Too Big Even For God?

If someone were to stop you on the street and ask you just how powerful you suppose God really is, how would you answer?

It’s hard to wrap your mind around such an infinite concept, isn’t it? I mean, how do you even begin to try to calculate – let alone describe and define – that which is unlimited? How do you take what is completely without boundaries and confine to the limitations of language, words, and human comprehension? No matter how far you take it, or how deeply you’re able to imagine it, or how well you describe it, God’s power and ability would still be endlessly beyond our greatest measurement or explanation, right?

Still, you’ve been challenged. You want to give the best answer you can. You might point to the vastness of space and the cosmos, or describe the intricate detail and balance of the microscopic world as proof of His power and ability. You could try to describe the might of the most powerful force in the known universe, a black hole (so powerful that not even light can escape from it), and explain that God’s power is immeasurably beyond even that.

Could be that you’d even use some Scripture to support your answer. Maybe you’d start with Jeremiah’s declaration…

“O Sovereign LORD! You have made the heavens and earth
by your great power. Nothing is too hard for you!”
Jeremiah 32:17 (NLT)

Perhaps you’d want to add the testimony of an archangel…

“…nothing is impossible with God."
Luke 1:37 (NIV)

You might even use Jesus’ own words…

"What is impossible with men is possible with God."
Luke 18:27 (NIV)

Or you could even choose to let God simply speak for Himself…

“I am the LORD God. I rule the world, and I can do anything!”
Jeremiah 32:27 (CEV)

Regardless of how you approached the challenge, I would imagine that the bottom line idea you would want to get across to your questioner is that there is nothing God cannot do. No limits. No boundaries. No constraints. Nothing is outside of His ability. Nothing is beyond His power.

So if that’s the way we see God, why is it that when it comes to the possibility of a Christian living a holy life – having a truly purified heart – many believers dismiss the idea as impossible? We’ll shout loud and proud from the rooftops that our God has the power to do everything ranging from the creation of galaxies and solar systems to raising Jesus from the dead. But somehow this same God is completely stumped when it comes to knowing how – or having the ability – to make the human heart holy in this present life…. That’s an order too tall even for Him.

If this were really the case, why would God frustrate and tease His people by requiring something of them that He could never provide and they, in turn, could never achieve?

Let’s let Oswald Chambers weigh in on this matter:

"If Jesus ever commanded us to do something that He was unable to equip us to accomplish, He would be a liar. And if we make our own inability a stumbling block or an excuse not to be obedient, it means that we are telling God that there is something which He has not yet taken into account."

Oswald Chambers
My Utmost for His Highest

If Chambers is right, then tell me….

• …what is the “something” in your life “…which He has not yet taken into account” ?

"I am the LORD God. I rule the world, and I can do anything!”
Jeremiah 32:27 (CEV)

• …what obstacle do you see that He somehow doesn’t?

“I am the LORD God. I rule the world, and I can do anything!”
Jeremiah 32:27 (CEV)

• …what conditions do you face that, in your opinion, puts heart holiness completely out of reach?

“I am the LORD God. I rule the world, and I can do anything!”
Jeremiah 32:27 (CEV)

The majority of those I’ve spoken to who question the possibility of holiness, generally look at the matter from a purely human standpoint:

• "There’s just no way I can be free from sin."
• "I’m bound to sin in some way each day. "
• "I could never overcome this-or-that temptation. "

It seems to me that this viewpoint is alot like looking through the wrong end of the telescope – everything seems impossibly far away.

Turn the whole proposition around, and suddenly it all looks different! You see, it’s not what we can or can’t do; it’s what the infinitely powerful God of the universe can do in us and for us. That’s how we get the pure heart that God expects and we dream of!

All He waits for is your invitation. You see, the Holy Spirit doesn’t come barging in to a heart uninvited. He waits to be asked in. A clean heart is only a prayer away from you.

So here’s a thought… Why not spend a little knee-time with Him about this and give holiness a try today?

Keep your altar ready and your fire hot…!

Willis

Rescue The Perishing!

I’m a native New Englander. A “Connecticut Yankee,” as some would put it.

Born into a family of New Englanders (Mom from Malden, Massachusetts; Dad from Portland, Maine), I grew up being very familiar with the heritage and tradition of New England sea stories.

One of these stories has always reminded me of this section of the classic lithograph found in the front of William Booth’s In Darkest England and The Way Out.

Here in this portion of the picture (which actually is an artistic rendering of a vision Booth had and described in an article he entitled Who Cares? in the June 20, 1885 War Cry) you see the heroic efforts of Salvationists gathered around the edges of a turbulent sea, doing everything within their power to rescue the multitudes of those who are drowning in an ocean of evils, vices, and sins. If the image had a bit better resolution, you might make out the fact that there are even a couple of boatloads of Salvationists who have put their own lives at risk by going out into the heavy seas to rescue those who are beyond the reach of the shore-based efforts (one boat even has an Army flag flying!).

Here’s the New England sea story that closely mirrors this picture:

Back in colonial days of this country, countless ships were wrecked and lives were lost off the rocky coast of Massachusetts. The sad fact was that this often happened within sight of the Nantucket shoreline. Finally, the people of Nantucket could no longer stand by and watch tragedy after tragedy happen so frequently, and so close to their reach. In 1786, they formed what was called the Massachusetts Humane Society (for rescuing people, not animals, as we think of the term today). From that point on, any time a ship hit the rocks off the Nantucket coast, the alarm quickly spread to the Humane Society members who would launch out in boats – regardless of the time of year, the weather conditions or the hour of the day – putting themselves at severe risk in the process in order to save as many lives as they could.

