Joel 2:12-14
12 “Yet even now,” declares the Lord,
“return to me with all your heart,
with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
13 and rend your hearts and not your garments.”
Return to the Lord your God,
for he is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love;
and he relents over disaster.
14 Who knows whether he will not turn and relent,
and leave a blessing behind him,
a grain offering and a drink offering
for the Lord your God?
There are many running themes in the Bible. We regularly see God show us his holiness and perfection. We regularly see the theme of sacrificial substitution in which one life is given for the sake of another. We see a running and building plan of the promised Messiah coming to rescue. We see the theme of the curse of sin and the power of God pushing back the darkness.
Here in Joel 2, we see a beautiful theme that shows up time and time again in Scripture—Old Testament and New Testament. We see the theme of the mercy of God offered to those who will come to him in faith and repentance. Yes, this passage is directly about the life of the people in Judah. But, it is a perfect depiction of the merciful character of God toward all who will turn to him.
In Joel’s prophecy, the people of God have faced tremendous hardships. Enemy armies and a locust plague have ruined the land. There appears to be no hope for any sort of a future for the people of Judah. And, the book lets us know that the people have faced this destruction because of their sin against the Lord. This is righteous judgment that they are suffering.
But God says, “Yet even now.” Even now, if you will see your sin and turn from it, there is hope. Even now, if you will let go of selfishness and self-determination and yield to the rule of the Lord, there is hope. Even now, after great damage has been done, damage caused by the hateful rebellion of the people, God offers restoration. If the people will turn from their sin and seek the mercy of God, he will rebuild them to such a place that they will again be able to worship him and see his favor.
Later, in verse 25 of Joel 2, the Lord promises, “I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten.” If the people will repent and return to the Lord, God tells them that he will restore to them the damage done by the judgment they earned.
The Lord is a restoring, forgiving, loving, merciful God. That is as common a theme in Scripture as any other. God will judge, there is no doubt about that. But God will forgive those who come to him and get under his rule, seeking his mercy. God is gracious and he makes the way for us to be forgiven. Whatever their losses, whatever their pain, the blessings of repentance will more than make up for the hardship.
What a joy it is to grasp that God restores. Repentance is not merely a doleful turning away from our failings to live with our sorrow. No, repentance is a move toward the Lord who tells us that he can give us back far more than we lost in our failings. He will give us back far more than we earned in his judgment. He will heal our wounds, salve our hearts, and grant to us a future under his care.
Have you ever thought that you have so ruined your life with your failings that you have no future? Hope in the concept of the kind mercies of God. He welcomes us back. He tells you and me, “even now…” He will forgive when we return. He will restore. He will rebuild our lives. No, we may not see all that restoration on this side of eternity, but the Lord will not leave his people hanging. He will be kind. He will do good. He will give comfort and joy. Return and find restoration in the grace of our wonderfully merciful Lord.
How do you do this? If you are outside of the grace of God, find his mercy by turning from sin and receiving Christ as Savior and Lord. If you are in Christ, find God’s healing by repenting of sin and trusting that he can fix your future.
The Tenderness of God in an Old Testament Text (Hosea 11:8-9)
Hosea 11:8-9
8 How can I give you up, O Ephraim?
How can I hand you over, O Israel?
How can I make you like Admah?
How can I treat you like Zeboiim?
My heart recoils within me;
my compassion grows warm and tender.
9 I will not execute my burning anger;
I will not again destroy Ephraim;
for I am God and not a man,
the Holy One in your midst,
and I will not come in wrath.
In the early lines of the book of Hosea, we see God compare the northern kingdom of Israel (Ephraim) to an adulterous woman. In fact, the memorable tableau of Hosea and Gomer, a man married to a wife who willingly chooses a life of prostitution instead of faithfulness is intended to mirror the sadness of Israel’s faithlessness. God shows that those people willingly and repeatedly betrayed him, regardless of his kindness and faithfulness to them.
Of course, the Old Testament is full of the prophesies of the judgment of God that will fall on that people who turned away from the Lord. He promised them judgment for unfaithfulness before he ever entered into covenant relationship with them. The consequences of rebellion against God were part of the terms of the covenant between God and national Israel.
