We are Moving!

NEW BLOG ADDRESS

God is doing some amazing things through this writing ministry! In order to provide us with a bit more flexibility we have transferred it over to a new site. The web location is at www.billfinch.org.

When you get to that location you will see a block that is entitled "Follow Blog via Email" where you can enter your name and email address to ensure that you continue to receive this blog. 

I really appreciate your fellowship in the gospel through this via.  I REALLY want you to stay a part of this family, YOU, yes YOU, are very important to me. 

For God's Glory,
Bill Finch

Attention Getters

Have you ever noticed how much competition there is every day for your attention, and your money? It is really incredible the battle that goes on to captivate your passions. Advertisers frame their publicity in such glowing personal tones that one ends up becoming personally and emotionally attached to things. Take for example vehicle advertisements that make the purchase of that particular car or truck to be the absolute fulfillment of all you have ever dreamed to have in life! Fast food ads speak of their edible goods in terms of contentment onthe moral level for eating a certain hamburger or sandwich.  

The truth is that we need to get around and we need to eat. We want a reliable vehicle and good food to follow the examples we just shared. But these can never bring us the ultimate satisfaction we crave as they are advertised.  We are fall in the deceptive trap thinking that they actually can deliver true happiness and satisfaction. How in the world can things created give to us creatures any sense of contentment or joy in life? But that is what the world tries to sell us every day! And...you and I fall for it!  

Psalm 146 is God's antidote for that erroneous thinking. After the declaration by the psalmist to praise the Lord has long as he has breathe, he challenges our tendency to trust, to find satisfaction, to find joy in that which does not last forever. If we have the choice between trusting in that which is temporary versus trusting that which is eternal, what do we choose? If you will allow me to ask, , what do you choose?  Is it not true that we try to get satisfaction out of that which could never give it to us! The Rolling Stones had it right, "I can't get no satisfaction."   

Psalm 146:3 says, "Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation."  Human beings are tempted to trust in the temporary every day. The advertising industry is built on this premise. They are experts at awakening that part of you that yearns to be satisfied.  But the great 'shell game' in that is that what you think you are going to get is impossible from that source no matter how attractive it is. Why? Because it is temporary. Verse 4 says, "When his breath departs, he returns to the earth; on that very day his plans perish." That is a short term investment.   

How much better to find real, lasting, deep satisfaction,and real joy in the One who can actually deliver the goods. 'The goods' being that which can bring us true satisfaction and joy in this life and in the next. Verse 5 says, "Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God," This is truly incredible! Our hope, or our trust in is God, the writer mentions the God of Jacob. Jacob is that Old Testament character whose life was dramatically turned upside down by his encounter with God, you can read about it in Genesis 32:22-32. Jacob was trusting in what he could do, in fact his desire to get his father's inheritance lead him to trust in his mother's plan. But God met him, touched his life and Jacob took God as his hope and treasure. Only God could fill him with the satisfaction that he previously sought in a temporal blessing.   

This God who asks us to trust him is described in Psalm 146:6, as the One "who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, who keeps faith forever..." Then we have a litany of examples given as to how God provides now and eternally for people's needs. He is  the One in whom we find all of true, lasting satisfaction in life. As I read this Psalm I find myself indignant with my own shortsightedness in trying to manufacture my own contentedness with anything I could purchase with money.   

One of my favourite television programs when I was a small child was Captain Kangaroo (yes, that does date me!). He would always say at the end of the show, ""You can fool all of the people some of the time, and some of the people all of the time, but you can't fool Mom." All of us, including Moms, can be fooled into thinking that anything this world has to offer us will bring us such satisfaction that it will last forever. Only God can truly offer that. What are you trusting or hoping in today?

What Does God Want Me to Do?

"What does God want me to do?" Have you ever asked that question? A friend said to me recently, "I cannot tell you what God's will is for you." I appreciated that. Many times people do try and help us in this area, and at times we are left scratching our head.  The question of knowing and living in God's will is something that we grapple with in many areas of life. From our vocation, to family issues, to how we spend our money, to how we discipline our children, and in many other areas we want to know what God has to say. Does the Bible have anything to say about this?


God says a lot about it, let me give you some biblical principles when it comes to this area of life:

1. Seek God first - we many times put the cart before the horse.  We want to know God's will instead of getting to know God as priority. James 4:3 talks about people who put their own desires first then conveniently forget about seeking God first. In Matthew 6 as Jesus gives the principles for living under God's rule, he underlines the importance of seeking God first (verse 33) before seeking any other thing in life.


