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Thinking About the World and our Place in It

Ezekiel 22.6-12 as paraphrased in The Message.

The laundry list of sin and depravity is long and depressingly familiar because it tracks so closely our own time and culture.  The challenge as the church of God is to not be drawn into the world's way of thinking on these things. Nor to assume that our thinking on an issue—how we treat illegal immigrants is one—is, because it is our thinking, therefore biblical. We may, and often do, allow our own cultural prejudice to creep into our worldview.

Prayer: O Lord God may the Holy Spirit continue to challenge our thinking and opinions on issues so that we do not complacently assume that we are correct in all things.

So Prophesied; So done.

2 Samuel 12:11

Thus says the Lord, ‘Behold, I will raise up evil against you from your own household; I will even take your wives before your eyes and give them to your companion, and he will lie with your wives in broad daylight.

2 Samuel 13:1-2

1 Now it was after this that Absalom the son of David had a beautiful sister whose name was Tamar, and Amnon the son of David loved her. 2 Amnon was so frustrated because of his sister Tamar that he made himself ill, for she was a virgin, and it seemed hard to Amnon to do anything to her.

So prophesied, so done.

One of the punishments for David's murder of Uriah and sin with Bathsheba is that The Lord prophesies that he will raise up evil from David's own household, and in the very next chapter one sees that begin to happen. Amnon rapes his half-sister and is in turn murdered by how half-brother, Absalom. 

Did David contemplate this outcome and realize that it was as a result of his own sin? The text gives no indication that he did, but the reader certainly does since it follows so closely on the heels of the prophecy that this will happen.

This is the nature of sin and we would do well to take the lesson to heart.  Our sin can have a wide effect on other people who are innocent of the sin, but affected nonetheless, as was Tamar here. She experienced the fallout from David's sin.

Make Praise Your Habit

Psalms 64:10

The righteous man will be glad in the Lord and will take refuge in Him;

And all the upright in heart will glory.

The Message paraphrase captures this very well: 

Be glad, good people! Fly to GOD!

Good- hearted people, make praise your habit.

Make praise your habit.  I like that.  A habit is something that happens effortlessly because we do it again and again.  I have a habit of drinking coffee in the morning with my devotions.  I do not get tired of this habit or take it for granted; I love it. I look forward to it.

When praise becomes our habit it will have the same pattern in our lives.  It will flow easily from our lips; we will enjoy it; it will be something  that we look forward to.  We will fly to God and we will praise him with joy.

Preaching to Ourselves

David preaches to himself here. This is something that we do not hear a lot about these days, but it is vital to the Christian life.  Our souls are apt to forget God, to become anxious, to get distracted by life; we need to preach to ourselves to remind us of who God is and what he does.

Here David calls his soul to wait for God in silence because God is his only hope, his only rock, his salvation, and his stronghold. 

This is usually what our soul needs, to be called to remember who God is in the midst of our difficulties.

Notice also that preaching to ourselves results in a wider application.  David calls for the people of God to trust in God. His preaching is applied to all of God's people, which is as it should be.

O Christian, learn to preach to yourself.

Glory Road

2 Corinthians 3:7-11

But if the ministry of death, in letters engraved on stones, came with glory, so that the sons of Israel could not look intently at the face of Moses because of the glory of his face, fading as it was, 8 how will the ministry of the Spirit fail to be even more with glory? 9 For if the ministry of condemnation has glory, much more does the ministry of righteousness abound in glory. 10 For indeed what had glory, in this case has no glory because of the glory that surpasses it. 11 For if that which fades away was with glory, much more that which remains is in glory.

Paul does not want us to miss the glory road in 2 Cor 3.7-11! He uses the word 11 times so that we are sure not to miss it.  The glory road is the path traveled from the Old Covenant to the New Covenant or what Paul calls the ministry of the Spirit. The ministry of death had glory because it pointed people to their need for Christ. The ministry of the Spirit has even more glory because it helps people to have changed hearts and releases them from bondage to the Law to freedom in Christ and overflowing, ever present grace.

The glory road then, is a path from the Old Covenant to the New Covenant to eternity.

"Destroy Them in Wrath"

Psalms 59:13

Destroy them in wrath, destroy them that they may be no more;

That men may know that God rules in Jacob

To the ends of the earth.

Selah.

David calls here for God to be the righteous God that he is and not let evil go unpunished.  One of the things that this accomplishes is that when they see judgment on evil all men to the ends of the earth know that God rules in Jacob.

Imagine a world in which evil went unpunished. In which women were attacked with impunity and their attackers got off scot free.  I would hate that kind of world, so would you. This is why I am so happy about psalms like this one.  God is the righteous judge, he does not allow evil to go unpunished.

Spurgeon: Let even the most remote nations know that the great moral Governor has power to destroy ungodliness, and does not wink at iniquity in any, at any time, or in any place.

"Whom God Set Out to Redeem for Himself"

2 Samuel 7:23

And who is like your people, like Israel, a nation unique in the earth, whom God set out to redeem for himself (and became most famous for it), performing great and fearsome acts, throwing out nations and their gods left and right as you saved your people from Egypt?

David to God in worship after receiving the Davidic covenant.

This is a huge verse because it sets forth God's devotion to and salvation of his people.  Israel is a nation unique in the earth demonstrated in the fact that God set out to redeem [her] for himself. Israel is unique because her God is unique and has extravagant love for his people (which was very unlike the false gods of the nations around Israel).

In the New Testament age the Church is the object of God's love in Christ.  It is the Chrch that God set out to redeem for himself so that we have the benefit of being spiritual Israel and having the benefit of God throwing out principalities and powers left and right as he saves his people from their sins!

Beautiful picture!

"Cast your burden"

Psalms 55:22

Cast your burden on the Lord,

and he will sustain you;

 he will never permit

the righteous to be moved.

Words of faith from David here, no doubt tempered by his own experience as a shepherd and a warrior and a fugitive and a king.  God had always sustained David. God was for the righteous, therefore the righteous will not be moved.

Words we also need to claim by faith, as David wrote them.  Is your burden heavy? Cast it on the Lord he will sustain you.  He is a good Father.

"By the Grace of God"

1 Corinthians 15:10

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me.

Paul was who he was and accomplished all that he accomplished, not because of his own innate talent and drive, but because of the grace of God. Note how he juxtaposes his own work and God's grace to do that work. I labored...yet not I, but the grace of God. Paul works out this same truth earlier in his letter: 1 Corinthians 4:7

For who regards you as superior? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?

We are what we are, we accomplish what we do, by the grace of God. Let's give credit where it is due and not steal glory from the God who gave us the accomplishments.

"Is Does not Mean Ought"

2 Samuel 3:27

So when Abner returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside into the middle of the gate to speak with him privately, and there he struck him in the belly so that he died on account of the blood of Asahel his brother.

A good example of how in the biblical narrative "is does not mean ought." Just because Joab treacherously kills Abner does not mean that God approved of his actions.  The writers of Scripture often write with the assumption that the reader will understand whether or not the character written about acted morally or not.  They write with the attitude "tell it like it is, warts and all."

