THIS WEEK I finished going through the last chapter of "The Purple Book" by Rice Broocks and Steve Murrell. Over the last few months this book has been a very useful little guide to understanding various aspects of Christian living based on solid Scripture references. I recommend it. It's helpful for really getting into the Word that really gets into you.
Speaking of the Word, this week I've decided to begin reading the entire Old Testament. I've read a few Old Testament books but not nearly the whole thing, and I think it will be really good if I learn about the whole Bible. After all, God's characteristics and personality are absolutely everywhere through the whole thing, and I'd love to find as much of that as I can.
I made this decision to read the entire Old Testament after I revisited the very beginning of the Word of God. Starting at Genesis 1:1 I read again about the very beginning of the world. And I noticed more wonderful things about those words than I ever had before.
I know there's controversy about how the world got going, but that's not what I'm going to write about today. I say that what the Bible says goes, and either way it's not the story of the beginning of the world that saves souls. What I'm going to write about is God's amazing ability to just SPEAK things into truth, into existence, into goodness and solidity and perfection. He just SPEAKS and it's wonderful!
Go ahead and read Genesis 1 and 2 really quickly. No - read it slowly. Read it so that you can remember what He did every day, and so that you'll notice the care He put into every single thing.
He didn't leave anything out, did He? He didn't just put it together either. He made it out of nothing! God begins by saying, "Let there be light." In just the first 5 verses we see the whole universe turning from a big, vague nothing into a bright, promising something, full of light.
Then He makes the Heavens by dividing them from the waters. God says, "Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and and let it divide the waters from the waters." It's lovely, isn't it? First you see all blackness becoming light, all of a sudden, then you see the sky dividing from the water along the horizon.
Then it's the third day, and God says, "Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear." He gathers up the water so that dry Earth can arise out of it, and He lets plants grow on the ground. Not just any plants, either. They are plants which can reproduce other plants of the same kinds! Such foresight. So you have the sky divided from water along the horizon, and then the rich, rocky dry land begins to rise up out of the vast water, and then it bursts forth with vibrant, dynamic green life of all shapes and sizes and functions.
Now it's the fourth day. Today God will make sure we always have a light shining, day and night. He says, "Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years; and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth." And then it happens! There's a sun and a moon, an eleborate and useful timepiece in the sky. They are bright and beautiful, regular and faithful, hanging in the well-lit firmament to keep us from ever living in the dark. He put such care into putting this world together, surrounding it with everything it needs to exist safely.
And the fifth day: God says, "Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens." We've never seen anything like it before. As soon as He says it, great fish and whales with glimmering fins and scales fill the vast oceans with life, and there are birds of every color and size soaring across the colorful sky. God is making something very beautiful. Then He tells the sea creatures and the birds, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth." Just as He has done for the plants, He has done for the animals. He has made them so that there will be more of them in the future. Remember that next time you see any animal. It's the descendant of the first one God ever made.
For anybody who is wondering, 'What about me? Where are the people?' Don't worry. It's the sixth day. Time for people and land creatures. God says, "Let the earth brings forth the living creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind." And there are the animals! Elephants and horses and goats and snakes and frogs and cats. Every creature you can name is now here on the earth - except for man. So He says "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps over the earth." So He made the first people (details in Genesis 2:7 and 18-25) and He told them to be fruiful and multiply, and that they were in charge over the earth and that they could eat any green herb they wanted for food. He gave them only one limitation: "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die."
I think that one reason God saved people for last is so that we could see all of this amazingness at once. He put it all together and then made people so that we could see and be amazed at what He is giving us. Imagine being Adam for a moment. You look up and God is everywhere. No sin has yet entered the world and separated you from God. There are birds racing in the sky and all the fruit you can eat growing everywhere. Every color is visible in the plants and sky and earth, and fish are jumping in the water, and all kinds of animals are happy to see you. The beauty of this place is very greatly enhanced by the joy of new arrivals and the presence of the Lord. Then God gives Adam a wife who was quite literally made for him, because as He said, "It is not good that man should be alone." And everything was truly perfect and wonderful. It was good. Very, very good.
All of this happened when God spoke. He spoke into the darkness, and light came out. He spoke into the creation, and creatures came out. He speaks into our lives, and all kinds of wonder and goodness and renewal comes out as His wisdom and righteousness transorms us. There is nobody else who can simply speak and cause things to exist. Nobody else whose words can both create life and sustain life.
Immediately after I read Genesis 1 and 2, I went over to Luke 4 and read about Jesus' temptation in the wilderness. He was very hungry, for He had not eaten in 40 days. So the devil, the same one who tempted Eve to eat that fruit and mess up the perfect world, tempted Jesus to command a rock to become bread for Him. We know He definitely could have made bread if He wanted to. He produced enough bread to feed thousands of people (plus leftovers) from just a few loaves on several occasions. But Jesus said to the devil, (verse 4) "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.'" Jesus knew He was there to be tempted. He resisted the temptation both by quoting God's word and by living on God's word. He says that people won't live on only bread. We couldn't live on only bread! Even if we had all the food we needed it would never be enough without God. He sustains our lives by feeding our souls. Jesus understood the need to set the example of valuing the soul-sustaining 'food' that is God's word as more important than the food the body needs.
The very last question in "The Purple Book" was this: "Why is God worthy of our crowns? Revelation 4:11" That verse says what the twenty-four elders are saying in heaven as they cast their crowns of glory before God's throne, "You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created." God is truly worthy of all the glory. Think for a moment about how He made everything. He spoke, and there it was. Think for a moment about How He holds our lives together. His Holy Spirit of truth speaks into our lives. He talks to us all the time and tells us what is right, what He wants us each to do. It's just astounding what God does with His words, because He has the authority to command everything to work how it does, and to set what is right or wrong. When we live by His words, His commands and His guidance, for His glory, only then do we live a life worth living.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Thursday, July 22, 2010
The Story of Corrie Ten Boom
THIS WEEK I'm doing a bonus blog post because I heard about something last week that I didn't include this past Sunday. At Youth Group on Wednesday last week Pastor Ryan told us a story about a woman named Corrie Ten Boom, whose Dutch family helped hundreds of Jews to survive the Holocaust. I'm going to tell you the story because it is an amazing example of Christians forgiving our enemies as Christ commanded, something which is often very hard to do.
