Subordinate Your 2009 Plans to God’s Will

 The last week of the year.

A time of reflection. A time of planning. We look back. We look ahead. In fact, January gets its name from the two faced pagan god, Janus, who looked back and ahead at the same time.

James 4:13-17 provides some great advice for us: 

“Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit’—yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.’ As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.”

I hope you have big plans for 2009. I really do. However, I hope you keep them in the proper perspective. The fact is, you cannot control what will happen tomorrow, let alone for all of next year. James is not telling us we can make no plans. Rather, he is telling us to make sure we know that our plans are subject to the Great Day Planner. “If the Lord wills” we will accomplish our plans.

But what if the Lord does not will? Then we must change our plans. If our plans contradict some principle of God’s word, we must change those plans immediately. However, as the year progresses there may be plans that fit perfectly within the biblically revealed will of God, but occurrences and situations cause our plans to fall short. All we can do is accept that God allowed those situations for a reason. He knows better than us and we will adjust our plans to fit with what God has or has not allowed.  

What we must recognize is our life is a vapor. We do not even know if we will survive 2009. We cannot, by our own power, assure we will live to accomplish all our plans. Therefore, we need to surrender to God’s will. Instead of boasting in our plans, we need to boast in God’s strength, subordinating our plans to His will.

Finally, if we know the right thing to do, we must do it. Instead of getting caught up in our future plans, we need to live in the here and now doing what we know is the next right thing. If we put off the right thing now, God will not uphold any of our plans for the future. If, on the other hand, we continually pursue the right thing at this moment, God will establish our paths.

So, today and in the days of the new year to come, let’s not boast as if we are in control. Rather, let’s submit to God’s control, subordinating our plans to His will and just do the next right thing.

Now That I’m a Christian, What Must I Do To Be Saved?, by Edwin Crozier (12/28/08)

Jesus is Returning, Get Moving

I can’t imagine what it must have been like for the apostles in Acts 1:9. Jesus had been killed and it seemed their lives were over. But on the third day, He returned from the grave. Now, forty days later, He leaves again. Certainly, it is a more glorious departure. But it is a departure nonetheless. Despite Jesus having told them He was going, I can’t help but think the apostles felt a little bit lost, thinking Jesus surely had meant something else. But now He’s gone.

For some time, they simply stood there looking into heaven. It is almost as if they expected Jesus to come right back down. They stood long enough God sent two messengers to get them moving. In Acts 1:11, they said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven” (ESV).

I can’t help but see a point from this that fits with this time of year. The sense I get from this picture is of the apostles longing for the past. They wanted Jesus back. They had no sense of looking to the future and what God had planned for them in the service of Jesus. The angelic messengers gave them the prod they needed to look ahead.

We need that same prod. As we approach a new year, many of us will examine our past and look ahead at our future. For some of us, however, the past is so overwhelming we can’t take our eyes off of it.

For the apostles, the point seemed to be that they couldn’t imagine moving forward without Jesus being right there. For us, it is different issues. Perhaps we did something great this year and we can’t get our minds off of it to move ahead and do even more in Christ’s service. On the other hand, perhaps we did something awful. We can’t get past how bad we’ve been to recognize Jesus has plans for us anyway.

In any case, we need to be reminded Jesus is returning. We don’t know when. It may well be in 2009. That being the case, instead of standing around with our heads in the clouds trying to recapture or fix the past, we need to look ahead.

When the angels prompted the apostles, they did what Jesus had told them in Luke 24:49. They went into the city and waited to be clothed with power. When we receive this prompting, we also need to look ahead and get ready for Jesus’ return by doing what He told us.

            It’s good to learn from our past. It’s good to remember the past. But let’s not get stuck there. Jesus is returning. Let’s get in His word and get ready.

