I can still hear Aaron Tippin bellowing that song out on the radio back in the early 90’s, using that strong southern twang of his. The lyrics make sense, but we have to be careful, because you can stand for the wrong thing. So, let’s see if we can twist the lyrics a bit, how about:
“You’ve got to stand for God’s things, or you’ll fall evil things.”
The world is very troubled place right now. Just go to any major news website and you’ll instantly be confronted by a myriad of depressing headlines that will make you just want to run to the woods and hide. It can be very depressing and leave you with little or no hope to look at all the corruption and trouble. There seems to be no end in sight.
This doesn’t just happen to us common folk either, it also happened to Biblical prophets as well. Take the prophet Elijah for instance. (Refer to 1 Kings 18 and 19 for the full story).
Elijah was a prophet of God during King Ahab’s reign over the Northern Kingdom of Israel. Ahab and his wife Jezebel strongly promoted the worship of Baal (pagan storm god of fertility). Elijah stood up to all of the Baal worshipers by challenging them to a test. 450 of the Baal religious leaders would pray to Baal to fire up an animal sacrifice and Elijah alone would pray to God (Yahweh) to do the same. The Baal worshipers tried all day long in very dramatic fashion, but the sacrifice never caught fire. Then Elijah prepared his offering (he even had them cover it in water), once Elijah prayed to God, fire came from the heavens and consumed Elijah’s sacrifice. Elijah then had the 450 Baal prophets struck down to eliminate the further spreading of Baal worship.
Elijah took a strong stand against insurmountable numbers and odds and overcame them all. He did so because he put his faith in God alone. He was a prophet of God after a great victory… he should have been riding high and full of faith and confidence, shouldn’t he?
When Ahab told Jezebel about what Elijah had done, she became furious and declared she would have Elijah killed by the next afternoon. Elijah, feeling worn out from the previous events, feeling like the fight against the pagans would never end, and feeling alone in the battle, fled for his life. But God came to him and assured him he was not alone. God let him know that there were other believers out there that would help him in his mission, and most importantly, that God was with him.
So here we have an example of a great prophet of God, feeling overwhelmed and hopeless. Do not feel ashamed when you feel that way also. But know this, you are not alone. God is with you. Your fellow believers are with you.
So when you take a stand for God’s things. You have God and all his saints standing with you. Stand strong and do not fall victim to agreeing with the things of society. You can take a stand for God.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Friday, February 18, 2011
It’s all about you, isn’t it?
Well, actually it is. Now that may seem contradictory to what you may have been told in the past. But it is true. The universe does revolve around you. You are the most important person in the world. You are the reason the sun rises morning.
Now before you begin to think I’m off my rocker, this is not from my perspective or from anyone else’s as far as that goes. And it shouldn’t be your own opinion either. So who does have that view about you?
God does.
Here is the hard part to wrap our heads around. He has that feeling about each and every one of us individually and equally. He doesn’t feel any more love for me than He feels for you. That also means He doesn’t love me any less than He loves you. And that is a great feeling to know that He loves me (and you) unconditionally. It is not something we can earn. We don’t get it just because we have done something great. We don’t get it just because we have passed some test. He gives us His unconditional love because that is who He is. “God is love.” (1 Jn 4:8)
And another thing to know which is just as important, we can do nothing (nada, neinte, nichts) to change the way or the amount He loves us. You can’t screw it up!! Believe me, I’ve tried!
He loved you before you were ever even born, knowing exactly who you would be. “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Rm 5:8).
And one final proof of His love; He gave His Son on the cross for you.
--- I wrote the above on Thursday, but didn’t publish yet because I didn't feel quite happy with the ending, and then this happened on Friday…
… Our water heater sprung a leak late Thursday night. Friday morning I head off to Lowes to buy a new one and I’m bored with ESPN radio talk about stalled NFL negotiations. I switch over to NPR and all they are talking about is unrest in Egypt (also a story I’ve had my fill of). I finally switch over to “The Word FM” and guess what the topic of Dr. Stanley’s message is… God’s unconditional love for you. I think to myself, now that’s timing. Then as I pass a small church down the road, on the marquee is this quote from the Bible, “God is love.” Then around 10:30 Friday night, one of my tweeter friends tweets about a sign in my own town that I hadn’t noticed, and it reads “Love never fails”.
