Author: scott

Saved?

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“Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” – Acts 16:30b

The Right Questions

Amazing what constant reminders of our mortality can do to our perspective.  Hours of hospital visits, cancer centers, and non-stop discussions about test results and medical options have a way of reminding us that we are all terminal.  Faced with this truth we are forced to step back and do a lot of evaluating.  Certainly, we ask a lot of questions but are they the right ones?  Without a doubt, our priorities are adjusted at such times.  Suddenly the weather forecast and sports scores just don’t seem so important or interesting.  It is a good time to pause and take a breath and ask, “why?”.

How Much?

Why do we spend so much time accumulating possessions only to give them away as we age?  I understand that we are to work and provide for our families, but how much is enough?  How much is too much?  How often do we deny our children or grandchildren what they crave and need; our time; because we are too busy working?  Again, I ask, for what?  The possessions are not as important to them as our attention.  Undivided!!

How about our health?  It has been said that when we are young we sacrifice our health to accumulate wealth, and when we are old we spend our wealth to try to buy back our health.  As we step back and prioritize, we need to ask ourselves if the stress we place ourselves under is worth it.  Do we really need to be so busy?  Is it a necessary evil, or do we use busyness as a means of escape?  And if so; from what?  Are we afraid to be confronted with our mortality?  More importantly, are we afraid of the most important question, what happens to us after death?  As important as relationships and health are, they are not as “urgent” as eternity.  So while we are talking about stepping back and evaluating, let’s learn an important lesson from the Philippian jailer.

The Question!

In Acts chapter sixteen, we find Paul and Silas in prison.  With their feet in bonds, Paul and Silas decided to “pass the time” by praying and singing hymns.  Naturally, they had a captivated audience in the other prisoners.  Around midnight, God decided to set the prisoners free via an earthquake that loosened their bonds and opened the prison doors.  The jailer was definitely faced with his mortality since the loss of the prisoners could have resulted in his execution.  As a matter of fact, rather than wait to be executed, he was going to take his own life assuming that all of the prisoners had escaped.  Instead, once torches were lit he found that despite the loosened bonds and opened prison doors, none of the prisoners had fled.  Seeing that his life was spared, he asked the most important question, that concerning his eternal life, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”.

The Answer!

I don’t mean to be morbid, but let’s be real, you and I are terminal.  Because of sin, we are all going to die.  Do you know where you will spend eternity after you have taken your last breath on planet earth?  Have you ever asked the question, “What must I do to be saved?”?  Look at the response Paul and Silas gave to the jailer, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved.”  Believe!  Are you “working” for your salvation?  If so why?  If you can earn your salvation, why do you think Jesus hung on a cross?  As a matter of fact, did you know that your attempt to earn eternal life is an insult to the sacrifice Jesus made on Calvary?  As humans, we are “wired” to work.  In our pride, we like to earn what we have.  However, this doesn’t work in the spiritual realm where Grace reigns.

Spiritual “Work”

In John chapter six, Jesus was confronted by some Jews who wanted to know what work they had to do.  Look at the exchange.

28 Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” 29 Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”

Ok, the Jews say. But if we are to place our eternal destinies “in you”, what evidence do we have that you are trustworthy?  How do we know we can trust you?  Again, look at the exchange.

30 So they said to him, “Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? 31 Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” 32 Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”

35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.

The Only Answer

Moses we “know” was God sent because he gave our fathers manna to eat.  That’s pretty impressive Jesus, can you compete with that?  Jesus had just taken a few fish and loaves of bread and fed the multitudes.  That was impressive, but the crowds were looking for more.  Jesus simply says, our fathers may have eaten manna with Moses, but my Father has sent down the bread of life from Heaven.  He goes one step further and says that HE is the bread of life who came down from Heaven.  Whoever comes to Him shall not hunger and whoever believes in Him shall never thirst.  In other words, not only am I trustworthy, He tells the Jews, I am the ONLY means of eternal life.

At the end of the day, we all have a final authority.  Like the Jews, we look for something or someone we believe is trustworthy.  There are so many passages I could quote to validate the sufficiency in the blood of Christ and the exclusivity of the sacrifice of Christ as our ONLY means of salvation.  For now, I hope I have caused you to pause and look at your life and ask the important questions, and certainly the most important question, if you haven’t yet done so.  Why do you exist?  What are you living for?  What are you doing with your time?  What must you do to be saved?

The only cure for our sins is faith in Jesus.  We must confess we are sinners.  We must admit we are helpless and hopeless left to ourselves.  We must repent of our sins and place our faith in Christ alone.  That is what it means to believe in Christ.  Come as a penitent to the cross and leave your sins there for His blood to wash away.  It is the most important thing you can do with your life.

13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. – 1 John 5:13

God’s Omnipresence

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23 “Am I a God at hand, declares the Lord, and not a God far away? 24 Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth?” declares the Lord – Jeremiah 23:23-24

Want to get away?

You’ve seen the commercials.  Someone commits a gaffe one moment, and the next moment they are boarding a plane to remove themselves from the embarrassment that is the just desert for their blunder.  But what if you want to get away, and everyplace Southwest Airlines flies those you are trying to escape from are there to greet you?   Sound far-fetched?  Not if you are trying to hide from God.  Such was the lesson the false prophets of Jeremiah’s time had to learn.  They were preaching a message of peace that did not come from God.  Not only were they spreading lies, but apparently they thought God would not be aware of their message.  They could not have been more wrong.  Being Spirit, and not material, God is not subject to man’s limitations.  Our eternal God who does not wear the manacles of time is likewise unfettered by the chains of space.  Hence He reminds us, “Do I not fill heaven and earth?”

