God – Page 8 – John Markum

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‘?

Discerning God’s Will: Part 2

Posted on July 30, 2011 by johnmarkum

FINDING GOD’S WILL FOR YOUR LIFE

This is one of the most misunderstood subjects among Christians. We talk about “God’s will for our life” as though it were this big mystical enigma that only a few people get lucky enough to get right while the rest of us flounder around hoping that we end up tripping over some kind of “destiny”. Sadly, many people don’t ever seem to grasp it, and end up spending their lives trying to figure out how to live their life.

They don’t lack for praying any. Many people in this position have prayed and prayed and prayed… hoping that their future would unfold before them with some kind of supernatural certainty and Divine blessing of promised success. And when they don’t get it, they feel lonely, as if God has kind of left them hanging, or has refused to show them anything. So, spiritually speaking, they conclude that the reason for this is because of a personal sin issue. “I’m just not trusting God enough, when I believe in Him enough, then He’ll show me.”And the cycle continues until the person either makes some big decisions for themselves or, often times, walks away from their faith – entirely frustrated.

Any of that sound like things that have happened in your heart or life? Then maybe these questions can help you get traction in discovering and following God’s will for your life:

What is in your hand?: God asked Moses this when He revealed His purpose for Moses life in Exodus 4, and at the time all Moses had was a staff. Nothing fancy, it was basically a good walking stick. But this “walking stick” showed up almost everywhere through the rest of Moses’ life. God used his staff as a means of showing Moses His will. So what is in your hand? What talents, gifts, resources, connections has God given you that He may want to leverage for your good and His glory? Don’t overlook what you think of as “ordinary”; Moses had a stick, for crying out loud!
Who has God put in my life?: Throughout Scripture, we see God calling people into His will together. You were meant to live in community. You are a part of a whole, just like me. we need each other to be all that God has called us to. Who are the people that are unmistakeably placed in your life by God?
What are you doing now?: It’s easy to miss the forest for the trees. There’s a good chance that you’re closer to God’s will than you know, yet you are trying so hard to look far into your future that you didn’t realize that you were standing on it all along. God isn’t waiting to use you “someday,” He desires a purpose for you right here – right now! So how could the things you are doing now fit into God’s design for you?
What is my plan?: Form your dreams and desires into a functioning plan. Leave some flexibility room, because plans do change. But if you aim at nothing, you’ll hit it every time. What are the steps that need to take place in order for you to get where God is leading you? This is the part where most people quit. Whether it’s due to the fear of asking themselves the tough questions of “how?” or just laziness, many people with all of the potential never get to see it materialize for lack of a plan.
What’s it going to take?: Too many well-intentioned people are stationary for fear of the unknown. At some point, despite the things you are unsure of, you have to begin to make some decisions and acting on those decisions. How much certainty do you need to have before you act? That is a legitimate question. Are you waiting for the finances before you enroll for college? How much of the money do you need to see first before you trust God for the rest? Create if/then decisions and take action. And if you wait for absolute 100% certainty, you’ll never do what God wants for you. Period.

Certainly, more could be said. But I hope this helps you chew over the big questions and that you will refuse to settle for less than God’s best for your life.

Blessings,

John