Eyes on the Almighty

Some hold the view that if the opportunity presented itself in person, they would have some rather pointed things to say to God.  They relish the idea of giving God a piece of their mind over trials or troubles they pin on Him.  In the midst of his affliction, Job thought along these lines.  This righteous man of faith said in Job 13:20-22:  "Only two things do not do to me, then I will not hide myself from You: ²¹ withdraw Your hand far from me, and let not the dread of You make me afraid. ²² Then call, and I will answer; or let me speak, then You respond to me."  Job desired an opportunity to present his case to God and be heard, yet when God revealed Himself and began to ask Job questions instead, his views changed dramatically.

God used imagery from the world to show His supremacy over all.  Workmen measured and laid foundations of building, but where was Job when God created and established the earth?  Midwives knew the breaking of water meant the delivery of a baby had commenced, but what did they know about the waters bursting forth upon the earth?  They closed and locked gates to their cities, but could they lock the roaring waves of the sea?  They swaddled infants in clothes yet God swaddled the earth with water and clouds.  People know their way around town and God made a path for thunderbolts in heaven above.  The combative, defensive posture of Job softened under the barrage of questions he could not answer, and he (and we!) are reminded God is almighty, powerful, wise and awesome.

The God who made ears, shall He not hear?  The God who made eyes, shall He not see?  The God who gave us understanding, shall He not know?  Our capacity to hear, see and know is limited, but God's abilities are infinite.  There is no question a man can ask that stumps God, and just because we are overwhelmed and do not know what to do does not mean He is ever in such a state.  He is God, and we are not, and it is a good thing to keep this ever in our minds.  Should our problems or pains make God's power or love seem insignificant, it is we who need to be reminded of God and all He has promised.  The God who gave us mouths and the ability to communicate has spoken and speaks to us today.

When Judah was invaded by enemies, king Jehoshaphat sought the LORD and cried out to Him in 2 Chronicles 20:12-13, "O our God, will You not judge them? For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You." ¹³ Now all Judah, with their little ones, their wives, and their children, stood before the LORD."  The king and all his people united to draw near to the LORD who was faithful to hear and deliver them from trouble.  Solomon said there is a time for every purpose under heaven, and the invading armies prompted Jehoshaphat and the people to seek God, bring their petitions before Him and look to Him for deliverance.  Fear led to great rejoicing and abundance, and this is what only God is able to accomplish by His grace.  Jehoshaphat cried out to God, stopped talking and received the answer from the mouth of the LORD by the prophet.  Praise God in Him we find rest for our souls.

Maintaining Good Works

"This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men."

Titus 3:8

I have heard people say, "That's my good deed for the day" as if it is a onerous chore.  It seems some are glad to move on from doing good to get on with what we would rather do.  But is there anything better than doing good, seeing it is one purpose God has created us?  Why limit our good deeds to one when, if done with the mindset of irritation or self-commendation, it may not even be classified as a "good" deed because of selfish motives behind it?

Ephesians 2:8-10 says, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not of works, lest anyone should boast. ¹⁰ For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them."  Having been born again by faith in Jesus, we are created in Christ Jesus for good works God has prepared for us to do.  The Titus passage affirms constantly we should be "careful to maintain good works."  It is strongly implied even after we trust in Christ we are not vigilant as we should be to continually do good.

To keep things we have in prime condition maintenance is required.  Quality vehicles, houses, yards and our bodies need regular maintenance.  Toilets, the BBQ, carpets and floors need maintenance to remain clean.  We love the idea of things being "maintenance free" like many car batteries are these days, but that still doesn't mean they will last forever.  Good works are not maintenance free:  they need to be carefully maintained because they do not happen automatically.  The desire, ability and joy in doing them all come from God, and thus maintaining a close relationship with God is a key to maintaining good works we join with Him and others in doing.

In reflecting on maintenance, it is easy to start well and quickly taper off.  We can be forgetful to mow the lawn or decide we'd rather not power wash the deck because it isn't that bad.  We can be tired, prioritise doing something else, or plain choose to ignore the thing.  This is where self-control, diligence and perseverance God gives make a difference when we humble ourselves before the LORD.  Doing good is good and profitable to all men, and that includes us and others.  Jesus has given us an example of what doing good looks like, in Acts 10:38 Peter connected Jesus' doing good with being anointed by the Holy Spirit and power.  God was with Him, and Jesus has promised to be with us.

After you have done a good deed, don't stop there!  If we do good it is only because God is good, and instead of commending ourselves we ought to praise and thank Him.  Each day we are given on earth is a good gift from God, and we ought to be constantly careful to maintain good works.  We need not keep a tally of our good deeds, for every one is only possible because of our good God and Saviour who created us to do good works He has prepared beforehand for us to do.  Doing good is what we are to devote ourselves to because we are in Christ who has begun a good work in us.

