TRANSFORMATION!

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.     Romans 8:28

            If you have been in an evangelical church for any length of time whatsoever you have heard this verse.  If you grew up in an evangelical church you memorized it as a kid and have never forgotten it.  If you have ever had to go through a personal tragedy or loss you have had someone from your church or from another church quote this verse to you with the intention of comforting you.  It goes something like this, “I’m so sorry for your loss/trouble/problem; but you know that “all things work together for good!”  And if you have ever ministered to people in such difficulties you have probably used this verse to try to reassure or comfort them.  This verse often doesn’t do much in the way of comfort because most of the time we are left with the thought, “Well, I sure can’t see any good coming from this!  I just see pain and hurt!”

 

            Unfortunately, the second half of the verse is frequently dropped off.  If we remembered that part of the verse we would be more careful with the way we use the first part!  God works out all things for good “for those who love God…those who are called according to his purpose.”  So we really can’t use this verse to comfort people who don’t love God; people who are not called according to God’s purpose.

            But that still leaves us wondering about the good that God is working in our lives through the trials and suffering we encounter in times of tragedy and loss.  That’s where the next verse comes in!          

For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.”  Romans 8:29

            We don’t have to sit and wonder what God is doing in the middle of our pain!  God actually tells us what the good is that he is bringing about in our lives!  He is conforming us “to the image of his Son!”  He has a plan for those of us whom he loved and called.  He has predestined us to be made over and shaped into the likeness of Jesus Christ!  He’s making us like Jesus!  And that takes a lot of shaping and modeling!  When I think of all the ugliness in myself that God has to take off it is no wonder to me that it hurts sometimes!  But the encouragement and comfort that is available in these verses is God’s goal for me!  In the end I will look like Jesus!

            One more thing.  It’s not about me.  It’s not about us.  It’s still all about Jesus!  God is doing this work on us so that Jesus “might be the firstborn among many brothers!”  It’s like the opposite of cloning!  Clones grow from the DNA of the original.  They are genetically identical from the very beginning.  We are as far from the DNA of Jesus as possible!  So we have to be reshaped and be made to be like Jesus.  God injects the DNA of Jesus into our souls through the person of the Holy Spirit and he begins to work on us from the inside out!  He uses the pain and suffering of circumstances in our lives to carve away the sin and evil in our lives.  And he does all this so there will be many brothers who are just like Jesus!  Twins!  Triplets!  Quadruplets!  Quintuplets!  And on and on it goes as Jesus is glorified in the sanctification of the church!

SOME GOOD LEFT IN JUDAH

2 Chronicles 11, 12

“Indeed, there was some good in Judah.”  (2 Chronicles 12:12)

How quickly the nation of Israel turned away from serving Jehovah!  The nation reached its pinnacle during the reigns of David and Solomon.  Then Solomon turned away from God and began to worship the gods and goddesses of his pagan wives.  God promised Solomon that he would tear the kingdom out of his hands because he did not obey him as David had obeyed.  But because of his promise to David, Jehovah would not do this in Solomon’s days but after his son, Rehoboam, became king.  Rehoboam only reigned 17 years over Judah and Benjamin so the destruction of Israel took place in a matter of a few decades!

Jeroboam became king of Israel (the ten northern tribes) and he immediately established idol worship on the high places of Israel.  All the priests and Levites fled the north and moved to Judah giving their allegiance to Rehoboam.  All the people of Israel who wanted to follow Jehovah also fled to the south.  Judah had all the people of God, all the people who wanted to serve God.  Nevertheless, 2 Chronicles 12:1 says, “After Rehoboam’s position as king was established and he had become strong, he and all [the nation] with him abandoned the law of the LORD.”  God brought judgment upon Judah through Shishak, king of Egypt, who carried off the wealth of Jerusalem.

God’s prophet, Shemaiah, came to Rehoboam and 12:6 says that all the leaders of the nation and King Rehoboam humbled themselves.  Then verse 12 says, “Because Rehoboam humbled himself, the LORD’s anger turned from him, and he was not totally destroyed.  Indeed, there was some good in Judah.”  Finally, we read in verse 14, “He did evil because he had not set his heart on seeking the LORD.”

When I read these accounts of the spiritual fall of Israel my heart aches for those who lived in the land and remained faithful to God.  They must have grieved when they saw the sins of their king and their leaders!  They must have cried out to God to have mercy on their land and give them a godly king!  There were many who were still alive who could remember the glorious early days of Solomon’s reign.  Then in a matter of decades the nation was torn apart and many of them had fled their own lands to be in Judah only to see Rehoboam arrogantly turn away from Jehovah!  What pain must have gripped their spirits when they saw Jerusalem looted!  What sorrow they endured because their leaders had turned away from God.  Nevertheless, there was still some good in Judah!

