God is Able to Perform

"Persistence pays," people say.  "If at first you don't succeed, try and try again."  The English language is littered with such cliches.  I have found if at first we don't succeed, it is not long before we are looking for a new or different method.  A cricket player will hire a new coach to help his batting, and may even adopt a different stance.  It has also been mused that a definition of insanity is to continue doing the same thing hoping for a different result.  We come closer to the truth when these cliches are combined.  There are fundamental truths which cannot be denied, like a batsman in cricket should bring his bat to the crease.  A batsman cannot bat without it, and a return to basic fundamentals will help him find his way back to top form.

Abram (later called Abraham) had been given a promise by God that through him all nations of the earth would be blessed.  God had promised Abraham his wife Sarai (whom later God named Sarah) would have a son.  The problem was, Sarah had been barren for decades.  I am sure they did what is common for people to do today who struggle to conceive.  Perhaps they ate certain foods or avoided others, choosing particular days to "try" to conceive the baby they desperately wanted.  They did believe God's promise, even when persistence didn't seem to pay the desired dividends.  They tried and tried for years without success.  Finally their patience reached a breaking point in Genesis 16:1-2:  "Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. And she had an Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar. ²  So Sarai said to Abram, "See now, the LORD has restrained me from bearing children. Please, go in to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children by her." And Abram heeded the voice of Sarai."

It seems Sarah and Abraham put pressure on themselves to conceive and bear a son.  Their actions showed they did not believe God's promise or agree with His timing.  Abraham listened to the suggestion of his wife and sired a son through Hagar rather than remembering God's promise and doing his part in faith.  Lack of apparent fruitfulness led to Abraham venturing beyond his calling as a husband in order to fulfill their dream of having a son.  I believe this same error can be made in Christian ministry.  God has called us to minister, serve, preach the Word, make disciples of Jesus, and to speak the truth in love.  Because fruitfulness is never immediate - or even seems to persist for years - we can be tempted to depart from God's calling and adopt programs or popular approaches to foster this growth.  Worldly methods may produce what some would call "fruit," but cannot bring the fulfillment of the promises God has made to us.

The passage of time provides a great test of our faith and steadfastness in obedience.  Many start well, but there are few who joyfully finish their race with endurance as Paul did.  It is possible that along the way we will begin to drift from complete reliance on God's Word and the Holy Spirit.  We can think increase depends upon our performance rather than God's grace.  Because our patience has been exhausted in desperation we can take matters into our own hands, willing to try anything to bring about the results we hope for.  Galatians 6:7-10 reads, "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. ⁸  For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. ⁹  And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. ¹⁰  Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith."

We all have room to mature and grow in faith, taking new ground in obedience to Jesus.  But let us not lose heart because our efforts in ministering unto the LORD do not seem to be having the effect we desire.  Let us heed the command and promise of God, that if we continue to sow the good seed of God's Word we will reap a fruitful harvest.  Do not lose heart, believer!  Good questions to consider are considering stubborn barrenness is:  1) what am I sowing? and 2) where am I sowing?  We can trust God and His promises, for He who promised is able to perform - even when we are not able (Romans 4:12).  Praise the LORD for the fruitfulness which comes to those who persistently trust and obey God.

Weary of Sin or the Way?

“You are wearied in the length of your way; yet you did not say, 'There is no hope.' You have found the life of your hand; therefore you were not grieved.”

Isaiah 57:10

This verse grabbed my attention from our text at Calvary Chapel Sydney this week.  The context of the passage is God’s rebuke of His people for offering sacrifices to idols.  They went to great lengths to embrace the abominable practice of human sacrifice and sensual fertility rituals.  God’s lament was how the people wearied themselves in their sin, but they were not weary of their sin.  Their sin was what they lived for, and it was killing them at the same time.

