Connecting Points

Friday, July 15, 2011 

Today’s Topic:  Follow the Leader

Today’s Text:  Isaiah 48:17    “This is what the LORD says—your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the LORD your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go.

As a child I didn’t like playing follow the leader. It was pointless. Even as a child I thought, “Why would I want to follow someone who has no idea where I want to go? Why would I want to follow someone who only wants to go where they want to go and takes no thought for the desires of the person following them?” I probably missed out on a lot of childish fun. Maybe my pride was already overblown. Maybe God was preparing me to understand why I should follow Him.

The world is full of leaders and followers. Many leaders aren’t really leaders – they are just powerful people who use their power to control others so they can fulfill their own objectives. The followers of such leaders are repressed and unfulfilled. Some leaders are great. Their followers are excited to follow because they are convinced by the leader that where they are going is exactly the place that will satisfy their deepest longings and their wildest dreams. Such followers believe their leader knows what is best for them and is leading them to it. They trust the leader to take them to places they really want to go, not just where he wants to go.

I will follow a leader like that. I would have done it as a kid. If in the game of follow the leader it was required of the leader to ask each follower where they wanted to go and then lead them there, I would have played. If the leader could first convince the followers that where he wanted to go was really where they also wanted to go, I would have played the game. I will follow a leader like that.

We have a leader like that – the Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. First, He teaches us what is best for us. He helps us to understand what we really need and shows us what we really want. He shapes our thought process. The sovereign God of all creation knows what is best, and He lets us in on it. He takes the time to instruct us. He softly and tenderly speaks to our hearts, and if we will listen, we will discover that what He says is good for us is far better than what we say is good.

Second, our Leader directs us in the way we should go. Based on what we now know to be best for us, God leads us to it. He wants us to find the best. He has told us what it is, and now He shows us how to get there. I will follow a leader like that.

Unfortunately there are many who don’t follow the Leader. Some of them call themselves followers, but it’s a sham. They are really following their own desires. Their hearts have never been convinced that God really knows what’s best for them, so they never submit to His leadership to get them there. They continue to pursue their own desires, thinking that what their sinful minds desire is really best for them. Sometimes I am like that too.

When I decide not to play follow the Leader it’s because my pride has convinced me that I know what’s best for me, or that someone else who is also not playing has the real answers for me. I choose to follow myself or them, but both choices end up badly. Look at what God tells the people of Israel when they chose not to follow the Leader:

“If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a river, your righteousness like the waves of the sea. Your descendants would have been like the sand, your children like its numberless grains; their name would never be cut off nor destroyed from before me.”

I am not only convinced of the following truth, but I am overjoyed to experience it – God knows what’s best for me and will lead me to it! It is exciting and fulfilling to follow the Leader!

Pastor John

Connecting Points

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Today’s Topic:  Stubbornness

Today’s Text:  Isaiah 48:5   “Therefore I told you these things long ago; before they happened I announced them to you so that you could not say, ‘My idols did them; my wooden image and metal god ordained them.’”

Please, please, please, to get a full understanding of the context and content of God’s message to us today, read Isaiah 48:1-11 first. Then be warned. Do not be discouraged and stop reading after the next paragraph. Think hard about its truth, but do not be discouraged. There is hope.

We are a stubborn people. We don’t have to try to want our own way; it is the natural expression of our sinful nature.  It culminates in us giving credit for what happens in our lives to gods of our own creation. That way our pride can be fully self-sustaining with no need for outside interference. It is the circle of bondage that pleases the Enemy of our souls. We are obnoxious to Almighty God when we live according to the flesh.

God is full of grace and mercy. For his own sake – for the sake of His Name and fame – He delays His wrath. He has chosen to reveal Himself and His plan to us so that He may be honored and glorified in our lives. Our troubles are His testing ground to prove His faithfulness and build our faith. He does not permit His people to remain in a place of pride. In His love for us as His children He draws us back to His heart so that in us and to all who know us He is shown to be the only true God.

