13 October 2009

Mixed Signals

Drunk driving is a scourge across much of the world today, and Australia is no exception.  As I've been driving around more, I've seen something that to me sends a mixed message:  drive-through liquor stores.  No joke, simply drive up to a stall and the alcohol is brought to you.  The wonder of modern convenience!

Another interesting factoid is the scarcity of "Stop" signs.  I have been in Australia for three weeks as of tomorrow, and today I saw my first "Stop" sign.  Instead of where "Stop" signs would be, there is a triangular white and red sign that reads, "Give Way," the Australia version of the "Yield" sign common to the USA.  Instead of lights or four-way-stops, the "Give Way" sign adorns countless left hand turns and roundabouts.

In thinking about the difference between "Giving Way" and "Stop" signs, "Giving Way" is subjective and "Stop" is objective.  I think human nature happily gives way to outside influence, like sand cliffs under a Southern California beachfront property!  We don't want to stop.  We want to choose our own way.  We don't want a law that demands exact compliance!  Stopping is not subjective.  You either come to a complete stop or you don't.

The world is always influencing us to "Give Way" for worldly wisdom, philosophy, and "anything goes."  Sometimes it can be confusing when we have all this worldly influence pressed into our minds.  I praise God for the "Stop" signs He has put in my life.  I can tell you that without God's boundaries and limits, I would happily be on my way to hell!  I have seen my transgression of God's perfect law, and it is only through faith in Christ that I can be forgiven and saved.  That is why we must remain grounded upon the solid Word of God that does not change, and build upon the foundation that is Jesus Christ.  Those who hear the words of Jesus and do them are likened to a man that builds his house upon the rock.  The "foundation" of this world is sand that will give way under the slightest pressure.

"Stop" means "Stop."  God's Word is holy, righteous, true, and does not alter.  Like the One who authored it, it cannot and will not ever change.  That is Good News, Gospel truth to those who have ears to hear!

12 October 2009

Quit or Keep Running?

When I was in High School, I ran on the cross country team for three seasons.  Running was never a passion of mine, but it has helped me identify personally when Paul talks about running the race that God has set before him.  The race is a jumble of nerves, strain, exhaustion, and determination.  Few things are a taxing as running.  One thing that is more taxing in every way is following Jesus.

There was a annual race that we ran called the El Cap invitational, the first race of the season.  All three years I ran the race there were different memorable circumstances.  My first race was the only race of my "unillustrious" running career that I did not finish.  It is a source of embarrassment for me, because I could have finished.  I made more of an injury than necessary.  I turned my ankle halfway through, and my pace slowed.  Too proud to limp to the finish, I quit.  My placement would have been very poor - maybe even last - and in my mind I thought, "It's just an Invitational.  It really doesn't matter anyway..."  It was one of those justifications that showed a lack of character.  I've seen people walk to the finish line, working through cramps or extreme exhaustion.  To them, finishing was the key accomplishment.  If I couldn't finish well, I didn't want to finish at all.

That's how some treat their walk with Jesus Christ.  They've started strong, but they have sustained emotional injuries along the way.  Some have been deeply hurt by Christians or become disillusioned by people they've looked up to or counted on.  Perhaps you have been hurt by the assaults of the devil, or ensnared in sin that has separated you from contact with Jesus Christ.  You are facing a real temptation to quit:  quit a marriage, quit loving and giving like Christ, quit even following Christ.  Forget walking to the finish, forget working through the pain.  If I had to do it all over again, I would have finished the race based on principle alone.  The chief reason I didn't finish is because I was ashamed that people would scoff at my poor performance.  Not finishing at all is far worse.  When we consider the spiritual application, to not finish your Christian walk is to be disqualified, and that excludes us from heaven.  Saving face is nothing compared to losing your soul!

The second time I ran the Invitational we had just returned from a team-building camp in the Cuyamaca Mountains.  I brought new running shoes for the trip and that was a huge mistake!  Because of the winding trails and the type of shoe, I developed a blister on the bottom of my heel that was the size of a silver dollar.  It was both deep and painful.  I decided to run the Invitational anyway, and even though I drained it before the race by the end of the race the blister was literally the entire bottom of my heel.  With every step, my heel reminded me that it was not all well!  Paul talked about a "thorn in the flesh," a "messenger of Satan" that hindered him in his walk with the Lord.  Paul overcame this thorn, but it was a dogfight.  Sometimes we think that the Christian walk will be easy without hindrances.  When we allow God to give us new hearts we grow in sensitivity.  Thing will happen along our race that is painful, either to our bodies, hearts, or minds.  Jesus was a man of sorrow, well-acquainted with grief.  He gave such love only to be rejected by His own.  As Paul bore in his body the physical marks of abuse at the hands of evil men, so we will have our wounds along the way.  But we are more than overcomers through Christ, and He will give us the strength to finish well.

