False confidence?

Now therefore hear this, you lover of pleasures, who sit securely, who say in your heart, “I am, and there is no one besides me; I shall not sit as a widow or know the loss of children”: These two things shall come to you in a moment, in one day; the loss of children and widowhood shall come upon you in full measure, in spite of your many sorceries and the great power of your enchantments. You felt secure in your wickedness; you said, “No one sees me”; your wisdom and your knowledge led you astray, and you said in your heart, “I am, and there is no one besides me.” But evil shall come upon you, which you will not know how to charm away; disaster shall fall upon you, for which you will not be able to atone; and ruin shall come upon you suddenly, of which you know nothing. Stand fast in your enchantments and your many sorceries, with which you have labored from your youth; perhaps you may be able to succeed; perhaps you may inspire terror. You are wearied with your many counsels; let them stand forth and save you, those who divide the heavens, who gaze at the stars, who at the new moons make known what shall come upon you. Behold, they are like stubble; the fire consumes them; they cannot deliver themselves from the power of the flame. No coal for warming oneself is this, no fire to sit before! Such to you are those with whom you have labored, who have done business with you from your youth; they wander about, each in his own direction; there is no one to save you. (Isaiah 47:8–15)

A television series featured one character that had the attitude that no matter what happened, it would turn out fine. One of my friends is like that too. Neither one trusts God for ‘fine’ even though this positive attitude seems to be working for them, at least some of the time.

A pessimist might argue. The dictionary calls this person a prophet of doom. In a recent study of optimism, neuroscientists found an interesting principle: optimists shared similar patterns of activity in a key brain region when they imagined future events, but each pessimist’s brain patterns was unique. 

They were looking for the difference because optimism is associated with better physical, mental and social health. But the above Scripture adds another factor — an optimistic attitude also needs to be based on reality. In the OT audience that Isaiah was speaking to, the people wanted a positive future, but because of their sin, it was not going to happen. Their optimism was based on a strong ‘I want’ rather than on the will of God. The reality is that fighting with God and winning is not likely, no matter how positive I feel about the outcome.

I’m reminded of that book about the power of positive thinking. My dad was hooked until I said, “No matter how positive I think, I can never be an opera singer.” That burst his bubble. He knew how I sounded. 

The fans rooting for their hockey team in the NHL playoffs hold up signs saying “BELIEVE” as if their confidence will make winners out of the team, but that does not work either. Confidence in me and my plans seems right, but it does come with a warning:

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. (James 4:13–16)

Some of us are not optimistic, meaning me. I’m more apt to think that I can’t do something. For this, James adds: “So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.” (James 4:17)

Jesus, You are very good with attitudes and guidance as long as I’m trusting You and not myself or my feelings both negative and positive. Trusting myself never works out and how wonderful that You care and want me to do the right thing — and will let me know what that is. All I have to do is listen to You instead of my own thoughts and emotions.

OT and NT redemption are the same…

“Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. The wild beasts will honor me, the jackals and the ostriches, for I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, to give drink to my chosen people, the people whom I formed for myself that they might declare my praise. “Yet you did not call upon me, O Jacob; but you have been weary of me, O Israel! You have not brought me your sheep for burnt offerings, or honored me with your sacrifices. I have not burdened you with offerings, or wearied you with frankincense. You have not bought me sweet cane with money, or satisfied me with the fat of your sacrifices. But you have burdened me with your sins; you have wearied me with your iniquities. 
“I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins. Put me in remembrance; let us argue together; set forth your case, that you may be proved right. Your first father sinned, and your mediators transgressed against me. Therefore I will profane the princes of the sanctuary, and deliver Jacob to utter destruction and Israel to reviling.
“But now hear, O Jacob my servant, Israel whom I have chosen! Thus says the Lord who made you, who formed you from the womb and will help you: Fear not, O Jacob my servant, Jeshurun whom I have chosen. For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants. They shall spring up among the grass like willows by flowing streams. This one will say, ‘I am the Lord’s,’ another will call on the name of Jacob, and another will write on his hand, ‘The Lord’s,’ and name himself by the name of Israel.” (Isaiah 43:18–44:5)

One problem with spending much time in the OT is that the rebukes to God’s people back then often distract me from the new thing God has done in redeeming believers by grace through faith. Not that this makes me think that God is still looking for obedience as a means of salvation, or that He ever did, but that if I do not obey, the consequences will make me respond to trials as if God is using them to punish me.