Omnipresent

The omnipresence of God implies that God is everywhere, every moment, in all of His fullness.  And you thought the eternality of God was difficult to comprehend.  Apparently Solomon, in all of his wisdom was able to comprehend this truth.  Or so it appears.  His was the privilege of building the Temple, but he knew even it could not contain God, “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; how much less this house that I have built!” (1 Kings 8:27).  The Temple may have been spacious and ornate, but:

Thus says the Lord:
“Heaven is my throne,
    and the earth is my footstool;
what is the house that you would build for me,
    and what is the place of my rest?” – Isaiah 66:1

No Escape

Isaiah 57 tells us that God inhabits eternity.  So how do we escape His presence?  Adam and Eve were unable to hide from Him.  Jonah was unable to flee from Him.  David knew how futile such an attempt was.

7 Where shall I go from your Spirit?
    Or where shall I flee from your presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
    If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
9 If I take the wings of the morning
    and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 even there your hand shall lead me,
    and your right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,
    and the light about me be night,”
12 even the darkness is not dark to you;
    the night is bright as the day,
    for darkness is as light with you. – Psalm 139:7-12

Never Alone

The omnipresence of God may be a truth that makes His enemies shudder as they realize there are no secret places where they can hide where God cannot see them.  But what a comfort this truth can be to His children.  Think of David’s comforting words in the 23rd Psalm.  Whether we are beside still waters, walking through the valley of the shadow of death, or in the presence of our enemies, God is there with us.  He is faithful to lead us, comfort us, and anoint us until our cups overflow.  God’s omnipresence doesn’t mean that He is always obligated to manifest Himself to us, but He is there none the less.  While His visage may not be visible to us, we can be certain that His eyes are upon us.  As David pointed out, neither an abundance of light or complete absence of it makes any difference to God.  Light is as irrelevant to God’s vision as space is to His presence.

Constant Awareness

I don’t know what you are going through today.  Most people I know live with constant struggles.  So much so that we often comment that everybody needs counseling.  Certainly, life has its fill of difficulties. While it is tempting to board the plane to flee from our trials, it is no long-term solution.   Regardless of where you board a Southwest plane, the destination is always the same:  planet earth and its trials.  Rather than fleeing, we need to come to grips with the reality of God’s omnipresence.  We need to live our lives with a constant awareness of the reality of God’s presence every moment of our lives.  Solomon’s Temple could not contain (or constrain) God and neither can the walls of your church building.  He is with you in your car when you drive home from church.  He is with you in the kitchen as you prepare lunch and roast your pastor.  He is in your living room as you watch television.  He is in your den as you pick up your book to read.  He is in your office at work.  He is in your classroom.  He is in the gymnasium and stadium as you watch a sporting event.  You cannot hide from God.  Everyplace you can possibly go, He is already there.  His desire is constant.  Fellowship with you.

Practicing His Presence

I don’t want to make theology about us, but we need to recognize what it means to be a child of God.  The attributes of God are unique and foundational to our faith.  They are not derived from any other source.  Many of them are incommunicable, they belong only to Him and cannot be shared with creation.  For instance, you and I are not infinite, immutable, or omnipresent.  But think of what it means to us that God possesses these attributes.  The confidence we can have because God is eternal.  The peace we can have because God will never change.  The joy we can have because we are always in the presence of God.  Our short time on earth needs to be spent learning about the character and attributes of God and appropriating these truths to our daily lives.  Getting away from God is not an option, but “practicing” His presence is a constant opportunity.

11 You make known to me the path of life;
    in your presence there is fullness of joy;
    at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. – Psalm 16:11

The Eternality of God

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90 Lord, you have been our dwelling place
    in all generations.
2 Before the mountains were brought forth,
    or ever you had formed the earth and the world,
    from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

3 You return man to dust
    and say, “Return, O children of man!”
4 For a thousand years in your sight
    are but as yesterday when it is past,
    or as a watch in the night. – Psalm 90:1-4

Your Dash

For today’s devotion, you are going to have to pick up your dash and a time remote.  Don’t know what your dash is?  Look at your tombstone.  It is that little line between your date of birth and date of death.  Don’t have a tombstone yet?  Then you are still working on your dash.  We are going to take our dashes and lay them down on that red line.  Which red line?  The one that goes as far to the left and to the right as your eyes can see.  We will call the point at which we laid down our dashes the present.  In order to stop the present from becoming the past, we are going to use our remotes to stop time.  Didn’t think it was possible, did you?  Now we are going to walk back in time (to the left, it is always backward).

Milestones

As we walk we see the events that have shaped our lives.  Some we want to bypass, others we want to stop and relive. We all have those milestones or time markers we reference when we talk about our past.  The year we graduated, the year we were married, the years our children were born, and the years loved ones passed away.  Personally, I would like to revisit early 2010 and hold my daughter one more time before the grave took her.  You may have a similar longing, but as we review our dash, there are no d0-overs.  Only memories and reminiscing.  Those of us that were alive when President Reagan was shot know where we were and what we were doing when we heard the news.  Same for those who were alive when President Kennedy was shot.  We have witnessed wars, political upheavals, and natural catastrophes.  We have celebrated birthdays, holidays, and sporting events.  As we get to the end of our dash (which is actually our beginning), our journey takes us from the realm of personal experience to the realm of history.  Now we get to observe the dashes of others.

