Empty Acknowledgments of God

"Oh that there were one among you who would shut the gates, that you might not uselessly kindle fire on My altar! I am not pleased with you," says the LORD of hosts, "nor will I accept an offering from you." - Malachi 1:10 

"Then the Lord said, Because this people draw near with their words And honor Me with their lip service, But they remove their hearts far from Me, And their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote,
Therefore behold, I will once again deal marvelously with this people, wondrously marvelous; And the wisdom of their wise men will perish, And the discernment of their discerning men will be concealed.” - Isaiah 29:13-14

Back during the 2012 election season (which, thank God, has passed), there was something of a firestorm amongst conservatives when the Democratic Party initially refused to mention God in its platform. More recently, I saw similar outrage being directed at the president for his failure to include any mention of God in his Thanksgiving address, apparently for the fourth year in a row. And while I understand the good intentions of those who wish to see God acknowledged in such venues, I think we're missing a larger issue in all of this outrage.

Scriptures such as those I've cited above make it clear that God is not interested in "lip service" or habitual, cursory acknowledgment. Witness how that, in Isaiah's day, He actually said that He would rather have had someone lock the temple altogether than for "useless fires" to be continually lit on His altar. He didn't care that the people acknowledged Him, because their acknowledgements were effectively empty; they had no interest in obeying His Word or cultivating their relationship with Him. They were following religious traditions that really meant nothing to them personally, and they showed this by pursuing their own desires and ignoring God in every other aspect of their lives, to the point where He finally brought judgment against them.

In light of this, what do we really gain when a party that would rather not acknowledge God at all is shamed into doing so by bad publicity (or, for that matter, when a party that is proud to acknowledge God in its platform implements policies that are contrary to His Word)? What would we gain if a president who has publicly stated that the Sermon on the Mount cannot be taken seriously were to acknowledge God verbally in a public address out of political expediency? Are these not more "useless fires"?

Perhaps it could be argued that such mentions "keep God in the public consciousness". Maybe. But then we would have to ask ourselves what is meant by "God". After all, the word is a title, not a proper name. It's a simple reference to a supreme being, and what concept of divinity is meant by it depends upon the point of view of the speaker. Thus, while public mentions of "God" may identify us as a religious people, they do not necessarily indicate that we are a Christian people or that we take the obligation to follow Christ seriously. Our behavior says much more about us than our words, certainly in the eyes of non-Christians, who are quick to note hypocrisy in the church. They expect more of us than what they see in the world around them, and, quite frankly, they have every right to. God Himself expects more of us (Romans 12:2; Ephesians 2:1-3).

In the end, these arguments about public mentions of God, as they currently stand, are much ado about nothing. Unless they indicate a desire to know and follow the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, as He has prescribed (namely, by becoming disciples of the Lord Jesus), we gain nothing from them except for a deceptive sugar-coating that may make us look good and feel religious, but ultimately insults the One we think we are honoring.

 

- Scriptures quoted are from the New American Standard Bible

- Image courtesy of http://www.desktopwallpaperhd.net/emptiness-wallpaper-house-paper-aziointelli-art-67438.html

Rapture Video

The following is an excellent video that ties well-known passages of scripture together to demonstrate a post-tribulation rapture:

Should Christians Vote for the "Lesser" Evil?

Very well said!

An Alternative for November

Once upon a time, I consistently voted GOP in the belief that I was supporting the "lesser" evil out of sheer, defensive necessity. Over the years, however, the "lesser" evil has become so evil that I can no longer conscience supporting it. I cannot give approval to a party that promotes torture, a police state, and endless war, all supposedly in the name of freedom. The real enemies of our freedoms are not hiding in caves planning terror attacks; they're in Washington D.C., smiling for the cameras, passing fiat legislation, fleecing us for money to prop up their agendas at our expense, sending our people to kill and be killed in order to project power, and grinning from ear to ear as they know that, in spite of it all, most Americans will go to the polls and vote them right back into power.

Folks, it has to stop somewhere. If we don't vote for them; they can't win.

This year, vote for a good choice over the "lesser" evil:

Self-defeating Introspection

"For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." - II Timothy 1:7

 One of the enemy's favorite and most subtle tactics is to cause us to become absorbed in ourselves, stoking the fires of our anxieties and insecurities until we become rigid spiritually, like a deer caught in headlights; afraid to move, neither trusting God nor reaching out to anyone else. In this way, he cuts us off from trusting the Lord and from blessing one another. This is particularly true in our prayer life. We can become so anxious that we pray almost exclusively for ourselves.

The next time you find yourself agonizing in prayer for yourself to the point where you have lost sight of most everything else, break the cycle: actively tell the Lord that you are giving that area of worry or weakness over to Him, trusting that if you place yourself in the hands of a loving Father, you will never be abandoned. Thank Him for taking care of you. Then turn the fervor within you into prayer for others as though you were physically shielding them from harm with your body, the way a soldier in the field might protect a wounded friend. In this way, you will strengthen your trust in God and learn to minister to others from your heart.

