Chip Shots

Finding God’s will can be frustrating. Sometimes it seems like God is not listening. Or you think you know what God wants you to do, but everything goes wrong. Ever had experiences like that? I certainly have. After all, the first time I tried to start a new church, it was a fantastic failure. I was discouraged, and wondered if I’d ever have the chance to be a senior pastor again. Yes, I know the frustration of following what you think is God’s will, only to have the door closed in your face. And I know the discouragement of having your prayer petitions met with stony silence. If it’s any consolation, many followers of Jesus have gone through similarly frustrating experiences. Take, for example, the apostle Paul. That’s right: the great leader of the Christian church — the guy who wrote nearly half the books of the New Testament – had a hard time figuring out what God wanted him to do next. Here’s what happened. (Read about it in Acts 16.) Paul and his team (Silas, Luke and ...

Our Suffering God (Mark 15) Good Friday Suffering. No one wants it. Everyone experiences it. Even God. Yes, God. Especially God. On this Good Friday, take a long look at the cross. Who do you see hanging there? Christians see God. The God who made the world is now suffering at the hands of the world he made. We worship a suffering God.   In order to rescue humanity (and the world) from its own self-inflicted demise, God, in a mystery beyond human comprehension, inhabited a human body and suffered a human death. We worship a God who experienced emotional suffering.   His people rejected him. His friends abandoned him. His best friend denied him. His close confidant betrayed him. He who welcomed the outcast was now outcast himself. He who loved was now reviled. He who forgave others was now condemned. On Good Friday, God suffered emotional pain. We worship a God who experienced physical suffering.   The hands which bled were God’s hands. The thorns which...