God Prepares Hearts

Even in societies that have forsaken God, God is gracious and faithful to preserve a remnant for Himself.  The prophet Elijah lamented he was the "only one" who was zealous for the LORD's sake in Israel, but God had reserved 7,000 who had not bowed once to Baal (1 Kings 19:18).  After Jeroboam became king over the 10 northern tribes of Israel, he was instrumental in establishing the worship of idols throughout the kingdom.  He rejected God fearing priests and Levites from serving the LORD and sanctified priests of the lowest (character-wise) of his subjects.

The priests and Levites took a stand against the king's abominable idolatry by leaving the lands given them as an inheritance and moving their families to the territory of Judah and the city of Jerusalem.  These men refused to bow the knee to the calf idols Jeroboam set up and remained faithful to the LORD.  The rise of king-sanctioned idolatry resulted in a revival of true worship in the hearts of those who took a stand to honour God all across the land as 2 Chronicles 11:13 says:  "And from all their territories the priests and the Levites who were in all Israel took their stand with him."  With one heart and mind to serve the LORD, God galvanised the faith of His faithful servants--and used a wicked ruler to set it in motion.

One might imagine the illiterate and uneducated in the land were like lambs sent to the slaughter because of Jeroboam's idolatrous ways, yet God is able to guide those who fear Him to walk in wisdom even when accountability before men is low.  2 Chronicles 11:16 reads, "And after the Levites left, those from all the tribes of Israel, such as set their heart to seek the LORD God of Israel, came to Jerusalem to sacrifice to the LORD God of their fathers."  Like the Levites, those from all the tribes of Israel who set their heart to seek the LORD God continued to travel to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices at the annual feasts, and brought tithes and freewill offerings.  They rejected the lure of convenience to offer sacrifices to the LORD at the high places Jeroboam set up, for they set their heart to seek God at His temple.

Praise God He is the same yesterday, today and forever.  God has promised all who seek Him will find Him regardless of how secular a society, government or rulers might be like in Deuteronomy 4:29:  "But from there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul."  God does not weigh our worthiness but is looking for people who seek God with all their heart so He might reveal Himself according to the riches of His grace.  Those who do not prepare their hearts to seek the LORD will do evil (2 Chronicles 12:14), and God holds each person responsible to prepare their hearts to seek Him.  Any who prepare their heart to seek God can know this is evidence of His working in our hearts and lives (Proverbs 16:1).  Let us glory in our awesome God as it is written in Psalm 105:3:  "Glory in His holy name; let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the LORD!"

Scraping Off Scale

The LORD gave me a good object lesson today with the lime tree at our house that has been beset by scale insects.  No matter what treatments or care I have provided, the saga always continues!  When I stand at the kitchen window I always am on the lookout for scale, and there are times I can see them easily.  What I have learned is whether I see them or not from the kitchen, if I walk up close and look patiently and hard, gently lifting branches and leaves by hand, I will most certainly find scale all over.  Even though the tree is diminutive and the leaves fairly sparse (likely a combination of highly alkaline soil, Neem spray and those troublesome pests!), once I start searching for scale to remove by hand it can be a time-consuming process.

It struck me how finding scale under one branch or leaf leads to me finding more scale elsewhere.  This is an apt illustration how every person in the church of Jesus Christ has their problems and sin that easily latches onto us.  If all the people in the church are represented by leaves on my tree, it is apparent that all of us have our problems whether it be sin or flaws in our character.  One only need linger and look more carefully and undoubtedly our inconsistencies, hypocrisies, unbelief and pride would be apparent to the keen eyes of others--having vast personal experience and thus awareness of these chronic problems ourselves.

Sometimes problems in the lives of people or in relationships are brought to our attention through interactions at church.  For all the problems we know about in a church, know there are countless more troubles, issues and sins than can be counted.  Even if we were to try to tackle every one of them, like scale on leaves many problems would evade our notice and more will become apparent in time.  We can feel like people are picking on us when our problems are brought to light and pointed out, but I assure you I have no ill will against any leaf on the tree--whether it is fresh growth, is wrinkled, dusty with mould, or has holes eaten through it.  It is not fun and enjoyable in itself to stand in the sun and scrape off scale that will be back in a day (literally!), but it is good for the tree to have someone looking after it.

