Posts Tagged With: Bible

Finding God in Fiery Places

Posted on March 27, 2013 by Doug Gilmer

“…for no other god can save in this way.” (Daniel 3:29 NIV)

If you want to see the sunrise you have to get up early in the morning. If you want to catch peacock Flamesbass, you are going to have to travel to South America. If you want to hike the Grand Tetons, a trip to Jackson Hole, Wyoming is in order. If you want to hunt elk, most likely you are going to have to travel to the western United States. Why? Because the sun rises in the morning, peacock bass live in South America, Jackson Hole is a major gateway to the Tetons, and the largest elk herds live in the western states

God, however, can be found anywhere. Still, I have discovered over the years, the best viewing locations of God are not found in the comfort of the church or your favorite chair. One of the best places to see God for who he really is, is in the midst of turmoil. If we really want to see just how powerful and capable God is, look for him in the fires of life we all experience. Even more so, sometimes we merely need to look at how others face  turmoil with God to understand how faithful he is. This is where King Nebuchadnezzar saw God and it changed his life.

The king was outraged because three young men would not bow down and worship the king’s god, a gold statue. Their disobedience to the king’s decree was in response to their faithfulness to the one true God. In response, King Nebuchadnezzar ordered the three young men executed; they were to be put to death in a fiery furnace. So outraged was the king at the men’s defiance he ordered the furnace heated seven time hotter than it had ever been. Then he threw them in.

It should have been an excruciating, horrible death for the three young men. However, they were soon seen walking comfortably around in the furnace. The king watched in amazement and became excitedly puzzled as he saw not three but rather four men walking around. The fourth man, the king observed, had the appearance of “the son of gods”. Could it be? Had God, or more appropriately the very son of God, shown up to save the men at life’s most trying moment? Indeed God had.  It is evidence that when life is at its worst, God is at His best. When men and women of faith, exercise that faith during life’s toughest moments, and trust God for the outcomes, God often moves in unmistakable and remarkable ways. God shows up in our darkest hours when we remain faithful to Him.

The king, who moments earlier was attempting to execute the men for their refusal to worship his golden statue, was now proclaiming his belief and allegiance to the Most High God (v. 26), giving Him praise (v.28), and instructing all people to now worship the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (v. 29).  What changed? The King saw God show up in the midst of the men’s most critical life moment and because of their faith God saw them through. I believe as Christians, our greatest witness comes not by what we say, but rather, by how people see our faith reflected during turmoil.

Not long ago, I received a call from a person whom I barely knew; we had only met once at a trade show and merely exchanged cards. He explained to me he had just watched a hunting buddy of his slowly die from disease in a hospital bed. He said his friend never complained about the disease and never complained about dying. Instead, the caller said he expressed complete joy and total peace based on his relationship with Jesus Christ up until the very moment he died and entered eternity. The caller asked me, “Doug, I want the same joy and peace he had. Can you help me?”

Do you need to see just how mighty God is? Stand close to the fire. Seek out a faithful servant of God. Ask him or her how God has moved in their life. Watch them do life through the tough times. Better yet, next time you find yourself entering a fiery furnace, remember to turn the situation over to God. Trust Him for the outcome. Don’t be afraid; know He is in control. No matter what you are facing, I guarantee, He will be standing right next to you, for all to see. It is a most powerful witness.

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Don’t Like Religion? It’s OK! (Jesus didn’t either)

Posted on January 30, 2013 by Doug Gilmer

Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. James 1:27 ESV

Religion. If there is one word that can contrive a range of emotions and opinions it is this one. People have long said that religion and politics are the two topics one should refrain from discussing with strangers, over dinner, or on first dates. Religion has been parodied on Saturday Night Live, Seinfeld, The Simpsons and Family Guy. Religion can fuel an argument, end relationships, and start wars. Organized religion can build barriers we are forced to climb over and hoops we are told we have to jump through in order to meet God.

“Religion” has gone wrong. It has become nothing more than a generic term with very broad meaning and implication to identify a system of closely held beliefs people exercise in their pursuit of the spiritual. These beliefs may or may not even involve God or a “god”.  Here is the United States, however, when we talk about “religion” it is most often referred to in the context of Christianity. Yet, I doubt much of what is done today under the banner of being “religious” is really what Jesus Christ had in mind. To be honest, I don’t really blame you if you don’t like “religion”. I am not sure I like much of what I see about it today either.

James, however, speaks of religion in an entirely different context.  “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” This is not the definition of religion but it is an example of what it should look like. Do not misunderstand me. The Bible is very clear, we are not saved by doing good works (man attempting to reach God, aka religion) but is instead saved by grace, through faith in Jesus Christ (a relationship). However the James tells us in the very next chapter “faith without works is dead”. The Apostle John writes in 1 John 3:17, “But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?”