The Honest Truth

Lately I've been reading through a compilation of articles written by G.K Chesterton.  I have found to follow his long and slow moving train of thought to the end, all my continued attention is required.  Today I was particularly impressed with his observations shared in a particular paragraph and felt like saying, "Hear, hear!" because Chesterton was spot on.  The distinction he made between not telling lies and telling the truth is an important one, whether in public school or not.

"Touching the morality of the public schools, I will take one point only, which is enough to prove the case.  People have got into their heads an extraordinary idea that English public-school boys and English youth generally are taught to tell the truth.  They are taught absolutely nothing of the kind.  At no English public school is it even suggested, except by accident, that it is a man's duty to tell the truth.  What is suggested is something entirely different:  that it is a man's duty not to tell lies.  So completely does this mistake soak through all civilisation that we hardly ever think even of the difference between the two things.  When we say to a child, "You must tell the truth," we do merely mean that he must refrain from verbal inaccuracies.  But the thing we never teach at all is the general duty of telling the truth, of giving a complete and fair picture of anything we are talking about, of not misrepresenting, not evading, not suppressing, not using plausible arguments that we know to be unfair, not selecting unscrupulously to prove an ex parte case (a proceeding conducted for the benefit of only one party), not telling all the nice stories about the Scotch, and all the nasty stories about the Irish, not pretending to be disinterested when you are really angry, not pretending to be angry when you are really only avaricious.  The one thing that is never taught by any chance in the atmosphere of public schools is exactly that--that there is a whole truth of things, and that in knowing it and speaking it we are happy." (Chesterton, G. K. All Things Considered. CreateSpace, 2018. page 78)

In secular societies like Australia and the United States, talk of duty is almost wholly rejected unless speaking of your duty to yourself to do and say as you please.  Duty is a dirty word because it strongly implies a subservient position of a person with an obligation to others.  When it comes to speaking the truth it is a duty before God who created mankind, gave us minds to think, consciences to consider, and mouths to speak.  There is an enormous difference between avoiding telling lies and honestly telling the truth.  Fear, insecurities, the desire to be accepted and pleasing can stand as insurmountable obstacles to the naked truth.  It is entirely possible to avoid lying and never come close to actually speaking truth.  Jesus claimed to be Truth personified, and thus His followers ought to love, speak and walk in the truth.

Jesus provided us an example of what speaking the truth in love looks like, for His bold statements and probing questions were with the glory of God and the good of others in mind.  Since Jesus knew the hearts and thoughts of men, He could have used this to His advantage to humiliate adversaries and seek favour by catering to man's skewed opinions.  Too many times I (and probably everyone else) have been careful to avoid telling lies rather than speaking the honest truth.  I have cared more about a potential adverse reaction someone might have to it rather than being motivated to speak honest truth because with this God is well pleased.  There is a necessary place for the considerations of the thoughts and feelings of others and tact, but this does not justify cloaking truth with convenient half-truths which could rightly be called lies.  Since we are of the Truth, we ought to walk in truth, love in truth and speak the truth rather than avoiding telling lies.

The Presence of the LORD

"Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob, ⁸ Who turned the rock into a pool of water, the flint into a fountain of waters."

Psalm 114:7-8

The earth created by God has been witness to countless miracles and displays of divine power.  God caused the earth to open its mouth and swallow Korah, Dathan and Abiram and all who joined with them against Moses.  When God descended on Sinai the earth shook and a thick cloud covered the mount.  The miracle referenced here was when God, on at least two occasions, caused water to flow from the rock in the wilderness (Exodus 17 & Numbers 20).  God provided water from the rock for His people to be refreshed, sustained and He would be sanctified in the eyes of the people.

This miraculous flow of water was a foreshadowing of how God, by a new covenant entered into by faith in Jesus, would cause the Living Water of the Holy Spirit to flow through those who are born again by the Gospel.  Ezekiel 36:26-27 says, "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."  The people who drank from the water God caused to flow eventually fell in the wilderness, but those who are spiritually regenerated by faith in Jesus will live forever in glory with Him.

It is a fitting thing for the earth to tremble in the presence of the LORD because the power of God to save is equaled by His ability to destroy forever.  This earth, unlike believers in the LORD Jesus Christ, will not be redeemed:  it will be replaced with new heavens and a new earth where only righteousness dwells.  This world, all the systems, wisdom and Satan the temporary ruler of it are under the coming judgment of God which is inescapable.  Jesus Christ provides the only hope of forgiveness, reconciliation and salvation from sin.  Those who know God tremble before His power, and those who do not yet know God someday will.  Because the almighty God humbled Himself to appear to the world as Jesus Christ, Paul wrote in Philippians 2:7-11:  "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."

The earth trembles in the presence of the LORD because it will be no more.  People tremble out of fear, yes, but also from anger, from shock or when nervous or excited.  The earth trembles and quakes, yet by the grace of God believers are established on solid ground and can stand fast by faith in Jesus.  Praise the LORD for the spiritual rebirth He has granted us by His grace and the Living Water of the Holy Spirit which springs up into eternal life.  We tremble because we are weak, and we tremble because God is strong.  How good it is to be held secure by Him!