What was strange to me was that the car looked in pristine shape.  Either he had just driven it off the lot or else he had taken very good care of it since he did such that it looked brand new still.  It was an impressive looking car.  As he wiped and buffed; however i couldn’t help but to think of the fact that he was spending so much time working on his car that had likely dropped in value the moment he turned it on to drive off the parking lot.  And not only that but every rev of the engine, every pothole, every time the oil pulsed through the engine, every time a light came on at dusk, every time the wind blew, that car was loosing value.  He spent a good 20 minutes of his life (not including the car wash) preparing and caring for something that was losing value by the minute.  You ever think about that?

Henry Scougal said “the worth of a soul is to be determined by the object of its love.”  So true that statement.  I don’t know that fella.  Could be a fine upstanding citizen.  Could have been a  fellow believer.  Could have had a family just as I, working a similar job as I – though i doubt it from the likes of that car – could have been around the same age as I and the likes.  But at that moment the thing that he valued the most (enough to spend 20 – 30 minutes of his day giving care and attention to) was in fact losing value with each moment regardless of how much he wiped or buffed.  The object of his love at that moment, the thing that he chose to spend his time on – meticulously caring for it – was worth-less.

Here is my question.  How much time do you spend on things that are losing value with time?  How much time do you spend on things that depreciate?  Why not spend your time investing in things that gain value?  Perhaps most of you can see the wisdom in that.  Perhaps you’re thinking (though you also spend time buffing and waxing your car on Saturday’s) yeah, maybe I should spend more time on things that appreciate with time…things with a greater value.  What are some things that appreciate?  Your home (not necessarily in this economy), certain musical instruments, gold, the stock market (just threw that in there for kicks), a good education…fairly short list and shaky at best.  Well, what if you spent your time on those things…are they worth it?

What if I told you that those things…even those things that are prized, valuable possessions by most in the world because they are deemed to yield the best over time; in the big scheme of life are still worth-less than your time?  Those things are passing.  The cold, hard reality of life is that you could spend your life chasing those things and drop dead tomorrow to enjoy none of the “fruit” of what you thought was worth your time.  Or you could spend your life chasing those things only to find yourself in a dead end economy where everything is turned upside down.  You could spend your life chasing after those things only to have someone else beat you to it in the end, or else take it from you altogether once you’ve achieved it.  Or, you could even get all of those things…but as so many spend the rest of your life alone, regretting that you hadn’t taken time to care for people and thus alienating yourself from meaningful relationships (take a look around at those who “have it all,” are they really happy, or are they riding the next high until they have one too many and are snubbed out?)

What is your soul worth?  I can tell you what its worth by what you spend the most of your time thinking on, pursuing, talking about and dreaming of.  The reality of life is this…”the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.”  The earth and its works will be burned up.  Whatever you are pursuing in this life that is not eternal will be burned up.  If it is not associated with Jesus Christ, then it will be consumed by the purifying fires of God’s judgment.  He has judged the world and it is lacking.  Its been hot in Maryland.  But that’s nothing in comparison to what is coming to the world and its works.  Don’t waste your life.

Mark 8:36-37  

36 “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul?  37 “For what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

2 Peter 3:10-14 

“the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.  11 Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness,  12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat!  13 But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.  14 Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless”

Why have we never mastered our greatest enemy?  We look at terrorism as an evil, menacing threat that we should stop at nothing to prevent.  We wage war, we sacrifice our children, all in the name of a freedom that we seek to protect when if you think about it we are never truly free.  We’re never truly free from the one thing that truly enslaves us, the one thing that has conquered all men from as far back as we can remember…death. Why have we never been able to conquer this evil?

Again, as a Christian I believe that the God prescribed death to all of mankind as the ultimate penalty for our disobedience.  He made very clear what His will was and we willingly chose to disobey.  He gave us ample freedom, ample provision in every way in addition to perfect communion with Him and instead we chose disobedience and its penalty…death.  Death, separation.  Separation from all that is good.   Separation first from the giver of life, God, himself.  Separation from communion and fellowship with him.  Our relationship with him is no longer perfect, we no longer enjoy long peaceful walks with God, instead people try to have nothing to do with God and usually not because they truly think that all that we see in its complexities and grandeur came about by chance, but rather because they know deep inside that He is and they choose not to submit to His authority as Creator.  We are separate from one another.  Relationships are severed in death.  People are indiscriminately ripped from those whom they love.  Health doesn’t matter.  Age doesn’t matter.  Socioeconomic status doesn’t matter.  Sexual preference or religious adherence doesn’t matter.  Death comes to all.  And as they say, “misery loves company.”  Thus the effects of the fear of death, the fear of leaving this life overshadows our hearts throughout our stay on earth, we all fight and strive against one another to best one another, to take advantage of one another, to get “all that we can get out of life” while we still live.  And that is our lot.

