Have I No Power to Deliver? (Isaiah 50:2)

 Have I No Power to Deliver? (Isaiah 50:2)

“For by their own sword they did not possess the land,
And their own arm did not save them,
But Your right hand and Your arm and the light of Your presence, For You favored them.” (Psalm 44:3 NAS95)

I have marked all the question marks in my Bible, and then have chosen a list of what I call “Critical Questions in the Bible.” One of these from my list is Isaiah 50:2 - “Is My hand so short that it cannot ransom? Or have I no power to deliver?”

I listened to a recorded story the other day on radio of the last man of his group who parachuted from a small airplane. As he jumped, his foot caught in a seatbelt, and so he hung from the side of the plane unable to fall and unable to pull himself back up. He was not able to see the pilot, and she was only able to see his boot. She left her seat and controls, at risk to her own life and to the plane, and then he saw her arm and hands reach out and, with difficulty, release the seatbelt. He landed safely, but never had opportunity to thank the young woman for saving his life.

Our God has long arms and strong hands. It is a wonderful image to remind us that we are never out of His reach, and we are never caught by a chain that He cannot break. We read the stories in the Bible of Israel’s release/escape from Egypt; of David’s deliverance from Saul, and of Daniel’s from the lions. We know that God is able, and we believe it.

This is important to us because we, like the man in the story above, cannot save ourselves. We may be able to do some small things, but the biggest challenges of life are solved from above: Psa. 44:3 “For by their own sword they did not possess the land, And their own arm did not save them, But Your right hand and Your arm and the light of Your presence, For You favored them.”

I may mention this too often, or, not enough, but we tend to seek to live self-sufficient lives. We think we can figure things out for ourselves, and work our own way out of our predicaments. Moses was concerned for a younger generation: Deut. 11:2 “your sons who have not known and who have not seen the discipline of the LORD your God — His greatness, His mighty hand and His outstretched arm.”

What if we were to replace the question “What am I going to do?” with the question, “What is God going to do?”Oh, certainly if there is something you should do, then do it. Pay the bill, or make the appointment, or go say you’re sorry. But our first order of business in most cases would be to focus on the One Who has long arms and strong hands, because we so often find that ours are short and weak.

And, were you able to meet the One who reached out to save you?

Old Secrets Uncovered

 Old Secrets Uncovered

A couple of news stories caught my attention, one local and another far away; one rather sordid, and the other, spectacular, if you are into those kinds of things.

The first had to do with a sexual assault case that took place 20+ years ago. The perpetrator was never identified until just recently. DNA studies collected from one of the victims was studied, tracing back to the 1700’s and linking to three brothers who were alive at the time of the crime. One brother was identified as a possible suspect, tested, and arrested. Who would have thought this crime would be solved after all these years? There is a verse in Numbers of the Old Testament that says “be sure your sin will find you out.”

The other story has to do with Ptolemy who lived in the last century before Christ. He wrote mathematical and scientific treatises on parchment, and, since parchment was limited in supply and expensive, later writers would write over old documents. We have never seen before his writings on the meteoroscope. “The reuse of the parchment for the Latin manuscript meant there were faint remains of the previous text.”  And not only was this work overwritten, but in the early 1800’s another researcher had applied chemicals to try and uncover the original, unsuccessfully. Now using things like multispectral imaging and a 240 million-pixel camera and software that does “layer amplification,” the ancient writing was restored. I won’t read the document or understand the instrument, but I am interested in old secrets being uncovered, because now we know that mankind is trying to do what God has always been doing.

Paul’s letter to the Romans has a “bad news” section which precedes the “good news” section. If you don’t believe in the “bad news,” you won’t care much about the “good news.” And so one element of the “bad news” is found in Romans 2:16, that there will be a day, a judgment day, “when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus.” There will be no hiding spots, no erasures or scrub jobs, no chemicals or write-overs that will obscure the truth as we stand before God on the day of judgment.

The fact that God always has known and always will know our secrets shouldn’t cause us to re-double our hiding efforts; rather, it should help us draw this conclusion: we can be honest with God. And as we confess the truth about ourselves and affirm the truth of what God has done for us in Christ, God who offers forgiveness through Christ will wash those secrets away, forever, never to be brought up again.

If you believe, you will see the glory of God? (John 11:40 NAS95)

 “If you believe, you will see the glory of God?” (John 11:40 NAS95)

Would you like to “see” the glory of God? Many would. Not all can, or will.

One point would be that we couldn’t take it. We may enjoy the brightness of the sun, but to stand and stare at it is more than we can take. We would go blind. Moses was warned in the Old Testament that he could not “see” the glory of God and live. God allowed him to see His “back parts,” an after-glow, so to speak.

So first of all, to think that we can waltz into the glory of God in our creaturely and sinful condition is flippant to say the least, and perhaps a bit blasphemous. If we are to see the glory of God, we must be fitted for it.

Martha and Mary and their fellow-mourners were allowed to see something of God’s glory through the miracle of brother Lazarus’ raising from the dead. He was really dead, even deteriorating according to homemaker Martha (homemakers know about bad smells), and Jesus says, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” The glory hadn’t happened yet, but then did upon Jesus’ command, “Lazarus, come forth!” And he did. The power of God had broken the power of death. The divine had exposed the weakness of that which is mortal. God had triumphed. And the glory of God was seen in this work.

