Getting a Grip When it all hurts Part 1 040114
1 Peter 5:6-11 ESV
Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, [7] casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. [8] Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. [9] Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. [10] And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. [11] To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Wonderful words of encouragement and admonition. But what do you do with it when it all hurts, when there is no sense of hope although you know there is a reason to? What do you do when you read this and walk away empty and hollow?
First you realize that Satan will do all he can to create that hollowness and deepen it. Whether through the world or the flesh he will use every means he can to deepen your despair. We're not cut out to fight him ourselves but we must call upon - cry out for God to save us from this sense of hopeless sinking. We must let God fight that battle for us and that is not easy.
Satan will do everything in his power to cast you down and to crush you. One of his ploys is to isolate you from the Body. We all know that in times of trouble people seem to withdraw, run, move away not wanting to be too close to the one in distress. Now we can't blame them and we also know that we withdraw as well. We, for whatever reason (shame, embarrassment even fear) want to hide away and curl up in a ball and disappear.
Satan wants us to be isolated - he doesn't hunt the herd but rather the solitary and wounded. So when you are wounded and in despair it is making the situation worse if you curl in a ball in a corner.
Satan also wants to chase us into greater distress. That's why he is roaring. He wants us to run from him to where the rest of the pride is. The pride is in the deep grass waiting for us to run into the middle of them so they may take us down. We must not run. We must slowly move in a safe direction and the only one who can show us that safe direction is God.
Satan also wants to get us to murmur - to complain about God as the Israelites did in the wilderness. He wants us to complain about God and His treatment of us. He wants us to deny God's goodness, His lovingkindness, His whole character. He wants us to accuse God of wrong doing, of meanness, of hard heartedness or the typical - He's not fair.
All this and more Satan desires to do. It is very very hard to stand in the face of a roaring lion but by the grace and power of God, we must. Like Daniel we must stand among the hungry beasts and trust in God. We must by the grace and mercy of God resist running - resist isolation - resist shame - resist murmuring.
None of us are the only believers who suffer. Some suffer more and some less but suffering is suffering and when we are suffering ours is the only one we feel. But Peter seems to indicate that knowing that we are not the only ones who suffer will be of benefit to us. That's a hard thing but a true thing. God is at work in the lives of countless believers and we should praise Him for that fact. The starving, the oppressed, the persecuted are all trusting Him for so much more than the rest of us and they are holding fast - they've got a grip - faith.
Faith - faith that He can relieve us of our suffering. Faith that it is meant for His glory. Faith that it is meant for our good. Faith that even if it kills us, as it does many, we will then be with Him, at peace and forever without suffering.
Heaven is not a consolation prize for those whose suffering kills them. Heaven is the glorious reward that awaits those who are His and barring His coming prior to, death is the ony way to heaven.
I'll write more on this passage as I am able - but have faith my friends God is with you and for you - He wants to display His glory through, in and by your circumstances. It is hard - at times is seems hopeless but I have to ask myself: For what am I really hoping, treasuer here or treasure there? The comfort of the world or the comfort of His grace. It is a real battle - get a grip on His truth and providence and do not let go.
Showing posts with label faith. Show all posts
Showing posts with label faith. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 27, 2024
Monday, August 25, 2014
Four Things Part 1 082514
As we cast our eye over it, we observe that what Elijah needed to be taught was (1) dependence on God; (2) fellowship with man in his sufferings; (3) confidence in God’s plans ; and (4) a sense of their essential and broad mercifulness. Warfield, B. B. (2013-11-13). Faith & Life (Kindle Locations 66-67). GLH Publishing. Kindle Edition.
Warfield beautifully explains the curriculum of God’s school as it can be applied to Elijah and to ourselves. Though I encourage to get and read the book Faith and Life by Warfield I’d like to sent some time reflecting of the four things God was teaching Elijah as they might be applied to our lives.
Keep in mind that Warfield has explained the as far as we can tell from the record, Elijah was in a grueling course of “on the job training,” He was learning as he went and the key thing to remember is the he “went.” That is fundamental if not essential for all of us to understand. “Following,” is the key to discipleship. Not observing the Master, not evaluating the Master but following the Master is the key. We will be taught when we need to be and as we need to be. That is the promise we find again and again in the lives of God’s people in the Word.
The fist lesson, and the lesson that if not learned nullifies all the others is, I think, two fold. First we must learn that God is dependable and second we much learn to depend upon Him. Neither lesson is easy to truly learn.
Certainly we can see in the evidence of the Word that God has demonstrated His dependability. But for many of us it is a dependability that is abstract. We see that He is dependable in the lives of others but that’s no guarantee we will really see Him as dependable in our own lives. It a tough thing to go from seeing God’s faithfulness to Israel to seeing His faithfulness to us - to ME.
One reason I think we struggle so much with that old, “I know He is faithful, but...” is that we are so very used to considering faithfulness in terms f big things that we miss the commonness of His faithfulness. He is “commonly” faithful is so may mundane way that are so easy for us to ignore. It is in the really tough times when we discover both His faithfulness and our tottering dependence upon Him.
“God is dependable and I depend upon Him,’ is a great statement but really, ask yourself, how TRUE is that statement in your mind and heart? Do you really believe that He is dependable? Are you willing to surrender your plans, ideas, schemes, etc., and yield to His providence in all things?
I know I thought I was but I learned real quick how flighty my faith - my dependence - my trust in Him was. The past year and a half have taught me just how unreasonable, prideful and self-absorbed my dependence upon Him was (and still is to some extent). Nothing in the past year and a half has gone according to our plan and yet as we look back we can see that it certainly has gone according to someone’s plan - we of course assume it was His plan.
We have learned to calmly suffer chaos and confusion because we have see Him provide and direct in the midst of the chaos. He didn’t make the chaos go away He simply acted within it to bring about blessings and peace.
So how do we grow in our dependence upon Him - upon the conviction that he is dependable?
Ahhh, well that’s for the future - we’ll get to it next.
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
Sinning Away Conviction
Sinning away conviction of sin.
In his book, Indwelling Sin in Believers, John Owen writes of the believer who, "sins away his conviction of sin."
I must admit that this was a source of very real conviction for me. I reflected upon how often I catch myself engaged in something that one might consider a "little" sin with less conviction than I should have. Maybe a book or a TV show or a movie. Even the purchase of something that I delude myself into believing will bring some lasting satisfaction and meaning to my life.
I am confronted with the question, "How sensitive to sin and I - really?" I have to admit that like many folks I don;t do well in my answer. As James tells us, my desires create havoc in my soul that unfortunately is common enough to be dismissed unless directly confronted from outside.
This is due to several things not the least of which is an intentional examination of most of my life in the light of the Word and the Spirit. What seems OK is most often not. The law of grace loses it's power to restrain me because my mind is not fixed upon Him, His sovereignty and His calling. I simply find it distressingly easy to let the "little" one's slip by.
Though these "sins" are (according to man;s measure) "little" they have the cumulative effect of numbing my heart to sin in general. The old "everyone does it," or the "it's not a biggy," even "I'm redeemed and forgiven," are poor rationales for my failure in regards to these sins.
I have to make myself remember that if I had only committed the least of these "acceptable" sins Christ would have still had to suffer the horrors of their payment. There only one acceptable payment for any and all sins but I, maybe like may of you, have a tough time keeping this in the front of my mind.
So I grow numb to conviction in an ever increasing way and find myself humiliated by greater lapses. Lapses that would not have been so easy to make had i dealt honestly and directly with the "lesser" sins.
All this is to say that we must (ok, maybe it's just me) must do whatever is needful to become and remain sensitive to all sin in our lives.
This take intentional commitment and discipline. It is hard and tedious work. It looks a lot like legalism but though the law was fulfilled its use in our lives still stands. Somehow I have to move from being a mere fan of Jesus to being a fanatic for His glory.
Sin is spelled S-I-N not O-O-P-S!
It's a scary proposition to consider praying for a level of sensitivity to sin that truly honors God. So much of what is our lives - my life - will have to be examined and re-evaluated. So much will have to change - even what seems like the minutia.
But - gratitude demands it. God expects it. The Word and the Spirit enable it. Who am I to refuse it?
Pray to see to what degree you may had sinned away some of your conviction of sin.
In his book, Indwelling Sin in Believers, John Owen writes of the believer who, "sins away his conviction of sin."
I must admit that this was a source of very real conviction for me. I reflected upon how often I catch myself engaged in something that one might consider a "little" sin with less conviction than I should have. Maybe a book or a TV show or a movie. Even the purchase of something that I delude myself into believing will bring some lasting satisfaction and meaning to my life.
I am confronted with the question, "How sensitive to sin and I - really?" I have to admit that like many folks I don;t do well in my answer. As James tells us, my desires create havoc in my soul that unfortunately is common enough to be dismissed unless directly confronted from outside.
This is due to several things not the least of which is an intentional examination of most of my life in the light of the Word and the Spirit. What seems OK is most often not. The law of grace loses it's power to restrain me because my mind is not fixed upon Him, His sovereignty and His calling. I simply find it distressingly easy to let the "little" one's slip by.
Though these "sins" are (according to man;s measure) "little" they have the cumulative effect of numbing my heart to sin in general. The old "everyone does it," or the "it's not a biggy," even "I'm redeemed and forgiven," are poor rationales for my failure in regards to these sins.
I have to make myself remember that if I had only committed the least of these "acceptable" sins Christ would have still had to suffer the horrors of their payment. There only one acceptable payment for any and all sins but I, maybe like may of you, have a tough time keeping this in the front of my mind.
So I grow numb to conviction in an ever increasing way and find myself humiliated by greater lapses. Lapses that would not have been so easy to make had i dealt honestly and directly with the "lesser" sins.
All this is to say that we must (ok, maybe it's just me) must do whatever is needful to become and remain sensitive to all sin in our lives.