My heart grieves for our country.  How quickly a nation can fall!  I’m old enough now to have been able to witness the spiritual decline in our country in a matter of decades.  Yet there is still some good in America!  There are still men and women who call out to God to have mercy and give us leaders who are God-fearing people!  There is still hope.  The faithful need to remain faithful and not give up!  We pray for awakening.  We pray for another stirring of the Holy Spirit in our land.  We find ourselves in this sad situation because we have leaders who have not set their hearts on seeking the Lord.  We must continue to cry out to God for mercy and we must continue to hold fast to the Word of God.  Even if our nation is in decline, the kingdom of God is more powerful than ever because God is still bringing men and women to faith.  He will build his church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it!

WHERE DO YOU TURN?

Psalm 18:1-6

I love you, O Lord, my strength.
² The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
³ I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,
and I am saved from my enemies.
⁴ The cords of death encompassed me;
the torrents of destruction assailed me;
⁵ the cords of Sheol entangled me;
the snares of death confronted me.
⁶ In my distress I called upon the Lord;
to my God I cried for help.
From his temple he heard my voice,
and my cry to him reached his ears.

Where do you turn?  Where do you turn when you feel like you are under spiritual attack and everything is weighing you down so much that you can’t keep your head up?  Where do you turn when the problems of life surround you and you are feeling beaten down?  Where do you turn when you face matters of life and death and the fear and panic start to creep in? 

I am so grateful that David wrote this psalm and others like it.  It is an encouragement to know that the great men of the Bible had to deal with the same things I have to deal with.  Notice the words he uses.  He felt encompassed by death; assailed by destruction; entangled by Sheol; and confronted by death.  Then, he says, he called upon the LORD.

Look at the way David describes the ministry of God in his life.  God is his strength, his rock, his fortress, his deliverer.  God proved to be his shield, his salvation and his stronghold.  God saved him from his enemies.  As David slipped down and down he cried out to God and God came to his rescue.  Doesn’t it sound like Peter who was walking on water one moment and then was terrified by the wind and the waves and began to sink?  He cried out to Jesus and the Lord reached down and pulled him up.

I have a dear friend who has really been going through the battles for the last several months.  She’s had to be away from her husband while taking care of her mother who was in hospice care.  I’ve had the privilege of receiving reports and prayer requests from her and I’ve heard the weariness and anxiousness in her tone.  But you know what?  Every time she writes she makes it clear that she’s looking to the Lord as her refuge, her rock, and her fortress.  Even though her mom has passed away she continues to say how God is holding her up in her time of need.

Do you ever pray the Psalms back to God in your times of devotion?  If not, this psalm is a great one to use as you learn to pray scripture.  We just read the psalm and either thank God for being our strength or tell him that we need his strength for the day.  We do the same with the rest of the psalm.  “Lord, you are my rock when everything at work is in an uproar and we don’t know how things are going to turn out.  Give me a strong place to stand in the middle of the blaming and arguing.”  “Lord, thank you for being my fortress, my safe place, my protection.  When other students at school attack me for my faith and for my standards I am not hurt because you keep me safe.”  We can use God’s own word to pray back to him.  Not only does it provide us a guide for devotion but it honors and glorifies God himself!

SPIRIT VERSUS FLESH

Romans 7:14-25

            I’m concerned that Christians are getting sloppy when it comes to their view of man’s lost condition.  I’ve been in ministry since 1974 so I’ve had 39 years of watching the American church handle the gospel message.  There has been a lot of change!  One of the biggest changes has been the way we look at sin.  It seems to me that sin has become a “weakness.”  It has become a “failing.”  It has become something that we have to be concerned about because it messes up our lives and makes us “unhappy.”  It appears to me that we have once again made it all about us.  If I were to depend on television ministries and popular Christian books for an understanding of sin and man’s lost condition I would have to come to the conclusion that Christians want to deal with human “shortcomings” and “mistakes” because their lives would be happier and easier.  There seem to be many people who offer the gospel of Jesus like some 12 Step Program that will make their lives better.  This is the problem that comes to mind when I read Romans 7.  Paul succinctly addresses the human condition and the human problem.

