Web of Deceit

I heard some people talking recently about college and then professional sports teams, and the probability that this or that team would do this or that.  Others were speaking about the possible future developments in politics, and whether such and such a candidate would do something new or simply disappoint again like so many others.  Still others were talking about . . . bla, bla, bla.  Don't get me wrong:  I bump my gums with the best of them about things that I enjoy or deem important . . . like fly fishing.  But all of these things have something in common:  They are not eternal. 

There exists in the hearts of all men the relentless temptation to give our attention, our time, our treasure, our very lives, to that which does not last.  The draw of hobbies, the building and sustaining our reputation in the eyes of men, the realization of the American Dream, even the doing of good and necessary things, can serve to pull us away from the eternal, the One who has saved our souls.  As Christians we daily walk a line of deciding which actions are led by the Holy Spirit and which are distractions.  In Adam we have inherited a downward proclivity toward sin and it is all too easy to let a web of deceit encompass our hearts so that we lose sight of the real work of the Kingdom of God, mistaking our aimless activity for God's errand. 

Such a condition is perhaps inevitable as the Holy Spirit sanctifies us over a lifetime, but woe to us if we dwell for years under such a delusion.  In His grace the Lord does not allow us to remain in such a blind condition without sending His Spirit, His Word, and a parade of faithful men of God to us to point out the straight and narrow road.  It is the humble man who recognizes such correction and yields to the Lord's loving and corrective hand.  God is so very faithful to demonstrate His love for us even as He chastises every son whom He receives.

His Righteous Soul Tormented

Any thinking Christian must readily admit that there is evil present in the world in which we live.  And are we not surrounded by the evidences of evil in our decaying culture?  Do not sin-broken families, prurient media, and the ravages of iniquity upon individual lives bear witness to this truth? As Christians, we should view evil, in all of its many manifestations, as abhorrent, as things to be reviled, as putrid offenses to God.  But perhaps this may not be the case. 

A Christian once talked to his friend, a Hollywood mogul, about why the powers that be in Hollywood never made Christian films and more family-friendly fare for the majority of viewers who were self-proclaimed Christians.  The mogul answered that the reason such films weren't usually made was that when they had been in the past, for the television and the big screen, no one ever watched.  The mogul's take on it was that all those who said they were believers preferred watching the same things as those who rejected Christ.

Whether the Hollywood mogul was right, his perspective raises an interesting question:  Do Christians find pleasure in embracing sin, or are they repulsed by it?  Clearly, the difference need not be explained as it should be obvious if the heart is one way or the other.  But perhaps we are ill equipped to judge our own hearts.  What is needed is the inward work of the Holy Spirit to convict of sin if we have truly treasured iniquity in our hearts that we may repent, and thereby be restored into right fellowship with the Lord.  The allurements of this world have an immediate appeal, but we must recognize in a moment that the appeal is an invitation unto death.  When this world passes away, and it most assuredly will, the deathly disease of sin and all its entrapments will burn with it.  Which of these sins will seem worth it when we stand before the eternal and glorious throne of the Lord Jesus Christ?  Not one of them.  Therefore, let us beg God to give us souls that are tormented over sin in reflection of His holiness.

". . . righteous Lot, oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled men, for by what he saw and heard that righteous man, while living among them, felt his righteous soul tormented day after day by their lawless deeds . . ." 2 Peter 2:7-8

Simply Love

"Assuredly there is but one way in which to achieve what is not merely difficult but utterly against human nature: to love those who hate us, to repay their evil deeds with benefits, to return blessings for reproaches. It is that we remember not to consider men's evil intention but to look upon the image of God in them, which cancels and effaces their transgressions, and with its beauty and dignity allures us to love and embrace them."

