Colin S. Smith's Blog, page 60

The Remarkable Story of the Vine, the Worm, and the Wind

Jonah went out and sat down at a place east of the city. There he made himself a shelter, sat in its shade and waited to see what would happen to the city (Jonah 4:5). 

Put yourself in Jonah’s shoes. You just visited Ninevah, one of the worst places in the world, and God showed mercy to its people. You did not think it was possible, but that’s what happened! Now, you are filled with resentment, and you are feeling miserable. You are not happy about life. You are on your own, sitting in the desert sand, just a few miles east of a city you really don’t like.  

The sun is beating down on you, so you decide to make a shelter. You don’t have much you can use in the desert—a few stones, some water, and some sand—enough to make some mud bricks. So, when you put it all together, it’s not much of a shelter. Then God steps in: 

The Vine  

Then the Lord God provided a vine and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort (Jonah 4:6).  

God is good. He saw how miserable Jonah was, and he gave him a special gift to ease his discomfort. This vine in the desert was a wonderful expression of the kindness of God.  

Notice Jonah’s reaction: “And Jonah was very happy about the vine” (v6). I can imagine Jonah looking at his man-made, baked clay shelter, and then looking at the marvelous mass of green foliage on the vine, saying, “God’s shelter is much better than mine.”   

The vine brought comfort, joy, and blessing to Jonah. What is your vine? What brings you comfort, joy, and blessing? Have you had success in business? It is a gift from God. Do others speak well of you? That is a gift from God. Have you enough money to spend some on your pleasure? That is a gift from God. Thank God for the vine.  

The Worm  

But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the vine so that it withered (Jonah 4:7). 

Jonah woke up ready for another day of comfort joy and blessing under the vine that has made him so happy, only to find that the vine has been chewed up and withered. One day the vine brought comfort, joy, and blessing into Jonah’s life. The next day the worm brought sorrow, loss, and disappointment.  

What is your worm? What is the source of sorrow, loss, and disappointment in your life right now?   

You marry in the confident expectation of having children, but a child is not born. God gives you children, but then they grow up and leave, and it feels like there is an enormous hole at the center of your world. The one you love is taken from you.  

You build a business and it is a source of blessing, but as times change, it becomes a burden. Your ministry sees evangelistic success. It grows like the vine, but then the worm comes and destroys all the good work you have been doing.  

The worm provides a helpful picture of those times when you fall back into an old sin after you thought you had victory over it. The victory made you happy like the vine, but then it gets chewed up by the worm of a fresh failure. Your victory has withered. And then it gets worse— 

The Wind  

When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah’s head so that he grew faint (Jonah 4:8). 

Try to put yourself in Jonah’s shoes again. He may have thought: “The sand is blowing into my face. The sun is beating down on my head. God, if you are going to take my vine, you might have done it on a cool day.”  

The vine brought comfort, joy, and blessing. The worm brought sorrow, loss, and disappointment. The wind brought affliction, pain, and distress.  

What is your east wind? What in your life is causing you affliction, pain, and distress? 

The Surprising Truth About the Worm and the Wind 

The vine, the worm, and the wind: Which of these comes from God? Notice what the Bible says: God provided the vine (4:6), God provided the worm (4:7), and God provided the scorching east wind (4:8). It’s the same word that is used in each verse. Jonah wants us to understand: “God’s hand was as much in the worm and the wind as it was in the vine.”  

God was working as much in the wind that brought affliction, pain, and distress and in the worm that brought sorrow, loss, and disappointment as he was in the vine that brought comfort, joy, and blessing.   

God uses each of them for our sanctification. 

But the Lord provided a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights (Jonah 1:17).   

Notice Jonah used the same word “provided,” back in chapter 1 as he used in chapter 4, verses 6, 7, and 8! The God who saved Jonah by providing a great fish now sanctifies Jonah by providing a vine, a worm, and a scorching east wind. 

It’s good to learn these two important Bible words: Justification is how God forgives us through Jesus. Sanctification is how God makes us like Jesus. The first is a one-time event, the second is a continuous process. How does God do sanctification in our lives? 

God provides for our sanctification through gifts that bring joy, trials that bring sorrow, and experiences that bring pain. The fish is God’s fish, the vine is God’s vine, the worm is God’s worm, and the wind is God’s wind. 

Now it’s easy to see why God provided the vine. God is good. All good gifts come from him, but why did God send the worm and the wind?   What possible good can come in my life from the worm and the wind?  

God used the worm and the wind to save Jonah from a vine-centered life. A vine-centered person is one who is so taken up with the joys and blessings of God’s vines in this life that he comes to love his gifts more than the God who gives them. 

God’s vines often mask our problems.  

“Do you have a right to be angry about the vine?” “I do,” he said, “I am angry enough to die?” (Jonah 4:9). 

When God took away the vine, Jonah’s anger intensified. Jonah was already angry (v. 4), but when God gave him the vine (v. 6), he was happy. The anger seemed to go away. But now that the vine is gone, his anger is back. Here’s a man who is fundamentally angry with God, but the vine masked Jonah’s problem for a time.  

Friends, money, family, and success can do that. God’s gifts in your life bring you happiness, but if your greatest joy is in the vine, you will live a vine-centered life. And when the vine is gone, what happens is that your antagonism towards God comes out.  

Jonah lost his reason to live. He found his own comfort and joy in the vine to such an extent that, when it is gone, he no longer feels he has a reason to live. So, he says, “It would be better for me to die than to live…  I am angry enough to die” (v8-9).  

