A humbling reminder…

I had a bad attitude today…a sinful attitude.  Its easy to justify a sinful response to someone, particularly when you feel that you have rightly discerned their heart and motive in the matter.  But that justification is just as wrong as any justification that they might render concerning their own behavior; furthermore my discernment is not infallible.  So what makes the difference between them and I?  As far as I know, from their behavior they are not a follower of Christ.  And yet based solely on my own heart response (even if I suppressed foolish behavior) some might wonder if I were a follower of Christ.  So what makes the difference?

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.

When you’re brought low…

When you are upright, you tend to look around; you look before you, you look behind and also at your sides. However when you are low to the ground, you tend to look up. Everything is higher than you so you are really forced to look up. And being on your back really puts you in the position of needing to literally look up to the heavens.

Sounds like a strange introduction but it has context. I’ve been thinking about the nature of difficulty and distress in our lives. What is the point, what does it do for us? Clearly God has His purposes in sanctifying us. We all know that. But how does it sanctify us? Why is it necessary that we be brought low? Perhaps we know the reason. Perhaps we assent to the fact that God is working out something in our lives through our trials. Then why is it so difficult to rejoice in the midst of them? Sometimes, perhaps God is gracious and He gives us a particular grace that allows us to rejoice in seeing Him work through our trials. But that doesn’t always happen. And when it doesn’t happen, when we don’t feel the joy of our salvation as we ought, why? Shouldn’t our lives as Christians be characterized by joy? We should rejoice always! Joy is a fruit of the spirit.  Is there something wrong with us when we don’t feel joyful and happy as Christians?

Well, I don’t pretend to have all the answers to such questions but I do know this. Being brought low is not merely a matter of circumstance. Sometimes we have need to be humbled in our heart. Sometimes we grow accustomed to merriment and frivolousness. Sometimes our hearts grow accustomed to the feeling of happiness such that we crave it merely for the sensation of it.  Seeking joy as a Christian is not wrong.  Seeking the feeling of joy or happiness for its own sake is.  God, Christ and His Kingdom is who we are to seek, and all other things will be added to us.  But if we are seeking the feeling for its own sake, then we have lost sight of what is true.  And we have need of a reminder.

Thus if we are ever to be shaken out of our happiness induced high, we must be brought low. We must be brought to a place of weeping. We must be brought to a place of sorrow and destitution. When all is well we have no reason to look up. For we anticipate that what is around the corner will only serve to increase our happiness because we know God to be good. Except when we say that God is good, often it is in response to some good (that we perceive to be good) that we have received from Him. But the goodness of God is not limited to what we understand to be good. If it were then there would be no need for the word or concept of suffering. For God would only give that which is good in our minds to us. But there is suffering. And there is discipline that the Lord allows, brings about, causes (however you want to phrase it) in His Sovereignty in order to bring us low. Sometimes He deems it necessary and good to put us on our backs. For when we are brought to such a low estate we are forced to look up to Him. When you’re in the darkness, you look for light. When you’re in the intense heat of the Sun, you look for shade under which to take refuge. When you’re in the midst of a storm, you look for a stronghold, an anchor upon which to keep yourself from being shaken apart.

Fear not. Despair not at those times when God brings you low. Do not seek to stay in that place of weeping.  David said “weeping endures for a night…”  However, accept your low estate as a part of God’s wisdom in order to remind you to look, not to your troubles, not to relief, not even to the feeling of joy or happiness, but to Him.

Matthew 11:28-30

28 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. 29 “Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls. 30 “For My yoke is easy, and My load is light.”

1 Peter 5:5-7

“God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble. 6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, 7 casting all your anxiety upon Him, because He cares for you.”

Psalm 119 – 150 Days of Purposeful Meditation (Day 119) pt 12

Psalm 119:88-96

Lamedh.

89 Forever, O LORD, Your word is settled in heaven.  90 Your faithfulness continues throughout all generations; You established the earth, and it stands.  91 They stand this day according to Your ordinances, For all things are Your servants.  92 If Your law had not been my delight, Then I would have perished in my affliction.  93 I will never forget Your precepts, For by them You have revived me.  94 I am Yours, save me; For I have sought Your precepts.  95 The wicked wait for me to destroy me; I shall diligently consider Your testimonies.  96 I have seen a limit to all perfection; Your commandment is exceedingly broad.