John Calvin

Freedom to Serve

Many are they who, enslaved to the opinions of men, serve the Lord in slavery rather than in freedom.  The praise of men changes like the wind and can turn in a moment.  The same lips that sing of your worth can also question your love and labor for Christ.  Following Jesus Christ and doing your good works so that others will see and affirm your calling is an exercise in vanity.  A man who lives searching for the praise of men to affirm his good works will indeed live a life of constant want, the cries of his heart left unfulfilled because mortal men can not rightly evaluate the works of any man. 

True freedom in Christ and genuine love for Him brings about the fruit of the Holy Spirit in a way that only the Lord can receive glory for your outward works.  Likewise, truly serving the Lord in this way means that your affirmation and assurance also comes from Christ Himself.  Jesus alone has called sinners out of death and into life, and He alone may declare the true evaluation of the works of His servants.  Serve the Lord, therefore, with your whole heart in humility, grace and love.  Let Jesus Christ decide the worth of your labors.  All others are mere clamorers and of no consequence.  Abide in Christ alone and you will know the freedom to serve Christ alone. 

"We give thanks to God always for all of you, making mention of you in our prayers; constantly bearing in mind your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the presence of our God and Father," 1 Thessalonians 1:2-3

The Bondage of Criticism

The history of the church is replete with the blood of the saints shed by their brethren for the slightest cause or doctrinal disagreement.  The simple truth is that sheep bite.  How wonderful if this biting were a thing relegated to history.  Such is not the case.  Every town in America, both large and small, has its share of stories in which this church split from that church over _________________ (Fill in the blank.).  The flaw lies in our sinfulness to be sure, but it is fueled by hearts that do not have a vision for fulfilling the Great Commission and their role in it both corporately and individually.

Every body of believers and every individual Christian is commanded to make disciples.  When a professing Christian does not do this, and is therefore in sinful disobedience, he begins to cast his gaze inward to the Bride of Christ.  In so doing, he has taken his eyes off of Jesus Christ and feels compelled to find flaws within the church as if it were not a collection of redeemed sinners saved by grace.  When a professing Christian begins to attack Christians mentally, verbally, and by his actions, he willfully joins in the work of Satan in his assault of God's people.  Of course such actions are entertained in the vain imagining of an individual out of a subtle hubris that masquerades as genuine concern for the church, but it is nothing of the sort.  It is the spirit of anti-Christ at work and the fuel of human pride is all too ready to join in the destruction.

The Scripture says that from the fruit of the heart, the mouth speaks.  How very true.  The one who attacks the Bride of Jesus Christ reveals a heart that is as blackened by sin as the darkest night.  This is understandable in unbelievers for Jesus Himself told us that the world would hate us because it had first hated Him, but when a converted Christian enjoins himself to the work of Satan through sarcastic remarks, scathing accusations and lies, or slanderous gossip veiled in the pretense of a prayer concern, it is a mockery of the finished work of Jesus Christ that has set him free.  Likewise, it is woeful evidence that the individual is so very far removed from the Savior that they claim to follow that deep and abiding repentance is the call of the hour. 

For a Christian to walk in holy obedience, the heart must be focused upon the Person and finished work of Jesus Christ, and out of love for Him, the proclamation and living out of the Gospel must be done alongside other vessels of redeemed clay in all of their innumerable imperfections, imperfections just like our own.  Saints of God, we are called to love Jesus Christ and to love others rather than to fester in the bondage of criticism.  Let us abide in Jesus Christ in complete surrender so that we love the way the Lord does, reflecting His love for us, and dwelling with our brothers and sisters in Christ in a unity led by His Spirit so that He receives the glory from His church that He is due.

"Behold, how good and how pleasant it it for brothers to dwell together in unity."  Psalm 133:1

Worth the Listening

Think of the situations in which you find yourself that offer you the opportunity to speak or to remain silent.  Rare is the individual who, when presented with such a circumstance, can keep his words to himself.  The urge to speak his mind is overwhelming, as if the future of mankind hinges upon the opinion that he must speak into a sharing of ideas.  It does not.

