I reminded you in my last installment that I drive a school bus. The key to an easy ride home with no problems is for each student to sit in the seat and ride home. Yes, it is that simple and to make it more so I add, “Anything more and it’s wrong.” It heads off a lot of problems. My students want to make it about what other people are doing but that is an attempt to divert from the fact that they were doing more than sitting in their seat and riding home. I don’t know for sure if kids learn that from adults or adults just carry that from childhood but it is a shared behavior. It’s not good.
Last Sunday I was retelling the words of Paul from Philippians 4 regarding peace (click here to listen). We love to quote this passage in verse 7 when the storm is raging and all seems out of control.
And the peace of God, which surpasses every thought, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:7 HCSB)
Truth is, we say those words and believe those words and then wonder where the peace is or why it has passed us by? Why does this not work and bring me peace. It doesn’t work because it is a sound bit. A favorite phrase that we pull out of context and use to fix the situation. When in fact it is the culmination of a process found in the preceding verses. That Paul is a clever one. The process in outline is: Rejoice in the Lord, be gracious and don’t worry. Paul adds regarding worry a way to fight it. We pray, petition for needs and requests and give thanks. With that done (as many think) God responds with verse 7. But you and I both know we want to skip to the end and get our situation fixed without the process, admit it, you do! The other possibility is we get so hung up in doing the process just so in just such a way that we miss the purpose all together. The key to peace is not a process. The key is a person.
WARNING! (This is my rant) I have become agitated by the conservative, religious, right recently with all of the dire warnings and predictions regarding the next president of the United States. You know how they go; “If we don’t elect a …then this country is doomed. We are doomed and God is doomed (the thought suggests).” We have a lot of problems in this country that need solutions. Solutions to health care, immigration, economics, crime, family breakdown, terrorism etc. Big problems, enormous challenges more than any one individual can handle. Yet, we seem to think one individual can fix all that. It is true one individual can and will fix all of that but it is not POTUS (President of the United States). See that’s where we once again are not following the directions.
This scripture, another one of those favorite sound bites, says (as we act upon it) if my people who are called by my name will elect the right man…, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land. It seems like we believe that. That is not the process as directed by God.
My people who are called by My name humble themselves, pray and seek My face, and turn from their evil ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7:14 HCSB).
Did you see that humble, pray, seek God thing? Did you see who would take action as we/believers seek HIM? Did you know peace is a person? He is found through a process of prayer. But prayer is to point us to Jesus not the process of … whatever. We don’t follow directions do we much less go to where we are directed? Let’s work on that. Jesus is a GREAT leader. Let’s follow His directions!
Last Sunday I was retelling the words of Paul from Philippians 4 regarding peace (click here to listen). We love to quote this passage in verse 7 when the storm is raging and all seems out of control.
And the peace of God, which surpasses every thought, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:7 HCSB)
Truth is, we say those words and believe those words and then wonder where the peace is or why it has passed us by? Why does this not work and bring me peace. It doesn’t work because it is a sound bit. A favorite phrase that we pull out of context and use to fix the situation. When in fact it is the culmination of a process found in the preceding verses. That Paul is a clever one. The process in outline is: Rejoice in the Lord, be gracious and don’t worry. Paul adds regarding worry a way to fight it. We pray, petition for needs and requests and give thanks. With that done (as many think) God responds with verse 7. But you and I both know we want to skip to the end and get our situation fixed without the process, admit it, you do! The other possibility is we get so hung up in doing the process just so in just such a way that we miss the purpose all together. The key to peace is not a process. The key is a person.
WARNING! (This is my rant) I have become agitated by the conservative, religious, right recently with all of the dire warnings and predictions regarding the next president of the United States. You know how they go; “If we don’t elect a …then this country is doomed. We are doomed and God is doomed (the thought suggests).” We have a lot of problems in this country that need solutions. Solutions to health care, immigration, economics, crime, family breakdown, terrorism etc. Big problems, enormous challenges more than any one individual can handle. Yet, we seem to think one individual can fix all that. It is true one individual can and will fix all of that but it is not POTUS (President of the United States). See that’s where we once again are not following the directions.
This scripture, another one of those favorite sound bites, says (as we act upon it) if my people who are called by my name will elect the right man…, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land. It seems like we believe that. That is not the process as directed by God.
My people who are called by My name humble themselves, pray and seek My face, and turn from their evil ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7:14 HCSB).
Did you see that humble, pray, seek God thing? Did you see who would take action as we/believers seek HIM? Did you know peace is a person? He is found through a process of prayer. But prayer is to point us to Jesus not the process of … whatever. We don’t follow directions do we much less go to where we are directed? Let’s work on that. Jesus is a GREAT leader. Let’s follow His directions!
In HIS Service and Yours,
BroG
No comments:
Post a Comment