John 1:14 (same Gospel, in the introduction) says, “and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only-begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” This glory that Moses could not endure now shines through Jesus upon those who believe/ receive Him. Upon belief, we see something of God’s glory. However, if we fail to receive Him, we remain in the darkness - spiritual darkness. Jesus truly is the light of the world.

When it comes to Easter, many will participate in baskets and bunnies and brunches. But only those who believe Jesus, who receive Jesus, will be fitted to see the glory of God.

“If you believe, you will see the glory of God?” (John 11:40 NAS95)

My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me? (Matthew 27:46)

 “My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46)

There is a sense in which Jesus’ question on the cross seems inappropriate. It almost sounds like a failure of faith. But I want to argue that it is not.

Jesus is actually, on the cross, quoting Scripture. It would be a good pattern for us to follow, to quote Scripture when we find ourselves in trial and temptation. It is Psalm 22, and the very first verse reads, "My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?” Oftentimes in the New Testament when the OT is quoted, a little line of Scripture is intended to remind the hearers of the larger passage. Let’s look at some of the features of Psalm 22.

I’ve done a study on “all the but’s of the Bible.” I would like to another one on all the “yet’s.” We’ve got a couple here: ³“Yet You are holy, O You who are enthroned upon the praises of Israel.” It is an acknowledgment that, despite distress, God is doing nothing wrong, and that He could not possibly do anything wrong. Also, 9 “Yet You are He who brought me forth from the womb; You made me trust when upon my mother’s breasts.¹⁰ Upon You I was cast from birth; You have been my God from my mother’s womb.”

Jesus, in His incarnation, stepped fully and firmly into the shoes of mere humans. He is speaking in this plaintive cry as a man falsely accused and afflicted. These last verses make direct reference to the incarnation, and that He is referring to “My God” much like you or I would do. It is clear that this incarnation, and this cross-experience, is God’s plan for this Person, for Jesus of Nazareth.

Verses 14-18 in Psalm 22 sound like a first-hand description of Jesus’ experience on the cross, as though David was right there at the foot of the cross in the 1st century, chronicling the events (I’ve linked so you can those verses yourself). But David wrote a thousand years earlier. He wrote about what God had planned, but what David, the psalmist, scarcely understood. Yes, there is a purpose here, and it is God’s purpose, not for Jesus’ immediate enjoyment, for the salvation of God’s people for His glory.

Verses 22-23 speak of the broad praise of people for this wonderful work of redemption. It would happen later in time, beginning after the resurrection of Jesus, and continuing even now. From all over creation, people would join to praise God’s name. And the “afflicted one”  affirms that God, “my God,” has come through: ²⁴ “For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; Nor has Hehidden His face from him; But when he cried to Him for help, He heard.” Yes, God heard and answered Jesus’ prayer, and He raised Jesus from the dead.

All of this comes around even to us, in the 21st century, who are actually mentioned in Psalm 22, and thus can appreciate Jesus’ quote on the cross. The last verse of Psalm 22 reads: ³¹ “They will come and will declare His righteousness To a people who will be born, that He has performed it.” We are the “people who will be born,” who have received the declaration of His righteousness in the Gospel.” Jesus is gladly proclaiming that He cried this cry of forsakenness, according to the plan of God, so that we wouldn’t be.

To whom then will you liken God?Or what likeness will you compare with Him? (Isaiah 40:18 NAS95)

The (In)comparable Christ

The Israelites went into captivity largely because of their idolatry, the worship of other gods, other than the one, true God. But I see in this verse more than a warning against idolatry. I see a pointer to the (in)comparable Christ.

Hebrews in the NT opens has this amazing statement in the opening paragraph: ³ “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.” I would say, relating these two verses, that Jesus can be likened to God, He being the Son of God. We get to know the Father by what is revealed to us in the Son. 

Another classic verse on the subject of Jesus being even more than reflective of the Father is found in Colossians 1: 15 “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.” “Firstborn” here is not so much that Jesus is a product of creation (though he was born of a woman) but that He is the heir of all creation. The Son of God was present and involved in the very act of creation itself. He is said to be Creator even as we say that God created the heavens and the earth.

In Jesus’ high priestly prayer (John 17) prayed in the presence of His disciples just before He was betrayed and arrested, He prays ³ “And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” That is, eternal life involves knowing not only God the Father, but also knowing the Son, Jesus Christ. There is a reason for that.

In John 14, right after Jesus says 6 “I am the way, the truth, and the life” Jesus goes on to say in that same sentence, 7 “if you had known Me, you would have known the Father also.” It is an amazing statement, that we do not merely need to know both the Father and the Son, but that we know the Father only after coming to know the Son. We know the Father precisely because there is One, Jesus, who is the likeness of God and comparable to Him.

And in that same passage Philip says then to Jesus, 8 “Lord, show us the Father and it is enough for us.” And Jesus answers, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father'?” Jesus has indeed shown us the Father. Why? Because He is “likened to God,” a “likeness compar(able) with Him." Yes, Philip, it is enough for us, because Jesus has indeed “shown us the Father.”

