It's Due Time Somewhere

“Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.” (1Ti 2:6 AV)

We use the phrase ‘in due time’ a bit differently than the verse above.  When we use it, we mean an event will eventually come to pass, but there is no urgency about it.  If it comes to pass, then it came to pass in due time.  If it doesn’t come to pass, then perhaps it eventually will.  But this is not how Paul meant.  What follows this passage is Paul’s testimony of his call to preach.  This call was dramatic and instantaneous.  When the LORD called him to minister the gospel, he did so from day one.  Paul may have asked for prayer that opportunities arose, but he did not sit around waiting until opportunities came to him.  Rather, Paul knew that somewhere, due time had arrived.  It may not be ‘due time’ in the place where Paul resided.  So, he moved to find the ‘due time’.  He did not wait idle until the due time arrived in the place where he was.

One way we trained our young people to memorize a lengthy passage of scripture was to break it up in pieces.  One year, we took the entire year to learn one passage.  What we did was assign a portion of the overall passage to one child.  Then, we would line them up in order, and they would recite their section.  Once they could memorize their section and recite it without error, we switched sections with the children.  They would memorize a new section of the same passage of scripture.  By the time the children memorized all the sections separately, we then combined sections and assigned the additional work to a group of children.  The groups would stand in a line in order of appearance.  We would continue to combine the sections and children until the entire passage could be recited by all.  There was a due time for their section.  It occurred in order, and the project could not continue unless they testified in due time.

God’s plan is just that way.  We simply have to find our place along the timeline of God’s plan.  There is a phrase often spoken in my neck of the woods.  The phrase is ‘divine appointment’.  What that means is that God puts someone in the life of another for a very specific purpose.  There is something God is doing, and the divine appointment is meant as the means by which this happens.  A divine appointment usually couples a faithful believer to someone in need.  A soul-winner crosses paths with a lost soul in search of answers; a scholar meets a confused believer; a saint with means meets someone in need; are but a few.  Above, Paul suggests there is a time when the good news of the gospel is meant for someone.  There is always a due time somewhere.  This, according to the passage above, is one reason Christ died.  He did not die strictly for the idle Christian.  He died so that all men might be made free.  He gave His life so that all may hear and respond.  This means His death, burial, and resurrection must be testified of.  There is a due time somewhere.  It is our responsibility to find it and to pray for it.

It's All Under Control

“For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth [will let], until he be taken out of the way.” (2Th 2:7 AV)

We forget just how effective the Holy Spirit can be in the affairs of mankind.  We may not like the direction humanity is traveling, but we have to remember that the Holy Spirit is restraining the forces of evil.  Sometimes, God’s people can be the most impatient and discouraged of all.  This doesn’t bode well when we are trying to reach the lost with the good news of the gospel.  When Paul tells the church as Thessalonica that the Holy Spirit is letting, or stopping the advancement, of evil.  The implication also means the affairs of wicked humanity are under the restraining power of the Holy Spirit, so much so that He will only allow that which is according to His plan.  Mankind can get a lot worse.  There are pockets of persecution, but by and large, the body of Christ is at peace with the world.  We may endure light persecution such as verbal or social, but we are not paying the ultimate price for our faith by any stretch of the imagination.  It may seem like the world is spiraling out of control.  But it is not.  It is a controlled descent.  One that God is managing for His glory and the furtherance of His kingdom.

When God begins to deal with mankind, His people can be affected.  Israel was affected by the first three of the ten plagues.  One might argue the tenth as well.  But only if they did not trust the LORD.  Yes, the lost and rebellious world will affect either greater or lesser.  We do not live in a vacuum.  Tragedy can strike anyone.  Hard times fall on good people.  A company closing will affect everyone who works for it regardless of their faith in God.  An illness like a global virus touches the entirety of humanity.  Even the saved can pass away from such a thing.  Tragedy is part of our human existence.  The difference is grace.  Israel suffered through the plagues of blood, frogs, and lice.  The first three were against the land of Egypt.  Israel had to survive.  But starting with the plague of the flies, they were spared the worst of it.  This is what we need to remember as the godless increase and the godly decrease.

