Only Believe

“Then spake Haggai the LORD’S messenger in the LORD’S message unto the people, saying, I [am] with you, saith the LORD.” (Hag 1:13 AV)

I love the book of Haggai.  It is a book of encouragement for a discouraged people.  Their problem was not lack of opportunity.  They had returned from captivity to rebuild the temple and walls of Jerusalem.  Their problem was not a lack of resources.  Their problem was not lack of permission or outside encouragement.  They were discouraged because the situation in which they found themselves did not meet the criteria they had in place.  They believed if God was in something, then it should look a certain way.  They believed if God was in it, whatever they produced would be an improvement on what they left.  The problem was, God had a plan different from their own.  They were discouraged because they didn’t see what God had in mind as better that what they had lost.  Their biggest problem was a simple dearth of faith.  They had none.  For several reasons, they simply did not believe God would do anything as He had in the past.  They left off building the temple and cared more for their own interests because they simply did not feel God was with them.  It doesn’t matter how we feel.  If God is not against us, then He is for us.  Period!

Reading the New Testament, especially the gospels, one is struck by how much the faith of those to whom Christ was sent determined in a large part what He could do for them.  Faith is the essence of human existence.  This is why God created mankind.  He desired a being capable of loving Him by faith.  Oft times, those to whom Christ was sent experienced no mighty miracle from Christ because they simply didn’t believe.  Matthew tells us, “And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.” (Mt 13:58 AV)  Israel limited the Holy One of Israel because they would not trust Him.  God, in His benevolence, could do anything He wants for us without our faith.  Yet, He placed that expectation for His glory and our good.  Imagine a child who got everything he ever needed or wanted without asking one time for anything!  Imagine that same child, when faced with a need or want, didn’t believe his parents would provide.  Can you imagine what that child would be as he grew older?  He could never trust anyone.

Movies based on the theme of faith are very popular.  Angels in the Outfield, Miracle on 34^th Street, The Bad News Bears, Rudy, Hoosiers, etc.  They all have a common theme.  Faith and belief had more to do with success than ability.  Not that God is a source of entertainment, mind you.  Nor should He be thought of in exactly the same light.  But we do see the human need to overcome by faith in something or someone.  This is the theme of Haggai.  This prophet pumped up God’s people by reminding them of the promises and ability of God.  He corrected their bad thinking and behavior.  But it didn’t stop there.  They needed to really believe God was with them.  Otherwise, the practices they put in place to overcome would not work.  They had to believe!  The same is true for us.  No matter what we face, we have to believe that God is with us.  He has never abandoned us.  He is not perpetually judging us.  He is not doing whatever He can to trip us up.  The thing about Haggai and Nehemiah is the devil uses the people of God and the enemies of God to discourage those who could do something for God.  Don’t let them!  God is with you no matter what you see or what others say!  God is with you!

 

 

God, The Sin-Tamer

“Who [is] a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth [in] mercy. He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.” (Mic 7:18-19 AV)

What a great promise.  In particular, I love the phrase, “he will subdue our iniquities”.  The promise above is to the remnant of Israel.  There is coming a time when God, in the person of the Messiah, will gather His people.  He will rule over them to make sin a hard thing to do.  For those who have trusted Christ, this is a welcomed event.  Accepting Christ as LORD and Savior requires repentance from sin.  It requires we see ourselves as completely and totally undone.  It means we must see our nature as God sees it.  We are completely depraved and in total need of God’s mercy and forgiveness.  If we trusted Christ, we came to the end of ourselves.  We concluded that sin was exacting a price too heavy to bear.  Most of all, it separated us from the almighty God.  We desired a restored relationship with the Father.  Sin is seen as the number one threat to our walk with God.  Those five words above mean all the world to someone who really wants to walk with God in obedience and faith.

On our ventures in door-to-door soul winning, inadvertently, we come upon a door with a large sign that says, “Beware of Dog”.  It is amusing to see whose turn it is to knock on the door.  Most of the time, the LORD has it perfectly timed, so our conversation regarding dogs coincides with the observation of whose turn it might be.  Usually, it is my partners.  I am terrified of dogs.  On a local blog, I read of two dogs that got loose.  They terrorized the neighborhood and attacked dogs and people.  What stuck out at me was one dog was a black lab.  What made this post a bit alarming was they and broken through a door going after the mailman, then turned on the neighborhood.  Wouldn’t you know it, but the next time we went soul-winning, we came across a home with a Pitbull and black lab?  They were violently aggressive.  They were hitting the picture window very hard.  I told my partner it would be best to leave a tract and go.  I trust the LORD.  I just don’t trust big and aggressive dogs.  Thinking these two dogs were the dogs I read about, it wasn’t beyond the possibility that these two dogs might be on us like a tick on a deer.  These two dogs, for the time being, were subdued.  At the very least, they were contained.