This take intentional commitment and discipline. It is hard and tedious work. It looks a lot like legalism but though the law was fulfilled its use in our lives still stands. Somehow I have to move from being a mere fan of Jesus to being a fanatic for His glory.
Sin is spelled S-I-N not O-O-P-S!
It's a scary proposition to consider praying for a level of sensitivity to sin that truly honors God. So much of what is our lives - my life - will have to be examined and re-evaluated. So much will have to change - even what seems like the minutia.
But - gratitude demands it. God expects it. The Word and the Spirit enable it. Who am I to refuse it?
Pray to see to what degree you may had sinned away some of your conviction of sin.
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Broken Hearts and Bruised Souls 032514
Broken Hearts and Bruised Souls
032614
There are, in every congregation brothers and sisters who live with broken hearts and bruised souls. They sit quietly, usually alone in the back, pray haltingly and have a look of deep yearning on their faces.
They long to have a sense of being a part of the body but they sense that their "difference" somehow excludes them. They are alone in the crowd and being in the crowd makes their loneliness even greater. They sit and even with a frozen smile on their faces they weep rivers of tear inside.
I'm writing about the melacholy (depressed), the Bi-polar, those who suffer anxiety disorders and the like. They live in our world and go to our churches and yet they never have a sense of being a part of any of it.
Shame is a big part of their lives. They can't run, do, work or even feel as other do and so they have a sense of being aliens and strangers in a way you can only imagine.
They look OK, they even socialize ok but the cost of doing either or both is great. One hour in church and they are exhausted, they feel rode hard and put up wet. They are drained and so their hearts and souls ache regardless of the joy and hope that is theirs.
Imagine waking up each morning with a sense that your life is not worth living. Imagine waking up each morning terrified of what evil or difficulty might come your way. Imagine feeling like every odd look is an accusation, a confirmation of your difference. Imagine yearning for heaven more to escape your life than to be with the Lord.
These are broken hearts and bruised souls. These are some of the bruised reeds and smoldering wicks Jesus promised to not break or snuff out. But even that assurance does little to aleviate the pain and ache of being so very different and trying to fit in.
"Hi, my name is Fred and I want to die." Think about having that thought several times a day. Think about having to resist introducing yourself that way. Think about having that feeling and not being able to tell anyne about it. No, I don't mean they want to kill themselves, few do; but they live with a tension that tears at their hearts and souls every minute of every day.
No one understands except their counselor and even they are clueless apart from their objective clinical training. Their pastor does not understand. Their famiies do not understand. Worst of all, they do not understand.
Imagine having a wonderful blessing happen to you. You know it's a blessing. You see God's hand in it and yet instead of lifting your heart and soul you find yourself fighting a downward spiral. What would lift another up casts you down.
Imagine yearning for relief you know, short of a miracle, will not come. Imagine happiness making you sad, joy terrifying you and kindness seeming like condecention - pity of the pathetic.
Imagine having to live your life in your head because if you let it our people will flee. Imagine fighting every moment to just hang on and not give up. Imagine just wanting to sit in a darkened room until life fades away.
These bruised reeds need to be able to be who they are and live in the open. They need to be understood and their condition must be appreciated as real and terrible. They dont need pampering but they need to be able to speak their pain to someone(s) other than the folks they have to pay to listen.
They desperately need to have others understand that for them, their condition is as normal as it gets. Yes, they need sound biblical encouragement and admonishment and lots of other good and godly input. But most of all they need to be accepted, embraced.
Being a part of the life of a bruised reed is tough, trying and costly. Which is why so few of us are willing to be a part of their lives. They can be demanding and depressing, frustrating if not infuriating but that's more a factor of our limitations than their condition. It is more a part of our wanting to be comfortable and at our ease instead of involved in a messy ministry.
No, we are not all called to minister to these beautiful bruised reeds but we are all commanded to love them and they take a different kind of love. None of us are exempt from loving them up close and personal.
Fear keeps us at a distance and fear causes them to withdraw. Perfect love casts out fear - right or maybe?
032614
There are, in every congregation brothers and sisters who live with broken hearts and bruised souls. They sit quietly, usually alone in the back, pray haltingly and have a look of deep yearning on their faces.
They long to have a sense of being a part of the body but they sense that their "difference" somehow excludes them. They are alone in the crowd and being in the crowd makes their loneliness even greater. They sit and even with a frozen smile on their faces they weep rivers of tear inside.
I'm writing about the melacholy (depressed), the Bi-polar, those who suffer anxiety disorders and the like. They live in our world and go to our churches and yet they never have a sense of being a part of any of it.
Shame is a big part of their lives. They can't run, do, work or even feel as other do and so they have a sense of being aliens and strangers in a way you can only imagine.
They look OK, they even socialize ok but the cost of doing either or both is great. One hour in church and they are exhausted, they feel rode hard and put up wet. They are drained and so their hearts and souls ache regardless of the joy and hope that is theirs.
Imagine waking up each morning with a sense that your life is not worth living. Imagine waking up each morning terrified of what evil or difficulty might come your way. Imagine feeling like every odd look is an accusation, a confirmation of your difference. Imagine yearning for heaven more to escape your life than to be with the Lord.
These are broken hearts and bruised souls. These are some of the bruised reeds and smoldering wicks Jesus promised to not break or snuff out. But even that assurance does little to aleviate the pain and ache of being so very different and trying to fit in.
"Hi, my name is Fred and I want to die." Think about having that thought several times a day. Think about having to resist introducing yourself that way. Think about having that feeling and not being able to tell anyne about it. No, I don't mean they want to kill themselves, few do; but they live with a tension that tears at their hearts and souls every minute of every day.
No one understands except their counselor and even they are clueless apart from their objective clinical training. Their pastor does not understand. Their famiies do not understand. Worst of all, they do not understand.
Imagine having a wonderful blessing happen to you. You know it's a blessing. You see God's hand in it and yet instead of lifting your heart and soul you find yourself fighting a downward spiral. What would lift another up casts you down.
Imagine yearning for relief you know, short of a miracle, will not come. Imagine happiness making you sad, joy terrifying you and kindness seeming like condecention - pity of the pathetic.
Imagine having to live your life in your head because if you let it our people will flee. Imagine fighting every moment to just hang on and not give up. Imagine just wanting to sit in a darkened room until life fades away.
These bruised reeds need to be able to be who they are and live in the open. They need to be understood and their condition must be appreciated as real and terrible. They dont need pampering but they need to be able to speak their pain to someone(s) other than the folks they have to pay to listen.
They desperately need to have others understand that for them, their condition is as normal as it gets. Yes, they need sound biblical encouragement and admonishment and lots of other good and godly input. But most of all they need to be accepted, embraced.
Being a part of the life of a bruised reed is tough, trying and costly. Which is why so few of us are willing to be a part of their lives. They can be demanding and depressing, frustrating if not infuriating but that's more a factor of our limitations than their condition. It is more a part of our wanting to be comfortable and at our ease instead of involved in a messy ministry.
No, we are not all called to minister to these beautiful bruised reeds but we are all commanded to love them and they take a different kind of love. None of us are exempt from loving them up close and personal.
Fear keeps us at a distance and fear causes them to withdraw. Perfect love casts out fear - right or maybe?
Saturday, March 22, 2014
Uses of Affliction 09 032214
Uses of Afflictoin 09
FINI
"Oh how unskillfull and unwise am I to manage a suffering condition, to discern God's ends, to find out what God would have me to do, to moderate the vileness of my own passions, to apply the counsels and comforts of the Word for their proper ends and use."
Thomas Case, A Treatise on Afflcitions
God never allows affliction into the lives of His people for no good purpose. As we have briefly seen there are uses for aflictions and they are indeed mercies.
However as Thomas Case wrote (above) we are unskillful and unwise in managing a "suffering condition." But perhaps this is the greatest usage of afflictions, to provide us with the opportunity to gain the skill and wisdom we lack.
The Word and the Spirit are suffcient for us to begin (and continue) to develop the requisite skills and wisdom to make blessings our of buffetings. If we will ony make use of these graces we will find that no matter how dark and difficult the affliction we can and will learn to bear up under it. But we must make use of God's providence!
Sin, of course, is at the root of all affliction. The corruption of the whole creation is both the catalyst and continuance of all we suffer. Perhaps we fail to understand this or resist accepting this. Were the whole of creation not so corrupted, well, we'd still be in the garden wouldn't we? But we are not and so we MUST learn, we must seek the skill and wisdom we need.
It is an oft repeated, much misused and wonderful admonishment to us to, "Trust in the Lord with all your might and lean not on your own understanding. In ALL your ways acknoledge Him and He will make your paths straight." Note it is straight paths we are promised not smooth and easy ones. Why, oh why will we not yield to His will in all conditions and circumstances and trust His love and power?
We love our ease and comforts too much and have been infected with a view of our faith that is diluted with falsehood and evil. We are PROMISED tribulation, persecution, hatred, etc. in this world. Why do we fight against what the Lord has made clear?
We are promised His presence and His provision to live for Him in this world but it is prayer to change our hearts not prayer to change our world that is needed. Oh we can pray for an change of condition and circumstance but I think that if our focus is on that we have missed the whole point and our afflcitions do not accomplish what He intendes.
We sing;
Have Thy own way Lord.
Have Thy own way.
Hold or my being
absolute sway.
But do we simply mouth the words instead of singing the prayer?
We sing;
Create in me a clean heart
Oh Lord
and renew a right spirit within me
But we are unwilling to allow Him to do so if it causes us any dis-ease or loss of comfort.
Affliction are, whether we will or can see it, mercies, indeed blessings for in them we are made more like our Master for we merrely share in the afflcitions He suffered for us.
Are we willing for God to bring and use afflictions to conform us to our Master's likeness?
