Can you change your thinking?

[memoriesbymichelle]

So I was thinking this morning as I read my bible in Habakkuk as Judah is going to get pummeled by the Babylonians and Habakkuk says :

"Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines; though the labor of the olive may fail, and the fields yield no food; though the flock may be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls- Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation."

So, in effect he says no matter what I will praise the Lord.

What struck me this morning was that we have this concept in "church" today where if things are going good we think God is happy with us and we must be in His will, and if things are not going good then obviously we are doing something wrong and/or God is not happy with us and it just is NOT true to think like that.

I think of Job and Joseph, for example. What did they do wrong to be "punished" by God? nothing. And even in the midst of their trials, they were exactly in God's will (even though they probably didn't know it at the time). Joseph pretty much spent his whole life growing up away from his family and didn't see them again until he was a man and Job had to lose everything because satan wanted to "test" him and God allowed it.

I kind of have a reverse thinking when it comes to situations coming up in my life. If things are good....I don't always think God is blessing me (sometimes I do) and I wonder what is about to happen (kind of like the too good to be true saying)

So how do we get out of the mindset that if things are good, we are in God's will and He is happy with us and if things are bad, it's because we are doing something wrong and God is not happy?

 

[Life2Christ]

I couldn't agree with you more. I personally don't think God causes good or bad things to happen to us. They happen by circumstance only. Like people who don't deserve to win the lotto...God didn't cause that. It happened by circumstance. Death happens by circumstance (heart attack, hit by car, etc.) Death doesn't happen because God "called you home." Things happen. When you think God causes things it makes you fear God (and not in a good way). Muslims strongly believe that their behavior (and the behavior of others) causes God to act. I couldn't disagree more.

I DO believe God has a hand in miracles (things that can't be explained by circumstance). When you witness a godly miracle it is amazing and life changing.

 

[blackribbon]

TBN needs to go off the air and preachers need to teach the WHOLE Bible and not just "feel good" sermons.

 

[blackribbon]

Actually, the American idealogy teaches this idea ... that those who work hard and do right will be rewarded. The problem is that this is not what the Bible teaches. But like the saying "God helps those who help themselves"...it is hard to get people who never actually read their own Bible to realize this. And too many preachers are too afraid of losing financial support, so they won't teach the real message.

 

[blackribbon]

I wonder what would happen if a church put aside the sermons and just read the Bible (a dramatic reading) to the congregation for 45-60 minutes each week...taking a little time to just include historical context. "Bible Story Hour" for adults...only without paraphrasing it like children's stories because the Bible is really a big book of fascinating stories.

 

[memoriesbymichelle]

I wonder what would happen if a church put aside the sermons and just read the Bible (a dramatic reading) to the congregation for 45-60 minutes each week...taking a little time to just include historical context. "Bible Story Hour" for adults...only without paraphrasing it like children's stories because the Bible is really a big book of fascinating stories.

oooooooh I like this idea! probably never see it happen in my church but I agree the bible is the most fascinating book around.

 

[memoriesbymichelle]

TBN needs to go off the air and preachers need to teach the WHOLE Bible and not just "feel good" sermons.

While this may be true, I haven't watched TBN for years and my thread didn't have anything to do with what is or isn't "preached" on TBN. I was just speaking in general. Like if things are going along fine we tend to think "Oh I must be doing something right" and when things go bad we think "I must have screwed up somehow". And then thinking about my church and others I have attended, I think "they" think that if their numbers are growing, that God is blessing the church and that's not necessarily true, and likewise if their numbers were dwindling it would not necessarily be because they weren't in God's will or that they did something wrong. JMHO

 

[memoriesbymichelle]

I couldn't agree with you more. I personally don't think God causes good or bad things to happen to us. They happen by circumstance only. Like people who don't deserve to win the lotto...God didn't cause that. It happened by circumstance. Death happens by circumstance (heart attack, hit by car, etc.) Death doesn't happen because God "called you home." Things happen. When you think God causes things it makes you fear God (and not in a good way). Muslims strongly believe that their behavior (and the behavior of others) causes God to act. I couldn't disagree more.

I DO believe God has a hand in miracles (things that can't be explained by circumstance). When you witness a godly miracle it is amazing and life changing.

