Job 38:1-3 7/30/2024

“Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm. He said:  “Who is this that obscures my plans with words without knowledge?  Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me.”

This is a hard book.  Job endures unimaginable trials compounded by judgmentalism and lack of support from friends and family. But after thirty-seven chapters of God’s majesty being judged … The Creator has heard enough.  The Lord speaks out of the storm and begins with a  question that basically asks “Who do you think you’re talking to?”… Followed by questions that suggest Job should do more listening and less evaluating.  

What about us. How much of our prayer life is spent seeking God’s will, and how much is spent telling God what we think He should do?

The Cross allows us to approach God as his beloved children, but we should not forget whom we are approaching. We don’t evaluate God’s plan; we seek to understand it. Jesus tells parables which promote constantly praying and even “bugging” God for answers. But we can never forget who He is.  

Following this verse, God list some of His qualifications for being God. When these are brought to his attention, Job responds:  “Surely, I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.” Being reminded who we pray to, should solicit the same response from us. 

Too many churches  represent God as a feeble deity begging for our approval… Our world condescendingly mocks its Creator … but this passage indicates we have dangerously misjudged Him. This book contains a severe reprimand.  He is not a genie that we evaluate …He is the omnipotent Creator who will question us, and we will answer to Him.

Make no mistake, He loves you, weeps with you, and your pain is so precious to Him, He holds your tears in a bottle… but as you struggle, God is not pacing the floor.  He is in complete control. 

We must learn to stop trusting the outcome and start trusting the God who determines it.  And when we can’t see the way, we must trust His heart … In the eye of the storm, know that God loves you, He has a plan, and the anchor will hold. 

"It's not great faith you need; it is faith in a great God." - N. T. Wright

James 3:14-16 7/23/2024

“But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there.”

Last week we discussed how anxiety and gratitude cannot exist together in the brain.  This makes  gratitude the silver bullet in our battle against anxiety.  So, let’s examine what inhibits gratitude … This verse says the culprit is self-centered envy which throws our life into confusion. 

The internet is the perfect breeding ground for this problem.  Most people publish the perfect online image with little concern for accuracy.  But somehow, we miss the obvious fact that everyone else is doing the same thing.  Everyone is publishing fictional “profiles” with heavily edited photos to back up the facade.  This spurs our “Friends” to exaggerate even more until we all deceive ourselves into “virtual nirvana” where everyone is envious of everyone else’s fabricated lives… No wonder there is anxiety. 

What you don’t see is that all your “perfect friends” have struggles.  Even as they post pictures of their incredible adventures, many are dealing with rollercoaster relationships, health struggles, and financial problems.  So, as we privately struggle with our real-life problems, and look online and see our friends sailing through life untouched,  it causes us to crash. Here’s the thing… it’s not true.  

When we compare our reality with someone else’s made up life, it confuses us. This opens the door to anger, self-pity, envy, jealousy, and resentment.  The instigating circumstances are fake – but the resulting emotions are real.  And these emotions destroy our lives. 

Do you have bitterness and envy?... Did you allow it into your life by believing you’re the only imperfect person in your circle? Have you exhausted yourself trying to keep up the façade?

Just stop and take a breath … Don’t compare your life to others, you’re not seeing the whole picture. Though it may feel like it, you’re not alone… We are all broken people. Share your struggles with a friend, and then together, count your blessings.  We all have difficulties at times; you are not the only one. Trust the Father’s love and know you never face the struggle alone.

“Envy is the art of counting the other fellow's blessings instead of your own.” - Harold Coffin

Exodus 13:3 7/16/2024

“And Moses said to the people, “Remember this day in which you departed from Egypt, from the house of slavery; for by a powerful hand the Lord brought you out from this place…”

From the beginning God has told us to remember the mighty things He has done.  

We are instructed to have faith - not a blind faith -  but a proven faith… based on past deliverance. God has repeatedly proven His trustworthiness and instructs us to build monuments or celebrate certain days to remind us that He is faithful. 

We don’t need to be taught self-pity, that comes naturally.  But we do need to practice gratitude. Gratitude and anxiety cannot exist in the brain at the same time. Gratefulness reduces the level of cortisol, otherwise known as the stress hormone.  So, if your anxious, start counting  your blessings … The breath you just took can be the first one on your list.

Our memories are short when we are blessed - and long when we are hurt – that should be reversed. We should purposefully ingrain the victories in our minds so we will have confidence at the next challenge.