The people were wearied by the expense of their sin but did not notice the toll it took upon their families, nation, and their ability to worship God.  It reminds me of the response of smokers I worked with when California exponentially increased the cost of cigarettes.  The price increase may have influenced some to quit, but the people I knew were only annoyed their habit would cost them more.  They were already fully invested, for smoking was a part of their lives.  In Isaiah’s day until now people looked to other gods for hope which could not deliver.  They offered grain in hope of better harvests, and fed their own children to the flames in fertility rituals.  Instead of worshipping God with thankful hearts for what He had already provided them, they sacrificed what they had to idols who could not receive their offerings, save, or provide anything.

It is good for us to be brought to a point of hopelessness so we might discover the genuine hope offered all by Jesus.  We do not need to placate demons, nor do we need to bribe idols to keep evil at bay:  the Most High God who created all things is over all.  Jesus has come to break the chains of the wicked one and deliver us from the power of Satan.  As it is written in 1 John 3:8, “He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.”  Jesus said a house divided against itself cannot stand, and Satan is not interested in tearing down with his own hands what he has laboured to build.  Jesus is able to bind the strong man, plunder his house, and in due time cast him into hell.

How important it is to discern the difference between being weary of the way or being weary of our sin!  Many times men have repented for the way, experiencing grief for their great pains and sacrifices without the return they longed for.  This is not repentance for sin but sorrow for self.  There is a sorrow for sin not to be sorry for because it results in repentance (2 Corinthians 7:11).  May God bring all of us to true repentance for sin so we might be finally rid of it and enter into the peace and freedom God provides for all who are born again through the Gospel.

True Loyalty

I may live in Australia, but it didn't take long for the news to reach our shores that the San Diego Chargers intend to relocate to Los Angeles.  For someone born and raised in San Diego, it is a low blow first to lose our beloved NFL franchise, but to leave for a rival town who claims not to even want them adds insult to injury.  The purpose of this post is not to lament this loss, for as we all know the National Football League is a business, and in business the aim is to invest money today with the highest level of future return.  Detailed analysis of how or why this has finally happened cannot change the fact it is happening.  The Chargers are moving, and that is what loyal supporters are processing today.

I am sad for the many loyal Chargers fans who feel betrayed by an organisation which did not extend enough loyalty to them to remain.  Many fans are loyal to their local team, supporting the team unconditionally, regardless of personnel changes or performance on the field, holding out hope for a future year which will bring a championship home to their city - though the trophy would be likely kept on private property.  Because this hope of Chargers' supporters has been dashed, it was reported within half an hour of the announcement fans arrived at the Chargers complex to throw their prized jerseys in a pile and and burn Chargers gear to show their disgust.  For the Chargers organisation to obtain their goal of more, newer, and better, they threw aside the loyalty of people who already had invested all they could.  Football is a game of emotion, and it's no surprise when people are emotional when you take what they love away from them - not to mention making their dreams forfeit as well.

This situation fleshes out a characteristic common to humans, that people give their loyalty to what has no loyalty to them.  We can be loyal to a brand of clothes or tools over another, a company, a sports team, even to a preferred beverage!  Brands and beverages have no favourites but are marketed to make money.  The trouble is not that we are loyal, but it is human nature to be loyal and emotionally attached to the wrong things.  Our loyalty is often misguided.  We can demonstrate more loyalty to a company fueled with corporate greed than family members who love and need us.  But the one thing human beings are most loyal to is self.  A man is loyal to the company because it gives him the opportunity for personal wealth, promotion, and power.  I do not believe a company or a sports team is worthy of unconditional love, yet we love just the same.  We can't help ourselves.

The glorious truth is God loves us, and He is worthy of our utmost loyalty.  The sad reality is we can be loyal to countless things in greater degrees rather than unashamed, complete, true loyalty to God.  It is good to recognise we have chosen bondage through ungodly loyalties, and only Jesus Christ can deliver us from these chains.  He is the One who opens our eyes to see, sets us free, and gives us boundless, eternal horizons.  Enjoy sport, the feeling of accomplishment of a job well done, cheer on your team, and thank God for all He has provided.  At the same time guard your heart, enduring God has your complete loyalty, reverence, and love.  Share God's love generously and graciously, for He loves without measure.  He is the One who brings to pass realities which are greater than temporary championships and even your wildest dreams.