2. Know God's Word - What does God have to say about the issue you are facing?  For example, the word of God may not tell you the name of the person you are to marry but it does give you principles for discovering who he/she may be.  It may not tell you what type of job you should look for but it certainly tells you how God has wired you to serve Him. The important thing is to grow in your knowledge of the Word and in intimacy with God.


3.Grow in Community - If I think that I have the gift of teaching I should be a part of community that will affirm that or lovingly tell me that I don't have that gift.  I believe strongly in the local church (or a small group within that church) recognizing and affirming the gifts God has given to us. In fact in Acts 13 we read of Barnabas and Saul(later to be known as Paul) being sent out as missionaries from the church of Antioch.  It seems that they were involved in the ministry of that church and then God confirmed in the hearts and minds (verse 2) of the church that these men should be sent out to serve God and reach the unbelievers with the gospel (verse 3). If the church does not recognize one's gifts then that ought to indicate to us God's direction for this moment in time.


When you ask next time, "What do you want me to do, Lord?", know that this is a great question and a great place to start is talking to God about it.  When we sincerely seek him he will lead us in his ways. Psalm 23:1-3 reflects this truth in a beautiful way,
"The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me like down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness for
his name sake."
The bottom line is that we are asking God to lead us in his path for the glory of His name!

The Great Deception

I have been deceived.  That is quite a statement to begin this blog, is it not?  For my entire life of walking with our Lord I have equated my knowledge of theology, my reading of the Scripture with making progress spiritually. But I have missed the point. Those things are well and good, necessary even. But they can never be substituted in for growing in intimacy with the Lord. 

To grow in intimacy with the Lord is the goal of the Christian life. When the Apostle Paul said in Philippians 3 “that I may know Christ and the power of his resurrection” he was talking about growing in intimacy with Christ.  In this chapter he talked about all the things that had become his “claim to fame.” He had a very impressive resume that included spiritual activity that brought “ooos” and “ahhhs” from those around him. However impressive, none of those things helped him grow in intimacy with the Lord.

What is your claim to fame? Your theological training? The church you attend? Maybe you have memorized all kinds of verses from the Bible. My own spiritual heritage was marked by a form of legalism that declared you were okay with God if you followed the ‘do’s and don’ts’. The truth of the matter is that our only claim to fame that is worth anything before the Lord is the fact that we are His! In looking at those things in his past Paul plainly stated in Phil. 3:8, “For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things (his claim to fame) and count them as rubbish.” The question that burns in my heart is this, how does one get to that point in their spiritual journey?

How can I look at all my accomplishments and say that they are rubbish? What would motivate me to consider my past as garbage?  For Paul there was something more important, more dear to his heart than anything he had every accomplished. That something became a someone, Jesus Christ.  It was important now for Paul, and for every son and daughter of God, to know Jesus more than any other thing or person in life.  

The crux of the matter is that we should know more theology, and we should be faithful at reading our Bibles. BUT these should be disciplines by which we get to know Christ more. These ought to never stand apart from the greater goal of knowing Jesus; they ought to lead us to love him more.  The commentator Matthew Henry states that this knowledge of Christ is an “experimental acquaintance with Christ.” It is personal, and it is something that we experience because of Christ’s resurrection. It is what we experience in growing more and more in Jesus.

Recently, my wife and I drove the Beartooth Highway. This road has been classified as one the 10 most scenic highways in the United States. On its route between Montana and Wyoming, one must drive on U.S. Highway 212 slowly climbing from 5,000 feet above sea level until you reach the top at 11,000 feet. There are switchbacks going all the way up in order to make that climb. The Christian life is like driving on switchbacks. The goal is to know Christ, to grow in intimacy with him, to strive each day to know him better and more fully than the day before but then comes another switchback when it seems that we are not making progress at all. The apostle Paul expressed our goal in Phillippians 3:14, “I press on toward the goal (knowing Christ) of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” We keep on striving with the goal of knowing Christ clearly ahead of us.

The deception that I have experienced is in thinking that the exercise of spiritual disciplines is enough. No, they are not, they are tools to help me achieve the ultimate goal, to know Christ and I dare not confuse the two. When I do then I am off track and end up with a false knowledge of God and not the real thing. Our prayer ought to be that we continue to grow in the intimacy of knowing Jesus.

If I am a Bible teacher in a seminary, my goal ought to be not only that my students learn the material I am teaching but that they grow in knowing Christ better. My goal as a pastor is not just that my people learn to have a daily quiet time but that in that quiet time they are knowing Christ more. My goal as a church member is that I personally am growing to become like Jesus.

May God help us to see the real goal for which he has made us his own! God bless!