We need altars and ceremonies to turn our gaze from ourselves to God. Our strength is only found in His strength.  Our worth is only found in His worth.  We emphasize the fact that He loves us -  but more precisely we should focus on “why” He loves us…. We didn’t earn it… It is not because of our good works. He loves us because we are His. He has chosen us to be His cherished children and paid the adoption fee with His blood. While we were rejecting Him, He died to save us. That is why we are more than conquerors, that is why we are thankful….  Gratefulness is the spontaneous response to this grace.  

Put that message on a sign above  your bathroom mirror, place a note in your car, put a cross on your desk... but do something that constantly reminds you of the fact that He created you, He loves you, and in spite of your failures, you are the apple of His eye.

Gratitude is the only rational response to His blessings. It will change your life if you will just be still long enough to remember all He has done. 

“Gratitude is the healthiest of all human emotions.” – Zig Ziglar

Mark 3:28 7/9/2024

“Truly I tell you, people can be forgiven all their sins and every slander they utter, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin.”

These are terrifying words from Jesus regarding the limit of God’s tolerance. There are arguments about the exact meaning of the passage, but one thing is frighteningly clear… If you reject God’s plan of salvation … if you blaspheme the Spirit by denying your need for redemption, and repeatedly reject His offer -  the offer will end, and there is no plan B. 

That’s hard to hear because God is love, and we have mis-defined Love … Love and tolerance are not the same thing.  Love sometimes has hard edges.  That’s counter to our culture’s mantra “love me like I am”… But loving you, and condoning your sin, are actually incompatible. God loves us as we are - but He loves us too much to leave us that way, and like iron sharpens iron sometimes love produces sparks. 

Peter was reminded of this when he tried to direct Christ away from the Cross. And  Jesus’ own family is reproved when they tried to remove Him from danger… Resisting God’s plan (even with good intentions) is hazardous. The Holy Spirit opens your eyes to your need and offers you the only plan available for your redemption. If you reject that plan, you are rejecting the only plan in which God can remain God… and still fellowship with you and me.  

So, if you repeatedly push away and  blaspheme the Holy Spirit as He tugs at your heart – God will eventually say “have it your way”… to which there is no recovery.

Contained within the Triune God is Unbending Holiness,  Perfect righteousness, and inconceivable love… And the Cross is the only place these characteristics can coexist.  Only the cross transfers to us the holiness necessary to commune with God. If you reject that, there is no other proposal.  

So, this morning, acknowledge your need of redemption, embrace the Holy Spirit’s offer of renewal, fall to your knees and give your life to Jesus. He is the way, the truth, and the life and there is not, nor will there ever be, an alternate route.

“Every divine action begins from the Father, proceeds through the Son, and is completed in the Holy Spirit.” - Saint Basil

Amos 1:2 7/2/2024

“He said, “The LORD roars from Zion And from Jerusalem He utters His voice;...”

When I was in Africa, I heard a lion roar … Not in the zoo… a wild roar.  I felt it more than I heard it, and it brought an immediate sense of dread.  Amos uses the awesomeness of that encounter to illustrate the intensity of God’s response to sin. 

In this book, Amos is delivering judgement from the Lord. There are five offenses in the first chapter that describe abuses of God’s chosen people … At the time they occur, God doesn’t send lightning, or unleash angels … But God is now preparing to roar His response. Amos is going to reveal a side of God we have conveniently disregarded today.  God is Holy… His justice is unbending, and there is no terror like that of sinners in the path of His wrath.

Ezekiel, Joel, and now Amos – all bring the same message of The Warrior God and the terrible price exacted for our depravity. God’s fury is staggering…. His response is a Roar of vengeance… a clap of thunder signaling the coming storm of retribution. This Holy God of Armies is not the one we hear preached from the pulpit very often, and perhaps because of that, we have become comfortable and stopped working out our salvation with fear and trembling.

We call sin a mistake, recite a little prayer … and continue with our day. But sin is the most abhorrent, repulsive act a man can commit… We must get our heads around that. You cannot grasp the love of God until you understand the horrific stench of sin… You can’t understand grace until you comprehend what you have been forgiven of…. 

You didn’t make a mistake; you spit in the face of God.  You arrogantly rebelled and declared yourself King . Your willful sin was the reason for the torturous death of His Son.  You should recoil at the remembrance of your wickedness… you should spit the word “sin” out of your mouth like poison.  It is important that you understand the lethalness of the disease - so you can appreciate the miraculous power of the cure. 

