Living in an ungodly world?

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish. (Psalm 1:1–6)

This passage uses the term ‘wicked’ but some think it should be ‘ungodly’ as that fits the idea of those who are lost, not just those who do extremely immoral deeds. This is the OT definition of ungodly:

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:6)

Those who turn to their own way could be morally evil and what we might call wicked, yet they could be ordinary folks who appear to be ‘nice’ people but are not even interested in God, the Bible, or in the way the Lord wants us to live.

A close relative belongs to a religious group that goes door to door with their version of the gospel. He tells me that he talks to many people who are unaware of the Bible or know anything about it. The above psalm describes these as people who will not stand when judged by God or be acceptable in the congregation of God's redeemed people.

No one aces this test. Everyone experiences self-rule at times, but those who have put their faith in Jesus Christ are not only aware of this way of life, we spend most of our walk in faith trying to overcome it. For some, that old self is totally disgusting. For others, pride, false teaching, desires for prosperity and a life of comfort lure them into a false representation of godliness. 

But God knows the way of the righteous, as well as the hearts of those who think they are ‘good enough’ to stand before Him, or who don’t really care what God thinks, or even if there is a God who cares.

We wonder about the state of the world and the daily stories on the news. They remind me of an often repeated OT verse: “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” (Judges 17:6) Is it also true now that  even with the leaders we have in political and religious realms, most people do what seems right in their own eyes? Knowing the selfishness of my old nature compared to the godliness God desires, this is surely a sad state of affairs. 

Lord, has the time come where You will allow the world to learn the hard way that You are to be feared? We see odd and even terrifying human behavior, but also strange weather patterns and worrisome trends in nearly every realm of life, as if grace and mercy have faded and the judgment of consequences rules. I know that You know what You are doing, yet it is not putting joy in my heart to watch this happen. 

 

One of those gray areas . . .

This morning I was thinking about something I want to do, but had some doubts about whether God wants me to do it. It is one of those gray areas, not sin in the action, but perhaps in my motivation. My prayer was that He would show me from Scripture. My feelings and my ‘I wants’ can block His voice and when that happens, I want to hear what He has to say in black and white, with no confusion.

These verses are for today’s reading, verses whose application has not always been clear. However, Chambers clarifies them for me, and God answers my prayer.

“Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.” (Matthew 5:25–26)

Chambers says this instruction is based on a principle: Do what you know you must do, now, and do it quickly. It I don’t, there is a process that will eventually bring pain and distress. God’s laws are unalterable; there is no escape from them.

From this, I do not hear the Lord saying “Do what you want to do” but rather, “Do what I want you to do.” The same principle applies; if I don’t, there will be consequences. If I go my own way, I will regret it. If I obey the Lord, the results will please Him and be a blessing to me and others.

This passage is not about how others treat me, even though it refers to accusers. If the accuser is right and I insist on my rights, or having my way, or act in ways that displease the Lord Jesus Christ, I’m to bring myself to God’s judgment and let Him say yes or no to my situation. If I don’t, the problem will not go away.

Chamber’s lines that speak loudly are these: “God is determined to have His child as pure and clean and white as driven snow, and as long as there is disobedience in any point of His teaching, He will prevent none of the working of His spirit. Our insistence in proving that we are right is nearly always an indication that there has been some point of disobedience. No wonder the Spirit so strongly urges to keep steadfastly in the light!”

My issue is not about settling differences with an accuser, yet the Holy Spirit reminds me of the reality of my spiritual accuser, the enemy who accuses me before God day and night.

“ . . . . Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.” (Revelation 12:10–11)

Satan accusations are designed to ruin my faith and turn me from trusting God. This gives clarity. Will the thing I want to do be a reflection of pure faith? Or does it have an insistence in it that indicates either lack of faith or a point of disobedience or both?

If God wants me to do something, He will nudge me until I pay attention. If Satan wants me to do something, he will accomplish his purpose by lies and accusations. The only way to overcome him is by the shed blood of Jesus Christ, by my declaration of faith in God, and by disregarding whatever I might want — even if it leads to my demise.

If I insist on my own way, my accuser will trip me up. If I do not love my own life or my own way then I will conquer this adversary, not by being reconciled to him, but because I have been reconciled to God by Jesus Christ, and enabled to obey Him by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Walking in righteousness while buying more stuff?

. . .  He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. (Psalm 23:3)

We were driving out of a shopping center with a few purchases and spotted a man with a sign that said “Homeless and hungry.” The traffic pushed us out of the parking lot, but the sight of that man bothered my husband. He said that he might drive past many, but felt he needed to help this one. He said, “Here we are, able to buy whatever we want and he looks hungry.” So he drove around the block and re-entered the parking lot.

For many, the first thought when seeing someone like this man is, “get a job” or “is he for real?” I tend toward the latter, not really wanted to believe that people can be that destitute in a well-off country like this. But I have to admit that most of my thinking is pure selfishness.

