How do you effectively live for God when you can't see Him working?
At times, we can start to live under the impression that we should see and understand God's works in all of our dealings. We begin to think that what God is doing should be relatively obvious, and, if we can't see it, there must be something wrong with us. Or perhaps God is not involved in that particular situation. Or maybe He has abandoned us to one degree or another.
There are some professing Christians in the world who have a very poor attitude toward the church. Sometimes they have been hurt by others; other times they have just never come to understand the purpose of the body of Christ. I always hate to hear someone claiming the name of Christ out of one side of his mouth, while down-playing the importance of regular local church fellowship out of the other.
Fellowship is the life of the church. Without fellowship, our gatherings are just mere meetings instead of being corporate worship experiences. Without fellowship, we are merely associates instead of being brothers and sisters. Without fellowship, God's word ceases to have the effect it should--our common goal being to "love one another" even as Christ has loved us.
Below are some ideas you could employ to deepen your fellowship with the members of the body here this week.
"Proclaim" is a good word. Like any word, it can start to sound and look strange if you repeat it too many times or stare at it long enough. But in English, it comes from the Latin words for "forth" (pro) and "shout" (clamare; think "clamor"). The Greek is similar, as it combines "from" and the base word for "angel," or "messenger." This verb then carries the sense of declaring, announcing, and preaching.
The Apostle Paul used the word in this wonderful verse: "Him (Jesus) we proclaim, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ," (Colossians 1:28, LSB, emphasis added).
In my eighth grade drafting class, my teacher taught us that the best way to draw a straight line when you don't have a straight edge is to keep your eye on your destination point as you draw the line. Straight edges are best, of course, but many times in life while working in an active job site, you don't have access to one. Often, the project doesn't require perfection anyway.
Scripture says, "Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God," (1 Corinthians 10:31).
"Whatever you do..."
Is this really as broad as it sounds? I'm going to say Yes, as the two examples Paul gives before "whatever" are the ultra-common tasks of eating and drinking. If we are to glorify God in our three meals a day, along with our likely overpriced and probably-not-so-healthy drinks and snacks in-between, then we certainly should seek to glorify God in everything.
"God told me..."
It's an ear-catching phrase. It makes us pause what we're doing to make sure we pay attention to what follows. After all, God is the sovereign creator of the universe who holds all authority and power. We better listen.
But did God really say a new thing?
This past Sunday, I preached about the importance of going to the feet of Jesus with the cares and concerns of this life. I briefly stated that our prayer lives reveal how we are doing with this. Scripture says:
Since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:14-16)
Hebrews 10:23-25 says, "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near."
As we assemble for fellowship, we are to consider how to stir up one another toward the two goals of love and good works. The word translated "stimulate" in the passage above literally means to provoke or contend. These are words that are typically associated with negative events in our minds, but it need not be that way. Proverbs 27:17 tells us that just as iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another--sparks and all.
"If it weren't for the sovereignty of God, I wouldn't be able to get out of bed in the morning."
That's a statement my favorite theology professor from Bible College would say all the time. What he meant by that was that if God wasn't in control, he would be hopeless and crippled with anxiety. Conversely, he was also saying that because God is in control, he can get up each day and move forward, trusting in the Father's care.