Peace on earth; good will toward men

I

confess to having a melancholy spirit. Happy and carefree on the outside, deep down I am often a scared child trying to fight off fits of anxiety. Due to the masks we all wear, I don’t know that I am any different from anyone else—although I suspect that I am.

One of my friends told me that I have the personality described by research studies into “evolutionary intelligence.” Mary-Elaine Jacobsen calls this everyday genius in her book The Gifted Adult: A Revolutionary Guide for Liberating Everyday Genius [Amazon] (It is an outstanding book, by the way, and I highly recommend it.)

I don’t know that I’m willing to claim the title “genius,” but I definitely fit the description in the book. And part of that description is a trend toward a melancholy nature.

So now we are heading into Christmastime—my favorite time of the year. I love the way many concentrate on showing good will to their fellow man. People are a little bit nicer, a little bit friendlier, a little bit kinder. It’s a great time of year.

But some people are not quite so nice. Santa Claus is getting fired for having a sense of humor. Our government is asking us to spy and report on each other. And there are terrorists out there who would love to wipe us off the face of the earth. And there are ax murdering homeless people in the town Disney built. None of that indicates good will. In fact, it indicates a lot of hate out there in the world.

The Melancholy is encroaching.

When I get this way, it helps if I try to see things through another person’s eyes—another person who went through a similar melancholy moment at Christmastime. It helps me realize the similarities we all have and maybe not feel so sorry for myself and for my nation. So as I rode the subway to work this morning I listened to Christmas carols on my Zune, and my favorite Christmas carol began to play. Before the song was over there were tears streaming down my face. The girl in the seat facing mine gave me an odd look, but didn’t say anything—interaction with others is frowned on in the subway. Let me tell you the song’s story...

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote this carol on Christmas Day 1863. It was during the War Between the States and Longfellow, who had lost his wife just two years prior, had just learned that his son, Charles Appleton Longfellow, having suffered wounds as a soldier in the Battle of New Hope Church (in Virginia) during the Mine Run Campaign. He considered what was happening in the world and was thrown into a melancholy state.

And in despair I bowed my head
“There is no peace on earth,” I said,
“For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.”

But as he considered the overarching truth of God’s sovereignty he penned these words:

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
“God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail
With peace on earth, good will to men.”

Here are the words for the entire song, including two verses usually not included in church hymnals because of their highly personal nature and their obvious reference to the current events at the time of the war.

I heard the bells on Christmas day
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet the words repeat
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along the unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

Till ringing, singing on its way
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime, a chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

Then from each black, accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,
And with the sound the carols drowned
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

It was as if an earthquake rent
The hearth-stones of a continent,
And made forlorn, the households born
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

And in despair I bowed my head
“There is no peace on earth,” I said,
“For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.”

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
“God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail
With peace on earth, good will to men.”

So the melancholy is here, but so is my love of Christmas and of Jesus, whose birthday is the reason for all of this. In my mind it is the promise that it will all end well, even when it seems like things just aren’t going as they should. It’s okay. Our God has always won; he is winning; he will win in the end.

 

What’s Your Story?

Mary Fuller

It’s been a busy couple of months, and I’ve been away from the blog for just too long. God has been doing some really interesting things in my heart, and I wanted to share them with our readers.

Most of you have read enough about my younger years to know that it was pretty tough. I had a lot of heartache and trauma for a young girl. Yet God has used those experiences to teach me more about Him and to teach me about people. I’d like to make some general observations:

1. Everyone has a story. They may not even realize it themselves, but everyone has a story to tell. One very sad thing about our current culture is that we think that stories need to be crafted and told to us through media. We’ve lost the ability to imagine while hearing a good story, and we’ve especially lost the art of storytelling. Each of us needs to craft and hone our own story to tell to the generations that follow us.
2. Everything has a purpose. We have an incredible God who is not limited by the curse of sin. We feel that limitation every moment of our day. But we serve a sovereign God who created and rules the universe. Even the horribly awful stuff that happened to me as a child had a purpose. God allowed those things in my life to draw me to Him, to help me crave His fellowship, and to shape me into the image of His Son.
3. God’s story is bigger than us. We are very much like toddlers in our thinking a good deal of the time. We tend to think the universe revolves around us. We forget that we are not the only child God has, and we fail to realize that He is also working in the lives of others. Sometimes what happens in our life isn’t about us, it’s about what God is doing in the lives of the people around us, and we get the awesome privilege of being part of their story. Hopefully, through our obedience we will be part of the good story, not the trauma!
4. We need to rehearse our story. Rehearsing our story to ourselves reminds us that God is active in our lives and is at this moment writing another chapter in the book of our lives. Rehearsing our story to others encourages them to trust God and follow after Him in the difficult times. Rehearsing our story can also bring others to an understanding of God’s draw on their lives, and bring them to repentance and salvation. As we rehearse, we need to learn the art of storytelling—not embellishment, but instead, learning to tell our story in an interesting and captivating way that holds the attention of the listener.

