Life. Fragile, broken, death.
Life. Glory, honor, full.
Will we be here tomorrow?
Will you?
People die every day. all over the planet.
babies, old men, middle aged women, young girls,
intelligent, bored, overweight, beautiful...
ALL people are susceptible to death.
The Bible says we are mist that appears for a little while.
That is God's perspective of the nature of our existence on this planet.
He knows we have an eternity before us in which we will continue, either in a state of grace and love and friendship with him,
or in a state of emptiness and deadness and unredeemed awayness from him.
And compared to that, this time here is a mist.
Our time here is so short. Recorded history is about 6000 years- meaning written down. Maybe 20 to 30,000 if you include cave paintings or other artistic expression. And yet our lives are less than 120 years almost guaranteed. For many they are around 80 years here in America. But not all. Some are much shorter. And we don't know when our end will come. We don't.
It might be tomorrow. It might be in your sleep. It might be in 60 years, or 20, or 2 or 1 hour.
We are a mist. Poof. Gone. Even to the so called great people. They do their "greatness" and then they too die. Their life ends. If they were on God's agenda, it ended for them on this planet when they breathed their last.
But God brought us here for his glory. This world and its history is about God's glory and it is the story of his glory that at present we may not see clearly, but we will one day. We will know.
And amazingly, we can allow him to produce glory to him in and through US.
And even though there is death, and sometimes brought on painfully, intentionally by others, or brought on by disease, or by accident, such sufferings are not full of weightiness, not really.
"I consider that are present sufferings are NOT WORTH COMPARING with the glory that will be revealed in us." Romans 8:18 niv
Glory is what mists are not. Glory is weightiness, gravity, solidity, greatness, majesty, heaviness, that which inspires awe and wonder and trembling. A lion's roar has a taste of glory. Stand in a zoo near the lions as they roar and you will feel some glory. Now imagine the bars are gone, the lion is hungry, and he roars at you. Terror. Glory.
I want glory. I may be a mist here, but in my mistiness God says I can have a part in glory.
"Therefore, since you were raised with Christ set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things, for you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you will also appear with him in glory." Colossians 3:1-4 niv
May I not waste one second of the misty life producing anything except what will shine in glory.
a blog of thoughts on life and faith by K T Mat
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
detestable - day 7 - trusting technology
"He said to them, "You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts. What is highly valued among men is detestable in God's sight."" Luke: 16:15
This is the 3rd blog on putting God in a box. The first one condemned the use of techniques to replace God, the second on using God to get what we think we need or want, and this one will focus on the detestableness of trusting technology over God.
Does God need our technology to win the world for His glory? Does He? Now this topic is a fine line, but if our dependence is on things, instead of God and His Holy Spirit, then we have made an idol of the technology and it is detestable. This is important in our day when there is so much technology available that seems to be full of promise and power to accomplish God's will. But are they full of power? NO. The power we are promised in Acts 1:8 NIV is this: "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Notice the connection word, and, that connects our reception of the Spirit on us to being Christ's witnesses to the ends of the earth. He is our power. So what I am wanting to do here is call us from TRUSTING technology for anything, to trusting God's Spirit. And then we can properly use technology for God's glory. And if it breaks down, who cares? God's Spirit is NOT LIMITED BY OUR TECHNOLOGY. If you think He is then you are an idolater and need to repent.
I think there is little doubt that often we trust technology of various kinds to solve our problems and accomplish God's purposes. We trust the technology of instruments without which we will have less of a heart to worship God - I know I need my IPod, or "outloud" music to help me find a closeness to God I don't generally find otherwise- but should I? We depend on Powerpoint and microphones to preach our messages (do we spend as much time seeking God in prayer as we do preparing the powerpoint?). We depend on the Jesus film. We depend on email and I-phones to communicate. And all of these can be useful tools. But if you read the list of the armor of God in Ephesians 6, there isn't any technology listed other than God's word. Truth, gospel of peace, righteousness, faith, salvation, sword of the Spirit which is the world of God, prayer. No technology is listed and no technology will defeat the devil for you.
Just as God is not against medicine, I don't think he is against technology per se. But if either become what we trust in, and many trust in both, then they are detestable and idols.
"We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death." 2 Corinthians 1:8-9a NIV So what did Paul do? Did he turn to a consulate? Or the emperor? Did he get soldiers with swords, or build a fortress to protect himself? "But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us." 2 Corinthians 1:9b-10a NIV There is no technology to raise the dead. There is God, and Him alone: both the physical dead and the spiritual dead can only be raised by God. "On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many." 2 Corinthians 1:10b-11 NIV Our prayers have power ONLY because we pray to the living God who is able to hear and answer us. May we trust in this God who loves us and hears us and answers us for His own glory.
This is the 3rd blog on putting God in a box. The first one condemned the use of techniques to replace God, the second on using God to get what we think we need or want, and this one will focus on the detestableness of trusting technology over God.
Does God need our technology to win the world for His glory? Does He? Now this topic is a fine line, but if our dependence is on things, instead of God and His Holy Spirit, then we have made an idol of the technology and it is detestable. This is important in our day when there is so much technology available that seems to be full of promise and power to accomplish God's will. But are they full of power? NO. The power we are promised in Acts 1:8 NIV is this: "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Notice the connection word, and, that connects our reception of the Spirit on us to being Christ's witnesses to the ends of the earth. He is our power. So what I am wanting to do here is call us from TRUSTING technology for anything, to trusting God's Spirit. And then we can properly use technology for God's glory. And if it breaks down, who cares? God's Spirit is NOT LIMITED BY OUR TECHNOLOGY. If you think He is then you are an idolater and need to repent.
I think there is little doubt that often we trust technology of various kinds to solve our problems and accomplish God's purposes. We trust the technology of instruments without which we will have less of a heart to worship God - I know I need my IPod, or "outloud" music to help me find a closeness to God I don't generally find otherwise- but should I? We depend on Powerpoint and microphones to preach our messages (do we spend as much time seeking God in prayer as we do preparing the powerpoint?). We depend on the Jesus film. We depend on email and I-phones to communicate. And all of these can be useful tools. But if you read the list of the armor of God in Ephesians 6, there isn't any technology listed other than God's word. Truth, gospel of peace, righteousness, faith, salvation, sword of the Spirit which is the world of God, prayer. No technology is listed and no technology will defeat the devil for you.
Just as God is not against medicine, I don't think he is against technology per se. But if either become what we trust in, and many trust in both, then they are detestable and idols.
"We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death." 2 Corinthians 1:8-9a NIV So what did Paul do? Did he turn to a consulate? Or the emperor? Did he get soldiers with swords, or build a fortress to protect himself? "But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us." 2 Corinthians 1:9b-10a NIV There is no technology to raise the dead. There is God, and Him alone: both the physical dead and the spiritual dead can only be raised by God. "On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many." 2 Corinthians 1:10b-11 NIV Our prayers have power ONLY because we pray to the living God who is able to hear and answer us. May we trust in this God who loves us and hears us and answers us for His own glory.
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