FINI
"Oh how unskillfull and unwise am I to manage a suffering condition, to discern God's ends, to find out what God would have me to do, to moderate the vileness of my own passions, to apply the counsels and comforts of the Word for their proper ends and use."
Thomas Case, A Treatise on Afflcitions
God never allows affliction into the lives of His people for no good purpose. As we have briefly seen there are uses for aflictions and they are indeed mercies.
However as Thomas Case wrote (above) we are unskillful and unwise in managing a "suffering condition." But perhaps this is the greatest usage of afflictions, to provide us with the opportunity to gain the skill and wisdom we lack.
The Word and the Spirit are suffcient for us to begin (and continue) to develop the requisite skills and wisdom to make blessings our of buffetings. If we will ony make use of these graces we will find that no matter how dark and difficult the affliction we can and will learn to bear up under it. But we must make use of God's providence!
Sin, of course, is at the root of all affliction. The corruption of the whole creation is both the catalyst and continuance of all we suffer. Perhaps we fail to understand this or resist accepting this. Were the whole of creation not so corrupted, well, we'd still be in the garden wouldn't we? But we are not and so we MUST learn, we must seek the skill and wisdom we need.
It is an oft repeated, much misused and wonderful admonishment to us to, "Trust in the Lord with all your might and lean not on your own understanding. In ALL your ways acknoledge Him and He will make your paths straight." Note it is straight paths we are promised not smooth and easy ones. Why, oh why will we not yield to His will in all conditions and circumstances and trust His love and power?
We love our ease and comforts too much and have been infected with a view of our faith that is diluted with falsehood and evil. We are PROMISED tribulation, persecution, hatred, etc. in this world. Why do we fight against what the Lord has made clear?
We are promised His presence and His provision to live for Him in this world but it is prayer to change our hearts not prayer to change our world that is needed. Oh we can pray for an change of condition and circumstance but I think that if our focus is on that we have missed the whole point and our afflcitions do not accomplish what He intendes.
We sing;
Have Thy own way Lord.
Have Thy own way.
Hold or my being
absolute sway.
But do we simply mouth the words instead of singing the prayer?
We sing;
Create in me a clean heart
Oh Lord
and renew a right spirit within me
But we are unwilling to allow Him to do so if it causes us any dis-ease or loss of comfort.
Affliction are, whether we will or can see it, mercies, indeed blessings for in them we are made more like our Master for we merrely share in the afflcitions He suffered for us.
Are we willing for God to bring and use afflictions to conform us to our Master's likeness?
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
Uses of Affliction 05 031814
Uses of Affliction 05
4. Correction and punishment for sin.
For those who do not think God punishes our sin here perhaps a re-reading of the OT would be appropriate. We like to avoid that word punishment by using words like correct or discipline but changing the word does not change God's purpose. Nor is it any better to talk of God allowing us to suffer the consequences of our sin as opposed to saying He punishes them. Allowing us to face the consequences of our sin is in and of itself a form of punishment.
Sorry folks, but God not only forgives but He punishes as well. Afflictions are His means of conveying His displeasure, correcting, applying discipline - punishing sin. It is His mercy and grace that limits the intensity of the affliction for we all know quite clearly what we actuallly deserve for our sin.
I know few believers for who a simple note concerning some sin they are trapped in would suffice. It seems the bigger and deeper the sin the bigger and deeper the punishment. Wow - aren't we distressed by the idea of God punishing us for our sin?
Now many of you will have a hard time with this idea and I can sympathise. For many of us punishment means an excessinve act of arbitrary anger on the part of someone in authority. It does not seem so much like correction as revenge for some wrong we have committed hence we have a terrible time thinking of God's punishment.
But, at least for me, the important thing is that God's punishment has a point, a purpose and it is done in love. God's punishment is intended for our sanctification - our being conformed to the likeness of Christ - which should be a point and purpose for us as well.
Grace is NOT a free pass, a get out of jail free card. Grace is the turning away of the eternal punishment we deserve onto Christ so that we may never never need fear it. But in our daiy lives, in our daily sanctification God will punish us for sins especially those sins which are deeply set in our hearts.
You love temporal tiing too much, they are little gods in your life? That is sin and god may well see the need to punish you for your idolatry. He may well see that only exile will bring you back from the edge. Perhaps He may allow or impose some physical issue or impairment. Perhaps you will suffer the loss place or position. Perhaps, as seems more and more likely, you will suffer imprinsoment, a loss of freedom for your sin.
But punshment is a mean God uses to correct and discipline His children in love and a deep unknowlable desire that they be comformed to Christ's likeness. Punishment always has a point - a purpose.
I struggle with this as Patti and I pass through the affliction we are facing. I used all the soft words (correction, discipline, refining, etc) for what is taking place but as time passes and my sin was made clearer. I ceased to be shocked by the idea that God might be punishing me - I certainly deserved it and I don't know that anything less would have made the impact this punishment did.
I struggled with the idea that God was mad at me and was rejecting me even that I had never believed in the first place. But the more I prayed and read the Word the more I came to see that God was never closer to me than when He found it necessary to punish me to bring me out of sin.
Not all afflcition must be seen as punishment. It may very well be simple correction or common discipline but we can not afford to refuse the idea that God does and will punish His erring children for His glory for their good.
Punishment is not the absense of grace or mercy. Indeed I've come to think that, for the believer, God's punishment for sin is an act of mercy and a great reminder of grace. There is a certain sweetness to the rod when we see it as an act of mercy. He loves us that much.
When my father used to punish me he would always tell me "This hurts me more that it does you." I neve believed him - don't believe it even today - but what I feel about that is not what I feel about God's punishment. His love is so mighty, so intense that I do believe that when He punishes one of His, it does hurt Him more than it does us.
One of the uses of afflcition is indeed to punish - to show us in a very up close and personal way if not the wages of sin then the pocket change.
4. Correction and punishment for sin.
For those who do not think God punishes our sin here perhaps a re-reading of the OT would be appropriate. We like to avoid that word punishment by using words like correct or discipline but changing the word does not change God's purpose. Nor is it any better to talk of God allowing us to suffer the consequences of our sin as opposed to saying He punishes them. Allowing us to face the consequences of our sin is in and of itself a form of punishment.
Sorry folks, but God not only forgives but He punishes as well. Afflictions are His means of conveying His displeasure, correcting, applying discipline - punishing sin. It is His mercy and grace that limits the intensity of the affliction for we all know quite clearly what we actuallly deserve for our sin.
I know few believers for who a simple note concerning some sin they are trapped in would suffice. It seems the bigger and deeper the sin the bigger and deeper the punishment. Wow - aren't we distressed by the idea of God punishing us for our sin?
Now many of you will have a hard time with this idea and I can sympathise. For many of us punishment means an excessinve act of arbitrary anger on the part of someone in authority. It does not seem so much like correction as revenge for some wrong we have committed hence we have a terrible time thinking of God's punishment.
But, at least for me, the important thing is that God's punishment has a point, a purpose and it is done in love. God's punishment is intended for our sanctification - our being conformed to the likeness of Christ - which should be a point and purpose for us as well.
Grace is NOT a free pass, a get out of jail free card. Grace is the turning away of the eternal punishment we deserve onto Christ so that we may never never need fear it. But in our daiy lives, in our daily sanctification God will punish us for sins especially those sins which are deeply set in our hearts.
You love temporal tiing too much, they are little gods in your life? That is sin and god may well see the need to punish you for your idolatry. He may well see that only exile will bring you back from the edge. Perhaps He may allow or impose some physical issue or impairment. Perhaps you will suffer the loss place or position. Perhaps, as seems more and more likely, you will suffer imprinsoment, a loss of freedom for your sin.
But punshment is a mean God uses to correct and discipline His children in love and a deep unknowlable desire that they be comformed to Christ's likeness. Punishment always has a point - a purpose.
I struggle with this as Patti and I pass through the affliction we are facing. I used all the soft words (correction, discipline, refining, etc) for what is taking place but as time passes and my sin was made clearer. I ceased to be shocked by the idea that God might be punishing me - I certainly deserved it and I don't know that anything less would have made the impact this punishment did.
I struggled with the idea that God was mad at me and was rejecting me even that I had never believed in the first place. But the more I prayed and read the Word the more I came to see that God was never closer to me than when He found it necessary to punish me to bring me out of sin.
Not all afflcition must be seen as punishment. It may very well be simple correction or common discipline but we can not afford to refuse the idea that God does and will punish His erring children for His glory for their good.
Punishment is not the absense of grace or mercy. Indeed I've come to think that, for the believer, God's punishment for sin is an act of mercy and a great reminder of grace. There is a certain sweetness to the rod when we see it as an act of mercy. He loves us that much.
When my father used to punish me he would always tell me "This hurts me more that it does you." I neve believed him - don't believe it even today - but what I feel about that is not what I feel about God's punishment. His love is so mighty, so intense that I do believe that when He punishes one of His, it does hurt Him more than it does us.
One of the uses of afflcition is indeed to punish - to show us in a very up close and personal way if not the wages of sin then the pocket change.
Thursday, March 13, 2014
Uses of Afflcition 02 031314
Uses of Affliction 02 031314
1. The trial of one's state, whether one is in the state of grace or not.
When we are under any affliction it is quite common for us to do a lot of questioning.
One of the uses God makes of affliction and a use we can use is in questioning whether or not we are indeed in a state of grace (saved) or not. This is not a doubting of God's willingness or ability to save us but whether or not our confession is genuine.
Is this legitimate? It would appear from scripture that indeed it is.
In 2 Chronicles we read concerning Hezekiah:
2 Chronicles 32:31 NASB
. . . .God left him alone only to test him, that He might know all that was in his heart.