Something has become so important to you that you say, “If you take away the gifts that bring me comfort joy and blessing, I do not have a reason to live.” The extraordinary thing is that Jonah is saying this to God, who is the reason to live! 

If you live a vine-centered life, your reason for living withers with the vine. The vine is not the reason to live! Your family, your friends, your work, and your money are good gifts from God, but they are not the reason to live. Thank God for the vine, but don’t live for the vine. The reason to live is not the gifts, but the Giver! 

[This article was adapted from Pastor Colin’s sermon, “Rejoice in God’s Gifts as Though They were Rights,” from his series  How to Avoid a God-Centered Life ] [Photo Credit: Unplash]

Make The Choice to Be Thankful for Jesus

And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. (Colossians 3:15)

In the verses leading up to verse 15, the Apostle Paul is in many ways like a coach telling his team how the game should be played. He says if you are going to make it in the Christian life, you need to clothe yourself with compassion, kindness, humility, and gentleness (v. 12). You need to forgive people who have hurt you (v. 13). Then in the middle of all your relentless activity, you need to know the stillness of the peace of Christ ruling in your heart.   

While there is much to say about this verse, I would like to draw your attention to just two words that are found in the passage above: Be thankful.

Thanksgiving Is a Choice

The first thing that I want us to notice is that Thanksgiving is a choice. There is an interesting transition from the passive to the active in this verse. First, there is the passive: Let the peace of Christ rule in your heart. He does not say ‘be peaceful’. The source of peace is not us, but we must let it work on us.     

The peace that we need is found in Christ, and Paul says you need to allow that peace to fill your own soul.

One of the most beautiful features of the vision of heaven given to John was that the sea was like glass (Revelation 4:6). Have you seen the sea looking like glass? Sea is normally a picture of turmoil, upheaval, and collision between tides and waves. But God is not in turmoil. No forces compete with God in heaven.

So when the Son of God comes from heaven, he confronts the violence of a great storm on earth. And he is able to say, “Peace, be still” (Mark 4:39), and there is a great calm. Let this true peace rule in your hearts. And this is passive—something that Christ must do for you. All you can do is open your hand to receive it.

But then notice the change to something active: “And be thankful!” The gift of peace is something that can only be given by Christ, but the response of thankfulness is something can only come from you.

So, be thankful! It’s a choice! There’s something intentional about it, and this choice involves three things. With this choice, we:

1. Recognize the role others have played in our lives.

The thankful person remembers the people who contributed to his or her life. The ungrateful person forgets these contributions and takes all the credit.

Think of all the people who have contributed to the course of your life. Parents and Sunday school teachers, people who have given to you, those who love you. People who have worked with you to achieve things that were important. Friends who were thoughtful. That person who said something at just the right time when you needed a word of encouragement.

Make a conscious choice to recognize and remember the people who have touched your life.

It is very interesting that in Romans 1, Paul gives a description of what he calls a godless and wicked person. He tells us that this person makes three very clear choices

They suppress the truth about God, although the evidence of God is all round about them in creation.
They refuse to worship God.
And, they do not give thanks. 

These are the marks of a wicked godless person! The result is that their thinking becomes futile. They live in a make-believe world in which they enjoy the gifts without any acknowledgment of the giver.

In contrast, the choice to give thanks to God is at the very heart of what it means to be a Christian:

We choose to embrace the truth.
We choose to worship God
And, we choose to be thankful.

So when Paul writes to Christians and says “Be thankful,” he is saying something that goes to the very heart of what it means to be a Christian: We recognize that all we are and all we have comes from the hand of God.

2.  Affirm the value of something done for us.

Our gratitude should always reflect the value of what is done. Gratitude should be in proportion.

If you hold the door open for someone, they will say thank you. But it would be inappropriate to say, “Oh thank you so much, I really cannot tell you how grateful I am.” If next week they came up to you and said, “You know all week I have been reflecting on what you did for me,” you would fairly quickly be heading for the door yourself.

The value of the gift determines the appropriate level of gratitude.

Suppose God were to send his son into the world and stand in your place experiencing the hell that you would otherwise certainly endure. Suppose he were to rise and then make you a member of his own family. What would be the appropriate level of gratitude then?

Of course, sometimes our problem is that we find it difficult to know what is of true value. If you give two gifts to a young child,  and one is a check for 10,000 dollars and the other is a shiny red car, he will show no interest at all in the check, unless it is to put it in his mouth and eat it.

Have you understood the value of what Jesus did for you on the cross? 

It is a choice in which we recognize the role other people have played in our lives. It is a choice in which we affirm the value of something that is done. So choose to affirm the value of what Christ has done for you.

3. Express our pleasure at something received.

You cannot separate gratitude from pleasure. Where there is pleasure gratitude is easy, without pleasure gratitude is difficult, and often false.

Reflecting on this my mind went back to childhood. The day after Christmas was always writing thank you letters. It was always more fun to open the parcels than to write the letters.

Have you written your thank you letters yet?

Think of the gifts you really value, and then Thanksgiving is the most natural thing in the world. The expression of pleasure is at the very heart of thanksgiving.

If you give a gift to someone else, the reason you do it is to give them pleasure. That’s what you want to happen. If it brings pleasure to them then your goal in giving is fulfilled.

Parents know all about this. You give a gift and as the kids open it, their pleasure is your pleasure. In that experience, we have some insight into the heart of God.