If we are not careful, we will read those Old Testament promises of judgment, and we will consider God to be harsh. After all, we like to think that we would be gentle and understanding if we were the ones in charge. Yet, a faithful look at the Old Testament shows us that God is truly a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love.
Notice in the verses above the sweet kindness of the Lord. His compassion is stirred toward his people. He willingly withholds the judgment that the people have more than earned. He does not enjoy doing to them what the terms of the covenant require.
Now, let us not read the words above as though God will not judge. We must not assume that the patience of the Lord and the compassion of our God somehow do away with his justice. He will be just. But, he is gloriously compassionate.
Let the words of Hosea 11:8-9 melt into your understanding of the kindness of God and the glory of the gospel. The conflict in Scripture is not one of God seeking more people to condemn and loving to crush people. Instead, the conflict in Scripture is the question of how can God exercise compassion while still fulfilling his justice. In the case of Israel and in the case of humanity, the answer is the same: the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Our God has tender compassion toward those who have rebelled against him. He will judge us if we refuse him. However, God has chosen to show us his kindness by taking upon himself his right wrath for sin. Thus, we can be forgiven because of the justice of God poured out on his own Son. God’s love is incredible. His justice is perfect. His tenderness is overwhelming. And all this is present right here in the Old Testament words of God to Israel.
Why My Kids Do Not Believe in Santa
My children do not believe in Santa Claus. To some, this is an obvious move. To others, this is a shock. What’s the deal? Am I some sort of anti-holiday Scrooge? Am I some sort of overzealous fundamentalist? Why in the world would I not have my little ones believe in Santa?
I am probably asked every year about what our family has decided to do about Santa at Christmas time. And, every year, I share a version of this post to try to explain the process that my wife and I went through in deciding our answer to the big question: To Santa or not to Santa.
Since you know the answer already, let me very briefly tell you the reasoning that made the no Santa policy in my home. Then, I will share with you a bit of how we deal with Santa.
Christmas is a holiday that has been highly over-commercialized in the US for years. People focus on winter, on trees, on lights, on gifts, and not on Jesus. And you know what, none of those are the reasons why my family did not tell my children that Santa was real.
Here is my bottom line reasoning: If I tell my children to believe in a figure that they cannot see, that he watches them from afar, that he judges their motives and actions, that he has supernatural powers, and that he will visit them with gifts every Christmas, they will eventually find out that I have intentionally told them to believe in something that is not true. This fact will not do much for my credibility in telling them true things about God, who is invisible to them, who watches over them though they cannot sense it, who judges their thoughts and actions, and who will bless them with eternal blessings if they will follow Christ. So, simply put, my wife and I have determined that we will never tell our children that something is true when it is not, because it is far too important that they be able to believe us when we tell them some things are true that they cannot see.
How do we deal with Santa and Santa stuff? It’s quite simple. Ever since Abigail was tiny, we have worked to distinguish the difference between true stories and pretend ones. In our house, if a story begins with “A long time ago…,” it is a true story. If a story begins with, “Once upon a time…,” it is a pretend story. The kids have done surprisingly well making those distinctions. They can still enjoy the stories that they know are not real just as any children can.
Since my children have no trouble enjoying that which they know not to be real, my wife and I do not get all crabby when a family member wraps a Christmas gift and puts “From: Santa” on the label. We do not find ourselves upset when they want a musical Rudolph toy from Wal-Mart. We do not get bent out of shape when a Santa ornament makes its way onto a tree near us. We don’t even mind taking snapshots of them sitting on the knee of a portly, bearded guy in a red, fuzzy suit once a year.
I think that you can tell from what I’ve already written, but just in case it is not clear, Mitzi and I do not look at our decision about Santa as the only possible one. This is a matter of conscience and preference. There is not Scripture that states, “Thou shalt not ho, ho, ho.” I grew up believing in Santa, and it really didn’t harm my worldview that much (so far as I can tell). But, for me and my house, we have simply made a decision that we want our children to know that Mommy and Daddy will always tell them the truth, and that trumps our desires to have beaming little people listening for sleigh bells on Christmas Eve.
