The Power is Yours! (Forgetting What's Behind)

Don't ask, "Why were the old days better than today?" It's not good to ask such things.... (see Ecclesiastes 7:10-18 and chapter 12).... As Acts 17:24-28 tells us, God set men and women in history at exactly when and where He wanted them to be for His purposes.... (which doesn't mean that God won't move you at some point too though ;-))- But part of finding our identity in Jesus as His follower means being happy with who God made us to be- boy or girl, Asian, Hispanic, Native American, Pacific Islander, African descent, Indian descent, Caucasian, mixed, etc., Spanish, Trinidadian, American, German, Swiss, South African, Ukrainian, Canadian, Argentinan, Brazilian, Peruvian, Eritrean, Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese, Australian, Indian, Senegalese, Antarctican, etc.- whatever the social class- whatever other label we put on each other....... God made us above all those things in His image (Genesis 1:26-31). And when we're in Christ, none of those things matter anyway! (Galatians 2:20, Colossians 3:1-4, John 13:34-35, Galatians 3:25-29) And as Colossians 3:11 says, "Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all."
    We are all infinitely important and infinitely loved by God. (Jeremiah 31:3) And we are all valuable in His kingdom, where the elder learns to serve the younger and the younger cares for the elder- where each thinks of others as better than themselves and each seeks to love each other truly and forgive from the heart...
     No, these aren't the "good ol' days"- but as I like to say, the only good ol' days this planet has ever seen were Genesis 1-2. We won't have any more truly good ol' days until Revelation 21-22 come to pass. But Jesus makes the in-between time more abundant when we follow Him, as John 10:10 says. :-) And during our faith journey with Him, He shapes us to be more and more like Him in character and empowers us with spiritual gifts to bring a touch of The Divine to a fallen world so badly needing of redemption. To be sure, the final Redemption culminates with the coming of The Lord- but until then, we're like the Planeteers with our power rings, sent forth to bring God's restoration to the world through our love and good deeds and sharing of the Greatest Love of all shown to us on the cross and in the empty tomb (Romans 5:8). And way better than Captain Planet, and the Avengers who "have a Hulk"- we have Someone Real Who can do something about our situation (Hebrews 11:1-6)- we have a Savior- Jesus Christ- Whom we eagerly await to come back from Heaven! We have The One Who alone bears the title of King of Kings and Lord of Lords! We have The One God Who holds all things together and by Him all things exist!

And as Jesus said in Acts 1:8 (in essence)- The Power is yours! :-) (So use His gifts and be His witness in all the world.)

Trading Dreams

(Note: This blog entry is in response to the following article.
https://www.boundless.org/blog/giving-god-control-of-my-failure/?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=bt_blog_Mar12&fbclid=IwAR1a0eDtNfntrA98dIilG1p8IwH57viGO5V3Qqyj406x20iuufnnUupUip8
I am largely talking about keeping Jesus our number one passion above all else here but it is particularly addressing disappointment some feel with unwanted singleness.)


   I read the article- good stuff overall. I particularly liked how he talked about giving all our timelines, plans, dreams and desires over to God.
    Proverbs 16:3 is a great promise from The Lord- but don't forget some other verses in the same chapter- 16:9 and 16:33. In the end, even when we throw the dice in the game of Life, God still determines where they land. (Read Romans 9 for an excellent expose on God's sovereignty.)
     I did note that the dude's now happily married and I'm glad for him and his wife. I will admit that I get what he's saying because I've had times when I get sick of congratulating people on their engagements and marriages and children, etc. And then I get sick of me getting sick of that! Why am I going to sit around and whine about what I don't have instead of being thankful for what I do have?
     Marriage is not the perfect life-fixer we've idolized it to be. I'm not saying it's a bad thing- a wife is a blessing from The Lord. But marriage often makes life much harder, not easier. I do think it's worth the hardships but the grass always looks greener on the other side. (As Erma Bombeck used to say, I do believe- if I got the quote right)- that's because it's growing over a septic tank.
    I think too many Americans have bought into the American dream and have hopes set on marriage, kids and successful job in a nice cozy house- none of which is necessarily bad but none of which is necessarily God's plan for our lives.
     As with anything, the question we need to keep in mind with marriage, is asking how best we can bring God glory. How would my marriage to this particular girl best glorify God? I think as a couple, I would need to make sure both she and I can see God's vision for us as a couple.
     And we also have to be ready to trust The Lord and lay down our Isaac on the altar if that's what He calls us to do.
   "Sometimes, to do what's right, we have to be steady and give up the things we want the most- even our dreams."- Aunt May in "Spider-Man 2"
     And even if we feel like we're doing just that, we can trust that God still has the best in mind for us and will provide for all our needs. (Philippians 4:19) And whether He grants what we might desire or not- whether He sends His sun or rain upon us (just as He does for all the righteous and the wicked alike)- He is still always good and has already given us infinitely more than we deserve in Christ!
     I want to want Christ and want nothing else. (Psalms 23:1) Not that I have obtained all this or am already perfect, but I press on toward the goal for the prize for which God has called me Heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:14)
   I praise God for all the gifts He has blessed me with because the fact that I'm even here on earth to complain about what I don't have in life right now is more than I deserve- 'cause what I deserve is Hell. Anything above burning in Hell is a privilege.
   I know everyone's at different places with all this and I'm just writing for me and where I stand on this. Yes, I'd like to get married if God brings the right woman to my life but it's okay if I don't. Either way, I seek to live for God's glory above all and His desires above mine. He must increase and I must decrease. (John 3:30)
"Whom have I in Heaven but You, Jesus? And what better could I hope to find down here on earth? I could search the most distant reaches of this world but I'd just be wasting my time- I'm certain already I'm sure I'd find- You're my one thing! And the pure in heart shall see God." ("My One Thing" by Rich Mullins- which he based on Psalms 73 and these awesome quotes- "Purity of heart is to will one thing."- Soren Kierkegaard
"Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God."- Jesus)
    Again- please don't hear me wrong. I'm not saying anyone desiring marriage and still feeling unfulfilled and wondering why God hasn't granted that yet is necessarily just wallowing in despair and self-pity and not making Jesus their highest joy (just like Psalms 137- may my tongue stick to my mouth like peanut butter if I don't make New Jerusalem and its Lord my highest joy).
I know that I'm not always desiring God like I should because none of us really do. But He keeps drawing us to Him more and more and I desire to be more and more like Him and desire Him all the more!
(Philippians 2:1-18, Romans 8)
   Of course, it's good to know that God loves us as we are and not as we should be- because none of us are as we should be. (Shout out to Brennn Manning for that.)
Walking with Jesus is not always the most comfortable for sure, but it's always the best and "I am beginning to think there are better things than being comfortable." (Diamond in "At the Back of the North Wind" by George MacDonald)

I'm reminded of Thomas Merton's prayer, which I think is a great one to consider in pondering God's will specifically in marriage but also in life in general. The most important thing is to seek Him above all. No one who has given up mother, father, brothers, sisters, husband or wife and children for His kingdom will lose their reward. (See Matthew 19:29 and Mark 10:29 and Luke 18:29)

Author: Thomas Merton
"My Lord God,
I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
nor do I really know myself,
and the fact that I think I am following your will
does not mean that I am actually doing so.
But I believe that the desire to please you
does in fact please you.
And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.
And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road,
though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore will I trust you always though
I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.
I will not fear, for you are ever with me,
and you will never leave me to face my perils alone. "

And for one more quote-
"Dreams come true can kill a man if never graced by sovereign hands."- "Monkey's Paw" by Smalltown Poets

I choose to leave it in God's hands.