End times Revisited...

I am reading a couple of commentaries concerning eschatology from the “Reformed” perspective. I have never been comfortable with my own eschatology and those of you who may have been under my tutelage while teaching through the book of Revelation, I made it clear that I was NOT comfortable. I often said something like, “I am not sure what this means but let me ask you this: “If you are a Christ follower, does this sound Good or Bad?” 

In one sense my uncertainty was not due to a lack of Biblical knowledge in one sense but in fact, because of it. In other words, it was because of my numerous comprehensive readings through the whole Bible that caused me to question the classic Premillennial take on End Times. Here is one example. We say we believe in the doctrine of imminence ie., “The ANY MOMENT return of the Savior.” And yet as  premillennialists we get all hyped up about the political goings on in Israel, the breeding of “red heifers” for the resumption of sacrifices in the rebuilt Temple, etc. Just this by itself isn’t a minor problem for me but a deal killer. One cannot believe in the “any moment return of Christ while maintaining X Y Z must happen BEFORE Jesus returns. And in saying this, why in Heaven’s name would there EVER be a resumption of the sacrificial system when Jesus was very clear that He came to FULFILL every jot and tittle of the Old Covenant legislation? Even Hebrews chapter 10:1 states plainly that “…the law was only ever a “shadow” of the good things to come and NOT the very form of them.” So what to do with the book of Revelation? That is not the purpose of this small piece today.                                 The purpose here is 2 fold:

1. To encourage Christ followers that as messed up as the world AND the USA is, it is not occurring by happenstance, sheer stupidity, or by corruption and perversion at levels never before seen in my lifetime in our country. Rather I am seeing anew just how meticulously the Creator of all things is not merely “allowing” this degradation of society but in fact, is enabling, facilitating and even orchestrating it. In my reading through the Bible multiple times in the past couple years I am seeing the Lord on High is and always has been immanently involved in the affairs of the world from the beginning. He is NOT just a casual bystander choosing to get involved sporadically here and there. When you understand this it is everywhere on the pages of Scripture! 

2. To apprise the 2 or 3 people who may read this, that everything is taking place just as the Sovereign Creator of the universe has determined. Stolen elections, perverted justice, twisted science, incompetent and corrupt leadership at the highest levels, perversion being mainstreamed to elementary school children, parent’s rights being removed, financial collapse looming. In short, good is now bad and bad is now good as Isaiah warned us: “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!” (Isaiah 5:20) Your retirement funds may be in the toilet but our God is the SAME one who took care of His people throughout history. Do you not think He is the same God who can/will miraculously provide for His children if/when necessary? The words of Biblical theologian and scholar Dennis Johnson as well as our pastor’s oft repeated truths of God’s word about these things, are life changing. Prof. Johnson writes,”As Christians see societies crumble and collapse, our response should not be terrified alarm, as though our security were bound up with a fragile human network of law and order, but anticipation and confidence: the Lamb is now on the throne, with God's plan for history firmly in hand.” 

I cannot say I am Mr. Chill in these days of evil but I have a renewed and more practical confidence in the God of the Universe who loves all those whom He has called. 

Preaching Politics? To Avoid it is to Avoid Teaching "...All things pertaining to life and godliness..." 2 Peter 1:3

A very well known and deservedly respected Christian authority recently stated: "I've never encouraged anyone to vote Democrat or Republican. Ever.  While I believe all Christians should be active in politics, it is unwise to identify Christianity with any particular political party. If you don't see how Christianity cuts across all political ideologies, you may not see the deep problems within the one you prefer."    A link provided with the above statement noted this premise; "The historical Christian positions on social issues don't match up with contemporary political alinements."

That premise is flawed out of the gate.  Ineffable truth, in the end, is not determined by "historical Christian positions" on anything. Truth is only ever determined by the rightly divided inspired Word of God. What lies at the heart of this side-stepping nonsense is the fear of giving offense to anyone listening who may not "be there" yet with respect to the Christian faith. I understand and I sympathize. However, done appropriately, it is the shepherd's responsibility to teach ALL things to one's flock regardless of whether they are received or not. If the prophets of God in the Bible operated on this basis they would have spent the majority of their lives in silence...

Now let's get real. Here is a list--and certainly an incomplete one--of issues or ideologies in play in today's affairs. 

Sanctity of life--meaning all life is sacred and to be protected and preserved except in the situations where the Creator has stipulated [eg. capital punishment.] 

Greed--This is not identifiable by net worth but by stewardship of one's possessions

Hard work--The necessity of man working is a creation ordinance. It is the norm for mankind. It is not the responsibility of the hard working laborer to provide for the able but unwilling one who will not work. 

Compassion--Generosity by definition is a free choice of the heart, it cannot and should not be mandated by force.

Equality--Means all have been created in the image of God. It never means that everyone is guaranteed equal ability, talent, privilege, or outcome of one's efforts.

Sexual purity--Sex is a gift of God to be experienced solely within the bonds of holy matrimony with one man and one woman (as determined by genetic creation) joined until death separates.

Crime--wrong doing as prescribed by God Almighty is to be punished for the sake of the common good. (One of the greatest purposes of government is to create and enforce a system of justice that reflects God's character punishing bad and rewarding good.)

Lawfulness--Government has been endowed by God with the prerogative of establishing, enforcing and practicing godly rules and regulations which underscore the holy character of God Himself. 

Now let's get even more real: On balance, not with perfection obviously, which political affiliation supports, condones, encourages, understands, and makes decisions/laws/edicts/mandates which tend greatly towards punishing evil behavior, as defined biblically,  while rewarding good behavior as defined biblically?

One can spit into the wind, huff and puff, and snit and fume with all their might in defense of their political selection.  But at the end of the day, when the lights of the Divine are turned on in everyones' hearts the truth will be revealed and everyone will be judged according to their belief system.

