SOVEREIGNTY: The Pro up there!

Then Moses said to God, "Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you.' Now they may say to me, 'What is His name?' What shall I say to them?" God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM"; and He said, "Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.'"

Exodus 3:13-14

In his book Walking Through The Darkness, Neil Anderson tells the story of an amateur pilot caught in a fog without instruments. When the tower told him to do exactly as he was told he responded angrily, “Hey, you aren’t dealing with a seasoned pro up here!” The controller replied coolly, “No, were not! But you are down here!” [paraphrased]

Like the controller to the pilot, we can’t see God; yet we know he’s there, because we can hear His voice. We must simply trust and obey, for we’re dealing with a Professional up there.

Christianity, Illustrations,
Religion, Sovereignty

DAY OF REST: Because We want To!

"God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it …"

Genesis 2:3 [see also Exodus 31:12-13]

"on the first day of the week …"

Acts 20:7

"let no one act as your judge in regard to … a Sabbath Day"

Colossians 2:16-17

A museum gardener wants to rest on the seventh day – whether the museum is busy or not.

Muriel Taten, 70, of Old Westbury, NY, has sued Nassau County over a requirement that she work Sundays at a colonial museum, which is busiest on the weekends. She believes she should be in church.

Mrs. Taten’s work schedule of 21 years at the Old Bethpage Village Restoration was changed in June. She said she used vacation days to get Sundays off. And when they ran out, she filed a … lawsuit.

Many, who claim Christ, faithfully observe two key Christian events each year: Christmas and Easter. Yet there are 50 other days each year which they quite easily profane. It seems contemporary believers have become insensitive to the real meaning of the Lord’s Day!

Then again, we must be careful, for our obedience is voluntary. We keep the Lord’s Day as a memorial of the gift of Grace provided by the Father through the Son. To keep it “because God said to” is like being faithful to your wife, “because God said to.” We are faithful to our spouses because we want to, not because we have to!

Recently a church made an agreement with a market to use its parking lot each Sunday. The market had only one condition: park there 51 Sundays per year but set aside one Sunday as a “NO PARKING DAY” in order to remind members who owned the lot.

So too ought we to set aside one day out of seven to remember who gave us the other six.

[“Hey, God did it,” San Gabriel Valley Daily Bulletin, November 2, 1997, A19]

Christianity, Illustrations, Religion

OBEDIENCE - It is not negotiable!

THE CHIEF’S COMMAND! [Various Scripture; Church, Discipleship, Sanctification, Service]

During WWII the North African Campaign was in a mess and General Montgomery was sent to clean it up. I’m told his first order was as follows: “The orders of the Commander-in-Chief will no longer be open to interpretation ... just action.”

God will not bully or threaten those He has chosen. No gun will be put to anyone's head; no one will be dragged, kicking and screaming into heaven.

We may choose to obey or disobey. Yet there are those who insist they’re obedient, but clearly are not! Such is the problem of the twentieth century.

Were I chosen to write the epitaph for the church of this century, I would write: CLAIMED GREAT PROCLAMATION; PROCLAMATION LEFT UNPROCLAIMED.

[Editor's note: apologies to whomever I acquired this from; I’ve long forgotten its source]