If I slip into that thinking, discouragement sets in. It seems like God is looking for obedience as a means of salvation by faith rather than evidence of it. Of course that appeals to human pride, but then there are days when that mountain I try to climb is way too high. This makes all those ‘therefore’ passages repeated in an era when God was using unpleasant consequences to illustrate that the relationship His people had with Him was missing faith in Him and His power. 

Today, since Jesus came, He uses trials to test and build faith. All the punishment I deserve was taken by Christ. Instead of the ‘therefore’ I need to focus on the “but now” and the “I will make a way” which are both true because of His grace and mercy to me.

Actually, salvation in the OT was like that also. God promised a Redeemer and His people were to live by that promise, believing He would keep it, and waiting for it in godly living rather than giving in to their old fears and doing what was right in their own eyes. Salvation has always been by faith. Right living is the evidence of it.

Since Jesus came, we are saved by faith, not by works but demonstrated by works in obedience. Same as the OT. 

Now I’m realizing how easily others separate the two testaments as they do. These ‘therefore’ passages are false accusations in a sense, yet they make me feel like jumping from Isaiah to Matthew. I need to remember that the OT points to Jesus, even in those ‘therefore’ rebukes.

Jesus, keep Yourself continually in my mind so my thinking is all about grace and not about anything else but You and Your promises. You will pour water into my thirsty life, and streams into my barren life. You will pour Your Spirit upon my children and descendants so they too will confess You as Lord and call on Your Name — even call themselves Your children. Keep me from getting caught up in anything else but You, Your will, and Your power to keep such promises as these and even more.  You say my offspring shall spring up among the grass like willows by flowing streams. This one will say, ‘I am the Lord’s,’ another will call on the name of Jacob, and another will write on his hand, ‘The Lord’s,’ and name himself by the name of Israel.” That happens because of Your grace and goodness.

When threatened…

Then the Rabshakeh stood and called out in a loud voice in the language of Judah: “Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria! Thus says the king: ‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you. Do not let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord by saying, “The Lord will surely deliver us. This city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.” Do not listen to Hezekiah. For thus says the king of Assyria: Make your peace with me and come out to me. Then each one of you will eat of his own vine, and each one of his own fig tree, and each one of you will drink the water of his own cistern, until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and wine, a land of bread and vineyards. Beware lest Hezekiah mislead you by saying, “The Lord will deliver us.” Has any of the gods of the nations delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria? (Isaiah 36:13–18)

While this passage sounds like today’s political ramps and promises, it also sounds like the junk that my spiritual enemy, the Liar, tosses at me. Don’t trust the Lord. Trust yourself and you will prosper. Blah. Blah. Blah.

King Hezekiah was not so easily thrown into a panic at this threat nor interested in the false promises of this enemy. He “tore his clothes and covered himself with sackcloth and went into the house of the Lord.” Then he called on other spiritual leaders and said: 

“This day is a day of distress, of rebuke, and of disgrace; children have come to the point of birth, and there is no strength to bring them forth. It may be that the Lord your God will hear the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to mock the living God, and will rebuke the words that the Lord your God has heard; therefore lift up your prayer for the remnant that is left.’ ” (Isaiah 37:1–4)

Isaiah also sent a message to this king: “Thus says the Lord: Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard, with which the young men of the king of Assyria have reviled me. Behold, I will put a spirit in him, so that he shall hear a rumor and return to his own land, and I will make him fall by the sword in his own land.’ ” (Isaiah 37:5–7) Hezekiah then prayed:

