Don’t ruin the soup…

Your princes are rebels and companions of thieves. Everyone loves a bribe and runs after gifts. They do not bring justice to the fatherless, and the widow’s cause does not come to them. Therefore the Lord declares, the Lord of hosts, the Mighty One of Israel: “Ah, I will get relief from my enemies and avenge myself on my foes. I will turn my hand against you and will smelt away your dross as with lye and remove all your alloy. And I will restore your judges as at the first, and your counselors as at the beginning. Afterward you shall be called the city of righteousness, the faithful city. (Isaiah 1:23–26)

The psalmist describes the leadership of God's people as corrupt, doing things that make the needy totally unwilling to come to them. Widows and orphans know that they will not get relief so why bother?

God speaks to this by promising to remove that which has corrupted them and restore their righteousness so that these faithless people will be as they once were.

In our modern times, this activity by God would be called a revival, a restoration to the changes He had done earlier. The sad part is that even today, God's people backslide. Life becomes comfortable, and although Christians grow in trials, our prayers are often “remove the trial” rather than asking Him to use it and make us more like Jesus.

This week I made chicken soup from one earlier roasted bird. After a few hours in a slow-cooker, the broth was strained and any pieces of meat added to it. Then it went into the fridge overnight. Why? So the fat would float to the top and be skimmed off. ln my thinking, all that fat would ruin the soup.

In God's thinking, any injustice and unrighteous ruins His people. He therefore said He would turn His hand against them and remove the problem. In other words, He would bring trials, not to punish but to revive:

Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine, and valiant men in mixing strong drink, who acquit the guilty for a bribe, and deprive the innocent of his right! Therefore, as the tongue of fire devours the stubble, and as dry grass sinks down in the flame, so their root will be as rottenness, and their blossom go up like dust; for they have rejected the law of the Lord of hosts, and have despised the word of the Holy One of Israel. Therefore the anger of the Lord was kindled against his people, and he stretched out his hand against them and struck them, and the mountains quaked; and their corpses were as refuse in the midst of the streets. For all this his anger has not turned away, and his hand is stretched out still. (Isaiah 5:22–25)

Yet even today, along with the trials comes grumbling and pleading to make them stop, to restore our comfort. We want godly leaders but not the work of God to make them godly. We may want godliness for ourselves, but not the trials that produce spiritual maturity.

Oh God, I see the need for revival, not because our leaders are unjust or sinful in ruinous ways, but because too many of Your people are more interested in seven-day Sabbaths than doing what work that God tells us we should be doing. Oblivious? Some are. Some make excuses. All need skimming off the dross. All need to keep short accounts and forgiveness and renewal. Me too.

OT discipline vs. NT discipline

Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And he did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord, as his father David had done, but he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel. He even made metal images for the Baals, and he made offerings in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom and burned his sons as an offering, according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel. And he sacrificed and made offerings on the high places and on the hills and under every green tree. Therefore the Lord his God gave him into the hand of the king of Syria, who defeated him and took captive a great number of his people and brought them to Damascus. He was also given into the hand of the king of Israel, who struck him with great force. For Pekah the son of Remaliah killed 120,000 from Judah in one day, all of them men of valor, because they had forsaken the Lord, the God of their fathers. And Zichri, a mighty man of Ephraim, killed Maaseiah the king’s son and Azrikam the commander of the palace and Elkanah the next in authority to the king. The men of Israel took captive 200,000 of their relatives, women, sons, and daughters. They also took much spoil from them and brought the spoil to Samaria. (2 Chronicles 28:1–8)

Since then, the people who claim to follow Jesus Christ do not always do what is right in the eyes of the Lord. I sometimes am motivated by selfish desires as do others. We make an idol out of paper bills, silver and gold. Our children are ignored just as those who do not know God often put their family low on their priority list. Goodness is motivated by the hope of personal gain.

Therefore, God disciplines us too. He foils those worldly desires, prevents our idols from satisfying our hearts, allows good or harmful consequences to our families, and blocks the personal gain from our bucket lists. We may not wind up in captivity and be physically abused, but nevertheless given up to the forces of evil that rob our love, peace, joy and other spiritual fruit, replacing it with ruined relationships, worry, unrest and lack of concern for anyone else, even those we would normally care about. All of this is to wake us up to our need to rely on and obey the Lord.