Be Thankful

As you celebrate Thanksgiving this year, I want to ask you three questions:  

Do you recognize the blessing of God in your life, or are you among those who choose not to give thanks?
As you think about the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, what value do you place on what he has done?
As God looks at your life, would he see that you take great pleasure in the gift of his Son, or would the truth be, that the Son of God is something of an unwanted gift?
[This article was adapted from a 1997 Thanksgiving Eve Service by Pastor Colin Smith, Be Thankful] [Photo Credit: Unsplash]

70 Prompts for Giving Thanks to God

Let us follow the example of the Psalms in giving thanks to God!

Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,

for his steadfast love endures forever!

Let the redeemed of the LORD say so,

whom he has redeemed from trouble

and gathered in from the lands,

from the east and from the west,

from the north and from the south. (Psalm 107:1-3)

Thanksgiving is a time to glorify our Creator. Here are 70 prompts that can help you as you are giving thanks to God this year. God, you have:

given me a way to rejoice at all times (Phil. 4:4; 2 Cor. 6:10).
comforted me in all of my sorrows (1 Cor. 1:4).
not treated me as I deserve (Ps. 103:10).
given me all of the good gifts that I enjoy (1 Tim. 6:17; Jas. 1:17).
been the perfect peace of my soul, though I still sorrowfully sin (Rom. 5:1).
not counted my sins against me (2 Cor. 5:19).
suffered and died for my sins (1 Pet. 3:18).
cleansed me by your blood (Matt. 26:28; Heb. 9:22; Heb. 13:12).
satisfied the wrath of God on my account (Rom. 5:9).
not destined me for wrath, but for salvation (1 Thess. 5:9-10).
set me a place at your table (Rev. 19:6-9).
welcomed me into your family (Eph. 1:5).
awakened me to spiritual reality with your holy anger (Rom. 2:5).
led me to uprightness through teachings of judgment (Rom. 14:12; 2 Cor. 5:10).
taught me right and wrong (Heb. 4:12).
given clear warnings to protect me (Mk. 8:38, Jude 3).
not let my foot slip (Ps. 121:3,7).
defined me as a saint, not a sinner (Rom. 1:7; Jude 1:3; Rev. 14:12).
given me a family of believers that is eternal (Matt. 12:50).
transferred my citizenship to your kingdom (Col. 1:13; Phil. 3:20; 1 Pet. 2:9).
made me part of your bride (Eph. 5:25-27).
remained faithful when I have not displayed faith (2 Tim. 2:13).
caused me to awe at your holiness (Isa. 6:5; Rev. 1:17).
already brought holiness into my life (Gal. 5:16-17).
given me love for your perfection and a longing to be like you (Deut. 32:4; Ps. 19:7; Matt. 5:48; 1 Cor. 13:10).
planned good obedience for me, even now (Eph. 2:10).
granted me true spiritual light (2 Cor. 4:6).
shown me valid wisdom (1 Cor. 2:13-14).
worked wise perspectives into my life (Ps. 19:7).
enabled me to know your first priority to inform my life decisions (1 Cor. 15:3-4).
greatly loved me through your discipline (Prov. 3:11-12; Heb. 12:6).
brought me back to your Word, many times (Ps. 119:176).
directed me with authority (Prov. 4:11; Matt. 28:18).
been to me the authority worth unreservedly following (Gen. 18:25b; Rev. 22:13).
gifted me fear through which I am straightened and can be satisfied (Ps. 112:1, 20; Ps. 147:11; Ps. 34:9; Prov. 22:4).
made me lower than I was (Rom. 12:3; 2 Cor. 12:9-10).
brought me through fire purer than I was (1 Pet. 1:7).
held me near (Ps. 18:16).
shown me what love is (1 Jn. 4:10).
delighted in me (Ps. 147:11; Ps. 149:4).
had compassion for my neediness in sin (Matt. 9:36).
waited for me with patience (2 Pet. 3:9).
called me to know you (1 Cor. 1:9; Rom. 8:30).
set me on a foundation that will never buckle (Eph. 2:20).
shifted me into better alignment with my foundation (Eph. 2:21).
enabled me, by your Word, to be solid when circumstances were not (Ps. 119:89).
led me to goodness (Ps. 23:1, 6).
been my only good (Mk. 10:18; Ps. 34:10).
poured your joy into my soul, enacting strength (Neh. 8:10).
provided the desire to worship you alone (Ps. 86:10).
made me bow that justice belongs to you in your timing (Jn. 5:22; Rom. 12:19).
caused me to rejoice in the truth (1 Cor. 13:6).
always told me the truth about myself (2 Tim. 3:16).
allowed me to mourn in myself more of what you hate (Rom. 2:4).
heard my prayers and inclined your ear to my spiritual need (Ps. 116:1).
taught me to love in truth (1 Jn. 3:18; Jn. 17:17).
in turn made your truth the cherished foundation of my dearest relationships (Eph. 4:13, 15; Prov. 13:20).
provided me with people I can imitate (1 Thess. 1:6).
challenged me to not coast in the elementary teachings of the gospel (Heb. 6:1-3).
taught me more of your beauty through your law (Ps. 119:14-20).
preserved the Word I am privileged to have copies of and read (Matt. 5:18).
preserved the Church I am privileged to be a member of (Matt. 16:18).
given me examples in the history of your people, prodding me forward (Heb. 12:1).
caused this pale earth to not feel like my home (Heb. 13:14).
foreshadowed my resurrection by your own (1 Cor. 15:22-23).
added me to your inheritance (Eph. 1:11; Col. 3:23-24).
said that my death will only bring me to life (Rom. 8:38-39; Phil. 1:21).
set certain hope before my eyes (Tit. 1:2).
shown me that your work is real—it must be for any goodness to be in me (Phil. 1:6).
given me a dear urgency to please you more, considering all you have given (Phil. 2:12).

