Make Full Use of God’s Gift

•October 2, 2013 • 4 Comments

By mattbuck (category) (Own work by mattbuck.) [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons

You are given a gift, a beautiful gift, something you’ve longed for, something you appreciate how precious it is.  Do you use it for the purpose it is intended, or cling to it safely?

My son gave me some beautiful plates for my birthday.  His wise words to me were,

you don’t have to keep them in a special place – use them

and so I will.  (Though they are beautiful and precious and I am afraid to break them)  What is the point of having something if you don’t use it for it’s intended purpose?

2 Timothy 1:1-14

1 From Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus.

God himself chose me to be an apostle, and he gave me the promised life that Jesus Christ makes possible.

2 Timothy, you are like a dear child to me. I pray that God our Father and our Lord Christ Jesus will be kind and merciful to you and will bless you with peace!

Do Not Be Ashamed of the Lord

3 Night and day I mention you in my prayers. I am always grateful for you, as I pray to the God my ancestors and I have served with a clear conscience. 4 I remember how you cried, and I want to see you, because that will make me truly happy. 5 I also remember the genuine faith of your mother Eunice. Your grandmother Lois had the same sort of faith, and I am sure that you have it as well. 6 So I ask you to make full use of the gift that God gave you when I placed my hands on you. Use it well. 7 God’s Spirit doesn’t make cowards out of us. The Spirit gives us power, love, and self-control.

8 Don’t be ashamed to speak for our Lord. And don’t be ashamed of me, just because I am in jail for serving him. Use the power that comes from God and join with me in suffering for telling the good news.

9 God saved us and chose us
    to be his holy people.
We did nothing
    to deserve this,
but God planned it
    because he is so kind.
Even before time began
God planned for Christ Jesus
    to show kindness to us.

10 Now Christ Jesus has come
to show us the kindness
    of God.
Christ our Savior defeated death
and brought us
    the good news.
It shines like a light
and offers life
    that never ends.

11 My work is to be a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher. 12 That’s why I am suffering now. But I am not ashamed! I know the one I have faith in, and I am sure that he can guard until the last day what he has trusted me with. 13 Now follow the example of the correct teaching I gave you, and let the faith and love of Christ Jesus be your model. 14 You have been trusted with a wonderful treasure. Guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit, who lives within you.

We’re in the season of Harvest Festivals.  The opportunity to pause and thank God for all he gives us. But here we are pointed to the other gifts God gives us.  His treasure in our lives.  Paul reminds Timothy of the three-pronged gift of power, love and self-control (v7).  Power, not in himself, but the power of God in him.  He reminds him,

 You have been trusted with a wonderful treasure

Powerful stuff – but not much use, if you don’t use it.

Paul knows what God has asked of him – and is seeking to do it.  He asks the same of Timothy.  Yes his gift is to be guarded, but also to be used fully.

Gifts…

What gifts has God given me?  What has he given to you?  What is he asking us to do with them?  What wonderful treasure has he given to you that can be used to bring the good news?  To shine light into dark places?

By Zouavman Le Zouave (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons

We are called to make full use of God’s gift in our lives.  Not to hide them away.  Not to protect them.  That may be risky, but it’s what those gifts are for.

Lord,
we have nothing
that you haven’t given to us first.
Thank you for all your gifts
to me,
those that I don’t deserve,
those it is your joy to give,
things that make my life so rich,
those gifts that enable;
Lord I receive them all.
Thank you for entrusting them to me.
I pray that I will not hide them away,
not fear to use or damage them,
but make full use of them
for you

Posted in bible, calling, faith, God, Lectionary, life, Religion, theology
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Don’t Be Annoyed

•October 1, 2013 • Leave a Comment

Psalm 37:1-9

(By David.)

Trust the Lord

37 Don’t be annoyed by anyone
who does wrong,
    and don’t envy them.
2 They will soon disappear
    like grass without rain.

3 Trust the Lord and live right!
    The land will be yours,
    and you will be safe.
4 Do what the Lord wants,
    and he will give you
    your heart’s desire.

5 Let the Lord lead you
    and trust him to help.
6 Then it will be as clear
as the noonday sun
    that you were right.

7 Be patient and trust the Lord.
    Don’t let it bother you
when all goes well for those
    who do sinful things.
8 Don’t be angry or furious.
    Anger can lead to sin.
9 All sinners will disappear,
    but if you trust the Lord,
    the land will be yours.

Ooooh!  Don’t be annoyed by anyone… (or as the KJV says, “Fret not yourself” – love that!) That is so a message I need to hear.  Oh, there’s more of that sentence.  Don’t be annoyed by anyone who does wrong.  Still an equally important message.  We are not responsible for their actions – but we are for our own.  Whilst we’re busy looking at what others are doing and sitting in judgement on their mistakes, are we missing our own?  Does it make us feel better to sit in righteous indignation?

I sometimes think that these “fly on the wall” tv series are designed to make us feel better about ourselves.  To be able to look at the lives of others and think, “I would never do that”, to judge those we have no idea of their lives, and consider ourselves better.

