When God judges the world…

There is an outcry in the streets for lack of wine; all joy has grown dark; the gladness of the earth is banished. Desolation is left in the city; the gates are battered into ruins. For thus it shall be in the midst of the earth among the nations, as when an olive tree is beaten, as at the gleaning when the grape harvest is done. They lift up their voices, they sing for joy; over the majesty of the Lord they shout from the west. Therefore in the east give glory to the Lord; in the coastlands of the sea, give glory to the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. From the ends of the earth we hear songs of praise, of glory to the Righteous One. But I say, “I waste away, I waste away. Woe is me! For the traitors have betrayed, with betrayal the traitors have betrayed.” Terror and the pit and the snare are upon you, O inhabitant of the earth! He who flees at the sound of the terror shall fall into the pit, and he who climbs out of the pit shall be caught in the snare. For the windows of heaven are opened, and the foundations of the earth tremble. The earth is utterly broken, the earth is split apart, the earth is violently shaken. The earth staggers like a drunken man; it sways like a hut; its transgression lies heavy upon it, and it falls, and will not rise again. On that day the Lord will punish the host of heaven, in heaven, and the kings of the earth, on the earth. They will be gathered together as prisoners in a pit; they will be shut up in a prison, and after many days they will be punished. Then the moon will be confounded and the sun ashamed, for the Lord of hosts reigns on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and his glory will be before his elders. (Isaiah 24:11–23)

A book in the nearby library is written by an ‘expert’ outlining how to make it through the tough times that are coming upon us. I’ve not read it, only the jacket cover, but this author speaks of investing and other strategies to combat inflation. There seems to be no mention of the emotional strain people experience over increasing atrocities.

The above passage from Isaiah could be describing the brokenness in the universe, not just in economic matters, far worse that what that author thinks will need fixing. It seems a prophetic description of what will occur just before the Lord brings judgment. However, the fascinating part is this section:

They lift up their voices, they sing for joy; over the majesty of the Lord they shout from the west. Therefore in the east give glory to the Lord; in the coastlands of the sea, give glory to the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. From the ends of the earth we hear songs of praise, of glory to the Righteous One. . . .” (Isaiah 24:14–16)

Those who did not stray from their covenant with Him will be anticipating this event, wanting justice in a messed up world. When it happens, joy will fill their hearts and God will be praised. 

Reading the news and seeing the progress of evil makes joy and praise look impossible yet those who know the grace of God also know the power of His Spirit to bring peace to our hearts. He says to His people:

You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. (Isaiah 26:3)
O Lord, you will ordain peace for us, for you have indeed done for us all our works. O Lord our God, other lords besides you have ruled over us, but your name alone we bring to remembrance. (Isaiah 26:12–13)
Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:5–7)

Those who trust God know that peace. It isn’t about all being right in the world, but about knowing Him, His goodness and His protection. I am safe in the hands of God. He knows how to judge sinful people but because His NT Lamb died for my sins, I am not condemned with them, but at peace.

Jesus, salvation is like this promise of judgment in that it will happen, yet not to those who know You. Instead of getting what sin deserves, faith in Your death and resurrection grants me eternal life and deep inner peace. For that, I rejoice and praise You — no matter what is making headlines or who is frantically trying to avoid the judgment that You promise will happen.

 

Two Vital Confessions

Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the people of Israel were assembled with fasting and in sackcloth, and with earth on their heads. . . . And they stood up in their place and read from the Book of the Law of the Lord their God for a quarter of the day; for another quarter of it they made confession and worshiped the Lord their God. . . .  
“Stand up and bless the Lord your God from everlasting to everlasting. Blessed be your glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise. You are the Lord, you alone. You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. . . .  And you have kept your promise, for you are righteous. And you saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt and heard their cry at the Red Sea, and performed signs and wonders against Pharaoh and all his servants and all the people of his land. . . .  And you divided the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on dry land, and you cast their pursuers into the depths. . . .  and spoke with them from heaven and gave them right rules and true laws, good statutes and commandments. . . . But they and our fathers acted presumptuously and stiffened their neck and did not obey your commandments. They refused to obey and were not mindful of the wonders that you performed among them. . . .  but they stiffened their neck and appointed a leader to return to their slavery in Egypt. But you are a God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and did not forsake them. . . . 

The prayer goes on, praising God for His care and confessing the many times of blessing as well as, “Nevertheless, they were disobedient and rebelled against you and cast your law behind their back and killed your prophets, who had warned them in order to turn them back to you, and they committed great blasphemies. Therefore you gave them into the hand of their enemies, who made them suffer. And in the time of their suffering they cried out to you and you heard them from heaven, and according to your great mercies you gave them saviors who saved them from the hand of their enemies. But after they had rest they did evil again before you, and you abandoned them to the hand of their enemies, so that they had dominion over them. Yet when they turned and cried to you, you heard from heaven, and many times you delivered them according to your mercies.”

