A Matter of Life and Death

PATTERNS OF THOUGHT
Do you have patterns in your thoughts that just seem to build on one another? Thoughts in which every lesson you learn seems to connect back to that theme or those themes? I have several on which my life seems to build.

This morning, my pastor continued his series in Genesis, this time looking at Cain and the familiar story of the first murder. Cain's example seems the best launching place for what I'd like to analyse with you. As always, I would so love to read your comments below if you agree, disagree, or wish to add additional thoughts.

TEMPTATION TO ANGER OR JEALOUSY
Cain, in the attitude of his heart (seen or unseen by anyone but God), displeased God and his offering was rejected. Further revealing his wrong focus, Cain's anger rose. In a rare moment many of us don't experience so clearly, God spoke to him and warned him of where his anger would lead.

“Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? 7If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”

After God's direct confrontation, Cain did not "rule over" his sin, but instead was gripped by it and in anger killed his brother.

In theory, Cain had the choice to repent after his brother's murder. In reality, he had made his choice to choose sin, and it was as if his conscience died after that.

"Sin crouching at your door" makes one picture a lion crouching in wait of a lamb (or other prey), does it not? Does the lamb survive when the lion springs? Rarely. The time to call for the Shepherd to attack would have been when the lion still crouched.

I think the picture parallels well with sin. As we were reminded today in the message, to be tempted with a sin is not defeat. Defeat is when you embrace or allow that temptation to spring into control. Even then, repentance surrenders what's left of your carcass to the Creator to revive. If we're tempted, however, victory is only possible in crying out in humility to the Shepherd.

How might the life of Cain been different if he would have responded to God's warning with a cry for help? "I'm so angry and jealous, God. Please free me from these feelings, so that I may please You."

How loving of God to desire to stop Cain from his own sinfulness. If Cain had only received God's love, he would have been freed to love.

TEMPTATION TO GRUMBLE OR QUIT

A good example of lives to compare and contrast appears many times in the books of Exodus and Numbers. Many people get hung up on the grumbling of the Israelites as they journey in the desert "towards" the Promised Land. I have a hard time blaming them though. I would be surprised if any of you would not have grumbled. I know I sure would.

The journey dragged, the heat and thirst were real threats, and from morning till night no one could tell you how long you would stay in one location. Add to that a limited variety of food and walking and walking and walking. Oh, you must be an angel to not think you'd want to quit and regain some sense of familiarity and comfort (even if your memory failed you so that you longed again for Egypt).

Yet it seems God didn't understand their "right" to complain. If you've read through both books, you know several times God destroyed groups of the people in anger. I propose that God did understand their frustrations. He just had other plans for how they should deal with their feelings.

If it's true, which I strongly feel, that we are DEPENDENT beings that truly cannot survive on our own, and God—even after we chose sin and "independence" instead of Him—reaches out to us again and again with His great compassion, then there is only ONE solution to whatever we feel. Moses shines as an example of the best way, the one solution, and the rest of the wandering Israelites, the way most of us choose.

In contrast to what we've already reviewed of the grumblers who displeased God, Moses complained TO God. And what was God's reaction? He gave a miraculous solution.

5Then the LORD said to Moses, “Pass before the people and take with you some of the elders of Israel; and take in your hand your staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. 6“Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink.” ~Exodus 17

Over and over, Moses goes directly into the presence of the Lord with all his complaints, burdens, and confusion. God provided again and again.

• Numbers 11:2 ... When the people cried to Moses, he prayed to the LORD
• Numbers 12:13 So Moses cried out to the LORD, "Please, God, heal her!"
• Numbers 16:22 But Moses and Aaron fell facedown and cried out, "O God, the God who gives breath to all living things, will you be angry with the entire assembly
• Numbers 20:6 ...And Moses and Aaron leaving the multitude, went into the tabernacle of the covenant,and fell flat upon the ground, and cried to the Lord

No burdens or grumbling of our hearts is a taboo topic to bring to God. Instead, God invites us to "caste all our cares upon Him, because He cares about you" (1 Peter 5:7). 

The Psalms give us words that often make me cringe at their violent descriptions of desired vengeance asked of God to carry out. Interestingly, many of these were written by King David, the "man after God's own heart," who is one of our next examples.

TEMPTATION TO PRIDE AND PASSION

The first two kings of Israel form another good contrast. Saul and David both began as humble men, but both had defining moments where they were confronted with their sin. The choices they made in that moment, determined their legacy forever.

Saul went in obedience to attack the Amalekites (1 Samuel 15). However, he did not destroy everything, as the Lord commanded him. When confronted by Samuel, he admitted he sinned, but... 1) he feared the men, so he didn't obey, 2) he admitted it, but wanted Samuel to return with him to "worship the Lord." When Samuel refused, Saul's heart was fully uncovered. 

Samuel turned to go, but Saul grabbed his robe, which caused it to tear. Samuel told him this was a prophetic picture that his kingdom would be torn away from him.

30 Saul replied, “I have sinned. But please honor me before the elders of my people and before Israel; come back with me, so that I may worship the Lord your God.”

Saul's concern stemmed from pride. To be honoured before the leaders meant more to him than God's rejection of him as King of Israel. From this point on, his life completely unraveled until he ends his life on his sword pursued by his enemies.

