I want to let you know that we are heading down to Disney for a week. Our Summer vacation has finally arrived at the end of September. Florida is still sunny and we are looking forward to some much needed rest and entertainment together as a family. I won't be blogging this week so please check back in about 10 days or so. May God's good grace keep us all, and may our desires be pleasing unto our worthy King.
I spent the day yesterday at the hospital in Atlanta with my dad whose health is not being a friend to him. He’s such a stout-hearted man and I struggled to see him not in full control of what is going on with him. He matched my struggle on his behalf and raised it as he lay in a hospital bed that has been all too familiar to him over the last 24 months. His words were those of a weary man whose faith is being tested by the realities of a very difficult battle. Through all the pain and medicine and paradoxes of faith, he told me that he was borrowing from the determination of Job and would not allow himself to wonder in accusation against God. He understands God’s sovereignty and is leaning against what feels like the cold, stainless steel side of it.
Why does a good God allow suffering? This is the question of billions of humans and the excuse of countless atheists. My answer is certainly not cottony-soft, but I suggest that it is biblically true. God allows suffering because we cannot become like Jesus Christ without it. Suffering is the result of the existence of sin in our world and in our lives. Though each instance of suffering cannot be connected to a single act of sin, there is no question that ALL suffering has been birthed into the world from the instance of original sin. Adam and Eve picked up the ball in Eden and ran with it and have passed it down to you and to me. We are sinners...and sinners suffer.
I believe the more important question revolves around how we respond to suffering. Since no human being has ever escaped it completely, we need to formulate ahead of time an attitude concerning it. I’m learning that this attitude will eventually be tested. When suffering comes to me as a believer I find myself in need of asking and answering the following as I respond:
1. Do I believe that I am entitled to a freedom from suffering?
2. Does my personal suffering eclipse my confidence in the character of God?
3. Is my suffering changing my attitude towards God? Can I still sense and declare His goodness?
4. Am I owning my suffering or allowing it to own me?
5. If I understood why I am suffering (because we all say we want to know why) would it really help me?
This issue of suffering is not foreign to God Himself. He watched man mar His divine order in the garden through rebellion. He witnessed the murder of the 4th human being ever created by the 3rd human being. He flooded the earth to purge the scourge of rampant sin. He begged His covenant children not to abandon Him as they whored after false gods. He saw them weep as they went into captivity. God sent His Son to reveal everything about Himself to them. They ignored Him. They mocked Him. They rejected Him. They tried and convicted Him unjustly. They murdered Him. None of the things listed above should be dismissed as a not-for-real-suffering simply because the Sufferer is God. His deity does not mean that He is impervious to pain. God rejoices. God angers. We are commanded not to grieve Him. Friends, God hurts. Is He a victim? Not at all in the sense that we understand the word, but He is most certainly One who is violated. He is gloriously entitled to an adoring, obedient response from us all. Instead we each gave Him hewn timbers of transgression and steel spikes of sin and affixed Him to the cross of our rejection. The blood of God fell upon a sin-soaked Earth. Please don't wonder if He cares - He entered into your pain so that you might enter into His paradise.
I will not tell you when (or if) your struggles will end here. I will declare joyfully that they are certainly limited to here. There is a line of demarcation that suffering is forbidden to cross. It is a light affliction which lasts only for a moment. It is a vapor that fades away. Suffering's passport is not sufficient beyond Earth's borders. Man’s days are full of trouble, as Job truthfully declared, but man’s days will one day be swallowed by the Day of the Lord. In that moment, one will quizzically scratch his head and say, “Suffering? I’ve never heard of it.”
Romans 5:20b-21 – “…where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: that as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord”
There’s red clay on my lips.It’s on my nose also.Man alive, this clumpy red clay is on my forehead and matted in my remaining hair.What in the world has happened here?Ahhhh, it seems I’ve fallen on my face again.Yep, now I remember clearly:I was upright on my feet, merrily walking through life without a care in the world and then – BOOM – I said/did/thought something unholy and stumbled headlong into a NO TRESPASSING zone.I woke up with my face a quarter-inch deep in Georgia red clay.I've been here before - this is what it looks like when I sin against my King.
