From a very dark place - ever been there?

Ecc. 7:10  Say not, “Why were the former days better than these?” (ESVST)

Ecc. 7:14 In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider:God has made the one as well as the other, so that man may not find out anything that will be after him. (ESVST)

It's a tired old phrase, "I have come to the end of myself."  I know it's tired, I say it at least twice a day.  And yet I keep discovering that my self - that is my flesh and my pride - is without end.  It may hide while assaulted, it may lurk in the shadows of my soul - but it is never at an end.

Only in the presence of God, on that glorious day when we are made like Him will the self- the flesh finally and eternally be changed.  It will be wholly His and wholly for and to Him.  But here it is my arch enemy - my constant antagonist - my constant thorn and affliction.

When I read Paul:

Rom. 7:24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? (ESVST)

I want to volunteer.  But Paul goes on:

Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin (ESVST)  Rom 7:25

In times of trial and affliction this is a passage of strange and alien meaning.  I want too respond, "So????"  My mind know god and my mind (all of me) loves God and knows He is worthy of love.  But my flesh seeks from HI what does not come and seeks relief He does not yet provide.

My peace becomes numbness my hope becomes flat and my comfort has no taste of substance.  This is my flesh.  There is no peace for the flesh, there is no hope nor comfort and so I find my flesh ruling my heart, distessing my mind and disturbing my soul.

The Word tells us:

Better is the end of a thing than its beginning,

and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit (ESVST) Ecc. 7:8

But what end?  Certainly this must mean death is better than birth.  The end of a trial better than the beginning.  But what of the in between?  

If all is vanity than what matters?  A chasing after wind is what living is.  Does this not apply to all our labor, all our effort, all our goals and gains.  Do we not better seek the end than the middle?

But we do not know the end and we are to hope in the middle for the end.  but we do not know, with any assurance, any other end but death and resurrection.  So many of us struggle in the middle fighting making the end ourselves.  Don't we?  Really?

What do we do when the desire to be with Christ where He is seems more powerful to be in Christ where we are?  It is, more or less depending on the person, a strong pulling, a great temptation.  

Job felt that the day of his birth was the worst day of His life.  Though we can see in Job that much of His middle part was good and lovely and a blessing.  Yet in his trial, not having been born was preferable to the in between place.

It is perhaps normal, in trials, to yearn with all we are, to be with Him.  Some even contemplate making that transition by their own hand.  I have had those in my life who have done so and I mourn their passing yet have compassion for their plight that led then to that conclusion and concluding.  I understand.

I understand and am ashamed when I have those thoughts.  Having known them intimately and being very familiar with their circumstances I think I understand their choice and comparing their plight to mine I am ashamed if ever that thought comes to mind as an option.

Yes, this is a strange blog but I am in a strange place.  It is not an unfamiliar place - it has always been strange when I have been here.  But the convicting questions is, "do I really want to be with Him or do I just feel so sorry for myself that I really want to be our of my affliction and use that temptation as an attempt to manipulate God?

I suspect the latter and so I am ashamed and convicted by my own sad sinfulness.

Oh well - the sun is up - I am alive - He must have something for me to do and I must be out and about life if I am to do it.

In short, as I have told many who have wandered where I now wander, "When God wants you dead, you'll be dead."  Hard words but until He makes me dead He has things form me to do and things for me to learn.  So I give my life to Him and only ask that I die to myself.

Good luck? Not hardly.

Prov. 16:33, The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord.

Just a thought for today.

How often do we wish folks, "good luck?"  Do we really know what we're wishing them?

What we're doing is suggesting that somehow it is a good thing to trust in fate or fortune instead of the sovereign God.  We're encouraging them to idolatry.  We're proposing that they put their faith in a false god offering no hope what so ever.

"Good luck," "Good fortune," even "May the force be with you," may seem innocent but they are not.  They are sinful proposals, invitations to hopelessness.

We would be better encouragers if we blessed them with "I pray God's providence for you concerning X."  But that's a little dangerous too.  it leaves it totally in God's hands to say "Yes," or "No."  AND whatever the answer it is His providence.

More than that, it is His blessing - yeah, "NO!" can be a blessing if it's a "No," from Him.

Even when we say, "may God bless you,"  we have to keep in mind that a "No," from Him is just as much a blessing as a "Yes."

James make it plain:

James 4:15-16 NASB
Instead, you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that." [16] But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil.

I could go on and on and on but I think you can get my point.  If what comes from our mouth comes from our hearts then wishing someone good luck tells us something about our hearts - they may be good intentioned but they err and the "why" of that error needs to be examined and rooted out.

