The Citizen, 2010-02-18, Page 16By Pastor John KuperusBlyth Christian Reformed
Church
Oprah shared on her show of a
time in her 20s when she was in a
Baptist church.
A charismatic minister was
preaching on how great God is and
then the minister said “The Lord thy
God is a jealous God.” She was
caught up in the rapture of the
moment, but that did not sit well in
her spirit that God is jealous of me?
So what does it mean that God is a
jealous God? We know that jealousy
is a very powerful passion that
causes both men and women to do
severe and violent things.
When we are speaking of God, it
is to have a love which will tolerate
no unfaithfulness or defection in the
beloved object. God’s jealousy is
aroused as he says in Isaiah 42:8,
because “I am the Lord, that is my
name! I will not give my glory to
another or my praise to idols.”
Now I know that we often times
think of jealousy in a negative way,
to mean painfully desirous of
another’s advantages, or suspicious
or fearful of being displaced by a
rival. Someone is a step ahead of us
and we envy or are jealous of them.
Although jealousy can be a proper
emotion when one is robbed of
something that belongs to them.
Let’s ask the question, when God
says “Do not worship any other god,
for the Lord, whose name is Jealous,
is a jealous God,” (Exodus 34:14)
does God have a right to be jealous?
Is God justified in calling hispeople to worship only him? God is
justified if we belong to him and he
has ownership of the whole world.
According to Psalm 24:1-2, “The
earth is the Lord’s, and everything in
it, the world, and all who live in it;
for he founded it upon the seas and
established it upon the waters.”
What follows is that the Creator of
this world and the one who has given
us life is robbed when he is not
honored and we give glory to
something else.
The implications for this are huge.
A marriage partner’s jealousy is
aroused when their partner cheats on
them. When we enter into a
covenant of marriage, a promise is
made to be loyal in sickness and
health, till death do us part. A
wedding ring is placed on our finger
to communicate our abiding love to
our partner and a message is sent to
others that this person is taken.
When a trust has been broken and
a husband or a wife enters into
another relationship, we experience
great pain. In the same way, God
experiences incredible pain when we
reject him.
As in any relationship, it takes
work to continue to communicate,
share and express your love. A
relationship that was once a flame
may go to dim burning charcoals.
The relationship has faded.
A music group called Casting
Crowns has captured this well in a
song entitled Slow Fade:
Be careful little eyes what you see
It’s the second glance that tiesyour hands as darkness pulls the
strings
Be careful little feet where you go
For it’s the little feet behind you
that are sure to follow
It’s a slow fade when you give
yourselfaway
It’s a slow fade when black and
white have turned to gray
Thoughts invade, choices are made,
a price will be paid
When you give yourself away
People never crumble in a day
It’s a slow fade, it’s a slow fade
Be careful little ears what youhear
When flattery leads to
compromise, the end is always near
Be careful little lips what you say
For empty words and promises lead
broken hearts astray
How does God respond to the
rejection? The Bible tells us of a
number of ways that God responds.
One way is that he sends prophets
with a message to his people,
“Return to me.” (Joel 2:12; Malachi
3:7) God wants his people to give
him the respect and glory he
deserves.
Another way God responds is by
giving us over to our sinful desires
(Romans 1:24). If the Creator &
giver of life is rejected, then he will
give us over to what has captured our
hearts and minds. We will find that
these things may make promises to
us, but in the end we will come away
feeling empty.
Another response God has is the
same as a spouse who has been
cheated, and anger is vented andjudgment is experienced. The flood
in Noah’s day and Sodom and
Gomorrah are examples of God’s
judgment.
A final way that I will mention is
the case of two churches in the book
of Revelation. God promised to
withdraw from Ephesus & spew
Laodicea out of his mouth, because
of their losing their love for God
(Rev. 2- 3).
The faith lesson we can learn from
this is to give God the rightful place
of honour in your heart and life.
God says “I am the LORD, that is
my name! I will not give my glory
to another or my praise to idols.” (Is.
42:8)
Oprah ought to be thankful that
God is jealous. You matter to him
very much. If God did not get
jealous then something would be
wrong. The Creator and giver of life
wants to the worship what rightfully
belongs to him.
