They also serve who serve...(part 2)

Often times, it takes those who do not worship as we do to show me who it is I should be bowing down to. In the time of Jesus, many people believed that Jesus and God were exactly who they said they were. There were Greeks who believed when the Pharisees wouldn’t (John 12:16-23). It doesn’t just take someone in church 24 hours a day, or someone in the best of health who is praising God for that to manifest the meaning of the word “faith”. It takes heart. It is because of who I am in my relationship to God that an unbeliever becomes a believer. It is not really the physical actions that I have undertaken to be what God wants me to be, but my attitude in doing those acts (Phil 3:2-8). God’s purpose in sending His son was not to perfect rules and regulations that had been decreed by the Pharisees, but to perfect men’s hearts. And because he has come down to earth to free us from our sins, I am purged, and God has said while I may still sin, the blood of Christ covers me. I am forgiven. (Heb 10:2) He tells me over and over that it is not whether I keep the New Moon festivals, or whether I work on Sunday, or whether I know the significance of the tabernacle and lights. (Col 2:18-23) It is only important that I understand Him and what He has in mind for me. It is only important that I understand that God wants everyone to come to Him and that they will (Rev 3:9-13) and God will bring those that believe in Him into one unified body. (Rev 11:1-5; Rev. 15:2-8). In God and only in Him is the one true hope. (Rev 22:1-8).

They also serve (part 1)

It is interesting to see the worship of God is not confined to the Hebrews, or even the apostles that followed the Savior. In scripture, worshipping is not confined to the ceremonies done at Temple Jerusalem, but in also those who acknowledge His authority. (Matt 9:18) In Matt 2:2-13 the Magi wish to see the baby Jesus and to worship him. They know His power and what He would mean to the world.  In these scriptures there is an acknowledgement of Jesus as King and his entrance into the world (Matt2:2). Those who were not Jews also knew that Christ through God had ultimate authority and power whatever he needed to do to accomplish the Father’s plan (Matt 8:2, Matt 28:18), that He could heal (Matt 8:2; 9:18), and that he was the Son of God and as such was again in ultimate control of mankind and the role of man in nature (Matt 14:33, Matt 16:18) On the other hand, Herod wanted to falsely worship this baby so that He could get close enough to kill Him  (Matt 2:8). Once again acknowledging that Jesus poses a threat to the control of men, and that He is a pretty strong ruler. Worship, therefore, is an acknowledgement of Christ’s position with God as His Son and of God’s regal and supreme authority over us as well as His capabilities. That acknowledgment can come from many sources. Worship is taking the apple from the serpent in the Garden of Eden, and giving it back to God saying, “God I really didn’t want it after all”.

Before the Altar (part 28)

At the same time, God does promise deliverance. (Psalms 81:7) He promises help. (Psalms 99:6-8) and He always provides. (Psalms 106:44, Psalms 116:1,2). It may not be when I want it, and I may have to suffer excruciating pain and be in situations that I thought I’d never get out of, but God knows the best time to intervene. This then brings up natural disasters or holocausts. Why does God, if He doesn’t want any to perish, allow these things to happen? Only God can answer that. I cannot begin to know His mind and surely I have asked Him many times to explain it to me. But my mind is small and cannot grasp the enormity of His decisions. He sees forward into time so that He looks back at the same time. I can only look back.

Before the Altar (part 27)

If God hears these pleas and knows when I am doing well or when I am in sorrow or pain, why does God let me suffer and not just allow me to go through happy times all the time? If I were God, and I had such a wonderful person as myself (I hope the reader realizes this is tongue in cheek), then I would certainly want me to be happy all the time. Ah, but…and this is big….is my happiness based on my circumstances or is it based on something greater? If it is the former, then I am basing what I call happiness on how I am affected by something I have no control over and of which I really have no knowlege. After all, I cannot make rain, and I cannot make the sun shine, I don’t care how technically advanced I am. If the basis for my happiness is based on something greater, then the whole basis for my happiness is hope. (Nehemiah 8:10) And it is this hope that will carry me farther than anything I can imagine. I will be able to smile through bad economies, higher taxes, cancer, family losses, because I know there is something greater, something far better, far deeper than whatever I go through. Romans 5:3-5 says that suffering produces patience, among other things. Suffering is therefore a growth phase, merely a means, not an end. God still hears me (Psalms 31:22) and He will not let me suffer forever. He is merely displaying patience for the exact moment that will do me the best good. (Psalms 34:4-6, Psalms 40:1, Psalms 66:19,20) If I think its tough, I just start thinking about God in the role of a parent that has to watch His children suffer.