Joy That Remains

A main theme in the book of Jeremiah is the need of God's people to repent of sin and return to the LORD.  The fact the prophet addressed people of Israel who were in a covenant with God is compelling for all Christians who are partakers of the new covenant in Christ's blood.  I don't know if there is a worse feeling for Christians who know they are in unrepentant sin and harden their hearts against God and His word.  I imagine this is a reason people can be averse to going to church and hearing God's word preached--for lack of contrition for sin and refusal to repent makes them resemble uncomfortable children awaiting punishment.  I would rather be on the other side of discipline, having apologised and embraced parents who affirmed their love for me.  The sting of discipline was quickly over as I went my way walking on air, everything set right again with parents who loved me enough to correct me.

When God brings brokenness for sin and we finally yield to His correction, repentance leads to great rejoicing.  We see this in the book of Nehemiah, for upon hearing the word of God the people wept for their sin.  Nehemiah 8:10 says, "Then he said to them, "Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our LORD. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the LORD is your strength."  It is natural for us to want those who do wrong to realise they have done wrong and express sorrow for harm they caused, and we might continue to beat ourselves up for sins committed long ago.  God identifies our sin, not so we would hopelessly wallow in our sinfulness and failure to please God, but so we might repent, be forgiven and restored to fellowship with God and one another in the church.  Jesus has provided atonement for sin by His own blood so sinners can be cleansed of all shame, guilt and offence and be declared righteous by faith in Him.  Sin depresses us, but God is the lifter of our head and sets us on our feet on the solid Rock of Salvation.  No longer is sin a perpetual cause of sorrow, for "the joy of the LORD is your strength."

Think about when the prodigal son returned to his father:  he willingly returned and humbled himself before his father, well aware of his shameful conduct and how he wasted his father's goods.  The father did not look upon him with condemnation and gruffly rehearse his vile conduct to shame him:  his father ran, kissed and embraced him!  He rejoiced his son was now found and organised a feast to celebrate his son's return.  The repentance of his son--a change of mind that led him to change his ways and return to his father--was the cause of great rejoicing for the father, son, household and in heaven.  There wasn't any joy for the erring prodigal in the pigpen:  it was in his father's house there was only joy and gladness.  The "strength" the joy of the LORD is a word in Hebrew that means refuge, a fortress and defence.  Secure in God's love for us and joy over us, we rejoice and delight to share His love with others.

Jesus said in John 15:9-12, "As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. ¹⁰ If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love. ¹¹ These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. ¹² This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you."  Joy is a fruit of the Spirit, and Jesus has spoken to us so His joy may remain in us.  His joy isn't fleeting or fickle, for Jesus gives fullness of joy we can experience that exceeds happiness from what happens.  Knowing we will see Jesus who will never leave or forsake us brings joy no one can take away as Jesus said in John 16:22:  "...you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you."  How wonderful is our Saviour Jesus, for He can turn our sorrow into joy that remains.

On God's Side

There is a phrase I hear occasionally, and I have never liked it.  It is a phrase often used to justify what could be called "progressive" yet is often dismissive of other valid perspectives and nothing more than thinly veiled ideology.  I read the city of Sydney has outlawed installation of gas ranges in the CBD and will only allow electric cooktops to avoid "being on the wrong side of history."  This is complete silliness to me, for the vast majority of electricity production in NSW is supplied by coal.  Since natural gas is cleaner burning than coal and produces less carbon dioxide, wouldn't it be more environmentally conscious to cook with natural gas rather than electricity generated primarily by burning coal?  Should we try to impress future generations and alienate those who cook with gas as careless for the environment or clueless today?  Do we look down upon those in previous generations who cooked their food over word or charcoal?  Those who want to avoid being "on the wrong side of history" very well might be by pushing their overweening agenda.