Many years ago, my father took us to the site of the great Johnstown flood.  It isn’t much to look at.  It is a big hole in the ground and the remains of an earthen dam that once held back 14.5 million cubic meters of water.  In 1889, after several days of heavy rain, the earthen dam broke.  It completely destroyed the town of Johnstown, PA, and 2208 people perished in the flood.  Imagine if you could hold back the waters of such a flood.  Imagine if you were an engineer and planned the repairs that were needed for such a project.  Imagine further that you knew eventually, no matter the effort, the dam was destined to fail.  Try as you may, that day will come.  Knowing this, you warned all the people of Johnstown that the dam would eventually fail.  It would be prudent to move to higher ground, and you personally were willing to facilitate their move.  You would buy them new land.  You would pay the expenses of relocation.  Almost all ignored your offer.  Eventually, knowing you did all you could to save and many as would listen, you removed any further effort to repair the dam.  This is the work of the Holy Spirit.  The dam will hold until the Father determines His efforts to reach and save mankind can go no further.  Those who heed the call are taken out of the way.  Calvary paid the price, and the trumpet is our moving signal.  Then the dam will break loose.  He that now letteth will let.  The Holy Spirit will continue to restrain.  The child of God need not worry or fuss.  He has been and always will be in control.  Until He and we are taken out of the way, there may be trickles of evil, but the flood comes after we have gone!

Like an Old Army Jacket

“I remembered thy judgments of old, O LORD; and have comforted myself.” (Ps 119:52 AV)

In the Hebrew and the Greek, the word ‘comfort’ has the same basic meaning.  And it may not be what you might think.  The nature of the comfort can vary.  It can mean to console, encourage, and even rebuke.  The nature can be critical or commending.  The outcome of the comfort, however, is the same.  The nature of this comfort is to produce a positive change.  Justice may not be a comfort for the offender.  Whereas justice is a comfort for the victim.  In this octet of Psalm 119, the writer is musing over the wicked.  In particular, how the wicked affect his life in some negative way.  He goes to the word of God and seeks answers, encouragement, instruction, etc. so that he can have peace with things he cannot control.  Note here the writer comforts himself.  This morning, the reading was also First Thessalonians.  Four times the word ‘comfort’ is used.  However, in all four uses, it is not self-comfort.  Rather, the people of Thessalonica are instructed to comfort one another.  Here, the writer comforts himself.

Musing on the right things is the key here.  We can entertain many thoughts with the mind.  Some good.  Some not so good.  What we think on is a choice we make.  We can either choose to think on those things which tempt or discourage.  Or, we can think on things that encourage and edify.  Where we allow our minds to wander is under our control.  Therefore, to comfort oneself means the mind entertains thoughts and truths that encourage or edify.  I have found the older one gets, the more the saint must adjust their thinking.  Life will not continue as it is.  Life is changing, and the things we have taken for granted for a long time are no longer certain.  This tempts the mind into a discouraging state.  The older we get, the more we forget.  We even forget things that have happened or experiences that should have had a lasting effect of encouragement.  I find myself going back to the scriptures far more often than I did in my youth.  In younger years, we studied and committed to memory the word of God for theological reasons.  Life was simpler back then.  Now that life is becoming far more complicated, the practical application of the word of God becomes more needful.  We know things intellectually.  But we won’t know the breadth of those things until the need arises.  Even those things we do know have a revived sense of application when faced with a life that is changing faster than we can adapt.

The Bible certainly tells us to give and draw comfort from one another.  We need one another.  We need fresh eyes or a more pliable mind to encourage us when we are overwhelmed or anxious.  We need unbiased input of others who have gone through the same thing or who can at least see our situation from a different angle.  But there are times when self-comfort is the most effective.  When we have to discipline the mind around what is true, our comfort comes through the Holy Spirit and the Word.  When the middle of the night comes and the forces of evil seem to collapse, there are bible verses and musings of the mind that cause that evil to flee.  Peter tells us to think on things that are true and have virtue.  Rather than allow the forces of discontent, fear, or frustration be the rule of life, the word of God should reign in our minds.  I have this old army coat that was my father’s coat.  It came with a wool liner.  It was really heavy.  I used to wear it quite often.  Then I outgrew it.  I still have it, but I use it more as a blanket when napping than outwear for winter.  It is a source of comfort.  It is something I do for myself.  Spending time in the word of God, prayer, and musing on the truths of the word of God can be just like that old, heavy, army coat.  The writer above comforted himself.  No doubt other comforted him.  But he didn’t rely solely on their comfort.  He grabbed his dad’s old army jacket, sat in his recliner, and comforted himself.

Want or Word

“Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, and not to covetousness.” (Ps 119:36 AV)

It is both interesting and convicting that the writer of this Psalm juxtaposes love for the word of God against love for things.  The two cannot co-exist.  One will win out over the other.  Love for things is not the only enemy of a love for the word of God.  But it is a large one.  Covetousness is the enemy of truth.  The extreme of this principle would be the life of a hermit.  This is what the old orders of monks practiced.  The writer is not saying that minimalism is the preferred lifestyle of those who have a passion for the word of God.  God does not call us to depravity for the sake of a deeper spiritual experience.  Solomon is one to prove that wrong.  However, a love for things that do not belong to us is the enemy.  What God has not determined for our comfort or pleasure are the objects of our covetousness.  To love the word of God more than an excess of comfort or pleasure is the desire here.

