Obsess Over God in 2018

Some people obsess over a hobby. Some are obsessive sports fan.  Many obsess over getting more power and control.  Not a few obsess over sex. Others obsess over a relationship. Then there are those who obsess over politics. And a lot of people obsess over various forms of entertainment.

We are made to obsess. Our problem is not being too obsessive. Obsession is a part of love.

Our problem is obsessing over everything and anything except the One we were made to obsess over.

The Bible is full of people who were obsessed with God:

Intense desire is a sign of obsession. The Sons of Korah were beautifully obsessed:

NIV Psalm 42:1 For the director of music. A maskil of the Sons of Korah. As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God.

2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?

People will give up many things for their obsession.  Paul was seriously obsessed with Jesus:

NIV Philippians 3:8 What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ

When we’re obsessed we can’t think about anything else:

NIV 1 Corinthians 2:2 For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.

David was hopelesslyfully obsessed!

NIV Psalm 63:1 A psalm of David. When he was in the Desert of Judah. You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water.

 2 I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory.

 3 Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.

Obsession over God isn’t just for the super-spiritual.  It is God’s will for all of us to be wonderfully, totally obsessed with Him:

NIV Matthew 10:37 "Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

 38 Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me.

7 Ways to Get (more!) Obsessed with God

People get obsessed with something by experiencing it or focusing on it a lot, until it becomes an obsession. We can grow in our holy obsession with God the same way. Here’s some practical ways to get more obsessed:

1.  Read and study the Bible more.  There are many ways to do this.  One good option is to commit to reading through the Bible in 2018.  There are many Bible reading plans. I’ve started a Facebook group for people who want to encourage one another as we read through the Bible together.  You’re welcome to join our group or start your own.  Our group may be found here:  Open My Eyes 2018.

2.  Pray more! If you want some encouragement and guidance in your prayers, consider watching my series of messages on the Lord’s Prayer.  The Lord’s Prayer is powerful. The more you pray it, the more you will want to pray it.

3.  Go to church and Bible studies more! Local churches are a really important part of God’s plan. You can read some thoughts about the importance of commitment to a local church here.

4.  Use your gifts to serve God and serve God’s people. Follow the example of the household of Stephanas:

NIV 1 Corinthians 16:15a You know that the household of Stephanas were the first converts in Achaia, and they have devoted themselves to the service of the Lord's people.

5.  Listen to lots of Christian music of whatever style you like.  Sing along!

Ephesians 5:18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit,

 19 speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord,

 20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

6.  Get rid of other obsessions that are competing with God for your heart’s devotion. Throw them out. Stop. These other obsessions are like idols that need to be smashed. Follow John’s wise counsel:

NIV 1 John 5:21 Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.

7.  Be totally committed to God’s mission. Live for it. If need be, die for it.

NIV Acts 20:24 However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me-- the task of testifying to the good news of God's grace.

Conclusion: Be obsessed with God. Get more obsessed by being devoted to His Word, praying, serving and worshiping with other Christians, praising Him, getting rid of idols, and doing His work.  You won’t regret it. No other obsession is worthy of your heart.

Hebrews 13:16 And do not forget to do good and to share with others . . .

The Lord’s Prayer: Understanding it More Fully Helps Us Pray it More Powerfully

This past summer I preached a series of messages on The Lord’s Prayer.  I had been looking forward to working on this series for a long time. It is amazing how much truth and power Jesus was able to express in so few words. He teaches us to pray The Lord’s Prayer. He later commands us to teach others to obey all He taught. So we should be praying and teaching others to pray The Lord’s Prayer.

We can pray The Lord’s Prayer either by reciting it word for word, or by thinking about the meaning of each phrase and praying based on the meaning. Both methods are excellent and powerful.  Both methods will be even more meaningful if we more fully understand this prayer.

I’m still learning more and more what this simple prayer means.  It applies to everything in life.  It applies to huge history shaping events, and it applies to our everyday routines, struggles, and service. By God’s grace, I will never stop learning all that it means.

The primary way we learn the meaning of the Lord’s Prayer more and more is actually praying it in the midst of life's struggles. Learning to pray is more like learning to play a sport than it is like learning history or physics.  You can’t learn to play a sport just by reading a book about it.  You’ve got to get out on the field and practice and play day after day. Nevertheless, if you are out on the field practicing, you can benefit by learning from coaches and other players.