--- Now that’s the way to end this blog.
Now before you begin to think I’m off my rocker, this is not from my perspective or from anyone else’s as far as that goes. And it shouldn’t be your own opinion either. So who does have that view about you?
God does.
Here is the hard part to wrap our heads around. He has that feeling about each and every one of us individually and equally. He doesn’t feel any more love for me than He feels for you. That also means He doesn’t love me any less than He loves you. And that is a great feeling to know that He loves me (and you) unconditionally. It is not something we can earn. We don’t get it just because we have done something great. We don’t get it just because we have passed some test. He gives us His unconditional love because that is who He is. “God is love.” (1 Jn 4:8)
And another thing to know which is just as important, we can do nothing (nada, neinte, nichts) to change the way or the amount He loves us. You can’t screw it up!! Believe me, I’ve tried!
He loved you before you were ever even born, knowing exactly who you would be. “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Rm 5:8).
And one final proof of His love; He gave His Son on the cross for you.
--- I wrote the above on Thursday, but didn’t publish yet because I didn't feel quite happy with the ending, and then this happened on Friday…
… Our water heater sprung a leak late Thursday night. Friday morning I head off to Lowes to buy a new one and I’m bored with ESPN radio talk about stalled NFL negotiations. I switch over to NPR and all they are talking about is unrest in Egypt (also a story I’ve had my fill of). I finally switch over to “The Word FM” and guess what the topic of Dr. Stanley’s message is… God’s unconditional love for you. I think to myself, now that’s timing. Then as I pass a small church down the road, on the marquee is this quote from the Bible, “God is love.” Then around 10:30 Friday night, one of my tweeter friends tweets about a sign in my own town that I hadn’t noticed, and it reads “Love never fails”.
--- Now that’s the way to end this blog.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Careful what you pray for...
... or better yet, know what to look for after you pray for it.
Many times we may pray for some of the strengths and values Christ has displayed for us. We may even pray for strength itself. We can pray for patience when we feel tested at work or by our children. We can pray for faith when we feel our's slipping. We can pray that God will help us love those who we struggle to even like.
Whatever it is we pray for, God doesn't just "zap" us and all of the sudden we are now "that".
For example: When we pray for patience, He puts us in situations that require great patience. The key is, the situations usually require more patience than we are capable of on our own, and therefore we need to rely on His help for us to get through the situation with great patience.
If we pray for strength, we are usually in a situation that requires strength. It is the praying that connects us with God, and thus our strength is increased because we are focusing on Him.
If we pray to increase our faith, He doesn't just make us more faithful. What would be the point in that? That would require no effort on our part. He will test us and we must exhibit more faith to pass the test. Thus we've shown ourselves and Him that our faith is stronger and from within ourselves and focused on Him.
The point is this, pray for those things (and others like them) when you need to. But understand, it is going to require work by you, through Him, to achieve the level of success you prayed for in the first place. You can't just pray and walk away, prayer is two-way communication. Oh, and one last thing. Don't forget to thank Him after the situation has passed, that is part of it as well.
Many times we may pray for some of the strengths and values Christ has displayed for us. We may even pray for strength itself. We can pray for patience when we feel tested at work or by our children. We can pray for faith when we feel our's slipping. We can pray that God will help us love those who we struggle to even like.
Whatever it is we pray for, God doesn't just "zap" us and all of the sudden we are now "that".
For example: When we pray for patience, He puts us in situations that require great patience. The key is, the situations usually require more patience than we are capable of on our own, and therefore we need to rely on His help for us to get through the situation with great patience.
If we pray for strength, we are usually in a situation that requires strength. It is the praying that connects us with God, and thus our strength is increased because we are focusing on Him.
