Battles for His throne

On this the last day of my study concerning idols, I must affirm John Calvin’s statement that the human heart is an idol-making factory. My heart constantly battles substitutes that claim its throne as  thoughts and all sorts of lesser gods try to rule instead of Jesus Christ. It’s easy to see that this could be a continual battle. If Satan cannot find a way in, the world and its allure will tempt me, and if that cannot put an idol on the throne, then my own sinful desires will do it.

Jesus shows me how to deal with these usurpers. The first one is Satan . . .

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written, “ ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ” Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, “ ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and “ ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’ ” Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ” Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “ ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’ ” Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him. (Matthew 4:1–11)

One great comfort from this passage is that temptation is not from God but it can be allowed by God. The Holy Spirit led Jesus into this. In my case, my sinful self is often the culprit, but God is in charge of my life. He can “lead me not into temptation” if that is His plan. Jesus’ obedience was tested as God’s Son. In similar ways, all God’s other children are tested. Where often fail, but His success sets a pattern for us.

As for the attacks and allurements of the world, the Word of God comes to my aid with this . . .

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)

All idol-provoking forces must be challenged by truth from the Word of God as most of my battle is in the mind. For that, God says, “. . . by the mercies of God, present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:1–2) Again, the Word of God is my weapon.

In using it, those battles require me to reinforce my heart by putting off those passions and patterns that leave me open to idol-making . . .

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. (Colossians 3:1–10)

More verses describe what to “put on” such as: compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, forgiveness, and love, a list that focuses on godly attitudes and actions that will put keep me on the side of righteousness. It concludes, “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” (Colossians 3:17)

My heart has times of calm where Jesus joyfully fills me with Himself. But that throne is often threatened by other usurpers, more or different than before, and the tests begin. While I suspect this war will go on throughout life, He has promised to never leave or forsake me, and that I am more than a conqueror because of His mercy and grace.

Just shut up

The first sins after than initial eating of the forbidden fruit was self-defense and blame-shifting. When God asked about what he had done, Adam said, “I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself. . . . The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” (Genesis 3:10–12)

Adam defended himself. Also, it is often said that he blamed Eve, but that phrase “You gave to be with me” showed that he blamed God for his sin. While this seems ludicrous, the New Testament has to remind us that we tend to do this:

Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and He himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. (James 1:13–15)

In the past few weeks, I’ve been thinking about the ways that I blame God. It seems that each time I complain, given that I believe God is sovereign, then I am actually blaming God’s providence for the circumstances that I do not want or like. My mother used to say, “Well, we must need this or we would not be getting it.” These words were her way of trying to remind the family to be thankful rather than complain.

It is easier to be thankful for the good stuff. For instance, yesterday funeral service for my mother-in-law was a surprise blessing. The music, the message, the brief eulogy all worked together (evidence of the Holy Spirit who alone can produce such unity). Even the most distressed mourners were amazed at the blessing and the peace that came to their hearts. We can easily thank God for that and events like that.

However, this morning we looked out our hotel room window to a spring snowstorm. This is nasty weather for the six-hour drive home. Can I thank God for events like this? Or do I offer verbal expression to how much I do not like what is happening outside?

The Bible says that Jesus was tempted in every way that we are tempted but did not sin. Surely this temptation to defend Himself and blame His Father would have been one of those ‘all’ points. One example where such temptation might have occurred was just before His crucifixion.

Then Pilate said to Him, “Do you not hear how many things they testify against you?” But He gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed. (Matthew 27:13–14)

Jesus could have said, “My Father put me here to bear the sins of the world, so I must do that, no matter how nasty they are or how many lies they tell about me.”

Those would have been legitimate words; they were true. Out of His mouth they could have been uttered without a trace of resentment. Yet He knew our minds. Had He said that, I might have been the first one to use such a response to justify my responses to hardships, even those experienced when I obey God. They are what some called a “hidden brag” because saying something like this is self-serving. It says ‘look at me’ and even ‘poor me’ rather than resisting the temptation to make obedience about me instead of a glory to God.