So my prayer for this blog post, and for the five videos below on the Lord’s Prayer, is that first and foremost God will use them to motivate you to actually spend more time praying and specifically that the Lord’s Prayer will often shape your prayers.  In order to achieve this end, I believe that thinking about the meaning of each of the requests in The Lord’s Prayer, and thinking about some of the ways these requests apply in our lives, may help you.

The five videos below are each between 32 and 40 minutes in length.  Each one is shorter than a typical TV program, and, I trust, far better for your soul.  I pray that as you watch, God’s Spirit will open your mind to understand The Lord’s Prayer more deeply and that He will strengthen your heart to pray according to it more faithfully.

Hebrews 13:16 And do not forget to do good and to share with others . . .

Does Annihilationism Make the Threat of Hell Meaningless?

I used to believe the Bible teaches that the unrighteous will suffer eternal conscious torment.  I now believe the Bible teaches that the unrighteous will be raised to face judgment, experience some limited amount of conscious suffering, and then God will destroy their bodies and souls (Matthew 10:28), they will perish (John 3:16), and they will be burned to ashes (2 Peter 2:6). This view is called Conditional Immortality, or Annihilationism.

I often discuss Conditional Immortality with other Christians who still believe in eternal torment.  One objection they raise is that it seems to them that Annihilationism removes the threat of Hell as a motive to seek salvation and avoid sin.  Here’s an example from a discussion forum:

As I have said elsewhere, "annihilation" reduces all the warnings and threats by God, to nothing more than a farce, as it matters not really what God threatens the wicked with, because He will actually not do anything, as they will "cease to exist"! (You may see the comment here.)

This accusation is fairly common, so I want to take time to address it.  It is wrong for many reasons:

1.  Annihilationism allows for a period of conscious suffering.  The Bible does not give any detail as to how long this suffering might last.  It is likely that suffering will be proportional to a person’s sins, also taking into account how much of God’s will they knew (see Luke 12:47-48, also see the following relevant blog posts:  An Eye for An Eye, Hell is Payback). We can trust God that any conscious suffering prior to an unsaved person perishing will be enough to repay them for their sins.

2.  Annihilation itself is an extremely weighty and serious punishment.  Imagine if a family with four children was going on a long expected vacation to a wonderful destination for two weeks.  One of the children committed a sin which was serious in the eyes of his parents.  As a result, he is not allowed to go on the vacation.  Even if there was no physical pain inflicted, this could be seen as a fairly serious punishment.  But the unrighteous are not missing out merely on a two week vacation.  They are missing out on an eternity of joy in the presence of our Lord. They are missing out on living in a perfect world full of redeemed people who have been transformed so that we are as loving, good, pure, kind, trustworthy, and honest as Jesus.  This is a massively huge punishment.  It is in fact an “eternal punishment” because they miss out on the joys of eternal life forever!  How can anyone think that missing out on spending eternity in the presence of our Lord with His love and blessing is “nothing more than a farce” of a punishment? Do we value eternal life with Christ so little that it is no big deal to miss it unless the alternative is eternal torment?

3. The objection that the punishment is not severe just does not pass the reality test.  Imagine you had a friend who you knew was about to be captured by North Korea, imprisoned and tortured for an unknown length of time, and then executed.  Would you say, “Oh, that’s no big deal!”?  And yet the annihilation of the wicked is much more severe because it will last forever!

4. The fear of death is common and widespread among the unredeemed. Everyday experience confirms this.  The Bible itself teaches this:

NIV Hebrews 2:14-15 Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death-- that is, the devil--and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.

In describing how the God-given conscience warns even unbelievers of the results of sin, the Bible does not mention eternal torment, but death, as what they know they deserve:

NIV Romans 1:32 Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.

5.  The threat of eternal torment can actually backfire.  It seems so extremely unjust to torture people forever for sins they commit in a short lifetime. Many people feel it makes God look cruel.  In fact, some atheists have mentioned the doctrine of eternal conscious punishment as an important reason for rejecting God and the Bible. If eternal torment were true, then of course we should teach it.  But if it is not true (and I’m convinced it is not), then by teaching eternal torment we are hurting God’s reputation and actually driving some people away from Him.

Far from being a farce, the threat of punishment in the form of perishing forever is a Biblical and powerful motivation for people to seek eternal life in Christ Jesus. John 3:16 is a Bible passage often used in evangelism, and for good reason.  The alternatives Jesus presents are “eternal life” for those who believe and perishing for those who do not. We would do well to follow this example.

Hebrews 13:16 And do not forget to do good and to share with others . . .