I'm glad they wrote is way because it allows us to see human people with all of their flaws and how God works wi and through them to accomplish his purposes. Even when they do not believe in him.

We Pursue Things

Ezekiel 11:17-18

Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you out of the countries among which you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.”’ 18 When they come there, they will remove all its detestable things and all its abominations from it.

While archaeologists have found plenty of evidence in per-exilic Israel of idol worship; they have found none, zilch, nada, in post-exilic Israel. The purpose of the exile was to rid Israel of her penchant to turn to other gods. The exile accomplished this. Never again would the Jews in Israel worship false gods.  Indeed, by he time of Christ they had the opposite problem, they had become extreme legalists. Idol worship, however, was eradicated as Ezekiel predicts here.

We do not have problems worshipping false gods today, although in our culture we have extreme difficulties with the pursuit of things rather than God, so we are idol pursuers, just not other gods; we pursue things.

Wise, Stupid, Senseless: All Gonna Die

Psalms 49:10-12

For he sees that even wise men die;

The stupid and the senseless alike perish

And leave their wealth to others.

11 Their inner thought is that their houses are forever

And their dwelling places to all generations;

They have called their lands after their own names.

12 But man in his pomp will not endure;

He is like the beasts that perish.

Oh how we need to hear these words from the psalmist. The one inescapable fact of life is that it will come to an end. Long or short, rich or poor, healthy or unhealthy, life will end and we will be assured into eternity. The funny thing is that we live as if we are here forever, as if we can escape death. We build mansions and name them after ourselves; we put away "nest eggs" to make our retirement years easy, but easy or hard, the days of our lives are running quickly out.  We will die and be forgotten.

All the more reason to live in light of eternity and for the glory of God; that glory will last forever.

Such is God

Psalms 48:12-14

Walk about Zion and go around her;

Count her towers;

13 Consider her ramparts;

Go through her palaces,

That you may tell it to the next generation.

14 For such is God,

Our God forever and ever;

He will guide us until death.

The psalmist here sees a connection between Jerusalem (Zion) and God's character.  Walking around the city and thinking about her ramparts and studying her palaces will result in this message to the next generation: Such is God our God forever and ever.

Jerusalem—where the glory of God resided in the temple—was where one could consider and understand the character of God.  The city illuminated God.

For us the Word of God illuminates God.  Different place, different time, different culture; same God.

Paul Lobs a Hand Grenade of Grace

1 Corinthians 6:9-11
Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, 10 nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.

Paul sets out a laundry list of those who will not inherit the kingdom of God, then promptly throws a hand grenade right into the list and completely blows it up with the words such were some of you!

In other words, "do you think that being in that list disqualifies you from the kingdom of heaven? It does not, because as we both know some of you were in that laundry list before you came to faith, but you aren't any more. You are washed, justified, and sanctified.

And that is the hand grenade of grace.

DALMAC Day 1

Cherie, Sue and I got off at about 8.15 on day one of DALMAC. We left from home instead of East Lansing, saving ourselves an extra trip into the city. We had dropped off our bags the night before like we alway do.

It was a gorgeous, uneventful day, sunny and cool to start but rapidly warming up to the lower 80's. We rode through field after field of standing corn and soybeans, just starting to dry out.

We stopped for lunch at the fire hall in Perrinton, Mi, our traditional place.

After 14 miles on the Meijer bikeway, we rolled into Vestaburg about 1.30 and set up camp. Day 1 done.

What Have I to do with Judging Outsiders

1 Corinthians 5:11-12
But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so- called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler —not even to eat with such a one. 12 For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the church?

This is a huge verse in terms of how we interact with those outside the church. We are to expect the wicked to act according to their nature and love them all the same. Are they idolaters? Fornicators? Arrogant? Drunkards? Junkies? Who cares? God judges them. We are called to go to where they are and love them all the same.

We ought not associate with those who say they are Christians and live like the world. Sinners who make no claim to follow Christ? No.

1 Corinthians 4:2
In this case, moreover, it is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy.

We are stewards of the message of the good news of Christ Jesus, indeed we are Christ's stewards. One of the primary requirements for a steward is that they be a faithful steward. So one of our chief aims as stewards of Christ is that we be faithful to Christ.

Faithfulness seems to be expressed primarily in obedience.
John 14:15
“ If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.

The Church's One Foundation

1 Corinthians 3:11

For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

This calls to mind the old hymn we used to sing when I was a kid:

The church's one foundation is Jesus Christ her Lord

She is his new creation by water and the word

From heaven he came and sought her

To be his holy bride

With his own blood he bought her 

And for her life he died

If we lay a foundation for reconciliation with God that is not Jesus Christ, then we are not laying a biblical foundation. We are laying no foundation at all. What we are doing is not Christianity; it is something else.

Christ is the foundation; Christ alone.

A Sovereign God; An Enigma

Lamentations 5:19-20

And yet, GOD, you're sovereign still,

your throne intact and eternal.

20 So why do you keep forgetting us?

Why dump us and leave us like this?

There is a reason that the book of Lamentations is called Lamentations; it is a lament, no better reflected than in these words here. The author (Jeremiah?) has been through the turmoil of  seeing Judah destroyed by the Babylonians—and this is not turmoil as we think of it, calamity would be a better description.

These verses demonstrate both the faith of the author in spite of the calamity, as well as the questions with which the author struggles.  All too human questions, surely questions which we would have asked as well given the situation. Why do you keep forgetting us? Why dump us and leave us like this?

Waiting Eagerly

1 Corinthians 1:4

I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus,

1 Corinthians 1:7

so that you are not lacking in any gift, awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ,

Paul to the Christians in Corinth. Those who have been changed by the grace of God will await eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

I wonder what that looks like...

Enter the Silence

Lamentations 3:28

When life is heavy and hard to take,

go off by yourself. Enter the silence.

The Message paraphrase of Lam 3.28. NASB: Let him sit alone and be silent

Since He has laid it on him.

There is something about entering the silence that is conducive to our spiritual health. This is hard to do in our age of instant connection and ever present social media. For us when life is heavy and hard to take we go post an update on Facebook.  I think entering the silence would be more helpful.

Powerful Words

Psalms 33:6

By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,

And by the breath of His mouth all their host.

Psalms 33:9

For He spoke, and it was done;

He commanded, and it stood fast.

Whatever one thinks about the age of the universe and the earth—whether billions of years or thousands of years—one cannot escape the implications of David's words here in Psalm 33: The universe came about by the word of the Lord; For he spoke, and it was done.

Powerful words; powerful words indeed.

With What are you Building?

Romans 14:12

So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God.

This is a sobering thought. We will give an account to God, not as a requirement for entry into heaven—as if we were justified by faith—but as servants to their master—have you been a faithful servant?

The closest parallel to this short comment from Paul goes into deeper explanation of what he means here:

1 Corinthians 3:10-15

According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. 11 For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13 each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. 14 If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. 15 If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire

So we will give an account of ourselves for purposes of reward—whether we build with gold and silver, or with wood, hay, and stubble.