We only enter into true worship of God as we come to the place of knowing and worshipping the Son.

What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him? (Matthew 8:27 NAS95)

“What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?” (Matthew 8:27 NAS95)

I always wanted to be able to dunk a basketball. It never happened, and it never will. It seems to me that some people are built to run and jump and defy the laws of gravity, whether in basketball or gymnastics. Others of us have our feet firmly planted on the ground. Oh, perhaps, with practice and discipline I might have been able to to do it. Though I’m not sure.

But with Jesus it is different. The Gospel story from which our critical question is taken this week is the disciples “manning” the boat on the Sea of Galilee in the midst of a storm with Jesus asleep in the bow. They awaken Him, and he stands up and stills the storm. They respond with the question, “What kind of man is this?”

You understand that no amount of practice and discipline will ever allow you or me to still a storm. And we understand why. We are but specks on the earth, and great atmospheric pressure systems swirl about overhead, interacting with one another and stretching across the skies for hundreds, even thousands of miles. A front may sweep through and clear the skies, but the best we can do is to wait for it. We certainly cannot command it.

It stands to reason, then, that if Jesus possesses that kind of Creator- Authority over the systems of the globe, then He has other kinds of authority as well - authorities that we do not have and cannot gain. And Jesus demonstrated those authorities over evil spirits and diseases, and the little fish with the coin in its mouth. It isn’t magic. It is, as the hymn says, “Fairest Lord Jesus, Ruler of all nature.”

Now, if Jesus is that kind of man, being not merely man, but also Son of God - if that is true, and the Bible says it is -what kind of authority will He have in my life? And the answer at the present seems to be, as much authority as I allow Him to have. Which is a very short-sighted answer. Jesus could have stilled the storm at the beginning, or even before it began. But He waited to still the storm until when He chose to still it, and the storm was vanquished.

Jesus could exercise His authority in your life completely and immediately right now. But He waits, and then, He will. But in the meantime, he allows us by faith to recognize that authority, and to bow before it. That is, we accept Jesus for who He is, - no mere man, but Savior and God - and then we respond to Him with love and devotion and submission. And one day people might ask, “What kind of man is this, that even Christians obey Him?

Whom Have You Mocked and Reviled? .. Against the Holy One of Israel (Isaiah 37:23)

 Whom Have You Mocked and Reviled? .. Against the Holy One of Israel     (Isaiah 37:23)

The setting in Isaiah is the fascinating story of the impending invasion of the Assyrians on Jerusalem. They had already captured the Norther Kingdom, and they were now threatening the Southern nation. Rabshakeh (an intimidating name), Sennacherib’s general, was urging Jerusalem to surrender or face a miserable end. In so doing, he heaped insults and futility upon faith in Israel’s God.

This was not the first time that a proud adversary had dumped scorn on God’s people. Do you remember Goliath facing down the armies of Israel under Saul? Do you remember how young David was offended that no one would stand up to such blasphemy? And so he did. But if it happened before, then we can be sure that it will happen again. And it did, to Jesus.

If Rabshakeh is guilty of mocking and reviling against the Holy One of Israel when he faced down the king’s representatives on the plot of ground outside of Jerusalem, then what of the situation when the very Son of God was arrested and lied about, scorned and mistreated, even spitting in His face. One cannot conceive of a more direct, personal affront to “the Holy One of God.”

Here we are now in mid-March, and just three weeks away from Good Friday. It is time for us to consider carefully again the humiliation of our Savior, Jesus the Christ. I don’t mean to say that we should not consider this all year long, just as we should not save our thanksgiving for Thanksgiving. But perhaps we should bring a special focus.

Luke gives us the following record: “Now the men who were holding Jesus in custody were mocking Him and beating Him, and they blindfolded Him and were asking Him, saying, ‘Prophesy, who is the one who hit You? And they were saying many other things against Him, blaspheming” (Luke 22:63-65). Think of this. The Creator was being pummeled by creatures that the Creator had created. The ‘Word made flesh’ was being subjected to a cruel game of “what do you know?”, as if He didn’t already know exactly who each one of them was and what was going to happen ahead of time. They were presuming themselves to be judges over the One is appointed to be Judge over all the earth.

We can justifiably condemn the actions of Goliath and Rabshakeh and the soldiers who held Jesus. But we must carefully reflect on how we ourselves treat Jesus, either with honor, or with shame.

Who among us can live with the consuming fire?(Isaiah 33:14 NAS95)

 Who among us can live with the consuming fire?(Isaiah 33:14 NAS95)

We find this question in the midst of Isaiah, where the people of Israel are confronted with the specter of an Assyrian invasion. Against whom is this question directed?

The Father will discipline His children. God will be honored by His people. And He will do what is necessary to bring that about, things that are destructive and painful, that He might later rebuild and heal. It is a fearful thing for God’s children to live wayward lives, because God is not averse to “breaking bones” in order to get our attention and bring about repentance. Don’t mess with God. In that sense, this is a question of warning to the people of God.

