Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will Be Done…

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Lilies of the Field

Lilies of the Field

I must admit, I am struggling with my post today.  I think the verses that I bring will expose my struggle and why.

Galatians 5:16-26 covers the entire Christian experience it seems.  “Walk in the Spirit”, it begins, then describes the warring of the flesh and the Spirit within a believer’s heart; describes the works of the flesh – and tells us we will not inherit the Kingdom if we practice the works of the flesh.  Then Paul lists the fruit of the Spirit, in contrast to the work of the flesh, stating that there is no law against the fruit of the Spirit.  “Now those who [e]belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” He says in verse 24, before stating that if we live in the Spirit, we should walk in the Spirit, not being boastful, challenging or envious.  Ouch!  The differences between the two, flesh and Spirit, as seen in their output, is stark and sobering.

Galatians 3:23-29 tells us we are no longer under the law, but we walk by faith.  The law being the tutor that led us to faith, but now that we walk in faith we are clothed in Christ and no longer need a tutor.  We are heirs, with Christ, of the promise to Abraham.  I am not sure how that fits with the previous passage.  It is an uplifting thought, but this morning I’m not feeling so much like an heir with Christ, I feel like the prodigal asking to be a servant.  I know the father reclaims the son as a son, but even that strikes a blow to my heart.

We see a bit of the heart of God in Matthew 6:25-33 when Jesus tells us not to worry about the things of this life.  God clothes the lilies and feeds the birds, He will care for us…IF we seek first His kingdom and His rightousness.  That’s where God wants my focus to be, and He has promised me that “all these things will be added to (me)”.

Next, my study took me to Acts 5:27-42 where Peter and the apostles are jailed for preaching Christ and healing in His name.  They are brought before the priests and are told not to do works in the name of Christ – but the apostles tell them that they will obey God not men.  They are seeking first God’s kingdom – that’s what it looks like!  This is similar to another passage in Acts 4:13-22 where Peter and John stand before the priests and tell them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge; 20 for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.”  Seeking the kingdom of God and His rightousness first.

I need, today especially, to lift my eyes from myself and seek God, His kingdom and His rightousness.

Rich Are the Moments of Blessing

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Over the valley of tears

Over the valley of tears

My study this morning began with a passage from James, the book my Men’s Discipleship class just completed.  James 3:13-18 speaks of true wisdom and its character.   Earlier James said in that famous passage, James 1:5-6, that if we lack wisdom we need only ask in faith and it well be given to us.  James then says, James 4:1-3, that if you don’t have, it is because you do not ask, or if you ask, you are asking with wrong motives.  He is referring to strife within the church because they are lacking in godly wisdom They are displaying the characteristics described in chapter 3 pertaining to worldly understanding, not the marks of wisdom from above.  Heavenly wisdom “is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, full of mercy and good fruits (fruit of the Spirit), unwavering, without hypocrisy.”  Well, that is certainly a good measuring stick!  I have heard for years that before speaking to someone we should ask, “Is it true?  Is it helpful?  Is it kind?”  These marks would probably cover most of the attributes of heavenly wisdom.  “Unwavering and without hypocrisy” speaks to me of confidence in the Lord’s leading, and humility in understanding that anything of value we have is from God.

Philippians 4:8 gives us the list of “whatsoever things” to think upon, beginning with “whatsoever things are true”.  (Once again, in this instance I prefer the poetic beauty of the King James version)   Why should we thing on these things?  Because they are from God, James 1:17.  Heavenly wisdom is included in those good and perfect things.

Peter displays this heavenly wisdom, in Acts 16:25-34, and because he does, a family (and probably more) are saved.  First we see Peter and Silas in chains and in jail.  They are plotting their escape, protesting their innocence and straining against their chains, as we would expect.  Wait!  No, they’re not.  We find them praying and singing hymns.  That is pretty amazing in itself, but there is something even more amazing, I think.  The other prisoners are listening!  And they must have been touched in their souls, because when the earthquake loosed the chains and opened the doors of the prison, they all stayed within the prison!  Here’s where I would have been, as far away from that prison as possible, just as fast as my feet would carry me!  After all, God had answered those prayers, He opened the door, He broke the chains, and now I’m free!!!  But Peter and Silas must not have been praying for their release, they must have been praying in gratitude for whatever opportunity was to be presented – it says they were singing hymns of praise.  And all of the prisoners remained.  The jailer would have killed himself if Paul and Silas had not been filled with heavenly wisdom and guided by the Spirit – and more than that, the jailer and his family may not have been saved eternally.  We know the jailer and his whole household were saved, because it says they were.  I am certain that other, if not all, of the prisoners were also saved.  They saw Peter and Silas in prayer and praise to God.  They responded to the prompting of the Spirit through Peter, and stayed – thus participating in saving the jailer’s life and in his salvation.  That heavenly wisdom has tremendous power and effect, doesn’t it?