*****

The Bible says that no one ever spoke like Jesus spoke. Spurgeon points out that no one was ever silent like Jesus either. Lord, I could take a few lessons in this. I’ve always been quick to defend myself when accused or even misunderstood, and quick to blame others, even You, when things do not go the way that I want them to. This makes life all about me, which is the very essence of sin. You created me to bring You glory. To do this, many times I don’t need to talk, but to simply shut up.

To Live is Christ — whose judgment is righteous

There is a New Testament principle illustrated by the adage: “When you point a finger at another person, three are pointing back at you.” This principle comes from the words of Jesus. 

Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. (Matthew 7:1–5)

On March 24, I posted a list of characteristics of the self-life. One description relates to Jesus’ words. It says that sin expresses itself with “stirrings of anger or impatience which, worst of all, you call . . .  holy indignation. . . .”

A person who is zealous for the things of God could justify being angry about the sins of others by saying that Jesus got angry. He was irked with the unbelieving Pharisees, their hypocrisy, and their harsh attitude toward others. He responded with violence toward the money changers who defiled the temple. Cannot I also be indignant about the sin of others? Would that not be like Jesus?

There is danger in that. While the Spirit might be at work stirring me to action against someone’s sin or unjust acts, more often my indignation is anger at those who sin in the same way that I sin. When I look at them or point a finger at them, I am actually seeing my own attitudes and actions. While seeing the evil in my own heart is a good thing, blame-shifting is not. Putting the heat on someone else for that which I am also guilty violates another principle, the one that I’ve been reading for several days.

For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart — These, O God, You will not despise. (Psalm 51:16–17)

God is always more interested in my contrite repentance than He is in me pointing out the sins of someone else — as if He needed my help in discerning other people’s sins. When I get on my high horse about something someone else is doing, or even about the behavior of society in general, I need to remember that a broken and contrite heart is first willing to look at itself. God may ask me to act after my heart is right, but more often He asks me to pray and leave the sins of others in His capable hands.

To live is Christ means that I’m allowed to judge righteously (“Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.” John 7:24), but finger-pointing is out of the question.

To Live is Christ — means not my will . . .

Almost certainly these verses begin to pinch. Yesterday we drove around the Sonora valley and again wound up looking at vacation properties. At first it was fun, but after awhile, instead of wanting to do whatever my husband thought was best, I began to think about my wants. Spending lots of time in the desert isn’t on the list.

This is directly opposite to the attitude Paul had as he was thinking of his choices. He was in jail and facing who knows what. He considered that he might be condemned to death, yet he also knew that prayers were going up for his release. He wrote to those who prayed for him . . .   

For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I cannot tell. For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you. (Philippians 1:21–24)

Paul was more concerned to do what was best for others than he was about having the best for himself. He knew that these folks at Philippi still needed him, and if he died, they would not be as well off as if he lived. Heaven tugged at him, but the needs of others was also important.

For me, going home and staying home sounds good (home could also be that one reserved for me in heaven), but staying here means being willing to do what is needful for others. That includes my husband, who needs to plan for retirement and figure out what he wants to do with the rest of his life. With CLL that may not be a long time, but we don’t know.

A warmer winter appeals to him, and I’ve been enjoying it too, but yesterday for some reason, living in two places lost its appeal. I became frustrated, irritated, and even  homesick.

Did Paul feel like that at times as he sat in his confinement? Was he ever fed up with always being there for others and just wanted to go “home” and be with Jesus?

These verses say that he was hard-pressed between the two. That word has many meanings. The one I most identify with is that he felt like he was in a cattle squeeze and could not move. Conflicting emotions and desires pressed him so he felt immobilized. He knew he could not make the more appealing choice of being with Christ, which he said was “far better” because, in this case, it would have been selfish to turn away from the needs of those others who received this letter from him.

With this, God has diagnosed my attitude. I don’t want to make the choice for others but for me. However, knowing what is going on in my heart does not change my attitude or resolve the conflict that I feel. The only way out of this is surrender, not to the wishes of others (my husband has not made up his mind yet anyway), but to the will of God.

