Category: All Articles

God is Forward Looking!

by Mike Avery, posted in All Articles, Christian Living, Church

–April 0f 2010

God is Forward Looking!

The Old Testament is a remarkable collection of history, biography, prophecy, poetry and precept all written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to teach us who God is and how God works.  Many of its stories are so captivating that we might have to take a second look to appreciate the remarkable insights they offer about our heavenly Father.  For example, we are given the fascinating narrative of Jonah and the whale, not so that we can be awed by a great fish or a miraculous deliverance, but to tell us in an unforgettable way that God is a God of the “second chance.”  The book of Hosea is not just a scandalous story of a prophet’s wife turned prostitute but a story that gives us an in-depth look into the heart of God – the wounded lover – who longs to forgive his wayward people and restore them to Himself.

The Historical Books are filled with accounts of real life interaction between God and the people of Israel.  Every account offers unique insight into who God is and how He works.  In the opening chapters of I Samuel we learn that God had planned for Israel to be a theocracy led through Judges and Prophets.  Israel, however, wanted a king so they could be like the nations around them.  God let them have their way and their king, but Saul turned out to be such a disobedient disaster that God ultimately had to reject him and his reign. On the heels of this rejection we find Samuel reflecting on the past (I Samuel 16).  He is paralyzed by grief over a failed kingship and perplexed over the future of Israel. God suddenly breaks into this moment of morbidity and thunders these words to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go; I am sending you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided myself a king among his sons.”

This jarring call to move on tells us something important about God.  It tells us that He is forward looking. In other words, God doesn’t sit around feeling bad about the past.  He said to Samuel, “Stop regretting yesterday and get ready for tomorrow.  My plans are still in place. I already have a new man in the wings – a man after my own heart.   We will follow the same plan but have a new man at the top.  He is an unlikely candidate but he is my man – now get moving”

God is forward looking and this means that He is primarily interested in our present and future not our past. This is good news for those who live tied to the failures of yesterday.  Far too many good people are paralyzed by regret thinking that they married the wrong spouse, choose the wrong career, bought the wrong house, made the wrong decision, missed a certain opportunity and the list goes on. They can’t break away from the choking noose of yesterday’s mistakes or perceived mistakes. But that is not how God works. The real issue to Him is not did you marry the wrong person but will you let him take the one you did marry and teach you  how to love them for all the future that you have left to love them.  The issue is not what you have done or what mistakes you have made but rather it is the willingness to let God take you from where you are now and lead you forward into the future He has planned for you. God is an expert in taking a vessel that has been marred and remaking it according to His plans and purposes (Jeremiah 18).

Others live in the past by choice. They consume the years of their life in trying to reconstruct the failed era of what was to them Saul’s reign. In so doing they miss the excitement of where God is going and what God is doing today.  Sadly, they forfeit their future by draping themselves in the death shroud of what is gone and will never return.

God is forward looking and that means He has a strategically planned future.   Men and movements that reflect this characteristic of God are very attractive. People are naturally drawn to leaders or organizations that know where they are going.  Many years ago a young lady from a wealthy English family met a young scholar in London and fell in love.  He was a poor man with no prominent ancestry. She asked her father’s permission to marry him.  Her father protested that she didn’t even know his background or where he was from! To which she responded, “You are right, father.  I don’t think he has much of a background, and I don’t know for sure where he comes from, but he knows where he is going and I want to go with him.”  The young man was the commentator Matthew Henry.

The Apostle Paul lived out this characteristic and challenged all of us to “forget those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus”. Why don’t you lay down the past and embrace your future in Christ. Try the forward look!

When Christians Disagree

by Mike Avery, posted in All Articles, Christian Living

–Winter of 2010

When Christians Disagree

After World War II the United Nations was brought into existence to promote world peace. But since its inception in 1945 there has not been a single day of global peace on the earth.  The goal to have a world where men and women get along has proven to be quite elusive.

The Bible opens with peace in the Garden of Eden and ends with peace in Heaven. But in between that beautiful beginning and blissful ending the scriptural record tells the story of God’s people “biting and devouring” one another. Since its earliest days the Church has been plagued with disunity.  Paul’s letters reveal that almost every local church mentioned in the NT had divisions. The Corinthians, Galatians, Romans and Philippians all had issues that created serious tensions among them.  Both Ephesus and Colossae had to be reminded of the importance of unity.

As the gospel spread its way across the known world, converts from Jewish and Gentile backgrounds filled the church. The Jewish converts came from a religion that had branded their lives with rules and regulations controlling their diet, their days, their dress – their whole way of experiencing and expressing their faith. It was almost impossible for them to break free from traditions that had been so deeply ingrained in them, yet these traditions were in reality nonessential to their new faith.  The Gentile believers were converted from paganism and eagerly accepted a simple gospel with no such encumbrances.  When the Jewish converts brought their traditions and scruples into the church as requirements for all believers, the Gentile converts would have none of it. Disagreement and disunity soon followed.

