August 19, 2017 – Devotions
Your G-d is Too Small – For Escapists Only

“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff— they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long.” Psalm 23

There are those who criticize religious groups because they accuse them of a form of escapism. When people find life to be too difficult and troubling, instead of dealing with the issues head on, they say that the people of the church turn away from actually dealing with their problems and instead go to G-d in prayer and worship hoping to find some comfort. In fact there is an old hymn that goes like this:

Jesu, Lover of my soul, Let me to Thy bosom fly,
While the nearer waters roll, While the tempest still is high:
Hide me, O my Savior, hide, Till the storm of life be past; Safe into the haven guide, O receive my soul at last.

Now, this is escapism, if we take the words of the hymn at face value. The writer speaks of being lifted up and protected until the “storm of life passes”. However, in my experience of faith, this is not the way that Jesus works in our lives. And if you think that this is the kind of G-d we follow, then your idea of “G-d Is Too Small”.

Take notice in the 23rd Psalm that the writer does not say that “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil because you lift me up and out and protect me”. Instead he states “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff— they comfort me.” In other words, as we walk through the darkest moments of our lives, even when we are in the deepest pits, G-d does not remove us until those moments end. Instead G-d is with us throughout those moments. As Christians we do not believe that our faith keeps bad things from happening, we believe that our faith sustains us when bad things happen. And even if some bad thing ends our life, or the life of a loved one, then our faith carries us across the threshold from this existence to the next. (Themes come from the book “Your God Is Too Small” by J. B. Phillips)

Pastor Dave

August 18, 2017 – Devotions
Your G-d is Too Small – Only For Those With “Second-Sight”

“Now concerning spiritual gifts…there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.” 1 Corinthians 12:1-11 (not inclusive)

I have a friend who seems to have a gift – the gift of perceiving things others cannot perceive. He does not know how to explain it – he just has a knowing and he experiences things the “average” believer craves to experience, but never does. He has dreams that seem real – where recently departed loved ones visit him. He has people come up to him to let him know that G-d is lifting him up in their thoughts. I have led bible studies where those attending tell me about their angel encounters, and the visits they have had with loved ones recently departed. Usually those who have such experiences are afraid to share their “visitations” or “dreams” with others, thinking they will either be made fun of, or thought of as eccentric. Others do think they have some special closeness to G-d that no one else can have. These people might be called those who have “Second-Sight”.

Christians and non-Christians alike might consider people with this gift as those who are religiously a “cut above the rest” – in a “class of their own”. Now Paul does not say that those who have such a gift are more special than others. In fact, from the scripture listed above, Paul mentions the gifts of miracles, prophecy, and the discernment of spirits in the same breath as he mentions the gift of faith. In other words, having the gift of visiting the sick and the gift of worshiping is just as revered by G-d as those who have “mystical” experiences. In other words, to think that G-d only values those who have “Second-Sight” (Mystics) limits G-d and makes G-d “Too Small”.

Jesus may have had the ability to turn water into wine and to heal the sick, but Jesus also taught his disciples that “the last shall be first and the first last”, and that he “did not come to be served but to serve”. In other words, there is no “privileged class” in Christianity – at least those who are more privileged because of their certain spiritual gifts. All are equal in the eyes of G-d – the spiritually gifted and the spiritual beginners. All receive Grace. (Themes come from the book “Your God Is Too Small” by J. B. Phillips)

Pastor Dave