Traditions and Programs

Church Traditions and Programs can be good. They can even be really good. But they can also be stinkers that keep God from doing what He wants in your midst. Scripture makes it clear that there are two kinds of traditions: godly traditions that should be kept, and ungodly traditions that should be abandoned.

Whether any tradition or program is good, bad, or indifferent, He is never encompassed by it. One may line up nicely with what He's doing. Another may box you in and keep you from His best. But whether a way of doing things is good, bad, or simply mediocre, He is never boxed-in by it. Never!

So here's the warning: Beware of a man's ideas masquerading as what God says or wants to do. Just because a church tradition or program is treated as if it always has been and always will be God's idea doesn't make it so.

God may choose for a season or even longer to do His work alongside a church’s program, but that doesn't automatically mean He's endorsing the program; He might be, and He might not be. What if He's moving in spite of the program?

This is His Story, We are His Song

There is a wonderful Fanny Crosby hymn written more than a hundred years ago titled "Blessed Assurance". The chorus says, "This is my story, this is my song, Praising my Saviour all the day long." Maybe you've heard it.

I didn't think of that hymn until after the title for this Post had already hit me. But hey, it works. Just for the fun of it, I'll paste the lyrics to the hymn at the bottom of this Post. If you know the tune, sing it! The full song is all over the Internet, so Google it if you'd like to hear it.

Okay, now down to business.

Scripture tells us that Jesus is The Author and Finisher of our faith (Heb 12:2) and that
All things were made by Him and through Him and for Him. (Col. 1:16)

It was His idea to start all of this. I'm talking about the big "All": all of life, all of the universe, all of the past, all of the future. Back before the beginning of time, it was His idea and His story. He has never ceased to own the story and He never will.

God in a Box, Dog in a Pickup

When I was a young man in the Lord, my devotion was strong but my limited understanding of His ways limited my walk with Him. It was as though my life was a nice sedan; I was driving and had God close, Him sitting and watching from the backseat. Pretty neat, I thought. Most people are driving around by themselves, but I have God in my car! I can ask Him for help anytime I need it. "Lord, there's a turn coming up; should I go left or right?"  "Lord, we're hitting a bumpy patch in the road; can you help out here?" I thought that was pretty good, and it was, far better than most folks have it.

But then, in a few short years, I fell into some very difficult circumstances. They were really my fault, but I chose to blame the Lord. Why did He let this happen? In my heart, my nice sedan morphed into a long bus and I moved Him all the way into the last row. It was as though I was saying, "Lord, you messed that up. Since it's obvious I can't really count on You, I'm taking over from here on out. You stay way back there and I'll let you know when I need you."

Pure Heart, Simple Truth

(This was originally published on April 2, 2013. This is a revision of that original Post.) 

Folks who's hearts are hardened against God can’t make much sense of His truth. Because they don’t want to surrender to Him, they struggle with His truth. They'll say that the Bible doesn’t make sense, so they can’t believe in Him. But that’s backwards. Refusal to surrender comes first; that’s the reason their hearts won’t let them believe. Deep in their hearts, hidden even from themselves, they choose lies over surrender.

In effect they're saying to God, "Reveal Yourself to me and then I'll think about giving my life to You."  I believe Jesus Christ requires a very different approach. He says to a person, "Have a heart that's ready to yield and then I'll reveal Myself."
 
He is always ready to reveal Himself to someone who is yielded and tender towards Him. That's not a direct quote from Scripture, but the thought is definitely Scriptural.
 
If you don’t get anything else from this message, get this: Our Saviour, Jesus Christ, has many things to share with a tender, pure heart that He cannot share with a hardened heart.