The Lord may use others to confront us, such as Hezekiah who “did what was right in the eyes of the Lord; 

“Hear me, Levites! Now consecrate yourselves and the house of the Lord. . . . carry out the filth from the Holy Place. For our fathers have been unfaithful and have done what was evil in the sight of the Lord our God. They have forsaken him and have turned away their faces from the habitation of the Lord and turned their backs. . . . Therefore the wrath of the Lord came on Judah and Jerusalem, and he has made them an object of horror. . . . our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons and our daughters and our wives are in captivity for this. Now it is in my heart to make a covenant with the Lord. . . . that his fierce anger may turn away from us. My sons, do not now be negligent, for the Lord has chosen you to stand in his presence, to minister to him and to be his ministers and make offerings to him.” (2 Chronicles 29:1–11)

As the NT also says, we are to hold to our faith and a good conscience. Otherwise we are in danger of a similar discipline of being held captive by our enemy. 

By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith, among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom (Paul) handed over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme. (1 Timothy 1:19–20)
When you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus, you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord. (1 Corinthians 5:4–5)

Such discipline is extreme, even shocking. However, God will work in ways to free us from all sin, willful or committed in ignorance.

“For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? . . . . He disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. (Hebrews 12:6–10)

Oh Lord, my parents didn’t discipline me very much, but You have and I am aware of its value, both times of mild rebuke and times I felt a strong kick in my stubborn and selfish attitudes and actions. Without You, I shudder thinking where I would otherwise be.

 

The heart of wisdom

Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven, and said, “O Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like you, in heaven above or on earth beneath, keeping covenant and showing steadfast love to your servants who walk before you with all their heart; you have kept with your servant David my father what you declared to him. You spoke with your mouth, and with your hand have fulfilled it this day. Now therefore, O Lord, God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father what you have promised him, saying, ‘You shall not lack a man to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only your sons pay close attention to their way, to walk before me as you have walked before me.’ Now therefore, O God of Israel, let your word be confirmed, which you have spoken to your servant David my father. “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; how much less this house that I have built! Yet have regard to the prayer of your servant and to his plea, O Lord my God, listening to the cry and to the prayer that your servant prays before you this day, that your eyes may be open night and day toward this house, the place of which you have said, ‘My name shall be there,’ that you may listen to the prayer that your servant offers toward this place. (1 Kings 8:22–29)

It did not take long for God's answer to Solomon’s request for wisdom. The rest of this prayer is essentially the Gospel, requesting forgiveness for His people when they sin and asking guidance for life.

I seldom hear prayers like this. Too often request are made for health, prosperity, and comfort. These days, many Christians do not want to be sick, needy, or in distress, even though it is trials that we grow. Prayer requests are often for relief from trials even though the NT says:

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. . . . Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. (James 1:2–12)

After 30+ moves and many changes in life, it seems that change is often feared because it requires learning how to manage new circumstances. In other words, wanting to continue to control life rather than be plopped into something new that cannot be controlled by self-effort. This means that God must be trusted, even though running life my own way fits His description of sin:

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) 

In the wisdom God gave him, Solomon realized that going his own way would be contrary to God's way. He eventually failed some of those tests too, just like the rest of us, but would I even know the extent of my sin if the circumstances of life did not test my loyalty to God?

Lord Jesus, You gave Solomon the wisdom to know how much he needed You and to pray this prayer. I’m feeling a great need for wisdom too. I don’t know what trials lie ahead, today or in future days, but whatever comes, I want the to deal with it Your way and not my own. “Let my heart therefore be wholly true to You, Lord our God, walking in Your statutes and keeping Your commandments, as at this day.” (1 Kings 8:61)

Tested by Fire

 

Two homes burned this week in our city and news footage showed terrible destruction. My thoughts of fire are usually negative. However, today’s reading is a reminder that God uses it to describe His great love. I was accepted and died for — even while a sinner, but He loves me too much to leave me in that condition. He will not permit evil to linger undiscovered and uncured in me and allows trials like fire to refine my life.

As the reading says, this is not severity but mercy and character building. I am to be a friend of God throughout all eternity, far grander than even redemption and it requires a deep harmony with His will. It is an unspeakable boon that He loves me enough to do whatever is necessary to make me fit for companionship with Himself. To this He 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. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen. (1 Peter 5:6–11)

Part of the purpose for trials also affects this life. He wants to equip me to know and do His will while I’m here on earth:

Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. (Hebrews 13:20–21)

He also wants to protect me from lies, so He continually intercedes for me as He did for Peter: “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.” (Luke 22:31–32)

He is gracious to explain His purpose for trials. I am saved, promised eternal life, and can rejoice in it, even though… “Now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 1:3–7)

The fire thing is described in the OT:

Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tried you in the furnace of affliction. For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another. (Isaiah 48:10–11)