During the Second World War Corrie's father decided that whatever the cost, he and his family would help Jews to escape persecution and execution by Nazis. Teamed up with a group called the Dutch Underground, also devoted to the same purpose, they set up a special, well-concealed room behind a wall in their house, specifically in Corrie's room. They had as many as thirty Jews living in their house at a time. They would run drills with an alarm where all of the hiding Jews had to quickly clean up their plates and leave no traces, disappearing behind this wall until told it was safe. The family would house and feed Jewish families until they could make provisions for them to find safety.
One day they were betrayed by a member of the Dutch Underground. Corrie was upstairs sick in bed, dreaming that she was hearing the alarm, when Nazis came and invaded her house in search of Jews. She awakened and became aware of the threat, and proceeded to help the Jews get into their secret hiding place. The Jews were just barely sealed into their room and she had just barely returned to her bed when the Nazis entered her room and began to interrogate her about their location, beating her and demanding she reveal where they had gone.
Corrie and her family would not lie about where the Jews had gone, and they would not reveal their location. They kept silent. So the Nazis sent them away to a concentration camp, where Corrie's father and two brothers both died.
The conditions in the camp were horrendous. There was very little food, people stacked themselves in great numbers into single beds to sleep, and the women's quarters were infested with lice.
Despite this, Corrie and her sister used a (miraculously smuggled) Bible to share the gospel with the women in the camp. They had Bible study groups which went uninterrupted by the Nazis, probably because they didn't want lice! So even that pain became a blessing. Very many women were led to Christ.
Before long Corrie's sister also died. By a complete mistake made in the records Corrie was released from the concentration camp. This turned out to be an astonishing miracle because she soon found out that all of the women she had been living with had been killed at about the time she was being freed. God provided for her, and Corrie lived on to share her miraculous story in many places all over Europe.
The story continued. Once the Holocaust was over, the Dutch who had persecuted the Jews, instead of helping them like Corrie's family had, were being persecuted. Now, Corrie hosted these people and witnessed to them as she had the Jews. She forgave their crimes and helped those who were being persecuted. One day, after again telling her story and preaching about forgiveness and mercy, Corrie met a man whom she remembered from the concentration camp. He was responsible for a tremendous amount of suffering and death, and here he was listening to her sermon, professing his sheer amazement that she was able to forgive the people who killed her family and even preach to them about the forgiveness of sins. He was now a believer in Christ. He extended his hand to shake hers.
But she physically could not bring herself to shake his hand. She looked at him and remembered seeing him watching people suffer and die, and she begged Jesus in that moment to enable her to forgive this man. She tried again to raise her hand but she couldn't, so she prayed again. Now she found the strength to raise her arm and shake the man's hand.
The moment she did that, amazing and sincere love began to flow through her soul. God empowered her to love this man as He loves him, enough to forgive him and greet him, enough to let his sins fly away.
Isn't that amazing? Throughout Corrie's story we see undeniable evidence that God was with her, and that He had a use for her even during her suffering. Corrie honored God in both peaceful times and unhappy times. She obeyed Jesus in a way that I hope and pray we all could learn to obey Him. She helped whoever needed help, whether innocent or guilty. She witnessed despite the threat of death. She forgave her greatest enemy in an act which was as hard as moving a mountain. It was only possible because God was strengthening her and protecting her. He did that because she was obedient to Him whatever the cost to her.
This amazing story of forgiveness and obedience makes me hope to one day have the devotion Corrie had. If God, in His perfection and holiness, is willing to forgive us, then we should be willing to forgive anyone who hurts us, no matter what the offence. I've experienced how hard it is to forgive someone after being hurt, but I've learned that with forgiveness comes joy which far outweighs the hurt brought about by a lack of mercy. That joy is felt not only by the forgiven and the forgiver, but also by God, who is very pleased when we forgive others. And as we can see from the way He answered Corrie's prayer, if we ask Him He will actually fill our hearts with enough love to love others enough to forgive them.
Matthew 6:14-15, the words of Jesus: "[14]For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. [15] But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."
During the Second World War Corrie's father decided that whatever the cost, he and his family would help Jews to escape persecution and execution by Nazis. Teamed up with a group called the Dutch Underground, also devoted to the same purpose, they set up a special, well-concealed room behind a wall in their house, specifically in Corrie's room. They had as many as thirty Jews living in their house at a time. They would run drills with an alarm where all of the hiding Jews had to quickly clean up their plates and leave no traces, disappearing behind this wall until told it was safe. The family would house and feed Jewish families until they could make provisions for them to find safety.
One day they were betrayed by a member of the Dutch Underground. Corrie was upstairs sick in bed, dreaming that she was hearing the alarm, when Nazis came and invaded her house in search of Jews. She awakened and became aware of the threat, and proceeded to help the Jews get into their secret hiding place. The Jews were just barely sealed into their room and she had just barely returned to her bed when the Nazis entered her room and began to interrogate her about their location, beating her and demanding she reveal where they had gone.
Corrie and her family would not lie about where the Jews had gone, and they would not reveal their location. They kept silent. So the Nazis sent them away to a concentration camp, where Corrie's father and two brothers both died.
The conditions in the camp were horrendous. There was very little food, people stacked themselves in great numbers into single beds to sleep, and the women's quarters were infested with lice.
Despite this, Corrie and her sister used a (miraculously smuggled) Bible to share the gospel with the women in the camp. They had Bible study groups which went uninterrupted by the Nazis, probably because they didn't want lice! So even that pain became a blessing. Very many women were led to Christ.
Before long Corrie's sister also died. By a complete mistake made in the records Corrie was released from the concentration camp. This turned out to be an astonishing miracle because she soon found out that all of the women she had been living with had been killed at about the time she was being freed. God provided for her, and Corrie lived on to share her miraculous story in many places all over Europe.
The story continued. Once the Holocaust was over, the Dutch who had persecuted the Jews, instead of helping them like Corrie's family had, were being persecuted. Now, Corrie hosted these people and witnessed to them as she had the Jews. She forgave their crimes and helped those who were being persecuted. One day, after again telling her story and preaching about forgiveness and mercy, Corrie met a man whom she remembered from the concentration camp. He was responsible for a tremendous amount of suffering and death, and here he was listening to her sermon, professing his sheer amazement that she was able to forgive the people who killed her family and even preach to them about the forgiveness of sins. He was now a believer in Christ. He extended his hand to shake hers.