On the other hand, it seems as though this question could be directed against the Assyrians. They have been chosen, unwittingly, it seems, to be instruments in the Lord’s hands to accomplish God’s work among His people. Other individuals and nations have been so used, and are even used today, for God to chasten and nurture His Church. But the Assyrians were intent upon, not fulfilling God’s purposes, but their own. He would use them to chasten. They would go on to destroy, to humiliate, to own them, that is, God’s people. And for that God would bring devastating judgment upon them. And so, the question would apply: “Who among us can live with the consuming fire?” 

Just a pause in the flow of thought. God did, in the Gospel, pour out His consuming fire directly upon His Son, Jesus, who bore the penalty and punishment for our sin. He did this to save sinners, and to defeat sin. And God is still, and will always be, against sin.

The previous lines in our text are interesting: ^“Sinners in Zion are terrified; Trembling has seized the godless.” Wait a minute. Zion is not to be populated by “sinners,” but “righteous.” Who are these people? They are not to be “godless,” but “godly.” To whom are these phrases referring? Covenant people who are living sinful and godless lives? Or sinful and godless invaders who are now trampling the streets of Jerusalem and wreaking unbridled havoc on the people of God? It could be either one. It could be both.

When the author of Hebrews wrote “for our God is a consuming fire” (Heb 12:29), he may have been getting his material from Isaiah 33 (or, 64 other OT references where “consume” and “fire” are mentioned). But the writer of Hebrews is clear about his audience. At this point he is writing to warn those who profess to be believers that we ought not trifle with God and His ways.

Shall the axe boast over him who hews with it? (Isaiah 10:15)

 Shall the axe boast over him who hews with it? (Isaiah 10:15)

The Bible asks such simple questions that it makes one feel a little dumb to answer. “Shall the axe boast over him who hews with it, or the saw magnify itself against him who wields it?” Of course not. That would be ridiculous. Except we do it all the time, acting as if we are in charge, when instead we are merely instruments in the Lord’s hand. 

The context in Isaiah 10 has to do with the ancient nation Assyria. A list of “woes” had been pronounced against ungodliness in chapters 9 and early 10, with the last “woe” against Assyria, who had been selected by God to act as the instrument of judgment against Israel (Samaria). The judgment would be severe, and yet the Assyrians were to act with restraint. Instead, their plan, not God’s, was to destroy the northern kingdom of Israel. And so the word picture: Assyria, the axe, was boasting over and against the God who was the master of the axe.

We’ve seen this kind of metaphor before. Jeremiah was sent to the potter’s house, who took a ruined clump of clay and was re-working it into something useful. “Then the word of the LORD came to me: “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter has done? declares the LORD. Behold, like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel.” (Jeremiah 18:5–6 ESV)

We are not mere, inanimate objects. We have thoughts and feelings. We assign value, whether accurately or not, and decide what is just (again, whether accurately or not). What we don’t do so well is remember that there is only one Creator, and we are His creatures. He has made us in His image, and yet we are still His subjects. We are made for His glory. We are to live according to His design. We are to obey His Word. We are to submit to His Lordship.

And so when we object against God that He is not doing things as we would like; when we get “mad” at God for messing up our plans; when we resent Him because He has not honored our priorities - we are totally out of line. We have missed the Big Principle, the Essential Rule of the universe: God is God, and I am not.

I can imagine a hammer, or a saw, or an axe, complaining that they are not being used properly, according to design. Of course, they can’t, because they are just tools. But we can complain. Except for one thing: our design is to be used by God as He sees fit, so there really is no room for complaining. He is God, and I am not.

Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us? (Isaiah 6:8)

 Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us? (Isaiah 6:8)

An ambassador’s job seems noble, representing the king or government and speaking for them before foreign powers. But we can imagine situations where their job is less enjoyable and even downright dangerous, as they are called to deliver a message that the foreign power does not appreciate. Isaiah was God’s ambassador.

But Isaiah was sent to God’s own people. However, they had wandered, and were no longer listening to God, and thus not listening to God’s emissary. The text from our title goes on to say that they are “listening, but not perceiving; looking, but not understanding.” They have ears and eyes and minds and hearts for other things.

Moses was sent before Pharaoh, ruler of Egypt, to seek the release of the enslaved descendants of Abraham. Appearing before the most powerful man in the world at the time, Moses was rebuffed, even as he introduced plague after plague that would decimate Egypt. He was an unappreciated ambassador!

Jeremiah the prophet, after Isaiah, was put in prison. He was publicly bound in stocks for humiliation. He was thrown in a watery pit, perhaps a sewer of sorts. Speaking God’s word to the people, he was regarded as unpatriotic.

The leaders of the northern kingdom said to Amos the prophet, “Go, you seer, flee away to the land of Judah and there eat bread and there do your prophesying! But no longer prophesy at Bethel, for it is a sanctuary of the king and a royal residence.”

Jesus, then, in the Beatitudes, said “Blessed are those who have been persecuted … for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

What we must digest, then, from this consistent trend throughout Scripture, is that when commissioned by God to be an ambassador, or a prophet, or a preacher, or a witness - it is not for the sake of popularity. Our job is not to appeal to unbelievers with enticing words, though we should always be respectful. We are not to measure success by “customers’” happiness. Ambassadors are to speak the message of the authority that they represent - no more, and no less. And we seem to have forgotten that. 