Join me in giving thanks to God! You have redeemed us, and I say so!

9 Ways to Love Your Neighbor this Thanksgiving

A lawyer, asked [Jesus] a question to test him. “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22:35-40)

Thanksgiving, may not have its origin in biblical history, but it is a tremendous chance to honor God through loving others. Many of us will spend time with our immediate family, our extended family, and our close friends. Guests are a blessing, but perhaps they can also cause conflict. As you prepare for the holiday, consider Jesus’s words to the Pharisees above: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

I cannot help but stand in awe of Jesus’s words. Jesus wisely answers the question by pointing to precepts behind the commandments. Not only this, but he insists that “all the Law and the Prophets,” known to us as the Old Testament, depend on these two sentences. This claim is audacious, but it is true! Jesus’s perceptiveness into the Scriptures’ intent testifies to his divinity. Only God himself could make such a claim! Let us respond in reverence and love for Jesus by obeying his commandments (John 14:15). One of his commandments is to love, so let us then love one another this Thursday.

Maybe you say, “Well this sounds nice but what does it mean? How am I to love my neighbor this Thanksgiving?” Here are nine biblical ways you can love your neighbor on Thursday:

1.) Forgive Others’ Sin Against You

“but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” (Matthew 6:15)

This verse is mysterious to me, but what is clear is the importance of forgiving others’ sins. Thanksgiving often means family comes into town, and sometimes this means old rivalries are made new. Old grudges take new life. Are you on the receiving end of such trespasses? Thursday may be your chance to be free of it. Do not claim your rights of victimhood, but consider your responsibility in Christ: be merciful to others as God is merciful (Luke 6:36).

2.) Confess Your Sin Against Others

Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. (James 5:16)

Love your neighbor by making the first step toward reconciliation. Confess the sin you’ve committed against another person. Acknowledge and own your part in whatever family conflict you have found yourself in. You will find true healing on the other side of confession.

3.) Pray to God; Not to Others

“Pray then like this:

‘Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name.’” (Matthew 6:9)

At my Thanksgiving, I know I’ll be asked to pray in front of non-Christians. So, I write this point for myself: Do not water down your prayers due to a fear of others. Instead, pray with all reverence due to your fear of the Lord. Speak directly to God and glorify him in front of others. Testify to his majesty. Aim to inspire others to worship through your undiluted devotion.

4.) Read the Bible

All Scripture is breathed out by God. (2 Timothy 3:16)

Open the Bible and let the breathed-out Word of God work into the mind of your audience and down to their heart. Add nothing and take nothing away (Ecclesiastes 3:14).

5.) Defend Your Faith Respectfully

In your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect… (1 Peter 3:15-16)

Perhaps you spend Thanksgiving with non-believers. Perhaps you are even outnumbered! If this is you, you may know that along with the good food, Thanksgiving can bring light or harsh criticism against the Christian faith. Consider it an opportunity to love your neighbor by demonstrating the grace of God to others. Do not respond harshly, but love your neighbor by responding “with gentleness and respect.” Sarcasm and spite will likely harden their heart, but your sincerity may soften it.

6.) Focus on the “Worthy of Praise”

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. (Philippians 4:7-9)

What excellence in others can you seek to highlight? What honorable actions did your family accomplish this year? Glorify God this Thanksgiving by edifying your conversation. 

Sometimes we fall into political arguments when we really want to be discussing Christianity. We sometimes judge others’ distance from Christ by their distance from our own political standpoint. And so we feel vindicated in starting or contributing to divisive political conversations. But ask yourself, “If I succeed, will the person to whom I’m speaking be any closer to Jesus? Will they know more of him? Be more like him?” In a recent sermon, Pastor Josh Moody said:

There is a need for Christians to advocate for moral matters in politics, for sure. Go to it, Christian. But remember, remember that Jesus is the one who saves. Not politics.

7.) Recognize Others’ Suffering

Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. (Romans 12:15)

In an ironic twist, I have often failed to follow this verse because I thought it the opposite of Philippians 4:7-9! One of the great blessings of the holiday season is the time we spend with family and friends, and, rightfully so, we want this time together to be happy.

But Paul does not contradict himself. Some people who eat at your table may be suffering. Romans 12:15 reveals that acknowledging this means a chance to demonstrate Christ-like hospitality. Make sure you do not silence the cries of those who long to share their burdens with you. 

8.) Remind Christians of their Election

Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall… Therefore I intend always to remind you of these qualities. (2 Peter 1: 10, 12)

I have often made this mistake: focusing my conversation with non-believers on their lack of fruit, and letting poor behavior from professing Christians slide due to their allegiance with Christ. But is this not backward?

Peter demonstrates here how you can love your neighbor by reminding fellow Christians of their allegiance to Christ, and the fruits of the Spirit that must come as a result. Let us accept partial responsibility for the sanctification of our brothers and sisters in Christ, for we know it glorifies God and we know they have expressed a commitment to this end.

9.) Share the Gospel

“Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.” (Mark 16:15)

Jesus rose from the dead and told his disciples this. This is not a request, but a command from the One who defeated death and had authority over all. This is how you love your neighbor, Christian, by revealing the love of God for them (1 John 4:10). 

I want to write directly to those who have done this in the past with no success. Maybe you have shared the Gospel with your family and friends and you know it will only lead to more conflict. If this is your situation, continue to demonstrate Godly behavior to them. Who knows what God may do? As Peter writes, “they may be won without a word… when they see your respectful and pure conduct” (1 Peter 3:1-2).

