Getting God’s vote

Listening to the American presidential hopefuls making speeches has shown me something about what appeals to people preparing to vote. While they want to know the background and qualifications of the candidates, they also want to hear that they are capable of making an intelligent choice.

This comes out in Psalm 86:1-5. As I read it this morning, I compared the way pleas are made to voters with the way the psalmist makes his plea to God. This passage says:

Bow down Your ear, O Lord, hear me; for I am poor and needy. Preserve my life, for I am holy; You are my God; save Your servant who trusts in You! Be merciful to me, O Lord, for I cry to You all day long. Rejoice the soul of Your servant, for to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul. For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, and abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You.

In the first part, the psalmist tells God why He should ‘vote’ for him; he is poor and needy, hinting that he cannot survive without God’s help. I need you to put me into office.

He also asks God to preserve his life because he is holy, which means he has been set apart for God so wants God to remember that consecration and commitment. I’ve given my life for my country, given my life for you, so remember this at the polls.

Then the psalmist asks for mercy because he has cried out to God all day long. None of the candidates asked for mercy (which means getting what is not deserved), but two of them have said that they are ordinary people with a desire to serve their country. Certainly all four have cried out and their speeches go on all day long. Vote for me, because I am sticking with this and making my voice heard.

The psalmist also asks God to make him happy because he knows that only God can do that. It is to God alone that he makes his appeal. Vote for me. Together we can do this. You are my only way to the position that I am seeking.

At the very end of the psalm, the petitioner takes a turn. Instead of offering information about himself to persuade God to hear him, he appeals to the very nature of God. He says, “You are good . . . ” and speaks of God’s qualifications that make Him able to hear and answer his requests.

I’ve heard at least two of the candidates say something like this to their audience, You are smart, intelligent people who know what is needed and you are able to select leadership that will be good for your life and this country. You have what it takes.

The crowds love it. While they applaud when the candidates talk of their qualifications and plans, they melt when the candidates tell them that they believe in them.

When I pray today, I can tell God about my helplessness and need, and I can remind Him of my desire to serve Him and how I cannot do it without His help, but I think He most wants to hear words that express my faith in His goodness and power.

I realize that the American people may or may not live up to the expectations and praise given to them by those seeking election, but I also know that God lives up to His promises. Even if my expectations are sometimes off base, I can trust Him. Therefore, regardless of how He ‘votes’ concerning my pleas, I need to tell Him that He knows what is right and what He decides will be good.

The blind shall see . . .

Even though my eye doctor says my eyes are healthy and I don’t need new glasses, my vision is sometimes fuzzy. Floaters, fatigue and blurry eyes frighten me because I use them so much. However, even if I could not see at all, I know that spiritual blindness is worse than physical blindness. People without eyes at least know that they cannot see.

From age thirteen to twenty-nine, I read the Bible daily without understanding one word. Oh, I knew what the words themselves meant, like ‘kingdom’ and ‘faith’ but had no idea what God was saying in this book that my mother also read every day. Scripture didn’t make sense and had no impact on my life. I did whatever I thought I should, with no understanding of the ways of God or any inclination to obey Him. How can anyone obey gibberish?

Now I know that I was blind as the proverbial bat, without even a bat’s radar that keeps it from running into things. Not only that, I had no clue about the problem of spiritual blindness or that it was my problem.

I will never forget the day that the lights came on. I was sitting in my living room reading a book about reincarnation. I’d been looking for the answer to a question: What happens to the energy of my life when I die? My father told me energy is not created or destroyed, just changed to a different form. Was this true? If it was, was reincarnation the answer?

That day, in that book, I found a verse from the Bible. I can’t remember which verse it was, perhaps a verse I’d read before, but it was God’s light switch. It seemed the room was suddenly flooded with light. In one glorious moment, I understood that Jesus was God in the flesh and that He came to die for my sin and to forgive me. God “commanded light to shine out of darkness” and shone that light in my heart “to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6).