Oh, and in case you are wondering, we also try our best to keep our children from being the ones who spoil it for others. Abigail and Josiah have both been told in no uncertain terms that they are not to make it their mission to correct the Santaology of other children. They have answered truthfully when asked by other little ones, but they, to my knowledge, have never tried to be anti-Santa evangelists. So far, so good. We’ll have to see how Owen handles it when he is old enough to play the spoiler role.
Hear my heart as I wrap up this post. I am not here attempting to change any family’s plans for how to handle Christmas. Nor am I asking any person not to do Santa things with my little ones. Nor am I suggesting that, if you have just watched a Claymation special with your kids that you have ruined their spiritual chances for the future. So, please, no cranky comments defending your traditions. Santa stuff is a lot of fun. I love fun stories and the joy of imagination. (We even watch Harry Potter every year around the Christmas season simply because the music feels Christmassy to us; so obviously we are not the strict, non-fiction parents that you might be imagining.) But, since many ask, here is the answer: we have made a choice to be able to tell our children that, when mom and dad say something is real, we fully believe it to be real.
Is the Faith Complicated?
2 John 5-6 – 5 And now I ask you, dear lady—not as though I were writing you a new commandment, but the one we have had from the beginning—that we love one another. 6 And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it.
How complicated is Christianity? If you ask some people about the Scriptures or about going deep with God, you would think that our faith is such a great and abiding mystery that only the experts could understand it. Some would make it appear that the Bible is such a difficult thing to handle that, without a special type of gifting that elevates you beyond the reach of the average Christian, you will never get it.
Can I suggest to you that such has never been the intent of God. The Lord has never tried to make the faith inaccessible to any who are genuinely his. God wants you to be able to read the Bible, understand the Bible, and obey the Bible. And, if this is God’s will, it is clear that, though the Bible has some complicated parts, it is most certainly not inaccessible to the average Christian who is willing to give it a fair reading and obey its commands.
Take the text above. John is writing a letter to a church full of people he knows and cares about It is the second-shortest letter in the New Testament. John has little to say, but he wants to say it clearly. And what profound mysteries will the apostle open to the local church?
Look at the two verses above and ask yourself what they mean. Are they hard? No, they are not. There are two commands, two sides of the same coin. John calls the local church to love one another and to do so by obeying the commands of God.
Loving one another is nothing new to biblical teaching. The latter six of the Ten Commandments are about loving others. Honestly, the interpretation of the Sabbath command in Deuteronomy also places that command’s purpose in love for one’s household. So much of the civil law of the Old Testament is about loving others and treating them with fairness and kindness. And, of course, we know that Jesus and the apostles regularly called his followers to love one another.
Of course, we must separate the command to love from the sappy, anything goes, never judge, false foolishness of our modern society. Loving another person is to be committed to do them good. Thus, loving is not mere emotion. Loving is carrying out the commitment to another’s good.
How, then, do we love? We love by obeying God’s commands as verse 6 above tells us. When we love other people, we do what the word of God commands us to do. Thus, we treat people with kindness and charity. We correct our friends who are going astray. We pray for those who are hurting. We weep with those who weep. We share the gospel with the lost. We love by doing the very things that God repeatedly tells us to do.
Nothing about the commands above is hard to understand. I’ll grant you, they are hard to do. It is hard to love when our natures are to be selfish. It is hard to obey when battling down the flesh. But, make no mistake, this is not hard to grasp. The word of God is clear and simple.
Friends, so often, Christianity is summed up with the call to love God with all you’ve got and love your neighbor as yourself (cf. Matthew 22:37-40). If you grasp the truth of the gospel and the call to love God and others, you’ll pretty much have it figured out.
Don’t miss the gospel here. The Bible teaches that we are sinners who need their sin to be forgiven. We cannot do enough good, not even enough loving of others, to earn forgiveness. Instead, we must throw ourselves on the mercy of the court by receiving the gift of forgiveness in Christ. Jesus God who came to earth, lived a perfect life, died a sacrificial death, and rose from the grave. If we trust in Jesus and turn from our sin and self-determination, we will be saved. As Jesus and his followers have said from the beginning, we must repent and believe to be saved.
