Days of Noah

    During our Sunday service on December 23rd, pastor Rick talked a little about how he believes that world events are telling us that things are moving towards Christ's return.  He talked about Gog and Magog and about how he believes Russia or a Russian alliance will attack Israel.  I thought it was an interesting detour in a service otherwise filled with children singing and a theme around Christmas since it was two days away.
     It got me to thinking about Christ's return, which I have stated numerous times that I think is near.  Jesus himself said in Matthew 24 that "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.  As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of man." verse36-37.  I thought about what that statement means when Jesus talked about the days of Noah.
    Here is a description of the times of Noah in Genesis 6:6 "The Lord was grieved that he had made man on the earth and his heart was filled with pain. So the Lord said, "I will wipe mankind whom I have created, fromt he face of the earth-men and animals and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air-for I am grieved that I have made them."  The description in verse 5 is that "every incliination of the thoughts of heart was only evil all the time."  That's a sad commentary on man's heart only 6 chapters into the Bible.
    I think that is part of what Jesus meant.  Is that sin corrupts the heart and makes it insensitive to the things of God.  It makes our hearts cold to him and to each other.  In fact, in Matthew 24:12 it says, 'Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold."  That is what sin does.  And in fact, when you see the violence in our society today and the tolerance of it you see that this is what is happening.  Our hearts become insensitive to the pain of others and to the effects of our own sins.
    But, I think there is something more to the "days of Noah".  Noah was told to build an ark and when he entered it says that he was 600 years old.  He had 600 years to be around people who were violent and did not walk with God.  Yet, it says he found favor with God.  You would think that Noah tried to warn his neighbors about the flood, yet when it started to rain, nobody except his immediate family responded to the call to get on the ark.  God's wrath when it did come came suddenly.  I think that is part of what Jesus meant here.  Because we do not know the day or the hour we are suppose to be ready.  In 1 Thessalonians it mentions this when it says, 'the day fo the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, peace and safety, destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape."   This is was happened to people in Noah's day and I am afraid that it will happen again when he returns.  Are you ready?

You are unique

In Ephesians 2:10 it says, "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."

     When I think about what God has led me through in my life, I rarely think about this in terms of what God is doing or thinking of myself as God's workmanship.  But, it is clear that from the Bible's perspective, that God allows some things into our lives in order to create in us the kind of person he wants us to be.  An example of this is in 2 Corinthians 12:7-9 when Paul says,

   And because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to buffet me-to keep me from exalting myself!  Concerning this I entreated the Lord three times that it might departm from me. And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness"

   So, when Ephesians talks about His workmanship, he is not just talking about the strengths, but also the dark places, the weakness, the insults, the bad days, as well as, the good.  The education, the perspective, the experience, the thoughts, the personality.  All of these things God uses to bring about His will in your life and to use you as he wants to.  Look at the disciples.  Peter was a person who often spoke before he thought, but he had natural leadership skills.  He also has a tendency to sink when walking on water, but God used that experience also to teach him and us.

    God does not waste anything, nor does he allow us to be placed on a shelf and not to be used by Him if we are open to HIs will.  We can chose to close oursevles off and act in false humility and act as though God could not possibly use us.  By saying that your really saying that God is limited and ultimately your insulting God.  God using you is not about how great you are.  It is about how great and gracious God is.  When we see Him at work in our lives, we should simply praise Him that he has the ability and grace and mercy to use us despite our weaknesses.  That as he told Paul that his grace is sufficient.

     Part of this is just making yourself available and saying "yes" when he calls.  It may be that he calls you to places and ministries you have never thought of.  I would never have guessed that I would work in a mental health agency and a foster home agency, but that is what has happened.  That was not planned year ago by me, nor have I ever heard God speak to me about that.  But, rather doors opened with little effort on my part and I saw a chance to serve.  You never know what God may have in store for you if you say "yes".

     Nor do you know the full impact of your influence.  I believe we often underestimate the power of our actions and words.  It may have influenced someone to do something for Jesus you aren't aware of, which in turn had influence on thousands of people.  Only in heaven will we find out the true influence of what we did for good.  We don't grow the seeds that we plant.  We don't have any control over which ones grow and which don't.  We are called to be faithful.  God makes us fruitful as we abide in Him.

      In John 15:4-5 it says, "Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unelss it abide in the vine, so neither can you, unless you abide in Me.  I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing."

     It is more though that not knowing our own influence, it is that we don't have any influence apart from Christ.  Much like the moon in the sky that reflects the light of the sun and not its own light.  We have no light of our own.  The light that we shine in dark places that positively influence a person for Christ is also from Christ.  The truth is, that our ability to bear fruit comes through him and apart from him there is only death and decay.  He makes it possible.  So, there is nothing for us to be proud about.  We have only reflected his glory and not our own.

    This is where I think many pastors and spiritual leaders make the mistake of taking pride in their own accomplishments.  Like it is their glory that grew a church or made a program grow.  Hopefully, it is not your charisma and glory that did that, otherwise it has no spiritual value.  It is possible for churches and ministries to grow because of a person's charismatic authority.  But, this is not true spiritual growth and when the person is gone, the growth does not continue.  Rather, true spiritual grow is grow that ours when we become transparent and point people to Jesus and not ourselves and how cute and clever we can be.

New VS Old

      "Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.  When Christ, who is our life is reveled, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory." Colossians 3:2-4, NASV


      For the first two chapters in Colossians, Paul has been telling us that Christ is preeminent in our lives.  He has been saying that all we need is Him and we don't have to add anything else to our faith.  This is a common theme in Paul's word since many people find the grace of God to be "too simple" and want to add laws and restrictions.  Paul says that while these things may make a person look religious, it doesn't really help.
       Now, in chapter three, Paul is going to go on talking about setting your mind on the Spirit and not on the flesh.  He uses this idea of "putting off" and "putting on" to illustrate what he means.  Years ago, when I taught this passage, I talked about how it is like taking off one jacket and putting on a new one.  I have to make a conscious choice daily which one I will put on.  That is what I see in Colossians 3:2 when Paul says, "Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth."  That idea of "set" implies a conscious decision on my part about where I am putting my mind.
        As I have been studying counseling, I have become more convinced that the main model I want to follow is the cogntive behavior therapy.  This is because I am convinced that the mind is the place to start if you want to change emotions and thoughts that lead to actions.  The mind is also emphasized in scripture.  In numerous places it tells us that we are to renew our minds with the Spirit and with the Word  Col 3:10; Romans 12:2 and Ephesians 4:23-24.  This also means that we are following another command in scripture which is in Colossians 3:16 which says, "Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you. . . ."
        I think this is because of the constant war that goes on in our persons betwen the flesh and the spirit.  Even in the believer, the flesh wants to take over, to assert itself and to get what it wants.  There is a constant battle on where our attention and allegiance will be focused.  That is why this is a daily battle.  The characteristics of the flesh Paul mentions here in Colossians 3 and also in Galatians 5:19-21 as things such as lying, slander, malice, wrath, anger, abusive speech.  In contrast to that the Spirit would have us put on love gentleness, kindness, compassion, patience and forgiveness. 
       Paul ends the first part of this chapter by exhorting those who are reading to "let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts." Col 3:15.  When I think about that idea of rule, a throne comes to mind.  In this picture, the peace of Christ is firmly on that throne.  But, if we are going to be honest, many times even in our christian lives, he gets pushed aside.  The challenge for us is to make a conscious choice to place Him there each day.  Also, to set a guard over our minds that we might allow ourselves to "set our minds on things above" and to think about things that would please God.