Death will forever stand as a memorial to mankind of what happens when one chooses to shake his fist in defiance against the One who created him.  One that will forever remind us of our sin, our shortcomings, our weakness, even our inability to stand before a Holy God who beckons our submission to His will.

So what can we do?  Nothing.  We can do nothing.  We are utterly helpless against death.  We are only able to sit by idly as our loved ones, friends, co-workers and eventually ourselves are made subject to death.  Mankind will never…mark my words…never be able to overcome this most formidable enemy…on his own.

We can do nothing…but the good news is that we don’t have to, because Jesus Christ has done it all.  “According to His mercy, we have been born again to a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead…”  That is God’s solution.  God’s solution is not that we would be able to conquer death, but that Jesus Christ would conquer death for us.

He has come, He has lived and He has died a death (a horrible death) that is substitutionary in that Jesus died, not as a penalty for His own sin (He didn’t have any) but as a penalty for our sins.  And because He didn’t die for His own sins, once the judgment of death was measured out upon Him for our sins, death could no longer hold Him; thus He was raised from the dead.  Jesus’ resurrection is God’s solution for our problem of death.

Separations come…this life is full of them.  Death, as it would appear, is the final separation.  Separation of the soul and body, separation of one loved one from another.  Separation from this life to the next.  And yet Jesus, the resurrected One, the One who has power over death gives eternal life to those who obey His word.  Those who trust Him as Lord are given His eternal, indestructible, Holy, resurrected life; with the hope that even the physical death that befalls all of mankind, will not hold him.  We, who believe, have hope because Jesus is alive!

Death is a painful, often devastating event.  And yet death is not the end.  And it need not be the end for anyone.  We who do believe are obligated both for the Jew and the Greek, the circumcised and uncircumcised, slave or free, to offer this free gift of God to everyone.  And that so that they may too be rescued from the fear of death, rescued from its power; and truly and finally liberated into the freedom that Christ Himself enjoys, to enjoy God and live before Him forever!

Would you have His joy today?  Would you have His peace?  Would you be set free from the bondage of the fear of death?  Would you be set free from the power that death holds over both the weakest and strongest of men?  Turn to Jesus.  No one who comes to Him will be disappointed.  All who believe in Him will have His eternal life as a free gift from Him.

As for me and my house, we will trust the Lord.  I don’t believe that I am yet done what He would have for me to do in this life.  I am not yet tired of this journey.  But whenever He should call me home, I will go bounding forth as a schoolboy who has just been released to go home.

That seems to be the very irony of it.  This man was one of many who worked to bring about the terror of 9/11.  One could say that it was the catalyst to numerous other casualties in subsequent wars.  And yet each individual person who contributed to the act of terror are also responsible for their actions.  And yet it is this man alone who gains much of the attention as the “symbol” of terrorism and “extremism.”

It seems to me that many (certainly not all) who are quick to point the blame at one man for the wickedness of his deeds have done so at the expense of a view of their own wickedness.  What do I mean by that?  I mean that men like Osama Bin Laden, and others who set to such acts of terrorism, carelessly taking lives and acting as judge over those whom he has never met; men like him symbolize more than just terrorism.  They really symbolize an exposure of the depths of depravity and sin in the hearts of all men.  People like him expose the wickedness that is in all of our hearts by our very nature.  And in seeking his conviction, we seek to diminish the evil that is in our own hearts and/or to write it off because we are simply “not as bad as him.”  We think to ourselves that we “could never” do the things that he did or participate in the evil acts that he did; thus we excuse ourselves as “innocent” or “basically good” and label him as evil and corrupt.

Listen, Osama Bin Laden had evil and wickedness in his heart.  However the only difference between him and the next guy is that the next guy hasn’t gone that far…yet.  The same wickedness in his hearts is in the heart of every man woman and child born in the world.  What child needs to be taught how to cry for what they want?  What child needs to be taught how to disobey a command from their parent?   How do they learn so easily how to lie in order to get themselves out of trouble?  Why do adults commit adultery?  What real profit is there?  Why do people steal?  Why murder?  You say “I don’t do those things, so I’m still good.”  Well, have you ever lusted in your heart toward another person who is not your husband or wife?  Have you ever taken a pen or pencil, even a piece of paper from work that you did not pay for?  Have you ever hated someone so much so that you fantasized about their harm or even death?  If you have then again the only difference between you and the most wicked in the world is that you haven’t gone that far…yet.

I don’t rejoice in the death of another man.  Even a man the likes of Bin Laden.  Because I am first a follower of Christ.  And as a follower of Christ, I look at every soul, apart from Christ, as a lost soul walking about in the darkness that permeates this world…all of them on the very precipice of destruction, being held by a very thin fabric of grace that the Almighty has extended for this season.  Each and every one who walks about in the darkness has the opportunity to be changed, to have the darkness expelled from their midst and to be flooded with the light of life, with the light of the Almighty Creator of Heaven and Earth, the Holy One.  And yet they’ll have that opportunity only when they come to faith in the Sovereign Lord and lone Savior of the World, Jesus Christ.

