A Future of Peace

It is awesome how God is a Saviour for those who trust in Him.  God does for us what no man can do in cleansing us from sin, imputing righteousness to us by faith and delivering us according to His grace and mercies.  Unlike idols that must be removed from burning buildings to preserve them or salvaged after a disaster, God saves His people.  Like the old song says, "Heartaches, broken people, ruined lives are why you died on Calvary."  There is no medicine which are able to cure heartaches and ailments of the soul.

Psalm 37:34-40 states, "Wait on the LORD, and keep His way, and He shall exalt you to inherit the land; when the wicked are cut off, you shall see it. ³⁵ I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a native green tree. ³⁶ Yet he passed away, and behold, he was no more; indeed I sought him, but he could not be found. ³⁷ Mark the blameless man, and observe the upright; for the future of that man is peace. ³⁸ But the transgressors shall be destroyed together; the future of the wicked shall be cut off. ³⁹ But the salvation of the righteous is from the LORD; He is their strength in the time of trouble. ⁴⁰ And the LORD shall help them and deliver them; He shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in Him."  People go to fortune tellers to have guidance concerning what is to come, but God has already assured those who trust in Him of salvation, deliverance and peace.  This is an absolute guarantee no one can snatch from believers who are held safely in the hands of the Almighty.

Knowing how a sports match or movie ends relieves all suspense and anxiety.  The follower of Jesus Christ can rest peacefully in the knowledge that our salvation is from the LORD and He is our strength in time of trouble.  The one who frets and worries should not appeal to circumstances to justify themselves, for the One who justifies believers upholds us in His wisdom and strength.  Great trees that spread themselves ultimately will fall, and the wicked and their schemes will come to nothing.  Wait on the LORD believer, keep His way, and those who humble themselves before Him He will exalt in due time.  All who trust in Jesus Christ are assured of a peaceful future, for our salvation is from the LORD who helps and delivers us.  Knowing our future is peace gives us rest in the present.

Re-Commitment or Revival

Flagging discipline can hinder us from forming or maintaining healthy routines, and even the most committed can find themselves in a rut.  We can do all the right things when our hearts are not in it, and it is easy to make excuses and be slack when there seems to be little immediate benefit for toiling or negative consequences for going back on our plans.  This is often true with physical and spiritual fitness.  An exercise regime is started with good intentions but we quickly lose interest.  Regular devotions and church gathering used to be impacted by work and holidays may now be flagging due to Covid restrictions and cold weather.

Growing up I would hear people in the church speak as though they were two categories of Christians:  those walking with the LORD and those who were backsliding.  It seemed those who identified with being a "backslider" might have been better served to call themselves "in sin" and in need of repentance and to return to the LORD in obedience.  These people were particularly vulnerable to what I call the re-commitment trap.  I observed the same cycle among adults and youth of various durations:  longer cycles went from one church retreat to the next, and others had a weekly cycle of "backsliding" when away from fellowship.  Since born-again status was guaranteed by their assent to biblical doctrine, on Sunday mornings an opportunity for re-commitment was offered for the backslider along with a promised of salvation for the unsaved.  It seemed like people re-committed themselves to God again because they hoped one of those times it would "stick" and actually make a difference.  What I have learned since then is our commitment or "re-commitment" has basically nothing to do with salvation or sanctification at all, for receiving the Gospel and walking with Jesus by faith is all by God's grace.

Good works will always accompany a heart born again by faith in Jesus.  Such a soul will learn from God's word to humble themselves, repent, put off the works of the flesh and be led by the Holy Spirit.  People make "commitments" every day that are mere words and sign legally binding documents they do not always uphold.  The truth is, all those who are genuinely born again will be faced with the need of personal reforms if they will continue to walk in obedience to God.  This is illustrated several times in scripture.  For instance, after Saul was anointed king over Israel for years many of the people lived as though he was not king at all, did not give him presents and resented his rule.  After the LORD used him to coordinate a great victory over the Philistines 1 Samuel 11:14-15 says, "Then Samuel said to the people, "Come, let us go to Gilgal and renew the kingdom there." ¹⁵ So all the people went to Gilgal, and there they made Saul king before the LORD in Gilgal. There they made sacrifices of peace offerings before the LORD, and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly."  On that day there was a notable change in the hearts of some people toward God and king, for when the kingdom was renewed in Gilgal they all rejoiced greatly.

