Colin S. Smith's Blog, page 92
September 7, 2017
Key Connections (September 8, 2017)
Conversion to Christ did not initially change my sexual attraction for women. What conversion did change immediately was my heart and mind….The gospel gave me a light that was ruinous. It ruined me for the life I had loved. The Lord’s light illumined my sin through the law and illumined my hope through Jesus and the gospel.
Mount Sinai, the Ascended Christ and the Vision of God (David C. Smith, The Village Church)
As believers, we may feel unworthy or afraid to approach God. A God so great and glorious causes us to shrink back for various reasons. But those who are in Christ now have every confidence to approach the throne of grace—to climb that mountain from where God calls to us and to gaze upon Him in His beauty and glory:
When You Find Yourself In a Dry and Weary Land (Sarah Walton, Set Apart)
Whether we recognize it or not, we all thirst and hunger to be filled in the deepest parts of our soul, but we are easily satisfied with short-term happiness. However, the wilderness provides an opportunity for those temporary means of pleasure to be removed, exposing the state of our hearts and, hopefully, driving us to recognize Christ as the only One who can satisfy us.
Do You Draw Near? (John MacArthur, One Place Ministries)
Sadly, I’ve watched many Christians lose the wonder of worship as the years pass…If that sounds familiar, return to God by submitting to James’ imperative: “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded” (4:8). To know the one true God is your glorious calling. Are you ready to draw near? Let me give you some practical encouragement on how to do that.
My Soul Thirsts for You (Jon Bloom, Desiring God)
Water is really only experienced as satisfying when our real need for it makes us really want it. Likewise, God is only experienced as satisfying when our real need for him makes us really want him.
What to Do While You’re Waiting on God (Linda Green, Unlocking the Bible)
God wants us to know that waiting is far from a passive activity in which we do nothing. In fact, Scripture teaches us that God wants us to actively participate in the work he desires to accomplish. Waiting strategically can cultivate good fruit in in our lives such as patience, perseverance, and endurance. It also draws us closer to our Savior and points those who are watching us to the gospel.
The post Key Connections (September 8, 2017) appeared first on Unlocking the Bible.
An Open Letter to Parents of Students
Dear Parents,
School is almost here, and your students likely have mixed emotions.
There’s some anticipation for rhythm and routine, but beneath the surface are layers of fear and uncertainty. School is a precious privilege, but it can also be filled with struggles and pressures that weigh heavily on a student’s heart – especially a student who’s seeking to follow Jesus.
As I’ve considered my own school years, parents, here are four ways you can practically speak into your students’ struggles.
Help Them Fight Conformity
There is an overwhelming (and often crippling) desire in the young human heart to be liked. Students deeply and radically want to be accepted, approved, and applauded. Above all, they want to be cool.
Thus, there is a constant temptation to sacrifice convictions and clarity on the altar of conformity. They don’t want to be perceived as weird, awkward, or outsiders—they want to fit in.
Of course, fitting in isn’t always wrong. But elevating school status over faithfulness is.
So students need your help to keep them on track. They need accountability. They need gentle and compassionate reminders that popularity or power won’t give them the satisfaction they crave. They need you to set an example of faithfulness in an unfaithful world. They need you to teach them that Jesus is the King to submit to, not conformity.
Put Performance in Its Place
As students prepare to open their books again, another equally daunting pressure looms ahead of them: performance. For students, there’s a subversive (or completely blatant) expectation to excel, work, and perform for good grades so they can secure approval from others – often you, their parents.
When students are operating from pressure to perform, they quickly get stressed, depressed, and discouraged. The joy and purpose from their education is drained, and they’re motivated by fear and approval instead.
You can help by assuring them that their worth is not in A’s or honor roll placement; it’s in their identity. You love and accept them because of who they are, not what they do, and nothing can change that. You can show them how to work from a delight and desire to serve God and honor their parents, instead of working from duty for letters or numbers alone. You can daily preach to them the gospel of grace, that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us, freeing us bondage to performance.
Teach Them to Manage Their Time
Also show them how to manage their time. With the start of a new school year, it feels like a student’s calendar explodes. There are suddenly a million things to do every week, and busyness threatens to drown them.
At the same time, students can struggle with wasting time. Even though there’s much to do, they can be guilty of procrastination or, worse, apathy.
They need help managing their time. Parents, your student needs your input about their schedule (even if they don’t ask for it). They need your direction, advice, and accountability. They need reminders to rest. Help them set healthy and realistic boundaries while also nurturing their passions and gifts. Teach them how time is a valuable gift from God to be managed wisely.
Train Them in Christlikeness
Returning to school also means returning to complicated relationships – with friends, other students, the opposite gender, and teachers. Being around the same group of people every day naturally breeds a thousand potential pressures, problems, and conflicts. Your students need to learn how to handle these when they arise.
They also need to know how to spend time with the right kind of people – how to avoid cultivating close friendships with those who are immature, ungodly, and destructive. They need to know how to handle crushes, hormones, and romance in a robustly biblical way. They need reminders to treat other students with compassion and empathy. They need training to look for opportunities for gospel-engagement. They need to know how to serve and honor their teachers – even (and especially) the difficult ones.
Parents, they need you to show them how to be a living, breathing picture of Jesus Christ to the people they’ll interact with this year.
Being a Student Is Hard
So, parents, as your students go back to school, realize this time is just as important for you as it is for them. Being a student is hard. But so is parenting a student.
