have to do is believe, and that simple act changes you, equally literally, forever! It is impossible to ever be the same again. True, many miss the mark, and many more, myself included here, do not live up to it - well at least we feel as if we do not live up to it. But that must never, ever, stop us from trying. Better, surely, to try and fail than never try at all.
Yet here's the good news about that. First, all this happens in God, and God is not a failure, so everything attempted in God, is not to be judged by human standards, which are fallen anyway. Second, the religious establishment, which, by the way, I'm very much a part of, are very good at saying the right things but not doing them, and not only that, but have a history of actively opposing those who are not "one of us". Third, ultimately, nothing sincerely attempted in God will fail, not by heaven's standards. In fact, and I concede that this is not easy for some believers to accept, but the truth is that God will Himself cause us to "fail" and/or be rejected, just to keep us humble. I know of many who have testified to this, so please be encouraged. You see, and this is the habit of advancing age, we always look back at our lives and think along the lines of, "well what a mess I've made!", but again that is because we even judge ourselves by human, fallen, standards. We just don't see the good we've done. But, when "the books are opened", and faith gives way to sight, we will be amazed at the things that are shown to us. The Lord Jesus will Himself tell us these things. Fourth, did you know, and trust me I'm not being irreverent here, that God also is Himself a bit of a show-off! Yes that's right! You don't believe me? Well it's right there in your Bible the same as mine as plain as day! Look at Ephesians chapter two, and verses six and seven, "He (God) hath raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus." Do you see? This means that our heavenly home is something that God is going to shout about for all eternity. There is no way that we can even imagine what that will be like.
And in all these things, which ever ability or opportunity comes our way, we must show ourselves faithful to God in them and go out there and tell people what the Lord has done for you. Because do you know what "Day of Grace" means? It's show time!
What Do We Mean By...
Part One: God.
This is part one of an occasional series in which I will attempt to explain some basics. My reason for this is not for you to think that I'm clever or anything, but just in case you are unsure, or not a Christian and would like to know what Christians think on certain matters, then I will post a short "Bonus" article like this one to help you. Please feel free to post suggestions for subjects and things you would like covered. All I can promise is that I'll do my best.
So, what do we Christians mean when we say "God"?
I will put it as briefly and simply as I possibly can. The best word to use is a bit technical, but it's the best, so what can you do? And it's the word Trinity. Christians all over the world believe this, but the majority fail to understand it. Briefly, here it is. There are three persons in the "Godhead"; the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and they are uncreated. It's reasonable question to ask, that if there are three uncreated members of "God", shouldn't it be that there are three "Gods"? And to be fair, the answer could reasonably be yes. But what you have to understand is that these three uncreated persons love each other, and the thing that is virtually impossible to grasp about that fact is, the sheer unmeasurable extent of that love. But while it remains impossible to measure that love in any tangible way, we can at least understand the effect of that love upon them. It is that they love each other so much that they have absolutely no self-awareness, and it is this phenomenon that causes some of the most profound statements in the Bible. The main one is, of course, "God is love." It is because of this great love that Christians proclaim God to the world as one God. You see, each member of the Holy Trinity loves each other to the aforementioned cosmic extent, that denying all self-awareness, they "become" one God. Not a lot more you can say after that, really.
Except there is!
1. Question: What possible relevance is that to real life in the twenty-first century? Answer: It is enormously relevant. First, the offer of salvation from sin, the curse, death and hell, is from God, who is Himself love. Second, this makes believing that God loves you a totally life-changing event. Third, Forget pearly gates and streets paved with gold; they are only hyperbolic. To "be saved" is to enter God Himself! Fourth, knowing that life in this world must change and then wringing our hands in despair stops being relevant when we see existence from this perspective - namely peace.
2. Another question: what is the appropriate, or even perhaps expected, response to this - having "believed" it? A shorter answer, this time. Worship, and the mind-set shaped by a worshipful response. What is worship, you might well be asking? More about that another time!
God bless you, and thank you for visiting.
By now, you must be seriously confused, but bear with me, because I do have an important point. And here it is...
I saw something in my daily Bible reading the other day that made me stop stock still in my tracks. And I must tell you that this is not exactly something that happens on what you might describe as a regular basis. The simplest way is to tell you straight out what it was.
