Calling Good, Evil; and Evil Good

Malachi rebukes the people for perversely twisting the character of God by saying that what God calls evil is really in fact, good; and what God calls good is really evil.  It is one thing to know what is good and not do it. It is a whole new level of depravity when one says that everyone who does evil is really doing good.  A people who turn to this level of depravity cannot last long without suffering judgment.

Which is interesting because in the same breath, these same people say, "Where is the God of judgment?"  I don't see him.  I don't see the wicked punished [which is full of irony, because as they say this, they don't recognize that THEY are wicked and deserving God's judgment].  Of course judgment will come.  It always does.  God's character is such that he would be unjust if he allowed wickedness to go unpunished.  The fact that it is not here now, at this moment in time; or that one cannot see judgment, is no indication at all that God will not bring judgment.

Indeed, it is most likely an indication of mercy; God is giving you more time to repent before he brings judgment.

“Ye have wearied the Lord with your words. Yet ye say, Wherein have we wearied him? When ye say, Every one that doeth evil is good in the sight of the Lord, And he delighteth in them; Or, Where is the God of judgment?” (Malachi 2:17, KJV 1900)

"I Am He" - Word and Power

I'm thinking about the implications of John 18.5-6 this morning.  The soldiers and chief priests come to arrest Christ.  Christ asks them whom they are seeking.  They answer: "Jesus of Nazareth."  He answers:  "I am he."

John records what happened:  "As soon then as he had said unto them, "I am he," they went backward and fell to the ground" (John 18.6; KJV). 

Word and power.  Christ spoke; the powerful fell. 

Do we need to fear authority that opposes God when we are on the side of word and power?  No.

May we live our lives in the security of and reliance upon Christ and his word and his power.

The Lamb Shall Overcome Them

“These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.” (Revelation 17:14, KJV 1900)

I'm reading in the book of Revelation this morning (SLC airport cooling my heels in a 3.5 hour sit!?!).  I love the certainty of the Scriptures when it comes to the end of history.   Here, when the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world goes up in battle against the titanic forces of evil, we find out the end result:  "The Lamb shall overcome them."  Not: "The Lamb might overcome them" or "We are very hopeful that the Lamb will overcome, but: "The Lamb shall overcome,"  Certain.  Sure. 

And so history will come to an end.  Christ wins.  Satan loses.

There are no Vineless Branches (that produce fruit)

Thinking about John 15.5 this morning: "I am the vine, ye are the branches; He that abideth in me and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit; for without me, ye can do nothing" (KJV).  Christ says: "There are no vineless branches that produce fruit." 

The essential thing for a branch is a vine.  It is only through the vine that a branch can sustain both its own life and the fruit which grows from it.  No vine; no branch; no fruit.

A sinking of one's life into Christ's is essential  in the faith because he sustains all good work; all faithful individuals; and all genuine fruit which comes from them.  He is everything.  There is no life without him.  None.

Sheep Know their Shepherd

Pondering the implications of John 10.5, this morning: "And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him; for they know not the voice of strangers" (KJV).  Sheep know their shepherd.  They know that the voice of their shepherd means safety, food, provision, shelter.  They will not follow a stranger's voice because they only follow the voice of their shepherd.

It is pretty obvious what Christ is getting at here.  Christ's sheep will follow him.  This was true when Christ was on earth; it is true now.  We ought to know Christ so well, know his voice, his leading, his guidance, that we follow him and him alone.  We are not interested in following any other voice.  We are only interested in following the voice of our shepherd.

Give me ears, O Lord God, to follow my shepherd.

God the Father; God the Son

I'm thinking about John 5.26 this morning: For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself (KJV).  This is an extraordinary statement from Christ. 

God the Father has life in himself.  I don't believe that any of those who listened to him, be they Pharisees or Saduccees or any other Jewish sect, would have disagreed with that statement.  God gives life; on that everyone agreed.

Christ's second statement is the controversial one.  God the Father gave to his Son to also have life in himself.  What does this mean?  As the ESV Study Bible points out: This verse explains why the voice of Jesus is able to speak to dead people and grant them life.  Christ had the power to raise the dead to life because he was God in the flesh.

Think about  this statement for a minute.  What kind of person would make a claim this outlandish?  This is not something that a normal person would say.  As C. S. Lewis once pointed out; when Christ makes this kind of claim he is either a liar, a lunatic, or truly is God in the flesh.  Those are our only choices.  Of course, Christ not only made the claims, but he demonstrated them as well when he called Lazarus back to life and raised up the widow of Nain's son.

