I love my early morning walk!! Except on Thursdays. Thursday is Garbage Day. Depending on my time, I am either passing garbage containers full of stinky trash or empty containers that reek of the extracted contents. No matter what road I choose, it's going to be a stinky walk here and there.
This morning a quote from John Piper came to mind as I passed each container full of garbage. He was answering a question about using transgender bathrooms at Target (or wherever). The answer he gives is excellent, but the portion for my post is his last paragraph: "I think we should spend most of our creative energies on constructing in our minds and in our hearts and in our families great and beautiful and glorious alternative visions of reality than the ones we are being offered by the world. If we give most of our time to bemoaning and criticizing the world for acting like the world, our vision of God and his glorious future for his people will become smaller and smaller, and that could be a greater tragedy than the one we are living in."
Garbage day is a reality. It is what it is. I don't embrace garbage or hang with it or advocate it but it's here for the duration. I can boycott that day but I'm the looser because, well as I said, I love my walk. So I pass a couple of stinky containers every block. I still have the rest of the block and the blocks before me to walk, feel the vitality of exercise and look up at the blue sky rejoicing in all the blessings God has bestowed on me.
Saturday, July 2, 2016
Pride and Punishment
"All mankind is stupid and devoid of knowledge..." How's that for a commentary on humanity? The books of Job, Proverbs and Ecclesiastes tells us consecutively: "the fear of the LORD, that is wisdom", "the fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge...", "the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom...", "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments..." Oh for grace to understand the beauty, simplicity, and profound truth of this starting point toward a right perspective on life!
Jeremiah, a book that many view as depressing, has given me such hope and encouragement as I bow down in amazement of our compassionate and sovereign Creator. Over the years we grab a few profound verses from this book but in its entirety, it holds a picture that has energized me with renewed views of myself and my Father. "Ah, Lord, GOD! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for You..." (32:17) How I need to bask in that verse daily as I begin each day on my knees for God's divine and power direction.
Since the fall, we are all born with a bent in the opposite direction of holiness. And with each chapter of Jeremiah, we see ourselves but for God's grace in the wayward Israelites and all the pagan nations around them. We must not point our finger, for in this book, we see the only Finger that has a right to point, and He will do what He purposes to do. If we, in our wicked bent toward evil, want to kick against God in pseudo pride, then all that we have waiting for us is calamity. And it's this that I want to address in this post: pride and punishment!
While all the book of Jeremiah has valuable lessons, pride is a major part of our sin nature which can and does wreck havoc in the life of unbelievers and believers alike. And in chapter forty-eight, we see clear characteristics of this pride. Contemplate the following list and apply with holy desire of divine correction to your own lives: lofty, praised (desire for praise), trust in own achievements and treasures, at ease since youth, undisturbed warriors, valiant, glory and strongholds in yourself, arrogant toward God, idle boasts, abundance, and riotous revelers.
The punishment of unconfessed and foolish pride is sure. Whether the lesson is dealt with in this life or the next, pain is sure. But the pain here, I pray, is corrective pain that leads to salvation. Because the pain in hell will never be over. Consider the following punishment characterized in this same chapter, for the Creator God that Jeremiah tells us to "behold" in the verse above does not miss His mark: destroyed, put to shame, captured, shattered, no more praise, calamity, cut off from being a nation, silenced, sword (death), great destruction, broken, little ones crying, continual weeping, anguished cry, exiled, priests and princes (high positions and status of no consequence), ruined lands, slaughtered, disaster, laughing stock, futile fury, and no shouts of joy.
Due to length of post, I left many in the punishment list off. But hopefully, we get the picture of the end of pride. Let us seek God on our knees in humble adoration of His ability to heal us while we still breathe the breath of life on earth. Let us give up to Him all our concerns, questions, and idols, that we may live a life that brings Him honor, glory, and praise. And that our life will be fulfilled with joy and peace as only He can give. May Jesus Christ be praised for His unspeakable gift of salvation. Holy is His name!
