TRUST YOUR UNCERTAIN FUTURE TO A CERTAIN GOD

 TRUST YOUR UNCERTAIN FUTURE TO A CERTAIN GOD

We can be reasonably certain about many things. In fact, without this certainty about life, none of us could function. We can be certain that tonight the sun will ‘set’. Tomorrow the sun will ‘rise’. After the February 28th it will be February 29th. This year there will be international unrest and much political instability in many parts of the world. In the coming months global warming will be identified by politicians as the source of floods and wildfires. Several high profile international celebrities will die this year. Archaeologists will make a discovery that will require some aspects of history to be rewritten. And you will certainly have one of the most memorable moments in your life in the coming days. You see, there are clearly some things we can be quite certain about. However, there are some aspects about our future that we cannot be certain about, yet in those moments we can be certain about what we should do.

¶ Do not boast about tomorrow,
for you do not know what a day may bring.
Proverbs 27:1

Life is a gift. Used wisely this gift can bring great joy and blessing to you and to those you serve. We have so much untapped potential to experience extraordinary fun, laughter, happiness, and joy with this life-gift. Consider for a moment this wonderful gift we each have. We are created curious. We are created to explore. We are created to discover. We are created to invent. We are created to interact with interesting people. We are created to beautify – our possession, our surroundings, our appearances, our dinner-plates, our gardens, our homes, our cities, and our school book covers. We are created to help each other and find great joy in doing so. God has designed human life to be wonderful, winsome, and slightly weird – especially when we live it the way He has made for us. Life certainly is a great adventure. 

¶ As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.
First Timothy 6:17

But life also has moments that we didn’t see coming. In the Bible, Job did not see his sufferings coming. On Sunday December 7th 1941, the US Naval personnel stationed at Pearl Harbour had no idea what was about to happen – an event that changed the course of human history. On Tuesday September 11th 2001, 2996 people who turned up for work in New York City at the World Trades Centre Towers, but never saw the two planes coming that deliberately crashed into their place of work that would kill them in minutes. In 1990 I never imagined that my day would end with me in a coma in the Footscray Hospital after being hit by a Nissan Patrol while riding my motorcycle. It became a moment that would plague me for the rest of life leading to me being hospitalised on January 20th 2023 and given a very unwelcome diagnosis and prognosis. 

In her recent book, Being God’s Image, Dr. Carmen Imes recounts this moving account that reminds us that people’s futures are often uncertain.

One of our college friends suffered from debilitating migraines for over a decade. He spent his days, months, and years secluded in a dark bedroom. His wife worked full time to provide for their family. His children barely knew him. Doctors were unwilling to give him stronger drugs to knock out the pain because they didn’t want him to become addicted. So Chris suffered in silence.

One week he got a doozy of a headache that felt different from his typical migraine. After running some tests, doctors discovered an inoperable brain tumor, unrelated to his chronic migraines. They told Chris he was dying. Friends and family members were stunned. Chris, on the other hand, was elated. Finally, he could see the light at the end of his suffering! He would be healed, and he would see Jesus.

Ironically, since he was dying, doctors were no longer worried about habit-forming drugs, so they gave Chris strong painkillers. For the first time in years, he could leave his dark room and engage with his family. He attended his children’s games and programs. They even went to Disneyland.

In the six months before his death, Chris joined Facebook. After years of withdrawal due to light sensitivity, Chris could finally reconnect with old friends. Talking with Chris was surreal—he was ecstatic about dying. Grounded. He understood what mattered most. And with no mask to hide behind, Chris spoke life into each of us. Chris taught the rest of us how to live.

Imes, Carmen Joy. 2023. Being God’s Image: Why Creation Still Matters. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic: An Imprint of InterVarsity Press. Page 101

Life can certainly host unwanted moments. But there is a certain way to deal with an uncertain future.

