This week we conclude our talks about relationship. We have covered that God is our friend and He is our Father. The final thing we need to remember is that God is… well, God! This week we talk about Jesus as Lord.
So what does the word ‘Lord’ mean? According to dictionary.com, it means “one who has authority, control, or power over others; a master, chief, or ruler”. Straightforward enough, isn’t it? So the question really becomes, what is Jesus Lord of?
Let’s think it through. A lord is one who has control or power or something, right? Let’s look at a few examples. Jesus and His buddies got caught in a major storm one day while they were out boating. It says in Matthew 8:26, “But Jesus replied, "Why are you so afraid? You surely don't have much faith." Then he got up and ordered the wind and the waves to calm down. And everything was calm.” So, Jesus is Lord of the water. In Mark 5:12-13 it says, “’Send us into those pigs,’ the spirits begged. ‘Let us enter them.’ So Jesus gave them permission. The evil spirits came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the entire herd of 2,000 pigs plunged down the steep hillside into the lake and drowned in the water.” Jesus commanded the demons to leave the man… thus, He is Lord over demons. In Daniel chapter three, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego (crazy names, right?) refused to bow down to a statue of their king. The king got so mad, he prepared a furnace and had the three men thrown in. It was so hot, the soldiers who got close enough to get them in there were scorched to death! And yet, they came out untouched. It says in Daniel 3:27, “Then the high officers, officials, governors, and advisers crowded around them and saw that the fire had not touched them. Not a hair on their heads was singed, and their clothing was not scorched. They didn’t even smell of smoke!” So, God is Lord over fire, too. Jesus submitted Himself to be killed so that we could be reunited with God. BUT, He didn’t stay dead! Mark 16:6 “but the angel said, “Don’t be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Look, this is where they laid his body.” He is Lord over death. How about the very first verse of the Bible? In Genesis 1:1 it says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” I think you are getting the picture… God is Lord over EVERYTHING. That’s why Jesus is Lord, not lord.
Now here is where we need to get specific. A lord (or, as it may be, Lord) is different from a dictator. Just because someone has the power and authority doesn’t necessarily mean it is exercised. A lord can be a dictator, but they are not necessarily the same. Case in point: let’s scale things down from cosmic to apartment sized. Say you are renting an apartment and have a landlord. Naturally you wouldn’t want that landlord in your business all the time! He probably has a key to your pad, but do you want him to waltz on in any time he pleases? What if he jacked your rent up to exorbitant rates? Screened your friends from the apartment complex? Turned off your power? I doubt you would stay in THAT apartment very long! God is NOT that kind of Lord. God allows us to exercise free will. He will never force us to do anything (that doesn’t mean there aren’t rules, people!), and He doesn’t want to use his power to harm you in any way.
Let’s take it the other way. Suppose you got so sick of that jerk of a landlord that you moved and got a new apartment. You talk to the new landlady and she seems pretty cool. She promises to stay out of your way, you can pay the rent when it’s convenient for you, there are no real rules apart from the basics in the contract, and she hopes you enjoy living there. Pretty nice, you think. Loads better than the last guy! Then let’s say your sink breaks. By your contract you don’t have the authority to fix it, so you call the landlady. No answer. You leave messages, but no dice… she ain’t calling you back. Since you have no payment schedule, you get behind on your rent… and your power gets shut off. There’s a leak in the bathroom, but you can’t get that fixed either. You suddenly find that you have cockroaches. A rowdy bunch moves in on one side of you and party till four in the morning, and on the other side you suspect there is a crack deal going down. Your landlady is so uninvolved that the things that you need help with aren’t getting taken care of! Result? Not a fun place to be living. Although God gives us free will, He doesn’t abandon us to make the best of our situations. We did a thing on prayer a while back… He does answer, remember? He’s there with advice and comfort and support when we need it, and He helps to solve the problems in our lives. He imposes rules on us, yes, but they are to keep us and those around us safe.
Remember when I said earlier that God was Lord of EVERYTHING? Well, there is one sorta-kinda exception… our lives. He has withheld His unlimited power and authority over us to a degree that we choose to make Him Lord of our lives, or to deny Him. If He wanted to, He could easily make us His slaves, His minions, etc. He could even make us happy, loving, prosperous, and perfect… except that we would have no free will. However, He chose not to do that. He wants us to love Him and respect Him as Lord of our own choosing, not because we are forced to…we would be little more than robots if that were the case!