I suppose I speak primarily to those who believe now.  Do not rejoice as do so many at the death of this one who, for all we know may never have had the opportunity to hear of the light of life.  Do not rejoice that his life has been snubbed out, knowing that you have been forgiven much.  Which of you has gone through life without sin such that you could stand as his judge for the wickedness that he has done in this life?  Which of you could be judge, jury and executioner to him when your own heart has been as dark, if not darker at times?  Because you were better at hiding the darkness in your heart, excusing it, covering it with so much false piety and religiosity do not think yourself better.  I’d much rather know that a person hates me because they confess it to my face then to have someone smile in my face and curse me in their hearts or to my back.  And yet that is what so many do.  They smile to the world, they do their religious duty in the world.  They give their alms to God and yet in their hearts they curse His law, they curse His holiness, they curse His word and His will for their own wicked desires.

Where are those who long for, not the death of the wicked (people) but the death of wickedness?  Where are those who would hold protests, all night vigils, form groups, write petitions and create all manner of an uproar over the wickedness that permeates our hearts?  We create a great swell of outcry over the wickedness of one man, what about the wickedness in your own heart?

Were God ever to expose the darkness in each of our hearts at any moment…perhaps even now as you sit wherever you are and in the midst of whatever you are doing…were He to expose the darkness that has crept in and out of your hearts and minds in the course of this day, none of us would stand.  Were He to shine His light upon it, all of us would be ashamed.  And yet it is His grace that withholds judgment.  Furthermore it is His Son who removes judgment for those who come to Him by faith with humility of heart, pleading for the light of life.

None of us deserve life.  All of us deserve the wrath of the Almighty…and yet He is gracious.  He is gracious and He has, in these last days extended His gracious hand to us in giving His Son to be the Savior of the World.  All men, everywhere, people from every tribe, tongue and nation are welcome to come to feast at the table of His grace as offered in the death, burial and resurrection of the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. Have your sins forgiven, have your hearts washed clean, replaced with a heart of flesh, not a heart of stone.  Be crucified to the sin that so easily ensnares your heart and be raised again in the newness of His righteous life.  Repent and believe in the Lord Jesus and you shall be saved!

If you have been saved, while there is still time, call others set their hope on the only One who is able to offer them eternal salvation from the wrath that is to come.

John 8:12  then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”

Acts 17:30-31  God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent,  31 because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.”

Jonah 4:2  You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, and one who relents concerning calamity.

2 Peter 3:9   The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.

2 Peter 3:13  according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.

Colossians 3:3-4  you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.  4 When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.

Ephesians 2:1-10  you were dead in your trespasses and sins,  2 in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.  3 Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.  4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,  5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),  6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,  7 so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.  8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;  9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.  10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

Hebrews 7:25-28  He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.  26 For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens;  27 who does not need daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once for all when He offered up Himself.  28 For the Law appoints men as high priests who are weak, but the word of the oath, which came after the Law, appoints a Son, made perfect forever.

Romans 10:9-13  9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;  10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.  11 For the Scripture says, “WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.”  12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him;  13 for “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.”

What did Jesus say? What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and to lose his soul? I say to you o man, who seeks fame and fortune, glory and power in this life; what will it profit you to gain the whole world and in the end lose your soul? So what if you gain all that your heart desires in this life, what becomes of your possessions and your life in the next? You are so fixated on planning for the future and aiming for success, what about success in the life to come? Have you yet considered that end?

Do not work for the food which perishes, but work for that which does not perish, for that which leads to eternal life. This life is found only in the One who hung on a tree, was buried and is risen to life again. He is the One who grants a hope for the future that is a living hope because He lives. He is the only One who provides an eternal pension plan, not one taxed by government, a failing economy or left to some fool to squander. His inheritance is imperishable, undefiled, will not fade away and which will be kept for you in heaven by the true and living God, the One who is His Father who has promised Him and all who love Him all things.

You want it all, He’s got it. Come to Christ. Happy Easter, Maranatha!

And yet where are the men and women who see a deeper and growing communion with the true and living God as that which is most valuable?  Where are those who would say with the Apostle that “all other things are garbage in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord?”

Jesus Himself endured the cross, despised the shame and has been highly exalted for His faithful service.  We celebrate the effect of His faithful service as we reflect upon His death, burial and resurrection at Easter.  And yet it is not merely the effect of His faithful service that should cause us to awe, but also His endurance to the end of that service.  It is this endurance that I need to be reminded of in my own life.  That I am not here for myself and my own desires.  I am not here to do whatever my heart desires.  But rather I am here to serve my Risen Savior, to pursue a deeper communion with Him, to see and savor the true and living God through Him and to glorify Him forever.