My final race at El Cap was memorable too, though I was not directly involved.  I had a teammate on Grossmont High School's varsity team named Richard K.  He loved to run, but I never saw him as a tough guy - that is, until that final race.  Richard had a lean build, and no one could have ever mistaken him for a wrestler, boxer, or someone with the temperament of a pit bull.  About 80 varsity runners lined up for the start and the gun went off.  The pack was squeezed in a narrow area and for the first 100 yards you need to mind knees and elbows.  Right in front of me, three or four guys hit the pavement and took down Richard with them.  I hurdled over the pile and had no time to even look over my shoulder.  Before I could even let my mind drift about how Richard was doing, he blew right past me like I was standing still, knees and elbows bleeding, a look of fierce determination across his face.  I have no idea how far I finished behind him, but I guarantee you that I saw him in a new light after that.  He had my confidence not only as a teammate but a man.

The thing about following Jesus is that sometimes we are going to get knocked down.  Satan and circumstances have ways of landing gut shots and spine tingling uppercuts that throw us off our feet.  It might be an illness, a relationship, your boss, trials, persecutions, or perhaps you lose your footing.  Richard didn't fall on his own:  he was taken down.  The devil wants nothing more for you to be taken down by others and to lose your witness.  Our God is able to keep us from stumbling, but if we do fall He is able to lift up our heads, place us back on our feet, and we can jump back in the race.  May each of us be able to say like Paul in 2 Tim. 4:7:  "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."  We all have been given a race to run.  We can either quit or jump to our feet and push harder for the finish than ever before.  There will be pain, and there will be nagging injuries.  We will be tempted to quit.  But the fact still remains:  if God is for us, who can be against us?

11 October 2009

To suffer or not to suffer...

Suffering is a natural by-product of life upon the earth diseased with sin.  Everyone will experience suffering to some extent:  hunger, sickness, disease, loss, separation, disappointment, sorrow, abuse, pain, death, including the emotional suffering from being misunderstood, backstabbed, ignored, neglected, molested, bullied, hated, attacked, mocked, or ridiculed.  People do not dream of suffering someday like others dream of winning the lottery:  "It might just be me..."  Suffering and life go together.  But life is not all suffering, of course.  There are great joys, pleasures, friends, adventures, loves, successes, triumphs, blessings, sports, hobbies, and family.  Every good and perfect gift comes from God, who gives to all without partiality.

People typically do not invite suffering upon themselves, but try to avoid it at all costs.  What makes a Christian different from typical people is when he commits his life to Jesus Christ, he agrees to suffer for the sake of Christ.  He has invited suffering into his life.  What the world doesn't understand, however, is that suffering draws us close to God as we identify with Christ.  As we walk down the path He leads us, there will be suffering.  The fruit of suffering is a deep, satisfying, intimate, amazingly beautiful relationship with God.  When we talk of a life of faith in Christ, we would be remiss to ignore suffering and focus on the peace, joy, forgiveness, and fulfillment that comes from God.  All these wonderful, desirable qualities can be found in the midst of suffering when we look to Jesus.

The world recoils at the thought of suffering, too foolish understand that they suffer alone.  People without Christ suffer now for their sin and will reap the eternal consequences after death in hell.  They suffer without the promises of God, the sure hope of salvation, forgiveness, and rot in their grief, shame, guilt, and condemnation.  They suffer intolerably alone.  But how precious is suffering for a child of God through faith in Christ, not that he wishes to suffer,  but suffering is a means that God will use to grow a man's faith and cause Him to cry out to the one who can hear and save and is willing to do so.  A Christian is no fool for suffering, for suffering is common to men.  Should a man suffer for his folly, he is to be blamed:  but if a man suffer for doing right, he is to be commended.  If a man should suffer for his righteous Savior, he will be commended by God and receive a hundredfold in this life and in eternal life to come.

Do you know that suffering is a requirement to follow Jesus?  In my devotions this morning, I read this passage in 2 Thes. 1:4-5 which says, "...so that we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that you endure, [5] which is manifest evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you also suffer..."  God is righteous to allow us to suffer persecutions and tribulations that we may be counted worthy of God's kingdom.  Peter understood suffering well when he wrote in 1 Peter 5:10: "But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you."  Jesus is clear that suffering for His sake is not optional for a believer.  It is our heritage and through it ripens countless blessings.  Jesus said in John 16:33, "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."  The world is not worthy to suffer for the sake of Christ.  Only His redeemed are worthy.  After Peter and John were beaten for preaching on behalf of Christ, this response is recorded in Acts 5:41:  "So they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name."