Shame on pastors who do not give clear direction to those under their care warning them to flee from the wrath that is to come. 

He works in the midst of daily refuse.

This morning I grabbed my hatchet which was razor sharp as I had sharpened it after the last time I used it.  I grabbed the first piece of wood a simple, symmetrical 1"x5"X 15" piece of pine to split for kindling. I whacked off one piece and then the second one missed and took a major piece of my left index finger flapping it over.  I knew I had about 5 seconds before it would start gushing blood. In that moment I inspected the digital architecture and didn't see any bone or tendon involvement although the joint/bone was clearly visible.

Off to the ER... After the 2 hour wait, the ER Doc, a very personable man, came in and we were yucking it up. As he worked on me, I find out he lives in S.C. but comes up here 4 months a year in the winter to help out Maine. Back home he has a wife JUST Dx'd with cancer and children allowing him to do this.  

Anyway, as I am interrogating him I find out his father (now departed) was a pastor in NY and he is a believer. So we invite him over to break up the monotony of the long 4 months away from family, and I truly hope he takes us up on it. 

So the bigger point?  Would the Lord of the universe allow me, in my ineptitude, to whack my finger nearly in half for the sake of bringing us in contact with this man?  I don't know.  But here is where I am coming from, "...do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own..."  (1 Corinthians 6:19)

He is GOD; His ways are not our ways, His purposes are grander than ours, He is good whether we understand that at every turn or not.  So--YES, I am quite certain that He "could" do what I suggest and I would not put it past Him to do such a thing. Barbara and my souls were lifted up in the presence of this affable ER Doc and he seemed equally blessed.  "God works all things for good..." 

The rest of this story is yet to be written but one thing is certain; yesterday was unpleasant, and the aftermath is still playing out with discomfort, hindrance and inconvenience. But if the Lord wants to salvage a normal "day of small things" for His glory, what can we say but "Amen."

Can we preach too much grace???

The book of Jeremiah is not something you will hear preached as a matter of course in these wayward times. I took our congregation, page by page, through the book a number of years ago. The warnings of Jeremiah are many and just as applicable today as they were then. The knee-jerk reaction of our current Christian culture --myself included-- is to ascribe the rampant evil of the day to the unbelief of the culture at large.  A cursory reading of Jeremiah seems to say something quite different. Rather than excoriating "they, them and those," this prophet points the accusing finger at those uniquely called the Children of God. 

"Amend your ways and deeds and I will let you dwell in this place. Do not trust in these deceptive words: ‘This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD.’" (Jeremiah 7:4)

The Temple worship had become so casually understood as to the depth of meaning of what took place, that the redemptive pictures and promises of hope in the coming Savior were trampled underfoot. The result was as flippant, thoughtless, and robotic attendance becoming the be-all, end-all, of the measure of saving faith; of true faith.

Putting it in today's parlance, it would be akin to the staunch priority of making sure one is in attendance at church every Sunday, come Hell or high water, clutching their weekly attendance badge as their security and definition of what it means to "Love the Lord your God with all your heart..." As long as one meets their self-determined "religious requirement," they can quite literally live the rest of the hours of their week however they see fit. 

Sadly, today the "art" of exhortation is too often omitted in the preacher's task for fear of offending and--gasp--someone leaves the church. So with gushing words of affirmation, week in and week out, the self-satisfied "Christian" walks out every Sunday feeling like they are God's gift to the world.

"“Behold, you trust in deceptive words to no avail. Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, make offerings to Baal, and go after other gods that you have not known, and then come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, ‘We are delivered!’—only to go on doing all these abominations?"  (Jeremiah 7:8-10)

What follows in the rest of Jeremiah ought to put the fear into anyone who is putting their confidence in their "walk of faithfulness" as determined on an individual basis. 

The balance:  The God of the New Testament is the same God of the Old Testament.  He has not changed for He is unchanging. It is certainly true that no one is secure before a Holy, sin-hating God, except the one who IS PUTTING their confidence in the imputed righteousness of the Savior. Notice I did not say, "....who HAS PUT their confidence in the imputed righteousness of the Savior. 

Saving faith is not a punctilliar--once in the past action--but an active, continuous action that is moment by moment. The reformers understood this as "perseverance of the saints." In other words it is not the one who has believed in the past, but the one who has believed, is believing and will believe... And lest this be misunderstood as a self-generated, strength of grip, fortitude, this continuing in faith is purely by the magnanimous grace of the One who has called out the Redeemed. 

"I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand."  (John 10:28-29)

Understood on balance, a little more fire and brimstone could be vital to the health of the Church. For  "...God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?"  (Romans 2:4) 

"Happy" New Year?

"When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose. Then the LORD said, “My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.” The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown. The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the LORD regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. So the LORD said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.”"  (Genesis 6:1-7)

I have heard some pretty bizarre readings of this passage so only a word on what it isn't. The Nephilim were not fallen angels, demons, aliens or anything else "other-worldly." Enough on that for now.

What should jump out to us is the fact that the ludicrous assertion which has become unquestioned truth in many sectors, is that mankind is "basically good." All evidence to the contrary. This single fact topples the foundations of most of current day sociological and psychological theory and practice. 

The biblical understanding: The Lord created mankind at the outset--meaning Adam and Eve--not merely "good" but perfect. It was God's goal from the beginning for His children to enjoy intimate, communal relationship with each other and with their Creator. But that quickly changed as the prototypical family blew off the perfect counsel of their Creator exercising their inherent right of autonomy. The first family exchanged their own whims, desires, and wisdom over the very One who made them. The consequence was worldwide upheaval affecting everything in creation. Worse still, all life proceeding from Adam and Eve now entered the world inherently evil!  Happy New Year? Well only potentially.  

For before the foundations of the universe were even formed, the Lord God knew all of this would happen and had already set a plan of redemption in place.  He would become human, would live on the now sin stained planet, and would satisfy His original intention for man kind to be perfect so that we may enjoy that perfect communion with each other and the Creator Himself. 