Jesus said, “Not my will but Thine be done” because He knew that the will of God is always best, even though it was going to take Him to a horrible death. I might not know yet what the will of God involves (I will likely not be crucified), but I do know that I will have no peace until I can say the same thing as Jesus said, not just because I want out of this cattle squeeze, but because I really mean it.

Photo: Townsend's Livestock Equipment

Why I pray for mercy

Last night I read a paragraph that sent me immediately to intercessory prayer. This paragraph is from a book by Allen P. Ross called Recalling the Hope of Glory. It is about biblical worship from the garden of Eden until the church was formed, and shows the adoration that God deserves and how easily even His own people fall away from true worship. The paragraph says:

The prophetic denunciation of idolatry (by Old Testament prophets) was important because of the serious consequences of rejecting the sovereign God to embrace idolatry. It was not merely a sanctuary matter, but affected every aspect of society. If there were no sovereign God, then there was not absolute law to obey. (Starting to sound familiar?) The breakdown of morality and ethics and the neglect of social justice . . . is the result of refusing to entrust oneself to the sovereign, loving, and just God. . . . When people believe that the cosmic order is uninterested in human welfare and that those who succeed are those who know how to capture these forces for their own purposes—which is the underlying attitude of idolatry—the more helpless and vulnerable in society are crushed.

In essence, those who refuse God will worship something, in this case, their own ability to manipulate whatever they can to get whatever they want, at any cost. Instead of God, the great “I want” is put on the throne and, as a result, all of society suffers.

As I read this, I thought how our nation, even the entire world, is captured by idolatry. I began asking God for forgiveness and mercy, for me, for everyone.

This morning, my devotional reading from another book is about that very request. The Scripture is Psalm 51, and it begins with these four verses:

Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; according to the multitude of Your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight—that You may be found just when You speak, and blameless when You judge.

There are two players in this prayer. God is responsible for being merciful, loving, kind, and to blot out sin and wash it from my life. I am responsible for acknowledging my sin, realizing that God sees it and that it offends Him, and agreeing with His assessment of it. God is correct when He says that I have sinned, and He is just in His condemnation of it.

What is so difficult about that? The first time I noticed the power of confessing sin was as a new Christian and a single mother. I couldn’t stop screaming at my children and finally confessed this to God as sinful. A few weeks later, I realized that I wasn’t doing it anymore.

Over many years, when I do my part, I have seen that He will do His part. This week, I noticed I had a bad attitude toward my husband. I confessed this to God as sin, and it was gone, replaced by the right one.

“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). Christianity is very practical. When we do what God says, He does what He promises to do as a result.

The rub is having to admit sin. Most people are not like the psalmist. He acknowledged his sins and realized he was accountable to God for them. Most people, myself included, have a lot of trouble doing this. We either don’t notice when we sin, or if we do, we make excuses, shift the blame, or dismiss what we’ve done as “not as bad as so-and-so.”

The paragraph from Ross’s book puts idolatry at the root of things. Instead of worshiping God, who is worthy of our worship, we put anything and everything else at the top of our awe-list. When I assume my sin is nothing, or shift the blame, I’m putting my own opinion above that of Almighty God. When I make excuses, I am saying that God’s ideas about sin are not worthy of my consideration and again am putting me above God and making myself my idol. Once I do that, what else will go to the bottom of the priority list? Everything. If my opinion and ideas are the most valued, anyone or anything else will take second place, unless of course giving them value is to my advantage.

Isn’t that the state of our world? Hasn’t humanity, in general, dropped God as “old-fashioned nonsense” in favor of running their own lives? While not every activity of every person seems totally selfish, God (who knows the heart) says it is. In our smug assessment that we know better, we lose the only opportunity we have to be rid of that self-centered sinfulness.

Until I honestly face the facts of my sins and agree with what God says about what I do, I am stuck with what I have decided is right and stuck with the consequences. This is foolishness.

However, multiply that foolishness by billions of souls. No wonder much of the news is bad. God says our sinful self-worship is as a dark, idolatrous thing that binds individuals, societies, and the entire world in a trap. He says that those who are unwilling to see or confess this as sin cannot experience His forgiveness and cleansing, and without God’s mercy, the eventual outcome is His wrath.