I want to introduce you to the DIMES framework. This is a tool you can use to identify any hidden gods in your life, those things we treat as only God Himself should be treated. Each letter corresponds to a question. Today’s question is:

D – What do I DEPEND on most?

It took 15 minutes for the ambulance to arrive. The tightness in my jaw was getting worse. My arms felt like lead. The “heartburn” wouldn’t stop. For 20 minutes they stabilised me and got me prepared to be taken to the hospital for an emergency angiogram. Less than two hours from the initial 999 call, I was already on my way up to the ward after receiving a stent in one of arteries on my heart.

Although there was concern, and rightly so, neither Heather nor I had any sense of panic. There was an unnatural but welcome peace in that moment that could only have come from God.

Any born-again child of God who is walking with Him and has encountered a crisis can testify to the strength they discovered in that moment – not a natural strength from themselves, but the strength that God gives as and when it’s needed.

Thankfully, these kinds of crises are few and far between. The only way to be prepared for them is by making sure we’re walking as close to the Lord as possible.

But far more common is the daily worry concerning the future and what it holds. There are the concerns over the direction of the country we call home. Especially in light of the migration crisis the West is encountering and our governments’ reactions to it, we may fear what lies ahead for the nation.

On a more personal level, there may be an uneasiness over health, knowing there’s something not quite right and a fear that it could be something serious. Perhaps it is a financial worry, or stress over the behaviour of a son or daughter. It could be a bombshell at work that has put the company’s future in peril.

The question in all these circumstances is “Who are you depending on?”, and the answer reveals who or what has our faith.

If you’re a believer, you know what the answer should be: prayer to our Father on His throne, trust in the character of God, remembering the promises of God, and holding onto the glorious future God has prepared for us, a future that will far eclipse all suffering in this world.

But when blindsided by a crisis or burdened over the future, what’s the real and honest answer?

For some it means a phone-call to the doctor. For others it will mean putting money into a solution. Others will seek the counsel of someone they trust, bottle it all up inside, or start blaming God, lashing out in anger and frustration, and woe betide anyone who is unfortunate enough to be within their radius at that time. What our instinct is in those moments reveals where our faith is truly placed.

Don’t get me wrong – there’s nothing inherently wrong with ringing the doctor or seeking advice, but at what point do we turn to the Lord? If He is the One we trust and depend on above all others, should He not be our very first port of call? And then take all the sensible and reasonable steps we should take. The difference is that by calling on the Lord first we are given the wisdom to make the most appropriate moves to handle our crises.

There is a confidence and strength that can only be learned through bitter experiences. David understood that when he wrote out of his own circumstances:

And he said, The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my saviour; thou savest me from violence. I will call on the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.
2 Samuel 22:2-4

This great declaration by David had to be learned. As David saw God’s love for him at work in his circumstances, it grew into confidence in God’s faithfulness.

Circumstances overtake us. Emotions overwhelm us. Pain and sorrow can make us feel overpowered, like drowning in the suffering. But why does God allow the suffering?

The answer is often limited to, “God has a plan and purpose for your life, so just keep trusting that He knows best”. There’s truth in that, but when you’re about use up the last of your resources just to trudge forward another step, it’s small comfort. Surely there’s a better answer.

Allow to suggest three responses to this question of why God allows suffering.

1. To enable growth in faith and character.

Our trials are like spiritual resistance bands, just strong enough to give us something to struggle against, but not so strong as to overwhelm us. Paul wrote:

There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
1 Corinthians 10:13

If this is true, and it is because it’s God’s Word, while at times we are pushed to our absolute limit, we will never be asked to endure the impossible, no matter how much it feels like it. We need to take that as a promise from God.

• To be an object lesson to others

People will watch to see how we respond to suffering. What a testimony to the lost to see a believer cling onto God and endure a major crisis with dignity and strength only found in Him. Parents caring for their sick child in hospital or a church gathering round a brother or sister in Christ who has just experienced the greatest tragedy of their lives bear witness to the power of the Spirit in the everyday life of a child of God.

• To learn more about who God is

If we were never afraid, how would we know the power of the peace of God that passes all understanding (Php 4:7)?

If we never got sick or injured, how would we know God’s power to heal?

Living in a sinful world means being surrounded by triggers for temptation. If God shielded us from all of these, how would we know His forgiveness or the strength to resist that comes from a closeness to Him?

All of these reveal through experience something of God’s character. That becomes a comfort to us that we can then give to others in similar circumstances:

Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.
2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Speaking of comfort, we are reminded in 1 Thessalonians that the rapture of the Church is a truth we should use to provide comfort to one another. The day is coming very near when Christ will return for His own people, and all of us who are believers will disappear from this world and be caught up into the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ.

