Tag: God

December 7th, 1941

by Matthew Stidham, posted in Christianity, Politics

December 7th, 1941 – A day that too many have forgotten.  As you read this blog you may still have no idea that on this day 70 years ago Japan attacked the United States Naval Base at Pearl Harbor in Oahu, Hawaii.

On that quiet Sunday morning our world was literally shaken and the scope of history changed forever.  Still, so many have forgotten this day.  I asked a class full of 6th grade students if they knew anything about this infamous day, or FDR’s speech.  None of them really did.

Maybe if we take a moment to educate our children on the history of this great country and the struggles and attacks it has overcome, then just maybe when they grow up they’ll appreciate all the blessings our country has to offer, and the brave men and women who fought and died so you and I can live here in peace and freedom.  If we teach our children about the history of our great country perhaps they will grow up and not join the growing ranks of those who seek to destroy our founding father’s intentions, destroy our freedoms, remove God from our founding documents, and spit upon everything this country has stood for since those brave men stood up against the tyranny of King George III, or since those men and women we know as Pilgrims sought to start a free Christian nation when they landed at Plymouth Rock in 1620.

Why have we become so enamored with the present, and completely ignored our past?

Deuteronomy 32:7 – New International Version (NIV)

 7 Remember the days of old; 
   consider the generations long past. 
Ask your father and he will tell you, 
   your elders, and they will explain to you.

If we continue to allow our future generations to completely ignore the past of our country, to be ignorant of what truly makes the United States of America great, then our country will lose its greatness.  And if we continue to allow God to be removed from our society, pretty soon there will be nothing left  of our great nation.

Deuteronomy 8:18 – New International Version (NIV)

18 But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today.

May America bless God, and may God bless America.

The Names of God

by Matthew Stidham, posted in Christianity
Here's a picture I took of God's handy work in Costa Rica.

I had a discussion with some people today about the various Names of God.  If you’ve never done so, I suggest you use a great resource like BibleGateway and just search to see just how many ways God is referred to in the Bible.  In addition, look up “Spirit” and see how many ways it’s referenced (be sure you’re looking at the “Spirit” that is capitalized.)

Doing this helped me to remember just how large, and powerful our God is.  Nobody can sum Him up in a few words.  No single name is grand enough, detailed enough, descriptive enough, or explanatory enough to capture the essence of God.  Yet when we put them all together inside His Word (the Bible), we begin to see how truly small and insignificant we are; how temporary our problems are; how silly our worries are;how inflated our ego’s are.  May God forgive us for thinking so much more highly of ourselves than we ought, and may God forgive us and our human minds that so limit his awesome power.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurablymore than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. – Ephesians 3:20-21

Pleasing to God

by Matthew Stidham, posted in Christianity

A friend of mine who works as a teacher was recently telling me about a conversation she had with several of her band students about the Bible.

One student recently started to look closely at the Bible and indicated he wanted to make some changes in his life. Although I was not part of that conversation, from what I understand, a group starting talking because the young man was reading some passages that teach about how we should live and how to deal with things that are not pleasing to God. He was reading to see how his life measured up to the life a true Christian should live.

I do not recall the exact passage or the exact command from the Bible this young man was talking about, but the dialogue went sort of like this, following.

“Wow, so God really doesn’t want me to do that? Well, what about this other thing? I mean, it is really similar to what God states He does not want me to do, but it is not specifically stated as being wrong. So, am I okay if I do this other thing?” There were several people involved in the conversation. Some more discussion took place. Someone spoke up and made this point, saying, “You know, it may be okay or it may not be okay. But honestly, why would you want to split that hair? If there’s a chance of something not being pleasing to God, then why take that chance?”

I think there may be many times that we, as Christians, find ourselves in that student’s shoes and similar feelings or situations. We want to see just how far we can go. We want to know exactly what is wrong so we can get as close to it as possible without going over the edge. Why do we try to push God’s boundaries? Why not limit our actions to doing what we know is definitely pleasing to God and not was is if-y or on the edge?

Galatians 5:22-26 is a good scripture to provide some guidance or guidelines to pursue. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.”

If we focus our daily living on pleasing God, instead of simply avoiding punishment or living on the edge of wrong, then maybe we’ll have more success at remaining faithful. Remember, please don’t just try to stay out of trouble; aim to please God in all you do.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION ®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

Keep Your Focus

by Matthew Stidham, posted in Christianity

In 1978 during the a fireman’s strike in England, the British army took over emergency fire-fighting.  On January 14 they were called out by an elderly lady in South London to rescue her cat from a tree.  They arrived with impressive speed, and very cleverly and carefully rescued the cat, and started to drive away.

But the lady was so grateful she invited the squad of heroes in for tea.  They spent a great deal of time there talking, and enjoying a nice break from the hard work of the day.  After a good long visit, and with fond farewells and warm waving arms, they drove off, and in doing so ran over the cat and killed it.

The firemen lost the focus of why they were there.  If they had remembered and been focused on saving the cat, surely they would have looked for it before driving away!

2 Corinthians 8:20-21 – 20 We want to avoid any criticism of the way we administer this liberal gift. 21For we are taking pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of men.

Sometimes we forget what we’re supposed to do in life. Even though we think we’re doing our jobs, and feel like we’re making progress, the reality is we’re so caught up in other activities that we’re not taking an honest look at what is truly going on around us. Sometimes we run over the cat we’re trying to save and don’t even realize it.

It’s times like these that we really have to stop and consider our path in life.  Am I really following the path God has planned for me, or am I being led astray by all the stuff the world throws at us?  Is God in control of our lives, or are our lives controlling our relationship with God?  It’s at these times that the first few verses of Hebrews 12 comes to mind.  We need to throw off all the things that entangle us and keep us in sin.  We need to fix our eyes on Jesus, and consider all of those who have gone on before us…all of those who endured so much more difficult and trying times “…so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”   When we grow weary and lose heart we’re not the only ones that suffer.  Those who rely and depend on us suffer as well, and sometimes that’s the greater tragedy.