God warned them many times in many years, “Yet they would not give ear. Therefore you gave them into the hand of the peoples of the lands. Nevertheless, in your great mercies you did not make an end of them or forsake them, for you are a gracious and merciful God. Now, therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love. . . . Yet you have been righteous in all that has come upon us, for you have dealt faithfully and we have acted wickedly.” (Nehemiah 9:1–38)

The prayer confesses the goodness of God along with the sins of the people. Why do that? My sins can depress me to the point of feeling abandoned and hopeless. The wonder of God's faithful forgiveness brings balance to the equation. If confess my sin but fail to confess Him, depression and discouragement set in, putting focus on me rather than where it should be.

You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. (Isaiah 26:3)

Not only a mind at rest, putting my focus on God makes my ears more apt to listen and my heart more ready to obey.

Jesus, this world is filled with distractions. Some of them seem harmless, the chores of each day and and other responsibilities. Yet I notice that if my mind drifts aways, so also do my abilities to obey You. Praising You and thinking of You makes a difference in my ability to thread a needle, put away dishes, follow a recipe. That prayer had it right — confessing all sin and weakness is good, yet confessing Your goodness and power is vital to help me live for You.

 

 

Distracted by a non-issue

God graciously explains the struggles of last week. He reveals that I was concerned about a “what if?” instead of something that was actually happening. The distraction was: “If you do all that God says, the enemy will constantly attack and you will be in a joy-destroying battle until the end of your days. To avoid such misery, you need to choose what you will do.”

This reminds me of a friend who wanted to go to the mission field with the caveat that where she was sent didn’t have a lot of big insects and other crawling critters. She soon learned that loving others meant dropping personal preferences!

Yesterday’s sermon was about cultivating love. The application: 1. Cultivate community…reach out to lonely people, go bless someone else. 2. Practice generosity. It is always a greater joy to give than receive. Besides, generosity is an act of worship. 3. Contemplate God’s love and be driven to gratitude. (There is even an app to help that!) Remember why I am here.

This made me think about my anxiety and realize I was supposing and fearful rather than facing any issues in faith. God was not asking me to do something difficult or make a great sacrifice, nor was the devil trying to stop me from any direct command. Fighting an imaginary war is like a nightmare; not real but still feels as if it is — for a shot time.

Today’s readings describes the wisdom of God in making Jesus our Mediator. He is fully God and fully man, not distant from either, near to both in nature, possessing all of both except without sin.

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:15–16)

Jesus had a nature to be compassionate to us and victorious for us, to pity us and be patient to bear with us. If he had been only God, he would not have had an experimental sense of our misery; and if he had been only man, he could not have vanquished our enemies; had he been only God, he could not have died; and had he been only man, he could not have conquered death.

The justice of the law had been honored by man’s sufferings, but in Christ the holiness and equity of the law had been honored by man’s obedience. Charnock writes that the life of our Savior is a conformity to the precept, and his death is a conformity to the penalty. The transgression of the law was condemned in the flesh of the Redeemer, and the righteousness of the law was fulfilled in His person, and imputed to the believing sinner.

For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. (Romans 5:19)
For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. (Romans 8:3–4)

As he died for us, and rose again for us, so he lives for us. His work is finished and now I can rest in it and not worry about anything. Worry is pride in action. That is why God says…

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

Today’s devotional says that our anxieties refer to “distraction of mind” but God’s care signifies “fixation of mind.” This speaks to me and my ADHD, mild as it is but a target for the enemy! He uses it on me far too often. However, this verse helps…

You keep (her) in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because (she) trusts in you. (Isaiah 26:3)

PRAY: Jesus, this experience was something like a vivid bad dream, so vivid that it seems real after waking up and requires strong self-talk to quiet the emotions. The enemy hits my mind like that, producing vivid emotions. He hits my body too, but You are in my mind and have given me the will and a stronger desire to love and serve You. The cost of obedience cannot destroy any of my new life. It simply points to the reality that I belong to You and am Your child, and even my body is in Your total care and protection. Not my will but Thine be done.

Stay out of the shadows …

Today’s devotional begins with: “Sometimes a great mystery is made out of the life hid with Christ in God as though it is a strange mystical thing that ordinary people cannot understand.” It goes on to describes this abundant life as liberty vs. bondage, as servants vs. sons, yet some experiences this week show me that there is another element that makes it a mystery. Those who are Spirit-filled get it, but those who walk in the flesh are mystified.

This showed up when I shared about the tulips. The full story: we live in a small condo complex where the board wants all units to look the same. One of 15 has a door wreath. While I’d like to paint my door orange (big no-no) I went looking for a wreath. Those in the store were cheap silk flowers, ugly, but the store had nice stuff and I soon noticed I was covetous, and also realized that my motive for getting a wreath was not right either. So I walked out of the store empty-handed.

