God isn’t a vending machine.

Have you ever prayed about something and you THOUGHT your prayer wasn't answered?

This last year I struggled with that. I would pray for a “thorn” to be taken away, but you can probably guess that it wasn't just taken away instantly. I didn't understand at the time why this thorn I would be asking to be taken away would just not disappear. Matthew clearly states that with God all things are possible. So does He just want me to suffer? No, of course not! Yes, all things are possible with God, but maybe that was the point. Maybe He wanted me to have a thorn to learn a valuable lesson and grow closer to Him. Humans can't always teach us a life lesson. Yes, people tell us things, but God is a better teacher that shows us more truth.

During my thorn, in the past, I was focused on Mark 11:24, which says “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” This doesn't mean you get what you want. This verse can easily be taken out of context. This passage most likely is saying to put your trust in God, and pray for HIS will. Don’t pray for what you want, but pray for what He wants and that you will have eyes to see what is happening through it. Prayer is NOT for us to just go and get what we want. A wise friend told me that God is not a vending machine. You do not just put the quarter in and then poof; you have what you want. Your thorn is removed. It took a bit for this to actually sink in. So what could I have been praying for if God isn't a vending machine? Well, I started praying for wisdom and peace. Yes, that does sound like I was praying for what I wanted, but James 1:5 contradicts that. The verse says  “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” 

This does not say that whatever you want will be given to you. It says wisdom will be given. Want to know where to find it? Your Bible! That is the place where I found wisdom, and though reading the Bible doesn't just pull out a thorn, it does help guide you through it.

Paul had many (as he so called) thorns. He prayed three times for these thorns to be taken away and God said “no.” He says that he had these thorns because God's grace is sufficient. Because God's power is made better in weakness. Well isn't that true? We don't always just become more spiritually mature by constant goodness. If we have only good things surrounding us then we will not learn. Of course, we can show gratitude for constant goodness, but we easily take it for granted. Though, since we, unfortunately, live in a fallen world we don't have everything perfect. So, I am now thankful for trials because it brings us closer to the Lord. 

Verse 9 of the scripture I read said that God told Paul that His grace is sufficient. That His power was made stronger in weakness. That is very, very, true, too! If you've gone through a personal struggle then you would understand that at the end- hopefully.

While I was struggling with this thorn, and not understanding why God wasn't answering my prayers, I didn't realize what goodness would come out of it. A mentor kept saying that something good will happen. I honestly thought that was ridiculous. Like how could something amazing come out of suffering? Well, I FINALLY accepted that instead of praying to God like a vending machine. I focused on praying that I can be an encouragement, and that my eyes would stay focused on the Lord, and- as I already said- wisdom.  I grew closer to the Lord through this time. Paul says his thorns kept him humble. Your thorns can turn out for good too, but maybe in other various ways. I hope all of you too will learn to be grateful for every circumstance too, whether it is bad or good. Paul, too, was grateful for his thorn in his flesh.

-Bryar Engelhardt

The Glory of God Exemplified in His Selflessness and Humble Attitude

Romans 12:16 states “Outdo one another in showing honor.” this is almost like saying

compete with one another to show one another honor. Compete with one another by being self-sacrificrificial and humble.

Romans 12:9-13 “Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.”

All these things are exemplified when we walk in the fear of the Lord. “The Fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge” and the knowledge of Him is the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom. Colossians 1:9 contains this truth, “And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding”.

When I think about the fear of the Lord I'm reminded of meekness, having a humble attitude, and placing the Lord the God and Father of all in the right place in our lives; above ourselves. Putting ourselves as least in comparison to Him and His great glory. After all Jesus was a servant to others, how much more are we to serve one another? Philippines 2:7 says, “But [He] emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” As another example Moses was called the meekest man that had and would ever live. That would be pretty ⁰neat to exemplify someone like that. Isn't that what we should want to imitate in our lives?

For some background on why I chose the topic for this speech is because for a long period of time I was struggling with the question “if God was a good God why would he create everything for His glory and meanwhile allow so much pain and suffering for that end goal? For Himself? Would that not make Him a completely self centered and benevolent God? I remember one time sitting in the car begging God to give me the answer to this question because right then even though I knew I loved Him I did not feel like I did. And I needed to know that He was worth loving. This is like so many times in the Christian walk, there will be times one wont feel love towards someone, one wont feel motivated to do the right thing, one wont feel happy, all one feels is being broken and poured out. That's why love is a verb. You're not loving someone if you haven't forgiven them, you're not loving someone if you treat them with disregard, you're not loving someone if you're talking about them behind their back, the examples are endless. Love is patient, love is kind, it does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud, it is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs, love does not delight in evil but rejoices in the truth. Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. That's from 1st Corinthians 13:4-8. As you can see love is not a feeling, it's how you think and act about others regardless of what they do to you. So as I was struggling and searching for an answer to this question, I eventually came to the question: what is God's glory? What is it really? And this thought is what sparked the search to understand one of several pillars which I found to combat the issues in the previous questions.