But she physically could not bring herself to shake his hand. She looked at him and remembered seeing him watching people suffer and die, and she begged Jesus in that moment to enable her to forgive this man. She tried again to raise her hand but she couldn't, so she prayed again. Now she found the strength to raise her arm and shake the man's hand.
The moment she did that, amazing and sincere love began to flow through her soul. God empowered her to love this man as He loves him, enough to forgive him and greet him, enough to let his sins fly away.
Isn't that amazing? Throughout Corrie's story we see undeniable evidence that God was with her, and that He had a use for her even during her suffering. Corrie honored God in both peaceful times and unhappy times. She obeyed Jesus in a way that I hope and pray we all could learn to obey Him. She helped whoever needed help, whether innocent or guilty. She witnessed despite the threat of death. She forgave her greatest enemy in an act which was as hard as moving a mountain. It was only possible because God was strengthening her and protecting her. He did that because she was obedient to Him whatever the cost to her.
This amazing story of forgiveness and obedience makes me hope to one day have the devotion Corrie had. If God, in His perfection and holiness, is willing to forgive us, then we should be willing to forgive anyone who hurts us, no matter what the offence. I've experienced how hard it is to forgive someone after being hurt, but I've learned that with forgiveness comes joy which far outweighs the hurt brought about by a lack of mercy. That joy is felt not only by the forgiven and the forgiver, but also by God, who is very pleased when we forgive others. And as we can see from the way He answered Corrie's prayer, if we ask Him He will actually fill our hearts with enough love to love others enough to forgive them.
Matthew 6:14-15, the words of Jesus: "[14]For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. [15] But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Finding Comfort in God
THIS WEEK I went to the last two meetings of the School of Discipleship. That was interesting: we practiced debating in a small tournament, and my partner and I almost went to the finals. That was pretty cool.
What I want to show you this week pertains to something I saw during my quiet time on Thursday morning when I was at the School of Discipleship at Southpoint. I've started using a journal to record my quiet time: what I read and what my response is, what I pray for and what I want to memorize. It's very useful. If you don't keep a journal, I strongly suggest that you do, because it becomes a useful tool. Let me share with you what I read on Thursday morning:
2 Corinthians 7:10, "For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death." I read that chapter and this one verse stood out. I really did not understand it - well, I didn't understand the second half. The first part, about godly sorrow, means that it's very good to feel sadness when we realize we've been doing something that doesn't please God, because that sadness makes us repent and stop doing what we've been doing. So we learn from that kind of sorrow, and we grow in our relationship with God.
But the second kind of sorrow, the sorrow of the world, I did not understand. I knew it probably meant the sorrow we feel which does not lead to repentance, but I didn't understand why it led to death. You see, I was feeling really sad a few days this week. I won't go into why - it doesn't matter. Don't worry about me. I'm fine now because of what I read in God's word. But that's why this verse caught my attention.
It reminded me of Mary mourning at Jesus feet over the loss of her brother Lazarus (see John chapter 11), whom Jesus then resurrected. I thought, surely it's not a sin to be sad. That wouldn't make sense. It must mean something else for the sorrow of the world to lead to death. So I prayed that Jesus would help me to understand this, and help me He did.
I prayed that Jesus would help me not to dwell on what makes me sad, but to rejoice in Him, and to come to repentance when I'm sad because I've sinned. But my learning about this verse didn't end that morning.
I was sad that evening, too, so I looked in God's word for something to make me feel better. I saw Psalm 43, which consists of five little verses, the last of which blew me away.
Psalms 43:5, "Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; For I shall yet praise Him, the help of my countenance and my God." Do you see what this means? It means that when we're feeling really down, God gives us a reason to rejoice. When something or another hurts our feelings, all we must do is "hope in God," or find comfort by trusting that He is present and faithful to keep His promises. He has promised good things for those who wait on Him, those who serve Him and persist in trusting Him no matter what is going on in their lives. Continually He tells us not to worry, not to fear, for He will always be with us. Here are a few of the very many things Jesus says to comfort us:
Matthew 6:25-26, "[25] Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? [26] Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?"
John 10: 28-30, "[28] And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. [29] My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand. [30] I and My Father are one."
Matthew 10:18-20, "[18] You will be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. [19] But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; [20] For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you."
Matthew 28: 18-20, "[18] And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, 'All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. [19] Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, [20] teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.' Amen."
This week I heard several pieces of terrible news. Pastor Bryan Turner died soon after being hit by a car while he was giving out information about a Vacation Bible School. A pair of twins born early didn't make it. A very elderly couple were found dead in an elevator that got stuck between the second and third floors of their home. It's very hard to bear all the awful news that we hear in the world. But God doesn't want His people to be weighed down with sadness and pain. He stays near to comfort us right when we need it.
I know a song called "The Desert Song" by Hillsong which comes to mind when I read Psalm 43:5. Part of the song goes, "All of my life, in every season, You are still God, I have a reason to sing. I have a reason to worship." We should still praise Him, no matter whether we are inflated with joy or soaked in sorrow. He is still God, and He is still good. Another wonderful song is "Praise You in this Storm," one of my favorite songs by my favorite band, Casting Crowns. It goes, "I will praise You in this sotrm, and I will lift my hands. You are who You are, no matter where I am. And every tear I've cried, You hold in Your hand. You never left my side. And though my heart is torn, I will praise You in this storm." He is still the same praiseworthy God, still wonderful, still amazing, though we might not be able to see it through the tears in our eyes.
So what about 2 Corinthians 7:10? After reading Psalm 43:5 that night I understood a little better. It says that "the sorrow of the world produces death." This does not mean that it's a sin to have sad feelings. It means that it really does not help us, but rather it hurts us, to let sorrow (the kind that doesn't lead to repentance and salvation) flow through our lives and keep us from seeing all the good that our God brings to us. God gives us amazing joy - isn't it the greatest joy just to be loved by Him, to be cared for by Him? To know that He is the one thing we truly cannot live without, and the one thing we can be sure we'll never lose. This verse is encouragement not to live in sorrow, because God wants us to find joy and delight in Him as we follow Him and obey Him. The sorrow of the world is not a sin, but we nurture it and keep it in our hearts instead of seeking and finding peace and comfort in God, when it can fester and turn into things that are sins. Disappointment can turn into spite; hurt can turn into hate; sadness can turn into doubt, which unsettles the faith in many ways. If we trust in God and just calm down, knowing that He is the one thing that matters most and the one we can truly trust, He will strengthen us so that we can endure and come out stronger both emotionally and spiritually. He does this by giving us peace in knowing that He's got everything under control. Psalm 46:10 says, "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."