When idolatrous Ahab and Jezebel ruled in Samaria, the worship of Ba'al was promoted and the prophets of God were persecuted and killed.  The prophet Elijah spoke to Ahab and told him there would be no rain except at his word, and for about three years the land languished in drought.  In Deuteronomy 11:16-17 God previously warned His people this was one judgment He would bring upon them for idolatry.  Elijah organised a contest on Mt. Carmel between the prophets of Ba'al and himself, a prophet of the one true God:  the God who answered with fire from heaven would be revealed to be God and the only God people were to fear and worship.  The prophets of Ba'al went first and for many hours shouted and danced to no avail.  1 Kings 18:30 says, "Then Elijah said to all the people, "Come near to me." So all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the LORD that was broken down."  Elijah needed to repair the altar of the LORD because sacrifice, praise and thanksgiving to God had been neglected.  After Elijah repaired the altar, laid the wood and sacrifice in order which he drowned in water, at the time of the evening sacrifice God answered with fire from heaven.

After a victory only made possible by God over an immense army from Ethiopia, King Asa was met by a prophet of God in 2 Chronicles 15 who exhorted him to seek the LORD and personal reforms led to revival.  2 Chronicles 15:8 reads, "And when Asa heard these words and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage, and removed the abominable idols from all the land of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities which he had taken in the mountains of Ephraim; and he restored the altar of the LORD that was before the vestibule of the LORD."  Asa had been following God faithfully, yet there were idols all around which required taking courage in God to take the huge step of removing them.  Asa then gathered all the people together on a set day to offer sacrifices to God of the spoils they received after their recent victory.  He even removed his own mother from being queen because she had set up an idol in a grove.  Asa and all the people entered into a covenant before the LORD of their fathers they would seek Him with all their hearts and souls.  Items his father had dedicated to the LORD Asa brought into the temple, and God was with him.

God puts no demand in His word for people to make a commitment or "re-commit" to Him for salvation or for sanctification.  Recommitting is all about returning to a previous level of commitment when God would have us go far beyond that in faith and obedience to Him like Asa did.  Our previous manner of life was not sufficient in itself to maintain our devotion or sacrifice:  what does it profit to return to the life that resulted in chronic backsliding?  Like these biblical examples, there are times we must choose to take action to renew our focus, to repair what we have neglected, to restore godly practices when we have been slack, to remove idols which have cluttered up our hearts, to rally one another to draw near to God.  The one thing Samuel, Elijah and Asa had in common was their desire to seek the LORD and give all praise and honour to Him.  Their focus was not on themselves and their need for re-commitment, but to seek the LORD because they knew, feared and loved Him.  The re-commitment trap is one driven by guilt for sin with no repentance required, whereas revival is a work God does by the power of the Holy Spirit in those who seek Him and humbly heed His word.

Commitment is all about what we have decided and what we will do, and the life of faith in God is all about what He has done and promised.  No man can revive himself, but God promises to revive His people by His grace in Isaiah 57:15:  "For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: "I dwell in the high and holy place, with him who has a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones."  The ones who simply cry out, "God, be merciful to me a sinner!" have the promise of revival offered to them by the living God, while the ones who re-commit can remain in the same old rut.

Help From God

I love reading of God's people who rely upon Him and overcame impossible odds by the grace of God.  Because Jonathan knew God was awesome and mighty he said to his armour bearer as they approached a garrison of the Philistines, "It may be that the LORD will work for us.  For nothing restrains the LORD from saving by many or by few." (from 1 Samuel 14:6)  King Asa of Judah, when faced the army of Zerah from Ethiopia with a thousand thousand men and 300 chariots in battle array against Israel, looked to the LORD in 2 Chronicles 14:11:  "And Asa cried out to the LORD his God, and said, "LORD, it is nothing for You to help, whether with many or with those who have no power; help us, O LORD our God, for we rest on You, and in Your name we go against this multitude. O LORD, You are our God; do not let man prevail against You!"  Through faith in God these and many others in scripture were given the victory by the God who gives power to the powerless and helps the helpless.