We just ended the "Christmas" season 1 week ago. How distressing it is to see the annihilation of the celebration of our redemption turned into crass sentimentality replacing the birth of "God With Us" with empty sentiments of peace on Earth, love of family, and being excellent to each other. It plays well and even feels good but it is the broad way to eternal destruction God incarnate spoke of in Matthew: "“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few."  (Matthew 7:13-14)

So it's pretty straight forward; you want a truly NEW year, with the promise of perfect peace (eventually) and eternal life with the Almighty (now) again Jesus speaks unambiguously. "Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."  (John 14:6)

If you "get that," embrace that, and accept God's Truth a peace-filled, and contented, New Year can indeed be yours, Now and Forever more. 

There will be a day of justice--it's just not today!

Malachi is a brief but sobering book. In 4 chapters we are given the immediate state of God's people with a foreboding message for all future generations who follow the same courses of rebellion as the people of Malachi's day. 

""Your words have been arrogant against Me," says the LORD. "Yet you say, 'What have we spoken against You?' "You have said, 'It is vain to serve God; and what profit is it that we have kept His charge, and that we have walked in mourning before the LORD of hosts? 'So now we call the arrogant blessed; not only are the doers of wickedness built up but they also test God and escape.'" 

A quick tally of all the indictments against "God's people" ought to be a wake up call to people of faith today.

1.  Pride causes the "clay" to dare push back against the "Potter." "Thus saith the Lord" is routinely dismissed out of hand today is it not? 

2.  God's people argue with HIS assessment of their sin. 

3.  God's people contend it is pointless to live by the Word of the Lord. 

4.  God's people's rebellion empowered the wicked to continue and increase in their wickedness.

"Then those who feared the LORD spoke to one another, and the LORD gave attention and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the LORD and who esteem His name."

The truly faithful Jews, not merely the "religious Jews" caught the Lord's attention by their fidelity to their Lord.  The Lord is obviously pleased.

"They will be Mine," says the LORD of hosts, "on the day that I prepare My own possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him." So you will again distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him."   (Malachi 3:13-18)

THE day of fairness, of justice, of equity, is not yet upon us. This is frustrating to us to say the least. But the promise of that Day is assured by the very character of the Creator. You can stake your life on it!

"We esteemed Him stricken..."

"He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted.   (Isaiah 53:3-5)

This is one of my earliest memory verses dating back to the mid 70's. It is a well known passage to most Christians and one of the more pointed prophecies of the coming One who is the One and Only. But in this morning's annual trek through the Word, I caught a different glimpse of this wonderful assurance of our salvation.

When Jesus was walking the Earth there were those who were enamored by His various uniquenesses, he was tolerated by the curious, worshipped by a few, but overall he was despised by the majority. Hence, when given the offer to release him, the multitudes chose a known murderer. 

Our view from after-the-fact is easy; He was our substitute, He was the Righteous One taking the place of we the GUILTY. But in real time, that was not what played out. The most plausible, explanation for the brutality he suffered was that he had it coming to him. He deserved what he was receiving. I mean after all "we" (Rome) are a civil society with laws, and protections and rights for the innocent. If he were not guilty as charged he certainly would not have suffered the string of injustices and brutal tortures he did. 

There is only one obvious explanation; he had it coming. "Shall not the Judge of the whole earth do right?" Of course. Bottom line, he is under the judgement of God who knows all things, therefore, "...we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted." He had it coming.

This sticks in my craw and I'm not even sure where that is but it is uncomfortable... How many times have I judged people I know, people I have heard of or read of in the news? "C'mon, this wouldn't have gone this far if he wasn't guilty as sin..." But it's worse than that. I see someone walking the street, I size them up based on next to nothing other than my first impressions by their appearance. I have a check in my spirit tempering my wretched judgementalism. I wonder, "What tragedies, what horrors have they lived through that has so obliterated their sense of worth and meaning?" I pray.  

      OK, I strike up a minor victory.................. only to "return to the vomit." (Prov 26:11)  

Isaiah continues:  "BUT!  He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed."

He didn't have "it" coming. Far from it. He is the only one born of woman NOT to have it coming and I, who have it coming, am absolved only because "[GOD] made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."  (2 Corinthians 5:21)   And I cry out,       "Oh wretched man that I am. who shall deliver me from this body of death?"

                             "Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!  (Romans 7:25)

How to pray in these times according to 1 Tim 2:1-2

"First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity."  (1 Timothy 2:1-2)

We have continued down an unbelievable course, heretofore unknown in the history of our nation much less the planet. Specifically, the Church of Jesus Christ has succumbed to the usurpation of authority belonging exclusively to the King of the whole Earth.  This egregious breach of both American law and Divine mandate by the civil magistrates of our country is manifested by the incessant issuance of highly disputed, inconsistent, unscientific, and medically absurd edicts prohibiting the freedom of Americans to follow, not only their conscience in worship, but the clear delineation of the freedom of religion held inviolate in the Constitution of the United States.  

More seriously, the Church has rendered to Caesar that which is GOD's.  The Divine edicts, issued by the Creator of the Universe pertaining to the necessity of the Church of Jesus Christ worshipping freely and unrestricted, have been dismissed by tens of thousands of churches in the name of some inane idea of being a good witness, showing concern for our brothers and sisters, and/or some very inept explanations of Romans 13:1-4. (see previous blog post--Response to a question/comment re: Government authority; April 24, 2020)

Although tangentially redundant to the aforementioned blog post from April-2020, Paul's letter to Timothy cited at the outset is focused on the well being of "we"-- those who worship the living Savior.  Meaning what? Meaning that the insistence of Paul for the Lord's people to be praying for those in authority over us is expressly to the end that the life of the worshipper is protected from government intrusion.  READ IT!