"This day, my God, I hate sin not because it damns me, but because it has done Thee wrong. To have grieved my God is the worst grief to me."
- C.H. Spurgeon

Mark 16:-7 6/25/2024

“But he said to them, “Do not be amazed; you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen; He is not here; see, here is the place where they laid Him.  But go, tell His disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see Him, just as He told you.’”

After the Sabbath, the ladies brought spices to the tomb to anoint  Jesus’ body. But when they got there Jesus was gone and there was an angel sitting in the tomb waiting on them. There are multiple lessons here, but this morning, let’s look at one beautiful nugget of truth hidden in this passage.  

Look carefully at what the angel said to the women, ”Go, tell His disciples and Peter”… Why is that significant?  Why would the angel single out Peter?  Perhaps it was because the last time Peter saw Jesus, he had completely failed him.  Peter had cussed out a servant girl and swore he didn’t know who Jesus was. He had denied his Savior. And Jesus saw him do it.

Still, during the most pivotal moment in history,  God directed His Angel to mentioned Peter by name to those at the tomb so Peter would know,  and the disciples would know,  that Peter was still on the team. 

That is powerful. It assures Christians that  – when we fail, God doesn’t canceled us.  During  your greatest collapse, He won’t turn His back on you… in your worst moment,  you’re still His child. Win or lose … walk righteously or stumble… Nothing changes His love for you.

There will be times you fall  – But there will never be a time you are not loved… So, get up, grab His hand, and keep going.  Ignore the lie that you are now unusable… God is a God of details.  And the detail of including Peter by name after his worst failure… is a beautiful picture of the Heart of the Father.  You are still loved, you’re still useful, and you’re still on the team. 

"For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." -  God  (Romans 8)

2 Peter 2:13-16 6/18/2024

“…They are stains and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions as they feast with you,  having eyes full of adultery that never cease from sin, enticing unstable souls, having hearts trained in greed, accursed children;  abandoning the right way, they have gone astray, having followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved the reward of unrighteousness;  but he received a rebuke for his own offense, for a mute donkey, speaking with a human voice, restrained the insanity of the prophet.”

Peter goes on a riff describing the evil “prophets” of his day … and it sounds so much like America it is frightening. Our society is developing creative ways to sin, renaming it, and proclaiming it normal, and you are labeled a problem if you disagree.

We have become arrogant and ignorant believing we determine the truth… We make up our own facts… cherry-picking our convictions -  and reject God’s Word as our compass.  Claiming to be wise, we have become fools… But as Christians we must stand on truth...  Do I?  Am I a  mouthpiece for God … or am I part of the problem?  Am I walking the tightrope between truth and popularity? Am I becoming like Balaam, in need of a donkey to restrain my insanity of preaching what the world wants to hear?

 What about you?  Are you pursuing God’s plan with God’s truth - or are you pursuing your plan with your “truth”?

The first commandment is that there is One God – That means His word IS TRUTH.  If you change His Word to make it less offensive,  it is like watering down medicine – it may taste better, but it won’t heal your illness.

No one intends to destroy their lives with debauchery, baseless “facts”, and pretending to be their own God.… yet it happens all the time.

That pattern started in the garden with our first failed attempt at being a deity, and creating and following our own “truths”… 

There is a God… and it’s not you…  You don’t argue, debate or negotiate with the omnipotent Creator of the Universe… So, wake up, and abandon the insanity of relativism. Follow the only truth that emanates from the only God and is clearly written in His Word.

“We must not allow our emotions to hold sway over our minds… Our emotions must become subservient to the truth.” - Jerry Bridges 

Revelation 8 6/11/2024

 “When the Lamb broke the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.”

Will this be the first time there will be no sound in Heaven? One half hour of quiet… Will the four-winged creatures in Revelation stop saying Holy, Holy, Holy?  Will there be no praises, no prayers from the saints, no singing? …. Just an ominous threatening silence. What a frightening moment that for the first time ever there will be silence as God prepares to judge the world.

I am disgusted as I imagine the mask wearing and finger pointing on earth when the trumpets begin to sound – As judgement comes our self-centeredness and decadence will be put on full display and we will do as we always have… blame others. But when the 7th seal is broken there will be no excuses or blaming…  and instead of being disgusted at the hypocrisy on earth I need to be sure I eliminate any trace of that hypocrisy in me. 