David sinned, as well. The most memorable to us is his adultery with Bathsheba and arranging the death of her husband. This sounds worse than Saul's not killing the animals or the king of a nation God swore to destroy, does it not?

Nathan the prophet came and told him a fictional story of a rich man stealing a pet lamb from a poor man in order to feed his company. This aroused David's anger. Then Nathan told him, "You are the man" (2 Samuel 12). What was David's reaction?

1 Have mercy on me, O God,
because of Your unfailing love.
Because of Your great compassion,
blot out the stain of my sins. 

2 Wash me clean from my guilt.
Purify me from my sin. 

3 For I recognize my rebellion;
it haunts me day and night. 

4 Against You, and You alone, have I sinned;
I have done what is evil in Your sight.... 

5For I was born a sinner—
yes, from the moment my mother conceived me. 

6But You desire honesty from the womb,b
teaching me wisdom even there. 

7Purify me from my sins,c and I will be clean;wash me, and I will be whiter than snow....Psalm 51

Not the severity of the sin, but the honesty of the repentance saved David and not Saul.

Saul wanted to keep up appearances to be honoured among men. David considered only his offense against God and cried out for cleansing.

TEMPTATION TO FEAR OR GREED
The final example, though many more could be expounded on, are of Judas Iscariot and Peter. Both

men betrayed Jesus, the Messiah of God. One could possibly argue that this is an ultimate sin.

Judas, the Gospel writers tell us, lived for money, so I tend to believe his betrayal flowed from his greed and Peter's from fear. Both chose something else as greater than their Lord, whom they had followed for three years acknowledging to His face that He was the promised One.

Both Judas and Peter seemed to acknowledge their traitorous actions as sin. Judas takes his life in despair (Acts 1:18), but Peter repents with tears (Matthew 26:75). After Jesus' resurrection, he receives restoration by the Lord to become a leader of the Church (John 21:15-19).

CONCLUSION
These examples, to me, show the incredible mercy of God. Every inclination of our hearts is to "do it on our own," to be "independent" of God. Yet, God knows that independence, for us who are created dependent, means death. Over and over He steps in to persuade us to surrender, to reveal Himself to gain our trust, to express His love to remove our burdens.

Can you get a small glimpse then at what sin is?

Sin pushes God's hand away and says, "me first!" Sin spits on God's love and cries, "I don't trust you!" Sin turns its back on God's compassion and says, "I'll be worthy on my own."

If you have read this far, I congratulate you. The post is lengthy, but so is the promise.

This is a burden to my heart for me and for you—that we understand God's love and compassion enough to receive it and give it to others; that we throw our worries, grumblings, discouragements, and discontent to Him without glossing over them; that we turn to Him in our temptation and find the door from which to flee; that we acknowledge the horror of our sin to Him and humble ourselves, not to gain applause, but to please One who loved us so much that He died in our place.

He wants our honesty and our complete dependence on Him.

I don't understand it completely. I only know, we need to come to Him about everything, because He cares about you and He cares about me.

_________________
We all have the capacity to sin like Cain, but through Jesus we can be freed by grace. ~Dr. Richard Liverance

For further meditation, please read Romans 6:12-23.

Only a Shadow of Good Things

Have you thought much about shadows?

It's interesting about shadows that they may closely resemble the object they portray or they may completely distort it. How truthfully they reveal the original object depends on the position of the sun.

To the eyes of children, a shadow may be the image of a loved parent returning to gather them up or it may be the distorted form of a monster creeping close to steal their soul.

"The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship." ~Hebrews 10:1

In one of C.S. Lewis' books (I believe, The Weight of Glory), he talks of the blandness of heaven as described in the Bible (and don't tell me you haven't thought so too). Shadows.

Have you ever thought or heard that the "God of the Old Testament" is an angry God unlike the "God of the New Testament"? Shadows.

Have you ever read all the do-nots or must-dos of the Bible and thought "how restricting!"? Shadows.

A shadow gives a glimpse of something real beyond what we see before us. A shadow may misshape, discolour, or appear to misrepresent the real object. But a shadow's purpose is not to show you the object. Its purpose is to make you aware that the object exists.

As with all analogies, there is a point of break down. With a shadow, more often than not, one can look up to see the exact object that is being projected in dark twisted shapes beneath it. With spiritual shadows, our looking up will be hereafter. The shadows are reminders that our faith is based on Something and not our own imagination.

In Hebrews 10, the author describes the law as "only a shadow of the good things that are to come." How many of us think of the law as pointing to hope of a good thing instead of something to avoid breaking or avoid being caught bending?

The author of Hebrews points to the fact that the law, as defined in the Old Testament, never could save those who followed it. It was a shadow of a better thing to come.

The bleating goats, baaing lambs and flapping birds, whose blood were shed as a reminder of the ugly consequences of our sin—could never save, but instead foreshadowed One whose blood would save.

The burning candles, bloody altars, daily bread, glittering temple, mysterious ceremonies, and hidden rooms—their services never ushered a soul into heaven, but they foreshadowed a Most Holy Place where Yahweh is truly enthroned and the Lamb has made an entrance for us to follow.

The world around us appears so real that the shadows of Scripture get lost in the darkness. Without constantly seeking out the Son, we forget the presence of shadows and, more importantly, the Object they represent. It is for this very reason, the author of Hebrews admonishes us:

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. ~Hebrews 10:23-25 (Emphasis added.)