In afflictions we have a sense that God has "left" us and it is normal for us to be in distress. But one of the uses of afflcition is certainly that we might know what is truly in our hearts. Not to be trite but the questions in this instance might be, "is Jesus really in my heart?" "Is my confession of faith true?" "Am I really a child of God?"
Difficult and distressing questions - but questions that need to be asked.
We know how evil and fickled our hearts are and we know there are many whose confessions are mere ascent to a set of facts and not true faith (trust) in the saving power and Lorship of Jesus. Afflictions provide us with a context where these quesitons are not only appropriate but vital.
Consider the following:
1 Corinthians 11:28 NASB
But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup.
2 Corinthians 13:5 NASB
Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you--unless indeed you fail the test?
Galatians 6:4 NASB
But each one must examine his own work, and then he will have reason for boasting in regard to himself alone, and not in regard to another.
2 Peter 1:10 NASB
Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble;
None of these passages are directly connected to any afflcition. We are admonished to consistantly examine ourselves and our faith to determine its veracity, it's soundness. If we are so admonished to do so outside of any affliction how much more so in afflcition.
By afflcition God tests us. Not for His benefit but for our own. We need to know two things. That God is real and all He says He is and we need to know that our faith is genuine.
We should learn the blessing of afflcitions by embracing the opportunity for greater assurance of our faith. Afflictions are on the one hand tests - tests for us. They are tests that strip away all the comforts and causes of our ease so that we may determine wherther or not our faith/trust is truly in Him or whether it is mixed with our trust in other comforts and causes of ease.
I have grown to see afflcitions as a kind of second calling. When I stray, as all sheep tend to do, I get into trouble (which God ordains/allows to happen). I have learned to view the afflcition as God calling me either back to Him or to a unslullied trust in Him. Afflcitons are never pleasant but they do have purpose and there can be no greater purpose than for us to grow in our assurance that we are indeed His.
This is one of the reasons James can write:
James 1:2-4 NASB
Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, [3] knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. [4] And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
Isn't is interesting that God will lead us into a place where we lose much of our comforts and there casues so that we may lack nothing - but that's for a later blog.
1. The trial of one's state, whether one is in the state of grace or not.
When we are under any affliction it is quite common for us to do a lot of questioning.
One of the uses God makes of affliction and a use we can use is in questioning whether or not we are indeed in a state of grace (saved) or not. This is not a doubting of God's willingness or ability to save us but whether or not our confession is genuine.
Is this legitimate? It would appear from scripture that indeed it is.
In 2 Chronicles we read concerning Hezekiah:
2 Chronicles 32:31 NASB
. . . .God left him alone only to test him, that He might know all that was in his heart.
In afflictions we have a sense that God has "left" us and it is normal for us to be in distress. But one of the uses of afflcition is certainly that we might know what is truly in our hearts. Not to be trite but the questions in this instance might be, "is Jesus really in my heart?" "Is my confession of faith true?" "Am I really a child of God?"
Difficult and distressing questions - but questions that need to be asked.
We know how evil and fickled our hearts are and we know there are many whose confessions are mere ascent to a set of facts and not true faith (trust) in the saving power and Lorship of Jesus. Afflictions provide us with a context where these quesitons are not only appropriate but vital.
Consider the following:
1 Corinthians 11:28 NASB
But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup.
2 Corinthians 13:5 NASB
Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you--unless indeed you fail the test?
Galatians 6:4 NASB
But each one must examine his own work, and then he will have reason for boasting in regard to himself alone, and not in regard to another.
2 Peter 1:10 NASB
Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble;
None of these passages are directly connected to any afflcition. We are admonished to consistantly examine ourselves and our faith to determine its veracity, it's soundness. If we are so admonished to do so outside of any affliction how much more so in afflcition.
By afflcition God tests us. Not for His benefit but for our own. We need to know two things. That God is real and all He says He is and we need to know that our faith is genuine.
We should learn the blessing of afflcitions by embracing the opportunity for greater assurance of our faith. Afflictions are on the one hand tests - tests for us. They are tests that strip away all the comforts and causes of our ease so that we may determine wherther or not our faith/trust is truly in Him or whether it is mixed with our trust in other comforts and causes of ease.
I have grown to see afflcitions as a kind of second calling. When I stray, as all sheep tend to do, I get into trouble (which God ordains/allows to happen). I have learned to view the afflcition as God calling me either back to Him or to a unslullied trust in Him. Afflcitons are never pleasant but they do have purpose and there can be no greater purpose than for us to grow in our assurance that we are indeed His.
This is one of the reasons James can write:
James 1:2-4 NASB
Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, [3] knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. [4] And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
Isn't is interesting that God will lead us into a place where we lose much of our comforts and there casues so that we may lack nothing - but that's for a later blog.
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Uses of Affliction 01 031214
Uses for Afflictions 01 031214
We all at one time or anthor (at least) find ourelves suffering some sort of affliction. It may be transitory, it may be permanent; it may be small, it may be great, but we all will indeed suffer in this world.
So what's the point? Why does God allow us to suffer? Is there a good use of afflictions in which we can find comfort and encouragement and strength.
Thomas Boston in his work, A Crook in the Lot, give us a list of seven ways in which we and God can use afflcitions for good. Submitting to God, trusting in Christ and depending upon the Holy Spirit afflictions can bring blessings.
Below you will find a paraphrased list of the uses Boston suggests. I hope to address each of them in a practicle and personal manner in this new series of blogs.
Uses of Afflictions
I will attempt to expand and illustrate these points in the coming weeks. They are not easy points and certainly they are not comfortable but I believe that we need to work hard at understanding the uses of affliction in order to be betterr able not only to endure but to encourage.
1 Corinthians 10:13 NASB
No temptation ((trial)) has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted ((tried)) beyond what you are able, but with the temptation ((trial)) will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.
May God bless my efforts and yours as we look at the uses of afflictions to the glory of God.
Please don;t hesitate to email me questions or comments:
sheepdog.ms@gmail.com
We all at one time or anthor (at least) find ourelves suffering some sort of affliction. It may be transitory, it may be permanent; it may be small, it may be great, but we all will indeed suffer in this world.
So what's the point? Why does God allow us to suffer? Is there a good use of afflictions in which we can find comfort and encouragement and strength.
Thomas Boston in his work, A Crook in the Lot, give us a list of seven ways in which we and God can use afflcitions for good. Submitting to God, trusting in Christ and depending upon the Holy Spirit afflictions can bring blessings.
Below you will find a paraphrased list of the uses Boston suggests. I hope to address each of them in a practicle and personal manner in this new series of blogs.
Uses of Afflictions
- The trial of one's state, whether one is in the state of grace of not.
- Excitation to duty, weaning one from this world, and prompting him to look after the happiness of the other world.
- Conviction of sin.
- Correction and punishment for sin.
- Preventing sin.
- Discovery of latenet corruption whether in saints of sinners.
- The exercise of grace in the chidren of God
I will attempt to expand and illustrate these points in the coming weeks. They are not easy points and certainly they are not comfortable but I believe that we need to work hard at understanding the uses of affliction in order to be betterr able not only to endure but to encourage.
1 Corinthians 10:13 NASB
No temptation ((trial)) has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted ((tried)) beyond what you are able, but with the temptation ((trial)) will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.
May God bless my efforts and yours as we look at the uses of afflictions to the glory of God.
Please don;t hesitate to email me questions or comments:
sheepdog.ms@gmail.com
Monday, March 10, 2014
Heart Keepers 06 031014
Heart Keepers 06
6. The realizing of God's presence with us and setting the Lord always before us.
God is always with us. The Holy Spirit indwells us. All this is true but do we intentionally set that in the forefront of our minds and the center of our hearts?
Are we desirous of being obnoxiously aware of and desperately desirous of His being always and all ways before us?
Without the practice of the disciplines of the faith, without partaking of His means of grace and His mercies this will never never be the case. We are but babes in holiness (in many ways but especially in terms of separation from the world). As babes we need goood food and good exercize. Without both we will not grow or we will grow poorly.
But we have too much to do. Too much to worry about. Too much of too much. So we nibble a breakfast bar of faith thinking it will provide the nutrition we need for our daily walk. We crave spiritual fast food and just the occassional healthy meal and think we will be OK.
We set God before us when we are in need; not accepting that we are always in need. Prosperity and comfort keep us fat, sassy and lost.
Keeping the heart takes work - focused and diligent work - but who has the time? Who makes the time? So we stubble along bringing ridicule to the name of God by our shallow, ignorant and intermitant faith. We violate the first line of the model prayer since we do not "hallow" His name as it should be hallowed.
We do not keep our hearts and so our lives are warped and twisted all the time we claim to be serving the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
Jesus made it very very clear that it is our hearts that are the source of evil and it is our hearts we must keep. It's not a feeling, its facts. It's not a disposition, it's discipline. It's not neat, it's necessary.
6. The realizing of God's presence with us and setting the Lord always before us.
God is always with us. The Holy Spirit indwells us. All this is true but do we intentionally set that in the forefront of our minds and the center of our hearts?
Are we desirous of being obnoxiously aware of and desperately desirous of His being always and all ways before us?
Without the practice of the disciplines of the faith, without partaking of His means of grace and His mercies this will never never be the case. We are but babes in holiness (in many ways but especially in terms of separation from the world). As babes we need goood food and good exercize. Without both we will not grow or we will grow poorly.
But we have too much to do. Too much to worry about. Too much of too much. So we nibble a breakfast bar of faith thinking it will provide the nutrition we need for our daily walk. We crave spiritual fast food and just the occassional healthy meal and think we will be OK.
We set God before us when we are in need; not accepting that we are always in need. Prosperity and comfort keep us fat, sassy and lost.
Keeping the heart takes work - focused and diligent work - but who has the time? Who makes the time? So we stubble along bringing ridicule to the name of God by our shallow, ignorant and intermitant faith. We violate the first line of the model prayer since we do not "hallow" His name as it should be hallowed.