Do the Right Thing No Matter the Cost

In November, a professional golfer, J. P. Hayes, was playing in a PGA golf tournament with much riding on his performance.  He had not had a good year and needed to do well to keep his PGA card that would allow him to play in a full slate of tournaments in 2009.  During this tournament, he had used a golf ball to finish a hole that he had not started the hole with; that is against the rules.  When he discovered this, he immediately went to officials and informed them, and it cost him a 2 stroke penalty.  But the story does not end there.  In a later round of the same tournament, he was given a ball to play by his caddie, which was experimental and given him by the manufacturer to test for them.  This ball had not yet been approved for use by the PGA.  He did not discover this error until in his hotel room after the round.  The next day he went to the officials to inform them, and was disqualified from the tournament.  His action had the potential to cost him millions of dollars in earnings on the 2009 PGA golf tour.  When asked why he did this when only he knew his error, he said it was the right thing to do.  Many sports analysts questioned such an action when only he knew and had “gotten away with it.”  Some quoted the old NASCAR adage, “if you ain’t cheatin’, you ain’t tryin’!” I don’t know much about Mr. Hayes and can’t speak to his honor away from the golf course, but I can tell you that he is an honorable man on the golf course.

Honor and right doing are things that seem to be less and less admired by many.  Thus, it is practiced less and less by many.  If one can “get away with it,” why not just go on and do it?  When we see corporate greed gripping its executives so firmly they will do wrong, even when the probability of being discovered is great, we have a real moral problem in our society.  Doing right does not seem to impress people anymore.

God’s people, above all others, will do right no matter what the cost or whether others know or care that they are practicing honor before God.  Jesus did the will of His Father, even though it cost Him His life.  The apostles taught about Jesus when warned not to.  In Acts 4:19-20 and 5:29, they said they had no choice but do what was right in God’s sight even when it went against the wishes of man and could cost them their freedom or lives.

The attitude of doing wrong as long as we are not found out is foreign to God’s teaching.  Oh, we may take comfort in the fact that none of our friends, family or fellow Christians know about our sin, but God lets us know He knows.  Jesus tells us in Luke 8:17 nothing is hidden that will not be made known and what is done in secret will come to light.  In Romans 2: 16, we are told God will judge our secrets according to the gospel through Christ Jesus.  God’s children are to do right in the sight of God and do right in the sight of man according to Romans 12:17 and 2 Corinthians 8:21.  Christians are to be people of integrity. 

Christians do what is right simply because it is right.  We can only do this when we understand what is right and are trained by the Scriptures. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 tells us the Word of God equips us to do what is right.  Do you want to practice right, whether seen or not? Practice God’s word.  If we dwell on unrighteousness, we will practice unrighteousness.  If we dwell on righteousness, we practice righteousness. Philippians 4:8-9 explains how we can grow to the point where we practice right without having to think long and hard about every situation in which we find ourselves.  We are a people who practice right without having to weigh the cost; we already know the reward.  I am proud of Mr. Hayes for his integrity in light of the huge cost he faces.  I am proud of God’s people when they practice the teaching, without hesitation, of Philippians 4:8 (NASB) and  “whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your minds dwell on these things.  The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace shall be with you.”

Exactly Why Are We Celebrating Christmas?

I would like to ask you to do a very difficult thing. Instead of just going along with what everyone says today and without being swayed by hundreds of years of growing modern religious practice, let’s just look at the Bible as if we were receiving its letters in the first and second century when they were written and then distributed. I would like to ask you a second difficult thing. Hear me out all the way to the end before shutting me down just because what I’m going to say is not the popular opinion.

Can I share with you a word that is conspicuously absent from the Bible? Christmas. It is not in our Bibles ever. Charlie Brown specials notwithstanding, the Bible never presents a single Christmas story, let alone the first Christmas story. I invite you to read the New Testament from cover to cover, upside down and backwards if necessary. Please provide me one shred of evidence that suggests God has ever asked us or wants us to establish a holiday (holy day) to celebrate the birthday of Jesus?

Christmas Day

Interestingly enough, the first problem we would have is figuring out on what day such a celebration should occur. It seems to me, since the Scripture equips us for every good work (cf. II Timothy 3:16-17), if God wanted us celebrating such a day He would have, at the very least, let us know which day to celebrate. But we can’t find that day anywhere in Scripture.