So, love your neighbor this holiday season as you seek to glorify our Savior, Jesus Christ.

[Photo Credit: Unsplash]

Key Connections: Elders, Forgiveness, and more…

Here are some of my favorite quotes from key Christian articles around the web. Including, a post on forgiveness, and one on Church elders. Also, one from Pastor Colin Smith on God’s great promise for us.

Ecclesiology Matters. Especially for Elders (Bill Riedel, The Gospel Coalition)

Church planters will make mistakes. Other leaders will make mistakes. It’s difficult for a lot of planters to make the transition from the entrepreneurial sensibilities of getting something started to the pastoral sensibilities of leading a church. As conflict inevitably arrives, repent quickly and regularly, learn from mistakes, and grow in the application of the gospel in the church.

Forgiveness and Healing for The Post-Abortive (Mary May Larmoyeux, Revive Our Hearts)

Then she explained she had found inner peace and freedom when she took God at His word and chose to accept His forgiveness. “I realized what it came down to was, I can either accept God’s grace and forgiveness or I can reject it. I chose to accept it.”

5 Myths about Preaching (Joel R. Beeke, Crossway)

The fact is that the Bible comes to us in a variety of literary genres and styles, which commends flexibility in our methods of preaching. The storyteller needs to remember that substantial content, logical clarity, and practical application are vitally important to effective storytelling; and the pulpit orator must be creative and imaginative in his presentation of doctrinal truth if he wants to do more for his hearers than inform their minds.

Why Its Unfair for Good People to Go to Heaven (Caleb Wait, Core Christianity)

One of the reasons the call to “just be good” might be attractive to us is because we assume everyone can do it. While expecting everyone to believe the same things is unreasonable and exclusive, expecting everyone to ‘be good’ is a bar we believe everyone can meet. But this assumption creates a very particular disposition in us. While it may give us resources to be more tolerant and inclusive, it also does something else: if everyone can ‘be good’ by their own will, we expect everyone to rise up to this occasion, and then when someone does not, whatever contempt we feel toward that person is justified.

God’s Promise about Jesus is His Promise for You (Colin Smith, Unlocking the Bible)

I want you to hear this promise. God says to you in Jesus Christ when you rebel: “I’m going to do whatever it takes to get you back, and my steadfast love will not depart from you.” Your life may follow a different path as a result of what you have done, but God never abandons his own children.

God’s Promise about Jesus Is His Promise for You

Read God’s promise, given to David, that belongs to us through the Lord Jesus Christ:

He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever… And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever. (2 Samuel 7: 13, 16)

I want to identify three places in your life when God’s promise will be especially valuable to you.

Lean on God’s promise when you don’t get to do what you wanted to do.

That was David’s situation. He wanted to build the temple and he didn’t get to do it. I am struck by how many Christians speak about a door that has closed on something good they wanted to do. Here we have what God says when you don’t get to do what you wanted to do: “You wanted to build a house for me. I will build a house for you.”

Solomon got to build the temple, and it stood in in all its magnificence for about 400 years and then it was destroyed. Since then David and Solomon have been in the presence of Jesus for centuries. How much do you think it matters to David, in the presence of Jesus, that Solomon got to build the temple and not him? Any tears that David shed over that are long since wiped from his eyes.

The answer to the bucket list of all the things you were not able to do in this life is this: you have an eternal future with Christ in glory. However hard the calling you face, God says to you in the light of the resurrection: “Be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain” (1 Cor. 15:58).

Lean on God’s promise when you mess up what you might have done.

There are times in life when our own sin, or our own foolishness, closes a door that otherwise might have been open. If that is your position, you might find yourself saying from agony of heart, “If God had closed the door I could live with it, but what I hate myself for is that it was my own foolishness, my own sin, my own rebellion, that changed the path of my life and shut off opportunities that might otherwise have been open for me. My life would have been so different, if I hadn’t been such a fool!”

If that is your position, I want you to hear this promise. God says to you in Jesus Christ when you rebel: “I’m going to do whatever it takes to get you back, and my steadfast love will not depart from you.” Your life may follow a different path as a result of what you have done, but God never abandons his own children.

Think of David in the presence of the Lord. Later in his life, David messed up big time. He could only cast himself on the grace and mercy of God, and plead, “Lord, don’t cast me from your presence and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me. Please don’t abandon me. Please don’t take your steadfast love away from me.”

What matters to David now, is not what he did or did not get to do in this life. What matters now and forever is that God did not take his steadfast love from David. And, in Christ, God will never take his steadfast love from you.

Lean on God’s promise when you no longer know the joy you once did.

This application came from meditating on the word forever. This is not always an attractive word in this world. Our life in this world is like a bell curve that begins with rising opportunities and ends with declining strength. Visit a care home where an older person sits with limited activity. Things that once were easy are now much harder to do. Time passes slowly, and a day can seem like forever.

When the joys of life have diminished for you, remember the forever that lies ahead of you. It is beautifully described in the book of Revelation: “For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes” (Revelation 7:17). Brother, sister in Christ, you will never tire of the life that God has in store for you. It will never seem long, stale, routine, or dull.

God speaks not of a stagnant pool but of springs of living water! Christ himself will lead us into the joys of this life. You will never want it to end and God says that it never will!

This promise gives us a marvelous glimpse of our hope in Jesus Christ. What good would a promise be if it died with us, or if it was canceled when we sin? What good would a promise be if it expired after a certain period of time?

