WAIT!

      I have said recently that the most difficult answer to prayer is WAIT.  I hate waiting.  I see what I want and my first inclination is to devise plans and schemes to achieve the end result; that’s my nature.  There are strengths to my personality type, projects move ahead, plans get accomplished, and goals get checked off.  The down side is that is it is easy to move faster than God wants you to move, or move ahead without him. 

      On the other side I don’t believe that God wants us to sit idle when His word is clear as to what he wants us to do. We know that he wants us to live righteously, take care of the poor, and reach the lost.  There isn’t a need to stand around thinking, “I wonder what God wants me to do?”  Rather the question is, “How should we do these things?”  “How do we spend our resources accomplishing God’s will?”  There are so many ministries and people vying for the same resources that we have to be clear as to how God wants us to accomplish his call on the church. 

 

Our church is asking God to give us clear direction on a ministry opportunity to reach the lost in Mercer County.  It cost money and manpower, and being a small church our resources are limited.  And though I don’t buy into “fleece” theology, we are asking God to give us the resources before we start the project.  This has raised a number of questions.  Do we have faith and start, believing that God will bring in the resources as we move ahead, or have faith that God will supply the resources so that we can move ahead.  Both require faith, neither is more spiritual than the other.  We have chosen the latter. 

      This is where the difficult waiting begins.  Whenever you cast a vision for something exciting the initial enthusiasm is strong, people come on board, and resources are gathered.  There comes a point, however, where your hit a wall, where the resources you have garnered isn’t quiet what you need, and the waiting begins.  The temptation is to take the resources and move ahead with the project and justify why that would be advantageous.   I mean, there is enthusiasm when you start moving ahead, and maybe others would see and contribute more.  But doing so, when you have already laid conditions on your request to God, smacks of not having faith in what you have asked God for in the first place.

      The reason the temptation is strong is the fear that those who have come on board, in the initial push, will lose their excitement and pull out, give up, look somewhere else where something is happening.  The following verses are helping me to stay the course, 

Psa. 27:14 Wait for the LORD;

            Be strong and let your heart take courage;

            Yes, wait for the LORD.

Psa. 37:7   Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him;

            Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way.

      I am committed to our initial proposition, because I believe that God will provide ahead of time what he desires us to achieve.  My prayer is that He ignites the hearts of those who might have reservations, that we gain a greater vision then ourselves, and grant us grace as we reach people in Mercer County with the gospel of Jesus Christ.  I’m just saying…

What The? There Goes The Nation!

     “The decision (to revoke citizenship), they said, ‘is intended to punish them for expressing peaceful dissent and thereby intimidate others from exercising their right to freedom of expression.’” 

The above quote is from Aljazeera in regard to a small country in the Middle East.  I read it this morning as I was reflecting on the results of yesterday’s elections.  As disappointing as the results are for conservatives like me, I am reminded again of the honor it is to belong to a free democratic country.  We are free to express our discontent, and it has been expressed widely this morning.  We are free to vote in or out our representatives if we don’t like how they govern.  We are free to petition and protest without fear of having our citizenship revoked.  Some believe that these rights are in danger as a result of a liberal president and an agenda that tastes like socialism.  We will find out in the next four years.

     As citizens of the United States, we have the privilege, honor, and obligation to participate in our government.  We can run for government, like my friend Paul Tittl (he won), in order to make a difference. We can speak up on issues we believe are important.  We can attempt to persuade, through a civil discourse of ideas, others to our point of view.  

     As citizens of the Kingdom of God we are to honor those in authority, pray for our leaders, and give respect to those who govern over us (1 Pet. 2:13-14, 1 Tim. 2:1-2, Romans 13).  Peter and Paul wrote under one of the most corrupt, immoral, and violent governments in history.  Yet, unlike Paul and Peter we belong to a participatory government and can work to change what we don’t like.

     As citizens of the Kingdom of God the way in which we approach civil discourse will be different than our opponents.  Where we will show grace, they will show hate (reading responses to Govern Huckabee’s blog I found it interesting that those who disagreed with him were often angry and vile).  Where we will offer truth, they will deny its existence.  Where we will offer forgiveness, they will harbor resentment.  Where we will stand for righteousness, they will fight for personal pleasure and sin. 

     As citizens of the Kingdom of God we are participants with the Holy Spirit as a restraining factor in a nation who is moving away from God.  Listening to a sermon by John MacArthur this morning, I am reminded again that God’s patience with a sinning nation is limited, and He will give it over to its lusts until their abandonment is complete.  

     As citizens of the Kingdom of God we have a choice.  We can do nothing and guarantee that darkness will prevail, or we can pursue righteousness through the declaration of the gospel until all who will believe become a part of God’s Kingdom.  I’m just saying…