Ignore God at Your Own Peril!

There are many people today who believe that God does not exist.  According to Geroge Barna Research, the number of atheists in America has grown to almost 25% of the population (The State of the Church Series, 2011). And there are others who claim to be Christian yet do not accept all the teachings of the Bible.  According to that same Barna Research study, only 43% of self-identified Christians in America believe the Bible to be accurate in all of its teachings.  Many of them believe that what the Bible teaches is not relevant anymore in today’s world.  Unfortunately, their beliefs put them in grave peril.  It’s not that they are necessarily turning to an alternative set of truths, but rather they are making up their own truth and living their lives accordingly.

God has a lot to say about His creation, and the Bible records His truth and His message for ALL people. Now, of course, not everyone believes in God or the truth of the Bible, but that does not negate that it is God’s Word and wisdom for us as His creation. (You can choose not to believe in gravity, but if you fall off of a tall building you will discover its truth rather painfully!)  Watch this brief video by Frances Chan on Why We Need the Bible that offers a wonderful and clear explanation of this reality.

The Bible says in Genesis 1 that God created us. Later on in Exodus God gave Moses 10 basic rules by which we are to live by called the 10 Commandments.  His number 1 rule is that we “shall have no other gods before Him.” (Exodus 20:3)  In other words, we as humans are not to worship any other gods but Him. So, for those people who do not believe in God, they are worshiping other gods instead. This is called idolatry, and God issues warning after warning throughout Scripture of the danger of following other gods.

So those who choose to ignore God and the Bible do so at their own peril.  In Galatians 6:7 it says, “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked.  A man reaps what he sows.” Relying on one’s own self or other gods will ultimately prove disastrous. That’s why Proverbs 14:12 says, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.”  When we go our own way instead of God’s, it will not end well for us.  Jesus also confirms what happens when God or His Son is ignored.  He says in John 3:36 that “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.”  These Scriptures clearly point to the consequences of ignoring God – and the result is disaster, death, and destruction!

All people have a choice on who or what to believe in.  But as Frances Chan says, God’s Word is eternal and the ultimate Truth, because it comes from God Himself. If we choose not to listen to God then we do so at our own peril.  Deuteronomy 11: 26-28 says, “See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse – the blessing if you obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today; the curse if you disobey the commands of the Lord your God and turn from the way that I command you today by following other gods, which you have not known.”  God is clearly giving us the opportunity of making our own choice. Choosing to ignore God will bring us curses rather than blessings in our lives.

But if we turn to God, worship Him, obey His commands, and follow His Son Jesus, God promises to bless us.  In Psalm 1:1-2 it says that “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.  But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.”  By looking to God and relying on the Bible (His Word) God promises that we will be blessed!  Jesus confirms that blessing when He says in Luke 11:28 that “blessed rather are those who hear the Word of God and obey it.”

So what choice will you make?  Will you follow God and reap His blessings for your life, or will you follow yourself or other gods and so bring ruin upon your life?  The choice is yours.

Choose wisely!

Oh Lord, It’s Hard to be Humble…

Back in the 1980’s, singer-songwriter Mac Davis wrote a song entitled, “It’s Hard to be Humble.” It was a tongue-in-cheek look at how popularity and good looks could go to one’s head. As I survey the landscape of America today it would appear that the Biblical virtue of humility is hard to come by.  There is pride and arrogance in professional sports, entertainment, politics, business, and just about every vocation in America. We have become a me-centered culture that seeks to promote ourselves to the world. Facebook, Twitter, and other social media were designed to tell others about ourselves and what we are doing, and they contribute greatly to our culture of self promotion.

The Bible says in 1 John 1:8 that “if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.”  This means that we are sinful by nature. In other words, we are inclined to be self centered by our very nature. When we come into this world as babies we develop a sense of self centeredness since we need others to do everything for us.  As we grow, our parents try to teach us to do things for others, to share, and to consider the needs of others.  But this goes against our nature and often is hard to overcome. Several years ago our educational system started to focus on building self-esteem rather than knowledge.  We have been telling our children for years how important they are and how they are all winners and there are no losers.  Has this created a generation who see themselves as the center of everything?  Perhaps.