I'm glad I was blessed to see 2 Corinthians 7:10 and Psalm 43:5, because it shows me that God cares when we're feeling sad. It shows me that God Himself is the source of the best comfort. And He can even turn hard things into an opportunity to grow. I read in a book this week about a practice that shipbuilders used to use to prepare a tree for being turned into a mast for a ship. They would go to the top of a mountain and remove all the trees from around one particularly strong one. After a while when they would come back that tree would be so strengthened by having to face the harsh environment on top of the mountain, with no other trees for shelter, that it would be perfect as the important mast of a ship. Maybe that's what God is doing with you when you go through hard things in life. Just don't ever forget to praise Him, because He is endlessly faithful and good.
Please leave any comments that you would like to. Check back before next Sunday because I may have an extra post during the week to tell you all about a wonderful true story I heard on Wednesday.
What I want to show you this week pertains to something I saw during my quiet time on Thursday morning when I was at the School of Discipleship at Southpoint. I've started using a journal to record my quiet time: what I read and what my response is, what I pray for and what I want to memorize. It's very useful. If you don't keep a journal, I strongly suggest that you do, because it becomes a useful tool. Let me share with you what I read on Thursday morning:
2 Corinthians 7:10, "For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death." I read that chapter and this one verse stood out. I really did not understand it - well, I didn't understand the second half. The first part, about godly sorrow, means that it's very good to feel sadness when we realize we've been doing something that doesn't please God, because that sadness makes us repent and stop doing what we've been doing. So we learn from that kind of sorrow, and we grow in our relationship with God.
But the second kind of sorrow, the sorrow of the world, I did not understand. I knew it probably meant the sorrow we feel which does not lead to repentance, but I didn't understand why it led to death. You see, I was feeling really sad a few days this week. I won't go into why - it doesn't matter. Don't worry about me. I'm fine now because of what I read in God's word. But that's why this verse caught my attention.
It reminded me of Mary mourning at Jesus feet over the loss of her brother Lazarus (see John chapter 11), whom Jesus then resurrected. I thought, surely it's not a sin to be sad. That wouldn't make sense. It must mean something else for the sorrow of the world to lead to death. So I prayed that Jesus would help me to understand this, and help me He did.
I prayed that Jesus would help me not to dwell on what makes me sad, but to rejoice in Him, and to come to repentance when I'm sad because I've sinned. But my learning about this verse didn't end that morning.
I was sad that evening, too, so I looked in God's word for something to make me feel better. I saw Psalm 43, which consists of five little verses, the last of which blew me away.
Psalms 43:5, "Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; For I shall yet praise Him, the help of my countenance and my God." Do you see what this means? It means that when we're feeling really down, God gives us a reason to rejoice. When something or another hurts our feelings, all we must do is "hope in God," or find comfort by trusting that He is present and faithful to keep His promises. He has promised good things for those who wait on Him, those who serve Him and persist in trusting Him no matter what is going on in their lives. Continually He tells us not to worry, not to fear, for He will always be with us. Here are a few of the very many things Jesus says to comfort us:
Matthew 6:25-26, "[25] Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? [26] Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?"
John 10: 28-30, "[28] And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. [29] My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand. [30] I and My Father are one."
Matthew 10:18-20, "[18] You will be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. [19] But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; [20] For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you."
Matthew 28: 18-20, "[18] And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, 'All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. [19] Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, [20] teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.' Amen."
This week I heard several pieces of terrible news. Pastor Bryan Turner died soon after being hit by a car while he was giving out information about a Vacation Bible School. A pair of twins born early didn't make it. A very elderly couple were found dead in an elevator that got stuck between the second and third floors of their home. It's very hard to bear all the awful news that we hear in the world. But God doesn't want His people to be weighed down with sadness and pain. He stays near to comfort us right when we need it.
I know a song called "The Desert Song" by Hillsong which comes to mind when I read Psalm 43:5. Part of the song goes, "All of my life, in every season, You are still God, I have a reason to sing. I have a reason to worship." We should still praise Him, no matter whether we are inflated with joy or soaked in sorrow. He is still God, and He is still good. Another wonderful song is "Praise You in this Storm," one of my favorite songs by my favorite band, Casting Crowns. It goes, "I will praise You in this sotrm, and I will lift my hands. You are who You are, no matter where I am. And every tear I've cried, You hold in Your hand. You never left my side. And though my heart is torn, I will praise You in this storm." He is still the same praiseworthy God, still wonderful, still amazing, though we might not be able to see it through the tears in our eyes.
So what about 2 Corinthians 7:10? After reading Psalm 43:5 that night I understood a little better. It says that "the sorrow of the world produces death." This does not mean that it's a sin to have sad feelings. It means that it really does not help us, but rather it hurts us, to let sorrow (the kind that doesn't lead to repentance and salvation) flow through our lives and keep us from seeing all the good that our God brings to us. God gives us amazing joy - isn't it the greatest joy just to be loved by Him, to be cared for by Him? To know that He is the one thing we truly cannot live without, and the one thing we can be sure we'll never lose. This verse is encouragement not to live in sorrow, because God wants us to find joy and delight in Him as we follow Him and obey Him. The sorrow of the world is not a sin, but we nurture it and keep it in our hearts instead of seeking and finding peace and comfort in God, when it can fester and turn into things that are sins. Disappointment can turn into spite; hurt can turn into hate; sadness can turn into doubt, which unsettles the faith in many ways. If we trust in God and just calm down, knowing that He is the one thing that matters most and the one we can truly trust, He will strengthen us so that we can endure and come out stronger both emotionally and spiritually. He does this by giving us peace in knowing that He's got everything under control. Psalm 46:10 says, "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."
I'm glad I was blessed to see 2 Corinthians 7:10 and Psalm 43:5, because it shows me that God cares when we're feeling sad. It shows me that God Himself is the source of the best comfort. And He can even turn hard things into an opportunity to grow. I read in a book this week about a practice that shipbuilders used to use to prepare a tree for being turned into a mast for a ship. They would go to the top of a mountain and remove all the trees from around one particularly strong one. After a while when they would come back that tree would be so strengthened by having to face the harsh environment on top of the mountain, with no other trees for shelter, that it would be perfect as the important mast of a ship. Maybe that's what God is doing with you when you go through hard things in life. Just don't ever forget to praise Him, because He is endlessly faithful and good.