Jeremiah, a book that many view as depressing, has given me such hope and encouragement as I bow down in amazement of our compassionate and sovereign Creator. Over the years we grab a few profound verses from this book but in its entirety, it holds a picture that has energized me with renewed views of myself and my Father. "Ah, Lord, GOD! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for You..." (32:17) How I need to bask in that verse daily as I begin each day on my knees for God's divine and power direction.
Since the fall, we are all born with a bent in the opposite direction of holiness. And with each chapter of Jeremiah, we see ourselves but for God's grace in the wayward Israelites and all the pagan nations around them. We must not point our finger, for in this book, we see the only Finger that has a right to point, and He will do what He purposes to do. If we, in our wicked bent toward evil, want to kick against God in pseudo pride, then all that we have waiting for us is calamity. And it's this that I want to address in this post: pride and punishment!
While all the book of Jeremiah has valuable lessons, pride is a major part of our sin nature which can and does wreck havoc in the life of unbelievers and believers alike. And in chapter forty-eight, we see clear characteristics of this pride. Contemplate the following list and apply with holy desire of divine correction to your own lives: lofty, praised (desire for praise), trust in own achievements and treasures, at ease since youth, undisturbed warriors, valiant, glory and strongholds in yourself, arrogant toward God, idle boasts, abundance, and riotous revelers.
The punishment of unconfessed and foolish pride is sure. Whether the lesson is dealt with in this life or the next, pain is sure. But the pain here, I pray, is corrective pain that leads to salvation. Because the pain in hell will never be over. Consider the following punishment characterized in this same chapter, for the Creator God that Jeremiah tells us to "behold" in the verse above does not miss His mark: destroyed, put to shame, captured, shattered, no more praise, calamity, cut off from being a nation, silenced, sword (death), great destruction, broken, little ones crying, continual weeping, anguished cry, exiled, priests and princes (high positions and status of no consequence), ruined lands, slaughtered, disaster, laughing stock, futile fury, and no shouts of joy.
Due to length of post, I left many in the punishment list off. But hopefully, we get the picture of the end of pride. Let us seek God on our knees in humble adoration of His ability to heal us while we still breathe the breath of life on earth. Let us give up to Him all our concerns, questions, and idols, that we may live a life that brings Him honor, glory, and praise. And that our life will be fulfilled with joy and peace as only He can give. May Jesus Christ be praised for His unspeakable gift of salvation. Holy is His name!
Thursday, April 14, 2016
Perhaps
God used Jeremiah to warn Israel, as He had done with other prophets. Time and again, Jeremiah delivers God's message of warning to deaf ears. However, as Israel is prone to do, when the going gets rough, then run to God for help.
Jeremiah has been talking to Israel for twenty chapters. He has been beaten and put in stocks for his effort, bemoaning his own birth in the process. Now, in chapter twenty-one, the king sends his men to Jeremiah with an inquiry, because the enemy is coming. "Please inquire to the LORD on our behalf...perhaps the LORD will deal with us according to all His wonderful acts, so that the enemy will withdraw from us."
Perhaps? That word alone shows that God's people really don't know Him at all. God is not a haphazard God. He speaks. We say, "Amen", so be it! That's part of the wonder, beauty, and power of God. That's part of the security of trusting Him. He is sovereign, sure, and what He says is sound!
Perhaps? Have they not been listening? He has told them over and over what is. Their inquiry is too late.
Oh, the sorrow and devastation of being too late. We are the unruly and haphazard ones. We are the ones who tend toward chance and luck. God would, a couple of chapters later, use that same word in reference to His people: "stand...and speak...all the words that I have commanded you to speak to them. Do not omit a word! Perhaps they will listen and everyone will turn from his evil way, that I may repent of the calamity which I am planning to do to them because of the evil of their deeds."