Sometimes shadows look harsh and scary. We need to remind each other it is merely the skewed view caused by unseen elements. If we encourage this faith and hold to this hope, one day we'll see before us the Face of Love unmasked by shadows. 

Stand and Fight

I don't remember my age—although I'm told I was four or five—but I remember vividly the day I asked Jesus into my life. I may have told it before, but such a day always bears repeating.

My sister, Connie, and I walked home one evening after church (we lived across the street). She asked me if I was a Christian. I told her yes. That night I lay in bed and analyzed my answer (I still do this with conversations) to make sure I had told her the truth. Since our father is a pastor, I've heard about Jesus while in my mother's womb. Yet, as I lay there, I realized He was not my Saviour.

It was as if a veil lifted from my eyes. One moment the state of my soul did not concern me. The next, I knew emphatically that I had not surrendered, but I needed to. No prayer. No special formula. God touched my eyes, and I could see.

Following up this moment, which I now claim as my conversion, I acted upon it by going into my parent's room and asking my father to lead me to Jesus. We knelt together and prayed, confessing my sins and my need of a Saviour. I waited three or four years before I had the courage to stand in obedience and  confess before our church that Jesus is my Lord and be baptised.

That was the easy part of my years as a Christian. I responded to a work of God in my heart. The hard part followed.

I have not had a rebellious life. I credit that partly to personality and a great deal to God's answering the prayers of my parents. I can't claim to have learned the hard way. In fact, my prayer has always been that I may learn the easiest way possible.

The battle for me is much more subtle. It's maybe like someone who grows up in a war zone. The bullets fly so continually around you that you begin to forget their significance, forget the threat they are to your life. Because I grew up dwelling on the spiritual life, it became easy to think going through the motions was good enough.

Don't get me wrong. I hate hypocrisy, so I run from anything that smacks of inauthenticity, even in myself; but it's not always so simple to see you've crossed that line. It wasn't bad things. No obvious breaking of the Ten Commandments.

It was the little things. The "lesser gods," as C.S. Lewis calls them. The gods that when given the place, block one's vision of Yahweh. 

Boredom, more than anything, is dangerous. The same Bible reading and prayer routine, when done as a routine, can lose significance. One can grow deaf. You know what I mean?

It hasn't been big moments or large chunks of time. Graciously, God gives me little "checks" to let me know I'm fading in my attention.

This thought came up while my mother and I were discussing a couple that not long ago was on fire for God, zealously attending Bible study and church. Now, they ski on Sunday, leave their Bibles on the shelf, and confess confusion that their daughters are going their own way.

I know how it must have started. At least, I think I do. You go to do the routine and wonder what's the point. You fail at the same things over and over all your life, what makes you think you're going to change now? Maybe, just maybe, you wonder if there isn't some easier way, some fun you're actually missing out on.

These have been fleeting thoughts, just enough to scare me back to reality. When I'm there, when my love for God is distant, I can do nothing, but tell Him. Tell Him the truth about where I am. Sometimes all I can say is "help."

The only solution for cold moments is to cry out to our Father. When we've put our guard down and the enemy points the gun in our face, only God can shoot him in the back and save us. There is no formula. No spiritual exercise.

The wonderful thing is, when we tell Him our failing, our wicked desires, He scoops us up in love. Instead of scolding us, because we've known better (we've told others the other side's not worth it), He blesses us with His grace because we called upon His Name.

His Name saved us in our first moments of rebirth, and it is the Name that will keep us till our dying breath.

Let's be on our guard then. Stand and fight!

To Describe God

Below is an edited version of a prayer I wrote in February 2005. I’m posting it because I think to at least some of it you’ll relate.

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If I should try to describe You, God, I might say You’re like a mist; You form various shapes, but appear everywhere and different. I trust You to know my heart and know how I would not accuse You of changeableness, but accuse my understanding of not grasping You.

You are like a firefly on a dark summer night. I may believe You are there, but until you turn on Your light, I’m not certain where.

Sometimes You appear as a possible predator to my happiness; like a rattlesnake somewhere on a ranch, and I’m praying none of mine will step in Your path and take death’s poisonous exit.

Sometimes I long for You, ache for You, despair of being had by You. You stand nearby as my Invisible Observer, but You don’t make a sound. I end up on the floor with my paper gods with faces cut from magazines, little creatures no bigger than myself whom You have made.

Sometimes I listen for You and feel proud that I actually want to hear You. I hear buzzes, I hear cars, I hear the whistle of a train, but not one small whisper from Your lips.

I panic sometimes. If You should ever leave it to me to find my way Home, I’d be lost forever.

But I believe in You, God. You have been my Father, my Guide, my Strength, my Sustainer. In You is the only hope in which I can dream.

Funny. It is good to say that—the only Hope in which I can dream. Getting here has not been so easy. I’ve come kicking and screaming, but You didn’t put me down.

Oh, if only this was the end and all the refinement I need could be made with these “small” losses; if only I didn’t know greater sacrifices might await me. Oh, how lonely and scary and heart-wrenching one short life can be. You do not ask for more than You gave. You ask for everything.