God is eternal. Our eternal God has eternally set His Word above all other things, such that His Word can never fail.  Men promise.  Men swear by heaven above, earth below and all things in between.  And yet their promises fail, either for lack of strength, wisdom or will.  But never so for God.  His Word is as eternal as He.  And just as it can never be said that God is not, for to be is a part of His essence – if He is God, He must be – it can never be said that His Word has  failed.

And on this basis, the Psalmist expresses great confidence in God.  That in the midst of his turmoil, he cries out to God for strength.  His own strength has failed, his enemies have overwhelmed him and at his lowest, he cries out to the eternal God who has promised to be a shield and refuge to all who call upon Him.  He cries out to this God because He alone has forever secured His own word in heaven.  Thus there is no one who can thwart His promise.  There is no one who can stay His hand of grace upon those who are His.  There is no one who can deter Him from lending help to those who are humble and contrite before Him.  All who are His shall be saved!

And this too is our confidence beloved.  We have no need to be ashamed when we look upon His law.  When we gaze upon His ordinances, when we proclaim His Word in the streets, we have no need to shrink away.  Because God’s Word is forever established in Heaven!  He does hear your cry for help.  He does see your turmoil and distress.  And He will answer.  He will not abandon your soul to Sheol.  He has safely hidden your life in Himself in Christ.  And as sure as His Word is to His Son “Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever, And the righteous scepter is the scepter of His kingdom.  “Thou hast loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; Therefore God, Thy God, hath anointed Thee With the oil of gladness above Thy companions.” And, “Thou, Lord, in the beginning didst lay the foundation of the earth, And the heavens are the works of Thy hands;   They will perish, but Thou remainest; And they all will become old as a garment,   And as a mantle Thou wilt roll them up; As a garment they will also be changed.  But Thou art the same, And Thy years will not come to an end” so sure is His Word to us “you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.  When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.”

Deuteronomy 33:27-29  27 “The eternal God is a dwelling place, And underneath are the everlasting arms; And He drove out the enemy from before you, And said, ‘Destroy!’  28 “So Israel dwells in security, The fountain of Jacob secluded, In a land of grain and new wine; His heavens also drop down dew.  29 “Blessed are you, O Israel; Who is like you, a people saved by the LORD, Who is the shield of your help, And the sword of your majesty! So your enemies shall cringe before you, And you shall tread upon their high places.”

2 Samuel 22:1-7  And David spoke the words of this song to the LORD in the day that the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.  2 And he said, “The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;  3 My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge; My savior, Thou dost save me from violence.  4 “I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised; And I am saved from my enemies.  5 “For the waves of death encompassed me; The torrents of destruction overwhelmed me;  6 The cords of Sheol surrounded me; The snares of death confronted me.  7 “In my distress I called upon the LORD, Yes, I cried to my God; And from His temple He heard my voice, And my cry for help came into His ears.

Psalm 5:11-12   11 But let all who take refuge in Thee be glad, Let them ever sing for joy; And mayest Thou shelter them, That those who love Thy name may exult in Thee.  12 For it is Thou who dost bless the righteous man, O LORD, Thou dost surround him with favor as with a shield.

Proverbs 2:1-8  My son, if you will receive my sayings, And treasure my commandments within you,  2 Make your ear attentive to wisdom, Incline your heart to understanding;  3 For if you cry for discernment, Lift your voice for understanding;  4 If you seek her as silver, And search for her as for hidden treasures;  5 Then you will discern the fear of the LORD, And discover the knowledge of God.  6 For the LORD gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding.  7 He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk in integrity,  8 Guarding the paths of justice, And He preserves the way of His godly ones.

1 Peter 1:23-25   you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and abiding word of God.  24 For, “All flesh is like grass, And all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, And the flower falls off,  25 But the word of the Lord abides forever.” And this is the word which was preached to you.

Blessed be the Name of the LORD!

