"I…INTENDED TO BUILD…BUT GOD SAID."

1 CHRONICLES 28:2-3 NAS

BUT GOD (1)

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incent’s unfathomable passion for ministry led him to the Belgian coalfields where he preached to miners, cared for the injured, fed the hungry and earned a place in the people’s heart.  His church was filled to capacity with those eager to learn about Jesus.  But his superiors weren’t happy because Vincent wore cast-offs, lived in a shack and gave his salary to the people.  “You look worse than the people you came to teach,” they said.  “Wouldn’t Jesus have done the same?” Vincent asked.  His bosses opposed the behavior and stroke down the notion of him being among ‘the people’ and he was dismissed from the ministry. He was hurt and angry; his only desire had been to build a church that glorified God, so why hadn’t God let it happen?  I’m reminded of a passage in scripture where Jesus was rejected in his own town. It went thusly:

The story goes on to say that one day Vincent watched an old miner struggling beneath a load of coal.  Moved by the sight he began to sketch the bowed figure.  And although he didn’t realize it at the time, he’d discovered his real calling.  Hallelujah!  “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28 KJV The young preacher who was rejected by his nomination eventually became an artist the world will long remember: Vincent van Gogh.

How do you respond to the “But God” interruptions in your life?  Do you fuss and fume, or do you look for His hand in them?  David said, “I…intended to build a …home for the ark...But God said…”your son Solomon…shall build My house” (1Ch 28:2-6 NAS).  When God nixed his plans, 

David immediately followed his “But God” with a “Yet God,” and declared, “Yet…God…took pleasure in me to make me king over all Israel” (v4). Instead of complaining about what he didn’t get to do, David rejoiced in how God had already blessed him by promoting him from herding sheep to leading the Israelite nation.  Think about it!

Playwright Janet Irene Thomas

Founder/CEO

Bible Stories Theatre of

Fine & Performing Arts

www.biblestoriestheatre.org

info@biblestoriestheatre.org

PRAYER AS BIG AS GOD

EXODUS 3:1-4:17

                                                            

        3:11 “WHO AS I, THAT I SHOULD GO TO PHARAOH                        AND BRING THE ISRALITES OUT OF  EGYPT”

The question "Who am I?" has become one of the most tiresome questions of our age.  And by the time Moses finishes asking it of God four or five different ways, in a conversation spanning nearly two chapters, God is fed up with it, too, it starts with surprise and a little humility (3:11): moves on to doubt (3:13); stalls in the "what ifs"(4:1); mumbles in self-depreciation (4:10); and finally stands up and refuses God’s command (4:13). The driving force throughout is self-preoccupation.

Prayer is a dialogue with God. Often the dialogue breaks down, not because God won’t speak, but because we don’t want to hear what he says. Two things keep our ears plugged. One is our tendency to focus on what we believe about ourselves rather than on what we believe about God. After God promises to give Moses miraculous help, Moses still is more concerned about what he can’t do than with what God can do. But God’s commands and promises are about him, not us – in the same way that our salvation is about his grace, not our works. We’re like children holding a parent’s hand as we cross a busy street. The question is never how well we hold on, but how well the parent is holding us.

The other thing that keeps us from hearing God’s voice is that most of the time we would rather be tending sheep in Midian than freeing the slaves in Egypt. We’re often like Moses. We may not like life in Midian all much, but we prefer the comfort of the boring but predictable to the insecurity of the fulfilling but unpredictable.

A host at a dinner party attended by G.K. Chesterton, asked the guests what single book they would not want to be without if stranded on a desert island Books like the Bible and The Complete Works of Shakespeare were put forth. When Chesterton’s turn came, he said he would want a copy of Thomas’s Guide to Practical Shipbuilding!

It’s dangerous to pray and really listen to God. Well, not really. Actually, the safest place in the world is in the center of God’s will. But it may be unsettling, and our fear of that may keep us from hearing God. Thank God that he is merciful and relentless. Moses finally did.

~G.K. Chesterton

Submitted by:

Playwright Janet Irene Thomas

Founder/CEO

Bible Stories Theatre of

Fine & Performing Arts

www.biblestoriestheatre.org

info@biblestoriestheatre.org

MORE THAN CONQUERORS

How to get out of the storm

ROMANS 8:37

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reetings Believers in Christ, as we move a bit further into this blessed new year of 2013, we go in as brand new creatures in Christ, girded in the powerful Word of God . Yesterday we looked at how Paul’s ship got into a storm. Today let’s look at how to get out of one without losing everything.

1)     Prepare for the storm before you get into it!  The wise man built his house upon a rock because he believes in storms (Matt 7:24).  It’s impossible to go through life without them.  Where did we ever get the idea that we wouldn’t have problems?  "For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him" (Php 1:29).  This is warfare – not welfare.

2)     Stay Calm!  Panic kills more pilots than bad weather because it clouds their ability to think clearly.  [In the storm]Jesus said to his disciples, It is I; be not afraid” (Mk 6:50).  We are to get our eyes on Jesus and keep them there; otherwise our fear will hurt us more than our circumstances.  Paul knew that God’s plan would always prevail so he announced, "Keep your courage…for I have faith in God that it will happen just as it was told me" (Acts 27:25).

3)     Never abandon your purpose!  They threw their cargo – the purpose for their journey – overboard.  Don’t do it!  DON’T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT! Never let go of the purpose for which God called you for; it will sustain you through the hard times.  Later Paul would write, "We know that all things work together for good…to them who are the called according to his purpose"(Roman 8:28). So be strong; the storm does not control our destiny, God does. 

He’s still in charge.  Stand up and announce, "In all these things we are more than conquerors."

                 

Playwright Janet Irene Thomas

Founder/CEO

Bible Stories Theatre of

Fine & Performing Arts

www.biblestoriestheatre.org

info@biblestoriestheatre.org