Not Good!

After God created man He said, "It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him." (Gen. 2:18) I agree with this wholeheartedly. It is not good for me to be alone, separated from my wife. I did not decide that I wanted to be separated from her, nor did she want separation from me. In this instance, it was God who made the call. Both of us have been learning lessons we could not have learned together. Though it was God's plan, it has not been easy. The narrow path can be filled with obstacles and temptations, luring us from focusing on Christ. Today it was like a Gethsemane experience, just laying on the ground before the LORD. I did not sweat blood, but I took shelter in His!

I'm putting together a message concerning Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane before His arrest. Here is an excerpt from it:

No man can write on the subject of temptation without a real sense of unworthiness and failure. I feel I am the least likely candidate to hold forth God’s Word when it comes to temptation. Who has not or does not fall into temptation? How many of us have willfully entered into temptation? Our flesh cannot get enough of it, and our hearts do not loathe it enough. Jesus is the only man in the history of the world who has resisted and denied every sinful temptation. Believers know what temptation is, and it is often what the world calls “opportunity.” Temptation is the appetizer to a sinful main course. But we always walk away from the table empty, and wonder what we were thinking. When we succumb to temptation, we always get stuck with a costly bill: shame, guilt, anger, depression, feelings of worthlessness, and separation from God.  It is a vicious cycle only Jesus Christ can break.

The strongest human cannot handle the weakest temptation. The Bible says that we are born into sin, and we have a huge appetite for it! Our body wants nothing more than to satisfy itself with the unholy trinity of wickedness:   the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. Job 15:14-16 says, "What is man, that he could be pure? And he who is born of a woman, that he could be righteous? [15] If God puts no trust in His saints, and the heavens are not pure in His sight, [16] how much less man, who is abominable and filthy, who drinks iniquity like water!" We live in times where many people refuse to accept that man’s nature is evil. The scripture is clear that man is steeped in wickedness, and is guilty of breaking God’s Law. His Law is a schoolmaster who leads us to Christ, the only means of salvation from sin and the penalty thereof:  death.

I praise God that I need not be a slave to sin no longer.  I need not be driven by Satan the cruel master of fleshly desires and led from sin to sin like a chained beast.  I serve the God who has claimed the victory over sin, a God who withstood every temptation without fault.  If I am obedient the path of victory has been blazed and illuminated for me by Jesus.  Like in warfare, we do not win every skirmish.  It may seem that we lose more than we win!  But let me encourage you to not allow the enemy to convince you that you are defeated, for the blood of Christ is able to cleanse you from all sin.  His strength is available, and our histories of failure and weakness need not dictate our future.  Romans 12:3 says, "For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith."  When are lifted up in pride, we think the strength to resist temptation rests in us.  God will allow us to fail and fall that we might highly regard Him and become our all in all!

It is not good for man to be alone.  We need to be united with Christ, abiding in Him.  It is He who gave us breath and redeemed our souls.  When a man is separated from God by His sin, that  man is truly alone in the world, though he may have a wife at his side.  We are not good, but we serve a God who is!  As David concludes Psalm 23:6 followers of Christ can say:  "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever."

Debtors to mercy

Today I was studying Psalm 103 and verses 8-11 caught my attention:  "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."  God is so abundant in His mercy towards us.  Because of His plenteous mercy, all mankind has greater debt towards God.

To illustrate, suppose that there was a kingdom ruled by a righteous king.  He was fair, just, and held people accountable to the law.  In this kingdom there lived a rebellious young man.  Instead of abiding by the laws of the land, he turned to a life of crime and murder.  He made an alliance with the enemy of his king and was furnished money for the killing of innocent people.  An inquiry was made, and the king sent soldiers to arrest the young man for murder and high treason against the crown.  After seeing the young man was sorrowful for his actions, the king was moved with compassion and stayed the execution of the convicted killer.  "Mercy has been granted unto you today, young man," said the king.  "Show yourself prudent and I will consider you for a position in my court."

But the king's mercy and grace did not change the young man's heart.  Instead of breaking off his relationship with the king's enemy, he agreed to assassinate the king who had shown him mercy for a great sum of money.  Upon arrival to the castle, the young fool was caught and his intentions were made known to the king.  Should it have been a common criminal or a senseless beast it would have been more tolerable to the king than the one to whom he had shown mercy.  Would not a righteous king be angry by such conduct?  "I offered you mercy, not treating you according to your own wickedness," the king spoke soberly.  "I granted you a potential seat of honor in my court, and you have repaid me with violence as an enemy.  For this you will certainly be put to death, since you refuse the mercy I have freely given and choose to add to your guilt."

It occurred to me for the first time today that because God's mercy is infinite and everlasting, all people add to their sin by refusing it.  If the justice of God was doled out immediately according to our sins none could be saved, for all have sinned.  But because God is long suffering and merciful, not willing that any should perish, He has given us opportunity to respond by receiving of His mercies.  To reject God's mercy is to sign your own death warrant.  Had God not shown us mercy, it would be bad enough:  but since His mercy has been given to all, how damned we are to reject Him!  Praise God that His mercies are new every morning, "For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him."

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!

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?