This is exactly what God has been doing in my life lately. He has been giving me multiple opportunities to share my God story (the story of what God has done in my life to draw me to Him, to teach me more about Him). He has also given me multiple opportunities to listen carefully to the God stories of others. Recent experiences include a young mom whose testimony reminded me of how God lovingly draws His loved ones to Himself, how patient He is in allowing us to suffer without Him, just enough enough to make us crave Him. And yesterday, I had the honor of listening to the God story of a woman who is older than I. Such stories give me courage to trust when I cannot see, to cling to the faithfulness of an all-wise, all-powerful God. And smack dab in the middle is the joy I’ve had lately of watching God write His story on the lives of a handful of young people that He’s placed in my life.

Last Friday, we had a Fuller Fun Fest at our house. We started having these fun fests a couple of years ago, but it’s been over a year since the last one. Basically, the kids’ friends come over just to hang out, jam on their intstruments, and sometimes we play games like Mafia or, Name the Owner of this foot. But this time, 32 kids (if you don’t count me...), ages 12–21, mixed so well that I never had to play a game. Later in the evening, Lance built a fire. The older guys stoked it hot, and one of the college guys started leading us in worship songs. It was an incredible evening. I had planned to wind things down around 10:00, and not long after, most of the kids’ parents had taken them home. But the college guys hung out till nearly 1:00. We sat in our living room and told stories. We laughed, we contemplated, and finally shooed them out the door. But I went to bed totally in awe that God has given us an opportunity to be part of the lives of these incredible young people whose stories He is now writing.

I’d like to encourage you this holiday weekend to take some time to think about your God story. What is it that God has done in your life that shows His love and care for you? Find someone to tell your God story to—one of your kids, your best friend, even a stranger you meet sometime in the next week. Work at your story to make the telling of it interesting so someone cares to listen. And read Psalm 78 to impress on yourself the need to be telling your story all the time, to yourself and to others.

 

Start with God

I

have thought a lot recently about how important it is to turn things over to God instead of trying to do things under my own power. I seem to have real trouble doing that. So again today I was reminded in my morning devotions of the need to focus on Christ rather than on myself and to turn my efforts over to God rather than fighting the fight alone.

Proverbs 3:3-8

Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart. So you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.

I usually use the English Standard Version of the Bible, but today I was directed by an audio devotional to consider Proverbs 1:7 as presented in The Message: Start with God—the first step in learning is bowing down to God; only fools thumb their noses at such wisdom and learning. I am struck particularly with the first phrase in this verse: “Start with God.”

It makes such sense, and so often I forget God when I begin a new effort. I don’t turn to God first before I take my first step of the new journey. But that’s the wrong way to do it. I should always start with God.

Jeremiah 29:11

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for wholeness and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Romans 8:28 seems a perfect summation of the thought: And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. So start with God and he will work all things together for good. That sounds like a wonderful deal to me.

I think it’s time for me to get started ... with God.

 

I’m a failure

W

hy do I continue trying to control my life when I’ve done such a poor job of it up to this point? It’s a question I have asked myself many times. In fact, I have mentioned that thought to others and found many of them to be in agreement. We seem to run around day after day trying to grab at the fraying fabric of our lives in an attempt to stop the threads from further unraveling and we end up in a huge knotted ball of failure and frustration.

Within the last 24 hours I have been given an expanded perspective on this concept. I still see it the same way—I try and try to control my life, even though I have a terrible track record, rather than giving it all over to God who has a perfect record and is always in full control. That conceptual framework has not changed.

But last evening I picked up one of my books on writing and read this:

...This title jumped out at me from the cover of a thin, unpretentious little volume: How to Peel a Sour Grape: An Impractical Guide to Successful Failure, by Richard P. Frisbie. Nice twist on the old sour grapes cliché, and an arresting oxymoron with “successful failure.” A gimmick, or did this Frisbie fellow really have something to say? I opened to chapter one, “Failure knocks, and knocks, and knocks,” and read:

Every man past a certain age, perhaps thirty-five, knows in his heart that he is a failure. He doesn’t realize that almost everyone else is a failure, too.

Hardly standard self-help fare, which usually features a style perhaps best characterized as cheerleader-on-uppers. Intrigued, but not yet intrigued enough to plunk my money down, I turned to the last page, where I found this observation:

So there it is—you’ve failed in the world, failed at home, failed as a personality. You’re a failure to the marrow of your bone. The ultimate test, then, is whether failure makes you bitter. The truth is that failure is a joke, not for the derision of demons, but the gentle laughter of the saints.