We do not keep our hearts and so our lives are warped and twisted all the time we claim to be serving the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
Jesus made it very very clear that it is our hearts that are the source of evil and it is our hearts we must keep. It's not a feeling, its facts. It's not a disposition, it's discipline. It's not neat, it's necessary.
Saturday, March 8, 2014
Heart Keepers 05. 030914
Heart Keepers 05
5. A constant and holy jealousy over our own hearts.
This is a tough one. "Jealousy," isn't that a sin? And yet shouldn't we be jealous of anything that would woo us away from the Lord?
Think of the power (albeit evil) of sinful jealousy. It's the Great Green Monster. It sparks anger and bitterness, even fury and odd behaviors. Shouldn't anything that comes between our hearts and God be seen as an interloper, a seducer, a harlot attempting to lead us into adultery?
"My heart is God's, leave it alone!" "It is His do not intefere!" Even, "I hate you for trying to come between God and I!" Should not this be our stance? Should we not pray for this holy jealousy over our hearts?
Indeed God is jealous for our hearts. He responds mightily when anything seeks to woo or win us. He hates - yes hates - that which would come between you and Him. We see it over and over again in the history of Israel. God is a jealous God and will not tolerate our having any others.
Exodus 34:14 NASB
--for you shall not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God--
Deuteronomy 4:24 NASB
"For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.
Psalm 78:58 NASB
For they provoked Him with their high places And aroused His jealousy with their graven images.
1 Corinthians 10:22 NASB
Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? We are not stronger than He, are we?
James 4:4-5 NASB
You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. [5] Or do you think that the Scripture speaks to no purpose: "He jealously desires the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us"?
We need to be just as jealous for God as He is for us. I know it seems odd and is quite a tough nut to crack but we need to pray that the Holy Spirit will give us insight.
These are His eyes, you may not enter.
These are His ears, you may not sound.
This is His mind, be ye gone.
This is His heart, there is no place for you here.
ms
5. A constant and holy jealousy over our own hearts.
This is a tough one. "Jealousy," isn't that a sin? And yet shouldn't we be jealous of anything that would woo us away from the Lord?
Think of the power (albeit evil) of sinful jealousy. It's the Great Green Monster. It sparks anger and bitterness, even fury and odd behaviors. Shouldn't anything that comes between our hearts and God be seen as an interloper, a seducer, a harlot attempting to lead us into adultery?
"My heart is God's, leave it alone!" "It is His do not intefere!" Even, "I hate you for trying to come between God and I!" Should not this be our stance? Should we not pray for this holy jealousy over our hearts?
Indeed God is jealous for our hearts. He responds mightily when anything seeks to woo or win us. He hates - yes hates - that which would come between you and Him. We see it over and over again in the history of Israel. God is a jealous God and will not tolerate our having any others.
Exodus 34:14 NASB
--for you shall not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God--
Deuteronomy 4:24 NASB
"For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.
Psalm 78:58 NASB
For they provoked Him with their high places And aroused His jealousy with their graven images.
1 Corinthians 10:22 NASB
Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? We are not stronger than He, are we?
James 4:4-5 NASB
You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. [5] Or do you think that the Scripture speaks to no purpose: "He jealously desires the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us"?
We need to be just as jealous for God as He is for us. I know it seems odd and is quite a tough nut to crack but we need to pray that the Holy Spirit will give us insight.
These are His eyes, you may not enter.
These are His ears, you may not sound.
This is His mind, be ye gone.
This is His heart, there is no place for you here.
ms
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
Trusting God - Trouble (b)
Matthew 6:34 ESV
"Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
"Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
In the second part of this versewe're told that each day has its own troouble and that that troublee is sufficient.
Car breakdowns, illness, traffic, bad news, sudden expenses even missed oppotunities are all the types of trouble we experience and we tend to just take them in stride. But should we?
Is there anything in our lives that is too trivial for God? Is there anything about our lives that the God who numbers my hairs and my days can be disconnected from? No, I have to believe that nothing - NO thing - in and about my life is too trivial for God to be concerned with.
Traffic is bad, other drivers are rude and I am running late for an important meeting. That has a great effect on my attitiude and temper. Is God not interested in that as much as anything else? Is He not concerned that I arrive at the meeting calm and composed so I may do my best and honor Him? Does He not care about my heart and needs? To assume - even by lack of attention- that God is not interested in the smallest thing in my life makes a mockery of Jesus' claim that He is interested.
How much attention though do we pay to the trivial? Do we pray about these things? A timely arrival at a meeting, a good parking place, no car breakdown, Or deo we just figure their random things that we just have to suffer and deal with?
Brothers and sisters, our very lives are composed of a multitude of the trivial that all fit together to build our lives. One thing goes wrong and we feel our dau is spoiled. A bad hair day and we're cast down all day. One "little" thing does not go according to our plans and we're mortified and depressed. It should not be this way.
The only things I know that will assist us in livng in the "trouble" we encounter each day is attention to detail in prayer. We do not waaste God's time or providence by praying for what we consider trivial or silly. Indeed when we do pray for these things we are confirming in our hearts and minds that our God is the God of the details no matter how trivial they seem to us. We do not "bother" god when we go to Him with anything. Indeed we are dmonished to do exactly that.
Need to meed a quota? Need Power Point to work right? Need for traffic to no be a problem? Why not pray about that? What excuse could we possibly have for not praying about things of this nature.
Each day has trouble. /each day needs to begin with pray and especially prayer about facing the trouble the day will bring. And as we encounter these troubles we need to be praying about them asking God to help us see His use for them, His purpose in allowing them into our lives - when they happen!
Paul tells us to "pray always," and this admonition in Matthew is one very important reason why. We can never pray too much and we can never thing anything in our lives is too trivial to pray about.
Trusting God? Trusting God for the trivial? Who else are you going to trust?
Trusting God is not about trusting Him for BIG things it is trusting Him for EVERYTHING.
Monday, February 10, 2014
A Constant Battle 010914
Do you find yourself dealing with, "If You will ....... I will ......." type prayers or choices?
It is so sy to fall into bargaining with God for His blessing and provision. And this is especaillly true when we are under any affliction or struggle.
Satan loves to bring to our minds all of our sins and even though they are forgiven in Christ he uses their awfulness to make us think we are condemned - even thoug that is not possible.
So we go to God and try to make a deal. Or we undertake some duty thinking that if I just do this He will bless me.
This is, above all things, an isnight into the sin that yet clings to our hearts. It's there and it will continue to affect our thinking and prayer. But we must pray that the Spirit will expose this to us that we may pray against it. So we may see it coming and bypass it in our prayers.
Oh if we could only grasp the fullness of His forgiveness. If we were not so tied to ourselves and could see Him and His love through the self-ness we are plaugued with.
This need to prove that we are either really in need or that we are really worthy of His help drives so many of us to despair and confusion.
Take heart in the fact that in this you are not alone. Most mature believers will tell you that they still struggle with this. So you are not alone among believers in your struggle.
But you are not alone beyond that either. God knows the habits of abiding sin. He is not shocked when we come to Him this way. He knows our struggle and appreciated the depth of it. He knows all of our heart and He would heal it of this struggle.
Acknowledge and confess these "bargain" prayers. Realize that God can not but give us what is best for us. Yes, He desires - no, He commands our obedience but that is based on who He is and what He has done. Gratitude does not nullify grace but embellishes and enlivens it.
OK- enough. That was on my mind because day I caught myself at it. Mmmmm figured you might catch yourself at it too.
M
It is so sy to fall into bargaining with God for His blessing and provision. And this is especaillly true when we are under any affliction or struggle.
Satan loves to bring to our minds all of our sins and even though they are forgiven in Christ he uses their awfulness to make us think we are condemned - even thoug that is not possible.
So we go to God and try to make a deal. Or we undertake some duty thinking that if I just do this He will bless me.
This is, above all things, an isnight into the sin that yet clings to our hearts. It's there and it will continue to affect our thinking and prayer. But we must pray that the Spirit will expose this to us that we may pray against it. So we may see it coming and bypass it in our prayers.
Oh if we could only grasp the fullness of His forgiveness. If we were not so tied to ourselves and could see Him and His love through the self-ness we are plaugued with.
This need to prove that we are either really in need or that we are really worthy of His help drives so many of us to despair and confusion.
Take heart in the fact that in this you are not alone. Most mature believers will tell you that they still struggle with this. So you are not alone among believers in your struggle.
But you are not alone beyond that either. God knows the habits of abiding sin. He is not shocked when we come to Him this way. He knows our struggle and appreciated the depth of it. He knows all of our heart and He would heal it of this struggle.
Acknowledge and confess these "bargain" prayers. Realize that God can not but give us what is best for us. Yes, He desires - no, He commands our obedience but that is based on who He is and what He has done. Gratitude does not nullify grace but embellishes and enlivens it.
OK- enough. That was on my mind because day I caught myself at it. Mmmmm figured you might catch yourself at it too.
M
Monday, February 3, 2014
Melacholy - 020314 After morning blessings 10:00am
I am melacholy
But not without my uses
I can work within it
When I don't try to make excuses
Where is God in all of this?
Yep!
God is in all of this!
I am melacholy
Because
He has allowed it
Maybe He made it happen
But
What's important
Is that
In it
I have certain affinities
And insights
And abilities
I never would have
Without it
Again,
We all want to see a miracle
But we don't want the need of a miracle
We don't want to be blind so we can receive our sight
We don't want to be lame so we can walk
We don't want to be lepers so we can be cleansed
We don't really want to NEED a miracle
What we want to is to be OK
And get a miracle to get BETTER
We don't understand the usefulness
Our affliction brings
And that's understandable
Just not acceptable
Few know the vanity of life like we do
Few know the alure of the flesh like we do
Few know the pride of life like we do
Few know their sin like we do
SO
Few know their deep deep need of Christ
Like we do
Few get to know God or themselves - or others
Like we do
But not without my uses
I can work within it
When I don't try to make excuses
Where is God in all of this?