But, once you’ve got the gospel, the rest must not be thought of as so hard as to turn any Christian away from Scripture. Love God. Love others. Obey the commands of God. Yes, there will be a few categories that require some thinking: election, end times, the problem of evil, painful sin issues, etc. However, for the most part, we must understand that God gave us a faith that is able to be received by a child and understood by non-scholars. Be confident, then, that God’s word is accessible to all of God’s children. And, when all else is hard, fall back on loving God, loving others, and obeying God’s commands for God’s glory.
My Ten Favorite Reads of 2016
Since we’ve made the end of another year, I thought I’d join the list of folks who are sharing their top reads from 2016. I’ll not include my favorite fiction, as fiction is just too hard to recommend. But here are ten of my favorite non-fiction books I read this year, and, no, they were not generally published in 2016.
Decision Making and the Will of God: A Biblical Alternative to the Traditional View
Friesen, Gary
Discerning the will of God is a vital topic. It is also a topic which I believe confuses many believers. Friesen’s work is the gold standard for discussions of this topic from a non-mystical point of view. This is the kind of book that is easy to read, but which would also make a fine group study.
Church History in Plain Language
Shelley, Bruce L.
It is simply good for believers to work through church history from time to time. It is vital for us to realize that the doctrines we hold dear do not arise from a vacuum. Instead, many of the things that distinguish who we are as believers have arisen out of some very significant events. This book is, as its title suggest, simple. However, it is helpful and digestible, and it was a fun casual read.
The Heart of Revelation
Duvall, J. Scott
I loved reading this book simply because it was a book on Revelation that was not trying to draw for me a timeline or argue about the same old topics. While I believe that end times discussions are important, I also understand that the Book of Revelation is intended by God to reveal to us his character and victory. This book does a wonderful job of helping us look at the book of Revelation in a fresh light without bogging us down in the arguments so often present. [my review]
Counseling the Hard Cases: True Stories Illustrating the Sufficiency of God’s Resources in Scripture
Scott, Stuart
I like to be sure that I read in the biblical counseling field from time to time. I do not believe that there is anyone better to read here than Stewart Scott. This author presents unwaveringly biblical counsel in real world situations with compassion and understanding. Scott’s work is also a great example of how real, biblical counsel can help people to walk through issues which many Christians might believe unsolvable.
The Doctrine of Repentance (Puritan Paperbacks)
Watson, Thomas
I’m not sure if I enjoy reading Puritan books more for the overall truth they present or the powerful quotes that pierce my heart. Either way, this was a powerful classic on a topic so often ignored in modern days.
Unparalleled: How Christianity’s Uniqueness Makes It Compelling
Wilson, Jared C.
I just happily read anything from Wilson. He writes with such reality and such grace. [my review]
Living in the Light: Money, Sex and Power
Piper, John
I think I enjoyed this book because it was written from a retired pastor who can now speak these truths to us with the wisdom and compassion of many years of faithful service. It is not a prudish or a salacious book, but a helpful one that I would recommend to anybody. [my review]
The Search for God and Guinness: A Biography of the Beer that Changed the World
Mansfield, Stephen
I never expected to read this one, but since it was on a nice sale on Kindle, I gave it a shot. This was a great example of how a Christian might order his family life and business to make a difference in the world around him. Yes, this book is about Guinness, the beer and the family. However, the picture in this book of a family that impacted their world for good in a way that many would never have expected makes this a very interesting historical read.
Can I Smoke Pot?: Marijuana in Light of Scripture
Breeden, Tom
Cruciform press puts out short, readable, and helpful books. I would not say that this book is the last word on the topic of marijuana in the life of the church. However, it is good that somebody had the courage to write the first word in such a short and accessible format. As the use of marijuana becomes more broadly legal in the United States, Christians need to think this issue through and not ignore the need for us to have responses to the hard questions.
Divorce
Murray, John
This was one of those books that I have had on my list of books to read for years. Whenever you read a book on Divorce or on remarriage in the Christian community, Murray’s book is always in the bibliography. Murray is thorough and compassionate while handling a very hard topic.
These were some of my favorites from this past year. What were some of yours?
Above All Else?
Psalm 138 (ESV)
I bow down toward your holy temple
and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness,
for you have exalted above all things
your name and your word.
