Tempting Thieves

I don't think we can imagine a world where the almighty, living God is not good.  If God was not good, there could be nothing resembling good in the world.  It is only because God is good there are admirable and praiseworthy characteristics in people.  Love, joy, peace, and kindness are a reality to be desired because in God we find all these things.

Today I checked out a new sandy spot to metal detect and I saw a sign which was amusing and confronting at the same time.  The beautiful natural landscape was in stark contrast to the reminder that everything is not right in the world.

The sign read in all caps:  "BEWARE:  DO NOT TEMPT THIEVES, DO NOT LEAVE VALUABLES IN VIEW, LOCK YOUR CAR."  The only reason why these signs were placed throughout the car part was because people do not keep God's 8th commandment which says, "Thou shalt not steal."  The signs warns and urges law-abiding citizens are to take precautions against thieves because only a little temptation is required to bring wickedness to the surface which negatively impacts everyone.  It is a tragedy innocent people need to take responsibility to prevent "tempting" criminals when people shouldn't steal in the first place.  But stealing is what thieves do, always looking for an easy score.  Jesus is the only one who can fundamentally change the hearts and minds of thieves.

How grateful I am for the righteousness and wisdom of God!  Instead of being a thief He is a generous provider of gifts out of His storehouses of grace.  Not only does He provide for our physical needs but through the Gospel makes a provision for corrupt thieves to be given a new heart which desires to please God.  Without God there would be no hope for thieves, liars, fornicators, and idolators--for anyone!  Faith in Jesus Christ as LORD is all He requires for salvation, for Jesus spoke from the cross to the repentant thief:  "Assuredly I say unto you, today you will be with me in Paradise."  Isn't that awesome?  How great is the benefit for all mankind because of the God's goodness.

Though the signs did not instill any confidence in the security of the lot, I did find a handful of items--probably nothing anyone would be interested to steal. :)

Textbook Hypocrisy

God has many lessons to teach us outside of church, practical sermons we can put to personal use.  Yesterday I was gifted one such lesson.  Our church building is located in an industrial park which has unit numbers painted on each space in the carpark in addition to a sign on the kerb.  I removed the signs to prep the concrete to install new signs and placed them on top of the kerb in the meantime due to rain.  When I arrived at church yesterday the signs had been thrown into the planter.  There are almost always people who utilise our parking spaces since we do not keep regular business hours.  Seeing those signs in the planters made me shake my head and smile, imagining people could then justify parking in our spots.  This is a picture of hypocrisy that seeks to justify self.

I was suddenly reminded of an event which unfolded over 15 years ago when I worked in the shipyard at NASSCO.  One of my work mates came into the shack before work absolutely beaming, and this was out of the ordinary because of his usual sullen disposition.  He couldn't contain his excitement as he gleefully produced a one hundred dollar bill:  "Look what I found!"  Then he proceeded to tell the story.  As he was walking in the gate he noticed what looked to be money "working its way out" of another worker's pocket.  When the bill fell out of the pocket he quickly pounced on the cash and pocketed it.  "Finders keepers!" he said triumphantly.  I was aghast.  "You know who dropped the money?  You saw it fall?  That's stealing!" I asserted.  He did not feel guilty in the least:  he justified keeping the money because he didn't take it out of the man's pocket but picked it up off the ground.

Now as I considered these two sets of experiences I was driving to an appointment.  50 metres ahead of me a large bus suddenly indicated to merge into my lane.  Not content to dawdle behind a bus I sped up beyond the speed limit rather than slowing down.  There was plenty of room behind me anyway.  Then it struck me:  what if that bus had been a police car?  I can say without question I would have slowed down and welcomed the police car to take a position in front of me.  I don't know anyone who enjoys being tailed by police.  What did my actions demonstrate?  Textbook human hypocrisy!  It is the same folly that justifies parking in reserved spot because there wasn't a permanent sign affixed; it is the same hypocrisy which justifies stealing because someone else's money touched the ground without their knowledge.  Me speeding up to pass the bus gave me insight into my own heart and my need to confess and repent of my sin.

It is one thing to recognise hypocrisy in others or to freely admit we are hypocritical too, but to take the lesson to heart is to repent of our own hypocrisy and walk uprightly in the future.  So the next time there is a bus or anyone else indicating to merge, I ought to treat them with the same care as a police cruiser I have no intent to offend.  This "respecting of persons" (or vehicles!) is not potentially in play only when driving but in all interactions.  As a child of God it is my calling to walk in love towards all whether behind the wheel or picking up after vandals.  Praise the LORD He is patient, gracious, and forgiving because without Him I would be adrift and lost forever.

Forgiveness With God

"If You, LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? ⁴ But there is forgiveness with You, that You may be feared."

Psalm 130:3-4

Last night I tossed and turned after going to bed.  Summer heat coupled with sinus congestion made initial attempts to sleep fruitless.  So I decided to meditate on noble and praiseworthy aspects of God's character in gratitude.  Paul's exhortation in Philippians 4:8 is fitting for night and day:  "Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy--meditate on these things."  Who is more true, noble, just, pure, lovely, good, virtuous, or praiseworthy than God?  He is the ultimate personification of all these qualities and infinitely more.

