Is God a Vending Machine?

I like getting what I want when I want it.  I have no patience for patience.  And what I want is rarely  what is good for me.  My impatience and demands increase in frequency and stridency the more I am desiring that which is not in my best interest....funny how that happens. 

Have you ever felt like you were going crazy if you couldn't eat some broccoli....or.... mow your lawn?  When was the last time you got an insatiable and attitude shaping hankering for a healthy salad?  

What?!? You are telling me that your rarely feel that way about those things???  Welcome to the club.  As many of you know I have radically overhauled my health lifestyle in the last 5  years.  In general I eat pretty healthy and take good care of myself.  But even after 5 years of healthy choices I still get mildly obsessed over stupid unhealthy stuff.  Just last night, my beautiful wife went to bed early and I felt a bit hungry.  Did I immediately reach for a bowl of broccoli with some carrot juice to wash it down?  Of course not, I made a pb&j with potato chips and washed it down with whole milk.  mmmmmm.  And until I ate it I was literally obsessing over it.

What's wrong with me?  I chalk this moment of weakness to the fact that I lift heavy weights 5-6 times a week and my protein needs are higher than they used to be....but I probably would have been fine with something healthier.  But I wanted what I wanted and I wanted it NOW!!!

We are wildly selfish and shortsighted in so many ways.  And we apply this mindset(often unknowingly) to how we approach God.  We want what we want and we want it now.

In John 14 Jesus says,
¹³ And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. ¹⁴ You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

This proof texted passage becomes our life verse.  We want what we want, AND, we will invoke Jesus' name when wanting it and "voila" we got it!!!

Let's accept something together.  When we want what we want RIGHT NOW, it is often arguably not what is actually best for us.  So lets stop treating God like a vending machine whose value we perceive only through the lens of whether or not He gives us exactly what we have decided we want.

Whenever we read scripture we cannot just pick and choose verses and passages at random and in a vacuum to cobble together our point.  We cannot read John 14:13-14 in a vacuum either.  In Luke 11 Jesus teaches us how to pray.  Without repeating the Lord's Prayer here...suffice it to say, it does not read like a "how to manual" on how to get stuff, but, a challenge to empty ourselves of self and submit to God and His Glory. 

So what could we reasonable offer as the understanding of John 14:13-14?  Well, the surrounding passages are all about Jesus calling His disciples to the ministry of the Gospel.  To read this contextually requires us to understand that Jesus is telling His disciples that they can trust God to empower them to preach the Gospel with power and effectiveness for the Glory of God! 

Again, this is not the instruction manual to getting stuff.  It is the call to glorify God and know that you ARE empowered to do so. 

God is not a vending machine who exists to give you fancy baubles.  He calls you to Himself and then sends you out to proclaim that the captives are free and that sin is defeated.  What you and I need is not more things to fill up our houses with, but, more boldness to glorify the risen Savior!

 

Astonishing Jesus

Matthew 8:8-10
⁸ The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. ⁹ For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
¹⁰ When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.

There are many different ways my kids approach me when they need something.  The "how" often is much more important than the "why."  Consciously or not, we all do a bit of quick thinking evaluation of what is really going on when someone approaches us for something.  Attitude plays the largest role in how we discern the heart behind the request. 

When my son approaches me angrily I know before I even hear his words that it is going to be a request most likely rooted in selfishness.  His anger betrays his heart.  Sure, it might be legitimate that he wants "this", but his attitude informs me that it is all about him and God help those who do not bow to his wishes.  At that moment I exist, in his head, to simply be a conduit for achieving his self-centered desires. 

On the other hand, when he approaches me quietly and meekly, I know that there is a much different heart going on.  He isn't coming to demand, but instead to ask for help from the one person he knows is capable of helping him.  Usually, this approach follows earnest self-attempts to do whatever it is he wanted.  And when he realizes that he can't accomplish what he wants without his daddy, he comes hoping for help, knowing that I am capable.

When we read this account of the Centurion coming to Jesus to heal his servant we see a man who is outside of the Jewish community, but having a faith that amazed Jesus.  How would you like to have a faith that Jesus is amazed by?  All scripture is for our edification and so what can we take from this and apply to ourselves. 

I see two important parts to the visible display of the Centurions faith:

1)  Humility. 

"I do not deserve" was such a great line.  How many times I approach God with demands and expectations.  We treat God like a Holy Vending machine so easily.  Here are my prayer inputs....now....where are my goodies?!?! 

We cannot hope to approach the cross on our feet.  The only way forward is on our knees.  The very act of living with self-righteous justification towards our right to approach God with demands shows how far our hearts are truly from God.

Is God simply existing to be a conduit for providing for our desires, or, is He a Holy and Righteous King who exists not for our pleasure, but His own?