“O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, enthroned above the cherubim, you are the God, you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; you have made the heavens and the earth. Incline your ear, O Lord, and hear; open your eyes, O Lord, and see; and hear all the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to mock the living God. Truly, O Lord, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the nations and their lands, and have cast their gods into the fire. For they were no gods, but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone. Therefore they were destroyed. So now, O Lord our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone are the Lord.” (Isaiah 37:14–20)

God responded to the threatening king: “I know your sitting down and your going out and coming in, and your raging against me. Because you have raged against me and your complacency has come to my ears, I will put my hook in your nose and my bit in your mouth, and I will turn you back on the way by which you came. . . . . For I will defend this city to save it, for my own sake and for the sake of my servant David.” And the angel of the Lord went out and struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians. And when people arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies. Then Sennacherib king of Assyria returned home and as he was worshiping in the house of his god, his sons killed him. (Isaiah 37:28–38)

Jesus, this encourages me. I’ve had similar lies threaten me, lies against God and causing me a struggle to pray in faith that He will rescue me and those I pray for. I need the courage and trust of Hezekiah, realizing the lies, but also having wisdom to know how to encourage others who fall for the same threats.

 

Test #2

 Writing directly in an I-pad could be stressful! But easier than lugging my laptop on holidays.

His strength is perfected in our weakness:

Egypt’s help is worthless and empty; therefore I have called her “Rahab who sits still.” And now, go, write it before them on a tablet and inscribe it in a book, that it may be for the time to come as a witness forever. For they are a rebellious people, lying children, children unwilling to hear the instruction of the Lord; who say to the seers, “Do not see,” and to the prophets, “Do not prophesy to us what is right; speak to us smooth things, prophesy illusions, leave the way, turn aside from the path, let us hear no more about the Holy One of Israel.” Therefore thus says the Holy One of Israel, “Because you despise this word and trust in oppression and perverseness and rely on them, therefore this iniquity shall be to you like a breach in a high wall, bulging out and about to collapse, whose breaking comes suddenly, in an instant; and its breaking is like that of a potter’s vessel that is smashed so ruthlessly that among its fragments not a shard is found with which to take fire from the hearth, or to dip up water out of the cistern.” For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, “In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.” But you were unwilling, and you said, “No! We will flee upon horses”; therefore you shall flee away; and, “We will ride upon swift steeds”; therefore your pursuers shall be swift. A thousand shall flee at the threat of one; at the threat of five you shall flee, till you are left like a flagstaff on the top of a mountain, like a signal on a hill. Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. 

Egypt represents my old life of bondage, and like the grass seems greener there, the people of God can be lured into thinking that living that way is better than living for the Lord. It may be easier, but not better. When I drift into a fleshy way, God truly exalts Himself by showing mercy to me. My task ought to be:

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

He convicts me of my error, forgives when I confess, and cleans up my thinking and actions. He uses even my sins in His redemptive process. The above passage adds more wonders such as:

For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him. For a people shall dwell in Zion, in Jerusalem; you shall weep no more. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry. As soon as he hears it, he answers you. And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide himself anymore, but your eyes shall see your Teacher. And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left. 

As I get rid of sin and all idols, He blesses my productivity, binds up my brokenness and heals the  wounds inflicted by His blows. He gives me songs in the night, and I can hear His voice with a glad heart even as my spiritual enemies hear His fury. (Isaiah 30:7–31:3)

Jesus, I am so aware that relying on the way I thought and lived before You rescued me brings sorrow. Trusting my ways and not consulting You is foolish. You are wise and work against all who do evil. That old life is mere human without the power of the Holy Spirit and in it I stumble and suffer loss. Keep me always in Your will. Fill me each day with Your mercy and grace that I will live as You lead me and enable me to rejoice in You.

Another surprise…

And the Lord said: “Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men, therefore, behold, I will again do wonderful things with this people, with wonder upon wonder; and the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the discernment of their discerning men shall be hidden.” Ah, you who hide deep from the Lord your counsel, whose deeds are in the dark, and who say, “Who sees us? Who knows us?” You turn things upside down! Shall the potter be regarded as the clay, that the thing made should say of its maker, “He did not make me”; or the thing formed say of him who formed it, “He has no understanding”? (Isaiah 29:13–16)

The problem of a high IQ is thinking that they know all they need to know and even thinking that their knowledge and plans are hidden from God. As one commentator says, trying to conceal their thoughts from God indicates that they know that their thoughts and plans are sinful, yet as the psalmist writes: “How can God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High?” (Psalm 73:11). 