The Promise that Never Perishes

But God’s promise to us in Jesus Christ is stronger than death, greater than sin, and longer than time itself. When we come to the New Testament, Peter says:

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade” (1 Peter 1:3-4, NIV).

God’s promise can never perish, spoil, or fade. Therefore, death cannot end it! This promise can never spoil, so sin cannot ruin it! This promise will never fade, so time cannot diminish it! When God closes a door, your faith will be tested. But when God closes a door, his promise remains sure.

[This article was adapted from Pastor Colin’s sermon, “When God Closes The Door, Part Two” from his series, The Life of David, Part Two: His Triumphs] [Photo Credit: Unsplash]

Two Qualities of the Early Church We Should Pursue Today

The church, made up of Jesus’ followers, is his body on earth. It has been brilliant and influential at times, weak at other points in history, and increasingly divided over the years. Amazingly, the imperfect church is still God’s designated witness, his hands and feet, to accomplish his will on this earth.

The early church, the brand new body of believers, was stunningly focused. Her power seems to have been undiluted, and her actions, pure:

So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied. (Acts 9:31)

There were no church organizations in those days, and it seems no one compared budgets, buildings, or the number of people on their benches. The disciples were leading the way, and they must have been astonished by the work that the Holy Spirit was doing through them. Like little children suddenly able to perform their parent’s tasks, they couldn’t help but joyfully attest to the glorious truth and power of Jesus Christ.

When I read these words, I long for the numbers in today’s church to increase. Growth means that more people will know the peace of the love and grace of God expressed through the sacrifice and authority of Jesus Christ and the power of his Holy Spirit. For the early church, growth was the natural result of the two qualities mentioned in Acts 9: deep reverence for the Lord and the strong comfort of the Holy Spirit.

Deep Reverence for the Lord

The disciples had walked with Jesus for three years, and no doubt they had a profound reverence for him. They had observed stunning miracles, authoritative teaching, and they had countless personal interactions with Jesus. They loved him. And they knew, or at least were starting to know, that he was God. They wanted to follow him.

The days of the early church only intensified their passions. They were experiencing the power of the Holy Spirit, performing miracles, and teaching, and their reverence for Jesus would have exploded. I imagine them astounded at what God was doing, expressing their devotion to Jesus and thanking him for what he had given them the power to do.

Believers Today

Do believers today live  in the fear of the Lord, or as other versions translate it, in deep reverence for the Lord?

I wonder if the deep devotion of believers has dulled. After all, it has been two thousand years or so since the powerful days of the early church. We may simply take it for granted. I love Jesus, am thankful to the Father for everything he has done for me, and have the power of the Holy Spirit; however, living in the fear of the Lord is not uppermost in my thinking.

Too often Christians are fearful of the future, things beyond their control, and other worldly powers when the fear of the Lord would overrule all of those fears. When you or your church faces financial difficulty, are you operating out of deep reverence for the Lord, or are you relying on prevailing human wisdom? When a loved one is ill, are you praying with a deep reverence for the Lord and depending on the comfort of the Holy Spirit, or are you panicking?

Fear is a normal human emotion, but Jesus helps us see our fears from the proper perspective. When you are fearful, remember to trust with deep reverence for the Lord.

Strong Comfort from the Holy Spirit

The early disciples started as a small group of people. They prayed and waited in Jerusalem to a powerful and courageous force for the gospel. On Pentecost, after receiving the Holy Spirit, Peter spoke to the crowds and concluded with this:

Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:38)

Three thousand people joined the church on its first day of existence. This due only to the power of the Holy Spirit at work in people like Peter. Interestingly, we’re told that they experienced the “strong comfort of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 9:31) This suggests that all was not rosy; no doubt they had problems within and outside the church. The response was to depend on the Holy Spirit for comfort.

Are we experiencing the “strong comfort of the Holy Spirit?” or do we turn to Twitter, Facebook, or other people or platforms in search of solace?

A Focused, Dependent Church

It’s easy to give in to fear, but remember to fear the Lord first. If we, the church, focus on fearing him, we won’t be nearly as fearful of anything else. When you need comfort, depend on the Holy Spirit, pray, read your Bible, and you’ll find great compassion and encouragement.

[Photo Credit: Lightstock] [This is a re-post, originally posted December 2016, and it has been slightly edited]

Three Virtues We Can Practice in Our Suffering

When my great-grandfather passed away during my sixth grade year, I cried quietly in the car-ride home. During recess, in an eruption of emotion, I sprinted to the bathroom to cry in isolation. My instinct to quiet or hide my sadness is not rare but a shared experienced by many. How are we supposed to respond to great trials and suffering?

We live in a day where “Celebrations of Life” replace funerals, worship is void of lament and grief, and the commercialization of graves removes the weekly reminders of death’s sting from churchyards. When a person suffers loss, sincere Christians unknowingly offer inflammatory platitudes. Rather than grieving, we discourage long-term grief. Rather than appealing to God’s goodness and sovereignty in intercessory prayer ripe with protest, we encourage stoic surrender to God’s sovereignty.

Consequently, we leave the sufferer in isolation with a piece of their identity ripped from their heart.

A Biblical Example of Suffering

We need a Biblical, Christ-centered understanding on faithfully responding to loss. And, through the Book of Lamentations, the prophet Jeremiah provides us one example.