Prov. 16:33, The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord.

No quiet desperation.

First let me recommend a book.  Thomas Boston's,  A Crook in the Lot, is a short and powerful work for every believer but especially those who are facing trials - and know it.  I added, "and know it," because a life of trial is what the believer has.  Though we commonly only consider the big trials we err in this as everyday has within it trials directed at our faith.

Trials.  Put them on a scale of 1 to 10.  Ones are those trial we are able to ignore.  the hearing of gossip, the purchase of a frivolity, commercials on the TV.  As they move up the scale they become harder to ignore.  An 8 through 10 robs us of our security and comfort in anything fleshly as refuse to be ignored.  A 10 devastates.

I've hear the phrase and even used it, "quiet desperation."  That's when we are so tried we are numbed and all we can seem to do is just to sit and ache.  At about an 8 we begin to complain to God - which is fine as long as we do not complain about God. These trials (8-10) are ghastly experiences that though the should drive us to our knees, more often than not they drive us to fleshly solutions of our own imaginations, scheming and self preservative impulses.

I do not write this from a vacuum.  I wish I did.  I know the numbing power of trials when, in my case, they rob you of any sense of self confidence, self worth, and, well, self.  You look in the mirror and see no-one.  Like a vampire you have no reflection for the trial has destroyed what you once thought you saw there.

As time passes everything, every sin passes through your mind claiming credit for your circumstances telling you that there is no one to blame but you.  Some of that is, of course, true.  We all do (or don't do) things which result in trying times.  There is guilt there for us but - but - but!!!!!!!

Regardless of the sin which entangles and contributed to our trial God is in charge.  he could easily have kept us from the trial.  He could have provide a consequential remedy to keep us from the trial and the trial from us.  God and His grace are not only bigger than our sin but bigger than its consequences as well.

Trials are always a consequence of sin - ALWAYS.  It may not be our sin or the sin of anyone we know but at the root of trials is sin.  God is bigger than sin and the trials they bring.  We can with confidence say that God is the first cause of our trials and if He is and if He is good and if He wants the best for us - of what do we have to complain except the loss of of fleshly comforts.

The purpose of His allowing trials into our lives is so that we may be made more like Christ.  If you read the gospels closely you will see that not a moment of His life was trial free.  Whether is was calming the agitation between Mary and Martha, confronting the schemes of the Pharisees or the brutal cut of the whip he was not ever trial free.  And if He was not why do we expect (even demand) to be?

Our sense of desperation should never be quiet.  It needs to be communicated to the first cause of our trial, the God who redeemed us.  Yes, it will be messy and often tacky and even more often tearful but we must go to the one who holds the trial in His hands.

Consider:
Ecclesiastes 7:14 ESV
In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider: God has made the one as well as the other, so that man may not find out anything that will be after him.

The consider:

Phil. 5:5b-7

The Lord is at hand; [6] do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. [7] And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Prayer - supplication - thanksgiving.  Not quietly but will all the desperate energy or even the last gasp of your heart.  No quiet desperation - but rather a loud one crying out to the Lord God Almighty who has declared both the beginning of your trial as well as the end.  Don't "think" about it.  Do it.  It is your not having done in times of comfort that makes it so hard to do in times of trial.

Pray - ask - give thanks in and for your trial for you are being refined that you might be conformed to the image of the Son.  There is much more work there than we commonly think - if we think at all.  

In my trial I have lost much and may well lose more but I know I have lost nothing and for that I can give thanks.  I can thank Him for forcing open a fist which held on to pride and fleshly confidence.  I can thank Him for less to worry over, maintain, even dust and clean.  Oh dear friends pay close attention to the trials in your life be they ones of tens and thank Him for His good purpose in them.  Yes, thank Him for them - it's is hard - very hard and those prayers may ring hollow in your ears.  But pray not from your feeling but rather pray from what you know of His faithfulness and goodness and love for you.  do not fret an worry if you "feel" it not.  Feelings are fickled things as easily altered and moved as a feather in the wind.  Pray with your mind and your heart will follow.

Proverbs 3

5  Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

and do not lean on your own understanding.

6 In all your ways acknowledge him,

and he will make straight your paths.

7 Be not wise in your own eyes;

 fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.

8 It will be healing to your flesh

and refreshment to your bones. (ESV)

Trails are blessings - No joke!

James writes:
Jas 1:2-3
(2)  Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,
(3)  for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.