Historical Dashes

Wouldn’t it be nice to stop and listen to Spurgeon preach in the Metropolitan Tabernacle, or to hear Whitefield preach to thousands in the open air with no amplification?  Perhaps we could drop in and speak with President Lincoln or President Washington.  But we have to keep walking.  It is amazing to see the different ways people have influenced the world with their dashes.  Some have left their mark with military prowess, others with pen and ink.  Some have been great orators, others have possessed great business acumen.  History has been replete with powerful politicians and gifted athletes.  There has certainly been no shortage of great artists and musicians.  Many lives have been touched by those who perform on the stage, and many have been inspired by those who preach behind a pulpit.  But as our text says, all will return to dust.  Their dashes are done.

Our walk ends where time began.  We stand in the Garden and look into an expanse.  Men’s dashes end, but the red line continues into the expanse.  What is out there is a mystery.  All we know is that it is occupied by the Trinity.  Before there was creation, there was no “time”.

1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. – Genesis 1:1

El Olam

In Genesis chapter 21, Abraham referred to God as El Olam, “The everlasting God” or “Eternal God”,  Hard for us to grasp the eternality of God.  He existed before time.  He exists outside of time.  Yet, He entered into time.  As we stand in the Garden in the cool of the day, Jesus joins us.  As God walked with Adam and Eve, Jesus walks with us.  As we turn around and walk back to the present, He converses with us as he did with the two disciples on the road to Emmaus.  As the dashes of humanity lay on the red line of eternity, Christ gives us a His story lesson.  From the fall in the Garden and the ensuing promise of a deliverer, Jesus tells us how everything points to Him.  Moses, the prophets, the law and the feasts, they all pointed to Christ.  As Jesus talks about the manger, a smile comes to His face.  As He talks about Gethsemane, He sheds a tear.  As He recounts Calvary, we shed some tears.  By the time He discusses the resurrection, our hearts are burning.  As Jesus shares His story and opens the scriptures, the dashes become less relevant and the red line of eternity more prominent in our eyes.  Hearing from the mouth of Jesus about the sacrifice that was made and the blood that was shed for us, gives us a greater understanding of and appreciation for eternity.

As He brings us back to the present, we look ahead to the future.  Eternity’s red line still extends as far as the eyes can see.  Like the expanse we looked into before “time” began, the future is a mystery.  We don’t know what lies ahead, but we know it is occupied by the Trinity.  This fact alone makes it a little less intimidating.

Your Dash & El Olam

It is time to pick up the remote and hit the play button.  We can’t pause time forever.  But before you hit that button to resume time, ask yourself this question:  What are you going to do with the remainder of your dash before it is etched in stone?  A lot of people will try to influence your decision.  Some of their arguments will be pretty appealing.  But ultimately, they will return to dust.  The wisest thing we can do with our dash is to surrender it to the one who stepped out of eternity, so we can spend eternity with El Olam.  He who is from everlasting to everlasting.  It is what Jesus has prayed for before your dash began.

4 Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. – John 17:24

 

The Immutability of God

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“For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.” – Malachi 3:6

Seasons & Change

The Preacher once said, “For everything there is a season, and a time to every matter under heaven:  A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted” (Ecclesiastes 3:1-2).  With each passing year, life’s “seasons” seem to pick up speed.  I suppose that is inevitable for those of us who are “over the hill” (maybe there is more for gravity to work with).  For whatever reason, the descent is certainly more rapid than the climb up.  Along the way, we seem to become much more acquainted with the times of “deaths” and “pluckings” than those of “births” and “plantings”.  Yesterday’s visits to the maternity ward have become today’s hospice visits.  To everything, there is a season.  Every season brings change.

Think of the seeds planted with great hopes that only yielded weeds.  How many peace treaties give way to wars.  How often do promising business ventures end up as bankruptcies?  More often than not, the starry-eyed “I do’s” end up in teary-eyed divorces.  I don’t mean to sound pessimistic or cynical, but experience teaches us that despite our “Pollyanna” naivetés, everything under the sun is subject to change; which is another way of saying, capable of failing, abandoning, and disappointing us.  Such is life in a fallen world.  But God offers us a hope, “I the Lord do not change.”

Immutable

Years ago I gave a devotion on this text from Malachi during a prayer meeting.  Ironically, it happened to be my birthday.  As the calendar was reminding me that I was another year older, I was encouraging my audience with the truth that God is immutable.  He never changes.  No gray hairs, no balding, no wrinkles.  Ever.  Many in the audience that night have since passed into eternity.  They are now witnessing first hand the fact that God is the great, I Am.  He is the same yesterday, today and forever.

Unchanging Essence

Being spirit, and not flesh and blood, God’s essence will never be subject to change.  As finite beings surrounded by constant change, this is difficult for us to grasp.  We like to say that change is the only constant in life.  Everything we come in contact with is changing.  Granted the rate of change may be different, but the consequences of sin and death in our world has made change a given.  But the Creator is not like His creation (Psalm 102:25-27).  God is beyond the reach of sin.  His purity will never be tarnished.  An ethereal spirit, He has no “beachhead” that time or sin can touch.  While change may be a constant for us, it is nothing God will “experience”.  With Him, there is no variation or shadow due to change (James 1:17).

Unchanging Attributes

Like the essence of God, His attributes are also unchangeable.  His power will never weaken; His arm will never shorten.  He will always remain omnipotent.  His knowledge will never diminish; His wisdom will never fail.  He will always remain omniscient.  His grace and mercy will not lessen.  He will always be perfectly holy; He will always be just.  He will always be absolute truth; He will always love with a perfect everlasting love.  God has always been perfect.  By definition, He cannot change and remain perfect.  He cannot become more; he cannot become less.  “I am the Lord, I change not.”