Do you know the experience described above?Do you know what it means to fall on your face in one form of failure or another?I’ve asked a foolish question, haven’t I?Even if we are not convinced that we qualify for a mouth full of red clay, the Bible sates that there are none who are righteous, all who have sinned, as it lends us a comprehensive denunciation that we have all rebelled and gone after our own path.
“For all who live and breathe have sucked in red clay as they lay on their faces in failure.”- 1st Jeff 1:1.
Sooooo……now what do we do?Do we despair?Should we give up?Do we hide from God in pathetic emulation of Brother Adam and Sister Eve?Fig leaves, anyone?No, my friends, we do none of these things.We sprint to God quickly without even the thought of trying to dust ourselves free from the red-clay stains on our face.He will have to take care of that for us.When Romans 5:20 tells me that God’s grace abounds higher than my and your sin, there is a huge need for me to understand deeply what is being taught.This verse teaches that sin has increased on earth;it increased from non-existence in the Garden of Eden – it appeared on Earth’s radar for the first time.It grew in Cain’s murder of Abel.After that it simply became an undeniable part of human existence. The flood didn't wipe it out. Privilege and covenants couldn't rid us of it. Orthodox religion made it worsen. The introduction of the Law of Moses made sin able to be quantified.It went from being a “bad principle” to becoming a “specific rebellion”.God’s Law made sin to increase in that it highlighted it specifically, and its very demands trigger even more rebellion in each of us.SIN ABOUNDED!But wait…
This verse tells me that GRACE hyper-abounded (as the Greek indicates).Sin became 100 feet tall but grace is 1000 feet tall.Sin viciously rises to the 1000 feet mark – grace is now at 100,000 and hyper-abounding further still.Sin hits a home run in the top of the ninth inning;grace crushes a grand-slam in the bottom of the ninth to give me a walk-off victory.Sin fights, grace wins.Sin taunts, grace has the final word.Sin accuses, grace defends.Sin threatens to kill us, grace commits to kill sin. Sin is relentlessly stubborn, grace is eternally undaunted. Because God's grace is greater than sin, we are confident of one day seeing sin for the final time. One day...sin will simply not be.
Are you getting it?
My friend, grace is very real and it also very real in the context of YOUR life.Please remind me of this blog post the next time you find me hanging my head after some personal failure.Please encourage me that God knows of the extent and specifics of our personal sin before the word/thought/deed is ever actualized.Please instruct me that He loved us and justified us as He died for us long before I ever so much as gave Him a second thought.So today, let grace be your cushion…and, if needed, your emergency parachute.
Mark 5:35 – “Why troublest thou the Master any further?”
Because He is my only hope.
Because it is no trouble to Him at all.
Because in going to Him repeatedly I am reminded of my dependence.
Because I am afraid.
Because I believe in His compassion and care.
Because it brings great peace to leave my burden with Him.
Because it glorifies Him when I trouble Him.
Because any other alternative spells defeat.
Because I trust Him.
Because I can.
Because I have done it before and believe it avails much.
Because I am not sufficient on my own.
Because I’m tired.
Because the devil doesn’t want me to.
Because my flesh will seek to take ownership.
Because Jesus is always smiling when I trouble Him.
Because Jesus is always available when I trouble Him.
Because Jesus changes my perspective when I trouble Him.
Because Jesus tells me to trouble Him (1 Peter 5:7)
Because Peter nailed it when he asked, “Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe, and are sure, that Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.”(John 6:68-69)
From time to time I enjoy writing something that has little or no eternal weight.Forgive me but I like to remember that the Bible does not address each specific component of my earthly life.Here’s one mystery I was pondering on when I pulled up in my driveway this morning:Why do people like tiny dogs?
My neighbor has a Chihuahua named Precious who has been strutting around my yard the past few weeks.He might weigh 3 pounds and most of that is contained in those pathetic little whiskers.He’s a canine by zoological classification but he might as well be a cross between a cat and a squirrel.A dog should stand at least 18 inches off the ground, weigh somewhere around 12 pounds at minimum, and easily be able to frighten little children and a handful of adults.Precious goes 0 for 3 in this criteria and has to sit in the dugout (I would have said the doghouse but my suggestion is that Precious is not actually a dog but rather a kitten with a mustache and ego).
