Matthew 26:39

Matthew 26:39

He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, "O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will." (NKJV)

It struck me, the other day, that the ultimate sin–the foundational mindset that causes us to sin–is a matter of control. We sin because we want to control . . . to control our circumstances, to control those around us, to control our future. We win because we want some thing rather than being willing to let God and trust God to give us what He wants.

The Bible talks about us having control, but that control isn’t over what happens to us, but rather is over our reactions to what happens to us. It’s called self-control. Self-control is defined as “restraint exercised over one’s own impulses, emotions, or desires.” We are not only called, but commanded, to exercise self-control. Why? Because if we don’t, if we allow our impulses, emotions, or desires to have full reign, then we are refusing to trust God to provide for us. We want what we want when we want it! And that’s not how it works as a Christian.

Change is very difficult for most of us. We don’t like having others decide where we will live, what we will do, where we will go. We want to have our say, to have our voices heard in what will happen to us. But I’m beginning to wonder if that isn’t simply a form of rebellion. Don’t we believe that God will work out everything for our good (Romans 8:28)? And if we do believe that, then what does it matter what people do with us or to us? I know that I spend a lot of time and energy worrying about the decisions that other people make that affect me and yet, in truth, those decisions are unimportant. If I trust God, then I know that He is working out things for my good. I don’t need to worry about what’s happening around me. “In God I have put my trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?” (Psalm 56:11 NKJV). The fact is that nothing can happen to me that God doesn’t see or that He hasn’t already made a provision for. I don’t need to be afraid when times look dark. What can anyone do to me? I have put my trust in God! He controls my future!

Jeremiah 29:11 Liv: “For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord. "They are plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

© 2010 Robin L. O’Hare. All rights reserved. Permission granted for nonprofit and church groups to use this article in its entirety (including this notice). For other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.

Hebrews 6:17-19

Hebrews 6:17-19

“Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath, that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil” (NKJV).

Yesterday, the L.A. Marathon was run. It’s a grueling 26 miles. In interviewing one of the runners, they asked if he had noticed that the course had changed to include some beautiful views. He said, no, that he just kept looking ahead to eventually see the end of the course. He knew that the run wouldn’t last forever, that if he kept running, he would eventually see the finish line.

There are many Christians in the world who are suffering greatly right now. And through that suffering, we need to learn that avoiding the suffering shouldn’t be the goal, but rather running through the suffering to the finish line, to the hope that we have in the Lord Jesus, the salvation of our souls. We have a hope that is secure, the hope of everlasting life, if we persevere to the end. And that hope is an anchor for our souls if we allow it to be.

Jean-Mark Vaval is the eight-year-old son of a Haitain pastor. This pastor is also the Haitian director of Global Orphan. For the past weeks, this father has been working to feed and locate hundreds of children separated from their parents because of the earthquake in Port a Prince. He was doing this, not knowing where his son was. Last night, on 60 Minutes, I watched this father tell his congregation that while he didn’t know where his son was, God knew where he was. And the father was smiling, not crying. (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/03/19/60minutes/main6315112.shtml?tag=cbsnewsSectionContent.2)

Can you imagine? This man understands the hope that we have as Christians. He understands that we often can’t control the circumstances around us and must simply trust God to control what we can’t. This pastor’s hope is an anchor to his soul.

Right now many of us are going through circumstances that are bleak. As far as we can see into the future, there is no hope for things to get better. And yet, as Christians, we need to continue to trust God to make things work together for our good (Romans 8:28), to cling to the belief that we have a hope simply because He has promised us that. Jeremiah 29:11 (NKJV) says:

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

In the midst of the turmoil, God has promised us peace between us and Him. God has promised us a future and a hope. We may not hold what the future holds, but we know Who holds the future.

“I Know Who Holds Tomorrow” by Ira Stanphill

I don’t know about tomorrow. It may bring me poverty,
But the One Who feeds the sparrow is the One Who stands by me.
And the path that is my portion may be through the flame or flood
But His presence goes before me and I’m covered with His blood.

Many things about tomorrow, I don’t seem to understand
But I know who holds tomorrow, and I know who holds my hand.

This life is a hiccup in eternity. We can endure anything, can do all things through Christ who strengthens us (Phil. 4:13). We may not have a bright immediate future, but we have a bright eternal future, and in the long run, that’s all that matters.

© 2010 Robin L. O’Hare. All rights reserved. Permission granted for nonprofit and church groups to use this article in its entirety (including this notice). For other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.

Hebrews 6:10, 19

Hebrews 6:10, 19

“For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister. . . . This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil” (NKJV).

Life is crazy right now for teachers (of which I’m one). For many, there are no jobs next year. Tenure and unionization is out the windows. Even good teaching is out the window. People are being chosen to stay based on their place on a list, nothing more. And for the rest of us . . . we have to wonder how long the hammer will be stayed before it falls for us. Will next year bring joblessness and fear? It’s so very sad that professionals who have spent many years becoming skilled at what they do are thrown away like so much trash without a thought on how it will affect the children we are called to teach.

It’s craziness.

In the midst of the craziness, there is only one sanity–that God will remain faithful when those around us are faithless. And that the focus of our lives needn’t be what we earn or how successful our careers appear to be. The focus of our lives needs to be our work and our labor of love in His name as we minister to the saints and those around us. In the midst of this craziness, it’s up to us, as believers, to stand firm in God’s promise that He has already provided for us. “All things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28 NKJV). What’s marvelous about this promise is the ALL things. It’s not just what we do good or what others do good. It’s everything, even the craziness, that He is working together for our good. Our part of that promise is to love Him which includes trusting Him, even in the darkness.

