The LORD with Us

One of the great compliments seen in scripture is all by God's grace given to people loyal and zealous for His sake:  that God was with a person.  Sometimes I have been riding along with a friend who is driving and takes a call on speakerphone.  As a courtesy so the caller knows the conversation is not private, typically my friend will say something like, "Ben's with me in the car."  If the person knows me we may even greet one another, and the phone conversation will continue.  Wouldn't it be amazing to call someone and hear them say, "By the way, God's with me."  For the believer in Jesus Christ, this can actually always be the case because our Saviour will never leave or forsake us.

In my morning reading, I came across a reminder of this in 1 Chronicles 9:20:  "And Phinehas the son of Eleazar had been the officer over them in time past; the LORD was with him."  What we see throughout Scripture is God draws near to those who draw near to Him, and He is with those who cling to Him in faith.  Phinehas was priest who was zealous for the LORD and God offered him a covenant of peace and an everlasting priesthood after he took a strong stand for God according to the LORD's command against idolators during the scandal of Baal-peor in Numbers 25.  Phineas was a man who feared God and was courageous to uphold God's word, and he was exactly the sort of person God wanted in His presence and service always.

There are many other people in the Bible who are identified as those whom God was with, and though God could not be seen with naked eye (being a Spirit), the evidence was undeniable and acknowledged by those who observed them.  1 Samuel 3:19 tells us of Samuel as a child:  "So Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground."  We read of Joseph whilst incarcerated in Egypt in Genesis 39:23:  "The keeper of the prison did not look into anything that was under Joseph's authority, because the LORD was with him; and whatever he did, the LORD made it prosper."  1 Chronicles 11:9 says of king David, "Then David went on and became great, and the LORD of hosts was with him."  God's presence was also plain in the life of Solomon in 2 Chronicles 1:1:  "Now Solomon the son of David was strengthened in his kingdom, and the LORD his God was with him and exalted him exceedingly."  We can observe God's presence with people truly makes a man, as God causes words spoken to have impact, decisions to be wise and prosperous, to rightly wield authority and lead successfully.

As God was with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Joshua, Jeremiah and an innumerable multitude of people we respect for their faith and obedience to God, so our LORD and Saviour has promised to be with us.  Jesus addressed His disciples with all authority given to Him in heaven and on earth in Matthew 28:19-20:  "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen."  Did you notice Matthew's "Amen" after the words of Jesus?  He agreed with the words of Jesus both in truth and personal experience.  Though Jesus ascended to the Father, the Spirit of Christ remained with the disciples of Jesus and all who abide in Him according to His covenant and promise.  Jesus fulfilled the sign spoken of in Isaiah 7:14, that a virgin would conceive and bear a son and call His name Emmanuel--God with us.  Knowing God is with us is an awesome reality for Christians today because He is our life and makes us men and women of God.  Amen!

Looking to the LORD

The children of Israel reveal how natural it is to go from looking to God in faith to what He has given us, to look to ourselves, resources and our God-given abilities rather than seeking and relying upon Him.  This is evident in the prophet of God's rebuke of Israel in Isaiah 22:8-11:  "He removed the protection of Judah. You looked in that day to the armor of the House of the Forest; ⁹ you also saw the damage to the city of David, that it was great; and you gathered together the waters of the lower pool. ¹⁰ You numbered the houses of Jerusalem, and the houses you broke down to fortify the wall. ¹¹ You also made a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the old pool. But you did not look to its Maker, nor did you have respect for Him who fashioned it long ago."  When Jerusalem was damaged by enemies, they took it upon themselves to assess and repair the broken wall.  Afraid or unable to leave the confines of the city due to a siege, they broke apart houses to repair the wall when it was God who removed their protection.  Such efforts were futile when they were at war with God.

There is nothing wrong with engineers and builders repairing breaches in a wall to protect their city, houses and families.  The problem lie in that God's people had ceased communication with Him; they would not listen to His prophets and warnings of coming destruction.  The people imagined they were entitled to God's favour when He was longsuffering, merciful and gracious despite their rebellious ways.  They looked to the House of the Forest where their shields and weapons were stored, for they imagined it was up to them to defend themselves.  They aimed to shore up battered walls and defences when it was God who had protected them continually from before Israel was a nation.  The people gathered water to quench their thirst, preserve their lives and prevent the enemy from tapping into it when God had supplied water for their fathers from the rock when they dwelt in the wilderness.  Water was stored in a reservoir for the old pool, yet they did not look to the almighty God who is of old, from everlasting.