May we build with material that brings God glory.

"Orphaned From Her Land"

Jeremiah 52:27

And there at Riblah, in the land of Hamath, the king of Babylon killed the lot of them in cold blood. Judah went into exile, orphaned from her land.

Such profoundly sad words. The generation of the exile—those who had almost en masse rejected God for idols—had ended up dead by famine, or by the sword, or carried away into Hamath to be executed, or carried into exile in Babylon.

Judah went into exile, orphaned from her land, The Messages paraphrases. Can their be sadder words than this?

My Dependence and God's Glory

Psalms 28:7

The Lord is my strength and my shield;

My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped;

Therefore my heart exults,

And with my song I shall thank Him.

Another example of how my dependence upon God results in God's glory. I am helped when I rely upon God to be my strength and shield. When I am helped my heart exults in him (because I know that he is the one responsible for bringing help). Naturally, with my song I thank him, resulting in glory abounding to God.

Couldn't have put it better myself!

Christ: Light and Salvation

Ps. 27.1

The Lord is my light and my salvation;

Whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the defense of my life;

 Whom shall I dread?

David says here: The Lord is my light and my salvation.

John writes of Christ: John 1:4

In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.

Jesus says of himself: John 8:12

Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “ I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”

Jesus says: John 5:34 But the testimony which I receive is not from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved.

When Christ claimed that he was the light of the world and that men could be saved through him, he fully understood what he was claiming, for he understood Ps 27.1.

What I Need; What God Deserves

Psalms 25:16

Turn to me and be gracious to me,

For I am lonely and afflicted.

The Bible is about making much of God, but here David seems to be making much of himself. What gives?

The beauty of the Scriptures is that there is no incompatibility between calling out to God when I am in affliction—as David does here—and God getting glory. When I call out to God in my affliction, I am acknowledging my dependence on God. When God meets me in my loneliness and sustains me, I get comfort and He gets glory.

In my dependence I get what I need; in his sustaining Providence, God gets what he deserves.

Idols Cause Blindness

Jeremiah 44:17-18

We're going to go right on offering sacrifices to the Queen of Heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, keeping up the traditions set by our ancestors, our kings and government leaders in the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem in the good old days. We had a good life then-- lots of food, rising standard of living, and no bad luck. 18 But the moment we quit sacrificing to the Queen of Heaven and pouring out offerings to her, everything fell apart. We've had nothing but massacres and starvation ever since.

The Jews who fled to Egypt against God's express words as delivered through Jeremiah.

What is astonishing here is that they came up with the exactly wrong conclusion about their situation.  They thought things had turned bad when they stopped being "faithful" to the Queen of Heaven. The truth was that things turned bad because they had abandoned God and turned to idol worship, which was just what Jeremiah had warned them about all along.

Their idol worship had blinded them to the truth.

A sobering truth and one we ought to slow down and think about.  What idols do we have that blind us to the truth?

What Does the Scripture Say?

Romans 4:3

For what does the Scripture say? “ Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”

Paul gives us a demonstration here of how we answer our theological and spiritual questions.  He goes to the Scriptures.  He is arguing that salvation is not through works, but through faith and by going to the Scriptures he says, "I agree with what the writer of the Pentateuch believed about salvation," and "our search for truth in the spiritual and theological realm must be grounded in the Scriptures." Put another way, our first question must be, "what does the Scripture say?"

In this Paul demonstrates that he is a true disciple of Christ.  As Christ demonstrates here: Mark 12:24 Jesus said to them, “Is this not the reason you are mistaken, that you do not understand the Scriptures or the power of God?  The clear meaning of Christ's words being, "Had you understood the Scriptures you would not have been mistaken, but you don't understand the scriptures and you are mistaken."

We must always be first turning to the Scriptures for the answers to our questions.  In doing this we show that we are faithful followers of Christ.

"The Faithful Disappear..."

Psalms 12:1

 Help, Lord, for the godly man ceases to be,

For the faithful disappear from among the sons of men.

In a time of great evil this is certainly true; more and more people fall prey to turning to what the world has to offer, rather than side with God, and so the godly man ceases to be.  This is a sign of great judgment coming as God withdraws his favor...not to mention any of the faithful.

The psalmist calls for God's help, as he recognizes that it is greatly needed.  Certainly one of the things that the rise of evil times do is make us more and more dependent on the Lord.  One only alphas to read of the experience of Chinese Christians during the time of Mao to understand that.  Mao is dead now, and Christianity is thriving.

"I believe God..."

Acts 27:25

Therefore, keep up your courage, men, for I believe God that it will turn out exactly as I have been told.

Paul's unflinching belief that God will do what he says he will do.  He said that all would be saved from the coming shipwreck, all 276 were saved.

We ought to have Paul's attitude towards God's word.  God will do what he says.  Hudson Taylor once wrote: "There is a God in heaven.  He has spoken in his word.  He means what he says and will do all that he has promised."

As much as Paul trusted God's word to him, we can trust God's word to mankind.

Go Hide! So God can Hide You

Jeremiah 36:19

The government officials told Baruch, "You need to get out of here. Go into hiding, you and Jeremiah. Don't let anyone know where you are!"

Jeremiah 36:26

He just plowed ahead and ordered Prince Jerahameel, Seraiah son of Azriel, and Shelemiah son of Abdeel to arrest Jeremiah the prophet and his secretary Baruch. But GOD had hidden them away.

There is a perfect juxtaposition of our responsibility and God's provision here.  In order to preserve themselves from the wrath of the king, Jeremiah and Baruch go and hide themselves from the king.  When the king orders the pair arrested, they cannot be found because God had hidden them away.

We work; God provides the increase. We are not passive in the Christian life, but God is active and ultimately responsible.  In other words, God sovereignly acts in our actions so that when we hide ourselves (from danger), God hides us. When we work, God is providing the increase. When we obey, God makes us obedient. It's a mystery how God works in our own choices, but it is clearly the truth.

With God; Against Evil

Psalms 7:9

O let the evil of the wicked come to an end, but establish the righteous;

For the righteous God tries the hearts and minds.

When David calls to God to let the evil of the wicked come to an end, he is doing so because he understands that God and evil are on opposing sides in this world.  At the end of history God wins, and if God wins evil is finally and fully defeated.  So here David is calling for God to win, a call in which we should join him.  

If God is opposed to evil, then we should be implacably opposed to it as well.

Praying so that God Looks Great

Psalms 6:4

Return, O Lord, rescue my soul;

Save me because of Your lovingkindness.

David's motive for the rescue of his soul is God's character, or loving kindness, or literally "hesed." Save me because of your hesed. Not because I am in trouble, or because I deserve it, or even because I need it.  Save me, Lord, because salvation reflects on your character.  Salvation makes you look great.

When we pray we ought to pray like David did.  Pour out our troubles to the Lord.  Depend upon him.  Ask for deliverance, because God is a covenant-keeping, loving God; because of God's character; because delivering us makes God look great!

