Wisdom in Sight

I've enjoyed reading through the book of Proverbs lately, and there is an amazing store of wisdom contained therein for the hungry and discerning soul.  The wisdom of God is not secreted away in a monastic commune, written with indecipherable symbols or buried in a chest on the highest mountain.  The wisdom of God is not earned through sacrifice but received by faith in Jesus Christ.  To all people Wisdom cries aloud, and for those willing to heed have wisdom in sight before them as it is written in Proverbs 17:24:  "Wisdom is in the sight of him who has understanding, but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth."

Because Jesus is wisdom for us (1 Corinthians 1:30-31) He opens our eyes to discern and recognise the wisdom of God and begin to understand how God's wisdom is to guide our own thoughts, attitudes and choices.  Jesus is with us and will not forsake us; He is our life so wisdom is always at hand.  After His resurrection this was apparent in the interactions of Jesus with His disciples.  As He walked with them (without them even recognising Him) Luke 24:27 says, "And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself."  Suddenly the Bible became an open book of divine revelation to the disciples.  Later in the passage Luke 24:45 said, "And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures."  It is one thing to read words on a page and another to comprehend them, and it is Jesus who makes all the difference.

In contrast to the one who has understanding Solomon said, "...the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth."  A fool, one the scriptures describe as living as if God does not exist, is without understanding to recognise God and His wisdom is at hand.  Such a one imagines wisdom exists beyond sight and cannot truly be known:  it is a mirage without substance, an unfounded rumour, a theoretical concept obscured by a cloudy mist.  Since God is the source of true wisdom, the fool cannot perceive the wisdom of God to guide him on his present path.  The Bible sits closed and dusty on a shelf, and wisdom might as well be a world away because the fool has no understanding or appetite for it.  Even if the truth of God's wisdom is heard secondhand the unregenerate fool has no capacity to walk in it.

Praise the LORD Jesus is wisdom for us, and He lives!  He walks with us, speaks with us and has sent the Comforter to help, guide and instruct us in all truth.  Having opened our eyes by faith in Him, Jesus is now in our sight.  We can be content, joyful and at rest in the goodness of God right where we are.  We have full assurance God is wisely guiding and leading us to His desired end which is glorious and good, for Jesus Christ is wisdom for us.

Consider One Another

I recently saw a church website that emphasised the importance and meaning of receiving communion.  More than half of the blog posts I read were on this subject and explained how it was the responsibility of believers to remember and proclaim the LORD's death until He comes.  Partaking of the broken bread and cup is a symbolic act which indicates the reality of faith in Jesus Christ as the Lamb of God crucified for us.  These points were all well made and ought to be taken to heart by all Christ's disciples.

What was inferred in the blog posts was the need for believers to join an assembly of believers to do this together as one.  The receiving of communion is an important observation, not to earn or guarantee salvation, but because we are saved and are being saved by faith in Jesus demonstrated by obedience.  If such emphasis on the Last Supper is warranted, then it is also fitting to emphasise the unity of believers in Christ as one Body, the church.  Unless we are personally connected with a local fellowship of Christians it could be compared to a believer who never receives communion.  Communion is an act of obedience to Christ, even as gathering in one accord to praise and worship the LORD together.

Baptism is another symbolic act followers of Christ are called to submit to that illustrates how our sins have been washed clean, that as Jesus died and rose again we have been born again by faith in Him and raised to new life.  To be baptised without first being born again and forgiven of sins is not congruent, and partaking of communion without being spiritually regenerated is a total contradiction:  a believer who does not meet regularly together with Christians is just as contrary as it relates to the reality of our new life in Christ.  Hebrews 10:24-25 says, "And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, ²⁵ not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching."

A lot of people focus on the "assembling of ourselves together" as if this is the primary aim, but it is infinitely more than church attendance.  If the prime reason we attend church is out of obligation, we miss the reason behind it:  "consider one another in order to stir up love and good works...exhorting one another."  Going to church ought not to be only to receive communion or be baptised but out of consideration for one another in order to stir up love according to God's word.  This is a good description of what fellowship looks like, contributing to the strength, health and fitness of the church by walking in love, stirring up good works and exhorting one another to walk with Jesus faithfully.  We can only follow the "one another" commands of scripture when we consider and assemble with one another.  It is a blessing beyond words to walk together with brothers and sisters united in the love of God with Jesus Christ as our Head.

Complaints and Fire

Complaining is one of those things all people tend to do that is not necessarily sinful in itself yet can be an indication of a wicked heart that is displeasing to God.  Even when a complaint is justified, our pride and anger can be stirred to transgress in self-righteousness.  We can have our facts straight and our thoughts, feelings and attitudes disjointed from the faith, hope and love Jesus leads us to submit to.

It is perfectly wise to pour out our complaints to God as the psalmist Asaph did in Psalm 77:3:  "I remembered God, and was troubled; I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed. Selah."  In an ironic twist these overwhelming thoughts and feelings turned out it to be Asaph's problem, not God's.  While a complaint can be an expression of grief or dissatisfaction, it can also be a judgment or protest against something viewed as unacceptable.  Should our complaint be about what God has done or allowed, Who is only righteous, wise and good, it makes a man sinfully rise up in criticism of God.  To take our complaint before the LORD is one thing, but to murmur and complain to others--as if God has done wrong--reveals a heart has veered from faith and reliance on God.

