Handles I don’t need . . .

Some people call that extra poundage around the middle a ‘spare tire.’ Others more kindly call it ‘love handles.’ My brother had ears that stood out; my dad called them ‘handles’ and often used them that way.

Handles make many items easier to grasp. I have a flower vase that needs them because it is difficult to hold, even slippery and easy to drop. However, there are handles that I don’t need or want . . . Today’s devotional ends with an interesting quote. It says . . .

“Any place where a person sins, he puts handles on his soul for Satan to grasp. Repentance gets rid of the handles.” Author unknown.

I’ve never thought of handles that way but must agree. Any rebellion against God cannot be conquered as long as I cooperate with the enemy. All self-serving and sinful attitudes give the devil something to hold and keep me in his grasp.

Tozer gives the reason why this is true. He says God cannot do our repenting for us. The church, by trying to magnify grace, has conveyed the impression that repentance is a work of God, but that is an error. God commands repentance, but He does not do it for us. Even Christ could not do it. He could die for us, but He cannot do our repenting for us.

Tozer adds that God can push us in that direction and give us the idea we should repent. For instance, the Bible says, “Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?” (Romans 2:4)

However, I’m not sure of Tozer’s teaching. There are verses that say otherwise. For instance, one passage tells God’s worker to be kind and teach others, “correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.” (2 Timothy 2:25-26)

From this, I understand that yes, Satan does grab us by our ‘handles’ yet God grants repentance, so we can come to our senses. This is the role of the Holy Spirit who convicts us of sin, particularly the sin of not trusting Jesus. I so easily trust myself and build handles for the enemy to reinforce his lie that says I don’t need God!

Repentance is vital. It is turning from sin and all self-effort to trust God. Like any of the commands, this one tugs at my heart, yet I know that I cannot obey it without the power of the Holy Spirit. I’ve learned that the hard way.

Yet there is another prerequisite for repentance; I must want it, and to want it, I must hate sin, and to hate sin, I need the Spirit of God to show me how awful it is.

In my understanding every step and part of salvation is of God. That gives me no excuse for being uncooperative or for growing handles. God is right here to bestow on me what I need — as soon as I’m convinced to stop resisting it. Sin is such that I want to ‘do it myself’ but grace is of God, an incredible gift to one so undeserving.

This is part of the mystery of redemption. God does it, yet I must respond. He convicts of sin, yet I must confess it is true. He grants faith, yet I must believe. He grants repentance, yet I must repent. This is why Jesus said: “Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” (Luke 15:10)

^^^^^^^^^^

Jesus, I realize that there is ‘Your part’ and ‘my part’ and that I can never blame You for my failure to live as You desire. At the same time, I know that I cannot live Your way in my own strength. You grant the grace and the power to say NO to sin and YES to You. Thank You for the great blessing of being able to repent!

   

Joy in heaven, joy on earth

Our children had never seen the ocean. I will not forget the wonder on their faces when they first ran through the sand to leap and play in that vast salt water. Our daughter needed glasses but thought her vision was fine until the prescription was filled and they were placed on her. I will not forget the wonder on her face as she saw clearly for the very first time.

The Bible tells me that God has prepared “what no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined” for those who love Him. What will be the wonder on my face when I experience that place for the first time? And is this the reason why the angels are so joyful?

Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents. (Luke 15:10)

Spurgeon says their rejoicing could be because they know what sinners have escaped. They “remember that day when Satan and his angels rebelled against God. They know what hell is for they have looked within its jaws and have seen their own brothers fast enclosed within them.” When a sinner repents and is saved, angels rejoice because one more has escaped the mouth of that dragon.

Yet there could be a better reason. The angels know our talk about pearly gates, golden streets, white robes, harps of gold, and eternal crowns, but if they could tell us what heaven is like, they might say, “All these fine things are but child’s talk. God has given you an alphabet in which you may learn the first rough letters of what heaven is. But what it is you do not know.”

I’m thinking about the delight of being face to face with Jesus as well, but as His Word says, I really don’t know what heaven is like. All I know is the sweet fellowship I have with Him here, particularly when I turn from sin to greater and more consistent obedience. My first repentance was for salvation, yet it continues. As I battle sin, winning that battle involves turning from sin and its temptations to face God and receive His blessed forgiveness once again. Sometimes that joy of repentance can be almost overwhelming, too much to bear. Perhaps that is the biggest reason God does not describe heaven in great detail. It is because we mortals do not have the capacity for it. The wonder and the emotional bliss would be beyond what our hearts and minds could hold.

Today my to-do list is long, my prayer list is longer, and my capacity for those responsibilities seems very small. However, God has blessed me with a joy that goes beyond any circumstances and beyond these challenges. I have the sense of being on the edge of something far greater than my imagination, far more than I presently understand. This joy could be described as knowing what I have escaped also, and being greatly thankful. It is much like the anticipation of wonder, the delight of knowing something previously unknown, something like getting to the top of a hill and seeing the ocean rolling before me through a pair of perfect eye glasses of course, or maybe not needing them at all or ever again.

Joy — with or without singing

The Christmas carols have words about angels singing, but there is only one place in the Bible that says angels actually sing. It is in Job 38, where God describes the world in pristine beauty springing from His hand and says that the “morning stars (angels) sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy” (Job 38:7), but this is the only place that says angels sing.

