Openness

May 29, 2013

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” (2 Corinthians 5:17)

STEP NUMBER FIVE:   Be completely open and unbiased about what the will of God for your life might be.

A well paid consultant told me that much of the time when he earns large fees, his clients do not want his consultation.  They simply want him to affirm what they have already decided to do.    The will of God is often just out of our reach because we have our agendas in place when we come to God seeking His will.  If our minds are set like concrete before we converse with God regarding His will for our lives, we are not really seeking His will when we pray or open His Word.  We are actually asking God to bless our will, our agenda, and the way we have decided to go.

We must have the faith to believe the verse quoted above. It is tragically possible for you to miss the will of God for your life because you do not have the faith to believe that God can make you a new creation in Christ.  Your extraordinary potential as a new creation in Christ is one reason why you must be completely open and unbiased as to what the will of God for you may be.  Seeking  God with your mind already made up could rob you of the will of God for a life that is good, perfect and the only life acceptable to your God.  God loves you too much to let you live a life that is only a fragment of the life He has planned for you.

 

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Posted by Dick Woodward

What the Love of God Looks Like

February 23, 2013

“Let the one who is wise consider these things and see in them the loving kindness of the Lord.” (Psalm 107:43).

Psalm 107 is a great hymn of redemption.  In each of the five stanzas this inspired hymn writer profiles a different dimension of redemption the people of God experience.  Each description ends with the hymn writer exhorting the redeemed of the Lord to thank the Lord for His goodness to them and His wonderful works in their lives. He demands that if they are redeemed, the people of the Lord should step up and say so!

An extraordinary ministry to high school young people brings their year to a conclusion with a wonderful week of camp meetings in the summer.  They bring that week to a verdict with what they call a “say so” meeting when they encourage young people who have come to faith to step up and say so!

In each of the five stanzas in Psalm 107 the hymn writer profiles how the Lord has redeemed His people from their chaos, their chains, their foolish choices, their crises, and their complacency.  Then he writes a profound summary of the various vehicles God uses to make these things happen:

He turns rivers into deserts and deserts into flowing springs.  They have very fruitful harvests.  Then He diminishes them and they are brought low.  At that point He blesses them.  Their numbers greatly increase and God does not let their herds diminish.

He writes that spiritually wise people will observe these events and see in them what the love of God sometimes looks like.

When these “ups and downs” happen to you, are you spiritually wise enough to see in them what the love of God can sometimes look like for you?

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Posted by Dick Woodward

A Prescription for Depression

February 8, 2013

“For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things.”   (1 John 3: 20)

The apostle of love gives spiritual people a beautiful definition of depression.  In the Bible the heart is related to our emotions and feelings.  When we feel condemned John tells us some very good news: God is greater than our feelings.  Our faith is not based on something as fickle as how we feel. He goes on in this passage to tell us that our faith is based on the fact that we keep our Lord’s commandment that we should love one another.

Throughout the history of the Church of Jesus Christ devout people have struggled with bouts of depression.  Some extraordinary spiritual leaders have battled depression. This battle frequently takes place in isolation because it is thought to be inconsistent with faith.  People of faith are ashamed of their depression.

While medical professionals are often pharmacologists who medicate depression rather than determine its cause, the Apostle John gives some devotional and practical counsel to a depressed believer.  As a busy pastor when I had feelings that condemned me I went on a people binge.  I often found that when I became a conduit of the love of Christ for others I affirmed this wise counsel of John.

The Holy Spirit lives in believing people.  Although your depression wants you to isolate yourself, when you love other believers the Spirit passes back and forth between you with a healing effect on both of you.  That’s why James prescribed that we confess our sins to one another and pray for one another that we may be healed (James 5:16).

John is prescribing something very similar when he tells us to treat our depression with loving one another.

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Posted by Dick Woodward

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