Whenever I find myself reading a book or watching a movie with my kids, I always catch myself pointing out to them moments of significance. I want them not to miss the clues in the mystery or the signs that a good guy is about to turn bad. I want them to see the moments that are supposed to be important.
From time to time, we come across a thought, a moment, or a verse in Scripture that we simply do not want to let pass without noticing it. And, if we are not careful, those moments will slide past us in our daily readings without us stopping to consider them.
Psalm 138:2 is one of those verses that, if we are not careful, will fly by. In the verse above, we see the statement, “for you have exalted above all things your name and your word.” Right there, we see what God has exalted, what he has raised up as most important. What is above all to the Lord? What does God value most?
In the verse, it is plain that God has set above all other things his name and his word. The name of the Lord is his reputation, his actual character. God has declared who he is to be more important than anything else. God’s glory, his person, his personal attributes, his nature is more important than any other thing that you or I can think of.
In tandem with God’s name, the Lord has exalted his word. His commands and the holy Scriptures are of highest importance. Other things in this life are less important. God’s communication of himself to mankind is of inestimable value.
It is likely that most of us know that God’s name and his word are valuable above all else. But, what is the significance of this truth. If God really meant what he inspired in Psalm 138:2, what does it change. How does it impact how you and I view the world? How does it shape our churches, our worship services, our priorities? How does it impact how we interact with the culture around us? How does it help us to grasp our responsibility in conflicts?
What would it look like in your life if the name and word of God were your top priorities? How would it impact your worship attendance? How would it impact what you value in the worship services? How would it impact how you use your time? How would it impact your career choices?
To those who are outside of the faith, this concept of God exalting his name and word above all is a completely foreign concept. This truth alone is why a truly secular state will never balance with Christianity. The state will not understand how genuine Christians will be required to turn away from what others consider to be the flow of history and cling to the Scriptures for our values.
Honestly, even among Christians, there will be issues. Many churches exalt other things above the name and word of God. Evangelism, social good, community service, programs, performances, activities, all are good and important things. However, if we are not careful, we can allow those activities to outshine the way that the church honors the Lord and holds fast to his word.
Consider how the exaltation of God’s name and word must impact a church’s response to sin in the lives of her members. Of course, we will be gracious and loving to our people, just as God has commanded in his word. However, the church cannot counsel a person to do what Scripture has forbidden. Nor can a church ignore it when her members refuse to follow the word. Thus, loving, restorative confrontation is part of the life of a church for the sake of the name and word of God.
On and on we could go, but the point is clear: God’s name and God’s word are number one. Thus, we exist for his glory. We obey his word. Our churches exist for that worship and word of God. We must not let this slide past us in our reading. We must genuinely consider what it will look like to live under God’s priority structure.
10 Responses to Election 2016 to Bring about Healing
Today I live in a world I could never have predicted just a few years ago. My family and I live in Las Vegas—a far cry from the Midwest of my childhood—The Chicago Cubs are World Series champions, and Donald Trump has won the presidency of the United States of America.
With my inability to predict the future understood, I believe that there are a few things I can rightly predict. The transition to this new presidency is not going to be easy. As many have rightly noted, this election promised to present us with the most divided nation post-election for over a century. Polls showed us that well over half of voting Americans did not trust either candidate. Many argue that the result of the 2016 presidential election is about a rejection of one candidate and party far more than it is about the embracing of another.
Even among conservative Christians, how this election unfolded was difficult to watch. Some Christians voted for Trump, reasoning that a vote for him at least stood a chance of protecting life and religious liberty. Other Christians, citing Trump’s previous lack of character, could not cast a vote for him with a clear conscience. Even others chose to vote for Hillary, declaring that they would prefer to face the known quantity of a leftist White House over the unknown and unpredictable future of Mr. Trump. And the social media storms bombarded us for months before everything went crazy on election day.
Now we find ourselves in a place few of us thought would come. We have seen college students plan “cry ins” to express their sorrow over the president-elect. We have seen name calling on social media again. We have seen gloating. We have seen loving, welcoming humility. We have seen rioting.
