Devotional: Protesting God

NPR last week interviewed some protestors in Washington D.C who were mad that their voices were not being heard.  The reality, though, was that they were being heard, they were just being disagreed with.  They were so convinced that their ideas were the only logical solution that they could not fathom that someone would disagree with their position.

In a similar manner, we often approach God with the same attitude.  We figure if we pray for something and it does not come true then God must not have heard us—or worse, must not care.

            This feeling of not being heard by God is a constant human emotion, and the Bible provides multiple examples:  From the Israelites in the wilderness wondering why God would have led them into the desert, to Job on an ash-heap crying out to God, to the eleven disciples huddled in a room wondering what to do now that their God had died.

            The truth is that God does hear our every prayer and he knows our every need, but there will be times when he responds in a radically different manner than we would want.  The hard part about being told "no" is that we then have to submit our desires the will of God, trusting that His plan is better.

Eugene Peterson's translation of James 4 says, "Where do you think all these appalling wars and quarrels come from? Do you think they just happen? Think again. They come about because you want your own way, and fight for it deep inside yourselves.  You lust for what you don't have and are willing to kill to get it. You want what isn't yours and will risk violence to get your hands on it.

 You wouldn't think of just asking God for it, would you? And why not? Because you know you'd be asking for what you have no right to."

What protests have you labored against God recently?  How does it make you feel that God would not answer your request?  Where do you find the confidence that God cares, even if he does not respond affirmatively?

From the mouth of youth

. Twitter has proven to be another fad. I would expect young people to spend their time doing this, but it is adults with jobs, families and careers, who are spending their time on twitter. It's ironic that people who claim want privacy are willing to let others see what so closely into their lives. Eventually users will realize others don't really care about what they are doing at every waking moment.

-14 yearold Alia

Of course I as an adult see the irony of my posting this as my first post from my new iPhone. Narcicistic?

Devotion: Perseverance

"we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance,  4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope,  5 and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us."  Romans 5:4-5.

Ten months ago, I was told that I could either get my iPhone now for double the price or wait until an arbitrary date to upgrade my service plan.  As a matter of principle and self-discipline I decided to wait, and this week I was finally able to get an iPhone.  While this is trvial example, I have wondered about Paul's statement about perseverance, especially in a world of immediate gratification.  Endurance, perseverance, and patience are all concepts that Scripture applauds, but are all virtues we try to avoid.

            We would rather have shortcuts to life:  We want to reap financial rewards sooner rather than later.  We want to fall in love at first sight.  We want to have diet fads that work in under 30 minutes.  We want 40 days to find our purpose in life.  We want immediate relief for the struggles that we will inevitably face.

            If we do not experience struggle and disappointment in life, however, then we will not have the opportunity to persevere.  Paul declares that it is through suffering that hope emerges.  It is our faith in who God was in the past—a God who loves and cares for all of his creation—that allows us to preserve and gives us an identity as God's children.  As a result, we have hope that the God who was, is also the God who will be.  That God's love has been poured into our lives even if at the moment we scratch our heads wondering where God is.

            Too often the church suggests that God will prevent us from facing disappointment, but in actuality it is in these moments of desperation, disappointment and struggle that we learn to wait patiently upon the Lord.

            What are the areas in your life that you are facing struggles and disappointments?  Why is it hard to wait?  

Devotion: The Unexpected Places

I just finished reading Blink by Malcolm Gladwell that focuses on how—for good or bad—we make snap judgments within the first two seconds.  Similarly, Katie Crowe preached at Wednesday Worship that we have “abysmally low expectations of the Spirit,” and carry “assumptions about what God is capable (or incapable) of.”

            That is such a temptation of our faith, because we would like to have manageable expectations of God so we can plan accordingly.  Yet, one thing we witness through out scripture is that God likes to break our expectations.

            God took on the form of an infant child—not a very godlike move.  God pursued the oppressed not the powerful—another unexpected move.  God came not with power, but became powerfully weak upon the cross.  And, perhaps most unexpected—Jesus Christ rose from the dead.

            This means that for us, we can expect to find God in the unexpected.  God is not contained within the walls and hours of a church.  God is active in the world, and even when plans do not go according to what we assume God would want.

            God’s breaking of expectations reminds us that his plan for our lives is far greater than we can conceive.  The things we are going through today will not always make sense, but faith in God allows us to believe that one day it will.  As Paul says, “For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully…” (1 Corinthians 13)

            Where are you trying to micromanage God in your life?  What ways is He breaking your plans and expectations?  How might you find God in the unexpected places?

 

 

~~~~~~

Associate Minister for Evangelism and Young Adult Ministries

First Presbyterian Church

200 West Trade St

Charlotte, NC 28202

(p)    704-927-0240

(e)  wbarry@firstpres-charlotte.org

(w) www.firstpres-charlotte.org

 

 

100 Words or Less Preaching

As I prepare for preaching this Sunday, I found an interesting feature on Word. AutoSummarize "100 Words or Less." So I thought I would see what my 2700 word sermon would be boiled down to by the computer.

A Demanding Faith

Genesis 22:1-18

Matthew 20:17-18

"Do we not make similar demands of God? Creating a god who will abide by our demands.

It is because we see the demands God put upon his Son, that we understand the demands for our faith.

God demands faithfulness.

Abraham shows us a person who, rather than bringing a list of demands to God, was accepting of God’s demands upon him.

And through Abraham’s lineage comes Jesus Christ.

This demands that we go and do something with our life for God.

James, the son of Zebedee, he experienced the extreme demands of faith."

Line of the Day

“Again and again, I’ve watched him cling to the belief that enthusiasm can pass for preparation…and this belief fails him, as inevitably it does.”

 

While it was said in the context of Ultramarathon running, I think it also relates incredibly to the preaching event.

 

 

Devotion: Faith in the Darkness

“Thank God we don’t serve God with our feelings, otherwise I don’t know where I would be—Pray for me.” Mother Theresa

A few years ago people were surprised to learn that Mother Theresa struggled to feel God’s presence in her life. For nearly 40 years, she felt a “darkness” from God. Eventually, she was able to say that her faith went deeper than her feelings.

Too often I believe that we look for a heightened emotional experience to know that God is really with us. We want a song that swells up tears, a book that tugs at heart, that weird prickly sensation; we use these sensations to validate God’s existence. For Mother Theresa, one of our era’s most iconic religious persons, to claim that we don’t serve God with our feelings, we can hopefully be free of these expectations. If we expect to always feel God, we will be on endless pursuit for that next spiritual high.

If Mother Theresa experienced times of darkness, yet continued to serve God with every ounce of her strength, what holds us back?

It is interesting to me that during the darkness Mother Theresa continued to lean upon the prayers of her confidants and community. Rather than validating her feelings—that God must not exist—she strengthened her faith by believing that God’s presence is more than her feelings.

Feelings are fleeting while faith is enduring.

“You know that the testing of your faith produces endurance ⁴ and let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing.” James 1:3-4.

Have you ever experienced a darkness of faith in your life?

What/Who did you lean on?

What ways may God be testing your faith to strengthen it?