SPEAK UP, REGARDLESS OF THE RESPONSE

He said, “Son of man, I’m sending you to the family of Israel, a rebellious nation if there ever was one. They and their ancestors have fomented rebellion right up to the present. They’re a hard case, these people to whom I’m sending you—hardened in their sin. Tell them, ‘This is the Message of God, the Master.’ They are a defiant bunch. Whether or not they listen, at least they’ll know that a prophet’s been here.

Ez 2:3-5

Have you ever had to deal with someone who is stubborn and hard-headed?  Have you wandered if GOD knows what it's like?  Well, if you have - GOD knows exactly how you feel!

When I read this scripture my first thought was; why would GOD tell Ezekiel to speak to the rebels and then tell him that they probably wouldn't listen? He knew that they would probably reject The Word, yet He was willing to send it anyway.

After dwelling on this for a little while, perhaps these are two reasons:

Firstly, it's a lesson in obedience and faith.

NOT JUST A NUMBER

"And he [Jesus] called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box.  For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on."

Mark 12:43-44

I read a quote today that has been gnawing at me ever since.  It was by the well known French existentialist, Jean-Paul Sartre.  The quote is along the lines of the following:

"The poor don't know that their function in life is to exercise our generosity."

Straight off the bat, I want to strongly state that I totally disagree with this statement.  I guess it's bothered me because it boxes 'poor' people into a stereotype; saying that they exist subservient to the proverbial 'us'.  Who is this 'us'?  Who is Sartre talking about here?

Is it you and me?  Because if it isn't, we must be here to exercise everyone else's generosity!

Which, actually, I believe we are.

WHY DO I HAVE TO STRUGGLE, EVEN WHEN I'M DOING GOOD?

"If with heart and soul you’re doing good, do you think you can be stopped? Even if you suffer for it, you’re still better off. Don’t give the opposition a second thought. Through thick and thin, keep your hearts at attention, in adoration before Christ, your Master."

1 Peter 3:13-14 (MSG)

Life never operates according to the calendar.  We try to plan and hope that things will happen according to the time-frames that we envisage - but that seldom ever happens. Ever.  The reason for this is because we cannot completely control what happens, that's GOD's job.

Regardless of this fact, we still try.

What we read above tells us that even if we do good stuff, life may not proceed according to our plans.  There is an incorrect world philosophy that says "if you do good things, good things will happen to you".  The problem with this egocentric take is that it puts the perception of absolute control into our hands... and we know that we can never have absolute control, again, that's GOD's responsibility.

Here's an awesome quote to chew on...

"The purpose of {Christianity} is not to avoid difficulty, but to produce a character adequate to meet it when it comes.  It does not make life easy; rather it tries to make us great enough for life."

James Christensen

So, what does doing good do?

WORSHIP CHANGES US

#worshipchangesus

Worship contains the power to change us.
It strengthens our weaknesses.
It humbles our strengths.
It removes our worries.
It acknowledges our blessings.

(selah)

It unites enemies.
It erases the lines of discrimination.
It removes our facades.

(selah)

It cries.
It laughs.
It dances.
It loves.

(selah)

HAVE YOU MADE YOUR PLANS?

"Commit your plans to the Lord and you will succeed!"

Prov 16:3

I have encountered many people who live life day-to-day and call it faith. They use scripture to say do not worry about tomorrow, and then prefer not to think about it. They rationalise it by thinking that GOD knows what will happen and He will look out for us, which is true, but it's only half the story.

I ask myself; is this the way that GOD would have us wisely manage His resources? Is time not the rarest resource we have? When we lose loved ones, a common feeling is that we wish we could have had more time with them. Time to learn, time to tell how much we loved them, time just to be together. So how can we make the best use of this time?

The scripture from Proverbs starts off by telling us to commit our plans. That means... we probably need to be making plans! Logically, if you don't have plans, you can't commit them to the Lord.  So, is this in contradiction to the scripture in Mat 6:34? I don't think so, the Bible clearly tells us not to worry and not to be anxious but this doesn't mean that we shouldn't have plans.  The rest of the scripture in v34 goes on to say that today has enough concerns for itself.  In other words, the scripture is saying that our focus should be on today.  But... then why make plans for tomorrow?