Leads & Conclusions, Marshall J. Cook,
Writer’s Digest Books, pp. 6–7.

The funny thing is the book I read that in is a book on writing—not on attitude adjustment.

Then this morning I was again reminded of this topic through a thoroughly outstanding blog post Head Heart Hand - Failure: the last taboo? One of the opening paragraphs of this blog post said:

But one great taboo remains in America. Failure. Until the recession. In 12 months, more than 4 million workers lost their jobs. On a single day in January 2009, 70,000 people were laid off, and another 50,000 or 60,000 lost their jobs on each of the 10 days that followed. Most of these people were hard-working, reliable, and conscientious - usually guarantees of success in America. And yet most of these 4 million had to endure a deep sense of personal failure, which affected not just their bank balance, but their marriages, their health, and often their relationship with God. Failure is no longer taboo in suburban America.

The author then went on to describe a few folks who have been known for incredible success publicly, but who have also experienced intense failure at times. He mentioned Pulitzer Prize-winning author Philip Schultz, Apple founder Steve Jobs, J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter novels, basketball great Michael Jordan and others who have experienced failure along with their public successes.

But the next part of his blog post grabbed my attention—along with my heart:

Learning to “fail well” is a vital part of Christian ministry. A pastor said to me recently, “The first ten years of ministry is all about being broken and stripped!” I must have had a crash course, because it took me only five years to be broken, stripped, and branded a failure! These were dark, dark days. Yet, I know that my 10 months in the school of failure gave me my most valuable degree—a Master’s in how to fail well. Sadly, I keep forgetting what I learned and have to keep going back to that unpopular school for refresher courses.

Read the full blog post. I hope it will encourage you as it did me. And perhaps we can get on with life knowing that God’s success will always overrule our failure as long as we are covered by the blood of Christ.

• Further reading from my friend, Lanelle.

 

Biblical success manual

A

few years ago we attended a church that had a unique mentor/protégé program. The church leaders encouraged the men of the church to seek out mentors and protégés and to use those relationships to promote accountability. It was a great system and was a motivating factor for many wonderful and lasting Christian friendships.

My mentor was a highly successful business consultant. He contracted with companies that were having difficulties and he had tremendous success moving those companies into financial stability and providing momentum for them to move forward into the future. He explained to me that to turn these companies around he introduced them to biblical principles of employee relationships, management, and motivation. He leveraged the idea that a biblical truth is still true even for a non-Christian. He presented these ideas as good business principles, not as religious guidelines or rules. But when asked, he told people where he got these ideas on business—from the Bible.

Proverbs 3:3-4

Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart. So you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man.

I wish I had his unique ability to quickly recognize the proper biblical application to life’s day-to-day situations. But I think I am a little bit less detail-oriented than he is. Fortunately, King Solomon addressed folks like me who can work better with an over-arching description of what needs to be done.

In Proverbs 3:3-4, the wisest man to ever live tells me that two vital components of success are steadfast love and faithfulness. So I am prompted to ask, why? Why would steadfast love and faithfulness help you to be successful in the eyes of God and men? It just doesn’t seem to make sense to me.

But the passage does not end there. Recognizing that we humans have difficulty understanding the things of God, the author goes on to tell us:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones. Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce; then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.” To me, that appears to be the foundation of the entire thing. I don’t understand why steadfast love and faithfulness will give me success in the eyes of men. But God says they will. I need simply to trust him that this is true. And I need to work on that steadfast love and faithfulness. Those are the strengths I need to develop. It is my prayer that God will grant the grace to develop these characteristics in my life.

 

Be anxious for nothing

I have never relished change. Change produces fear of the unknown as well as fear of things that I know are coming and would prefer to avoid. But I know that reacting to change like I do indicates a lack of trust in God, who is in complete control of all situations and who has promised to do what is best for his children.

In The Necessity of Prayer, E.M. Bounds wrote:

If Jesus dwell at the fountain of my life; if the currents of His life have displaced and superseded all self-currents; if implicit obedience to Him be the inspiration and force of every movement of my life, then He can safely commit the praying to my will, and pledge Himself, by an obligation as profound as His own nature, that whatsoever is asked shall be granted. Nothing can be clearer, more distinct, more unlimited both in application and extent, than the exhortation and urgency of Christ, “Have faith in God.”