What will Home be like with You? How is it that our tasks will look so small from the light of Home? What do I need to know or realise in order to let go and let You hurt me and still trust You completely?

Open my eyes wider. Not inwardly. Upwardly. Father, I see a shrivelled worm as I look inward. I see a sad excuse for a human—talentless, friendless, pointless, but still holding on to my pride to not get hurt and to my mini-gods.

What does it mean to be a Christian? What is it like to be free of myself? Where is the dividing line, the gulf that I can cross or be flung over and become the outward clothes of the Living Son of God? Where do You begin and I end? Draw it up. Point me there. It’s time that life began—No turning back.

Here are my fears. You’ll need to check all my pockets and hiding places. There are always some fresh ones lying around.

Here is my fear of losing those I love—of dying while they live or living after they die.  Here’s my fear of getting older and my desire to die early. Here are my fears—of rejection, of being unchanged and entering eternal shame, of success, of failure. Here’s my fear of never getting any closer to You or of getting too close to You.

Father, these are scary things to give up. All these fears, these quirks…You aren’t going to find anything left of me when they are gone.

It’s a starting place. I already feel myself reaching for my comfort “blankets.” I’ll take them all back, if you let me. PLEASE don’t let me. Let’s go forward, Father. It’s time. It’s past time.

Called to Serve, a review

One of my brothers served in the military, but I have no personal experience in it nor have I ever been married. Yet, in "Called to Serve" Tony and Penny Monetti write in such a way that one can empathize with the feelings they have experienced and long for the solution. This book gives those outside the military and military family life greater understanding of how to pray. For those in such a life, it gives practical comfort and advice for warriors, their spouses, and even their parents.

If I am permitted to make a plug for one of our books, I highly recommend buying one for yourself and for a military family you know. If you order two or more copies at Discovery House Publishers, you'll receive a 30% discount.

To find out more about how you can help those in the military or receive help if your family is serving, visit the Monetti's site—Called to Serve Ministry.

Have you or someone in your immediate family served in the military? If so, what is one of the hardest things you’ve faced? If not, what are ways that you’ve helped a military family?

God's Love Letters to You

When I looked over the Thomas Nelson books available to review and saw one by Larry Crabb, I immediately download the e-book. And I'm not disappointed.

God's Love Letters to You gives a wonderful glimpse at the whole context of God's Word. Far from a feel good read, Dr. Crabb shows the reality of pain in a framework of love.

"But God's way of thinking and His way of loving are so far above us—and so different sometimes from what we think they should be—that His way of speaking life can feel harsh, even insensitive and uncaring. And for good reason: His words of life speak death to what is in us that needs to die."

The formatting of the e-book annoyed me at points, but it was just nit-picky things such as spacing. The quotes from writers outside the Bible jarred my assumption that the content concentrated on God's finished Word. Yet, the quotes added their own explanation and often were ones I highlighted for future reference.

If I taught a small group or class for young Christians, this text would be required reading. The way it touches upon suffering and love throughout the Bible, reveals the continuity of God's working through our own pain and His sovereign plan, which includes and redeems that pain. The questions at the end of each chapter too would be richer shared with others, especially those beginning to grasp the scope of God's work in our lives and world.

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You can purchase this book from the retail store of your choice or by clicking one of the links below.

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Some Days are Diamonds

An old John Denver song has frequently come to mind. The chorus says—

Some days are diamonds;
some days are stone.
Sometimes the hard times
won't leave me alone.
Sometimes the cold winds
blow a chill in my bones.
Some days are diamonds;
some days are stone.

Regardless of whether or not you like country songs, everyone can relate to diamond and stone days. Because stones are common, they fill most of our time making the diamond-days more precious.

Internally, I've been gathering the stones of late. Just because they're prosaic pebbles doesn't mean some are not of rare beauty in colour or design. Yet others are sharp and cut deeply.

But these thoughts aren't really where my mind has been dwelling. There's a verse in the song that describes it.

Now the face that I see in my mirror
more and more is a stranger to me.
More and more I can see there's a danger
of becoming what I never thought I'd be.

Please forgive the depressive tone. And bear with me, because I'm sure—if you've lived long enough—there has been at least once where these words have rung true.

That moment may have come when you've worked your hardest, only to be told your efforts aren't needed. You're being laid off.

Or maybe it's in marriage. You see a wedding photo and glimpse for an instant all the lovely dreams you had of the kind of spouse you'd be and the kind of spouse you'd have. Now those visions are so distant, you hardly recognize yourself.

I'm at a place where I'm believing this is one of the best positions in which to be . . . at least for a while.

Sure, it's much nicer to always be happy, to feel life is coming together, making sense. But that's not where humility grows. Those sparkling, beautiful spots are not where we come face to face with our need to be washed over with the love and grace of God, broken-off from our old sinful nature, and smoothed out on the lonely bottom of life's ocean.

No. It is when we face ourselves in the mirror without the amiable make-up we put on for others, when we face the flaws in our human nature and admit that they are a fault—it is then that we are broken down to the basics and God can begin shaping us, polishing us, preparing us to become—not dry stones in His Kingdom, but—glittering jewels, whose brilliance the earth could not host.

If you're there—if your life isn't what you planned it to be, if you're less than you dreamed you'd be, if your failures are greater than you can live with—it is now that you can be rubbed and tumbled to beauty. Now is when you can give your plain, dry-brown-heart fully into the Artist's hands and let Him make something beautiful of you.

