I want this

There is an ad that runs on TV in Canada where a guy walks into an electronics store to buy batteries but ends up wanting everything else so he buys it.  This is a reflection on our consumer society.  The ad ends with the saying, "I want that".

When you say that you want something there are still restrictions.  Is it available?  Can you buy it with your money or credit?  Even the restriction does it exist?

When God says "I want that" He doesn't have to check to see if His credit is good, if it is available or even if it exists.  When He says "I want this" then it exists and it is His.

We often forget that when we say we want something there is the possibility that we may not be able to have it but that never happens with God.  He spoke and the worlds existed.  He didn't have to get the raw materials for He made all things out of Himself.  He is infinite so after He made the universe out of Himself He was not less than He was before.

Satan, you can't have my song

When Pastor Gord talked about this on Sunday I was reminded of my father who passed away twenty five years ago.  My father suffered from cancer and he did not take pain very well.  However, while he was in the hospital he had many visitors and most of them came away singing the old hymns of the faith.  The one thing my father always wanted to do when people came to see him was to sing.  Many testified to the fact that their hearts were blessed by such a visit.  Now my father wasn't a great singer, he was better than my mother, but he always loved music.  Satan didn't take his song away.

Idols

Here is another entry from my journal in 1995.

In his book, No God But God, Os Guiness condemns the modern church because of its idolatry. Like a prophet of old, Guineas will not be well received by many of the established churches.


In what way has the church turned to idols. Well one way is that we worship success and therefore we do our best to be successful. We think that if our program is a little more professional, a little more polished, then more people will come. We must be careful not to offend them when they come so our message is softened. We replace the preaching of the cross with entertainment and the sermon is often replaced with drama. Our music must be professional so we are careful not to allow just anyone to minister in music. The church has become like the world.

On the other side of the coin in the evangelicalism is the concern over signs and wonders. We are afraid that people need more than Jesus, what they need is something spectacular like miracles or other manifestations. When Christ has to share the centre stage with anyone or anything it is idolatry. Christ will not even share the stage with His works.

The church needs to forsake its idols and refocus itself upon Christ. He is the only message. He is all we need.

Gay Pride

Today marked the start of gay pride week in Toronto so I thought I would post an entry from my journal of 18 years ago.

Yesterday there was a parade in Toronto. It was called the gay pride parade. They began at a church where a member of parliament address the gays and lesbians about their rights. Then they proceeded to parade through the streets of Toronto.
I find two problems here. First, what does the church have to do with homosexuality? We may not have a right to tell non-Christians how they should live but the church has a message, the gospel, which is the message of hope for those living in sin. The church must not condone sin, it must speak out against it.

Second, what does the church have to do with pride? Pride was the original sin. Pride is another sin that the church must speak out against. When the church fails to speak against sin the church has lost any relevance for the world today. We cannot change the way people want to live, only the gospel can do that. However, we must continue to cry out against both sins that the parade represented least we find it coming in our door.

What If There Was No Genesis?

I wrote this 17 years ago but I would like to share it now.

I have just finished studying Genesis in my Sunday School class and I was thinking, What if there was not Genesis in our Bible?
Genesis is the book of beginnings. Without Genesis we would not know where this earth came from; where man came from; why there is sin in the world; what is God's remedy for sin; why must man suffer and die; why is man tempted; why are there different languages, nations and races; why we have governments; why we have different seasons; and what does the rainbow mean.

We would not know where the Jewish people came from and why the land of Israel is so important to them.

Genesis shows us that God is a powerful God, a loving God, a faithful God, and a caring God. Without Genesis I would not know why we are sinners and why we need a Saviour.

I am glad that God placed Genesis in our Bible. Without Genesis the story of redemption would not be complete.

A Dumb Question

I find dumb questions amusing. Some one once asked if you could buy a complete chess set in a pawn shop. Before the days of cell phones and answering machines my dad would phone and ask me if I was home. Things have changed. I was recently at a large conference and I overheard a man on his cell phone saying, “Are you here?”
One day Jesus asked a blind man what seemed to be a dumb question. Blind Bartimaeus had called out to Jesus to have mercy on him and Jesus asked him what he wanted Jesus to do for him. Now this may seem like a dumb question but Jesus never asked meaningless questions. Jesus knew what the man really wanted but He wanted the man to truly understand what he really needed. The man needed to know that though he needed mercy he needed healing for his eyes.

We often come to God with requests and it seems Jesus asks us what we want rather than answering us right away. We may ask for healing of our bodies but Jesus knows that if He heals us then we will not see our true need. We may think that we need mercy but we need more than God’s mercy we need God’s grace.

The Rock on Trial

In Exodus 17 we are told that the people had no water so they quarreled with Moses. What was Moses to do? He knows that their quarrel is not just with him but they are upset with God. Moses takes this complaint to the Lord and the Lord answers him. Moses is told by the Lord to come before the people with the elders and his rod and He, the Lord Himself, will stand before Moses on the rock at Horeb. This is the only time we read that Lord stands before the people. Every other time the people are to stand before the Lord.
As Moses comes to the rock he knows that there will be a trial but who will be on trial? Moses has his rod of judgment, the rod he used to judge Egypt and to part the Red Sea. Moses has the elders as his council to pass judgment on the guilty party. But who will be judged today? When Moses arrives at the rock he is surprised to find out that it is God Himself who is being judged. Moses is to take his rod and strike the rock upon which the Lord Himself was standing before the people. The Lord would be taking the judgment for the people. It is only when Moses passes the judgment upon the Lord that the water of life comes from the rock.

This is the Gospel.  God has stepped into the dock to take the judgment that was ours upon Himself.  This is the good news.