Flight Delays And The Will Of God

"For the vision is yet for an appointed time; but at the end it will speak, and it will not lie.  Though it tarries, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry."
Habakkuk 2:3 (NKJV)

More than once, for various reasons, I have had a flight delay. The flight was not cancelled, so it was going to leave the airport and arrive at the planned destination, but it was leaving later than expected.  While I am never thrilled to have a flight delay, I do not get into a panic that I will never get to my desired destination, I know that what is happening is only a delay in my eventual arrival.  Whenever this happens, I do what I can to make the best of the extra time I have, to keep the right focus, and be productive as possible in some way while I wait.

When things are delayed, and we do not get what we want when we want it, we can become concerned, frustrated, and even give up on ever getting what we want.  In our world today, so many things can happen so fast that when things do not happen quickly, we can become upset and wonder what is going wrong.  But while something may be delayed, it does not mean that what we are waiting for is not coming, it is just going to get to us later than we had planned and would have liked to have had it.  

There can be times in our Christian life when things do not happen as soon as we would like them to, but that does not mean that it will not happen.  In Habakkuk 2:3, God told Habakkuk that even though the vision might tarry, or be delayed, it would come.  Just because something does not happen in our time frame does not mean that it will not happen.  What God has promised us may take longer to get to us than we would like, but we can be sure that God's plan and purpose for our life will come to pass as we follow His direction and act in faith on His Word.

When Will You Be A New Creation?

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new."
2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV)

A lot of kids, and people, have dreams about something they want to be, someday.  For example, when kids are growing up, they will talk about becoming something they want to be when they are older.  A child might say they want to be a doctor, or a singer, or something else.  But it would be very strange for a child to say they want to be a doctor one day, and then when they become a doctor to keep wishing they were a doctor.  Once a person becomes a doctor, they need to focus on being that and not just keep hoping to be a doctor one day.

When discussing Bible truths, we can see two things.  First, there are things that God has already done for us, and second, that we need to take advantage of those things and live in the reality of what God has already done.  Salvation is a good example of this.  Through Jesus, God has provided a way for mankind to come into a right relationship with God, but a person still needs to act on that.  God does not need to send Jesus back to die on the cross again, a person just needs to act on what has already happened through Jesus.

In 2 Corinthians 5:17, it says that if anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation, the old is gone and everything has become new.  We are a new creation in Christ, right now!  We are the righteousness of God, our past mistakes are washed away in the blood of Jesus, and we have a bright future with God!  This is not something that is going to happen one wonderful day.  We need to find out everything the Bible says about who we are as a new creation and start living that way, not just wish we could be that one day.  We are already a new creation in Christ, and we have to live in that reality. 

A Family Resemblance?

"Philip said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us."
Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip?  He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, 'Show us the Father?"
John 14:8-9 (NKJV)

People sometimes talk about a "family resemblance" when someone in a family looks like, or even acts like another member of the family.  Often, this is referring to something in a positive way, but it can also be referring to a negative thing.  Someone may look like or act like someone else in that family, in a positive or negative way, and that will make other people either want to get to know that family or avoid them.  Based on something one person does, it can make their entire family seem more or less appealing to others.

When people hear us and see us do things, they will often associate our behavior with who we are connected to: our family, our place of work, and even our beliefs.  We are either a good reflection of who we are connected to, naturally and spiritually, or we are a bad reflection.  We should never do or say things that would make anything we are connected to look bad, and that is especially true with what we believe.  Christians can sometimes do and say things that make a relationship with God and Jesus look like something much less than it really is, and that should not be.  

In John 14, Philip asked Jesus to show the disciples the Father.  Jesus said to Philip, "He who has seen Me has seen the Father."  Jesus did and said the same things as His Father, there was a family resemblance, and what Jesus did and said made other people want to get to know His father.  What about us?  When people hear us and see us do things, are they hearing and seeing our Heavenly Father?  Is there a "family resemblance" between us and who we are related to spiritually?  There should be.  Our life should be a reflection of our spiritual Father, and encourage others to get to know Him and His Son Jesus.

Don't Just Hear It, Do It, Use It

"And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ.
I fed you with milk and not solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able;
for you are still carnal.  For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?"
1 Corinthians 3:1-3 (NKJV)

Having something is one thing, but doing something with what you have is another.  Whether it is some device, a skill, money, or something else, just gaining that thing and having it is only part of the picture.  You could get or be given something very important, exactly what you need, but if you never make use of it, then that thing is wasted.  Some people think that if they could only have this thing or that thing it would make a big difference in their life, but once they had that thing, they would still have to put it to its proper use.

The Bible is clear that we not only need to hear God's Word, but we also need to put it into practice.  God told Joshua to meditate on the Word and do the Word (Joshua 1:8).  In Deuteronomy 29:29, it says that the things that have been revealed to us are the things we need to do.  And in James 1:21-25, we are told to receive and do the Word, and that those who do the Word will be blessed.  So, we can easily see that we have to know God's Word and act on it.  Once we have heard God's Word, we then need to do what we have heard.  

The Apostle Paul had a great understanding of what God did through Jesus, and Paul spent his life as a Christian teaching others about that.  Paul told the believers at Corinth that he could not talk to them as spiritual people, but carnal.  The Corinthian believers had the Word, but they were not acting on it and making it a part of their life.  We need to read, study, and hear good teaching about God's Word, but then we still need to put it into practice.  If we don't, then we will not live in the blessings of God as we should, and we are in danger of living a life contrary to God's plans and purposes.