God is For Us

"So all things are working for the Lord's Beloved;

Some things might be harmful, if alone they stood;

Some might seem to hinder, some might draw us backward;

But they work together, and they work for good.

All the thwarted longings, all the stern denials,

All the contradictions, hard to understand,

And the Force that holds them, speeds them and retards them,

Stops and starts and guides them, is our Father's hand."

- Anonymous (Ascent to the Tribes, pg. 65)

How good is it to know God is in control of all things!  He allows circumstances to occur which may not make sense to us, but we can know He works all things out for our good.  Following Jesus Christ is not like a natural chemical reaction which is predictable and exact.  For those who are born again through faith in Christ we have been freed from death row, having been incarcerated because of our sin.  Every Christian has been automatically drafted into a spiritual battlefield opposing Satan and the evil forces at work in this world.  We have been filled with the Holy Spirit within, but we continue to live in a body of flesh which tends toward sinful lusts and desires.  It's a normal repercussion of the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual stress of battle that we can at times feel beaten, depressed, confused, and frustrated.

I read an interesting passage in "Ascent to the Tribes" yesterday:  "Frustration is one of the hardest of missionary trials, and not always are we allowed to see, as in this instance, that is has worked for good.  Satan aims to quench ardor.  If we looked at what seems to be mere waste in our lives, he would be successful.  We must just remember the wise words of an old CIM missionary who once said, "Where there is building there must be rubbish."  Rubbish is waste.  Part of our work may include wasted footsteps because this is battle." (pg. 64)

We must allow faith in God's power to control seemingly impossible situations to take root in our hearts.  People sometimes lament over the course set before them by God, "How much time I have wasted!"  Or perhaps they beat themselves up because God has revealed Himself in a powerful way and they think, "I could have used that 10 years ago!"  We must recognize that God COULD have done anything He wanted, and He decided to bring you through 10 years of experience so you would be ready for the lesson.  Sometimes we insinuate that our way is more efficient than God's way.  Perhaps from our ignorant perspective we think we can improve God's efficiency, but we could not draw a breath without His sufficiency.  He knows what we need and when we need it.

If you have ever sewn, worked in construction, cooked something, or did anything which required work you know there will be waste.  Our bodies create waste as we sustain ourselves through eating, drinking, and respiration.  When I am working with insulation, I always bring extra material because I know there will be waste.  Sometimes the fiberglass needs to be dug out, the foam rubber left over has been cut in unusable shapes, and all the adhesive is not necessary and cannot be stored.  Spiritually we tend to focus on all the waste, and try to gather up or bemoan all of the useless scraps.  What God would have us do is look at the sanctifying work He is doing in our lives.  This is not to make us proud, but to invoke in us praise and worship of God for His wondrous works.  You believed at one time God would have you marry but it ended in divorce.  Divorce is bad, but can God use it for good?  Absolutely.  Perhaps you thought God would have you quit one career and start another, only to find yourself injured or out of work.  Can God use this for good?  Yes!  And He will!  He has promised to!

Romans 8:28-31 says, "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. [29] For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. [30] Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified. [31] What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?"  The things God allows to happen in our lives He is using to conform us into the image of Christ.  It is not for us, my friends, to dictate to God how He should be governing or growing us.  He is righteous, merciful, gracious, loving, just, and good.  He has given us exceedingly great and precious promises we can cling to as we go through the daily battles of this life.

If God is for us, who can be against us?  This does not mean we will not face opposition, but that no physical or spiritual power has the slightest effect upon God's plan for us.  We are likely more down on ourselves than God is, because God is not against His children.  He is for us, and not against us.  Whether you are on wings of eagles or laboring through the valley of the shadow of death, God is with you.  He is for us, and through Christ we will be victorious.       

Fortified by Failure

Failure has been the greatest catalyst for positive change in my life.  It is healthy in to recognize our failures so we might learn from our own mistakes.  Satan would love for our failures to paralyze us with self-focus and drown us in despair.  As we mature in Christ, we will begin to view our conduct, attitudes, and words more closely according to God's perfect standard.  The Holy Spirit convicts us of sins we did not even recognize previously.  God allows us to fail so we might recognize our failure and decide once and for all to forsake sin.