Don’t put sweaters on your dogs either.Dogs in sweaters always looked baffled as if they themselves understand that some unspoken law is being broken.People in third world regions have a need for clothing and we are putting knitted sweaters on our dogs and dog-impostors (see above reference concerning Precious).I wonder if all the other dogs mock the sweatered ones when they hang out in the neighborhood.If I was a dog I certainly would.I bet Precious would too if he was a dog.
Younger people rarely think of Heaven. It is that impractical, hard to define, enigmatic concept of the geography of eternity that can feel a little awkward and overwhelming. I've been asked more than once where Heaven is located. Is it within our universe? they wonder. Theologically I would have to say No because if God's abode was Heaven then He and His angels were there before the universe existed. Usually I tell people what I write this morning: I don't know the direction of Heaven but I do know its Delight. Preacher's cop-out? Maybe. Honest answer? Certainly. Sufficient to the curious? Doubtfully.
Today I will be conducting the third funeral for the family at Meadow in recent weeks. All three of those who died were men. All three were believers. I loved each one of them and knew them in varying degrees. They were important men because God had placed His own seal on them. They are with their King today and I find myself moved by the incessantly intruding reminder that there is a greater realm of existence awaiting us all. There's another place after this one. I rarely think on this but I'm drawn to the curiosity this morning because, the older I get, the more Heaven is populated with people I knew while they were with me here.
Here's some thoughts I had about my three Christian brothers this morning and all others who have arrived into the fullness of their expectation:
He left time and entered into eternity He left a world of toil and entered a world of rest He vacated a body of weakness and received a body of glory He departed from dimness and arrived in light He exchanged a walk of faith for a reward of sight He was taken from those he loved on earth and reunited with those he loves in Heaven. Groans of sadness and pain are now replaced with shouts of ecstasy and delight Tears of life’s difficulties are now supplanted by smiles of Heaven’s bliss All of life’s mysteries have given way to all of Eternity’s answers He has breathed the air of Heaven He has seen the face of Jesus He has heard the songs of angels He has beheld the throne of God He has received the fullness of his inheritance in Christ His lifelong thirst has been quenched forever. He is today perfected and is for eternity exactly as he was ever meant to be He will be there to welcome us when we arrive
Revelaiton 21:1-8 - "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away." And he who was seated on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new." Also he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true." And he said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son." {ESV}
“ For the arms of the wicked shall be broken: but the Lord upholdeth the righteous.” – Psalm 37:17
Eight years ago this morning Islamic Fundamentalism showed its horrific face in America.The servants of Allah lifted him up by bringing planes down.They slit throats, crashed planes, brought down buildings and left no question concerning who is the enemy of America.By the grace of the true God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, there have been no further successful attacks.We all, however, sense that there is an inevitability of further terrorism within our shores and we wonder each day if the ticking clock’s alarm will go off… along with a series of new explosions.
I’m not running for office so I have no qualms about writing these words:Islam is a system of belief spawned from the pit.Satan himself is the architect of Islam’s theology and philosophy.He has employed great skill in facilitating the religion that will never be satisfied until there arrives a global domination.Though intimidation and stark presumption, Islam is asking the world to take a knee while it prepares to boot us directly in the face.America is smiling as Islam draws back its leg to do exactly that.Our politicians and insipid liberal-hearted populace wants to embrace a religion that sheaths a dagger on its hip.Are we really to welcome the thief who intends to plunder us completely?Many places in Europe welcomed Islam as a temporary guest but have now realized that Islam holds the title deed to the house.Frankly, America’s blindness to this is appalling.Our pride has refused to allow for us to be awakened and smell the jet fuel.Trouble is coming and it is dressed for a long, cold winter in the thick garment of political correctness. It has no intention of returning home.
As a Christian, my foremost identity, I have compassion and mercy for blinded Muslims.I wish for them to be saved, forgiven of their sins by the blood of Jesus Christ as I have been graced to experience.I want them to be awakened from the Islamic lies that damn them.I wish for them to know the joy of oneness with God through Christ.I’ve had little interaction with Muslims on a personal level.When I have met them, I find them to possess a backbone concerning their beliefs.The ones I meet are truly convinced and live decidedly so.Unfortunately, their sincerity and commitment only further lessens the likelihood that they will ever escape their blindness.I have had the privilege of leading one Muslim to Christ and baptizing him.He was disowned by his family and can never return to Iran.He crossed a line from which he may never return.
