Resign or Resume

THIS WEEK has been very exciting. I went to Youthgroup Wednesday, the State Latin Competition from Thursday to Saturday, and Prom Saturday night. So it's been a big week, and I've had fun.
At Youthgroup Pastor Ryan discussed challenges and how we respond to them. This is a good one because there is nobody in the world who does not have a challenge. From the moment we are born we are challenged at least to get enough air, and after that we must learn a lifetime full of knowledge AND we must use it appropriately. It's a challenging life, especially if it is a life lived by faith. This is because, as Jesus repeatedly informs us, the world tends to hate the Truth and to revile those who follow it. There are people who hate Christians and think we are hypocrites and fools, and there are those who think any religion is valid because we couldn't prove one any better than another. The beautiful and yet tragic irony is that we can tell just who is in the dark, and we can see that Christianity (which is not really a religion, but a relationship) proves to be different from all other belief systems. Indeed, it refuses to mix with the all-accepting idea that all religions are equally valid because Christians believe there is no other way to God. We understand that we cannot earn God nor do anything to become good enough for Him. God knows that too, so He makes a way for us to come to Him - by coming to us!
So we see that Christians are going to face some conflicts in the world. The conflicts will not only be with whether other people will accept us but also with overcoming temptations and with facing the hard things that just happen in life. We do that by becoming increasingly familiar with His Word and arming ourselves in this way against the deceptions in the world, which come from the devil, and the potentially harmful effects of pain and failure. But we know that we all tend to fall into some form of temptation every now and then. What does that mean? We have the Holy Spirit to makes us able to tell sin NO, and we have the Word to direct our minds, and we've been made new by Christ. Shouldn't we be able to stay completely out of temptation forever? It's a terribly frustrating thought to deal with if you do not know that God is patient, and that He knows our nature. If we trust Him that He will forgive us, and if we are truly repentant and confess to Him our wrongdoings, then He is faithful and just to forgive us.
As for pain and obstacles, we need to remember that God knows about pain. And He knows how to get us over anything. The trick is not to sit and pick at the scabs but to show the hurt to God and let Him put a Band-aid on it.
In regards to temptations, obstacles, and persecutions there is a major choice we make every time. This is what Pastor Ryan was talking about. We can choose to resign, believing we are failures for giving in to temptation, or giving up on a worthwhile effort because of a failure or a roadblock, or going home because your enemy reviles you. Or we can choose to resume, having a repentant heart which asks for forgiveness and continues the walk, or accepting a failure and trying something different to achieve what you are called to, or turning the other cheek to persecution and continuing with all boldness and rejoicing.
Here's what the Bible says about slipping into temptation. First John 1:7-10.
"[7] But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. [8] If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. [9] If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. [10] If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word in not in us."
This is cool because it reminds us that even we Christians, cleansed of all sin, make mistakes. There is a difference between slipping up and just not following Christ. Following Christ is more than an action, and more than a lifestyle. It's a life that lasts past death. Christians slip up (don't lie to yourself - we do). But when we do, it is important to acknowledge the mistake, repent and confess to God, and not do it again. He forgives. It's very awesome that He forgives. He knows what we're like, and that we're people who need forgiveness. That's why He came, to make it possible for us to be forgiven. Now, He might still put us through some things to straighten us out and to teach us a lesson, but don't all fathers do that to help their children? Of course they do. No dad ever raises good kids by never teaching them any lessons. But a good dad teaches lessons AND forgives the mistakes, loving that kid non-stop no matter what stupid thing he does. Like the prodigal son's dad in Luke 15, remember?
Here's what the Bible says about obstacles. Micah 7:8
"Do not rejoice over me, my enemy; When I fall, I will arise; When I sit in darkness, the LORD will be a light to me."
And obstacle could be pain, failure, disappointment, a change of plans, a loss, or even a distraction. These things happen in life. The devil knows we can do amazing things with God's guidance, and he knows that God is able to include us in amazing plans. So he wants to stop us, and often that's why we have obstacles. Other times God gives us obstacles to teach us things and to strenthen us. The tricky part is the decision we make when we face something that messes with us. We could give up or try to solve things by ourselves, or we could call on God to pick us up again. I know a song like that, Arms Around Me by Hawk Nelson. "Put Your arms around me, I know, trying hard not to let go. Every time I stand up I fall without You. With Your arms around me I know, with me wherever I go. Nothing else matters at all when You're here." He's never going to let go. We just have to trust Him. That's all He's ever wanted us to do. Trust Him, Love Him, Obey Him. He's never going to leave, and that's something you can't say about anyone or anything else.