We live in a world where pleasing others is highly incentivised.  There isn't so much a payoff for being politically correct and progressive, but there can be a high price for sharing unpopular personal views or convictions.  Our desire to be accepted and respected, to be viewed as an ally rather than an enemy, provides selfish motivation to "go with the flow"--or to at least put on a good show for others to see.  I would put myself in the category of a natural "people pleaser," to want others to think well of me.  As followers of Jesus, we must decide if we will work to please people or choose to please God who loves and saves us.  Our motivation after coming to Christ is to change completely as Paul wrote in Colossians 3:22-24:  "Bondservants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but in sincerity of heart, fearing God. ²³ And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, ²⁴ knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ."  We ought to put forth effort to please God above all, for a "Well done!" from God forever is better than the fickle approval of man.

Jesus said to His disciples in Matthew 10:34-38:  "Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. ³⁵ For I have come to 'set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law'; ³⁶ and 'a man's enemies will be those of his own household.' ³⁷ He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. ³⁸ And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me."  To side with Jesus as being the Messiah and God in human flesh and to love Him set people opposite those who castigated Jesus as a demon-possessed disturber of the peace.  To follow Christ meant choosing His way of living, to value pleasing Him over ourselves, our parents or friends; to embrace dying to self for His sake rather than counting our lives precious to us and trying to spare ourselves suffering.  Being on the "right" or "wrong side of history" does not factor into this equation, for it is what God says that matters most.

When Jehu rode into Samaria, painted Jezebel looked down upon Jehu (literally and figuratively) and chided him for doing exactly what God commanded him to do:  to bring judgment upon Ahab's wicked house.  Jehu called out to the eunuchs who attended to the queen, "Who is on my side?  Who?"  The eunuchs he addressed needed to decide who they would please:  Queen Jezebel or Jehu who had been anointed king by God.  Their choice was required to be public and immediate, for he commanded them in 2 Kings 9:33:  "Throw her down!"  By the wisdom and discernment of God's word Christians are called in 2 Corinthians 10:5 to be "...casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ...".  As born again followers of Jesus who is our life, our call is to live to please Him.  This means casting down all the ways and wisdom of the world God calls foolishness, and to joyfully entrust ourselves to His loving care.

There is freedom in the body of Christ to have different views about the use of an electric or gas range; there is freedom to have opinions whether a council should make sweeping laws with a desire to avoid being on the "wrong side of history."  But when it comes to living to please people, ourselves, or our LORD, Jesus made it clear where our priorities should lie:  that we ought to live worthy of Christ by following His example, sincerely obeying God from the heart in the fear of God.  We are not worthy, but by faith and obedience to Christ we can live in a worthy manner that fully pleases God, being fruitful in every work, and increasing in the knowledge of God (Col. 1:10).  Being on God's side ought to be our priority.

All Scripture Inspired by God

The old cliche goes, "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink."  From the perspective of someone who has never owned a horse, what I draw from this adage is sometimes we are incapable of making animals or anyone do what they are unwilling to do.  A horse is a big, strong animal, and for a horse to drink it must be willing to stoop to the level of the water and utilise muscles to swallow.  Leading a horse to water may sometimes be a bridge too far, much less forcing a horse to drink!

I recently considered something Jesus said in regards to willingness and faith.  He spoke of poor Lazarus being comforted in Abraham's bosom while a rich man was tormented in Hades.  The rich man asked Abraham to send Lazarus from the grave back to his brothers to warn them they were headed to eternal damnation so they might avoid torment.  Abraham replied in Luke 16:31:  "But he said to him, 'If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.'"  Abraham was convinced the Law and prophets contain all the necessary facts, wisdom and power bring a person to a place of repentance for sin and faith in God, but the sticking point is one of willingness:  people are unwilling to believe.  To receive salvation and walk in wisdom people must be willing to believe, to submit to the truth of God's word and the Gospel declared to them.  Even miracles and reliable eyewitnesses are incapable of making a stubborn sinner believe who is unwilling.

This leads to another observation:  professing Christians who do not believe the Bible is the inerrant word of God.  Because they are unwilling to be confronted and submit themselves to the word of God, they adopt a faithless and blasphemous position that follows this pattern:  God's word was penned by fallible people, so the Bible has mistakes and is not wholly reliable.  This is a ludicrous position that undermines their own salvation and asserts God is incapable and unable to communicate His word through human beings when God's word expressly says otherwise.  Gone is any chance of determining the accuracy of prophecy or theology when the Bible itself is hopelessly out of plumb and crooked.  2 Timothy 3:16-17 says, "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, ¹⁷ that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work."  Ironically, these self-righteous hacks who foolishly claim the Bible is not the pure word of God assert they are the ones to rightly sift the wheat from the chaff and instruct others by the dictates of their own corrupt hearts.