Please leave any comments that you would like to. Check back before next Sunday because I may have an extra post during the week to tell you all about a wonderful true story I heard on Wednesday.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Hiding His Word in our Hearts
THIS WEEK I was blessed with the opportunity to go to a neat thing called the School of Discipleship at church. It's a meeting where high schoolers and middle schoolers learn useful skills for defending and sharing our faith. My favorite lesson so far has been on sharing testimony, because I learned a useful method that I think I will be employing. To explain it briefly, Pastor Ryan gave us a short outline of an effective testimony (we all got a chance to share a 5-minute 'sermon' also).
First is "me," when you introduce yourself. Next is "we" where you point out a problem we all have. Then "God," where you give examples from Scripture about how to solve the problem. Then "you," the audience, where you give a practical way to apply the Scripture to life. And finally "we" again, where you encourage the listener that the solution is possible because God is going to do this or that to help us.
This is something I want to try to use because it seems effective. I'll try it out right now as I tell you what I'm learning this week.
This world is really a hard place to live in. We have mixed messages of every kind conflicting with the messages God is sending us, and this often makes it hard to make the right decisions. It really doesn't take much, either, for the evil one to take the little mistakes we are bound to make and turn them into our ruin. A hateful or dirty thought, an evil word, a bad habit nurtured and allowed to grow, eventually chokes the fruits of the Spirit that are trying to grow in our hearts. That's really dangerous, but it's so hard to avoid! It's hard to keep from seeking our satisfaction in the little things like money and relationships and possessions instead of in God. It's hard not to lose ourselves and give in to just a little bit of sin, especially when the world is saying it's okay. What truly matters is what God says is okay, and you'll remember Jesus warned us that the world around us won't always agree with God. 1 Corinthians 5:6-7 reads "[6] Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? [7] Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us." The directions are clear. We must not keep little sins around because they turn into big sins.
But how do we do that? Pastor Russ was explaining today that the laws written in the Old Testament were set for two reasons: one is to show us what we shouldn't do, in order to avoid things that threaten our relationship with God (for He is unlike any of the objects of worship for other religions, because He truly wants to be near to us. He actually loves us, enough to be merciful if we trust in Him). The other reason is to show us that we cannot possibly hope to keep all of the laws by ourselves. It's to show us that by nature we are "lawbreakers." We can't make ourselves good enough, and we certainly aren't sufficient for our own salvation if we can't even keep all of the rules. So the law is meant to show us that we need Jesus to be our Savior.
We can't make ourselves good enough by any means, and we can't defend ourselves from the mess the world is pushing on us all the time. Fortunately we've been blessed with God's Word to help us to figure things out. He promised not to leave us all alone, and He hasn't. He's here to help.
One way God helps us is through the Bible, which is absolutely filled from start to finish with wisdom, information, historical records, evidences, miracles, fulfilled prophecies, encouragement, correction, and truth. It's all good. Psalm 119:9-16 is very good to memorize: "[9] How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word. [10] With my whole heart I have sought You; oh let me not wander from Your commandment! [11] Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You. [12] Blessed are You, O LORD! Teach me Your statutes. [13] With my lips I have declared all the judgements of Your mouth. [14] I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, as much as in all riches. [15] I will meditate on Your precepts, and contemplate Your ways. [16] I will delight myself in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word."
The writer asks for God to help him to learn what He commands, so that he can better keep those commands. He asks for His help in not wandering from His commandments. It is a very good idea to start memorizing Scripture. That's something I'm going to start doing more. It's one thing to read what God says. It's another to hide it in our hearts - why? - so that we don't sin against Him. That means that when we are in confusing and trying, or just plain tempting, situations in the real world we can remember what God says about this or that, and we are not caused to stumble.
Likewise Joshua 1:8 says "This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success." Mind that 'meditate' does not mean to sit on a pillow in the corner in a trance-like state and chant for hours at a time. No, it means to think about the word, to contemplate what it means, to keep its meaning with you absolutely all the time, not just at church and not just at home. What happens then? We have success and prosperity for having kept the rules that God gave us. Our salvation does not come from learning the laws and keeping them. Our salvation comes directly from the grace of God, through faith in Jesus Christ. We should look into the word so that our steps will be directed, so that we don't slip and fall. And even if we do stumble, we have a faithful and merciful God who doesn't just abandon people who fail. 1 John 1:9 says "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
What happens if we do stumble? Wait, look at the very next verse. Joshua 1:9, "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go." It's true that we are much too weak to be good enough on our own. But God is strong enough to make anything work. Many times in Scripture, as well as right now in our lives, He makes the weak strong and the little great. He brought Jesus as a carpenter, not a king, and He is glorified above all names. He fed thousands of people with a few loaves of bread and a few little fish which would not have been enough in anyone else's hands - and they had leftovers! He says that the kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest seed but turns into a tree so big that birds can come and nest in it, and it is greater than all the herbs. He is not limited by our inability to provide for ourselves. But rather He regularly turns it into a reason to glorify Him, because our weakness displays His strength. 2 Corinthians 12:9 says "And He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore most gladly I will rather boast of my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me." The laws aren't the source of salvation. The laws tell us how to live. Faith in Jesus gives us eternal life. Our goal is not to memorize the rules and ask Jesus for help just to keep them. Our goal is to seek God, not by being pretty good people, but by getting to know Him more and letting Him fill our lives. We can come to Him because He came to us.
In addition to giving us the Word as correction and a source of wisdom, He has sent Jesus, God-in-Man, to be our Savior and take the sins away. He has sent the presence of God, His Spirit of truth, to be our 'Helper.' In John 14:25-26 Jesus says, "[25] These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. [26] But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you." In this way God stays near to us so that the lives we live will reflect our love for Him (for our obedience to Him derives from our love for Him) and so in the way we live we will bring Him glory.
This week I am going to be memorizing Scripture, really hiding that word in my heart. And I'm going to be praying that we can all learn to seek our satisfaction, our strength, and our delight in Jesus rather than anywhere else, in the one who holds us rather than in the things we hold.
