Our Good God

One of the most prominent red herrings offered by sceptics concerning God goes like this:  "If God is good and all-powerful, why does he allow bad things to happen?"  What this question suggests is because "bad" things happen God is not good, is not all-powerful, or He does not exist at all.  Better than trying to answer this ill-founded question, logic can be employed to illustrate the folly of it.  If the person asking is convinced God is an imaginary construct and the Bible filled with fairy tales, there is no value to entertain hypothetical questions.  God's love compels us to engage, not so we can win an argument but ultimately so Jesus can save a soul.

Considering the aim of the question according to the claims of God in His Word, respond to a genuine seeker with questions along these lines:  should we doubt the reality of light because darkness exists?  Is it right to blame an upstanding judge because criminals commit crimes?  Is the law wicked because people insist on breaking it?  Is a good shepherd at fault because there are wolves that seek to prey on the flock?  "It is not the same thing," some may protest.  Well said, for nothing can adequately be compared to God!  But reality proves the presence of darkness does not negate the existence of light, for we cannot know one without the other.  An honest person will admit it would be silly to blame a good judge because people do wickedness.  Whilst we may not agree with laws made by men, God's law is perfectly righteous and our inability to keep it reveals our wickedness:  there is none good, no not one.  A good shepherd should be commended for putting his own life at risk to save the sheep, not blamed for the existence of hazards.

God is light, and in Him is no darkness.  The Bible teaches and assumes God was, is, and will ever be.  God graciously formed man in his own image with a conscience, the ability to reason, and the power to choose.  God allowed man to sin with the aim of providing redemption through His own death on the cross in the person of Jesus Christ.  His love was revealed in dying for us on Calvary, and His power revealed in the resurrection from the dead.  God is indeed all-powerful, and He will display this power openly when He judges the world in righteousness.  But God is also longsuffering, patient, kind, gracious, merciful, and compassionate.  Those stricken with doubt and racked with pain struggle to accept this in difficult times.  Yet those trials are the proving ground of our faith, to reveal to us clearly if we love and trust God or if we will deny Him.  Doubts, cares, and fear are all swallowed by faith when we breathe in the truth of God's Word.

Let us join in the song with the angels and elders around the throne of God today and always as we read in Revelation 7:12 "...saying: "Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom, thanksgiving and honour and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. Amen."  Our God is good, and let us always ascribe all honour and power to Him!

God Shows Himself

During a morning walk it was obvious it had rained last night.  The footpaths and streets remained wet, and droplets of water suspended on grass gleamed under a grey sky.  Through the mist I could see two parrots (galahs I think) sitting besides each other on power lines.  I stopped walking to have a better look as they gently preened each other.  It made me think about how strange it is love, affection, and care for others should appear in a world some say relies upon "survival of the fittest."  Life is more than surviving:  love is part of life on earth because God is love and made it so.  In a world saturated with self-love, the sight of two birds loving on each other warmed my heart.

When I saw the birds I thought of my beautiful wife, a precious gift God has given me.  God intended people who are married remain so for life, and it is indeed a blessing to have someone by your side during all seasons of life.  Those bonded birds spoke to an issue greater than companionship or marriage but the relationship God desires to have with all the people He has made - a relationship which transcends and extends infinitely beyond our temporary existence on earth.  Before God created the world, He remained alone.  By the words of His mouth He created the earth, planets, stars, ministering spirits, plants, animals, people, and all living things.  It was mankind He looked upon with keen interest, for into Adam God breathed a living soul.  He gave man spiritual capacity other living creatures do not possess.

In the movie "Toy Story 3" I enjoyed the scene when Barbie and Ken met one another for the first time.  As they are dazzled by each other's lovely appearance, they blurted out in unison:  "It is like we were...made for each other!"  So it is with us and God:  He has created us for Himself and desires to have a close relationship with each person He has made.  If only we would love Him as He loves us!  I hear His voice call out to us as the voice of the beloved in Song of Songs 2:8-10:  "The voice of my beloved! Behold, he comes leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills. My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag. Behold, he stands behind our wall; he is looking through the windows, gazing through the lattice.  My beloved spoke, and said to me: "Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away."  Do our hearts leap as the Shulamite to hear our Saviour speak?  He has given us ears to hear and eyes to see and He reveals Himself everywhere.  Everything is not God, but much of what we see in nature proclaims the wisdom, goodness, and love of God we ought to take to heart.

How awesome and amazing it is God would love me and you!  All people are born into this world alone and we will die alone.  It's true we have family and friends, yet ultimately all must face death alone and then judgment before God.  We can be surrounded by people and activity and at the same time be struck with a profound sense of loneliness.  But praise the LORD we do not need to ever be alone, because God is close to all who draw near to Him in faith.  He will accompany us during our days on earth and for all eternity because He who has promised is faithful.  Distance, time, and death cannot separate us from Him.  How good it is to be loved and accepted by the great God who reveals Himself.