Father “give me the grace [and the delight] to do what you command and command me to do your will.”

December 21, 2002:

“In reading Piper’s ‘Gods Passion for His Glory,’ Edwards’ life is told and his book is included…on page 74 it talks about the difference between believing that God is holy and merciful and ‘sensing’ God’s holiness and mercy.  He says that we must have a ‘true taste’ and delight in God’s mercy and holiness.  I think that is what is lacking in my life…a true passion for God.  What does it mean to truly hunger for and delight in God’s Glory?  To sense God’s grace, mercy and holiness.  I think to sense God’s holiness means to abstain from sin.  Much more of it to abhor sin.  [The one who] utterly despises sin is the one who truly senses God’s holiness.  To sense God’s holiness I imagine is to feel the suns warm rays on a clear sunny day at the beach.  To [taste the sweetness of] and feel the liquid of your favorite drink going down your esophagus.  I think to sense God’s holiness is to have the hairs on the back of your neck stand on edge at the thought that though you are lone, someone is very much there with you.  But not just anyone.  This someone is the one whom the prophet of old spoke of as lofty and exalted.  This one is the one who’s train utterly fills the temple.  The one whom both the heavens and earth flee before.  This one is encircled by burning lights who cry out day and night that He is holy, holy, holy.  That someone who resides inside of those called by His name.  To sense God’s holiness is not only to abstain from but to shudder at the thought of sin.  To sense God’s holiness is to wish oneself accursed, yea even utterly destroyed due to one’s complete destitution before Him.  To sense God’s holiness in totality would be to cease to exist.  To be done away with.  Yet to sense God’s holiness is to be flooded with more than abundant grace and mercy at the recognition of a life saved.  Herein is our delight.  That a holy God would be entertained by wretched, worthless sinners such as we.  That a holy God would extend Himself to those wretched, worthless creatures to give them access to Himself.  That a holy God would give the best that could ever be given, Himself, to worthless wretched creatures in spite of themselves.  Oh the depths of the riches of the glorious grace and mercy of God in His unfathomable lovingkindness toward men!!!”

Oh for that sort of delight.  For that sort of passion.  I think that this is a life long pursuit.  Many would probably give up in pursuing a delight in God for the difficulty of it.  It is climbing the highest mountain.  It is walking the longest road.  And yet it holds the satisfaction of reaching its peak, or of finding your destination.  It is the refreshment of a cool breeze on a hot and humid day.  More than that, it is a warm blanket and a cup of cocoa (coffee for me) on a cold winters evening.  More than that…it is your last – first kiss…it is the groom seeing his bride for the first time at the altar…it is the enjoyment of seeing your child for the very first time, when they take their first breath in this world…it is a good nights rest.  And it is greater than that still.  What is your greatest, longest lasting pleasure and delight?  It is that, except infinitely more enjoyable, infinitely more holy, infinitely more glorious.  To delight in God, who is the greatest good…it is unspeakable.

I long for that delight.  I desire that sort of delight.  The journey toward such a delight is long, and it is difficult.  But it is good.  It is good because that which is its aim is infinitely delightful.  The pursuit of worldly gain and other such possessions is empty and shallow.  It is temporary.  It is flawed and soiled by sin’s stain.  But God is Holy and Righteous and Good, Perfect, Glorious, Gracious, Loving, Merciful…to write the love of God is a futile endeavor.  But to pursue the love of God, will never leave one ashamed.

I titled this the duty of delight, because it is a task.  It is a difficult, labor some task.  I could have just as well titled it the “pursuit of delight in God” or something like that.  As much as I would pursue prayer for the sake of communion with God, I would more pursue delight in God.  Delight in God would make all of my pursuits in God infinitely more enjoyable.

You are Gracious and Compassionate…slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness.  I pray for each of my dear friends who would read this…I pray for us all, that you would create in us a heart that finds its highest joy, its greatest good in You and You alone.  May our hearts be sick, as David wrote, may our hearts pant after You as a deer for water.  May our souls thirst for You, the Living God, who alone possesses immortality and dwells in an unapproachable light and yet who has made Yourself known to us through Your Son, the Man Jesus Christ.  May we not grow tired, may we not grow weary in seeking this.   Burn His light into our hearts….burn it so that we can desire no one or no thing besides You.  Let us fall in love with the thought of His appearing.  Even so, Come Lord Jesus! Amen.

“O taste and see that the LORD is good, how blessed are all who take refuge in Him!”  Psalm 34:8

“You will make known to me the path of life, in your presence is the fullness of joy, in your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” Psalm 16:11

I guess the difference comes in what I do with that sinful response.  For the one who follows Christ sin must be dealt with.  Really there are two issues involved in a situation like this.  First is what do you do with a person who has sinned against you?  How do you respond to such a thing.  Second is – if you haven’t responded well – what do you do with your sinful attitude.  Really the other person has probably gone on about their business for the day, they aren’t even thinking about you but you are still fuming.  I’m trying to be real with this because I struggled with it for quite a bit this afternoon.