Is he nutz of what? ;-}}

Not really.  The counting it all joy is easily answered in 1 Peter:

1Pe 1:3-9

(3)  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

(4)  to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,

(5)  who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

(6)  In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials,

7)  so that the tested genuineness of your faith--more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire--may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

(8)  Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory,

(9)  obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Verse 6 is critical.  We have to be grieved by "various" trials.  but the problem is;  "What do you consider a trial?"

For most of us a trial is usually something big.  Cancer, financial crisis, addiction, mental health issues - you know the "biggies."  But we cheat ourselves when we limit our perception of trials to just those things that hit us hard.  Our lives are full of trials - the fact that we miss most of them is a sad reflection of our condition.

If you are a believer every day holds many many trials which we miss and in missing them we fail to experience the sense of victory or defeat we need to experience.  Going to work, dealing with traffic, working among unbelievers are all trials of not only our faith but of our faithfulness as well.  If you have never noticed that, WAKE UP!

Money is a trial.  Getting it, keeping it and using it especially today is a trial.

Kids - raising them well is a trial.

Cars - keeping them up is a trial.

All the demands of our culture that we equate with being OK are trials.

Jesus, as I've said over and over and over made it very very clear that our LIVES here, as His sheep, would be LIVES of trial, temptation and tribulation.  

Why do we refuse to see ALL the trials we face and face them as such?  Maybe we just don't want to bother.  Maybe we're just ignorant.  Maybe we're just, well, numb.

Regardless of why, we need to fight against the numbness, ignorance and bother and realize the fantastic place we have in God's plan, the magnificent thing He has done for us and the great and sure promise He has made us.  Doing this we can count our trials, all of them, as simply part of our work here as His sheep.

I do not think the "little while," in verse 6 means we suffer intermittent trials.  I believe that he is telling us to look to the promise of our full and complete sanctification.  I think he wants us to look at our trials, all of them, through the lense of the promise of eternity with Him.  We need to have a heavenly view, if you will, of all - all - of our trials.  We need to recognize them all and appreciate them all.

Appreciate?  Yes!  That's the "if neccessary," in verse 6.  Trials here are necessary   I would go so far as to say essential to our spiritual health and our hope.  Not only do they produce endurance but they remind us of what we endure for.  Even more importantly they keep us in mind of how we can endure them.  We can only endure them by His grace and provision.  Trials - small and large - all of them - should make us keep our eyes on Jesus, keep our eyes in His word and keep our knees bent in prayer.

Paul writes:

1Co 10:13

(13)  No temptation (this is the same word translated trial in James) has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

Trials drive us, or should, to the faithfulness of God - on our knees.  He will not to be tried by that which His faithful provision cannot enable us to face and endure.  And even better, He will provide an escape, a way out of it.  He is faithful.

But Paul nails it when he follows this verse with:

1Co 10:14

(14)  Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.

What worries you and diminishes your trust in Him?  What hinders you in your duties to Him?  In short, it is idolatry plain and simple.  But more on that another time.

God bless you in all your trials which are blessings if you will but submit to His sovereignty and trust in His grace. 

Not what but who.

Continuing on the subject of preaching, another wonderful bit of wisdom I was blessed to receive from my mentor was that it is not important for the hearers to hear what you know but rather who you know.  

Every sermon must end at the cross.  To accomplish this, regardless of text and illustrations, your hearers must "see" Jesus and "hear" the gospel in every sermon you preach.  If they do not, you have failed to provide them with the first thing they need to focus their minds on.

Exegetical journeys, grammatical gymnastics and contextual  portraits are no more than helpful filler, commercials if you will that allow the hearers minds to relax while they digest the crux of the message.  We do not preach to impress but rather to express the whole council of God in a simple clear and certainly memorable manner.

Too many times I have asked concerning a sermon, "How did you enjoy the sermon?"         ( Note - never about my own!)  I am more often than not the recipient of a big smile and something on the order of, "It was wonderful, very inspiring!' or "It was great, you should have heard it!"  Then I ask, "What was it about?"  Which typically produces a look of confusion and resentment and I receive some vague answer applicable to any talk or lecture that titillates.  If I ask, "As of the result of the sermon what are you going to repent of and seek God's provision to do?"   I usually just get a blank stare.

When we preach (formally or informally) we are speaking for God to others.  The issue is not what we want to tell them but what God wants for and of them.  It matters little how high and lofty, how intellectually challenging or formal the sermon is.  If it does not change lives (even if that's is just making people think) then it has missed its target.