I disagree somewhat. I think God does cause some things to happen and other things that He didn't "cause" to happen, still happen for a reason. I do not believe in coincidences or that our lives are just happenstance. I do not think God causes illnesses or any other bad thing. Alot of times when I read in the bible it says things like "at the appointed time". Even when talking about death it says "It is appointed for man once to die, then the judgement" Hebrews 9:27. So I do think all things are orchestrated in some way, either by God, us, or satan.

 

[blackribbon]

My TBN reference was more that people watch these preachers and think that this is what Christianity is. The false teacher teach too many people who are hungry for God a false attitude and false expectations. For a lot of people, tv is the only church they get...only something like 20% of Americans attend church regularly even though almost 80% of Americans claim to be Christians.

 

[Life2Christ]

I disagree somewhat. I think God does cause some things to happen and other things that He didn't "cause" to happen, still happen for a reason. I do not believe in coincidences or that our lives are just happenstance. I do not think God causes illnesses or any other bad thing. Alot of times when I read in the bible it says things like "at the appointed time". Even when talking about death it says "It is appointed for man once to die, then the judgement" Hebrews 9:27. So I do think all things are orchestrated in some way, either by God, us, or satan.

Yes you make good points. I'm probably way off.

 

[dayhiker]

Michelle ... you keep bringing up such BIG topics.

I believe God intervenes and preforms miracles. I miracle is an over riding of a natural law, something that naturally wouldn't happen. But our world runs as orderly as it does because natural laws act the same way every time. Gravity draws things down. Gas lights and generates heat when it a spark is near it. People want to be close to other people yet we are afraid to love because we might get hurt. If God did miracle after miracle we would start to think things aren't consistent. We wouldn't see the pattern and learn how our world works. Then we wouldn't have been able to invent the airplane, etc.
But God is there/here in every situation. Often we don't want someone to change every situation we are in, we just want to know we aren't alone in it, that we are loved. I do look at churches that are growing as having a blessing from God on them. I want to see everyone find salvation in Jesus. Of course there are some that miss it. But I can't remember the last time I talked to someone in church and I thought afterwards, they don't know Jesus.
So things happen, most we cause, God, people, angels and Satan and his cohort influence us as well. Part of our job is to know what influence we are under.

 

[memoriesbymichelle]

Michelle ... you keep bringing up such BIG topics.

I believe God intervenes and preforms miracles. I miracle is an over riding of a natural law, something that naturally wouldn't happen. But our world runs as orderly as it does because natural laws act the same way every time. Gravity draws things down. Gas lights and generates heat when it a spark is near it. People want to be close to other people yet we are afraid to love because we might get hurt. If God did miracle after miracle we would start to think things aren't consistent. We wouldn't see the pattern and learn how our world works. Then we wouldn't have been able to invent the airplane, etc.
But God is there/here in every situation. Often we don't want someone to change every situation we are in, we just want to know we aren't alone in it, that we are loved. I do look at churches that are growing as having a blessing from God on them. I want to see everyone find salvation in Jesus. Of course there are some that miss it. But I can't remember the last time I talked to someone in church and I thought afterwards, they don't know Jesus.
So things happen, most we cause, God, people, angels and Satan and his cohort influence us as well. Part of our job is to know what influence we are under.

BBM - Is that a bad thing? If God did miracle after miracle we would think THAT was the norm and EXPECT it, I think. And yes dayhiker I am a deep thinker, sorry about that........not really
I think that satan is crafty and it's obvious all the way back to Adam and Eve how easily we can be deceived and I don't necessarily think that because things are going swimmingly that it means I am being blessed. If I believe that, then I would have to believe when things go bad, that I've done something wrong so....
Remember that old saying "if 50,000 people do a wrong thing....it's still a wrong thing?" So I don't necessarily think that just because a church is "growing" means God is blessing them. I think of itchy ear sermons. People will come if it's a message they "want" to hear, as long as you don't get too deep or make them change but require something of them and see what happens. And trust me when I say there are alot of people that go to church that aren't saved. Even some Atheists bring their kids to church because they want them to be able to make their own choice, yet the parents don't believe. I want everyone to get saved too, and the quicker the better so Jesus can come back and we can get on with eternity . I just think we need to re-think how we view being in or out of God's will.

 

[blackribbon]

I like your deep topics that make me think. I wouldn't spend as much time on this forum if the posts were all of the "what music are you listening to?" or "what is your favorite color?" type.