Jesus sent His disciples on mission. His instruction? “Whoever does not receive you, nor heed your words, as you go out of that house or that city, shake the dust off your feet.” 

Who requires of you this trampling of My courts? (Isaiah 1:12)

 Who requires of you this trampling of My courts? (Isaiah 1:12)

This question, from the opening chapter of Isaiah, critiques the “worship” of God’s people. God had given them Solomon’s temple, designed according to God’s plan, as a place for God to meet with His people. We do not have a temple-building today that corresponds to this. Rather, the “place” where God’s people meet with God is in Christ. Yes, we have church buildings, but church buildings are not the temple, and this won’t be an article against tracking mud on the sanctuary carpet.

How is it that we “track mud” on Christ? Or the community of Christ? The question is not that hard to answer, though we will go to the text first.

The question that serves as the title is from verse 12. A question in verse 11 says, “What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me?” That is, you do the same things over and over, as though the mere doing of them is sufficient, even though you don’t mean them, or think seriously and spiritually about them. So Sunday we will observe Lord’s Table. Oh, it’s time for that again. No, it can’t be that way. It must be approached thoughtfully and soberly. The offering plate is available. Throw in another check. No, each offering is accompanied with the spiritual thought that God has given so much more to us. Read my Bible, then check it off the to-do list. No, this is God’s Word. It is the most distinguished message, and only heavenly message that you will read today. It is the light that illumines all else. We cannot do it perfunctorily.

The text goes on to emphasize God’s distaste for these thoughtless religious observances. The subject moves to prayer. Note this verse: “But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, And your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.” (Isaiah 59:2) We’ll talk more about this Sunday.

I remember standing at family’s door (everyone loves it when the pastor stands at the door) and the wife was giving the husband what-for because he had just tracked on her freshly mopped floor. She had a point. And so does God. We should not approach God’s presence in Christ with less care than we exercise when we trim our fingernails. Like the man at the altar who remembers someone who has something against him, stop what you are doing, take the time and the trouble, and make it right. Why? Because God has taken time and trouble for us, to make us right, through Christ.

The One Whom my Soul Loves (Song of Solomon 3:3)

 The One Whom my Soul Loves (Song of Solomon 3:3)

I’ve never preached a sermon series on Song of Solomon. I actually get a little nervous just reading it. The Puritans saw it as a poetic tale that led to adoration of Jesus. Modern commentators have been almost unanimous in saying that it was written to improve your love life. I’m firmly on the side of the Puritans. Seems as if I was born about four centuries too late.

Nonetheless, I chose one question from this little book as a “Critical Question of the Bible:” “Have you seen Him whom my soul loves?” (Song of Solomon 3:3). By capitalizing “Him,” I’m emphasizing the One whom I believe is the focus of the book, and the question.

In context, the young woman is looking desperately for the man she loves. Where did he go? In a human story, one would wonder if the young man, in fact, wants to be found. But in a spiritual account, any person seeking the Lord is involved in a process that God designs to test and develop our hunger for Him. He does not always make Himself apparent to us, even though He is most assuredly always present with us. He is in charge of refining our spiritual senses, and growing our spiritual dependency, which will then guide all of our senses and dependencies. And so it is a good question with which we could begin each day, or ask in the midst of the day when we are a bit confused and don’t know how to respond to a situation: “Where is the One whom my soul loves?"

But I think the question as it appears in the text can also be an evangelistic question; a question that would guide us in sharing Christ with others, and do it well. Have you seen Him whom my soul loves? It guides us in our evangelism in that we are not selling an idea, but sharing a Person with others. So much of our efforts are rationalistic, as though we can “convince” people into being Christians. And there are indeed points to make and objections to overcome. But being a Christian is a relationship with a Person with whom we have come to love for all of His perfections, and most dearly for His love for us that led Him to give Himself as a sacrifice for our sins. Who would do that for us? Scarcely anyone. And if anyone did, who could deliver the benefits to us that we have found in Him, including the forgiveness of sins and bringing into right relationship with God. In that case, the answer is not “scarcely no one.” It is “no one.” Jesus is the One whom our soul loves. May we love Him more each day. 

A Working Vacation

 A Working Vacation

Here is yet another vacation post (but also a critical question): Eccl. 1:3 What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun? 4 A generation goes, and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever.

The Bible says a great many positive things about the value of work. The Bible also says some very negative things about laziness. The Preacher in Ecclesiastes is not arguing against the Bible. I’m quite sure he agrees. He has another point to make.

I think the turning point in The Preacher’s question is in the word “gain,” as in “win” or “get.” He is not questioning the value of work. I believe that God put us on this earth, in part, to be re-creators. Certainly a huge step below Creator, and humans sometimes speak of their creativity as if they are doing something brand new. Nope, just rearranging what God created. But this is an aspect of work. The farmer in the field is re-creating/working. The welder. The financier. Some have doubts about the pastor.