The point of preaching is the communication of the gospel in all its applications which is why aiming for the cross in all our preparation is so important.  Now I do not mean by that, aiming at an invitation or call to "walk the aisle."  That is dubious in reference to the teaching of scripture.  What I do mean is that if any sermon does not bring the hearers (believer or unbeliever) to the foot of the cross for assurance and comfort it's a miss not a hit.  (Bullseyes are rare due to the appalling ignorance and self-centeredness of the people in the pew.)  But that does not excuse us from aiming for that.

I do not want to know how smart you are.  Id o not want to here your "agenda."  I do not want you to assume that what God has laid on your heart as "the issue facing the faith," has anything pertinent to do with my walk.  My battle is with the world the flesh and the devil, the flesh being the most commonly present problem.  Tell me how to fight that fight, how to stand firm, how to behave and live and .........  

I have a terribly hard time listening to sermons.  After the text is read, if I do not hear any, "We see from this passage that the believer need, must, should, should not --- know, believe, do, not do, etc...  I pretty much quit listening.  After that, if I do not hear at least three and no more than five points listed then expounded I figure my time has been ill used.  Not wasted but ill-used - as have my ears and my backside.

Every sermon (formal or informal) is intended, "for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness." (2 Tim 3:16)  Each sermons is to provide for each of these not pick and choose.  A man or woman who has been a believer for years needs not less reproof, correction than the most determined unbeliever.  Why would we ever assume they do not?

Paul hits the nail on the head when he writes:

but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, 

(1Co 1:23)

For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus' sake.  (2Co 4:5)

But, you may say, he was preaching to unbelievers.  Well, who among us does not still suffer those places where we struggle with unbelief or weak faith?  Who among us does not to hear the gospel in every passage of the Bible that is preached.  Who among us does not need preachers who will commit to:

And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.  (1Co 2:1-2)

In every sermon Christ must be the center.  He must be clearly seen and heard for the Word is all His word.  

Simply put sermons should be:

Proposition:  What God has said.

Presentation:  What that means in, for and of our lives

Persuasion:  What God has commanded through this.  Beginning with our depravity and ending at the cross.

Simple?  Yes.  Easy to do?  No!  It's easier to take a passage and just address our own agenda or issue - or what we think are the agendi and issues of our hearers.  That Christ gets lost in too many sermons is a shame and a curse to the church.  If Jesus is not clearly in a sermon, if you just assume He is because it is, after all, Bible; you have allowed assumption to do what assume always does.

I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. 

(2Ti 4:1-2)

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. (Joh 1:1-5)

Preach Jesus - no matter where you begin, no matter where you go, preach Jesus.

Homiletics - preaching must be applicable, timely and convicting

Wiki-P states:
The "Standard Dictionary" defines Homiletics as "that branch of rhetoric that treats of the composition and delivery of sermons or homilies"

and

Rhetoric is the art of discourse, an art that aims to improve the capability of writers or speakers that attempt to inform, persuade, or motivate particular audiences in specific situations.

Homiletics is both and art and a science - it deals with both facts and feelings.  The mere communication of facts is sufficient for the Holy Spirit of make use of but if the communicator is not committed and convicted by what he or she offers the message is severely hindered in its affect.

I was blessed to have won a full scholarship in homiletics when in Bible Collegs.  I was even more blessed to have studied under the guidance and mentor-ship of Olin Hay one of the greatest preachers I have ever known personally.  He demanded excellence from his students and had little tolerance for any sermon of lesson that was not passionately and persuasively presented.

He taught us to preach - to pour our the Word of God out through both our minds and hearts.  He used to tell us that our hearers would only believe our message to the degree that we did.  If we were not convicted and convinced by what we preached there was little hope they would be - except by a powerful intervention of the Holy  Spirit.  He taught us to communicate conviction and calling.

His methodology was quite simple.  "Tell them what you will tell them, tell them what you have to tell them and tell them what you told them."  It was a matter of communicating first what you would have them to know, believe or do.  Second it was a matter of communicating the matter and thirdly is was a matter of "THEREFORE, we should know - believe and or do.  Without the THEREFORE is was just a talk - not a sermon.

I listen to many preachers thanks to the internet and though I certainly critique the content I also critique the communication.  I can tell from the first few word out of the speakers mouth whether they intend to merely inform, obnoxiously flaunt their knowledge or serve the Lord through the power of the Spirit working in and through them.  

Eighty percent of the "sermons" I hear seem to be of the first to catagories.  The third is distressingly missing.

If you preach - preach.  If you want to teach - get a job in a seminary or bible college.

