God is Sovereign

Sovereignty. It wasn’t until recently that I really started hearing this word a lot. It wasn’t until even more recently till I’ve only begun to understand it. God has been showing me little by little.

First, it was through really grasping election, then it was through explaining it to children (that God is the Boss), and then just today I opened Suffering and the Sovereignty of God (by J. Piper & J. Taylor) and I’ve got a feeling I’m going to be thinking about this for awhile.

Why is sovereignty such a big deal anyways? Well, I think it has to do with God’s glory (see John 9:3 below). When we ask questions like: Did God let/cause the Holocaust (to) happen? Or why did this little child get raped? Where was God? (These are questions about God’s sovereignty.) Can we really say, “Well God didn’t know that would happen” or “He has to let it happen because if He didn’t He’d be impeding on our freewill”? Often times those are the easy answers, but are they right? Does that thinking really match up with scripture? Consider God’s Word:

Proverbs 16: 4

The Lord has made everything for it’s own purpose, even the wicked for the day of evil.

Exodus 4:11

Then the Lord said to Him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the Lord?”

Job 2: 10

Even when Job’s wife told him to “Curse God and die!” he told her, “Shall we receive good from God and shall we not receive evil?”

Isaiah 45: 7

I form light and create darkness, I make well-being and [I] create calamity, I am the Lord who does all these things.

Amos 3:6

Is a trumpet blown in a city, and are the people not afraid? Does a disaster come to a city, unless the Lord has done it?”

Eccl. 7:14

In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day adversity consider; the Lord has made one as well as the other.

[And one of the most beautiful to me is…]

John 9:3

When someone asked Jesus why a man was disabled “Jesus answered, ‘It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him”

Check out this video that a friend showed me:

So I’m learning God lets, causes and allows evil things to happen. But they are for the purpose of Him getting glory and also for His people’s good (James 1:2-4, Heb 12: 3-11). Of course there are difficult questions that come along with this. May they cause us to know Christ more and give Him glory.

Who is the fairest of them all?

This week as I teach the children about People being made for the glory of God, I’ve been saying things like: God made us to tell Him “God you’re the greatest! God, you are the best! God you are the strongest! God you are the biggest of all!” Over and over we’ve been talking about this: during circle time, at the writing table, even while we play outside and singing songs. It’s been fun watching them getting it. Let me explain.

This week’s theme is Super Heroes and Princesses. So I’ve had the chance to read some books about fairy’s and princesses. I don’t normally try to tie the picture books into the truth I’m trying to teach. I just pick fun books.

However, this morning after I was done teaching them about how we were made to tell God He’s the best, one precious girl thought of God during the story.

I was reading about a character named Alice the Fairy (by David Shannon) spilling juice to magically turn her shirt from white to red, and literally using her wand to make it dark (by reaching her wand to the light switch). Then as I read about Alice asking of the mirror “Mirror, Mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?” I heard a sweet little voice that said, “God is the fairest.” Okay so I know teachers say this all this all the time but it really did “warm my heart.”

Now I know she didn’t know what “fairest” meant. However she did catch the –est ending. Since we were talking about God being the biggest, strongest and greatest-I’m sure she related that to God. But that does not make it any lighter. She is learning that God is always the best of everything. Though she didn’t know what fairest meant, she gets that God is the best of everything. And I'm thankful. Because He is.

Thoughts of a preschool Teacher...

So if you don’t know already…I’m officially a pre-school teacher! Horray! God is good and gave me a surprise teaching position for the summer.

This week was a lot about setting boundaries and getting to know them. Also, we learned about how God is the sovereign creator of all things.

Some things I will remember for next time I teach this is that:

• The 10 Gospel Truths were made for 5+ in mind (my kiddos are just barely four).
• I didn’t need to use all the object-ideas.
• Most of them don’t need to necessarily be used at circle time/devotion time but could be used throughout the entire day during free-time or outside-time.

For the devotion we memorized Psalm 24: 1. I did rearrange the verse (awkward-but I wanted them to understand what they were saying). I rearranged it like this: The earth, everything in it, and all the people who live in it, are the Lord’s. If you compare it to the ESV, it’s not so bad right?

There were only a couple of kids that were actually there everyday- so of course they got the verse! However, even the kids that only came twice during the week also memorized it! The capacity for these kids to memorize is amazing so it’s such an important time to fill them with the word of God.

One thing that has been fun this week was hugging and them and swaying them while singing: “Danny, Danny, God made Danny, with brown hair and brown eyes, and a beautiful smile!” I know that 5-year-olds are not so impressed with fun little movement songs. So it’s interesting to see how much a one-year difference makes. These kids love to sing and dance and don’t have as many reservations about it.

So I’m a teacher, the lessons were not perfect, hiding scripture in hearts is vital and I had fun making up songs about God as Creator. God is good. 