            "So that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity."

Taking this as an addendum to Paul's letter to the Romans in chapter 13:1-4, the point of praying for our civil magistrates is to the end that they uphold and protect the Divine mandate of God for His people to be uninhibited in their worship of Him. The reckless, if not lazy, abdication of the authority of the Church Universal to the godless magistrates does not bode well for the future of the Church.  By this I do not mean the church will not prevail--it will!  

""I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it."  (Matthew 16:18)

But the rebellion of the Church Universal subordinating God's decrees to the Government's decrees is, I believe, already being used by the Almighty to purge His church of the wheat and the tares revealing the fraudulent from the faithful.  To God be the Glory.

 

Can you imagine?

You've heard the prophecies, you've sat upon your grandpa's lap listening to stories, fantastic stories, unbelievable stories. A hero was coming, someone unlike anyone the world has ever known and he would make every wrong-right, every injustice-just, and every bad guy who ever got away with anything, was going to get his comeuppance. Finally YOU would have that one who always had your back, who was right there waiting to take up your cause and because he was a super-hero no one could defeat him.  Because of him YOU would be unbeatable. 

The you heard that this wasn't a fantasy, it was the holy prophecies passed down through the generations with eye-witness accounts of his mighty power and victories unlimited. And as you are growing up you learn that that ONE was right there, living in your town, and he had already had so many run-ins with the law that he was a wanted man.  But his stature only grew as he continued to shut the mouths of skeptics, and convince the unconvinceable by the stories of his heroics and his to-good-to-be-true heroics.

And one day, word is out that he has been executed and not simply put to death but first a ritual of mockings, ridicules, insults, being slapped, spit upon and beaten so severely that he was unrecognizable.

And it dawns on you that you might be next.  You were outspoken, you stood your ground, and you were growing in disfavor with friends, family and the law because of your unwavering support of the one who was going to fix it all.  And now he's dead.

In disbelief you sneak a peak at the festivities of celebration at the brutal death of that one in whom you placed ALL your hope and joy and confidence. And now he is dead...

 In the midst of fear, sorrow, and despair he;\'s there. What? WHAT? "Remember how I told you..." He shows you his hands, your mouth is agape, you want to both pass out from stunned shock, yet levitate with a joy you have never known.

                             DEATH HAS BEEN DEFEATED! THERE IS 

                    NOTHING MORE THAT CAN DEFEAT YOU--EVER.  

                                           IMMANUEL--GOD WITH US

                                                      HE--IS--RISEN

A meditation for Easter "Today you will be with me in Paradise!"

                   As you are aware, there were three executed that day—two public enemies #1, not unusual,                                          and the Savior of mankind. Unprecedented.

 

                        Matthew writes:

“…two robbers were crucified with Him, one on the right and one on the left. And those passing by were hurling abuse at Him, wagging their heads and saying,

                                    "You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself!       If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross."

            In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes and elders, were mocking Him and saying, "He saved others; He cannot save Himself. He is the King of Israel; let    Him     now come down from the cross, and we will believe in Him.

                        "HE TRUSTS IN GOD; LET God rescue Him now if he delights in him; for He said, 'I am the Son of God.'"

                                    The robbers who had been crucified with Him were also insulting Him with the same words."  (Matthew 27:37-44)

 

At the time Jesus was  crucified, Matthew and Mark note something Luke does not.

This “could” be perplexing to some but it need not cause any consternation.

 

If every writer in the Scriptures made the exact same observations or highlighted precisely the same details as every other writer on the same occurrence, it would be needless repetition.

 

                                    When Matthew and Mark—inspired by God Almighty—mention that both of these wretched men being crucified with Jesus were not merely casual scofflaws,

                         they want us to note these convicts were irreligious men, godless to their core,

having no inkling that The merciful Savior was in their midst.  

They themselves are suffering, struggling to muster enough strength to push themselves up a few inches by their feet nailed to their crosses enabling them to take one more gasp of breath until they could no longer do so.

                        Oh but the goodness of our Loving God compels Luke to focus on something else only one of the two convicts said. He shines the Light of Revelation on what is truly a death bed confession of faith in the One and Only Messiah!

 

                        Mind you, crucifixion was designed to be a slow agonizing torture. It would take hours for a person to die which is why the soldiers not infrequently had to finally break the legs          of those crucified preventing them from scootching up to take

                                    another sip of life giving air.

 

            Now sometime between Matthew and Mark’s observation that BOTH robbers were taunting Jesus, and their final succumbing to hypoxia-- hours had passed.

                        So we note that this “robber,” more likely a violent insurrectionist, has nothing to commend himself to the mercies of God.

Furthermore--He had not a single minute to rectify his wretched life, he was devoid of any good. All he brought was a confession uttered as a rebuke to the other villain with him.

                                                 "Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?"  (Luke 23:40)  

 

             So apparently in those passing torturous hours this one, moved by the gracious compulsion of the Almighty, cries out,  

                        "Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!” (Luke 23:42) 

                                                And Jesus replies “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”  (Lk 23:43) 

 

What thou, my Lord, has suffered

Was all for sinners' gain;

Mine, mine was the transgression,

But thine the deadly pain.

Lo, here I fall, my Savior!

'Tis I deserve thy place;

Look on me with thy favor,

Vouchsafe to me thy grace.

                                                Oh your grace oh God, your grace is greater than all my sins..

My God, Why have You forsaken Me?

                            “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”    

                                    Moment of Reflection and Meditation--

 

I am not sure what the weather was the day God incarnate was executed on the torturous cross. But when the darkness engulfed the land at the time of day when the sun would be overhead it was not mistaken for a heavy over cast or any other “normal” climatological occurrence.

 

Throughout the historical narratives unusual darkness is commonly emblematic of Divine Judgement. This was no normal darkness but the kind that penetrates the soul giving one a nauseating sense of impending doom.