Remember those school days filled with day-dreaming?  As a young boy, my mind was often on things more fun than arithmetic or history.  Spelling class was torture.  I would rather be playing in the snow or at the park hitting a baseball.  Spending warm spring days or bright winter days cooped up indoors learning dates, facts, and principles wasn’t my idea of the perfect day.  We couldn’t wait until the bell rang, and we ran outside to enjoy the freedom that play and imagination would bring.  To this day, I can remember more of the adventures my friends and I enjoyed than any single day of school.  Just outside was my ten-speed bike, chained to the bike rack, waiting for my feet and hands to connect.  There it was.  I could see it out of my classroom window.  The first bike I had was orange.  I got it at a police auction.  It was two sizes too big for me.  When that one got stolen, I saved up money to buy a brand-new green Schwinn.  Fifty years later and I still dream about that bike.  I dream that my parents stored it away and brought it out in a sad state of disrepair.  My dream is restoring that bike to its original glory.  The only dream I have of school is that I never completed required classwork and, in reality, I have to go back and finish up English class.  The things we want often disrupt the things we need.

Our writer knows the word of God is more valuable than anything he could ever possess.  This doesn’t mean he cannot possess things.  What it does mean is the desire to possess things or find pleasure in things cannot supersede his love for the word of God.  The writer is not limiting love for the word of God to mere scholastic pleasure.  Just because we faithfully read the word of God does not mean we love the word of God.  Rather, to what our writer is referring is the testimonies contained within the word of God.  The testimonies are the reasons why God does things or requires other things.   It is the reason for the revelation.  Our writer doesn’t want to limit his love for the word of God to mere knowledge of facts.  Rather, his love for the word of God goes to the very heart of the purpose for the revelation.  God gave us His word so that we can know Him, trust Him, and obey Him.  That is what the writer wants.

Our Debts to Those in Need

“Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do [it].” (Pr 3:27 AV)

This verse is a classic verse in regards to handling the original language of Hebrew.  If one is not careful, the student could miss the meaning and apply the principle here differently than Solomon intended.  The misinformed student will use word definitions to build context rather than context to expound on the word definition.  Individual words can have different meanings.  This is true of most languages.  If one were to ignore the verse that follows the above passage, one could assume Solomon is speaking of honoring those who are due honor.  Indeed, some writers apply that way.  They support that application merely by the Hebrew word for ‘due’.  The Hebrew word is Ba-al or Bah-al which has the meaning of benevolence due a husband or ruler.  So, the misinformed writer would apply Solomon’s words as a proverb to show honor to those who are in places of authority.  However, this honor is not required only when one can offer that honor.  Rather, honor owed to those who are in authority is required whether we think we have the means or not.  To refuse honor to whom it is due regardless of ability to offer it is considered a transgression.  To take the meaning as such means that if we don’t have the means to pay our taxes, then one is not required to do so.  That is not what Solomon means here.

The context is in helping those in need.  The next verse reads, “Say not unto thy neighbour, Go, and come again, and to morrow I will give; when thou hast it by thee.” (Pr 3:28 AV) If we continued in this chapter, we would see Solomon is referring to relationships among citizens and neighbors.  In other words, Solomon is not referring to taxes that we are obligated to pay regardless of ability.  Rather, he is speaking of the ethical responsibility to help others when we have the means to do so.  The passage does not limit help to merely material goods.  By using the strong word ‘due’, Solomon is stressing the ethical responsibility towards those in genuine need.  It is not owed them merely because they have a need.  Rather, benevolence or kindness is owed them because they have a genuine need that they cannot meet themselves and they are fellow human beings.  Solomon is not purporting communism or open-ended welfare.  He is not instructing those who have means to meet the needs of those who demand it without regard to personal responsibility or accountability.  Rather, what Solomon is trying to convey here is humanity’s responsibility to itself.