            Adam and Eve must have been amazing people in their pre-sin condition.  God created them as spiritual beings encased in flesh.  They had the ability to share fellowship with God who is Spirit even while they walked around the Garden in their human bodies.  They were spirit and flesh in perfect harmony.  There was no conflict between their spirits and their bodies.  But they sinned against the command of God and there was a radical change.  Their spirits continued to exist but their spirits’ ability to commune with God died.  Also, their bodies began to die.  They had sinful spirits and dying flesh.  This condition was passed on to all men throughout the ages.

            In the fullness of time the Father sent his only begotten Son, Jesus, to redeem, ransom, save, deliver his people from their spiritual and physical death.  He was the perfect sacrifice, capable of paying the penalty for sin and delivering a justified people to the Father.  All who receive Jesus, all who believe on his name and trust in his perfect sacrifice for salvation are “born again.”  They receive the Holy Spirit and their own spirits are given eternal life, life that is capable of sharing fellowship with God once again.

            So Christians are new spiritual creations who are still living in bodies that are under the curse of sin and dying.  This is the problem Paul addresses in Romans 7.  The renewed spirit and the dying flesh are in conflict.  The spirit wants to do what the Holy Spirit leads us to do while the flesh continues to pull us toward sin and death.  Paul writes, “For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members” (Romans 7:22, 23).  Then he cries the cry with which we are so familiar, “Wretched man that I am!  Who will deliver me from this body of death?” (Romans 7:24).

            Sin is sin.  It is not a mistake or a failing or a weakness.  It is death!  It cannot be dealt with gently or casually!  We have to call it what it is whether people find it offensive or not because it is a matter of life and death!  If Jesus died to destroy sin and death then it cannot be considered an inconvenience.  The gospel is not, “Jesus died to help you straighten your life out.”  The gospel is, “Jesus died to pay for your sin and to make you a new creation who brings glory to God by living a holy life.”

            It’s not about us.  It’s all about the glory of God!

THE FOOLISHNESS OF SOLOMON

2 Chronicles 7:17-22 (God speaking to Solomon)

¹⁷ And as for you, if you will walk before me as David your father walked, doing according to all that I have commanded you and keeping my statutes and my rules, ¹⁸ then I will establish your royal throne, as I covenanted with David your father, saying, ‘You shall not lack a man to rule Israel.’

¹⁹ “But if you turn aside and forsake my statutes and my commandments that I have set before you, and go and serve other gods and worship them, ²⁰ then I will pluck you up from my land that I have given you, and this house that I have consecrated for my name, I will cast out of my sight, and I will make it a proverb and a byword among all peoples. ²¹ And at this house, which was exalted, everyone passing by will be astonished and say, ‘Why has the Lord done thus to this land and to this house?’ ²² Then they will say, ‘Because they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and laid hold on other gods and worshiped them and served them. Therefore he has brought all this disaster on them.’”  (ESV)

1 Kings 11:1-13

Now King Solomon loved many foreign women, along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women, ² from the nations concerning which the Lord had said to the people of Israel, “You shall not enter into marriage with them, neither shall they with you, for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods.” Solomon clung to these in love. ³ He had 700 wives, who were princesses, and 300 concubines. And his wives turned away his heart. ⁴ For when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father. ⁵ For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. ⁶ So Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and did not wholly follow the Lord, as David his father had done. ⁷ Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Molech the abomination of the Ammonites, on the mountain east of Jerusalem. ⁸ And so he did for all his foreign wives, who made offerings and sacrificed to their gods.

⁹ And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice ¹⁰ and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods. But he did not keep what the Lord commanded. ¹¹ Therefore the Lord said to Solomon, “Since this has been your practice and you have not kept my covenant and my statutes that I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you and will give it to your servant. ¹² Yet for the sake of David your father I will not do it in your days, but I will tear it out of the hand of your son. ¹³ However, I will not tear away all the kingdom, but I will give one tribe to your son, for the sake of David my servant and for the sake of Jerusalem that I have chosen.”

I know this is a lot of reading for one post but I had to put this all on here so you could see it for yourself without having to look up the passages.  I find these passages both heartbreaking and terrifying.  They are heartbreaking because Solomon, the wisest man on earth, was not wise enough to overcome temptation.  His love (lust?) for many beautiful foreign women led him to turn away from Jehovah, his God, and follow after the detestable gods his wives worshiped.  He may have been the wisest man on earth but he was not wise enough to detect the evil he had brought into his midst.  His sin cost the people of Israel dearly.  His sin cost the kingdom which his father, David, labored to build.  Eventually the people of Israel were carted off to exile in Babylon and the fabulous temple was completely destroyed.  Heartbreaking!

