Continued from the pastor column in the Dec. 9 edition of The TIMES.
We skim over Scripture truth such as "Now all these things happened unto them (the children of Israel) as examples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall."(1st Corinthians 10:11-12) We are not considering those examples (or God for that matter) relevant to our "enlightened age." In our "superiority," we throw out quotes like: "People will not look forward to posterity, who never look backward to their ancestors." (Edmund Burke 1791) That premise is more popularly quoted as "Those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it." Yet, we indeed have forgotten -- or ignored -- the lessons of the past and still wonder why we do so poorly.
The point you say? Well, here's the point. We have a bit of a problem. The problem for most of us is this: We have a sin that is a besetting sin. We trust the gift, not the Giver. It's why we get so fearful about changes.
When Isaac was born to Abraham, he believed it had come to pass what God had said; that Isaac would be a great nation (Genesis 17). The problem was, Abraham was now trusting the gift (Isaac), not the Giver (God). So God sent him up to the mountain to sacrifice Isaac (Genesis 22) to teach Abraham the promise of being a great nation depended not on the gift, but the Giver, and Abraham learned the lesson believing "God was able to raise him (Isaac) up, even from the dead." (Hebrews 11:19)
So, is that your sin? Do you trust your talents, resources, abilities, wisdom, understanding of the Bible, more than God who gave you those gifts? The difference may seem to be subtle, but trust me when I say that the implications are profound. God can use a person of limited abilities who lives in total trust much more than a gifted person who trusts in him or herself.
Let him who has ears to hear, hear what the Spirit is saying to the Churches.
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Editor's note: Charlie Newman is pastor of Avoca Christian Church. To contact him, e-mail [email protected], or write in care of The Times at [email protected] or P.O. Box 25, Pea Ridge, AR 72751.
Religion on 12/16/2015