Video: 10 Gospel Truths

Friends, friends, friends, I cannot say too much about this booklet. If you have a passion for working with children or work with them in any way. YOU HAVE TO HAVE this booklet. It helps give children big facts about God while explaining it to them in a kid friendly way! If you'd like to see a promotional video on it go here.

Idolatry

The past week I studied the story of Rachel and; Leah with a friend from church. Before reading Idols of the Heart, I never saw this story about idolatry before. Like most women, what I noticed most about this story is Joseph’s love for Rachel to labor for 14 years for her. Though there is a ton to learn from that itself-there is much on the topic of idolatry as well.

What so crazy about the story? Well, not even getting into the idols Rachel initially stole from her father, she was an idolater. But Elyse Fitzpatrick digs deeper by taking a look at Rachel’s desire for children (for Rachel was barren). She points out that we can see Rachel believed that having children would bring her blessing and make her happy because she eventually cries out to Joseph “ Give me children or I die!”

“Wow! Or she dies?” was my immediate reaction. Rachel really thought that that having children is what would bless her-enough that she’d rather die, if she didn’t have them. The ironic thing is, Elyse points out, is that she wasn’t satisfied with just one child, and then when she got her second, she actually did die! Elyse says “It is ironic, isn’t it, that the woman that cried, ‘Give me children or I’ll die!’ died in childbirth?” Yes, Elyse, it is.

Because idols are not filled with the living power of Jesus Christ, they could never satisfy. In fact, they do the opposite as Elyse discusses. Having an idol of praise, a relationship, feeling valued, vanity, etc, will not satisfy. Even good things like desiring a godly relationship, eating healthily, protecting a job, protecting one’s children will all leave us dissatisfied. If they are the source of our joy, the top priority or we feel like we’d sin to get a desired thing or result then it is an idol. Idols leave us dry like Jeremiah 17: 5-6 clearly describes:

Thus says the Lord,

“Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind

And makes flesh his strength,

And whose heart turns away from the Lord.

“For he will be like a bush in the desert,

and will not see when prosperity comes,

But will live in stony wastes in the wilderness

A land of salt without inhabitant”

Cursed, bush in the desert, stony wastes, wilderness, salt, without inhabitant. All those words combined does not make for a soul satisfying situation if you ask me. I’m from the desert-I know.

Like Rachel thought that idols, or children would make her happy, what could be some of my own idols? Do I desire praise from others to make me happy? Do I tell myself that I’ll just be happy & mature if my husband did this and that? Yes and yes. It turns out I have more idols than I’d like to think. I’m not so far off from Rachel’s seemingly ridiculous demand.

As I feel the weight of my sin, I am saddened that I would turn my heart to other things than my Jesus. I am saddened as I step back and look how my idols have affected not just me but the people around me.  It’s disappointing and worth lots of tears that my dear husband has endured.

But as I look at my sin, confess and repent, I can only rely on Christ to change me and this sinful heart of mine. For if I confess my sins he is faithful and just to forgive me and cleanse me from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).

Idols. I guess they are not just in Asian temples or the Old Testament. They are also in our hearts, trying to keep us from Jesus the only Soul Satisfier. 

To know Christ more

Hearing Jesus preached every sermon has impacted the way I read God’s word. Not until recently have I been amazed and actually had the thought “Wow! The bible talks about Jesus a lot!”

You see before this very deep revelation of mine ;), I’d read my bible differently. When I sat down to read my goal was to hopefully become a mature Christian some day. I knew God’s word was powerful in fighting off temptation. Therefore, I knew I needed it in my heart to be encouraged. “So what?” you say, “of course that’s why Christians read the bible!”

As good intentioned as that may sound, it’s wrong. Since I’ve been hearing the word and the gospel together each weekend, I’ve come to a different conclusion. I, the Christian, should be reading the bible to know Christ, my beautiful Savior, more. The truth is it’s not about me and how I can grow.

I was looking at Hebrews 12:1, 2 which says “…let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of God.” Think of it this way, we say “Hooray! Lets run the race!” But we can’t just run the race! We have see that the only way to run the race is by looking to Jesus who is the very reason we run the race for He is the founder!

It’s the kinda’ same with reading our bible. Sure we should read the bible! But not without Jesus in mind! He is the founder and perfecter of our faith. Surely not without seeking to be more of Him. To read the bible for the sake of becoming more a mature Christian would be a mistake. We need Jesus in every part of the equation!

God has used Christ-centered preaching to change the way I read His word and as I come to know Jesus more, I am seeing Him more in the Bible. It makes sense too; He is the reason of every passage!

I want to read the Bible, but not just for the sake of getting something out of it for myself and not seeing Christ in it. Reading our bibles must be done for the sake of coming to know Jesus and His beauty more and more.

Challenge: Read God’s word with the purpose of knowing Jesus Christ more.