Paul dealt with this problem in I Cor. 8-10 as well as in Romans 14 and 15.  He divided the opposing sides into groups referring to one as the strong and the other as the weak.  These designations had to do with their level of understanding of the Biblical knowledge of Christian liberty and grace. The strong tended to despise the weak for their over conscientiousness and the weak tended to judge and condemn the strong for their liberty. Paul knew that it would take time to erase the differences so he laid down some very important principles to teach believers how to disagree on nonessentials and still maintain unity in the church.

Today’s church is not dealing with these identical issues but we are always faced with certain “gray areas.” Some things are wrong because the Bible condemns them.  Some things are right because the Bible commands them. But there are numerous “gray areas” that are not right or wrong for every person.  It is generally in these areas that believers become divided.  One has to exercise one’s own conscience in such cases and not every conscience is enlightened by Biblical knowledge. So how do we handle the disagreement that follows?  We need to follow the same principles that Paul gave these early converts.

Keep the welcome mat out!

Paul opens and closes with the strong imperative, “receive one another.” Never cut your brother off!  Never erect barriers between the two of you! Keep reaching out in love and acceptance! You don’t have to see eye to eye on everything to exercise love and acceptance.  Disunity can begin with the subtle decision to just stop saying hello or shaking hands. Don’t go there – keep the welcome mat out!

Be patient—a man’s heart cannot rejoice in what his head rejects.

You must understand that just because something is clear to you doesn’t mean that it is clear to your brother. Nor should you expect your brother to act upon something he cannot understand.  In I Cor. 8:4-7 Paul says that we know that an idol is nothing and eating the meat offered to it is nothing, but not everyone has this knowledge. Paul understood that every man has to be “fully convinced in his own mind” before he can move beyond certain practices that he has viewed as wrong even if in reality they are not.  For that man to act against his present knowledge is to offend his conscience and to commit sin (Rom. 14:23). Paul did not expect the weaker brother to remain weak forever, but he did expect the stronger brother to be patient and let the weaker brother’s mind expand in understanding so that his heart can rejoice in a clear conscience.

Exercise love – it will help you see the big picture.

Love weights the issues in the light of eternity.  It understands that the Kingdom of God is “not meat and drink.”  It is willing to make whatever sacrifices are necessary to help someone else along. Paul devotes I Cor. 9 totally to explaining this principle.  He says, “To the weak I became as weak, that I might win the weak.  I have become all things to all men that I might by all means save some.”  Paul chooses to deny himself many of life’s externals because he knew that it was the eternals that really mattered.  This can only be done as you live life through the power of Calvary love.

Remember it’s not about you.

Authentic Christianity is others oriented.  It motivates one to seek another’s well being as much as one would seek his own. The Christian should not guide his conduct by merely what he is free to do, but by what will edify and build up one another.  “Let no one seek his own, but each one the other’s well being” (I Cor. 9:24).

A final word

Disunity and disagreement do not glorify God; they rob Him of glory.  Abraham’s words to Lot are applicable today: “Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee . . . for we be brethren” (Gen. 13:8).

The Light Has Come!

by Mike Avery, posted in All Articles, Church, Holiday

–December of 2009

The Light Has Come!

“The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness could not extinguish it” (John 1:5)

In a great piece of music, the composer often begins by stating the themes which he is going to elaborate in the course of the work. That is what John does in the opening of his gospel. Light is one of the great words upon which John builds his testimony of Jesus. John describes Jesus as a light that has come into the world to illuminate the life of every man. Another one of John’s key words is darkness. John saw a darkness in the world that was very real and very hostile to the light. This darkness represents evil. Sinful people love the darkness and hate the light, because the light exposes their wickedness. John takes these two themes and shows their natural opposition. He portrays a universal battleground where the forces of dark and light are arrayed in eternal conflict.

This conflict is played out in the pages of sacred history. The Old Testament lets us witness everything from individual struggles with evil to heavenly warfare for the soul of a nation. In the New Testament this conflict emerges with intensity around the cradle of the incarnate Christ as the forces of darkness unleash Herod’s sword in a futile attempt to eliminate the light. The ultimate battle, however, was staged on the Cross of Christ. The rulers of this age and the powers of darkness thought if they could only nail Christ to the cross that darkness would win once and for all. In fact, it proved to be just the reverse. Out of the darkness of His death came the blinding light of His resurrection victory. The light of this good news exploded out of the confines of Palestine and across the known world like a quickly spreading flame until, in a few decades, the gospel had impacted every major population center of the Roman world.

The powers of darkness responded with persecution and torture. But wild beasts and boiling oil couldn’t put out the light and the blood of the martyrs only fueled the flame. When persecution from without did not succeed, the forces of darkness turned inward and awful darkness settled down over the church. But out of the heart of that darkness, reformation fires began to burn and the light prevailed. Every counter move by the forces of darkness to extinguish the light only brought revival fires that would break out and save lives, transform nations, and change the course of history.

