Choosing Sides
Dear Brothers- just wanted to share from a devotion I gave in college a while back in 2005. Just came across it the other day, and I pray it'll be a blessing to you.
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"good morning college... my name is caleb, and i just graduated from acjc last year from the class of 2ah and i’ll be sharing with you, in brief, some thoughts for this morning’s devotions. let me begin by telling a story.
when i was in secondary four in a certain school across the street, the prefects in my school put up this gorgeous banner to encourage us, the graduating batch whilst we took our o levels. the banner was this huge blue banner that stretched on and on, and on the banner were the words, boldly painted in gold letters, “with god on our side, who shall we fear?” obviously, the banner was put up to encourage us, and remind us of god’s constant presence in our lives.
yet as i reflected upon the banner as i was discussing with a friend, an interesting thought hit us one day. it was the time of the rugby season, a very important school season indeed, and this thought we had really gave us a headache.
what would happen if at a rugby match, two schools put up the exact same banner, invoking the support or blessing of the same god? i can fully imagine two schools with the same christian roots, possibly Methodist, claiming the favour of the same god. who would god side? the holier school? or the the school with the better team? what a thought.
i decided that there was something very wrong with what we all assume about our god. none of us, pastor, student, teacher, alumni or otherwise, can boast that we have god on our side. after all, if i were to rob a bank today, i’m very sure god would not be on my side. the responsibility of being free of fear or trapped and bound by it lies with us, who are variables and fickle.
the bible states that “god is not a man that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. does he speak and then not act? does he promise and not fulfill?” numbers 23:19. and the old sunday school song goes, “yesterday today forever, jesus is the same, all may change but jesus never, glory to His name.” in that case, god doesn’t switch sides. he’s constant, immutable and always, the same. by logical deduction, it must be us who make that choice then. how then can we be unfearful of tomorrow, or whatever lies ahead? by placing ourselves on god’s side, the side of righteousness, of moral conscience, of all that is pleasing to a perfect god.
and how can we know this side? again, the bible says in john 14:21, “whoever hears my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. he who loves me will be loved by my father, and i too will love him and show myself to him.” and in joshua 1:8 “do not let this book of the law depart from your mouth, meditate on it day and night, that you may careful to do everything written in it. then you will be prosperous and successful.” the description of god’s side is clear, and is found no further than in his word.
perhaps one day, someone should tell the school across the street that the banner we put up all those years ago was wrong. maybe it shouldn’t have read “with god on our side, who shall we fear?” rather, we should have written it as, “when we are on god’s side, who shall we fear?” the choice to wallow in sin and remain away from god is ours, as is the choice to turn to Him and make serious and sometimes, painful decisions to follow him and be on His side is ALSO ours. in the words of my friend the Christian math enthusiast, “we are the variables, he is the constant.”
dear friends, whether or not we are in our first year or second year, teacher or otherwise, the choice and responsibility of our relationship with the most beautiful, righteous, holy and pleasurable being in the universe lies with us and us alone. and today, whether it is promos, prelims, or some other fear that grips us, god offers us his peace and his love that conquers all fear, if only we will choose to be on his side. and i pray that his side is where i will see you.
there is an old hymn, forgotten by our generation, by harriet b stowe, which reads
When winds are raging o’er the upper ocean, And billows wild contend with angry roar, ’Tis said, far down, below the wild commotion, That peaceful stillness reigneth evermore.
Far, far away, the roar of passion dieth, And loving thoughts rise calm and peacefully, And no rude storm, how fierce so e’er it flieth, Disturbs the soul that dwells, O Lord, in Thee.
shall we pray.
dearest lord,
thank you for being our friend.
and even now as we come as a college before you, we are mindful of you and how much you love us here in acjc. we know that this college has a special place in your heart, and that you know each one of us, each teacher and student, both past and present, by name.
lord, you called us into a relationship, a friendship with you that we do not deserve, and in your wisdom, you know our needs and deepest fears, even before a word is on our lips. dear jesus, we want to stand on your side in the decisions that we make each day, whether they be big or small. help us to live according to your word, and by doing so, make you smile when you look down at us from heaven. we know that when we are your side, we have nothing to fear. thank you lord, for giving us your word, and we pray for perseverance in our discovery of how you want us to live.
lord, i pray even now for the college and the many teachers who work so hard for their students. i pray that you give them your strength and passion, that they may be lifted up when they are weary. for the jcones and twos, i ask for your peace, and that you give them comfort when they freak out and get stressed, whether it be facing the promos or the prelims. in particular, lord, for the jctwos. the prelims are nearing, and they are worried. remind them lord, that you are mindful of their every need, both great and small, and that you love them so very much. all these things we pray in jesus’ name. amen."