This is how we must view sin.  Sin is the one force that keeps us from truly appreciating and loving our God.  Lack of faith is another.  Some might argue that lack of faith, when faith could be exercised, is sin in itself.  Sin is like those two dogs.  Most of us put sin behind a fence or enclosure.  But they are still there.  It is not subdued.  It is contained.  The Bible gives us many ways in which to deal with sin.  One of them is to bring into captivity every thought that would exalt itself against the LORD.  The Bible also tells us to avoid any place or environment that would entice us towards sin.  These are all significant pieces of advice.  However, this is only containment.  Only God can subdue our sin.  Only loving God with our whole being can throw cold water on the fiery flames of temptation.  Only God can replace the evil desire of the heart.  This is for what the child of God prays.  This is for what he or she yearns for.  Glory is not just a place of peace and joy.  Heaven is a place where sin is forever abolished.  What a day that will be.  In the meantime, we can pray for the above promise.  We need not be a victim of temptation simply because we reside in a fallen body.  We have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, the word of God, and the fellowship of the saints.  We have an always present God.  Subduing our iniquities can be had today.  It can be had right now.

Evidence of Perception

"[Yet] the LORD will command his lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night his song [shall be] with me, [and] my prayer unto the God of my life.” (Ps 42:8 AV)

There are two points which stuck out at me.  The first being the song.  The song is singular, so it puzzled me.  If it was plural, it would make more sense.  If ‘song’ were ‘songs’, then I could equate it with all of scripture.  Yet, the word ‘song’ is singular.  So, being the pragmatist that I am, I wondered exactly what that ‘song’ might be and if I could memorize it, sing it, and be encouraged by it.  I thought that if I could identify that one song, then I could fall asleep with that tune in my mind and heart.  However, the song in singular because the subject of the song is singular.  His song is the song about Him and only Him.  It could be any song.  It could be How Great Thou Art, or Amazing Grace.  Any song that praises God for who and what He is would be His song, because it is about Him.  The second point can be found in the last four words of our verse.  There really is only one question to be asked here.  Who or what is the god of our life?  Is Jehovah God our God?  Or, is something else our God?  Our prayer is we can agree with our whole heart that God is the God of our life.  Maybe the song we sing or the manner and matter of what we pray indicates just who or what our God is.

I love the assurance this writer has that no matter what a day might bring, God’s lovingkindness will be a big part of it. Notice also it isn’t a onetime command.  It is an ongoing command.  Otherwise, His lovingkindness would be commanded in the morning.  Note it is commanded in the daytime.  Or, thinking of it another way, all our waking moments.  God’s lovingkindness is active and always present.  Our problem is one of perception.  We cannot see the lovingkindness of God because we are either overwhelmed by life, or because we chose to wear dark-colored glasses.  We are either a pessimist, or we lack the faith required to see reality as God sees it.  If the lovingkindness of God is commanded in the daytime, it includes all the day.  Not only when we think we need it the most.  It astounds me just how spiritually stunted God’s people can be.  We say we have faith.  In reality, we have very little of it.  We are tossed to and fro because we refuse to take God at His word.  Peter tells us God has given all things that pertain to LIFE and godliness.  We have all we need.  There is no more truth or revelation that will come if we pray hard enough.  It is all there.  God’s word has all the answers we will ever need.  We simply have to believe it.

So, if the LORD has said His lovingkindness is constant and active every moment our eyes are open, then that is reality.  Our perception of it doesn’t determine the reality of it.  We may be overwhelmed by the circumstances of life.  We may be beaten down by the opposition.  We may feel like a lint ball in a dryer.  But that doesn’t change what is.  Either God is good or He isn’t.  Either God exists or He doesn’t.  Either we are hopelessly cursed because God cannot, or will not, act on our behalf.  Or, God is a God of love and goodness.  All things work together for the good of those who love Him.  That is either true or false.  Either the word of God is true, or it is false.  It cannot be half one or half the other.  The writer can have a song of praise regarding God and prayer on his lips because he believes in, and sees, the lovingkindness of God.  If one or both are missing as we fall into sleep, then the fault lies in our blind eyes.  We cannot praise and pray because we refuse to see God’s lovingkindness that surrounds us every waking moment of our day.

