And Whatever You Do ...

It's funny how scripture evolves as we experience more of God. It isn't really that scripture evolves as much as it is our growing in the revelation of God's Word. It starts off as baby food to us as we learn to digest it and put it into action. As we go along the Spirit takes us to deeper places as our digestive system matures. At first we take small scripture verses in isolation but as we mature we put those scriptures in the context of the whole Bible. Here's an example:

And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Colossians 3:17)

I used to think this was telling me that whatever I decide to do I needed to do it in the name of the Lord. It gave me a sense that I get to choose my own course, as long as I ask God's blessing and dedicate it to Jesus. That is what it looked like to me in isolation. However, as I began to put it into context with the rest of the Bible I began to see it differently.

How can we be dead to ourself and still get to choose our own course? How can the Word say that we no longer belong to ourselves because we have been bought at a great price and yet we get to decide our future? How can Jesus say, "Come, follow me" and we get to decide the direction? Jesus hasn't come alive in me, I have been raised to life in him. I am not asking Jesus to come walk with me, I am accepting the invitation to go and walk with him. I am not inviting God into my life, he is inviting me into his.

On the flip side, it is possible to follow Jesus but then profit from it for ourselves. We can take his direction and make it about us instead of about his glory. We can be alive in him and still make it about us. He can give us very precise instructions and we can hi-jack those plans. This is the reason the Spirit prompted Paul to write, whatever you do, do it in the name of Jesus. Whatever you have been called to, do not do it in your strength or authority but in the authority of Jesus.

Listen, you have great ideas and plans and I am sure it will turn out great, but it would be incredible if they are done in the authority of Jesus and not your own. Yes, with a lot of hard work you could feed 5,000 but Jesus did it with a prayer. There is the difference. You can do a lot in your own strength but it can't compare with what you can do in Jesus' strength. You can accomplish a lot in your own ability but it is nothing compared to the glory of doing it in God's infinite ability and authority.

The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. (James 5:16)

I can do everything through him who gives me strength. (Philippians 4:13)

So read and understand well the whole counsel of the Word. It is not about us, our ideas, abilities or talents. It is all about Jesus, his power, authority and glory. He calls us and equips us to represent him in this place. Our name goes on nothing. We do not receive the applause. We take credit for none of it because it was Jesus' in the beginning, middle and end. And that is the truth of the matter.

Christmas: Trying To Thwart The Plans Of God (revisited)

It's strange how different people react to Jesus differently. Some are mildly amused, others couldn't care less, some are violently opposed and others totally devoted. We have people today who claim that education should be enough to stamp out silly old superstitions but when we look back in Scriptures we discover that the supposedly educated and powerful people often set themselves up as opponents of God. People cry out today that anyone of any intelligence would never use religion as a crutch. It is a shame that they cannot recognize the pattern of our rebellious sin nature that causes us to want to set up gods after our own image and remain enemies of our Creator. Sometimes, people of intelligence and power are their own god.

For the last few days we have considered how God surprised people with the birth of Jesus. There were none more surprised than king Herod. He was enjoying a good life, walking a tight rope to make sure all the different political factions were appeased but that was his job and he was good at it. Now he has these men of learning from foreign countries knocking on his door asking him where the new king was, the one that the stars had announced. SURPRISE! If you ever want to bring insecurity to a man of power, start praising someone else in his presence. A new king? Really?

Immediately Herod had his people search the Scriptures; at least he still recognized the authority of the Scriptures. They discovered that the prophets foretold of the great King being born in king David's city, Bethlehem. You can almost hear king Herod thinking, "Not on my watch he isn't". Armed with this information he tried to turn these visitors, who were seeking this great king. into spies for his own purpose. He told them to get back to him with the location because he wanted to pay homage as well. Men using the guise of religion for their own design is nothing new. People today look back in history and see the atrocities committed by such men and then criticize the religion. They are unable to see the difference between the men of greed and power who manipulated religion and the people of sincere devotion and belief.

This is where we should be able to see the genuineness of what was happening around Jesus. These learned men found the child (not the baby) with his mother and offered their gifts. It was likely Jesus was 2 years old at this time. No, sorry to disappoint, it was not a crowded stable on the night of Jesus' birth. After their visit they were warned by God not to return to Herod. In one simple dream God thwarted the plans of his enemy. But, as is so often the case, when the enemy can't have his way through trickery, he will make his plans more obvious through violence.

When Herod discovered that the visitors had left without divulging the information he sought, he sent in his soldiers to do a sickening thing. This shows us just how evil the man's heart was and just how desperate he was to try to spoil God's plans. He had no idea that God's plans were bigger than some small kingdom in the middle east that wasn't even in charge of it's own affairs but in a submissive relationship with Rome. God was out to bring man back to him in a manner no one could have fathomed. If God was capable of such a thing then surely he was capable of protecting a tiny baby.

Before the solders could arrive God warned Joseph to take his family and flee to Egypt. Herod showed the darkness of his heart as he ordered the murder of every male child two years old and under. What a terrible lose of life with no results for Herod. Perhaps Herod died thinking he had defeated God; a number of people do. What a stupid  thought to have on your death bed, "Hahaha, I have showed God who is boss. I never once obeyed him. I remained free and independent". And may I add, dead. You still end up dead and now you will discover what God was trying to save you from.

This is the saddest thing about people like Herod who think they can do what they want for their own gain, even fight against God. It also holds true for those people who have made it their mission to try to convince others to turn away from God as well. They all end up dead and they all end up facing what they wasted their life trying to deny. They chose to not accept the gift of life, peace, joy, hope, faith and love that God held out to them. They chose not to accept the hand of rescue. They chose wrong.

Nothing frustrates the plans of God. If we try to prevent it one way he is already aware of it and has made his plans to cover that. God's will can never be denied and life is filled with blessings when we work within that will instead of all the natural curses that come with fighting against it. Look at the beauty of Christmas and realize that the sending of this gift reveals the incredibly beautiful heart of our Father. We can choose the ugly way of Herod or we can see the beauty of God's desire for us. I hope the beauty of Christmas this year will remind you where the real joy and blessings are found because they are never found in us but always in Jesus.