Romans 4:16-25 we read of Abraham’s wisdom in trusting the promise of God.  I love this phrase: “…being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform.”    That was wisdom.  And, as we read yesterday, it seemed foolish by any worldly measure that ninety year old Sarah would conceive.  Even Abraham laughed when God told him, Genesis 17:15-19.  But then it says Abraham believed God’s promise.  We hear often that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom”, Proverbs 9:10, but it goes on to say “and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding”  Wouldn’t knowledge of God mean trusting His promises?  Abraham showed heavenly wisdom and understanding by trusting the promises of God.

I have been in a hymn-singing mood lately.  Last weekend another hymn from childhood, my brother’s favorite if I remember correctly, was haunting my memory:

Rich are the moments of blessing
Jesus my Savior bestows
Pure is the well of salvation
Fresh from His mercy that flows.

Chorus
Ever, He walketh beside me
Brightly; His sunshine appears
Spreading a beautiful rainbow
Over the valley of tears.

Why should I ever grow weary?
Why should I faint by the way?
Has He not promised to give me
Strength for the toils of the day?

Rich are the moments of blessing
Lovely and hallowed and sweet
When from my labor at noon-tide
Calmly I rest at His feet.

Though by the mist and the shadow
Sometimes my sky may be dim,
Rich are the moments of blessing
Spent in communion with Him.

Called to Freedom; Called To Serve

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I woke this morning with the chorus of this song on my mind:

I will praise Him, my Lord, my God

I will praise Him, my Lord, my God

I have a hope, I have a future
I have a destiny that is yet awaiting me
My life’s not over, a new beginning’s just begun
I have a hope, I have this hope

God has a plan, it’s not to harm me
But it’s to prosper me and to hear me when I call
He intercedes for me, working all things for my good
Though trials may come I have this hope

Chorus
I will yet praise Him, my great Redeemer
I will yet stand up and give Him glory with my life
He takes my darkness and He turns it into light
I will yet praise Him, my Lord my God

My God is for me, He’s not against me
So tell me whom then, tell me whom then shall I fear
He has prepared for me
Great works He’ll help me to complete
I have a hope, I have this hope

Goodness and mercy, they’re gonna follow me
And I’ll forever dwell in the house of my great King
No eye has ever seen all He’s preparing there for me
Though trials may come, I have this hope

Bridge
There’s still hope for me today
‘Cause the God heaven loves me

This morning I am taken by how often I return to the same passages of scripture, through different means, and often with a different verse or phrase in the spotlight.  Several of the passages in my study this morning have been in other studies from the past week or so. 

We are called into freedom, Galatians 5:13-14, but we are cautioned not to turn this freedom into opportunity for the flesh, but to love and serve one another – we are called to freedom in order that we can serve one another with the love with which He has first loved us, John 4:19.

When we serve one another in love, we are eager to come into His light, because, John 3:19-21, our deeds will be shown to be “wrought in God”.  We glorify His work through us in the light of truth.

My study took me back again to Psalm 143 – David’s desperate plea for God to lead him again. He asks to hear God’s lovingkindness in the morning, “For I trust You”, David says.  He asks to be shown how he should walk, and for deliverance.  Now comes the heart of the matter, after David’s repentance, he says, “Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God…for I am Your servant”. We are called into freedom to serve.

This next passage came accidentally to my study – the verse I was looking for was 1 Corinthians 12:8 – which we will look at later.  But I looked up 1 Corinthians 1:28 (I expand it here to 1:27-29)  which tells us how God has chosen to use the least of us to glorify Him.  We are all able to be weak, foolish and base – not all of us can be strong or wise, and NONE of us can be strong or wise compared to Him.  We have hope, because God loves us, and He has chosen our frailty to magnify His glory and might!

The passage I was looking for, 1 Corinthians 12:8 (expanded to 12:4-12), speaks of the various gifts of the Holy Spirit.  The encouragement here is that the Spirit imparts gifts upon God’s children.  Not necessarily every gift is given to us, but the Spirit gives us power of one sort or another.  What struck me about this passage is the use to which we are to put our gifts – “But each one is given a manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.”  We are called to freedom, and given a manifestation of the Spirit, to serve.

Finally Ephesians 1:15-23 and Ephesians 2 is the page to which my Bible opened after reading in Leviticus.  In the first passage Paul prays wisdom for the Ephesians that the eyes of their heart would be opened to the greatness and glory of God.  Wisdom to see beyond our momentary, small difficulties to what Christ has done and what is in store for us because of what He has provided.  If I am not strengthened daily by a the knowledge of my inheritance, the greatness of His power, the richness of His love for me – then I need to pray for wisdom, that the eyes of my heart would be opened to see.  In chapter 2 Paul reminds the Ephesians, and us, of what we are without Christ.  It is only from the perspective of where we were that we can truly appreciate the glory into which He has brought us.   He gave us life, He raises us to heavenly places, He lavishes us with riches of grace and kindness.  We are His workmanship, created in Christ for good works.  We are called into freedom to serve.