Concerning the first issue, what do you do when a person sins against you.  My first response today was to become agitated.  Part of the issue is that I was already a bit agitated from something that happened yesterday (both of these issues transpired around work…).  So I should have dealt with it yesterday before the LORD but I did not.  BIG PROBLEM.  When you let a sinful response fester in your heart it is bound to take root and grow into something worse.  So when someone sins against you deal with it immediately.  If you are not in the place to where you can address the person as a believer, and they won’t respond otherwise, then you may need to simply right it off.  I was thinking on a passage in Psalm 37 about not fretting because of evildoers…ceasing from anger and forsaking wrath because it will only lead to evildoing.  In other words, when you become angry about an evildoers actions and respond in anger that response is itself evildoing and leads to further evildoing.  Furthermore we are to follow the lead of Christ who when reviled did not respond in anger but kept entrusting Himself to the One who judges rightly (I Peter 2:23).  This is the example that we have, thus we ought to follow it in all of our doing.

One further thing, when we are sinned against by someone else, our first response is often characterized by a preoccupation with ourselves and how we feel that we have been wronged.   Its not necessarily about justice, though we may say that it is.  Its often about retribution and/or seeking to be recompensed for some right of ours that we feel has been violated.

Sin is a violation against the LORD.  And the LORD is gracious.  He has been gracious to us in Christ, thus we ought to seek to be gracious to all others, regardless of what offense they make.

Titus says

Remind them to be subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good deed,  2 to malign no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing every consideration for all men.  3 For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another.  4 But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared,  5 He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit,  6 whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior,  7 so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.  (3:1-7)

We are to show every consideration for all men, we are to be kind, to malign no one, to be peaceable and gentle to all, because we were all once foolish…and because God showed us His kindness and love by sending Christ to die for us, not because of our good deeds, but because of His mercy.  If God has done this for us in Christ, we must do no less.

Furthermore God is the One who exacts vengeance, who brings justice.

Romans 12:19-21

19 Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY,” says the Lord.  20 “BUT IF YOUR ENEMY IS HUNGRY, FEED HIM, AND IF HE IS THIRSTY, GIVE HIM A DRINK; FOR IN SO DOING YOU WILL HEAP BURNING COALS ON HIS HEAD.”  21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Thus we must leave room for God to bring justice, because His justice is righteous.  Ours is often selfish.  And it is His alone to give as He is the Judge of all things.

Concerning the second issue, if you haven’t responded well, what do you do with your sinful response?  My sinful response was in the heart.  Thus I had to deal with it before the LORD first.  I had to realize that it was sinful.  When I thought a little longer about it and reflected upon some passages of scripture that I had been praying through recently, I was convicted.   Thus I had to seek Him for forgiveness because ultimately any offense is an offense against the LORD who Himself is righteous and expects righteousness from all.  Because some cannot, and we all do not live up to His standard does not require that He lower the standard.  He has provided Christ to help us to be acceptable to God because of Christ and not ourselves.  Thanks be to God!  Seeking the Word was crucial in that step because the Word of God is that which brings conviction to the heart and correction.  It also gives wisdom to know how to respond in the future.

The next step would have been to seek forgiveness from this other person because of your sinful attitude toward them.  Regardless of whether or not they were privy to your sinful attitude.  Especially if it is a believer.  Seeking forgiveness from them for your sinful attitude towards them helps to restore your relationship with them.  If you are not able to seek forgiveness because they are separate from you geographically or otherwise then you must entrust that situation to the LORD.  But be humble and seek the forgiveness.  In my case, the individuals against whom I sinned I will not likely see again.  That is sad because I fear that I may have left a negative view of myself behind for them.  Of course this is not for my sake alone but for the sake of the name of the LORD by whom I am called.  We often (myself included) forget this.  We don’t merely represent ourselves, thus we don’t always have to be right or to “save face” in a given situation.  If we know the LORD, if we follow Christ; then it is His glory that we ought to seek to preserve.  And often the best way to do that is not by retaliation or an angry sinful response, but by humility, being “quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to anger” as James says, and by entrusting ourselves to the LORD, the Righteous Judge.

I pray that this confession and exhortation would be a blessing to you today.  Until He comes…

Psalm 37:1-11

Do not fret because of evildoers, Be not envious toward wrongdoers.  2 For they will wither quickly like the grass And fade like the green herb.  3 Trust in the LORD and do good; Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.  4 Delight yourself in the LORD; And He will give you the desires of your heart.  5 Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, and He will do it.  6 He will bring forth your righteousness as the light And your judgment as the noonday.  7 Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who carries out wicked schemes.  8 Cease from anger and forsake wrath; Do not fret; it leads only to evildoing.  9 For evildoers will be cut off, But those who wait for the LORD, they will inherit the land.  10 Yet a little while and the wicked man will be no more; And you will look carefully for his place and he will not be there.  11 But the humble will inherit the land And will delight themselves in abundant prosperity.