Yet there is hope, because there is grace for us. There is grace for you, parents. God doesn’t leave you to do the hard work of shepherding your kids alone. He promises to equip you with everything you need:
Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. (Hebrews 13:20-21)
Yes, following Christ as a student can be difficult. There are so many pressures and temptations for them—and that’s why they need their parents. They need you. It won’t always be easy for you, but rest assured Christ will be with you every step of the way.
As you raise your students with love, encouragement, motivation, instruction, and patience, know that Christ, the great shepherd of the sheep, is with you. You are not alone.
Sincerely,
A Recent Graduate
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The post An Open Letter to Parents of Students appeared first on Unlocking the Bible.
September 6, 2017
Bible Q&A: What’s the Difference Between Doubt and Unbelief?
Question: What’s the difference between doubt and unbelief?
Answer: This is a really good question! There are four parts to the answer.
1. You can’t have faith without questions.
This is true for the simple reason that God has chosen to keep many secrets. “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children” (Deuteronomy 29:29). There are certain things God has revealed: That’s what makes faith possible. There are certain things God has kept secret: That’s what makes faith necessary.
Paul says, “Now I know in part…” (1 Corinthians 13:12). We know in part, and that is why we walk by faith and not by sight. Faith lives with unanswered questions. You cannot live in this world without asking, “Why?” We live with the mysteries of evil and suffering.
Just as it’s part of Christian faith to say we know what God has revealed, it is part of Christian humility to say we do not know what God has kept secret.
When massive suffering comes close to home as it did on September 11, 2001, the world will say to us, “How do you explain this?” as if faith depended on having all the answers. But if you had all the answers, then you would have no need of faith.
The day will come when “we will know fully, even as we are fully known.” But on that day faith will no longer be necessary. Faith will be turned to sight, and we will behold him! Until then, we will have faith with questions, and that will be a normal experience of the Christian life.
2. You can only doubt what you already believe.
Doubt is not the absence of faith; doubt is the questioning of faith. You can only doubt what you already believe.
When a Christian doubts, he fears God may not exist. The Christian believes there is a God, and when he doubts, he questions what he believes. When an atheist doubts, he fears God may exist. The atheist believes there is no god and so, by definition, a doubting atheist would be someone who was questioning his unbelief!
Doubt presupposes some kind of faith. That is what doubt is, and it is one of the most common struggles in the Christian life.
3. Doubt and unbelief are different.
It’s important to grasp the difference between doubt and unbelief. Doubt is questioning what you believe. Unbelief is a determined refusal to believe. Doubt is a struggle faced by the believer. Unbelief is a condition of the unbeliever.
Unbelief involves spiritual blindness and a determined resistance to God. Of persecuting believers, Paul said, “I acted in ignorance and unbelief.” I could not understand the truth, (ignorance), and I was deeply resistant to the truth (unbelief).
That was his condition, and the only cure for it was what happened on the Damascus Road when he was wonderfully converted. He discovered that Jesus is Lord, and the whole disposition of his soul was changed by the power of the Holy Spirit. He moved from a position of unbelief to a position of faith.
Doubt is not the absence of faith, but the questioning of it. You can only doubt what you believe.
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There may be some people who feel their problem is doubt, when actually the real problem is their unbelief. The issue is not that they doubt their faith, but that they do not have a faith to doubt. They need to believe the things that God has revealed, and act upon them:
God has sent his Son into the world.
The Son of God loved you and gave himself for you.
He is risen from the dead and ascended into heaven.
You are more wicked than you ever thought possible, and at the same time…
You are more loved than you ever imagined.
God calls on you to repent from a self-centered life, and he offers you mercy, pardon, and forgiveness through his Son, Jesus. He offers his power and presence by the Holy Spirit, so that you’re able to pursue life on his plan.
Paul moved from unbelief to faith as God worked a miracle in his life. Maybe that’s precisely what needs to happen for you. God will give you that same gift if you will ask him.
4. You can help someone by discerning the difference.
Doubt and unbelief are different, so discerning the difference is of great importance.
You can see the difference in the story of a married couple – Job and his wife – who experienced a great family tragedy. In one day, they lost their business, wealth, property, and every one of their seven children died, as a house where they were holding a party collapsed on them.
Job and his wife were thrown into a tailspin. They responded in completely different ways.
Suffering exposed Job’s love for God, as he wrestled with mysteries he could not understand, but it exposed his wife’s unbelief: “Curse God and die,” she said. Their response to suffering was the most revealing thing about them, and it will be one of the most revealing things about us.
We don’t know what happened to Job’s wife. We know that he had children later, and so it may be that God worked a miracle in her soul just like the miracle in the Apostle Paul.
My prayer is that God will use this to help those struggling with doubt to understand what’s happening and find light in their darkness; that he will bring unbelievers to the miracle of new birth; and that he will equip us to minister to others who have faith with questions.
[This article is adapted from the message “Defective Memory” by Colin S. Smith from the series Faith with Questions: Dealing with the Darkness of Doubt . Photo Credit: Lightstock]
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The post Bible Q&A: What’s the Difference Between Doubt and Unbelief? appeared first on Unlocking the Bible.
September 4, 2017
The Reason We Blame God
I believe wholeheartedly in the sovereignty of God. Yet I sometimes elevate this attribute over others. When I do, I end up blaming God for what he does in my life, in other’s lives, and in the world.