Today I failed terribly, almost a perfect storm of circumstances which took me off guard.  But to the God who controls the elements, such an scenario was allowed so I might see myself as the failure I am on my own.  I am still heartbroken and grieve over it, even as Peter wept bitterly after denying Christ.  I drove to a new jobsite today and parked my truck near some employees at the plant.  While gathering materials, a woman and man approached me, seemingly amused.  "Is that bumper sticker real?" the man asked.  For those of you who do not know, I have a bumper sticker on the back of my truck that reads, "National Atheist's Day - April 1."  In small print below it says, "The fool has said in his heart there is no God." (Psalm 14:1)  Because April 1st is "April Fool's Day," and only the foolish deny the existence of God, April 1st is National Atheist's day according to the sticker.

His question caught me off guard.  "Yes?" I said confused.  "Oh that's good," he answered smiling.  "I think atheists should have their own day.  I get really sick of people around here always pushing religion on me."  "Well," I began, "that is your right.  You don't have to believe what you don't want to."  He said a couple more things and he said his co-worker had said the bumper sticker must be a joke.  "It is a joke," I said as I gathered my things.  "Oh well," he said.  "I guess I'm not too smart, huh?" he laughed with his friend.  "I thought it might have been real."  And that is how our interaction ended.

My conscience smote me.  I was embarrassed to tell the man he misunderstood the sticker, and since he had already told me he was sick of hearing about religion from his co-workers I certainly didn't want to ambush him!  Here was an opportunity to speak of my faith and I allowed it to slip away without a word!  Should his misunderstanding of the bumper sticker be a cause to further ingrain his hatred towards followers of God?  The reason I bought the sticker was because I thought it was a funny discussion starter, not because I judged the man who stood before me as a fool.  This man came up to me thinking I was an atheist, and I said nothing to change his mind.

Countless justifications have popped into my mind, but they remain lame, pitiful, excuses.  Our flesh needs no invitation to justify inaction.  It was clear to me I had not been prepared mentally or spiritually for that interaction.  Instead of actively looking for opportunities to share my faith, I was in work mode.  I had a job to do, and it did not involve a chat about bumper stickers.  I see this failure as a blessing from God.  Every single day He leaves me on this earth is an opportunity to right the wrongs of today.  I cannot fix the gross negligence of today, but through repentance press on in a deeper level of humility and determination.

Satan had plenty to say about this as well.  His tone and foul breath is so different from the wounding of our souls by the Holy Spirit.  Satan words are filled with condemnation.  He would judge us unfit for heaven because of our deeds and negate the gracious saving work of Christ on the cross we have received through faith.  "You're just like Peter.  How could you do this?  And you call yourself a pastor?"  I am a sinner and I am not a pastor because I'm better than everybody else but because God has chosen and called me.  But there is no need to debate or even converse with the devil.  It did not do Eve any good, and it has no power to free us from guilt and shame.

But Jesus does, friends!  We do well to not forget the sting of our failures that we might be focused on that prize:  Philip. 3:13-14 says, "Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, [14] I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."  No matter what we have done or how we have wronged God by our sin, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins when we repent.  Our God is not one of second chances, but new beginnings!

Quotes from "Stones of Fire"

Yesterday I finished reading Isobel Kuhn's "Stones of Fire."  It is a tale of her ministry in China among the Lisu people.  Through the story she weaves the concept of God's people as precious gems in the hands of a master lapidary.  Here are three paragraphs I would like to share which introduce different chapters in the book.  We ought not to think it strange when we are faced with trials and difficulty.  This is God's way to mold us into vessels He can use for His glory.

"Diamond dust mixed with oil is the only abrasive used in polishing precious stones.  It is put upon fast rotating wheels called "skaifs" at 2,500 revolutions per minute, and the gem held firmly against them.  A quick succession of hard, unconquerable particles pressed against the jewel will polish it.  The spiritual counterparts, as God brings them into human lives, are sharp and painful events that follow fast one upon another, all of them irresistible, which cannot be pushed away but must be accepted and endured.  When the skaif is removed, one sees the beautiful lights of patience, self-sacrifice, and humility shining forth.  Those who watch it from above, see it as the Master Lapidary's diamond dust polishing His stones of fire." (pg. 82)