How is it that so many miss the necessity of suffering for Christ in their Evangelism 101 courses?  I thought Jesus made suffering compulsory for His followers in Luke 9:23 when He said, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me."  Taking up the cross is a lot of hard work.  It's dirty business denying yourself and carrying the means of your own execution.  If we seek to save our lives we will lose it.  Yet if we lose our lives for Christ's sake, we will find it!  I love Peter's succinct words in 1 Peter 4:12-13:  "Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; [13] but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy."  It is through suffering for Christ that we find cause for great rejoicing!  If we partake of Christ's sufferings, then we will also partake in the power of His resurrection, ascension, and glorification!

Because of my current situation of being separated from my wife and kids, the text in Mark 10:28-30 has increased significance for me right now:  "Then Peter began to say to Him, "See, we have left all and followed You." [29] So Jesus answered and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel's, [30] who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time--houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions--and in the age to come, eternal life."  You do not need to go to a foreign place to suffer for Jesus.  You do not need to physically be separated from friends and family.  When you obey the leading of Jesus Christ, you will end up suffering because it is contrary to what the world would do.  Jesus was persecuted and hated first, and if you stand for what He stands for, the suffering will come.  The storms of persecution will come, but Jesus will always be with you to calm those storms with His Word and divine presence.

But before we think it is ever wise to glory in our suffering, let us read Romans 8:16-18:  "The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, [17] and if children, then heirs--heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. [18] For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us."  Our suffering is nothing to be compared with the glory that God will reveal in us.  At the end we will say, "What suffering?"  No suffering can compare to the knowledge of God and His glorious presence.  That is something we can enjoy right now according the grace, mercy, and power of the Holy Spirit.  Praise God for His remarkable gifts!  If we suffer for Christ, we are never intended to be the focus.  He who glories, let him glory in the LORD!

08 October 2009

Oh happy day!

This morning I woke up singing a song:  "Oh Happy Day" by Kim Walker.  The chorus goes, "Oh happy day, happy day!  You wash my sin away!  Oh happy day, happy day!  I'll never be the same, forever I am changed!  There is no truth more reassuring the fact that Jesus Christ is alive.  He is not the God of the dead but of the living, and we find our life in Him.  When we are stuck in our sins, it is like rottenness in our bones.  Guilt, despair, and shame poison our thoughts, and we are at the mercy of Satan.  The mercies of the wicked are cruel, and we lie helpless under the torture of condemnation and oppression.

How our future changed when Jesus took away our sins!  We need not lie powerless under the bondage of sin, and our history need not dictate our future.  We may have fallen 100 times to a single temptation, but God enables us to overcome through the victory of Christ over the tomb and sin.  If Jesus can destroy the power of the tomb, then Christ can also overcome all sins that lead us to death.  Romans 6:23 says, "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

I was reading last night concerning the mercy of God.  Thomas Watson made some terrific points concerning God's mercy:  "The mercy of the Lord is upon them that fear Him" (Ps. 103:17).  Mercy is not for them that sin and fear not, but for them that fear and sin not.  God's mercy is a holy mercy; where it pardons it heals." (A Body of Divinity, pg. 97)  Consider also this passage in Psalm 103:8-12:  "The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy. [9] He will not always strive with us, nor will He keep His anger forever. [10] He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities. [11] For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; [12] As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us."  Oh happy day, when my sins were washed away!

Isn't it true that God has not dealt with us according to our sin?  Let us say that there were two men convicted of a serious crime against a king.  The king saw fit to deliver one from the torturers and prison, which the other was required to endure.  Does this make the king wicked?  No, he is only punishing the offense according the law, and showing mercy to one as seemed good to Him.  God is merciful to all men, offering them all a pardon through the suffering of His own Son, Jesus.  But He will not force His mercy upon any man.  If a man desires to pierce himself through with the sorrow of the love of riches (1 Tim. 6:10) God will not force him under the precious blood flow of Christ who was pierced for our iniquities.  Psalm 32:10 teaches us, "Many sorrows shall be to the wicked; but he who trusts in the Lord, mercy shall surround him."

Father, I receive of your tender mercies and forgiveness through Jesus Christ.  I praise the name of my Savior, Redeemer, and Deliverer from the power of sin and death.  Thank you for not dealing with me according to my sins, but according to your love, grace, and mercy.  I am deserving of death, and you have given me eternal life.  May you empower me LORD to fear and sin not that I may walk in your mercy.  Oh happy day!  My sins are washed away and forever I am changed!