2)  Belief in the authority and power of Christ.

The Centurion doesn't just say, "do you think you can do this".  He basically says, "I know you can with no more than a word". 

I am about as far from the "name it claim it" camp as one can possibly be.  So, don't take this the wrong way.  But we live so often paralyzed in fear that God isn't who He says He is.  We do not live in the freedom and satisfaction of knowing that God is in control and is working all things to the good of those who love Him. 

We have a very limiting view of the problems we do have, and, the problems we may have.  They consume us, we allow anxiety and worry to rob us of hope and peace.  Do you know that there is a Limitless God who loves you beyond measure?  No matter the immediately "felt" realities of the difficulties in life, our hope is not in "today", but the forever Tomorrows.

The Centurion isn't just hoping that Jesus is who He says He is.  He trusts it completely, and humbly places his hope in Christs' hands.


How about you?  Let me challenge you, and me, to pursue a heart that is rooted in Trusting Humility.  Jesus is who He says He is.  And, we are who He says we are.  We have no right to ask Him for anything.  But He invites us to come to Him out of love and see that He is indeed who He promised He would be.

Savior

Healer

God With Us

King

Don't judge me, This is a pretty amazing Astonished Jesus

God is Not Deaf

Matthew 6:9-13
This, then, is how you should pray:

“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
¹⁰ your kingdom come,
your will be done,
    on earth as it is in heaven.
¹¹ Give us today our daily bread.
¹² And forgive us our debts,
    as we also have forgiven our debtors.
¹³ And lead us not into temptation,
    but deliver us from the evil one."

We have a problem in our family.  Whining.  There is this incessant tone that our children take about nearly everything that basically comes out as a whiny incomprehensible white noise.  It sometimes feels like they can't even ask for a glass of water without rubbing their nails down a chalkboard. 

A new favorite phrase we have begun to employ is, "I don't hear whiny voices".

How many parents have had to say that?  Every single one of them at some point in their little "angels" lives.......

Can you imagine what would happen if we didn't actively correct and teach our children to communicate appropriately?  I have nightmares of Kai one day sitting in his bosses office saying, "Buuuuuut puhleeeeeaaaaaasseeeeeeee can I leeeave early on friiiidayyyy?"  How successful would our kids careers and adult lives be if they took this obnoxious and childish behavior with them into their teen years and beyond?

As parents we have been entrusted with raising our children to function in healthy and honorable ways.  A child's natural inclination is not towards responsibility.  We have to instill in them those patterns and attitudes.  We all know some adults that clearly were not raised responsibly.  People who are always complaining about their job/work/boss/life.  Who can never keep a job long term and are always bouncing from relationship to relationship. 

There is a really important area where we have a tendency to whine.  Prayers.

"Buuuuutt Gaaawwwwdddd, I realllllly want thissssssss"

And to borrow from my sons favorite phrase  "If you don't do thissss for me, I won't be your friend anymore!!!"

We approach God like spoiled little brats that expect the Holy Sovereign King of all Creation to just drop everything to go get us what we want right now.  And then, when we don't get what we want, how do we feel?  God isn't listening, He doesn't love me, I don't want to be His friend anymore!!!

Jesus lays out very clearly the way to approach with honor and respect God through prayer.  Let me break it down for us in a way that is applicable;


"Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name"
The very beginning of our prayer is a humble and honoring recognition of who God is.  Holy and high above us.  This is essential.  The foundational principle of prayer is rooted in the idea that God is God and we are not.  When you approach your boss at work, do you talk down to them?  Of course not, you know exactly how that would end up.  Why would we approach God any differently?

Are you willing to actively recognize his absolute Holiness in the midst of your needs?


"Your Kingdom Come, Your Will Be done"
Whose will?  Not ours.  Before we even make a personal request, we need to trust that what is right and true is God's will, NOT our desires.  God's will is not going to be thwarted.  He will continue to work all things to His glory and our good.  This is essential in finding hope within our needs.  If we begin to submit our hearts to God's will, we can be shaped by an attitude that does not feel fear or anxiety when what we immediately observe seems difficult. 

We love the passage in Philippians 4 that says, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me".  You know why we generally like it?  Because we misread it!  It isn't telling us we are going to win at something.  It is telling us that Paul has learned that when rooted in God's goodness that he is able to be joyful and hopeful and that he can ENDURE all the difficulties that life throws at him.  Paul learned to not lean on what he currently has, but the goodness of God and His unshakeable will!  When we pray, we must place everything in the context of God's sovereignty in all areas!

Have you checked your heart in your prayers recently?  Whose will are you really praying about and hoping in? 