First is "me," when you introduce yourself. Next is "we" where you point out a problem we all have. Then "God," where you give examples from Scripture about how to solve the problem. Then "you," the audience, where you give a practical way to apply the Scripture to life. And finally "we" again, where you encourage the listener that the solution is possible because God is going to do this or that to help us.
This is something I want to try to use because it seems effective. I'll try it out right now as I tell you what I'm learning this week.
This world is really a hard place to live in. We have mixed messages of every kind conflicting with the messages God is sending us, and this often makes it hard to make the right decisions. It really doesn't take much, either, for the evil one to take the little mistakes we are bound to make and turn them into our ruin. A hateful or dirty thought, an evil word, a bad habit nurtured and allowed to grow, eventually chokes the fruits of the Spirit that are trying to grow in our hearts. That's really dangerous, but it's so hard to avoid! It's hard to keep from seeking our satisfaction in the little things like money and relationships and possessions instead of in God. It's hard not to lose ourselves and give in to just a little bit of sin, especially when the world is saying it's okay. What truly matters is what God says is okay, and you'll remember Jesus warned us that the world around us won't always agree with God. 1 Corinthians 5:6-7 reads "[6] Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? [7] Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us." The directions are clear. We must not keep little sins around because they turn into big sins.
But how do we do that? Pastor Russ was explaining today that the laws written in the Old Testament were set for two reasons: one is to show us what we shouldn't do, in order to avoid things that threaten our relationship with God (for He is unlike any of the objects of worship for other religions, because He truly wants to be near to us. He actually loves us, enough to be merciful if we trust in Him). The other reason is to show us that we cannot possibly hope to keep all of the laws by ourselves. It's to show us that by nature we are "lawbreakers." We can't make ourselves good enough, and we certainly aren't sufficient for our own salvation if we can't even keep all of the rules. So the law is meant to show us that we need Jesus to be our Savior.
We can't make ourselves good enough by any means, and we can't defend ourselves from the mess the world is pushing on us all the time. Fortunately we've been blessed with God's Word to help us to figure things out. He promised not to leave us all alone, and He hasn't. He's here to help.
One way God helps us is through the Bible, which is absolutely filled from start to finish with wisdom, information, historical records, evidences, miracles, fulfilled prophecies, encouragement, correction, and truth. It's all good. Psalm 119:9-16 is very good to memorize: "[9] How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word. [10] With my whole heart I have sought You; oh let me not wander from Your commandment! [11] Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You. [12] Blessed are You, O LORD! Teach me Your statutes. [13] With my lips I have declared all the judgements of Your mouth. [14] I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, as much as in all riches. [15] I will meditate on Your precepts, and contemplate Your ways. [16] I will delight myself in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word."
The writer asks for God to help him to learn what He commands, so that he can better keep those commands. He asks for His help in not wandering from His commandments. It is a very good idea to start memorizing Scripture. That's something I'm going to start doing more. It's one thing to read what God says. It's another to hide it in our hearts - why? - so that we don't sin against Him. That means that when we are in confusing and trying, or just plain tempting, situations in the real world we can remember what God says about this or that, and we are not caused to stumble.
Likewise Joshua 1:8 says "This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success." Mind that 'meditate' does not mean to sit on a pillow in the corner in a trance-like state and chant for hours at a time. No, it means to think about the word, to contemplate what it means, to keep its meaning with you absolutely all the time, not just at church and not just at home. What happens then? We have success and prosperity for having kept the rules that God gave us. Our salvation does not come from learning the laws and keeping them. Our salvation comes directly from the grace of God, through faith in Jesus Christ. We should look into the word so that our steps will be directed, so that we don't slip and fall. And even if we do stumble, we have a faithful and merciful God who doesn't just abandon people who fail. 1 John 1:9 says "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
What happens if we do stumble? Wait, look at the very next verse. Joshua 1:9, "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go." It's true that we are much too weak to be good enough on our own. But God is strong enough to make anything work. Many times in Scripture, as well as right now in our lives, He makes the weak strong and the little great. He brought Jesus as a carpenter, not a king, and He is glorified above all names. He fed thousands of people with a few loaves of bread and a few little fish which would not have been enough in anyone else's hands - and they had leftovers! He says that the kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest seed but turns into a tree so big that birds can come and nest in it, and it is greater than all the herbs. He is not limited by our inability to provide for ourselves. But rather He regularly turns it into a reason to glorify Him, because our weakness displays His strength. 2 Corinthians 12:9 says "And He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore most gladly I will rather boast of my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me." The laws aren't the source of salvation. The laws tell us how to live. Faith in Jesus gives us eternal life. Our goal is not to memorize the rules and ask Jesus for help just to keep them. Our goal is to seek God, not by being pretty good people, but by getting to know Him more and letting Him fill our lives. We can come to Him because He came to us.
In addition to giving us the Word as correction and a source of wisdom, He has sent Jesus, God-in-Man, to be our Savior and take the sins away. He has sent the presence of God, His Spirit of truth, to be our 'Helper.' In John 14:25-26 Jesus says, "[25] These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. [26] But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you." In this way God stays near to us so that the lives we live will reflect our love for Him (for our obedience to Him derives from our love for Him) and so in the way we live we will bring Him glory.
This week I am going to be memorizing Scripture, really hiding that word in my heart. And I'm going to be praying that we can all learn to seek our satisfaction, our strength, and our delight in Jesus rather than anywhere else, in the one who holds us rather than in the things we hold.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Abundant and Surprising Mercy
THIS WEEK was pretty cool. God never really stops speaking, and He is very poetic. This week He's brought to my attention one theme which is very, very familiar but which we all need a reminder about every now and then: mercy.
Last week when Pastor Russ started talking about the first commandment he explained that God likes to show us His amazing, overwhelming power, and then He shows us His goodness. Exodus 19:18 describes how violent and fiery Mount Sinai looked when God had descended upon it and was about to talk to Moses. But He talked to him by voice. He gave the people laws to use so they could please Him and not hurt themselves, and so they could have a relationship with Him. He shows that He is powerful and then that He is good. Like a thunderstorm: He cracks the sky with lightning and the loud boom of thunder, and at the same time He sends rain to feed the earth. He is able to do whatever He wants, and He does. And what's astounding is that He actually wants to be merciful to us, so that we can see that He is good and that He loves us, and so that we will glorify Him instead of some god who cannot save us nor bless us like He can. He wants a relationship with us based on love, honor, and obedience. He wants us to love Him back. And what He did so that we could have a relationship with Him is He showed us His goodness by wiping away our sins at a heavy cost: the death of His Son. God became our way to God.