We often limit this application to material things.  But there are other needs someone may have.  He or she may be discouraged, and your words of encouragement could make all the difference.  The one in need may be anxious and your faith is the cornerstone of their survival.  They may be bitter and it is your gracious spirit that shows them how to overcome the bitterness.  The soul might be lost and in need of someone with faith and patience to show them how they can know Jesus.  There are many genuine needs.  Physical needs are not the greatest of needs.  Our flesh will eventually perish.  We will eventually die of something.  It does not matter how much food we have, money we have, or healthcare that we can access.  We will all end up in a grave.  Our greatest needs are spiritual ones.  Forgiveness of sin and affirmation in Christ are man’s greatest needs.  Those who love the LORD have the means to meet those needs.  As Paul taught us, we are a debtor to the entire world.  We owe them the good news of Jesus Christ.  As saints, we can also help those who are struggling.  Whether in sin or in a trial of faith, we are here to lend a hand.  We are to share the word of God and offer prayer.  We are here to help those who are due our help.  Solomon is not limiting the help to a few dollars here and there.  This help we can offer is available to anyone who is burdened to help. 

Love With Faith

“Peace [be] to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Eph 6:23 AV)

The wording in this verse is throwing me off.  It seems as though Paul is wishing his own peace on the brethren, but the love with faith is from God.  But I don’t think that is the way Paul intended.  I think the peace and love with faith are from God, and Paul is bestowing these graces on the brethren on behalf of God the Father and the LORD Jesus Christ.  It is the love with faith that has me intrigued.  Love with faith is a lot deeper than love without faith.  Love with faith trusts that the sacrificial love given will be effective even if there is no discernable evidence for it.  Love with faith is what marriage requires.  One must trust a spouse regardless of what may or may not be reciprocated.  This is the highest form of love.  Paul refers to this love as charity in his letter to the Corinthians.

There are certain expectations when exercising love.  Appreciation is one of them.  Affirmation is another.  We also expect some type of response in return.  It may not always be to the degree we desire, but any bit is appreciated.  When we give gifts to our children, they may not thank us.  But we enjoy looking in their eyes when they see what is given.  They may not understand the sacrifice that was made for their newly-found prize.  But the look on their faces is what pleases Mom or Dad.  We know that in time, they will reciprocate that love.  We have faith that if we do our part and love them with our whole heart, there will come a day when they show their appreciation.  I have the luxury of having sons in the ministry.  This means that every once is a while, they use their upbringing as an illustration.  In their way, they are saying thank you. 

Love with faith knows no limits.  Love out of duty does.  Love with faith has patience.  Love by commandment does not.  Love with faith does not care for immediate results.  Love by constraint does.  Love with faith looks to the future.  Love without faith looks at the present.  Love with faith can see the profit that their love has on the receiver more than it sees any benefit that might come upon Self.  Love with faith does not care what the results are.  Love without faith keeps score.  Love with faith knows that reward for sacrificial love comes from God.  Love without faith sees reward that only comes from man.  Love with faith means that the heart is fully engaged.  Love without faith only engages the will.  Love with faith sees love as far more effective than the immediate.  It sees love as compounded investment.  Love without faith is only focused on the need at hand.  Love with faith has a sense of contented self-sacrifice.  Love without faith does not see any inward benefit of selfless love.  Paul wished on God’s part love with faith for the Ephesian church.  This depth of love comes only from God.  As Paul shared earlier in the letter, by accepting Jesus Christ, we learn of His person and nature.  His love becomes our love.  Divine love with faith becomes the nature of the saint.  It is deep love.  It is the deepest love of all.

Chosen To Be Holy

“According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:” (Eph 1:4 AV)

The certainty of the promise is a blessing to the heart.  Those who wish to love the LORD struggle with the presence of sin in the life.  We confess.  We forsake.  This is a regular practice.  We hate sin because He hates sin.  Above, Paul reminds us of a promise.  The purpose of salvation is to be perfectly holy and love the LORD with our whole hearts.  This does not come naturally.  We need the blood of Christ to cleanse us from all our sin, and we need the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit to keep us from sin.  The Holy Spirit is our seal unto perfection.  According to his letter to the Ephesians, Paul shows us that God has chosen His saints to be holy and without blame.  He has chosen His saints to reside with Him forever in perfect love.  This promise is certain.  The transformation, which the bible refers to as our glorification, is an absolute certainty.  One day, we will graduate from this corrupt world.  We will leave behind the body of sin, which we have inhabited since our conception.  We will be clothed with the perfection of Christ, never to sin again.  What a day that will be!