Jeremiah’s lament is a far-cry from the above-described dry-eyed stoicism. Jeremiah endured the crushing experience of God giving up Israel in judgement. As a sinner, he is in no place to question God. Yet, he wrestles with God in prayer, appealing to his goodness. As the recipient of God’s covenantal faithfulness, steadfast love, and never-ending mercy, he finds hope. When God seemed distant, Jeremiah appeals to God to draw closer. Jeremiah exhibits three virtues in his lament that all Christians should strive for: honesty, reverence, and hope.

Honesty: Enter Into Reality

God created all humans for eternal bliss and peace in his joy-instilling presence. Oftentimes, our longing for this peace and our circumstances contradict each other. As a result, we become confused and frustrated.

Jeremiah understood this tension. God made a covenant with Israel and crushed them. In his agony, Jeremiah felt blocked from the light by an inescapable darkness. God’s wrath upon Israel wasted away his flesh and skin. It broke his bones. Bitterness besieged and enveloped his tattered soul. Bereft of peace and unable to recall happiness, Jeremiah called out to God:

Remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall! (Lamentations 3:19).

Understanding how reality contradicts our longings and how God plans to restore reality to our longings, we need to approach him in prayer (Matthew 6:10). The author and perfecter of our faith, Jesus, pleaded with our heavenly father to take away the cup of suffering. But, he submitted himself to our father’s will. We can do the same.

Reverence: Recognize Your Place

Let him sit alone in silence
   when it is laid on him;
let him put his mouth in the dust—
   there may yet be hope;
let him give his cheek to the one who strikes,
   and let him be filled with insults. (Lamentations 3:28-30)

Jeremiah did not impatiently and loudly demand justification from God. He patiently and quietly waited for God’s way of salvation. Despite feeling like he was in a state of darkness without any light, Jeremiah exhorts the sufferer, meaning himself and us, to “sit alone in silence.” Even says to “put his mouth in the dust,” presumably to keep from speaking ill. In response to his countrymen’s mockery and scoffing, he does not call himself a victim and appeal to his rights, but exhorts himself to “give his cheek to the one who strikes, and let him be filled with insults.”

How should we respond to this passage? First, we must acknowledge that our suffering is the natural result of sin. God made a covenant of life with Adam upon condition of perfect obedience to one meager command: do not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He disobeyed. Because we are his descendants, we sinned in him and fell with him. Because of the fall, creation was cursed.

Second, we must see suffering as a part of God’s plan for our good. Since we are his children, God allows our suffering for our good (Romans 8:28; James 1:2-4). 1 Peter reveals part of this good to us, for, in our suffering, we join Christ’s sufferings and are being conformed into his image (1 Peter 2:21).

In your trial, remember your place as creature and God’s place as Creator. Don’t do this to artificially minimize the hurt of your suffering, but to understand your trial as a consequence of the fall and to see that God will work this current pain for future joy.

Hope: Remember God’s Steadfast Love

For the Lord will not
cast off forever,
but, though he cause grief, he will have compassion
according to the abundance of his steadfast love;
for he does not afflict from his heart
or grieve the children of men. (Lamentations 3:31-33)

God despises the tension between his good natural-order and the fallen perverted-order which causes us to groan. He loved us so much that he sent his Son, Jesus, to live and die for us. Jesus descended into the messiness of fallen humanity and suffered immense loss which reached its apex on the cross. His father, whom he had lived in perfect love with for all of eternity, turned his back on him, rejecting him. God the Father could not look on his Son for all the sin placed on him. Jesus took on his crushing wrath. Eventually, he gasped his last breath.

Brothers and sisters, Jesus’ sacrifice fulfilled Jeremiah’s lament. Jesus took on the full extent of Jeremiah’s sin and pain. And not only Jeremiah’s, but yours and mine too.

Yet, Jesus was not overcome by the sting of death. On the third day, he rose from his grave in glory. Having defeated death, Jesus rose to our father’s right hand to rule heaven and earth. One day, he will return. And on that day, he will vindicate every wrong and heal every wound. He will wipe every tear from our eyes. The pain and death we experience in this life will be no more. Jesus will transform our sorrowful crying into joyful adulation. On this day, Jesus will satisfy our deepest longings for peace:

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. (1 Peter 5:6-7)

[Photo Credit: Unsplash]

My Testimony Is Boring, Praise God!

A Christian testimony tends tend to fall into one of two categories.

The first category is the spectacular testimony. Such a story describes a person submerged in their sin when God rescued them. A testimony like this make us think to ourselves, Wow, God surely can work miracles. The second category is the my-testimony-is-boring kind. These stories are not so much spectacular as they are mundane. Not miraculous, but merely privileged, we think. Lucky to have been born into the right family.

If you are like me, you lament not having a first category kind of testimony. You wish you had a story that people love to hear so much. But consider how backward this thought is! We don’t mean to, but in this thought we glorify the power of sin by implicitly wishing it had played a larger role.

If we look at the famous parable of the prodigal son, we see these two categories come to life. The younger son left home to spend his inheritance on a hedonistic lifestyle only to realize his sin and return home repentantly. He has the spectacular story. Then there’s the older son who stayed. Interestingly, the end of the story focuses not on the return of the younger son but on the anger of the older son.

I want to look at his anger, for in his response we can learn something amazing and tragic: Christians with boring testimonies have been given a tremendous blessing, but we risk overlooking it due to our own sinfulness and a misunderstanding of our status as God’s children.

Entitled Attitude

[The older son] answered his father, “Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends.” (Luke 15:29)

When I read these words, I hear myself. I hear previous (shameful) conversations I’ve had with my wife: Look at how many times I’ve cleaned the dishes. Look at how many times I’ve picked up the groceries. And yet, you’ve never…

When I say these things, I wrongfully view my marriage through a lens of prideful entitlement. If I do something nice, then she must do something nice in return. I deserve it. This attitude places the motivation of my good action on what I may get as a result. And then my sin reveals itself when I don’t get what I think I deserve.