Unchanging Plans

“But he is unchangeable, and who can turn Him back?  What He desires, that He does.  For He will complete what He appoints for me…” (Job 23:13-14a).  The unchangeableness of God pertains not only to His essence and attributes but also to His plans.  God is not reactionary.  There is nothing unseen that will surprise Him necessitating a change in plans.  The wisdom behind His plans is infinite.  The resources to carry out His plans are unlimited.  Being eternal, He will never run out of time to see His plans come to fruition.  What are a thousand years to God?  If God decrees something, who has the power to alter His plans?  God’s plans reflect His perfect nature.  Why should He change them?

Unchanging Promises

We like to cling to the promises of God.  And rightly so.  But what value would they be if they were subject to change?  Of course, they are not.  God’s promises will never be revoked.  His mercies will always be new every morning; those who call upon the name of the Lord will always be saved.  As heirs of the promise, we have this hope, “So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of promise the unchangeable character of His purpose, He guaranteed it with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us” (Hebrews 6:17-18).  Cling to the promises of God.  They will never change.

Unchanging Threats

As much as we like to claim the promises of God, we would often prefer to ignore His threats.  But that is foolish.  Just as God’s promises are unchanging, so are His threats.  God’s justice demands it.  Sin must be punished.  There is a literal hell for those that do not believe.  God’s plan of salvation is perfect.  God’s plan of salvation is exclusive.  To reject it has eternal consequences.  There is great comfort in the immutability of God unless one is His enemy.  Heed God’s warnings.  They are as unchangeable as His promises.

Real Change

I am not implying that all change is bad.  Nor can I promote change for the sake of change.  Instead, I believe we have to recognize that our only hope for “real” change comes from our unchanging God who makes all things new.  He gives us a new heart.  He gives us a new spirit.  He gives us a new name.  He gives us a new body.  He gives us a new home.  He gives a new life.  He gives us a new song.  As Malachi wrote, our salvation is contingent upon the fact that God doesn’t change.  As the seasons of life carry us closer to the grave, it is comforting to have the only true constant to cling to!  Every seed of hope that He plants will produce fruit.

I’ll take the “changes” of an immutable God over those of a fallen world any day.

17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.  For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. – 2 Corinthians 3:17-18

The King of Ages

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17 To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. – 1 Timothy 1:17

Different Doctrine

As Paul writes to Timothy, his “true child in the Faith”, he encourages him in his ministry.  Paul has asked Timothy to remain in Ephesus to charge certain persons who are teaching a “different” doctrine.  According to Paul, these teachers had drifted from the Truth.  Instead, they had devoted themselves to myths and endless genealogies.  Rather than stewardship resulting from faith, they were promoting speculation.  Ignorance seemed to rule the day.

Paul’s Plea

The aim of Paul’s charge was, “love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith” (1 Timothy 1:5b).  As he was nearing the date of his death, Paul’s plea was passionate.  Paul’s charge was near and dear to his heart.  If anyone could testify to the saving power of the gospel and the Grace of God, it was Paul.  After challenging Timothy to charge the wayward teachers, Paul recounts his own calling.

Paul’s Appointment

12 I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, 13 though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, 14 and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 15 The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. 16 But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. – 1 Timothy 1:12-16

King of Ages

Paul had spent time as a prisoner in Rome before he wrote to Timothy, but he is spiritually free.  And forever will be.  While he was a blasphemer, persecutor and insolent opponent of God and His church, Paul was confronted with God’s mercy.  Despite being the “chief of sinners”, God saw in Paul a valuable servant.  Paul considers himself a model of one simple fact; Jesus came to save sinners.  Plain and simple.  As he prepares to meet his Savior, Paul’s focus is locked on God’s honor and glory.  Church leaders like Paul and Timothy will come and go, but the God they serve stands outside of time.  He is indeed the King of the ages.  He is the one who unites the links in time’s chain as history moves towards its culmination.  As King, God rules over the epochs of human history.  Caesar may have put Paul in bonds, but Paul recognizes none but his heavenly Father as King.  One whose reign will never end.

Immortal

As I look at the attributes Paul writes in this doxology, I wonder about the solace Paul found in them considering his conversion experience.  Paul says that he was a persecutor and insolent opponent of God.  As such he was responsible for the torturing and perhaps even killing of Christians.  Certainly, he did nothing to stop the stoning of Stephen.  This man who once “breathed threats and murder” against the disciples of the Lord, now refers to God as immortal.  This former chief of sinners who once seemed to find so much satisfaction in the death of Christians now takes comfort in the immortality of their heavenly Father; his heavenly Father.  God is beyond the reach of sin’s consequences.  Death and decay will never touch or alter Him.  The hate and disbelief of man will never remove God from His throne.   Perhaps Paul had flashbacks of Stephen’s stoning as he penned this.  Or perhaps he had speculations of the probability of his own approaching martyrdom.  Paul knew the cost of serving Christ.  Regardless, as he approaches the end of his life, Paul wants to extol the fact that the King of ages is immortal.

Invisible

God not only stands outside of time, but he also lives outside of human “sense”.  When Paul states that God is invisible, he is stating more than the fact that God cannot be seen.  In actuality, God is beyond discovery by any of the human senses.  If God did not choose to reveal Himself to us, we would never be able to discover Him through our own efforts.  Again, Paul knew this very well from experience.  On his way to Damascus to persecute the Church, God very clearly revealed Himself to Paul in the Second person of the Trinity.  Knocked off of his horse and blinded by a bright light, Paul heard the voice of Jesus.  Although invisible, God very profoundly introduced Himself to Paul.  Neither Paul nor his senses would ever be the same.  The invisible God temporarily blinded Paul, but when his eyes were opened he saw everything in a different light and perspective.  Through Jesus, God introduced Paul to the spiritual realm.  Paul was lifted from the realm of the empirical to the realm of the “real”.  The realm where the invisible King of ages does His eternal work.  The realm where the only God works.