"Do you know that lovely fact about the opal?  That in the first place, it is made only of desert dust, sand, and silica, and owes its beauty and preciousness to a defect.  It is a stone with a broken heart.  It is full of minute fissures which admit air, and the air refracts the light.  Hence its lovely hue and that sweet lamp of fire that ever burns at its heart, for the breath of the Lord God is in it.  You are only conscious of the cracks and desert dust, but so He makes His precious opal.  We must be broken in ourselves before we can give back the lovely hues of His light, and the lamp in the temple can burn in us and never go out."  - Ellice Hopkins (pg. 147)

"The most magnificent diamond in the world's history was presented to the King of England, who sent it to Amsterdam to be cut.  It was put into the hands of an expert lapidary, and what do you suppose he did?  He took that gem of priceless worth and cut a notch in it.  Then he struck it a hard blow with his instrument, and lo! the superb jewel lay in his hand cleft in twain...For days and weeks that blow had been studied and planned.  Drawings and models had been made of the gem.  Its quality, its defects, its lines of cleavage, had all been studied with the most minute care.  That blow was the climax of the lapidary's skill...Seeming to ruin the superb precious stone, it was in fact its perfect redemption.  For from those two halves were wrought two magnificent gems...to blaze in the crown of state."  - Streams in the Desert (pg. 125)

A Lesson in Digestion

Today I took a little morning run, an attempt to work off a kilo (2.2 pounds) or so I must have carried into Australia and an additional one I carried out.  It was a bit warm at the beginning of the run, and by the end I was panting like a dog lying in the sun!  As much as I detest pain caused to my body through running, it is not without many benefits.  I found that not only does it increase energy, burn fat, builds and tones muscle, but to my surprise it aids in my digestion immensely.  No need to go into all the details of how I know, but five servings a day of whole fiber cannot do what a 15 minute run does.

This made me consider how digestion works.  The digestive process begins with a choice and technique.  A key to good digestion is first to choose good food.  The second step is to chew food thoroughly and completely so the body can extract nutrients and benefit from them.  The rest of the digestive process is taken care of according to the health of each person.  If your body is anything like mine, when I exercise regularly the natural process of digestion is improved.

Now let us turn this to an examination of the spiritual.  Jesus is the Living Bread who has come down from heaven, that Living Manna who can sustain us day by day into eternity.  His Word is food indeed and our new spiritual birth comes along with it an appetite for spiritual nourishment which is only found through God.  It begins with a choice:  what will we choose to feed ourselves today?  Will we choose the sugary temptations of worldly things or sensational "doctrines" which are devoid of spiritual value, or will we choose to feed on the Word?  Most Christians are guilty of ignoring the second part of spiritual digestion:  chewing our food properly.  We will blow through chapters at a time hardly without any thought whatsoever, the equivalent of shoving food in un-chewed gulps down our throats.  It is when we begin to live-out what God has spoken in practical exercise that we begin to digest His truth more completely.  Our obedience and devotion will cause His Word to impact us in ways we never imagined possible.

My dad and I were having a discussion about the danger of idolizing scripture.  Today many people are ever learning, but never coming to the truth.  We have more commentaries, books, DVDs, and access to sermons and studies than ever before, but people remain without spiritual strength.  The church is bloated with much information about God, but never seem to experience God with the power He has made available to His church.  This is a digestion problem.  God's Word has not lost potency, but God's people have become dull by much hearing.  We think that hearing is as good as doing, agreeing with our minds is the same as obedience in our hearts.  It is only after I look in the mirror and decide that I am fed up with my sloth and extra pounds before I will put on my running shoes and take a jog.  I make a choice to limit myself to one Coke rather than three, and pass on cake even though it looks good.  We must notice that we are putting on the spiritual pounds through much feeding, but growing weak through little doing before anything will change.

The benefits of physical exercise are obvious, and even greater are the spiritual ones.  1 Tim. 4:8 says, "For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come."  Let us therefore choose to observe these simple guidelines:  consider well what we eat, thoughtfully feed upon the pure Word of God, and put this powerful truth into action in our lives.  Only then will we digest spiritual food well, become strong, grow in endurance and faith, and become the soldiers and fighters God drafted us to be for His glory.  Put on those shoes of the preparation of the Gospel of Peace, soldier.  Instead of being happy with just wearing them, how about taking a jog?  Only good will come from it!