Looking out for number one is part of this culture in which we live. It seems the right thing to do, but that is a poor excuse. The Bible says, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.” (Proverbs 14:12)

Taking care of our own assets and seeking to add more to the pile does seem right for those with the money to do it. How could buying things be so dangerous that it ends in death? It wouldn’t if a person has the right attitude toward God . . . 

The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, doing abominable iniquity; there is none who does good. God looks down from heaven on the children of man to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. They have all fallen away; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one. (Psalm 53:1–3)

Someone once said that people can go through life picking up all the baubles they want, but eventually they must go through the checkout. This isn’t very good theology in one sense, but I agree with the importance of thinking about the whole of life and what really matters at the end of it. Only fools refuse to seek after God and His righteousness. The worst of it is, unless He seeks us and changes our hearts, we are all fools.

God describes a fool as someone who refuses to be accountable to God concerning sin, but also concerning direction in life. He says, “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice.” (Proverbs 12:15) I would add that the way of a fool is to look out for number one without considering others and without any considering the end of life and the truism that we can take none of it with us.

On one occasion, Jesus was speaking when someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” He answered, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?  . . . Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” (Luke 12:13–15)

I often think about that story and Jesus’ response. The man wanted fairness or so it seemed, but Jesus looked deeper. He knew that this man was jealous of those who had more and thought that having more would somehow make him a better person or put him in a better position.

This man and the crowd around him had priorities like those of most people today. Bigger, better, more describes the normal value system, yet God turns that upside-down. Jesus described what is far more important in a parable . . .

The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.” ’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God. (Luke 12:16–21)

Buying, buying and more buying is not necessarily wrong, but doing it with right motives is not only a challenge – it is practically impossible.

Choosing a place to sit

In all our moving from place to place, I’ve noticed that church people usually sit in the middle rows or at the back. Only in a couple churches did they fill the front rows. In one of those congregations, people even saved seats there so they could be closer to the speaker.
 

From the perspective of those facing the congregation, I’ve stood up front to give announcements or readings. I felt awkward speaking to rows of empty chairs. I’m sure that pastors feel the same way when everyone sits in the back rows. They want their congregation close to them. Instead, they need to project their voices or purchase sound equipment to be heard. Perhaps they also wonder if the people are sending some sort of message to them by their distance.

Sitting up front in church is not quite the same as sitting up close to the head table at a banquet or wedding. Everyone wants those seats and will arrive early so they can get them. Some folks feel more important if they can sit with those whom they think are important.

In the days of Jesus, some seats were the honored places to sit, grabbed up by those who wanted to be considered as special guests.

Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the places of honor, saying to them, “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him, and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this person,’ and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 14:7–11)

As I read these words from Jesus, it seems obvious that where a person sits is more about the attitude of their heart in choosing that seat rather than the choice made. I could sit up front to be noticed. I could sit in the back because I didn’t want to be noticed. I could sit up front to honor the speaker. I could sit in the back as a way of expressing that I did not want to be part of the crowd (unless they were all sitting in the back). 

While He was talking about a wedding and not church, Jesus knows the heart. He also knows how human sinfulness will jockey for position wanting honor and prominence. Where we sit isn’t as important as why we sit there. 

At my first writer’s conference, the well-known speakers, authors and editors were told to mingle with the crowd of attendees during meals. Of course everyone wanted to sit with the main speaker or their editor of choice. As a newbie, I didn’t have a clue what most of those people even looked like so got the idea to sit at an empty table and wait to see who came to sit with me. It was the most interesting experience. I met people that blessed my heart and enriched my experience.

Since then, this has become a practice when I’m alone or with others. We select the empty table and ask God to put those He wants in those empty chairs. From this, I’ve sat with famous ‘stars’ in the Christian world, and with ordinary folks who have a story to tell. One time we wound up with a group of much younger folks. My husband asked them about their dreams and ambitions and we were blessed by their stories. 

Jesus warns about exalting myself. This can happen in choosing a place to sit, but also in the conversation at that place. I can be prideful in the attitude of my heart no matter where I sit. If I think appropriately about myself, God can move me where He wants me to be, or He might keep me in that lowly place. More importantly, He wants me to keep a lowly attitude, no matter where He puts me. 

The key to living out faith

This week I’ve been hearing about a worker who is making many mistakes but does not seem to realize it. He is putting others and himself in trouble because he cannot discern his own errors.

This lack of discernment is also a problem in living a life of faith. Sin is subtle. I can think that I am trusting God when actually I am trusting myself or my own judgment. I can think I am innocent but if I examine my heart, I might find hidden selfish motives. 