 

In Matthew’s account of the execution of God, Jesus had already been stripped naked, a scarlet robe derisively draped around the King of kings, and those Jesus came to save fashion a crown of thorns jamming it onto his brow kneeling mockingly before the very One who millennia before cursed the once holy soil from which those thorns had been culled.

 

Cursed thorns were a reminder to the first couple of Eden that their wretched rebellion against God Almighty brought judgement on all creation.  

So obscene was their arrogance asserting they knew better than the very One who fashioned them, death spread to all of creation---for the wages of sin is death.

 

            Oh but this is—"Pantokrator”  “Ruler over All Things!”   El Shaddai!   God Almighty.  

 

And HIS plan from before the foundations of the Earth--the crushing of the Serpent’s head--was                          about to be completed punctuated by a ghastly shriek. 

            Eli, ELI! Lama Sabachtani!”  “My God, My God Why have you forsaken me.”

 

                        His horrendous cry from the executioner’s cross was mistaken by those who were witnessing the most mercy-filled travesty of all time. They thought the words from this man in anguish were beseeching the prophet-- 

                       

            “Eli-jah” Elijah!  My God Jahweh, The great Prophet of centuries past--  

 

But this was no desperate plea for rescue. The Son of Man—who, for the joy set before Him-- had already endured, the insults, the mockery, the brutal beatings and the pre-torture, tortures and then spikes nailed to beams secured your sins and mine to the executioners’ cross----Jesus assuming to Himself the separation of Hell--the consequence of sin of all who come into the world.

 

Consummate abandonment, eternal separation —where friends, and loved ones, are unknown; God Himself disregards you. 

                        Shunned, pushed away, denounced, relegated to a solitary confinement, the Son of Man tastes the horrific cleavage of intimacy formerly assumed and embraced, now gone without a trace.           

                                    And Jesus receives it all with open arms.

 

“Union without fusion, distinction without separation” in the mystery of mysteries, The Father turns His back on the Son and He cries out —"My God, Why?  have you forsaken me?”

 

            It is there on the pages of God’s Word: It was For your sake, and mine--

                         "God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that WE might become the righteousness of God in Him."  (2 Corinthians 5:21)

           

                        WHY? It was Him or US. And God said, Let it be ME.”

 

            "It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners… (1 Timothy 1:15)           

           

The sacrificial Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world was finishing the purposes for which He came. 

 

Elizabeth Browning writes--  

Yea! once, Immanuel’s orphaned cry
His universe hath shaken—
It went up single, echoless,
“My God, I am forsaken!”
It went up from the Holy lips
Amid His lost creation,
That of the lost no son should use
Those words of desolation;…

His mercies are from everlasting to everlasting. Thanks be to God!

Oh How the Mighty Fall (the sad ending in the life of Ravi Zacharias)

Ravi Zacharias was an unknown when I was studying at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (TEDS). It was 1984 I believe. Many world renown speakers came through TEDS speaking in the chapel services. I was in attendance when a young Ravi Z. took to the pulpit for what would be a 3 day engagement. I had heard some of the world's best theologians, many who were more adept at thinking and writing than they were speaking. Ravi was different. I was totally engaged by his brilliance, his clear elocution of a language not his native tongue. His illustrations were profound and his recitations from literature, some at length while he was speaking, were from memory I learned later.  Ravi possessed what is called eidetic imagery or more popularly, a photographic memory.

On his last day it was announced that he would be meeting in a class room with anyone who wanted to come and chat further about his lecture or anything else for that matter.  There were perhaps 7 students present with the one who would become world famous preaching to hundreds of thousands, engaging with world leaders, and sharing the gospel of Christ with some of the most notorious Imams known to man. This was truly a unique man gifted by the Almighty--for His purposes. 

When word came that Ravi's days were numbered I pleaded with the Lord to spare this man who was so skilled in the wisdom of the Word. When I learned Ravi had left this earth, I wondered why someone like him dies while evil and wicked men live on spreading their nastiness to their last breath. 

"My ways are not your ways..." we are told in Scripture.  True but unsatisfactory to this mortal soul. Then I read the unfolding of a life of heinous wickedness.  Crimes against humanity, against his wife, his children, the millions whose lives he touched, and ultimately, against the Lord Almighty. Why Lord? 

                                                                    Silence...

As a teacher and preacher of the inspired, infallible, inerrant, authoritative Word of God since the latter 70's, I tend to have conversation with the Living God when another well known Christian leader falls. I understand the doctrine of a sin nature perhaps better than many. I've lived with one for the past 67 years... I know the Bible better than many part of which is gaining a keen sense of the less than inspiring quality of men the Lord has used throughout history. The Lord is not limited by the intrinsic qualities of a person when He wants something done.  Even redeemed man is still encumbered by the "old man" and will be until the corruptible is shed and replaced by the incorruptible as the apostle Paul tells the Church at Corinth. I understand all this, but still...

Ravi Zacharias was one of a kind. How can someone so studied, so committed, so practiced, so skilled, so imbued with the Holy Spirit to do such great things while living a life of abject debauchery and deceit at the same time words of Life are are being used to usher untold numbers of people destined for Hell to Life Everlasting through the "true knowledge of Him Who saved us..." 

Jeremiah speaks from the pages of Scripture: ""The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately corrupt; Who can understand it?"  (Jeremiah 17:9)  

Again--I KNOW the Bible well and those words from the prophet are etched on my mind reminding ME of my frailty.  But this was Ravi, Ravi Zacharias, HE WAS DIFFERENT! 

"Different how?" The Spirit questions my protests. You mean different like Abraham the greatest of the Old Testament faithful, and patriarch of the nation of Israel?  Abraham, who pawned off his wife to king Abimelech so that he might be treated favorably? 