Don't be discouraged! He who began a good work in you WILL carry it to completion (Philippians 1:6).

The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. ~John 12:25

When we think we know how our life is going, it's easy not to depend on His leading. But when life surprises us, we cling to Him. And that's right where we should be.

Can you relate? Has the face in your mirror ever seemed like a stranger? Are you there now or what happened to change things for you?

A Story

An Author once imagined a beautiful story. He planned for it to be a comedy in the original sense of the word—a story ending in a feast or wedding. Another way of stating it—a story filled with joy.

This Author wasn't like other writers. He wanted to interact with His characters. He wanted them to participate in His story, so He wrote in a "will" (the ability to determine to obey or not to obey) for each of them.

The gift of the will caused great rejoicing. Instead of being robots and performing their part of the story without a say, they could interact with the Author, ask questions, share ideas—have a relationship.

This freedom included only one "do not." In order to exercise their will, they could do anything in the created world of the Author except ONE thing. They had castles they could build and explore; mountains they could climb. They built homes of the very best quality, and the Author enjoyed their work and their delight. There was one door, however, that He told them not to enter. If they did, they would be cut off from the world where they now lived and from Him.

Gradually, the characters moved closer to the door. Why should the Author include a door they could not enter? If all in this story was full of wonder and fun, what might there be on the other side of that door? What if what is there is better than what is here? And so they crept ever closer, tempting themselves by constant watch.

Inevitably, they persuaded themselves to try the door. One by one they all filed through. Although one entered first, the others followed till every one was on the other side. Then...it shut.

They rubbed their eyes. It was pitch blackness. Slowly their eyes began to focus on the barren land ahead of them and the bolted door behind them.

Generations would be born in this dark land. What is the purpose of this story? each and everyone would ask. 

Some exited the story early on, by their choice or another's. Others decided to create their own story. This became quite a game, and soon all the characters had a story. Sometimes they combined their ideas and created a community that followed the same story. When enough decided that the story wasn't going their way, they would branch off and begin their own version.

Some sought to make their story good for others. Their version would bring smiles to those around them. Surly this is what the story was about, after all, making happiness for those around you? But they did not seek to know the Author and learn the story He desired for them.

Sometime in the new story, a lamp was placed in the midst of them. This aggravated most, who had become accustomed to seeing in the dark. The light only blinded them and exposed that they were different than how they had described themselves to those around them. 

Because of this, some tried to hide the light. Others, to snuff it out. Others just ran from it, moving as far away from it as possible till they gained some sort of darkness again.

A handful of characters approached the light. They were curious to see what really existed around them. Here they learned of the Author, forgotten or recreated by the tales of the original characters. They learned He still wanted to use them in His story. If they would accept His light and follow His story, He would eventually take them out of this story into one that would be beyond their dreams. 

Some of the characters accepted the light gladly and went throughout the new world offering to share the light. Some began to pick up the light, but when they read their part of the story, it was too small. They were capable of great things! Why should they give up their own stories for these no-name parts?

Those who fled from the light mocked the carriers of light. If this Author cared for them, why did only a handful have His special light and the knowledge of a place in His story? Why were they promised a new story of "happily ever after"? If He was a real Author, He would make good of the story here.

The Author continued to lead His story to the new ending He had determined for it. Only those who held His light and followed His storyline found joy in it. Those who created their own stories, no matter how good they were, stumbled around in the darkness far from the Author.

_________________

Whose storyline do you follow: your own or the Author's? The ending is determined by your acceptance or rejection of the Light.

Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, "I Am the Light of the world. If you follow Me, you won't have to walk in darkness, because you will have the Light that leads to Life."

To Start Anew

The New Year always gives the feeling of a new beginning, doesn't it? This brings the tradition of resolutions, a chance to accomplish this year what we failed to do last.

A couple of interesting truths spring to mind as I think on the year ahead.

One, I'm still the same. The person that I was at the end of 2010 is the person entering into 2011. I have the same strengths, same weaknesses. If I fell for gluttony last year, I won't suddenly be cured this year. If I reacted impatiently when I was tired or stressed last year, I may repeat it again when I'm weary this year. I will not have boundless energy; I will still grow tired. I will not always want to do the good I know I should. I'm still me. You're still you.

What does this mean? When I'm tempted, should I throw up my hands and give in? Of course not. 

Understanding where you are weak can enable you to strategically plan for success instead of leading yourself down a path of temptation. More importantly, however, this truth is intricately tied with the second.

The second truth is God is still the same. Where the knowledge of our sameness may make us feel vulnerable, and we are, the acknowledgment of God being the same is our comfort. 

Jesus, the Messiah, is the same yesterday and today-and forever! ~Hebrews 13:8

Yahweh, the God of the Hebrew Scriptures is the same God who came in flesh as our Messiah, Saviour, Deliverer, Prince of Peace. He is the same God who loved us enough to pay the penalty for our sins. He is the same God who rose from death and lives inside of all who call upon Him in faith.

To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. ~Colossians 1:27

G. Campbell Morgan, an early Twentieth-Century preacher from Westminster, described "hope" like this:

It does not mean foundationless expectation, but rather confidence in something yet to be, with an accompanying endeavor to reach it.

