Is it Enough?

Hosea 13:6 - "When I fed them, they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; then they forgot Me."

We have it too good. When there are other people in other countries who are hungry for God's Word who have to huddle in small, dark rooms...in secret...to hear about God, how can we complain about what we have, or what we wish we had, in our own churches? What's good and what's good enough?

What if we didn't have a church. No big sanctuary with comfortable pews? What if all we had was a basement, stark and unfinished, where we would not be seen or hopefully not heard? What if we had to walk to get there for fear of having a display of cars lining the streets causing some to wonder? What if we didn't have cars and we walked miles just to "have church?" And what is "church" anyway?

Christianity is being silenced in this country. We don't have a clue what it would be like to have church like those in Asia or Africa or any other country where creature comforts are non-existent.

We go to church in our Sunday best, driving one of our cars. We partake of coffee and doughnuts and mingle in heated or air conditioned settings. We nestle into our Sunday school classes having our coffee and having fellowship, children safely in the hands of babysitters in another room. We walk into the sanctuary and greet all our friends and talk about the week, maybe complain about it. The music starts. Some like it, some don't. Some just have to finish their conversation before they can focus on the Lord. The Sunday routine begins and ends just as it always does. Is this being satisfied? Do we walk out different than when we sauntered in? 

Oh, we have been blessed, as it were, as a nation. But have we taken what we've received and gone overboard with it? You can add my name to the list.... Are we being wise stewards of what God has given us? Can we do without? Will we have to some day? Do we have so much that our stuff gets in the way of God? Has our trust in Him diminished because we have replaced Him with what we think will get us by?

What if we didn't have church like this? All churches shut down. What if it we had to gather in a home setting where it was too dangerous to sing because we would be arrested, imprisoned, maybe tortured for our faith or killed? Or we had to do church on our own, secretly. Don't think something like that could happen in America? Only God knows.

What if church was comprised only of talking about scripture? That's worship, isn't it? Would we be satisfied just gathering and discussing a certain chapter of the Bible, or spending the entire time digging deep into the meaning of a couple of verses, backing up answers with other scriptures throughout the Bible? And praying and sharing.

Shouldn't this be enough? In the book, Radical by David Platt, scenarios like this are brought up. There are so-called churches, normally house-churches, all over Africa and Asia where the only thing they have is the Word of God. Platt makes the comment: But is His Word enough for us? It seems to be enough for those who have very little and the only thing of value is the Word of God.

Where have we gone? Where has our enthusiasm for only God's Word disappeared to? The founding father's had little and precious possessions when they arrived here. They worked hard to build a new life. They had no real distractions like we do. They had very little in the way of creature comforts yet they knew the importance of having trust in an Divine God for everything, every day. They trusted Him for their short-lived lives and their provisions.

We have more than enough. We have all the creature comforts and we're still not satisfied. We have to keep up with the Jones' with our homes, cars and the newest technical equipment. Our homes are warm and secure. There are grocery stores in abundance so we don't have to grow or can our own. We lack for nothing. Oh my, the microwave is broken...my car won't start...the computer's down...the bird feeders are empty.

We lack for nothing? What about what the Word of God says about lack: My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6). That is what will happen if we do not begin to crave God's Word. This is what will happen if the things of this world become bigger and more important while God becomes an occasional thought and His Word something we once knew. 

The Church is contributing to this lack of knowledge as it shapes and molds Jesus to be whatever we want Him to be in our lives. We say we are Christians, but...are we the first to grab the coffee and doughnut or complain when we don't like something in the church? How He must be grieved over even the best of people when we walk in on Sunday with a laundry list that's all about me. I hope the service isn't too long because I have plans; the coffee ran out too quickly or the doughnuts disappeared before I arrived, because I was late, because I was busy doing something at home. When we arise on Sunday morning...and every morning...is God the first thing on our minds? Do we look forward to gathering with others expecting to hear from God? Or are our minds preoccupied and it takes awhile to settle in, if we ever do? Just how important is God to us?

Platt's church decided to try to imagine what it would be like without all the frills of today's church. One night a week they stripped their church of any form entertainment and just gathered to study the Word of God and pray...for hours, not the usual 1+ hours. They inconvenienced themselves for up to six hours!

Is there any other church hungry enough to do this? What a step in a totally different direction...finding out who God truly is. Longing to know...longing to live it out...longing to have His Word deeply embedded in our hearts and minds... Platt says: Fundamentally, the gospel is the revelation of who God is, who we are, and how we can be reconciled to him. Yet in the American dream, where self reigns as king (or queen), we have a dangerous tendency to misunderstand, minimize, and even manipulate the gospel in order to accommodate our assumptions and our desires. He further says that we need to find out whether our understanding is biblical or American. We need to determine what the goal of the gospel truly is. Is it about God at all? Have we forgotten who He is, what He stands for? Have we become so satisfied and so proud? Have we got Him all figured out and are we so secure in our relationship we don't need to return to Him day after day to hear Him speak?