Yep!
God is in all of this!
I am melacholy
Because
He has allowed it
Maybe He made it happen
But
What's important
Is that
In it
I have certain affinities
And insights
And abilities
I never would have
Without it
Again,
We all want to see a miracle
But we don't want the need of a miracle
We don't want to be blind so we can receive our sight
We don't want to be lame so we can walk
We don't want to be lepers so we can be cleansed
We don't really want to NEED a miracle
What we want to is to be OK
And get a miracle to get BETTER
We don't understand the usefulness
Our affliction brings
And that's understandable
Just not acceptable
Few know the vanity of life like we do
Few know the alure of the flesh like we do
Few know the pride of life like we do
Few know their sin like we do
SO
Few know their deep deep need of Christ
Like we do
Few get to know God or themselves - or others
Like we do
Saturday, December 28, 2013
A New Years Prayer 120813
A New Year's Prayer
Psalm 51:10-13 NASB
Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. [11] Do not cast me away from Your presence And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. [12] Restore to me the joy of Your salvation And sustain me with a willing spirit. [13] Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, And sinners will be converted to You.
This is my New Year's verse and a wonderful verse it is.
We all find that at times our zeal and enthuziasm wains and our love seems to grow cold. We all find, at times, that we are are luke-warm. We grow by undulation and experience highs and lows.
This fact makes this prayer a great blessing in that it not only reminds of our deep and abiding need but cries out to our Father for mercy and provision. It is a supplication and confession in one.
But there is more. The last verse is critical. We often read it as a promise that if God will do what we find in verses 10-12 we will do what is found in verse 13. But perhaps we read amiss.
As I read this passage it dawned on me that unless I seek what is found in verses 10-12 I will not be able to do what is found in verse 13. I will be neither motivated nor qualified to teach transgressors (much less anyone else) His ways. Without His provision I will continue to just float along wating for something to happen instead of being sensitive to and yearning for the opportunity to share the gospel.
This verse is worthy of meditation. It deserve (as does all scripture) our close attention and prayerful examination. It also deserves our expectation of being answered in the affirmative. It is a prayer held in the promise.
I encourage you to join me in seeking what this passage seeks for the purpose of being His means and provision in the lives of the many lost and suffering we connect with every day. We are here to serve Him as His witnesses - His witnesses not ouu own.
All around us, at work, in our families, in our recreation even in our churches there are transgressors who need to hear His ways, His truth, His good news. We need to pray this purposeful prayer daily - even many times each day.
We must warn a fallen world and call it to repentance. We must offer it the hope of eternity and His special providence in Christ.
Psalm 51:10-13 NASB
Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. [11] Do not cast me away from Your presence And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. [12] Restore to me the joy of Your salvation And sustain me with a willing spirit. [13] Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, And sinners will be converted to You.
This is my New Year's verse and a wonderful verse it is.
We all find that at times our zeal and enthuziasm wains and our love seems to grow cold. We all find, at times, that we are are luke-warm. We grow by undulation and experience highs and lows.
This fact makes this prayer a great blessing in that it not only reminds of our deep and abiding need but cries out to our Father for mercy and provision. It is a supplication and confession in one.
But there is more. The last verse is critical. We often read it as a promise that if God will do what we find in verses 10-12 we will do what is found in verse 13. But perhaps we read amiss.
As I read this passage it dawned on me that unless I seek what is found in verses 10-12 I will not be able to do what is found in verse 13. I will be neither motivated nor qualified to teach transgressors (much less anyone else) His ways. Without His provision I will continue to just float along wating for something to happen instead of being sensitive to and yearning for the opportunity to share the gospel.
This verse is worthy of meditation. It deserve (as does all scripture) our close attention and prayerful examination. It also deserves our expectation of being answered in the affirmative. It is a prayer held in the promise.
I encourage you to join me in seeking what this passage seeks for the purpose of being His means and provision in the lives of the many lost and suffering we connect with every day. We are here to serve Him as His witnesses - His witnesses not ouu own.
All around us, at work, in our families, in our recreation even in our churches there are transgressors who need to hear His ways, His truth, His good news. We need to pray this purposeful prayer daily - even many times each day.
We must warn a fallen world and call it to repentance. We must offer it the hope of eternity and His special providence in Christ.
Thursday, October 10, 2013
Synopsis - wisely said 101013
Mark Deckard write (base upon a work by J. Burroughs (the Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment)
"Contentment is not found in obtaining our desires, although God may sometimes grant them to us if they are not harmful. Rather it is found in finding God in the midst of our unmet desires and in the end discovering that he is all we trule need (Matt. 6:25-33)."
Matthew 6:25-33 ESV
"Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious 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: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? [27] And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? [28] And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, [29] yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. [30] But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? [31] Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' [32] For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. [33] But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."
"Contentment is not found in obtaining our desires, although God may sometimes grant them to us if they are not harmful. Rather it is found in finding God in the midst of our unmet desires and in the end discovering that he is all we trule need (Matt. 6:25-33)."
Matthew 6:25-33 ESV
"Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious 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: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? [27] And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? [28] And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, [29] yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. [30] But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? [31] Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' [32] For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. [33] But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."
How hard it is to lay aside our own answers and solutions and to wait upon His! The flesh is strong when we are in distress and contentment seems so far from us.
The occassional Christian who runs to God when they have run out of themselves will find times of trial and discontent harder to bear than that believer whose habit it is to go before the Lord regularly seeking His will and the mortification of the fleshly, abiding sinful desires.
I have come to think that we are to see our lives as a moment by moment battle not just an occassional skirmish with the world the flesh and the devil. To see our lives as having but an occassional struggle is to see our lives as needing God only occassionally. This leads to spiritual weakness and desperation in tiimes of great confrontation.
There are "musts" in the Christian walk. Prayer, worship, stewardship to name a few. They are not intended to gain us favor with God but to keep us close to Him to facilitate our growth and usefulness. They also prepare us for those times of trouble and discontent that we must know we will face in this life. When we fail in these Christian duties we are simply setting ourselves up for pain and agony.
Is he all you truly need? Can you accept that and settle your soul? Are you seeking to discover that through faithfully engaging with Him? Are you seeking His kingdom, His kingship and all the mercies that come with them?
Or, are you simply getting through life as best you can under your own power and effort?
Contentment is wonderful but without godliness it is an empty shell, a fractured pillar, a damaged foundation.
Monday, July 1, 2013
Finger thinking 070113
The secret to the successful Christian life is a very very well kept secret. It is buried in mound of flesh and tons of skewed and twisted teaching. That's why it's a secret.
We try so very hard to come up with the scheme that will allow us to win God's favor and in doing so we nullify the cross and make mockery of the resurrection. We challenge the sovereignty of God and refuse His right to have dominance over all of our lives.
We don't really like God much. We want to just live our lives in comfort and ease singing silly songs about Jesus and playing the game the world offers us. We are weak, sultry, rebellious and stupid - and that's just believers.
There is NO secret to living the successful Christian life. It's written on every page of scripture. We also find the why of our pathetic attempts to live for ourselves while giving lip-service to Him.
OK - hard stuff - and maybe just maybe it's just me. If that is so than Praise God the rest of you are doing so well. Maybe I'm just one among a few who while trusting in His death and resurrection for my salvation have little interest or appreciation of His desire to conform me into the likeness of His Son.
Of course there is only one way to be conformed to Christ and that is to share in His sufferings. He suffered every day in every way and more so than we can ever - ever - comprehend. He suffered and calls us to suffer with Him.
But we don't want to suffer, we just want to be saved. We want a nice cozy road to heaven. We want to just kind of slide right through the gates. but tht is not His plan for any of us.
For some the suffering is great for others the suffereing is common. Those who suffer greatly know Him greatly. Those who suffer "commonly" tend to have a lack of appreciation of the suffering they do experience. They are able to ignore the meaning and purpose of their suffering. It is a light and yet constant suffering that they are able to mediate, medicate and/or minimize and so they miss the blessing and honor for the sake of comfort and acceptance.
In my trial(s) I find that in moments of sweet communion I can accept and appreciate what God is doing in my life. But before me I experience a deep sense of shame and failure and that gives rise to resentment of the trial(s).
God's desires to conform us to the likeness of His Son is a key issue in our lives. do we want it or not? If we do we have to enter the forge.
I have some friends who work a a company that makes tools. Two things are needed to forge those tools into useful and dependable tools (upon which lives depend). It takes heat and force. The metal they use comes prepared for forging. All the trash has been removed - there is no dross left - it is ready for the forge. Then are with the purifying process heat - very high heat is applied to make the metal pliable. then great force is applied to hammer the metal into the tool. The force is so great that "hammed" has to have a special foundation and the whole plant shakes with each blow of the hammer. But the heat and the hammering produces the desired tool.
Christ has purified us by His blood. Yes we still have to wrestle with the evil principle that remains but my point is that while we wrestle with that remaining flaw He is busy heating and hammering that we might be forged into the tools He desires us to be.
Yeah, all analogies have problems but I think that we will do well to look at His conforming us are necessitating the heat and the hammering.
Those of you who know me know I like to keep things simple or as my guy Alistair Begg says I like to stick to the, "main things and the plain things." So here you go brothers and sisters - a simple "secret" to living the life and being conformed -
Joshua 1:6-9 NASB
"Be strong and courageous, for you shall give this people possession of the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. [7] "Only be strong and very courageous; be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may have success wherever you go. [8] "This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success. [9] "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go."
We try so very hard to come up with the scheme that will allow us to win God's favor and in doing so we nullify the cross and make mockery of the resurrection. We challenge the sovereignty of God and refuse His right to have dominance over all of our lives.
