Cannot hide sin…

The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, the inhabitants of these waste places in the land of Israel keep saying, ‘Abraham was only one man, yet he got possession of the land; but we are many; the land is surely given us to possess.’ Therefore say to them, Thus says the Lord God: You eat flesh with the blood and lift up your eyes to your idols and shed blood; shall you then possess the land? You rely on the sword, you commit abominations, and each of you defiles his neighbor’s wife; shall you then possess the land? Say this to them, Thus says the Lord God: As I live, surely those who are in the waste places shall fall by the sword, and whoever is in the open field I will give to the beasts to be devoured, and those who are in strongholds and in caves shall die by pestilence. And I will make the land a desolation and a waste, and her proud might shall come to an end, and the mountains of Israel shall be so desolate that none will pass through. Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I have made the land a desolation and a waste because of all their abominations that they have committed. “As for you, son of man, your people who talk together about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses say to one another, each to his brother, ‘Come, and hear what the word is that comes from the Lord.’ And they come to you as people come, and they sit before you as my people, and they hear what you say but they will not do it; for with lustful talk in their mouths they act; their heart is set on their gain. And behold, you are to them like one who sings lustful songs with a beautiful voice and plays well on an instrument, for they hear what you say, but they will not do it. When this comes—and come it will!—then they will know that a prophet has been among them.” (Ezekiel 33:23–33)

Our church is preaching a series on OT minor prophets. Last Sunday was Nahum and the pastor repeatedly stated that listening to the words of these prophets often make us uncomfortable. He showed also that the horrid sins they condemned were physical actions, yet Jesus later spoke of those same sins as being attitudes of the heart. In other words, if we just think adultery, or idolatry, or revenge, we are as guilty as those who act out their thoughts.
 I interact with one person who often frustrates me and I feel annoyed or even angry, but try not to express it. That sermon convicts me. So does this passage. However, my efforts require confession, not pretense. Hiding behind ‘being nice’ does not fool God.

Not only that, when unconfessed sin stirs me and I don’t deal with it, I cannot be filled with the Spirit — and therefore miss out on His input:

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. (Galatians 5:22–24)

I may not need to confess my anger to that other person as this person would not see it as my problem but apologize for it, but it is my sin, not hers. Making her feel guilty is not fair.

Lord Jesus, help me keep short accounts with You that my relationships with others are kept clear and without that selfish old nature always trying to have my way. Your will is always perfect and best for me and those around me.

Wait for Him

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. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him. (Isaiah 30:15–18)

I’d set my online Bible so that the word “therefore” was highlighted in all 700 plus places that it occurs. Then, for reasons unknown, that highlighting vanished and I have not been able to restore it. 

However, I’m a bottom-line person and began to wonder what God is trying to teach me. It didn’t take long for His Spirit to put this thought in my head: far too often I’ve begun applying the truths in those ‘therefore’ passages to the frustrating people  I know instead of to my own life. It is easy to tell others what God says, but much more difficult to do it myself.

The bit about horses refers to using my own strengths — and I know that I have none. Horses don’t turn my weaknesses into strength. Neither does anger solve this problem. This is a God-problem that only He can fix.

I’ve not gone so far as to think ‘holier than thou’ but that could be deception for I am letting the disobedience of one person upset and even anger me. If that anger is because God is defamed, it might be justified, but most of the time I’m angry because I don’t see any regard for Him at all which translates to no regard for me either as I try to honor Him.

Jesus, I need more input from You. Isaiah says you wait to be gracious to me as I wait for justice from You. I’m not sure how that will work but need to keep my focus on You and not let the faithlessness of someone else be my problem. You are the only One who can change hearts — including mine.

Sometimes God wants me to go first…

Where I live, spending time with widows is relatively easy. Not so concerning orphans. For instance, the local children’s hospital has rules about visitors. If a child has no family or no family visits (it happens), I could not visit those children without special vetting and permission. Orphans are protected by laws to keep the public from seeking time with them. This is, of course, protection from predators, but it also keeps me for obeying all of this verse:

Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. (James 1:27)

Piper points to an OT verse that speaks about caring for those who are unable to care for themselves:

Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him. (Isaiah 30:18)

While this is not as specific as James about those to whom God shows mercy, it is clear that He does it to show His glory. I can transfer that to the description in James and rightly assume that caring for needy people exalts the Lord. Piper puts it this way: “One mark of great, self-sufficient poise is the willingness to get down low with the weak.”