Faith covers temporal as well as spiritual needs. Faith dispels all undue anxiety and needless care about what shall be eaten, what shall he drunk, what shall be worn. Faith lives in the present, and regards the day as being sufficient unto the evil thereof. It lives day by day, and dispels all fears for the morrow. Faith brings great ease of mind and perfect peace of heart.

Philippians 4:4-7

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

You know, I was already aware of what E.M. Bounds stated in that quote. I know that God is the Sovereign of the universe and “declares the beginning from the end” and “the king’s heart is a stream in his hands; he turns it wherever he will.” These are not new concepts to me.

So why then is it so easy for me to become anxious? Why do I worry about each new change? Why do I concern myself with things that are completely out of my control?

Micah 6:8

He has told you, O man, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?

It actually doesn’t seem so hard when you look at, for example, Micah 6:8. All I have to do is to act justly, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with God. That should not be so difficult. If that is all I need to do, why do I worry about things over which I have no control?

I guess the obvious answer is—there’s no reason for me to worry. I need to act in a just manner, love kindness, and walk humbly. I need to be thankful to God as I bring my prayers and supplications to him. And I need to focus my attention, not on those crazy winds of change, but remember that “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock” (Isaiah 26:3-4).

May God grant me faith.

 

Discerning God’s will

Proverbs 3:1–2

My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments, for length of days and years of life and peace they will add to you.

We often hear folks talking about seeking God’s will. Articles, books, conferences, sermon series—many things have been offered to address the fact that we just don’t know enough of the future to make us comfortable. We seem to want a road map that extends way off into the future.

I know that I often worry about what’s coming. And it feels as though a solid knowledge of what’s going to happen in the upcoming years would ease all of the worries and fears. But that does not seem to be the way God works.

So then, what is the “will of God”?

I have been reminded of Proverbs 3 many times in my life. I suppose it is because I have to keep relearning the same lesson over and over again—that God’s will is clearly written in scripture and that I need only to do what’s right and allow God to lead one step at a time. God promises his providential care, so I don’t truly need that roadmap stretching way into the future. I need only to step out in faith and do what God has told me to do in scripture. And if I do this, my concerns should be relieved about many of the regular cares of life.

Vocational and spiritual success

Proverbs 3:3–5

Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart. So you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man.

I worry incessantly about my job. I spend a lot of time analyzing the internal corporate politics and tend to get concerned with every new suspected wind of change.

But in Proverbs 3 I am clearly told that I will find favor and good success in the sight of both God and man if I maintain “steadfast love and faithfulness.” This doesn’t seem to make a whole lot of sense. I would expect advice regarding work ethic, honesty, and commitment, and these things are all to be found elsewhere in scripture. But in this immediate passage I am told that if I do not forsake love and faithfulness I will find favor.

Day-to-day decision

Proverbs 3:5–6

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

This directly addresses that roadmap I so desperately want—the one that will tell me exactly what I am supposed to do each step of the way for the next decade or more. There are so many twists and turns in life and those twists and turns can be tremendously scary.

But Proverbs 3 tells me that I should not try to figure everything out and then act on my superior knowledge of the ensuing events. I should not spend inordinate amounts of time learning the ins and outs of the business world, the social world, and local church in order to carefully navigate each new seemingly dangerous fork in the road. I am told to “trust in the Lord” and to “acknowledge him in all my ways.” If I do this, I am told that he will direct [my] paths.

Health

Proverbs 3:7–8

Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.

Another regular concern of mine regards my personal health and the health of my family. I’m not one of those exercise fanatics that works long and hard on keeping my heart and lungs healthy. I’m more of the coach potato that sits and worries about my health while eating a bag of chips. And there are portions of scripture that tell me that I should adjust that lifestyle for health reasons.

But Proverbs 3 gives me a nuance in the whole health concern field, and I believe it is speaking about the problems we cause to ourselves by being stressed about things all the time. Rather than worrying regularly about things, we are told to “fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.” And we are told that this will provide “healing to our flesh and refreshment to our bones.”

Personal finances

Proverbs 3:9–10

Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce; then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine.

And what do I need to do to make sure that my family is financially secure? Of course the advice should be work hard, invest wisely, be frugal, etc. But that’s not what we are told in Proverbs 3. Here it says that we are to spend some money. We are to “honor the Lord with with our wealth.”

It seems that we are being told here to use our money in ways that promote God’s purposes in the world. I can imagine many applications to this concept, but won’t go into those at this time. The interesting thing I see is that Proverbs is not saying that we should hoard our money or leverage it through careful investment strategies. We are told to use our money to honor the Lord. And if we do so, “our barns will be filled with plenty and our vats bursting with wine.”

This is the lesson I need to be reminded of seemingly every few months. The will of God is clear in scripture. I just need to do it.

 

To walk humbly with your God...