The Good Old Way

I've enjoyed reading through G.K. Chesterton's What's Wrong with the World, and because the nature of humanity has not changed he remains insightful and strangely prophetic.  Chesterton was able, with eloquence and humorous poise, to point out inconsistent folly in his day which has continued unabated until now.  I see no reason why these observations will not remain relevant for another hundred years - or until we start actually learning from our mistakes.

One of the paragraphs I have turned back to a couple of times concerns a modern approach to education, one that was on display during the life of Chesterton and I have also observed myself.  There is a push in an effort to "save the children" to inject new and virtually unproved methods and programs to benefit students.  Recent examples of this are "Common Core" curriculum pushed through in the United States and the ridiculous "Safe Schools" program in Australia.  It seems many schools and governments which fund them have a different vision from the educational system which produced their minds.  It seems like philosophies concerning education can overrule practical reading, writing, and arithmetic, even as the Chairman's "Great Leap Forward" was a self-inflicted catastrophe.  What students write about and how they express themselves seems more important these days than actually knowing how to write and communicate effectively.  The ever-elusive lure of using compulsory education to shape the minds of others into one agreeable with our own is as strong as ever.

Consider the musings of Chesterton on the subject:

"Now most modern freedom is at root fear.  It is not so much that we are too bold to endure rules; it is rather that we are too timid to endure responsibilities.  And Mr. Shaw and such people are especially shrinking from that awful and ancestral responsibility to which our fathers committed us when they took the wild step of becoming men.  I mean the responsibility of affirming the truth of our human tradition and handing it on with a voice of authority, an unshaken voice.  That is the one eternal education; to be sure enough that something is truth that you dare to tell it to a child.  From this high audacious duty the moderns are fleeing on every side; and the only excuse for them is, (of course,) that their modern philosophies are so half-baked and hypothetical that they cannot convince themselves enough to convince even a newborn babe.  This, of course, is connected with the decay of democracy; and is somewhat  of a separate subject...The trouble in too many of our modern schools is that the State, being controlled so specially by the few, allows cranks and experiments to go straight to the schoolroom when they have never passed through the Parliament, the public house, the private house, the church, or the marketplace.  Obviously, it ought to be the oldest things that are taught to the youngest people; the assured and experienced truths that are put first to the baby.  But in a school today the baby has to submit to a system that is younger than himself.  The flopping infant of four actually has more experience, and has weathered the world longer, than the dogma to which he is made to submit...Today we all use Popular Education as meaning education of the people.  I wish I could use it as meaning education by the people."  (Chesterton, G. K. What's Wrong With The World. 1st ed. New York: Dodd, Mead and Co., 1910. Print.)

Nothing in this world is truly new unless God makes it so.  It is not a new way that is needed, but the true way - a hotly debated topic in a subjective society when anyone is bold enough to step near to it.  I have observed this in churches as well as in the education sector, that a fresh approach is needed to reach a new generation.  I am all for freshness as far as fruit and vegetables go, but let us call them what they are.  New wine should be placed in new wineskins, and it should be called new wine.  The modern approach to freshness is to avoid talk of man's sin, judgment, hell, man's need for repentance for salvation, and the blood of Jesus which cleanses us through faith.  This is not fresh; this is folly.  Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  If we do not believe in the truth of the Bible ourselves, it does no good for us to offer it as one option among many.  There is the saving Gospel, and there is everything else. Jeremiah 6:16 says, "Thus says the LORD: "Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; then you will find rest for your souls. But they said, 'We will not walk in it.'"  It is the ancient way which is the good, right way.  You will see many different gaits and a variety of people joyfully travelling this road, and there are few who find it.