If we pray to increase our faith, He doesn't just make us more faithful. What would be the point in that? That would require no effort on our part. He will test us and we must exhibit more faith to pass the test. Thus we've shown ourselves and Him that our faith is stronger and from within ourselves and focused on Him.
The point is this, pray for those things (and others like them) when you need to. But understand, it is going to require work by you, through Him, to achieve the level of success you prayed for in the first place. You can't just pray and walk away, prayer is two-way communication. Oh, and one last thing. Don't forget to thank Him after the situation has passed, that is part of it as well.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
What are you Passionate About?
Okay, the Super Bowl is over. Congrats Packer fans (ooh that is hard to say). But, this is a good lead-in to this week’s question, “What are you passionate about?”
Passion: powerful, compelling, or strong emotion or feeling towards a person, cause, or object.
We find ourselves passionate about a lot of things. Many are passionate about our sports teams. Whether it be football, baseball, basketball, the Olympics, or World Cup Soccer; it can be professional, college or high school (I’ve even seen some pretty passionate people at junior high games). Just watching the Super Bowl is perfect evidence of people’s passion. A lot of those fans traveled pretty far to watch the game and paid a pretty penny to do so. Some even paid $300 to watch the game on the big screen outside of the stadium – waving their towels and sporting their cheese heads.
Some people are passionate about their jobs or hobbies. Classic cars, motorcycles, fishing, boats, hunting, gardening, and the list goes on and on. You can be passionate about your kids or your spouse.
There is nothing really wrong with being passionate about any of these things. We just have to keep them in perspective and not get obsessive.
However, there is one other area we need to look at more closely. How passionate are we for God or God’s work?
Do this exercise.
1) Think of an item from the list above (or one of your own thinking) and determine a level of passion you express towards that item. Give it a number between 1 and 10 (10 being the highest)
2) Now think of an area that God has been directing you to work for Him. Give it a number between 1 and 10.
3) Compare the two numbers.
(Just between you and me, my first number was higher than my second number. Shhh.)
Now if you are like me, you may ask the question, “Why is that so?” We can probably come up with about a hundred reasons why. And honestly, most of those would be because the focus is on ourselves. But the reasons do not matter. What matters is that we find the area God wants us to work and be as passionate about His work as we are the other things in our lives. After all, He is passionate about us and our well-being, so much so that He sent His Son to die for our sins.
So take some time this week to see if you can re-channel some of that passion for whatever floats your boat and place it in an area that God is directing you. I’m going to try it, wish me luck, say a prayer for me.
Passion: powerful, compelling, or strong emotion or feeling towards a person, cause, or object.
We find ourselves passionate about a lot of things. Many are passionate about our sports teams. Whether it be football, baseball, basketball, the Olympics, or World Cup Soccer; it can be professional, college or high school (I’ve even seen some pretty passionate people at junior high games). Just watching the Super Bowl is perfect evidence of people’s passion. A lot of those fans traveled pretty far to watch the game and paid a pretty penny to do so. Some even paid $300 to watch the game on the big screen outside of the stadium – waving their towels and sporting their cheese heads.
Some people are passionate about their jobs or hobbies. Classic cars, motorcycles, fishing, boats, hunting, gardening, and the list goes on and on. You can be passionate about your kids or your spouse.
There is nothing really wrong with being passionate about any of these things. We just have to keep them in perspective and not get obsessive.
However, there is one other area we need to look at more closely. How passionate are we for God or God’s work?
Do this exercise.
1) Think of an item from the list above (or one of your own thinking) and determine a level of passion you express towards that item. Give it a number between 1 and 10 (10 being the highest)
2) Now think of an area that God has been directing you to work for Him. Give it a number between 1 and 10.
3) Compare the two numbers.
(Just between you and me, my first number was higher than my second number. Shhh.)