God's ability is not restrained by men, and it is nothing for Him to help.  The "help" God gives is nothing like the "help" man offers.  When we ask for help carrying bags or opening a door, we are asking for someone else to assist us, to lend a fraction of what is required to accomplish something.  When we assist or help someone, should we be acknowledged, complimented or praised for our willingness to pitch in we might say, "It is nothing."  But it was something.  We can downplay our efforts at times with false humility.  Because our intent was to give and not receive we feel awkward to receive a compliment so we deflect and minimise; we lie and magnanimously say "It was nothing" to bring the conversation into alignment our values, that we would rather identify with virtuous giving than the humility required for gracious receiving.

Because nothing at all is difficult, tiring or exhausting for God it is nothing for Him to help us.  His help is not a bit of assistance to carry us over the line but He has already done more that we could ever ask or think.  God had already provided King Asa life, a body, mind and access by prayer to God's presence.  He had given Asa the throne, a kingdom, people to govern, defined borders to defend, laws to obey and promises to believe.  God had demonstrated His powerful deliverance and provided a written account in the scriptures of His goodness and grace.  In asking for help, King Asa asked God to do all:  to defeat the enemy, to preserve his life and the lives of his people, to guard the nation and to glorify God's holy name.  At Asa's request of faith God smote the enemies of Judah and they prevailed over those who rose up against them.  On their own they were powerless and helpless, and God graciously gave them the victory.

We are nothing, and it is nothing for God to help us.  David marveled that God regards man at all in light of His greatness and glory.  Who is like our God, who freely helps those who cannot help Him at all and helps us even when we cannot help ourselves?  God is worthy of all honour and praise, and He is gracious to receive it from the helpless ones who fear Him.

Receiving the Word

If you have raised children, the situation will likely have a familiar ring:  trying to convince a skeptical, picky eater they should try unfamiliar food.  "It has everything you like," one might plead.  Others make it into a game, while others use dessert as leverage to convince a stubborn youngster they are better off eating the food presented to them.  There are times where a child's mind is so made up they will not like the food based on the strange appearance or smell, they will make themselves sick.  Or even better, people will say they enjoy food--until they are made aware of an ingredient it contains they do not prefer.  Just the thought of eating meat can make some people physically ill, while others are put off all green food.

Our habits and approaches to eating are amazingly diverse, but the key component all eaters of food share in common is willingness.  Because the muscles controlling swallowing are inside the mouth and throat, the eater has control over what they will eat or drink.  A young child who discovers this can seize an opportunity to impose a power play of control that can potentially divide and drive concerned parents crazy.  While some children play with their food, in contrast there are children who are downright ravenous.  They are happy to eat what is placed before them and are willing to try mixed concoctions that make their parents cringe.  From infancy I have always enjoyed eating food, and willingness to trust and try different things has been rewarding and promotes the health of the body.

The desire and willingness to eat healthy food can be compared with the faith and willingness needed to receive the word of God.  This quality was seen in the Jews in Berea when Paul and Silas went to the synagogue.  Acts 17:11-12 reads, "These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so. ¹² Therefore many of them believed, and also not a few of the Greeks, prominent women as well as men."  People went to the synagogue hungry for spiritual nutrition, and notice how they received the word will all readiness, searched the scriptures to confirm the truth of what Paul and Silas said, and as a result believed in Jesus Christ.  Their hearts were prepared and minds open to receive the word of God even from strangers.  The claims of Paul that Jesus is the Messiah looked very different to the standard fare at the synagogue, and after receiving the doctrine went to the scriptures to confirm it.  This readiness to receive resulted in gladness to share the truth with others, for many Jews and Greeks, men and women believed.  All readiness to receive God's word led to the growth and health of the church.

The people of Berea were distinguished from those at Thessalonica because they received the word with all readiness, searched the scriptures daily and therefore believed.  Souls are starving and weak for lack of willingness to receive God's word, even among God's people.  It is easy for Christians to rely upon the fast-food of sermons or books when God would have us come to Him with hearts prepared to receive His word.  A balanced and varied diet is important for the health of our bodies, and let us not avoid certain books of the Bible because we do not find them appealing.  Like the people of Berea, may we receive the word with all readiness and open the Bible ourselves.  When we are willing and faithful to do this we will receive abundantly to joyfully share with others.  We can only eat so many fruits and vegetables before they go off so we share a bumper crop with others, and God's word is able to sustain us all body and soul.  Praise the LORD His word endures forever!