The object of preaching is to provide the Spirit with the access to our knowledge, talents and skill in order to change lives.  We are to convict, call, admonish and correct.  That demands two things.  First the content and second the communication.

The three to five point sermon is perhaps the best tool one can use to assist the Spirit in His work.  It is a simple, clear and memorable methodology.  So here are some thoughts for you to consider if you preach and top use in evaluating if you are preached to.

You must start with a biblical truth.  You must communicate our need to receive it and you MUST communicate how we are to put it into application.  A sermon without a "Therefore we must" is a poor and pathetic thing.

Take 2 Tim. 3:6-8


For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, (2Ti 1:6-8)

Note in verses 6 and 8 "For this reason" and "Therefore do not."  There is the purpose in preaching verese 7.

Verse seven lends itself to the following

Intro.:  A spirit of fear is NOT from God (actually it is a spirit of timidity - per verse 8, a timidity in preaching the gospel)

Body.  God has given us a spirit of:
     Point 1.  Power
     Point 2.  Love
     Point 3.  Self-control

Conclusion/call:  There for do not be ashamed . . . .

Paul writes later:


I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 
(2Ti 4:1-3)

Notice he is to do this WITH "patience and teaching," but he is to preach.  Preaching is not a lecture it is the powerful and passionate presentation of a biblical truth of which we should be, reproved, rebuked and exhorts - not mere informed or sadly entertained.  

Another thing Olin Hay taught me was, "Gentlemen I do not care where you start, I do not care where you go but you must always - always end at the Cross - whether preaching to believers, unbelievers or both the Cross of Christ must be the ultimate destination of every sermon you preach, For only there will the unbeliever find redemption and only there will the believer find relief, refreshment, restoration and rearming."

Preaching is an art - a lost art.  The great preachers, mu favorites are the Puritans  whose preaching was simple, clear, practical and pointed.  They aimed at the practical application of the truths of the Bible and I have not found them lacking in their aim or accuracy.  

Certainly the Spirit can use poor, even bad preaching to accomplish His ends.  but we are poor workmen if we do not practice our "art" honing and improving our skills.  When I prepare to preach I have as my goal that something in the sermon will deeply touch the evil principle in every believer, will tough their trials, will touch their hopes.  It is my desire as a spokesman for God that they will come to know and understand, cry out and proclaim:

Remember your word to your servant, in which you have made me hope. This is my comfort in my affliction, that your promise gives me life.   (Psa 119:49-50)

M

New works in progress - prayers much sought!

I am working on a piece addressing a passage I believe is one to which we pay all too little attention.  As a result we see in the lives of believers today (individually and collectively) such gross error and apathy that the world rejoices and celebrates.

I ask for your prayers as I go about writing this and another broader piece.  Unlike most of my writing I will not be posting either immediately.  They are similar in their focus and yet not identical.  I need clarity and consistency as well the means in time and material provision to be able to do this.

Please pray that He will bless this undertaking and will provide what is needed that I may be able to be about it.

One piece concerns:
Matthew 10:16 ESV
 [16] "Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.

The other concerns:

1 Peter 1:6-7 ESV

In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, [7] so that the tested genuineness of your faith-more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire-may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Thanks

Michael

In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord; in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying; my soul refuses to be comforted. When I remember God, I moan; when I meditate, my spirit faints. Selah You hold my eyelids open; I am so troubled that I cannot speak. I consider the days of old, the years long ago. I said, "Let me remember my song in the night; let me meditate in my heart." Then my spirit made a diligent search: (Psa 77:2-6)

"When I remember God . . . ."

It is so easy to go through our day and forget God.  That is until something goes against our plans or our comfort.  Then we remember but do we remember rightly?

Consider:  

Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called "the uncircumcision" by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands-- remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.   (Eph 2:11-13)

Do we "remember" this or do we simply remember the comfort we have lost and that God has allowed (willed) it to pass?  Do we remember that He is sovereign or do we simply remember that He is able to bring us comfort and bring us out of any affliction.  Do we remermber God or our warped and twisted view of God as a Genie or Santa Claus?

Do we remember:

"Remember this and stand firm, recall it to mind, you transgressors, remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, 'My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,  (Isa 46:8-10

Do we remember that God is God and we are not?  Do we remember that we are His slaves and He is not ours?  Do we remember that regardless of our perspective and sense, all He does is good and gracious?  Do we remember rightly or selfishly?