Walking in the light is vastly different from going through life with my eyes shut. From that day, I began to see new paths and realized that my old ways were bent and twisted. God showed me how to get through the maze and walk with awareness. He did exactly what He promised in Isaiah 42:16:

I will bring the blind by a way they did not know; I will lead them in paths they have not known. I will make darkness light before them, and crooked places straight. These things I will do for them, and not forsake them.

When I read this verse today, I rejoice in the past power and faithfulness of God. He saw my blindness and how unaware I was of the spiritual world around me. He opened my eyes and let me see, then took my hand to help me walk a new way. I still make mistakes because I let go of His hand, but these are never His fault. He is true to His Word.

I also rejoice in the promise in this verse for the future. As I get older, more forgetful, less steady on my feet and less sure of my ability to make my way, He says that He will guide me just as He has already done, and that He will never forsake me. Psalm 73:26 says, “My heart and my flesh (and even my eyes) may fail; but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”

This is a good way to start the day—remembering the great goodness of God in my past experience and knowing that He will keep on caring for me in my future.

Back from Vacation

We arrived home yesterday afternoon. The wireless link where we were would not work for me, so all daily thoughts not posted on the right day have been posted now. I put the dates at the top to mark them. It was nice to be away, but there is no bed like our bed --- I slept ten hours last night!

Biting the Hands

We met a man this weekend who left the country he’d lived in for forty-seven years. When asked why, he said he left when someone told him that must not go golfing without carrying a gun to protect himself. This was in another country far away.

That same day we heard on the news of a sports figure who was out late at night with one of his team members. As they sat in a car waiting for two other people, someone came up to the car and shot this man, seriously injuring him. This was in another country, but much closer.

This morning’s newspaper has several stories of murders in our country, and a few in our own city. The dangers of living in this world crowd closer and closer.

Besides violent crime, lesser crimes touch our lives. Neighbors are robbed. People decide to turn left across three lanes of traffic right in front of us. Other behavior may not be illegal but nonetheless disturbing, like dishonesty, cheating, and a general disregard for the needs and rights of other people. Immorality and lack of integrity are the norm. While we wonder what the world is coming to, our hearts know that one day this world is going to be judged. Even if God didn’t plainly say so, that inner sense of wanting justice demands it.

It the Old Testament, the people of God were dropping into sin like the pagan world they lived in, provoking God’s wrath on even His own. He told them He would bring calamity on them because “they have forsaken Me and burned incense to other gods” (2 Kings 22:17).

However, young King Josiah had a heart for God. The Book of the Law was discovered in the ruins of the temple he wanted to repair. When it was brought to the king and read, Josiah’s heart was broken. He was dismayed about the disobedience around him and the certainty of God’s wrath against them. He asked that a prophet seek God’s face so he would know what would happen. Verses 18-20 is God’s answer:

Thus says the Lord God of Israel: “Concerning the words which you have heard — because your heart was tender, and you humbled yourself before the Lord when you heard what I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants, that they would become a desolation and a curse, and you tore your clothes and wept before Me, I also have heard you,” says the Lord. “Surely, therefore, I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace; and your eyes shall not see all the calamity which I will bring on this place.”

A few years ago, the wife of Billy Graham said that if God didn’t soon do something about the mess in the moral fibre of the U.S.A., He would have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah. After reading these verses, I wonder if it wasn’t the tender heart of people like her husband that have held back God’s wrath from this world.

Because Josiah was deeply concerned about the sin around him, God reserved judgment until Josiah’s generation had died. Is He doing the same in our day? Could it be that the caring, praying people of this world are the reason God has not poured out judgment on those who do not care, who never pray, who only curse Him?

Could it be that God sees a few tender and humble hearts who want to see His glory recognized, worship restored and His name exalted, and because of those few, He is postponing a great calamity that will eventually come on all those who reject Him and godliness?