The Bible is very clear, Jesus came to be a savior and not to be religious. He even reserved his harshest words and criticism for the “religious” people of the day. He instead chose to hang out with prostitutes, thieves, tax collectors, adulterers, the sick, oppressed, and downcast. Jesus summed up his mission in Luke 4:18-19, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” 

However, if we continue on with James’ example of what pure religion looks like we must also take note that we are to keep ourselves unstained by the world. This does not mean we cannot be in the world, we just must not allow ourselves to fall in love with and conform to the things of the world (Romans 12:2, 1 John 2:15-17).

Probably no one in the New Testament understood the idea of religion better than the Apostle Paul. For many years, religion was his life. Upon his conversion, Paul discovered what he thought was religion, was really not. And yet Paul, who penned most of the New Testament (with God’s help) and is the greatest Christian missionary of all time, said this,

“Even though I am free of the demands and expectations of everyone, I have voluntarily become a servant to any and all in order to reach a wide range of people: religious, nonreligious, meticulous moralists, loose-living immoralists, the defeated, the demoralized-whoever. I didn’t take on their way of life. I kept my bearings in Christ-but I entered their world and tried to experience things from their point of view. I’ve become just about every sort of servant there is in my attempts to lead those I meet into a God-saved life. I did all this because of the Message. I didn’t just want to talk about it; I wanted to be in on it!” (I Corinthians 9:19-23, The Message).

That’s more like it! Even Paul understood Jesus did not fit in the “religion” box. He is much bigger than that and a relationship with Jesus means endless opportunity with an eternal Savior. It also means leading a life like which James describes, Paul pursued, and Jesus himself demonstrated. If only we could care more about the world than our rules, roles and reputation, then maybe religion wouldn’t look so bad to everyone looking at us.

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Scripture’s Most Repeated Command: Fear Not

Posted on January 28, 2013 by Doug Gilmer

When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. Psalm 56:3 ESV

Remington BearDo you know what God’s most repeated command in the Bible is? It might surprise you. Here is a list of what it is NOT:

  • Do not lie
  • Tithe
  • Help the hurting
  • Love you neighbor
  • Love your spouse

Each of these, and many, many more commands in scripture are important. Yet I find it interesting the most repeated command in scripture to you and I is, “fear not”, or “do not be afraid.” We are given this command over 100 times in the Bible. David obviously understood this and maybe more than anyone. Consider the situations he faced over his lifetime. As a young boy he had to fight off dangerous animals threatening his flock of sheep. Later, and still as a teenager, he squared off in an epic battle with Goliath. At one point he was forced to run for his life to the mountains and caves surrounding his hometown as so many people were out to kill him. Still later, he faced an uncertain future because of evil plotting family members. David was a mighty warrior yet he knew his strength did not come from within, his salvation was not his own, his life was not in his own hands, it all belonged to God. “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.”

For most of us today, we are not going to face off against a giant, square off against a dangerous beast, of be forced to survive while evading capture and certain death. Our struggles are going to be with more common fears such as, finances, job uncertainty, a job interview, having a difficult conversation with a friend or loved one, or maybe just the fear of being alone. Being an outdoor educator as well, I see people facing fears all the time; getting lost, wild animals, heights, rushing water, the dark, and the list goes on. Fear, however, provides such a great learning opportunity, whether in day to day life or in the backcountry, for something called faith.

David knew all about it. The Bible repeats it. Faith is seeing things that have not yet been realized as if they already have, regardless of our circumstance.

The other day I was reading a post written by Sandi Krakowski. I have never met Sandi but I enjoy reading her lessons on faith, business, leadership and living out daily life. She made the following statements in her post, “Fear is faith in the wrong god. Fear and faith cannot co-exist. Fear is false evidence appearing real, an allegiance to the wrong Kingdom. Fear exits, when faith is the habitual choice.”

She hit the nail on the head. When we focus on fear we take our focus off the One who said, “Fear not.”. We are reminded in 2 Timothy 1:7, “ for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.”  We cannot escape uncertainty, risk, and hardship in our lives but we can choose how we face these circumstances. When we choose to face them under our own power we give way to fear. When we place these circumstances in God’s hands, we give way to faith.

As Sandi said, make faith the habitual choice. Follow the lead of David who says, “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.”  And should you need reminding, there are enough “fear nots” and “do not be afraids” in the Bible you can have at least two for every week of the year. More than enough for most of us, even if we only need to believe it once.

 

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