Sometimes I wonder about those who are so set against God that they are certain of their plans and their destiny and certain God knows nothing about them nor cares. However, the psalmist later says: 

But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task, until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end. Truly you set them in slippery places; you make them fall to ruin. How they are destroyed in a moment, swept away utterly by terrors! Like a dream when one awakes, O Lord, when you rouse yourself, you despise them as phantoms. When my soul was embittered, when I was pricked in heart, I was brutish and ignorant; I was like a beast toward you. Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. (Psalm 73:16–26)

He knows all hearts and can do anything He pleases. When I am upset at the hard hearts around me, He can soften and remind anyone who He is. No one is exempt from His power to reach into that stubborn place and gently change it.

Jesus, discouragement comes easy to my eyes, but You are able to encourage my heart by faith in what I cannot see. Someday You will answer the cries of my heart. In the meantime, keep my focus on Your promises and Your power lest I lose hope and take those ‘wise’ people off my prayer list.

Using lies to cover lies?

Because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death, and with Sheol we have an agreement, when the overwhelming whip passes through it will not come to us, for we have made lies our refuge, and in falsehood we have taken shelter”; therefore thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am the one who has laid as a foundation in Zion, a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation: ‘Whoever believes will not be in haste.’ And I will make justice the line, and righteousness the plumb line; and hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, and waters will overwhelm the shelter.” Then your covenant with death will be annulled, and your agreement with Sheol will not stand; when the overwhelming scourge passes through, you will be beaten down by it. As often as it passes through it will take you; for morning by morning it will pass through, by day and by night; and it will be sheer terror to understand the message. (Isaiah 28:15–19)

The one thing that I cannot bear is lies. If a person lies to me, I usually cut them off. In my mind, the relationship cannot be anything more than superficial or artificial. Trust is broken and without a restoration of reliability, I tend to want proof before believing anything that person says. 

This sounds cruel and a lack of love for the NT says: “Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” However, it also describes love as “not insisting on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.” (1 Corinthians 13:5–7)

Another verse says, “By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar” (Romans 3:4) and Jesus called religious unbelievers ‘liars’ in John 8:44. Does everyone lie except God?
 
It is plain that trusting God makes sense. It also makes sense that in many matters of life, I can evaluate trust by comparing what people say and do with what God says and does. Those who can admit lying may be justified in their words, and “prevail when judged.” This is the value of confessing sin. If a person can do that, they seem far more likely to be honest about most things. But if the lie is covered by another lie, this is a red flag, a warning to be cautious with my trust.

It is folly to lie to God. He knows my thoughts and my heart, even the words I will say before I say them. His foundation is Jesus Christ and every person will be tested alongside this sinless cornerstone. Apart from faith in Him, in His death and resurrection, who can pass that test? 

As the Word says, hating lies is a godly attitude, but hating people is not. The only way I can manage that is to pray for those who lie and ask God to deal with them in such a way that the reasons for those lies, such as fear, false ambition, self-protection, etc., fall away. Liars need to know that they are perfectly loved regardless of their performance.

There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother. (1 John 4:18–21)

My attitude toward those who lie is an attitude of fear also, of not trusting God to deal with them, and not being willing to be like Jesus who died for those who sin, including the sin of lying. I know these things, yet sometimes let my own fears allow the flesh to deal with liars instead of trusting the Spirit of God.

Jesus, this has been a difficult couple of days, yet I know Your heart of exposing my lack of obedience is an act of love. You want me to be like You — and that is the most loving motivation of all. So is Your power to change my heart. Keep my focus stayed on You, not on the pain of being lied to, or on using anger to deal with the pain. Your response is the only way: Father, forgive them for they don’t know what they are doing…