 

¶ Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
 In all your ways acknowledge Him,
and He will make straight your paths.
Proverbs 3:5-6

What I am telling you now is not some untried theory. I am facing an uncertain future. I am applying the principles that God has given us to live a fruitful, effective, enjoyable life. To do this we stay in the community of our church family (we generally call this fellowship). Secondly, we worship God with praise and thanksgiving both in the midst of congregation (Ps. 22:22) and in private (Matt. 6:6). Thirdly, we prioritise the hearing and heeding of God’s Word (Ps. 119:169). If there are times when this is too difficult, then let me help. Have a look at this on YouTube which I have made for times just this. And fourthly, we must continue to pour our heart out to God in prayer. Sometimes there will be times when this becomes difficult for worn-out people as well. I suggest in those times opening up the Book of Psalms to Psalm 83 and pray that Psalm as your own. I can tell you from experience that these principles help us to deal with uncertain futures. I’d be interested to hear from you in comments if this has been helpful or what you do in moments of your uncertain future.

Your Pastor,

Andrew

Let me know what you think below in the comment section and feel free to share this someone who might benefit from this Pastor’s Desk.

LOW COST LIVING

Turn on any TV or radio news lately and there’s bound to be a story about the current “cost of living crisis”. We all feel it. Initially most people accepted the widespread price-rises were caused by 2020-21 pandemic lockdowns. But whatever the reasons for the rapid price hikes over the past two years, every time we go to the supermarket we feel it again. While governments are striving to curb the impact of this cost of living crisis, there remains a way to enjoy low cost living. The key to this is recognising that the most valuable things in life are literally priceless. The path to enjoying low-cost living is to be found in Christ, and what He taught — and it begins with treasure.

 

‘TREASURE’ IS BOTH A VERB AND A NOUN

If you remember your Primary School English lessons, you might recall that a verb is a “doing” word (I run, I am running), or a “being” word (“I am.” “You are.”) and a noun is a person, place, or thing. Some words, depending on how they are used, such as run can be both a verb (“I run.”) or a noun (“I am going to the run hosted by Parkrun.”). Treasure is another such verb/noun word. We treasure something as an action or feeling (a verb); or, we can store our treasure (as a noun). Jesus taught that it was necessary for His followers to understand how to treat our treasure, and why it was even important to know what to treasure:

¶“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Matthew 6:19-21 

Jesus taught that true treasure is not anything we can have or achieve in this life – but it is something we must do. We should store up real, lasting treasure in heaven by treasuring the will God for our lives. It is in seeking to do the will of God, which begins with loving God and loving our neighbour as ourself, that we discover that real treasure are literally priceless. We were created to seek this treasure. To love the Source of all love and to share His love as our own by sacrificially loving others with our hearts, our time, our talents, and our temporal treasures. When you find someone doing this, you have found someone who has discovered the kind of treasure that Jesus was talking about in this Matthew 6 passage. Jesus stunned His original audience by stating that this treasure literally out-values all earthly treasures! Take a seat, close your eyes for a minute to still your soul, and drink in these shocking words by Jesus:

¶ “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up.
Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
Matthew 13:44

The man in this parable is prepared to forego everything he has to enter into a relationship with Jesus – the Ultimate Treasure! This man was not buying this Ultimate Treasure, or even exchanging all his wealth and possessions for it – because God the Father offers it freely to all who will repent and trust Christ! This is the essence of low cost living! Someone else has paid the debt we all owe to God and then offered us riches beyond measure. In essence, this Matthew 13:44 parable is about trust. The man who sold all that he had to buy the field where the Kingdom of God’s Treasure was, was actually relinquishing his trust in himself. The who one who turns to Christ as their Ultimate Source of salvation, hope, and provision, is declaring their total trust in Christ.   

 

WHO WANTS TO BE RICH AND FAMOUS?

For many people, being rich and famous is their very purpose of life. For many other people the purpose of their life is to be happy and healthy. I think both groups of people are misguided. Both groups may be sincerely pursuing noble things, but they not pursuing the Ultimate Purpose for their existence.

And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.
Mark 4:18-19

Jesus warned that making money or fame your life’s purpose (your idol) in which you religiously trust to give you purpose and meaning was a recipe for spiritual death. Ironically, the purpose who seeks Him first often ends up in this life and in the next having more than enough and even plenty to share with others, being truly happy and respected by the few who get to know them.

Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. ¶ “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
Matthew 6:31-34

 

THE MAP TO LOW COST LIVING

Down through the centuries millions of Christians have been martyred for their faithful witness to Christ’s Lordship. After Jesus raised Lazarus from dead I wonder if Lazarus ever experienced any fear again? Athanasius tells us of the Christians who had been recently martyred in his era and states that through their faith in Christ and God the Father’s gift of eternal life, these early Christians were fearless witnesses. Their persecutors often remarked that their threats of torture and death rarely dissuaded these Christians from preaching about and sharing Christ with others. Today, during this temporary cost-of-living crisis, we need to be reminded that the value of our lives is not measured by the size of our bank account, how many social media followers we have, what type of car we drive, the postcode of our house, or our list of achievements. The value of our lives in measured by what, or in Whom, we are trusting to give us our purpose, meaning, laws for life. If it is anything or anyone other than Jesus the Christ, Lord of Heaven and Earth, our souls are bankrupt and broken. But if it that we have turned our lives over to Christ as the Saviour and God in Whom we trust are committed to living a focused life in which we lay up in heaven treasure that will last forever. Such a believer makes Christ and His Church their priority. Such a believer is able to do this at relatively low cost despite these temporary cost of living crises that we seem to be all experiencing at the moment!

Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.
First Timothy 4:7b-8

 Amen.  

Your Pastor,

Andrew

SOME PEOPLE HAVE AMAZING BUTS

I know of several people with amazing buts. There’s Jo’, Mo’, Sam, Esther, Jerry, and others. Each of these people were gifted by God with an amazing but that changed there life and the course of human history. Sometimes these gifts came with a …then, or …God, or …the LORD. When it comes to the size of things, a but is a relatively small thing (in Greek it can be just two letters: de) but it can have huge implications and enormously great blessings for multitudes. I hope to show you how this was the case with each of the people I have chosen as samples, and then show you how God can be your God of buts.

JOSEPH’S BUT

But the LORD was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison.
Genesis 39:21

Joseph loved God. He sought to always live in obedience to the LORD, yet he was betrayed by his brothers who sold him into slavery (Gen. 39:1). While serving as a slave in Egypt he was falsely accused of attempted rape by his master’s jilted wife. This accusation led to him being imprisoned for years. But the LORD had a plan for Joseph that eventually led to him being dramatically released from prison, exonerated of his alleged crime, and made the Prime Minister of Egypt (Gen. 41:14, 39-41). This but led to the rescue of his family from potential starvation and then the formation of the nation of Israel.

 

MOSES’ BUT

But the LORD said to Moses, “Do not fear him, for I have given him into your hand, and all his people, and his land. And you shall do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon.”
Numbers 21:34

Moses was washed up. He was a criminal on the run from Egyptian authorities who had sentenced him to death for the crime of murder. He fled Egypt into the wilderness. His prospects looked bleak. It was there that he encountered the God of buts. God commanded him to return to Egypt and rescue the descendants of Joseph’s father, Jacob (whose name had been changed to Israel). Moses told God all the reasons why this was a ridiculous command for him to obey, then this happen…

But the LORD said to Moses, “Put out your hand and catch it by the tail”—so he put out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand—
Exodus 4:4

God demonstrated to Moses that He would perform miracles through Moses’ obedience. Moses then did obey. God did perform miracles. And Israel was delivered from Egypt to return to the homeland in Palestine; but first, they had to overcome some deadly foes – including an army led by a giant king, Og (Deut. 3:11). Israel had every right to be afraid. This is when the LORD gave Moses another amazing but (Num. 21:34). The result of their obedience was – “So they defeated him and his sons and all his people, until he had no survivor left. And they possessed his land” (Num. 21:35). What an amazing but!

 

SAMUEL’S BUT

But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.”
First Samuel 16:7

Samuel had reluctantly anointed Israel’s first king, Saul. King Saul had just disobeyed the LORD and jeopardised God’s plan of redemption. Israel was now in peril from neighbouring enemies. The prophet Samuel realised that if King Saul remained in power much longer, it would lead to Israel’s doom. God then sent Samuel to anoint a new king (1Sam. 16:1. Samuel was sent to the home of Jesse and his eight sons. As Jesse brought out seven of his sons, the oldest of them even looked like a king (1Sam. 16:6)! Yet the LORD did not send Samuel to anoint him or the next six of his younger brothers (1Sam. 16:8-10). Since the LORD had specifically sent Samuel to anoint the next king of Israel from among the sons of Jesse, yet the LORD had said that none of them were to anointed! Thus, the puzzled prophet asked Jesse, “Is this all your sons? (1Sam. 16:11) This is when Samuel had an amazing but experience (1Sam. 16:7) The result would be that the jeopardy would be averted and the divine plan of salvation would be preserved. Eventually it would lead to the birth of Immanuel who would be identified as the son of David (Matt. 1:1). Samuel’s but from the LORD truly was a turning point in the Israel’s history and ultimately even human history. It really was a remarkable and amazing but!