God and...Equals Nothing

Jeremiah 29:13

You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

The importance of pursuing God with an undivided heart.  The promise here is that the Jews would find God if they searched for him with all their heart.  

The promise is the same for us.  God is not hiding, we may find him, but we must seek him and him alone, not God and other things, but God alone.

The problem I have is not that I don't seek God, but that all too often I do it with a divided heart.

Paul's Day/Jeremiah's Day/Our Day

Acts 19:20 So the word of the Lord was growing mightily and prevailing.

Paul's day was one of great advancement for the gospel throughout Asia.

Our day, at least in America, is not similar, although there are parts of the world where the gospel is growing mightily and prevailing (Asia, Iran, India, Africa, come to mind). I think of our day more along the lines of Jeremiah's day where there is great spiritual—not just apathy, but—opposition and darkness.  Nevertheless we press forward and proclaim God's message to the people of our time as Jeremiah did.

Paul's Day/Jeremiah's Day/Our Day

Acts 19:20 So the word of the Lord was growing mightily and prevailing.

Paul's day was one of great advancement for the gospel throughout Asia.

Our day, at least in America, is not similar, although there are parts of the world where the gospel is growing mightily and prevailing (Asia, Iran, India, Africa, come to mind). I think of our day more along the lines of Jeremiah's day where there is great spiritual—not just apathy, but—opposition and darkness.  Nevertheless we press forward and proclaim God's message to the people of our time as Jeremiah did.

Christ: "My words will not Pass Away": Seriously?

Mark 13:31

Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.

Breathtaking words from Christ here, when one begins to think about it.  His words would last longer than the heavens and the earth?  Normal people don't say these things; mere humans don't say these things; crazy people might say things like this, or liars might, but liars on a grand and unimaginable scale.  

It is statements like these from Christ that led C. S. Lewis to conclude: 

"Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic - on the level with a man who says he is a poached egg - or he would be the devil of hell. You must take your choice. Either this was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us."

Just so.  We believe that when he said at his words will not pass away, that he was speaking the truth.  What Christ said was eternal...and true...and our only hope.

There is Another King

Acts 17:7

and Jason has welcomed them, and they all act contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.”

The Jews who opposed Paul's ministry certainly had the message correct (even though they shaped it so as to make Paul look bad to the civil authorities).  There was another king.  His name was Jesus.  He is the only true king.  Paul and the rest of the followers of Christ worshipped Jesus as the one, true king.

We do to.

There is another king; Jesus.

"Little dogs, Little Tables, Little Crumbs"

Mark 7:28

But she answered and *said to Him, “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs under the table feed on the children’s crumbs.”

Such an amazing encounter with the Syro-Phoenician woman here; one of my favorite stories in the gospels.  Christ sounds harsh, but he is testing her. Oh how she passes with flying colors.  Her response to Christ's comment can be translated "Little dogs, little tables, little crumbs." Displaying at once her humility and her willingness to accept humility to see her child delivered.  She could have gone away insulted at Christ's words; she chose to embrace them. Christ heals her daughter from afar.

Pride will not get you Christ.  Humility will get you Christ.  This woman's humility and willingness to embrace humility was what caused Christ to do for her as she asked.  She no doubt went away devoted to Christ.

No Partiality in the Gospel

Acts 10:34 And opening his mouth, Peter said: “I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality,

Peter is speaking here of who can receive the grace of God.  The answer he concludes, based on the events surrounding Cornelius, is anyone.  

This is a powerful passage for us.  We cannot limit in any way the reach of the gospel.  God can draw whomever he chooses from any tribe, tongue, people, nation, race, sex, or economic class.  All may come.  All should be treated equally, as the early church comes to understand (not without some difficulty).

This struggle to understand that in Christ all are equal, is an example of progressive revelation.  God uses the events of history and the church's struggles to reveal more and more of his truth as time goes by.  

"Hush! Be Still!"

Mark 4:39

And He got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Hush, be still.” And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm.

The disciples had seen Christ do many miracles and no doubt when they awoke him in the storm they expected a miraculous discovery, or at least for Christ to show some concern.  What they end up with is Jesus treating the wind and waves as if they were unruly children.  "Why are you causing such a ruckus and scaring these guys?" he seems to imply, "Hush! Be still."

And the wind and waves obeyed.

The disciples are flabbergasted.  "Who is this guy?  Even the wind and waves obey him."

A couple of observations.

1. The wind and waves did obey him because they were obedient to him because Christ was and is their master.

2. The disciples were not in the least bit of danger, even though from their perspective they were in grave danger of being swamped in the storm. The wind and waves only blow at the behest of their master, and stop when he orders.

The Hope and Promise of the Gospel: Joy

Acts 8:8 And there was much rejoicing in that city.

This is a city which had experienced the ministry of Phillip in preaching the gospel and healing people.  It is the hope and promise of the gospel.  When the gospel comes in power, there is great rejoicing.

Faith in Jesus Name

Acts 3:16

And on the basis of faith in His name, it is the name of Jesus which has strengthened this man whom you see and know; and the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect health in the presence of you all.

Peter was super clear when he preached an impromptu sermon after he had healed the lame man.  The man was strengthened by the name of Jesus, not by the name of Peter. Faith in Jesus name. 

Peter's message and our message are the same; we preach faith in Jesus name. It's a pretty simple message really.

The Unexplainable

Acts 2:21

‘ And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. ’

Acts 2:39

For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.”

Peter obviously felt that there was no difficulty between the fact that all who call upon the Lord shall be saved, and those people will come whom the Lord our God will call to Himself.  Of course, like Paul, neither did he feel the need to explain it, perhaps because he couldn't explain it.  Peter and Paul were quite comfortable with the unexplainable.  We could learn from them.

Justice, Mercy, Faithfulness: The Weightier Matters

Matthew 23:23

“ Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others.

The weighty matters of the law (and of the Christian faith) are justice, mercy, and faithfulness.  There are other things we ought to be doing, but none as important as these.  Indeed, from the tenor of Christ's words in the passage if one is not concerned about justice, mercy, and faithfulness, one is not committed to God himself, no matter how one swears one is, or one's outward appearance. This is sobering.

Let us then, as followers of Christ, place justice, mercy, and faithfulness where they belong: at the top of our concerns and aims.

"The Only Name Worth Praising"

“Let them praise the name of God— it’s the only Name worth praising. His radiance exceeds anything in earth and sky;” (Psalm 148:13, The Message) 

The name of God is the only name worth praising.  This is because God is the highest being in the universe; there is no one and nothing greater or more worthy of praise than he.  Indeed, Jonathan Edwards works out in his book The End for Which God Created the World, that God created the world for him to receive the glory and praise of which he is worthy because he is the supremely highest being.  If we praise anything or anyone else, than our praise is misdirected, but when we praise God, we are doing both right (there is no one higher or more worthy that we could praise) and good (we are created to worship, and when we worship God, we are worshiping he whom we were created to worship).  