Maybe Ravi was different, different like King David? Now there was a man of God. Even God Himself declares David to be a "Man after God's own heart..." (1Sam. 13) And what a resumé David amassed lusting after Bathsheba the wife of Uriah one of David's loyal warriors.  After stealing Uriah's wife while he is fighting a war to protect the King, David schemes bringing Uriah home on leave certain he will take advantage of the reprieve from battle to sleep with his wife. Oh but his loyalty to David and his fellow soldiers on the battle field compelled him to sleep out side his house instead of with his wife. Yes David was different. The man after God's own heart, then sends Uriah's order of execution back with Uriah  to give to Joab, the commander, who sets Uriah at the front line and then pulls back the troops so Uriah is killed.  Yes David was different...

But, but, Ravi WAS different.  Different how? Maybe different like Simon Peter, who was ready to take on the Roman Army in Gethsemane when they came for Jesus. Unlike the others, Simon was different attacking with sword removing the ear of one of the soldiers. And only hours later, Simon denied that he had ever seen or heard of the Nazarene, not once but three times...Yes, he was definitely different.

But sadly, Ravi was no different than you or me. At his core, he was just another sinner saved by grace and set apart to speak to millions of the wonderful grace of God by which he stood in the presence of crowds doing what his Creator had equipped him to do.  

                       --Doing what His creator had equipped him to do.--   

He was possessed with a fallen nature that was redeemed by the grace of His Savior just like you and me. At the end of the day Ravi Z. was just another lump of clay masterfully fashioned on the Potter's wheel to do wondrous and mighty things set forth in the mind and plans of the One who made him.  

Where does that leave us?  All of us who were awed by Ravi's gifts need not disparage those gifts as if his sin negates the power of those God-given gifts. Ravi's sin does nothing to invalidate or even diminish the truth for truth is not validated by one's ability to apply that truth. Truth is true because it is true having originated from the Truth Giver.

 And Ravi Z. warts and all, was compelled to speak forth that truth under the inspiration of the 3rd Person of the Triune Godhead. And the Kingdom of Heaven has been advanced and I believe will continue to be advanced because of it and all to the glory of God whose Kingdom it is even in spite of the flawed nature of the messenger.  Thanks be to God. May I learn and heed the tragic lessons of the hazards of greatness.

Two Prayers for Blessing: one Holy, the other ungodly

"May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us..."  (Psalms 67:1)

The first part of this snippet from Psalm 67 is one that preaches well, is encouraging, is upbeat, and is just what our narcissistic nature craves. Face it, we ALL want to hear/say/pray and hopefully experience God's bounty and blessing in our lives. But what I see is that while we would jump all over any of the "prosperity preachers" for selling this from their pulpits the psalmist is writing with an entirely different purpose in mind. The psalmist qualifies the hoped for blessing, "...that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations."  (Psalms 67:2) The psalmist's prayer is not anthropocentric (self-centered) but Theocentric (Christ centered). 

The RCV (Revised Cripe Version) might read: "God, take note of us, and bless us with all good things, most of all, the blessing of your hallowed Presence. Furthermore, bless us us in all things, in all ways "SO THAT we may be equipped, energized and supplied with everything we need TO EXPAND THY KINGDOM COME." Isn't this the very reason for our existence?

"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I AM with you always, to the end of the age.”"  (Matthew 28:19-20)

This is NOT a missionary verse!  This is a Christ follower verse. So, "Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ."  (Colossians 3:23-24)

Consequently, Psalm 67:1 is a perfectly excellent prayer if prayed biblically. 

Participation Awards Coming to the Olympics?

Simone Biles is arguably the greatest gymnast of her era. And so in a world utterly unhinged from any objective anchor of truth but what one determines for themselves to be truth, we have just the latest iteration of the consequences of Divine rebellion. 

"In an effort to deter other gymnasts from trying skills they are not physically capable of doing, the International Gymnastics Federation watered down the value of a new element Biles plans to do at the world championships. That’s right. Penalize the reigning world and Olympic champion who is almost cautious when it comes to adding difficulty, for the potential recklessness of others." (USA Today)

As a former gymnast let me put this in simpler terms. In any "routine" which consists of individual movements  you are scored not only on the success of how you complete the movements of your routine, but also on the "difficulty" of each particular movement in the routine.  Meaning two competitors could complete their routines with an identical performance score but one competitor's routine consisted of a move or moves which were scored at a greater difficulty. So if one had a double twisting, double somersault in an otherwise identical routine as their competitor who only had a double twisting, single somersault, the greater difficulty routine would prevail. It's that simple and logical. 

Simone Biles is far and away better than the rest so the Olympic Federation wants to essentially penalize the superior athlete for being too good. What is at work here originates at the heart of Divine rebellion. God is the One who defines right and wrong, truth and falsehood, light and dark good and evil. The Scriptures tell us that all things hold together only because there is a loving Creator who, as the writer of Hebrews states, "...upholds all things by the word of His power...."  (Hebrews 1:3) Mankind can ignore God's ownership, rule and authority over all things but they do so to their peril. The apostle Paul explains that the consequence of usurping Divine authority and rule over all things comes at a deadly price. 

"Therefore [because of the world's rejection of God's ultimate Kingship] God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen."  (Romans 1:24-25)

In short--God says, "You wanna do it YOUR way be my guest but it won't be pretty." By the way, this was THE sin in the Garden of Eden. God said one thing, Adam and Eve became their own authority dismissing God's rightful place.  It has been chaos ever since. And it impacts EVERY aspect of life.  

So what's next?  Maybe participation awards will become the next step for the world of competition. Crazy as that sounds today, imagine transgendered males competing against female champions. In some warped sense of "fairness" participation awards may be the next fruit of Divine rebellion.

"Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap."  (Galatians 6:7)

Pause before sinning...

