All things means all things...

This week a twelve-year-old child told me that when a Christian sins, it draws them closer to God. In the context of that conversation, how amazing that a child figures out what many adults do not get.  Charnock’s book says the wonder of God’s wisdom is that He can take a sin that we consider fits us for hell and use it as an occasion to fit us for heaven. He can use it to produce in us a more humble faith and a more thorough sanctification. Such growth in grace prepares us for a state of glory. He is an awesome God.

Charnock illustrates saying how the stirring of corruption makes all the mud at the bottom appear, mud that I did not suspect was there. It comes out with the stirring and this discovers and separates it so I can confess it. Sin makes my conscience more tender. I am more watchful and realize that my enemy has more strength than I suspected. I become more diligent, more aware of the deceitfulness of my heart and better able to watch for and resist sin, “more careful of anything that may contribute to the resurrection of an expired disease.”

Another illustration is how a scorpion or a bee loses its sting when it bites, it becomes incapable of a second attack. Like Peter after his gross denial, he never denied his Master afterwards. That sin lost its power. In the same way, any sin that is undiscovered and then, by a fall, becomes visible, becomes more horrible to me and others, and causes those who sin to take a tighter hold on Christ and a greater determination to defeat sin. His forgiveness and cleansing results in more zeal and more strength because of have less confidence in myself, and more in God.

Charnock notes that David prayed, “For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.” (Psalm 51:3) He was not praying for his single sin with Bathsheba, but realized more of his general sinfulness.

Also, a great fall sometimes becomes the occasion of a person’s conversion, just as God uses the sins of His people to bring a more extensive sanctification. The only wise God makes poisons in nature to become medicines in His grace and wisdom. Through the mighty working of the Spirit, He makes us more humble and humility fits us to receive even greater blessings: “He gives more grace…. God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” (James 4:6)

In describing true repentance, the Bible says:

For see what earnestness this godly grief has produced in you, but also what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what punishment! At every point you have proved yourselves innocent in the matter. (2 Corinthians 7:11)

I’ve realized that If evil were not in the world, we would not know what good is, nor would we understand the power of God’s wisdom, just as without night we could not understand the beauty of the day. Even though God is not the author of sin because of his holiness, He uses sin by His wisdom, and accomplishes His purposes by the iniquities of his enemies, and the lapses and infirmities of his friends.

PRAY: Jesus, just as You make this clear and as Ephesians 1 points out, You work all things according to the counsel of Your will, even our sin, so we might be praise of Your glory. May my faith in You run so deep then whenever sin strikes, I respond by confessing it and listening for what You are saying. Enable me to obey You accordingly, rather than making excuses or doing anything else that sinfully neglects to honor You.

God’s Amazing Grace

My sister often said that even after mom died, mom was still picking up after her. Sis had a habit of never putting things away and then wasting time looking for her stuff. Today’s reading says this, and it reminded me of her…

God surrounds us; He goes after us to set straight the things we have made crooked and to undo the mistakes and failures that lie behind us. Mothers do this for their children all their lives, beginning with picking up the scattered toys in the nursery and then going “behind” them as they grow older to undo and atone for all their mistakes.

I’m not sure that is true for every mother, but I know that it is true about God. All my Christian life He has been showing me the truth of these verses:

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. (Romans 8:28–29)

“All things” includes my mistakes, even the biggest of them. While some of the worst involve other people and should not be shared, I can say this — even the stupidest things I have done have turned into either lessons in how to behave, or exposures of sin to confess, or both. This is the grace of God. He is able to use whatever I do or don’t do in the classroom of life for His purposes. And those lessons work, even though they may need to be repeated several times.
Part of this is because God knows me. He knows exactly what to do that will accomplish His purposes for me…

O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it. (Psalm 139:1–6)

The passage goes on to say that I cannot flee from His presence. Realizing that is important. No matter where I go or what I am doing, He is there to lead me, hold me, enlighten me. He created me so knows what will enable me to stay healthy, be happy, and be the most useful to His plans. Knowing that He is with me and knows me, makes a difference in my thoughts. Sure, I forget at times. Or the enemy feeds me his favorite ruse, “God does not really want the best for you” when I’m having problems, but the Lord always rescues me.

For instance, I had a thing come up yesterday and was uncertain how to deal with it, but the verse on today’s calendar says: “And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption…” (1 Corinthians 1:30) and the truth that Jesus is my wisdom gave confidence to solve the problem. How gracious of God to care and to use even a calendar page to reassure and correct a small confusion.

PRAY: As the days go by, Your Word is a continual blessing. Even when I forget or am distracted from major truths about You and what You do, Jesus, You continue to abide with me and meet all needs, even using the smallest to the largest difficulties to change my life. Like mom with my sister, You are always picking up after me. Even the mess-ups that I make are used for good in Your hands. Praise to You for such loving care!

God’s Riches at Christ’s Expense

 

1 Kings 14; Psalms 97–98; Ezekiel 44; Colossians 1

At times, the Old Testament prophets say the most humbling things. God tells Ezekiel what to say to His people who have disobeyed Him. Even the priestly clan of Levites were involved in idolatry and must bear their punishment. This is what God says about them:

"They shall be ministers in my sanctuary, having oversight at the gates of the temple and ministering in the temple. They shall slaughter the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall stand before the people, to minister to them. Because they ministered to them before their idols and became a stumbling block of iniquity to the house of Israel, therefore I have sworn concerning them, declares the Lord God, and they shall bear their punishment. They shall not come near to me, to serve me as priest, nor come near any of my holy things and the things that are most holy, but they shall bear their shame and the abominations that they have committed. Yet I will appoint them to keep charge of the temple, to do all its service and all that is to be done in it." (Ezekiel 44:11–14)

They had sinned and were punished in their relationship with the Lord God YET He appointed them to the awesome duty of taking care of the temple. This is grace.

The NT says that those who believe in Jesus Christ are now the temple of God. He dwells in us and our worship is about our hearts, not necessarily a place. Yet all who belong to Him are also sinners. We are saved by grace and yet still battle the temptations of the world, the flesh and the devil. I am keenly aware that I fall short of the glory of God and that my righteousness depends solely on Christ my Savior. YET even with that shortfall, God holds me responsible to take care of His dwelling place. This is amazing grace.

The temple as God’s dwelling place a plural idea so that place is not just my own spiritual life but the spiritual well-being of others who believe in Him. I cannot save people (that is God’s work) and I cannot cause their growth or purify them (also God’s work), but by the grace of God I can intercede for them, love them, and treat them as the Lord treats me — with great mercy, thankfulness and consideration.

In the NT, Paul outlines how to do that and demonstrates it in his own life . . .

We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints . . . And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (Colossians 1:3–4; 9–14)

This man stuck to his calling — to share Christ, to live with His same love and care for others, and to intercede for His people. He had a big picture view of God’s plan but also a mandate to bring the people of God, who are God’s temple, to full maturity, regardless of the cost to himself:

Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me. (Colossians 1:24–29)

This is also grace!

APPLY: I’m deeply grateful that God gives me a small part in building His kingdom, that I can care for His people and encourage them to know and walk with Jesus as they are called to do. Our lives are bound up together in our knowledge of God through Christ and as we walk and work together, we are blessed and maturing together that He may be glorified by our faith and obedience. Despite the reality of our shortcomings, God still bestows amazing grace God to all of us.