There is a common misconception that Christians don't know how to have fun. Society's view of us is that we are constantly secluded away from the world, stuck in our own small groups, trying to avoid contact with anything material. While that may be the extreme view, in a way it is true. Many see Christians as those who don't know what the meaning of the word fun is! All we do practically is study, pray, and help the needy.
There is so much more to life than that though. I know the above statements are completely false because almost every Christian I have met enjoys life way more than most secular people. And we know how to properly enjoy life!
First, enjoying life should not be wasting the moments that you are given. When I talk about properly enjoying life, I mean fully appreciating what situations you are in, the creation that you are surrounded with, savouring every moment of every day. When opportunities arise, seize them. One thing that God has really been trying to drive into me over the past few years is that by stepping beyond fears or doubts and taking the chance, not only do you enjoy yourself 9 times out of 10, but you also are prepared for the next situation, and develop your own personal character every time.
Not only should you enjoy the moments that are thrown at you, but you should also go out seeking the different exciting aspects of life. Enjoy all of God's creation, enjoy different cultures, enjoy different people's stories! Remember, when God first created the world, He filled it to the brim with good things. He wants us to enjoy those good things!
"There is nothing better for a person that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God." Ecclesiastes 2:24 ESV
Monday 23 January 2017
Saturday 21 January 2017
American Poltics
The most talked about news item of today is still the American election or perhaps the victory of Trump. Now, I think a lot of us are discussing perhaps the wrong things about the election, the antics of the two candidates, especially the winner. Instead, we should be focusing on the platforms of each, and again especially what Trump's platform means for the States, and the world. However, with that said, I do think this is one election that more people are actually focusing on the politics. Still, we could be doing it even more, and for good reason. Especially living in Canada, we will still be effected by Trump taking power in the States.
I think one of the biggest questions on our minds, especially as Christians, should be; what's the line between obeying authorities and compromising God? Of course, there's a big aspect of politics too where we need to connect who we side with, and specifically their promises, with what the Bible says, or what we believe Jesus would like to see happening in the world.
Tackling the first issue, the balance or the passing point between obeying the authorities and compromising God.
1 Peter 2:13-14 "Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right."
Titus 3:1 "Remind them to be subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good deed."
Now, taking these verses just as they are, two things jump out. First, notice how we are commanded to be obedient, or to follow every human leader. And secondly, we are only to follow every human ruler who does good things, and punishes evil things. Now, that's an interesting distinction. We are to only follow the human rulers that do the right things. Adding to this however, first of all, we need to note that the "right thing" is really only the things that are 100% morally correct or incorrect. There are certain grey areas over morals in the Bible, certain topics that are undecided, they're not clear. We see that through the fact that Christians themselves fight over certain issues (homosexuality). Because of that, I don't believe we can completely judge a leader based upon their stance on those certain issues. A good leader, a right leader, cannot be solely decided based upon their beliefs on those grey areas.
I also think there is a right way to deal with a bad leader. Take all our Christian principles, and even when we're dealing with a problem, we have to use them to make sure our behaviour and attitude isn't off. We don't just go storming the gates with terribly worded signs, we don't use violence, we don't stubbornly attack the character of a person.
The second issue is what should we look for in political authorities or other positions of leadership. The reason why I think this is important is that we have to expect certain things, and realize that we can't demand other things. Because not everyone subscribes to our belief system of morals, we can't expect everyone to follow along with that system. Something like abortion; while it might be ideal to have someone in a leadership position that agrees with the Christian system, we can't make it the final deciding factor. Instead, we need to focus on the bigger picture, who is going to be healthier for all people. Our deciding factor in our decision of putting people in leadership position should be what are they going to do for all people. Not just us, not just the rich, not just the middle class, but ALL people. Who is going to be better at helping every single person in the country?
And above all, pray, pray, pray.
1 Timothy 2:1-3 MSG "The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know. Pray especially for rulers and their governments to rule well so we can be quietly about our business of living simply, in humble contemplation. This is the way our Saviour God wants us to live."