Isn't it amazing a holy and just God of absolute purity should be forgiving?  If God gave us sinners what we deserve we would be consumed in eternal fire.  God is forgiving because He is loving but not at the expense of justice.  If God marked our iniquities forever eternity in hell would be our just lot.  It is phenomenal that not only does God forgive us of sins but fully pardons us through the atoning blood of Jesus Christ.  We who place our faith in Jesus as LORD and Saviour and are born again He expunges our permanent record of sins.  Having nailed the Law which condemned us to the cross, we are forever free of condemnation.  In His grace the righteousness of Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, is imputed or credited to each soul purchased by the Gospel.

The Psalmist makes a remarkable conclusion concerning the impact being forgiven ought to have on us:  "But there is forgiveness with You, that You may be feared."  The fear of God is not always accompanied with forgiveness and salvation, for even the demons tremble in fear before the Almighty.  The point is all who have been forgiven ought to fear and reverence God.  It would be a grave error to not fear God after He has revealed Himself to us, offered Himself as a sacrifice for sins as our substitute, redeemed us from the curse, and has adopted us as His own beloved children.  If the fear of God worked in us as aliens from the commonwealth of God, condemned by our sins for eternity, how much more ought we fear Him as LORD and Father!  On the basis of His forgiveness alone He deserves our fear, obedience, and undying love.

The Psalmist concluded the song with the result of forgiveness and fearing the LORD in Psalm 130:5-7:  "I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in His word I do hope. ⁶ My soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning--yes, more than those who watch for the morning. ⁷ O Israel, hope in the LORD; for with the LORD there is mercy, and with Him is abundant redemption."  In the fear of the LORD the psalmist waited for the LORD and hoped in His Word.  There was an expectancy in hearing from the LORD which was more sure than sun rising over the horizon.  In the darkness we can hope in the LORD because there is mercy and abundant redemption in Him.  How good is God and great is His kindness and grace to us!  Praise the LORD there is forgiveness with Him, and blessed are those who fear and hope in Him.

Embracing Personal Change

Positive though change may be, there is in everyone natural resistance to personal change we don't want.  Maybe we cannot see the benefit or need to change; changing requires too much sacrifice or does not fit our ideal.  Receiving Jesus Christ as Saviour brings about a dynamic, transformational change of the heart and mind of Christians that is continual and relentless as we grow in grace.  As long as we remain in these bodies of flesh there will be conflict Paul described between our flesh and the new man created after Jesus Christ.  Our call is not to focus primarily on the need of others to change but to hear the echo of Christ's words to Peter who wondered about John's responsibility:  "What is that to you?  You follow Me."

Even as the flesh resists the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit, so those who reject Christ as Saviour rebuff the efforts of God's people to affect godly transformation.  An example of this tendency is seen in Acts 17:5-8 which took place in Thessalonica:  "But the Jews who were not persuaded, becoming envious, took some of the evil men from the marketplace, and gathering a mob, set all the city in an uproar and attacked the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people. ⁶ But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some brethren to the rulers of the city, crying out, "These who have turned the world upside down have come here too. ⁷ Jason has harbored them, and these are all acting contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying there is another king--Jesus." ⁸ And they troubled the crowd and the rulers of the city when they heard these things."

Motivated by envy, the outraged mob resorted to violently dragging Christians before the rulers of the city, slandering them as rabble--when it was they who were guilty of such things.  They mis-characterised the believers by accusing them of being loyal to Jesus rather than Caesar and troubled the people.  While it is true the Christian's loyalty and obedience to God is to be the utmost priority, what they did not understand or glossed over were the teachings of Jesus which commanded believers to honour and obey the authorities He has established.  Followers of Jesus ought to be numbered among the most honest, obedient, and faithful citizens as they minister unto the LORD.  There is a way a half-truth can be told which obscures the real truth and troubles minds who know not Christ as LORD.  Besides, turning a world "upside down" isn't a bad thing when it puts things right.

The Christian call is not to turn the world upside down but to follow Jesus Christ in faith.  In a world fixated on activism, rebelling against authority, or places faith in government to change society Jesus empowers us by His grace to be personally transformed and live for Him.  God can mightily use one person yielded in submission to Him (and even a graceless wretch!) to impact others and the world for good.  The examples in scripture and even in our day are beyond number.  God used reluctant Moses to deliver the children of Israel out of bondage in Egypt.  God called and filled John the Baptist with the Holy Spirit to prepare the way for all people to see the salvation of God through Jesus.  Paul was born again through faith in Jesus and led by the Holy Spirit to bring the Gospel to the Gentiles.  The impact of what men and women have done in obedience to God to this day continue to reverberate around the globe with eternal ramifications.

The dynamic between the unbelieving world and the church can also be seen between individual believers and the Body of Christ.  During seasons of personal growth there is always a temptation to look upon "the church" with disdain:  the church is too worldly, not sufficiently engaged with social issues, not committed enough to mission work, quenching the Spirit, worship is dead, preaching is dry, people are not politically engaged, ad nauseam.  In this case what is true in society is true in the church, that the church can only change as much as individuals are changed.  It is not other people changing which is to be our main goal but to look to Jesus in faith and obedience.  It is not even changing myself which is to be my primary aim because only God has the power to accomplish this!  I must take personally the call the embrace my own sanctification--not to lament the lack of sanctification in others or "the church."  I am grateful God uses people to help us in our sanctification, and He graciously uses us to aid others too.  It is more blessed to give than to receive, but we must submit to both to grow in spiritual health and fruitfulness.