Give to the LORD

While in the synagogue in Nazareth, Jesus read the place where it was written in Isaiah 61:1-3:  "The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; ² to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn, ³ to console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified."  In coming to earth as a man, God chose to add humanity to His deity to save sinners.  If God was coming only as a Judge and to take vengeance upon sinners, He did not have to become man at all.

Wouldn't it be a strange thing for prisoners to prefer the comfort of their cells than wanting to be free?  To remain a captive to a cruel tyrant when there is opportunity to be free to serve the King Jesus?  It would be sad to continue mourning when God has real comfort for us, and how ridiculous it would be to cling to ashes in memory of what was when God has beauty to give in exchange.  The LORD provides them who trust Him the oil of joy for mourning and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness--all for the glory of God and our good.  Even as we must put off old shoes before we can be fitted with new ones, we must be willing to hand all we mourn over to the LORD to receive the joy and praise suited for trees of righteousness established by God's grace.

We who are willing to confess and repent of our sin to receive the atonement, forgiveness and righteousness of God ought to part with the regrets of our past as we enter the new life by faith in Jesus.  To think we can have beauty for ashes is a glorious truth of the reality of God's grace and mercy at work within us.  Ashes are a reminder of what was and will never again be, but far better is the beauty of holiness found in God alone.  having received hope and salvation from God, it is fitting for us to respond by giving to God as it is written in 1 Chronicles 16:28-29, "Give to the LORD, O families of the peoples, give to the LORD glory and strength. ²⁹ Give to the LORD the glory due His name; bring an offering, and come before Him. Oh, worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness!"  Even our ashes are a gift from the LORD's hand that we might bring an acceptable offering of praise for His goodness and the joyful new life He has provided.

Let us by faith make our requests to God, and at the same time not forget to give Him all the praise, worship (and even our mourning and ashes!) so we might grow into the fruitful trees of righteousness for His glory.

What Defiles a Man

The Pharisees made great efforts to avoid what would defile them under the Law of Moses.  They avoided eating unclean foods, touching unclean items or a dead body, sitting on an unclean seat or eating without first washing their hands according to the tradition of the elders.  Potential defilement was everywhere, and thus God-fearing people among the Jews spared no pains to carefully abstain from touching, eating or doing what would defile them.

What Jesus said offended the Pharisees in Matthew 15:10-11:  "When He had called the multitude to Himself, He said to them, "Hear and understand: ¹¹ not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man."  While the Pharisees continually laboured to keep traditions of men to avoid physical defilement, Jesus taught it is sin within a man that defiles him before God.  They kept commands not to touch, taste or handle with their perishing bodies and neglected the inner man, their eternal souls which would endure beyond the lifespan of human flesh.  You see, we are more than flesh, blood and bone having been created in the image of the eternal God with living souls.  A person can have dirty hands from working in the yard and at the same time can be clean and upright in God's sight by grace through faith in Jesus.

This teaching that offended the Pharisees also proved difficult for the disciples to receive.  In response to their question Matthew 15:16-20 reads, "So Jesus said, "Are you also still without  understanding? ¹⁷ Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated? ¹⁸ But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man.¹⁹ For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. ²⁰ These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man."  Eating without washing hands may contaminate our physical bodies, but even tainted food cannot corrupt our souls.  It is the sin within the heart and mind of a person which moves our hands to do evil, our mouths to speak lies and our bodies to burn with lust.  We might blame the influences around us for the sin it simply stirs up in our hearts.  The stick that stirs up silt in the pool did not create or introduce the dirt that clouds the water:  the stick was merely the means of bringing to light how dirty the pool already was.

It is what proceeds from the heart that defiles a man, and praise the LORD He is able to wash us clean by the forgiveness offered by Jesus to those who are in Him.  Our sinful condition is terminal without hope, and Jesus has become our living hope by the atonement provided on Calvary.  It is wisdom to avoid what causes us or others to be weak in faith or to stumble in sin, but it is our hearts which require cleansing and transforming by God's grace through the Gospel.  We cannot eliminate our sin that defiles us when it percolates within us and eventually proceeds out of us.  Only Jesus can do this for us when we confess our sins and repent, and He helps us to walk by faith in obedience to Him moving forward.  Jesus has done for us as promised in Isaiah 1:18:  "Come now, and let us reason together," says the LORD, "though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool."

Contend for the Faith

"Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints."

Jude 1:3

In writing to believers, Jude exhorted them to contend for their common salvation and faith in Jesus Christ.  He found it necessary to urge them to continue the struggle to walk in obedience to Jesus Christ themselves because many among them who lived lives that denied the LORD Jesus Christ.  Instead of following His example and heeding God's word, they justified licentiousness by grace, were given over to fornication, spoke arrogantly in pride, and were greedy for rewards and power.  The love feasts of the church had been corrupted by ungodliness in the lives of nominal believers who lacked the fear of God.