Perhaps! Our thoughts of God are too much like our thoughts of ourselves. We ought to be ashamed that we know so little of the character of our God. "Study to show yourselves approved to God, a workman that needs not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." (2 Timothy 2:15)
Saturday, April 2, 2016
Contrast
"...a woman came to Him with an alabaster vial of very costly perfume, and she poured it on His head as He reclined at the table...truly I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be spoken of in memory of her."
"Now when evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the twelve disciples. As they were eating, He said, 'Truly I say to you that one of you will betray Me...The Son of Man will go, just as it is written of Him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.'"
As He reclined: A woman/A man. Costly perfume/Blood money. Love poured out/Love sold out.
Honorable deed/Traitor's woe. Beautiful memory/Despicable birth. The woman: nameless/The man: Judas.
According to Matthew and Mark, once "the woman" displayed her love, "then Judas went" and betrayed Jesus love. Oh, how wonderful and oh, how tragic!! Let us meditate with great seriousness our walk in this life. It is our witness; it is the display of our true heart's devotion.
Friday, March 11, 2016
Too Crowded to Notice
At a recent Bible study, someone made the point of Jesus sitting weaving the whip He was about to use in the temple to drive out the money changers. I never thought about that. I've pictured Him doing the deed but never weaving the whip. "And He made a scourge of cords..."
Think about it, there He was in the middle of all those thousands of people. Did anyone notice Him sitting there making a whip? Did they stop to think why? Or was it too crowded to care what one Person was doing?
It's just a thought, but are we too crowded with the many worthless pursuits of life to care that life is not always going to go on like it does. There are going to be changes. Are we prepared? Spurgeon said in a recent devotion that we need to view everything in our life as temporal, that change will not come on us unexpectedly. That's not to say we should not enjoy life, but to view it in terms of eternity. And also, for those who do not know Christ, to view every breath they take as one more compassionate gift of God to direct them to Himself. Let it not become too crowded to notice that He compassionately warns us of the coming changes and eternity's certainty. He IS weaving the whip, but He has granted us "everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him." Seek Him, listen, obey! It is the only answer to life's uncertainty!
Think about it, there He was in the middle of all those thousands of people. Did anyone notice Him sitting there making a whip? Did they stop to think why? Or was it too crowded to care what one Person was doing?
It's just a thought, but are we too crowded with the many worthless pursuits of life to care that life is not always going to go on like it does. There are going to be changes. Are we prepared? Spurgeon said in a recent devotion that we need to view everything in our life as temporal, that change will not come on us unexpectedly. That's not to say we should not enjoy life, but to view it in terms of eternity. And also, for those who do not know Christ, to view every breath they take as one more compassionate gift of God to direct them to Himself. Let it not become too crowded to notice that He compassionately warns us of the coming changes and eternity's certainty. He IS weaving the whip, but He has granted us "everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him." Seek Him, listen, obey! It is the only answer to life's uncertainty!
"My Precious"
Gollum's "precious" consumed him to the point that he was unrecognizable as what he had been: a hobbit. Of course, you may say, "that's fiction." Yes, it is but what is fiction but what man takes out of the life he knows and writes it down? Therefore, I'm sure Tolkien had seen the deterioration of humans consumed with stuff.
God, of course, knows it well. He has watched it continually since man's beginning. As He had done so many times before, God discusses with His prophet Jeremiah what to say to disobedient Israel. However, Jeremiah has faltered and become frustrated with his job. It's not an easy job to tell people they are to turn or burn. But the fact is that this is truly a compassionate work on God's part. He doesn't have warn them. And now His prophet is fumbling around in self-pity. So God must deal with Jeremiah before He continues His warning to His people, Israel.