The question for us cannot be about what we wish would have happened. The right posture is not to gloat if what we wanted to happen took place. Neither is the right posture to have a fit if what we did not want to happen took place. Instead, the right move, from this point forward, is to behave with character and civility.
The outcome of this election has given us a great opportunity to learn about ourselves, about our friends and neighbors, about those who oppose us, and about the sovereignty of God. And with that in mind, I want to share a set of 10 things that we need to think or do, to avoid thinking or not do, as we move forward in the desire to heal a nation and glorify our God.
1. Learn to have civilized conversation and disagreement.
In the election cycle, we often commented that this is one of the ugliest, one of the nastiest elections in memory. And I believe that people of both parties and of no party were disgusted by the base cruelty of what happened.
Proverbs 15:1 – A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
May we learn from this season that positive ground is not gained by ugly, nasty, mean speech.
2. Follow the golden rule.
Matthew 7:12 – “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.”
Jesus called us to intentionally and actively treat other people in the same way that we want them to treat us. Consider that as you decide to talk about the election. How would you want people talking around you if the outcome you did not want came to pass? How would you want to hear people talk about the outcome if the outcome you wanted came to pass? What assumptions do you want people to make about your character, your intellect, and your motivation? Please, to honor the Lord, do not treat people in a way that you would not welcome. That does not mean that you cannot disagree. However, it does mean that you cannot disagree in a harsh, judgmental, cruel way. It does not mean that you cannot argue for your point of view. It does mean, however, that you cannot argue unfairly.
3. Never present another person’s position in a way that that person would not agree is their position.
Exodus 20:16- “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”
One of the best lessons I ever learned in discussing difficult topics with people who disagree with me is that it never helps for me to present a strawman argument. It does nobody any good if one party in an argument argues against a position that is actually not held by the other person. Before you attempt to persuade someone that their position is incorrect, you must first do them the courtesy of being sure that you and they both agree on what their position is. Otherwise, you are bearing false witness against them, accusing them of holding a position they do not hold, likely for reasons they do not agree are their reasons.
4. Do not give into the childish belief that those who disagree with you are always completely motivated by evil.
It is a childish thing to believe that every thought and motive of your opponents in a political discussion are all dark and malevolent. Not everyone who disagrees with you has a sinister plot. Even people who hold positions with which you vehemently disagree probably do not hold those positions out of utter stupidity or cruelty. We will always communicate better if we can be sure that we present one another’s positions fairly. We gain no ground by arguing against a fictitious opponent. Neither do we gain ground by assuming that our side’s motives are always positive while the only thing that motivates the other side is evil or stupidity.
5. Listen.
James 1:19 – Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;
How do we avoid making the mistake of the previous point? We must participate in actual conversation with people with whom we disagree. I am not here suggesting that we find opportunities to argue. Instead, I am proposing that people of both sides ask questions of people with whom they disagree without trying to plan ways to score points. When is the last time that you just listened to the fears and feelings of someone who holds an opposite political view from you? When is the last time you listened without looking for a way to call them an idiot?
If you are part of the group who is happy with how this election went, know that there are many people walking around in a daze today, unable to believe what has just happened. Talk to them. Even better, listen. Listen to what they are feeling. Listen to why they are afraid. Let them know that you are hearing them and that you care, even if you cannot agree with their point of view.
If you are distraught at the results of the election, find someone who is not. Listen to them. Hear why it is that they can be happy at the unforeseen turn of events that led Donald Trump to the presidency. I am certain that you will learn something new. If the entire news media could not imagine how President-Elect Trump could gain the votes he did, obviously there is a disconnect in the ways many people in our nation see the state of our nation and our culture. If you assume that everybody is mortified by a Trump presidency, you are obviously not in touch with the reality of the votes cast. People voted for Donald Trump on purpose. If you cannot imagine why, you should ask someone without trying to make it into a fight.
We would do much better if we put forth an effort to get to know people who disagree with us as actual people. As I saw someone say on Twitter, If you do not know someone who is excited at the outcome of the election and somebody who is distraught over the outcome of the election, you need to broaden your circle of friends.
6. Do not gloat.
Bragging is obnoxious. We gain nothing by rubbing a result we like in other’s faces.