Thus, I realize I must trust in the goodness of God in order to trust in God’s sovereign will in a way that pleases him. Otherwise I sinfully blame him, as I know he controls the state of my marriage, our finances, and the health of loved ones.
I know he can change things, too – though he doesn’t always.
We may not realize we blame God like this. Perhaps we respond to our circumstances by affirming God’s sovereignty with our lips, but we don’t believe in his goodness in our hearts. When we do this, we separate two characteristics of God – his sovereignty from his goodness. As a result, we paint a different picture of God than who he really is. Our God is a good God, yet he is sovereign over all things – even what seems bad.
God Controls Hearts
God hardens hearts (Romans 9), softens hearts (Ezekiel 36:26), and turns hearts to the right or left – whichever way he chooses (Proverbs 21:1). He desires all to be saved (1 Timothy 2:4), but he doesn’t plan for all to be saved (Romans 9). If we don’t trust in God’s goodness in his sovereignty, we may lash out at God for not saving a family member, friend, or someone we shared the gospel with. Because God is God, he holds the right to save whom he saves and is simultaneously, abundantly good:
“Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases” (Psalm 115:3).
“In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will” (Ephesians 1:11).
“Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use?” (Romans 9:21).
“The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. The Lord is good to all, and his mercy if over all that he has made” (Psalm 145:8-9).
“For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations” (Psalm 100:5).
These verses only help us if we trust in God’s goodness in his sovereignty. Did he not harden Pharaoh’s heart to show his glory to his people? Did he not cause Judas to betray Jesus for his will to be done? God desires his glory with great zeal, and his sovereign will to save those whom he desires works to that end. Therefore, whatever brings God glory accomplishes good – even when it affects our loved ones – though we may not understand it fully.
God Controls Circumstances
How we respond to circumstances proves what we believe. We may believe aspects of God’s sovereignty in our minds and explain the doctrine of God’s sovereignty in length, but our hearts may question his goodness when tragedy or suffering comes. Do we possess unwavering trust in God’s sovereignty and hope in our sanctification in whatever comes? Or do we blame God’s sovereign work because the hurt is too deep?
The cross of Christ best displays God’s goodness in his sovereignty.
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If we fall to the latter, we may find ourselves asking God “why” a lot – despite our knowledge of his sovereignty. We’re tested when we get sick or when we lose the ballgame or when someone dies. We wonder why God allows us to have financial troubles or marriage problems. Or we don’t understand why he ordains some to succeed while we fail. We know God does it for our good, but if we elevate God in his sovereignty over his goodness, we likely blame him in our hearts.
His goodness and sovereign will work together. We can’t separate them.
Nancy Guthrie’s Story
Nancy Guthrie, a Christian author and speaker, must’ve struggled with these two attributes of God. Nancy’s second-born child inherited a rare disease and died in six short months. After grieving and healing for a year or so—and after a surgery to prevent a future risk of another child inheriting the same disease—God allowed Nancy to become pregnant again. This child indeed possessed the same disease and died at the same age. Why would God cause her and her family this terrible grief? If we believe in God’s sovereignty, then we believe he controls circumstances like these.
As we know God as a just God who condemns sinners to hell and a righteous God who acquits those who trust in Jesus, we must understand how God is both sovereign and good. If Nancy didn’t understand that then, she does now as her and her husband’s ministry testifies. Only by trusting in God’s goodness and his promise to sanctify us into the image of Christ can we fully trust in his sovereignty in all circumstances.
Rest in God’s Sovereignty Because He Is Good
We humans naturally struggle to see good in the midst of pain, hardship, and emotional toil. This struggle remains for Christians, even though we possess a new heart. We know Romans 8:28-29 is true, which says, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” – but this is difficult to believe when suffering strikes.
So we look to Calvary, which best displays God’s goodness in his sovereignty. There, God planned before the beginning of time that he would send his Son to die on the cross in our place. Jesus’ excruciatingly painful death, when he endured the wrath of God, is not something we would rejoice in unless we understood its purpose.
We deserve God’s wrath – yet Jesus endured it in our place. Therefore, God’s sovereign will for Jesus to come, die, and resurrect from the dead proves to be the ultimate act of his goodness. Although the cross was terrible, God worked it for the good of sinners for all eternity. And so we look to Calvary and trust that Romans 8:32 is true in all other circumstances: “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?”
[Photo Credit: Lightstock]
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The post The Reason We Blame God appeared first on Unlocking the Bible.
September 3, 2017
Three Useful Kindergarten Lessons for Christians
All I really need to know…I learned in kindergarten. (Robert Fulghum)
I’m a kindergarten teacher. And I think Robert Fulghum was on the right track when he said that all he needed to know he learned in kindergarten.
As I looked back over my year with the students, I realized that all we need to know about the gospel we could also learn in kindergarten – but these “lessons” are not about me or the students. They’re all about Jesus.
So here are three kindergarten lessons, taken from Fulghum, that can point us to the transformative gospel:
Lesson #1: Be Aware of Wonder
Be aware of wonder. Remember the little seed in the Styrofoam cup: The roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that. (Fulghum)
Yes, we are to wonder. To look around and delight in the gifts God has given us. God is the Creator of heaven and earth. He is the Creator of all good things. He created me. He created you: “Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made” (John 1:3).
Yet, we lose our wonder by the distractions of life. We hurry through our checklists so we can move to the next activity without actually enjoying the present moment. Responsibilities become the reason for living instead of the glory of God. Our wonder falls by the wayside.