In closing, we all need to askourselves, “Does God have his
rightful place in our lives or are we
stirring up his jealousy?”
PAGE 16. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2010.
Ontario is helping create about
450 jobs across the province
by supporting infrastructure
projects at local not-for-
profit social service organiza-
tions.
Community Living Central Huron
will be receiving a grant of $21,000
to improve energy efficiency in its
Goderich facility.
This is part of a $50 million
investment over two years to
support nearly 1,000 capital projects
in communities across the
province.
These projects will include
expansions and renovations that will
improve security, accessibility and
energy efficiency at eligible social
service facilities.
Investing in infrastructure is a
critical part of Ontario’s plan to
restore growth, save and create jobs
in the short term, and build
foundations for the future.
From the Minister’s Study‘Are we stirring up God’s jealousy?’
YOU ARE WELCOME
9:45 a.m. Sunday School for all ages
10:30 a.m. - Sunday Morning Worship
Mid-week Bible Study
C H U R C H O F G O D ,ANDERS
O
N
,
I
N
D
I
A
N
A
Timeless Truths
For Today
308 Blyth Rd. E., Blyth
Pastor Les Cook ~ 519-523-4590
Blyth Community Church of God
Please join us for worship
SUNDAYS
Morning Service 10:00am
Evening Service 7:30pm
BLYTH CHRISTIAN
REFORMED CHURCH
Pastor John Kuperus
Hwy. 4, Blyth
BRUSSELS - ETHEL PASTORAL CHARGE
UNITED CHURCH OF CANADA
Sandra Cable, Worship Leader
Church Office 519-887-6259 E-mail - bepc@wightman.ca
Sunday, February 21
Ethel United Church
Worship Service and Sunday School - 9:30 a.m.
Brussels United Church
Worship Service and Sunday School - 11:00 a.m.
Celebrating our Christian Faith together in worship
Corner of Dinsley & Mill Street
Blyth United Church
Office: 519-523-4224 Rev. Gary Clark
All Welcome
Sunday, February 21
Worship Service & Sunday School
at 11 a.m.
Youre Invited
to come worship
with us
Sunday, February 21
Brussels Public School
at 10:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m.
Sunday School for children
4 to 11 years of age (mornings only)
Childcare provided for infants and toddlers
Coffee & cookies after the morning service
For additional details please contact:
Steve Klumpenhower 519.887.8651 Rick Packer 519.527.0173
Chris McMichael 519.482.1644
MELVILLE
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
BRUSSELS
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 21
Wheelchair accessible ~ Nursery care available
519-887-2664
11:00 am - Sunday Morning Worship
- Sunday School
REV. DAVID WOOD
119 John’s Ave.,Auburn
519-526-1131
www.huronchapel.org
9:30 a.m.
Sunday School & Small Groups
10:30 a.m.
Morning Worship Service
Sunday,
February 21
at 10:30 am
Come and hear this
terrific choir and be
amazed by their
personal
testimonies.
TEEN CHALLENGE
CHOIR
Community Living C. Huron
gets energy efficiency funding
getlivingwater.org
Pastor: Ernest Dow ~ 519-523-4848
Living Water
Christian Fellowship
Tuesdays 7:30 pm - Wingham Bible Study
1st & 3rd Wednesdays 7:30 pm - Women at the Well
Fridays 7:30 pm - Youth Group
Evangelical Missionary Church
February 21
Joint Worship at
Huron Chapel EMC,
Auburn
Teen Challenge
Choir
(NO service at BPS;
resumes Feb. 28)
THE ANGLICAN CHURCH OF CANADA
Welcomes you to come
and worship with us
Sunday, February 21
Celebration of Eucharist
Rev. Perry Chuipka
Parish of New Beginnings
St. John’s Brussels 9:15 am
Trinity Blyth 11:15 am Eucharist, Pot Luck Lunch & Annual Vestry Meeting
See histories and historic
photographs on the
Huron History section
of our website
www.northhuron.on.ca
T h e C itiz e n