One way that God destroys our pride and restores our souls is through prophecy. In Isaiah 48 God reveals to us the importance of prophecy. It has to do with our stubbornness. First, He reminds us that the prophecies of old that have come true give us a foundation of faith upon which we can look to the future. If God had not revealed specific details of His plan to His people, their pride would have allowed them to give credit to gods of their own choosing – gods they created to allow the co-existence of faith and flesh in their lives. But because God told them what would happen eons before it did, they had to give credit to Him.

That’s why for us today the study of Old Testament prophecy is important – we see the workings of Almighty God and build an understanding of His sovereignty. Without that foundation of faith, we would quickly give credit for what happens in our world to gods of our own creation today; gods like government or economics or the worst one of all, personal knowledge and power. But when we study the Old Testament and see the prophecies of God proclaimed hundreds of years before the event took place, and the perfection of every prophetic detail, we can give glory to only One – Jehovah God.

Second, God has revealed new things that have not yet been fulfilled, and our study of them will bring the blessings of faith, patience, and perseverance to our lives because we will understand current events in light of God’s purpose. For the nation of Israel God revealed His plan for their restoration as a nation, and that is the theme of the rest of Isaiah. It is the plan for the restoration of His glory to His chosen people the nation of Israel. For us today, the prophecies extend into the New Testament and reveal the glory of God in His church and into eternity. His wrath will be revealed as He strikes down all sin and all sinners. His glory will be revealed as the church fulfills its calling as the Bride of Christ. Those who study these prophecies will be constantly refined and revived and will be able to keep their eyes fixed on Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith, despite the circumstances of life.

But we are a stubborn people. We still turn our attention to man’s solutions for the problems of the world, rather than seeing the problems as God’s plan to turn our eyes on Him. Four times in verses nine through eleven God says that what He does is for His sake – for His glory. He will not share His glory. If in any way we have created gods that get glory for what happens in our lives, we will be tested and afflicted. It is God’s expression of love to His children so that we turn back to Him. We are to be the proof of God’s glory to the sinful world around us. Unfortunately many so-called Christians are becoming proof of humanism and man’s glory rather than God’s. Let that not be said of us! Let us return to a study of prophecy and listen to the words of Scripture. May our discussions of current events always be in the context of God’s plan revealed in Scripture, not man’s plan devised in stubbornness and rebellion against God.

Pastor John

Connecting Points

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Today’s Topic:  Self-Defined or God-Defined

Today’s Text:  Isaiah 48:1   Listen to this, O house of Jacob, you who are called by the name of Israel and come from the line of Judah, you who take oaths in the name of the Lord and invoke the God of Israel – but not in truth or righteousness.

I’m stuck. It’s a dilemma. I cannot get past the last six words of this verse. No matter what I try the Holy Spirit keeps bringing me back to them. I believe God wants me to learn a lesson about who I am. Maybe this is for you too.

The people of Israel were God’s chosen people. Nothing could ever change that reality. They had a rich and meaningful spiritual heritage. They were called by the name God had chosen for them. But their spiritual activity was a sham – a ritual that had no righteousness – a task that wasn’t the expression of truth.

Religion can become just that – truthless tasks and righteousless rituals. (Don’t try to correct my spelling – those words aren’t in the dictionary, but they are descriptively powerful.) We have become people who have a form of godliness but deny the power of it in our everyday activity. (2 Timothy 3:5) We make great promises to God about our plans to change, but those plans are quickly absorbed into our secular and worldly lifestyles. We turn to God in our dark times of deep need, but we really only want rescue rather than repentance.

Religion produces self-defined people. Look at the people of Israel. They were chosen by God. They were called by God. They were set apart for God’s purpose. They were given a special name. They inherited a spiritual heritage that is the model for all people. But they quickly turned all of that into a license to satisfy the desires of their own sinful hearts. They translated their past into permissiveness – their perceived security into personal self-fulfillment. No longer did they choose to let God define them, but rather they chose to define themselves.

