The Blessed Life #5: 20/20 Vision

There is an old saying which states, “Hindsight is always 20/20.” It’s easy to look back over things which have happened and have a solid understanding of what we SHOULD have done. But what if we could see things before they happened with a similar clarity of vision? What if we could decrease the amount of mistakes which we make even by a small portion? What if we would be better able to seize the opportunities which come our way?

The Bible tells us that there is such a method and God has already given us as Christians direct access to it! “He has showered His kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding” (Eph. 1:8 NLT). We are able to comprehend great mysteries which mankind has pondered for centuries (Eph. 1:9).

The wisdom which God gives helps us to understand the right to do and gives us a knowledge of the wrong things to avoid (Pro. 2:10; 10:23). Furthermore, the wisdom which God blesses us with looks at acting accordingly, making the most of the opportunities we have been given (Col. 4:5).

God designed us to live by His wisdom. God gave King Solomon a blank check so to speak, and asked him if he could have anything in the world, what would it be. After Solomon had considered how to respond, he finally asked for wisdom to govern those whom God had placed in his care (1 Kings 3:9). This impressed the Lord so much that He told Solomon that since he asked for this, God would bless him with wealth, protection from his enemies, and a long life (1 Kings 3:11). While God does not promise us great physical riches in this life, He does promise to take care of us when seek His will for our lives (Matt. 6:31-34). 

Likewise, often times people do not enjoy the blessing of God’s wisdom because they are not currently following the Lord through a personal relationship with Him. “The reverent fear and worship of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and skill [the preceding and the first essential, the prerequisite and the alphabet]; a good understanding, wisdom, and meaning have all those who do [the will of the Lord]. Their praise of Him endures forever” (Psa. 111:10 AMP).

Therefore, some of us who are Christians enjoy this blessing of a 20/20 life on a normal basis, while even still other Christians have struggled to enjoy it. Yet, all that is required to utilize this blessing is to simply ask for it. “If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and He will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking” (James 1:5 NLT). Thus, what matter are you needing wisdom in? I encourage you to ask our all-knowing Lord.

Then once you have asked, you simply must be willing to listen for God’s response which generally comes through considering what God has already told us in His Word (Psa. 119:97-98), and through the still small voice of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 2:12). And then be willing to implement what He tells us because His vision is always 20/20.

 Because of His love,

            Matt 

Elder’s Corner: The Blame Game

The other day I found a meditation which I would like to share with you.

When Ahab saw [Elijah], he said, “So there you are—the worst troublemaker in Israel!” (1 Kings 18: 16b) Why do we find it so easy to look for the cause of our troubles outside ourselves? Playing the blame game is a common tendency. Even though King Ahab “sinned against the Lord more than any of his predecessors,” (1 Kings 16:30), he blamed the prophet Elijah for his problems. It’s true that sometimes the actions of others cause us harm, but it is also true that when we’re feeling guilty or our own self-esteem is on shaky ground, our egos—seeking self-preservation—point the finger elsewhere. We think, “Well, I may have done X, but look at what they’re doing. I’m not that bad.”

 We look at the wrongs of others—real or imagined—to feel better by comparison, but comparing ourselves to others can also work against us. When people quietly go about their own lives with integrity we can feel criticized by implication. It’s as if their virtue shows us up and makes us feel shabby about ourselves.

 When we blame others for our problems, we get to feel better about ourselves temporarily without having to take responsibility or clean up our own messes. We fail to grow when we do that. Even if nobody else finds out, we know the truth. In those moments of solitude when we have no one else to look down on, we know that our poor choices and character flaws have contributed—at least in part—to our own troubles. Once we become willing to acknowledge our own mistakes and shortcomings, we have genuine hope for improvement.

 Do we want to continue to point the finger at others for the sake of appearances or do we want to honestly look within, lovingly accept what we find, and become willing to do something about our biggest enemy—ourselves, so that we can grow? Do we want to look better or do we want to actually be better?

 Prayer: Lord, may I trust your love enough to acknowledge my faults and seek help in overcoming them.

 Reflection: How am I contributing to the problems facing me today?