I will yet praise Him, my great Redeemer
I will yet stand up and give Him glory with my life
He takes my darkness and He turns it into light
I will yet praise Him, my Lord my God

The Door

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I am the door

I am the door

This past weekend I was somewhat troubled – I felt that my studies had been too focused on sin and the enemy of our souls, and I wanted encouragement and uplift.  The sermon on Sunday morning was about…well, it was about sin, and my place before God and within the church if I willfully sin.  This was my lesson for the past week, obviously.  God was putting an exclamation point on my studies of the preceding week:  This is serious!  Know it!  Understand it!  Deal with it!

Then this morning, my studies were all focusing on the positive, on redemption, forgiveness and restoration.  This is from three different sources that I am reading every morning – plus my study of Leviticus.  Even in Leviticus, my chapter today (Leviticus 4) was about the sin offering, the provision God made for cleansing!

Romans 15:1-6  We are to help bear the burdens of those Christians weaker than ourselves, as Christ took our sin upon Himself.  The scriptures are given to us for encouragement and perseverance but also to unify the body, the church, according to the mind of Christ.  And to what purpose? That we “may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”  This is our purpose here, not only to glorify God ourselves, but also to help others do the same…and to do so in unity and harmony.  We are given this help of scripture and this encouragement from the Word to glorify God in unity with all His church!  That is the reason it is given, that is the reason we are saved, that is the reason we were created.  That is the reason.

And why should God be glorified in us?  First and foremost because THAT is the purpose for which we were made!  Romans 8:31-39 give us specific reasons that God should be glorified.  Beginning with, God is for us, and if God is for us, who can be against us?  What does it matter what foes we face?  If we understand what it means for God to be for us, that diminishes every enemy, they are as nothing before His great and mighty power.  The passage goes on to offer proof to us that God is for us, that all provision is made for our weakness – and NONE can prevail against our soul in His hand!

Hebrews 12:1-3 begins with our great cloud of witnesses, and this great cloud should encourage us – but the key to an encouraged and encouraging life is found in the second verse.  The first verse ends, ”Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us”, (v 2) “fixing our eyes on Jesus”.  That’s the key.  Oh, that sounds good, doesn’t it?  We’ve all heard that phrase many times.  But what does it really mean?  How do we do that in our daily lives?  The remainder of the passage gives us some idea: Think about what He has done on our behalf – taking our eyes from ourselves and our problems (Romans 15 above) – remember His life, His example and His work on the cross.  If we think of Him, then we think of those He loves, Matthew 25:40.  That brings it a bit closer to home, doesn’t it?  Stop thinking about myself, think about Christ, and as I think about Christ, do for those He loves as unto Him.  We do this naturally, don’t we?  If we truly love someone, we are motivated to show kindness to those they love – because of the one we love.  Then, a most wonderful thing happens – as we show kindness and love to those our beloved loves, we begin to love them also…and THIS is what glorifies God in unison and harmony

 

The door to the sheep cote

The door to the sheep cote

Jesus speaks of the thief and the robber that threaten the flock in John 10:7-10.  I had always read this before as the false prophets, the self-interested preaches and teachers.  When I read it today, I saw a broader picture.  This, I think, can refer to EVERY person that tries to use us for their own purpose.  These can be close or casual relationships.  These can be those we may trust or those who have some position of respect and authority over us.  He is the door that governs access to the pasture He has prepared for His sheep.  Through Him, we are secure.  “All who came before Me are thieves and robbers…”  I read that, this time, as everyone I put my trust in previously.  “But”, He goes on, “the sheep did not hear them.”  He protects us now.  We do not hear the voices of the charlatans, because we have heard the voice of the True Shepherd, and it is Him we follow, Him we trust.

John 14:1-6 gives us further assurance and encouragement.  “Let not your heart be troubled…”  Jesus is going before to prepare a place for us, in His father’s house!   We have a place, we belong with Him in God the Father’s house!  Thomas voices my doubting heart, “…how do we know the way?”  But Jesus reassures His flock, including Thomas, referring back to what He was teaching in John 10 – I am the Way…everyone who comes to the Father comes through Me.  You know Me, you know the Way.

When I saw the last reference in my morning study, I thought, “Here comes Jeremiah.  There won’t be a lot of encouragement here!”  But even Jeremiah joins the chorus of uplift and encouragement!  Jeremiah 33:1-9 begins by telling of God’s wrath at Judah for their wickedness, but ends in telling of all He will do for them.  In verse 3, God says, “Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know.”  That comes before the good and the peace – “Call to Me!”  Then God says He will pardon all of their sins, and bring healing and peace.  In spite of their great iniquities, they will be to Him a name of joy, praise and glory.  How do we glorify Him?  “Call to Me!”  Call to God in unison and we, the church, will glorify Him – we will be a name of joy and praise and glory to God.  “Call to Me!”