But Christians are like those shoots in the tiny cup, God accomplishing our salvation and growth through his Spirit. Jesus Christ is the author and perfecter of our faith. He was in the beginning, and he will be for all eternity. This is wondrous. Jeremiah 17:7-8 says,
But blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.
Lesson #2: Stick Together
When you go out into the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands, and stick together. (Fulghum)
Because I work with kindergarteners, this one brings a smile to my face, as it probably does for any person who has ever seen a child offer a hand to his or her buddy who fell off the swing at the playground.
We need people in our lives who will not only hold our hands, but cultivate our hearts. “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing,” 1 Thessalonians 5:11 says.
Mentors pour into our spiritual lives. A community surrounds us to support us. A church body helps us become an active member who will help the church grow stronger in Christlike maturity.
God intends that Christians stick together as we follow Jesus and bring him glory.
Lesson #3: Don’t Clean Up Your Mess
Clean up your own mess! (Fulghum)
This lesson may work in the kindergarten classroom, but it certainly will not work in real life because we cannot clean up our mess. In fact, that’s the very reason Jesus came as Savior – to cleanse us of sin – to forgive us and make us new creations in him. The old is gone, the new has come.
Yet, we often try to hang our salvation on what we do. We attempt to “clean up our mess” through good works like going to church or following the Ten Commandments, instead of realizing our salvation comes solely from the finished work of Jesus.
We can never stop sinning fast enough. We can never serve enough orphans. And we certainly can never atone for our sin. But Jesus Christ took it upon himself at the cross and gives us his purity in exchange. We can never repay him. But he still cleaned up our mess. He made a way so we could live with him forever.
Brothers and sisters, take to heart some lessons from kindergarten. Be aware of wonder, stick together, and don’t clean up your mess – because you can’t.
But Jesus can, and he did, for you.
[Photo Credit: Lightstock]
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The post Three Useful Kindergarten Lessons for Christians appeared first on Unlocking the Bible.
August 31, 2017
Why Do We Struggle to Rest?
Rest is necessary and important physically, emotionally, and spiritually. We know that’s true. We know we need rest.
Yet, we continue to resist it. Why?
The fourth commandment directs us to observe the Sabbath, to rest one day a week. The nation of Israel regularly got themselves into trouble because they refused to honor the Sabbath. It was an issue.
Missing the Point
The Sabbath, like so much of God’s law, had been reduced to behavioral restrictions against working and missed the deeper purpose. That can still be the case today. For example, when my husband and I were in Israel and went to our room via the hotel elevator on a Saturday, each floor was automatically selected so that no one would have to do the “work” of pushing a button. We had to stop at every floor.
Jesus healed, fed, and delivered people specifically on the Sabbath; in fact there are numerous references to events happening on the Sabbath in the Gospels. Jesus was clarifying the meaning of Sabbath and proclaiming that he was Lord of the Sabbath (Mark 2:27-28).
What is it about the Sabbath, about rest, that we have missed for millennia? And why do we resist the gift God offers us?
Israel’s Refusal to Rest
The first use of the term Sabbath in the Old Testament is in Exodus when God was instructing the Israelites about rules for gathering manna. Six days they were to collect manna, but the day before Sabbath they were told to gather twice as much. When they took in too much manna on other days it rotted, but the day before Sabbath it remained perfectly edible. Did they follow instructions?
On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather, but they found none. And the Lord said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws? See! The Lord has given you the Sabbath; therefore on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Remain each of you in his place; let no one go out of his place on the seventh day.” So the people rested on the seventh day. (Exodus 16:27-30, emphasis mine)
Some of the people didn’t believe God. They didn’t believe he had given them Sabbath, that he would provide for them, or that he would allow them to truly rest.
I wonder if that’s our biggest problem with rest to this day: We simply don’t believe God.
Two Reasons We Refuse to Rest
Sabbath was a gift to God’s people. It wasn’t intended to be a restriction or a tedious duty; it was to be a wonderful delight. When the commandments were given, the Sabbath was described as a time when everyone – sons, daughters, servants, aliens and animals – would set aside work, enjoy God and each other, and rest.
Yet –
1. We naturally operate with upside-down values.
The gift of Sabbath was intended to give the Israelites a weekly taste of living in the kingdom of God. They would’ve enjoyed and learned to depend on God alone, to delight in God, to validate everyone on the earth equally, to rest their bodies physically and their spirits emotionally. But it was difficult for Israel to take advantage of such a gift while they were physically living in the upside-down values of the kingdoms of this earth.
Jesus inaugurated the kingdom of God, so believers have access to it today. However, it takes purposeful determination to experience it since we live in conflicting kingdoms. If we’re busy running around in the kingdom of the world, we will never slow down enough to enjoy the delight of the kingdom of God.
Dan Allender says in his book, Sabbath, that the day is “an invitation to delight”:
Our war is not with flesh and blood; our reluctance to Sabbath is not a fight with busyness, drivenness, or time. We are caught in and fight battles against delight. Delight unnerves us; God’s call to delight terrifies us. To surrender to delight is to hear God’s passionate extravagance spoken in a manner that is uniquely crafted for our joy. (192)
Also –
2. We don’t trust God to provide for our needs.
Rest is an opportunity for believers to exercise trust in God for their daily lives, as it was for the Israelites in the desert. The Israelites risked being hungry for a day if God didn’t come through, but they put themselves in a situation in which they would see God’s faithfulness, provision, and the truth of his Word at work.