Why is December 25 the day? Certainly not because God equipped us to celebrate the birthday of Jesus on that day. Consider what The Encyclopedia Americana says about it:

“The reason for establishing December 25 as Christmas is somewhat obscure, but it is usually held that the day was chosen to correspond to pagan festivals that took place around the time of the winter solstice, when the days begin to lengthen, to celebrate the ‘rebirth of the sun.’”

Consider also what the New Catholic Encyclopedia says about it:

“The true birth date of Christ is unknown. The worldwide census reported in Luke 2:1-2 cannot be substantiated. By the late second century different groups of Christians held divergent ideas on the date of Christ’s birth: January 6 or 10…, April 19 or 20, May 20, or November 18…With no evidence for the exact date of Christ’s birth, and no clear proof of the date at which the feast began to be celebrated, nor its rationale, liturgical historians have developed two noncompetitive theories.”

Christmas Practices

The second problem we have is striving to figure out how to celebrate the birthday of Jesus. Again, the scripture equips us for every good work. Exactly how on the special day, for which there is no equipping, do we celebrate Jesus’ birthday? Scriptures would be nice on this one. Should we bake a cake? That’s how we often celebrate our birthdays. Should we pass out gifts? Should we decorate a tree? Hang out mistletoe? Burn a Yule Log? Amazingly, most of the practices we now associate with celebrating Christmas did not come from the equipping of Scripture. Rather, they came from adopting pagan practices into Christian religion.

The tree stems from the celebration of the pagans around the winter solstice of the rebirth of the sun. The evergreen trees had special significance because they represented life even during winter. The Yule Log stems from the pagan practice to light a bonfire on the darkest day of the year to keep away evil spirits. Mistletoe and Holly were part of the pagan worship, considered symbols of fertility and eternal life and were important like the evergreens as signs of life even in winter. Interestingly enough, even the gift giving stems more from pagan worship than from the wise men, who incidentally did not visit Jesus on the night of his birth (cf. Luke 2:11). Read what World Book 2001 says about gift giving:

“The custom of giving gifts to relatives and friends on a special day in winter probably began in ancient Rome and northern Europe. In these regions, people gave each other small presents as part of their year-end celebrations. By 1100, Saint Nicholas had become a popular symbol of gift giving in many European countries. According to legend, he brought presents to children on the eve of his feast day, December 6. Nonreligious figures replaced Saint Nicholas in certain countries soon after the Reformation, and December 25 became the day for giving gifts.”

Folks debate why people wanting to celebrate Jesus’ birthday co-opted so many pagan rituals and acts of worship. Some sources suggest it was so Christians could blend in and not be persecuted for their celebration. Some suggest it was so Christians could attract and keep the converts from paganism. However, no one remotely suggests it is because Christians who studied the Scriptures from God found direction or instruction to do these things.

Some Disclaimers

First, before someone throws up Romans 14:5-6, allow me to assure you that I certainly believe if you, as an individual, desire to set aside a day on which you primarily think about the birth of Jesus, celebrating it, honoring it, teaching about it, I agree you can. That, however, is a far cry different from establishing national and congregational holy days. Additionally, while you may set aside some day to personally celebrate Jesus’ birth, Romans 14:5-6 does not mean you are allowed to do so anyway you see fit. We can celebrate Jesus’ birth the same way we might celebrate anything Jesus did in His life. We pray and praise God for it. We sing songs about it. We teach it. We definitely do not co-opt pagan worship to do it.