Amen

A Slave of Love

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For the past while I have had a clear vision of the spiritual battlefield.  I have seen the armies of Satan arrayed against my soul, and I have seen those armies marching against two good friends of mine.  I do not mean this allegorically, I mean that I have had a clear picture, I see these three battlefields – and each is slightly different.  We are in a real war, it is hidden from our natural sight and yet it is more real than anything we can naturally see, touch, hear, taste or smell.  I see Satan’s demons, I see the legions of the world allied with him, and here, within the castle walls are the skulking traitors of the flesh.  I will not describe in greater detail what I see and have seen here – I mention these visions only to emphasis the reality of this war – I have seen it in very real and very visual clarity.

The Battle

The Battle

The other day I was walking in a moderately crowded store, and I was struck by the knowledge that God loves these people around me, Christ died for them, and the blow nearly brought me to my knees.  The Spirit not only showed me God’s love for these souls, He showed me Satan’s desperate desire for them also.  But there is a great difference between the motivations of the two.  God’s desire is for a relationship of love; His motivation is love and His certain knowledge, based in love, of what is the very best for each of us.  Satan’s desire is hatred and death and destruction.  Satan has no desire for a relationship, no concern for our welfare, no care for our souls, no ability to nurture – he is the embodiment of sin and death.  

I want to make this very clear; in my clarity of vision in these instances, Satan is intent on desvastation.  He has no desire to win our souls or occupy our hearts.  His purpose is destruction and death, his motivation is hatred, his power is darkness and lies.  In these visions I observe the terrible forces of Satan, I see how vulnerable we are to his assault – but I also felt the power of God and knew I was safe in His protection.

Once, when I was a young boy, I was with my brothers and my mom a short ways from the house.  One of my brothers rode a bicycle there and I wanted to ride it back to the house.  I made my case that it was fair that I should ride it back, since he got to ride it over.  Mom agreed with me, and I rode it back.  A few weeks later we were in similar circumstance, but I rode the bike over.  This time I argued that I had the foresight to ride the bicycle over and therefor it was mine to ride back!  I made this argument in full awareness of the counter argument I had made weeks earlier.  It was a wicked argument – and a very successful tactic of Satan.  First, Satan tempts us with the lie that it won’t matter, we can sin and live, that no one will ever know, that it won’t affect our testimony or our walk, that just this once it will be OK.  THEN, as soon as we fall, he is right there in our ear, telling us how degenerate we are, how God doesn’t want anything to do with us, that we are unworthy and unclean and that we have no hope, our testimony is destroyed and our lives are without value.  All are lies.  It DOES matter, it WILL affect our testimony and our walk, it is NOT OK – but on the other hand, when we fall, God desperately wants us back, Christ died to cover that very sin, our testimony can be renewed and our souls are precious in His sight.

So much is flooding my thoughts at the moment, I don’t know how to put it in words – but the profound truth is that Satan has no care for us, he hates us with an extreme malevolence, because Satan is hate as surely as God is love.  Temptation is NOT, emphatically not, intended for us to experience pleasure; temptation’s purpose is for us to experience death.

This is not exactly where I intended to go today.  I know I have painted a dark picture in the preceding paragraphs, but upon this backdrop I intend to display a bit of the love and greatness and power and glory of Almighty God.

 

Slave Auction - Rome

Slave Auction – Rome

Romans 6 We are slaves.  In our natural, unjustified state we are slaves to sin and death.  When we come under the blood of Christ and are redeemed, justified and restored, we become slave to Him, slaves to righteousness and light and love and life.  We are either a slave to one or to the other vs 12-18

Jesus tells us in John 8:31-32 that the truth will set us free.  If the truth sets us free, from what or whom does it set us free?  Truth sets us free from lies.  The prince of lies is Satan and he commands the forces of darkness, of the world and the flesh.  It is becoming more and more clear that truth, light, love, righteousness, life – all are the same thing, they are all God.  Just as lies, darkness, hatred, sin and death are all Satan.   Back to Romans 6, the truth sets us free from lies and death (Satan) to become slaves of truth and life (Christ).  John 14:6

One of the lies of the world is that we are capable of directing our lives, but from my study yesterday, Jeremiah says that we don’t have that ability. Jer 10:23  While we were slaves to sin and lies and darkness, God bought us, with the blood of Christ, to be slaves of light and love and truth.  1 Corinthians 6:19-20

In Deuteronomy 15:16-17 there is provision made for the slave, able to go free, who chooses to stay and serve his master for the rest of his life.  The act of piercing the ear with an awl publicly declared the choice – “I am a willing slave”. 

I am a slave.  By whose awl is my ear pierced?

Joshua 24:15 (KJV)  Choose you this day whom ye will serve…but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

I’m a Proud Uncle!