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"good morning college... my name is caleb, and i just graduated from acjc last year from the class of 2ah and i’ll be sharing with you, in brief, some thoughts for this morning’s devotions. let me begin by telling a story.
when i was in secondary four in a certain school across the street, the prefects in my school put up this gorgeous banner to encourage us, the graduating batch whilst we took our o levels. the banner was this huge blue banner that stretched on and on, and on the banner were the words, boldly painted in gold letters, “with god on our side, who shall we fear?” obviously, the banner was put up to encourage us, and remind us of god’s constant presence in our lives.
yet as i reflected upon the banner as i was discussing with a friend, an interesting thought hit us one day. it was the time of the rugby season, a very important school season indeed, and this thought we had really gave us a headache.
what would happen if at a rugby match, two schools put up the exact same banner, invoking the support or blessing of the same god? i can fully imagine two schools with the same christian roots, possibly Methodist, claiming the favour of the same god. who would god side? the holier school? or the the school with the better team? what a thought.
i decided that there was something very wrong with what we all assume about our god. none of us, pastor, student, teacher, alumni or otherwise, can boast that we have god on our side. after all, if i were to rob a bank today, i’m very sure god would not be on my side. the responsibility of being free of fear or trapped and bound by it lies with us, who are variables and fickle.
the bible states that “god is not a man that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. does he speak and then not act? does he promise and not fulfill?” numbers 23:19. and the old sunday school song goes, “yesterday today forever, jesus is the same, all may change but jesus never, glory to His name.” in that case, god doesn’t switch sides. he’s constant, immutable and always, the same. by logical deduction, it must be us who make that choice then. how then can we be unfearful of tomorrow, or whatever lies ahead? by placing ourselves on god’s side, the side of righteousness, of moral conscience, of all that is pleasing to a perfect god.
and how can we know this side? again, the bible says in john 14:21, “whoever hears my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. he who loves me will be loved by my father, and i too will love him and show myself to him.” and in joshua 1:8 “do not let this book of the law depart from your mouth, meditate on it day and night, that you may careful to do everything written in it. then you will be prosperous and successful.” the description of god’s side is clear, and is found no further than in his word.
perhaps one day, someone should tell the school across the street that the banner we put up all those years ago was wrong. maybe it shouldn’t have read “with god on our side, who shall we fear?” rather, we should have written it as, “when we are on god’s side, who shall we fear?” the choice to wallow in sin and remain away from god is ours, as is the choice to turn to Him and make serious and sometimes, painful decisions to follow him and be on His side is ALSO ours. in the words of my friend the Christian math enthusiast, “we are the variables, he is the constant.”
dear friends, whether or not we are in our first year or second year, teacher or otherwise, the choice and responsibility of our relationship with the most beautiful, righteous, holy and pleasurable being in the universe lies with us and us alone. and today, whether it is promos, prelims, or some other fear that grips us, god offers us his peace and his love that conquers all fear, if only we will choose to be on his side. and i pray that his side is where i will see you.
there is an old hymn, forgotten by our generation, by harriet b stowe, which reads
When winds are raging o’er the upper ocean, And billows wild contend with angry roar, ’Tis said, far down, below the wild commotion, That peaceful stillness reigneth evermore.
Far, far away, the roar of passion dieth, And loving thoughts rise calm and peacefully, And no rude storm, how fierce so e’er it flieth, Disturbs the soul that dwells, O Lord, in Thee.
shall we pray.
dearest lord,
thank you for being our friend.
and even now as we come as a college before you, we are mindful of you and how much you love us here in acjc. we know that this college has a special place in your heart, and that you know each one of us, each teacher and student, both past and present, by name.
lord, you called us into a relationship, a friendship with you that we do not deserve, and in your wisdom, you know our needs and deepest fears, even before a word is on our lips. dear jesus, we want to stand on your side in the decisions that we make each day, whether they be big or small. help us to live according to your word, and by doing so, make you smile when you look down at us from heaven. we know that when we are your side, we have nothing to fear. thank you lord, for giving us your word, and we pray for perseverance in our discovery of how you want us to live.
lord, i pray even now for the college and the many teachers who work so hard for their students. i pray that you give them your strength and passion, that they may be lifted up when they are weary. for the jcones and twos, i ask for your peace, and that you give them comfort when they freak out and get stressed, whether it be facing the promos or the prelims. in particular, lord, for the jctwos. the prelims are nearing, and they are worried. remind them lord, that you are mindful of their every need, both great and small, and that you love them so very much. all these things we pray in jesus’ name. amen."
posted by leb at 9:56 PM
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