The God who Guides

I'm sure that most Christians would agree that part of what it means to be a Christian is that now you try and do what God wants rather than what you want. But how do we know what it is that God wants? In some things the Bible helps. For example, Matthew 5:44 tells us that we are to love our enemies...Mark 8:34 tells us that the life of the disciple is the life of self denial...Leviticus 19:15 tells us that we are not to show favouritism but treat everyone fairly...Leviticus 19:19 tells us that we shouldn't wear clothes made with two different kinds of material! Okay - so maybe that isn't as straight forward as some people would want us to believe. But what about those questions of guidance that the Bible has nothing specific to say - which university should I go to...should I get married...who to...which job should I take...where should I live...?

This Sunday morning we're looking at Genesis 24. I'm sure some of us read this kind of story and wish that God would guide us as clearly. I'm also sure that when some of us ask about guidance what we really want is a quick and easy fix - the guide to instant guidance.

In Abraham's story so far we've found him to be obedient to God, someone who believed God, someone who feared God and someone who would not keep anything back from God. I think that this is the backdrop in front of which God guides Abraham and his servant. Romans 12:1-2 reveals that discovering God's will follows self sacrifice, resistance to the ways of the world and having a renewed mind that thinks God's way (e.g. the first will be last ... death=life ... )

Then we find Abraham and the servant planning and praying, and the servant got on the road and started walking and praying. Sometimes we're paralysed by the fear of doing the wrong thing and so we end up doing nothing. But we should be proactive. In order to steer a vehicle that vehicle needs to first of all be moving somewhere. But as we push doors to see what will happen we must remember that God will never ask us to do anything that is against His word. Then we should remember that we were created for community and God invented the church - we're not here on our own - and there are other, wiser, older, more mature Christians that we can talk to about what wethink God might be calling us to. If they all think it is a bad idea then listen to them.

But the context in which we push doors, write letters, go to interviews, go on a date must be that Romans 12:1-2 attitude. If that is our heart attitude then as we push doors I believe that God will guide us and keep us from those paths that He wants us to avoid. Some people will say that it was a coincidence that Abraham's servant found Rebekah but there is no such thing as a coincidence with God.

Click here to listen to this message from Pastor Keith, 14 October 2007.

Tough Questions

This year our harvest appeal is once again going to support the work of BMS World Mission. BMS World Mission is the overseas mission branch of the Baptist church. To find out more about BMS click here. This year's appeal is called 'Higher Ground' and is going to support the work that BMS and local Christian organisations are doing in Indonesia following the tsunami of 2004 and the earthquakes of 2005. These groups are involved in reconstructing lives and communities as well as buildings and villages. To read more about the 'Higher Ground' appeal click here.

Natural disasters on such a massive scale always raise theological questions. 'Where was God?' 'Why did God allow it to happen?' I'm not sure that there are any really simple satisfactory theoretical answers to such huge questions that can be offered by those on the outside. Even to begin to find an answer requires a whole worldview - an understanding of the beginning and the end of all things, and then all that goes on in between.

I think that the most satisfactory answers come from those on the inside, who have experienced the turmoil first hand, who have struggled with the loss and the pain, and who have found that even in the darkness God was there. And whilst they may not have answers to their questions, their experience remains - God was there.

There is a sense in which each of us can only speak from our own experience. All I can offer is my experience. I know at the points in my life where things have been in turmoil, those points where life has hung in the balance, those times when I have asked 'why', there has been an overwhelming awareness of the presence of God and the peace that He promises.

But our experiences can encourage others for God is the same today, as He was yesterday, as He will be tomorrow. The Bible was written by ordinary people who God used. It relates their experiences and how they made sense of them. The Psalms provide responses to the highs and lows that life has to offer. Psalm 46 was written by someone who knew what it was like to experience turmoil and yet know that God is our refuge and help. How in the storms of life it is possible to 'Be still, and know that I am God'.

Share your experiences as an encouragement to others.

Can you have too much of a good thing?