Now let’s look at ourselves. We are a chosen people (1Peter 2:9). We are called by God (Romans 1:6). We are set apart for God’s purpose (Philippians 2:13). We have been given a special name (Acts 11:26). We have inherited a spiritual heritage (Galatians 4:7). How then do we live? Are we also guilty of turning all of that into a license to satisfy the desires of our sinful nature that was to have been put to death when we came to saving faith in Jesus Christ?

Let us all take some time today and every day to consider this – am I living my life according to God’s definition of me that is correct for eternity or according to my own definition that is convenient for today? May every activity of our lives be seen by God as the expression of the truth of His definition of a Christ-follower. May our lives be lived in the righteousness of Christ. That is holiness – a life without contradiction.

Pastor John

Connecting Points

Monday, July 11, 2011

Today’s Topic:  Consider the Consequences

Today’s Text:  Isaiah 47:7b   …But you did not consider these things or reflect on what might happen.

It was eight days of testing. Our patience was tested. Our ability to function on less sleep was tested. Our creativity was tested. Our wisdom was tested. I am proud to announce that we not only survived the test but we thoroughly enjoyed it and passed with flying colors. Of course the flying colors part is just my opinion.

What a joy it was to be surrounded by children for those days. We had five of them for the first three days and then just two of the older ones for the remaining five days. I must admit though that it felt good to return home after dropping them off yesterday afternoon and be alone. But God taught me something while they were all here. I thought at first I was just teaching this to the kids, but it was me who really needed to learn. That’s God’s plan – to give us the children and grandchildren He knows we need to make us more like Jesus.

When trouble would brew between the kids, or when one would make a decision that turned out poorly, I took the time to try to teach them a lesson in maturity. Imagine that, me teaching maturity. I know you are chuckling. Your chuckles will turned to guffaws when you hear what I tried to teach them. Not only because they are young and you will think I was trying to teach a principle beyond their years, but because I don’t really model the principle very well myself. That’s what God wanted me to realize.

Every time one of the kids made a bad decision, I would pull them aside and talk to them about what it means to think about the consequences of our choices. Rather than acting impulsively, I would try to lay the foundation for them to consider what might happen if they do it. I knew that they would probably not understand the concept, and that kids that age don’t think that way, but I wanted to start teaching them so that by repetition over the years they will get it and become mature decision-makers. Now, because I have started this, every time I see them, and am responsible for them, I can supplement their parent’s teaching by emphasizing good decision-making skills.

This morning as I was studying Isaiah 47, God highlighted verse 7 for me. The Babylonians had been making decisions based solely on their need for immediate gratification. Now God was going to intervene and make some corrections. He starts by telling them that they had been poor decision-makers. I saw myself clearly as I read. When I got to verse seven I stopped and knew it was for me. The Lord said directly to me that I needed to consider all the consequences of every choice and reflect on what might happen.

So, for the rest of today, and on into the foreseeable future, I will be carrying this verse with me, condensing it into three words that will be etched into my mind – consider the consequences. Maybe now, at age 58, I can conquer impulsiveness and begin to mature.

Pastor John

Connecting Points

Friday, July 08, 2011

Today’s Topic:  Comparisons

Today’s Text:  Isaiah 46:5   “To whom will you compare me or count me equal? To whom will you liken me that we may be compared?”

I have absolutely no idea who Shelia Butler is, but she went public with advice to a friend on Twitter recently. Her friend was obviously dating someone that Shelia did not approve of. She told her friend, Really? Lauren? Not even in the same class as Jacob. He should’ve been gone.

This simple exchange between two friends illustrates a problem that exists in our hearts. We have been suckered into a game that we should not be playing. We are like unsuspecting tourists at a county fair who are approached by a barker who wants us to play his carnival game. He stands in the main flow of pedestrian traffic and shouts out to us that we are guaranteed winners if we will just try it once. In our innocence and naiveté we agree, and before long our pockets are empty and our self-esteem is destroyed. We walk away believing we are losers.