I think one of the biggest questions on our minds, especially as Christians, should be; what's the line between obeying authorities and compromising God? Of course, there's a big aspect of politics too where we need to connect who we side with, and specifically their promises, with what the Bible says, or what we believe Jesus would like to see happening in the world.
Tackling the first issue, the balance or the passing point between obeying the authorities and compromising God.
1 Peter 2:13-14 "Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right."
Titus 3:1 "Remind them to be subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good deed."
Now, taking these verses just as they are, two things jump out. First, notice how we are commanded to be obedient, or to follow every human leader. And secondly, we are only to follow every human ruler who does good things, and punishes evil things. Now, that's an interesting distinction. We are to only follow the human rulers that do the right things. Adding to this however, first of all, we need to note that the "right thing" is really only the things that are 100% morally correct or incorrect. There are certain grey areas over morals in the Bible, certain topics that are undecided, they're not clear. We see that through the fact that Christians themselves fight over certain issues (homosexuality). Because of that, I don't believe we can completely judge a leader based upon their stance on those certain issues. A good leader, a right leader, cannot be solely decided based upon their beliefs on those grey areas.
I also think there is a right way to deal with a bad leader. Take all our Christian principles, and even when we're dealing with a problem, we have to use them to make sure our behaviour and attitude isn't off. We don't just go storming the gates with terribly worded signs, we don't use violence, we don't stubbornly attack the character of a person.
The second issue is what should we look for in political authorities or other positions of leadership. The reason why I think this is important is that we have to expect certain things, and realize that we can't demand other things. Because not everyone subscribes to our belief system of morals, we can't expect everyone to follow along with that system. Something like abortion; while it might be ideal to have someone in a leadership position that agrees with the Christian system, we can't make it the final deciding factor. Instead, we need to focus on the bigger picture, who is going to be healthier for all people. Our deciding factor in our decision of putting people in leadership position should be what are they going to do for all people. Not just us, not just the rich, not just the middle class, but ALL people. Who is going to be better at helping every single person in the country?
And above all, pray, pray, pray.
1 Timothy 2:1-3 MSG "The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know. Pray especially for rulers and their governments to rule well so we can be quietly about our business of living simply, in humble contemplation. This is the way our Saviour God wants us to live."
Monday 2 January 2017
Answering Prayer
Right off the bat; I still do not have a clear answer in regards to this topic. In fact, this is probably the foremost struggle on my mind right now, in multiple ways. My query is how does God answer prayer, or perhaps the more difficult question, how can we know when and how God will answer our prayers, if ever?
This presents itself in the greatest capacity when we ask God for something. For me personally, I've been urging God to give me (I don't really like that phrase, but it's the best one I can think of at the moment) something I desperately want. And I mean, I'm practically begging God for this one thing to happen like I want it to.
Unfortunately, I've ran into a few stumbling blocks. The first is; should I be asking God for this thing, or instead asking Him if it's the right thing to do? Second is; how will I know if this is indeed what God wants me to try and do?
Interestingly, throughout my Bible reading plans, I've ran into a few verses the past couple of days that I think speak directly to the situation, but unfortunately, to both sides of the argument. There's so many verses that speak about being courageous, and just going for something to obtain it (Matthew 7:7-8; ask and you will receive), but also tons of verses that speak about not testing God, or trying to stay with His will (Luke 4:12). Really, it seems like the Bible, which is supposed to be extremely helpful, isn't being too helpful in this case. It's providing an argument for either side.
Here is what I've discerned so far, which again, is by no means my final answer, or entirely what I think God wants us to believe in regards to the issue. In regards to should we ask God for things, my belief is that we should ask God for anything we want. I know some people who believe that we should only ever ask God for things that go along with His will, or for things that are only important enough that He would actually care. I believe God cares about everything happening in your life, and I mean absolutely everything. Why shouldn't we be able to carry everything to Him? Now, to be clear here, by asking Him for absolutely everything, I'm not saying that He will give you absolutely everything, He won't. But I think there's a certain degree of calmness, or even answers that come simply from asking God for certain things, sometimes even revealing to you exactly what you are looking for isn't what you think it is.