Jeremiah's "precious" must be unmixed with what the world deems precious! And he must rouse himself to the amazing position he holds as God's spokesman to the His people. God, the mighty Maker of all things, is speaking to Jeremiah. So, in his faltering, God deals with him a moment so that he can get back to the business at hand. "If you return, then I will restore you--before Me you will stand; and if you extract the precious from the worthless, you will become My spokesman. They for their part may turn to you, but as for you, you must not turn to them." Jeremiah 15:19
Let us turn to what is truly "Precious", for there is our only hope, security, and peace. Is Jesus precious to you? If yes, then be consumed with Him and not with that worthless pursuit that will one day come to nothing. That is NOT fiction, but is life changing and life saving. May we, too, become "unrecognizable" as to our former way of life as we submit to this transformation God wants to make in us.
God, of course, knows it well. He has watched it continually since man's beginning. As He had done so many times before, God discusses with His prophet Jeremiah what to say to disobedient Israel. However, Jeremiah has faltered and become frustrated with his job. It's not an easy job to tell people they are to turn or burn. But the fact is that this is truly a compassionate work on God's part. He doesn't have warn them. And now His prophet is fumbling around in self-pity. So God must deal with Jeremiah before He continues His warning to His people, Israel.
Jeremiah's "precious" must be unmixed with what the world deems precious! And he must rouse himself to the amazing position he holds as God's spokesman to the His people. God, the mighty Maker of all things, is speaking to Jeremiah. So, in his faltering, God deals with him a moment so that he can get back to the business at hand. "If you return, then I will restore you--before Me you will stand; and if you extract the precious from the worthless, you will become My spokesman. They for their part may turn to you, but as for you, you must not turn to them." Jeremiah 15:19
Let us turn to what is truly "Precious", for there is our only hope, security, and peace. Is Jesus precious to you? If yes, then be consumed with Him and not with that worthless pursuit that will one day come to nothing. That is NOT fiction, but is life changing and life saving. May we, too, become "unrecognizable" as to our former way of life as we submit to this transformation God wants to make in us.
Wednesday, March 9, 2016
Locked Out
For some weeks now, I have been locked out of my blogspot. I've been blogging now for over five years. I've written down personal thoughts that are a peek into the person God is making out of me. I haven't told many people about my blog, as I viewed it not as a blog to gain a following, but to just throw out thoughts to cyber space and hope God uses some of them for His glory.
When I have some thoughts that come out of my personal Bible study, I write them here. After one such morning, I came to post some thoughts, and I could not access my blog in order to write, edit or really do much of anything. I won't belabor all the details of what followed, but let it suffice to say that I tried many things to get back in and could not. I felt violated and then hopeless. It was like coming home and your house is no longer yours. Or like going to get into your car and it's stolen. I know it's just a blogspot, but it was part of me.
Today I found a way back in and here I am. However, it occurred to me through this trivial blip of my personal life crisis, that there is a much greater hopelessness that has devastatingly eternal consequences. For if a person rejects God or tries to access God through his own works, that person will be "locked out" of eternal life. They will be going along, thinking things are fine because everything goes on as usual, but they would not heed the signs along the way or stop to think or consider. And then it will be too late. And they will not "find a way back in".
"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father, Who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you'; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.' Locked Out!! (Matthew 7:21-23)
When I have some thoughts that come out of my personal Bible study, I write them here. After one such morning, I came to post some thoughts, and I could not access my blog in order to write, edit or really do much of anything. I won't belabor all the details of what followed, but let it suffice to say that I tried many things to get back in and could not. I felt violated and then hopeless. It was like coming home and your house is no longer yours. Or like going to get into your car and it's stolen. I know it's just a blogspot, but it was part of me.
Today I found a way back in and here I am. However, it occurred to me through this trivial blip of my personal life crisis, that there is a much greater hopelessness that has devastatingly eternal consequences. For if a person rejects God or tries to access God through his own works, that person will be "locked out" of eternal life. They will be going along, thinking things are fine because everything goes on as usual, but they would not heed the signs along the way or stop to think or consider. And then it will be too late. And they will not "find a way back in".
"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father, Who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you'; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.' Locked Out!! (Matthew 7:21-23)
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