T

here is naturally in every man a desire to know, but what profiteth knowledge without the fear of God? Better of a surety is a lowly peasant who serveth God, than a proud philosopher who watcheth the stars and neglecteth the knowledge of himself. He who knoweth himself well is vile in his own sight; neither regardeth he the praises of men. If I knew all the things that are in the world, and were not in charity, what should it help me before God, who is to judge me according to my deeds?

The Imitation of Christ, Thomas a Kempis

The new year has begun and some of the lessons from the past year must now be put into place and lived out in my life. This is the hard part—putting into practice the things I have already recognized and accepted as lessons from God.

King Julian

It’s nothing personal;
we’re just better than you.

I like to have things my way. I like to be recognized as the man in charge. I like to be able to direct the world from my armchair. But it doesn’t tend to work that way. So this year I am resolved to see myself through God’s eyes—neither as better than others, because of my accomplishments or an inflated ego; nor as less than others due to a negative self-image or their self-proclaimed greatness. We are all made in the image of God and we have all fallen due to sin. We are all in need of a Savior and any benefit I have received from the Savior, Jesus Christ, is due to God’s eternal plan and not my feeble attempts at holiness.

The River’s deep; the River’s wide; the River’s water is alive. So sink or swim, I’m diving in!

 

Reflection on the year past

I

have not written much here recently. I could probably blame it on the busy-ness of the season, but that would not be entirely true. I could also plead the fifth against self-incrimination, which would be a bit closer to the truth, but still not telling the full story. The truth is that this is the time of year that I consider the year past and try to figure out what lessons I need to learn and carry forward into the year to come. And this past year has not been a comfortable one.

During this past year there have been earth-shattering negatives and incredible and unexpected positives. And I believe the lesson is clear, although if I am to learn this lesson now, it makes me question how hairy things may get in the near future.

Negatives Betrayal by those we considered our best friends Loss of our housing arrangements False accusations knowingly spread against us by those who claim the name of Christ Income cut by 33%, with new responsibilities assigned

Positives Reconnection with friends who have stood the test of time New home in a new area obviously provided by God A new church home, a new church family, new church leadership God providing our needs one step at a time

There are many more negatives that cropped up this past year, and each has its corresponding huge positive that could only have sprung from the hand of a loving God. Our son’s educational needs, health issues, cars breaking down—so many things happened this year and so many of them threatened to overwhelm us. But God has shown his power and providential care in an amazing way this past year.

Micah 6:8
He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

So what lessons should I learn from 2009? How should I step forward into 2010? I believe that the over-arching lesson I needed to learn this past year was that God is in complete and total control. No matter what tsunamis hit. No matter what tar-pits we find scattered along the highway. God is in control and he will take loving care of his children. I need simply to trust each step of the way that God is taking care of business and I need to step out in faith, doing what he calls on me to do without questioning and without despondency or fear. Our God is in control.

 

Meditation

T

he winds of change can really have an impact when you’re not grounded. I believe my lack of deep roots has caused me to be blown and battered about over this past year. Rather than looking at my own contributions to the faulty foundation I concentrated on the winds caused by those around me. This is not good.

So as I began today with my personal devotional time, I pulled out a book I have not read in quite some time, The Imitation of Christ, by Thomas à Kempis. I turned to Book Two: The Interior Life and began to read from the beginning:

“The kingdom of God is within you,” says the Lord (Luke 17:21).

Turn, then, to God with all your heart. Forsake this wretched world and your soul shall find rest. Learn to despise external things, to devote yourself to those that are within, and you will see the kingdom of God come unto you, that kingdom which is peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, gifts not given to the impious.

Christ will come to you offering His consolation, if you prepare a fit dwelling for Him in your heart, whose beauty and glory, wherein He takes delight, are all from within. His visits with the inward man are frequent, His communion sweet and full of consolation, His peace great, and His intimacy wonderful indeed.

Therefore, faithful soul, prepare your heart for this Bridegroom that He may come and dwell within you; He Himself says: “If any one love Me, he will keep My word, and My Father will love him, and We will come to him, and will make Our abode with him” John 14:23.

Thomas à Kempis

Do not place much confidence in weak and mortal man, helpful and friendly though he be; and do not grieve too much if he sometimes opposes and contradicts you. Those who are with us today may be against us tomorrow, and vice versa, for men change with the wind. Place all your trust in God; let Him be your fear and your love. He will answer for you; He will do what is best for you.

Wow. How could I have forgotten where to look for that peace and solace that all of us so desperately seek, but which I had not experienced for some time? I had looked for shelter from the storms of life and had accepted that shelter from men—never a particularly good choice. Those men eventually moved on to other plans, leaving me facing a storm and wondering how to protect my family from it.