So what does it mean to make Him Lord of our lives? Let’s look back at what the word ‘lord’ meant… authority, control, and ruler. Making God your Lord means giving Him your love and worship. It means listening to His word and striving to obey it, not because you have to, but because you want to serve Him. It means having a direct line of communication with the God of the Universe. What all these pretty much add up to is that God is first in your life, above all other things.
I will be the first to admit this is not an easy thing to do sometimes. Just the other night God showed me that I was putting my acting and my consequent glory as more important than Him and striving to glorify Him through it. For a long time my friends were the lords of my life, and food as well (thankfully God straightened me out!!). We can often get our priorities messed up. Money, power, love, friendship, talent, dreams… oh, dreams are a big one. But the fact is that in putting these things first, we are making idols out of them. I’m not saying that these things are bad… but these finite things cannot take the place of an infinite God.
God is Lord of All. He is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the lion and the lamb, the peanut butter to my jelly… oops, sorry, got carried away. It says in
Philippians 2:10-11 “so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” God is Lord of everything, and someday everyone will acknowledge that He is Lord. Angels, demons, the living, the dead, everyone will know that He is Lord. Of course, you could call Him ‘Lord’ today. After all, why put off till Judgement Day what you could do right now? Just saying… since we’re all going to be saying it anyway, we might as well embrace it now and enjoy the benefits of His love, leadership, guidance, and perfect relationship.
Well, that’s all for this segment! I hope it helped you to appreciate all the things God wants to be in our lives, and I pray that you are experiencing it for yourselves.
xoxoxoxoxo
Monday, October 20, 2008
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Oh, by the way....
I'm really sorry this one was so late!!!! God bless and have a good week, my darlings!!
xoxoxoxo
xoxoxoxo
Ward Cleaver has got nothing on Him!!
So, we now continue on in our quest for Truth. This week, we will be talking about (my personal favorite) God’s role as our father.
This is a tricky subject, because I know that the word “father” does not necessarily have the best connotation to some of you. Perhaps your father hasn’t been a positive figure in your life. First of all let me say that, however your earthly father treated you, it is not your fault. And no, I’m not talking to those of you who are mad at your dad right now because he grounded you for that D- in history class. I’m speaking to those of you that have been hurt, and deeply. It is especially for you that I make this next statement, although it holds true for all of us… God does parenting right. He isn’t like your earthly father, or even like mine (although I love my daddy to death!). God is the perfect definition of fatherhood… really, fatherhood as it was always meant to be.
So, ideally, what does a good father do? He picks you up when you fall and scrape your knee. He’s there with a hug when you need one and when you don’t. He is protective of you, but knows when to let you do things on your own. For girls like me, he might interview and intimidate your dates. For you boys, he might spur you on with both jibes and words of encouragement toward that right girl. Although sometimes we prefer to leave this out of our “good father” list, a good father chastises us sometimes too, and punishes us when we need it. Does he do this out of rage, or because he gets some sick sense of pleasure from it? No! He does it to make us better people, to realize that things in life have consequences, and to keep us from getting hurt. Also to this end, a good father sets a list of rules.
God is all this to us and more. Is it always in a physical sense? As we discussed last week, no. But we also showed last week that He could give us comfort when we needed it, and I have a few times mentioned God-hugs. It says in 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.”
Think He has nothing to do with who you want to go out with? Think again! Titus chapter two gives God’s criteria of a godly young man and woman (I think I shall have to do a study on that one day). That is a tight list, and maybe holds a higher standard for your love interests than you or your earthly father do.
And, as we know, God does chastise and punish us. Bolts of lightning aren’t generally the norm, but convicting words of a sermon are. Maybe He gives a little nudge on your heart every once in a while. Maybe you are just straight up feeling guilty. All these are methods of chastisement and bringing our sin to attention. Often, punishment is simply the natural occurrence of things in the world. Drink and drive? You might kill someone, or yourself. Sleep around? You might get pregnant, or contract an STD. Stay up all night playing Rockband and don’t study for a big test? You might just flunk. This is NOT karma, people! It’s natural action and consequence. Karma is slapping someone in the face, then tripping over a rug the next day and hurting yourself. Action and consequence is slapping someone in the face, then getting beaten up. And no, Karma is not real, I am not advocating it. Just thought I would clarify.
