That her death would bring life . . .

Genesis 27; Esther 3; Matthew 26; Acts 26

Last night I took the link to my sister’s obituary page. Painful. This is happening. Made today not a great day to read about plots and betrayals, about one brother swindling another, about a man who didn’t get the homage he wanted from one Jew so he hatched a plot to destroy all the Jews, about the Jews in the New Testament plotting to kill Jesus and about them doing the same with the Apostle Paul. I’ve had enough bad news and hoped for something encouraging.

God does not let me down. He is amazing. In each story, the Bible shows His power in using these plots and devious schemes for His purposes.

In the case of Jacob and Esau, God could have arranged to have Jacob born first, Instead, Esau is born first, but Jacob is chosen. His lineage was important, but God’s sovereign, intervening choosing is more important than mere human seniority. God had a plan even as these two wrestled in the womb then later fought over birthrights and blessings.

As for the story in Esther, the evil Haman hatched a plot too, but God (whose name is not mentioned in this book) had a plan too. He showed His sovereign power as the story unfolds. Instead of putting Mordecai on the gallows he built for him, Haman was executed on those same gallows. God’s grace toward His people is more powerful than any human plan.

In Matthew 26, Judas sells his master. Jesus prays in agony in Gethsemane, then is arrested and betrayed by a kiss. He is condemned and brutalized. To make this even worse, Peter disowns Jesus just as Jesus said he would. Yet God remains in sovereign control. All of this is leading to Jesus giving His life for all the failures, pain and sin of the world:

The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. (Matthew 20:28)

As for Paul, he could have been set free . . .

And when they had withdrawn, they said to one another, “This man is doing nothing to deserve death or imprisonment.” And Agrippa said to Festus, “This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.” (Acts 26:31–32)

But being free was not in God’s plan for Paul. His appeal brings him to declare the Gospel at the heart of the Empire and from there to the ends of the earth.

Now for me and my numbness over this death. It seems unreal, but real, final, yet I know my sister is alive with Jesus.

So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. (2 Corinthians 5:6–8)

God’s plan is that all His people be united with Him in glory. As for the ‘why her?’ and ‘why now?’ questions, is He going to do something to show His great love and power on this earth through the seemingly untimeliness of her passing? That was her hope and it is mine also. My prayer is that because of her life and because of the service on which she wanted Christ to be honored, that lives would be changed. I think of family and friends who do not know God or whose hearts have strayed away and I pray . . .

“Answer me, O LORD, answer me, that this people may know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.” (1 Kings 18:37)

God’s keeping and restoring power

Even as a new Christian, I had a burden for those who became Christians but wandered away. Sometimes it seemed they neglected spiritual disciplines (like fellowship and reading the Bible), but I’ve learned that God can draw us near even when we are not predisposed to discipline. Others fell away after some thoughtless treatment from people who call themselves Christians. Whatever their reasons, many of the names on my prayer list are people that started well, but are not continuing, at least not at the moment.

A book about prodigals says that nearly every Christian experiences a time of backsliding. We reach a place where it seems we cannot do anything right, get discouraged and quit trying. Or we are mistreated or let down by someone we expected to do better, then in pain and anger walk away. The book said that this is never the end of the story. It used verses like…

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)

Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it. (1 Thessalonians 5:23–24)

It is God who does the saving. Our part in obedience and spiritual discipline is important, but these are responses to what He is doing in us, not the means of our salvation.

Besides that, I know that some who seem to begin well are not really in the family of God. False teachers fall into that category, as do those whose hope is based on something other than Jesus Christ. Faith is about Him, not church attendance, money given, or living a good life. Eventually, all else fails except the keeping power of God. He may allow some to wander away that they might learn that they cannot save themselves.

Today’s devotional reading is about God’s keeping power and Judas. This man walked with Jesus and was counted among the disciples. However, he was more interested in lining his pockets than in godliness. His heart was not right so he was open to Satan. Besides, the Old Testament prophesied that one close to the Messiah would betray him. Judas was it.

And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. (John 17:11–12)

Of all the people in history that I would not want to be, Judas is at the top of the list. He had no desire to be loyal to Jesus or to follow the ways of God. He betrayed the only One who could have saved him from his sin, but he wasn’t interested. Eventually, the liar Satan led him to destruction and his name became associated with treachery.

Notice that Jesus speaks of keeping all who followed Him but this one man, Judas. Notice also the reason that Judas was lost. It was not that Jesus failed to keep him, but that this sinner and his sin fit into the plan of God. Considering that we all are sinners, God could have used any of the disciples to fulfill Scripture. Apart from the love and mercy of God, He is not obligated to save any of us either. That He promises to do so is amazing in itself, never mind that He promises to keep us in His name when we sin and disobey Him, even when we wander for days, months, years.

My burden for the wanderers can focus on the sinfulness of humanity and become discouraged. Who can possibly be brought back? But when I focus on the power of the Gospel and the plan of God, I rejoice. He is able to save to the uttermost. What He does with His own in their wandering is none of my business, except to pray for them as Jesus prays for them. He will bring them back in His time, and even if nothing much happens that I can see, I must trust His promise that all who belong to Him will be made complete when He returns.

Do unto others . . .

Are children the only ones who wish for a genie in a bottle who would grant all their wishes? Or am I the only adult that wishes it was possible?

When I read today’s Scripture, I started to think how much these two verses make God sound like a genie in a bottle, a mighty person who makes our every wish His command.

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. (Matthew 7:7-8)

Anyone who has ever prayed knows that no one can tell God what to do and He does it. He is not our slave. But why then did Jesus say these words? Has this given false hope to some who, after asking, seeking and knocking without answers, went away discouraged?