I observe and scrape away the scale for the good of each leaf and the whole tree, and sometimes it stings.  Citrus trees have sharp little spines, and these easily penetrate the skin of fingers and leave them sore.  In a similar way, it can be hard and hurt to address the speck in the eye of a brother even after we have removed the plank from our own eye.  Feeling rejected, dismissed or judged unfairly when we take action for the good of others and the health of the body of Christ can be painful, but if we love Christ and one another sometimes it must be done.  There is healing for our hearts in the LORD who loves us and gave His life for our sakes.  We can rejoice the LORD examines our hearts and minds continually as He dwells within us, and He works faithfully to convict us of sin so we can repent and be cleansed of all iniquity and be restored to fellowship with Him and one another.

Galatians 6:1 reads, "Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted."  Our tendency to ignore  dealing with sin in ourselves or others is almost as chronic as our persistence to sin in the first place.  It is easy to see how this is a vicious cycle that hinders repentance, humility and unity in God's love, grace and mercy.  As Christians we are not called to ferret out and condemn others for their sin but to confess our sins to the LORD and repent.  When it comes to our attention someone else is overtaken in any trespass, we are called to seek their restoration to fellowship with God and one another with gentleness.  It might be easier to rip leaves infested with scale off the tree, and that is how you kill a tree.  Let us take heed we do not cut off whom Jesus has grafted in.

When we are in a position where we have become aware of someone's struggles, troubles or sins, we can become impatient and judgmental.  This is evidence of spiritual immaturity--regardless of how much we know or how upright we see ourselves by comparison.  Praise the LORD He has made us members of the body of Christ where we can help one another be restored rather than being cast off for our mistakes.  God provides all members of the body of Christ opportunity for salvation by the Gospel, and He also generously offers opportunities for forgiveness, restoration and personal transformation.  As God identifies our sin and unbelief, He wisely connects our lives with other Christians who help us scrape away the scale and cleanse one another so we can be be healthy contributors to the whole church by His grace.

Building Our Lives Right

Yesterday during a Bible study at church, our group briefly discussed 1 Corinthians 3:11-13:  "For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. ¹² Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, ¹³ each one's work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one's work, of what sort it is."  More important than a structure itself is that it is built securely upon a foundation.  Our Bible study leader showed how Jesus took aim at hypocrites who focused on appearances and what could be seen by men whilst they neglected to put the teachings of the LORD Jesus into practice.  God looks at the heart--what is under the surface--and repenting of our hypocrisy, hearing and doing what Jesus says is the way to build our lives on a solid foundation.

A point that was made concerning the various building materials Paul mentioned was gold, silver, and precious stones are concealed underground and must be sought by mining while wood, hay and straw are found on the surface.  In the context of Paul's words, the issue at hand is the second group of three materials are all flammable, whilst gold, silver and precious stones can endure the fire.  Interestingly gold and silver can be purified by fire, and it is fire that will "test each one's work, of what sort it is."  Another contrast between the two groups of building materials is the second group is comprised of living things that are now dead and dried out.  Hebrews 9:14 suggests our need to have a conscience cleansed from "dead works to serve the living God" by the blood of Jesus, and good works are not able to pardon from sin or save a soul.  The first grouping is comprised of basic elements (some precious stones) that remain unchanged while the second group slowly will break down and decay into dust.

Paul explained how believers can choose the good foundation of Jesus Christ by the Gospel but build our lives poorly because our thoughts and ways are not His.  We do well to begin a relationship with God by faith in Jesus, but we can ignore or depart from His wisdom.  Christians are all given the choice and opportunity to use the precious materials supplied by God's grace to build a life that will endure by faith in God and His promises, repent of sin, to seek to cultivate godly character and motives to glorify our LORD, to embrace sound doctrine, and obedience to Jesus in the fear of God.  Since believers are the temple of the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, He spiritually regenerates us to be fruitful, guides us into all truth, and helps us follow God's will and plans for our lives.  It is our responsibility to submit to His leading, believe God's word and receive encouragement.  God puts our lives to the test long before the final judgment as by fire, for God employs trials, conflicts and relationships to reveal our quality of character--whether it is like Christ or according to the ways of this world.