"Give us today our daily bread"
There is an insidious movement within western Christianity.  The thinking that having a bunch of stuff/health/money/etc is the proof of God's love for us.  What does Jesus tell us to pray.  For our daily bread.  The full testimony of scripture teaches us that for every moment and every situation we must be able to approach empty handed and trust that THIS, even THIS, God will provide for us.  The picture of daily bread is not one of long term confidence in the bank.  But continual seeking of God for every single thing. 

Is your heart attitude towards your circumstances "one day at a time", or, is it about living right now in this very moment and trusting that God will walk you through to the other side?  Guess which one Jesus tells us to pray about.......

"And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors"
This is an interesting little cause and effect.  Does scripture overall indicate that your inability to always act in a forgiving manner at all times mean you WILL NOT be forgiven?  No, of course not. But what is going on here in the language?  Our willingness to humbly forgive those who AREN'T ALWAYS deserving of it has a direct effect on our ability to experience God's forgiveness.  A bitter heart towards others is a heart that won't be able to experience the Grace that has been given to it!

Are you ready to humbly let go of bitterness and love in the same sacrificial way that God has loved you?

"And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one"
Every day we must be praying and seeking protection from the temptations of life.  Do you accept the reality of spiritual warfare?  Because if you don't, you are setting yourself up for a fall.  There is an enemy who will take every possible chance to tear you down, hurt you, put you in a hole.  A prayerful approach is a proactive way of putting our lives into God's hands and not dwelling in the sinful mindsets that lead to our pain. 

What sins in your life are killing you?  It's time to name them and pray for, and believe in, protection from them!


Right this moment, I challenge you to start praying.  And praying in the way Jesus TOLD you and I to pray.  Stop communicating like a whiny child.  God is not deaf, speak to Him in the way that honors who He is!

Is it just me, or is Calliou the whiniest kid ever.

I have never before wished such harm on a cartoon character.

Relationships and God

                Relationships are the fundamental interactions of people that define and shape ourselves and others.  As we are made as image bearers of God Himself, we have innate characteristics that are properly aligned to be understood as “relationship identity”.  God is a triune God, (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) and His very character is that of relationally living.  To fully understand God one must undertake the journey to understand all three unique and integral facets of His existence.  The Father divorced from the Holy Spirit, or the Son existing without the Father, are impossibilities, because without those defining relationships being innately in existence you would not have the Father as revealed in scripture.  

                In this same fundamental sense, we cannot understand who we are individually without understanding who we are relationally.   Our Image Bearing of the Divine comes with it the basic tenet that we are indeed shaped and defined by the types of relationships we have, their depth, their length, their quality, their types.  For those who have become parents you recognize that in a very wonderful way you are no longer “just” so-and-so.  You are now the mommy or daddy of someone.  New people that you meet and forge relationships with might initially only know you as the parent of their child’s friend.   It was actually quite a shock to me when I discovered that my parents referred to each other by their first names, and not just “mom” or “dad”! 

                For so many people, we are lost and floundering.  Depression, confusion, loneliness, anger, frustration, fear, are some of the defining words we either feel periodically, or, nearly constantly.  This is because we sense that we are untethered to  the fundamentally necessary aspect of our very existence:  Relationship.  And not just any relationship, but the essential defining relationship that we are ultimately made for.   Relationship with our Creator.  Our Abba Father.  Our greatest need is to restore that relationship to its rightful place.   That is when we will begin to experience life in the way we know that we should.

                Establishing solid footing for your primary (read God) relationship is the most important thing you can do to help you navigate the waters of life.  From a finite perspective of my basic human relationships this is very clearly illustrated.  I would contend that my most important relationship status is that of husband and father.  It is over and above all other relationships:  My job, my parents, my friends, my neighbors, etc.  This in no way is a devaluation of these other relationships; it simply informs how I respond to them and how they are defined.  It gives me a clear “true North” in decision making.   In all situations that I may find myself in I look towards the effects upon my family as a primary guide for the decisions I make. 

                This is all simply laid out to preface a series that I am endeavoring to undertake for the edification of myself and those who I hope to be reading:  “Rightfully Motivated Scripture Study that leads to Rightful Scripture Study”.  How do these preceding statements of relational issues pertain to the study of scriptures?  Fundamentally, because the study of scripture is the study of God in His completeness(at least complete to the degree in which He has chosen to reveal Himself).  

                Like any healthy relationship, the development and sustenance of that relationship is deeply rooted in an ever deepening intimacy in your knowledge of the “other”.  Scripture is not a musty old tome of long past quoted literature, instead, it is correctly understood to be a living and breathing thing that allows us mere mortals to feel the breath of God breathing upon our face on every page.  Therefore, if you were to be in pursuit of deeper relationship with God, you must make yourself available to hear His voice.  I cannot get to know my wife better by never listening to her, or, ignoring her completely.  There must be a daily pursuit of hearing her words and the heart that those words reveal.