Christians differ in the ways in which we rest, and few follow the Sabbath rigidly like the Jews did years ago. However, the same root principle applies: Do I trust God to meet my needs, or do I feel like I had better work a little more to make sure my needs are met? Sometimes I claim the former; too often I confess to the latter.
My most desperate need is for forgiveness and reconciliation with my Holy God. No matter how frantically I work, I will never achieve that by my own effort. Mercifully, I don’t have to, for Jesus took care of that for me by his death and resurrection. In faith, I can rest in the truth that I am forgiven and reconciled. If Jesus Christ willingly died for me, why would he not also meet my daily needs?
Yes, it’s a risk to position ourselves to experience the provision of God, but as we decide to follow his ways we learn he is faithful beyond our imagination and wildly generous, and our faith and delight in him will grow.
So rest well. Put your focus on God’s kingdom, and rest in Jesus’ completed work at the cross. That is the beginning of delight.
[Photo Credit: Lightstock]
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The post Why Do We Struggle to Rest? appeared first on Unlocking the Bible.
August 30, 2017
What to Do While You’re Waiting on God
My five-year-old granddaughter asked me how long it would be before her family moved into their new house. Since six weeks is hard for a five-year-old to grasp, I took her to a wall calendar and showed her how long until moving day. Now, each day, as she marks off calendar squares one by one, she can see how long before the waiting is over.
I don’t know anyone who likes to wait. Do you? (I didn’t think so). Waiting is hard work and, at times, can even test our faith. It’s especially difficult when there are no guarantees that our waiting will ever end in this lifetime. Desires we long for, prayers we’ve been praying, and news we’re waiting to hear can tempt us to be impatient, discouraged, to worry, and even to wonder if God cares.
10 Things to Do While You’re Waiting on God
Perhaps this is why the Bible talks so much about waiting. God wants us to know that waiting is far from a passive activity in which we do nothing. In fact, Scripture teaches us that God wants us to actively participate in the work he desires to accomplish. Waiting strategically can cultivate good fruit in in our lives such as patience, perseverance, and endurance. It also draws us closer to our Savior and points those who are watching us to the gospel.
To that end, here are 10 things to do while you wait.
1. Believe that the God who saved you hears your cries (Micah 7:7).
Have you ever felt like your prayers are bouncing off the ceiling? Perhaps, like me, you have prayed for years about a concern, but God has seemed silent. That’s where God demonstrated his love and mercy towards us when we were still his enemies.
He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? (Romans 8:32)
In other words, the cross is our guarantee that God is for us and is committed to give us everything we would ask for if we knew everything he knew. We can be content with that and wait patiently for his answers.
2. Watch with expectancy, but be prepared for unexpected answers (Psalm 5:3).
While God has been faithful to answer many of my prayers, it’s often been in far different ways than I would have anticipated! God knows that the only way to do what he and I both desire will, at times, involve varying degrees of discomfort in my life.
Growing in humility means pride has to be done away with. Learning to love like Jesus requires us to say no to self’s constant demand for selfish ambition, wanting our own way, and putting ourselves first. Growing in patience inevitably involves some form of waiting, whether in a long line at the grocery story or a lifetime for a loved one to come to Christ. When we lay our requests before him, it is by faith that we wait and watch in anticipation of God’s good work in us and others.
3. Put your hope in his Word (Psalm 130:5-6).
We can be tempted to put our hope in things that may disappoint us in the end. We can hope a doctor will heal us, a teacher will pass us, a spouse will love us, our employer will reward us, or a friend will help us. But it is only when we put our hope in Christ that we can wait with confidence and know we will not be put to shame.
There is only one place to go to for reassurance during hard times, and that is to the cross.
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It seems that God allows us to experience disappointments in life to teach us that nothing else will truly satisfy or provide us with a firm foundation to stand upon. God’s Word alone is unshakable. We can wait for the Lord knowing that, no matter how dark the night is, his light will break through in our lives, bringing abundant joy through a more intimate relationship with Christ.
4. Trust in the Lord, not in your own understanding (Proverbs 3:5-6).
Why is it so tempting for us to depend on our own wisdom rather than the wisdom of our all-wise God? What makes us think that we know better than he does what is best for us? Scripture speaks clearly about how to live life abundantly forever with Christ; yet, all too easily, we justify our sin, declare distasteful commands irrelevant, and do what is right in our own eyes. Seasons of waiting reveal where we are placing our trust.
5. Resist fretting, refrain from anger, be still, and choose patience (Psalm 37:7-8).
It’s easy to say we trust God, but our response to delays, frustrations, and difficult situations exposes where we are actually placing our hope.
Are we convinced God is listening?
Do we believe he’s good?
Do we accept that our circumstances are sovereignly ordained?
Do we doubt he really cares about us?
When we choose to wait quietly and trustingly, we not only honor God but encourage others to put their hope in him as well.
6. Be strong and take courage (Psalm 27:13-14; 31:24).
I’ve found that one of my biggest battles in long seasons of waiting is fighting fear and all its buddies like anxiety, fretfulness, and worry. A voice in my head asks, What if this happens? What if God doesn’t answer my prayers? It is the gospel that has taught me that enduring strength and courage will never be found in myself but in Christ. I am empowered to be courageous when:
I meditate on the sovereign rule and power of God and his abundant goodness in sending a Savior to set me free from sin.
