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The Big BUT
This post was inspired by one of my group home clients. He is consistently asking questions. The funniest, and sometimes, most frustrating thing is when he asks himself questions. He will say something like, “If Steve (name changed for privacy) doesn’t touch anybody then Steve will get a pop.” This is funny, but it also creates a problem. He was promised that if he doesn’t touch anyone he would get a pop. When time goes by and Steve doesn’t receive a pop he begins to get anxious. After dinner he will ask when will he receive his reward? When staff says, “You do not get a pop.” He begins to throw more questions like, “But I didn’t touch anybody. Why can’t I have one? Did I hit someone Travis?”
The problem to us is obvious. I never promised a pop to Steve. Steve promised a pop to Steve. Not only that, Steve can’t deliver what Steve wants. When Steve realizes this he has to insert the big “but”. We, as Christians, tend to do this. We know what we want so we try our best to please God so he will grant our wish. We assume that God should give what we want. However, we can’t deliver what we want. Only God can. This is when we start with the “buts”.
“I have followed your commands BUT you aren’t giving me what you promised.” All the while God is saying, “I didn’t promise you those things. You did.”
I like how Bryn MacPhail speaks about this concept in prayer:
What do I mean by that– ‘misuse of prayer’? What I mean is that some Christians talk about prayer in much the same way people talk about magic. Some Christians take verses like John 14:13, “whatever you ask in My name, that will I do“, and begin to treat God like some celestial wish-granter with their prayers.
When we pray ‘in the name of Jesus’ it is not some incantation where we pray, ‘God, do this . . . in the name Jesus’, and then God goes, ‘Ah shucks, they said the magic phrase! . . . This is going to mess up everything we are doing in the kingdom, and now we have to answer this prayer.’
Often this is how we view God. He is a genie that must bend to our will’s desires. This is not how God operates. God does loves the interaction that he has with his children but he also gives us a clear understanding of how this works in 1 John 5:14:
And this is the confidence that we have before him: that whenever we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. -NET
It is God’s will that we should be concerned with. Not our own. When we ask God in accordance with his will then we can be assured that he hears us. This completely eliminates the big “but” because we are working in accordance to God’s will and not our own. When we are like Steve we are only looking for selfish fulfillment. When we are like Christ we are looking to God and we are concerned with what God is concerned about. And that is his glory.
All of us need to eliminate the big BUT by resting in God’s promises and not our own promises.
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Thanks, Prayer, and Evangelism
Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples! – 1 Chronicles 16:8
“You don’t know what you have until its gone” If I’ve heard it once I have heard it a million times! This statement seems to be true in most cases. We, as humans, really don’t take time to recognize the important things in our lives. This is certainly true for me. Often I walk through life oblivious to the things God has blessed me with. I have been given a fiance that loves me, family and friends that care for me and a church that supports me. I thank God for these people and we, as Christians, need to do that everyday.
When we do give thanks to God we are put in a position of prayer. Giving thanks is observing and expressing that we, as humans, are in need of a caregiver. We thank God because he is our Father. He gives us what we need and sometimes what we want. And this puts us in a position of prayer. When we acknowledge that God is infinitely greater than we are we are in the proper position to pray.
When we do give thanks and pray we will be ready to makes God’s deeds known. When we set our minds and hearts on God, through thanks and prayer, we will want to share His heart with those around us. Giving thanks and praying will make you and I a better evangelist. I am not saying you or I will be the next Billy Graham but I am saying that we will live a life of sharing our faith by giving thanks and living a life of prayer.
Be thankful, be prayerful, and share your faith.
Thanks for reading.
Approaching the Throne of Grace
One of my favorite passages in Scripture is Hebrews 4:14-16. It reads:
“ 14 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (ESV)
This passage speaks about Jesus as our “high priest”. I discussed this topic in Intercession Pt. 1 “Jesus as High Priest” and would encourage you to check it out if you haven’t yet.
Along with Jesus being our high preist this passage also speaks to us coming before his throne with confidence. Sometimes I feel like such a wretch it makes coming before the throne of grace seem like an impossible task. It is easy for me to look only at my sin and my weak flesh instead of my standing with God. When I feel inadequate to approach the throne of grace I need to remember the words of Hebrews 4:14-16.
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First, I need to remember that Jesus sympathizes with my weakness. He felt pain and temptation. He knows what it means to be human. Yet, throughout all of his life Christ never once gave in to sin. Christ understands what you and I are going through yet still accepts our requests because he conquered sin by his amazing sacrifice on the cross and his resurrection from the grave.
Secondly, I need to remember that because of Christ’s sacrifice I can approach him with confidence. This can only come by the grace given by God through Jesus’ sacrifice. Christ’s righteousness becomes my righteousness. I am justified before God and thus can come to him anytime any place.
Lastly, I need to remember that God promises that we will receive mercy and grace which will help us in our time of need. God gives his word that we will be equipped to handle anything that gets thrown at us.
Remembering these things have helped me immensely in my spiritual journey and I pray that they will be of help to you as well.