Our God is the God of grace and mercy as well as the God of justice and holiness.  His goal for us is to be holy as He is.  At times this means we see Him protecting and providing comfort.  At other times we see this in His twisting our plans, taking our comfort, saying no to our dreams.  This is the God of the Bible, the God who is first and whose goal is first - at least for Him if not for us.

We read in James and Romans that "patience" is a product of trials.  But we often see patience wrongly.  We tend to see patience as our "putting up with" whatever difficulty we are facing.  We tolerate it until it is over - at least we pretend to.  But this poor view of patience/perseverance is faulty.  It is not a standing still in the face of adversity - it is a moving forward.  It is a pressing on towards the goal we have in Christ Jesus.

There is as much good purpose in God's buffetings as there are in His blessings.  Indeed, from His and the Word's perspective, buffetings are blessings.  

Too often our faith is a facile faith.  We prefer to live by "Jesus loves me this I know," and to ignore that His, "counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose."  

We forget that His purpose is to conform us to the likeness of the Son, to enable us to do the good works He has prepared for us to do, to glorify and enjoy Him.  We forget that even though we are redeemed we still fight the principle of evil that resided in our flesh.  We forget that only heat will bring the dross to the surface that the gold or silver may be pure.  We forget that God is good and we are not - that God is God and we are not.  We forget.

And why do we forget?  Because we do not work at remembering.  We do as little as we can to fill our minds and hearts with Him.  Not in some belly-button meditating manner but rather in intentional, consistent and continuing hard prayerful work and intellectual effort .  We don't mind being told what He has said and He has done but we do mind having to go dig the ore out for ourselves.   We don't want to do the hard work of living as His - which begins with His work in us and continues in our work with Him by the power of His Spirit within us.

Like Israel in the dessert we murmur against Him when either the good He brings doesn't measure up to our expectations or the evil (trials) He allows inconvenience of discomfort us.  We whine and pull our hair and complain to and about Him.  

Where did we ever get the idea that anything He does for, to, in or around us is bad?  How could we ever be brought to such a blasphemous place?  One reason is that we have failed miserably to take advantage of all He has given us to prepare us for all He will give us.

We fail to study and meditate upon His word.

We fail to pray diligently and often.

We fail to be about the work He has given us to do.

We fail to examine ourselves in the light of the Word.

We fail to put Him and His agenda first.

We fail to be grateful.

We fail to be humble.

We fail to submit.

We fail.

And in that failure He works even harder to bring us to Himself.  He may well have to buffet us to bring us to blessings and He will.  What parent would not risk injuring their child to remove a poison from their tiny fist.  What loving friend would not shove one into the dirt to save them from a rushing car?  A surgeon must cut to save.  A doctor must poke and prod to diagnose and yet while we allow this for our benefit we resent God cutting and poking and prodding for our blessing.

I do not, ""remember my song in the night; let me meditate in my heart," if I ever sang one to begin with.

Our Psalmist says he will make a diligent search and this follows:

"Will the Lord spurn forever, and never again be favorable? Has his steadfast love forever ceased? Are his promises at an end for all time? Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he in anger shut up his compassion?" Selah Then I said, "I will appeal to this, to the years of the right hand of the Most High." I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your wonders of old. I will ponder all your work, and meditate on your mighty deeds. Your way, O God, is holy. What god is great like our God? 

(Psa 77:7-13)

He repents, recalling God as God and nothing else.  Will we?

We would see Jesus 061013

Joh 12:20-21  Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks.  (21)  So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, 

"Sir, we wish to see Jesus."

I can remember my homiletics professor telling us that these words were on a small plaque on his pulpit.  Every time he rose to preach he read them and was reminded that if he did nothing else he had to show those in the pews Jesus.  "Jesus," in all that term means had to be shown to believer and unbeliever alike.  If they did not see Jesus, he believed he had failed in his calling.

He would tell us, "Gentlemen, I do not care where you begin your sermon but always - always end at the cross of Christ for that is where the power and hope lies.  Ending anywhere else is to mislead your hearers."

The cross, His final redemptive act must be central to our lives.  You may wear a cross but do you ever think about that cross?  Do you return to the cross daily in gratitude and humility seeking that conviction that was the catalyst for your first love?  Do you take all your sin back to the cross again and again so that you may be assured again and again that you're sins are paid in full and that, "it is finished!"

Paul makes the centrality of the cross plain.  In the midst of all the issues he addressed at the Church at Corinth he made it plain:

1Co 2:2  For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.