LET

 “Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: and let such as love thy salvation say continually, Let God be magnified.” (Ps 70:4 AV)

It is those last three words that speak to me this morning.  Sounds simple enough and even a foregone conclusion.  However, we don’t always succeed.  Magnifying God is often reserved for church days.  Or, in the privacy of our cars, homes, or other secluded places.  We do not have an issue with having a come-a-part over the LORD as long as no one sees.  Magnifying God becomes a private thing.  We think that as long as we hold God dear in our hearts, pray often (mostly when we need something), or study, then we are magnifying the LORD to the degree He deserves.  But in reality, David is saying at the conclusion of his life that the whole duty of man is the magnify the LORD before all.  Not just ourselves.  The key word here is ‘let’.  Believe it or not, that one word holds the key to magnifying the LORD.  In all circumstances, letting is the key!

To let means to permit.  This tells us the reason the LORD is not magnified in all things is because we hinder what should come as a result of who God is and what God does.  Our own inhibitions stop us from magnifying the LORD in all things.  We do not magnify the LORD in all things because there are bigger things than the LORD.  There are things on our minds and hearts that compete with the LORD.  We do not retain God in all our thoughts.  We speak of that which is important to us.  We express the emotions that come naturally and easily.  We do not have an aversion to sharing other things.  We allow other things to be magnified.

There is another thought here to consider.  That being the first phrase.  As God’s people we seek joy and pleasure in everything but God alone.  God is a part of our pleasure.  He is one of many sources of joy.  What He is not is our chief joy.  He is not the sole source above all others.  We find our pleasure in relationships.  We find satisfaction in meeting goals or accomplishments. We find pleasure in the flesh.  We find joy in temporal things.  Our satisfaction comes from things of this life.  What we do not have is complete joy and contentment in the person of Jehovah!

Note there are three times David uses the word ‘let’.  Perhaps what David is trying to convey is the key to a life worth living is letting.  Allowing God to be the chiefist of all joys.  Allowing our salvation to be a blessing more than the mind can comprehend.  If these two are there, maybe the third ‘let’ will come more naturally.  A sizeable chunk of the Christian life is getting out of the way of the Holy Spirit’s work.  A large part of discipleship is learning to die.  The pure essence of Christlikeness is death to Self.  Or, as David puts it, ‘letting’.

Grace For This Rebel

“Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for men; yea, [for] the rebellious also, that the LORD God might dwell [among them].” (Ps 68:18 AV)

I am so blessed by the rebellious also receiving gifts from God!  Jesus went to the Cross for a rebel like me.  What follows that phrase is an even greater blessing.  Jesus went to the Cross and rose again that God might dwell among the rebellious!  WOW!  What a truth.  What a hope.  What a transformative promise.  As a parent, rebellious children are the last to receive any kind of favor.  The animosity is so thick between the parent and child, blessings are near to impossible.  For anyone to show compassion to another who is directly challenging his or her authority takes more grace than is humanly possible.  For the rebel to be humbled by the grace of God is something we cannot understand.  Yet it happens all the time.  Rebels are humbled.  Rebels accept Christ as their Savior.  I did!  More than forty years ago, this rebel was humbled, repented, sought the mercy of God, and called upon Jesus to save him.  And save him He did!

It took a few years, but the LORD impressed upon me to read His word from cover to cover.  When I did, the Spirit illuminated to my heart just how deeply rebellious I had been.  One cannot help, when comparing Self against the law of the Old Testament, just how wicked he or she is.  When the saint reads of the standards of holiness, righteousness, and godliness outlined in Leviticus and Deuteronomy, the conviction of heart is overwhelming.  Throw in Proverbs, and that same saint cannot even look himself or herself in the mirror.  We realize just how filthy we are.  Then the Spirit leads us to consider the nature of our choices.  Some are impulsive.  Most are not.  Most of our wicked choices are deliberate.  We know what the word of God says.  We are ministered to by the leading and conviction of the Holy Spirit.  Yet, we deliberately choose to disobey.  We do not consider the pure pleasure of the Father.  What would please Him the most?  What would He expect?  How would He feel if we walked in disobedience?  These questions are never asked of the rebel’s heart.  When we stop and think of just how far we are from Christlikeness, we shudder to think what might have been had in not been for the gifts which Jesus bought as He rose from the dead.