James 1:19-20

19 This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger;  20 for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.

I feel that this verse could stand alone as a meditation for our souls.  For what more does our soul need but more of God?  I’ll point out only a few things about this verse.

First of all is that David starts out the Psalm with these simple words “I love you, O LORD…”  Of all that he could have said to begin this Psalm, these three words were first on his lips.  I love You…  Of all that is dearest to our hearts to hear from those whom we love, are these three words, I love you.  Of all of those things that would be for our encouragement, strength and help are these three words, I love you.  Of all that would express our greatest passion, our deepest desires, our highest delight over some One, it would be summed up in these three words “I love you.”  For David, a man after God’s heart, a man who sought God’s heart; these three words were meant to express his tremendous gratitude to the LORD for His deliverance.  I love You.

The older I get in the LORD, the more I realize that the true prize of my faith is not what I know, but is how well I know it.  And how well you know a thing is determined by whether or not it has penetrated your heart.  I may know my favorite football team, but I do not know them well.  Thus my enjoyment of them will only go so far.  I know my neighbors, but I do not know them well, thus my desire to be with them, to have company with them will only go so far.  I know many of my extended family, some better than others, and to the degree that I know them I will desire close fellowship with them.  I know my wife.  And I know her well.  And the longer we walk together in this life, the more we communicate, the more we experience together, the more difficulty we have to endure together, to more we are able to rejoice together, I will get to know her better and my love for her will grow.  I love my wife now and I will continue to grow in my love for, desire for and appreciation for my wife.

I know much about scripture, perhaps more than many others who have not had the privilege of theological education.  But knowing about scripture does not equate to loving the LORD.  What I know about the LORD must penetrate my heart, I must know the value of Him, I must see the wisdom of His ways, I must experience His word at work in my life, I must go through difficulty with Him, and experience the joys of knowing Him and obedience before what I know will be of any value to me.

When David says I love You O LORD, he says this to express a heart which has known both cognitively and experientially the goodness of the LORD.  Just read the rest of the Psalm and you will understand what I mean.  He has experienced the LORD at work.  And in experiencing Him at work, his head knowledge moved his heart.  Job said “I had heard about you by the hearing of my ear but now my eye sees You…” at the end of all of his struggles.

Second, David says “I love You, O LORD...”  I think that we can easily forget that the name LORD is not a casual title to be used in the place of God.  It is in fact the name by which the Hebrews came to identify their God from any other God.  He is the LORD.  He is the “I AM.”  He is the first and the last, the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and end.  He is who He is without the help of anyone or anything.  He is the I AM.  This is the God to whom David prayed.  This is the God of scripture, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.  This is the One True God, apart from whom there is nothing, and in whom we live and move and exist.  He is the LORD, the Creator of Heaven and Earth.  And He is the One to whom David prays I love You, O LORD.  Learn His name, seek His face.  Call upon Him, pursue Him, forsake any other.  And you will not be ashamed.  The One True God, the LORD is His name.

Third, David calls this God, the LORD, his “strength.”  David is known as a mighty King, a great King.  One of the greatest in Israels history.  And yet this man who would afford great fame among his people reduces himself, humbles himself by not boasting in his accomplishments nor in his own abilities but by boasting in the LORD, his God.  He says You, O LORD are my strength.  He goes on to describe the LORD as his strength in terms of Him being his “rock,” his “fortress,” his “deliverer,” he says that God is the One in whom he takes “refuge.”  When the battle wages on, the storm rages about him, the waves break over him, David calls upon the LORD, His God and takes refuge in Him.

O, taste and see that the LORD is good.  Pursue a deeper love for Him this year.  Make your every ambition to grow in the knowledge of Him.  Dig deep, sweat and labor to know Him and you will never be ashamed. You can have a close and personal fellowship with the One True God and Creator of Heaven and Earth.  His name is the LORD.  And He invites you to come to Him.  He invites you to take refuge in Him.  He invites you to become strong in His strength.  And He makes it possible in the One whom we call Lord, Jesus Christ. Through Him, this can be the prayer of your heart, “I love You, O LORD, my strength.”

“For scripture says ‘whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed’…for ‘whoever will call upon the name of the LORD will be saved.’”