--Enrique

Originally written in Bible Meditations.net “Saturday Spotlight: Ahab”; available from http://www.biblemeditations.net/archives/1893

God Revealed #7: A Case For the Trinity

“Hear O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is One” (Deut. 6:4). Over the last 6 months we have seen how Scripture plainly teaches the coequal Deity of God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ), and God the Holy Spirit (see http://eugenechristianchurch.blogspot.com/search/label/God%20Revealed). The doctrine of 1 God yet 3 distinct Persons who are equally God is known as Trinity or Godhead. Yet since at least Jesus’ time on earth some 2,000 years ago individuals have questioned the validity of the Trinity. Additionally, although the term “Godhead” does appear 3 times in the KJV (Acts 17:29; Rom. 1:20; Col. 2:9), the word “Trinity” does NOT appear in the Bible. However does the concept appear in Scripture? Therefore, let’s consider A Case for the Trinity.

The first piece of evidence will take us all the way back to opening chapter of the Bible. In Genesis 1:26, God says, “Let Us make man in Our image, in Our likeness…” Who are the individuals that are referred to here with the use of plural pronouns? Some have said that God was talking to angels. However, nowhere in Scripture do we find angels referred to in God’s image. Others will say that this is a plural of majesty of a king. For example, a king might say “We are pleased to grant your request.” However, the earliest recorded example of this was roughly 1,400 years after Genesis w as written and in a different language/cultural than the OT. Therefore, the plurality of God is taught in the OT and the Hebrew verbs which are used in conjunction with point one God, the Trinity (see also Gen. 3:22; 11:7; Isa. 6:8).

The second piece of evidence to consider is the 1 God. Jesus says “The Father and I are one” (John 10:30). Likewise Jesus told the Apostle Philip: “Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9 see also verses 10-11). The simple truth is that there is only 1 God (Rom. 3:30).

The third piece of evidence to consider is the 3 distinct Persons yet 1 God. At Jesus’ baptism all 3 members of the Trinity were present. God the Father’s voice came from heaven saying, “This is My Son, with Him I am well pleased” (Matt. 3:17). And God the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus like a dove (Matt. 3:16). When one studies the pages of the Bible they will find over 60 passages which mention the 3 different Persons of the Trinity together. 

Isa. 11:1-2; 42:1; 48:16; 61:1; 63:9-14;	1 Cor. 2:10-16, 6:11, 15-19, 12:3-6;	Tit. 3:4-6
Zech. 12:10;	2 Cor. 1:21-22; 3:3-6, 13:14;	Heb. 6:4-6; 9:14
Matt. 3:16-17; 28:19	Gal. 2:21-3:2; 4:6;	1 Peter 1:2; 4:14;
Luke 1:35, 24:49;	Eph. 1:17; 2:18; 3:11-17; 4:4-6; 5:18-20	1 John 3:23-24; 4:2, 13-14
John 3:34-35; 14:26; 15:26; 16:13-15	Col. 1:6-8;	Jude 20-21
Acts 2:33, 38-39;	1 Thess. 1:1-5; 4:2, 8; 5:18-19	Rev. 1:4-5, 2:27-29, 3:5-6, 12-13, 21-22, 14:12-13, 22:17-18.
Rom. 1:1-4, 5:1-5, 14:17-18, 15:16, 30;	2 Thess. 2:13-14; 3:5;

And the fourth piece of evidence to consider is their coequal nature. Jesus and the Holy Spirit are not inferior to God the Father. In Biblical times, for a person to be considered “a son of” meant that they were equal to their father. Therefore, when Jesus made Himself equal with God the Father, the non-believing Jews wanted to kill Him (John 5:17-18). Then when Jesus gives the Great Commission He shows that all 3 Persons of the Trinity are equal (Matt. 28:19).

This leaves us with a challenging proposition: how can God be one yet three at the same time? This is where an illustration is helpful.

The simplest way to explain the Trinity is to do a little math. What does 1 x 1 x 1=? Answer: 1. Thus, God the Father times God the Son times God the Holy Spirit equals 1 God! Other analogies have been made/or could be made but most tend to really teach heresies which have led to many of the cults that we see today.

Even though we may not fully comprehend the Trinity; when one considers the case, it is what Scripture teaches. Besides that, let’s be honest, how great would God be if we could fully comprehend Him? There are a lot of things which we do not understand; yet God is all knowing. There are a lot of things which we are incapable of doing; yet God is all powerful. And I’m sure all of us wish that we could be in multiple places from time to time; yet for God it is a constant reality.

Therefore, it’s no wonder that the Psalmist declared “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain” (Psa. 139:6; see also (Job 11:7-9; 26:5-14; 37:5). All of this should leave us with just one response “Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow; Praise Him, all creatures here below; Praise Him above, ye heavenly host; Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.”

More of Him, less of me,

     Matt