This Sunday evening we come to Nehemiah 10. In the previous chapter the people recognised their constant rebellion against God, even though God remained faithful. Then in chapter 10 they come up with a list of things they should do in order to make sure that something like the exile never happened again. In summary this list is: not to intermarry (30), keep the Sabbath (31), provide for the temple (32-34), bring the first-fruits (35-37), and bring their tithes (37-39). Many of these commitments were to ensure that the house of God was not neglected (39).

On a first read through, even a second, this seems like a good move on behalf of the people - certainly a step in the right direction. There certainly appear to be plenty of application points for the preacher to include for the people of God today. For example: a Christian should not marry a non-Christian; it is important to keep one day a week, preferably Sunday, special; it is important that a percentage of our income is given back to God, particularly to the local church, and that we give out of the 'first' things rather than what's left over at the end of the month...

So, why might this not be such a good list after all? It seems to me that it would be very easy to make a check list from this chapter. They are all things we can do and then tick off the list. They are things that we can quite easily make up further rules for - what we should and shouldn't do on a Sunday. Making sure that we give 10% (the tithe) of all our income to the local church. It is at this point that this starts to sound like the Pharisees of Jesus' day. One of the criticisms against them was that they gave 10% of even the smallest things - even their spices - but they neglected the more important issues of justice, mercy and faithfulness (Matthew 23:23).

It is not that we shouldn't do these things listed here, because in and of themselves they are good. The caution is not to allow ourselves to fall into the trap of thinking that our faith is about following a set of rules. So whilst giving 10% of our income to the local church is a good biblical minimum starting point, God is really interested in what we do with the 90% we keep for ourselves. It is good to keep Sunday special but if the rest of the week I am so busy that I don't have the time for the friend in need - haven't I missed the point somewhere?

Have your say - join in the conversation.

Listen to this message by Pastor Keith, from 7 October 2007.

Testing Times

Those of you who have read my profile will know that I used to be a secondary school teacher, teaching maths and IT. Testing was a regular part of that life - for the pupils, not me. Why did I test? One reason was to focus the pupils to actually do some work and review and revise the material of the last few weeks and make sure they understood it and could apply it. When this is done enough something should begin to stick. [I am still surprised at some of things I can still remember from school, even from my least favourite subjects such as English lit.] Another reason for testing, particularly as the pupils got towards the top end of the school, was to prepare them for the GCSE or A level exams. It was my practice to make my tests harder than the 'real thing' so that the pupils would be fully prepared for those exams.

But there are few people who enjoy tests. This Sunday we're looking at Genesis 22, the passage where God tests Abraham by commanding him to sacrifice his loved son Isaac. As I have been thinking about this subject there is a sense in which we are tested whenever God asks us to do something - will we obey or not? Ultimately this reveals the answer to the question, 'Do you truly love me more than these?' John 14 makes the link between love and obedience explicit: 'anyone who loves me will obey my teaching', (23) for example.

But why does God test us? Surely He knows the answer to those questions already, without the need to prove it. There are several answers to that question and we won't look at them all now. But here are two. You may have others that you want to add.

1) To encourage us! It is always an encouragement to pass a test. When we have come through a difficult situation our faith is strengthened and we are reminded again of the faithfulness of our God. Through the test we are often reminded of our reliance on God, our prayers are more urgent, and God proves again that He can be trusted.

2) To prepare us. God is not the only one who is going to test our faith. We have an enemy who will do that at every opportunity. Temptations will cross our path. We will find ourselves in situations where we ask, 'where is God in all this?' Think of the story of Job for example. The devil's charge against Job was that if all his worldly comforts were removed he would no longer acknowledge or worship God. But God doesn't want us to go into such a test unprepared. So He prepares us in advance so that we will stand through all such tests.

At school pupils endure tests because they have to. But those who go on into further education put themselves through the ordeal because they want to gain something - A levels, degree, other qualifications. As we go through tests in this life we endure the hardship because we know that the prize at the end is worth all the struggle now (e.g. Romans 8:18).

Grab a coffee and join in the conversation. Share your experiences. Ask your questions.

Listen to this message by Pastor Keith on 30 September 2007.