ANYWAY, the point of all this is that God fulfills all the functions of what a father ought to do.
There is more to it than that, however. This series is all about relationship, right? God doesn’t just fulfil the functions of a father... God is our Daddy. At least to me, ‘Daddy’ is more personal than ‘Father’. I mean, how many of you walk up to your dad and say, “Good afternoon, Father. I hope you are well?” I’m more likely to run up to my dad, kiss him on the cheek and say, “Yo, padre! What up!” We don’t have to have a stiff, distant relationship with God. God is close, He is there, He is real. He is someone we can be totally comfortable with, and there is no reason to stand on form. I think now of my own earthly father, and the teasing he often endures from me. In fact, me and some friends from youth group wrote a song a few years back about his lack of hair and advancing age (gosh that was funny! We still sing it from time to time). I don’t fear to throw a few jokes his way, because we have that sort of relationship and closeness. God is the same way.
When I hear the word ‘Daddy’ I also think of a child’s love and trust. How does a child love? Simply, purely, innocently… the love of a child is so precious. It is for this reason that Jesus says in Mark 10:15, “I promise you that you cannot get into God's kingdom, unless you accept it the way a child does”. Our Daddy cares for us and provides for us as though we were children, and we need to love Him as such, albeit with the understanding and knowledge that comes in our later years.
So, the weekly question… I know you are thinking it! “What makes you think that God would want to be that to us? Where did He ever promise us this?” Many places, actually.
1 John 3:1- See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are!
Psalm 68:5- Father to the fatherless, defender of widows— this is God, whose dwelling is holy.
Psalm 89:26- He will cry to Me, 'You are my Father, My God, and the rock of my salvation!
John 20:17- …but go to my brothers and say to them, 'I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'"
Romans 1:7- To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 8:6- But we know that there is only one God, the Father, who created everything, and we live for him.
Ephesians 4:4-6- There is…one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
2 Thessalonians 2:16-17- Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal comfort and a wonderful hope, 17 comfort you and strengthen you in every good thing you do and say.
Hebrews 12:7- As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children. Who ever heard of a child who is never disciplined by its father?
God wants to have a close, parental relationship with you. This wasn’t achieved on a whim… Before Adam and Eve first sinned, they had that perfect, unadulterated relationship with God. After they disobeyed Him, however, that relationship was broken and sin separated us from God. God spent the next few thousand years weaving a plan to restore that relationship… that plan was His son, Jesus. So great was His love for us, and so potent was His desire to be reunited with us in fellowship once more that He sent His Son whom He loved to bridge that gap. Jesus came willingly, knowing what He would endure upon the cross and dreading it, but loving us enough that He would bear it. I can not imagine anyone loving me so much that they would allow their own child to die for me. He brought me, a rebellious, petty, self-centered and imperfect little girl into His arms to be His child, though his true Son suffered mightily for it. It was for you too, you know.
For too long we have been Fatherless and orphaned in the world… now the King of Kings is standing there with the adoption papers all filled out, just waiting for your signature. So… will you sign?
This is a tricky subject, because I know that the word “father” does not necessarily have the best connotation to some of you. Perhaps your father hasn’t been a positive figure in your life. First of all let me say that, however your earthly father treated you, it is not your fault. And no, I’m not talking to those of you who are mad at your dad right now because he grounded you for that D- in history class. I’m speaking to those of you that have been hurt, and deeply. It is especially for you that I make this next statement, although it holds true for all of us… God does parenting right. He isn’t like your earthly father, or even like mine (although I love my daddy to death!). God is the perfect definition of fatherhood… really, fatherhood as it was always meant to be.
So, ideally, what does a good father do? He picks you up when you fall and scrape your knee. He’s there with a hug when you need one and when you don’t. He is protective of you, but knows when to let you do things on your own. For girls like me, he might interview and intimidate your dates. For you boys, he might spur you on with both jibes and words of encouragement toward that right girl. Although sometimes we prefer to leave this out of our “good father” list, a good father chastises us sometimes too, and punishes us when we need it. Does he do this out of rage, or because he gets some sick sense of pleasure from it? No! He does it to make us better people, to realize that things in life have consequences, and to keep us from getting hurt. Also to this end, a good father sets a list of rules.
