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The Christian and The Election

November 2, 2016 By bwatson Leave a Comment

This past Sunday, I preached a message that God had laid on my heart about the upcoming Presidential Election. My prayer is that we as Christians would respond to this election and any other with the Hope that only God can give through Jesus Christ.

As Christians, our permanent residence is in Heaven. Until we get there, we must live here in a way that shows others our destination.

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Does God Answer Prayer with Sin?

January 27, 2014 By bwatson Leave a Comment

A young couple had been married for several years and they had reached a point that they were not satisfies in their marriage.  Something was missing.  They had children, owned their house, and drove fairly nice cars.  Each had jobs that kept them busy and then they chased kids during the evening.  They had very full lives but still there was something missing!!  The wife began to pray about having a better husband.  See, her husband said he was a Christian, but each Sunday he chose to stay home rather than go to church.  He worked most Saturdays and so Sunday was the only day he could sleep in or do whatever “he wanted to do.”  This attitude left his wife wanting more in the relationship.  The husband would argue with her that he was working so much to provide for her needs as well as the kids needs.  Those arguments still left her wanting more.  He would just get angry and go out to the shop or work in the yard.  He was a good dad, most of the time.  He went to the kids events, when he could.  He helped around the house, he thought.  He was a good provider and that should be enough.  The wife continued to pray for a better husband.  One day she was talking with a man at her work.  He was married and faithful to church.  She started thinking that she wanted a husband like this man, which the more they talked she decided she wanted this man.  What she didn’t realize was that he too was going through some struggles at home and he was looking for more.  She began to believe that this was God’s will for them both to divorce their spouses and marry each other.

I could go on with this story.  Many of you have heard it before or even could write a better version. I begin with this story today in order to address a question that I believe many Christians have answered incorrectly…Does God answer our prayers with sin?  Your immediate response to this question should be a resounding “NO,” yet the scenario mentioned above is far too common in the church.  Why do we even consider such a thing as God answering our prayers with an answer that leads us to sin?  Here are a few suggestions as to why.

  • People have the wrong idea of God.  We understand that God is loving, merciful, and full of grace.  We concentrate on those aspects of God.  (I am very thankful for the grace and mercy He shows me daily.)  We forget that God is equally as just, holy, and righteous.  We also do not wrong to think about the wrath of God.  We have put God in a box that mostly reflects what we would like in a god.  We do not see God as who He really is.
  • People are selfish.  I know that this is an obvious statement.  We allow our selfishness to control our thoughts and our actions.  In our selfishness, we are also impatient when it comes to waiting on God to answer our prayers in His timing.  When we pray for God to change someone or our circumstances, we must allow Him to do His work.  Sometimes, God does things immediately while other times He works methodically which takes time.
  • People have their own idea of how the prayer is to be answered.  When we pray, do we want God’s solution or do we want God to bless our solution?  I know that Psalmist says that “God will give us the desires of our hearts.”  What people fail to realize is that there are conditions to that promise.  “Delight yourself in the Lord,” “Commit your way to the Lord,” and “Trust in Him” are the three conditions to the promise. (Psalms 37:4-5) When we are willing to follow the conditions, He is willing to give us the desires of our heart.  Not before.

The Bible says in James 1:13b “and He Himself does not tempt anyone.”  God has never tempted anyone to sin.  He would not answer a prayer with a sin.  When someone tells you that God has told them to do something that is sin, don’t believe them.  God will not and does not go against His Word at any time.  It is important that as we walk on our journey with God that we consider that God is wanting our lives to give Him glory and show His character to others.  We cannot do that if we give God credit for the sin in our lives.

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Finding Hope

January 23, 2014 By bwatson Leave a Comment

Psalm 31:24 (NASB95)Image

24  Be strong and let your heart take courage,

All you who hope in the Lord.

Romans 15:13 (NASB95)

13  Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Recently I was talking with a man who had lost all hope for a future.  As I was listening to his blight, I began to feel his hopelessness.  Boy, I did not like that at all.  It just seemed the world was getting gloomier and gloomier.  As I was listening to him, I had to mentally picture the “Son” shining in my life.  My conversation with this man reminded me that so many people have lost sight of the Hope that is in Christ.

When a person has lost their hope, there are several steps that I have found to be very helpful when needing to “find my hope.”

  • Remember — The Israelites were instructed to erect stones in the middle of the Jordan River as they crossed over into the Promised Land.  The purpose of the stones was for the people to see them (not during the flood stage) and be reminded of what God had done for them.  I think that a person needs to set up some “stones” of what God has done in his/her life for times of remembering.  Writing them in a journal or in the back of a Bible helps keep them in a place that will be seen.
  • Repent — Again, using the Old Testament as a guide, the Israelites often would lose sight of God and turn to idols or their own wisdom.  Each time they took their focus off of God, He would allow calamities, bondage, and defeat to happen.  When they would turn back to God, He would require of them to Repent.  Repentance happens when a person realizes that he/she is going in the wrong direction and turns around to go in the opposite direction.  Repentance carries an attitude of brokenness and humility.  If hope is lost, it might be because the focus is on worry or on loss and not on God.  Repentance is needed.
  • Recite — The Israelites were told to recite the book of the law and to meditate on it.  There is power in the Word of God.  It is living and active, as well as being comforting and applicable.  I believe that it is important that a person memorizes scripture to be used in times of need.
  • Refocus — Paul tells the Philippian church to dwell on the things that are good.  It takes a great deal of effort to change focus, yet it is an exercise that is worth every bit of the effort.

As I have helped many people find the Hope that is in Christ, these steps have been extremely helpful.  I hope that you find them as helpful as I have.

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