For you, O God, have tested us; you have tried us as silver is tried. You brought us into the net; you laid a crushing burden on our backs; you let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water; yet you have brought us out to a place of abundance. (Psalm 66:10–12)

The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and the Lord tests hearts. (Proverbs 17:3)

Even Job understood trials, experiencing far more than I ever will yet his reaction was twofold:

But he knows the way that I take; when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold. My foot has held fast to his steps; I have kept his way and have not turned aside. I have not departed from the commandment of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my portion of food. But he is unchangeable, and who can turn him back? What he desires, that he does. For he will complete what he appoints for me, and many such things are in his mind. Therefore I am terrified at his presence; when I consider, I am in dread of him. God has made my heart faint; the Almighty has terrified me… (Job 23:10–16)

PRAY: Jesus, I sometimes dread Your power, yet like Job can also trust Your refining plan. You use fire, but Your heart is for me, not to destroy me but my sinfulness, and draw me deeper and closer to Your heart. Enable me to focus on the image of refined gold, not on the fire that enables its purity.

Not all sunshine…

 

Today’s devotional writer again uses this passage to describe spiritual growth:

And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. (Matthew 6:27–29)

The comparison uses pleasing images such as ‘the thinking of the Sun of Righteousness’ and ‘the dew of heaven.’ This writer also says that leaves and flowers will follow, and added that I should be aware that ‘the thinnest covering’ can block His means of growth and reduce it to ‘dwindle and fade as a plant in a cellar or under a bushel.’

I chuckled in memory of two things. One was my mother standing over the flats of petunias from the greenhouse and hitting them with her rake. She did this because she discovered they grew better with a good swat of adversity. This was left out in the devotional reading ‘means of growth’ description, but it should be there because I know that I’m more like a petunia than a lily. I need a good swat now and then, never mind that life is filled with ups and downs and God uses all of it to help me grow. The Bible backs this up by this early learned and favorite passage:

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)

Key words? ALL THINGS. This includes tough times, trials, hard to live with circumstances. Growing in Christ is not always about sunshine, dew, rain, leaves and blossoms. Sometimes it includes dark nights, dry spells, aphids and other pests, mildew and disease, not enough or too much fertilizer, and getting run over by a rake or the lawn mower.

The Lord says and means ‘all things’ because He knows what I need to become like Jesus. His life was not all roses and comfort. He left heaven to be here — that was the first shock. Then He took the form of a helpless baby who had to obey His parents. He grew but…

For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. (Isaiah 53:2–3)

This does not fit with a human value system nor does it suggest perfect growing conditions. Even at the height of His popularity, He had enemies who wanted Him dead and eventually got their way.

From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. (Matthew 16:21)

He was tested in the wilderness, tested in the marketplace, tested in the temple, and tested in the garden. People persecuted, mocked, tortured, and walked away from Him. To be like Jesus, His followers experience some of what He experienced. As He said, “… A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you….” (John 15:20)

Besides hitting petunias with a rake, my mother taught me a valuable truth. Whatever happened, she said, “We must need it or we would not be getting it.” While God protects me from many things, He also uses what most would call negative or uncomfortable situations and events to purge from me all that is not like Jesus, much like a carver chisels away what does not fit with the creation he is forming. Life is not always comfortable, but under the shaping hand of God, my destiny is certain — I will be like Jesus when He is done.

Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. (1 John 3:2–3)

PRAY: This promise of eventually being like You, Jesus, often seems totally impossible, but it helps to know that even in those days when I feel as if I’m getting hit with a rake, You are using it for my transformation — so help me to keep that in mind instead of whining or insisting that You remove whatever is causing my discomfort. Help me accept that even the tough stuff can change my life.

Interruptions and Detours

 
The goal is good. I go that way, but then comes a detour sign and my route changes with this interruption. The signs are not large. I need to keep my eyes open to see them and turn where they indicate. Soon I am back on the route originally planned after this loop de loop that took me through unfamiliar territory. If it had not been for the signs, I would have lost my sense of direction and location.

This time, the signs are minuscule. I feel like turning around, or at least pulling over to wring my hands and wonder what next. But that still small voice urges me to do the next thing. Oddly, even in unfamiliar territory, I always know what it is.

Joseph had this experience from a youth to a mature man — a long time. He was told his destiny in dreams but not the route. Did he focus on that message from his dreams? His story does not say he did and those dreams seemed unlikely as he was sold into slavery, mistreated, lied about, put in prison, forgotten, and finally became a leader in a foreign land. Then his betraying brothers showed up and he had the authority over them that his dream foretold. He could have taken revenge, but his detour taught him something…

But Joseph said to them, “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones.” Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them. (Genesis 50:19–21)

This was the lesson learned in the detour. He listened, responded to his trials as God desired, and came to his destiny with the attitude that God wanted for him. It was worth it all to weep at the end when his entire family was rescued.