On Tuesday I looked at the Bible reference in my devotional book: it was Psalm 107. Jesus saved my life. God saved me with His mercy. It's strange to me, but I'm still surprised by His mercy. I looked in Psalm 107 and I was surprised at how merciful He is even to those who have completely forsaken Him. Read that Psalm real quick.
Verses 10-13: "[10] Those who sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, bound in affliction and irons - [11] Because they rebelled against the words of God, and despised the counsel of the Most High, [12] Therefore He brought down their heart with labor; They fell down, and there was none to help. [13] Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and He saved them out of their distresses." The people in question are criminals against God. They didn't keep His commandments and they didn't listen when He warned them, so they were in trouble and suffering. That sounds like most of the world. He gave them punishments (which could have been avoided if they'd just listened) to show them that they couldn't survive the way they were acting, and look what happened: they fell down and couldn't get up. Now we have a picture of these people on their faces in the dirt. They fell down. They couldn't save themselves. So they called on God. God could have chosen to say "No! You should have obeyed before." He could have said to pull themselves up, or to forget about it because they'd lost their only chance. No, this is a God of unexpected and surprisingly abundant mercy. Mercy which He pours out like He does rain. He saved them out of the trouble they brought upon themselves because they called out and admitted they needed His help. That's what He does when we admit that He, Jesus, is the only way to God. The only way to be saved from what we've done to ourselves. He gave us Jesus: He extends this offer like a helping hand, or an engagement ring, and as soon as we'll take it and agree to let Him change us He will make it possible to survive, He gives us new life and He never goes away.
On Thursday I was at a cool event at church called the School of Discipleship, for middle and high schoolers. One of the first things we did was have a quiet time. I went and picked out a chair in the rotunda and asked God to show me something, to talk to me. He showed me Psalm 32. Go ahead and read that one real quick. I love it. Verses 3-5 express something which is very close to the human heart. Sin makes our bones grow old (v. 3) and it wears us out to have it hanging there. It's a heavy chain around the neck which comes with a hard condition. Once you've put it on, it's impossible to take it off yourself. You can make yourself stop feeling bad about it. You can laugh about it, or pretend it's not there and hide it in your clothes. But it wears you down despite what you say and drags you to the ground until it kills you, and God sent Jesus to save us from that.
God punishes sin. He hates it. It keeps His children separated from Him and it demonstrates a disobedient and rebellious heart for us to pursue it. So He punishes those who wear it. But look at verse 5: if we acknowledge our guilt to Him and don't pretend we're perfect, if we confess what we've done and repent, that is, turn completely away from the sinful things we do, He promises that He will forgive us. He will take the chain off. He will do for us what we could never do for ourselves. He will save us from ourselves. Verses 8-9 promise that God will guide the steps of those who are obedient and trust in Him. They won't get lost and He won't leave them alone. He is very faithful and very good.
Think about that mercy for a minute. God is more powerful than can be expressed. He is great and unlimitable and always victorious in everything He does. Nobody begins to compare with Him in might. He could do whatever He wants to us for disobeying, and He would be completely just in doing so. But He chooses to be merciful to those who call on His name.
Why in the world would He do that? He is a Father. When a kid behaves really badly, Dad will teach him a lesson he won't soon forget. He will lock him in his room, make him do things he doesn't like to do, take things away, and sometimes he'll give him a spanking or whack him with a belt. But when the kid comes and says he's sorry for being disrespectful and shows that he knows what he did was wrong, Dad will take him back. Of course he will! He loves him. He loves him enough to die for him. Any good dad would die for his child. Isaiah 49:14-18 gives a good description of God's faithfulness. A woman will forget her nursing child sooner than He will forget His people. God saw that we were leading ourselves to death and that it was necessary to give His Son, God-in-Man, so that we could go free. He saw that it was necessary for Him to die for us to save our lives and to show us that He loves us. And He promised to take us back if we'll just come back. Just come back home.
I love Psalm 32. It tells us a reason to be joyful: God is merciful to those who trust in Him and are righteous. He will punish those who won't accept His gift and let their sins be washed off. He will give punishment where it is due, but He loves when people come back to Him (check out Luke 15:11-32) and be His again. The sins have to be wiped away first, and we have to accept that we need Him to wipe them away.
Psalm 69:30-33 is a good example of God's goodness and a good explanation of the kind of heart He likes to see. "[30] I will praise the name of God with a song, and I will magnify Him with thanksgiving. [31] This also shall please the LORD better than an ox or bull, which has horns and hooves. [32] The humble shall see this and be glad; and you who seek God, your hearts shall live. [33] For the LORD hears the poor, and does not despise His prisoners." Beautiful. What He wants is humility. He does not want sacrifices on altars, ceremonies, or gifts as much as He wants a humble heart. That's the best gift we can give Him because a humble heart is one He wants to do something with. He will forgive those who humble themselves, who come to Him and confess their faults and shortcomings, and He will turn those people into people who are useful in spreading His truth and giving Him glory. In Matthew 23: 11-12 Jesus declared "[11] But He who is greatest among you shall be your servant. [12] And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
I know this story is told alot. It's the foundation of Christianity. God is merciful. But we hear it so much that I'm afraid we sometimes might forget what it means. This week I think God is reminding me that His mercy may be abundant, but it is also special. It may be free for me but it wasn't free to Him. He's reminding me that He is the God of my salvation, the only one I can hope in and trust in, and He alone can keep my soul alive. He's warning me not to forget His mercy, nor take it for granted. I hope and I pray that we never forget who Jesus is. I hope that instead we each feel His presence changing our hearts continually and that we remember to thank Him each day for being our Redeemer.
Isaiah 55:6-7 says "Seek the LORD while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous his thoughts; let him return to the LORD and He will have mercy on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon." God can forgive anyone. And once He does, life is never the same again.