The only solid and enduring foundation for our lives is Jesus Christ who laid down His life for us, and the way we think, speak and live matters.  Let us be as wise master builders who choose to use quality materials to structure our lives--faith, hope and love--that will endure forever.  We also ought to consider what we adorn our lives with and what storage vessels are allowed to remain.  Paul explained in a great house there were vessels of gold and silver as well as wood and earth, vessels of honour and dishonour.  We are to purge our lives of error and godless chatter as 2 Timothy 2:21-23 affirms:  "Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work. ²² Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart."  Holding fast to Jesus, fleeing from sin and pursuing what is good with fellow Christians is the way to build our lives and please God.

Solomon's Wise Request

King Solomon demonstrated great wisdom before he famously requested wisdom from God.  He would write in Proverbs 4:5-7:  "Get wisdom! Get understanding! Do not forget, nor turn away from the words of my mouth. ⁶ Do not forsake her, and she will preserve you; love her, and she will keep you. ⁷ Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom. and in all your getting, get understanding."  God is the only source of wisdom, and the Bible shows us how Jesus Christ has become wisdom for us through the Gospel.  Solomon's interaction with God who revealed Himself to Solomon reveals a parallel with the way Jesus directed His disciples to pray.

After Solomon offered a thousand sacrifices before the LORD in Gibeon, that night God appeared to Solomon and said, "Ask!  What shall I give you?"  If you were posed such a question, how might you respond?  I suspect our responses would be similar to rehearsed answers of what we would do if we "won the lottery" or if Aladdin's genie emerged from a bottle and gave us three wishes.  Many people are not content with the offer of one thing (or even three wishes!) but would try to secure the biggest and best possible haul by having more than what was offered.  How greedy and selfish we can be!  What strikes me is Solomon's initial thoughts did not concern himself:  on the forefront of his mind was who God was, what God had done, all God had promised, and His call upon Solomon's life.  It is only when we consider these things will our requests be aligned with God's will.

2 Chronicles 1:8-10 provides Solomon's answer:  "And Solomon said to God: "You have shown great mercy to David my father, and have made me king in his place. ⁹ Now, O LORD God, let Your promise to David my father be established, for You have made me king over a people like the dust of the earth in multitude. ¹⁰ Now give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out and come in before this people; for who can judge this great people of Yours?"  Solomon acknowledged the almighty God's mercy towards his father David, and that God had promised to establish his father's throne forever.  He also acknowledged God's calling upon his life to be king and realised he was incapable to fulfil this calling without God's help.  For these reasons Solomon asked for wisdom and knowledge to judge God's people.  Solomon would experience what apostle John explained in 1 John 5:14-15:  "Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. ¹⁵ And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him."  Not only does God hear and answer our prayers according to His will, but He generously provides more than we can ask or think.

In His response, God mentioned many things Solomon could have asked for in 2 Chronicles 1:11-12:  "And God said to Solomon: "Because this was in your heart, and you have not asked riches or wealth or honor or the life of your enemies, nor have you asked long life--but have asked wisdom and knowledge for yourself, that you may judge My people over whom I have made you king--¹² wisdom and knowledge are granted to you; and I will give you riches and wealth and honor, such as none of the kings have had who were before you, nor shall any after you have the like."  Solomon did not ask for wisdom with the ulterior motive of hoping God would throw everything else in, but he prayed according to God's will to fulfil God's promise and calling upon His life.  When we receive Jesus as Saviour by faith who is wisdom for us (1 Cor. 1:30-31), He provides all we need that pertains to life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3).  To walk with Christ by faith is to walk in wisdom, and we ought to treasure Him more than all riches, wealth and honour in this world.

Jesus stood outside the door of the lukewarm church of Laodicea and knocked, and He has promised to come in a dine with all believers who open to Him.  Just because a couple is married doesn't mean they live in the same house, eat meals together, have deep conversations, sleep in the same room--or even like each other.  How tragic it would be for our relationship with God to be reduced to a utilitarian relationship, that we only identify as Christians because of what we can get from God, where there is little thought of God throughout the day, and we are more interested in seeing our plans or dreams fulfilled rather than His will for us revealed in Scripture.  Do we look forward to praying with joyful expectation as we seek the LORD and spend time with Him?  In our praying let us remember what God has done, all He has promised, and what He has called us to do and make our requests to see His will accomplished in and through us.