Beyond my identity in Jesus Christ, as an American I am sickened by the spineless interaction of our nation’s leaders in dealing with radical Islam.Our blindness is fatal.You don’t shake hands with murderers; you flee them or kill them.Are my words harsh?They must be.When dealing with extremists you cannot afford to take a moderate view.Extremism swallows moderation every time and I personally prefer for my children not to grow up in a country which resides in the belly of Islam.I keep waiting for somebody in politics to arise and sacrifice his political future by calling out Islam for what it is: a damning religion founded upon stealth and established for world domination.Perhaps if only one or two politicians with a platform would martyr his or her political career then others would follow them.If some would be willing to live with the grit that my grandfather’s generation lived with then we might have hope of extracting ourselves from the eventual swamp of nothingness.America believes everything so we are amounting to nothing.Islam gives us a steely gaze and a feigned smile and invites us to negotiate.After all, this peace-loving religion simply wants equality in the eyes of the world.That’s the equivalent of saying that Jack the Ripper was simply seeking companionship in London in the late 1800’s.Oh America, blessed beyond the wildest dreams of all, prospered like few if any before us, resolute in conviction for 200 years…how great is our fall if we choose not to see.
Today is September 11th.Do we remember?Do we still care?
“We can say with confidence and a clear conscience that we have lived with a God-given holiness and sincerity in all our dealings. We have depended on God's grace, not on our own human wisdom. That is how we have conducted ourselves before the world, and especially toward you.” 2 Corinthians 1:12-13
We have learned that a clear conscience is a must have during times of crisis.Paul was writing to the Corinthians in Chapter 1 and detailing to them some of the severe difficulties he had experienced while Following the Lord.He had spoken of being stretched so severely that he had literally lost the confidence that he was going to survive.He then theologized that his same stretch of suffering was to teach him that he should never and could never ultimately trust in his own abilities and resources.He stated that this ability of God’s to deliver had given him confidence that God would deliver again in the future.Paul had no problem letting the Corinthians know that he was growing in his own practical trusting of God.
Then we come to the verses above which are good food for our souls today.Paul testified that God had imparted unto him the ability to live with a clean confidence that he maintained his integrity with the Corinthians.There were some in the Corinth community of believers who were accusing Paul.They were operating in a way that discredited him which, in turn, was hindering the effectiveness of his work for Christ.Paul was forced to respond with this second letter to them in which he defended his apostleship and ministry.I find that he characterized this difficult-to-do process as being handled with dependence “upon God’s grace, not on our own human wisdom”.
Do you know how to do this?Do you know how to make certain that you are dealing with today’s difficulty in a conscience-clearing, holy reliance upon God’s grace?Let me suggest two words that may help you get a mental picture of what this means: LOOSE GRIP.You are not allowed to abandon the call to deal with difficulty, but you are to manage these things with a loose grip.A loose grip signifies two things to us:
1. I am involved and actively engaged in my own responsibility in the affairs of my life.I have not thrown my hands up in despair and ignored my part of dealing with life’s difficulties. I have a hand on things, but my hand is not stubbornly clutching.
2. I am doing my part with a loose grip so that God may intervene at any given moment and remove, rearrange, or replace whatever I am dealing with.I’m refusing to clutch my life, or parts of my life, in order to accomplish my agenda.I’m responsibly involved, but eager and willing for God to fully take over in any way He chooses.
Paul had people problems at Corinth and he would not walk away, nor would he seize control.His submission to and rest in God’s sovereignty allowed the possibility for him to lay down his head with a clear conscience about how he was handling things.He even had the boldness to tell the Corinthians that he was especially sure that he had handled the difficulties with them properly.His yieldedness brought about the result of a healthy detachment from the chaos and strife.He was involved but not immersed. They might have been stirred up, but Paul was settled down.
Think about this today when your spouse is bothering you (no worries, Amy and I are fine).If you have children that just don’t appreciate who you are and what you do, just remember LOOSE GRIP.Are your job demands impossible, your coworkers less than committed, and your boss aloof and unimpressed?LOOSE GRIP.Even the Apostle Paul acknowledged that he was being allowed testing in order to season his soul with the truth that he should never trust in his own abilities and resources.God’s hand would never go slack on Paul’s behalf, therefore Paul’s own grip could loosen up.
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