If But For God...

"Whom have I in heaven but you?  And there is nothing on earth that I desire other than you.  My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."  - Psalm 73:25-26

Why is it that we modern Christians live life as if God doesn’t really exist?  We pay lip service to him in worship, and I know that we all hope that he is there when we are in need, or when the end of life draws near.  But when it comes to living our lives as if we truly trust that God is present, we are more often likely willing to trust in ourselves than we are to put faith in him.  After all, God helps those who help themselves, seems to have become the slogan of modern American Christianity even though it appears nowhere in the Bible.  In fact, a search of the Holy Word reveals that one of Jesus’ primary messages was to place our trust in God for everything that we need and he will provide.

As I have been studying and preaching about the prophets of ancient Israel over the past few months, I realize that their message was one that resonates even stronger today.  In those days, God accused them of placing faith and worship second to the pursuit of power and wealth; of substituting their notions of justice, righteousness, and benevolence for the clear Word of God; of substituting their own forms of worship and social organization for God’s clear instructions; and ignoring the history of their covenant relationship with God which had gotten them through trials, hardships, wars, and natural disasters.  Of course we know that the result of all this was the loss of the kingdoms, exile, and a temporary abandonment by God until the nation of Israel once again remembered who they were and whose they were.

And yet here we are again today.  We act as if we have gotten here by our own merits and efforts.  We ignore God’s instructions to take care of the poor, the sick, the crippled, the alien, and the prisoner because it is no longer convenient or economical to do so.  We have pushed worship into a one hour box on Sunday morning because that is all the time we can spring from our busy schedules to devote to God.  We don’t share our faith outside of the church because that is not how proper people act. We have more faith in our own efforts, science, politics, social organizations, and even lotteries to solve our problems than we have faith in God.  And then we wonder why it is that people don’t want to join the Church.

Have you ever wondered why it is that the church is growing and doing more in those parts of the world that we consider backward and underdeveloped?  Isn’t it amazing that some of the fastest growing and most dynamic churches in the United States are in the areas hardest hit by the current economic downturn?  Maybe it’s because it is only when we have exhausted all the other options that we finally turn to God and place our faith and trust in him.  It took Israel thousands of years to absorb that message; I guess we still have a ways to go.

What would you do in church if you really believed that God was on your side?  The world is watching.  - Reverend Emmanuel Cleaver, Jr (June 7, 2010)

Yours in Christ, Pastor Dave

Voices From the Annual Conference

This year’s Annual Conference was much more spiritual than many I have attended over the years. There were no controversial issues, no voting that needed to occur outside of the standard order of business, and a commitment on the part of those who set the agenda to return to our Wesleyan roots. On the whole, I found myself inspired, renewed, and strengthened as both a pastor and as a United Methodist – which (when you think about it) should be the point of such a gathering. I thought I would share with you some of the statements and words that particularly touched me.

• When it suits his purpose, God will not remain invisible, indifferent, or inactive. If a cause is just or a ministry is benevolent, it will triumph in spite of our best efforts to sabotage it.
• The devil uses discouragement as a tool against us. We sit around and worry about the bad things that can happen; which either never will, or will happen without our help.
• When a church is on fire, the inquisitive will be drawn to the light.
• No dump truck is going to unload fantasy Christians at your doorstep that look like you, sing like you, and want to serve on the Trustees.
• Methodism was founded on a theology of grace and a methodology of practice. Today’s problem is that we have great theology, but our methodology is broken.
• Sometimes we participate in church stuff, but leave God on the front porch.
• In a post-Christian, post-modern world, evangelism is by compassion and service. What we do carries more weight than what we say.
• As Christians we need to be like sharks. We either keep moving or die.
• Jesus asked us to be fruitful – fruit is new life, fruit is growth, fruit is future.
• While the rest of the world lives in an instant coffee society, we as Christians need to percolate in the aroma of Christ.

Yours in Christ, Pastor Dave