Saved Sinners

It was the King of ages who created Adam.  It was the immortal God who chose Abraham.  It was the invisible God who handpicked Moses.  It was the only God who appointed Jeremiah to be a prophet before he was even born.  From the Old Testament Prophets to the New Testament Apostles, the King of ages has been active in the spiritual realm saving lost sinners and turning them into servants.  Paul and Timothy were blessed to be included among the “appointed”, but the chain would continue to be forged.  Augustine, Luther, Calvin, Edwards, Whitefield, Spurgeon, Tozer, Lewis, Lloyd-Jones, the beat goes on.  The kingdom advances.  All of these saints were aware of one very simple fact.  They were sinners saved by Grace.  That is why Christ came into the world.

Like Paul, all true Saints can echo, “the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus”, so that the charge may be made, “love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.”  Throughout history, the faith and love of Jesus Christ have flowed through the lives of the saints and will continue to do so.  The God of ages will make sure this happens for His honor and glory.  Forever.

Sinners saved by grace.  Perhaps if we truthfully assessed what God has done for us in Christ, we too, like Paul might break out in a doxology!

“To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.”

Secret Things

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29 “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.” – Deuteronomy 29:29

Secret Things

God is knowable, but we will never know everything God knows.  There are secret things, things which God in His infinite wisdom has chosen not to reveal to us.  Things in the future we can not foresee, yet totally under His control.  I am not sure why God chooses to reveal some things and not others, although it is obvious that our finite minds could not comprehend or retain that which is known by our all-knowing Creator.  He has not only put the billions of stars in the sky, but He has also named them.  He not only knows the seven billion people currently living on planet earth, as well as every human that ever has trod the soil of this planet throughout history, but He also knows the number of their hairs.  Speak a careless word; He knows it.  Have an evil thought; He knows it.  Pretty sobering to think of how many words I will speak and thoughts I will have today that I won’t even remember tomorrow.  But our minds can only retain so much.

Curiosity

Why is it that despite our limited understanding we want to know God’s “secrets”?  For instance, why do we have a such a fascination with the end times?  Once when His disciples asked Him about His return and the end of the age, Jesus responded, “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only” (Matthew 24:36).   Secret things.   So secret that neither the angels of heaven or Jesus, Himself had privy to.  And it was His return they were talking about!  How many have foolishly claimed to know what the Father did not reveal even to Jesus?  How much effort have men put into developing theories and putting them on fancy timelines and charts trying to convince others they know the unknowable?  They may impress other men but God is not impressed.  “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but…”

Revealed Things

While so many are pursuing the unknowable, God is patiently waiting for us to avail ourselves of what “belongs to us”; the things that are revealed.  While God retains the rights to His secrets, He offers to us more than we can ever fathom.  In His Word, He has chosen to reveal Himself to us.  He has revealed His nature to us.  He has revealed His attributes to us.  He has revealed His dislikes and His passions.  He tells us not only about Himself but His plans for us as well.  How we were created.  Why we were created.  How sin entered the world and His plan of redemption.  Hence Moses could write to his fellow Israelites, what God has chosen to reveal to us is a valuable possession.  A possession that belongs to us and our children forever.  But the possession is just the beginning.

What God has chosen to reveal to us has been done with the purpose of prompting obedience to His will out of loving and grateful hearts, “that we may do all the words of this law.”

Indifference?

I realize that we are living under the New Covenant today, but I also believe that many truths are relevant under both the Old and New Covenant.  God has always delighted in intimacy with His children, and God has always expected obedience from them.  God has made the effort to reveal Himself to mankind with the intention of having both.  Although God has chosen not to reveal everything to us, He has revealed enough to accomplish His purposes for us.  The question now becomes, what are we doing with the things that He has revealed that belong to us?  Do we take the Bible for granted?  Do we long for God as a deer longs for water?  Would we be willing to sell everything to obtain the kingdom of heaven?  Is our love for God so great that by comparison we “hate” all earthly relationships?

Invaluable

What God has revealed to us is that valuable.  At least Jesus claimed so much.  44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. 45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, 46 who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it” (Matthew 13:44-46). 26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26).

On the night He was betrayed, Jesus made this profound statement, 3 “And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” (John 17:3).  The kingdom of heaven has been offered to us.  Eternal life, the ability to know God and Jesus, His exact representation, is available to us.  Made available because an all-knowing God has chosen to reveal specific Truths to us.  Truths that will belong to us forever.  May we not worry about the secret things that belong to God, rather may we revel in the fact that he has already revealed so much to us.  Instead of trying to grasp what God has not revealed, we should saturate ourselves with what He has revealed through His grace.  May we have the wisdom to make our knowledge of God our highest priority.  Such is God’s desire for us.  And that is no secret.

Negative Love

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Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. – Genesis 2:7

16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” – Genesis 2:16-17

2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.  3 “You shall have no other gods before me.” – Exodus 20:2-3

Shall Not’s

You shall not make for yourself a carved image, you shall not bow down to them.  You shall not take the name of your Lord in vain.  You shall not work on the Sabbath.  You shall not murder.  You shall not commit adultery.  You shall not steal.  You shall not bear false witness.  You shall not covet.

No.  The first word every child learns.  No.  The first word every child learns to hate.  Why are parents such killjoys?  I want to put this in my mouth…NO!  I want to put this in the outlet…NO!  I wonder how that fire feels…NO!  Life isn’t fair.  Life isn’t fun.  We should have just stayed in the womb.  Adam should have just remained dust.  Israel should have just stayed in Egypt.  Are we really created just to be told, “NO”!  Yes.  Sometimes.