Paul knew the Gospel must be preached to un-believers and believers alike.  He know the glorious good news of Christ's atoning sacrifice was indeed the power of God for salvation.  I find that all too easy to assume and not make a central issue in my prayers, conversation and living.  It is well said:

Beneath the cross of Jesus I fain would take my stand, 

the shadow of a mighty rock within a weary land; 

a home within the wilderness, a rest upon the way, 

from the burning of the noontide heat,  and the burden of the day. 

Upon that cross of Jesus mine eye at times can see 

the very dying form of One who suffered there for me; 

and from my stricken heart with tears two wonders I confess: 

the wonders of redeeming love and my unworthiness. 

I take, O cross, thy shadow for my abiding place; 

I ask no other sunshine than the sunshine of his face; 

content to let the world go by, to know no gain nor loss, 

my sinful self my only shame, my glory all the cross.

This is an everyday, every moment cross-awareness.  A consistent celebration of humility and gratitude and yet we struggle to keep it in the front of our minds.  We get diverted by the slings and arrows of our daily life and hence the greatest source of our hope and confidence remains on the fringes of our consciousness.

So, we struggle more and harder than we need to.  We bounce up and down, are tossed to and fro in our assurance and peace.  The cross, thought horrible was the most peaceful - peacemaking - place in all of history.  "It is finished," the greatest declaration.  The foot of the cross, the safest place.

Would you see Jesus?  Then see Him there.  Touch His suffering, see His love, know His graciousness.  The cross is the only place to begin and to end.  It is indeed the best abiding place as we face the trials of this life.  

Certainly we can see Jesus through out the Gospels.  We see Him healing and feeding.  We hear Him teaching, admonishing, confronting and correcting.  All this is good and useful but it is at the cross that His life and ministry made it's meaning and purpose clear.  When He surrendered His life for us He made it available to us.  Can we sideline the cross as merely a symbol, a decal, a lapel pin or a necklace?  No, we can not.

If you would see Jesus - and you should so desire - then see him first and foremost on the cross. See Him suffering for us and taking upon Himself our punishment.  Realize that what He experienced simply demonstrated - in ways we can understand - what we were to expect from God were it not for the cross.

Would you see Jesus - then see Him as the Suffering Servant, the Rejected Redeemed, our Master who freely gave up His life at the hands of evil men for our salvation.  See Jesus there and pray to be His servant in the sacrificial and submissive way He was for us.

Think long and hard and prayerfully about:

Gal 2:20  I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Be Ye Glad

BE YE GLAD

Words and Music by M.K.Blanchard
© Gotz Music/Benson

In these days of confused situations.

In these nights of a restless remorse,

When the heart and the soul of the nation,

lay wounded and cold as a corpse.

From the grave of the innocent Adam,

comes a song bringing joy to the sad.

Oh your cry has been heard and the ransom,

has been paid up in full, Be Ye Glad.

(Chorus)

Oh, Be Ye Glad, Be Ye Glad,

Every debt that you ever had

Has been paid up in full by the grace of the Lord,

Be Ye Glad, Be Ye Glad, Be Ye Glad.

From the dungeon a rumor is stirring.

You have heard it again and again.

But this time the cell keys are turning,

and outside there are faces of friends.

And though your body lay weary from wasting,

and your eyes show the sorrow they've had.

Oh the love that your heart is now tasting

has opened the gate, Be Ye Glad.

(Chorus)

So be like lights on the rim of the water,

giving hope in a storm sea of night.

Be a refuge amidst the slaughter,

for these fugitives in their flight.

For you are timeless and part of a puzzle.

You are winsome and young as a lad.

And there is no disease or no struggle,

that can pull you from God, Be Ye Glad.

(Chorus)

Phil. 4 vs 8 and 9 050813

Php 4:8-9  Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.  (9)  The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

When was the last time you really followed Paul's admonition in this passage?

Note, Paul admonishes us to "dwell" (think/reason) and to "do."  

The object of our thought and action is the same thing, the Gospel in all its glorious detail.  Now we will assume that the "Gospel" is simply the good news about Jesus and indeed that is true.  But as I consider the nature of the culture to who He wrote and especially the religious culture I am forced to consider that the "Gospel" Paul brought was much wider and deeper than we think.

Simply put, Paul's Gospel to the Gentiles had to begin with a One True God.  These pagans to whom he preached and whom he taught had family gods, city gods, gods of certain activities.  The good news to them had to include the One and Only God.  

It also had to include, well, thinking.  The culture prided itself on its wisdom.  Debates between differring schools of philosophy were common entertainment.  Wisdom (man's wisdom) was prized and celebrated and honored.  The Gospel Paul preached had to communicate to a thinking people.