Don't let Satan keep you like a tool in a toolbox, full of potential but forever unused. The Lord chooses no disciple that He does not intend to use to the utmost for His glory. If you are His, He will use you - if you let Him. This is what the enemy is determined to prevent by keeping you forever bound with chains of anxiety, shame, depression and feelings of futility. He realizes what you can be in the Lord's hands, and he fears this deeply. Nothing is more dangerous to him than a life yielded and liberated through trust in Christ, for there is nothing that God cannot do with such a person.

Refrain from Anger - Vengeance Belongs to the Lord

"Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret —it leads only to evil." - Psalm 37:7-8

I can't help but wonder if David wasn't thinking (at least in part) of 1 Samuel 25 when he wrote the above portion of Psalm 37. 1 Samuel 25 tells how David, in a time of desperate need, asked for help from a man named Nabal, whom he had treated kindly, only to be refused and insulted. When this happened, David became furious. He gathered his men and prepared to take vengeance by killing Nabal and all the men who worked for him.

One of Nabal's servants learned of this and went and told Nabal's wife, Abigail, whom the Bible describes as a beautiful and intelligent woman:

"One of the servants told Nabal's wife Abigail: 'David sent messengers from the desert to give our master his greetings, but he hurled insults at them. Yet these men were very good to us. They did not mistreat us, and the whole time we were out in the fields near them nothing was missing. Night and day they were a wall around us all the time we were herding our sheep near them. Now think it over and see what you can do, because disaster is hanging over our master and his whole household. He is such a wicked man that no one can talk to him.'" - 1 Samuel 25:14-17

Abigail promptly gathered what supplies she could find, and went out and presented them to David, asking mercy for her husband, who she admitted was a fool. Her appeal to David is interesting:

"When Abigail saw David, she quickly got off her donkey and bowed down before David with her face to the ground. She fell at his feet and said: 'My lord, let the blame be on me alone. Please let your servant speak to you; hear what your servant has to say. May my lord pay no attention to that wicked man Nabal. He is just like his name—his name is Fool, and folly goes with him. But as for me, your servant, I did not see the men my master sent. 'Now since the Lord has kept you, my master, from bloodshed and from avenging yourself with your own hands, as surely as the Lord lives and as you live, may your enemies and all who intend to harm my master be like Nabal. And let this gift, which your servant has brought to my master, be given to the men who follow you. Please forgive your servant’s offense, for the Lord will certainly make a lasting dynasty for my master, because he fights the Lord’s battles. Let no wrongdoing be found in you as long as you live. Even though someone is pursuing you to take your life, the life of my master will be bound securely in the bundle of the living by the Lord your God. But the lives of your enemies he will hurl away as from the pocket of a sling. When the Lord has done for my master every good thing he promised concerning him and has appointed him leader over Israel, my master will not have on his conscience the staggering burden of needless bloodshed or of having avenged himself. And when the Lord has brought my master success, remember your servant.'” - 1 Samuel 25:23-31

David's response and its aftermath:

"David said to Abigail, 'Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, who has sent you today to meet me. May you be blessed for your good judgment and for keeping me from bloodshed this day and from avenging myself with my own hands. Otherwise, as surely as the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, who has kept me from harming you, if you had not come quickly to meet me, not one male belonging to Nabal would have been left alive by daybreak. Then David accepted from her hand what she had brought him and said, 'Go home in peace. I have heard your words and granted your request.' When Abigail went to Nabal, he was in the house holding a banquet like that of a king. He was in high spirits and very drunk. So she told him nothing until daybreak. Then in the morning, when Nabal was sober, his wife told him all these things, and his heart failed him and he became like a stone. About ten days later, the Lord struck Nabal and he died. When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, 'Praise be to the Lord, who has upheld my cause against Nabal for treating me with contempt. He has kept his servant from doing wrong and has brought Nabal’s wrongdoing down on his own head.'” - 1 Samuel 25:32-39

When David chose not to avenge himself on Nabal, God honored this by dealing with Nabal Himself, and Abigail then became David's wife. David was spared the regret he would have later experienced at having acted impulsively, and was blessed in the process.

This principle is reiterated in the New Testament:

"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust." - Matthew 5:43-45

"Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but [rather] give place to wrath; for it is written, 'Vengeance [is] Mine, I will repay," says the Lord. Therefore 'If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.' Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." - Romans 12:17-21

Whatever comes your way in life, and no matter how badly others may treat you, restrain yourself from doing them evil in return. In this way, you will spare your conscience and bring blessing on yourself. Trust God to deal with the wicked in His own good time, as only He can do so with perfect righteousness.

Johnny Cash - "Goin' By the Book"

An amazing apocalypse song by Johnny Cash: