When is it right to be angry?

Bible Reading - Hebrews 13:17-19

Today’s reading is about the way that God viewed the attitude and behaviour of the nation of Israel over a long period of time. If you read the passage a couple of times you will begin to see some recurring themes. Write them down and think ‘Is my attitude ever like this?’

The main attitudes I discovered are these: arrogance, refusing to listen, open rebellion, carelessness and unbelief. I am sure there are more but these the ones that caught my attention.

Not good you say and you are right! How can we make sure that we do not fall into the trap of acting in the same way? The passage makes clear that God must punish sin so we must avoid these things if at all possible.

The answers are in the same passage.

• Listen to what God has to say (v7)
• Do not be stubborn and harden your heart (v8)
•  Do not be rebellious (v8)
•  Do not ignore the evidences of God’s goodness in your life (v9)
• Keep a tight control of your  will and the things that you love (v10)
• Believe what God has said as unbelief is the door to disaster (v12)

We need to help each other to avoid slipping up in these various ways. 

We should be aware of the dangers and that not believing God creates a distance between us and Him (v12).

Our first priority, on a daily basis, is to remind ourselves of these things. We must also encourage our Christian friends not to be deceived or turn away from God (v12).

God must punish sin but he has given us enough warnings so that we can walk in a way that is pleasing to him. Live for Him and help other Christians to do the same.

Words are Powerful, Choose them well!

The title of this blog is a slogan that I seem to see regularly in the Daily Telegraph. ‘Words are powerful, Choose them well’. In the following examples, selected from today’s news, you will see the powerful and sometimes devastating effect that words can have.

Comments on Social Media can affect the outcome of court cases

The Attorney General has recently commented that the justice system needs to catch up with the modern world. In the past, only the Media had the power outside of the courts to influence jurors and if they did not have access to newsprint this could generally be avoided.

Now with the advent of social media, the possibilities are endless. Members of the public don’t understand the implications of the Contempt of Court Act and may comment on cases without realising the damage that this can do to the outcome of a case.

The power of words!

Nobody is perfect!!

‘He is the Rock, His work is perfect; For all His ways are justice, A God of truth and without injustice; Righteous and upright is He’.

Deut 32. 4

Take time to read today’s verse though a couple of times. Note carefully the absolute statements that are made.

‘He is the Rock, His work is perfect; For all His ways are justice, a God of truth and without injustice; Righteous and upright is He’.

The writer, Moses, had no doubts about the character of God, no grey areas no maybes. I wonder if that is that the way that you and I think about God.

A brief overview of the Bible would convince you that although Bible characters did not always understand what God was doing or why he was doing it they without exception declare his right to act as he chooses and defend the principle that God always acts justly and fairly. 

A little light reflection!

‘This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all’ 

1 John 1. 5

When you stop and think about it, it would be a very strange thing to say about anyone - ‘you are light’. We might say ‘so and so is kind, patient’ and so on but to say someone is light is very odd indeed. When you bring in the fact that we are talking about God it makes more sense. It is not however until you stop and consider the character of God that you really get a feel for what it means?

Is God as loving as Christians claim?

Suppose you stop someone in the street and asked if they believed in God. You would undoubtedly get a wide range of responses which would vary depending on where you are. When I think about what people say to me I think that most common impression people have of God is - God is love. They are not wrong in fact it is very true. However it is amazing that most tune in to this strand of God’s nature.

Can God be trusted?

Romans 11

Verse four ‘I have reserved for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal’

Verse twenty nine ‘For the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable’

You may be forgiven for thinking that the passage that we have given you to read today, Romans 11, does not at first sight make you think about the fact that God is faithful. However the more you read through the passage and think about what is written you begin to see this principle.

Looking over your shoulder! Trusting others!

Titus 3. 4

‘But when the kindness and the love of God our Savour toward man appeared’

What is your mental image of someone who is kind?  Does it conjure up an image of a certain type of person in your mind? This will all depend on the type of kindness that you have experienced in your life. Sadly some people don’t experience much kindness at all. I meet people who when they have met Christians for the first time cannot believe the care and kindness that they have been shown. They often wonder what the catch is! It is great to see them realise that there is no catch; it is just kindness for its own sake. When this happens the Christian is truly reflecting the type of kindness that God is known for.

Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it

Passage to read - Psalm 78:12-54

Verse 35 – ‘then they remembered that God was their Rock, and the Most High God their Redeemer’

Are you into history? Or do you find it fascinating to talk to old people about their memories. I often forget that old people once were young (sounds pretty obvious) and that they faced lots of situations in life and can teach us so much. One of the problems of being energetic and busy is that you don’t take time to think and learn from others. Maybe you are like that.

Patience is a virtue, possess it if you can...

‘But You, O Lord, are a God full of compassion, and gracious, Longsuffering and abundant in mercy and truth’

Psalm 86:15

I would challenge any Christian to deny that God is consistently patient. I think however that most would admit that they have been impatient with God and stressed with things that are going on in our lives. Amazingly, God still works with us and looks out for us even when we are not too happy with him.

What is God really like - holy?

  

‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory’

Isaiah 6.3 

‘Be holy, for I am holy’

1 Pet 1:16

In the book of Habakkuk the writer has a moment of truth. He says to God ‘You are of purer eyes than to behold evil,’ Hab. 1. 13. The writer is actually being quite sarcastic with God when he says this. He is complaining that God has used a sinful nation, the Chaldeans, to judge His people. While arguing the case he says to God ‘you wouldn’t even look at evil’ never mind do it so why use these sinful people to judge your own people. 

God does not tempt people to sin!

Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am

 tempted by God’; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone

James 1. 13

One of the common problems we all have is our weakness to resist temptation. It is the same for every one of us. We often explain it away by saying ‘we are only human’ or ‘it’s my weakness’ or similar phrases. The simple fact is that we are flawed by nature and there are things in life that we find very hard to resist. Having said all that when a person gets saved they become a new creation, 2 Cor. 5. 17. We will still feel the struggle which is caused by temptation but we now have new life and the Spirit of God to strengthen us and keep us from falling.

Why did God allow Hurricane Harvey?

By the time you read this, hopefully, Hurricane Harvey will be long gone, but we all know that the after effects of such a tragedy take a lot longer to handle. The physical reconstruction work is daunting enough but rebuilding lives, families, hearts, and minds is another matter completely. Why did God allow such devastation? 

Many people claim to have answers, here are a few to think about.

1. We are being punished for sin.

God brought plagues against Egypt in response to Pharaoh's "hardened heart." The book of Revelation is full of disasters arranged by God to discipline those who reject him. Is Hurricane Harvey an instrument of his anger against our sinfulness?

If so, does this mean that people living on the Gulf Coast are worse sinners than those residing in the Wirral, London or New York City? God can use disasters to bring us to repentance, but is this always the explanation for such calamity?

2. Fairness demands that God ignores the crisis.

If God stopped Hurricane Harvey, wouldn't he have to do the same with every storm? Does this mean that he cannot cure anyone of cancer unless he cures everyone of cancer? He cannot protect one person unless he protects us all! Such logic is flawed. I, personally, know of examples where God has healed in response to prayer, and he has protected people in the past - i.e., in the UK we had a National Day of Prayer on the 26th of May 1940 before successful Dunkirk evacuation in 1940 against all the odds.

3. He does not know or doesn't care, or can't help.

Skeptics might claim that if God knew the devastation that this hurricane would bring, or cared for those in its path, or had the power to prevent their suffering, surely he would have intervened. So because he has not, he cannot? However, His word teaches that he is "the same yesterday and today and forever" (Hebrews 13:8). Moreover, his omniscience, compassion, and omnipotence are on display regularly in our broken world.

So what is my conclusion - I do not have an answer, but I know that God sometimes intervenes in natural disasters and sometimes he does not. I do know that sometimes he heals and sometimes he does not. The scripture states in Isaiah 55:8 ”my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD.” 

I also know that God saves all who call upon his name, Romans 10:13 and that he loves us unconditionally despite the fact that we are all sinners, Romans 5:8. The Bible teaches that one day this broken world will be gone and that Believers will live in "a new heaven and a new earth,” Revelation 21:1.

I choose to trust God, to trust him even when I do not presently have explanations. Will you join me?