Such is the game of comparisons we play every day. In our innocence as children we were convinced by someone that the best way to discover our true worth was to compare ourselves to others. Perhaps we learned it by experience as others did it to us. So began a life of criticism, put downs, insults, and sarcasm designed to somehow make us feel good about who we are. In our hearts we know it doesn’t work, and in most cases makes us feel worse rather than better about who we are, but we are stuck in the bondage of the behavior. How can we be set free?

It starts with our belief in God. That’s not just a simply Sunday School answer. It’s the eternal truth of the matter. If we have established equals to God in our lives then we will never be free from the comparison chains in our mind. If we believe that there is anyone or anything that is even in the same class as God so that they or it are worthy of any attempted comparison, we will never be free from the bondage in our brains. Our freedom begins with a proper perspective of Almighty God.

Because we are finite, and therefore think from a finite perspective, it is hard for us to imagine anyone so far above everyone else that they are in a totally separate class. From childhood we have been taught that no matter how good we think we are or actually are at anything, someday we will meet someone better. That fact either drives us to excel or holds us back. Either way, our motivation for action or inactivity is the same – comparison.

If we could catch a glimpse of the infinite, we would see that God is beyond comparison. He has no equal. He is in a class all by Himself. He is the one and only standard of perfection. He has the right, and is the only one who has the right, to declare His own worth, because He is the only one who is unbiased and truthful about His status. Here is what He says about Himself in just a few verses of Isaiah 46 –

• I am God, and there is no other
• I am God, and there is none like me
• I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come
• I say: My purpose will stand
• I will do all that I please
• What I have said, that will I bring about
• What I have planned, that will I do

After you have allowed those truths to sink in, you may still be asking how that solves the comparison game. Here’s how: The God who is incomparable has lavished His love on us and declared us to be His children (1 John 3:1). We have no need to compare ourselves to anyone to determine our worth because our worth has been eternally established and declared by the One who has no comparison. We have become the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:21). We are joint heirs with Jesus with all things eternal (Romans 8:17). We have been granted a seat with Christ in heaven (Ephesians 2:6). God declares us to be incomparable.

With all of that affirmation from God and His declaration of our worth, we are free from the bondage of comparisons. Now, instead of spending all of our time trying to earn the approval of people, we can grant them the approval that God wants them to know because we are living in it.

Pastor John

Connecting Points

Thursday, July 07, 2011

Today’s Topic:  God Cares

Today’s Text:  Isaiah 46:3b – 4   “…I created you and have cared for you since before you were born. I will be your God throughout your lifetime—until your hair is white with age. I made you, and I will care for you. I will carry you along and save you.”

When God says He cares for us, I’m not sure we comprehend the depth of His care. Can we even begin to imagine the details that He must be managing?  Every little thing that could and would affect us is evaluated in the all-seeing and all-knowing mind of God. Even the timing of our own decisions is managed by God so that circumstances fall into place exactly as He wants so that His will is accomplished for our good. I have had numerous experiences of God delaying my progress on a trip to protect me from an unseen danger ahead. God never sleeps. He never slumbers. He cares for us constantly, more than we can ever know.

Today I want to share with you a story from one of our Connecting Point readers – a story that illustrates how God cares for us and has everything under control. The story has been edited from its original version to eliminate some personal details. The story begins with a surprise 60^th birthday party being planned for the reader’s mom.

It just so happened that September 12 was 60 days before her actual 60th birthday. It seemed too good to pass up, so I chose that day for the party. The idea for the party was to choose 60 different people to each have a number from 1to60. They were asked to creatively present that number to her in whatever way they wanted. At the party we would start with #1 and count up to 60. Crazy, I know. But it was awesome….better than I ever could have hoped for or imagined.