I remember that my “light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” (2 Corinthians 4:17).
Jesus said, “I will never leave you or forsake you.” Ever. He is Immanuel, God with us. That’s a promise that will sustain us while we wait for answers to prayer, but even more, as we wait for his triumphant return!
7. See it as an opportunity to experience God’s goodness (Psalm 27:13; Lamentations 3:25).
When my focus is on my problems and what God has or has not given me, I am prone to grumbling, complaining, discontentment, bitterness, and selfishness. When I define goodness by what brings me the most comfort, happiness, and gratification in this life, then anything that threatens these things will tempt me to question God’s love and goodness.
God demonstrated his goodness when Christ absorbed the wrath of God that we deserved, making a way for us to be set free from the power of sin and our enemy Satan, who seeks to steal, kill, and destroy our eternal joy and peace. For those who have eyes to see, seasons of waiting offer countless opportunities to witness God at work in and through us for our eternal good and his glory.
8. Wait for God’s promise instead of going your own way (Acts 1:4).
Scripture offers plenty of examples of saints who got weary of waiting for God and chose to do things their way. I’ve given way to that temptation as well.
God’s goodness is promised for those who wait patiently for him! No matter how long. Regardless of how hopeless things appear to us. Even when it seems to cost us everything. “God is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to his power at work within us” (Ephesians 3:20). When we wait for him, we will never be disappointed.
9. Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful with thanksgiving (Colossians 4:2).
Another temptation we face when God does not seem to be answering our prayers is to stop praying, stop expecting him to act, while giving way to a spirit of cynicism, rather than thanking God for who he is and all he has done for us. While God may not answer in our timing or in the way we expect, he will accomplish his good purposes in our lives when we wait for him and persevere in prayer.
10. Remember the blessings yet to come (Isaiah 30:18).
As long as our hope is set on this life and things that gratify our flesh, we will likely feel frustrated, discouraged, and even hopeless. Jesus Christ came to offer us eternal joy and freedom from sin and, although we have been set free from sin’s power, sin’s presence is still at work in and around us. Thankfully, the gospel assures us, as believers, that God is for us and works all things together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28).
During long (or even short) seasons of waiting, our hearts will be encouraged to remember that the best is yet to come! One day sin will be no more! We will be free from self’s demands and temptations and experience everlasting joy. So,
Set your mind on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” (Colossians 3:2-4)
You Will Not Be Ashamed
Susannah Spurgeon, wife of Charles Spurgeon, counseled her own heart with these words:
The Lord has strewn the pages of of God’s Word with promises of blessedness to those who wait for Him. And remember, His slightest Word stands fast and sure; it can never fail you. So, my soul, see that you have a promise underneath thee, for then your waiting will be resting and a firm foothold for your hope will give you confidence in Him who has said, ‘They shall not be ashamed that wait for Me.’”
“Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land; But for you, O Lord, do I wait; it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer.” Christ is the answer! He is your rest and the treasure you seek.
Wait for the Lord.
[Post Credit: Chosen and Called]
RELATED POSTS:
Three Ways to Grow While You Wait
How the Gospel Redeems Our Past
Restoring the Lost Years
The post What to Do While You’re Waiting on God appeared first on Unlocking the Bible.
August 29, 2017
Key Connections (August 30, 2017)
When I hear more rain on my back patio, my heart aches. Our city is sinking. I shake my head in disbelief as rain and sirens blare around us. As I tell my kids to wear their helmets during a tornado warning, I must look to heaven, past Harvey, for help.
Nurture Your Children (Tim Challies, Challies dot Com)
Before the Bible tells us how to parent, it first makes sure we understand why we parent. Once we understand the ultimate goal of parenting, then we see how these two short passages provide a wealth of insight on how to raise our children in godliness. If you are going to be a wise father, you must consider this: To run to win, you need to nurture your children.
Leading Others to the Good Shepherd (Paul Tautges, Biblical Counseling Coalition)
Perhaps the greatest privilege and joy of involvement in the personal ministry of the Word is leading others to the green pastures of safety and security where Jesus, the Good Shepherd, never fails to care for them…In these verses, we find three truths that nurture our faith and assist us in directing others toward the pleasant pastures that are watched over by the Good Shepherd.
The Case for Vulnerability (Chris Castaldo, In Touch Ministries)
How does the cross-shape of Jesus’ life speak to our friendships? Simply put, it rebukes our apprehension to express love toward one another and it inspires us toward vulnerability.
20 Practical Ways to Kill Sin Every Day (Kristen Wetherell, Unlocking the Bible)
The redeemed heart has been set free from sin’s power, yet still wars with sin’s presence—and sin distances us from the God who willingly came to rescue us from it… No Christian is exempt from the battle with sin, and it’s wise to consider what and how we’re actively fighting each day. But we do not fight alone.
The post Key Connections (August 30, 2017) appeared first on Unlocking the Bible.
August 28, 2017
The Fear of Man Will Crush You
Earlier this year, my right thumb started hurting. I can’t remember any fall or trauma that caused the problem, but I winced every time I had to grip or press with my thumb.
Shaking hands became especially painful. One evening, I was hosting an honor society induction at my college. I was proud of these students, and I wanted the parents, grandparents, and friends in attendance to feel comfortable and welcome.
As you might guess, I shook a lot of hands that night, and I paid for it. That evening probably set my healing back several days.