It is dishonest for people to assert they cannot be convinced by the truth of scripture when it is actually a matter of the will:  they will not submit to God's word that has been carefully communicated, miraculously delivered and preserved by God.  How many times in the Bible does the "word of the LORD" come to people who speak it faithfully to people who will not receive it?  This rejection of God's pure word is nothing new.  God regards His word highly as it is written in Psalm 138:2:  "I will worship toward Your holy temple, and praise Your name for Your lovingkindness and Your truth; for You have magnified Your word above all Your name."  Jesus said it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one tittle (stroke of a letter) of God's Law to fail (Luke 16:17), and Peter affirms the accuracy of godly prophets in 2 Peter 1:21:  "...for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit."  Those who dispute the accuracy of the Law, Prophets and New Testament and will not hear them, such will not believe--even if Lazarus rose from the dead to rebuke them.  Praise God He is able to do what man cannot!

Obvious As Jacarandas in Bloom

Today I had a chat with friends who planned to go and see an area famous for its jacarandas in bloom.  As I thought it over, it dawned on me I could not remember seeing any jacarandas recently, which are known for their bright purple flowers--messy but beautiful!  On my way home from church I decided to be on the lookout for jacarandas, and I was shocked by how many I had driven by and not noticed.  After hearing about jacarandas in bloom, it seemed wherever I looked they were easy to find.  They were so prevalent it was incredible I had failed to notice seeing them bloom this spring.

My attention being drawn to jacarandas reminds me of what God does when we are born again by faith in Jesus and read His word.  The Holy Spirit opens our eyes to see Jesus throughout the whole Bible.  Jesus is not merely central to the Gospels but every book of the whole Bible, for His character, power and wisdom are clearly revealed.  As the Creator and Saviour of the world, all the scripture points to Jesus who is the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last.  By His word the heavens, earth and all living things were created, and before God who sits on the throne the heavens and earth will flee.

Once your heart and mind is opened to Jesus in faith, He opens our eyes to behold Him throughout the Scripture.  Today I thought of Jesus the KING OF KINGS as I read Isaiah 32:1-2, for He is the only One who can truly do these words justice:  "Behold, a king will reign in righteousness, and princes will rule with justice. ² A man will be as a hiding place from the wind, and a cover from the tempest, as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land."  Paul wrote Christians are of Jesus who is unto us righteousness, the only begotten Son of God who will dash the heathen as earthen vessels with a rod of iron.  The resurrected Jesus Himself spoke of His divine authority and those to whom He grants it in Revelation 2:27-28.  Verse 2 is fulfilled perfectly by the almighty God who is our refuge, shelter from the storm, supplies a fountain of living water in a dry place, provides shade from the Rock of Salvation and gives rest for our souls.

From beginning to end, the verses of Isaiah captivated me with allusions to God's protection, provision, presence and wondrous promises.  As the presence of God guided, protected and provided for the children of Israel after their miraculous exodus from Egypt, so Jesus will do all for those who trust in Him, hearing and doing what He has said.  He likened all who do so to a wise man who built his house upon the rock in Matthew 7:25:  "...and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock."  In His wisdom God does not prevent the clouds from obscuring the light, keeps the rain from falling or floods from rising:  what He does is allow us to realise our need and prove His strength, sufficiency and faithfulness through the storm in this life, to show Himself worthy of our trust forever.  Some fault God for wind, tempests, droughts and weariness when He is able to supply our need for righteousness and all things that pertain to life so we might know, love and fear Him as our rightful King.

If people are drawn to see jacarandas in bloom, how much more ought we be drawn to open the Bible and behold the wonder and glory of Jesus Christ who created all things, the only begotten Son of God who is righteousness for us!