Forgiveness can be a challenge…

Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came. And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Lord God, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes. I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God. (Ezekiel 36:22–28)

Years ago someone sinned against me and I struggled to forgive this person. Forgiveness is difficult enough, but that person would not acknowledge it, making it even more difficult. Finally God gave me the same thought expressed in the above passage — that God forgives for His own sake. It is who He is.

At that. I was able to forgive, for God’s sake but also for my own sake. He had given me a new heart and His Holy Spirit and forgiveness was part of that new nature. It had to be done for that reason.

The Lord adds to this and His words humble and bless my heart:

And I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses. And I will summon the grain and make it abundant and lay no famine upon you. I will make the fruit of the tree and the increase of the field abundant, that you may never again suffer the disgrace of famine among the nations. Then you will remember your evil ways, and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves for your iniquities and your abominations. It is not for your sake that I will act, declares the Lord God; let that be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your ways, O house of Israel. “Thus says the Lord God: On the day that I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will cause the cities to be inhabited, and the waste places shall be rebuilt. And the land that was desolate shall be tilled, instead of being the desolation that it was in the sight of all who passed by. And they will say, ‘This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden, and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are now fortified and inhabited.’ Then the nations that are left all around you shall know that I am the Lord; I have rebuilt the ruined places and replanted that which was desolate. I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it. (Ezekiel 36:29–36)

If nothing else, these minor prophets show me what God is like, both holy and gracious. He loves His people but hates sin, not only because it hurts us and ruins our lives, but because it also defiles His Name. He is not like us, and if our sin is not forgiven and cleansed, we are not able to be like Him. Sin mars the image of this One who created us in His image. Many excuse it by inventing the idea we came from apes, yet others reveal it in incredible creativity and sometimes by extreme generosity. However, apes don’t build skyscrapers or invent artificial hearts or paint Sistine chapels, or fund orphanages and hospitals.

We are supposed to love, forgive, help the helpless, and display other God-like characteristics, not rob banks, shoot children, beat up our spouse, abuse, and slander, or do all that humans do that is not like our Creator. But we are not able to shed that selfishness of DIY effort. Only God can say:

Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord.” (Ezekiel 37:12–14)

He proved He could do this by coming here, dying for our sin then rising from the dead, the firstborn of many.

Jesus, because You lived and died to save me from my sin, I want to die to those old nature ways and honor You, live for You. Oh dear Lord, thank You.

 

What is God really like?

But you who forsake the Lord, who forget my holy mountain, who set a table for Fortune and fill cups of mixed wine for Destiny, I will destine you to the sword, and all of you shall bow down to the slaughter, because, when I called, you did not answer; when I spoke, you did not listen, but you did what was evil in my eyes and chose what I did not delight in.” Therefore thus says the Lord God: “Behold, my servants shall eat, but you shall be hungry; behold, my servants shall drink, but you shall be thirsty; behold, my servants shall rejoice, but you shall be put to shame; behold, my servants shall sing for gladness of heart, but you shall cry out for pain of heart and shall wail for breaking of spirit. You shall leave your name to my chosen for a curse, and the Lord God will put you to death, but his servants he will call by another name, so that he who blesses himself in the land shall bless himself by the God of truth, and he who takes an oath in the land shall swear by the God of truth; because the former troubles are forgotten and are hidden from my eyes. “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind. (Isaiah 65:11–17)

Hell and judgment are not popular topics. But what would I think of a God who claims to be holy yet puts up with persistent sin? Could I worship a God who mercifully offers forgiveness and freedom from sin and then looks the other way when sinners prefer their choices over such grace? Does not God have the right to withhold blessing or eternal life from the people who defy Him or just ignore Him?

We get upset with the police who ignore crime or even speedsters who break the law plainly written on road signs. We get upset with doctors who ignore symptoms and tell sick people to take two aspirins and go home. It bothers many to see children abandoned by their parents or teachers who ignore their class. Yet God is criticized for letting the consequences of sin take down those who will not listen to Him and insist on sin?

It should break my heart to see the rich abuse the poor, and political leaders use their power for personal gain. I should also be glad to hear the prophets make declarations such as these:

“Therefore I still contend with you, declares the Lord, and with your children’s children I will contend. For cross to the coasts of Cyprus and see, or send to Kedar and examine with care; see if there has been such a thing. Has a nation changed its gods, even though they are no gods? But my people have changed their glory for that which does not profit. Be appalled, O heavens, at this; be shocked, be utterly desolate, declares the Lord, for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water. (Jeremiah 2:9–13)

How sad to see the ‘wealthy and wise’ of this world value their gods that cannot see or talk and will not last, nor go to the grave with them, and to watch them live as if they are gods themselves, ruining lives until they themselves also become terminal.

And yet the love of God remains. No one is beyond repentance and redemption. How different He is from the gods of this world who entrap and bind people in sin and selfishness that ruins their destiny and harms so many along the way.

Jesus, no wonder You tell us to pray for those leaders. Not for our comfort but for their souls and for us to be at peace even if they keep on resisting You. Grant me the patience that trusts You with those who say no. You might lead them to repentance, but like the prophets say, You may also leave them to eternal punishment. 

This topic is too big for me . . .

 

If a one-celled amoeba could talk, how would it describe the universe? I feel a bit like that with the next word in the “describe God” list. It is HOLY.

This word has dictionary definitions such as “moral perfection” and “absolute separation from evil” and “exalted or worthy of complete devotion as one perfect in goodness and righteousness” yet the idea of spiritual perfection without any evil or unrighteousness is beyond my power of thought. The quality of who and what God is that eludes me the most is His holiness.

I get it that He commands His people to “be holy as I am holy” in the sense of being “set apart” and not the same as other people. That is, holiness described as “having the characteristics of moral or ritual purity” that calls me to understand I have been set apart for God. The problem comes in acting like it by being pure in motive and all that I do.

Leviticus 20:26. You shall be holy to me, for I the Lord am holy and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be mine.

While this idea of being set apart forms many of the uses of this Word in the OT, holy also describes God who is different from all others, high above, perfection yet approachable and knowable. He simply is holy, without any need to make Himself so. He can set people and things apart making them “holy” but the adjective form of this word is used only for Himself. He is unlike anything else, making His holiness beyond my comprehension. How can I be what He asks for when I can scarcely imagine it!

He did help us mere mortals with something; He sent Jesus so we could see what holiness looks like. Hebrews 7:26 says, “For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.”

 Looking at holiness that way, the sacred is not about things, places, or rites, but the life of one Person. That is, only God is holy (Revelation 15:4 says, “Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy . . . .”) and this holiness is visible in the person of Jesus Christ who is the only one who walked this earth without sin:

1 Timothy 3:16. Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.

Jesus displays the holiness of God in human flesh, in terms we can see and hopefully understand. He also invites us to put our faith in Christ because in trusting Him, He comes to live in us, to be our righteousness. With Him as our Savior, we are called to be like Him, set apart and unlike those who are still ruled by sin . . .

Romans 12:1. I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

1 Peter 1:15–16. But as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

GAZE INTO HIS GLORY. The Bible says this quality of being holy and in set apart for God is made possible by the holiness of Jesus and the Holy Spirit who live in and empower people of faith. The more I know of God’s holiness, the more I can recognize it yet the more I realize how far I am from being like He is. My inadequacies are strong and I cannot fully grasp this mystery. A perfect being exists. He calls me to be like Him. He says I am holy. He provides a perfect Son and His Spirit to help me live that way — and I look in the mirror and am astonished. Only an incredible God could come up with such an incredible and seemingly impossible plan and then challenge me to follow through.