There were several prophets who spoke words to Israel about returning to the God they had forgotten, worshipping Him only, letting go of the things of the world. Is God enough for today's world? Will we change? Where are these people today? Could it be that one by one we will return? It starts within us as a person and has that ripple effect on to others. Can this be achieved? Only time will tell.

Hosea 2:13 - "I will punish her for the days she burned incense to the Baals; she decked herself with rings and jewelry, and went after her lovers, but me she forgot," declares the LORD.

Blindness, Truth and Hope

John 9:25 - He (a blind man) answered, “Whether He (Jesus) is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.”

Glenn Beck? Going blind? We heard him tell us. We heard the pain in his voice. How would you feel if this type of news came to you? It wouldn't have to be blindness but that one thing that would take away your ability to do the thing you enjoy the most. For Glenn...he loves to read. Going blind poses a threat. 

Despite the news he received, he stated he still has hope. And so can we all if we have Jesus Christ in our lives.

Beck has been laying himself open about how he believes if this country doesn't change its ways soon, there will be no hope for us. We have taken God out of most things. We have forsaken the truth for a lie. Gee, that sounds familiar: Romans 1:25 - They exchanged God's truth for a lie and worshipped and served the creation rather than the Creator...  I realize this is referring to worshipping idols or things rather than God, but I also see this as meaning we should not replace God's truth with our own misconceived truths, our own ways, our own lives. 

Where have the lies come from? They've come slowly and benignly. We have listened to what seems one harmless lie after another and they have been assimilated into our beliefs.  We now wonder how we have gotten where we are. Beck has been exposing these lies. I'm paraphrasing, but he said, "We only have hope if we know the truth." For goodness sake, I've heard that before too.

What message was Jesus trying to convey all throughout His teachings? The only way to the Father is by the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Jesus, as I know I've mentioned more than once, is the Truth. The only hope we have for eternal life is through the Truth of who Jesus Christ is and our relationship with Him. Not our truths, not our ways, not our own lives.

So what has this to do with Beck's going blind? He once was blind, but now he sees. He knows the truth and that has taken away the blindness, both in this country and spiritually. He may be physically going blind (and I pray it doesn't happen) but spiritually he is still able to see. He has the knowledge of God behind him.

When all hope fails in lives or this country, it is my prayer that people will finally see what Truth is. Beck may be in the throes of this bad news, but his attitude is what will get him through. He strongly believes that no matter what happens, with God he will be able to continue...there is hope. God got him through his addiction to alcohol, which he has clearly said he could never have gotten over on his own. So Beck believes that no matter what, he will get through whatever it is he must go through in this next set of circumstances. 

Those who know God have an upper edge because of the truth we have learned. And those of us who know what Truth is have a hope of our own. I'm sure I could be criticized for saying that. I, too, once was blind and now I see. The truth of who Christ is opens eyes. And when His truth penetrates into the recesses of our heart and soul, nothing looks the same. It's absolutely amazing and only something a person can understand when they have experienced and take to heart the power of God in their lives. 

There are many who don't want to listen to Glenn Beck because the truth sometimes hurts. It can cause us to want to retreat into our own little worlds where only good things happen. We can bury our heads in the sand...until it's too late. Doom and gloom or truth? It's all how a person perceives it.

It's the same with Jesus. When He speaks the truth it can convict us of our wrongs. If we hear the Truth we might have to change. Rejection can take place so lives can remain as is and holding on to what seems good remains. If we don't listen to Him personally or to those who speak of Him, we can "play dumb." What's that old saying? "What you don't know can't hurt you." I disagree. What you don't know can hurt you. It's the difference between life and death spiritually. 

Jesus is worth knowing because He is Truth. He's there for the asking, for the receiving and accepting. He will open the eyes of the blind...those people who have not yet had their spiritual eyes opened to His truth, the truth of who He is. We are all born blind and we remain blind until the words of Truth enter in and begin to transform. Those blind eyes are opened and oh, the gloriousness of it all!

I truly empathize for Beck. I'm sure he will find his way through all this and I don't doubt he'll not mince words in any way. Sometimes tragedies bring an even stronger resolve. If Beck truly trusts in God he has all the hope in the world (and beyond) to strengthen him. As he has said, he knows that no matter what happens, there will be a good ending to it. I give him credit for speaking up...for the truth we need to know about our country and speaking openly about God.

Those who know Christ know this is the truth: tragedy or death may come, but what does it matter? If one has a relationship with Christ we can look both in the eye (no pun intended) and see beyond our circumstances here on earth to the day we are received in heaven by Christ's outstretched hand. Earth is only temporary.

I once was blind, but now I see. Nothing can take away my sight spiritually. Physical blindness might only enhance the vision of who the most important Person is. For that matter, any disability can do that. God has admonished us Himself, whether a person wants to take it as truth or not. Remember, He is our Heavenly Father. He longs for all of us to return home to Him. He wishes for us to have the blinders removed against Him. He may have been addressing the priests of the Old Testament, but this word below is for us well. Without knowledge of God we are nothing; we are blind...to the truth.

Hosea 4:6 - My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as my priests, because you have ignored the law of your God, I also will ignore your children.