Here's what the Bible says about persecution. Romans 8: 36-39. This is awesome.
"[36] As it is written, 'For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.' [37] Yet in all these thing we are more than conquerers through Him who loved us. [38] For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, [39] nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
I know most of us don't die for being Christians nowadays, but many do and this passage is good for them. As for those of us who don't really get killed for being Christians, we know that we do take up our crosses daily. This means to daily surrender ourselves to whatever God wants, however it hurts, and that can be dying. It is dying to ourselves and to the world. I've heard it's like becoming a clean window for light to shine through. That's what I want to be. No matter what happens to us, nothing will ever separate us from God.
In the book of Daniel, chapter 3, three guys called Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego refused to bow to the big gold idol that the king made for everybody to worship. They worshipped God, who says not to worship anything or anyone else. Aware of the consequences, they refused to bow to the idol and were tossed by the angry king's men into a super duper hot flaming scorching burning fiery furnace of fire. The guys who tossed them in even got killed from the fire. But these three guys had told the king that they knew God is able to save them from the fire if He wants to, so they were not burned. Everybody was shocked. They saw them walking around with a mysterious Fourth Figure, probably an angel, inside the fire. The king told them to come out, and they did. They were not even stlightly barbecued. Here's what the king Nabuchadnezzar said, Micah 3:28-29, "[28] Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, who sent His Angel and delivered His servants who trusted in Him, and yielded their bodies, that they should not serve nor worhip any god except their own God! [29] Therefore I make a decree that any people, nation, or language which speaks anything amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made an ash-heap; because there is no other God who can deliver like this." The chapter ends with the three men being given promotions in Babylon.
Their self-sacrificial action, made out of love for God, glorified God in several ways. First, they had put Him before themselves. Second, God saved them for trusting Him even unto the very real threat of death, and this put Nebuchadnezzar in awe of their very real God. Third, the king was inspired to command that everyone everywhere hold respect for this God's name, where he had previously sought to make everybody worhsip his pretty golden idol. God is awesome. I like that last part of the king's statement, "there is no other God who can deliver like this." It's true. Think about all the other religions you know apart from Christianity. There is no other belief system in which the god being worship wants the people to come to Him, and loves them enough to make Himself the way for them to get to Him. There is no other religion in which there is not a list of things people have to do to achieve closeness to God. God just took down all the walls and curtains. There is no other faith in which there is a god who is consistent, present, honestly uncomplicated, yet powerful, far above comprehension or measure. Everywhere else there is an idea of a God who is mystically vague, or who encourages bloody vengefulness, or who hides from the people who long to come close to Him. In Jesus there is peace because God is not far away.
What about this nutty world, then? We start to wonder. I saw on the news a story about a girl named Haleigh Cummings who has been missing for about 14 months. They're saying she is "likely dead." And I wonder what's happening in the world, and whether the news people have anything nice to tell me. Did Suzie Brown's dog have puppies? Did somebody get married? This girl is "likely dead" they say. It's horrible, it's incredible. Keep praying that wherever she is she is safe, and that she might be back with her family soon, and that if there is a shred of glimmering hope that survives a phrase like "likely dead" that that hope will grow until it becomes her true situation.
But this is the same world where Pastor Ryan is getting married to Shelby on May 29th,and where little babies giggle and learn their family's names, and where Jesus once walked so that there is still hope. God is still here. So whatever problem comes up, whether it is pain and hurt, or persecution, or rejection, or temptations, or whatever it is, I encourage you to be aware of the choice you make in dealing with it. We can resign, or we can resume. Job resumed, and he had nothing besides God. In Second Corinthians 12:9 Jesus speaks to Paul, "And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Sometimes we have to have problems before we can see that God makes us able to get past them. Whatever they are, if we overcome them through trust in Him rather than stumbling over them through trust in ourselves or in empty things, our victory over them can be a way for our lives to bring Him glory. I pray anybody who is reading this who has a problem or who knows somebody who knows somebody who has a problem will find comfort in these words. God doesn't leave.