This is also why it is right and good only for God to call for all creation to praise himself.  When he does that, he is calling us/it to both do what we/it were created to do and calling us/it to the highest good—praising the most worthy being in the universe.

This is what the psalmist means when he writes that God is the only name worth praising.

Inconceivable!

Psalms 147:5

Our Lord is great, with limitless strength;

we'll never comprehend what he knows and does

 Simple and direct.  When one considers just God as creator it boggles the mind how inconceivably great God must be.  From monster galaxies to super small quarks and bosons, God spoke and it was, just as he desired it to be.  How true it is that we will never comprehend all that he knows and does. 

With the Marginalized

Psalms 140:12

I know that you, GOD, are on the side of victims,

that you care for the rights of the poor.

This is a theme that runs throughout both the Old and the New Testaments.  God's heart is with those whom society marginalizes and neglects.  

As followers of Christ, this ought to be our heart as well.

Gain the Whole World; Forfeit Your Soul

Matthew 16:26

For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

Christ to his disciples, but it is a question that haunts every human.  Do you want all the world has to offer, but to forfeit your soul in the process? I've lived long enough now to understand how short and empty life is, even when one has it all.

Ted Turner comes to mind.  One of the richest men in the world; the largest private landowner in America, but what is he now? Old and decrepit, tottering around to his different homes while living with four different women, who all are happy to use him for their own purposes. Ah, what a fulfilling life. Ted will die soon and everything that he has and all that he built will be left behind.  He will have gained the whole world, but lost his own soul. A tragedy.

Christ calls us to be more concerned about eternal things here.  He wants us to understand the brevity of life and how wealth and honor do not follow us to the grave.

Most Holy is Your Name

Psalms 138:2

I kneel in worship facing your holy temple

and say it again: "Thank you!"

Thank you for your love,

thank you for your faithfulness;

Most holy is your name,

most holy is your Word.

When The Message is on, it is really on.  As here. 

Delivered!

Joshua 4:24

This was so that everybody on earth would recognize how strong GOD's rescuing hand is and so that you would hold GOD in solemn reverence always. "

The reason for the crossing of the Jordan into Canaan on dry land.  It had a two-fold purpose: First, so that everyone on earth would know that God brought his people into Canaan.  Second, so that God's people, who saw it, would have it as a permanent memorial, as if to say, "remember how God miraculously brought us into the promised land?"

As followers of Christ, this and other mighty miracles are to be used in the same way. They are to remind us of God's power and strength and willingness to help his people.

All the Things God has done that need Praising

Isaiah 63:7

 I'll make a list of GOD's gracious dealings,

all the things GOD has done that need praising,

All the generous bounties of GOD,

his great goodness to the family of Israel--

Compassion lavished,

love extravagant.

Surely it is right and appropriate to remember what God had done in the life of Israel as compassion lavished, love extravagant. Indeed it is the same for our own lives as we see God lavish compassion again and again, not because we deserve it—all of our righteousness is, after all, dirty rags—but because it his his good pleasure to do so.

This is why it is good to make a list of God's gracious dealings.  It keeps us focused on him; and keeps us humble.

How to Become an Immovable Object

Psalms 125:1

Those who trust in GOD are like Zion Mountain:

Nothing can move it, a rock- solid mountain

you can always depend on.

First, the passage refers to those who trust in God in contrast to obviously those who do not trust in God.  Those who trust get something that those who do not trust do not get.

Second the object of trust is God; nothing else, nothing and, just God.  If you put your trust in something else, this verse will not be true.

Third, those who trust in God are like Mt . Zion, which is to say that they are solid as a mountain, firm as a mountain, permanent as a mountain.  Nothing can move it.

Trust in God results in an immovable object, because of God's character, not our trust.

“For as the earth bursts with spring wildflowers, and as a garden cascades with blossoms, So the Master, God, brings righteousness into full bloom and puts praise on display before the nations.” (Isaiah 61:11, The Message) 

There is nothing quite like seeing a profusion of wildflowers in bloom, or a garden cascading with new blossoms.  We were hiking once in the Grand Tetons and came upon a huge clearing right about the tree line.  It covered acres and acres and was literally bursting with wildflowers of every color, red, blue, purple, yellow, orange, and white.  It was stunningly beautiful and a sight that I remember clearly after all these (15) years.

Isaiah chooses an apt metaphor here for in the same way that wildflowers bloom, God brings righteousness into full bloom and puts praise on display before the nations. I imagine that this means that when God brings righteousness to bloom he does it spectacularly and obviously.  You can't miss it and it's stunningly beautiful and obvious for all to see.  Not all will want to see it, but all will see it.  Such is the nature of God's righteousness and praise.

Our job?  To be one of those wildflowers and exhibit God's righteousness and declare his praise.

Rebuking Nature

“He said to them, “Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it became perfectly calm. The men were amazed, and said, “What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?”” (Matthew 8:26–27, NASB95) 

I'm struck by Matthew's use of the word "rebuke" here.  The word in the Greek means "to express strong disapproval of someone" or "to speak seriously, or warn."  It is used of Christ when he rebukes demons (Matt 17.18), or the disciples when they rebuked people who were bringing their children to Christ.  However, we also see it used on what we would consider inanimate objects as here.  It must have been a strange sight to see Christ rebuke the winds and the sea, as if they were misbehaving little children.  Indeed, the disciples express astonishment that when Christ rebukes the wind and sea, they obey him!

All of this demonstrates that Christ did not just claim authority over men, but over nature as well, and although most men did not acknowledge his authority, all of nature did—which is astonishing in itself, inanimate objects recognized and obeyed God, though most men neither recognized, nor obeyed him.

Perhaps the wind and sea have something to teach us here.  

My End is in God's Hands

Matthew 6:27

And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?

Christ to the multitude at his great Sermon on the Mount.  How well he illustrates here the application of Ps. 139.16:

Your eyes have seen my unformed substance;

And in Your book were all written

The days that were ordained for me,

When as yet there was not one of them.

If God has ordained our days —and he has—then what good will it do to start worrying when they might end.  The end is in God's hands (as well as the beginning and middle for that matter).  

Christ enjoins us to live here in light of this grand truth.  God controls all things, so stop worrying about when we might die.

"One Long, Obedient Response"

Psalms 119:34

Give me insight so I can do what you tell me--

my whole life one long, obedient response.

The Message paraphrases a little freely here but does get to the point of what is important.  The psalmist asks for insight for the purpose of obedience.  The NASB translates it:

Give me understanding, that I may observe Your law

And keep it with all my heart.

It is a good thing that we desire our lives to be one long, obedient response. This is good for us and it honors God.

May we seek with the psalmist insight and understanding into God's ways and commands, and may our highest joy be obedience to him.

"Sing, Barren Woman"

Isaiah 54:1

"Sing, barren woman, who has never had a baby.

Fill the air with song, you who've never experienced childbirth!

You're ending up with far more children

than all those childbearing women." GOD says so!

