God’s People Should Expect Victory

by Rick Blumenberg / @rickblumenberg

Too many who claim to be believers in Christ do not expect to win the battle against sin and evil. They merely hope to get out of this world without being a casualty (going to hell), but they often do not have even the faintest expectation of real victory. They seem to think Satan is bound to win and about all we can do as Christians is try to carry out an orderly retreat until Christ returns to take us to be with him.  And yet the Scriptures are full of references that show we can expect the triumph of good over evil, of God over Satan, in this world!

When Jesus gave his great commission to the disciples (and to us) he said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me."(Mt 28:18b NIV) and "And surely I will be with you always, to the very end of the age." (Mt 28:20b NIV)  Since we know this, shouldn't we expect to be victorious? After all, wasn't John writing to us when he said, "the one who is in you (the Spirit of Christ) is greater than the one who is in the world." (the spirit of the antichrist)? (I John 4:4b) 

Christ has already won the battle with Satan. The war is now being fought in this world, but the last battle has already been fought in Gethsemane, on Calvary and in what is now an empty tomb. Even though we serve the winner, too often we who are believers in Christ are willing to concede the victory to sin and death, while we hope to run off to heaven where we'll be safe, even though millions are perishing under the cruelty of Satan.

What we need is a theology of victory. We need such a great faith in the weapons of God and in the plan of God that we expect to win a resounding victory. God's plan is that his followers give their lives as completely and unselfishly as Christ gave himself during his life and ministry on earth. Naturally, if we refuse to follow God's plan we can expect our alternate plan to be less successful at best, if not totally worthless.

Love is more powerful than hate, kindness more powerful than cruelty, patience more powerful than impatience. Good is always more powerful than any corresponding and opposite evil. There may be instances where evil appears to triumph in the short term, but good always prevails in the long term if it has people who lift it up and practice it in their daily lives This being so, why would we assume that evil will triumph and prevail against the Lord and his people?

Isaiah gave us God’s words about the age in which we now live when he wrote, "The time is coming to gather all nations and tongues. And they shall come and see My glory." (66:18) And in verse 23b, the Lord is quoted as saying, "all mankind will come and bow down before me," says the Lord."

We just need to do our job. We need to act on our faith in God and his methods. God's primary method is for people to use the weapons he has given. Weapons such as truth, compassion, concern, kindness, love, prayer, and others like these—all greatly powerful when shared from a selfless heart. With such a flawless plan and such invincible weapons we can attain victory. We must believe God and cease to be prophets of doom. We need a faith that we can win our world for Christ and begin to see the rule of the Kingdom of God in the affairs of humanity.

I'm Rick Blumenberg . . . and that's My View from Tanner Creek.

    

Pew Forum Survey Fosters Confusion

I don’t think they mean to, but recent articles about the Pew Form on Religion and Public Life have caused much confusion as the results of the study get farther and farther from the source. The problem is in the interpretations we take from their reports. Recently many people are concerned about the decline in the percent of Protestants in America.

If you read the article carefully, it sounds to me like they only counted protestant denominations. Probably the Church of God wasn't counted as Protestant and I'm sure the independent community churches were not counted. I am convinced—contrary to what many think—that we are living in the greatest time in the history of the Christian faith, only to be exceeded by the church of the future. God is on the throne, the Lord Jesus Christ is still the Author and Perfector of faith and God's Holy Spirit still works powerfully in the hearts and lives of God’s people.

The article quotes “Doug Sweeney, professor of church history at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, [who] said ‘mainline churches have long been aware of their declining membership.’”

It is too bad the study didn’t recognize the shift from mainline denominations to independent churches and count them as a group who fall under the “Protestant” cape even though they don’t think of themselves that way. This would have given us a much better picture of reality.

However, it is unfortunately true that many who leave the church of their parents never look back. Often they are significantly religious, holding to much the same values as their parents and their parents’ church, however, my experience with this phenomena has been that even though the middle generation (children of church-going Christians) still have faith, if they do not eventually find a church home, they do not pass their inherited values and faith on to their own children. So within three generations the church and the Bible can totally disappear from the influence of the family. This is a genuine tragedy because nothing can replace scripture to mold values, ethics and morality.

So if you’re a parent of children who have left the faith, what do you do about them and your grandchildren? Is it hopeless? Many are the grandparents who pick up their grandchildren and take them to church when their children won’t. This may not be possible however, if they live in a far-away town, or even if you live in the same town, but your children won’t cooperate. Then what can you do?

Sometimes the only thing you can do is pray. But that should not be a note of great discouragement. Saying that doesn’t mean it is hopeless and there is nothing you can do. Prayer is a powerful force for good when used appropriately. According to scripture, the primary requirement is that it must be a prayer of faith. In other words, you must be praying to God and believe that God not only hears, but answers, and has the ability to act on your behalf, or on behalf of those for whom you are praying, when it is appropriate.

Prayer is a gift from God to humanity as a method for us to acquire his power, wisdom, grace, and ability, to positively impact our need. It never “bothers” God when we pray. But my guess is it bothers him significantly when we don’t pray. If I could give him a human attribute, he probably scratches his head in amazement and wonders, “Why don’t they use this gift of prayer I have given them?

Refusing to pray is like sleeping outside in the winter rain when you own a house to live in.

I'm Rick Blumenberg and that's “My View from Tanner Creek.”
    

Strength in Reserve

by Rick Blumenberg / @rickblumenberg

Several years ago I was driving through town when I saw a large billboard that pictured a very small boy holding up a very large set of barbells.  At first I only glanced at it, but when it registered in my small brain what I had seen, I looked back quickly because I thought it had to be a joke—the boy was obviously not big enough to hold up that huge weight. When I looked the second time I saw that, sure enough, standing behind the boy were the brawny arms and torso of a weight-lifter who was also holding the barbells. Underneath were the words, ”strength in reserve", and an advertisement for a particular brand of automobile tires.

I don't remember the brand of tire, but I have never forgotten the message I received from the Lord as I heard him speak to my heart, "I am your strength in reserve!"

What an exciting concept!  And what an amazing reality!  When we have done our best and cannot do more, God is our strength in reserve!  Don't ever hesitate to do something for the Lord just because it's bigger than you are. Only hesitate if you are not certain it is God's will.

Attempting something that is not God's will and is too big for you or me to do alone is likely to make us look foolish and bring embarrassment to the kingdom of God.  If we are sure it is God's will and if we really cannot do it alone, we just need to do the best we can do and depend on God to provide whatever miracle is needed to finish the task. When God wants something done in or through us His only limitation is our cooperation!

One of the greatest truths God ever revealed to me was this:

“When we depend on the power of the flesh (our own personal power) we are limited to the power of the flesh (our own personal power). But when we depend on the power of the Spirit of God, we never find a limit.”

What an amazing truth it is to know that God sent His Son, Jesus Christ to be our Lord and Savior, and when his time to be here in the flesh was finished, God sent his Holy Spirit to be our comforter, our guide, our strength, and so much more. God's power is always available to us when our strength is inadequate. We can never be defeated by a lack of power as long as we remember that God's strength is our strength in reserve.

I’m Rick Blumenberg, and that’s “My View…from Tanner Creek”.