 

ESTHER’S BUT

But you may write as you please with regard to the Jews, in the name of the king, and seal it with the king’s ring, for an edict written in the name of the king and sealed with the king’s ring cannot be revoked.”
Esther 8:8

The Book of Esther takes place after the Jews had been allowed to return from the exile in Medo-Persia where Esther and, her much older cousin, Mordecai, had remained. King Saul’s earlier failure to despatch the Amalekite king, Agag, resulted in one of his descendants, Haman, wanting to destroy all Jews (Est. 3:1, 10). God had already decreed that the Amalekites should be judged for their earlier attempt at destroy the Israelites (Exo. 17:14). King Saul was told to do it. He failed to obey. King David didn’t do it. Each successive king of Israel couldn’t do it. And now, because of their failure, their entire race was now on the brink of genocide. But a teenage Jewish girl by the name of Esther, recently married to a Persian King, sought the permission of her royal husband to counter the Edict of Hamon the Agagite (Esther 8:3). The LORD then used her husband to deliver His but to Esther and the result was that Hamon’s forces of Gog and Magog were defeated by the Jews around the Empire how had been empowered to take pre-emptive action to defend themselves (Est. 8:8-17; 9:1-16). It truly was and amazing but.

 

JEREMIAH’S BUT  

But the LORD said to me,“Do not say,
‘I am only a youth’;
for to all to whom I send you, you shall go,
and whatever I command you, you shall speak.
Do not be afraid of them,
for I am with you to deliver you,
declares the LORD.”
Jeremiah 1:7-8

Most of the priests had become unfaithful. The so-called ‘prophets’ (on the king’s payroll) had become corrupt. The king had become apostate. It was an increasingly dark time as Judah’s leaders abandoned the LORD and became idolaters. They were now at risk of being invaded by the blood-thirsty Babylonians. With so much going wrong and God’s plan of redemption in jeopardy, as usual, as essayist F.W. Boreham wrote, it was now time for God to respond by sending into the world a baby. That baby was Jeremiah, the son of a priest. At a young age Jeremiah began to hear from God. Even though Jeremiah was only a youth, there was no time to waste. The word of the LORD needed to be heard! God then summoned the teenage Jeremiah to speak to kings of nations, starting with the king of Judah! Despite Jeremiah questioning the LORD’S choice of someone “too young”, God assured him that his birth was ordained, his mission was consecrated, and his life would be divinely protected (Jer. 1:5). At just the right time, despite Jeremiah’s doubts that he was ready, the LORD spoke to Jeremiah –

But you, dress yourself for work; arise, and say to them everything that I command you.
Do not be dismayed by them, lest I dismay you before them.
Jeremiah 1:17

Thank God that the LORD gave Jeremiah these amazing buts! His obedience to the LORD ultimately led to God’s plan of redemption being restored and enabling the eventual birth of the Saviour.     

 

YOUR AMAZING BUT

But God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:8

When you turned to Christ as your LORD, it was a major turning point in your life. You were once in darkness (Eph. 5:8), spiritually dead (Eph. 2:1, 5), spiritually blind (Eph. 1:18), without hope (Eph. 2:12) — 

But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.
Romans 6:22

This should give you confidence that the God who redeemed you, saved you, open your eyes, delivered you out of devilish darkness, and rescued you from hopelessness, can in your moments of uncertainty, anxiety, fear, or even failure, intervene with a – “But then God…” And those are the moments you see an amazing but. 

Your Pastor,

Andrew

Let me know what you think below in the comment section and feel free to share this someone who might benefit from this Pastor’s Desk.