Undivided Attention

If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. – James 1:5-6

James doesn’t mess around when it comes to delivering important teachings. Very early in the chapter, barely past the introduction, James delivers this heard-hitting message: you can ask God, but be sure you’re doing it with the right frame of mind.

When I think about asking for wisdom, I immediately think of Solomon. In 2 Chronicles Solomon makes a sacrifice so pleasing to God that he appears to Solomon and asks, “What do you want? Ask, and I will give it to you! (1:7)” He could have chosen anything, from unfathomable riches to fame reaching the ends of the earth, but instead he asks for wisdom and the knowledge to be a good leader. And God grants him wisdom, and as reward for his humility he also grants Solomon riches, fame, and wealth. 

But it wasn’t because of his humility that God granted him his wisdom, though – it was because he worshiped God, and was dedicated to him. James reiterates this. God can – and will – grant his children the things they ask for, if they ask it with great faith in Him.

Be sure and unwavering in your faith – and only when you are completely dedicated to God, rather than your wants, will God grant you the things your heart desires most. 

Repentant Heart

Bring your confessions, and return to the Lord. Say to him, “Forgive all our sins and graciously receive us, so that we may offer our praises”…The Lord says, “Then I will heal you of your faithlessness; my love will know no bounds, for my anger will be gone forever.” – Hosea 14:2, 4

Much of the book of Hosea is God telling Israel how upset he is with them. After all he has done for them – bringing them out of Egypt, feeding them in the wilderness, giving them a new land to live in – they still ignore his commands and turn to worshipping idols instead. After giving them blessing after blessing and being ignored in return, God is a little angry. All he wants is for his children to love and listen to him, and they act as if he didn’t exist. He threatens terrible things against them, and uses Hosea and Gomer to show them how loving he will be to them, but they refuse to comply. In the last chapter of the book, God once again explains how to repair the relationship between him and his people.

He asks them to come and confess, asking for forgiveness, willing to praise. And once they humble themselves and put their own desires aside, God will heal them and flood them with a boundless love.

It seems like an easy choice – of course they want God’s healing and love, so following his orders should be a no-brainer. But as we each know all to well, it is much easier to ask God for blessings than forgiveness. The thing is, God wants to bless us – but even more than that, he wants us to love him. And loving him has to come before the blessings.

God longs for us to come to him with a repentant heart, so he may heal us and shower us with boundless love.

The Bride, Part II

I will make you my wife forever, showing you righteousness and justice, unfailing love and compassion. I will be faithful to you and make you mine, and you will finally know me as the Lord. – Hosea 2:19-20

In last week’s study, we saw how God used the prophet Hosea and his prostitute wife Gomer to illustrate the type of relationship the Lord wants to have with us – a love story where we can refer to Him as our husband. This week’s passage explores that relationship a little further. In the above verses, God promises how he will treat us during our “marriage” to him.

First, God says he will make us his wife forever. He doesn’t say he will love us until someone better comes along. He doesn’t say he will love us until we mess up.  He says forever. For-ev-er.  No matter what we do, or how bad our mistakes, He will always love us. Gomer left her marriage and went back into prostitution – but Hosea proved his love by seeking her out, buying her back, and returning her to his home. That is how God loves us.

Then the Lord goes on to say that he will show us righteousness, justice, unfailing love, and compassion. Talk about a wonderful set of vows! I would venture to say that every person wishes they had a relationship founded on truly unfailing love and compassion – and God willingly offers us that relationship.

Finally God says, “I will be faithful to you and make you mine, and you fill finally know me as the Lord.” This is the kind of promise that will set a person’s heart a-flutter. Think of the implications behind the promise to be faithful: no matter what we do, how we act, or what problems we face, God will ALWAYS have our back. That is amazing. And on top of that, God promises to make us His, so that we will finally know him.

Using the relationship of Hosea and Gomer, God is saying this: “Come to me as your true love, the way you did when you were first set free from sin, and I will love you forever so you can know me completely.” What a wonderful proposal.

 God wants to pour blessing, love, and intimacy on us the same as a husband wants to love his bride – and all we have to do in order to receive it is to give ourselves to him.

The Bride

…She will give herself to me there, as she did long ago when she was young, when I freed her from her captivity in Egypt. “When that day comes,” says the Lord, “you will call me ‘my husband’ instead of ‘my master.’” – Hosea 2:15-16

Hosea is a complicated story in the Old Testament. In it, God tells the prophet to marry a prostitute, surely a taboo situation during his time. God uses this marriage between a man of God and a sinful woman to symbolize the Lord and Israel. Even though this message was primarily for a group of people at a certain point in history, it can still apply to us today. God is still God, the loving and forgiving one in the relationship. And we, like Israel and Gomer (Hosea’s wife), are the ones who keep messing up and turning away from God.