Last week when Pastor Russ started talking about the first commandment he explained that God likes to show us His amazing, overwhelming power, and then He shows us His goodness. Exodus 19:18 describes how violent and fiery Mount Sinai looked when God had descended upon it and was about to talk to Moses. But He talked to him by voice. He gave the people laws to use so they could please Him and not hurt themselves, and so they could have a relationship with Him. He shows that He is powerful and then that He is good. Like a thunderstorm: He cracks the sky with lightning and the loud boom of thunder, and at the same time He sends rain to feed the earth. He is able to do whatever He wants, and He does. And what's astounding is that He actually wants to be merciful to us, so that we can see that He is good and that He loves us, and so that we will glorify Him instead of some god who cannot save us nor bless us like He can. He wants a relationship with us based on love, honor, and obedience. He wants us to love Him back. And what He did so that we could have a relationship with Him is He showed us His goodness by wiping away our sins at a heavy cost: the death of His Son. God became our way to God.
On Tuesday I looked at the Bible reference in my devotional book: it was Psalm 107. Jesus saved my life. God saved me with His mercy. It's strange to me, but I'm still surprised by His mercy. I looked in Psalm 107 and I was surprised at how merciful He is even to those who have completely forsaken Him. Read that Psalm real quick.
Verses 10-13: "[10] Those who sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, bound in affliction and irons - [11] Because they rebelled against the words of God, and despised the counsel of the Most High, [12] Therefore He brought down their heart with labor; They fell down, and there was none to help. [13] Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and He saved them out of their distresses." The people in question are criminals against God. They didn't keep His commandments and they didn't listen when He warned them, so they were in trouble and suffering. That sounds like most of the world. He gave them punishments (which could have been avoided if they'd just listened) to show them that they couldn't survive the way they were acting, and look what happened: they fell down and couldn't get up. Now we have a picture of these people on their faces in the dirt. They fell down. They couldn't save themselves. So they called on God. God could have chosen to say "No! You should have obeyed before." He could have said to pull themselves up, or to forget about it because they'd lost their only chance. No, this is a God of unexpected and surprisingly abundant mercy. Mercy which He pours out like He does rain. He saved them out of the trouble they brought upon themselves because they called out and admitted they needed His help. That's what He does when we admit that He, Jesus, is the only way to God. The only way to be saved from what we've done to ourselves. He gave us Jesus: He extends this offer like a helping hand, or an engagement ring, and as soon as we'll take it and agree to let Him change us He will make it possible to survive, He gives us new life and He never goes away.
On Thursday I was at a cool event at church called the School of Discipleship, for middle and high schoolers. One of the first things we did was have a quiet time. I went and picked out a chair in the rotunda and asked God to show me something, to talk to me. He showed me Psalm 32. Go ahead and read that one real quick. I love it. Verses 3-5 express something which is very close to the human heart. Sin makes our bones grow old (v. 3) and it wears us out to have it hanging there. It's a heavy chain around the neck which comes with a hard condition. Once you've put it on, it's impossible to take it off yourself. You can make yourself stop feeling bad about it. You can laugh about it, or pretend it's not there and hide it in your clothes. But it wears you down despite what you say and drags you to the ground until it kills you, and God sent Jesus to save us from that.
God punishes sin. He hates it. It keeps His children separated from Him and it demonstrates a disobedient and rebellious heart for us to pursue it. So He punishes those who wear it. But look at verse 5: if we acknowledge our guilt to Him and don't pretend we're perfect, if we confess what we've done and repent, that is, turn completely away from the sinful things we do, He promises that He will forgive us. He will take the chain off. He will do for us what we could never do for ourselves. He will save us from ourselves. Verses 8-9 promise that God will guide the steps of those who are obedient and trust in Him. They won't get lost and He won't leave them alone. He is very faithful and very good.
Think about that mercy for a minute. God is more powerful than can be expressed. He is great and unlimitable and always victorious in everything He does. Nobody begins to compare with Him in might. He could do whatever He wants to us for disobeying, and He would be completely just in doing so. But He chooses to be merciful to those who call on His name.
Why in the world would He do that? He is a Father. When a kid behaves really badly, Dad will teach him a lesson he won't soon forget. He will lock him in his room, make him do things he doesn't like to do, take things away, and sometimes he'll give him a spanking or whack him with a belt. But when the kid comes and says he's sorry for being disrespectful and shows that he knows what he did was wrong, Dad will take him back. Of course he will! He loves him. He loves him enough to die for him. Any good dad would die for his child. Isaiah 49:14-18 gives a good description of God's faithfulness. A woman will forget her nursing child sooner than He will forget His people. God saw that we were leading ourselves to death and that it was necessary to give His Son, God-in-Man, so that we could go free. He saw that it was necessary for Him to die for us to save our lives and to show us that He loves us. And He promised to take us back if we'll just come back. Just come back home.
I love Psalm 32. It tells us a reason to be joyful: God is merciful to those who trust in Him and are righteous. He will punish those who won't accept His gift and let their sins be washed off. He will give punishment where it is due, but He loves when people come back to Him (check out Luke 15:11-32) and be His again. The sins have to be wiped away first, and we have to accept that we need Him to wipe them away.
Psalm 69:30-33 is a good example of God's goodness and a good explanation of the kind of heart He likes to see. "[30] I will praise the name of God with a song, and I will magnify Him with thanksgiving. [31] This also shall please the LORD better than an ox or bull, which has horns and hooves. [32] The humble shall see this and be glad; and you who seek God, your hearts shall live. [33] For the LORD hears the poor, and does not despise His prisoners." Beautiful. What He wants is humility. He does not want sacrifices on altars, ceremonies, or gifts as much as He wants a humble heart. That's the best gift we can give Him because a humble heart is one He wants to do something with. He will forgive those who humble themselves, who come to Him and confess their faults and shortcomings, and He will turn those people into people who are useful in spreading His truth and giving Him glory. In Matthew 23: 11-12 Jesus declared "[11] But He who is greatest among you shall be your servant. [12] And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
I know this story is told alot. It's the foundation of Christianity. God is merciful. But we hear it so much that I'm afraid we sometimes might forget what it means. This week I think God is reminding me that His mercy may be abundant, but it is also special. It may be free for me but it wasn't free to Him. He's reminding me that He is the God of my salvation, the only one I can hope in and trust in, and He alone can keep my soul alive. He's warning me not to forget His mercy, nor take it for granted. I hope and I pray that we never forget who Jesus is. I hope that instead we each feel His presence changing our hearts continually and that we remember to thank Him each day for being our Redeemer.
Isaiah 55:6-7 says "Seek the LORD while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous his thoughts; let him return to the LORD and He will have mercy on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon." God can forgive anyone. And once He does, life is never the same again.
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