Perhaps it has something to do with age.  I don't know, but the older I get, the more I enjoy listening and weighing the ideas of others, and waiting a while to join the conversation if at all.  I know that everyone has experienced people who talk a blue streak and rarely utter a thing worth hearing.  How much more profitable it is to speak less and say more with our brevity. 

I am currently reading The Great Gain of Godliness by Thomas Watson, an examination of Malachi 3:16-18, in which the author expounds upon the character of the godly.  He contends in Chapter 7, "The Godly Should Speak of God," that "A good Christian not only has the law of God in his heart (Psa. 37:31), but in his tongue . . . the country to which a man belongs is known by his language.  He who belongs to the Jerusalem above speaks the language . . . none of God's children is dumb; their mouth is a 'wellspring of wisdom' (Pro. 18:4)." (pp. 62-63)  Can that be said of me?  I pray daily that it can, and surely I fail daily in such a high calling, but I persevere.

Let us weigh our words today.  Let the inane ramblings we post to social media be of greater weight than the contents of our latest meal, what new toy we purchased, where we plan to fritter away our days with entertainment, or why we are so very excited about ourselves.  Let the random conversations in which we daily engage with family and friends and strangers be words of encouragement in the faith, of challenge to the upward calling that we have received in Christ Jesus, of sharing the eternal Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Let our words be worth the listening.

"He who restrains his words has knowledge, And he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.  Even a fool, when he keeps silent, is considered wise; When he closes his lips, he is considered prudent."  Proverbs 17:27-28

What Will It Profit a Man?

Jesus said, "For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it."  Matthew 16:25.  The immediate context was that Jesus was telling His disciples that He was going to suffer and die.  His view of life, His purpose in His earthly Incarnation, was to atone for the sins of men through His sacrificial death, thereby redeeming fallen man back into relationship with their heavenly Father.  He walked in perfect obedience to His Father even to the point of death on the cross.  Christ's holy obedience to His Father was more important to Him than any temporal relief or consideration.  The cross notwithstanding, do we have less of a call of obedience upon our lives than the Son of Man did during His earthly ministry? 

Jesus then said to His disciples, "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?"  Matthew 16:26.  The Lord weighed the entire world against one soul, and found the soul of infinite worth and the world wanting.  Do we view the value of our own souls and the things of the world the way Jesus does?  

Then, speaking of Himself, Jesus said, "For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and WILL THEN REPAY EVERY MAN ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS."  Matthew 16:27.  The latter half of this verse is capitalized in Scripture because there are Old Testament references germane to the text, specifically Psalm 62:12 and Proverbs 24:12, that reinforce the idea that whether a man lives for the glory of God in this life, or pursues the vaporous treasure of this world, he will receive the fruit of his actions directly from Jesus Himself Who sees the true motives of the heart.  With this in view, how then should we live? 

 

As Christians we must decide daily to follow the Lord Jesus Christ, or a way of our own making.  There is no middle ground here.  The decision is your ways or His ways.  It is pretty simple, but you must decide one day at a time.

"The backslider in heart will have his fill of his own ways, but a good man will be satisfied with his."  Proverbs 14:14

Draw Me After You

In the twinkling of an eye she exchanged vows with me, her hands trembling ever so slightly, shaking her small bouquet so that I reached out to cradle both of her hands in my own.  I remember her looking up from our joined hands and, smiling, whispering "I love you."  Her beauty took my breath away as it still does, and right before my eyes she was trading her life of solitude for a joining into covenant with me that would change both of us forever.  We would no longer be individuals, but rather a picture of Jesus Christ and His Church, the Bridegroom and His Bride, and it has been a journey beyond my imagining.

In the almost quarter century that has passed since that day, I have come to realize that my love for my closest friend, confident, lover and mother of our precious children has grown more deeply profound, and has shaped my life more truly for the glory of Jesus Christ, than I knew was possible.  We have loved and argued, laughed and wept, prayed and trusted and hoped together for all manner of earthly and eternal concerns of our hearts.  In so doing, it is in the every day living that a love born of devotion, respect, and adoration of the precious gift that she is to me, fills my heart with thankfulness to the Lord for such a wondrous entrusting of her soul to mine.