Liberating Boundaries

By definition, “no” is negative.  However, experience teaches us that “no” can be very positive.  More importantly, the Bible shows us time and again, being told, “no”, or “you shall not”, is a way God reveals His love for us.  As a loving Father protecting His children, God has given us boundaries.  While we see them as a form of restriction, in actuality they are a form of liberation.  Clearly defined boundaries enable us to enjoy life without the inhibition of uncertainties.

A story has been told of young children in a schoolyard.  The school was in close proximity to a busy road.  Every day during recess the children would stand closely huddled against the school building.  Instead of enjoying themselves in the schoolyard, they wanted to avoid the danger that the traffic represented.  Wisely, the school decided to put up a fence enclosing the playground area.  Immediately, the children were running around and enjoying themselves within the defined boundaries that the fence represented.  They did not see the fence as restricting, but rather liberating.  The fence was viewed as a form of protection.  Obviously, it would not be sufficient to stop a vehicle, but it was sufficient to keep the children out of the street.  Now there was no uncertainty as to how far they could go.  Of course, there will always be those who climb over the fence, tempting fate and exposing themselves to unnecessary dangers, but that is the “risk” God took when He chose to give men the ability to choose.

Haunting Consequences

Staying within God’s boundaries keeps us free from the consequences of acting out of ignorance or rebellion.  Consequences that can haunt us and weigh us down for the remainder of our lives.  Consequences that often outlive us and haunt our offspring or others.  Often following them to their graves.  We don’t have to search hard to prove this.

Adam and Eve were not only expelled from the garden for eating the forbidden fruit, but they had to live with death.  The fruit must have left a bitter taste when Cain killed Abel.  When Israel miraculously defeated Jericho, they were told to keep themselves from the things devoted to destruction.  Achan’s disobedience not only cost him his life but the lives of thirty-six other men who were killed in the ensuing defeat at the hands of Ai.  When commanded to attack the Amalekites, Saul was instructed not to spare anything, but rather was to devote everything to destruction.  A few bleating sheep revealed Saul’s disobedience and Saul lost his kingship.  In the New Testament, we see that lying to the Holy Spirit cost Ananias and Sapphira their lives.

These are just Biblical examples.  How many families do you know that have been torn apart because marriage has not been honored or the marriage bed was defiled?  How about the devastation that alcoholism can cause.  The Bible says not to get drunk with wine or to look at wine when it is red and it goes down smoothly.  Yet so many individuals and families are suffering terribly because of alcoholism or other addictions.  But there are more subtle steps over God’s boundaries.  God tells us we are to have no other gods before Him, but how many of us are guilty of this?  Work, wealth, status, comfort, or even our families can become idols.  We need boundaries to protect us from ourselves.  God has to say “no” because He knows best.

Embracing Boundaries

With the privilege of making choices, comes the responsibility of making wise choices.  Choices within the boundaries established by an all-knowing God who infinitely loves us and wants to protect us.

Before He ever tells us,”no” (you shall not), God tells us who He is and how much He loves us.  Adam knew God as his creator before he was told not to eat the fruit.  Israel knew God as their liberator before they were given the Ten Commandments.  God knows the inclination of our hearts.  He wants to protect us from the evils within and the dangers without.  May we have the wisdom to enjoy life within the fence and spare ourselves the misery that comes from rebelling against His “negative” love.  May we have the wisdom to know when to say “no” to ourselves and those we love.  Who knows how much unnecessary suffering might be avoided in doing so?  I believe there is great wisdom in learning to embrace the first word we learned.  By the grace of God might we learn the benefits of “un-hating” it!!

Daniel’s God

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“O Lord, the great and awesome God”.. – Daniel 9:4a

The Great Chasm

Before uttering these words in prayer, Daniel humbled himself with fasting and sackcloth and ashes.  He was coming before the throne of God as a contrite sinner.  With a shamed face and a broken heart, he was seeking the mercy of His creator.  Recognizing the grossness of his sins and the purity of God, Daniel was well aware of the great chasm between them.  Daniel, an exile as a result of Israel’s disobedience to God’s commands, was reaching out to God who “keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love Him and keep His commandments.”

O Lord

Daniel had no disillusionment about what side of the covenant he was on.  He recognized God as King and he and the Israelites as the servants.  God’s right was to command, Daniel and the Israelites were expected to obey.  When he addresses God he does so with respect and reverence.   With veneration, Daniel pours out his heart to God.   Although they have “failed” God, Daniel knows God will never “fail” His children.  With this assurance, Daniel comes before the throne of God with confidence despite the great chasm between himself and his Holy God.

The Great

Daniel possessed more than an intellectual knowledge of God.  For decades Daniel experienced and witnessed the greatness of God.  Daniel not only witnessed the wrath of God in His judgment of Jerusalem but time and again He saw the hand of God work in miraculous ways.  Despite the powerful kings and nations that rose and fell during his lifetime, Daniel recognized the sovereignty of God orchestrating every event.  He could not only rest in the fact that God was in control, more importantly, he could approach and communicate with God.  While many had turned to idols, Daniel never wavered.  His faith was always anchored in God.  The True God whose wrath is balanced with perfect love and mercy.  The attributes that Daniel is now appealing to as he intercedes on behalf of his people.

And Awesome

To Daniel, God is awe-inspiring.  How could he be otherwise?  God’s majesty is unrivaled.  Who else is self-existent?  Who else is omniscient?  How about immutable?  Or omnipresent?    Who else is omnipotent?  Perfectly holy?  Is it any wonder Daniel approaches God with the humility and veneration that he does.  I imagine that as Daniel grew older, God grew larger and more majestic in Daniel’s sight.  Daniel was without question a wise man.  He always maintained a healthy fear of God.  A fear which kept him from an unhealthy fear of man and in an intimate relationship with his Creator.