Those who love the LORD often look for motivation toward holiness.  The bible tells us that the goodness of God leads us to repentance.  It is difficult to continue in sin when God is being so gracious to us.  When we stop to consider that Jesus, because we are rebels, died and rose again that He might dwell with us, should be the greatest motivation toward godliness.  When someone we once despised gave His life for us, it is hard to rebel against Him.  Perhaps we need a reminder.  Perhaps we need to remember just what Jesus did for us and how little we deserve it.  Perhaps we shouldn’t take for granted the amazing grace Jesus had for us when we least deserved it.  If the above truth does not stir deep gratitude in the heart of the saint, we have a hardened heart.  If the above truth doesn’t renew within us a spirit of striving even more after godliness, then nothing will.  Praise God for His limitless grace and mercy, even in the darkest hour and despite who and what we are.

Maybe All God Asks is That We Don't Say No

“And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest.” (Eze 37:3 AV)

One might think the prophet’s answer was non-committal or taking the safest choice.  Rather, the prophet’s answer shows us a great principle.  The question above regarded the valley of dry bones.  Ezekiel saw a valley filled with dry human bones and the LORD asked Ezekiel if it were possible these bones might once again live.  For these bones to live, sinew, flesh, and blood must be added.  That would be quite a miracle, even for God.  So, the prophet remarked that if it were possible, the LORD would be the only one who would know it.  The prophet did not respond ‘no’.  He could have.  He didn’t respond ‘yes’, either.  He simply stated if it were possible, the LORD would know.  Sometimes, the LORD asks if we believe He can and will do a specific thing.  Sometimes, we can respond in the affirmative.  Sometimes, ignorantly so, we respond in the negative.  But sometimes, faith is sufficient if we do not limit God.  If we merely believe it is possible with God and not limit Him to what we think He can and will do, that might be all that God asks us to believe.

If the truth be known, this is where most of our prayer requests belong.  It is not that we believe cannot do something.  Our issue is, will God do what we ask?  I am sure the Ezekiel did no doubt that God could, if He willed it so, to bring bones back to life.  After all, God created all things out of nothing.  It is not that we doubt God can cure a patient, bring revival, or solve a serious financial problem.  Just the other day, we prayed for protection for overseas relatives that feel threatened by a non-friendly nation.  For the LORD to work things so this little nation was not invaded by a larger one would be miraculous.  It would be something only God can do.  Watching the movie Midway, one is struck by God’s hand on the whole thing.  Only God can do that.  Even the most recent assassination attempt on a presidential candidate was divine protection is the most recent times.  God is able to do all things He wishes to do.  God is not limited by natural forces.  What we begin to ask is not whether God can.  We wonder if God will.  Sometimes, faith in the ability of God is all that He asks.  All that He may ask is that we not limit what He can do because we choose not to believe. 

Sometimes, sufficient faith is faith in the possible and not in the probable.  As long as we don’t say ‘no’, the LORD may do a work.  He may not require a ‘yes’.  I am sure the LORD would be extremely pleased if we say ‘yes’ every time he would ask this question.  But maybe that is not what He seeks.  As long as we think God can do it, even if we doubt that He will do it, might be just enough.  When we read the giants of faith, we assume they had unfaltering faith in every circumstance of life.  This is not true.  Abraham’s lapse of faith produced Ishmael.  Moses’ lapse of faith kept him from entering Canaan.  Paul’s lapse of faith found him under house arrest in Rome.  To think we have to be a super-Christian, believing God will do all things of which we ask is misguided.  This is how Christians often become disillusioned with God.  They place expectations on God and are disappointed when God doesn’t answer as they had hoped.  They pray for a loved one to accept Christ.  When they do not, God has somehow failed.  They ask for their electric bill to be paid and when their power is shut off, somehow God is not as big as they thought.  Sometimes, all that God asks is that we give Him the benefit of the doubt and believe that He can.  Not necessarily that He will.

Sanctification is the Missing Ingredient

“And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I [am] the LORD, saith the Lord GOD, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes.” (Eze 36:23 AV)

Sanctification is one of those things the people of God do not like to talk about.  Liberty is the idea of the day.  How much like the world can I live and still call myself a Christian?  That is the attitude of most churches today.  It used to be limited to personal standards of separation, such as places we frequent, how we appear in public, and the means of occupying one’s time.  We used to shun worldly forms of entertainment.  If a certain industry promoted ungodliness, the Christian world would cease to patronize it.  Men and women used to dress gender-specific.  There was no confusion about gender rolls in God’s creation.  Those standards have since long gone.  There used to be a time when God’s people got married and stayed married.  There used to be a time when those professing Christ would keep themselves until married.  Out-of-wedlock births were extremely rare and never celebrated.  There used to be a time when God’s people would break their neck to be in church as much as possible.  No wonder our baptistries are dry and our churches are shrinking.  We are no different from those whom we are trying to reach.  What motivation do they have to make a change?