I am also terrified by these passages.  If the great and wise Solomon was foolish enough to be drawn into sin then I am not safe.  If even he was unable to detect Satan’s temptations then I am not safe!  If Solomon could break covenant with God then I am not safe!  I find this terrifying.

The lesson I am reminded of is that my only hope is in God!  If I let myself slip even a little bit then I will fall away.  If I give even a little room in my life to sin then I am swinging the door wide open to my own failure and destruction.  God is faithful.  God is just.  God will keep his covenant and his promises.  God warned Solomon what he would do if Solomon turned away.  There are severe consequences for sin.  I have been warned!

 

 

HEAR FROM HEAVEN AND FORGIVE

2 Chronicles 6

            For several days I have been reflecting on Solomon’s prayer at the dedication of the temple.  There was something about it that stuck in my mind and I had to think about it for awhile before I realized what it was.  Then it hit me…

            Can you picture the situation?  How many people were there?  Thousands, I would suppose.  The temple was brand spanking new.  The massive altar stood there in the temple court.  Solomon had ordered a platform constructed from bronze.  It was over seven feet square and almost five feet high.  He climbed up onto this platform and knelt down in front of all the people of Israel.  In Hebrew fashion he spread out his hands, palms up toward heaven, and began to pray aloud.  He praised God for keeping his covenant with David, his father, and asked God to continue to be faithful to his promises.  Then he began to pray that God would always listen to his people when they prayed toward the temple which symbolized God’s presence with his people.

            In verse 21 we hit on a theme.  “Hear the supplications of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray toward this place.  Hear from heaven, your dwelling place; and when you hear forgive.”  That may not really strike us as significant until we continue reading the rest of the chapter. 

            “When your people Israel have been defeated by an enemy because they have sinned against you and when the turn back and confess your name…then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your people” (vs. 24, 25).

            “When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because your people have sinned against you, and when they pray toward this place and confess your name and turn from their sin…forgive the sin of your servants…” (vs. 26, 27).

            “When famine or plague comes to the land, or blight or mildew, locusts or grasshoppers, or when enemies besiege them…whatever disaster or disease may come, and when a prayer or pleas is made by any of your people Israel…then hear from heaven…Forgive” (vs. 28-31)

            (This next one is astonishing in its prophetic nature!)

            “When (not “if”) they sin against you…and you become angry with them and give them over to the enemy, who takes them captive to a land far away or near; and if they have a change of heart in the land where they are held captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their captivity…and if they turn back to you with all their heart and soul…and pray toward the land you gave their fathers…and toward the temple I have built for your Name; then…hear their prayer and their pleas and uphold their cause.  And forgive your people, who have sinned against you” (vs. 36-39).

            I was amazed by the way Solomon saw Jehovah as a forgiving God!  Solomon had insight into the hearts of men and knew there would be many times the people would sin against God and he interceded for them.  He prayed that God would show mercy and forgive the sins of the people so the covenant would not be broken!

            As I reflected on this truth I realized that we, the church, the people of God, need to learn this same attribute of God.  Instead of being judgmental when people sin we need to learn to forgive.  Instead of shunning people in the name of church purity we need to hear the heartbroken cries of the repentant and show mercy and forgive!  We need to bring them back into the fold and show the love and forgiveness Solomon saw in the nature of a forgiving God!

HONOR THOSE WHO FEAR THE LORD

Psalm 15:1, 4

LORD, who may dwell in your sanctuary?  Who may live on your holy hill?
He who despises a vile man but honors those who fear the LORD…

True Story #1:  In a certain small town there are over twenty churches.  Many of the pastors of these churches meet together monthly to talk about what they can do together to promote the gospel and work together across denominational lines.  But there is one church, one pastor who faithfully declines any invitation to meet with the other pastors or to cooperate with other churches in any way.  All the other churches have some wrong doctrine or wrong practice and he won’t be associated with churches that are in error.

True Story #2:  In another small town a dissatisfied group left an evangelical church and moved a little way down the road and started their own church.  Even though there were quite a few other protestant churches in that town they felt the need to start their own.  They put an ad in the local paper advertising themselves as the “only Bible preaching church” in town.