What fascinates me about Jude's exhortation to contend for the faith does not involve what we might think.  They were not called to point fingers at others, ferret out evildoers, seek to expose the ungodly or threaten them.  Why?  Consistent with all the examples provided was God's ability and power to judge the wicked Himself:  He destroyed those who believed not after the exodus from Egypt, bound the angels in prison to await judgment, burned Sodom and the surrounding cities with fire from heaven, rebuked Satan, marked Cain for his sin, slew Balaam with the sword and caused the earth to swallow up Korah with those allied with him.  Without being contentious, the genuine children of God are marked by their humility in contending earnestly to trust and obey Jesus themselves.

Notice how the practical ways Jude describes to contend earnestly for the faith are to be taken and applied personally in Jude 1:17-21:  "But you, beloved, remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ: ¹⁸ how they told you that there would be mockers in the last time who would walk according to their own ungodly lusts. ¹⁹ These are sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit. ²⁰ But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, ²¹ keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life."  The first way to contend for the faith once delivered to the saints is to remember what God has said. We ought not to be surprised or shocked there are pretenders who worm their way into Christian fellowships.  We ought to ensure we are not numbered among them who walk according to ungodly lusts or are divisive.  As children of God we are not at the mercy of others, rather we are enabled and empowered to do what God has said by His grace.

Christians are to contend with our own flesh, selfish arguments, ambitions and folly to be built up on our most holy faith, heeding and obeying what Jesus has said.  We ought to pray in the Holy Spirit as we keep ourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our LORD Jesus Christ.  Many people assume the battles we are engaged in are primarily against the world and ungodly influences and heresies in the church, taking the fight to what or who they believe is "wrong" without faithfully putting in personal practice these means of contending personally.  If we will not contend in the secret place of our hearts and lives--putting off the lusts of the flesh, confessing our pride, being built up in faith by obedience, prayer, walking in love and looking for the mercy of our LORD Jesus--our contending with others will be contentious, pointless and powerless.  If we will not abide in God's love by faith and obedience to Christ ourselves, we are part of the problem and under vain delusion we contend well.

"What about giving an answer to the hope that is within us?" some will say.  "What about studying to show ourselves approved, workmen that need not be ashamed as we rightly divide the word of truth?"  Amen and amen, but anyone who keeps watch well must first take heed to themselves.  The log must be addressed in our own eye before we can go about looking for specks in our brother's eye.  The exhortation of Jude to contend is not to subvert or tangle with those we judge to be ungodly, but primarily to face the ungodliness that manifests itself within us every single day by faith in Christ marked by obedience, dying to self, loving God and others, seeking and serving Him rather than pleasing ourselves.  Jacob did not become Israel without a personal wrestle with the LORD, and contending earnestly for the faith ourselves is how we embrace our sanctification and yield to Him.

Pastures of Green

The cliche "The devil is in the details" highlights how a small detail can lead to a big problem.  A simple body posture or eye movement can lead a discerning observer to suspect someone is being dishonest and not telling the whole truth.  Innocuous behaviour or statements which could have been easily overlooked have led to convictions of murder that stuck.  On the flip side, as we travel through life and read the Bible to hear from God it is evident the smallest details point to His wisdom, goodness and grace.  Every word of God is pure, and as we read the Bible a single word has meaning and insight beyond definition alone to teach us of our glorious God and Saviour.

David wrote in Psalm 23:1-2, "The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. ² He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters."  The picture of the LORD being a good shepherd Who protects and leads his sheep provides enduring comfort.  Sheep do not lie down unless they are at rest and feel secure, and blessed is the man who finds the rest only Jesus Christ can provide.  I have driven by many green pastures with sheep grazing and meandering around, and seldom do I see them laying down.  The pasture being described as "green" speak of lush growth and good nutrition.  What I recently considered is how the description using a colour also means the pasture is bathed in light.  This may seem like a very minor detail, but it is an important one.

Whilst sheep depend largely upon their hearing to detect danger, they can see colours.  Their eyes do not see as clearly or far as humans, and we require light to see colour.  When the shepherds kept watch over their sheep by night outside Bethlehem, it could not be said they were in pastures of green because of darkness.  Because Jesus Christ is the Good Shepherd (John 10:11) who is also the light of the world who gives the light of life (John. 8:12), He indeed leads us to pastures of green.  In Him is light and no darkness at all!  What the pastures supply for a healthy sheep Jesus does much more for us body and soul, for in Him physically and spiritually we find rest.

Take heart, Christian, for Jesus makes us to lie down in green pastures and children of the day.  The exhortation of 1 Thessalonians 5:1-10 is most relevant for us:  "But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. ² For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. ³ For when they say, "Peace and safety!" then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. ⁴ But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. ⁵ You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. ⁶ Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. ⁷ For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. ⁸ But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. ⁹ For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, ¹⁰ who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him."