I was reading through the Book of Psalms, number 96. And there in the second verse it says this: "Sing unto the LORD, bless his name; show forth his salvation from day to day." These are the types of phrases and expressions that, if like me you read the Bible regularly, you have to admit that you skip over. Please don't misunderstand me here. I'm not judging or condemning here. We all have a high appreciation of them, but on this one morning I just couldn't get past that phrase. I suppose it collided with another part of this blog that I was working on (see below), so I asked it some questions. Questions like, given the character and personality of God, why would He ask us to praise Him in the first place? Also, thinking about salvation itself and all the immensity it means to us, and the power of God to save, and this is the real core, are we really being exhorted to show off? Surely, this is the very opposite of the qualities of meekness and humility that are taught to us by the Lord Jesus. Shouldn't these be the things that "shine" out from us? Well, the answer is simply, yes. But not yes full stop. Yes what, then, you might reasonably ask. Answer, yes but.
The truth is this. The salvation being proclaimed across the world in all manner of ways is unique. It was obtained at colossal expense by the life, death, resurrection and ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ. And one of the main reasons it is so annoying to people who opposite is because it is so easy for us humans to obtain! Literally all you have to do is believe, and that simple act changes you, equally literally, forever! It is impossible to ever be the same again. True, many miss the mark, and many more, myself included here, do not live up to it - well at least we feel as if we do not live up to it. But that must never, ever, stop us from trying. Better, surely, to try and fail than never try at all.
Yet here's the good news about that. First, all this happens in God, and God is not a failure, so everything attempted in God, is not to be judged by human standards, which are fallen anyway. Second, the religious establishment, which, by the way, I'm very much a part of, are very good at saying the right things but not doing them, and not only that, but have a history of actively opposing those who are not "one of us". Third, ultimately, nothing sincerely attempted in God will fail, not by heaven's standards. In fact, and I concede that this is not easy for some believers to accept, but the truth is that God will Himself cause us to "fail" and/or be rejected, just to keep us humble. I know of many who have testified to this, so please be encouraged. You see, and this is the habit of advancing age, we always look back at our lives and think along the lines of, "well what a mess I've made!", but again that is because we even judge ourselves by human, fallen, standards. We just don't see the good we've done. But, when "the books are opened", and faith gives way to sight, we will be amazed at the things that are shown to us. The Lord Jesus will Himself tell us these things. Fourth, did you know, and trust me I'm not being irreverent here, that God also is Himself a bit of a show-off! Yes that's right! You don't believe me? Well it's right there in your Bible the same as mine as plain as day! Look at Ephesians chapter two, and verses six and seven, "He (God) hath raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus." Do you see? This means that our heavenly home is something that God is going to shout about for all eternity. There is no way that we can even imagine what that will be like.
And in all these things, which ever ability or opportunity comes our way, we must show ourselves faithful to God in them and go out there and tell people what the Lord has done for you. Because do you know what "Day of Grace" means? It's show time!
What Do We Mean By...
Part One: God.
This is part one of an occasional series in which I will attempt to explain some basics. My reason for this is not for you to think that I'm clever or anything, but just in case you are unsure, or not a Christian and would like to know what Christians think on certain matters, then I will post a short "Bonus" article like this one to help you. Please feel free to post suggestions for subjects and things you would like covered. All I can promise is that I'll do my best.
So, what do we Christians mean when we say "God"?
I will put it as briefly and simply as I possibly can. The best word to use is a bit technical, but it's the best, so what can you do? And it's the word Trinity. Christians all over the world believe this, but the majority fail to understand it. Briefly, here it is. There are three persons in the "Godhead"; the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and they are uncreated. It's reasonable question to ask, that if there are three uncreated members of "God", shouldn't it be that there are three "Gods"? And to be fair, the answer could reasonably be yes. But what you have to understand is that these three uncreated persons love each other, and the thing that is virtually impossible to grasp about that fact is, the sheer unmeasurable extent of that love. But while it remains impossible to measure that love in any tangible way, we can at least understand the effect of that love upon them. It is that they love each other so much that they have absolutely no self-awareness, and it is this phenomenon that causes some of the most profound statements in the Bible. The main one is, of course, "God is love." It is because of this great love that Christians proclaim God to the world as one God. You see, each member of the Holy Trinity loves each other to the aforementioned cosmic extent, that denying all self-awareness, they "become" one God. Not a lot more you can say after that, really.
Except there is!
1. Question: What possible relevance is that to real life in the twenty-first century? Answer: It is enormously relevant. First, the offer of salvation from sin, the curse, death and hell, is from God, who is Himself love. Second, this makes believing that God loves you a totally life-changing event. Third, Forget pearly gates and streets paved with gold; they are only hyperbolic. To "be saved" is to enter God Himself! Fourth, knowing that life in this world must change and then wringing our hands in despair stops being relevant when we see existence from this perspective - namely peace.
2. Another question: what is the appropriate, or even perhaps expected, response to this - having "believed" it? A shorter answer, this time. Worship, and the mind-set shaped by a worshipful response. What is worship, you might well be asking? More about that another time!
God bless you, and thank you for visiting.
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