When we have these truths in our heart, we have tremendous resources for facing life with all of its trials and uncertainties. While many rely on other gods, fate, wealth, political connections, “meditation”, or many other things to get them through life’s challenges, our goal and privilege as believers is to place all our dependence upon the Lord.

If our first instinct isn’t to turn to the Lord, to depend on Him with hope and confidence, then perhaps He is being denied the role of God. It is His rightful place to be our first thought. While it is difficult to make this an instinctive response, it is worth our time to develop such an instinct. Making this our practice honours Him and exalts Him in our lives.

Whatever trial, suffering, or crisis you are experiencing, He is always sufficient to give the strength to see it through.

Will you start DEPENDING on Him first?

Keep looking up!

The post No other gods? – Pt 1 appeared first on Now Nearer Ministries.

Good question!

It’s taken from Romans 13:11 – “… for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed”.

It’s a word of encouragement. The return of Christ for His Church is nearer than it’s ever been. That may be an obvious statement, but the signs of just how near are evident all around us. Jesus said that when the signs begin to appear, we should look up and lift up our heads, because our redemption draws near. Well, every passing week seems to indicate the signs have begun in earnest.

It’s also a word of challenge. The start of Romans 13:11 says, “And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep”. Perhaps you remember those school days when you slept in and you were dragged out of the nicest of dreams with a loud, “It’s about time you were up!”. That’s the call to the Church in the 21st century. The Bible speaks of a “falling away” in the last days. Now while that phrase has a couple of interpretations, Scripture teaches that there will be a general cooling in attitude toward the Word of God and sound teaching. But on an individual level, we don’t need to sleepwalk into mediocre faith. We can wake up, watch, be aware, and live passionately for the truth of God’s Word.

It’s a word of urgency. If the return of Christ for His own is nearer, then the opportunities for the gospel to be shared will soon run out. The unsaved will be left behind when the Church is “caught up” to be with Christ. And the world they will find over the next seven years – the last of Daniel’s 70 weeks (Dan 9:24-27) – will be the stuff of nightmares. We don’t want that for anyone, and so, since that day is nearer than ever, we are called to be diligent in reaching the lost with the gospel.

There is one final perspective I want to finish with for now concerning the name of this blog. It’s a word of hopefulness. Do we sense that God is now nearer to us than ever before? Are we now nearer to Him in fellowship? That should be our goal – that every day we get nearer to seeing the Lord face-to-face, we’re also getting nearer to him in our relationship, so that we love Him and glorify Him more and more.

That’s the hope I have for this blog. But what will I be covering in it?

There will be three main themes throughout:

First, there’s prophecy – the forward view – but not merely what is going to happen. We will also think about what is happening, and how the world around us today is fulfilling Bible prophecy already or setting the stage for its fulfilment.

Second, there’s power – the upward view. We can see many Christians loving the Lord, being faithful to the Bible’s teachings, and who get very upset when God and His Word are mocked and scorned. But those same Christians feel that there’s something lacking. There’s a rhythm that’s out of step with God. It causes a sense of mediocrity, a feeling of frustration.

We just know that there’s more to this Christian life than the hum-drum routine that many of us have got used to. And I’m not just talking about passion. There are many passionate Christians who are incredibly vocal about their faith, but their spiritual understanding is superficial. There’s no depth, no stability. God’s good for the good times, but suddenly distant when the “blessed” life seems to vanish.

The spiritual power and strength of the truly spiritual life seems just beyond our reach. We’re hoping that through this blog we’ll discover some of the reasons why this happens and learn what we can do about it.

Third, there’s perspective – the outward view. The pressure to conform to the views and values of the world is immense. We are constantly bombarded with information from the entertainment industry, social media, and society at large. Yet Paul said in Romans 12:2, “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” We need to reject the world’s perspective and be renewed in our mind to see the world from God’s perspective. That comes from Scripture, and so we will be applying that Biblical perspective to life, so we can become more Christlike in our thinking.

I want all believers to have a vibrant and strong walk with God in which He is glorified and we are blessed, not materially, but spiritually.

For now, you can head over to the first article in which I ask the question “Is this the end of MAGA?”, considering how recent events could impact the world.

In later articles I’ll be sharing my thoughts from Scripture, commenting on world events from a Biblical perspective, and encouraging a closer walk with God.

As part of our journey I’ll be unpacking a simple framework – D.I.M.E.S. – to discover what really governs our lives and how we can return to the God we were made for. This framework could really surprise us, revealing issues we never realised were there, but if addressed can help us live closer to the Lord than ever before.

If this resonates with you, please bookmark this link so you don’t miss the first D.I.M.E.S. article next week, beginning with The Gods We Treat as God.

“And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.” – Luke 21:28

Keep looking up!

DC

The post Welcome to the Now Nearer Blog appeared first on Now Nearer Ministries.