God Answers Our Prayer

In the mornings I have been reading through the book of Ezra which details the return of the children of Israel to Jerusalem.  Ezra was a priest and scribe who not only led exiles back to the land God provided them, but taught them the Law of God.  His knowledge of God was not theory but to be put into practice.  Familiarity with doctrine does us no good unless we apply it personally to our lives.

I was impressed with Ezra's leadership in Ezra 8:21-23:  "Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from Him the right way for us and our little ones and all our possessions. ²² For I was ashamed to request of the king an escort of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy on the road, because we had spoken to the king, saying, "The hand of our God is upon all those for good who seek Him, but His power and His wrath are against all those who forsake Him." ²³ So we fasted and entreated our God for this, and He answered our prayer."  What can pass for spiritual leadership today can be no different than following a business structure or a cult of personality.  Ezra had been chosen by the king of Persia to fulfil a great task, but Ezra did not appeal to his "authority" granted by God or the king:  he led the people to seek the LORD with prayer and fasting so they might be led and protected by the Almighty King of kings.

The scriptures demonstrate this is true spiritual leadership, to lead people in following God - not seeking to make loyal followers of self.  Ezra had been bold to speak of the power of the great God of Israel to the king of Persia, and he would have felt a hypocrite to beg for assistance when their enemy waited to attack them on the road.  Wasn't God able to safely escort them to His desired destination?  Ezra and the people fasted and humbled themselves before God, and simply said God graciously "...answered our prayer."  God did not respond to the prayers of His people because they afflicted themselves, paying their divine dues to sacrifice comfort for the blessing and guidance of God.  God answered the prayers of His people because He had promised and delighted to do so.  Ezra and the people sought the LORD in fasting not to earn an audience with God but denied themselves in their fervent desire to draw near to God in faith.

As believers we can make the mistake of assuming God will bless our own plans by virtue of our belief in Him rather than seeking Him for guidance and wisdom.  God's people ought to seek Him rather than leaning on their own understanding, anointed and called as they might be.  This is not a hard lesson to learn, but it is a challenge to remember and practice.  As children of God may we be as His hungry little ones, running to Him so He might supply our needs.  When our children were little we would instruct them to ask us before they ate or drank whatever was on offer:  is it unreasonable for God to desire the same for us?  In the scope of life's decisions one snack or meal is a small decision.  If we will trust God united as one, then let us seek Him as Ezra did, trusting He will hear our cries and answer our prayer.

The Risen Healer

Good Friday and Easter is a great reminder of the death of Jesus on the cross and His subsequent resurrection.  The body of Jesus, marred beyond recognition, would be raised victorious in divine glory.

I have heard it said "Time heals all wounds," but even cursory thought reveals this to be a myth.  Not only is time incapable of healing anyone in itself, it offers no hope of genuine comfort.  How did this cliche hold up as stones crushed the skull of Stephen?  What would it profit to wax poetical over the body of Paul as the executioners blade decapitated him?  Say, "Time heals all wounds" to the mother whose infant son was stolen or to the husband whose wife has left him.  Employ this view to the boy or girl who has been raped by a supposed friend.  Go ahead and say it, but it doesn't mean it is true.

During His life Jesus Christ healed many people, many of them suffering from incurable conditions and illnesses.  He opened the eyes of men born blind, healed the flow of blood from a poor woman, healed the lame, cleansed lepers, cast out demons, and even raised people from the dead.  I wonder what people thought when the Healer bled out on a cross and was buried in a tomb.  "He healed others but could not heal Himself," they may have sneered.  Yet all the scorn and mockery was revealed to be unfounded when Jesus Christ rose from the dead after three days.  He accomplished more than the healing of His physical body but was resurrected in a glorified, immortal form.  How glorious is the empty tomb and our risen LORD!

Time heals no wounds, but Jesus who is the same yesterday, today, and forever remains a Healer.  He is able to administer a cure no medicine can boast, the forgiveness of sins and granting of eternal life.  The dead are still raised to life as the love and power of Jesus Christ is perpetuated through the Gospel.  In Jesus is redemption, reconciliation, and everlasting hope.  Christ does not offer sentiment but salvation, and He lives forevermore!

Jesus and Heart Transplants

I was recently made aware of a young woman who needs a heart transplant.  While considering her life-threatening condition, it struck me that for her need for a new heart to be supplied someone else would first need to die.  As we approach Good Friday and Easter, the words of Jesus Christ come to mind in John 12:24-25:  "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. ²⁵ He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life."  The woman waiting for a heart transplant undoubtedly hopes for a "new lease on life," but only Jesus provides abundant and eternal life without disease, pain, or medication.