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Dustin "Woody" Woodward - Ace

Dustin “Woody” Woodward – Ace

I just saw this article, and I get to brag – that Dustin Woodward guy?  THAT’S MY NEPHEW! It’s been a long time since I’ve seen him pitch, but I spent time during his little league years (about18 or 19 seasons ago) catching his backyard practice.  I remember reading about how to throw the circle change with him, and then trying it on in the back yard.  I remember hollering “come down into that leg” when his pitches would drift a little bit high in a game.  And I remember the pure sweetness of satisfaction when he delivered that perfect strike at the right time.  I was and am a proud uncle.

When Dustin was playing t-ball I got a call from his dad asking me to talk to Dustin.  It seems like the coach wanted him to play catcher, but Dustin, like all baseball players at that age, wanted to be shortstop.  I explained to him how a catcher had a better chance to make the bigs than any other position, and he listened with some interest – but I knew I hadn’t penetrated his thinking; so I threw out my best stuff, “The catcher is the captain of the defense, he runs the show.”

“Really?”, he asked, and I knew I had him.  He took that job seriously, the captain part.  He pitched, of course, but he built his baseball career behind the plate.  From an early age, he called his own game, and he told me earlier this year that his college coach only called one of his games – then turned it back to Dustin.

By a stroke of good luck and/or providence, I was working in Nashville during the same three years he played at Freed-Hardeman, an NAIA college in Henderson, TN – a little over 2 hours from Nashville.  This allowed me to see most of his college games, something I will always cherish.  That, and the after-game steaks we had at Snookum’s when they were playing at home.  Of course, I was the only person in the stands cheering for “D” or “Dustin”, because everybody else knew him, according to proper baseball nickname protocol, as “Woody”.  Most had no idea who I was cheering for during the first few games!

The article put a smile on my face as I read it, maybe it will your’s too.

Consider What Great Things He Has Done

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“It was for freedom Christ set us free.” Galatians 5:1.  Paul then says to not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.  He was dealing with the problem of some putting the burden of circumcision onto new Christians.  He was fighting against the slavery of the old law and the lie that salvation is in the law.  But another yoke that Satan tries to slip onto our necks is the yoke of sin.  Even though we have been set free from sin, Satan returns again and again to demand subservience to our sins of the past, urging us to continue in bondage, even though we have been set free.  We have been set free to be free!  Not to sell ourselves into slavery to the sin that Christ has conquered!

Christ has forgiven all sin – save one – the sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.  This puzzles me.  I accept it, but it puzzles me.  Matthew 12:31-32 tells us this, and goes on to say that blasphemy against Christ, the Son of Man, is forgiven – but not blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.  I won’t presume to understand why this distinction is made.  This statement comes just after the Pharisees announce that Christ is casting out demons in the name of Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons.  Was it because they knowingly denied the work of the Spirit in order to influence others?  They made a statement that, in effect, called the Holy Spirit Beelzebul.  I am certain that they knew there was a power at work that was not demonic.  I am certain they knew Jesus was not a servant of Satan – but they accused Him of using demonic powers to cast out demons, something He shows them is logically absurd, verses 25-28.  They were unwilling to yield to the sovereignty of Christ, so they blasphemed the Spirit by not only denying It’s power, but attributing that power to Satan!  The hope in these verses is that Christ forgives all other sin.  He was making a point about the eternal gravity of what those Pharisees had done in order to maintain their positions of authority.  Two things I want to take from this passage – Christ forgives all of our sin…except the great, unforgiveable wickedness of calling the power of the Holy Spirit the work of Satan; and the caution to not deny the power of the Holy Spirit, in myself or in others.

Yesterday evening as I walked to my hotel from work, I was filled with what I recognized as the Holy Spirit – drawing me to God, urging me to get closer to God, putting within my heart the clear desire to seek God’s will for me.  I want to acknowledge that very real prompting; but I must confess that my human nature was not a very welcoming host.  Which, I guess, is the point of asking the Holy Spirit to DWELL in my heart; not ask the Spirit to be a visitor, dependent upon the mortal whims of a human host, but as a resident, THE resident, and the owner of my soul.

After the people of Israel had sinned, Samuel tells them not to be afraid, 1 Samuel 12:20.  He acknowledges their evil acts, but instructs them and encourages them not to turn away from the Lord.  Turning from God in our sin and wickedness is the most effective weapon Satan possesses.  God knows our frailty.  He sees when we are tempted and fail.  He grieves for the wounds that the devil delivers to our souls – and He wants to strengthen, He wants to encourage, He wants to bind our wounds, end our suffering, free us from the chains of sin.  But He can do all of that ONLY if we come to Him and stand exposed in His light.

Then Samuel says in verses 23-24 that he will continue to pray for them and instruct them in the good and right way.  He states that not praying for them would be a sin against God!  Imagine that.  They had sinned against God, they had done evil, but it would be a sin for Samuel to not remember them before God or to not teach them the good and the right.  Further, he says in the 24th verse, “Only fear the Lord and serve Him in truth with all your heart…”  and the reason for this service he makes clear in a short phrase: “for consider what great things He has done for you.”