I like the rendering of verse 11 in the NIV:  "You built a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the Old Pool, but you did not look to the One who made it, or have regard for the One who planned it long ago."  This verse presents the picture of men being quite impressed with their planning and accomplishment to build a reservoir, and they did not have respect or regard for God who planned it long ago.  It is true God is our Maker, and as Maker it implies He had a plan in all He has fashioned.  God planned to make Jerusalem the place where He put His name and provided the blueprints for the temple king Solomon would build there.  God provided all the materials and skillful workers to build a great house, to access the Gihon spring (that flows to this day), to build gates, walls and houses.  God who planned the construction of Jerusalem also planned for the destruction of the city, the correction of His people, and withdrew protection so His servant Nebuchadnezzar would accomplish God's will.  He also planned to restore His people to their land and to worship of His holy name in a rebuilt temple in due time.

God's good purposes and plans have continued to this day, for He has provided passages of scripture in the Old and New Testament to instruct and guide Christians who are new creations by the power of the Gospel.  Whatsoever things are written in the Bible are for our learning, and we ought to be numbered among those who absorb this simple truth:  our tendency is to look to stuff and our own abilities rather than God our Maker.  We can be proud of our achievements or accomplishments when our plans are completed instead of humbling ourselves before the LORD, looking to Him and regarding His plans as paramount.  How good is the exhortation of Proverbs 3:5-6 for us today in light of these things:  "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; ⁶ in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths."  The words of our LORD Jesus echo from the Old Testament in Isaiah 45:22:  "Look to Me, and be saved, all you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other."

Let us hear the voice of our Saviour and look to Him today and regard God who plans to seek and save the lost who trust in Him.  He is our refuge and provides the Living Water of the Holy Spirit, and in Him we find rest for our souls who faithfully directs our paths.

Overcoming Evil with Good

In 1 Chronicles 7, there is an obscure account of the tragic deaths of the sons of Ephraim, Ezer and Elead, at the hands of the men of Gath over the theft of cattle.  It is unclear whether the sons of Ephraim or the men of Gath were the aggressors.  It seems most likely men from Gath came to steal cattle from the sons of Ephraim during their sojourn in Egypt.  It is also possible the sons of Ephraim, during a trip to Gath before the enslavement of the Hebrews, attempted to take cattle from Philistines and it resulted in their death.  Ephraim was rightly devastated by the death of his sons, and his grief and sorrow continued for some time.  His mourning for the evil which had befallen his house continued to the birth of his next son as 1 Chronicles 7:23 tells us:  "And when he went in to his wife, she conceived and bore a son; and he called his name Beriah, because tragedy had come upon his house."  Beriah means, "in evil."  It seems evil had overtaken Ephraim and his house, and he was profoundly affected by his great loss.

The life of Ephraim shows us how we can be more negatively impacted by grief and feelings of loss than being encouraged by all God has given us.  It is no sin to love others and to care deeply about them, to be overwhelmed by emotions and feelings God has provided us by His grace.  But it is sinful to remain hopeless and despair when God remains good.  Though we live in a world filled with evil (and we are all contributors to the downward spiral in our natural state), we can be glad it need not overcome us.  The Son of God Jesus Christ came into this world and experienced the wickedness of this fallen world in full, for He was betrayed, mocked, condemned and murdered though He was righteous and without sin.  In embracing the human experience He embraced every sinner by His sacrifice, not just to empathise with us but to provide redemption, reconciliation, restoration, atonement, healing and eternal life.  Words fail to describe in full the awesome works God has done through the Gospel for all who trust in Christ, and He has brought enduring hope to lost, hurting, dying sinners.

Paul wrote to Christian believers in Romans 12:21, "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."  Israel described his days on earth as "few and evil" compared to his fathers, and evil which flourished in Ephraim's day has continued until now.  Though we live in evil days, through faith in Jesus Christ evil can still be overcome by good--as sure as sinners can be made saints by the Gospel.  Jesus said to His disciples, "Be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world," and He demonstrated all power to overcome death (the consequences of sin) by rising from the dead and remains victorious in eternal glory.  To "overcome" means to conquer or prevail.  Christ makes us overcomers when we are born again by faith in Jesus and then willingly submit to Him, presenting ourselves to Him as living sacrifices.  Rather than being conformed to the world, we are to be transformed by the renewing of our minds, approving of God's will and practicing it (Romans 12:1-2).