This passage is a prophecy, and it will be fulfilled exactly as it is presented here - just like so many others in the bible already have been. Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. God is “love”, but this confuses us because we miss define love.  We think of God as a feeble heavenly grandfather and that does not describe the omnipotent Lord of Armies we see in Revelation. Holiness is a requirement if we wish to be in the presence of The Lord.  

This chapter makes it clear that judgement is coming…  it won’t be relative… there will be no grading on the curve. There is a holiness required that can only be met by the saving grace of Jesus Christ… it is free, but it is priceless.  I need to be working out my salvation with fear and trembling – relying wholly on the blood Jesus shed on the cross… and letting my conduct reveal that fact. The thirty minutes of silence is coming… What you do now will determine what you hear after that…  Accept His grace and let it be “well done good and faithful servant.” 

“All the grace contained in the Bible is owing to Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior; and, unless we consent to Him as our Lord we cannot expect any benefit by Him as our Savior.” – Matthew Henry

John 13:34 -35 6/4/2024

“I am giving you a new commandment, that you love one another… By this all people will know that you are My disciples…”

Most of us have heard these verses. What many people don’t realize however, are the circumstances surrounding this “new” commandment. Jesus didn’t say this when everything was “hunky-dory”… in fact, the world was coming apart at the seams… Just prior to this,  Judas had left dinner to betray Jesus, Christ would soon have His heart broken by His close friend ...The disciples also would suffer. Their world was about to be shattered by the arrest, trials, and crucifixion of their Savior and friend. 

So, there is a massive impending crisis and what does Jesus do?  He didn’t specify survival techniques; He didn’t outline a political campaign. The game plan appeared to be that they would look the  storm in the eye and love each other better.  He reinforced  it by saying it would be that love that identifies who they belong to.  

If you check the news today, it appears our world is on fire – God says to love one another better… All this click generating panic is not from God. Sure, we should educate ourselves and stand for truth, but our countenance must be of men who trust that God is omnipotent in every circumstance… There is no fear in love and if we rely on His power, we will walk confidently, trusting HIS plans, not ours. 

Jesus says this love is our ID card. People will know I am a “Christian”, Not by my debate skills, but because I fearlessly love others.  

It doesn’t mean we acquiesce to cultural norms; it doesn’t mean we blindly follow instructions… It just means that every plan must clear the standard of loving God and loving others prior to us acting on them.  

Everything I do must be generated by an unfaltering faith in God’s power to mitigate the outcome, and an unfailing love for His children. That will give me the peace and confidence that should flow from all believers, and it will give me the assurance needed to abandon anxiety and instead display this “new” command of loving others. This was Jesus’ answer to the crisis… will I follow it?

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God…“
– God (Isaiah 41:10)

Esther 8:8 5/28/2024

“Now write another decree in the king’s name in behalf of the Jews as seems best to you, and seal it with the king’s signet ring — for no document written in the king’s name and sealed with his ring can be revoked.”

Earlier in Esther,  an irrevocable decree had gone out from Haman to kill all the Jews. But when the king learned the truth, he gave the same irrevocable power to Mordecai.  He did not revoke the edict sent out by Haman… so the danger was still present.  But the  king instructed Mordecai to meet the danger by writing his own decree. 

So, Mordecai summons the royal secretaries. He brings in specialists. He strategically chooses what to write and who to send it to. Then gives it to the fastest riders, and with this new decree God diverted catastrophic injury to His people, just in the nick of time.

What calamity is God in the process of delivering you from?  What battle are you currently fighting?  Just remember that when  God moves, He doesn’t always remove the danger… sometimes He gives us a way to meet it. Mordecai’s decree didn’t eliminate the threat, but it allowed the Jews to prepare for it and defend themselves…. It also revealed that the Queen was a Jew and increased their political power so that many joined their ranks.

God does not always remove us from danger.  Sometimes He provides opportunity,  courage, and strength to fight through it.  Neither fear nor panic are in His playbook, and  It is never too late for God to turn the tables.  In this case all that was needed  was for Mordecai to hold to his convictions, and Esther to be courageous enough to approach the king. 

If you are facing adversity that seems unavoidable, hold your course.  Cling to your convictions and be strong and courageous enough to approach the King knowing He will have a plan. 

If Faith is defined as the evidence of things not seen… then what you’re looking at isn’t what matters… What matters is your faith in what you haven’t seen….Yet.  Hold on, have the courage to look the storm in the eye, keep walking straight, and stand in faith until the rain subsides. 

"True faith rests upon the character of God and asks no further proof than the moral perfections of the One who cannot lie." — A.W. Tozer