Some Bibles translate the noise of angels as singing, but properly translated, these creatures shout or speak. At the birth of Jesus, a multitude of the heavenly hosts praised God, saying, “Glory to God in the Highest,” but the Greek text does not say that they sang nor do any of the other verses about angels.

Perhaps their song was stilled when sin marred God’s beautiful creation? Or maybe the passages that say the angels praised God including singing, even though they do not use the word? One of those passages is this verse spoken by Jesus about angels…

Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents. (Luke 15:10)

The devotional writer asks why angels sing over repentant sinners, or perhaps better phrased, why do they feel joy when I repent? As I scan through the many references to angels, those that tell of their joy concern creation and other praises given to God for what He is doing.

Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his hosts… Let them praise the name of the Lord! For he commanded and they were created. And he established them forever and ever; he gave a decree, and it shall not pass away. (Psalm 148:2, 5–6)

The redeemed will sing “a new song” often called the song of redemption and angels will praise the Lamb of God, though it does not say they will sing.

Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” (Revelation 5:11–12)

Does it matter if the angels sang or merely shouted? Is this too much like the silly question of how many angels can fit on the head of a pin? Or is God trying to tell us something about the joy in heaven, giving me insight into what truly matters? Is this about the things that put joy into the heart of His angels, even into His own heart that should also give me joy?

Actually, creation gives me joy. The little bit of trivia in my life includes frequent changes in my computer wallpaper using landscapes and other pictures of beauty in God’s creation. When I wind down at night, I often go to an online jigsaw puzzle site and assemble all my favorites — pictures of God’s handiwork.

However, repentance also puts joy in my heart. When I confess and turn from sin, God is happy and I feel His joy. It is the same when others repent and tell me about it. As Jesus said, repentant sinners give “joy before the angels” yet also joy in the hearts of God’s people.

Some of us may sing with joy, for some have singing voices and singing hearts. We may shout, as that is another legitimate way to express joy. We may smile broadly, or do a de-da dance, or leap and click our heels, or clap our hands. Sometimes joy is only an elated emotion with an added spark in the eyes, but however it is expressed, it is a gift from the Lord of hosts to His angels and to His children.

The Lord is my strength and my shield; in Him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to Him. (Psalm 28:7)

Eternity is not far…

A busy mother of four often said, “Oh for the peace of the grave!” I like being busy, but that line crossed my mind this morning. I’ve papers to write and long articles to read for the course I’m taking, all due the end of this week. Also on the calendar are a baby shower, a funeral, a meeting, a doctor’s appointment, and finishing a book for book club, never mind the ordinary chores of daily life. I try to tell myself this is nothing compared to the schedule of the American president, but I don’t have his staff!

That mother was not serious in sighing, “Of for the peace of the grave,” nor am I, but it makes a nice lead into the devotional today. The topic is the nearness of heaven and I’m thinking how life can change from here to there, even in the blink of an eye.

Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents. (Luke 15:10)

Spurgeon, who wrote the devotional, is often prompted by verses that only suggest his topic. He starts with the idea of joyful angels, skips the part about repentance, and lands on the topic of those on earth not being as far from heaven as it might seem. He begins by saying Jesus Christ is nearer than anyone else we know.

I know that is true. Sometimes the sense of Jesus’ presence is all that keeps me going. Then Spurgeon jumps from that to say that heaven and earth are also close together, even like “two ships moored close to one another.” With a vivid word picture, he adds that only “one short plank of death” will enable me to step from one to the other.

I think immediately of two accidents in yesterday’s news. In one, five members of one family died instantly when their car was hit by another that sped through a red light. That short plank took them in a moment from this life to the next. In the other accident, the daughter of a friend is in hospital with life-threatening injuries after her car hit a light pole. One short plank indeed. Life can change so quickly.

My ship on earth continuously moves closer to mooring alongside that heavenly vessel. I’ve finished the business of yesterday, even though I feel intimidated at the log for today. I’ve had a full cargo and now an emptying. I’ve known battles, victories and sorrows. But that other ship, as Spurgeon describes, is “all golden, with its ensign flying and its sails all spread, fair as the angel’s wing.” It remains always beside me, always ready, so when the time comes, I can leap from this dark one to the deck of that happy one, a golden deck on which I will sail forever.

Two additional thoughts catch my attention. One is that all who have gone before me form a “cloud of witnesses” as I sail. While live my life here, they look down and observe. These are described in Hebrews 11 then Hebrews 12:1-2 says, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus…” Are they cheering? I hope so.

The other thought is of the angels. They rejoice when I repent, meaning they are also keeping an eye on me which is a great comfort. What else do these angels do? The Bible says they are mighty and quick to obey God’s commandments according to His Word — and they are my servants, sent to help me…

Are they (the angels) not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation? (Hebrews 1:14)

The bridge between the two ships is a dread for most, yet as the days go by, it helps me to remember that no one who has been redeemed through faith in Jesus Christ is very far from heaven. It could be hours or days or months before I step across that plank, but knowing it is such a quick, short bridge is actually a comfort. Even more, knowing that those on the other side are experiencing great joy and perfect peace is also a comfort. I’m not far from Jesus, and when I’ve weathered all the storms of life, I will anchor with Him and the saints of God within the port of everlasting peace.