He goes on to give us a glimpse of that hope—future and present:

Christ in you is the one unanswerable evidence of the ultimate victory. He is always singing the song of the future. He is also always energizing the effort of the present. 

If Jesus lives in me, in you, we not only have hope of future happiness, but the expectation of all that we need today. Not on our own do we succeed, but 

As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid look to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to Yahweh our God, till He shows us His mercy . ~Psalm 123:2

Listen to this by Pastor Morgan:

He [God] started the music, and all the world hears it, and yet it never becomes perfectly articulate, perfectly harmonious, until He sings it in the individual life.

If you know Him, you know this. All your friends crave something unreachable. You crave it. I crave it. We've been wanting from the moment of conception. Only when He sings in our hearts do we recognize the voice of Him for whom we long. 

Yes, we often lose sight of Him. We think it's this or that, him or her, that we want. We don't realize the agony of soul we face each time we try to fill our desire with something else. Empty!

This year we can have hope, a hope that energizes us to do the right we long to do—now. As Morgan says,

Christ is in me as hope; not merely in the sense of expectation, but in the sense of endeavor, Christ energizes the present . . . . I am renegade if I sit still and listen to His singing and do not co-operate in His efforts.

This year, all of us will be part of history-making. WE create the 2011 of which future generations will study.

Each life is given at just the right time to do & to be something special & irreplaceable . . . . You and I are lovingly shaped to be the building blocks from which history is created. ~Marion Stroud

You and I were made for today. We have no promise of tomorrow and no hope in yesterday. Today we can have hope in us, through Jesus, and can offer hope to those around us. 

You may have failed yesterday, but today you have Jesus. Today we can begin a history of hope for the next generation.

Christ IN you, the hope of glory!

PeaceMAKER

Joe Stowell, author and President of Cornerstone University, spoke recently at a chapel service. While musing over the statement by the angels to the shepherds, he paused over "peace on earth." 

We don't see peace on earth. Did the angels lie or where is the peace they promised?

Is this the peace the shepherds would have imagined? Is this the peace you would have imagined?

The answer over what peace the angels shouted for joy (the adult) Jesus explains privately to His disciples:

Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. ~John 14:27

Why should their hearts be threatened with fear when they have His peace? Because He does not give the peace for which the world looks. No treaties will be signed, because of this "peace on earth." Wars won't cease (as you have seen). Persecution and famine may touch your family. What good then is this peace?

So much of what we think of as good has to do with outward comfort, universal peace, physical health, financial wealth... If we've grown up with this, we assume it is our right. If we have been deprived, we make it our aim. But God turns our purpose on its head.

The Apostle Paul in Romans uses Abraham as an example for us. He assumes our familiarity with the patriarch's life and the promise (covenant) God gave to him that He would bless the world through his unborn offspring. As Abraham and his wife Sarah passed childbearing age, he still believed God's promise of a son...

being fully persuaded that God had power to do what He had promised. This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.” The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification. ~Romans 4:21b-25

THIS is the Source of peace. When the angels sang, they knew without doubt that this Baby would fulfill the mission for which He came to earth. They too believed their Master would keep His word.

I wonder if they knew then that the peace they proclaimed would cost His life. This is the hope of Christmas!

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.

Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us. ~Romans 5:1-5

This Baby born—God with us—lived for thirty years in obscurity, rose in momentary fame, died a criminal's death, buried in a stranger's tomb, rose to complete our peace with God. 

Because of this peace, we now can live beyond our physical comforts. In fact, we can suffer and be glad! We can have sorrow and feel joy! Why? Because peace with God is greater than our understanding of peace, greater than our hope for comfort, greater than our longing for belonging.

Now what?

 

Peacemakers! We are called to be peacemakers. 

A colleague of mine is filming a documentary on the early church in the days of the Roman Empire. Interestingly, although some emperors accused the Christians of bad conduct, the citizens of Rome knew this was false. 

It was the Christians who adopted the babies the Romans piled in heaps to let die. It is the Christians who stayed behind during a plague to nurse the sick and dying (many of them dying as a result). Sound like today? No, it doesn't really, does it?

Today, we protest homosexuality at military funerals! Today, we mimic the Muslims and burn their "sacred" book. Today, we think that pursuing social justice is compromising the Gospel. Today, our divorce statistics rival the rest of the world.

Doesn't it move you to tears to see the name of Jesus run through the mud by our actions, our compromising? I'm sure it moves Him to tears. What a blaspheme of His name!

Matthew 5:9 may be more accurately applied to some Christians (as Dr. Stowell pointed out) as—"Blessed are the troublemakers." Other Christians may live it as—"Blessed are the compromisers."

But Jesus said—

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.

If you have accepted the gift of rebirth offered because of Jesus' sacrifice for you, you know the peace of God—the peace with God. If you know it, share it. 

Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness. ~James 3:18

This doesn't mean you don't speak up for what is right. Quite the contrary! Yet, in pursuing justice, remember to be motivated by mercy (compassion with love) and to walk humbly with your God (Micah 6:8)

I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet the words repeat
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

And in despair I bowed my head:
"There is no peace on earth," I said,
"For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men."

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail,
With peace on earth, good will to men."