“I prayed to the Lord, my God.” 

Daniel’s prayers were never addressed to some uncaring ogre.  His pleas were not made to some vending machine in the sky.  Daniel’s relationship with God is what God wanted all along.  Personal.  To Daniel, God was his God.  Daniel had a special, intimate relationship with his heavenly Father.  Sure he was aware of the wrath of God.  He knew how severe God could be when it came to punishing sin.  Few people in history would be better acquainted with this side of God than Daniel.  But Daniel recognized that the righteousness of God demanded these things.  God would not be God if He were not faithful to His Word.  It is this faithfulness that gives Daniel hope.

Open Arms

For the majority of his life, Daniel had witnessed the punishment that was meted out for disobedience.  Now, as he prays, he is anticipating the blessing that will come from confession and repentance.  God’s arms are always open waiting for the prodigal to return.  Daniel is more than yearning for Israel’s return.  As he prays to his God, Daniel is testing His steadfast love.  A test that cannot fail.

Daniel’s prayer is powerful.  His testimony is exemplary.  His witness is convicting.  I can look at saints like Daniel, Jeremiah, and Job and they seem like such spiritual giants, but at the end of the day, they were mortal men. I can respect their faithfulness and certainly try to learn from their lives, but I will never be them.  Nobody will.  But I take great hope that their God is my God.  Despite the chasm caused by sin, I can approach the throne of God with confidence and call Him “Abba, Father.”  That is what God longs for.  That is why Christ hung on a cross.

Clearer View

The time difference between us and Daniel has not diminished the attributes of God.  That will never happen.  But the life and death of Christ and the New Covenant have given us an advantage.  Through Christ, we can see God more clearly than the Old Testament saints could.  Indwelled by the Holy Spirit, we have a helper Israel did not.  On this side of Calvary, we are offered a view that Daniel did not have.  The question is, what are we doing with it?

Do you recognize the Sovereignty of God not just over his creation, but over every detail of your life in particular?  Do the attributes of God cause you to stand in awe?  Are you aware of the majesty of God?  Does His holiness cause a reverence for Him?  How do His attributes influence your daily living?  I challenge you to read Daniel’s prayer as recorded in Daniel chapter nine.  I realize it doesn’t have the “thrill” of the lion’s den, the intrigue of his interview with Gabriel, or the suspense of his end-time vision, but its lessons may be more practical.  Perhaps even life-changing.

Our God

You and I will never be Daniel, but his God is our God.  We need to ask ourselves:  Do we have the same reverence for God as Daniel did?  Are we as intimate with God as Daniel was?  If not, there is a lot we can learn from Daniel’s prayer life.  I believe it was the secret to his intimacy.  An intimacy your God longs for.

He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously. – Daniel 6:10b

3 Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. 4 I prayed to the Lord my God and made confession, saying, “O Lord, the great and awesome God…” – Daniel 9:3-4a

Daniel’s Children

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How lonely sits the city
that was full of people!
How like a widow has she become,
she who was great among the nations!
She who was a princess among the provinces
has become a slave. – Lamentations 1:1

2 In the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, perceived in the books the number of years that, according to the word of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet, must pass before the end of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years.

3 Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. – Daniel 9:2-3

3 Thus says the Lord: I have returned to Zion and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, and Jerusalem shall be called the faithful city, and the mountain of the Lord of hosts, the holy mountain. 4 Thus says the Lord of hosts: Old men and old women shall again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each with staff in hand because of great age. 5 And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets. – Zechariah 8:3-5

Deuteronomic Theology

On this side of heaven, we will never know the blessings we have experienced as a result of the prayers of others.  I recognize that every good and perfect gift comes from God, but I also recognize that He uses the prayers of His faithful children in carrying out His sovereign will.  Jeremiah’s description of Jerusalem as a lonely desolate city would not give way to Zechariah’s description of Jerusalem as a faithful city filled with old and young alike without the bridge of Daniel’s prayer.  If I may word it this way, the reality of the children playing in the streets of Jerusalem would be birthed by Daniel’s Deuteronomic theology.

After God entered into a relationship with the nation of Israel, He entered into a covenant with them.  After mercifully delivering Israel from Egyptian bondage, God gives them the law.  Through the law, God spelled out for Israel His expectations from them in their relationship.  God has showered them with His grace, He requires of them obedience.  In Deuteronomy 27 & 28 we see the promised blessings and curses for obedience or disobedience to the laws.  One of which was too familiar to Daniel and his contemporaries, “And the Lord will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you shall serve other gods of wood and stone, which neither you nor your fathers have known” (Deuteronomy 28:64).  In Deuteronomy chapter 30, heaven and earth were called to witness the covenant relationship.  In keeping with the importance of the covenant relationship, the tablets were placed in the ark of the covenant.  Every seven years the law was to be taken out of the ark and read to the people so that their allegiance to God their King would be reaffirmed.  Unfortunately, disobedience ensued.  Israel displayed more rebellion than reaffirmation.

Return to the Lord

Daniel understood the connection between Israel’s sin and exile.  He also understood the relationship between deliverance and repentance.  His familiarity with Deuteronomy was evident.