Now if you are like me, you may ask the question, “Why is that so?” We can probably come up with about a hundred reasons why. And honestly, most of those would be because the focus is on ourselves. But the reasons do not matter. What matters is that we find the area God wants us to work and be as passionate about His work as we are the other things in our lives. After all, He is passionate about us and our well-being, so much so that He sent His Son to die for our sins.
So take some time this week to see if you can re-channel some of that passion for whatever floats your boat and place it in an area that God is directing you. I’m going to try it, wish me luck, say a prayer for me.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
The Internet is the Devil...
“The internet is the devil!” At least that is what Bobby Boucher’s mama might say (the Waterboy).
I have had conversations with people about social networking, email, twitter, Facebook and the internet in general. A lot of people think these things are bad because predators, porn advocates, and other seedy endeavors take full advantage of them, and that is true, those things are out there. But the internet is not the devil; the devil just uses it better than we do to get the message out.
So, how about “Social Networking for God”? I am obviously not the inventor of this idea. But, I am on a quest to see what I can do to further it. This all came about during a Sunday school lesson I was teaching. The lesson centered on Christians being expected to tell others about what God has done for them. Not just the big thing, Salvation, but the little day to day things as well (however, if you want to know about Salvation, I’d be glad to talk to you about that as well).
So what are we to do? Well, what I felt led to do is start my own “What has God done for you?” campaign. I made a commitment to my class that I would use the social networking tools to tell about what God does for me. I have a twitter account (@RobHill413), a blog (http://starvt.blogspot.com/), and Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/starvtRobHill) all set up and ready to start spreading the news. The news of the things God does for me. These might be big things, little things, ordinary things or extraordinary things. The point is to let people know, God is involved in all the things.
So what do I want from you? Just do what your heart leads you to do. Read them if you want. Be a follower if you can. Pass the links on to your friends if you’d like. Join in and post your own thoughts and events that you would like to share centered around what God does for you. The objective is to get information out of a good nature. If the devil is flooding the internet with his messages, let’s see if we can flood the internet with God’s messages.
So if you want to join me in this quest (or at least support me), then join Twitter and become a follower of @RobHill413. From there I’ll “tweet” daily messages, links to great websites, stories, devotionals, and other things of interest. I won’t be filling your life full of senseless info, and you only get sent information for those you follow so won’t have to worry about what some celebrity had for breakfast.
So help me, let’s see how this can grow.
I have had conversations with people about social networking, email, twitter, Facebook and the internet in general. A lot of people think these things are bad because predators, porn advocates, and other seedy endeavors take full advantage of them, and that is true, those things are out there. But the internet is not the devil; the devil just uses it better than we do to get the message out.
So, how about “Social Networking for God”? I am obviously not the inventor of this idea. But, I am on a quest to see what I can do to further it. This all came about during a Sunday school lesson I was teaching. The lesson centered on Christians being expected to tell others about what God has done for them. Not just the big thing, Salvation, but the little day to day things as well (however, if you want to know about Salvation, I’d be glad to talk to you about that as well).
So what are we to do? Well, what I felt led to do is start my own “What has God done for you?” campaign. I made a commitment to my class that I would use the social networking tools to tell about what God does for me. I have a twitter account (@RobHill413), a blog (http://starvt.blogspot.com/), and Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/starvtRobHill) all set up and ready to start spreading the news. The news of the things God does for me. These might be big things, little things, ordinary things or extraordinary things. The point is to let people know, God is involved in all the things.
So what do I want from you? Just do what your heart leads you to do. Read them if you want. Be a follower if you can. Pass the links on to your friends if you’d like. Join in and post your own thoughts and events that you would like to share centered around what God does for you. The objective is to get information out of a good nature. If the devil is flooding the internet with his messages, let’s see if we can flood the internet with God’s messages.
So if you want to join me in this quest (or at least support me), then join Twitter and become a follower of @RobHill413. From there I’ll “tweet” daily messages, links to great websites, stories, devotionals, and other things of interest. I won’t be filling your life full of senseless info, and you only get sent information for those you follow so won’t have to worry about what some celebrity had for breakfast.
So help me, let’s see how this can grow.
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