~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 1867

Now may the Lord of peace Himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance. The Lord be with you all! (2 Thessalonians 3:16)

Merry Christmas! His peace to you!

A Ringbearer

Frodo: I wish the ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened.

Gandolf: So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us. 

There are other forces at work in this world, Frodo, besides the will of evil.

Bilbo was meant to find the ring. In which case you also were meant to have it. And that is an encouraging thought.

Have you ever felt like Frodo? You've been dealt a hand of circumstances, and you'd rather fold than play the game.

I believe we all enter this cave of Moria at least once in our lives. Sometime it's God's own words that meet us in that dark place; sometimes they come through a friend.

We all need to be reminded. Our sovereign God has a purpose for the mission He's given you. There is a reason you are here at this time in history, in the country you are living, in the family you were born into, in the state of health or sickness with which you live.

Unlike Frodo, however, you don't depend on a wizard who can be hindered or killed nor a creature, once like yourself, who now is both your guide and threat. No. You have a High Priest that is risen and sitting at the right hand of Yahweh of Hosts interceding for you, if you belong to Him. If you are His child, you have His Spirit inside of you directing you on the path that is good to take and pleading with the Father for all your needs (needs of which you yourself may not be aware).

This doesn't mean the path is any easier than the path Tolkien imagined for Frodo. It doesn't mean you won't have friends desert you, disappoint you, try to discourage you. It doesn't mean you won't lose your life or the life of one you hold dear.

It does mean, you will never walk alone. And everything that happens to you is in the control of your Creator, who has a bigger plan than just for your life or mine, but who loves us more than we can comprehend.

The world may look dark. We may see grief and defeat all around us, and may wish to return to "the good old days" of our imagined world. That is not for us to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.

Be faithful to the mission in which God had you embark. He is the Author of the story, so it will end well.

Come Back to Life

Guesstimated between 5 and 10,000 years ago, in a perfect garden somewhere in the East, a man and woman thrived. Yet even with everything they could desire or need, they believed the doubt the serpent fed them, telling them God held back what should be theirs. They relied on their own reasoning. They distrusted God's word, ate the forbidden fruit, and died.

"God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’” (Genesis 3:3)

They didn't die till much later, you say? Oh, but they did!
 
If you put on these glasses to see beyond the surface of skin... See that corpse lying in the man and in the woman as they walk through the garden, as they are sent forever from its perfect life? That, my friend, is the spiritual life of mankind.
 
And just as a dead man and woman cannot produce a live child, so Adam and Eve could not produce children who lived spiritually. As God breathed life into the first man and woman, so He must bring life again.
 
The difference between the first life given and the need for life after the Fall is the debt. Now, instead of God walking and talking with mankind as He had, there instantly formed an unbreachable chasm. Man had chosen to defy God and to trust himself. God could not fellowship with those dead "in trespasses and sins."
 
A price had to be paid. It could only be paid by a second Adam; a perfect one and one who would obey God at any cost. Jesus the Messiah, God with us, came as a man and gave His life in obedience to His Father and in our place, receiving our punishment, so that He could breath life into those called by His name.

I know Christ is all in all. Man is nothing: he hath a free will to go to hell, but none to go to heaven, till God worketh in him to will and to do of His good pleasure. ~George Whitefield

If not for God, we would all remain dead. Isn't it only natural that the dead should remain so until they decay?

This is why God delights in election. It is the first work of free grace that takes away the final refuge of human self-reliance and casts man on the unshakable Rock of covenant love. ~John Piper

Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. (Ephesians 2:9)

What a powerful and merciful God to awaken any of us who were so contented in our sins.

Until God breaths life in us, we cannot live. When God breaths life into us, we cannot boast.

Into Thin Air

I recently read Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer. Jon, a journalist, joined one of the teams on the 1996 tragic expedition of Mt Everest where eight fellow climbers died.

To be honest, the book topic did not peak my interest. I find it hard to relate to the drive that causes men and women to risk their lives for a moment that will not make any significant difference. My mom, however, who has great taste in literature, convinced me I wouldn't be able to put it down.

The story gripped and haunted me. At least three of the eight who died on May 10, 1996 were guides. They knew what it took to survive. They knew the caution signs. They used the right equipment.

The main dangers each climber faced, besides the obvious one of falling, were

1. Ice in their oxygen tubes or running out of oxygen. They were acclimated enough that they could breath even in the thin air, but the sublimental oxygen increased their chances of not succumbing to several deadly altitude sicknesses and enabled them to have clearer reasoning.
2. Not keeping warm enough. The solutions (besides warm clothing/equipment) were to keep moving, even at times of rest, and to drink hot tea.

I don't mean this to be a book review, so, naturally, I see parallels for the Christian life.

One of my father's favourite quotes (though I don't know the source) is "Few men run well to the end."

The apostle Paul said something similar to the church in Galatia: "You were running well; who hindered you from obeying the truth?" (Galatians 5:7)

It may sound metaphorically contradictory to combine climbing and running, unless you understand that the climb to the top of Mt Everest is a race against time, limited oxygen, elements, and physical limitations.

We, as Christians, should never relax our guard against the flesh. We need the oxygen of conversation with God through His Word and prayer.