“Know the God of your father, and serve Him with a whole heart and a willing mind.  For the LORD searches all hearts and understands every intent of the thoughts.  If you seek Him, He will let you find Him, but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever.” I Chronicles 28:9

How do you respond to such?  Those who seek to defame your name, though it may be righteous.  Perhaps they don’t seek to defame you directly, but they seek to harm your family, your kin, your close friends and loved ones.  How would you respond then?  What if you had unlimited power, unlimited resources and infinite wisdom in order to dispose of such people?  How would your respond then?

David speaks of God in this passage, seeking justice from Him, knowing that He is just, that He is righteous, that He is all powerful, that He has all of His infinite resources available and all wisdom in order to use those resources to the best of His ability in bringing justice upon those who would strike out against the “apple of His eye.”  And yet this all powerful, fully sufficient, all wise God does not strike back first.  Certainly there are many cases in which judgment comes swiftly to those who seek to defame the good name of the Lord or His people.  But for others the mercy of God is seen in His long suffering.  Even in His generosity by which He grants good to all of mankind.

And what greater good can God grant than the precious gift of children.  Children to love, children to nurture, children to inspire, children to revitalize, children to carry on their name.  And God in His general mercy to all, provides children to those who are His enemies.  This is what David speaks of when he speaks of the “men of this world, whose portion is in this life, and whose belly You fill with Your treasure, they are satisfied with children, and leave their abundance to their babes…”  For the ungodly and profane, this is their portion.  And it is a great portion in deed.  Children are a blessing from the Lord.  The fruit of the womb is a reward to men under the Sun.  And yet for those who seek to harm the righteous, those who are called by the name of the LORD, it is their only portion.  They may enjoy the satisfaction of the womb while they continue under the Sun.  But once they breathe their last, their enjoyment will be complete.

For in the afterlife, there is no more mercy available to those who scorn the name of the LORD.  There is no more grace.  There will be no chance nor opportunity for penance.  There will only be judgment.  And in this the righteous, even as David does here, may find comfort.  That God is not unjust so as to forget the hardships that His people endure at the hands of sinners.  Even in seeing the prosperity that they seem to enjoy in this life.  Even the prosperity of having their wombs filled with His treasure, little children.  Even when there are many who do believe and who are faithful, who may go a lifetime without such treasure.  It is the goodness and generosity of our God, the LORD that allows for this.  He grants them treasure on this side of eternity, He suffers long their arrogance, their self seeking and sinful indulgences.  He allows for them to persist in their constant belligerence towards His people until the day that He choose to “arise, to confront them [and] to bring them low.”  On that day, they will sleep and awake to His judgment.  In His generosity towards those who love Him, His promise to them is not necessarily that they will visibly see His judgment of the ungodly on this side of eternity.  But that there will come a day when we “shall behold His face in righteousness, [when] we shall be satisfied with His likeness when we awake.”

While it is still today, let us walk as children of our gracious and merciful heavenly Father.  Let us seek to do good to those who seem to desire harm for us.  Let us seek to show love to them, generous and abundant; though in their sin they may seem to escape the judgment of God here and now, though in their sin they may seem to enjoy much of what our hearts may desire, let us seek to be generous in our love now.  If perhaps God might grant them repentance.  Because we know their end.  We know that in the end the judgment of God will come swiftly and without mercy.  And let us persist in our love, however it may be rejected, entrusting ourselves to the God who has promised to refresh us in the end with His abiding righteousness, with the satisfaction of His likeness when we awake.

Make that your ambition this new year.  Not to harbor feelings of resentment or anger towards those who have wronged you, and who seem to prosper in what they do.  But to rejoice in a generous God who is leaving room and time for their repentance.  Entrust yourself and your generosity towards them to Him who judges rightly and who will ultimately reward you with His good grace.

Maranatha!

- Samuel Rutherford

This has become my new favorite quote.  I’m always finding new quotes that are great like this.  I remember coming to my present fellowship and hearing my Pastor give a quote and saying without hesitation that (paraphrase) “these are not my words, but God has revealed truth to others and that I am content with saying what they said.”  After all, its all God’s word anyway.  Now I’m not one to champion the phrase “all truth is God’s truth” simply because you have to define what truth you are referring to.  If the one making that comment says that truth is defined absolutely as what God has revealed about Himself in Scripture then I would say yes.  But if by truth they mean what they perceive to be truth, or else some other standard of truth that God has given in some way to man but not through His Word, then I would have to say no thank you.  But I believe this quote to be quite frankly a true principle and standard of godliness to which we all ought to attain in this life.