Second, celebrating Christmas as a secular celebration of family, love, etc. does not violate any Scriptural principle of which I’m aware. Just as we might celebrate national holidays of our independence or in memory of our Armed Forces, etc., I believe we can set aside a holiday for giving gifts and spending time with family. I certainly leave room for conscience. If you hear this and believe Christians should not be involved in the celebration at all because of its pagan roots, I will understand and respect your conscience. However, I suggest pagan roots do not necessarily equal modern pagan practice. Just because I decorate a tree does not mean I’m worshipping it as a sign of eternal life. In fact, all of us tacitly recognize this. No one thinks anyone is honoring the god of the sun when they speak of Sunday or the god of the moon when they say Monday. No one believes we are honoring the German gods Tia, Woden, Thor or Frija when we speak of their days: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. And no one is honoring Saturn when they speak of Saturday. I could go on and use the names of the months as examples but I think you get the point.

Third, I do believe we can make a mistake of being so intent on proving Christmas is not Jesus’ birth that we miss many golden opportunities to reach out to folks who are interested in thinking about Jesus at this time of year. However, I do not think we should follow lockstep with modern evangelicalism simply to attract numbers. So, please, do not feel the need to go around shouting down Christmas from the rooftops. Take opportunities to talk about Jesus with folks who are interested. But at the same time, don’t think you are doing Jesus favors by adding a holy day to your religious calendar so you can attract people to His body. Why not just let His plans work? He doesn’t need our added plans.

A Final Plea

Why does any of this matter? No doubt, some are saying, “What’s the harm? It’s all for a good purpose. What could possibly be wrong with celebrating Jesus’ birthday? Surely God doesn’t care.” As I see it, the issue is whether or not we will allow Jesus to actually be Lord of our lives, our worship and our service. Will we really surrender to Him or will we follow our plans as better. Luke 6:46 asks, “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?” (ESV). Colossians 3:17 says, “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (ESV). We need to be people who do what Jesus tells us. We need to be people who do what brings glory to Jesus because it is what He has blessed with authorization. We should not be people who make up things because it seems good to us.

So, I’ll offer my plea one more final time. Instead of just going along with everyone today because it seems like such a pleasant thing, let’s go back to the Bible and try not to be swayed by hundreds of years of religious practice to just read what those first century Christians would have read. If you can find authorization for the modern Christmas practice there, then by all means practice it. If not, let’s just do what we find in the Bible.

Better a Wise Servant Than a Rich Fool, by Edwin Crozier (12/21/08)

Be Kind this Christmas

I know the title sounds a little bit odd. Generally, we have the idea that everyone is already a bit kinder around the holidays. We’re all in the mood for giving. We’re a bit more generous. We offer well wishes more readily.

All that is true. But amazingly, at the same time, my experience has been that people also get a bit less kind at the same time. Because we are in a rush to get to the store and purchase that perfect present we react more harshly if someone cuts us off in traffic. Because the store is crowded and we feel pressed upon, we get a little tenser. Because the item we wanted to purchase is out of stock, we get a little angrier. Because somebody else got what we wanted, we get a little more jealous. Because we have so much to do and so little time to do it, we get a little less patient.

With all the pressures, time constraints, expectations and financial burdens at this time of year, we can actually forget that we are supposed to be kind to others. Ephesians 4:32 says, “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you” (ESV). While this verse speaks about “one another” these are good principles to follow with everyone, whether they are Christians or not.

Matthew 7:12 says, “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets” (ESV). When you accidentally cut someone off in traffic, how do you want them to treat you? Do the same for others. When you accidentally bump into someone in the store, how do you want them to treat you? Do the same for others. When you get someone a gift, how do you want them to treat you? Do the same for them.

Times of bigger pressures are not times when we should expect God to look the other way and make exceptions. These are times for us to rely on Him even more so we can live by His will no matter what. We are called to do this even when others do not reciprocate.

Make a concerted effort this holiday season to keep up your patience and kindness. Treat others as creations of God who are struggling with all these pressures as well. When you do that, you will likely treat them in a much better way. Not to mention, you will develop more fulfilling relationships with the people in your life, connecting with them through your kindness rather than separating from them because of your bitterness.

Let’s remember that we are Christians all the time, not just when it is easy. We’re in the pressure pot this month; let’s make sure we don’t get cooked.

Behold I Thought!

