Friday, 10 May 2013

Paradoxes of the Scriptures

Next Step Devotion

 Many of the key teachings of Jesus on spirituality are expressed in paradox. A paradox is a statement that on first glance is wrong,  but upon closer thought reveals a deeper spiritual truth. This can prove a stumbling block for many non-believers when approached with the sovereignty of God's Word, and it can also prove difficult for the most mature of believers to reconcile.  If we allow our faith to hold to the true and Biblical paradoxes, then this will call for a bit of tension in our faith. It could possibly even lead to unresolved tension, meaning, we can't always wrap our finite minds around it.

 Imagine a glass of water in which you drop a pencil. The pencil appears disconnected or disjointed, yet you know that the pencil is in fact entirely whole. This visual image can help us understand the concept of paradoxes in Scripture. Heaven is perfect, and earth is fragmented by the effects of sin. As a result, perfect heavenly concepts appear "not quite right" when they make their way into the earth. Our own human minds cannot fully comprehend the holiness of God....the "pencils" of God's perfect truth appear disjointed, so to speak.  

 You may not realize just how familiar you are with Biblical paradoxes or how deeply embedded they are buried within your psychological file cabinet of memorized Scriptures. In fact, Biblical paradoxes often represent some of the most cherished of Biblical truths that frame the way we view and live life as believers. For example......:

God did not include these seemingly contradictory principles in His Word to confuse us. Rather, He calls us to seek out the meanings behind these principles so that we might gain wisdom. Proverbs 1:5-6 instructs us: 

"Let the wise listen to these proverbs and become even wiser.
    Let those with understanding receive guidance
6 
by exploring the meaning in these proverbs and parables,
    the words of the wise and their riddles."

It may be tempting to simply glide over Scriptures that are more difficult to understand at face value, but God's desire is that we listen to become wiser and understanding to receive guidance for how we are to live our lives. Each of these paradoxes aptly applied will enable us to live more like Jesus, and thus lead more people to His salvation! There is POWER behind these truths. Power to save, to heal, to encourage, to free from bondage, to gain influence, to obtain honor, to find peace, and to open up the doorways to heaven. 

Jesus repeatedly declared to His disciples that "He who has ears to hear, let Him hear!" The Message puts it this way, "Are you listening to me? Really listening?" So let me ask you, "Are you listening? Really listening?" Are you digging deep into the often strenuous and perplexing work of rightly dividing the word of truth? If you are not, you stand just as those who followed Jesus wherever He went but completely missed the purpose for His ministry. Jesus came to bridge the gap between God and man through this death and resurrection, but He also came to set the standard for us to live by to bring God's Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. 

These paradoxical truths are like keys that unlock the doorways to heaven, and God has given us those keys! (Matthew 16:19). We have choices to make each day we walk the earth when it comes to these paradoxical statements. Will we trust them enough to surrender when we desire to fight back, to give when it seems we have nothing left to give, to humble ourselves before others, to celebrate joyfully during the trials of life, and to count all things in this world as garbage compared to knowing Christ? 

All scripture is inspired by God and is given to teach us, rebuke us, and train us in righteousness (2 Tim 3:16-17). Let me encourage you to seek out the tough Scriptures, meditate upon them for as long as it takes, praying that God will give you revelation. When you seek Him with all of your heart, you will find Him! (Jeremiah 29:13, Proverbs 8:17). 



 Interview Recaps
Key Scriptures

 Matthew 10:39 - He who finds his life will lose it , and he who loses it for my sake will find it.

 Matthew 19:30 - But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.  

 Mark 12:30-31 -  Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.”

 Acts 20:35 -  It is more blessed to give, than to receive.

 Mark 10:43-44 -   But it shall not be so among you: but whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all.  For the Son of man also came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

 2 Corinthians 12:10 -  That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

 James:1:2 - Dear brothers and sisters, whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy!

 Hebrews:11:6 - And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him." 

 Blessings,
Melissa Rogers
www.moodyradiosouth.fm 
Posted by at 1 comment:

Friday, 3 May 2013

God's Timing is Perfect

Next Step Devotion
Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. - Psalm 27:14

Just wait on God! Easier said than done right? Anyone who has ever journeyed through a season of waiting will testify that the times of waiting can prove the most strenuous,  the most weary of all in our walk with God. The word "wait" connotes a passive idea, that we are somehow just sitting around twiddling our thumbs until God shows up. Nothing could be further from the truth!