When we began planning the party last summer, I randomly gave #50 to  my co-conspirator in the party planning. One day in early August she called me to tell me about a dream she had the night before. In the dream, she saw the verses Isaiah 46:3-4 and a bracelet that my dad had given my mom. I knew which bracelet she was referring to, but I couldn’t recall the engraving on it or the story behind it. She then read me the verses:

“Listen to me, O house of Jacob, all you who remain of the house of Israel, you whom I  have upheld since you were conceived, and have carried since your birth. Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.”

I told her even if it has nothing to do with the bracelet, verse 4 was too perfect for a 60th party to pass up! She would combine the chapter and verse number to equal 50 and write my mom a song about it for her present.

Later that day my mom told me the story of the bracelet. When she got her first gray hair, she kind of panicked. My dad went to the jewelry store and bought her a bracelet. On one side is engraved: “Isaiah 46:3-4” and on the other side “Love, Lee”.

In the weeks ahead, Satan seriously attacked every part of the party planning. Mom started making all kinds of other plans for the day of the party. We had to work very hard to get her to switch them. Family issues arose. I was totally stressed out, and the night before the party I thought I had made a big mistake trying to do this.

The next morning – the day of the party – I got up and went into the bathroom at my mom’s and looked at the calendar on the wall. In utter amazement I read the Scripture verse for the day – Isaiah 46:4. Isn’t that amazing???? I am still very overcome when I think about that moment. I totally felt peace wash over me. I said, “God I am so sorry. This already was Your day. You have been in this all along.”  I was so glad that we had persevered through all of the heartache and headaches to reach that moment, and I knew that God was indeed at work. I also knew that this was to be more than just a “party.

Everyone was so creative with their numbers. I began to see why Satan would indeed want to cause trouble! Look at how many people had been reading the Bible in preparation for the party! Look at the people who were stepping out of their comfort zones! Look at the ways that God was being glorified! Look at the witness that was brought before unbelievers! Look at the people who stepped up as servants! Look at how the Body of Christ came together!! Then to top all of that off, the Isaiah verse. For me, that miracle was a symbol of redemption. The day truly had already belonged to the Lord.

God cares, and He carries us along!

Pastor John

Connecting Points

Wednesday, July 06, 2011

Today’s Topic:  Five Fantastic Facts of Faith

Today’s Text:  Isaiah 45:17    “But Israel will be saved by the LORD with an everlasting salvation.”

     Isaiah 45:19   “I have not said to Jacob’s descendants, ‘Seek me in vain.’”

     Isaiah 45:23   “Before the LORD every knee will bow.”

      Isaiah 45:24   “In the LORD alone are righteousness and strength.”

      Isaiah 45:25   “In the LORD all the descendants of Israel will be found righteous and will exult.”

First things first.

I’m guilty of putting lesser things first.

Today I rejoice that the first things are the first things. They are also the best things. God designed it that way. His first things are always our best things.

As I read through the 45^th chapter of Isaiah again this morning I was reminded of five first things that put every other thing in proper perspective. Here they are:

#1.   God’s salvation is an everlasting salvation.

#2.   God does not hide Himself from us, and when we seek Him we will find Him.

#3.   One day everyone will bow before Him and acknowledge that He is LORD. Some will bow in despair as they await their sentence. I will join all others who have been saved and bow before Him in adoration and thanksgiving as we enter His eternal presence.

#4.   Only in the LORD will I discover and embrace righteousness and strength. All other ground is sinking sand. He alone is my solid rock.

#5.   In the LORD I will be found righteous and will glory in Him. God declares me righteous because of the righteousness of Christ in me. Not because of what I did to earn it – I can do NOTHING to earn it. It is all because of the love and grace of God manifested in Jesus Christ my LORD! That makes me rejoice!

First things first.

Pastor John

Connecting Points

Friday, July 01, 2011

Today’s Topic:  Fisherman Training

Today’s Text:  Isaiah 45:22    “Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other.”