A prophecy of return from exile and the work of the suffering servant.  Certainly it applies to the coming New Covenant when through the seed of Israel will come Messiah who is the Suffering Servant.  This is certainly the way Paul applies this passage:

Galatians 4:27-28

For it is written,

“ Rejoice, barren woman who does not bear;

Break forth and shout, you who are not in labor;

For more numerous are the children of the desolate

Than of the one who has A husband.”

28 And you brethren, like Isaac, are children of promise.

The coming of the Suffering Servant would cause the barren woman (Israel) to rejoice for through Messiah they would end up with untold numbers of children of every tribe and tongue and nation.

Upending Our Expectations

Isaiah 53:1

Who believes what we've heard and seen?

Who would have thought GOD's saving power would look like this? (The Message)

So unexpected was Christ's advent that only a few understood what was going on. Who would have thought God's saving power would look like this?  Shouldn't God come in power and might to defeat the Roman armies? Shouldn't he impress everyone? Nope.  God's saving power looked like a baby in a feeding trough.  And so God delights in upending our expectations.

"Who out there Fears God"

Isaiah 50:10

Who out there fears GOD,

actually listens to the voice of his servant?

For anyone out there who doesn't know where you're going,

anyone groping in the dark,

Here's what: Trust in GOD.

Lean on your God!

This is one of those "we must just trust" passages which is both bewildering and comforting.  It would be nice if God explained everything that he does to us so that we could understand it, but that is not the way that God works (probably because we cannot understand things he does because we are not God). Instead—and this is the comforting part—God calls us just to trust in him (while listening to the voice of the suffering servant, which is Jesus—see Is 53).

So from this passage we take several things:

1. We ought to fear God

2. We ought to listen to the voice of his servant

3. We ought to trust in God when we do not know where we are going

In other words: We must just trust in God.

God's Wondrous Works

Psalms 111:4

He has caused his wondrous works to be remembered;

the Lord is gracious and merciful.

God causes his works to be remembered and for good reason.  They demonstrate his power and divine nature.  Indeed, from this verse it would appear that the psalmist is saying that the Lord is gracious and merciful by causing his works to be remembered.

Since Paul says that God has been clearly seen since the creation of the world in what has been made, it makes sense that he is gracious and merciful in his works because they reveal to us his existence.

Soli Delo Gloria 

God will Win

Revelation 17:14

They will go to war against the Lamb but the Lamb will defeat them, proof that he is Lord over all lords, King over all kings, and those with him will be the called, chosen, and faithful. "

God wins!

In the cosmic battle of good vs. evil, God will win.  This is where all of those psalms that call down curses on God's enemies begin to make sense.  If the enemies of God will not lay down their arms and surrender, then calling for his enemies to lose is calling for God to win. That is a good thing; a just thing; a desirable outcome.

Lay down your arms, you who are rebels against God and his good and wise ways, or face the terrible consequences.

The God who Hides Himself

Is. 45:15 Truly, you are a God who hides himself,

O God of Israel, the Savior.

This is one of the characteristics of God that frustrates us to no end.  Why doesn't he reveal himself more clearly?  Why is he nowhere to be found as the wicked seem to prosper in their wickedness?  Why are e faithful so often under pressure, stress, and even persecution?  Where is God?

It's somewhat comforting that followers of God have struggled with this truth since all the way back to the psalmists, so Isaiah is expressing a well understood truth here.  We gain dependence on God because of this, which is for our good.  We learn to trust.  We learn to walk by faith. We learn that we must just trust, though it isn't an easy lesson.

Grace

Psalms 103:10

He doesn't treat us as our sins deserve,

nor pay us back in full for our wrongs. (The Message)

And glad we are that he does not.  This verse is the very definition of grace—unmerited favor.  We all sin.  We are all broken. Christ came to heal the brokenness and reconcile us with our father.

"With Wisdom at Your Side"

Psalms 104:24

What a wildly wonderful world, GOD!

You made it all, with Wisdom at your side,

made earth overflow with your wonderful creations. (The Message)

If you do not believe that there is a God, that is your fault.  It is not God's fault.  Atheists like to say that "extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof" therefore God cannot be proved to exist.  However, proof of God's eternal power and divine nature are everywhere, demonstrated through what has been made.  Men are just willfully blind to it as they come up with ever more unlikely explanations for,the obvious design in the universe.  

You made it all, with Wisdom at your side.

Just so.

Don't Have a Stingy Heart

Give freely and spontaneously. Don't have a stingy heart. Deut 15.10, The Message.

God's people were to be generous with each other.  They were to give freely — without expecting anything in return—and ungrudgingly.  Don't have a stingy heart, The Message paraphrases.  This admonition is repeated in the New Testament (1 John 3.17), so the Christian community ought to (and does) reflect the Jewish foundation of supporting the poor in their community.

The way to give freely and spontaneously is to cultivate giving in one's heart and life, by being quick to give.

The ESVSB comments here: "This law does not apply to the poor outside Israel. The cause of the fellow Israelite's poverty is not the issue, even if it is the result of squandering or foolishness. The command is internal: you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand. True obedience stems from the heart, and it may be costly to the Israelite in giving what is needed. The verbs open and lend are emphatic. Christians are also to be generous toward one another (cf. 1 John 3:17 )."

And I, God of Israel, will not Leave Them Thirsty

Isaiah 41:17

"The poor and homeless are desperate for water,

their tongues parched and no water to be found.

But I'm there to be found, I'm there for them,

and I, God of Israel, will not leave them thirsty.

God's heart is for the poor and homeless; the less fortunate; the oppressed.  His promise here is that he will not leave them thirsty.

A couple of good nuggets here.

First, if we are homeless and poor, it is a strong promise onto which we can cling.  What is better than having Creator-God on your side when you are powerless and oppressed?

Second, we need to get onboard with where God's heart is.  Who knows that bringing water to the poor and homeless isn't us fulfilling this promise as an ambassador of God.

Mountains Praise Their Maker

Psalms 98:7-8

Let the sea and its fish give a round of applause,

With everything living on earth joining in.

8 Let ocean breakers call out, "Encore!"

And mountains harmonize the finale--

One of the cool things that one sees in the Scriptures again and again is how the authors—especially in the psalms—write about nature as if it is living and conscious like human beings.  In this passage we find the sea and fish praising God and the ocean breakers weighing in with an encore, along with mountains; all praising God for his power and majesty in creation. 

The writers of scripture personify inanimate objects as if they were living and conscious.  In regards to creation this is true.  All of creation points back to a wise and transcendent creator, powerful beyond imagination.  

To paraphrase John Piper, "God shouts in the gold of the sunset and in the deep blue of the sky; he shouts in the beauty of he night sky and in the majesty of soaring mountains; he declares in the power of the sea that he is God, and that he is worthy of praise."

Deep Depravity

Revelation 9:20

The remaining men and women who weren't killed by these weapons went on their merry way-- didn't change their way of life, didn't quit worshiping demons, didn't quit centering their lives around lumps of gold and silver and brass, hunks of stone and wood that couldn't see or hear or move.

