First Baptist Church of Minonk IL

Did you ever try to work out a problem with a business only to have the representative pass the blame?  “It’s not our fault, it’s our supplier.”  Or it’s company policy, or it’s some employee who’s no longer there, or it’s the computer, the phone company, the postal service, the … you get the picture.  It’s someone else’s fault.   It’s fairly rare that you don’t experience some kind of finger pointing.

Did you ever do that?  It’s my brother’s fault the lamp was broken.  It’s my children’s fault there’s mud tracked in the house.  It’s the cat’s fault the trash is spilled.  Now that the children are all growing up and moving away I have less people to point the finger at.

Did you know that the bible talks about finger pointing?

“If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.” (Isaiah 58:9b–10, NIV)

Do away with pointing fingers.  Do away with malicious talk.  It’s no good to blame our own mistakes or wrong choices on others, says the Lord.  When we point the finger of blame, we place a yoke of oppression on those we accuse.  Rather than being agents of the gospel that brings life and freedom, we become agents of burdening oppression.

Instead, do things for the needy.  Spend yourself, says the Lord.  He doesn’t say give money (though that’s implied), we are to spend ourselves.  The KJV says, “If you draw out your soul …” Let heart go out to the oppressed.  Rather than pass blame, pass yourself.  Rather than gossip about someone, personally step in to help.

And then what happens?  We will be like light in the darkness.  When we act in the ways of the Lord, we become powerful and strong in the Lord.

“Choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life.” (Deuteronomy 30:19b–20a, NIV)

Moses preached this to the people of Israel while they stood gazing across the Jordan into the land of Canaan.  They had wandered in the desert for 40 years, now they were getting ready to enter a land flowing with milk and honey.  There they would have freedom and abundant life.  But, that would only happen if they “choose life,” that is if they choose to obey the rules God had given them.

Those rules include not worshiping false gods.  We know from reading the Old Testament, that seemed difficult to do since so many of their neighbors had different and exotic beliefs.  today we don’t bow down to gold statues – but we can still be tempted by “false gods.”  Anything that takes us away from what we truly believe in could be a false god.  For some it may be working too many hours.  For others it could be too many video games.  Maybe it is “vegging out” in front of the TV.  Maybe it’s surfing the web or Facebook.

Choose life.  Choose to live life according to God’s values of faith and family rather than workplace demands, the entertainment industry, or even your friends.

The other day I was making iced tea.  As I scooped some ice out of the tray, a few pieces fell on the floor.  But when I went to look for them (so that I can throw them away) I could only find one.  After a few minutes I gave up.  About an hour later I was changing clothes.  I had been wearing a hooded sweatshirt that has the one uni-pocket in front.  As I took it off the ice cube flew out of the pocket.  I searched for it on the bedroom floor, but again I could not find it!  After a few minutes I gave up.  I put on my slippers.  Lo and Behold, there was the ice cube!  This time it did make it into the trash.

That elusive ice cube got me thinking about God.  Jesus said, (Matthew 28:20b, NIV) “Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Sometimes we have a hard time finding God.  He seems elusive to all our searches.  We begin to wonder if he’s left us alone.  But he’s there, even if we can’t find him.

Finding that ice cube was a source of joy, because I could finally get rid of it before it completely melted and made everything wet.  Finding God is also a source of joy, but for a different reason.  Experiencing God’s presence is the source of the greatest joy.  Perhaps God doesn’t make his presence known all the time so that we might know the difference between the joy he gives and the lack of joy the world gives.  So he hides.  And we must seek for him and for evidence of his work.

New Year’s Day is a good day to make resolutions.  Sometimes the resolution that is needed is not to change, but to keep doing what we are already doing.  I want to take a moment to do just that.  I want to take a moment to restate the purpose of the blog, of this website, of our whole church.

“So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. Don’t give offense to Jews or Gentiles or the church of God. I, too, try to please everyone in everything I do. I don’t just do what is best for me; I do what is best for others so that many may be saved. And you should imitate me, just as I imitate Christ.” (1 Corinthians 10:31–11:1, NLT)

“Whatever you do …” That includes blogging.  That includes holding church services.  That includes our Wednesday Night Connections.  That includes fellowship dinners, outreach, missions – everything we do.

“… do it all for the glory of God.”  That’s the ultimate goal – God’s glory.  It doesn’t matter what people think about me.  Some people like me, some don’t.  That’s OK, but are we pointing to Christ and his glory?   If Christ tarries long enough, my ministry here will be just another name in the list of pastors.  God and his glory remains.

“Don’t give offense to Jews, gentiles, or the church of God.”  The gospel is an offense already.  But we don’t need to make it more offensive, and we certainly don’t need to add our own offensiveness.  It doesn’t matter if we talking to people from other religions, to those without religion, or to those in the church.  Our words should be chosen to not give offense.

“I do what is best for others so that many may be saved.”  Do our words bring people closer to Christ, or drive them away from Christ?  Are we making a difference in the kingdom of God?  This past year we’ve seen people coming to church that haven’t come before.  We had many baptisms this year.  We must be doing something right in that regard.

That is the purpose of all this stuff.

“I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. Only let us live up to what we have already attained.” (Philippians 3:14–16, NIV)

Debbie found these bibles on key chains.  As you can imagine, the print is tiny.  My son, who has better eyesight that I do, can make out some of the words if he tries really hard.  Perhaps if we used a good magnifying glass we could read it better.  We did find out that this bible does not include all the books in the bible.  It ends at 3^rd John (leaving out Jude and Revelation).  I think there are other books missing as well since Leviticus is in the middle of this tiny bible.

This is not the world’s smallest bible.  You can buy a bible engraved on a crystal as part of a cross necklace.  There is a bible engraved on a silicon chip about the size of a grain of sugar – that might hold the current record for the smallest bible.  Of course these bibles can only be read with special tools.

We can write God’s word on things, but God can write on our hearts.  (Jeremiah 31:33-34 NIV) ““This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time,” declares the LORD. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the LORD. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.””

Of course we have to allow him to do so.  We have to read his written word so that it becomes the living word that is written in our minds and on our hearts.