When others mock the people of God and make fun of our faith, do they realize that they could be belittling the only reason they are still able to live and do as they please? As we raise our hands in prayer and intercession for the moral mess in our world, those who laugh have no idea that they are biting the hands that keep them from the wrath of God.

Making Decisions

September 2, 2008

My husband and I are opposites in many ways. For instance, his mind is on the future almost all the time, so much so that he is often not paying close attention to what he is doing right now. On the other hand, my mind is usually in the present and I think about what I am doing at the moment. If a decision need to be made about the future, I want to make that decision (will I go or stay home?), mark it on the calendar, and give it whatever attention is necessary, but be free to attend to the matters of today.

While his work sometimes requires my husband to put decisions on hold, I find that very difficult. If I know I must change or do something different a year from now, I am fine with waiting out the year, but I must decide today whether to say yes or no to the change. If in time that decision needs altering, I’m okay with that too. I just don’t like knowing I have to decide something and living with indecision.

This morning I’m reading about the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible says He is coming again and His people need to be ready. That means being ready now—He could come tomorrow. I’ve heard some say that since it doesn’t appear likely that He is going to return, or going to return soon, they postpone readiness and carry on as usual. They think they can make a decision later in their life, or when it seems closer to the time it needs to be made. That makes no sense to me.

When Paul wrote to the church in Thessalonika, he was concerned that some of them thought Jesus had already returned and they missed it. This was a slightly different problem, but Paul’s explanation is helpful when it comes to making decisions about the future.

Paul told them that only those in spiritual darkness would “miss” what is going on. Since they were not in that category, this didn’t apply to them and they should not be so anxious. In 1 Thessalonians 5:4-10 he wrote:

But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.

These Christians had already made their decision and because of that, no matter what happened or when it happened, they were ready for it. My husband is with me on this one. We are ‘sons of light’ and know that Jesus will return. Whatever else happens and whenever He comes is not an issue.

The key element about making decisions for the future is that those decision affect what I do right now. For instance, if we decided that in three years we would move to a warmer climate, I would be spending the next three years clearing my house of stuff that we would not need and preparing for a new lifestyle. At the same time, I’d need to keep in mind that plans can change, and that I should not get rid of my winter coat just yet.

It is the same with the Second Coming. Jesus may not come in my lifetime. I could do as I please during that time because what I do didn’t save me, and what I do or don’t do will not condemn me, but because I love Jesus and do not want to disappoint Him, I’d rather be ready than not. That decision certainly affects my lifestyle.

Maybe this clarifies why people might say that He is never coming back. They don’t want to think that way. If they do, they face a decision that will affect how they live and they don’t want to change anything right now.

Someone once told me that there are no forks in the road. When we are called upon to make decisions, we are already “in” one of the decisions. That is, if I am sitting on the railroad tracks wondering if I should move my car or not, I’m already in the “or not” decision. In the same way, God says be ready for the Second Coming of His Son. If I just sat on that decision, I would be in the “not ready” category until I determined otherwise.

After reading these verse in 1 Thessalonians, I’m glad that God turned the light on for me. Decision-making is a lot easier because of Him. Being a Christian is practical. He says He is coming back, and even though I don’t know when, I want to be ready. Besides, I have learned that He will show me and help me live according to my choice.

Name above all names

September 1, 2008

As a young person, I didn’t like my name. No one else had it except the Borden company mascot used in advertising, a cow. She had long eyelashes, but she was still a cow. So I was teased in school. One boy who liked me and dated me, still called me Cow at times. Had that been anyone else, I’m sure I would have died of total humiliation.

After I became a Christian and discovered that names have meanings, I found out that my name is a derivative of Elizabeth and it means “consecrated to God.” At that, my attitude toward my name became much more positive.

People of other cultures often choose names according to what they want their children to become or and the names selected often seem to fit characteristics that show up in their adult lives. This was particularly true of Israel.

Perhaps this naming thing came from the way God revealed Himself in various names. Each one is descriptive of His character and what He does.