                Over the next few weeks I will be addressing what I feel are the fundamental approaches to scripture that we should incorporate into our Christian life.  Devotionally, Interpersonally, Relationally, Studiously, Disciplinelly(sp…?), Consistently, Prayerfully, Outwardly.   Ultimately, if you undertake the journey of growing more confident in your knowledge, intimacy, and depth of your relationship with God through learning to listen to Him better, I trust that you “true North” will solidify itself into your life as a beacon of hope in times of suffering and confusion.  

                 

Another View on Bad Things Happening(to me)

I am writing this one more for my slower witted readers (oscar) who have trouble following a long posting that doesn't include pictures.....

If you do not believe in God, or more specifically, the God of the Bible.  The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  This post is not really "designed" to speak to your concerns.

     In my many years in ministry leadership I have had the privilage to counsel a number of people in different stages of life.  A consistent theme I run across is peoples frustration with the perception that God has allowed bad things to happen to "them".  Example:  A relationship didn't work out, lonliness, lack of feeling connected to God, depression, etc.  What I am about to say in response in no way is meant to belittle these confessed feelings and hurts, but listen carefully.

        100 times out of 100 the problem is not that God didn't "watch out" for them, but that they are themselves at fault for the problems they are facing.  It is human nature to blame shift.  The terrible, day ruining, comic strip, "Family Circus", has a running "joke" of a little ghost child labeled "not me" that shows up whenever the obvious perpertrator of some "crime" is trying to pretend it wasn't them.  At an early age we begin a process of telling everyone that whatever bad just happened in no way is related to what we are doing, and we often say it enough that we convince our own selves of this blatant lie.

   When we do this on a personal and spiritual level we are being as absurd and illogical as the "not me" child of "Family Circus".  As our lives are in complete disarray, we tend to say "not me" and look to blame the person we assume should have our backs...no matter what we do!  A simple illustration of this is in the most commonaly complained about situation I deal with:

      Upset person:  I feel like God just doesn't care, I feel very alone, I am depressed, why isn't God helping me have peace.
       Me:  So what have you done, or, are you doing, to deal with these feelings?
      U.P.:  Nothing....
     Me:  Have you shared this with your close christian friends
     U.P.:  (two possible responses)  1)  no, I don't feel comfortable talking about it, 2) I don't have any close christian friends
     Me:  Have you been spending time in God's word
     U.P.:  No
    Me:  Are you praying about this
     U.P.:  (two possible responses) 1) No  2) I did...a couple of times
     Me:  Are you going regularly to fellowship with other christians?
    U.P.:  (two possible responses) 1) No  2)  Yes, but they would judge me if I told them what was going on, so I just show up and go home as soon as it is over
  
  I am in no way exagerrating to tell you that I have lost count of the number of times and different types of situations that I have had almost this exact conversation.  In case you are lost as to how this all ties into being "your" fault, let me explain.

   We are not promised that being a Christian is going to equate to having a great, peaceful and succesful life.  We are promised that in the midst of a broken and hurting world we can have hope, peace, and an abundance of Joy.  But, as I mentioned in my last post, we have this sticky little problem called free will.  We demand that God gives us what He has promised in His word, on OUR terms.  Every day we make choices that are in opposition to God's will and call on our lives, and then we turn around and say "Dang it God!!  Why did you let that happen to me?!?!" 

    Analogy to illustrate this absurdity:  You buy a new car.  You proceed to go offroading daily, never put the right kind of gas in, never change(or put in) oil, etc.  After a few months your new car is completely falling apart.  Angirly you head back to the dealership and demand a refund because your car is not working the way it did when you took it off the lot on the first day.  They would laugh in your face.  You cannot expect to break all the rules and the terms of agreement for a warranty, not to mention basic common sense, and have someone else make sure you still have working car!  Yet, we expect God to do that for us.

   Without going step by step through what someone should be doing in any given situation, let me just leave it at this.  We often are angry at God about the bad things in our lives, when the reality is we have set ourselves up through own sinful choices and actions to suffer through whatever it may be that we are struggling with.  I have yet to meet someone who is struggling with any given situation who has pursued the biblical God called steps to dealing with whatever the situation may be!  And that is for 2 reasons:  1)  If you are pursuing whole heartedly the truth of God's call in your life, the problems you are facing probably wouldn't exist   2)  If you are truly walking through the steps, I have total confidence in the exponential increasing of your peace, joy and hope in the midst of whatever your problem is! 

   The root sin issue we all struggle with is pride.  At the heart of everything we do in rejection of God is a pride that says, "no God, you can't be right about "that", let's do it MY way".  We need to stop embracing sin and rejecting God's clearly explained plans and purposes and then turning around to be angry when we experience the natural results of living outside of our design.