When a person works long, and hard, and well - what does he get for it? A wage? Satisfaction? Yes, those things. But what is he (or she) afterwards that they were not before? Richer? Happier? Maybe, or maybe not. But think about the term “afterwards.” We are not just evaluating short-term gain. We are talking about big-picture gain. What has a person gained by their work, with God? What have they gained by working as they one day stand before God? I think that is much closer to The Preacher’s question. We say that we work “to get ahead.” But he gives us the perspective to know that this is true in only the skinniest of senses. On a broader scale, your work makes no difference in your standing with God, which lasts for eternity.

My Dad worked hard, and I (we) benefited. He built by hand both houses we lived in growing up. He started as sweeper and ended up as vice-president at the local hospital, meaning that, though times were pretty tight earlier on, our parents were able to take good care of us. There is real benefit in that.

But now that Dad is gone and will stand before God, his acceptance will not be based on his good work, or, his good works. He will be accepted because of Christ’s good work. Eternal salvation and blessing are through Christ alone. Oh, and the benefits of Dad’s good works will not benefit me either at that time. Only Christ’s.

Quiet Vacation

 Quiet Vacation

I’ve gotten to a place with my latest post-Covid malady that I’ve now lost my voice. It reminds me of the recent Christmas story from the book of Luke, when Zecharias was met by an angel and doubted the angel’s prediction. I am not sure who or where my angel was, but we both ended up with laryngitis. The end of the story for Zecharias is that John the Baptizer was born. I don’t know how he communicated this non-verbally to Elizabeth, and Jane is having trouble understanding as well.

When I broke my knee a few years back, I called the gentleman who sold me disability insurance to replace what most everybody else already has. I told him that since, as a pastor, I couldn’t kneel to pray, that I felt I qualified for disability. He asked if I could still talk to preach. I said “yes” and he said that he didn’t think I was disabled. I thought about calling him again and telling him now I can’t talk in order to preach. He’s retired, but I’m pretty sure he would ask if I could still pray, and when I said “yes,” he would say that he didn’t think I was disabled. But since I can’t preach, I figure Jane and I will just stay in Florida until my voice comes back.

There are some shortcomings to being speechless. It doesn’t stop what goes on in my mind, but the expressing of it is much more difficult. I have learned the husbandly art of mumbling things that I don’t really want Jane to hear, but now she actually can’t hear them.

So when I want to correct her, well, she just misses out on that blessing. And when she’s telling a long story, I don’t interrupt with a different one. And sarcasm is a lot more difficult to express, and a lot less fun, when it is just left to carom around my own head.

And then there’s Calvinism. Yes, that theological belief that things don’t happen by accident, and that somehow, for some reason, me losing my voice on this vacation when it’s just Jane and me in the car or on a long walk is not accident, and that it turns out to be just Jane’s turn to talk and not mine.

You’ve got to be glad for her a little bit, being married to a guy that she has to listen to preach every week at her (and others) and at times actually being part of the sermon herself. Maybe this is part of God’s justice, her turn to talk and not me.

Prov. 17:27 Whoever restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding. 28 Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.

Who Can Say, ‘I am Pure from Sin’? (Proverbs 20:9)

 Who Can Say, ‘I am Pure from Sin’? (Proverbs 20:9)

We return in this newsletter to a review of “critical questions in the Bible.” This is related to a study that I did, marking all the questions in the Bible, and then picking out those I (subjectively) regard to be worth considering and addressing. Today, I combine two of these questions from Proverbs.

The first question, from Proverbs 20:9 is simple, but profound: “Who can say, ‘I have cleansed my heart; I am pure from my sin’?” The answer is “no one.” Some might say Jesus, but since He was and is sinless, He never “cleansed His heart.” For us, cleansing our hearts is not something we can accomplish ourselves, and keeping ourselves absolutely pure is a task too great for us.

So we are all sinners. So what? Isn’t it just the goal to be a little less a sinner than the next person? No. The significance of being a sinner is that we are a sinner before God. And the next questions, from Proverbs 24:12, asks these questions in ascending order: Does He not consider it who weighs the hearts? And does He not know it who keeps your soul? And will He not render to man according to his work? 

The first of these questions indicates that God is the One who sets the standard for righteousness and morality. It is not a matter of current social standards, whether conservative of progressive. It is this: what does God say? He weighs the heart according to His judgment; according to His standard, which establishes once and forever what is true and what is good.

The second question is close to the first, but different. Because not only does God establish the standards, but He is the One who holds our souls, and the destiny of our souls, in His hand. Our souls, created by Him, are designed to live forever with Him, or without Him, according to our standing with (or, against) God, whether our hearts have been cleansed and are being made pure through the work of Christ and the ministry of the Holy Spirit. His strong hand will deliver us either to blessing or curse; heaven or hell.

And thus the third question in this verse asks what should now be obvious: if God is the One who sets the standard; and if He holds our eternal destiny in His hand; is He not also the One who will render judgment and consequence regarding our state and condition, whether forgiven and sanctified by faith in Christ, or stubbornly independent and beating our own drum by which we march? 

Critical questions? Yes. Sobering? Certainly. Too heavy to be carefully ponder? Not on your life.