For instance, God is called Elohim. My Bible dictionary says this is a plural form (for the triune God), but can be treated as a singular noun representing one supreme deity. It is usually rendered ‘God’ in the Bible. Like its English equivalent, Elohim is grammatically considered as a common noun and conveys the idea of all that belongs to the concept of deity— in contrast with man and other created beings. This name is appropriate because there is only one supreme and true God. Since He is a Person, Elohim approaches the character of a proper noun, while not losing its abstract and conceptual quality.

My devotional verse today is Jeremiah 23:6. It says, “In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell safely; now this is His name by which He will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.”

The LORD is commonly used in the Old Testament for the name given to Moses by God at the burning bush. It was only four letters, so no one is totally certain how to say it or spell it, but it is most often rendered Jehovah. This name means “self-existing One” or the God who is. It was considered such a holy name, that the Jews would not say it, therefore the substitution in the Bible of the LORD, signifying Jehovah and God’s incommunicable name.

In Scripture, when this name is used in relation to created things, it expresses only some peculiar connection those things have with Jehovah. For instance, Exodus 17:15 says, “And Moses built an altar and called its name, The-Lord-Is-My-Banner” or Jehovah-Nissi.

This proper noun is also applied to the Messiah and when used that way, it expresses His deity. 1 Timothy 3:16 describes it this way: “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen by angels, preached among the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up in glory.”

This and other Scripture speaks of God and Jesus Christ as One, and the entire Bible is the story of how the triune God works in justifying His people. God does not wave a magic wand and make us into perfect people. Instead, He sends His Spirit to live in our hearts and in the mystery that is godliness, Jesus becomes our righteousness.

That is, I am still here without anything that merits the favor of God. But Jesus is here too, and when God looks at me, He sees me “in Christ” and having His righteousness. Any goodness, any godliness is not mine but His, as a gift to me and the Holy Spirit enables me to express that gift.

Today I was hoping for a practical answer to a question I have about life, and God gave me this. He wants to lift me above my question (for now) and think about what I have in Jesus Christ. He is my righteousness and today I will reflect on that and be grateful for who the LORD is and what the LORD has done.

Tests of a different kind . . .

August 31, 2008

Today could hardly be called a day of suffering. We are on Vancouver Island in a Bed & Breakfast where the owner could be a chef in any fancy restaurant in the world. Fabulous food. Our room is about 14 x 18 with comfortable furniture and pleasing decor. Luxurious yet not expensive. This home is on the beach where we can look across the bay to a range of mountains on the other side. Their large sunroom has a telescope. Eagles and water birds fly over head. The sun is shining in a deep blue sky. In about an hour we will attend a church, a solid one that we have been to before and have friends. Life could not be much better.

But suffering happens. My devotional verse for today says, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us”(Romans 8:18).

God uses tough times to shape His people into the image of Christ. That suffering has no comparison with the good that comes out of it. God is wise; He knows exactly what I need to bring His glory into my life. He has taught me that trouble is not my enemy. While I don’t like it, He can and does use it for my good.

So what about the opposite? Do the almost perfect conditions of today also fit into His plans? Verse 28 of Romans 8 says yes. Good things are also part of the “all things” that He can “work together for good” in my life, the good being that constant work of transforming me into the likeness of His Son.

I’ve a responsibility here. I could permit this idyllic vacation to indulge my old nature. I could resent any interruptions to the ease, like clouds in the sky, or rain, or something like my husband driving by a place where I really wanted to stop. Grouchy can come easy when Eden is invaded.

I’m noticing though that even on holidays the Holy Spirit is still nudging me, still making me aware of temptation and His conviction. He says, Don’t go there, or Confess that right now, and as I do, the sense of ‘almost heaven’ returns and I am deeply aware of Him and His power.

My experience with God is that He does use the tough times to produce a different attitude, but this vacation shows me that He also uses the best of times to test those changes and ensure that what He has taught me is still here, in place, and not at all shaken by all this pampering.