In II Kings 5:1-15, there is a description of an important historical event regarding a captain in the military service of the King of Syria. The captain’s name was Naaman. He is described as a great man with his master and honorable, because by him the Lord had given deliverance unto Syria. He was also described as a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper. Leprosy is a long-term fatal disease that greatly disfigures individuals before they eventually die. In Naaman’s time, there was no cure for the disease.

The Syrians brought back captives from their various military actions. One of these captives was a young Jewish girl who waited on Naaman’s wife. The young captive said if her master would go to Samaria and visit a prophet there, he would recover from his leprosy.

The king of Syria heard what this young girl had said and insisted Naaman go. He said he would send a letter to the king of Israel, as well as 10 talents of silver, 6,000 pieces of gold, and 10 changes of raiment. As you might expect, the king of Israel could not help Naaman. In fact the king was very upset, and said, “Am I God to kill and make alive, that this king sent me this man to cure him of leprosy.”

Elisha, the man of God, heard about the incident and sent a message to the king to send this man to see him. Naaman and all the people traveling with him went to Elisha’s house. Elisha sent a servant out to speak to Naaman. The servant told Naaman to go and wash seven times in the river Jordan and his flesh would become clean. Naaman was incensed, he had come all this way and the prophet sent a lowly servant to tell him what to do. He said “BEHOLD I THOUGHT the prophet would come out and call upon the Lord and strike his hand over me and I would be cleansed of the leprosy” (KJV, emphasis  mine-DA). Naaman also said, “Are not Abana and Pharppar rivers in Damascus better than the waters in Israel, why could I not wash in them?” He left in a rage.

However, he had a wise servant who said to him, “If the prophet had asked you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much better that he said wash and be clean?” Naaman came to his senses and went down in the Jordan River, washed seven times, and his flesh became as a little child. He was cleansed.

What can we learn from Naaman’s mistake? First of all we need to follow God’s commandments precisely as He has given them. Remember Naaman was not cured until he washed seven times in the river Jordan.

I want to focus on the words Naaman said in II Kings 5:11.  

BEHOLD I THOUGHT 

1. Behold I thought we could improve our singing with the addition of musical instruments. In the New Testament we are told to sing with no mention of musical instruments–Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16; l Corinthians 14:15
2. Behold I thought I could accept God as my personal savior without having to be baptized. The Bible says “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved…” (Mark 16:15-16). “Repent and be baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:38).
3. Behold I thought God wanted me to be happy even if my present marriage is not scriptural. God’s word says, “And I say unto you, who ever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery” (Matthew 19:9).
4. Behold I thought I could spend my money for all the things my heart desires and give to God what was left. The Bible says, “So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver” (II Corinthians 9:7). Also, in Malachi 1:6-9, God condemned his people for offering sacrifices of blind, lame, and sick animals. When you give God what is left you are doing the same thing.
5. Behold I thought I had plenty of time to obey the Gospel after I enjoyed the things of the world and sow my “WILD OATS.” The Bible said of the rich farmer who was going to tear down his barns and build bigger ones, “You fool this night your soul will be required of you…” (Luke 12:20).

We could make many points when man says “Behold I Thought,” and tries to improve on God’s commandments. However, just as Naaman was not cured of his leprosy until he did exactly as God instructed, we will fail anytime we add to or take away from God’s word.

5 Keys to Knowing God’s Answers to Prayer

In a question and answer session during my recent series on Prayer in Chillicothe, Ohio, someone asked, “How does God answer prayer? If you are seeking guidance on a specific issue, how does He provide that guidance?” Great question. I’d like to share 5 keys for how to deal with this question.

Key #1: Don’t look for a specific step by step plan.

Many of us have this question. I know for me, I had this question when I thought God somehow had some specific step by step plan for my life that I somehow had to figure out or I would botch everything. The reality is, God’s plans do not hinge on you finding that one particular job in that one geographical location while married to that one specific person while acting in one specific way. 