I love that she always begins a day by meeting the Lord in prayer and in His Word.  I love that she is so incredibly organized and yet deems it unimportant to completely close a drawer or cabinet.  I love that she finds great joy in buying new plants every Spring and filling our gardens with foliage and color, and then never waters any of them, leaving them to me or the Lord to secure their continued existence.  I love that her lips get kind of poochy when she grows tired.  I love that she has made a delicious and beautifully presented breakfast for her family every day that I can remember so that each day begins with yummy sounds.  I love to see her smile when she cuts fresh flowers from outside, and they find their way to vases in the living room, in bedrooms, and in bathrooms.  I love the way she fights off sleep every night as she sits in the comfortable embrace of an old chair and we talk of the events of the day, or our plans for the day to come.  I love that I can tell what she is thinking by the way she looks at me, her eyes and her touch speaking volumes without a word.  It is the language of love within covenant that is safe and abiding in Jesus Christ, a language that only we two share between us, unspoken, seamless, and brightening to our love for each other.  I love the way she nurtures our children, filling in the cracks of my many weaknesses.  Together, we are one as He intends. 

I know that there will come a day in heaven when we will no longer be married or given in marriage.  Thus, I am torn between longing to see the Lord Jesus Christ return in all His glory, and yet wanting many more years with the wife of my youth if our King will allow it.  There is not a day that dawns that I do not think of her with thoughts of gratitude to my Father in Heaven, recognizing that she is first the daughter of the King, and then my wife for much too short season upon this earth.  I must love her accordingly that she may be a godlier woman for having said "Yes" to me so many years ago.

Father, grant that by your Spirit I may live for Risa in a way that she has a right and holy picture of her heavenly Bridegroom because You are daily conforming me in the image of Jesus Christ.  May we walk this life with our fingers entwined knowing that I will one day put her hand into Yours.  Help me to love her the way You do, Lord Jesus.

"Draw me after you and let us run together!"  Song of Solomon 1:4

Will He Not Render?

We are surrounded by slaves, men and women who look to other men and women for their worth, their affirmation, their kudos.  Such individuals find their assurance in the words and accolades of men.  They are dependant upon others for the surety of their life's purpose.  Truly, they are enslaved.

While everyone benefits from the encouragement of others, these enslaved individuals are not only empowered by the actions of others, but their are likewise paralyzed by the criticism or lack of encouragement from others.  Their self worth hangs in the balance of words spoken to them, and the affirmations of men give both they and their work value.

People of God, your true worth must rest solely in the Person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Your are counted righteous because of the shed blood of His sufficient atonement.  Therefore, He alone will deliver the verdict regarding your labor in His name.  The hearts and words of men are as fickle as the wind.  The same person who welcomes you with one hand will strike you with the other.  It is the nature of all who struggle in this life with the old nature.  Jesus Christ will never relate to you this way.  His evaluation of your heart is true, perfect, and redemptive in all that He is accomplishing in and through you.  The most adoring human heart, and the most vehement attacker, will have no bearing on the eternal verdict of your good works born of salvation. 

Your God has ordained good works for you to walk in, so do your work heartily as unto the Lord, and let your reward be a heavenly one that comes directly from the nail-scarred hand that has set you free.  Only in the Beloved will your heart find the truest love of all abounding and resounding to the depths of your inner man, and then back unto Him in praise and worship.  Let the Lord alone be your God.