At the end of the age people will get harder and harder hearts.  So hard that even when they see God's wrath at work (as seen in the previous verses), it will not change them. They will not change their lives, they will keep,worshipping demons; keep being idolaters.

This is deep depravity.

Our duty is to keep preaching the gospel no matter what, and praying that God will keep calling people to faith. It's just going to get harder.

Throw the Book at the Arrogant

Psalms 94:1-2

GOD, put an end to evil; avenging God, show your colors!

2 Judge of the earth, take your stand;

throw the book at the arrogant.

The Jewish perspective on their relationship with men who opposed God (and therefore them) was one of being plaintiffs at God's bar of justice. They wanted God to rule against his (their) enemies and assign heavy damages.  Throw the book at the arrogant (The Message).  This may read a little harsh until one understands that either God wins or his enemies (the arrogant) do. When the writer calls for God to punish the arrogant he is putting himself firmly into God's camp.  He is on God's side.

Our perspective (the New Testament) is a little different, but at the end of the age will read much the same.  We want God to win (he will) and his enemies to lose (they will).

"Dear Assyria..."

Isaiah 37:26

"'Haven't you gotten the news

that I've been behind this all along?

This is a longstanding plan of mine

and I'm just now making it happen,

using you to devastate strong cities,

turning them into piles of rubble

God to Assyria.  All that they thought they were doing and had accomplished was of God for his purposes.  In light of that fact how foolish the Assyrian messenger looks as he tries to intimidate Hezekiah.  

This is the first deity of a city-state that claims sovereignty, not only over his own people (Judah) but also over those who were attacking Judah!  This must have seemed like utter foolishness to the Assyrians.  The God of Judah thinks he has power over what we do even when it doesn't involved Judah? Laughable.

True.

Either God Wins, or His Enemies Win

Revelation 6:9-10

When he ripped off the fifth seal, I saw the souls of those killed because they had held firm in their witness to the Word of God. They were gathered under the Altar, 10 and cried out in loud prayers, "How long, Strong God, Holy and True? How long before you step in and avenge our murders?"

A couple of thoughts here.  First notice that those who are calling for justice were killed because they had held firm in their witness to the Word of God.  They were faithful to God and they were killed.  God did not prevent this.  So much for the health and wealth gospel.  

Second notice that they were killed for their stand on the Word of God. Interesting that things always seem to come down to this.  Men do not want to hear what God says because it condemns their actions and calls them to turn from their sin.  

Finally, those who are killed are calling for God to act as the supreme judge that he is. This is reminiscent of the Old Testament approach to God where it is as if those who have been killed are plaintiffs at the bar.  They call for justice against those who have killed them, against those who hate God and all that he stands for.

O Lord God we would see all men come to faith in you.  However, if men won't come to faith, if they continue to oppose you. We understand that either they will win, or you will win.  We side with you.

So Much For My Incredible Importance

Deuteronomy 7:7

GOD wasn\'t attracted to you and didn\'t choose you because you were big and important-- the fact is, there was almost nothing to you.

Deuteronomy 7:7

It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples,

The Message goes a little broader than I would like on this verse but does get the general point.  God did not choose Israel because of any intrinsic worth in her; not because she was great in number; not because she was naturally religious; not because he saw their potential.  God chose Israel because he chose Israel; it was God\'s good pleasure to do so.  Can I explain this? Um...no.  Dodd I need to explain it?  Nope, if I did the scriptures would explain it.  I need to know it, but not understand it.

Here is the humbling truth of our salvation: Just when we think that we were smart enough to recognize our need for Christ, and humble enough to acknowledge it; and grateful enough to come, we read:  Ephesians 2:8-9

Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It\'s God\'s gift from start to finish! 9 We don\'t play the major role. If we did, we\'d probably go around bragging that we\'d done the whole thing!

Just so.

Impressed by Military Mathematics

“Doom to those who go off to Egypt thinking that horses can help them, Impressed by military mathematics, awed by sheer numbers of chariots and riders— And to The Holy of Israel, not even a glance, not so much as a prayer to God.” (Isaiah 31:1, The Message) 

Mathematics in the kingdom of God and that in the world are radically different.  God + anything = victory in the kingdom of God.  The world, on the other hand says, "he who is strongest wins."

Here Isaiah calls out those Israelites who, when threatened by Assyria, rather than rely upon God, they turned to Egypt for help because they were using worldly mathematics; they were awed by sheer numbers of chariots and riders.  They should have relied upon God because God + anything = victory.

While we don't live in a theocracy, we do often struggle with the same sort of attitudes.  It is much easier for us to rely upon our own wits or finances or brains, than it is to be dependent upon our God.

Cry for Help and...

“Oh yes, people of Zion, citizens of Jerusalem, your time of tears is over. Cry for help and you’ll find it’s grace and more grace. The moment he hears, he’ll answer.” (Isaiah 30:19, The Message) 

God to his people through Isaiah.  Cry out for help and what you will receive is grace and more grace. 

Salvation comes in dependence.  God's people will receive grace when they cry out for help, in other words, when they acknowledge their need of help. 

This is one of the odd characteristics of God's kingdom.  Help comes in dependence.  Strength in weakness.   Wealth in giving.  Peace in the midst of tribulation and suffering.  God's kingdom is a strange kingdom indeed.

A Trusting Life Won't Topple

   “But the Master, God, has something to say to this: “Watch closely. I’m laying a foundation in Zion, a solid granite foundation, squared and true. And this is the meaning of the stone: a trusting life won’t topple.” (Isaiah 28:16, The Message) 

To a nation that was far from being faithful, God has a message: "A trusting life won't topple."  We take this to mean that if the people would trust their God, then they would be as solid and level as a granite cornerstone, laid at the very foundation of a building, set solidly, not able to be upset by nature or the weather or the passing of time.

What was spoken to the nation of Israel is as true for individuals as it was for them as God's covenant people.  Despite life events that tend to upend us, if our trust is in the Lord, then we won't topple.  We will remain solid in the storm, but we must trust.

"Whoever has the Son has Life"

“And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.” (1 John 5:11–12, ESV) 

One of my favorite passages because it so simply clarifies eternal life.  Do you have the Son?  Then you have life.  Do you not have the Son of God?  Then you do not have life.  Everything rests on Christ.  Why?  Because of Rom 5.10: 

“For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.” (Romans 5:10, ESV) 

In the death of Christ; in the pain and suffering of the cross; we are reconciled to God, and now Christ saves us by his life.  Christ's death offers us life.  All we need to do is be reconciled to God.  Yield.  Surrender.  Lay down our arms.  Lay down our lives.  

Whoever has the Son has life. Do you have the Son?

A Blunt Command

“ The command we have from Christ is blunt: Loving God includes loving people. You’ve got to love both.” (1 John 4:21, The Message) 

One cannot love God, if one does not love people.  There is no use separating our love for God from our feelings about people (usually if we're trying to it's because we don't love people).  The two are inextricably linked, so that if one doesn't love people, one cannot truly love God.