Before we go any further, I want to remove from you that feeling that somehow you have to be as smart as God. Let God be God. Neither do you have to work through some mysterious step-by-step process to somehow figure out the hidden plan God has for your life. Here is what you need to understand. The key to the world is not resting on your soldiers. You don’t have to worry that if you decide to move to Peoria instead of Atlanta that God’s plans will come crashing down. God is bigger than that.

Trust me, if God has something only you can do as part of His big plan. He’ll get you there to do it. 

Key #2: Read, study and meditate on God’s Word.

But don’t wait to do it until you are caught in the middle of some crossroads. If you want to make wise decisions, you need to have a foundation of Scriptural knowledge and perspective already. I’m often amazed at the number of people who tell me they prayed about some decision but when asked what they learned in Scripture about the decision, they don’t have anything to say. It never occurred to them to go to the Bible. 

Don’t forget II Timothy 3:16-17: “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be equipped for every good work” (ESV). What does this tell us? It points out that if what we are doing aligns with Scripture it is a good work. I understand that Scripture will not say, “Work at the auto plant.” Or “Work for the newspaper.” But it will tell you how you need to live. If you can live that way with the particular job, then you can go for it.

Key #3: Seek wise counsel.

Proverbs 11:14 says, “Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety” (ESV). For some reason we all want this inner voice that will tell us what to do. Why not use the outer voices God has given us to help us. One of the reasons He has organized His people into local churches is to provide good counsel and guidance. Talk to your shepherds. Get their input and feedback. Find some older Christian whose spiritual walk you respect and get their guidance. In the end, you will still have to make the decision, but God hasn’t left you down here to figure everything out on your own. He has given you older and wiser brothers and sisters to help. Use them. Rely on them. Don’t dismiss them when their advice does not coincide with what you naturally want. Consider it and weigh the pros and cons. Just keep in mind what happened when Rehoboam sought wise counsel in I Kings 12:1-17. 

Key #4: Seek first God’s kingdom and righteousness.

As you gain a Scriptural foundation for your life’s choices, you will inevitably read Matthew 6:33. While we could probably list all kinds of principles in this list, I think this one provides a good overall point about knowing God’s guidance for our lives. Whatever choice you are trying to make, strive for rigorous honesty with this question. The issue with career choice must not be merely about money and benefits. The issue of spouse is not merely about looks or income. The issue of college is not just about who has the best football team. The number one principle to govern all decisions is whether or not the choice you are making puts God’s kingdom and righteousness first. Many people have chosen the job that will give them lots of benefits and money and let them retire early but keeps them from really pursuing spiritual work and growth saying it will give them all kinds of time later to do spiritual things. First, they usually never make it to that point of spiritual growth because they develop the bad habit of being nonspiritual. Second, this is not putting God’s kingdom and righteousness first but last.

This principle takes really rigorous honesty. This is another place where the wise counsel of others can help you out.

Key #5: Trust God to be God

If you have prayed, studied, sought wise counsel, determined that your choice is seeking first God’s kingdom and righteousness, then make your choice with the faith that God will be God and you do not have to be. Romans 8:28 says God will cause everything to work out for good for those who love God. Even if somehow through this process you have made a boneheaded decision, God can still use that for your good, for the good of His people and for the good of His glory. 

When you decided to move to Peoria, quit wondering if Atlanta was the better choice. Simply serve God as best you can in Peoria and He will use you in ways you never dreamed of. Quit pining for where you have been or where you could have gone. Just do your best to serve God where you are and let Him be God. I think I can almost guarantee you if you take that approach after a few years you will look back and see how much good has come from the choice. If on the other hand, you went to Atlanta. Do the same thing. Do your best to serve God there and you will be amazed how He chooses to use you. 

I just ask you to take comfort that you do not have to be God. The pillars of the universe are not resting on your every choice. The plans of God are not in danger of being overthrown by your choices. Simply do your best to serve God according to His word in the best way you know how and trust Him to take care of the rest.

They Lied About The Lord, by Richard Terry (12/14/08)

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