My second question has more to do with callings, or actions, than actual gifts from God. Really, it speaks to the confidence of hearing an answer from God, and truly believing that it is an answer from God. This goes back to my original thoughts on how does God answer prayer. How do you know when you are praying for discernment if you have your answer, if God is telling you to specifically do something or not, if God is trying to get you to say something specific or not? There are multiple theories here ranging from a literal word you hear from God, to just a feeling that you get. This is perhaps the area that I struggle with most. The thing with just a feeling is that sometimes you're just not sure, or sometimes you ignore the feeling because it's not the answer you want. I guess the same could be said with a literal word from God, although that does seem to me to be more concrete. I really can't find an answer for this, or at least one that applies to each person.
Here's what I mean by that. I think God uses different situations, and different methods, to speak to different people in different ways. Your answer for your prayers are not going to be the same as mine. God knows each and every person, and knows what they'll respond to the best, and uses that to speak to them. So really, there isn't just one answer in regards to hearing an answer from God; there's multiple ones.
That's the interesting thing with prayer; there's really no clear answers in regards to any aspect of it. It's one of those mysteries of the faith. Each person is going to be impacted by it slightly differently, making it not only a mystery, but also a miracle.
This presents itself in the greatest capacity when we ask God for something. For me personally, I've been urging God to give me (I don't really like that phrase, but it's the best one I can think of at the moment) something I desperately want. And I mean, I'm practically begging God for this one thing to happen like I want it to.
Unfortunately, I've ran into a few stumbling blocks. The first is; should I be asking God for this thing, or instead asking Him if it's the right thing to do? Second is; how will I know if this is indeed what God wants me to try and do?
Interestingly, throughout my Bible reading plans, I've ran into a few verses the past couple of days that I think speak directly to the situation, but unfortunately, to both sides of the argument. There's so many verses that speak about being courageous, and just going for something to obtain it (Matthew 7:7-8; ask and you will receive), but also tons of verses that speak about not testing God, or trying to stay with His will (Luke 4:12). Really, it seems like the Bible, which is supposed to be extremely helpful, isn't being too helpful in this case. It's providing an argument for either side.
Here is what I've discerned so far, which again, is by no means my final answer, or entirely what I think God wants us to believe in regards to the issue. In regards to should we ask God for things, my belief is that we should ask God for anything we want. I know some people who believe that we should only ever ask God for things that go along with His will, or for things that are only important enough that He would actually care. I believe God cares about everything happening in your life, and I mean absolutely everything. Why shouldn't we be able to carry everything to Him? Now, to be clear here, by asking Him for absolutely everything, I'm not saying that He will give you absolutely everything, He won't. But I think there's a certain degree of calmness, or even answers that come simply from asking God for certain things, sometimes even revealing to you exactly what you are looking for isn't what you think it is.
My second question has more to do with callings, or actions, than actual gifts from God. Really, it speaks to the confidence of hearing an answer from God, and truly believing that it is an answer from God. This goes back to my original thoughts on how does God answer prayer. How do you know when you are praying for discernment if you have your answer, if God is telling you to specifically do something or not, if God is trying to get you to say something specific or not? There are multiple theories here ranging from a literal word you hear from God, to just a feeling that you get. This is perhaps the area that I struggle with most. The thing with just a feeling is that sometimes you're just not sure, or sometimes you ignore the feeling because it's not the answer you want. I guess the same could be said with a literal word from God, although that does seem to me to be more concrete. I really can't find an answer for this, or at least one that applies to each person.
Here's what I mean by that. I think God uses different situations, and different methods, to speak to different people in different ways. Your answer for your prayers are not going to be the same as mine. God knows each and every person, and knows what they'll respond to the best, and uses that to speak to them. So really, there isn't just one answer in regards to hearing an answer from God; there's multiple ones.
That's the interesting thing with prayer; there's really no clear answers in regards to any aspect of it. It's one of those mysteries of the faith. Each person is going to be impacted by it slightly differently, making it not only a mystery, but also a miracle.
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