Do I Know God?

2 Corinthians 10:4-5 (ESV)
For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.

Knowledge of God is very much underrated these days. I can understand why many would take this stance because so much of our world today relies on knowledge and science that we can't help but fight against that. First of all, though, we have no reason to be afraid of science. God created this world and so in the end science will only prove the existence of God. Second, unless we know God we cannot really know God. In other words, to use modern Christianese, if we are to have a relationship with God we must know who God is.

But to even move it farther, to be able to stand against this world's knowledge and the false teachers that surround us we must know the truth. We must know God. Now, I will be the first to acknowledge that we will never truly know all of God. To truly know all of God is to in a way be God and that is not possible. But we can know enough about God to fight the spiritual war of knowledge and souls with God as our power.

Ups, Downs, and Puke

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (ESV)
So we do not lose heart. Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

Ministry can seem like a roller coaster. There are ups and downs and every once in a while a passenger throws up all over you. There are many things in ministry that are dirty, difficult, and down right irritating, but there are also time in ministry where real changes of hearts can be seen.

Case in point, a man who has attended a church for over forty years finally gives his life over to Christ for the first time. Another, a woman comes up to the pastor and says that she desires more authenticity in her faith.

Every pastor has their stories. But isn't it unbelievable that we have the truth that any "affliction" or puke that may arise, whether seriously bad or mildly amusing, is only momentary. Christ is working on us through the circumstances of our lives. God is stretching and molding us through the people we meet and deal with every day of our lives. If we focus only on the visible, outward circumstances then we will miss the invisible, inward things that God is doing to us and to the people around us.

God is always at work. Even if we don't feel Him at a particular moment we must remember that He has not left us. The troubles of this world and ministry position are temporary compared to eternity. If we keep our eyes on eternity (God) then we will live for eternity, not for this temporary home.