I was reminded this morning of the events in Israel.  The bible instructs us to bless Israel.  Those nations that bless Israel will be blessed.  Those who do not will be cursed.  What that does not mean is support for Israel’s culture.  They are no different from the west.  They have the same moral morass as the rest of us.  They support abortion and sodomy.  They are culturally liberal in the morals and lifestyle.  When we see the trouble Israel faces, we must remember Assyria and Babylon.  God sent heathen nations against them so they would learn to follow the one true God in holiness and righteousness.  As the Spirit mused in my heart, I could not help but see the attitude of the enemies of God and His people.  Whether we like it or not, the lost expect the people of God to live differently than they do.  Be that fair or not is not the point.  They expect those who preach Jehovah God to live differently.  When the people of God do not, there is disdain.  The enemies of God are justified in their hatred of God’s people because they claim one thing and live completely different.  They hate God’s people because God’s people are not living as they should.

We knock on doors.  We advertise.  We have community outreaches.  We provide services for the lost.  But at the end of the day our churches are still shrinking.  We spend a lot of resources to try to make an impact.  But in the end, there is little or no difference.  When God gave the mandate and instructions to build the temple, it was with the intent of creating a place distinctively different from all others.  The intent was to attract the lost world to the one true God where they could experience the presence of God in worship.  Because the people of God refused to protect what God provided, it was destroyed.  God has given the church transformed lives.  We are new creatures in Christ.  Jesus said that if He is lifted up, He will draw all men unto Him.  What that doesn’t mean is creating an atmosphere akin to the entertainment of the world and sprinkle a little Jesus on it.  The righteousness and holiness of God is what attracts.  Not the methods or means we use.  I am saddened.  I see opportunity slipping away.  The darker the world becomes, the brighter God’s people should shine.  This is not the case.  We are only a few steps behind the ungodly.  There is little distinction.  When God’s people have their fill of sin and the world, repent of their condition, and seek God with their whole hearts, then perhaps we will see revival in our day.  Perhaps then our churches will once again be full!

Saying It One More Time Won't Help

“God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this; that power [belongeth] unto God.” (Ps 62:11 AV)

The first part of this psalm is what grabbed my attention.  I didn’t know what that phrase meant.  The writer is simply saying that throughout this psalm, in different ways, he has stated that all power belongs to God.  By stating the concluding truth this way, he is saying there should be no room for doubt.  If there is, it is not because he has failed to prove or state that all power belongs to God.  In a roundabout way, David is insinuating there should be no reason to distrust God with all the times he has just stated that God is the God of all power and strength.  In other words, it is comparable to those times when our parents asks, “How many times to I have to tell you?”.

This statement, or question, can be a humiliating one.  In a good sort of way.  This statement is both affirming and challenging.  There comes a time when more words will not help.  The truth has been stated time and again.  There are no new ways to look at this.  There are no new insights needed.  Repetition is getting tedious and unproductive.  In fact, the more the statement is affirmed, when fear is the issue and not truth, the more truth becomes a bit less effective.  Another statement my parents used to say is, “I’m not going to tell you again”.  Repetition is a great teacher.  It is one of the most effective ways to learn.  Practice is nothing more than learning by repetition.  Eventually, repetition must work out in application.  I am learning a foreign language.  Or at least, trying to.  Going through the lessons is not all that difficult.  The problem is retention.  So, the application I use allows me to practice by repetition in several ways.  Sound great, doesn’t it?  Yet there is still something missing.  I need interaction.  I need people to whom I can speak who knows this second language so that I can hear conversations and apply what I am learning.  I find myself stagnate in this new endeavor because repetition alone doesn’t mature what I learn into a usable skill.

The same is true with faith.  We can read the bible through many times over.  But until we are faced with circumstances that work those truths from the head to the heart, what we have read and learned becomes unproductive.  I can read about God’s creative work.  I can study God’s attributes.  I can understand how sovereignty and free will work together.  I can know all this, but until I am faced with circumstances, that force me to apply what I have learned, repetition is useless.  Affirmation is the next step.  This is David’s point.  Perhaps he is preaching to his own heart.  He is definitely speaking to others.  How many times do I have to say it?  God possesses all power.  He is the source of all strength.  He loves you and wants only the best for you.  No matter what you face, He is always greater.  How many ways does the LORD need to say the same thing before we are willing to trust Him implicitly?