Well I’m back from my fishing trip. I didn’t catch one thing. I made a few casts with some pretty flashy lures, but not one fish grabbed hold. Actually, most of the trip was about re-training the fisherman. That was very effective.

For most of the trip God took me through some pretty rough waters. I was literally drowning in remorse and regret. For some reason all the failures of my past were brought to my mind, and all of the hardships of the present were seen as more evidence of my unworthiness. I really believed I was unfit for service to the King.

Then the breakthrough came. God reminded me clearly from the authority and truth of His Word that I am forgiven. The past is gone and He remembers it no more. The future is His and He has asked me to be a part of it. He reminded me that I am His because He chose me, He cleansed me, and He commissioned me to do His work. I’m ready for fishing.

Fishing is all about forgiveness. It’s not very flashy, but it’s the only lure we need. People must be told they can be forgiven. It’s what the entire ministry of Jesus was all about – to seek and to save the lost. He was constantly forgiving the worst of sinners. Jesus had to remind me that I have been forgiven. I’m not sure I ever really understood the impact that God’s forgiveness of my sin should have had on my life. I’m starting to. I’m ready to go fishing.

God is confirming His purpose in me. He answered prayer about a ministry opportunity for me. He answered with a “YES!” I’m ready to return to an old favorite fishing hole.

He is clarifying His vision for our church. He is opening doors of ministry. He is testing our faith with a financial crisis that only makes me more resolved to finish the work He has started knowing that He will provide. I’m more ready now than ever before to go fishing.

How about you? How has God been training you to do more fishing? I would love to hear how Jesus is uniting His church in these last days to be fishers of men and build the Kingdom of God.

Pastor John

Connecting Points

Monday, June 20, 2011

Today’s Topic:  Let’s Go Fishing

Today’s Text:  Isaiah 45:22    “Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other.”

For several weeks I have had fishing on my mind. It started out as a desire to fish for fish. God has been unrelentingly reminding me that I have been called to fish for men.

Several months ago – in fact it was before Christmas last year – I started a chronological study of the life of Christ and have used it as the basis for a long sermon series in church. Now when I say long sermon series it can be taken two ways, and according to the people of my church both would be accurate. They are long sermons, and it is a long series. In fact, after seven months of preaching we have just now arrived at the stories of Jesus calling his disciples to be fishers of men. At this rate it could be the last sermon series I ever preach. Of course, every sermon could be the last sermon ever preached as we wait for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.

The call of the disciples from a life of fishing for fish to a life of fishing for men is monumental. It’s monstrous. It’s motivational.  As these fishermen discover more and more about the Messiah from his ministry around them, they are captivated with Him. They are considering investing their lives in His eternal purposes. They have already been called to follow Him, but they had not yet made a permanent commitment. They were balancing their spiritual and their worldly lives, attempting to have both. They would soon learn that the call to follow Jesus isn’t a call that allows us to bring anything with us. It’s a call to complete commitment.

When Jesus issued His call to commitment, He encapsulated in it His purpose for their lives. They would be fishers of men. He did not call them to political or social reform. He called them to one simple objective – spiritual reform. He called them to catch men for the Kingdom of God. He called them to represent the heart of God to people who were lost. He called them to call others to be saved from their sin.

We have digressed from the call. We have become efficient at many commendable spiritual activities but have lost our passion for fishing. The church is missing out on the fullness of God’s blessing because it is ignoring its God-given mission. We as individuals have become really good at balancing our spiritual and worldly lifestyles, but if we would be really honest with God we have tipped the scales in favor of the world. Very little fishing is being done, yet that’s the one thing Jesus called us to do better than anything else.

As I said, I have been overwhelmed with this thought pattern for the last several weeks. I have preached two sermons on it at church. Every day that I wake up I ask God to bring someone into my life that day who needs Jesus so I can talk to them. So far I have not had that opportunity – or maybe because of my agenda I haven’t noticed then people God gave me. Lord, forgive me.

