Scripture – Page 13 – John Markum

Getting OUT of a Spiritual Funk

Posted on August 16, 2011 by johnmarkum

You ever feel like you stopped growing? Or your prayers weren’t getting very far? I know I’ve been in some places in my life like that. Here are a few things to consider doing when you feel like you’re in a spiritual funk:

Identify the Source – I recently had a funk I was going through. I was frustrated, irritable, reluctant to pray… I didn’t feel like myself. When I realized all these things had a common source it put everything into perspective for me. This is usually the case when we’re in a spiritual funk. Is it a sin issue, a fear, a work-related tension, a relational struggle, etc.?
Pray – Often when we’re in a spiritual funk, we resist praying. Go to God with your funk. And be honest about how you’re feeling. “If My people who are called by my name will humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face… then I will hear from Heaven…” 2 Chronicles 7:14
Confess – Not every funk is because we are doing something wrong. But it often is because of sin. Sin gets in the way of our walk with God. Confess means to “say the same thing.” When I confess something to God, I am acknowledging that it is what God says it is. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from every unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9
Praise – It feels unnatural when we’re down, but it’s a sure place to find God. And usually a good cure for our pain. I often use music that speaks to what I’ve been going through and acknowledges God’s faithfulness and power over it. This alone is one of the most powerful things to help me get out of a funk. God “inhabits the praises” of His people. Psalms 22:3
Do Something – Lethargy is a good way to stay in a funk. Go exercise, get back in church, talk to a trusted friend, take care of some errands, clean your house… anything that makes you feel better, more productive, or obedient to what you know God is telling you to do. It might be wise to deal with the source of your funk, to get it out of the way first.

You’ll get through this. And you’ll be closer to God and able to trust Him more for having gone through a tough time. Nothing worthwhile is ever easy. And you are worth it.

Blessings,

John

The Questions You Asked… Part 5

Posted on August 14, 2011 by johnmarkum

Question: “Romans 8:30… predestination?” Answer: Yes. But your question is incomplete. Predestine to what? Verse 30 is based on verse 29 where it says, “whom He foreknew, He predestined…” God’s “election” is based on His foreknowledge of who would receive Christ. Scripture interprets Scripture. John 1:11-12 puts several huge holes in the idea some have that God chose some people to salvation and others for Hell based on anything other than receiving Christ.
Question: “Does Pastor John have ADD?” Answer: Beavers and Ducks. I mean, yes.
Question: “Why does God want us to save sex for marriage?” Answer: Because God created sex, and He knows that the vulnerability that true sexual intimacy requires is only safe in a committed marriage relationship. There is a trust that a couple builds together when they wait that is absolutely irreplaceable when sleeping together before marriage. Sex outside of marriage ruins good relationships and prolongs bad ones. I said more on the subject here.
Question: “In Heaven, are we completely sinless?” Answer: Yes. Revelation 21:27
Question: “What is the ‘Unforgivable Sin’?” Answer: Rejecting the Holy Spirit prompting toward Jesus (Matthew 12:22-32). And it’s only “unforgivable” in the context of John 3:18. At what point has a person hopelessly rejected Christ? I don’t know. Not my place to know. Only my place to speak in His name and draw others to Him (that’s your job too, by the way).
Question: “Would God forgive the most awful repeat sinner?” Answer: He already did… me. That’s how big God is, and how small we are. He can forgive the most vile human being and make them like His Son. “Where sin did abound, grace did much more abound.” Romans 5:20.
Question: “Who is God?” Answer: “God” is the single, all-powerful Being possessing all knowledge and existing outside of time and space. Therefore, all things created are per His authorship, and nothing has ever happened apart from His knowledge and foresight. From His perspective, the future is just as much a matter of fact as the past. As the greatest “thing,” all good is measured by His standard, and all things short of His standard are utterly short and wicked. His standard of perfection can only be compared to His standard of love. The cross of Christ is the perfect example of both. That’s as good as I can do for a reasonable human description of an infinite Creator.
Question: “Where is the love in creating Hell?” Answer: Questions like this are lop-sided. I would counter this with the question, “where is the justice in letting every drunk, pedophiler, adulterer, serial-killer, and white-collar criminal go to Heaven?” The truth is, we can’t have it both ways: a God who forgives our sin, but has no sense of indignation toward it. If God would simply overlook sin without destroying it, then why overlook it? Just let it be! But God is loving and holy. The love you find in a God creating a place like Hell is two-fold: 1) That He loves us enough to destroy all wickedness that separates us from Him, and 2) That He would provide a means of not going there ourselves by trusting in Christ as the payment for our sin.
Question: “Can prayer change God’s mind?” Answer: Good question. If God knows everything past, present, and future per our definition of God in question 7, then technically God already knows everything He is going to do (from His perspective, He already did it). But His motive for why He does what He is going to, is often because His people pray. The Bible is full of examples (2 Cron. 7:14). In other words, God already knows what He is going to do, and why He’s going to do it, because He knows our prayers before we ask them (Matthew 6:8).
Question: “What is grace?” Answer: Grace is God blessing us with something we did not earn. I like the acronym: God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense.

So Close…

Posted on August 13, 2011 by johnmarkum

“Jesus sent out the twelve apostles with these instructions, ‘Don’t go to the Gentiles, or the Samaritans, but only to the people of Israel – God’s lost sheep.'” Matthew 10:5,6

I live and do ministry in the Quad Cities of Illinois and Iowa – an area that sits right on the Mississippi River with a population of approximately 325,000. The QC is a pretty typical Mid-West area. There is massive farming communities immediately outside (and somewhat inside) the cities, We are home to several major manufacturers, and nearly everyone has a church background.

I’m amazed at how I often I run into people and how seldom any of them claim no church affiliation. Here in the Mid-West, church is something that nearly everyone grew up with. And regardless of whether or not you actually go to church has nothing to do with “belonging” to a particular flavor of of religion that your parents or grandparents said you belong to.

When Jesus sends His disciples out for the first time on their first attempt at doing ministry outside of his direct supervision, He instructs them not to go to the Gentiles (Non-Jews) or the Samaritans (Half-Jews), but to the people of Israel, “God’s lost sheep.”

Really? The Jews? God’s “lost” sheep?!? Didn’t Jesus understand how well these Jews knew God? How well they obeyed the Old Testament? Their superior understanding of the laws of Moses? Didn’t He see the synagogues filled each Sabbath day with Jews eager to obey God?

Out here, nearly everyone knows about Jesus, believes in God, and owns a Bible. Almost all QC residents would claim some building as “the church I grew in.” Many of them even make the occasional appearance for Christmas or Easter. Most were married in a church. But with all of this religion and church experience there is an enormous oversight…

You see, the Jews would not have considered themselves “God’s lost sheep.” They would have considered themselves to be God’s favorites. But the truth is, they were off. They had a “form of godliness” but not the true “power thereof.” Being in church doesn’t make you close to God any more than me being in a shop makes me a mechanic.

Be careful that you’re not so close to “God” that you miss Him completely. Understand that your connection to Him is as close as you want it to be – He’s never been the one to leave.

A lot of people know about God, but don’t actually have a relationship with Him. There’s a word for a person who knows a lot about someone without having a relationship with them: “stalker!” Too many people are stalking God, but have not accepted the invitation to know him through Jesus Christ.

What about you? Do you know God, or are you creepin‘?