God's glory is different from how people typically think. I don't know about you but when I think about glory I think of the way an athlete wins a race and wins a prize or about an artist's piece of artwork that becomes famous and is sold for millions (unless it's modern art, eh em, with a banana taped to a canvas) or about some mighty king who conquered and ruled a sizable piece of the earth. Glory which results in self adulation or pride. Do we ever see Christ boasting “You dumb little humans, I'm so much more powerful and mighty than you are. Israel look at me! I'm the one who's constantly saving you from starvation and disease. I'm the bestest, y'all are tiny little imbecileic dirt.” Maybe even flexing some cosmic muscles for emphasis. No, to quote Paul—may it never be! I think we all think that imagery is a little or quite ridiculous. Even though Christ is all powerful, all knowing, and omnipresent, he's not arrogant and haughty about it. He does occasionally remind us about his omniscience and sovereignty in order to be humbled before Him, but he does not undervalue us as His creation, He treasures us. This is displayed in Job when God replies to him in a display of His powers and wonders He created. Who laid the earth's foundations? Tell me if you understand who set its bars and rules in place? Who can put a hook through the mouth of the Leviathan? There's a great song called Brace Yourself by the band Hazakim which is based on those passages in Job. Christ did not display His fullness of glory in a display of human power. He displayed his glory by sending His Son to earth as a servant of His creation.

So yes we can and should say “glory to God, glory to God in the highest!” “For he is great and mighty to save!” And may we all recognize that His glory is not about receiving praise in the sense of arrogance but in friendship. Of course he wants to hear thankfulness and joy for what he has done. But that longing is similar to wishing to give to a friendship and being overjoyed to receive a reciprocated response. It's similar to when someone in a relationship gives a gift or takes the time to say something kind or any other kind of sacrifice for another. The joy is multiplied when the other person responds in thanks, joy, and or in some circumstances awe. This is also similar to how a marriage is supposed to be an example of Christ's relationship with the church. When two people choose to stay by each other's side until death there's a lot of self-sacrifice. Placing the other person in a position that is more important than yourself is the godly image of Christ and the church. Christ's glory was to serve his creation of humble circumstances. He came not to lift himself up as a mighty warrior as those who were anticipating the Messiah thought he would. He gave his life and his death in humble servitude. Putting himself as the least of these. And that is how He displays His glory.

-Rachael

A Good Name

“A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold.” (Proverbs 22:1)

What is a good name? A good name is given to somebody who has a reputation of integrity, honesty, and trustworthiness. A good name reflects how others view your character, who you are as a person. Like many other important things in life, a good name cannot be bought; it has to be earned. 

Honesty is key to earning a good name. It is easier to gain others’ respect when you deal honestly with them. People will be able to trust you when you have a reputation of being honest. The LORD loves an honest person: “Lying lips are abomination to the LORD: but they that deal truly are his delight.” (Proverbs 12:22) You can also gain God’s favour from keeping the truth, which is more important than man’s favour, but by keeping mercy and truth, you can gain both the favour of God and man. “Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart: So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man.” (Proverbs 3:3-4)

“And Jabez was more honourable than his brethren: and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, Because I bare him with sorrow. And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested.” (1 Chronicles 4:9-10) Jabez was someone who had a good name; he was more honourable than his brethren, and God gave him what he asked for. Cornelius is described as a devout man, one who feared God, gave alms to the people, and prayed to God always. Those are good things to be called and to do; he is someone who had a good name, and again like Jabez, God answered Cornelius’s prayer. 

“There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band. A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God always. 

And Cornelius said, Four days ago I was fasting until this hour; and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and, behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing.  And said, Cornelius, thy prayer is heard, and thine alms are had in remembrance in the sight of God.” (Acts 10:1-2, 30-31)

Honesty is not the only thing that will bring you a good name, as we can see from the examples in the previous paragraph. Not only should we keep integrity, but also remember to follow God and His lead, and remember to pray! Prayer can do so much good! Remember keeping a good name is better than any riches you can receive here on earth. 

 “A good name is better than precious ointment;” (Ecclesiastes 7:1a)

All verses are from the KJV