He is on the Throne

When we see our problems we can get overwhelmed. God is not. He is not worried, he is not hurried. He is neither ambivalent nor passive. He is Enthroned. He is Sovereign. He reigns. Christ is always interceding for us (Hebrews 7:25). He is Enthroned. 

Not a Warm Fuzzy Post

A little while ago I saw this article on line about a guy who thought he was pretty tough, apparently, so he called out a mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter online, repeatedly. After a while the fighter offered to meet the guy and fight. They met and off course the MMA fighter easily beat the living snot out of the online big mouth. I have no idea why this normal guy thought he could take on a real MMA fighter, but, arrogance can get you into a lot of trouble. 

I think many people today want to set themselves up as equal with God and sort of call him out on the basis of how they see reality. Atheists love to set up their version of what they think the Bible teaches or how they choose to view reality as the obvious way to see things. I find the fact that atheists want to blame the God they don't believe in and choose not to obey, for all the results of those choices. 

God is Sovereign and he does what he wants. He is also just and merciful.  Romans 9 reminds us that God has his plan and he will do what is right because he is Sovereign Lord. I don't fully understand God's will or his ways, but, I do understand that he is Sovereign Lord over everything and I am not. He does what he wants, not what I want. He is not a cosmic Santa Claus giving me everything I want just because I say a magic prayer. He has given all people a choice to believe in him and recognize him as Sovereign Lord. Some think they will stand before him and list their grievances and all that they perceive as unjust and God will be unable to answer. Remember the online bigmouth. 

This is not a warm fuzzy post. This is a check. Check myself. Check yourself. God sent his One and Only Son to die on our place, for our sins. Then, with his power, raised Christ from the dead. No other so-called god, messiah, savior or religious leader has an empty tomb. To be blunt: if you can't die and raise yourself from the grave, your not God Almighty, Sovereign Lord. 

Faith to Forgive

So watch yourselves.“If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them. Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them.” The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”

Luke 17:3-5 NIV

Sometimes it seems hard to trust God that if we forgive someone that we won't be opening ourselves up for more hurt. Forgiving someone does not make them perfect. Christ forgave my sins, but, I still sin (See I John 1:8-10), even though I try not to. Sin happens. 

Faith, trusts God to be Sovereign over even the damage of sin in our lives. Our sin and the sin of others, intentional and accidental. 

Father, give us the faith to forgive and trust you with what happens. 

Know God is Your Mighty Warrior

But the Lord is with me like a mighty warrior;
   so my persecutors will stumble and not prevail. 
They will fail and be thoroughly disgraced;
   their dishonor will never be forgotten.
Lord Almighty, you who examine the righteous
   and probe the heart and mind,
   let me see your vengeance on them,
   for to you I have committed my cause. 
Sing to the Lord!
Give praise to the Lord!
He rescues the life of the needy 
   from the hands of the wicked.
Jeremiah 20:11-13 (NIV) 

Jeremiah sought to do what God had called him to do even though he met with unbearable opposition. His own people just didn't want to hear the truth. The whole country basically hated to see him coming because he constantly reminded them of their sins. To say he might feel like it was him against the world is truly an understatement of Biblical proportions!

Despite the constant opposition Jeremiah reminded himself that it was God that fought his battles and God who they were actually struggling with. Jeremiah did ask to see God's vengeance upon them. I'm comforted by that because I believe I should be gracious with others because God is so gracious to me, yet, sometimes I just want God to squish some people. I think it's all right to sometimes ask God to show you that those that oppose your godly actions reap what they sow. 

The truth for us is that during the daily battles of our faith we can remember that it is God that fights the battle, he is our mighty warrior.

Father, be our mighty warrior today! Open our eyes to see that greater is he that is within us than he that is in the world. Praise be to you in us today!