True Story #3:  In yet a third small town the local Bible Church pastor was meeting with a pastor from one of the charismatic congregations in the area.  The first pastor was asking the charismatic pastor why he never came to any of the community worship services on Good Friday, Thanksgiving, or Christmas Eve.  The charismatic brother simply said, “I choose not to worship with people who are not Spirit-filled.”  The Bible church pastor was flummoxed and asked what he meant by that statement.  He was met with a question, “Well, have you ever spoken in tongues?”  The Bible church pastor responded negatively and the charismatic pastor said, “Then you don’t have the Holy Spirit.”

(Caveat: I have far more stories showing the prejudice against charismatic Christians than vice versa but #3 was pretty fresh in my mind!)

For many years I was a theologically arrogant, self-righteous, judgmental, separatistic and divisive snob.  Then the Holy Spirit started to point out passages of scripture that convicted me to the very heart of my being.  Psalm 15:4 is one of them.  The psalmist seeks the Lord’s face and asks who will be allowed in his presence in his kingdom.  The answer comes to him, “He who honors those who fear the LORD.”  The answer is not, “He who holds to the right doctrines like you do.”  It is not, “He who stands clear of those who have different views of baptism.”  It is not, “He who separates himself from those who have a wrong view of the end times.”  God blesses those who make a point of honoring everyone who fears the Lord!  If we read this passage negatively it would say, “Those who do not honor everyone who fears the Lord will not live on God’s holy hill!”

God changed my attitude about ten years ago.  I was minding my own business and reading my Bible when I came to John 17:20, 21.  Jesus is praying on the night he was arrested and he said, “I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you.  May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.”  I realized Jesus was praying for me and for all of my brothers and sisters around me!  He wanted us to be one!  He wanted us to live in unity “so that the world may believe!”  I was cut to the heart like those who heard Peter’s sermon at Pentecost!  God wanted me to devote myself to building bridges rather than doctrinal walls.  He wanted me to be a peacemaker rather than a judge and jury.

I want to honor those who fear the Lord!  I don’t care if they have different views of baptism, the end times, speaking in tongues, or church government.  All I need to know is that they fear the Lord!  May God help me to hold them in a place of honor!

CHRIST DIED FOR SINNERS

Romans 5:6-8

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.  Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die.  But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Paul is describing the immensity of the love of God for his children.  At the beginning he points out that Jesus did not die for people who loved him or people who were like him.  He died for people who were ungodly.  He died for helpless people; people who were spiritually powerless.  There was nothing they could do to save themselves from death because they were condemned and justly condemned.  But because of God’s great love, Christ came and died in the place of wicked people.

Paul gives a kind of cryptic illustration.  He makes a statement, “Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die.”  I’ve heard pastors talk about how men would lay down their lives for their wives or for their children.  Perhaps they would even lay down their lives for their best friends.  But Paul isn’t talking about wives, children, or best friends.  He specifically speaks about a righteous or good man.  We might say, “It is possible that someone might possibly step in and die in the place of a good and innocent man.”

The apostle was writing to the Christians in Rome.  There was persecution of the church at the time.  Let’s create a hypothetical situation.  Imagine Roman soldiers showing up at the church meeting with an order from the emperor.  He’s blaming a crime on the Christians and they have come to take the guilty man to be executed.  They choose an innocent man.  Everyone knows he’s innocent.  He has a wife and children and didn’t commit the crime but they are going to take him anyway.  The emperor is going to execute some Christian no matter what.  In such a situation it might be possible that another man would step forward and volunteer to die in his place.  He would be taking the place of a good and righteous man.  It would certainly be a worthy sacrifice!  That would be a powerful demonstration of love, wouldn’t it?

But that’s not what Jesus did.  Jesus came to die for ungodly sinners!  He came to die for those who were not innocent!  He took the place of people who were justly condemned to death and hell!  So Paul is showing just how great the love of God is!  It’s beyond our imagination.

What is our response to such love?  I fear too many of us take the sacrifice of Christ for granted.  We don’t look at ourselves as ungodly enemies of God.  Some of us might even have a subconscious idea that we were worth saving!  We were powerless.  We were justly condemned.  If God chose to deal with us justly rather than in mercy and grace we would be on our way to hell!  Such love calls me to give my all to Christ.  Such love compels me to live every day for his honor and glory.  Such love demands my love and worship.  Jesus did not die for good people.  He died for people like me!

DO THE WORK!

1 Chronicles 28:20

“David also said to Solomon his son, ‘Be strong and courageous, and do the work.  Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD God, my God, is with you.  He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the temple of the LORD is finished.’”

           

            I’m still reading and thinking about King David, Solomon, and the building of the temple.  Just two posts ago I reflected on the heart attitude that was necessary for doing something to the glory of God.  Today I’m considering the charge David gave his son before he died.