When we fear man, we walk into a dangerous place, because we’re no longer trusting in the Lord.
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What’s going on here? Why did I do something I knew was so bad for me?
I wanted to look healthy and normal, hating the thought of appearing weak or needing to explain my injury. I knew people expected a handshake, and I didn’t want to disappoint anyone or make them feel awkward.
You might notice the pride and the love of reputation in my motivations that evening. But mixed in with those rascals is another noxious sin the Bible calls the fear of man. It’s often set in contrast to the fear of the Lord.
Let me tell you – it’s deadly.
A Dangerous Trap
The Bible pulls no punches when speaking about the fear of man.
In Galatians 2:11–14, Peter changes his dining practices according to his audience. He eats with Gentiles before “certain men came from James,” but when they arrived, he stops, “fearing the circumcision party.” Paul calls this hypocrisy and rightly opposes Peter to his face, because his “conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel.”
There were specific, first-century, social, and religious dynamics at play here. But the fundamental problem is universal: We often modify our behavior based on the opinion of others.
The Bible describes the fear of man in terms of a trap: “The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe” (Proverbs 29:25). When we fear man, we are walking into a dangerous place, because we’re no longer trusting in the Lord.
The Desire for Approval
At its core, the fear of man is about our desire for approval. Jon Bloom wrote a helpful article at Desiring God which calls this a natural desire. Bloom writes that God designed us to seek approval, and this proves to be a huge motivating factor for us. The source from whom we seek approval reveals our deepest love.
We can trace our fears to the people who have the most authority over us. This is the person(s) whose approval we most want. Jesus puts a fine point on this:
I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him! Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows. (Luke 12:4–7)
We are to fear God supremely, because he has ultimate authority over our bodies and souls. No man controls our eternal destiny.
Approved by God
Did you read that Luke 12 passage carefully? Jesus told his disciples both to fear God and then not to be afraid. How can these commands both be true?
God is the Creator and Sovereign, so we should fear him! But this God is merciful and loving, so in trusting his care we don’t need to be afraid. He knows us, loves us, and will give us exactly what we need.
Instead of seeking approval from other people, the gospel of Jesus reminds us that we are approved by God. In our own actions and desires we deserve nothing but disapproval. But Jesus—the beloved Son of the Father, the One approved and accepted before time began—feared God in our place. Jesus lived to do his Father’s will (John 4:34).
Our fear of man was put on Jesus, and he was rejected by man and God for us. By faith, Jesus’ perfect fear of the Lord is credited to us, and God approves! Our heavenly Father accepts and loves us, all the way down to our toes.
Do you see how freeing and motivating this truth is? The fears that imprisoned our minds and hearts are now set free in the wind. We don’t have to impress or win over any other person, because the God of the universe is in our corner!
There’s a healthy, God-glorifying way we can say, “I don’t care what anyone thinks.”
Embrace the Fear of the Lord
It’s all too easy to forget our identities as children of God. So we develop practices that help us actively resist the fear of man and embrace the fear of the Lord:
1. Remind yourself about God.
Take time on a regular basis to remember who God is, what he controls, and why he is for you. Meditate on passages like Luke 12 that reveal God’s power, authority, and care. Consider reading other books about the attributes of God.
2. Interrogate your fears.
When you notice the fear of man, pinpoint the fear. Tease out the human consequences of trusting God in that situation. Often our fear of man is not only sinful but exaggerated and unfounded.
3. Embrace God’s promises.
These words from Moses to the nation of Israel are so precious: “Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you” (Deuteronomy 31:6). The reason the people don’t need to fear is because God will be with them. See also Hebrews 13:5–6.
4. Don’t fight alone.
We need allies in this battle. We don’t often notice our fear of man. So, we need to share honest conversations with friends who can help us see our fears. (Of course, we also need to be that friend to others!)
After two weeks of loving reminders from my small group, I bought a brace for my hand that immobilized my thumb. It drew neon attention to my injury, but it also kept me from further damaging my hand. In this small way, admitting my weakness and trusting the Lord with my healing has reminded me of this great biblical truth: “Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack!” (Psalm 34:9)
[Photo Credit: Lightstock]
RELATED POSTS:
Jesus Is Stronger Than Your Fear
Break Free from the Comparison Trap
Five Prayers to Grow in the Fear of the Lord
The post The Fear of Man Will Crush You appeared first on Unlocking the Bible.
August 27, 2017
When God Asks Hard Things of You
On Saturday morning in the quiet of our family room, I flipped to a familiar story in the Bible. With coffee in hand, I opened Hosea. Rather, Hosea opened me.
Hosea’s Difficult Story
When God spoke to Hosea, what he said was unimaginable:
“Go, take to yourself a wife of whoredom and have children of whoredom, for the land commits great whoredom by forsaking the Lord.” (Hosea 1:2)
So he did. Hosea “went and took Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son” (v. 3). But God’s hard requests didn’t end there:
And the Lord said to him, “Call his name Jezreel, for in just a little while I will punish the house of Jehu for the blood of Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel.” (v. 4)
We read next that Gomer conceived twice more: She bore a daughter, who the Lord named No Mercy (v. 6), and then a son, who he called Not My People (v. 9).
Perplexed, I thought, Could God have asked anything harder of Hosea?
What Did Hosea Feel?
This account is painfully concise. God spoke and Hosea obeyed, again and again. This conversation met my ears and heart with a tone of searing insensitivity. How could God ask such things of his servant? It left me upset, and I wanted to understand.