But the Bible distinctly condemns pride (Proverbs 8:13 – “I hate pride and arrogance”) and elevating ourselves above others (Matthew 20:27 – “Whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant.”) Pride is also idolatry and puts ourselves above God and violates the very first commandment (Exodus 20:3 – “You shall have no other Gods before me.”) The Bible also clearly tells us what God expects of us in Micah 6:8.  He says that we should “act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with our God.” I think many Christians get the first two conditions but the humble part often gets left out!

We also live in a culture that encourages individualism and personal effort to achieve success. So when you look at athletes and other high achievers we often see a lot of pride and arrogance. They are proud of their achievements and the success that comes from their personal efforts. So it is hard for them to be humble, and to some extent it is understandable.  But yet God’s Word clearly calls us to deny ourselves and to be humble.  We are not to give glory to ourselves but rather only give glory to the God who created us and gives us the abilities to achieve (Deuteronomy 8:18).

So how can we be humble if our nature is to be self centered? The answer is to seek the Holy Spirit.  The Apostle Paul writes in Galatians 5:16, that we should “live by the spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.” In other words, only the power of the Holy Spirit will enable us to overcome our sinful nature.  Only by turning to God and seeking His will for our lives will we be able to deny ourselves and be humble.  We cannot do it on our own.

Although humility goes against our nature and is hard at times, it is possible.  And if we turn to God and rely on the power of the Holy Spirit, He will help us to be humble.

God Wants Our Obedience, Not Our Accomplishments!

“Blessed are those who hear the Word of God and obey it.”

– Luke 11:28

In July 1976, Israeli commandos made a daring raid at an airport in Entebbe, Uganda, in which 103 Jewish hostages were freed.  In less than 15 minutes, the soldiers had killed all 7 of the kidnappers and set the captives free.  As successful as the rescue was, however, three of the hostages were killed during the raid.  As the commandos entered the terminal, they shouted in Hebrew, “Get down! Crawl!”  The Jewish hostages understood and lay down on the floor, while the guerillas, who did not speak Hebrew, were left standing.  Quickly the rescuers shot the upright kidnappers.

 But two of the hostages hesitated – perhaps to see what was happening – and were also shot and killed.  One young man was lying down and actually stood up when the commandos entered the airport.  He, too, was shot with the bullets meant for the enemy.  Had these three heeded the soldier’s command, they would have been freed with the rest of the captives. 

 Salvation is open to all of us, but we must be obedient to Christ’s command to repent and make Him Lord.  Otherwise, like these hostages, we will perish with the judgement meant for the Enemy!

One of the key messages in all of Scripture, in both the Old Testament and New Testament, is that of obedience to God.  In the OT, the Hebrew people continually failed to be obedient to God, turning away to chase after man-made idols and to worship other gods.  In Daniel 9:9-11, the prophet writes that “The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him; we have not obeyed the laws he gave us through his servants the prophets. All Israel has turned away, refusing to obey you.”  And in the NT, Jesus Himself says in John 14:23, “if anyone loves me they will obey my teaching.”  Obedience does not guarantee our salvation, because we are saved by grace and not our own works (Ephesians 2:8-9). But obedience does demonstrate our love for God, and is the main thing that God wants from us in return for His love for us! And like the above story illustrates, obedience to God will save us from perishing with the enemies of God!

Often times we feel as though we need to do good works or achieve something significant for God with our lives.  And so we do things that either bring attention to ourselves or our own accomplishments, as if God will somehow love us more or will guarantee our acceptance as His child.  But that is not what Scripture teaches.  God loves us no matter what we do (Romans 5:8).  But He desires our obedience as a sign of our love for Him.  Obedience is our way of thanking Him and honoring Him for what He has first done for us.  If you are a parent you know exactly what this means.  You love your children no matter what they do.  But your desire is to have them be obedient to your guidance and wisdom because it pleases you and is a sign of their respect for you as their parent. God desires no less from us!

So we should not obey God’s Word because we have to, but we should obey God’s Word because we want to!  And God is pleased whenever we are obedient because it demonstrates our love for Him and gives Him the glory and praise. Our obedience should never be driven by our own self-esteem or in an attempt to impress God, but rather solely as a humble servant trying to please His Master.  Jesus never sought fame for himself nor did anything more than what God asked Him to do.  The outcome of whatever we do for God should always be to praise and glorify Him, never ourselves. God wants our obedience, not our accomplishments!

So as we enter 2014, let us commit our lives to being obedient to God’s Word, not to try to “score points with God” or to impress anyone, but only so that He alone who is worthy might be glorified!