God Hears When We Cry

"Ye that fear the LORD, praise him; all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him; and fear him, all ye the seed of Israel. ²⁴ For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath he hid his face from him; but when he cried unto him, he heard." 

Psalm 22:23-24

Those who place their faith in Jesus Christ have an everlasting, sure hope.  The world loves to glorify the strong and mighty, those who have great fame and wealth.  Nothing makes the people in the world as disillusioned as when they see their idols tumble down to earth from the pedestals men have created.  People shake their heads in disgust when those rich with worldly things choose death over life to escape their pain.  Give me the wealth of the sports hero, give me the fame of the most popular singer, grant me the power of the most influential political figure, says a dreaming man, and I shall better use it.  What he does not understand is how money, fame, and power will rot him from within, and that he too would remain dissatisfied and empty with everything.  Everything without God is nothing.  It is man's darkest hour when he finally obtains the desire of his heart only to find it impotent to meet his real need.  It was all a lie.  What a man thinks will save him apart from Christ ends up dragging his soul to hell.

Unless a man has faith in the God who created all things, he has nothing.  Can money save a man's soul?  Can fame grant a man righteousness on the Day of Judgment?  Is there any power greater than God's?  One does not need to have live long on the earth before he faces troubles greater than himself.  It is in Jesus Christ we find a God who is greater than any trouble we might face.  Instead of despising our weakness, Jesus became flesh as we are.  It is written of Him in 1 Timothy 3:16:  "And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory."  He was greatly afflicted, and the Father hearkened unto His cries.  Those who are born again by faith in Christ also have this consolation:  when we are afflicted, God does not hide His face from us.  When we cry out in our affliction to God, He hears us and will answer.

Do you know this comfort and peace that passes understanding?  Most people of this world know much of suffering, but little of comfort.  Money, fame, and power will all pass away, but those who trust in the name of the LORD will never be ashamed.  The comfort provided by God is not temporal, but eternal.  It does not numb and cloud the senses like alcohol, but sharpens them.  Our blind eyes are made seeing through Christ's touch, and our hardened, stony hearts are made soft.  We have in Christ a friend that sticks closer than a brother, and the Holy Spirit has been sent by God to indwell and empower all who believe the Gospel.  Let us not be as Aragon in the Lord of the Rings, who gave hope to men but kept none for himself.  Let us walk in this hope by faith in God, as truly as we have received it from Him.  Let us fear the LORD and praise Him, for He has not hidden His face from us.  "Turn your eyes upon Jesus.  Look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace."

Headed to Hell?

Years ago, my wife and I often went to San Diego Padres baseball games.  I remember heading to Taco Bell before the game with our friend Josh Jordan and heading to our seats to watch Ken Caminiti, Tony Gwyn, Greg Vaughn, and Trevor Hoffman play ball.  If the Padres were winning in the ninth inning and the game was close, Trevor Hoffman would make his way slowly to the mound as AC/DC's song "Hell's Bells" blared at full volume, the crowd erupting at the first bell toll.  When the "Q" was full, the stadium was rocking!  As exciting as it was to have Trevor close out a game, I found the lyrics everyone sang with happy faces disconcerting:  "...You're only young but you're gonna die.  I won't take no prisoners won't spare no lives, nobody's putting up a fight.  I got my bell. I'm gonna take you to hell. I'm gonna get ya, satan get ya!  Hells Bells!"  Speaking for myself, I don't want to go to hell, no matter how cool AC/DC makes it sound.  It is no place any person should go, but it is the place of unspeakable horror and torment every human being is heading.

In Mark chapter 9, three times Jesus repeated for emphasis this description of hell:  "...where their worm dies not, and their fire is not quenched."  Hell is described in scripture as a place of torment in outer darkness where there is screaming and gnashing of teeth, a place created for Satan and his angels to be eternally punished for their rebellion.  When Adam sinned, sin and consequently death passed to all men.  The fruit of sin in this world is sorrow, pain, sickness, fear, crying, and death.  Have you ever experienced these things personally?  Then you can know for certain your life has been personally infected by sin:  sin passed down from Adam perpetuated for generations, as well as sins you have committed.  All die because all have sinned.  Those horrible consequences are just a foretaste of what is to come if you die in your sins.  A sin is anything we say, think, or do that is contrary to God's perfect, righteous standard.  The righteous wages earned for a single transgression is death - not just the death of the body, but the eternal torment and destruction of the soul in hell.

God is not only a just God, but a gracious one.  Because He loves mankind created in His image, He made a way for us to be saved from His wrath to come and hell.  Not only that, but He has made a way through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for us to go to heaven!  Revelation 21:4-5 reads, "And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away." ⁵ Then He who sat on the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new." And He said to me, "Write, for these words are true and faithful."  God will one day destroy all hell, Death, and sinners in the Lake of Fire.  He will create a new heavens and a new earth which God will rule in righteousness.  Sin and all the symptoms of it - death, sorrow, and crying - will be wiped clean.  It will be heaven because God will be there, and we will be with Him forever in glorified bodies like that of our risen Saviour, Jesus Christ.

