God – Page 8 – John Markum

Jump!

Posted on August 17, 2011 by johnmarkum

Tiffany and I are now the parents of a kindergartener! It seems unreal… when did I get this old?!

Anyway, we had our kids at the pool here recently and were having a lot of fun with the kids. Emilee, who is now 5 and learning to swim was doing good. Until, of course, I had the genius idea to get her to jump into the pool to me. She was terrified of it. All of my persuasive powers were useless against her… until she saw her little sister do it!
Finally I coax her to the edge and she counts to 3 (for the hundredth time!) and actually jumps to me! And, just as I predicted, she loved it. So she gets back out of the pool, but will she do it again? Nooooo! Even though she had so much fun, even though she sees her little sister do it, even though daddy caught her, each time it’s like pulling teeth to get her to trust me enough for her to jump.

But often I’m no better… God tells me to trust Him, step out on faith, and watch Him work. And even though He has never missed catching me, each time difficult circumstances arise, requiring me to trust God, I can be even more difficult than getting my little girl to jump into the pool to me.

And as frustrated as I can get at her as her parent, I wonder, “Does God ever feel the same way? What would God say to me when I stress out over things I can’t control?” I imagine it might be something like…

Trust Me! JUMP!
I caught you last time didn’t I?
Have I ever let you drown?!?
It’ll be so exciting to leave the ledge of your safety and see what I can do when you trust Me!
I’m serious! JUMP, BOY!

And it’s particularly interesting how Emilee insists on jumping to me in the shallow end. As though she can touch the bottom on either side! The truth is, it doesn’t matter how much water is below me, if I’m within reach. Because I love my kid so much that I’d never put her in a situation that I couldn’t get her through.

And it doesn’t matter how “deep” this situation is over the last time. Our God has promised to “never leave you, nor forsake you.” Whatever is at stake, He’s in control, and capable of bringing you through it… just like He did last time… just like He’ll do every time.

Go ahead… Jump!

Blessings,

John

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.