My Moses Moment

God has important lessons to teach us every day.  These lessons can be presented to us in various ways:  from what we observe or read about, through personal experience, and from the past mistakes of others.  Moses was a servant and friend of God, but his disobedience to God in one instance prevented him entry into the Promised Land.  We are grateful for the second chances God gives as our Redeemer (for we cannot redeem ourselves), but the event detailed in Numbers 20 shows there are times when the consequences of sin can be permanent.  Praise the LORD He still loved and utilised Moses as leader amongst His people despite his error.  At the same time, however, God provided a lesson for Moses and for all who observe it to take to heart.

I have my own "Moses moment" of sorts, and the situation couldn't have been more different.  I had been given no command from God, no particular directive that day as I stepped upon the mound to pitch in the baseball grand final in Castle Hill.  It was a hard-fought game and a very sloppy one for a championship match.  Every error in the field meant more strain on my tired body and painful shoulder.  I gritted my teeth and toughed it out on the hill.  We had won three grand finals as a team and the coach trusted me to pitch the entire game.  When the umpire finally shouted "Time and game!" to conclude the contest, we had won.  I don't even remember the score.  Beyond the gladness of winning I felt a wave of relief mixed with intense frustration.  I felt like the whole team was riding on my shoulders and I was glad to have the stress over with.

From the moment it happened, I instantly and continually regretted what followed.  I was fired up after a taxing win and the adrenaline was flowing, but that was no excuse.  Instead of turning to embrace my teammates in celebration or dropping to a knee to thank God, I shouted, stamped toward the dugout, and threw my glove as hard as I could into the fence.  I don't know anyone really noticed this or cared.  We had won!  But I had the immediate sense God had seen it, and it was displeasing to Him.  I had not given God the glory for the victory, even as Moses did not give God glory for the miracle of causing water to flow from the rock.  Though I played baseball for an additional three seasons, I never returned to the "promised land" of a grand final match.  The next season started promising but in the fifth game I tore my ACL and had nearly two years off.  When I returned from injury my vision had deteriorated, and over the course of the next years I separated my shoulder, sprained my ankle, snapped something in my pitching elbow, and I was done.  How good God was to allow me to compete into my forties and even to be a part of a winning team!  I am grateful for such a gracious heavenly Father.

I don't know that anything can prevent us from experiencing a "Moses moment," a time when we regrettably sin against the LORD in doing what displeases Him.  Perhaps you can learn from the lasting consequences Moses faced when he disobeyed God or by my experience playing baseball.  It is good for us to realise sin has consequences, and sometimes permanent ones.  A permanent consequence is a lesson provided by God's grace because it is like a personal tutor who travels with us to instruct us during our remaining years of our earthly pilgrimage.  Moses had a constant reminder - not just that he had sinned - but his sin denied him further favour from God.  I am certain this revelation kept him from future sin and continued to work in his life to humble him.  How mindful he was to cease doing what displeased God!  How he laboured to sanctify God in the present and future because he had been careless in the past.  I'm still learning the lesson from my "Moses moment" and praise the LORD He still has much He wants to say to me - and to you! :)

Jesus is Exalted

Last night at the Calvary Chapel Sydney prayer meeting we sang the Twila Paris song "He is Exalted."  I have always enjoyed the melody and the lyrics resonate in my heart:

He is exalted

The King is exalted on high

I will praise Him

He is exalted, forever exalted

And I will praise His name

He is the Lord

Forever His truth shall reign

Heaven and earth

Rejoice in His holy name

He is exalted

The King is exalted on high

During the time of prayer it was fitting a thread running through many of the spoken prayers was that Jesus be lifted up.  It is fitting God's people should exalt, magnify, and seek to make famous our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ.  Whilst it is good for us to intentionally do this, we do not need to put undue emphasis on our role to the point it becomes an effort of the flesh.  When with our eyes we do not see people doing what we think should be done, the flesh rises up with a protest (perhaps because we too have been negligent):  "I will take it upon myself.  I will be the example.  I'll show all these lazy and sleepy Christians what it really means to live for Jesus."  This perspective is as dangerous as the careless believer whose life says, "Who cares?  If God wants to do something He'll do it with or without me.  I'm going to heaven anyway so why bother?"  The flesh cannot accomplish the works of God,  and before long our resolve will quickly erode away into disillusionment.  Firing up the flesh or coddling it is not the path to exalting our LORD.  Words or songs alone aren't enough:  we need the power of the Holy Spirit overflowing through our lives.

The Bible teaches what the song of Twila Paris joyfully exclaims:  Jesus is exalted.  God has already exalted His Son, having lifted Him up on Calvary as the Saviour of sinners.  John 3:14-16 says, "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, ¹⁵ that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁶ For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."  After the death and resurrection of Jesus then ascended to the right hand of the Father where He lives to make intercession for all who believe.  In His humble obedience to the Father Jesus has been exalted over all as it is written in Philippians 2:9-11:  "Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, ¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, ¹¹ and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

Jesus was and is exalted, so therefore let us exalt Him!  God's future plans to not rely upon us any more than we caused ourselves to be born.  When we were born again by grace through faith in Jesus we needed to cooperate and be in agreement with God through repentance, and this is the humble agreement we must cultivate so Jesus Christ may be exalted in our hearts and lives first.  Revival begins with me, and if you desire revival it begins in you.  Jesus has been lifted up and has drawn all people to Himself, and let us do our part to lift Him up as well.  Praise the LORD our exalted King will help us, and nothing is too hard for Him.