When God's Will Isn't Clear

 

 

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When God's Will Isn't Clear

via Desiring God Blog by Jon Bloom on 8/25/11

Most of the decisions you will make today aren't explicitly addressed in the Bible. Questions like, should I eat out today? What should I wear? Should I respond to this instance of my child's sin with correction or forbearance? Should I shop today or tomorrow? Should I check my email again?

The Bible doesn't even give specific guidance on huge, life-shaping decisions like should I marry this person? Should I give more or save for retirement? Should we adopt a child? Should I pursue a different vocation? Should we homeschool? Should I pursue chemo or try an alternative cancer treatment? Should we buy this home or a less expensive one? Which college should I attend? Is it time to put my elderly parent in a nursing home? Should I go to the mission field? Should I separate from my spouse while we work on these very painful issues?

These kinds of decisions tend to have multiple acceptable options within the scope of God's revealed moral will, his commandments. Yet he cares deeply about the details and course of our lives. So what guidance does he give to help us navigate ambiguous decisions? He says,

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect (Romans 12:2).

What does this mean? It means that God has a design in the difficulty of discerning. The motives and affections of our hearts, or "renewed minds," are more clearly revealed in such decision making.

If God made more things explicit, we would tend to focus more on what we do rather than what we love. Like Pharisees, we would tend to whitewash our tombs with the appearance of obedience — to impress others — rather than deal with the dead bones of our self-righteous pride.

But in decisions that require discernment, the wheat is distinguished from the tares. We make such decisions based on what we really love. If deep down we love the world, this will become apparent in the pattern of decisions that we make — we will conform to this world.

But if we really love Jesus we will increasingly love what he loves — we will be transformed by renewed minds. And our love for him and his kingdom will be revealed in the pattern of small and large decisions that we make.

I say "pattern of decisions" because all of us sin and make mistakes. But conformity to the world or to Jesus is most clearly seen in the pattern of decisions we make over time.

That's why God makes us wrestle. He wants us to mature and have our "powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil" (Hebrews 5:14).

The wonderful thing to remember in all of our decisions is that Jesus is our Good Shepherd. He laid down his life for us so that all of our sins (including every sinful or defective decision) are covered. He will never leave or forsake us. He has a staff long enough to pull us out of every hole and a rod to guide us back when we stray.

And someday we will see that it really was him leading us through the confusing terrain of difficult decisions.

________

Recent posts from Jon Bloom —

• Judas Was the Treasurer?
• Has Jesus Been Worth It?
• There's Staggering Glory in Your Story

 

 

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Lord, teach us to praise you like this!

 

 

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Lord, teach us to praise you like this!

via The Works of God by John Knight on 7/26/11

Pastor Bud Burk shepherds the children's program at the downtown and south campuses and has been a great proponent for including all the children, including our 'different' children.  From the first time I met this man, before he was hired at Bethlehem, I knew I could learn a great deal from him about trusting in the sovereignty of God in all things.

On Sunday he prayed so beautifully and powerfully before Pastor Kempton's sermon that I asked him if I could have it and post it. His response (with his trademark earnestness and humility): "it wasn't me; it was all scripture!"  But he allowed that if it would help the body, he would share it.

Here it is.  May we all learn to pray like this!

Bud Burk, Prayer of Praise: July 24, 2011

Previous Song: "Hallelujah What a Savior"

Following Song: "Wonderful Merciful Savior"

"Savior, You showed Your love – Defeated our sin, poured out Your blood

So we praise You, Lamb that was slain – We offer our lives to proclaim – What a Savior!"

(Drawn from Isaiah 53)

You were despised and rejected by men

You were a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief

As one from whom men hide their faces

You were despised and we did not esteem You

Surely You have born our griefs and carried our sorrows

Yet we esteemed You stricken, smitten of God and afflicted

But You were wounded for our transgressions

But You were crushed for our iniquities

But You received chastisement that brought our peace

But You healed us by the stripes You received

What a Savior!

You are supreme in kindness

You are supreme in goodness

You are supreme in compassion

You are supreme in mercy

You are supreme in grace

You are supreme in wrath without sin

You are supreme in wisdom

(Drawn from Philippians 4:8)

You are supreme in all that is true

You are supreme in all that is honorable

You are supreme in all that is just

You are supreme in all that is pure

You are supreme in all that is lovely

You are supreme in all that is commendable

You are supreme in all that is excellent

You are supreme in all that is worthy of praise

What a Savior – We praise You

"When He comes, our glorious King – All His ransomed home to bring

Then anew this song we'll sing – Hallelujah, hallelujah"

(Drawn from Revelation 5:9, 13)

Worthy are You to take the scroll and to open its seals

For by Your blood You ransomed people for God

From every tribe and language and people and nation

To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be

Blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever

We pray in Your name Jesus

Our wonderful, merciful Savior; our precious Redeemer and Friend

Amen

 

 

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Psalm 56:8

"You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book?"

Lessons from engagement, #1

Inspired by a friend's title sharing lessons from bedrest, I also would like to share the lessons I am learning from this stage of life. If anything just to document.

Being recently engaged there are a range of emotions that I have experienced over the last couple weeks. Initially there was the floating on the clouds, bubbling over excitement that one expects. Similar to a kid walking into an ice cream parlor for the first time, and tasting that delicious cold mint chocolate chip ice cream.. mm. Then comes the overwhelming feeling of "there is so much to do, and so little time." For me it was a pendulum swing from one to another, the high of emotions in knowing that the person you love has promised to love and care for you, and then the sinking feeling that comes with reality of details...

So here's Lesson #1.

Helpful tip from PD. Keep the main thing the main thing. The main thing is the Gospel. The love of Christ poured out for us through His life, death and resurrection. That is the ultimate thing. Therefore a marriage is a celebration of the grace that we've received and everything else is just STUFF. The marriage is a foreshadowing of the union we will have with Christ when He returns, our bridegroom.

Enlightening and freeing. Everything is just STUFF.

Enlightening because really when placed against the cross, all this wedding planning, is trivial. Important yes, not saying that one should neglect responsibility in being a good steward of time and money, but in the end it is just stuff, things that will pass. What we deem as important preferences now, people we feel like we will be BFF&F&F&Fs will with time and just distance grow apart. Decor and food will pass just as the thought of what we had for breakfast this morning will pass. But what does not pass .. are the feelings and the attitudes you carry through this time. It's been such a growing experience.. I always thought I was a simple person, no big preferences one way or another, go with the flow, chill... but when pushed up against the preferences of others that I don't agree with... I've learn just how UN-chill I am. Humbling this process is, learning to defer to one another and to consider one another as more significant than myself... it's harder than I deemed it at the beginning. Dying to self daily.

But God is gracious and His mercies are new every day, to enable me to battle. This is what makes it freeing. Freeing in the fact that stuff will all pass away but the love of Christ and the gospel proclaimed verbally or through my actions will be what remains. The gospel of Jesus Christ, his sacrificial love, his humility in leaving his throne above, to come to earth, be born of a woman, grow from infancy, be subject to human, fallible parents, and ultimately to be humiliated and crucified by those he came to save, his enemies. This is the love that needs to be seen through this engagement period.. and this is the sobermindedness that I need to be reminded of daily. This is what frees me from the binding, paralyzing STUFF that is entailed in wedding planning.

:D Engagement is a good place for me to be in. God's mercy in revealing more and more of my sin to me... and more and more of my need for the Cross.