We've often heard the phrase "God's timing is perfect," but coming to trust that phrase is an entirely different story. This is especially true when we are facing the seeming deadlines of humanity - My loved one will not survive another year without miraculous healing; I'm already 35 and have not conceived a child; I must move to this new city and begin my new job next week and our home has not sold - our circumstances can quickly cloud our vision of God's sovereignty. 

For what in your life are you waiting upon God? Are you growing weary in the waiting? Does it seem as though you will never receive the answer you are crying out day and night to receive? 

I think there is a much more pressing question to be asked. What do you hope to gain through your waiting? Is your entire focus zeroed-in on your request, almost as if it's a prize to be won. While the Holy Spirit within us may nudge otherwise, it is so easy to be drawn into the thinking that somehow our faithfulness to endure will prove we are worthy to receive our requests. 

Now, I'm not saying that our persistence and consistency in prayer hold no weight when it comes to petitioning our Father (See Luke 18). However, in Luke 18 where Jesus teaches us to persist in prayer,  He closes with a poignant question: "When the Son of Man returns, how many will He find on earth who have faith?" We are to persist in the asking, Yes. But the lesson God is truly attempting to teach us through this parable is that the purpose of our persistence is faith. If we just had faith perhaps all the knocking and crying out wouldn't stand so necessary. 

Perhaps you are like me and are sitting there thinking to yourself, "Here we go again! Another if you just had a little faith lesson." I'll be the first to admit the desire for tangible answers. I want to know the "A" and the "B" that I need to add together to get to "C." Why can't God just tell us step 1, 2, and 3 and presto our prayers are answered? I believe God's methodology is found in the book of James. Let's read it together:

"For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing." - James 1:3-4

Did you catch the end of that? The waiting, the enduring, makes us "perfect and complete, NEEDING NOTHING." How can we endure through a painful season of waiting, never actually receive what we are waiting for, and then come out the other side needing nothing?

Paul shared in Philippians 4:11-13 that he had discovered the secret. Whether he had received all that he needed (and Paul was certainly in need of much! - food, clothing, health for example)  he  was complete and content. The enduring pushed him to become more and more like Jesus, who is altogether perfect and lacks nothing. The same is true for us. As we endure through the waiting, keeping our eyes focused on the truth that our entire lives purpose is to grow more and more into the image of our Lord Jesus, we will reach a place of peace and contentment, no longer needing what we have been asking for. We will come to see that all we truly need is more of Jesus. 

God's timing truly is perfect, even when it does not feel to be so. Waiting on God tough. In fact, it's more than tough. It can be grueling! But back to my question - What do you hope to gain through your waiting? Do you desire to be more like Jesus? Do you want to know what it feels like to find peace and contentment in all things? Do you want to be able to walk through life free from all the pressing deadlines of humanity, focused in on the only finish line that truly matters...our future eternity in glory? 

I want to be clear. God does answer prayer!! I've seen God perform miraculous healing  allow miraculous conception, provide financial breakthrough and bring loved ones who were thought without hope to the saving knowledge of Him. God answers prayer! But if you are in that season of waiting on answer, I encourage you to fix you eyes on Jesus. 

Come before the throne with an open heart desiring to receive ALL that God desires to teach you throughout this journey. Allow God to make you more like Him. When we transform our thinking to view the painful wait as an opportunity to become fully developed into God's image, the cries of our heart no longer weigh as heavy burdens. We are able to simply trust God's timing and find joy in the fact that every day we wait and endure we am moving one step towards heaven. In that place of contentment, we lack nothing. 


Interview Recap
Key Scriptures

 Habakkuk 2:3 - For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay.

 Isaiah 40:31 - But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

 Psalm 27:14 - Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord

 Galatians 6:9 - And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.

 2 Peter 3:8-9 - But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

 Ecclesiastes 3:17 - I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is a time for every matter and purpose for every work. 

 Romans 5:3-4 - More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope.

 Blessings,

Melissa Rogers
Moody Radio South
www.moodyradiosouth.fm 

Posted by at No comments:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)