Since we are called to overcome evil with good, we must learn to discern between God's ways and the wisdom of this world.  Romans 12:9 says, "Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good."  We can be easily overtaken and overcome by evil when we have embraced hypocrisy in our hearts, loving what is evil and being unfaithful to do and think on what is good.  Our love of God prompts us to be faithful to Him in practice:  wouldn't it be a shame for acts of devotion and obedience to God to resemble a "fling" because we remain married and cling to evil?   God's word is able to pierce our hearts and stir our conscience, revealing wickedness in us to repent of and guiding us to do what is good as Psalm 119:104-105 says:  "Through Your precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way. ¹⁰⁵ Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path."  Praise the LORD we are not at the mercy of evil, for the mercies of our good God are great.  Knowing death has been conquered by Christ, by His strength and wisdom we can choose to hate evil and do what is good every day--even to rejoice in a sorrowful season.

Giving Jesus a Try

When buying clothes at the shops, often there are changing rooms where clothes can be tried on in privacy to determine how well they fit.  It makes perfect sense to try before buying something, like when free samples of food are being offered at Costco.  If a shopper is curious to see what food tastes like, trying it themselves helps them make an educated decision.  It is common these days with the amount of online shopping available to have a period of time where free returns are possible if something does not fit, match the description or a buyer is dissatisfied with the product.  There are even a host of influencers who "try before you buy" and provide feedback for prospective buyers based on their experiences.  The whole point of trying before buying is to see if a product fits your needs and meets your expectations.

Because these are the common implications of trying things for ourselves, I am not a fan of encouraging others to "give Jesus a try," almost reducing Him to a bite of food to see if we enjoy it or not.  The amazing things about receiving Jesus by faith as the Son of God and Messiah is that He transforms us from within.  If we approach Jesus as something we can take or leave depending on if our expectations are met or our personal benefit is obtained, we are not coming to Him as sinners desperate for salvation or forgiveness.  Many people who came to faith in Christ, based on what we observe in the New Testament, experienced an uptick in conflict, persecution and trials for their faith.  Faithful Christians did not come to Jesus because He "worked" for them, but because they realised they needed Him for salvation, forgiveness and eternal life.  Those who try Jesus like a shopper choosing clothes may just put Him in the charity bin when their lives begin chafing from unmet expectations, and they will be put off ever trying Him again.

It is a strange approach to try Jesus to see how He works for us when we have been created and exist to serve and glorify Him.  Because this view of a relationship with Jesus Christ is upside down, it is no surprise when Jesus does not work out due to lack of faith in Him.  The one who tries food knows what tastes and textures they prefer; the ones trying on clothes knows their size and styles they find attractive.  Jesus is God made flesh and thus is nothing like anyone we have ever seen or known.  He cannot fit us because we are naturally unfit for Him.  Yet after we sinners are born again through the power of the Gospel, we are made new creations and the temple of the Holy Spirit who dwells within us.  God puts within us a capacity to think, do, say and desire what never entered into our minds before by His presence.

It may be people have legitimately come to faith in Jesus because they "gave Him a try," for God is able to reveal Himself to lost sinners by innumerable ways.  Many people have been saved by God's grace even when we came to Him for largely selfish reasons.  But let us not ignore the implications of urging people to give Jesus a try, for then we put them in the judgment seat only Jesus Christ is worthy of sitting in.  Better to show people their sinfulness and need for a Saviour than to suggest Jesus will bow to their expectations of Him--for it is we who are called to bow before Jesus as sovereign LORD and King.  Those who lose their lives for Christ's sake will find eternal life, and wrath abides on those who remain on the throne of their lives who view Jesus as an accessory that suits them as they are (Matthew 16:25; John 3:36).

Having come to the almighty God in faith, David encouraged God's people to pursue a relationship with the LORD in practical experience in Psalm 34:8:  "Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him!"  Children of God can have complete confidence in the goodness of God and the blessings He provides for all who trust in Him.  Having tasted of God's grace, we are urged by Peter to lay aside all sin and desire the sincere milk of the word like newborn babes (1 Peter 2:1-2).  Knowing Jesus first loved us, our call is to love Him and exercise ourselves to godliness, living out Gospel truth by obedience to Him.  Rather than chasing the spiritual experiences or giftings of fellow Christians, we are called to pursue Christ and grow in grace.  We are called to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling, our lives surrendered to Christ as LORD for His glory (Phil. 2:10-12).  God desires our faith and obedience to Him would grow, and God who has set us apart for Himself sanctifies us as we labour for His sake.  This isn't something we are called to try:  it is who Jesus has created us to be.