Why do we always ask “why” when difficulty strikes?  I’m not talking about after we’ve had time to think about it, pray about it, and have others comfort and encourage us through it.  I’m talking about the initial gut response.  When something difficult happens our first thought, more often than not is “why?”  Why me, why now, why this?  Strange it seems, particularly once you’ve gone through the trial that you even asked why to begin with.  Then again, I guess sometimes all you’re left with is why with no further response from the Lord.  Some things, we’ll never know and were never meant to know.  Somethings He makes clear to us knowing that we are flesh, weaklings.

But where does that gut response of “why” come from?  Most likely it comes from the expectation that we deserve only good in life.  Certainly for the unbeliever there is often that expectation.  That they are inherently good and that they deserve only good to come.  Even that god, their god, is a god of only good things and that disaster and calamity should never befall them.  But that is not the God of the Bible.  That is certainly not the Father of Jesus Christ nor the Father of His Church.

So what about believers?  When disaster and calamity strikes and we respond with “why” what are we saying?  I think that we too are saying “why me, why this, why now?”  And I think that we are often responding with that thinking that we too deserve only good things.  Is that wrong of us to assume?  We are children of the King.  Children in the Beloved.  We are the Lord’s and we expect that He will work out everything for our good and His glory in the end…right?  And what about those who are more charismatic among us who assert that there aren’t really any difficulties that should befall us and that we shouldn’t even be physically sick (I recently had someone who was of the charismatic persuasion say to me – with reference to Isaiah 53 – that Jesus’ bore our sicknesses and that through His death we are healed and so my wife’s physical distress would be healed if we believed that and claimed it).  What about that?  There is certainly much to be said for their faith, though their interpretation of scripture is somewhat lacking.  And there is much to be said about their fervency for prayer and trusting that God would move because they pray in faith.

But what else are they saying?  In a sense, and I don’t believe that everyone of them is saying this nor do I believe that every other believer thinks this way but for the most part it is probably true, in a sense they are saying that God should give us what we ask for no matter what it is and that we shouldn’t ever experience physical or any other distress because God never meant it to be that way for us.  That is so close to the truth its almost difficult to combat.  Certainly God created us “good” and for “good.”  However things did not remain that way.  And there is really no promise in scripture that now things ought to be completely good and at ease for us as believers.  Quite the opposite.  I’ve been reading through I Peter and he assumes that difficulty will arise and that this difficulty is a part of what it means to walk in Christ’s footsteps.  Certainly Paul’s life – who was a man of faith and a man of prayer – was full of difficulty.  Are we to assume that he was in some sort of sin or that he didn’t have enough faith or that he didn’t pray earnestly enough and that this is why his life was marked with difficulty both physical and otherwise?  Certainly not.  And ultimately we have Jesus who said “in this life you will have tribulation but to be of good cheer because I have overcome the world.”  And His life, what was it if not marked by “grief and sorrow.”  Are we, His disciples, to live a life greater than He, our Master?

I guess in the final analysis we have to conclude that what is “our good” that God is working all things toward, is ultimately not up to us.  In other words we can’t and won’t know what the “good” is that God is working all things toward.  We don’t really know what good thing we need and we don’t really know how best to work out situations and circumstances in our lives in order to reach that good.  But we can rest in knowing that God knows.  And we can rest in knowing that God is the One who is and always will be in control and that He is at work to work all things together for our good, whether they are “good” or “bad” according to our perspective.

In the end, we must assert with Job that it would be foolish to only be willing to accept good from God and not adversity.  Accepting the good and adversity in this respect is more of an attitude adjustment.  There is not really anything that we can do to accept or reject adversity from God.  But the acceptance, as we saw – at least from the first and last couple of chapters of  Job – has more to do with an attitude that doesn’t question God’s motives but which accepts that He is in control, that His plans and purposes are higher than we can conceive and that whether He gives or takes, He is and always shall be blessed.

Do you have your Easter outfit?

Why has Easter been relegated to an opportunity to get a new outfit?  Christmas is probably one of the most celebrated seasons…perhaps just in our society…I don’t know.  Whatever the case, it seems as if Christmas has been greatly commercialized and glamorized by so many and even in Christian circles; while poor Easter has be largely forgotten.  I mean, when was the last time we counted down the 12 days of Easter.  Perhaps the Catholics have something on us with Lent.