This story makes me weep. It is God telling me that that His chastening and refining work of sorrow and trouble has a higher purpose. He can and will thwart my course, detour my plans. And put me on a path where I will reach the goals He has for me with an attitude that is far better than anything I could imagine. Like Joseph, He works all things together for my good — and for His glory.

Disappointments are gateways to prosperity in the very things we have thought they were going to ruin. It seems like God is slowing me down, putting obstacles in my way, yet these things are part of His purposes. Today’s devotional says that I must not conclude that all is over and give up in despair. These obstacles and challenges are shaping my heart and life for divine opportunities and challenges that are far better than my desires and goals. He is changing the very thing I resist and what seems to ruin good plans will turn into a crown of joy, a greater result and a destination far beyond what I  thought was His goal.

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Ephesians 3:20–21)

PRAY: Lord Jesus, the KJV says You are “able to do exceeding abundantly above all that I ask or think” and my asking and thinking is already far more lofty than seems possible. Help me endure the present trial. I don’t want to detour from the seeming detour that You have put me on for I know that You know the way better than I do. In fact, You are the way. . . !

Love believes . . .

 

Yesterday at our ladies share and prayer group, one main topic was the prodigals in our lives. Some of them have never known Christ, but others made commitments and walked with Him for several years, then for reasons unknown to us, they abandoned their faith and wandered off in worldly pursuits. Today’s devotional is a timely one. MacArthur points to part of a verse that says “love believes . . . ”

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. (1 Corinthians 13:7)

One of the ladies is particularly concerned for an adult child who seems to have lost his faith. Our encouragement was two-fold. One, if he was not saved in the first place, the power of God is sufficient to bring him to the foot of the cross. The entire NT testifies to that power!

The other encouragement is realizing that he could be where he is for a purpose. I shared how one of my prodigals had been saved as a child and wandered away in his late teens. He then had many work experiences that created a reputation for him as a fair boss and a respected person. His workers listen to him.

Then one day he called to tell me he’d wandered from God long enough and was coming back . . . and he did . . . big time. He is bold in his witness and discerning regarding truth. He remembers what he’d learned and now lives as if he’d never drifted away. However, had he been like that when he started his career, his co-workers would never listen to him as they do now. God used his back-sliding to create a bridge to others who need Jesus.

This story encouraged that mother, as does this verse:

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. (Philippians 1:6)

If God started a life of faith in a person, He will finish it, no matter what the ‘middle’ looks like now. For reasons unknown to us who see our prodigals wander, God is doing something in their lives, maybe just to reveal to them how much they need Him.

And this is where “believes all things” comes in, believing all that God promises. When we pray in faith and trust Him to do His will, He will answer, usually in surprising ways. When He says something like that verse, He will do it. Believing Him does not make it happen; believing Him sets our hearts at rest until it does happen.

Every Christian knows people who are far from God. We want to see them in heaven and pray for them. Sometimes we share with them or preach at them, but the bigger task and the most difficult for many is to love them (and God) — by believing all things, trusting God to do what He promises to do. Some of those promises come from the OT, such as: “All your children shall be taught by the Lord, and great shall be the peace of your children.” (Isaiah 54:13)

Yesterday we also talked about what God is doing in the lives of us who pray and wait. Jesus’ story of the prodigal tells how the father waited and his wayward son rose and headed home. “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.” (Luke 15:20)

The temptation could be to scold with “What took you so long?” or some other negative attitude, but Jesus wants us to have His heart of welcoming sinners home with forgiveness and joy. It may take some of us awhile to get there.

Besides that, the NT is clear about dealing with the trials that come, including this one of a heavy burden for people we love who are not walking with Jesus:

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (James 1:2–4)

For me, the task is to keep trusting and praying, but also to let the pressure of unanswered prayer work in me to produce a steadfast patience, a maturity of trust, a love that believes all things that God says!

PRAY: Lord, having faith in You for the prodigals in my life is a test of faith, not only for those who have wandered away from their first love, but for promises like Romans 8:28-29, that You will use this for good in my life to transform me into Your image. Remind me often that it is Your job to save souls and my job to love and obey You and to reflect who You are to the people around me. Confidence in You is a big part of what it means to love others!

PONDER: Make a list of the burdens in my heart, then add a list of promises from God that I need to believe in response to those burdens. Use Vera Wurtz’s book, “Overcoming Negative Thoughts: Sure-Footed in the Truth” if necessary.