In spite of my seemingly perpetually weak faith God blessed greatly, providing us a home and a church and educational needs for my son. He patiently waited for me to turn again and recognize the true source of comfort and consolation—himself.

Had you but once entered into perfect communion with Jesus or tasted a little of His ardent love, you would care nothing at all for your own comfort or discomfort but would rejoice in the reproach you suffer; for love of Him makes a man despise himself....

He who tastes life as it really is, not as men say or think it is, is indeed wise with the wisdom of God rather than of men.

Time to get back to ground level and work on my foundation.

All quotes from The Imitation of Christ
Book Two, Chapter One

 

Waiting

W

aiting is not my strongest character trait. But then, I don’t know too many of us humans who wait well. While looking for guitar chords on a Christian Tab site, I found the lyrics to this song. Then I went to YouTube to hear it, and found this video. I loved the movie Fireproof, and if you haven’t seen it, you MUST!

So “While I’m Waiting” for surgery and the pathologists report, I’m going to think often of this song. I even printed out the chords so I could learn it on guitar. I hope this encourages you to stay focused on serving, obeying, and worshiping while you wait.

 

By whose power are you living?

Amos 9:9

For behold, I will command, and shake the house of Israel among all the nations as one shakes with a sieve, but no pebble shall fall to the earth.

I

t is very important to be able to distinguish between things that differ, for appearances are not to be relied upon. Things which seem to be alike may actually be the opposite of each other. A scorpion may be like an egg and a stone like a piece of bread, but they are far from being the same. Like may be very unlike. This is especially the case in spiritual things, and therefore it behooves us to be on our guard.

It would be very difficult to say how far a man may go in religion and yet die in his sins. He may very well look like an heir of heaven and yet be a child of wrath. Many unconverted men have a belief which is similar to faith, and yet it is not true faith. Certain people exhibit pious affections which have the warmth of spiritual love but are quite destitute of gracious life. Every grace can be counterfeited, even as jewels can be imitated. As paste gems are wonderfully like the real stones, so sham graces are marvelously like the work of the Spirit of God. In soul matters a man will need to have all his wits about him, or he will soon deceive his own heart. It is to be feared that many are already mistaken and will never discover their delusion until they lift up their eyes in the world of woe where their disappointment will be terrible indeed.

The dead child of nature may be carefully washed by his mother, but this will not make him a living child of grace. The life of God within the soul creates an infinite difference between the man who has it and the man who does not. The point is to make sure that we have this life. Are you sure that you have it?

It will be an awful thing to cry, “Peace, peace,” where there is no peace and to falsely prophesy smooth things for yourself. This may make your heart easy, but it could lull your conscience into a slumber. You might never wake out of the deep until a clap of the thunder of judgment shall startle you out of presumption into endless horror.

I desire to help my reader in the business of self–examination. I actually want him to go further than examination. He needs to realize that he can attain such an abundance of grace that his holy and happy state shall become a witness to himself.

[This article] is meant to be a sieve to separate the chaff from the wheat. Let my reader use it upon himself. It may be the best day’s work he has ever done. He who looked into his accounts and found that his business was a losing one [dollar] was saved from bankruptcy. This may happen also to my reader. Should he, however, discover that his heavenly trade is prospering, it will be a great comfort to him. No man can ever lose by honestly searching his own heart. Friend, try it at once.

According to Promise, C. H. Spurgeon

Yodh - Psalm 84:73-80

Psalm 84:73–80

Yodh

    Your hands have made and fashioned me;
give me understanding that I may learn your commandments.

    Those who fear you shall see me and rejoice,
because I have hoped in your word.

    I know, O Lord, that your rules are righteous,
and that in faithfulness you have afflicted me.

    Let your steadfast love comfort me
according to your promise to your servant.

    Let your mercy come to me, that I may live;
for your law is my delight.

    Let the insolent be put to shame,
because they have wronged me with falsehood;
as for me, I will meditate on your precepts.

    Let those who fear you turn to me,
that they may know your testimonies.

    May my heart be blameless in your statutes,
that I may not be put to shame!

Just do the right thing

Genesis 4:7

If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.

I

often tell my son that he just needs to do what he knows is right. It can be frustrating as a father to see your child chose the wrong thing when you know you have taught him the right way to act in this particular situation.

Our heavenly Father must have a similar reaction when, although I have learned from God what the right path actually is, I so often choose the path that I know is wrong. And yet, down the wrong path I go—time after time.

As I read Genesis 4 this evening it struck me how simple God’s statement to Cain really is. “If you do well, will you not be accepted?” And the rhetorical assumed answer is, “Yes! Of course. I will be accepted if I do what is right.”