That opens the door to far more than two groups of needy people. It even puts me in that category because God gets personal by using “you” to describe those He wants to be gracious toward. He is talking about those who wait for Him. Needy people do that, also people who are humble and realize that God is eager to help. It is not about those who take matters into their own hands. Instead, I am to wait on the Lord. However, the point is that God exalts Himself by showing mercy.

Since mercy is taking pity on and showing compassion to those who do not deserve it, this covers the entire human race. Salvation is a mercy because our sin means sinners should be punished, yet to be merciful is to be like God.

This gets personal. It tells me that if I am not merciful with those who are weak, I’m not being like the Lord. In the Bible, “weak” can describe those who are feeble, sick; morally weak; or those lacking in knowledge or faith. I know several who fall into each of those definitions. The feeble and sick are easiest to be merciful toward, but I get annoyed with those who seem dim about God and dim in their faith. I get  the same reaction in my heart when Christians disobey.

In other words, my ability to be merciful has great flaws. I do better when I remember how much mercy God has shown me, but pride and self-righteousness often jump in instead of treating others  in humility and with His compassion.

Maybe this is why God illustrates with widows and orphans. It is much more likely to feel tender-hearted to them than to others who are weak as a result of their own choosing or because they fail to seek the truths of God that will strengthen them. Yet I’m faced this morning with a similar challenge. Will I be strengthened in my faith and walk with God by being merciful to those whose sins and spiritual neglect usually annoy me? To do this, I must first do this:

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)

PRAY: Lord, I’m acutely aware of the people who disregard Your principles and choose to do life their way, even when their Bible is open in front of them. I pray that You will change their hearts but You have not done so, indicating that it is my heart that You first wish to change. Piper’s line of being willing to get down low with the weak points to my bad attitude of not being willing to put up with others who are unwittingly feeding their old nature and as a result fail to glorify You. This does not mean that I endorse what they do, but that I should have mercy on them and bless them, releasing them to experience Your grace in their hearts because You have worked forgiveness in mine.

Walking the Talk

 

For three days God speaks to me about His supply being for each day, not the next day or next week, but “new every morning” so that I only carry the weight of each day. So what do I do? I spent much of the last two days stewing about a project that I must begin today. No ideas or thoughts of how to do it. Totally in the dark, until this morning.

Grace for the day. Hello. It is bad enough to worry about anything, but to totally ignore the answer to my worries as if the great thoughts God spelled out had nothing to do with them… really? I am totally red in the face. Today’s verses are like a kick in the pants:

God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. (1 Corinthians 1:9)
He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it. (1 Thessalonians 5:24)

Confession is agreeing with God. Confession is admitting guilt. Today, confession feels like a big apology, a DUH in large letters. But the most amazing thing is that before sitting down with my Bible and devotional book, the good Lord flooded my mind with all the ideas I need for the project that must begin today! Is that grace and mercy? I feel His boot, but it is also a big hug.

The Lord does give what I need one day at a time. Instead of trusting Him, instead of ‘walking the talk’ I totally ignored what He said and even prayed for answers, but He gave them when needed, just like His way of doing things.

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:22–23)

I’ve twenty minutes to get from this chair to a meeting room. I’d also worried about that, but He woke me up and got me going in time for that too, another new mercy. What can I say? God is good, even to foolish and forgetful people like me.

PRAY: Thank You, Jesus. Fill me up that I might never talk without walking too. Just knowing something is not complete until I also live out what You tell me.