            Solomon had a monumental task in before him.  David repeatedly says to the elders of Israel that his son is “young and inexperienced.”  Although we can’t be certain of Solomon’s age when he ascended the throne, he was most likely in his twenties.  David has made all the preparations for Solomon to build the temple.  The work he did was astonishing.  He counted up all the Levites and divided them into groups for various responsibilities in the temple service.  He instructed all of them on their responsibilities.  He accumulated mountains of gold and silver for the temple’s décor and furnishings, having determined the weights and measures of all the furniture.  He drew up the plans of the temple as the Holy Spirit gave them to him.  The work he did in preparation was simply monumental!  And now he counsels his young son and I think his words of counsel are invaluable to us.

            David’s counsel contains three main points.  1) Be strong and courageous not afraid or discouraged.  2) God is with you and he will not fail nor forsake you.  3) DO THE WORK!

            The first two pieces of advice go together.  Solomon could be strong and courageous because God had promised to be with him.  Although building the temple would take time and effort he would succeed because God was watching over him and giving him the strength and wisdom for the task.  No job is too great when God assigns it because God will see it through.

            But here’s what really struck me; David tells Solomon to do the work!  The temple wasn’t going to build itself.  Solomon was not to simply give assignments to all the workers David collected and then go play golf.  He was to do the work!  If he committed himself to the Lord and was faithful in the work then the task would be accomplished to the glory of God!

            The application of these truths in my life jump out at me.  I have sons and daughters whom I love and whom I counsel about decisions in their lives and about the tasks God has given them to do.  (Jobs, school, relationships, marriage, ministry, etc.)  I also have young church members who are taking on tasks and ministries they have never done before.  The advice David gave Solomon is the wisest advice that can be given.  Be strong and courageous because God is with you and he will not fail you!  But you have to do the work!  When God gives us things to do he promises to be there for us and give us guidance and wisdom but he also expects us to do the work!  We have to roll up our sleeves and commit ourselves wholeheartedly to the task he sets before us.  The advice applies to me too!  Sermons don’t write themselves.  God doesn’t promise to bless the preaching of his word if I don’t do the work.  New believers don’t disciple themselves.  We have to do the work!  Pastors and elders are charged with the responsibility of equipping the believers to do the work of the ministry.  They don’t just equip themselves.

            My responsibility is to do the work given me.  And my other responsibility is to encourage my kids and church members with the promise of God and to remind them to do the work!

BELIEVING THE LIE

 

Romans 3:20-26
            What was the first lie?  “You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman.  “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:4, 5).  Eve believed the lie, gave the fruit to Adam who also ate and plunged God’s creation under the curse.
            That same lie is alive and well in our society and culture today.  People know good and evil.  And when I ask them if they think they will go to heaven almost every one of them answers affirmatively.  “Why?” I ask them.  “Because I am a good person.  At least I am better than most.  I’ve never killed anyone.  I am faithful to my wife.  I love my kids.  I’m a good neighbor.  I do the things God would want me to do.” 
            Ah, the lie.  You will know good and evil.  If you are good then God will accept you.  If you are better than most people you will get into heaven.  You don’t need all that religion and church stuff because you are a good person.  I think most people in our society believe that lie.  They think they are living according to God’s rules well enough.
            The truth.  “No one will be declared righteous in [God’s] sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin” (Romans 3:20).  God’s law is given to show us our sin.  It is not a means of gaining God’s approval.  It is impossible for people who live under the curse to satisfy or please God through good works.  “…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…” (Romans 3:23).
            So if we are incapable of meeting the requirements of God’s law, then what is our hope?  “But now a righteousness from God, apart from the law, has been made known…This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe” (Romans 3:21, 22).  Righteousness cannot come from inside us.  We are not good by nature and there is nothing we can do to make ourselves good for the purpose of justifying ourselves in God’s sight by “being good enough!” 
            The righteousness we need to satisfy God’s holiness can only come from someone else.  It comes from God himself.  “God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood…” (Romans 3:25).  God gave his Son, Jesus Christ.  God sacrificed his Son to atone for (pay the penalty for) our sin.  A substitution took place.  The sins of all those who put their faith in Jesus were placed on him and paid for by him and the righteousness of God the Son was placed on those who have faith. 
            This is the only hope of salvation.  This is the only hope of satisfying the righteousness and justice of God.  Yet our society continues to believe the lie.  They are bound up by the lie and cannot change themselves.  What is their hope?  The word of God.  The gospel.  The good news must be proclaimed over and over again and the Holy Spirit will use the word of God to break the bondage of those held prisoner by the lie.  That is the only hope.  It is the only hope for our friends and neighbors.  It is the only hope for our nation.