Even in this present moment the darkness of the day is no match for the One who is “God of God, Light of Light.” As you gather with friends this Christmas season, light a candle and lift your voice in praise, for light has come into the world and the darkness has not and will not overcome it!

“Back to the Bible”

by Mike Avery, posted in All Articles, Church, Theology

–November of 2009

“Back to the Bible”

In the June 21, 1900 issue of The Revivalist Martin Wells Knapp laid out his case for starting a new Training School for Christian workers. The heart and soul of his argument was the need for a school devoted solely to the study of God’s Word.  Knapp decried the “deplorable ignorance” of most Christians (including ministers) of the Bible.  Knapp went on to say that in this new school the Word of God, “will be honored as the great Mississippi River of research and spiritual culture, into which all others (academic studies) are but tributary streams . . .”  The school’s motto, Back to the Bible, was prominently displayed on every brochure and building alike.  It became the central focus of education on the Hilltop.

Knapp was not the first one to make this appeal.  Erasmus, the great Renaissance scholar and reformer, lifted the cry “ad fontes – back to the sources.”  Erasmus wanted the pure Word of God unencumbered by the abuses of a wayward Church.  Other reformers, like Martin Luther, sought to untangle the Church from unscriptural traditions so that it might once again rest on “sola scriptura – scripture alone”.  These are but two examples of the many who have called the Church back to the Bible in areas of faith and practice.

The Church has always had a tendency to collect extra baggage along the way like a boat collects barnacles on its underbelly. This is not the result of evil intent but the result of good people zealously trying to live out their walk with God and guard the faith for future generations.  It happens when, out of a proper concern for truth and sound doctrine, good people become unable to distinguish between matters of primary importance from matters of secondary importance. Nevertheless, the end result can be a church that has replaced the authority of God’s Word with the deadening weight of traditionalism or worse just trivia.

On the other hand, there is another ditch the church has fallen into that is quite the opposite of the one described above. It is the work of misguided zealots who seek to cleanse the church of all forms of tradition, regulation and application of scripture. Their dislike for “the traditions of men” and appeals to “grace alone” can actually create an environment of disdain for scriptural authority and end up yielding chaos, ambiguity and a state of “every man doing what is right in his own eyes.”

Neither extreme promotes spiritual health or progress.  The answer for both lies in Knapp’s motto, “Back to the Bible.”  In my next article I will explain what that entails.

Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen!

by Mike Avery, posted in All Articles, Christian Living

–October of 2009

Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen!

I Peter 1:6-7

The day of trouble eventually ends up on everybody’s calendar.  It doesn’t discriminate on whom it visits or how it comes.  It may be a phone call, a letter in the mail, a pink slip or a diagnosis.  It may involve your work, your family or your money.  But it will surely involve your mind and your spirit with nagging questions like, “Why me, why this and why now?”  The very fact that troubles come upon good people has puzzled saints from Job to John the Baptist.  There are no easy, all-encompassing answers, but there are insights into why God’s people face trials.  The Apostle Peter offers some amazing insight into trials in the opening verses of his first epistle.

Trials meet needs in our lives

Peter reminds us that life today is a school in which God is training us for usefulness in eternity.  Trials discipline us, prepare us for spiritual growth, build faith and teach us important lessons about the ways of God.  The phrase “if need be” indicates that God knows there are times when we need to go through certain trials to experience spiritual growth that would not come otherwise.

Trials are tailor made

Peter speaks of “manifold” trials.  The word manifold means variegated or various.  God matches the trial with our immediate need and present strength.  Just as He knows what we are able to bear, He also knows exactly what irritant we need in order to experience genuine growth and transformation.  At times He uses a hammer – a swift blow or series of blows that bring a quick and needed submission. At other times He uses a file – a more lengthy process of scraping and eating away at the rough edges of our life until He has shaped us into His will.  And when necessary, He will use the furnace.  The furnace attacks with ruthless fury until every ounce of impurity is consumed and nothing is left but pure gold.

Trials are not meant to be easy

Peter said that trials produce “heaviness.”  It’s a word that means to experience grief or pain.  It is the same word that was used to describe the sorrow that Jesus experienced in Gethsemane.  It is also the same word used to describe what one feels at the loss of a loved one.  No one should ever minimize the sorrow that trials can bring or speak of it in a cavalier manner.  The grief and sorrow are actually a part of the process.  A trip into the valley of sorrow has a way of cleansing the soul and reorienting life

Trials are timed and tempered by God

Peter tells us that trials last only “for a season.” Warren Wiersbe said, “When we walk through the furnace of trouble, God keeps his eye on the clock and his hand on the thermostat.”  Troubles last just long enough to remove the dross and purify the gold.

Saints and scholars still cannot adequately explain the nagging problem of trials to anyone’s satisfaction. And in all probability some of what I have said will not help the one undergoing present trials. But the testimony is unanimous from those who reflect on their years of walking with God that everything that truly enhanced and enlightened their spiritual existence came through pain and affliction and not through pleasure or times of happiness.  Though we can’t explain them, we would be immeasurably poorer without them.