This morning’s newspaper tells of a Christian family on vacation. Their church prayed for them before they left, asking God for a safe journey. The father and daughter were killed in what seems like an unexplainable accident. The mother was asleep and is still alive, but she does not know why their car went through the highway median into the path of a truck. The church spokesperson said that they not only have to deal with this tragedy, but with the question of why God did not answer their prayers.

I relate. I’ve prayed hundreds, maybe thousands of prayers that have not been answered yet. God is either saying No, or Wait. I am sometimes confused as well. Most of my prayers seem to be clearly requests that are in the realm of His revealed will. That is, I am certain He wants the same thing, such as the salvation of souls or a holy and pleasing life for myself and other believers. Yet those souls are still lost and most of us continually struggle with sin.

I know God is not a cosmic genie, nor is He the slave and I am the master. God is God. Part of being a Christian is realizing that this is so. He does what He does and, whether we understand it or not, He has every right and all wisdom to rule the world and our lives in whatever way He knows best.

These verses from Matthew are not a blank check for us to fill in with all those things we want, or cannot find, or wish were opened up to us. Instead, they need to be understood in their context.

In previous verses, Jesus was talking about how Christians can polarize their responses to people who are antagonistic toward Him and toward our faith. He told us not to judge them (we are just as guilty of sin), but also not to treat them as if they were buddies and offer them God’s good news if they are going to reject it anyway.

When I hear these commands, I seriously wonder how I am supposed to respond to people like this. Then Jesus says “ask, seek and knock.” This encouragement about prayer is for me when I am in a situation with another person who stands against what I believe and what the Bible says. In that situation, if I ask God for wisdom, I will receive it. If I seek words to say or correct responses, He will give them to me. If I want doors opened in the form of opportunities to treat this person with Christian love, He will open those doors.

In other words, instead of judging them for their lack of faith or their sins, and instead of trying to overlook what they do and “cast my pearls” only to have them rejected, I am to pray, asking, seeking, knocking. Prayer is the Christian response rather than the polar extremes of rejection and blind acceptance. Jesus then sums it up with the familiar words of verse 12, in the words we have come to call the Golden Rule.

Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets. (Matthew 7:12)

I want intolerant people who despise Christianity to treat me with respect, not harshly judge me, or worse, treat me as if I am the same as they are. While I know they will not pray for me (because most do not believe God answers prayer), Jesus assures me that my response must be prayer for them and for myself, so I can obey this wonderful rule from the bottom of my heart. It is this kind of praying that He promises will always receive a YES answer.

Spiritual Battles

Perseverance is a continual battle. I’m not the persevering sort. Every chore on my list requires great determination to start, never mind finish. Even the things I enjoy require perseverance. I started a quilt last week and even though I enjoy making quilts, had to push myself to finish it. Even though spending time with God is more delightful than anything else (including quilt making), pressing on in prayer is far more challenging than all other things, easy or difficult.

This morning, my read-through-the-Bible-in-a-year brought me to Malachi 3:14. God is rebuking His people. They go about as if they are sorry for sin, then complain that this religious activity has no profit. God says, “You have said, ‘It is useless to serve God; what profit is it that we have kept His ordinance, and that we have walked as mourners before the Lord of hosts?’”

My prayer burden for other people and sorrow for their sin and mine is genuine, yet at times I fall into thinking that prayer is a huge waste of time. It is useless to serve God this way. I don’t see any answers and I’ve much to do that seems more useful.

This verse rebuked me too. Whining about lack of results and thinking that something God commands me to do is useless is just as bad a sin as the hypocrisy in Malachi’s day. In fact, God has shown me the importance of prayer over and over again. In Amos 3:7, He says, “Surely the Lord God does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.”

That verse strongly suggests what my experience verifies; when God is going to do something, He first reveals it to those who will pray (His prophets), and does not act until that prayer is offered. It is the will and plan of God to include the prayers of His people in His activities.

Then I think, my prayers are just words, I’d rather be doing something. I read 1 Corinthians 4:20 this morning too. It says, “For the kingdom of God is not in word but in power.”

This is another rebuke. God’s kingdom isn’t built or established by mere talk, but it is established through the power of prayer. Prayer is not mere talk. It is communication with God. Actually, it is not so much me talking to Him, but if I am in tune, it is God speaking to my heart and out of my mouth. Prayer is God using His people to say His thoughts back to Him.

This is a stupendous truth. He will act, but first He reveals His desire and expects me to say it. As I do, He answers. Why He works this way is a mystery, but He does use prayer.

Last month I prayed every day for a man who has withdrawn from his family. Months go by with no word at all from him. This week he showed up at a family gathering. Not only that, he spent time with one person with whom there has been no communication for years and years. How can I say that it is useless to pray, to serve God this way?

A few years ago, I read (also in Malachi) that God will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children. I prayed for a certain person who had left his family. In a few months, the family was back together—the heart of the father restored to his children and to his wife also. How can I say it is useless to pray, to serve God this way?

My conclusion is that the whispered words of ‘useless’ are not my own. My enemy, the liar and father of lies, wants me to stop. I’m messing with his plans and he knows too that God does not act unless He reveals His secrets to His praying people. If he can keep me from praying, then he can thwart the plan of God.

Yet this scheme is not a secret that he can hide. God reveals it to me to encourage me to keep praying. He reminds me too that every prayer is heard and He uses every prayer to build His kingdom. Prayer is not mere words but power, not my power, but the power of God.