David--KING David--called by God Himself, "a man after my own heart." Yet here he is having been laid out by his faithful friend and prophet Nathan who boldly sets a verbal trap for the king.  Using what Trent and Smalley, "The Language of Love" call an emotional word picture, Nathan side steps the expected self-justification, denial, mind your own business, "Do you know who I am" kinds of responses that everyone tends to run to when hammered point blank with a failing. David's lust compelled him to steal another man's wife--Bathsheba--and then trying to cover it up, arranges for her husband-- Uriah--to be killed in battle.  It doesn't get much worse.

Instead of the wise prophet laying out the facts and pronouncing judgement on the king, he tells him a story about a nasty man who ruthlessly takes a poor man's pet lamb and has it slaughtered for dinner. Mind you the nasty man was himself, rich and had his choice of flocks of livestock. 

Nathan asks the king, "What should be done to this man?"  Hearing the grave injustice, David is livid exclaiming the rich man deserves death!  Nathan says, "YOU are that man..." Without defense, David humbly repents. Psalm 51 is David's written confession and adoration for the grace God extends to him.

"Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; According to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity And cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, And my sin is ever before me. Against You, You only, I have sinned And done what is evil in Your sight, So that You are justified when You speak And blameless when You judge."  (Psalms 51:1-4)

Don't be confused when reading the inspired Word of David's confession. "Against You, You only, I have sinned And done what is evil in Your sight." Of course David sinned against Uriah and Bathsheba but ultimately every offense of mankind is against the Creator first and foremost. When the prodigal son returns home (Luke 15) having reaped the consequences of his self-absorbed life, he says to his father, "I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son."  (Luke 15:21)

Every sin is first and foremost against Heaven. The cross was and is the only hope for any of us regardless how major or minor the sin may be.  But what seems unimportant to us in the casual ways in which we sin against our spouse, children, employer, friends and even our enemies, is an offense against the Creator who suffered the cross absorbing the consequences of even the least of our sins. "He who knew no sin became sin on our behalf that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him." (2 Cor 5:21)

Many people of faith have a fair grasp on the idea of a gracious Savior dying for our BIG sins. But it is a different matter when it comes to the day by day, minute by minute(?) sins we take for granted. This is why all of humanity is in the same boat.  "The wages of sin is death..." Paul writes the church at Rome and the Psalmist writes, ""Every one has turned aside; together they have become corrupt; There is no one who does good, not even one."  (Psalms 53:3)

Remember Jesus' words, "Whatever you have done to least of these you have done it unto me." Perhaps remembering BEFORE you blow that gasket, or cheat the clerk who undercharged you, the Christ follower is covered by His blood for sure, and thus forgiven. But your offense is no less offensive to the very One who bled, died and rose again. For by grace you have been saved... And it is the kindness of the Lord that leads one to repentance, not for the purpose of living another day to sin more but to sin less, to the glory and praise of His name. 

Where is God When He is Silent? Job Figured it out...

I am reading the book of Job in my annual trek through the Bible. It's a book that has always intrigued me and one that I believe few have ever really read much less meditated on it.  Illustration? What's the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the word JOB! If you said, "fill out an application" *maybe this isn't the forum for you.  Seriously though, did you think PATIENCE? How many times have we heard "The patience of Job" used as a plaudit for someone who is bearing up under prolonged duress with tenacity and aplomb?  Truth be told from my vantage point patience doesn't even enter the picture. Job is a man of faith in the midst of unspeakable hardship. As a reader I have to remind myself that I come to Job's plight with information Job never had. That information changes everything.  

 

I love the book, precisely because WE have information Job never had. There was a spiritual chess match in the heavenlies between the Almighty and Satan and Job was a literal pawn on the board. (My apologies if you don't understand Chess.)  Either way the book needs to be read and reread.  

 

The brief: -- Over a brief time Job has essentially lost everything; his wealth, his security, his children, his health, and his friends. Job begins to question the benevolence or more, the justice of his Creator. The more Job inquires for some plausible explanation to his circumstances the louder the silence of God became. Enter the "friends..." to the rescue.  

 

While each one vehemently offered Job their expert assessments for his suffering their council was the same: "God is always right, He never makes a mistake so you obviously screwed up in a big way. Just embrace whatever it is you did, say you’re sorry, and everything will be just fine."  

 

Ironically, many of the attributes of God the friends mention are pretty much spot on. But their puny understanding of the Sovereign Almighty was woefully deficient even if well intentioned. (Yes that makes me wince if not gulp when I contemplate my life of teaching and counseling over the decades.) 

 

Bottom line--Job was being forthright in his self-assessment which we know because of the opening verse of the story. 

 

Because of verse 1. "There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job; and that man was blameless, upright, fearing God and turning away from evil."  (Job 1:1) 

 

WE know Job is right all along; he wasn't being punished for anything he had done or failed to do. BUT JOB DOESN'T KNOW THAT. And so he protests asking, then demanding that God give him audience to explain what is going on.  But again--all Job hears is silence. And that silence means God doesn't care, God is busy, God can't be bothered, God is unfair. 

                                                  You ever been there? 

Then today it dawned on me. As time went on Job's suffering was magnified by God's silence which intimates God's absence.  And yet as we see looking from the outside in with a heavenly perspective it was when the Lord seemed the furthest away to Job that He was actually the closest. At the point where God seemed distant, aloof, uncaring and uninvolved, He was perhaps NEVER closer to Job in his life; never more attentive to the circumstances he was undergoing. 

 

The Lord was observing, previewing, approving, superintending, restricting and overseeing everything that befell Job. But Job had NO idea that he was actually God's shining star, the Creator's paragon of faithfulness and virtue, entrusting to this very normal and flawed man, a Divine confidence in his faithfulness, fortitude and endurance against the prince of darkness himself.  

 

If you were the one selected for this role where could you possibly find greater commendation knowing God Himself was putting you up as "His person"?  

 

But Job never knew and yet God says to Satan himself, "Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil."  (Job 1:8)  Have at him!  He will not disappoint me.  