God is all this to us and more. Is it always in a physical sense? As we discussed last week, no. But we also showed last week that He could give us comfort when we needed it, and I have a few times mentioned God-hugs. It says in 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.”
Think He has nothing to do with who you want to go out with? Think again! Titus chapter two gives God’s criteria of a godly young man and woman (I think I shall have to do a study on that one day). That is a tight list, and maybe holds a higher standard for your love interests than you or your earthly father do.
And, as we know, God does chastise and punish us. Bolts of lightning aren’t generally the norm, but convicting words of a sermon are. Maybe He gives a little nudge on your heart every once in a while. Maybe you are just straight up feeling guilty. All these are methods of chastisement and bringing our sin to attention. Often, punishment is simply the natural occurrence of things in the world. Drink and drive? You might kill someone, or yourself. Sleep around? You might get pregnant, or contract an STD. Stay up all night playing Rockband and don’t study for a big test? You might just flunk. This is NOT karma, people! It’s natural action and consequence. Karma is slapping someone in the face, then tripping over a rug the next day and hurting yourself. Action and consequence is slapping someone in the face, then getting beaten up. And no, Karma is not real, I am not advocating it. Just thought I would clarify.
ANYWAY, the point of all this is that God fulfills all the functions of what a father ought to do.
There is more to it than that, however. This series is all about relationship, right? God doesn’t just fulfil the functions of a father... God is our Daddy. At least to me, ‘Daddy’ is more personal than ‘Father’. I mean, how many of you walk up to your dad and say, “Good afternoon, Father. I hope you are well?” I’m more likely to run up to my dad, kiss him on the cheek and say, “Yo, padre! What up!” We don’t have to have a stiff, distant relationship with God. God is close, He is there, He is real. He is someone we can be totally comfortable with, and there is no reason to stand on form. I think now of my own earthly father, and the teasing he often endures from me. In fact, me and some friends from youth group wrote a song a few years back about his lack of hair and advancing age (gosh that was funny! We still sing it from time to time). I don’t fear to throw a few jokes his way, because we have that sort of relationship and closeness. God is the same way.
When I hear the word ‘Daddy’ I also think of a child’s love and trust. How does a child love? Simply, purely, innocently… the love of a child is so precious. It is for this reason that Jesus says in Mark 10:15, “I promise you that you cannot get into God's kingdom, unless you accept it the way a child does”. Our Daddy cares for us and provides for us as though we were children, and we need to love Him as such, albeit with the understanding and knowledge that comes in our later years.
So, the weekly question… I know you are thinking it! “What makes you think that God would want to be that to us? Where did He ever promise us this?” Many places, actually.
1 John 3:1- See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are!
Psalm 68:5- Father to the fatherless, defender of widows— this is God, whose dwelling is holy.
Psalm 89:26- He will cry to Me, 'You are my Father, My God, and the rock of my salvation!
John 20:17- …but go to my brothers and say to them, 'I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'"
Romans 1:7- To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 8:6- But we know that there is only one God, the Father, who created everything, and we live for him.
Ephesians 4:4-6- There is…one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
2 Thessalonians 2:16-17- Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal comfort and a wonderful hope, 17 comfort you and strengthen you in every good thing you do and say.
Hebrews 12:7- As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children. Who ever heard of a child who is never disciplined by its father?
God wants to have a close, parental relationship with you. This wasn’t achieved on a whim… Before Adam and Eve first sinned, they had that perfect, unadulterated relationship with God. After they disobeyed Him, however, that relationship was broken and sin separated us from God. God spent the next few thousand years weaving a plan to restore that relationship… that plan was His son, Jesus. So great was His love for us, and so potent was His desire to be reunited with us in fellowship once more that He sent His Son whom He loved to bridge that gap. Jesus came willingly, knowing what He would endure upon the cross and dreading it, but loving us enough that He would bear it. I can not imagine anyone loving me so much that they would allow their own child to die for me. He brought me, a rebellious, petty, self-centered and imperfect little girl into His arms to be His child, though his true Son suffered mightily for it. It was for you too, you know.
For too long we have been Fatherless and orphaned in the world… now the King of Kings is standing there with the adoption papers all filled out, just waiting for your signature. So… will you sign?
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