My Times are in Your Hand (Psalm 31:15)

 My Times are in Your Hand (Psalm 31:15)

Our times are assigned to us. We don’t pick them. We certainly have little to say about when and where we were born. We understand that life is a gift from God. Even those who don’t believe in God must believe that it is some kind of “happy accident,” and thus we cannot take credit for it ourselves. But for believers, since we believe life is a fleeting gift from God, we also don’t know how long this earthly life will last.

Therefore, “my times” are not really mine. They are lent to me, to be given back when I die. “My times” are really God’s times, or the times that God has assigned to me. And therefore, “my times” are not in my hand, though we make many decisions about how “our” life will be lived. Nonetheless, my times are in God’s hand.

The verse goes on to request, then, that God would “deliver me from the hand of my enemies and from those who persecute me.” There is something about this life of ours, as managed by us, that leaves us with scant resources to fight dangerous enemies, whether physical or spiritual. And it is the spiritual enemies that are the most cunning. We ask God for help against this vast array of enemies because we cannot handle the job ourselves. But also, we ask, because since “our times” are actually God’s times, He has a deep interest in our success against these enemies, and for our living with His ownership in mind.

Psalm 1:3 says that the one who separates himself from sinners so that he might be devoted to God and His Word “will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season, And its leaf does not wither;  And in whatever he does, he prospers.” That is, he is seeking God’s help in charting a course for living apart from enemies and persecutors, and in return, God brings “success” or “prospering” into his life. Certainly, this success must be defined Biblically. God’s prospering can include things like health and wealth, but it more importantly includes fellowship with God and usefulness in His service. It includes things like peace and joy and love that flow out of us from within.

These things happen, according to Psalm 1, “in its time.” That is, in God’s timing that He has ordained for us. Some of these things may happen in our youth or they may happen in old age. Some pick up the lessons quickly. For others, it comes through a variety of struggles and defeats, until we submit to God’s will and way - when we finally realize that what we have regarded as “my times,” my life, my goals, my values and agenda and passion, my, my, my - when we finally realize that all these things actually begin, not with “my” or “me,” but with what is rightfully God’s, for His glory.

 The Color of Christmas

I’ve been thinking this week about C.S. Lewis’ rather negative view of our Christmas craziness. He was writing this back in the 1950’s or so. I assume that the craziness has only grown crazier.

He says that there seem to be two holidays. One is called Xmas, and involves a great deal of partying and gift-giving. It is practiced by the religious and irreligious, as though religion is not essential to it. And he personally preferred to have little to do with it.

The other holiday he called “The Feast of the Nativity.” This is the solemn yet joyful observance of the Incarnation, God taking on human form in the Person of the Son. It is the celebration and consideration of a mysterious, divine act, whereby the infinite Son of God submits to the finiteness of human form. 

My thought on this was that those who espouse the Big Bang theory of origins claim that there must have been some nugget or particle that was so dense, when it exploded, it expanded into our present universe. I find more interesting the density that must have existed in the human person Jesus who at the same time was eternal Son of God. And, He indeed has universal significance. 

But back to C.S. Lewis. He says that just because these two holidays happen to occur on the same day of the year doesn’t mean that they have anything to do with one another.

I’ve read that the brain has never seen color. It has never smelled a rose. It has never heard a symphony. The only stimuli are electrical/chemical signals which the brain then interprets, so that you can make sense of red, fragrance, and harmony. 

You don’t know something is red until your brain tells you, the brain that has never seen red. I would like to apply this to Lewis’ two holidays. 

Many, many people celebrating Christmas this year don’t know the true color of Christmas, which is Christ. It is a reality about which their brains have not yet been triggered. The Gospel stimuli has not  reached them. And so these many, many people know a great deal about the merchandising of Christmas. But they don’t know the true color of Christmas. It’s as though they can’t see red.

Can you? It’s not an ability-thing. It’s not a “try-harder” thing. You can only appreciate the sensations that your brain interprets for you. Yet there is something mysterious, something spiritual about this, whereby you come to know, to see, a color that you have never seen before. And once you see Christ, the color of Christmas, you can never un-see Him.

Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? (Matthew 2:2)

Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? (Matthew 2:2)

You know the story of the wise men who came from the East seeking Jesus. They followed a star. They were probably astrologers who followed pagan notions. But somehow, God got their attention and set them on the right path. And so they brought gifts to baby Jesus, and we expect that we will see them in heaven. Who knew that among those who first worshipped Jesus, there would be some from Iran?

But that’s not the whole story, because on the way to see Jesus, they first had to see Herod, or, as he liked to be called, “Herod the Great.” Herod was a master politician who had positioned himself to gain the favor of the Roman emperors, and had finagled his way to a position in Israel called, of all things, “king of the Jews.”

One would suppose that to be “king of the Jews,” one should probably actually be a Jew. But that was not the case. In the language of the time, or at least how it’s translated now, Herod was an Idumaean. That word was an update of an older word used often in the Old Testament. Herod was as Edomite.