Fishermen don’t catch fish every day. But they do fish constantly, and when they’re not fishing they’re thinking about fishing and planning for the next fishing trip. They check their equipment and make every necessary preparation. Even the things they do that are unrelated to fishing are still seen as a preparation for fishing. Fishing is their passion. It should be ours. If it’s not, something’s wrong with our connection to the heart of God.

For the last several days God has put a question in my mind. It’s my question for fishing, and not meant to be yours. God will give you your own way of fishing if you really want Him to. But maybe it will stimulate you to think about fishing more often as I am doing. I have been trying to figure out a way to ask someone a question to begin a spiritual discussion with them. The response I got from God is bold, and probably won’t work for many of you. But, as D.L. Moody once said, “My method of doing it is better than your method of not doing it.”

Here’s what God has told me to ask people when I have a chance to talk to them personally – “Has anyone ever taken the time to explain to you why Jesus had to die on the cross?”

I’m going fishing today. I’m looking for someone to ask that to. How will you go fishing?

Pastor John

Connecting Points

Friday, June 17, 2011

Today’s Topic:  I’m a Fixer

Today’s Text:  Isaiah 45:9-10    “Woe to him who quarrels with his Maker, to him who is but a potsherd among the potsherds on the ground. Does the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you making?’ Does your work say, ‘He has no hands’?  Woe to him who says to his father, ‘What have you begotten?’ or to his mother, ‘What have you brought to birth?’”

I am a fixer. Yesterday was a very tough day for me. I was in the middle of a fix-it project when I got a call from my son who needed help with a fix-it project of his own. I dropped what I was doing and went to his house where he had a washing machine partially disassembled.  It was leaking water from the bottom of the tub. One of the seals was bad, and we needed to see how to replace it.

With laptop computer propped up in the laundry room so we could see the service manual for the machine, we continued to take it apart. After almost two hours of work we had a solution. Unfortunately we had reached a point where we knew that to go any further would not be cost effective, so we quit and junked the machine. Thanks to all of you who helped him out on Facebook last night with options for its replacement.

On the way home my mind was swimming with questions about the design of the machine that made it so labor intensive to get at one seal. My questions were driven by my need for convenience rather than the engineering needed to produce a water-tight seal on the drum. I wondered if the designers did stuff like that on purpose to make it hard for the average person to fix on their own and then they would get kickbacks from the repairman. How sad I am when things don’t go my way.

When I returned home I took up my project, which is frustrating me because all the easy and cheap solutions aren’t working. I have one more option before I have to spend a few hundred dollars. Like I said – yesterday was a tough day for a fixer.

As I thought about my attitudes towards designers, I was hit full in the face this morning with the next verses in our study of Isaiah. It’s all about how we question the Designer.  The arrogance of our attitudes that make us believe that we can do that overwhelmed me. Yet we do it. We have figured out ways in our finite minds to justify the questioning of the infinite and not feel guilty about it. We have so rationalized our rights that we actually claim to have authority in our relationship with One who created us. We are so driven by our need for convenience that we fail to see the long-term consequences of changing the design.

Sometimes we even use Jesus as our excuse for such questions. After all, He did it in the Garden of Gethsemane. Didn’t He ask God to change His design and not make Him go through death on a cross? We know He ended up surrendering to God’s will, but He still questioned it, didn’t He?

We forget  four vitally important  words at the beginning of that prayer – “If it is possible…”  One of the Gospel writers puts it this way – “Father, if you are willing…”

That’s a far cry from how most of us address God when things aren’t being fixed according to our convenience. We demand that God change things. We go to Him with arrogant authority. We tell Him what we want done and then expect Him to do it. We question everything, not from a desire to understand the heart of God but to change the mind of God. That is not what Jesus did.

Jesus went to the Father with a heart already surrendered. He simply wanted to make sure there were no other options. But His first words indicate that He was already settled on the current course and trusted the Father’s final decision. Oh that we would live with that level of faith. Fixers find that hard to do.

Pastor John