HEART AND SOUL

1 Chronicles 22

            In 1 Chronicles 22 King David makes preparations for the building of the temple in Jerusalem.  God has told him that he would not be the one to build the temple because he has been a warrior and shed a great deal of blood.  But God also promised that David would have a son, Solomon, who would be the one to build the temple.  David said, “…the house to be built for the LORD should be of great magnificence and fame and splendor in the sight of all the nations” (v. 5).  David understood that the temple would be a place for all nations.  Even before it was built the nations are in the mind of God.  It was always God’s purpose that all peoples would come and worship him, not just the Jews.  And whatever was to be built for Jehovah’s name should be of great magnificence and fame and splendor because it speaks for the character and deeds of God.

            Then in verses 11-13 David advises his son.  “May the LORD be with you…May the LORD give you discretion and understanding…so that you may keep the law of the LORD your God.”  The task of building a house for Jehovah is too great for a man to do in his own strength.  He needs the Lord to be with him.  He needs wisdom and knowledge that comes from God.  He needs to walk with God, keeping his commandments, in order to do the kind of work that will bring glory to God.  David prays for Solomon that God would grant his son these things.

            In verse 18 David speaks to the leaders of Israel who would outlive him; the men who would work for Solomon as he built the temple.  David encourages them.  He assures them that God will keep his word.  He points out to them that he has been faithful to Israel.  “Is not the LORD your God with you?  And has he not granted you rest on every side?  For he has handed the inhabitants of the land over to me, and the land is subject to the LORD and to his people.”  David wants them to know for certain that they are not alone.  They are not attempting this great work in their own strength.  God is with them!

            Finally, verse 19.  What is needful to do the work?  “Now devote your heart and soul to seeking the LORD your God.”  If the work is to be done in a way that it will speak of the fame and splendor of Jehovah God, then those who do the work must be devoted heart and soul to seeking his face!

            Last week our second son, Caleb, was engaged to be married.  He is about to launch into building a new relationship and a new family.  The leaders of New Hope are working to build a congregation of faith here in Shafter.  I am working to build up the people of New Hope in their faith.  What are you building?  Are you students building a future?  Are you young and building a family?  Are you a grandfather building a legacy?  Whatever it is that we are building, if it is to last it must be built to speak of the magnificence, fame, and splendor of Jehovah our God!  Whatever we are building, it can only be built to the glory of God if we are devoted heart and soul to seeking the face of God.  This cannot be a Sunday activity.  It is a daily, hourly, minute by minute lifestyle.  Before the face of God.  Coram Deo.

WHEN FOUNDATIONS ARE SHAKEN

Psalm 11

            This psalm was apparently written in a time of crisis.  Someone has advised King David to flee to his mountain refuge and escape the danger around him.  “Flee like a bird to your mountain.  For look, the wicked bend their bows; they set their arrows against the strings to shoot from the shadows at the upright in heart” (verses 1, 2).  The situation must have been rather dire.  How bad was it?  Look at verse 4, “When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?”  In other words, “David!  There is nothing you can do!  The wicked are destroying the very foundations of our society!  They are out to get you!  Run away!”

            We hear the same kind of thing all the time, don’t we?  “Our culture is on the fast track to hell!  Things aren’t like they used to be!  Evil is on the increase all around us!  The very foundations of our country are being attacked and there is nothing we can do about it!  We should pull out and stay safe!”

            There is a lot of truth in those cries.  I’m old enough to remember when there was a general spirit of morality among people.  There was a common respect.  There was a different work ethic.  Christianity and the church were still held in high esteem.  And it is true that these things have largely disappeared.  The doomsayers seem to stand on solid ground.  In fact, I just heard on the news this morning that a reputable financial analyst is predicting a serious fiscal storm in the near future.  It does appear that things are going downhill fast and much of what we love about our country and our society seems to be in great danger of taking the slide.  I have heard many people state their version of, “When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?”

            Look at David’s answer to his advisors.  “In the LORD I take refuge (v.1).  The LORD is in his holy temple; the LORD is on his heavenly throne.  He observes the sons of men; his eyes examine them (v.4).  In other words, “Why are you looking at what is going on around you?  Look to heaven!  Take refuge in God!  What do you see in heaven?  Is God still on his throne?  Is he ignorant of what is going on here?”

