We are all One!

"There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus." - Galatians 3:28

The Gospel was always meant to be for all. Even in the Old Testament you see that God called the Jews to be "a kingdom of priests" (Ex. 19:6) to the entire world. Then even after the people rejected this call that God had placed on them, God placed plans in place for any foreigner who wanted to become a Jew and accept God as the one, true God (Ex. 12:48). So ultimately it was not a new idea that God was wanting all the world to come to Him, it was just forgotten until Jesus came. Somewhere along the line the Jews got the idea that salvation was only for the Jews. Now Paul is reminding them that Jesus came and made us all one as long as we believe and put our trust in Him.

Today, in the United States, the statement would probably read a little different. We don't worry so much about nationality and we no longer keep slaves, but we still tend to divide people in our own ways. If Paul were writing this idea to the church of America he might say something like this:

"There is neither Baptist or Methodist, Charismatic or Pentecostal or any other denomination; there is neither Protestant or Catholic; there is neither male or female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus."

Over and over again the Bible makes it clear that we are one church, one body, with Christ at the head. It's time for us to realize this and act like it. It doesn't matter what denomination or church government you have, let us all work together and support each other in our pursuit after God and His kingdom! This means we should be learning and studying together, doing outreach together, supporting each other financially, pooling our resources. Think of how much more effective we would be in reaching this nation and the world if the entire Body of Christ rose up and truly united together!

Lord, Help Me! (Re-Post)

Therefore the LORD will wait, that He may be gracious to you; 

And therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you. 

For the LORD is a God of justice; 

Blessed are all those who wait for Him. 

For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem; 

You shall weep no more. 

He will be very gracious to you at the sound of your cry; 

When He hears it, He will answer you. 

And though the Lord gives you 

The bread of adversity and the water of affliction, 

Yet your teachers will not be moved into a corner anymore, 

But your eyes shall see your teachers.

Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, 

“ This is the way, walk in it,” 

Whenever you turn to the right hand 

Or whenever you turn to the left. 

Isaiah 30:18-21

History and Context:

For a short history on the book of Isaiah you can refer to my post from June 8th, 2011  Fear of Man. This particular chapter begins by rebuking the king of Judah, Hezekiah, for seeking help from the Egyptians instead of seeking help from God. The Lord begins by saying "Woe to the rebellious children" (Is. 30:1) and continues to rebuke them for creating their own plans and strategies, without acknowledging or seeking God. The prophecies predict that the strength of Pharaoh will in the end be their shame and will fail them (Is. 30:3,6). This is later shown as true as the Assyrians respond by invading the land of Judah. At first Hezekiah submits to them in despair but is later encouraged to resist Assyria and he finally takes it before the Lord who answers and rescues them. (Isaiah 37)

The Text:

When reading this chapter, this passage (especially verse 18) stuck out to me. In verse 18 Isaiah says about the Lord, "Therefore the LORD will wait, that He may be gracious to you". It really hit me that the Lord was waiting for the opportunity to be gracious to the kingdom of Judah. The first 17 verses talk about how Judah has rejected the Lord and how they will have to repent of their lack of trust in Him and return to Him in order to be saved, but then it says "the Lord will wait". I can picture Him in heaven sitting on the edge of His throne just waiting for the first cry of His people. "When are they finally going to ask me? When are they finally going to invite me in their situation?" It hurts Him to see us hurting, but He desires that we choose Him. He doesn't want to force Himself on us. In James He laid out the plan "draw near to God and He will draw near to us" (4:6). He is up there just waiting for that first step, that first cry, that first prayer "Lord, help me!"

The Challenge:

The challenge of course is to call upon Him. To invite Him into your situation, whatever that may be. This is always the challenge and it is hard to understand why it is so much of a challenge. Why is it that we always attempt to trust in the Egypts of the world rather than God. Why is it that we trust in doctors to heal us but we can't trust God who has said "I am the Lord, who heals you"? (Ex 15:26) Why is it that we can always trust in our jobs to give us a paycheck but we can't trust in the Lord when it says in the Word that "The Lord will provide"? (Gen 22:14) We trust in the government, the health system, our paychecks, our family, our friends, our church, etc. but we can't seem to trust in God. He is waiting on the edge of His seat for someone to finally cry out to Him and say "Lord, help me!"

The Prayer:

Lord, help me! Help me in my family, in my finances, in my church, and in my friendships. Help me in the very situation that I am in now. I trust in you and not in these other things. I know that you can and will use people around me to provide for me but I understand that it is ultimately you who provides and not those other things. I trust you Lord. You are my provider, you are my healer. You are everything that I need. I thank you Lord! In Jesus' name, Amen!

What is your excuse?

 

But the Lord said to me: “Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’ For you shall go to all to whom I send you, And whatever I command you, you shall speak. (Jeremiah 1:7 NKJV)

God called Jeremiah to be a prophet to Judah and this was Jeremiah's response. Throughout the Bible we see that the people who God called all had an excuse why they couldn't do what God had called them to do. Here's a quick rundown of examples:

Abraham and Sarah were too old (Gen 18:12)

Moses stuttered and couldn't speak well (Ex 6:30)

Gideon considered himself to be the least of his family in the lowest clan of his tribe (Judg 6:15)

David was the youngest and wasn't even invited to the party (1 Sam 16:11)

Jeremiah was too young (Jer 1:7)

Matthew was a tax collector (Matt 9:9)

Peter, Andrew, James and John were just fishermen (Matt 4:18)

Paul was a persecutor of Christians (Gal 1:13)

These are just a few examples of people in the Bible who seemed to have the perfect excuse to not do what God had called them to do. 

What has God called you to do? What excuse do you have to not do it? If God can overcome each one of the previous excuses don't you think He can overcome yours? Let's stop using so many excuses and let's step out in faith that "with God all things are possible"! (Matt 19:26)