But as Paul ruminated, sin reigns in our mortal bodies and our flesh is in continual warfare against that which we know is right. So God further directed Cain, “If you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.”

May God help me to rule over the sin that crouches at my door. I don’t want to intentionally choose the wrong path anymore.

Overflowing in forgiveness

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sn’t forgiveness a difficult thing? So often I think back on past offenses—often from decades ago—and I realize that I am still harboring anger deep down inside.

Matthew 18:21–22

Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.”

I was reminded of this recently when discussing with a friend how often Christians treat each other with a degree of scorn and inhumanity that is uncommon even among non-believers. My friend and I have both been treated in this way by professing Christians who apparently think there is a hierarchy in the family of God and that they hold a royal position. My friend and I have both had trouble forgiving those people.

But we are commanded to forgive.

I think we do ourselves disservice when we take these commands to forgive outside of their context. Matthew 18 deals with the commonplace issue of a Christian sinning against another Christian and how this is to be handled. Matthew 18:15–17 says,

“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.

Typically this passage has been used to describe formal church discipline, but it seems to me to be a simple explanation of how each of us is to individually handle the abuses that will be leveled against us by other Christians. The first unspoken but assumed directive is that we should not be surprised when this happens. Christians are fallen people with sin natures. Anytime one of us strays away from adherence to scripture, we are prone to sin and evil. So it should not surprise us when a believer treats us terribly.

Our response, however, should not be to strike back against that brother and hurt him. And it should not be to sulk or keep quiet so as to not be an obvious target in the future. Jesus is telling us that when we have been victimized by a fellow believer, we are to go to that person and tell him his fault.

It seems that we are to assume that this was not intentional—not a pre-meditated personal attack, but rather an accidental sin against us. So we should go to this person and say, in essence, “here’s what you did to me and it is a sin against me.”

Once we have made the person aware of his sin, he is responsible to repent of it. He is not responsible to say, “I did it because...” or “if I offended you in some way...” but he is to repent. That means he is to accept his guilt in the matter and turn away from that behavior.

If this person continues in his evil behavior, we are to go to him with another person as a witness. We should not fall for the accusation that this is gossip, because it is what Jesus is telling us to do in this situation. And Jesus is not encouraging the sin of gossip here.

If the person then continues in the inappropriate behavior, the matter is to be brought before the congregation of believers—the local church. And if that does not get his behavior into line, we are instructed to consider him a pagan, a non-believer, not a member of the family of God.

Perhaps the reason that I have harbored anger in my heart for many years is that I have not followed this process. I have typically chosen the path of quietness, attempting to fade into the woodwork so as to become less of a target. I have simply tried to avoid the pain caused by these people. In so doing, I have not given the offending party the opportunity to correct his behavior (I have not “gained a brother”). Instead, I have harbored anger for many years—allowing it to eat away at me and cause me greater pain and anger both when I relive it in my memory and when it happens again with another abusive Christian.

This is something I need to learn to handle appropriately. God’s way is always the best way.

Our behavior as ambassadors

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have lived most of my life in the shadow of Washington, D.C. Living in the nation’s capitol brings a mixture of many benefits and many things that are not so beneficial. I try to focus more often on the beauty of the district and the many educational and cultural things it has to offer. But today I am reminded of one of the negative sides of living near Washington, D.C.—the foreign ambassadors.

Although we have not heard recently about any serious problems with foreign ambassadors, living near them is a constant reminder that many of these folks live as though they are above the law. They drive at high rates of speed around the city, they often park in no parking zones, they pass the other cars backed up on the street by driving into oncoming traffic or by driving down the sidewalk or even across the grass.

And you can spot them quite easily because their cars are often emblazoned with stickers of their national flags and their license plates always say Diplomat. Unfortunately, quite often their behavior would not be described as “diplomatic”.

2 Corinthians 5:20

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

So as I was reading this morning in Matthew 17 about the need to be good citizens and pay our taxes I noticed a cross reference to 2 Corinthians 5:20. I looked it up. And it struck me that what Jesus was explaining to Peter in the Matthew passage, is also being addressed in 2 Corinthians. We need to be good citizens while we live as ambassadors in a foreign land.

Our citizenship is not here on earth. We are ambassadors of the kingdom of heaven. But we are encouraged by our king to follow the local laws so that we will not become a stench to the people of this land. If we become a stench, the message our king has sent us to proclaim gets lost and obscured by our bad behavior.

Christians have a reputation for many things that are not good. We are known for leaving bad tips, for acting egotistical, for not following the laws that pertain to the workforce and the fire and safety laws. Many Christian leaders even defend such misbehavior by saying that “as a tax-exempt organization we are not bound by the same laws.”