In Christ we see God coming in the flesh and dwelling among us.  Powerful truth for this advent season.

That Awkward Moment When...

Thinking through the implications of John 4.27 this morning.  Christ is in a discussion with the Woman at the Well (she will end up believing that he is the Messiah along with many of her fellow townsfolk), when his disciples suddenly appear.  The scene that greets them is strange and awkward, which made me think of the Twitter hashtag #thatawkardmoment.

The moment is awkward for several reasons.  First, Christ is talking with a Samaritan.  Samaritans were half-breed syncretists.  They were half Jewish and half Assyrian, brought in and settled after Israel was carried off into captivity.  This woman was a descendant of that particular resettlization program.  The Jews hated the Samaritans because they were half-breeds and syncretists, mixing Jewish belief with anything else that worked for them.

Second, Christ is talking with a woman.  This was particularly awkward.  A private conversation with a woman just wasn't done in that society.  One kept aloof from them, except perhaps in crowds.  Women were second class citizens, poorly educated, and liable to be driven by their emotions.  They really weren't worth worrying about.

Third, this particular woman was so despised by the rest of her fellow townsfolks, that she had to come draw water at noon in the heat of the day to avoid the disapprobation of those who came for water at the normal time (early in the morning).  As it so happened she had been married five different times and was shacking up with her current man, so the disciples' misgivings were essentially correct.  This was a woman with a very bad reputation.  Very bad.  So bad, it looks bad in our day, and that is very bad indeed.

The disciples see all this and they want to say something.  One senses that they want to tell Christ, "Um, Master, do you realize to whom you are talking?  Are you sure you should be talking with her?"  It is a very awkward moment, but Christ simply goes about his business and doesn't explain to his disciples what he is doing, though he surely felt their own disapproval of what he was doing.

It's a huge lesson for us.  First of all, if Christ was after the worst of the worst, then we ought to be also.  Second, we need not worry about or even address the disapproval of believers when we are doing what Christ has called us to do.  Let's just go about our business and ignore them.  Perhaps they will eventually figure it out.

God: "How Have I Loved Thee? Let me Count the Ways"

I'm thinking about God's love this morning in light of John 3:16-17.  For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.  For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved (KJV). 

Christ's mission was about God's love being communicated to the world. 

Christ's coming was not about judgment, but about salvation.  What could be more demonstrative of God's love for the world?

The world is broken.  Everyone understands this intrinsically.  Natural disasters are somehow unnatural.  Kids should not die of disease.  People should not be murdered.  Families should not be ripped apart by divorce.  If there is one thing that we all understand completely, without anyone explaining it to us, it is that the world is broken, shattered, ruined.

The Christian faith has the only logically consistent explanation of both the fact that the world is broken and how it can be made new.  Christ came to make it new.  He came to die for my sins.  He came to die for your sins.  He came in love.

Be What You Were Made to Be

Rev. 3:16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth (KJV) I'm thinking about Rev 3.16 this morning. The immediate inclination is to think of hot water as being a "hot" (vibrant, growing) Christian, and cold water to think of someone who acts like a Christian, but is not. This is not, however, what Christ means. He calls for the Laodiceans to be hot or cold. In other words he calls for them to be useful for what they were created to be. Hot water is great for bathing or drinking hot beverages. Cold water is great for refreshing oneself in the heat. Both types of water are useful depending upon their particular sphere and the situation. Lukewarm water is good for nothing. Christ seems to be saying, "Listen you Laodiceans, when you should be hot, you are lukewarm; when you should be cold you are lukewarm; you have a version of faith, but it is one which is not fully committed; not fully in. You are not being what you were created to be. So the obvious question is: "Am I a prracticing Laodicean? Do I have a form of the faith, but not the fire that ought to accompany it? Am I going through the motions of being a Christian, but without the power of the Holy Spirit present?

Prayer and Temptation

Christ comes back to the sleeping disciples the night of his arrest and says to them:  "Why sleep ye?  Rise and pray lest ye enter into temptation" (Luke 22:46, KJV).  I find it interesting how he links prayer so closely to resisting temptation.

It is not altogether clear what Christ means when he refers to temptation.  Does he mean the temptation to fall asleep in their fatigue?  The upcoming temptation to flee away from him when he is arrested?  Christ doesn't explain and the disciples do not ask so it was probably obvious to them both.  That is not the main point.

The main point is that resisting temptation is linked inextricably with prayer.  There are a lot of opportunities to fall into temptation of all sorts in our modern world.  It would appear that prayer ought to become that much more important to us.