The impact of this broad and deep Gospel was such that in the Roman empire believers were not only seen as fools but were often charged with atheism because they believed in the One true God.  

The "good news" had to start with One God, sovereign creator, sustainer, Lord and Judge.  If this didn't come up somewhere then the good news of Jesus would not have made a lot of sense.  From the worship of gods who promised sex, drugs and power the people had to be called to the God who promised eternal life while demanding holiness and humility.  It is no wonder believers where accused of turning the world upside down.

But my point is this.  We are admonished if not commanded to "dwell" on the truth in all its glorious depth and breadth.  To "dwell" means that we think, we reason, we consider - intentionally and consistently.  What we are called to "dwell" upon is the whole of our faith for it meets the criteria Paul lays out so far above anything else that is it a sad and sorry thing to "dwell" on anything else.

Paul is not calling us to "positive thinking."  He is calling us to biblical, sound theological and practical applied thinking.  From the Trinity to Tent-making, the whole content of the Word is to be our subject matter.  From the joyously simple to the head-smacking hard - we are to dwell on the whole counsel of God.

But we don't.  Do we?  When is the last time you (or I) really dug into the Word concerning the whole concept of worship?  When was the last time we gave any real thought to the roll of the members of the Trinity in the Covenant of Redemption.  Do we even know what the Covenant of Redemption is?  If I was a betting man, I'd bet most of us don't.

If I am any kind of theologian it would be a pastoral or practical one.  But I've had to realize that even though I know a lot and comprehend a lot it was not enough.  Oh I don't do damage (I hope) but I see how I have not done all the good I could have because I limited that which I "dwelt" on to the pastoral and practical.  I've learned that having a "boots on the ground" understanding of the faith is good and useful to Him but that not having a view from 30,000 feet limits me greatly in my calling.

I'm fortunate to have a pastor who challenges me to soar to heights of "dwelling" that I haven't considered.  In taking those flights I have made connections in my knowledge and understanding that are humbling and exciting.  Example: discovering that what most of us assume is worship isn't necessarily true worship; worship that honors and glorifies the father and hence has a direct influence in and on all of my life, was a real kick in the head - a good one - but a kick all the same.

Translate that word "dwell" as "think," or "reason" and the whole ball game changes.  In terms of worship, what does it really mean to worship in spirit and truth?  Come on, give me a clear functional definition.  Can you?  I kind of can but I've learned that my practical understanding falls short - not good - but grace covers me and allows me to "think" and grow.

In the second verse Paul tells us to "practice" what he taught.  And "practice" is a good way to put it.  We practice our faith until we are with Him.  Practice is intended to provide the opportunity for perfection and we are called to be perfect (complete) as well as holy.  Practice means we haven't arrived.  It means our strengths need honing and our weaknesses need strength and this all demands that we think and think more deeply and broadly about what we know and that we seek to discover what we do not know.

To make a clear statement on both verses I'll steal a quote from Dr. David Smith:

"The Lord is personally present with his servants providing them peace as they are intellectually engaged with and practically obedient to his spoken and written word of truth."

As I said, I'm blessed with a Pastor who challenges me and sometimes helps me painfully see where there are gaps in my Gospel, where I am ignorant and where I have not been thinking.  He bemoans the anti-intellectual (read this as anti-thinking) attitude the church has taken today - indeed the culture has taken today.  Me, I just bemoan stupid as a choice.  I bemoan my own and that of my fellow believers.

We've all heard the old saw, "they know just enough to be dangerous."  That's not a bad picture of the folks in the pews (and some pulpits).  We are all ignorant and unfortunately to some degree that ignorance is a choice.  It is indeed a blessing to read concerning our High priest:

Heb 5:2  he can deal gently with the ignorant and misguided, since he himself also is beset with weakness;

I am a well-educated and trained ingnoramous and will, to some degree, always be one.  But at least now I know and I know the cure - to dwell - think - reason concerning the things of God, the Son and the Holy Spirit.  To put more time and energy into that 30,000 foot flight than I have so that I may practice well and worthy of the captain of the team I am one and be more useful to Him as He works His game plan in time and eternity.

Bunny trail?

James teaches us that faith without word is dead.  But works without faith are dead as well.  "Faith" is both our trust in the Lord and the content of that trust.  When we fail to dwell upon His whole word and to develop or gain a increasingly better grasp of His whole counsel our works are not what they could be.  Certainly we all want to show ourselves to be workmen who need not be ashamed for we rightly divide the Word of God.

Think about and do something!