The older brother is the same here—he reveals that his obedience has little to do with his love for his father, but much to do with what he thought he’d get from his father.

Don’t we treat God the same way? Look how many prayers I’ve said! Look how many church services I’ve attended consecutively! Yet you still have not given me what I deserve.

Praise God that he does not play by these rules. For if he were to give us what we truly deserved, then none of us would be welcomed into his family (Romans 3:23; 6:23).

Envious Heart

“But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!” (Luke 15:30)

After revealing his own entitlement, the older brother then shows his envy. Consider how the older brother must have perceived this as injustice:

The younger brother not only got what the older brother wanted, but he got it even after he committed great sins! The younger brother offended the family by asking for his inheritance (implying he wished his father were dead), and then wasted all of the father’s hard-earned money due to self-indulgence and lust. The father should cast him away, or at least make him work to build trust back. Certainly not throw him a party!

Notice how the older brother calls his younger brother “this son of yours.” Now, I’m no Greek scholar, but this sounds to me like he is distancing himself from his brother. He can’t stand to be associated with him! In his eyes, they are not brothers—they are two very different people.  

I empathize with the older brother. I wonder if some of his frustration comes from a place of felt neglect. We might try to understand his words as something like this: “Dad, you care too much about the son that hates you. He only uses you for your property! But I’ve been here the whole time. Why don’t you care about me?”

But if this is how the older brother feels, if this is how the older brother perceives reality, then he is wrong. If he is a victim, then he is his own oppressor due to his pride, which clouds right understanding of what it means to be a child of his father.

Tremendous Blessing

And [his father] said to him, “Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours.” (Luke 15:31)

What a powerful response by the father of these two sons. I’m not yet a father, but I worry if faced with such pride from a son my response would be reckless and angry. I would have revoked something of his—whether some small privilege or perhaps even his status as my son.

But this father, reflecting God the Father, reminds the older son who he is. The first word that comes out of his mouth is son. You are my son, he says, I see you, I hear you. I have not forgotten you, I have always been here.  

In saying “all that is mine is yours,” this father suggests that the older son could have asked for or taken all that he desired from him at any point. He suggests that he never gave the older son what he felt entitled to not because he didn’t deserve it—though he certainly did not—but because he already gave everything to him!

This unity to the father—having access to everything in the family estate—was seemingly unknown to the older son. What lie or sin held him back? Did he mistakenly believe he still had to earn his father’s favor? Did he sinfully wish to be greater than his brother?

We cannot answer this question, because we are meant to answer a different question: What lie or sin holds you back, Christian? Do you feel like you still need to earn God’s favor, though Christ has already justified you on the cross? Do you wish to be greater than your brother, and cannot stand it when God brings praise to others and not yourself?

Embrace Your Testimony

When Christ died on the cross and rose again from the grave, he did so with you in mind. He thought of you, and blessed your life so that it would not steer too far to the left or too far to the right. He predestined you to be with him as soon as possible, offering you the unique life in which you can grow, mature, and live under his rule.

Christian, if you are like me and have a boring testimony, if you have been saved for a long time and find yourself jealous of new Christians’ spectacular stories, remember God has blessed you beyond your imagination.

Remember the words that God offers you: You are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. Even if you feel like you have a boring testimony, don’t miss out on this blessing due to an entitled attitude or an envious heart. Praise God that you are secure—eternally!

Key Connections: Biblical Thanksgiving, Romans 12, and more…

Here are some of my favorite quotes from key Christian articles around the web, including what we all can learn from Christian missionaries, the nature of Biblical Thanksgiving, and a study in Romans 12.

3 Things American Citizens Could Learn from Christian Missionaries (Bruce Ashford, The Gospel Coalition)

Christian missionaries work hard to find common ground with their conversation partners. There are always things on which both parties agree. From that common ground, missionaries finds it much easier to persuade their conversation partners on other matters, precisely because they do so from a point of mutual understanding.

Thanksgiving is God’s Will (Meghan Hill, enCourage)

Biblical thanksgiving is not merely false cheer slapped on the surface of otherwise bad circumstances. Biblical thanksgiving is our acknowledgment that God is accomplishing his eternal purposes, even when we cannot clearly see what he is doing. We “give thanks in all circumstances” because we trust that those very circumstances come from the powerful and gracious hand of our covenant-making and covenant-keeping God.

Do What is Honorable: 10 Lessons from Romans 12 (Heidi Jo Fulk, Revive Our Hearts)

There is no better or worse, greater than or less than here. We’re not talking about worth, because every person’s worth—whether a believer or unbeliever—is established in being created in the image of God (Gen. 1:27; Matt. 6:26). Rather we see a picture of parts working together as a whole for the glory of God.

In The Middle of Suffering (Josh Moody, God Centered Life)

Of course, at one level Bildad is right. God does not pervert justice. God does do what is right. But Bildad makes an illogical and theologically inaccurate leap: if God does what is right, and if Job is suffering, ergo Job must have done something wrong. He has no space in his mind for the possibility that evil and suffering can fall upon the righteous.

Understand Your Guilt: Its Causes and Its Answer (Colin Smith, Unlocking the Bible)

The answer to false guilt is truth. The answer to true guilt is grace. And how wonderful it is that our Lord Jesus Christ is “full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). In other words, everything that is needed to deal with guilt is found in Jesus Christ.