 

Who wants such a calling? I mean seriously. Um, thank you Lord but if you don't mind I think I'll pass on this one. Job--WOW! Just Wow!  

One lesson from the troubled life of Job

 This morning my eyes caught the headline from yesterday's WSJ about the scurrilous, ongoing assault against the previous President called impeachment. Reliably, "my" Senator, Susan Collins (R)ino is with the Democrats in yet again another unfounded if not unconstitutional attach.  In my reading Job this morning I am lifted up.

""Do you know this from of old, From the establishment of man on earth, That the triumphing of the wicked is short, And the joy of the godless momentary? "Though his loftiness reaches the heavens, And his head touches the clouds, He perishes forever like his refuse; Those who have seen him will say, 'Where is he?' "He flies away like a dream, and they cannot find him; Even like a vision of the night he is chased away. "The eye which saw him sees him no longer, And his place no longer beholds him. "His sons favor the poor, And his hands give back his wealth. "His bones are full of his youthful vigor, But it lies down with him in the dust."  (Job 20:4-11) 

A lot of people seem not to like the parts of the Bible that underscore the fact that there actually is a Day of reckoning.  It means that no one gets away with anything--ultimately. There IS a Day of Judgement before the One Who is perfectly Just.  I suppose there may be two reasons for this. The first is that such a sentiment just doesn't ring true with our personal experience of life. The bad advance, the good are punished. How often do we see people of "status" getting away with serial wickedness? The second reason is because of biblical ignorance, most people recoil at the thought (and evidence) of a "GOD" who gets angry much less who vows to right all the wrongs of the world which means severe unpleasantries to those who practice all manner of wickedness. So how does Job fit in here?

The Lord Himself tells us in the opening verse of Job's saga, he "was blameless, upright, fearing God and turning away from evil." (Job 1:1) Never-the-less, all Hell breaks forth against Job--literally--and Job is beside himself unable to figure out what he had done wrong to deserve it. Enter Job's friends who were quick to tell Job in so many words that he needed to own up to his obvious wretchedness and his tragic life would be uprighted.  

It's not an uncommon knee-jerk reaction for most of us. "Well he must have asked for it...," "I don't know but I'm sure she deserved it..." So before we're quick to hammer Job's friends, remember they didn't have the Divine revelation telling them at the outset what a stellar individual their friend was. 

But what makes me all warm and fuzzy is the irony of Job's colleagues self-righteous ire as they excoriate their afflicted friend--who we are told is blameless--while they are up to their knees in self-righteous crap.  God is so annoyed with them that he tells Job to pray for them lest God steps in to shut them up. What's equally amazing is that Job actually does.  I'm not sure I'd do that...

So it was good for me to be reminded that all the injustices, which have been piled on the previous POTUS over the past 4 years, will ultimately cave in on the smug accusers who are guilty of all they protest. But also let us be mindful that we too are susceptible to the same myopic view of things.

God is in Control...But!

“God’s in control!”      How many times through out the Trump presidency have I heard this exclaimed as the be-all, end-all answer to whatever new revelation of abject lawlessness had arisen that week. (For clarity, the lawlessness to which I am referring is not the [proven] baseless accusations against the POTUS, but rather the [proven] lawlessness of the incessant Trump-haters fabricating serial accusation after accusation.)

 

It seems to me that anyone who is informed, and has a pennies worth of objectivity would be and should be outraged. God is in control. It is true in every sphere of life. But--"Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed quickly, therefore the hearts of the sons of men among them are given fully to do evil."  (Ecclesiastes 8:11) 

 

You have probably seen some iteration of a list of the top ten “problems” teachers had to deal with in the 50’s compared to latter decades. In the 50’s I was sent to the principal’s office for talking in class, throwing snowballs on school property, and having a fight—with my brother.  A few years later, first day student Gini D., a new student from California, was kicked out of sophomore geometry for wearing a mini-skirt and Mrs. Wienberg worked the halls separating boys and girls who had their arms around each other.

 

Parents became advocates for their child’s “rights” to wear whatever they wanted with the ACLU joining in even filing lawsuits on behalf of the child.  Not surprisingly discipline of any stripe became another form of child abuse. In a few years, instead of smoking in the bathrooms, kids were dropping acid, popping pills, and shooting up a few years later.  Instead of concern for arms around waists, condoms were readily available from the school with practical life lessons on numerous “how-to’s” to make it all “safer.”  And the times they keep a changin!

 

Richard Nixon was my commander in chief when Watergate became a household word. The clarion cry of the 70’s was, “No one is above the law!”  President Richard Nixon resigned in ignominy and rightly he should have. But looking back, the “crime” of the 70’s that brought down a president in merited disgrace is truly laughable when compared to the scurrilous conduct of presidents that followed. Evil has only escalated in both volume and depravity. Oh but God is in control…

 

Well God is indeed in control. A sweep of biblical history removes any doubt about that. But what does that mean?  In facing the troubles of our times whatever the epoch do we cue up Doris Day singing Que Sera, Sera, [look it up]  put on the coffee, remain aloof of the machinations of a culture run amuck with boundary-less autonomy, godlessness, and relativism? Explaining the messy transfer of power from King David to Solomon Donald Carson affirms, God is in control--BUT:

 

“The sovereignty of God works through the complicated efforts of his people. When David is informed of the problem, he does not throw his hands into the air and pray about the situation: he immediately orders that decisive, symbol-laden, and complex steps be taken to ensure that Solomon ascends the throne. Trust in God's sovereign goodness is never an excuse for inactivity or indolence. Long years of walking by faith have taught David that whatever else “walking by faith” means, it does not warrant passivity. If we are to avoid acting in defiance of God, or in vain efforts to be independent of God, we must also avoid the pietism that is perennially in danger of collapsing trust into fatalism.”  

D.A. Carson  For The Love of God