God – Page 10 – John Markum

What you CAN’T See

Posted on July 27, 2011 by johnmarkum

2 Kings 6 tells this fascinating story of Elisha being surrounded by the Aramean army. He had been relaying the details of their battle strategy to the king of Israel, and when the enemy found out they didn’t want to take chance by only sending a dozen troops. So they sent the likes of an entire battalion… for one man.

You ever felt the same way? Like you were being surrounded by seemingly impossible circumstances and the future was unclear, and there was no clear way of survival? Maybe for you it was a relational thing. Or college. Or your finances. Chances are, you can fill in the blank with your own example of an army surrounding you.

The best part of the story is when Elisha’s servant looks out the door to see the army surrounding them: No way of escape, no weapons, and outnumbered 1,000 to 2. Elisha prays for God to “open his eyes that he may see.” As God does so, the servant sees them being protected by an even greater army – an unseen army – made up of the hosts of Heaven.

Elisha does not pray for the army to be killed, he simply asks God to blind them. Then he leads the blinded battalion to the king of Israel, asks God to restore their sight, and then allows them to go back to their land unharmed. The Arameans leave Israel alone after that.

Funny, how something that looked so impossible was resolved, and without even a battle taking place. That’s how big our God is! Our God will take our overwhelming odds, and thwart their efforts to harm us.

Real faith is believing that there is something greater at work than what we can see with our eyes.

He never promised us bad stuff would never happen to us, He only promised that we’d never be alone, and that through Him we are more than conquerors. We will overcome by the power of our God. He is greater! He is with us! What can possibly stand in our way? Do not fear your circumstances. Look to our God, and expect great things from what you do not see.

Blessings,

John

Honor the Sabbath

Posted on July 23, 2011 by johnmarkum

In Exodus 20, God commands the people of Israel to “Honor the Sabbath day and keep it holy.” Ever since, there has been confusion as to what exactly He meant by that.

First of all, the word holy simply means “set apart.” And God even tells us in Exodus 20:11 the exact reason for telling us to “set apart” one day per week:

“For in six days the Lord made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them; but on the seventh day He rested. That is why the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy.”

Bottom line: Don’t try to out work God. Take time to slow down, recharge, and focus on the important things. Like God, family, health, and your sanity.

By the time you get to the New Testament, the religious leaders of Jesus time had created hundreds of laws regarding how to “Honor the Sabbath.” When they find Jesus doing everything from healing the sick and getting food on the Sabbath day, they totally lose it! Jesus points out that any of them would pull their ox out of a ditch on the Sabbath, but they cry foul when Jesus healed a cripple man. How does that make sense?

In our crazy-paced, American, consumerism mentality, it is so easy for us to use busyness as an excuse for everything:

Sorry I didn’t make it to your wedding. I had to work.
Sorry I was late for work. I had a doctors appointment.
Sorry I was late for my appointment. My babysitter took forever to get there.
Sorry I need you to watch my kids early, I have a bunch of errands to run.

I’ve heard the full gambit of reasons that people put God on hold. But God doesn’t just want you to make time with Him a priority. He wants you to make time for yourself.

Do you have a regular, weekly day to escape the crazy break-neck pace of life? If not, how long do you expect to make it at this pace? Even if it doesn’t kill you, how much are you actually enjoying life, and all the gifts of God has given you to slow down and enjoy from time to time?

“Man was not made for the Sabbath day, but the Sabbath day for man.” – Jesus (Mark 2:27)

Take one day a week even if it’s not Saturday. Slow down. Appreciate what you’ve accomplished in the past week. Prepare yourself for the next week. God wants you to chill.

Blessings,

John

Fake Christians

Posted on July 18, 2011 by johnmarkum

No the title is not redundant…

This weekend I preached at our Saturday night service, as usual, but also at our youth service, “Elevate”. I preached the same message as part of our series, “You Asked For It!” which I am teaming up with Pastor Craig Stevenson to tackle. I dealt with a question that was submitted:

“Why do Christians try so hard to act perfect?”

Great question. In short, I said that we all become fakers when we forget that character is more important than image. Whenever we behave hypocritically, we are telling ourselves that we care more about the opinions of others rather than the opinion of God. Then I gave the following 4 points about being a faker from Acts 4:32-37 and 5:1-11:

Attitude is more important than action. Because God cares more about what we are becoming than what we are doing.
When I’m hypocritical, I’m really only lying to 2 people: myself, and God. Neither of which lasts for long.
The truth eventually comes out. “Be sure your sin will find you out.”
God takes hypocrisy seriously. Two people died in this passage for being fakers. Imagine if God treated fakers in the church the same way today!

The good news: God already knows what I’m trying to hide from others. He’s aware of my habits, my past, my baggage, my failures, and fears… and loves me still. I don’t have to be a faker. God loves me – faults and all. But He wants us to drop the act, be real, and allow Him to make us more like Jesus. So what do you say… ready to put the mask down?

Blessings,

John