I sat yesterday with a dear friend, crying with her and holding her hand, as she sought to find some sanity among the craziness. It’s difficult not to panic when everything that looks good begins to fade. As Christians, we need to continually believe that what we see may not be what we think it is, that the “good” in this world is nothing compared to the love of our Savior and His plans for us. “‘For I know the plans I have for you,; says the Lord. ‘They are plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope’” (Jeremiah 29:11 Liv). His plans are always for good, for a future and a hope! We need to trust Him through this, even through the painful, difficult times. God’s plans are going to take us to the best solution of all because of His love for us. And what better time to demonstrate His love to the world than amidst the craziness of these times?

© 2010 Robin L. O’Hare. All rights reserved. Permission granted for nonprofit and church groups to use this article in its entirety (including this notice). For other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.

Hebrews 6:13-15

For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, saying, "Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you." And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. (NKJV)

God isn’t McDonald’s.

Have you ever thought about how impatient we are as a society? We want what we want when we want it, thinking that if we don’t get it now, then what’s the point? Everything is a fast food mentality.

There is a great deal of difference between going to McDonald’s and cooking a hamburger at home. The focus of eating at a fast food place is . . . well, the idea of fast. You can stand at the order counter, place your order, and get your food quicker at McDonald’s then you can probably take out the hamburger, add spices, and fashion the patty at home. But the hamburger likely isn’t the same. I know that the hamburgers that my husband and I cook at home are far better (and healthier) than what we order at McDonald’s. When we eat at fast food, the only things that we get as benefits are time and convenience. When we cook at home, we get many benefits including healthier food. The point being that eating at McDonald’s may have immediate benefits, but not long term ones.

God isn’t about immediate benefits. He sees the long term and plans for us for eternity, not just for the moment. There are numerous stories in scripture where He made a promise and then waited . . . and waited . . . and waited . . . to bring the promise to fruition. Why? Because it was better. Here in Hebrews the author writes: “After he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.” That seems to be a premise that we need to embrace. The promises come after we patiently endure.

Now, there are two important concepts in those words: “patiently” and “endured.” First, when we are patient, we bear trials and sorrows without complaining; we are steadfast despite opposition or adversity. In other words, we stand the course, trusting God through it all. There is a great deal about patience in scripture. James writes:

“My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing” (James 1:2-4 NKJV).

Patience makes us complete as believers. And it is when we are complete that we are ready to receive God’s promises. The second word “endure” is about being steadfast in the faith. It’s easy to trust God for a moment. It’s difficult to trust Him over time when circumstances fail against His faithfulness. But as believers we are called over and over to endure. Why? Because that’s what makes faith. Faith isn’t something we say; it’s something we live. If we have faith then through the darkest hour we will still believe that He is working everything for our good. And it is after we have patiently endured that His promise will finally come in our lives.

© 2010 Robin L. O’Hare. All rights reserved. Permission granted for nonprofit and church groups to use this article in its entirety (including this notice). For other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.

Hebrews 6:10-12

“For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister. And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises” (NKJV).

I think that one of the most difficult words in the Bible is wait. And there are other words that are related to wait, like faith and patience. When I was growing up, one of the sayings that was bantered around was “Lord, give me patience while I stand on one foot.” For me, that wouldn’t be very long because I have absolutely no balance. But patience is a far weightier thing than we think. The English definition of patient is “bearing pains or trials calmly or without complaint” and “steadfast despite opposition, difficulty, or adversity.” So when the translators looked at the Greek words and used the word patience, these are the concepts they were thinking about.

Do you ever think that perhaps God has forgotten you? There are times in all of ours lives when it seems that the heavens go dark and God doesn’t speak to us. We continue on, but it seems as if it might be for naught because the trials that beset us continue and we can see no hope of respite on the horizon. The fact is, there is always hope because there is always a horizon, even if we can’t see it.

Have you ever flown in a plane, going east, taking off in the night time? I have done that a couple of times. It’s wonderful because as you fly east and continue to look at the horizon, you can finally see the dawn. It was there all the time, just over the hill, just over the mountain. Ira Stamphill wrote the hymn, “I’ve Got a Mansion.” The chorus is:

I've got a mansion just over the hilltop
In that bright land where we'll never grow old
And some day yonder we will never more wander
But walk on streets that are purest gold

Just over the hilltop. I know that I forget that nothing lasts forever. Not this life and not the trials I’m facing. The fact is, I don’t know when the dawn will come, but it will come, and with it joy for the end of the trials. “For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning” (Psalm 30:5). There is a morning, but we need to have that full assurance of hope. In other words, we need to keep trusting the Lord. Nothing that we are experiencing is a surprise to Him. He knows about each situation we will encounter and He has already provided for us if we will trust Him and ask Him what it is we should do. Through prayer and obedience to His Word, we can imitate those holy saints who have gone before us and who, with patience and faith, waited upon the Lord to provide all that they needed. If He did that for them, He will do the same for us!

© 2010 Robin L. O’Hare. All rights reserved. Permission granted for nonprofit and church groups to use this article in its entirety (including this notice). For other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.