“And when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the Lord your God has driven you, 2 and return to the Lord your God, you and your children, and obey his voice in all that I command you today, with all your heart and with all your soul, 3 then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have mercy on you, and he will gather you again from all the peoples where the Lord your God has scattered you. 4 If your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there he will take you. 5 And the Lord your God will bring you into the land that your fathers possessed, that you may possess it. And he will make you more prosperous and numerous than your fathers. – Deuteronomy 30:1-5

Going Home

Daniel’s contemporary, Jeremiah, whose writings prompted Daniel’s prayer, had this to say:

10 “For thus says the Lord: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. 11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. 13 You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.” – Jeremiah 29:10-14

Daniel’s Children

The book of Daniel mentions nothing about Daniel’s family life.  No mention is made of a wife or children.  It appears from his firm faith that he most likely had godly parents who were faithful in training him when he was young in spiritual matters.  Regardless, I like to think of the young children playing in the streets of Jerusalem under the watchful eye of the elderly as Daniel’s children.  The carefree joy of their games in the streets of God’s city is a direct result of Daniel’s fervent prayer before the face of God.  I am not implying that Daniel was the only one seeking God with all his heart, but rather using him as the representative of those who called upon the Lord, but whose names history does not record.

Is it possible that one of the elderly people with a staff sitting in the streets of Jerusalem would be Daniel?  I don’t know.  If so, try to imagine the joy in his heart to witness such a seen after all that he was denied.  Yet I get the impression Daniel would never complain.  The grace and mercy of God can be experienced at any age and in any place.  Makes one thankful for the bridge of prayer.  As the exiles return to Jerusalem and once again fill her streets, we have a visual reminder of the blessings that are experienced as a result of the prayers of others.  Prayers God promises to answer when we seek Him with all our heart.  Daniel’s children are a reminder that God is always faithful to His covenant.

We have Sinned

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We Have…

we have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly and rebelled 

We have not listened to your servants the prophets

we have rebelled against him

we have sinned against him.

we have not entreated the favor of the Lord our God

we have not obeyed his voice

we have sinned, we have done wickedly.

because for our sins

Preach It

In the mid-1980’s my wife and I, young newlyweds, had the privilege of spending a Sunday with a special couple, Peter and Alice.  Our dear friends were well in their eighties at the time and we considered them spiritual mentors.  Peter and Alice had long since retired from the ministry, but despite their declining health they never lost their passion for Christ.  Not even close.  After an afternoon of fellowship, they took us to an evening service at a local church.  I would like to say I remember the sermon the pastor preached, but I don’t.  What I do remember is the little sermon I heard from my dear friend.  After the service, Peter made his way to the pastor and thanked him for his message. What was the sermon about?  Sin.  According to my dear old friend sin was a topic out of vogue at that time.  He said the church needed more pastors with the boldness to preach about sin.  If God takes it seriously, so should the church.  Sin might be an unpleasant topic, but I know on that Sunday at least, one retired pastor went home with a smile on his face.  Sin is a plague that must be addressed.  The consequences for ignoring it are not only serious, they are eternal.  The wisdom of our dear mentor was shared by the prophet Daniel.

Confess It

It seems as if the only time people are sorry for their sins is when they are caught.  Their sorrow then isn’t usually so much in what they have done, but the fact that they have been exposed.  Too often, the finger pointing then starts.  Instead of confessing our sins, we usually want to put a spin on the situation and make ourselves out to be victims.  Not so with Daniel.  During his humble prayer before the face of God, Daniel makes the confessions above.  As I read through this list I wonder how many of these sins Daniel was actually guilty of.  But ultimately it doesn’t matter.  Daniel knew that his actions did not make him a sinner, but rather he was a sinner by nature.  Daniel’s sins may not have been as blatant as those of others, but they had to be repented of nonetheless.  Rather than stand in judgment of his fellow Israelites, Daniel associates with their sins and turns to God for forgiveness.  Daniel did not take the path of the self-righteous Pharisee, but rather the humble path of the tax collector, “But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’” – Luke 18:13.

When Daniel made his prayer of confession, Judah, Jerusalem and the Temple were destroyed.  Hundreds of thousands of his fellow Israelites had been killed, emasculated or raped.  Many, like Daniel, had been taken into exile and many made slaves.  As already mentioned, Daniel did not play the victim card or the blame game.  He did not blame the religious or political leaders of Judah.  He did not blame the wicked or morally corrupt who angered God.  Instead, Daniel identified himself with his people.  We have sinned.

The Body

27 Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.

26 If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.

Daniel’s prayer seems to me to be an illustration of a Truth that Paul would write to the Corinthian church years later (1 Cor. 12).  Although he may have had a very intimate relationship with God, Daniel never lost his love for his people, his home or the Temple.  He knew that sin in one member of the body affected the entire body.  When convicted by the inspired Words of Jeremiah he wisely turned to God in repentance.  No excuses.  No blaming.  Just a healthy dose of conviction and shame.

When it comes to discussing sin we need to strike a healthy balance.  First of all, we need to be careful not to “glorify” sin.  There is no need to draw extra attention to it, give too many details, etc.  Sin is appalling and we don’t want to make it sound like anything different.  Confess it, repent and move on.  Secondly, like my wise old friend once said, sin must not be ignored.  Church leaders need to be faithful to the Truth.  All of it.  The body is diseased.  The body is suffering.  The only cure for sin begins with conviction.  Look what reading Jeremiah did to Daniel!

May our leaders have the boldness to preach about sin and it’s consequences.  May we as individuals have the discipline to be consistently in God’s Word as Daniel was.  May we pray for our leaders as they minister to the Body.  May we pray for the other members of the Body as we strive to bring glory to God.  When God’s Word convicts us may we drop to our knees and confess, “I have sinned”.  When our brothers or sisters have fallen into sin may we drop to our knees and confess, “We have sinned”.

13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body – 1 Corinthians 12:13