Ah, the Old Testament. I really love this span of the Bible; without it, were would we be? It draws the road map of how we got here, why we are here, and how we should live. It has been a challenge to find the inspiration to write this post, not because I am less passionate about it, but because I’ve let the busyness of my life interfere a little bit this past week. In order to combat that, I found myself on my knees, seeking the face of the Lord. I’ve been listening to one song almost exclusively the past couple days as I become more and more deliberate and intentional in my relationship with God. The song is called “Came to My Rescue” by Hillsong United. One of the verses of that song which really convicted me goes like this:
My whole life I place in your hands, God of mercy humbled I bow down, In your presence at your throne
Don’t worry; there is a point somewhere in here and I hope I’ll be able to tie this all in with the Multiply study this week. Every week, I read the week’s Multiply chapter at least twice. The first time I read it, I focus on what Francis Chan is saying and what the call to action is. During the second read, I always try to find little nuggets of information that he so eloquently writes to create a “theme” for what I feel God is calling me to write in the blog. This chapter is no different in my intent, but there was one sentence that spoke to me with great conviction. It can be found on page 145:
“So rather than trying to identify the image of God with a specific aspect of the human condition, perhaps we should simply acknowledge that God made us to reflect Him to the world.
This chapter is all about creation. God spoke and it was done. To say that it was as simple as that seems so inadequate, but it really was that simple because it was God who spoke. Imagine hearing God say, “Let there be light” and then all of the sudden, BAM! in your face, there was light! Can you see the magnificent power of God? Seriously, that’s huge! The Creator of the Universe is absolutely incredible.
As I mentioned, this chapter is discussing creation and what that should mean to us as Christians. Francis Chan explained it well in saying, [The Bible] “Is a story that gives meaning to our existence, our daily lives, and to every other story on earth.” Have we ever stopped and just got still and looked at God’s creation? I’m not referring to just looking at a pretty sunset or gorgeous mountain range or the Grand Canyon as an amazing photo opportunity; instead, I’m talking about seeing those different, wonderfully perfect and beautiful creations as ones that came directly from the commands of God’s mouth? Have you ever sat in awe of His creation?
Francis Chan explains in this chapter that this is God’s world and that “we represent to the world its rightful King and we illustrate His workmanship, attributes and characteristics.” In other words, we are God’s messengers on this earth, here to tell people all about Him. I think that we have a tendency to lose our focus sometimes, not necessarily on God, but on what He created. Last week I spent a significant amount of time (about 10 hours) going through Romans 1, verse by verse, just really digging into the Word with anticipation and an open heart and mind, eagerly waiting to see what God was going to reveal to me. I’ve studied Romans before but this time was different. I don’t know if I have ever spent 10 hours on one chapter of one book of the Bible before. It was an absolutely amazing time of getting real with myself and my relationship with God and how I felt about discipleship and what I believed God calling me to do as His disciple. And since Multiply is all about discipleship, I’m going to share with you something that I learned going through Romans 1 last week. It completely transformed me. Check out Romans 1:20 (for someone passionate about discipleship, this verse should completely transform you; it did me):
For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God. (NLT)
This verse was my “aha” moment. Paul was very clear that no one can claim ignorance of God’s existence and power because God has clearly revealed many of His attributes in the natural world, enough for people to respond in some manner. This verse, in my very humble opinion, explains the magnitude of Genesis 1. It explains that the greatness of God in creating the universe is enough proof for people to know God exists. But, knowing that God exists and believing in Him, are two very different things. To know God is to understand that He exists; to believe in God is to put your complete trust and faith in His Son, Jesus—to transform your life to live solely for Him. This is where we come in, church.
As disciples, we must show God’s greatness through His creation as well as showing people that by believing in Jesus, their life will be transformed. People need both: knowledge and faith, the latter being significantly more important since it is by faith that we are saved (Ephesians 2:8).
Now, to go back to the beginning of this post. The lyrics to “Came to My Rescue” were so appropriate for this past week. I really try to get these posts out by Sunday morning at the latest, but I was met with some challenges along the way. For those of you that may not already know, I write this blog from a tiny one bedroom apartment in Bellevue, Nebraska where I am currently serving my “twilight tour” (final military tour before retirement). Last week began my full integration with my new job and it just happened to be a 64 hour work week. I was tired and discouraged. I was thumbing through my MP3 player and ran across this Hillsong United tune. It was a nice song, but it didn’t strike me until I really listened to the words. The words I described above:
My whole life I place in your hands, God of mercy humbled I bow down, In your presence at your throne
…has become my daily prayer. You see, throughout my few “woe is me” moments this past week in between studying Romans 1, I seemingly had forgotten that none of this is about me, but about humbling myself and getting in touch with the Creator of the universe. And as a result, telling everyone I see how awesome He is. Being in Jesus’ presence is more glorious than anything else in this world. That’s the message that we need to bring to the people. People will continue to deny Him even if they realize He exists. It is our duty, as soldiers for Christ, to bring the accompanying message of hope and love so there is no denying Him…ever. Church, let’s make Jesus famous again!
Yours in Christ,
Pastor Jeremy Meier