My sinful heart interpreted these words in the cold absence of our Father’s love: Marry a prostitute? Name your children after the coming wrath of God? Raise those children in the house of a harlot? This is unkind at best, I thought. The Lord is bidding his servant do his will because he can, because he is Lord – not because he loves him.
But I thought wrong.
We read no description of Hosea’s feelings, no doubts, and no departing from God’s way; Scripture only highlights the trust and obedience of God’s servant. By God’s grace and his sovereign will, all threads of emotion on Hosea’s part evade this passage.
Wouldn’t you love to talk to Hosea about everything unwritten?
How did God show him kindness when the Word he heard seemed severe?
How did he find strength to raise these children who were named to represent God’s judgment, while mom lived as a harlot?
How often did he fill his bed with tears?
Can You Tell Me How It Felt?
In response to these questions, I set my lukewarm cup of coffee on the table and traded it for my pen. I wrote in my journal the questions I would ask Hosea, and they started to rhyme and flow. A poem formed:
Can you tell me how it felt
When you heard the Word of the Lord,
When he asked you to tear your heart in two
And welcome the worst offense?
Did you tremble; did you weep?
How did you obey the Word
To seek a guilty bride?
Where did you see His kindness
In the midst of all your grief?
Your life you lost in the vision of God;
It was not yours to keep.
When you looked in the face of your little boy
And your eyes met with his,
Could you think only of the promise to destroy –
The judgment of your kin?
What did you do when time and again
The Lord met you with a heavy hand?
Did you wrestle with Him as you waited in silence;
How close did you hold his sliver of promise?
I know the story: I know you obeyed.
It’s hard to understand
When you can’t see all that passed on those days.
Does Hosea’s story resonate with you? Has God asked hard things of you, with little explanation behind his asking? How do we persevere in obedience when we don’t understand our circumstances?
How Hosea Dealt With Hard Things
With two promises at the end of this chapter in Hosea, God whispers his faithfulness:
Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or numbered. And in the place where it was said to them, “You are not my people,” it shall be said to them, “Children of the living God.” And the children of Judah and the children of Israel shall be gathered together, and they shall appoint for themselves one head. And they shall go up from the land, for great shall be the day of Jezreel. (vv. 10-11)
God reminds Hosea that he’s not forgotten his promises to Abraham (v. 10) or David (v. 7). Israel will be numbered as the sand, and there will be a kingdom of God’s people with a King on the throne forever (see Genesis 22:17; 2 Samuel 7:12-13).
No, Hosea couldn’t flip through his Bible to Matthew and read the introduction of “Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham,” whose name means “God with us,” and, “he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:1, 21, 23). He couldn’t read about the Man of Sorrows who suffered and died so that that Hosea’s faith – despite deep suffering – might be counted as righteousness (Romans 3:21-26).
Yet Hosea clung to God’s promises and knew he was part of the bigger story. He knew his God was the God of Abraham and the God of David. The promises made to them were promises made to him.
How We Deal With Hard Things
Though we live in a different time, our Lord is Hosea’s Lord. He does not change (Malachi 3:6). We can walk away from this story knowing how Hosea dealt with the hard things God asked of him: He had a promise from the Lord. He could cling to the commitment of God’s faithfulness to his people, though he would not physically witness the coming of its fulfillment in Jesus Christ.
What about us? We’ve seen what Hosea never did; we’ve seen God’s promises fulfilled in Christ.
When God’s Word seems severe to us, we can trust God’s kindness toward us, perfectly displayed in Jesus Christ in his substitutionary death for our sins (Psalm 145:17).
When we seek strength to endure God-ordained affliction, we can fix our eyes on our enduring Savior who bore the worst affliction for our sake “in his body on the tree” that we might escape the worst affliction that exists: the wrath of God (1 Peter 2:24).
When tears – not explanation – are all we know (Psalm 42:3), we can take comfort that our brother Jesus weeps with us. He also promises us an eternity with him where sin, suffering, and weeping will be no more. Those who have received mercy will be called God’s people and will be welcomed into his eternal home (Hebrews 4:14-16; John 11:35; Revelation 21:3-4).
Help Me Remember You Go First
Can you tell me how it felt
When you wrote the Word, my Lord,
When you ordained to tear your heart in two,
And welcome the worst offense?
I know you trembled; I know you wept.
Why did you covenant to seek
A guilty bride?
Why did you author this Kindness:
To bear all our grief?
Your life you laid down for the wisdom of God
When it was rightfully yours to keep.
Father, you looked in the face of your only Son
And when your eyes met with his
How could you keep your promise to destroy,
And judge him for our sin?
Lord, how did you live knowing the time and plan;
That the Father would crush you with a heavy hand?
Did you ever wrestle with him as you waited in silence;
That you were the only hope of the promise?
I know the story: O Lord you obeyed!
I think I understand a little more of your grace.
So when I read of your people,
Your prophets, your Word,
And you ask them to do the really absurd
Help me remember you go first in all that you ask,
There’s no test of grief you have not passed,
And your promises will prevail until all are at rest:
Each grain of sand from Abraham to the Church,
Each prophet and son you’ve purchased and rebirthed.
RELATED POSTS:
In Your Trials, Trust God
Eight Reasons to Cling to Scripture in Suffering
Why Modern-Day Christians Need the Minor Prophets
The post When God Asks Hard Things of You appeared first on Unlocking the Bible.
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