"And will He not render to a man according to his work?"  Proverbs 24:12d

Jesus and Bean Laden

I wish I were relevant enough to the world's happenings and culture to be able to comment on the death of Osama bean Laden.  Even so, I am thankful that this mass murderer is gone, but I won't dwell for long on the disappearance of such a despot, Mr. Bean notwithstanding.  His reign was one of sin and suffering grounded in this world that is passing away.  He will not be missed by any that hold a right view of eternity and of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ is the Son of the Most High God, the Word made flesh, Who holds time and space and eternity in the palm of His hand.  The earth is His footstool and though the nations rage against Him, He Who sits in the heavens laughs at the kings of the earth in their scurrying opposition toward Him.  I am thankful that my life and eternity are secure in He Who shed His blood for my redemption. 

Thinking back on the horrific events of September 11, 2001, I still mourn for those we lost.  Their deaths were a tragedy and a shock, but Scripture tells us that all our lives are but a vapor upon this earth.  A lifetime is so short a time in stark contrast to the bouldless of eternity that we would all do well to examine our lives in light of Jesus Christ.  I've shared the message of the Gospel with many who have dismissed it for any number of reasons, but one of the great things about absolute truth is that it does not require a person's belief to still be absolute truth.  Despite those who deny the message of the Cross, I am thankful to the Lord that He is completely sovereign over the world of men and I am not.

"Why are the nations in an uproar And the peoples devising a vain thing?  The kings of the earth take their stand And the rulers take counsel together Against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, 'Let us tear their fetters apart And cast away their cords from us!'  He who sits in the heavens laughs, The Lord scoffs at them."   Psalm 2:1-4

Made From the Stuff of Earth

I find it funny that so many people who call themselves Christians wrestle with obedience in giving tithes and offerings to the Lord as if keeping their money for themselves and from God somehow gives them control over anything.  In all candor, wrestling with obedience is another way of saying disobedience, which we also know is sin.  If a soul claims to have trusted Christ for their eternal salvation, would sinning in the area of giving engender trust in either the individual, or in that person's trust of God?  All this being said, giving and sin are not the issues.  The issue is one of sovereignty.

Knowing the wretchedness of our mortal frames, and the quickness of our souls to be distracted by sin, why would we ever want to be the sovereigns over our own fate?  We need God to be sovereign over the material world in which we find ourselves.  We were made from the stuff of earth and we are poor substitutes to usurp His throne.  God is a Sovereign Who orders all things after the counsel of His will in order to bring glory to His only begotten Son.  The circumstances in which we find ourselves, whether blessings or trials, are from Him, for Him, and about Him.  A cursory glance at life would not reveal this truth, but looking with the eyes of faith shows the true weight of it.  God is in control, Christian, and we would not want it any other way.  Questions about why? and when? and where? are not even germane to the conversation.  God alone is the Lord and there is no other.  Rest, therefore, in the trust of your Sovereign.

"The LORD has established His throne in the heavens, And His sovereignty rules over all."  Psalm 103:19

Arm Chair Gods

Whenever I have watched a football game with friends, I have always found it funny how much more we know than the professional athlete who is on the field.  We sit comfortably back with our game day food in hand, and cheer and jeer at the successes and mistakes of our chosen teams, often yelling at the screen when the quarterback makes a huge mistake by throwing to the tight end for a loss when he obviously had wide receiver completely open in the flat!  But even on our best day, we are little more than arm chair quarterbacks, and we are seriously unqualified to do their job.  We are infinitely more disqualified to be God.

When we take stock of our lives, of our trials and blessings, often thinking mistakenly that they are not one and the same, we are prone either to rail against the Lord for His apparent lack of movement in the direction that we think He should move, or we deride Him for moving in a direction that is clearly wrong from our perspective.  But the point is simply this:  God does not see things from our perspective, and for this we should be humbly grateful. 

God's action in His creation is always to glorify Jesus Christ.  Always.  He does this from a Throne not bound by time, nor by space, nor even by eternity.  His actions are always the perfect expression of the glory of Jesus Christ, and in His sovereignty, he need not confer with anyone, even those made in His image.  Too often in the Christian life, we run ahead of God diving headlong into the seas of our own choosing, and then wonder in astonishment why it is so very hard to swim.  Many a believer's life would have a very different flavor if rather than asking God to bless what they have already purposed in their hearts to do, they would humble themselves before the Lord, in true humility and surrender, and ask Him what He wills for their lives.  Content is the man who says in all worship and surrender, "Not my will, Lord, but Yours be done."

"Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, "Will a child be born to a man one hundred years old? And will Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?" And Abraham said to God, "Oh that Ishmael might live before You!" But God said, "No, but Sarah your wife will bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; and I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him."  Genesis 17:17-19

Ghosts of the Dead

In remembering recently the road I walked on my way to saving faith, it is nothing save the sovereignty of God that kept me from embracing the deceptions and emptiness of numerous pseudo-Christian Western cults that assailed me for two decades until my conversion.  Many were the days in which I grappled with the claims made by false teachers inviting me to join them on the broad road, struggling to understand truth, and to find the one true God.  But thanks be to the Lord that He is patient and loving, a Father Who wants to be found, and a Revealer of truth to sinners that we might repent of our sin and find rest.  No longer do I have to wonder what is real, walk in darkness about the future, or guess at my eternity. 

The enemies of God do not know such peace.  He offers to them the shed blood of the Lord Jesus, but if they refuse Him, He is not diminished in His glory.  Rather, He is glorified in His righteous judgment of their sin, even turning them over to the wickedness of their own devices, and confounding their plans, that they might trust in idols and the ghosts of the dead. 

Thank you, Lord Jesus, that You are the true and living God in whom we sinners may trust.

"and I will confound their strategy so that they will resort to idols and ghosts of the dead."  Isaiah 19:3

Decision

"A chasm is opening between the men who believe their Bibles and the men who are prepared for an advance upon Scripture. Inspiration and speculation cannot long abide in peace. Compromise there can be none. We cannot hold the inspiration of the Word, and yet reject it; we cannot believe in the atonement and deny it; we cannot hold the doctrine of the fall and yet talk of the evolution of spiritual life from human nature; we cannot recognize the punishment of the impenitent and yet indulge the "larger hope." One way or the other we must go. Decision is the virtue of the hour."

Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Clean Mangers

Often in the doing of ministry, Christians face the temptation of building their own little kingdoms in the midst of what the Lord is doing.  It happens when, after a season of successful ministry in which the blessing of God has been obvious, things begin to change, and the way it has always been done is threatened with newness.  It does not mean that the new way is better, nor is the previous method, but changes comes and we find ourselves uncomfortable, even hostile or bitter, toward both the newness and those who brought it.

The fact is that when God is growing something, it changes, and changing things challenge us to look within our hearts.  We are forced to examine our true motives.  Are we really working with God to build His Kingdom, or are we trying tooth and claw to hold on to the kingdom we have built?  When God brings change, Christians must not succumb to the temptation to fight against what He is doing.  Many are they in Scripture who believed they were serving the Lord when in fact they were fighting in vain against His will and His work. 

The simple truth is this:  ministry is messy because it involves sinners who, even under the mutual grace of Jesus Christ, still struggle with the consequences of enslavement to the first Adam.  We are nothing more than redeemed clay who must daily die to ourselves that we might live to Jesus Christ.  Do you want to be used by the Lord for His purpose?  Then recognize, Christian, that new people serving in the ministry in which you have been serving, doing things differently from the way you have been doing them, may very well be the Lord Himself bringing change to the ministry . . . which, by the way, is His, not yours.  Christians ought not to engage in turf wars, butting heads with fellow workers, over the ground on which the King of kings has already won for His Kingdom.  Finding yourself in the midst of change in a ministry in which you have been faithfully serving should be an encouragement to know God is still interested in what you are doing in service to Him, but just now it needs the fresh wind of His Spirit to move forward.

"Where no oxen are, the manger is clean, but much increase comes by the strength of the ox."  Proverbs 14:4