Israel’s King David struggled with the same problems. While God called him “a man after my own heart,” David was like any other person of faith. He had that old self that would interfere with godly living, sometimes in sneaky and subversive ways. When David realized the threat of his own sinfulness, he took the only action that works; he took the problems to his Savior…

Who can discern his errors? Declare me innocent from hidden faults. Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me! Then I shall be blameless, and innocent of great transgression. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. (Psalm 19:12–14)

These verses are key to living out the faith that God puts in. Instead of trying to understand what needs fixing in my life, I must rely on God to show me those sins that I fail to discern. He can do it, but not only that, He can keep me from being ruled by my sinful nature. I just need to be willing to let Him have dominion in my heart.

Most of the time, my problems begin with what I call stinkin’ thinkin’ in that I have a bad attitude about someone or something. I’ve learned that I cannot excuse what I think because there are no actions attached. Even if the sin is only in my head, it will eventually find its way out of my heart and into my life if I don’t deal with it at the heart level. Yet trying to push sinful thoughts away is like that old game when told, “Don’t think about a red apple.” As soon as the suggestion is made, that red apple image will not go away.

When temptation comes as a sinful thought, I’ve never been able to push it aside without help either. David’s prayer asking God to make words and thoughts acceptable is the only action that works. Instead of being ruled by any awful thought, God can replace it with something acceptable. 

When thinking is right, I’m less apt to speak or act in a sinful way. However, sometimes hidden faults pop up into words or deeds when no thoughts seem to precede them. Again, the only action that works is asking God to deal with those hidden issues. He does. Sometimes He reveals them in dreams or during Bible study. If that happens, I need to confess the sin and rethink whatever He showed me in a biblical attitude. Then these hidden things can fade away and not ambush me again. This usually is a painful process, but the freedom gained is worth it.

Living out faith in public requires spending time in private with God — going over those inner motivations with Him. Whether they are rooted in childhood memories or adult resentments and other negative attitudes, it is the desire of God that I am blameless and acceptable before Him. 

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God, I thank You that You know everything about me and that You want me to be pure and innocent. Free me from those hang-ups that hold me in sinful patterns of thoughts, words and deeds. May whatever I do be acceptable to You as I live out the faith that You have put into my life.

Sheep and Goats

The difference between the people of God and folks who are not is sometimes blurry. That is, a helpful and generous person who is not a Christian can look better than a Christian who is disobeying God and walking in the flesh. At times, my own life is more like that of a pagan than it is like one who follows the Lord Jesus Christ. 

We who are Christian might say that we are forgiven, as if that is all the difference necessary. Is this just a poor excuse? God gave us new life in Christ and we are supposed to live it, not go back to our former ways. The Bible is filled with commands to “put off” the old nature and “put on” the new nature that is created in Christ Jesus and given to us by grace through faith. We are supposed to be different from those who do not believe.

When I meet new people, their faith or lack of faith is usually obvious. That is, I usually can discern those are Christian and those who are not by the way that they talk or live. Yet at times, this is muddied for the above reasons. Only God knows for sure.

But God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.” (2 Timothy 2:19)

God knows, yet He wants our identity as His children to be known to others also. This verse says we should leave sin behind us. Other verses says the same thing…

Then those who feared the Lord spoke with one another. The Lord paid attention and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the Lord and esteemed his name. “They shall be mine, says the Lord of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him. Then once more you shall see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him” (Malachi 3:16–18).

While a changed life is important, spending time with one another is also a mark of faith. Those who are not believers are not interested in being with Christians. While some may attend a Bible-believing church for a time, their hearts are not in it. They might find another “church” that is liberal or teaches falsely, or just stop altogether. Being ‘nice’ people is important to them, but being godly and trusting Christ for that godliness is not.

Malachi quotes the Lord’s declaration that one day He will make it clear. Like the gospel accounts where Jesus speaks of sheep and goats being separated (Matthew 25:32-46), here God speaks of making up or bringing forth those that He values, His jewels, so that the world will know who is who. At the time of judgment, the people of God will be spared and all will know who belongs to God and who does not.

As for now, perhaps the biggest distinction is about service. Whom do I serve? Is it myself? Or is it the Lord? Do I do what I do to give me pleasure and glory? Or do I do what I do to the praise of His glory? 

When I am walking in the flesh, the answer is obvious. When an unbeliever lives a sinful life, the answer is obvious. However, when the distinctions in behavior are blurry and I am not even certain what I am doing, never mind the motivations of others, God always knows. In the end, in “that day” when He gathers up His treasures, He will spare those who believe in Him. Eventually, He will make clear those who serve Him and those who do not.

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Lord, even as a Christian I am aware of the many times that I do things for myself rather than for You. Forgive this disobedience, but more than that, make me deeply aware of my need to depart from sin and esteem Your name, serving You with all my heart. Far better that others can see the distinction of a sold-out, believing life now than waiting until that judgment day when You separate the sheep from the goats.