Why are you excited about being a Christian? When the storms of life rain on our parade, our challenge is not to hunker down during the storm but to dance in the rain. We’re excited because Jesus Christ came to rescue men like us.
He came to build our character by using every trial in this life to develop and nurture his character in us. The great commission is that our lives would model the life of Jesus Christ himself. He called us not to deliver the message, but to be the message. Therefore preach the Gospel, when necessary use words.
Jesus Christ is the Rock of Ages. He is our sure foundation. Our Security is only in him. We’re either missionaries or a mission field. We’re either influenced by Him to influence the world, or we’re influenced by the world around us. God called us to give and not to take. To know the security we have in him we must first know insecurity. Insecurity is to rely on the things of this world and to understand that they can be gone in an instant. The things of this world will take wings and fly away. They have a short shelf life in light of eternity. However, Jesus said, “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth where moth and rust doth corrupt and where thieves break through and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven… for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” For that which is seen is temporal, but that which is unseen is eternal. We need to learn to keep a light touch on the things of this earth. Jesus said that whosoever saves his life shall lose it, but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake shall save it.
God created man to rely on something. For many it is their material possessions, their money, their families, their prestige, their worldly credentials, and the accolades of others. In John Chapter 2, when the crowds tried to exalt Jesus and to follow him like the rock star of his day, he did not commit himself to them. He “knew what was in the heart of man” and that the only reason they followed him was because they were entertained by the miracles that he had done.
Men often ask “Lord, why have you allowed pain and suffering in my life and in this world?” Those who don’t know God always question God’s motives. They judge God and his Word by the corrupted culture of this fallen world. Isaiah and Jeremiah preached about idols. The people had created gods after their own fallen natures. They judged the true God by their own corrupted view of the Gods of their own making.
Those who do not know God’s security think that God’s commands are “negotiable.” Some say “God, I’ll do what you want me to do if you’ll do what I want you to do.” Others say, “I’ll do what you want me to do if it agrees with what I want to do.” Still others say, “Lord, I’ll do what you want me to do as long as it’s comfortable and convenient.” For those who are secure in the Lord, the only response to God’s command is: “God, I’ll do what whatever you want me to do. Thy wish is my command. Here am I, Lord send me.“ God is still in control. There is nothing that God can’t handle… God was not made for man… man was made for God. According to Psalm 100, “It is he that has made us and not we ourselves. We are his people and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving and into his courts with praise. Be thankful unto him and bless his name. For the Lord is good, his mercy is everlasting, and His truth endureth to all generations.”
If you don’t have a trusting relationship with God, you may not really know God. Either Jesus Christ is Lord of your life or he’s not. We have to decide whether or not our confidence is really in him. The things of this world are fleeting. They are here today and gone tomorrow, but God and his Word are always faithful. The Lord is our refuge and strength, a very present help in time of trouble. Our security is in God himself. According to Joshua 1, “Be strong and of a good courage. Be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed, for the Lord thy God is with thee withersoever thou goest.” God encourages us to remember that he is the source of our security.
The things of this world of “Vanity Faire” are insecure: my job, my paycheck, my spouse, my family, my bank account, my assets and material possessions. If ye the Lord returns today, a pile of earthly treasure will be worthless. You can’t take it with you. How can we serve God with our material possessions? We can honor him by giving back to God’s work, a portion of that with which he has blessed us. In giving, we acknowledge that God is the source of our sufficiency. The act of giving is an act of joy… to abandon the things of this world to focus and to rely on his great and precious promise that he himself is our provider and that he is our provision. Not that we are sufficient in ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God.
Jesus said, abide in me and I will abide in you to the point that you will be the dependable ones in the time of crisis. All things work together for good to those who are called according to his purpose… When we delight ourselves in the Lord, it is God who works in us to will and to do of his good pleasure. In him we live and move and have our being.
The Christmas season reminds us that “Christos mas” in Spanish means more of him and less of me. Therefore rejoice not in Christmas presents, but in Christmas presence… the presence of God in Christ in you the hope of glory. Our security is in him, for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that spiritual deposit which he’s committed unto me against that day.
May God richly bless you,
Your brother in Christ,
Michael