This is not the way to be winning ambassadors. May we all strive to be good citizens as we sojourn in this foreign land.

Coronary Christians

William Wilberforce

“I daily become more sensible that my work must be affected by constant and regular exertions rather than by sudden and violent ones.”

I have just begun reading the third book in John Piper’s The Swans Are Not Silent series. The title of this book is The Roots of Endurance: Invincible Perseverence in the Lives of John Newton, Charles Simeon, and William Wilberforce. Last night I read the introduction and will begin the actual book tonight. But something in the introduction struck me as an area in my life that needs work.

Piper described two different types of Christians: Adrenal Christians and Coronary Christians. He explained that Adrenal Christians throw themselves into their committed Christian service in short and energetic spurts, like the spurt of adrenaline when we are frightened or otherwise motivated to quick action. Contrasting this is the “Coronary Christians,” which Piper defines as being similar to the heart muscle, which just keeps on doing its job day-in and day-out. It doesn’t speed up a whole lot and it doesn’t slow down a whole lot at any given time. It just keeps on going with steady progress.

I understand the analogy and I am convicted by it. I want to be a coronary Christian, but I fear I have been an adrenal Christian. Lots of work to do.

I want him to know me

Micah 6:8

He has told you, O man, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?

Am I a child or an arrogant fool?

Matthew 11:25

And Jesus prayed this prayer: “O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding the truth from those who think themselves so wise, and for revealing it to little children. Yes, Father, for it pleased you to do it this way!”

In this prayer, Jesus mentioned two kinds of people: The wise, arrogant in their own knowledge; and little children, humbly open to receive the truth of God’s Word. So I’m left wondering which one of these describes me?

I often see my own opinion in an arrogant way—thinking that I know better than anyone else. So this is definitely something I need to pay attention to.

But I don’t think it makes sense to act like I’m wrong about everything either. Of course I believe the things that I argue for. If I thought I was wrong, I wouldn’t be defending my position.

Matthew 11:28-30

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke fits perfectly, and the burden I give you is light.”

Jesus goes on in the same passage to call those who are weary to come to him and find rest. I find that when I’m fighting for my opinion to be heard, I lack rest. It’s a very turbulent way to live. So should I be standing down in all cases and just letting others run rough-shod over me?

One of my commentaries explains the reasons someone may feel a heavy burden that makes them desire rest:

A person may be carrying heavy burdens of (1) sin, (2) excessive demands of religious leaders (Matthew 23:4; Acts 15:10), (3) oppression and persecution, or (4) weariness in the search for God. Jesus frees people from all these burdens. The rest that Jesus promises is love, healing, and peace with God, not the end of all labor. A relationship with God changes meaningless, wearisome toil into spiritual productivity and purpose.

That’s the rest I need.

Proverbs 3:5-8

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.

Another verse that has been on my mind quite a bit lately seems to parallel these thoughts. Proverbs 3:5 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.” So my own opinion is not what I should be fighting for. I should be proclaiming God’s truth—not my own opinion. The next verse says, “In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” Straight paths sounds a good bit more restful than crooked paths with the unknown lurking around every bend.

Then in verses 7 and 8 we find: “Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.”

Could it be that part of the rest God promises to provide is that we will not have to figure things out if we simply fear the Lord and turn away from evil. It’s difficult being wise in our own eyes. But if we humbly look to the Lord, &ldquo:it will be healing to [our] flesh and refreshment to [our] bones.”

I’m ready for that rest.

How do you smell?

2 Corinthians 2:15-16

For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life.

I was struck with the odd dichotomy presented in Paul's description of how a Christian smells to those around him. If a Christian is living for God, giving evidence of the holy living we have been called to, he will be a pleasing aroma to "those who are being saved," while at the same time being the stench of death to "those who are perishing."

But we should not allow this to impact our behavior too strongly. We should not begin thinking that we're something special because the believers around us enjoy our company. And we should not take it personally and become depressed if non-believers avoid us. Both of these are to be expected.

I think the greater concern for those of us who claim the name of Christ should arise when we are accepted comfortably by non-believers. If we are truly acting as we should, the non-believer should be somewhat uncomfortable with us, unless he is under the wooing influence of the Holy Spirit.

And Christians should find us pleasing, if we are doing what we should. Of course, we may be an unpleasant odor to them too, if they are not seeking Christ's Kingdom but are pursuing their own agenda in the guise of "Christianity."

So, perhaps, each of us who claims the name of Christ should also consider what it means when others who have spoken their commitment to Christ become a foul odor to us (or we to them). Is the foul stench coming from them, or are we, in fact, not truly of the household of faith?