Sometimes I feel so in need of God’s help myself that the focus of my prayer is my need – but I sin against God if I don’t continue to pray for others, and for their struggles and for their sorrow.

We have all sinned, Romans 3:23-24, but in my sin I must not turn from God, I must not cease praying for others, but seek restoration and serve Him with all my heart, “for consider what great things He has done for (me)”.  This should overwhelm my heart anytime I go to God in prayer, whether on my knees beside my bed or walking down the street at the end of the workday:

Consider what great things He has done for me.

Lord, Be Not Silent

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Lord, be not silent unto me, but in Thy mercy speak again.
My thirsty soul awaits Thy word as parched land awaits the rain.
I look to Thee, my Lord and God.  I find in Thee my hope and rest;
For Thou has oft’ refreshed my soul in times when I was sore distressed.

These words from a hymn I sang growing up have lodged in my mind this past week.   I have felt the need to hear God’s voice again to my heart.

Psalm 28:1 and Psalm 51 (I have linked to the King James translation for the beauty of its poetry) gives us David’s heart in seeking God and hearing His voice.  David was a man after God’s own heart because of the attitude he displays in these two Psalms.  In the first passage he begs God not to be silent, because David fears where he will find himself without God’s direction.  In Psalm 51 we see David’s desperation to restore his relationship with God after he had fallen.  David does not beat around the bush.  He begs God, in His mercy, to blot out his sins.  The plaintive cry of the repentant sinner is seen in verse 10, “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.”  Then he begs God not to cast him out of His presence, and not to take His holy spirit from him.  I am not going to expound on something that may contradict the scripture and the dispensation of the Holy Spirit in the New Testament, but I want to note that David understood his dependence on God’s presence and the presence of God’s holy spirit.  Whether David had the inward prompting of the Holy Spirit as we do now or not, I cannot say; but aren’t we blessed to have it?  Do I always feel blessed when I feel the Spirit prompting me?  A resounding NO! For which I stand ashamed.  God gives us the gift of His Holy Spirit dwelling within us, making a home in our hearts, taking over our own sinful spirit and replacing our faulty guidance systems with His perfect will. 

David then says in verse 12, “Restore unto me the joy of my salvation…”  I noted as I read this, that David wasn’t asking for his salvation to be restored.  He knew his salvation was secure, but he was asking that the joy of his salvation be restored.  What had taken his joy?  Sin?  No, I don’t believe so.  I believe David would have been perfectly happy in his sin, as most of us would be, but for one thing…God had removed His presence from him – verse 11 tells us why he had lost his joy, he felt cast out, removed from God’s presence – and he understood that his sin was the barrier causing the separation.  David, then, was begging God to tear down that wall, to cleanse him of the sin that took him out of God’s presence; took him out of earshot.

This Psalm is David’s version in great desperation and complete repentance, of the words of the hymn I opened with:  “Lord, be not silent unto me, but in Thy mercy speak again.”  God answered that urgent prayer.  Of course He did!  Luke 11:13 tells us that God will answer our pleas for His presence; for His Holy Spirit!  Not to be cliché, but from the bottom of my heart, “Halleluleah!”  I have felt the separation sin causes.  I have felt the urging of the Spirit within me to reunite with God; to remove the wall of sin (sin from which I was already free) between me and my God, and I have felt my joy restored in reunion with Him.  Halleluleah!  An absolutely amazing thing, God himself, within our (saved Christians) hearts as the Holy Spirit, prompts us to forsake the swamp of sin in which we find ourselves, and which separates us from His presence, and deafens our ears to His voice.  He prompts us from within to return to Him, He tears down the barriers between us, and He gently leads us back into the joy of His presence – completely forgiven and perfectly clean again…cleansed in His blood and by His suffering. 

In another of those personally serendipitous moments, words of another hymn from my childhood flooded my mind as I wrote the previous paragraph…”Oh wondrous love, I’ll shout and sing:  He died for me, my Lord and King!”  This hymn was written to the same tune as the one that has been on my mind the past few days.

Was it for me, for me alone, the Savior left His glorious throne?
The dazzling splendors of the sky, was it for me He came to die?
Chorus
It was for me, yes all for me.  Oh love of God so great so free!
Oh wondrous (wondrous*) love, I’ll shout and sing: He died for me, my Lord and King!”

*the parenthetical “wondrous” is the bass line double-stroke that I hear in my mind (sung by cousins Doug, Russell and myself – or any combination of the three), and must insert whenever I sing this hymn, either silently or aloud.

My mind turned to that chorus as I wrote the last words “cleansed by His blood and His suffering” a few paragraphs back, and had not entered my memory at all during the time the other hymn, sharing the same tune, was running through my mind this past week.