Jesus did not demand His followers die to prove their loyalty to Him:  He willingly chose to die for those who despised and rejected Him.  Jesus Christ was willing for His blood to be poured out like water and His skin to be ripped into ribbons in obedience to the Father for the joy which was before Him.  If I was to offer my heart as a transplant for someone else, I could at best help one person.  Often a heart transplant isn't successful because the rejection of the transplanted organ is a common complication.  But Jesus, when He laid down His life by being lifted up on Calvary's cross, provided new life for all people who will repent and believe in Him.  This is the Gospel truth for all people we celebrate this day and every day, that by faith in Jesus who was broken His followers are made whole.

The life Jesus Christ gives is not just better but a new life lived with the benefit of a new heart.  The promise of God was spoken by the prophet to the nation Israel under Law has been expanded to all people by the New Covenant in Christ's blood in Ezekiel 36:26-27:  "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. ²⁷ I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them."  A recipient of a heart transplant needs to take medications for the remainder of her life to prevent the body from rejecting the heart, and God gives us a new heart and the Holy Spirit.  Our unregenerate heart spiritually resembled stone:  hard, stubborn, without feeling, and incapable of supporting life.  When we are born again through the Gospel, Jesus gives us a heart of flesh that is soft, tender, and full of life.  The life is in the blood, and it is the blood of Jesus which washes us from all sin.

Loving your unregenerate life leads to loss of it, but those who are willing to deny self and follow Jesus discover new, abundant, and eternal life through faith in Him.  Have you been brought to a place where you can say, "I hate my life in this world?"  Do not despair if this describes well your feelings and thoughts concerning your life, for there is hope in Jesus.  The curse of sin is dragging you to eternal damnation and torment in hell, but Jesus came to set the captives free!  After dying on the cross, He rose from the dead victorious over sin and death - and that is the victory He provides for all who repent and trust in Him.  Do you need a new heart?  Only Jesus can give you the new heart you need.  A heart transplant only prolongs life on earth, but Jesus gives eternal life which is for today and always.

The Value of Disagreement

Agreeing to disagree is harder said than done.  Tolerance "puts up" with differences without accepting or valuing others as we ought.  Instead of breeding arrogance or indifference, the genuine love of God draws near to those who are misunderstood to convey kindness, compassion, and care.  When I have substituted tolerance for love it is a terrible weight to carry which burdens beyond strength.  When I consider the love of Jesus Christ which was not offered to receive anything good from me but is all of grace, it realigns my perspective with His.

I just finished reading Jesus Among Secular Gods by Ravi Zacharias and Vince Vitale.  I would highly recommend it for Christians and all seekers of truth.  I found the book useful, encouraging, and thought provoking.  I believe it would be a compelling read for willing Christians, skeptics, and atheists alike.  It illustrates well how and why the claims and qualities of Jesus Christ are unique and concrete truth in a world of relativism and other "isms" which resemble sliding sand unsuitable for life and logically unsustainable.  One of the most impacting sections on the book for me personally was a fresh perspective on disagreement.  We have all disagreed with others, and typically holding contrary views does little to draw people together except to argue, become defensive, grow angry, and either raise our voices in frustration or retreat into silence.  Vince Vitale wrote in the chapter titled "Love the Truth:"

"Academic philosophy has its vices, but, at its best, one of its virtues is that it places a very high value on truth.  And one result of this is that disagreeing with someone about their core beliefs is seen as a compliment and an act of service.  It's a way of saying that the other person's ideas are promising enough to take seriously, so much so that you are willing to invest time and effort into them yourself...If a scholar takes the time to critique my research in print, that is a great gift.  And the more extensively she critiques my work, the greater the gift.  Something similar is true in sports.  Extensive critique by a good coach means that the coach sees potential in you,, and therefore believes that putting extra time into you is a good investment....Sadly, because truth so often has been abused as power play, experience has taught us that disagreement goes hand in hand with devaluing.  We have learned that the trajectory of disagreement is from disagreement to devaluing to intolerance to violence.  In fact, the opposite should be true...Because truth has so often been used as a weapon to manipulate, abuse, and control, many have stopped valuing truth altogether.  We have lost the ability to disagree in love.  Even more, we have lost the ability for disagreement to be itself an act of love." (“Love The Truth.” Jesus among Secular Gods: the Countercultural Claims of Christ, by Ravi K Zacharias and Vince Vitale, FaithWords, 2018, pp. 211–212.)

How might your interactions with people change if you viewed disagreement with them as an intentional act of love?  Perhaps even more relevant for a Christian living in a secular world, are you willing to view others who disagree with you as a gracious gift?  We do not need to be professional philosophers to glean and apply this profound truth.  Others may not see your disagreement as a gift, but we do well to view it in this fashion.  May our friendly demeanour and kind tone edify so the sensible will not assume it is a personal attack.  When we feel opposed or attacked for our stance, let us decide it is good for us to put our postulates through their paces.  It is not only our views which are being better distilled and purified, but God will do a mighty work in and through us as we humble ourselves.