7. Do not disrespect the leader.
Neither do we gain any ground by making nasty and disrespectful remarks about our leaders. God called his people in Romans 13 to respond rightly to government. When we realize how corrupt and evil that government was, we realize that Paul was not telling us to speak nicely about leaders we like and blast leaders we do not. We are to show respect for the office and to pray for its occupant. We want leaders who will protect the righteous and punish the criminal in our society. May our leaders have the wisdom and character to be a government that will lead our nation in a positive direction.
8. Pray for those you love
Are you happy with people around you who think as you do? Pray for them. Pray that they have the wisdom not to miss the opportunity God has given us to be peacemakers in this nation.
9. Pray for those you consider enemies.
What about those people who are on the other side from you? Pray for them too. Pray that God lead us all in his ways for his glory. Pray that God will help us treat each other with the dignity and respect that we should. Pray that God will rescue our nation from the judgment that we have so clearly earned.
10. Rest in the sovereignty of God.
Proverbs 21:1- The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will.
Before the election, I saw multiple posts reminding us that our future is not in the hands of a president, a congress, or a judiciary. Instead, the Lord is on his throne. He sets up leaders and removes them. He establishes nations and brings them down. He directs the hearts of kings like water in his hands. So, while it may feel like the world has turned inside-out in the past 24 hours, God is still on his throne.
It is impossible to predict what is to come in the next weeks and months in the United States. However, I believe that it is possible for us to hold strongly to our convictions, to press for the change that is right, and to treat others with a kindness that will lead to friendships, healing, and health in the nation moving forward.
MacArthur – Remember and Return – A Review
John MacArthur. Remember and return: Rekindling Your Love for the Savior—A Devotional. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2016. 205 pp. $10.43.
In Revelation 2:5, the Lord Jesus calls on the Ephesian church to remember the love that they once had for him and to repent, returning to that love. Two verses later, Jesus promised those believers who would return to him as their first love a great, heavenly reward. For all who know the Savior, there is a need for us to, from time to time, refocus our hearts on the glory of the Savior whose gospel we proclaim.
In Remember and Return, John MacArthur writes to call believers to return to their love of Christ. He attempts this task by writing a month-long, daily devotional for believers to help us to remember who the Savior really is and to reignite our spiritual love of our Lord.
This little devotional book is a very accessible, very readable devotional. The daily readings are around six pages of text. Most people could easily read through those pages in just a few minutes. Yet the concepts in each little chapter are certainly deep enough to call us to do some intense thinking about Jesus.
In many ways, this little book is a Christology, a theological study of the person and work of Jesus Christ. In each chapter, Dr. MacArthur highlights a theologically significant point about Jesus and calls us to consider that point in the light of our lives. Whether these points be the incarnation of Jesus, his sinless perfection, or another aspect of the biblical revelation about Jesus, each passage points the reader to an important and solid truth.
Some believers will have a criticism of this book simply due to its theological nature. Unlike many daily devotionals, this work by MacArthur is not an emotionally driven writing. For some who are more accustomed to less intellectual and more emotional daily readings, this book may feel dry. I would argue, however, that the dryness is not something that is the fault of the author so much as it is a symptom of modern Christianity’s fascination with warm emotional texts above solid truths of the faith.
I would happily recommend Remember and Return to Christian readers at all stages of Christian growth. The doctrines in this little book are solid. Very seldom does this book wade off into any area that would be considered controversial by a biblically-minded Christian. The book is helpful. Though, as I mentioned earlier, the content is not playing on the heart strings so much as it is a mental refresher on the glories of the Savior.
I received a free copy of this book from Baker Books as part of a reviewer’s program in exchange for an honest review.
Don’t Lose the Wonder (Job 38:1-5)
Job 38:1-5 (ESV)
1 Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:
2 “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?
3 Dress for action like a man;
I will question you, and you make it known to me.
4 “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
Tell me, if you have understanding.
5 Who determined its measurements—surely you know!
Or who stretched the line upon it?
This morning, I found myself pondering the questions that God put before Job. For context, Job had questioned the actions and ways of God, and God has come to respond. Rather than answering Job’s queries, the Lord has chosen to ask Job a few questions. When Job knows enough to understand the intricate workings of the universe, then the Lord will consider explaining himself to Job.