In our natural condition, we are all heading to hell.  It is a place of conscious, eternal torment separated from God.  Revelation 21:8 warns, "But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death."  God does not want anyone to go to hell and perish.  It is not his will for anyone even to die!  Yet so great is His love for us, that He sent His Son to die to be a Saviour for all who will repent and believe.  You may be headed to hell, but you can choose life through Christ!  Satan is a liar, thief, and murderer from the beginning.  Don't believe his lie that hell doesn't exist and if it does it is a party worth dying for.  In the past decade there have been many concerts in crowded clubs that used the wrong pyrotechnics and led to many deaths.  Those were no laughing matter.  No one danced in the flames, singing to the music.  The people screamed as they trampled each other to death in the choking smoke.  There was much weeping and gnashing of teeth, even ripping out of hair in sorrow!  What regret, heartache, and nightmares!  Such is the result of sin:  it allures and tantalises but kills in the end.

Sin brings death.  Choose life.  Jesus freely offers His for yours.

Knowing God's Mind

How important it is to seek God's direction concerning our decisions!  This morning I read a portion in Leviticus that spoke of a man in a fight who was heard blaspheming the name of God with a curse.  Unsure of the appropriate response, the witnesses brought the man to Moses.  Leviticus 24:12 said, "Then they put him in custody, that the mind of the LORD might be shown to them."  As an aside, this may be one the only examples of incarceration in the Old Testament under the Law, and for a reason foreign to us!  The Law was all about restitution, not incarceration.  I love the fact the man was put in a ward not for punishment or in the hope of rehabilitation:  he was placed in custody so Moses and the leaders of Israel might seek the mind of God concerning this circumstance.  Because Moses was not entirely sure of how to proceed in this matter, he sought the mind of God through prayer.  How different would the justice systems look if this was the response of every judge, solicitor, and jury!  After God rendered His righteous judgment, Moses swiftly carried out His command.

In our lives we continually face complex situations and circumstances.  Sometimes it is difficult to know the correct course of action according to God's righteous judgments.  We need the Holy Spirit to guide us so we might walk in righteousness, and God has provided His indwelling presence for every believer.  We could not know sin except by the Law, nor could we know righteousness without the wisdom which springs from God alone.  Have you ever made a decision you later regretted?  Our negligence to seek the mind of Christ before we speak or act is always the most regrettable oversight.  It is natural for us to walk by sight, not by faith.  Instead of reacting to our circumstances, this passage teaches us to take even our thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ so we might respond obediently to wisdom revealed from above. 

1 Corinthians 1:30-31 states, "But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God--and righteousness and sanctification and redemption-- ³¹ that, as it is written, "He who glories, let him glory in the LORD."  If we have been born again through repentance and faith in Christ by the Gospel, then Christ has become for us wisdom.  Through the Holy Spirit, we are led to walk in the way which fully pleases God.  When we seek God for direction and walk according to His guidance, we need not fear.  Even when we speak or act presumptuously, God is able to redeem our foolish mistakes for our good and His glory.  This does not make our hearts swell with pride, but causes us to praise and glorify the God who is good and given such wonderful gifts to sinful men.  Who we are and all we have is only by His grace.  God does not stumble over the minutiae that bogs us down, but lifts us above it effortlessly.

Nothing we face is unknown or uncertain to Him, for He has seen it afar off.  1 Corinthians 2:16 says, "For "who has known the mind of the LORD that he may instruct Him?" But we have the mind of Christ." Praise God for His marvelous mind, and that it can be known by us!  Since we have been united with Christ, may we walk in unison with Him!

ANZAC Day

Today is "ANZAC Day" in Australia, one of the most important national observances.  "ANZAC" stands for "Australian and New Zealand Army Corps."  This day is a commemoration of the service of Australian and New Zealand "diggers" who fought in World War 1 in Gallipoli.  It ended up being a stalemate that came at the high cost of 8,000 ANZACs.  Throughout the nation and beyond our borders this sober, proud day has been set aside to remember and honour the memory of the brave fallen and those who have valiantly served their country in times of war.  In Gallipoli the ANZACs did not achieve a victory, but through their courage and toughness in the face of adversity defined themselves with strength and bravery all can appreciate.

One of the amazing facts is that the diggers who fought in Gallipoli did not often have the training, supplies, or equipment that was available to others.  In the face of insurmountable odds, they kept going.  According to skwirk.com, there were five basic traits that defined a "digger:"

1. the ability to remain cheerful with a good sense of humour, even in the most difficult of times
2. the ability to be resourceful when they had no supplies, for example by making hand grenades from empty tin cans
3. the spirit of mateship in which a soldier would risk his own life for his mate's
4. Australian courage, which was shown on the very first landing at Anzac Cove where the soldiers continued to charge up on to the beach straight into the line of Turkish fire
5. the notion that people all deserve the same amount of respect, no matter what their background is

ANZAC Day has been set aside to remember those who sacrificed their lives for others fighting for their nation.  As a Christian, it leads me to remember the great sacrifice Jesus made to atone for the sins of the world, mine included.  Jesus was brought up in humble conditions though He was God-made-flesh.  He fought against the tyranny of the Pharisees not with swords or spears but with wisdom from God.  After being falsely accused of wickedness after only doing good, Jesus allowed Himself to be crucified on a Roman cross.  In doing so He disarmed Satan of his power over men, nailed the Law which condemned men to the cross, and in His death brought life to all who will believe the Gospel.  Jesus proved His power over both sin and death when He rose victorious and ascended to the Father.

The ANZACs showed great love in laying down their lives for their mates, boldly charging into the line of fire on beach in Gallipoli.  Jesus demonstrated His love for all people by dying in our place on Calvary.  Romans 5:8 says, "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."  It is good to remember the sacrifices of brave men and women for their countries.  It is better still to remember the sacrifice Jesus has made for all people so "...whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."