This is why we need to plead the Father for his heart so that we do love people. It's a mistake to think that we cannot learn to love people, or that learning to love them is somehow wrong.  If we lack love towards people all we need to do is ask of God.  He has a plentiful supply and will faithfully give love.

O Lord God do thou give me your heart of love for all! people.

God's Love Disappears When I...

“If you see some brother or sister in need and have the means to do something about it but turn a cold shoulder and do nothing, what happens to God’s love? It disappears. And you made it disappear.” (1 John 3:17, The Message) 

...Turn a cold shoulder to a brother or sister in need.  This is one of those scriptural directives that is clear and unambiguous.  We ought to help a brother or sister in need.  When we turn a cold shoulder God's love disappears in us (since this is a paraphrase Mr. Petersen is going for the spirit of the message, not the letter).  It's not that God's love disappears, it just disappears in us.  The ESV reads: How does God's love abide in him? As if to say, "How can you claim to have God's love in you when you don't even help a brother or sister in need?"  A good question.

Charity—especially to those of the faith—is most basic to the Christian life.  We need to remember this...and practice it faithfully.

Live Deeply in Christ

“And now, children, stay with Christ. Live deeply in Christ. Then we’ll be ready for him when he appears, ready to receive him with open arms, with no cause for red-faced guilt or lame excuses when he arrives.” (1 John 2:28, The Message) 

Good paraphrase here from The Message.  Stay with Christ.  Live Deeply in Christ.  This is a pretty good summation of the life of a Christian.  Yes, one could say a lot of things to describe it—be obedient, fear the Lord, walk humbly before him, etc.—but these two sentences encapsulate everything there is to know about being ready to receive Christ.  Just stay with Christ; live deeply in Christ.

What does it mean to live deeply in Christ.  That is for you to find out.  Indeed, one could argue that the pursuit of Christ is nothing more than learning what it means to live deeply in him; to trust in him in all situations; to enjoy him and confide in him as the closest friend;  to lift him high as God in the flesh; to study his life over and over in order to know him as he is and know God as he is.  It means all of this and more.

O fellow Christian, let's purpose together to live deeply in Christ!

Brimming with Beauty

   “Just as each day brims with your beauty, my mouth brims with praise.” (Psalm 71:8, The Message) 

As I write this, I'm looking out my front window at the golden glow of a warm, May sunrise.  I can hear a bluejay in the back yard calling out (probably trying to claim possession of all the peanuts).  Most of the migrational birds are back so the mornings are full of the call of bird's singing cheerily.  Does each day brim with beauty?  Absolutely, even though I often miss it because my mind is on other things (unfortunately).

A day that brims with beauty ought to lead my mouth to brim with praise.  God, who spoke and all of the beauty came into existence, is the one who takes the canvas of each day and draws on it new beauty for that day.  Sometimes he paints in gold; sometimes he paints in low clouds and shades of gray; sometimes he paints in rolling thunder and flashing lightning.  In its own way, it's all beautiful, and all of it—ALL of it!—is crying out, "created by God."

Oh Lord God, may my mouth brim every day with your praise.

Tyrannized by What We Want

“Think of your sufferings as a weaning from that old sinful habit of always expecting to get your own way. Then you’ll be able to live out your days free to pursue what God wants instead of being tyrannized by what you want.” (1 Peter 4:1–2, The Message)

The Message does a pretty good job here of hammering home how we get led astray but what we think we want.  Our sufferings can be looked at as a way to drag us away from the expectation that we always get what we want. We don't always get what we want, and suffering is used by God in our lives in any number of unexpected ways, with Jesus' suffering being the supreme example.

This releases us from the tyranny of our own desires, and tyrannize us they certainly do. There is nothing so enslaving as our own wishes.  We pursue them constantly thinking that by fulfilling our wishes we will gain happiness and contentment, but when we get what we want, we find it is not quite what we really wanted so off we go after something else, in an endless attempt at satisfaction, which we never find.  Satisfaction comes when we are freed from the tyranny of what we want and pursue the one who created us.  He made us that way!

 

Real Wisdom

“Real wisdom, God’s wisdom, begins with a holy life and is characterized by getting along with others. It is gentle and reasonable, overflowing with mercy and blessings, not hot one day and cold the next, not two-faced.” (James 3:17, The Message) 

“Mean-spirited ambition isn’t wisdom. Boasting that you are wise isn’t wisdom. Twisting the truth to make yourselves sound wise isn’t wisdom.” (James 3:14, The Message) 

James juxtaposes what wisdom is not, with what wisdom is in James 3.  Wisdom is not mean-spirited ambition, boasting, or twisting the truth to sound wise.  Sometimes the world thinks that this kind of behavior is wisdom.  It isn't.

Real wisdom begins with a holy life, or as Solomon put it: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.  One of wisdom's marks is that you can get along with others.  

To get real wisdom then, our aim ought to be on Christ and his life, since Christ was God in the flesh.  If we emulate his character, we will be well on the way to the fear of the Lord.

How to End up with a Corpse on Your Hands

“Use your heads! Do you suppose for a minute that you can cut faith and works in two and not end up with a corpse on your hands?” (James 2:20, The Message) 

As paraphrased by The Message, you end up with a corpse on your hands when you cut faith and works in two.  Faith, not demonstrated in works that bring glory to God, is a corpse, a dead body, death.

There is an unbreakable connection between faith and works; or as The Message puts it: That seamless unity of believing and doing (vs. 25).  

True faith will always be accompanied by genuine works.

The Gift of Pressure

“Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.” (James 1:2–4, The Message) 

Pressure and/or testing is painful but purposeful, even though it isn't something we would normally choose.  Pressure exposes the truth of our commitment to Christ.  It forces us out into the open to live our faith.  It refines us.  It makes us into something useable.  It makes us into something precious, or perhaps we could say more precious.  

I like how The Message paraphrases it: So don't try to get out of anything prematurely.  It is natural to want to escape pressure.  It is biblical to embrace it with patience while God works.  

God of Lightning...and Cremation

“Then God sent lightning. The fire cremated the 250 men who were offering the incense.” (Numbers 16:35, The Message) 

We seem more worried about God's reputation than God does.  We try and lessen the shock value of passages like this in which God punishes 250 rebels by sending lightning to consume them.  God doesn't at all seem to care that some readers will read this passage with disapprobation. He in essence tells it like it is.

A couple of lessons here.  First is that God is very serious about open rebellion.  In this instance a small sector of God's people decide that the one whom God appointed to lead them is not worth following, not to mention that they are going to decide who is worthy to appear before God.  A bad idea indeed.  They will come to regret it. 

The second lesson is that we don't need to "protect" God's reputation for him.  Sometimes we may struggle at explaining why he does things, but this should not make us deny that he does those things (which is the foundation of the so-called "Open Theology" movement; to explain why God couldn't be the way the Bible says he is).  

How well C. S. Lewis captured this fact about God in the dialogue between Mr. Tumnus and Lucy in The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. Talking about Aslan the Lion:

Lucy:    He's not a tame lion, is he?

Mr. Tumnus: No, but he is good.