We don't really like God much. We want to just live our lives in comfort and ease singing silly songs about Jesus and playing the game the world offers us. We are weak, sultry, rebellious and stupid - and that's just believers.
There is NO secret to living the successful Christian life. It's written on every page of scripture. We also find the why of our pathetic attempts to live for ourselves while giving lip-service to Him.
OK - hard stuff - and maybe just maybe it's just me. If that is so than Praise God the rest of you are doing so well. Maybe I'm just one among a few who while trusting in His death and resurrection for my salvation have little interest or appreciation of His desire to conform me into the likeness of His Son.
Of course there is only one way to be conformed to Christ and that is to share in His sufferings. He suffered every day in every way and more so than we can ever - ever - comprehend. He suffered and calls us to suffer with Him.
But we don't want to suffer, we just want to be saved. We want a nice cozy road to heaven. We want to just kind of slide right through the gates. but tht is not His plan for any of us.
For some the suffering is great for others the suffereing is common. Those who suffer greatly know Him greatly. Those who suffer "commonly" tend to have a lack of appreciation of the suffering they do experience. They are able to ignore the meaning and purpose of their suffering. It is a light and yet constant suffering that they are able to mediate, medicate and/or minimize and so they miss the blessing and honor for the sake of comfort and acceptance.
In my trial(s) I find that in moments of sweet communion I can accept and appreciate what God is doing in my life. But before me I experience a deep sense of shame and failure and that gives rise to resentment of the trial(s).
God's desires to conform us to the likeness of His Son is a key issue in our lives. do we want it or not? If we do we have to enter the forge.
I have some friends who work a a company that makes tools. Two things are needed to forge those tools into useful and dependable tools (upon which lives depend). It takes heat and force. The metal they use comes prepared for forging. All the trash has been removed - there is no dross left - it is ready for the forge. Then are with the purifying process heat - very high heat is applied to make the metal pliable. then great force is applied to hammer the metal into the tool. The force is so great that "hammed" has to have a special foundation and the whole plant shakes with each blow of the hammer. But the heat and the hammering produces the desired tool.
Christ has purified us by His blood. Yes we still have to wrestle with the evil principle that remains but my point is that while we wrestle with that remaining flaw He is busy heating and hammering that we might be forged into the tools He desires us to be.
Yeah, all analogies have problems but I think that we will do well to look at His conforming us are necessitating the heat and the hammering.
Those of you who know me know I like to keep things simple or as my guy Alistair Begg says I like to stick to the, "main things and the plain things." So here you go brothers and sisters - a simple "secret" to living the life and being conformed -
Joshua 1:6-9 NASB
"Be strong and courageous, for you shall give this people possession of the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. [7] "Only be strong and very courageous; be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may have success wherever you go. [8] "This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success. [9] "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go."
Thursday, May 30, 2013
What's the point?
(1Ti 1:5) But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.
"A sincere faith." Ha!
Sincere???? anupokritos = one without hypocrisy or pretense, unfeigned, genuine, real.
Sincere???? from Latin sincerus or "without wax."
Used when evaluating marble statues.
When the marble had a crack of nick in it, less scrupulous dealers would fill the crack with a wax compound, put marble dust on it and then polish it so that the crack was hidden. But, the right amount of heat would cause the wax to melt and expose the cracks and flaws that were being hidden. that's why I teach and why I write - the way I do.
I only hope the heat I bring to bear is just hot enough to melt the way we've used to cover our cracks - the flaws in our faith.
These flaws are both what we believe and how we live out those beliefs. If we hold to an error our living will demonstrate that. We live what we believe, it shows. We cover up these flaws as best we can but when the heat is on these beliefs are exposed.
They say doctrine divides - and so it does. It divides the wolves from the sheep and the hypocrite from the non-hypocrite. Heat, that is trials, are God's loving providence to show us these flaws - and to expose them to others.
By the way, sin is also treated with wax and dust to keep them hiddden. but they will always be exposed.
This is the work of the Word and the Spirit - but it is also the work of the believer. How can we say we love another and yet continue to allow them to hide their sin/flaws? Though very common this too is a sin and perhaps a very cruel one. It's not fun, it is not comfortable but it is, when done in humility and love, needful.
We are to admonish one another:
(Rom 15:14) And concerning you, my brethren, I myself also am convinced that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able also to admonish one another.
"so you too will not be tempted" = entering into the struggle of another has
its dangers. As a Discpler I am
woefully ware of them. We must pray
diligently BEFORE - DURING AND AFTER-
that we might not be trapped/caught in
their sin and not be caught in a sin of our
own such as pride.
Let's not kid ourselves. We see sincerity as a feeling and not a fact when the very work itself proposes a fact about which we should have a feeling. We all have cracks we seek to hide. Some of us do it well, others don't but none of us can hide them from God - so why, if we are all under His grace, do we work soooo hard to hide them from others.
Is is a lack of a sense of insincerity (sin) that is killing the church and allowing hypocrites and even unbelievers to enter and feel a part of something they really despise. If we were more concerned with sin, if we could but grasp how evil it is we would be repentant and repentance is always the necessary precursor to revival.
Although God certainly desires that my theology and doctrine be as correct as my little brain can take - He did not send His Son so I could "get it all right." He sent His Son so that my sins might be forgiven and I might serve His purposes here as one of His children not just as one of His creatures.
Sincerity can be very deceptive to others and even ourselves. But have courage, God will turn up the heat to melt the wax and He will restore those places where the flaws are. Trust Him - ask Him - wait upon Him - He will do what only He can do.
(1Ti 1:5) But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.
Tetelesthai!
"A sincere faith." Ha!
Sincere???? anupokritos = one without hypocrisy or pretense, unfeigned, genuine, real.
Sincere???? from Latin sincerus or "without wax."
Used when evaluating marble statues.
When the marble had a crack of nick in it, less scrupulous dealers would fill the crack with a wax compound, put marble dust on it and then polish it so that the crack was hidden. But, the right amount of heat would cause the wax to melt and expose the cracks and flaws that were being hidden. that's why I teach and why I write - the way I do.
I only hope the heat I bring to bear is just hot enough to melt the way we've used to cover our cracks - the flaws in our faith.
These flaws are both what we believe and how we live out those beliefs. If we hold to an error our living will demonstrate that. We live what we believe, it shows. We cover up these flaws as best we can but when the heat is on these beliefs are exposed.
They say doctrine divides - and so it does. It divides the wolves from the sheep and the hypocrite from the non-hypocrite. Heat, that is trials, are God's loving providence to show us these flaws - and to expose them to others.
By the way, sin is also treated with wax and dust to keep them hiddden. but they will always be exposed.
This is the work of the Word and the Spirit - but it is also the work of the believer. How can we say we love another and yet continue to allow them to hide their sin/flaws? Though very common this too is a sin and perhaps a very cruel one. It's not fun, it is not comfortable but it is, when done in humility and love, needful.
We are to admonish one another:
(Rom 15:14) And concerning you, my brethren, I myself also am convinced that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able also to admonish one another.
We are to admonish - WARN - one another when we see a sin or a flaw and we are to do it because we love God, honor Christ and love our brothers. I is not comfortable and should not be engaged in lightly but it must be done.
OK, we all wax up and polish our sins and flaws. But why? Certainly not so God won't see them. No, we do it so others won't see them. I am stealing Paul Tripp's idea here - but we want our horizontal relationships to protect our pride and our illusions. We can't hide from God but we can hide from one another.
What a waste of time and effort. What a waste of grace and blessings. Paul was "sincere" when he identified himself as the foremost of sinners. He was probably recalling his heroic efforts to destroy the church. How that must have weighed on his heart and yet he makes no attempt to hide it because the change God wrought in him was a witness to God's grace and power - as well as a witness to the awfulness of unbelief and it's results.
Note please that it is the common believers who are admonished to admonish one another. Not a priest, not a pastor, not an elder although this is a very big part of their role. Rather we need to find our way to admonishing, melting the wax, at the grass-roots level. Common believer to common believer.
When scripture speaks of going to an offending (or offended) brother it is not speaking about sending in the Marines (pastors/elders/etc). It is talking about YOU going to THEM. Is there a condition? Certainly.
(Gal 6:1) Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted.
Note a few things:
"caught" = ensnared
"any trespass = really does mean "any"
"spiritual" = mature (already had lots of wax melted)
"restore" = not remodel but restore - put bad as it should be
"spirit of gentleness"= remember your experience and learn to tough lightly as
possible
"looking to yourself'= we should all admonish another with a mirror in our
hands so that we see ourselves as we admonish. Like
it is said, when you point a finger at someone you have
three fingers pointing at you.
its dangers. As a Discpler I am
woefully ware of them. We must pray
diligently BEFORE - DURING AND AFTER-
that we might not be trapped/caught in
their sin and not be caught in a sin of our
own such as pride.
Let's not kid ourselves. We see sincerity as a feeling and not a fact when the very work itself proposes a fact about which we should have a feeling. We all have cracks we seek to hide. Some of us do it well, others don't but none of us can hide them from God - so why, if we are all under His grace, do we work soooo hard to hide them from others.
Is is a lack of a sense of insincerity (sin) that is killing the church and allowing hypocrites and even unbelievers to enter and feel a part of something they really despise. If we were more concerned with sin, if we could but grasp how evil it is we would be repentant and repentance is always the necessary precursor to revival.
Although God certainly desires that my theology and doctrine be as correct as my little brain can take - He did not send His Son so I could "get it all right." He sent His Son so that my sins might be forgiven and I might serve His purposes here as one of His children not just as one of His creatures.
Sincerity can be very deceptive to others and even ourselves. But have courage, God will turn up the heat to melt the wax and He will restore those places where the flaws are. Trust Him - ask Him - wait upon Him - He will do what only He can do.