I guess the real problem is that Easter is largely forgotten until the week of Good Friday and Easter Sunday.  Sure, we know its coming, but we don’t give gifts to each other, we don’t decorate our homes, we don’t have Easter parties for our friends and families…though many do enjoy Easter dinners.  But why?  Why is Christmas seemingly more important?

Certainly…without a doubt, the birth of our Lord into this world, the Almighty God and ruler over all Creation being born into this world in the flesh is something to celebrate.  But His birth into the world would have no lasting effect if it were not for Easter.  If it were not for His death and resurrection (crucial aspects of salvation) we would really have no reason to celebrate.  We would have no conception of the import of His birth into the world if it were not for the message that He gave, His death and subsequent resurrection after three days.

“Surely our sickness He lifted and our sorrows He bore…He was pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities, the chastening of our peace was upon Him and by His stripes we are healed…He was delivered over because of our transgressions but raised because of our justification…He has caused us to be born again to a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (Isaiah 53:4-5; Romans 4:25; I Peter 1:3).

I guess Easter is really about  a new wardrobe…but not one that covers the shame of our sinful flesh.  God originally clothed the first family Adam and Eve, after they had sinned.  He clothed them to cover their shame…nakedness had no significance before sin…and even now thousands of years later, nakedness is a source of shame and immorality for many.  To combat that shame, many cover their nakedness with costly garments, jewelry and make-up.  Even those who wear very little, do so ultimately because their conscience has too long been seared for them to realize that it is truly shameful to bear their nakedness before others so openly.  Whatever the case may be we seek the best clothes, even on Easter, to dress up the shame of this sinful flesh.

But God has provided something so much better for us in Christ.  He has provided the promise better garments.  He has provided us, because of Christ’s death and resurrection, a heart of flesh, a new heart on which is written the law of God, a new mind which is being transformed daily by the word of God, the promise of a new body when Christ returns for us at the end of this life, and a new and eternal life which is undefiled by sin and in which we may stand before our Holy Creator God for ever.

Easter is more than just a new wardrobe…to cover this shameful, wretched flesh.  It is about being clothed with the righteousness of Christ.  Consider the picture of our salvation in the restoration of Joshua the High Priest:

Zechariah 3:1-5

Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him.  2 The LORD said to Satan, “The LORD rebuke you, Satan! Indeed, the LORD who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?”  3 Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments and standing before the angel.  4 He spoke and said to those who were standing before him, saying, “Remove the filthy garments from him.” Again he said to him, “See, I have taken your iniquity away from you and will clothe you with festal robes.”  5 Then I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him with garments, while the angel of the LORD was standing by.

And again, He says to Joshua:  “Now listen Joshua the high priest…I am going to bring My servant the Branch…and I will remove the iniquity of the land in one day.” Zechariah 3:8-9

The Lord’s dealing with Joshua the high priest is similar to His dealing with all who are humble before Him.  Though we are accused – and rightly so because we have all gone astray, seeking our own way apart from the Lord – in that day the Lord rebuked Satan, the accuser, and according to His grace has “chosen” us, plucking us from the fire of His wrath, and after having made provision for our sins, has cleansed us and given us clean garments from head to foot.  In one day, He has removed the iniquity of our hearts.  In one Man (called the Branch in this text of Zechariah) He has reconciled all men to Himself.  And in one act, He has forever clothed us in His righteousness and granted us the immeasurable riches of His grace for all eternity!

Praise be to God for His indescribable gift!  Rejoice you who have been give eyes to see, ears to hear and hearts to attest to the goodness of the Lord in Christ. If you have been purchased by His blood and clothed with His righteousness, Easter ought to be the most celebrated season!  In that day He has become our substitute and our source of new life!  He has completely erased…not just covered…our shame before our Holy and Almighty God forever.

Fear, you who have not yet been clothed with His righteousness, for soon another day will come.  And in that day there will be no more room for mercy nor grace.   And even the garments which you have coveted all of your life and from which you have attempted to hide your shame shall be burned along with you as you pay for your transgressions and iniquity in eternal torment.

For as vast and unmeasured is the grace of God to those who are clothed with Christ, so is His wrath fierce and unquenchable to those who are still naked.