Numbers 10:33-11:3 is a compelling example of how complaining can be displeasing to God:  "So they departed from the mountain of the LORD on a journey of three days; and the ark of the covenant of the LORD went before them for the three days' journey, to search out a resting place for them. ³⁴ And the cloud of the LORD was above them by day when they went out from the camp. ³⁵ So it was, whenever the ark set out, that Moses said: "Rise up, O LORD! Let Your enemies be scattered, and let those who hate You flee before You." ³⁶ And when it rested, he said: "Return, O LORD, to the many thousands of Israel." ¹ Now when the people complained, it displeased the LORD; for the LORD heard it, and His anger was aroused. So the fire of the LORD burned among them, and consumed some in the outskirts of the camp. ² Then the people cried out to Moses, and when Moses prayed to the LORD, the fire was quenched. ³ So he called the name of the place Taberah, because the fire of the LORD had burned among them."

I wonder:  why did the people complain?  God wasn't the source of the problem but unbelief, selfishness and pride in the hearts of His people.  The presence of God was with His people to guide and protect them, yet they complained.  The text does not say they complained to God but is inferred they loudly murmured in their tents like countless other times.  Their complaining displeased the LORD and His fire burned among them and consumed some of them, even as their murmuring spread like fire in the camp.  Their loud complaining quickly shifted to crying out to Moses, and God immediately responded to his intercessory prayer and quenched the flames.  Complaints and fire share things in common, like how they tend to spread and do great damage.  God was displeased by the complaining of the people, and the people were displeased by the fire He sent.  The response of God Who committed His Law to Moses showed just how destructive complaining is in a spiritual sense when His fire burnt among them, a just response like an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a burn for a burn.

It is good for us to realise when we complain and murmur over what we deem unsatisfactory or troubling, we can be unknowingly complaining against God.  Better to direct our concerns to God ourselves and be casting our cares upon Him than to vent our complaints to whoever happens to be at hand.  Complaining spreads like a fire among people and with this God is not pleased.  It is when we bring our complaints to Him we are enlightened, not with the burning heat of a flame that scorches skin, but by the Light of the World Jesus Christ pierced for us.  He turns our complaints into praise, for the Holy Spirit reminds us of God's great works and His glorious redemption by His grace.

Grace and Gladness

"He who earnestly seeks good finds favour, but trouble will come to him who seeks evil."

Proverbs 11:27

On Sunday at church we looked at a passage that well illustrates the principle held forth here.  When cousin Mordecai communicated to queen Esther the evil devised against their people, she ultimately decided to approach the king without being summoned.  For any who dared do so there was only one law:  death.  There was a caveat, however, for the king could overrule the unchanging law of the Medes and Persians and hold forth the golden sceptre to spare the life of one who found favour in his sight.

Esther, her maids, Mordecai and all the Jews he gathered in Shushan the citadel fasted three days before she sought an audience with king Ahasuerus.  I am certain she earnestly sought the God of Israel who alone is good in that time, for her desire was that she and her people should live.  Her life was dependent upon God as she approached the king.  Esther 5:1-2 reads, "Now it happened on the third day that Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the king's palace, across from the king's house, while the king sat on his royal throne in the royal house, facing the entrance of the house. ² So it was, when the king saw Queen Esther standing in the court, that she found favor in his sight, and the king held out to Esther the golden scepter that was in his hand. Then Esther went near and touched the top of the scepter."  Walking by faith in God was the means of Esther finding favour with the king, and the schemes of Haman the enemy of the Jews soon came to light and were overthrown.

Haman the Agagite was troubled when Mordecai the Jew refused to bow before him, and was moved to destroy Mordecai and all the children of Israel as well.  He concealed his true intentions before the king to curry his favour and used the signet ring of the king to write into law a command to kill the Jewish people--all under the guise of protecting the king and the good of his kingdom.  But Haman was not content to wait to destroy the man he hated and constructed  high gallows for the purpose of hanging Mordecai.  When queen Ether exposed Haman's deceit and murderous intentions, the king brought great trouble upon the man who sought to do evil and hung Haman on the gallows intended for Mordecai.  In doing good Esther received grace, and trouble came to Haman who plotted evil.

Psalm 32:10-11 reads, "Many sorrows shall be to the wicked; but he who trusts in the LORD, mercy shall surround him. ¹¹ Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, you righteous; and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!"  How true it is the one who trusts the LORD is in the blessed position to receive the LORD's grace surrounded by His mercy.  God has extended grace to all through the Gospel, and it is by faith in Him we receive His love, forgiveness, joy, peace and are delivered from evil.  Believers will face many troubles, but in seeking the LORD and trusting in Him we are greatly helped by His mercy and grace.  Trying to gain favour for self leads to trouble, but the one who seeks the LORD will have grace upon grace with gladness in the end.