(1Ti 1:5) But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.
Tetelesthai!
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Walking through Psalm 34
Psalm 34:1 ESV
I will bless the LORD at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
David wrote this after the Lord delivered him from one enemy while still being pursued by another. It wasn't the end of his troubles and yet he accepted the blessing as the trial continued.
Verse 1
Though made at the time of his deliverance this is not a commitment new to David. But he makes it here - again - a reaffirmation - a standing commitment a purpose.
This Psalm is not just for tough times. But we tend to be drawn to it more so then than when we feel at ease and comfortable. That's just us. We take a lot for granted when we are not in distress - or at least I have learned I did.
But I have been convicted that this is a Psalm we should read daily - among others. It presents us with evidence and assurance but it also admonishes us to draw close and stay close to Him.
This first verse is a tough one when we are despairing and yet even so we have cause to bless and praise Him. Even though it might be a really fight - we need to do it - it is the foundation upon which all our prayers are built. The best of starting places.
Consider its similarity to, "hallowed be Thy name.". There is no difference. Jesus teaches us that.
Yes, it may be hard to do and it may taste like ashes in one's mouth but it is true that regardless of where we are or how we are He is oh so worthy of our praise.
Father,
When I am unable - or struggling - please - please put Your praises in my mind and heart and on my lips. Make me able Lord to reach up out of my struggle and pain to bless and praise You.
Make me see You worthiness and sense Your pleasure. Do not let my raging turmoil silence my praise. Do not let my suffering silence my blessing of You.
Help Thou my little faith and in my pain let me praise You for You are worthy to be praised - always - in everything.
Amen
Monday, March 11, 2013
Be prayed for -
I just want to take a little of your time to encourage you to get prayed for. I know, sounds kind of weird. But it is not only part and parcel of the life of the Body but it brings with it surprising blessings.
I had a dear brother pray for me today. We talk on the phone a couple of times a week keeping one another accountable and encouraging each other. Today he said he wanted to pray for P and I. So, over the phone, he did.
OK, when this happens you kind of think you know what's going to be said - right? Well, not always. As I listened to his prayer I grew more and more amazed at his words. It was perhaps the deepest and clearest prayer I've ever had prayed for me.
Oh, he toughed the tough stuff and the needs but then it seems the prayer became deeper. I won't go into details but I found myself deeply touched and greatly convicted. He prayed for things I wouldn't have thought of - for needs I had not examined - for things I just skimmed in my prayers.
Was God leading his prayer? I can see no reason to think otherwise. Actually I have good and grateful reasons to believe God's hand was in it. No, it was not a weird prophecy prayer. Rather it was a prayer that cut right to the chase and it cut deeply. It was a wonderfully wounding and strengthening prayer. I was, as the British say, "gob-smacked."
Do you have someone who can pray for you and with you deeply? Is there someone with whom you don't flinch when their prayer goes deep?
Let me encourage you to ask God to bring into your life brothers and sisters who will pray for you deeply an for who you may do the same. Certainly we can and should do much to encourage and help one another - but prayer is the greatest thing we can and may do - let's pray we find the people and places for which to do it.
Father, don't let me be afraid of seeking deep and pointed prayer from my brothers and sisters. Bring me those with who and for whom I may pray openly and honestly and who will reach into my heart and lift up my needs as well. Father let us not avoid Your throne of grace, the opportunity to seek You and Your provision for one another.
Amen
I had a dear brother pray for me today. We talk on the phone a couple of times a week keeping one another accountable and encouraging each other. Today he said he wanted to pray for P and I. So, over the phone, he did.
OK, when this happens you kind of think you know what's going to be said - right? Well, not always. As I listened to his prayer I grew more and more amazed at his words. It was perhaps the deepest and clearest prayer I've ever had prayed for me.
Oh, he toughed the tough stuff and the needs but then it seems the prayer became deeper. I won't go into details but I found myself deeply touched and greatly convicted. He prayed for things I wouldn't have thought of - for needs I had not examined - for things I just skimmed in my prayers.
Was God leading his prayer? I can see no reason to think otherwise. Actually I have good and grateful reasons to believe God's hand was in it. No, it was not a weird prophecy prayer. Rather it was a prayer that cut right to the chase and it cut deeply. It was a wonderfully wounding and strengthening prayer. I was, as the British say, "gob-smacked."
Do you have someone who can pray for you and with you deeply? Is there someone with whom you don't flinch when their prayer goes deep?
Let me encourage you to ask God to bring into your life brothers and sisters who will pray for you deeply an for who you may do the same. Certainly we can and should do much to encourage and help one another - but prayer is the greatest thing we can and may do - let's pray we find the people and places for which to do it.
Father, don't let me be afraid of seeking deep and pointed prayer from my brothers and sisters. Bring me those with who and for whom I may pray openly and honestly and who will reach into my heart and lift up my needs as well. Father let us not avoid Your throne of grace, the opportunity to seek You and Your provision for one another.
Amen
Friday, February 8, 2013
Sorrow for sins OR afflictions? Yep!! 002
Afflictions are, for the believer, God's refining fire. Period! They are not punishment but rather one way He responds to our need to trust Him.
Our faith (trust) is refined in affliction and so they are a sure source of comfort and encouragement. But they are hard and they can hurt and sorrowing in them is not inappropriate.
And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? "My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. (Heb 12:5)
For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. (Heb 12:11)
AND
Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. (Rev 3:19-20)
The discipline and refining of affliction is not easy and we need to know that we may sorrow in it. Yes, we need to be hopeful concerning its purpose and outcome but we may sorrow as well.
Our sorrowing though needs to be healthy and honest. We are not required to enjoy it but rather engage it as a gift - those He loves, He disciplines. Discipline is not punishment it is training and training is not easy. But if we keep in sight the goal He has for it and us we will do better than if we do not.
Admittedly, this is not easy. For one, when we are undergoing the discipline it seems that God is far from us and our brothers and sisters even farther. We feel alone, abandoned, and isolated. This is such a sad circumstance. Perhaps this is one of the failures of the Body in that, though many are willing to pray for you - few come and pray with you. Though many may hug you, few are willing to hold you.
There is a thing called sympathetic pain. That's when an injured part of the body produces pain in a near by yet undamaged part of the body. Maybe this is what "the Body" is missing. I know that I have been convicted of not hurting for a brother or sister as I believe the Lord would have me and so my prayers were just embarrassing. I am seeking to learn to pray from a place where I at least appreciate their pain and lift it up along with their circumstances.
Sorrowing for affliction should not be immoderate. I mean it should not consume us and keep us from our "duties," such as prayer, study, worship, etc.... Yes, it is hard to pray when you feel your hair is on fire. But what do you do when you feel you've stepped off the edge of a cliff? Maybe pray all the way down???
Our faith (trust) is refined in affliction and so they are a sure source of comfort and encouragement. But they are hard and they can hurt and sorrowing in them is not inappropriate.
And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? "My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. (Heb 12:5)
AND
Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. (Rev 3:19-20)
The discipline and refining of affliction is not easy and we need to know that we may sorrow in it. Yes, we need to be hopeful concerning its purpose and outcome but we may sorrow as well.
Our sorrowing though needs to be healthy and honest. We are not required to enjoy it but rather engage it as a gift - those He loves, He disciplines. Discipline is not punishment it is training and training is not easy. But if we keep in sight the goal He has for it and us we will do better than if we do not.
Admittedly, this is not easy. For one, when we are undergoing the discipline it seems that God is far from us and our brothers and sisters even farther. We feel alone, abandoned, and isolated. This is such a sad circumstance. Perhaps this is one of the failures of the Body in that, though many are willing to pray for you - few come and pray with you. Though many may hug you, few are willing to hold you.
There is a thing called sympathetic pain. That's when an injured part of the body produces pain in a near by yet undamaged part of the body. Maybe this is what "the Body" is missing. I know that I have been convicted of not hurting for a brother or sister as I believe the Lord would have me and so my prayers were just embarrassing. I am seeking to learn to pray from a place where I at least appreciate their pain and lift it up along with their circumstances.
Sorrowing for affliction should not be immoderate. I mean it should not consume us and keep us from our "duties," such as prayer, study, worship, etc.... Yes, it is hard to pray when you feel your hair is on fire. But what do you do when you feel you've stepped off the edge of a cliff? Maybe pray all the way down???
No, I'm not trivializing the pain and sorrow of affliction but neither do I want to let any of us be so consumed by our sorrow that we just curl up and weep endlessly or hopelessly. Weep - yes. Sorrow - yes. Give up? Never - even if you just move slowly, move!
Imagine yourself as Peter.
"Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat,
(Luk 22:31)
Do you really think that Peter is the only one? I don't, I won't, I can't. BUT I also know that Jesus says:
but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers." (Luk 22:32)
Do you really think Jesus is not interceding for you as well? I don't, I won't, I can't.
Father, my affliction hurts - physically, emotionally and spiritually. I am in pain and my sight is dimmed. Sometimes I can't see You. Sometimes I can't feel You. Sometimes I fear You have left me.
But Father, I know You can not lie. I know by Your Word - the very Words of Your Son my Savior that You will never ever leave me - and that nothing can snatch me from Your loving and mighty hand.
Yet I am weak and I am anxious and fretful and sorrowing. Do not let me wallow in this but accept my sorrow and fretfulness and even my anxiety as part of my realization that I NEED THEE EVERY HOUR, in every circumstance. AND that Your plans for me are for me to glorify YOU and to be a witness and evidence of Your grace and glory.
Father, it does not feel good but I know it has to BE good. Father I would not have chosen it for myself but I need Your power and strength to accept Your choice of it for me.
Father - calm my heart, still my mind and draw my eyes to You.
Amen
Father - calm my heart, still my mind and draw my eyes to You.
Amen
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