            These are words of great encouragement to Christian people.  Just because things seem to be falling apart around us it does not mean that we run away and hide!  After all, our comfort and security are not found in the things of the world.  There is no refuge in this world!  We take our refuge in God himself!  He’s still in control and always will be.  Faith stands firm and continues the battle for the kingdom of heaven.  Fear flees.  Faith depends on God.  Fear is shaken by political, social, and economic circumstances.

            Why should we give up and run away?  David tells the righteous why they need to stay and live in faith, “For the LORD is righteous, he loves justice; upright men will see his face (v. 7).  This is the promise upon which we take our stand.  God’s justice will prevail!  In the end, those who stand firm in faith will see his face!  When the foundations are being destroyed there is nothing we can do in our own strength.  But God will bring justice and righteousness.  That’s why we put our faith in him!

DEFENDING THE HELPLESS

            In my devotions today I read Psalm 10.  The theme of the psalm is the wickedness and evil of those who prey on the innocent and murder the helpless.  The abomination of abortion came immediately to my mind.  The psalmist had something else in his mind as he wrote but it could surely apply to the evil of abortion.  Reflect with me…

            “In his pride the wicked does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God” (verse 4).  What do the pro-abortion people say?  They say the embryo is a blob of cells.  It is not a human life.  It is not a creation of God.  No, God had nothing to do with this pregnancy.

            “His ways are always prosperous; he is haughty and your laws are far from him” (verse 5).  The laws of God have no place in the abortion clinic.  Again, what do these medical procedures have to do with God?  Thou shalt not kill.  But this isn’t a life.  We are not killing anything!

            “His victims are crushed, they collapse; they fall under his strength” (verse 10).  The victims of the abortionist are crushed and torn and ripped apart.  What strength do they have to oppose the power of the killing tools?  How are they to resist the attack?

            “Why does the wicked man revile God?  Why does he say to himself, ‘He won’t call me to account?’” (verse 13).  The doctor denies that he is reviling God.  He is simply providing a requested medical procedure.  He claims his medical oath requires him to care for his patient.  It’s not his fault or responsibility.  He will never be called to account.

            Nothing could be farther from the truth.  God sees.  God is just.  God will call into account.  “But you, O God, do see trouble and grief; you consider it to take it in hand.  The victim commits himself to you; you are the helper of the fatherless” (verse 14).

            It would be a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the avenging God.  We should not forget that he says, “Vengeance in mine; I will repay.”  The inspired psalmist says, “Break the arm of the wicked and evil man; call him to account for his wickedness that would not be found out” (verse 15).

            Those of us who love God and seek to walk in his ways should always pray the words of verses 17 and 18.  “You hear, O LORD, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry, defending the fatherless and the oppressed, in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more.”  Let us pray that God will intervene and in his justice put an end to the slaughter of innocents.

            Here is the psalm in its entirety.  Let us read it prayerfully together.

Psalm 10
¹ Why, O Lord, do you stand far off?
Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?

² In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak,
who are caught in the schemes he devises.
³ He boasts of the cravings of his heart;
he blesses the greedy and reviles the Lord.
⁴ In his pride the wicked does not seek him;
in all his thoughts there is no room for God.
⁵ His ways are always prosperous;
he is haughty and your laws are far from him;
he sneers at all his enemies.
⁶ He says to himself, “Nothing will shake me;
I’ll always be happy and never have trouble.”
⁷ His mouth is full of curses and lies and threats;
trouble and evil are under his tongue.
⁸ He lies in wait near the villages;
from ambush he murders the innocent,
watching in secret for his victims.
⁹ He lies in wait like a lion in cover;
he lies in wait to catch the helpless;
he catches the helpless and drags them off in his net.
¹⁰ His victims are crushed, they collapse;
they fall under his strength.
¹¹ He says to himself, “God has forgotten;
he covers his face and never sees.”

¹² Arise, Lord! Lift up your hand, O God.
Do not forget the helpless.
¹³ Why does the wicked man revile God?
Why does he say to himself,
“He won’t call me to account”?
¹⁴ But you, O God, do see trouble and grief;
you consider it to take it in hand.
The victim commits himself to you;
you are the helper of the fatherless.
¹⁵ Break the arm of the wicked and evil man;
call him to account for his wickedness
that would not be found out.

¹⁶ The Lord is King for ever and ever;
the nations will perish from his land.
¹⁷ You hear, O Lord, the desire of the afflicted;
you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,
¹⁸ defending the fatherless and the oppressed,
in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more.