 

Watch out for worldly motives…

All I did was enter a store looking for something attractive to hang on our front door. The wreaths looked cheap and they didn’t have much else for doors, but the rest of the store had all sorts of nice things. I walked about and looked and touched and began to feel covetous. I could have bought whatever appealed to my eyes but held back and left the store. Now I realize what held me back:

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. (1 John 2:15–17)

It was not the nice stuff, but deeper. My motive for wanting what I saw was definitely a worldly ‘desire of the eyes and pride of life’ and the Lord would not let me stay in that place. Today’s devotional addresses this issue and shows me how easily I can be side-tracked. It says (and I personalize it)…

Anything cherished in my heart contrary to the will of God, whether it seems insignificant or deeply hidden, will cause me to fall (or rob me from God’s joy)… any self-seeking… any doubtful habits or surroundings… consciously indulged, will effectually cripple and paralyze my spiritual life… I may wonder and question and despair and pray. Nothing will do any good until the wrong thing is dug up from its hiding place, brought out to the light, and laid before God. The moment, therefore, that I meet with a defeat, I must at once seek for the cause, some hidden want of consecration… Just as a headache is not the disease itself but only a symptom of a disease situated in some other part of the body, so my loss of joy is only the symptom of an sin hidden in… my nature.

I’ve wanted nice things before but not lately. The Spirit shows me that this attempt to a nice door ornament was motivated by a desire to impress our neighbors (long story behind that) and God gave me a sharp rap in my emotions to tell me again that the action may be fine, but if the motivation is not godly, then the actions are not acceptable either.

Besides the loss of joy, all the concerns I’ve been praying about seemed bigger, despite good news concerning several of them. I simply could not see the Lord at work and only gloom and doom.

PRAY: Jesus, I’m thankful You have established in my heart the importance of keeping short accounts with You. This shopping attempt didn’t seem a big deal at the time, and it wasn’t, but being motivated by the desire for all the nice things I could see and satisfying my pride is not from You. I confess this, knowing You forgive and cleanse. Thank You for such amazing grace.

What to do with the sin I see . . .

 

When God reveals the sin in my life to me, I know what I’m supposed to do: “If I confess my sins, He is faithful and just to forgive me my sins and to cleanse me from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). This is personal; I cannot pray that when I see sin in the life of others, at least the last part. They must see and confess their own sin. But what if they do not see it?

Convicting others of sin is the work of the Holy Spirit. While God instructs us with: “If anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted” (Galatians 6:1) the last part is easy to ignore. We are all in the same boat in this battle against sin. It is too easy to fall into a ‘holier than thou’ attitude when I see sin in someone else. I’m sure this is part of what Jesus had in mind when He said:

“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.” (Matthew 7:1–5)

Often the things I see in others are simply reflections of what I don’t like in my own life. That ‘log’ keeps me from seeing clearly, from knowing how to help someone else with the same sin. This is a big reason for keeping short accounts with God, for asking Him to:

Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting! (Psalm 139:23–24)

As Christians, we are to put others first, but not in this case. I must deal with my own issues, or I will not have any right or ability to help others with the same issue. While I can share my problem with them, I’ve no ground to talk about their problem — with them or with anyone else.

Today’s devotional is about the joy of intercession, of praying for others, taking concerns to God rather than stew over them or share my concerns with anyone else. As Paul wrote, I’m to “thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy” (Philippians 1:3–4).

The devotional writer tells of a nurse who used her hands to represent those needing prayer. She knew the joy of praying for others as did Paul. He did what he told his readers to do: “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others” (Philippians 2:4). James agreed and wrote this:

Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. (James 5:16)

The devotional writer rightly says that lack of Holy Spirit joy debilitates compassion and hinders prayer. I can come to the Lord accusing others of sin, which is something Satan does (see Revelation 12:10) instead of interceding for them, which is what Jesus does.

Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. (Romans 8:34)

My prayers and my words ought to be full of praise to God for His goodness to others, as well as for their needs and full of thankfulness for what He is doing, not criticism for what people are doing . . . as if God does not already know all about that. Never forget that Jesus died for those things — rather than shaking a finger at them.

Lord, You show me reflections of myself that bother me. I need to deal with that. You also show me needs in the lives of others. I need to intercede for them. Give me clarity, that I don’t mix the two, get annoyed with Christians who sin, think I am better than they are, or worse yet, gossip with other about what You have revealed to me for intercession, not for any other reason. Thank You for Your unconditional love. Grant me more of that so I may glorify You.

STUDY: Read John 17, Christ’s intercessory prayer for His disciples. What is eternal life? What was Christ’s mission? How does the world react to us? What is the best way to convince people that God sent Jesus?