Paul said it this way:

“I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith,  that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death;  in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.  Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.  Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead,  I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Phil 3:8-14

The goal, the prize is to know Christ and to know Him better until the day when we will know Him perfectly (at the resurrection).  And in order to attain to that goal, to make it a goal indeed in our own hearts, we must be purposeful to press towards it.  The word for “press” in the text has the idea of persecuting something as a hunter would press hard after his hunt or as a runner presses towards the finish line, sprinting and stretching to reach the goal before anyone else.  Furthermore that the pressing towards it is a mark of maturity, for he goes on to say later “let us therefore, as many as are perfect have this attitude…”

In order to attain to that level of maturity of heart, pursuing the knowledge of Christ (a deeper communion with Christ as Rutherford said), we must count “all things” as loss.  He says in accounting terms that we must reckon all things (both gains and losses in life) as a loss in view of the value of knowing Christ.  Let go of those things that you may have gained in this life, those things that you may have earned, that make you someone in view of the world, that cause you to boast in your flesh.  And let go of your losses.  Don’t cling to those things that you have lost in this life.  No matter how great or insignificant.  Holding on to things that you might boast in your accomplishments and holding on to things that you have lost in this life will cause you to lose your fervor for seeking Christ.  It will inhibit your love for Him.  It will take your focus off of the value of growing in deeper communion with Him and persisting in that until the resurrection.

Press toward the goal.  “Dig deep, sweat, labor and take pains for Him.  Set aside as much time for Him during the day as you can.  For you will be won in the labor.”  Make it your ambition daily to take pains to commune with Christ as often as you can.  Fix your eyes completely on Him and on the grace to be brought to you at His revelation.  Set your eyes on the things above where He is seated at the right hand of God, for your life is hidden with Him.

This is a difficult but necessary doctrine.  A fruitful, vibrant Christian life does not come easy.  It is not enough to name it and claim it.  It is not enough to sit and soak up all that is spoon fed to you.  You must desire meat and no longer milk.  You must pursue the painful task of plumbing the depths of the riches of Christ’s love, if you will ever be won by that love.  You must be committed to stripping yourself (and being stripped by the Lord’s refining fires) down to nothing in yourself so that you may gain everything in Him.  Will you commit to this Christian?  Will you daily commit yourself to pursuing the One who first pursued you, and striving to take hold of that for which He has first laid hold of you?  Or will you be content with mediocre, sub-par, ordinary, nominal faith?

I for one desire more.  I want to be able to say, at the end of my life with Paul “I have struggled the good struggle, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith.”  But I cannot say that from the sidelines.  One who says this is not one who has laid in a bed of roses all their lives.  One who confesses this is not one who has gone through life unscathed, without having lost, without having suffered.  But on the contrary those who confess such things have been stripped of all that they may be tempted to cling to.  They have been through the fires of God’s refining – having been burned but not consumed.  They have learned obedience by what they’ve suffered.  They know that true value and good is not merely found in convenience and comfort.  True value and good is not found in recreation and rest.  True value and good is not found in gain and glory.  True value and good are found only in the person of Christ.  Thus if you possess Him, though you lose everything for His sake, you possess all things.

I began with a quote and will end with a couple more.  This one is from A.W. Tozer in his book “The pursuit of God” as he reflects upon the experience of Abraham in his testing to offer up Isaac.

“If we would indeed know God in growing intimacy, we must go this way of renunciation.  And if we are set upon the pursuit of God, He will sooner or later bring us to this test.  Abraham’s testing was at the time not known to Him as such, yet if he had taken some course other than the one he did, the whole history of the Old Testament would have been different.  God would have found his man, no doubt, but the loss to Abraham would have been tragic beyond the telling.  So we will be brought one by one to the testing place, and we may never know when we are there.  At that testing place there will be no dozen possible choices for us – just one and an alternative – but our whole future will be conditioned by the choice we make.”

To get closer to God, we must be willing to work and to let go.

And another from Jerry Bridges, as he contemplates the sovereignty of God in suffering,

“I realized anew that just as we must learn to obey God one choice at a time, we must also learn to trust God one circumstance at a time.  Trusting God is not a matter of my feelings but of my will…our first priority in times of adversity is to honor and glorify God by trusting Him.  We tend to make our first priority the gaining of relief from our feelings of heartache or disappointment or frustration.  This is a natural desire and God has promised to give us grace sufficient for our trials and peace for our anxieties (2 Cor 12:9, Phil 4:6-7).  But just as God’s will is to take precedence over our will (Jesus Himself said, ‘yet not as I will, but as you will’ Matthew 26:39, so God’s honor is to take precedence over our feelings.”

To be willing to work and let go, we must be committed (willing) to trust Him because of who He is.

And again Rutherford,

“I urge upon you communion with Christ, a growing communion.  There are curtains to be drawn aside in Christ that we never saw, and new foldings of love in Him.  I despair that I shall ever win to the far end of that love, there are so many plies in it.  Therefore dig deep, and sweat and labor and take pains for him, and set by as much time in the day for Him as you can.  We will be won in the labor.”

To be willing to trust Him because of who He is, we must be committed to get closer to Him, that is to know Him more intimately.

Pursue Christ, keep yourself growing in His love.  Surround yourselves with others who do the same.  Keep yourselves from idols of the heart.  Look forward to His return.  Maranatha!