1. If sin blocks the flow of life from Him to us, we may very likely wander off a spiritual cliff or discourage others in their search for God.
2. If we do not keep busy serving Him, our abilities may freeze up, becoming limited; pride or other sins may cut off our dependence on God to use our gifts, and we may lose our privilege to serve in an area. Or if we refuse to give or receive the warmth of fellowship, we will become cold, weak, and ineffectual.

Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. (Hebrews 10:25)

And what about non-Christians? What is their part in the climb of faith? Scripture makes it clear that without the Holy Spirit of God they are, as we were, "dead in trespasses and sins" (Ephesians 2:1). They have not even made it to Base Camp.

For those of us born again by the Spirit, let's not become confident in ourselves, our talents, our intellects, or our energies. We need to remind each other from where our righteousness comes: "for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure" (Philippians 2:13).

Paul said: So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall! (1 Corinthians 10:12)

Far from discouraging us, this should cause each of us to cling more tightly to the hand of our Father, to lean closer to hear the beat of His heart.

Jesus warned us: "Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold" (Matthew 24:12).

Let's encourage one another in our walks to look to Jesus and to do good, to love and to fellowship.

Let's remember our capacity for sin and our Source of righteousness. We need to believe as Paul did: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst (1Timothy 1:15).

If we seek God, He promises we will always find Him. If we climb in our own strength, we will always fall. This world is stronger than we are, but our God is stronger than all.

In Search of Eden

I have often pondered the concept of all humanity being "exiled from Eden," after reading the phrase coined by C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. It came up again in our team devotions at work.

One of my co-workers' pastors had shared with his church the five securities for which all humanity searches since being kicked out of the garden.

1. Security of provision
2. Security of health
3. Security in our relationship to God
4. Security in our relationships with each other
5. Security with nature

Most people long for a utopia on earth. If world peace could be won and poverty destroyed, if we had better healthcare, if we followed what our "Higher Power" desired, if we tolerated everyone's differences, if every nation conserved on energy and natural resources, then happiness and security would still the restless ache inside us.

A post by Paul David Tripp stirred up these thoughts and discussion. The whole article (Thinking Biblically About Worry) is worth the read, but he gives a good picture of the biblical solution to our earthly longings for Eden.

"I am deeply persuaded that real, lasting personal rest of heart is never to be found in ease of circumstances. Even in the best of situations in this fallen world your heart will be able to find reasons for worry. Inner rest of soul and lasting peace of heart are only ever found when Jesus and His kingdom are your highest and deepest treasures. When you place your identity in His never-changing hands, when you find your meaning and purpose in the unstoppable work of His kingdom, and when you place your inner sense of well-being on the sure foundation of His promise to meet your every need, you will be able to rest even when the situations and relationships around you are broken."

As the John Newton wrote, "The earth shall soon dissolve like snow, The sun forbear to shine; But God, who called me here below, Will be forever mine."

Our only security on earth is in Jesus, the One who is coming soon to take His family to a far better Eden. Will you be there?

A Walk Through The Valley

I sit to write this evening with too much I'm learning and little feeling of resolve. It is like I am in a valley with mountains climbed behind me and mountains to climb around me. Yet, I can't apply directly what I've learned to the place through which I'm traveling. I'm on a journey through a Death Valley I've never seen before. I don't know what will bite or attack me around the next bend in the woods. The comfort of the moment is surrounded by strange noises from the bush.

Do you ever go through times like this? The pain of the Haitians is almost too much to consider. You may be able to quote chapter and verse of God's love and sovereignty and can rest, as I am doing, on the mystery that God is good all the time. Yet, you're reminded of the horror of suffering in other countries, the co-worker who is killed leaving a young family behind, the door you longed to enter slammed, and the uncertainty and bleakness of tomorrow still to be faced. It leaves you numb.

I'm thankful that times like these are not the norm. Joy does come in the morning. Yet, as Ecclesiastes reminds us, wisdom is more often gained in the house of mourning than the house of revelry.

I'm praying there is something supernaturally wonderful in store for the souls of our Haitian friends. What are your thoughts as you hear of those in Haiti?

Philippians 4:6-7 and Proverbs 3:5 have been verses I've clung to this past week. What promises comfort you through life's valleys?

Happy New Year!

Already a new year has begun. For some of us, the start of another year wipes the slate clean, gives a chance to reinvent one's dreams, start over, get it right. For others of us, we've lost a person, a dream, a focus in 2009, and the thought of another year appears bleak and empty.

For those filled with excitment, channel that energy into a focus on God. Make Him the centre of your goals. If you don't, you may lose what you'd hoped for and your world will crash around you. If Yahweh is the centre of your dreams, He will pour His dreams into your heart, and their fulfillment will be greater than anything you could have imagined.

I will praise Yahweh, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. I have set Yahweh always before me. Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. (Psalm 16:7-8)

Show me Your ways, O Yahweh, teach me Your paths; guide me in Your truth and teach me, for You are God my Saviour, and my hope is in You all day long. (Psalm 25:4-5)

For those facing the year with dread, God in His providence has brought you here. Cling to the hope that God is good all the time, even when the circumstances seem cruel and heart-wrenching.

I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of Yahweh in the land of the living. Wait for Yahweh; be strong and take heart and wait for Yahweh. (Psalm 27:13-14)

May we head into the year with our hearts and eyes set on seeking Yahweh's face. This earth is just the prologue. The best is yet to come!

Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:13b-14)