The next few chapters of Job will contain multiple questions from the Lord like the ones at the start of this section above. God asks Job where was he when God created the world and laid its foundations. He asks if Job can explain how the planet holds together, where the rain comes from, and how the light gets where it is going. Later, God will ask Job if he has the power to move the constellations through the night sky or capture the scariest of sea monsters.
What hit me as I pondered this passage is the fact that such questions should work. Such questions should humble us. Such questions should make us realize that, compared to the Lord over all creation, we know nothing. But, in our present culture, they don’t.
Take the beginning question from God. The Lord asks Job, ““Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth,” and “Who determined its measurements?” The Lord follows up with the sarcastic, “Surely you know!” God is pointing out to Job that this weak little man has no way of understanding the way that the universe is put together and held together and came into being in the first place.
Here is the problem, we think we know. We actually have become a people who believe that the questions that God put before Job are now easy. As a people, we believe that we can explain creation, the earth, and the stars. We think we know how it came together, and we assume God is not involved. The discoveries of science have made us so arrogant as not to learn from the wild mysteries that God put before Job.
Now, don’t take me as unscientific. I think we have learned much and can explain much. But no scientist has a plausible answer for the question of first cause. No scientist can explain why there is something rather than nothing. And even if a scientist has an explanation for how the planets flew into space, there is no explanation for what caused the cause.
May we, dear friends, become a people who can still marvel at the majesty of creation. God has done something that is far beyond us. You and I do not have the wisdom to know exactly how he created. Science is inadequate to explain it. That does not mean science is not a wonder in itself; it is just not ultimate. May we not lose the wonder in our arrogance.
God has created. He has put together a universe that is wonderfully ordered. He has made numbers work in ways in mathematics that boggle the mind. He has made planets turn in just the right way to shape the solar system as he wants it. He has created people for his glory. He has made atoms work. God has revealed his glory in creation, and we should marvel at this and not assume we can figure it all out. May we be humbled by the questions God used to humble Job.
Examine Yourself (2 Corinthians 13:5)
2 Corinthians 13:5 (ESV)
Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!
At the end of an extended correspondence with the church at Corinth, Paul plans for a visit. He wants to see to it that the church has returned to order and that the people have repented of immorality. And, as he prepares for his visit, Paul calls on the people to examine their own lives with the goal in mind of checking their salvation.
I would argue that this command is one of the least obeyed in the Scriptures in many circles. I grew up in churches where we were told, quite directly, never to question our salvation. We were to write down the date of our praying “the prayer” in our Bibles or on the pages of a gospel tract, and we were to never allow ourselves to question the veracity of that moment. I grew up in a world where claims of childhood conversion outweighed lifetimes of fruitlessness.
Interestingly, I do not believe that the doctrine of eternal security or perseverance of the saints has anything to do with the failings of those churches to obey 2 Corinthians 13:5. The blame for that lies elsewhere. In fact, I would argue that the blame for the failure to allow believers to question whether or not they are in the faith is based on a faulty understanding of the relationship of salvation and sanctification. If one believes that going to heaven is all about an individual’s decision or an individual’s prayer, then they will not allow a person to ever revisit the topic of salvation. However, if we understand that salvation is about the saving work of God, regeneration that leads to faith, then we will encourage people to examine themselves to see if their lives contain marks of conversion.
Regardless of one’s view of the sovereignty of God in salvation, all Christians should recognize that 2 Corinthians 13:5 is a command. Paul is asking people to examine their lives. He is not asking them to do a history check and see if they prayed a simple prayer at some point in their lives. In context, it is clear that he is asking them to look at the fruit of their lives, their present state of repentance and faith, to see if their lives look like the lives of people who have entrusted their souls to Christ and his saving work.
Let us, then, examine ourselves. Is your only hope for your eternity completely wrapped up in the person and finished work of Jesus? Are you believing that he died for your sins and rose from the grave? Have you asked him to forgive you and to rule your life? And, is there evidence that you are different, that you are moving into obedience of his word? Are you yielded to his lordship? Are you turning from sin and following the commands of God? Do you sorrow when you sin? Are you regularly repenting? Such things are marks of salvation.
Pastor Travis Peterson 