The message of this Psalm is don’t worry about those who do wrong, let God deal with them.  That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t campaign against wrong, for example the atrocious fancy dress costumes highlighted last week that after a social media campaign were withdrawn, but that we shouldn’t worry if those who do wrong seem to be getting along and doing well.

We should trust God and do what he asks of us – not dissimilar to God’s reply to Habakkuk…

Posted in bible, faith, God, hope, Lectionary, life, Religion, theology
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Pouring Your Heart Out

•September 30, 2013 • Leave a Comment

Do we think we shouldn’t question God?  Have no right to ask him what he’s doing?  Think we shouldn’t moan to him about our lot, because it “is”?

Habakkuk had no such worries – and because he asked, God answered him, which gave him peace.

Habakkuk 1:1-4

1 I am Habakkuk the prophet. And this is the message that the Lord gave me.

Habakkuk Complains to the Lord

2 Our Lord, how long must I beg
for your help
    before you listen?
How long before you save us
    from all this violence?
3 Why do you make me watch
    such terrible injustice?
Why do you allow violence,
lawlessness,
crime, and cruelty
    to spread everywhere?
4 Laws cannot be enforced;
    justice is always the loser;
criminals crowd out honest people
    and twist the laws around.

Habakkuk 2:1-4

The Lord Answers Habakkuk Again

2 While standing guard
    on the watchtower,
I waited for the Lord’s answer,
before explaining the reason
    for my complaint.
2 Then the Lord told me:
“I will give you my message
    in the form of a vision.
Write it clearly enough
    to be read at a glance.
3 At the time I have decided,
    my words will come true.
You can trust what I say
    about the future.
It may take a long time,
but keep on waiting—
    it will happen!

4 “I, the Lord, refuse to accept
    anyone who is proud.
Only those who live by faith
    are acceptable to me.”

I may have mentioned before how much I love Habakkuk.  Discovering this book kept me sane for a long time when (almost) my whole world was falling apart.

In fact, having gone back and read it again, I’m going to repeat what I said three years ago, because it still very much holds true:

I don’t know about you, but I’ve got a list of questions I want to ask God when I get to meet him.

I think that’s why I love the book of Habakkuk.  Habakkuk is a man not afraid to ask difficult questions of God.

He sees the injustice in the world.  That evil people prosper, and the honest struggle.

He asks God, “How long?”  How long until you answer my questions, how long until you do something?  How long until the law and justice find their place in the world again?

God answers Habakkuk – the time is coming.  The world will be sorted out, but it may seem like a long time to us.  We may yet have times of questioning to come.

Sometimes we think we shouldn’t question God – that he is almighty, and knows what he is doing.  That’s the very reason why we should ask him!  We know that questioning is a good learning tool, so why not ask questions of God, if it is what is really on our heart – because that is what God longs to hear – what is on our heart.

If we don’t get the answer to our prayers that we want to, do we give up?  Are we faithful in prayer, bringing situations to God, and waiting for him to deal with them?  The life of faith may require continuing belief, long after reason and knowledge have been exhausted.  But it is right faith, because God is a faithful God.

Life is full of unanswered questions – for now.  One day it will all make sense to us, because we will see the full picture when God reveals it.

The best thing about Habakkuk for me is he learns to live with the questions.  Habakkuk’s faith, though tested, is not broken.  His faith, his experience of God, is that God will answer.  God is watching – his answer – “Wait – for God’s time”.

His book ends with these words:

Fig trees may no longer bloom,
or vineyards produce grapes;
olive trees may be fruitless,
and harvest time a failure;
sheep pens may be empty,
and cattle stalls vacant–but I will still celebrate
because the LORD God
saves me.
The LORD gives me strength.
He makes my feet as sure
as those of a deer,
and he helps me stand on the mountains.

Even though, even though all these things are still happening, we can trust that God is in ultimate control.  All may not yet be right with the world, but God continues to hold us and gives us the strength we need.  Habakkuk found a way to live with not always having answers, but finding something in that, and still being able to cling on because of his faith in God, when everything else had left him.

We might only be hanging on by our fingertips, but God is hanging on to us.

To quote that old saying,

We may not know what the future holds, but we know who holds the future

God is with us in the mess and the pain.

So let’s pray.  Lets wait on God.  And let’s share with the world what God says.


Don’t be afraid to pour your heart out to God, to ask him questions.  It shows you care.  And God will answer.

Thank you Lord
that you are someone we can always talk to,
always share the truth of our emotions with;
that you don’t recoil
and are not shocked by our audacity.
Thank you that you want to know the truth of our feelings
and can deal with it.

So today,
I bring you my questions,
my anger,
my fear
– knowing that you can take it,
hold it
and hold me.

Thank you
that though the way may not seem obvious,
that we may not be able to see even the light at the end of the tunnel,
even though life throws its worst at us
You are still God,
you love me,
you hold me tight
and help me to stand against the storms.

 

Posted in bible, faith, God, hope, Lectionary, life, Religion, theology
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