At home, I did a computer search and found only one door hanging that I liked. It was pink tulips cascading out of a basket, but it was $258 so I shut my computer off and confessed my vengeful attitude, and the covetousness, and then prayed, “Lord, if You want me to have pink tulips, then You will have to supply them. Forgive me for being so foolish.”

That was a Monday. Tuesday morning, our doorbell rang. It was a neighbor who said they had a gift for me. He handed me a vase filled with a dozen pink tulips, real ones. I was flabbergasted.

Later, when telling others this story, the Christians that seem filled with the Spirit chuckled with delight at a God who can hug and rebuke us at the same time. They understood my delight at this hug, and the surprise of what He did. However, there were a few who struggle with worry and other things. Instead of being delighted, they were puzzled as if wondering why the neighbor gave me flowers or why God would ‘reward’ my confession by answering my prayer. They didn’t get it.

This mystery of resting in Christ is available to those who are actively relying on the Lord, yet hidden to those who are filled with worry, doubt, and self-centered ideas. That mode of living cannot see truth because it is hidden by the world’s way of thinking, or by the I-wants of the old nature, or by the lies of the devil. While not totally in the dark, walking in the flesh produces many shadows.

The devotional writer ends with this: “I sometimes think Christians look on our Lord as someone appointed to keep them out of their possessions, rather than to bring them in to them. They little know how such an implication grieves and dishonors Christ. (Yet) when they do recognize it, the spirit of bondage becomes impossible to them.” That is, once we see it, we can see the contrast and forget what our darkness was like.

That is the wonder of trusting God. It is described in verses like these:

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6–7)

You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. (Isaiah 26:3)

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. (John 14:27)

Pink tulips make no sense to someone who thinks God punishes their sin and will withhold His blessings if they are not behaving properly. Sometimes that happens because His children are not yet perfect in behavior, but when we confess He forgives and cleanses — and He never stops loving us and wanting us to know the wonder of His love.

PRAY: What can I say? You died on a cross to prove Your love for all humanity. That great sacrifice is enough, more than enough, but then You add the warm touch of no fear, perfect peace, and occasionally, pink tulips.

 

Christ Is Our Peace

 

My loaded-up to-do list sometimes gets me down. It seems like a mountain with steep walls and lots of slippery shale. Yesterday’s Scripture message put me on top of the mountain.

It was about the biblical teaching on work and reminded me that Jesus is my boss, and I do my work first and foremost for Him. How can I forget that, but sometimes I do. And when that happens, I know my own strength and abilities are insufficient and I become overwhelmed.

The young pastor who presented this message is a peacemaker because he restored to me that profound sense of peace that comes with trusting Jesus for everything. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God” (Matthew 5:9).

Still, such peace is possible only because of Christ’s atonement. He made it possible to be at peace with God and with that reconciliation, I know His peace. This is far beyond any other peace; think of it — God is never the slightest bit ruffled over His to-do list!

Christ provided the forgiveness and righteousness that allows me to join hands with God and be involved in what He is doing. Not only that, He does His work through the work that I do. First and always, I need Him to deal with the sin issue. God did that: “Therefore, since I have been justified by faith, I have peace with God through my Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 5:1) His sacrifice is sufficient:

For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him . . . . (Colossians 1:19–22)

Jesus paid the supreme price to give me that precious gift of peace with God and as He holds my hand, I also experience the peace of God and can say this:

For by grace I have been saved through faith. And this is not my own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that I cannot boast. For I am his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that I should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:8–10)

Sunday’s message restored my sense of what I am doing and why I am doing it. This mountain is not about anything else but working for Jesus in His strength, and bringing His incredible presence into a dark and unhappy world. It is not about being a preacher, an evangelist, or a missionary, but being an ordinary person in whose heart the Prince of Peace reigns.

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. (John 14:27)

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. (1 Corinthians 10:31)

What does this look like? It is about being filled with the Spirit and submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ (Ephesians 5:18–21). It is about letting the word of Christ dwell in me richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, joy and with thankfulness in my heart to God (Colossians 3:16). It is about not being anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let my requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard my heart and my mind in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:6–7). It is about being kept in perfect peace because He is always on my mind and I am always trusting Him for everything (Isaiah 26:3). It is about bringing rightness and beauty to dark places in love and with joy.

Jesus, this peace is also about looking at You instead of the mountain, or the storm, or the mess, or all the problems of life. It is Your peace, not a check mark beside each to-do item. It is like my daughter once said, “Mom, you don’t have to hurry on the inside.” I thank You for the peace of heart that comes from knowing You. My to-do list is not shorter, but that sense of it being too much has shriveled up into, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13) Wow, how I love You!

READ Philippians 4:4–9 and try not to forget any of it as I tackle today’s tasks that God has given me, and do them as if Jesus is doing them. May I deeply desire to bring peace into the lives of those who need it.