In this passage, God turns the tables on how the creator/created relationship works. We see it as master/slave: God is in complete control, and we have limited access to Him. But that’s not how God wants it to be. If we give ourselves to him, He will free us, and he will instead become our husband - loving, forgiving, protective.

God doesn’t want us to view our relationship as a business arrangement. He wants our relationship to be a love story.

Practice Religion Religiously

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. – Philippians 4:6-7

I check Twitter religiously. At least once a day – and honestly, it’s probably close to half a dozen – I get online or open the app to see what people are talking about. There are very few days that go by without me checking my feed for updates. It’s admittedly ridiculous.

I’ve realized lately that while I practice social media religiously, I don’t practice religion religiously. I read my Bible sometimes, I pray when I remember to, I worship if I happen to hear the right kind of song on the radio – but I don’t find myself in the habit of doing it every day, I do it when things are not going well or when I’m upset. Here in Philippians Paul encourages us to pray about everything. The big things, the little things, the scary things, the wonderful things – God wants all the things. He wants us to talk to him about what we want, and thank him for what He’s done, and in return, he will grant us peace.

In these short verses, Paul gives us the secret to a life of peace: prayer and time spent with God. And not just any peace; but “God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand.” I have had those moments in my life where I stand still and cry out to God; and afterwards I feel like my heart has been cleansed and that everything is going to work out. That’s God’s peace – and all we have to do to get it is hang out with God.

Let’s be more intentional about prayer. Even if it is just taking a minute to say grace before dinner, set aside a specific time to talk with God.

Million Candle Watts

Do everything without complaining and arguing, so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people. – Philippians 2:14-15

It is an undeniable fact that the world is a messy place to live. There is no way to escape he pain, trouble, and strife that come along with living in a fallen world. So when Paul suggests that we “do everything without complaining and arguing” and live “clean, innocent lives” it sounds like an impossible feat.

It is important to note here that Paul didn’t ask the Philippians to be perfect. One of the biggest lies of the enemy is that we as Christians have to be perfect in order to share our faith with others. We let ourselves believe that non-believers will not accept Christ if we don’t have our own lives perfectly together – which is absolutely inaccurate, as looking like our lives are perfect usually turns away non-believers, who are hoping that God still loves them despite their shortcomings.

My brother works for the local fire department, and once demonstrated his million-candle-watt flashlight at a family bonfire. Fire fighters use these high-powered flashlights to be able to see through smoke and darkness when fighting fires. Whereas a normal flashlight can shed light on an area a couple of feet away, a million-candle-watt light can illuminate up to a distance of 30 feet. Even if the glass in the flashlight were to be covered in a layer of grime from the smoke, it would still shine brighter than any household flashlight.  

When Paul calls us to be “bright lights in [the] world,” he wants us to have intentions that are pure and childlike, but we don’t have to be perfect for that light to shine. Just like the flashlights, we can be a beacon to those around us.

We feel like our lives aren’t clean enough to shine – but God’s power can shine right through all of our dirt and grime.

Fill Your Niche

Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him. - Philippians 2:12-13

Recently a couple who serve as missionaries visited our church. While I love hearing about the work they’re doing and seeing the people they help, I usually end up feeling a little guilty about working a desk job when they’re caring for the homeless. The charity work I do through my office feels so weak in comparison.

But in reality, not everyone is called to be a missionary. When I really sit back and think about it, I have no desire to make a trip to Africa - not because I feel that the work isn’t necessary, but it just isn’t for me. And that’s okay. Paul points out in this passage that God gives us the desires to do the things that please Him. God created each of us to fill a specific niche, and He plants desires in our heart that encourage us to do whatever it takes to fill that niche. For some, that means raising money and going to Haiti to to rebuild villages. For others, that means being excellent at their desk job in order to witness to their coworkers.

God gives us each a desire, and the power to fulfill it. It is up to us to do so in a way that pleases Him.

Say a Little Prayer

 Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. - Philippians 1:3 (NLT)

We’ve all heard the phrase pray without ceasing. It’s one of those things, like remembering to floss every day, that is easier said than done. God wants to be in constant contact with us - and while we’d love that, too, it’s often hard to keep God in mind while taking out the trash or cramming for finals or putting the kids to bed. Our minds get caught up in the tasks before us and suddenly it’s 10 o’clock at night and we realize we haven’t prayed all day.

When Paul wrote this letter to the Philippians, he was serving time in a prison in Rome. Undoubtedly he had a lot on his mind - How are the guards going to treat me today? Am I going to make it out of here alive? But Paul knew how to pray without ceasing: Every time he thought about his friends in Philippi, he praised God for them. He didn’t wait for his designated hour of prayer time, he thanked God for them the very moment they came into his mind.

The rest of this week, as people pop in and out of your thoughts, say a prayer for them. It could be that they need your prayers at that exact moment.