Jeremiah says it is not in man to direct his own steps – Jeremiah 10:23.  It is this truth that caused David’s earnestness as he pled for restoration.  He knew, as we know, that he/we are unable to navigate this life successfully in our own wisdom.  Previously, Jeremiah expresses his own sorrow in verses  19-22. It is after he speaks of his own calamity that he acknowledges that he is unable to direct his own life.  Solomon repeats this refrain in Psalm 127:1.  Jeremiah, the wandering prophet, and Solomon, the splendidly wealthy king, both reached the same conclusion, expressed in slightly different ways:  “A man cannot direct his own steps.”  “It is foolish for a man to build a house without God in the work.”  Obviously David knew this.  David did not want to continue without God directing his steps, building his house.

James 1:5-8 is again appropriate.  Wisdom is seeking God’s guidance.  The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord, Psalm 111:10.  And David expresses the wisdom of allowing God to lead in the 23rd Psalm.  David writes this from his experience as a shepherd.  With a shepherd’s heart, he knows that God plans the best for His flock and guards them and protects them with His life.

I just bought several lambs last weekend.  Two of them had been bottle fed their whole lives and crave human companionship.  Sunday afternoon I went out into the pasture.  One of these lambs was laying by herself, under a tree and away from the rest of the flock.  She was quiet until she saw me walk by, then she jumped up, bleating, and ran frantically to me, then stayed against my legs as I walked back to the barn.  All the time telling me how glad she was to be with me.  I believe David understood that lamb in his own heart as he wrote the 23rd, the 28th and the 51st Psalms.  It is that heart that God loved in David, and still loves in His children today.

Joshua told the children of Israel, in Joshua 3:5, to set themselves apart, to devote themselves to God today, because tomorrow God would do wonders among them.   It seems to follow: Consecration then wonders.  If God isn’t performing wonders in my life today, it is likely I didn’t consecrate my life to Him yesterday.

Consecrate (or sanctify KJV) yourselves, for tomorrow God will do wonders among you!

License or Love? Lordship or Leniency?

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I just started reading John MacArthur’s book, The Gospel According to Jesus.  What I am reading there definitely is shaping my thoughts today.

This book addresses a point of doctrine over which I was unaware there was any controversy.  I will not pretend to understand all of the theological nuance regarding the question, but the question is basically this: Does salvation require submission to the Lordship of Christ?

Interestingly enough, my morning readings seemed to speak to this question.  Hebrews 12:2 begins, “fixing our eyes on Jesus…”  When I read this, it took me back to the days when I trained my dogs and a few horses.  When a dog or a horse has acknowledged you as their master, they will watch you intently whenever you are around.  They want to please their master, they watch you so they can understand what it is you want them to do, so they can do it!  Dogs especially will avert their eyes when they know they have done something wrong.  The verse goes on to say that Christ is the author and the perfecter of our faith.  OUR faith – He put the seed of faith in our hearts, and He is the one who will perfect the faith within us.  He is King, He is Lord, He is our master – keep your eyes on Him!  Why?  Because we have acknowledged His lordship over our lives, and we want to know how to please Him.

“A new commandment I give to you…” Jesus says in John 13:34-35.  Who commands us?  Our master, our Lord commands us.  All others give us suggestions, good ideas, instructions – our master commands.  What does He command here?  That we love one another as He loves us.  A quick aside – I know I believe myself to be lovable, and Christ loving me does not, at first glance, to be so unbelievable.  Indeed, sometimes I find myself thinking it would be unbelievable if He didn’t love me!  Isn’t that a pretty egocentric, or me-centered, way of looking at this relationship?  He knows my thoughts, He sees my actions, He knows every weakness…all those things I hide from everyone else so the will love me.  Why do I hide them?  Well, because I know those thoughts, those actions, those weaknesses are particularly unlovable!  Now let’s re-examine my attitude:  Christ is without sin, He hates sin.  He sees everything in me; even the things I don’t want anybody else to see, because those things are so unlovable.  How can I expect Him to love me?  He does, and that’s the miracle of it all, He does love me.  Now He, as my Lord, commands me to love others that same way.  Not because they are lovable, although some are, not because I feel like it, but because He love me, He commands me to love, and He is my Lord, my master.

Then in John 14:15 Christ says, “If you love me, keep my commandments.”  Can we believe in the redeeming power of the blood of Christ, His sacrifice, His being and eternal presence as Creator God and NOT love Him?  I don’t know how that could be possible.  And if we love Him, we are to keep His commandments.  There’s the beauty.  He is our master, we are His slaves, and yet – He loves us, and we love Him.

Jesus tells us He is coming back for us, John 14:3.  He doesn’t tell us that He will be passing through and if we want to go along, we’re welcome to hitch a ride.  No, He says He is returning to take us with Him.  He is our master, we are His slaves, He will take us with Him!  Where?  To a place He has prepared, in His Father’s kingdom.  He takes us into the sovereignty of God…and this happens without me yielding to that sovereign God?  I think not!  He takes us into the presence, into the everlasting kindom, of the One to whom we are in subjection.