Over time, they adopted a motto for themselves and their mission: “You have to go out, but you don’t have to come back.” (Is that heroic, or what? -- W)

Roughly a hundred years later (1870’s), the Government professionalized life saving efforts with the implementation of the United States Life-Saving Service, which eventually became the U.S. Coast Guard. Volunteers no longer went out to rescue those who were shipwrecked. That job was turned over to the paid professionals. The self-sacrificing citizens who had once risked their own lives in order to save others no longer challenged one another with the words, “You have to go out, but you don’t have to come back.” Now, they sat back and let the “experts” handle the work.

I’ve got to tell you folks, I see this as something of a cautionary tale for us as Salvationists…

Consider our Army roots. It's easy to see the close parallel between the actions and attitudes of the early Army with those of the colonial Nantucketers, isn't it? I mean, even the most casual glance at the picture is enough to validate the comparison, right?

We all know the story of how, in Booth’s day, people’s lives were being “wrecked” on the rocks of sin, often within reach of professing Christians. We’re very familiar with the details of how finally a group of believers who cared more about those being lost and less about their own safety could no longer stand by and do nothing – they had to act! So under Booth’s leadership, they banded together as the Christian Mission and ultimately The Salvation Army. Nowhere in Army history do we read of any Salvationist announcing the exact phrase “You have to go out, but you don’t have to come back.” But that same “whatever-the-cost” attitude and passion of those words and that sentiment was certainly reflected in the early Salvationist mindset and behavior.

Fast-forward to today…

I don’t know how things are in your part of the Army world, but here in the States, more and more of the rescue work Salvationists once willingly took on themselves is being passed over to “professionals.” In far too many locations, Army work with the homeless, the needy, the hungry, and the fallen which was once seen by our soldiers as an opportunity to talk with a person about their soul has been transferred to the efforts of hired employees who may or may not be in step with our spiritual mission.

Also, like the Humane Society, we once had a reckless passion to launch out from our corps and citadels into “less refined” areas of town hoping to find and rescue those drowning in sin. For too many these days, going out after the shipwrecked has become…well…an inconvenience. It’s far easier to sit in the climate controlled comfort of our buildings and pray that God sends someone their way. Hey…isn’t that why we have professionals?

I wonder what the world might look like if our Army re-embraced a “you-have-to-go-out-but-you-don’t-have-to-come-back” attitude. I wonder what difference that kind of behavior might make in our communities. What difference would it make to the Kingdom?

Wouldn't you love to find out….?

Keep your altar ready and your fire hot...!

Willis

Still Wild at Heart?

It seems to me that some of God’s creations were never really meant to be tamed.

Sure there are folks who have managed to fairly well subdue some of the natural instincts and behaviors of certain lions, and tigers, and bears (“…oh, my!”), but these animals should never be considered completely tame. We watch them with their handlers, and are tempted to believe that they’re cuddly, cute, huggable, and…well…managable. But deep inside, they are still true to their nature. They’re still wild at heart. Provoke them – get them stirred up, or angry – and just watch what happens. The “wild” that is hidden but still inside them will come roaring to the surface with terrible consequences.

Let me point out another of God’s unique creations that in my opinion was never intended for domestication: Christians (especially Salvationists!).

That’s the overall theme of The Barbarian Way (subtitled Unleash the Untamed Faith Within), a short, but very interesting book by Erwin McManus. Throughout the book, McManus uses the image of a “barbarian” – someone generally unwelcomed and out of step with polite, civilized society due to their wild, aggressive, non-conforming nature – as a metaphor for the untamed Christian. Here’s something of the flavor of his writing:

Somewhere along the way, the movement of Jesus Christ became civilized as Christianity. We created a religion using the name of Jesus Christ and convinced ourselves that God’s optimal desire for our lives was to insulate us in a spiritual bubble where we risk nothing, sacrifice nothing, lose nothing, worry about nothing…

It may seem counterintuitive, but the more civilized we become, the more detached from the pain of others we end up finding ourselves. The most civilized churches have really no practical concern for people outside their congregations. The brokenness of a lost and unbelieving world is not enough to inspire the painful changes necessary to make the church relevant to the world in which we live.

Would somebody please get this guy a uniform and a flag…?! He’s got the heart, spirit and attitude of a Salvationist! He’d fit right in with us!

Or would he…?

I don’t know how things are where you live, but more and more here in the West, a growing number of Salvationists are lining up and signing up for “civilization.” Much like the wild animals mentioned earlier, their Salvationist impulses and behaviors having been fairly well subdued by our culture, far too many Soldiers are embracing a sort of domestication. In short, they’ve become tame. Sadder still, they like it

Years ago, Colonel Lyell Rader,(O.F.), was concerned about this very thing. Addressing the issue head-on, he figuratively grabbed his readers by the lapels of their uniforms as he shook them and pointed out: Salvationists once startled the world as an assault force for Christ. Dare the Army now be content to be merely an army of occupation?

I wonder… Is the Salvationist instinct still in us? Does something still stir in us when we see the man under the bridge or the girl on the street, or have we become subdued by the applause of the more affluent in our community? Is there a passionate, holy “untamed-ness” still in our hearts just waiting to rise up and roar back against the enemy? Is there a “hallelujah!” left to be shouted, or is it possible that we no longer do such things because we’ve bought into a more carefully cultivated image recommended to us by those who would gladly be our handlers?

Salvationists who are still wild at heart, let me try to intentionally provoke you – to stir you up. Shake off the constricting frills and trimmings of religious civilization and reconnect with our mission, our passion, and our calling. Raise your banner! Draw your sword! Make all of Hell shudder as once again you throw back your heads and shout your war cry for all to hear! Hallelujah!

Keep your altar ready and your fire hot...!

Willis