Edomites were the descendants of Esau. Esau was the grandson of Abraham, and the firstborn of Isaac. He was born a twin, and his younger brother, Jacob, got the upper hand: the birthright; the blessing; and father of the people of Israel. Esau was set aside. 

Jacob had twelve sons, roughly the heads of the twelve tribes of Israel. Jacob’s 4th son, Judah, would be the tribe from which most kings of Israel would come, and certainly the line of David. These would be the true kings of the Jews.

So Herod, from Esau, was a fake. He was a powerful fake, and a ruthless face. But he was also an insecure fake, because he knew that he wasn’t the true “king of the Jews.” And so one day, when strangers from out of town came seeking the one born “King of the Jews,” he suspected that what he always feared was about to take place. Esau was about to be set aside once again, in the person of Herod.

Scheming, lying, and threatening had always worked for Herod. But it didn’t work now. The wise men were led by a star, and Herod wasn’t it.

Jesus’ path was strange as well. He avoided the throne and embraced the cross. But even in His death, there was a sign above his head that spoke the truth: “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.”

You Fill Up My Senses (Psalm 94:9; 139:7)

 You Fill Up My Senses (Psalm 94:9; 139:7)

John Denver used to sing a song, “You Fill Up My Senses.” Given his vocal qualities, we used to substitute the word “sinuses.” But, speaking of our senses, they are amazing. Our ears hear and distinguish hundreds of sounds. A child can pick up his mother’s voice out of a thousand. And our eyes, seeing objects both near and far, with color. Sadly, we don’t fully appreciate these senses until we lose them. 

But we must remember: God made us this way. He made us with ears and eyes, to hear and to see. Why? Partly because He Himself is a hearing and seeing God. And that’s what this week’s critical question(s) remind us:  Psa. 94:9 “He who planted the ear, does He not hear? He who formed the eye, does He not see?” And we find this ability of God to hear and to see both comforting and intimidating, because He doesn’t miss a beat.

But let’s go further: Psa. 139:7 “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?” Here we find that this God who created us to live in the confines of space and time is not confined to space and time. The previous verse spoke of communicable attributes, that is, characteristics that God shares with His creatures. But here, in Psa. 139, we have an incommunicable attribute, that is, a characteristic of God that is not shared with His creatures. We are always somewhere, in one place. God is everywhere at once. He is omnipresent. Again, this is a comforting though, since we are never removed from Him. And it can be intimidating, because we never can hide from Him.

For the godly person, that is, a person who is oriented toward God in such a way that He is ever-present (or, at least, never-far) from our thoughts, the responses to these verses are obvious. God hears. We talk to Him. God sees. We live and behave and do as those who are living for His pleasing, knowing that God is always looking over our shoulder. We bask in His ever-present presence, because He is never far away. Though transcendent above even the remote stars in the most remote galaxy, He is yet present with a person such as yourself.

For the ungodly person, that is, a person who is oriented toward self and world affairs in such a way that it seems that God either doesn’t exist, or, at least, matter - for that person, there is no prayer except in a crisis. Things are done for one’s own pleasure or the praise of those you want to notice. No one is looking over your shoulder, or if they are, you resent them. And, you find yourself quite alone in the cosmos.

What shall I render to the LORD for all his benefits to me? (Psalm 116:12 ESV)

 What shall I render to the LORD for all his benefits to me? (Psalm 116:12 ESV)

Would you agree with me that this is a critical question? If God has indeed blessed our lives, what should be our response to Him? Is it acceptable that we, being enriched by Him in so many ways, just accept it and take it for granted and go on as though God did not exist? “What shall I render?” An important question indeed!

We are not just to make up our own ideas or rules about how we should respond to our gracious God. This psalm gives an answer in the following verses: “Lift up the cup of salvation.” “Call on the name of the Lord.” “Pay your vows to the Lord.”

Let’s take these in order. What does it mean to lift up the cup of salvation? Well, first we realize that unless God had filled our cup, it would be empty. We cannot save ourselves. But also, we are amazed and such grace that has saved us in such a terrible and wonderful way: God sacrificing His Son that through His death we might have life. It is both amazing and humbling, caught in Newton’s words, “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me.”

So in the morning we lift up this cup of salvation, and in the evening. We remember and recall that, apart from Him we are lost, now and forever. But with Him and what He has given, we are found, now and forever. We take the time to clear our minds and we give thanks to Him for His indescribable gift.

Secondly, we respond to God as though He exists. We call on the name of the Lord. Let’s be honest: those who do not talk to God treat God as though He does not exist. But He does, because if He did not, neither would you. And we do live, by His goodness and grace. And this grace has brought with it the privilege and responsibility to talk with Him, to call upon Him, including to praise and to pour out our hearts. If we are not doing this, then we have failed to properly consider and answer the critical question, “What shall I render to the Lord for all His benefits to me?”

The text says, “pay your vows.” Remember that our relationship with God is covenantal. God graciously enters into covenant with us, but He also places demands upon us. These demands are not the foundation of the relationship. That’s the atonement. No, the demands are that we live as the Father’s children, walking with Jesus, keeping in step with the Spirit. Simply put, we obey. We study to know what to do, and then we do it, with dispatch; with thoroughness; and with thanksgiving.