Peter says that we are aliens and strangers, 1 Peter 2:11.  In Hebrews 11:13-16 we are seeking a different, a better country.  And Hebrews 13:14 says we do not have a lasting city on this earth.  Christ is taking us from this earth, this life, where we are strangers and aliens…where we no longer fit in, or belong.  He is taking us to a better country, the Kingdom of God.  Why are we aliens here?  Why is Jesus taking us to His kingdom?  The answer to both is this: because we are now citizens of the Kingdom of God, subjects of the King, slaves to our Lord.  We don’t fit in because our thoughts and our actions are different, we don’t do what that great king, Everybody Else, commands.

We are under the Law of Christ, Romans 8:2, the law of His kingdom.  We are no longer under the law of sin and death, the law of this world.  We are no longer slaves to this world, we are slaves of Christ.

“Out of the fullness of the heart, the tongue speaks”, Matthew 12:34.  Jesus is making a general statement to point out the wickedness in the hearts of the Pharisees.  If our hearts are filled with Christ, we speak of Christ…we speak love.  If our hearts are filled with this world, we speak death and corruption and temporary vanities.  Out of the fullness of the heart…if we are truly saved, if we truly believe in our salvation and our Savior, if we understand our position before God – can we help but have our hearts filled with that?  I don’t mean to say, if we are saved, then our hearts are always filled with good, with Christ, with love.  No, but what I do mean to say is that faith in our salvation HAS to mean a filling of our hearts with something different from what was there before.  This filling of our hearts, according to the truth spoken by Christ, will direct and affect our talk. 

It seems to me, that even if it is possible to be saved without becoming a slave to Christ, making Him the Lord of our lives…even if it were possible, then it would be a spectacularly empty, hollow, unfulfilling salvation without Christ as Lord.  If I do the same things, I am caught up in the same vanities and wickedness, I am not acknowledging the King of the kingdom I am saved to inhabit…  If everyone else is doing the same, then we are looking forward to heaven, where everyone thinks and acts like they do on earth – because we haven’t learned differently – which means that the perfection of heaven will be corrupted by the selfish, venal behavior of man.  I think that’s been done before…

Why Salvation?

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In an uncharacteristic move, I am posting a second personal study.  This morning I was struck by a thought in a book I am reading, Getting to No by Erwin Lutzer.  A quick aside:  I recommend this book for all Christians.  The subtitle is “How to Break a Stubborn Habit” – and there may be some who don’t believe they have a stubborn habit to break.  I won’t argue that here, and that is not the reason I recommend it for all.  As the author works through the power of God, how to acquire it, how to ask the Holy Spirit within us to move on our behalf, how to approach God in prayer, how to live our day in prayer – these are powerful instructions for every Christian.  In this book, Lutzer makes the statement that we are saved in order to have a relationship with God.  That isn’t an earth-shattering thought.  It fits perfectly into Christian belief, and yet, as the thought sank into my mind, I realized that it meant a shift in my view.  With a little thought, it is obvious.  We are not our own 1 Corinthians 6:19-20.  In a previous post, I spoke of Timothy Keller’s description of a dance we are invited to join.  It seems clearly evident now, but I didn’t notice it then, that we are saved in order to join in that dance.  Not for any other purpose!

Yes, our purpose is to glorify God, but as I mentioned before Christ is the glory of God.  We glorify God by living Christ in our lives.  What does that mean?  What do the words “…Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Colossians 1:27 mean?  In light of the knowledge that Christ came to earth to suffer and die to save me, in order that I might have a relationship with God; join the dance of love with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit; I have a slightly different perspective – one that builds on my previous viewpoint, but changes my viewpoint in an important way.

So, the relationship we are called into is a relationship of love.  That seems evident.  Christ was God made flesh.  God is love.  Christ was the embodiment of love.  Our only hope of glorifying God, is Christ in us, or the perfection of love in us, through us to all we meet.  So glorifying God is being filled with His love, and expressing that love through our lives.  That is also our relationship with God, our dance of love, our communion, our conversation, our security in Him.

I remember, a few years back, being struck by the peaceful, confident attitude of my young nephew, and I confided to a friend that he, my nephew, seemed so secure and sure of his place, rocked in a cradle of love.  That picture of contentment and security is how I picture our relationship with God.  Surrounded, protected, nurtured in love.  With that attitude, with faith in God, in His love, we are able to face difficulties with confidence and trust.

We know that God cannot be in the presence of sin or wickedness.  Before we can begin our relationship with Him, we must be cleansed.  Christ became the atonement for sin, creating the condition, sinlessness, by which, and only by which we can approach the Father.  John 14:6 the only chance we have for a love relationship with Him.  Our only hope of glory.

If, then, the very reason for salvation is to enter a relationship with God, then our lives should be dedicated to that relationship, should it not?  We are not saved to pursue our own ideas, desires, pleasures – confident in the security of our salvation.  That does not glorify the Father, that does not show our gratitude and love for the gift we have been given, that does not express an understanding of love, made human, in order that we might dance.  And not dancing, we miss the whole purpose of our existance and our salvation.