It is interesting that when a debutante is depicted on film, he or she always resents the foregone conclusion of their success.  They resent their insanely wealthy father for choosing the life they will live.  Usually, as the story goes, they strike out on their own to make their own way and end up less than a common person.  They deliberately choose a career of life that embarrasses their wealthy benefactor.  The storyline often depicts the heir as extremely happy to have left what could have been theirs to make it completely on their own and independent of the smallest of assistance.  Rarely do you see life as it is.  Many children of highly successful people tend to take advantage of the choices afforded them and make a success of their lives.  The heir often continues is the family business and develops it even further.  How do I know this?  Because I caddied for many of them.  They are called ‘old money’.  These very successful people had life handed to them on a silver platter.  Many went on to increase the estate.  Some did not.  Some squandered their opportunity and made shipwreck of the success of previous generations.  However, it was not uncommon to caddy for someone whose grandfather was a founder of a specific sector of business.  His children and grandchildren took that success and ran with it.  What made the difference?  Those who used what they were given to increase the estate were grateful people who had discipline deep in their bones.  They saw the world as a small place and their place in the world as a big one.  They could see the bigger picture before it became a reality and used their resources to make what they saw a reality.  They were given the opportunity to become what would be rather than to squander it away and waste what was given.

In many ways, that is what our walk with God represents.  We have been given the foregone conclusion of sinless perfection.  We have been given the resources in this present life to make headway to that eventuality.  The Holy Spirit resides within to convict, teach, and empower.  We have been given the example and fellowship of Jesus Christ, our big brother, to help us and show us the way.  We have been given the love of the Father that will never fade.  We are eternally affirmed in Christ.  There is nothing to prove.  We can live holy and without blame, not to be thus, but because in Christ we have already been made thus.  The promise of holiness and blamelessness is absolute and will never be rescinded.  We fail in part because we forget this promise.  We fail to live in the reality that is coming rather than the reality that is.  Temptation is always around us.  But it won’t be forever.  There is coming a day when the temptations of the flesh are no more.  We will be preserved blameless.  We will be like Christ.  Nothing will change that.  So why not live that way now?

Crucified, Yet Crucified Again

“And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” (Ga 5:24-25 AV)

Here is a great example of the doctrinal and practical in balance.  Paul uses the past tense in referring to the crucifixion of the flesh.  Yet we know from his other writings that this is an ongoing process.  It happened once at salvation.  Repentance crucifies the flesh and the lusts. This is what we see in verse twenty-five.  Verse twenty-four speaks of the one-time crucifixion of the flesh and lusts at the point of salvation.  Verse twenty-five reveals this process is an ongoing one.  Verse twenty-five states our positional existence as in the Spirit.  Seeing we are in the Spirit, then we should live as such.  We forget that at the point of salvation, the flesh and lusts of the flesh were surrendered.  We repented of our sins.  Our desires changed to that which is holy, righteous, and good.  If that happened in the past, then it needs to continue into the future.

Many of us struggle with maintaining a healthy weight.  We try many things.  We try one fad diet after another.  Dieting starts with recognizing the need to lose weight.  We take inventory of all the things in our kitchens or pantries that are not good.  We look at our meal plan and realize it is not helpful.  Regardless of what plan we choose; it all starts the same way.  We look at our weight and habits.  We decide that continuing to live as we are, weight will be gained and not lost.  So, we look at all the bad things we cannot eat and rid the house of them.  We plan our meals.  We watch what we eat.  We drink more water.  Our intentions are pure.  Our dedication is high.  Life happens.  It starts with a cursory introduction of the foods we cannot eat.  A piece of candy here.  A church fellowship there.  Little by little, the foods we are not supposed to eat creep back in.  Falling to temptation does not undo the initial dedication to the cause.  It happened.  Back then, we were truly committed and disciplined.  What we decided to do back then must continue.  So, we rededicate ourselves to the plan.

Accepting Christ does not come with automatic holiness.  The old man is still a factor.  The Holy Spirit convicted our hearts at the point of salvation, and we wanted nothing to do with sin.  We hated ourselves.  We hated what we did and what we were.  We turned our back on the filthy life of sin and cried out to Jesus for forgiveness and salvation.  We arose from our prayer completely free from guilt and shame.  We promised ourselves that from that point forward, nothing but righteousness.  It didn’t take long.  Israel wanted to go back to Egypt after only three days of freedom.  It doesn’t take long for sin to return.  But here is where Paul is trying to teach the new converts.  The law is for our benefit.  Not our salvation.  The law is the means by which God blesses and we please Him.  If we began in the Spirit, then let us continue to walk in the Spirit.  This requires we forsake our sin over and again.  Every day we must return to the altar of confession.  Every day we have to renew our walk with God and surrender to the leading of the Holy Spirit.  Every day.  The battle was started.  But the battle must continue.

 

Frustrate Grace?

“I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness [come] by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.” (Ga 2:21 AV)

Note here that Paul uses the present tense while referring to frustrating the grace of God.  Paul is speaking of the place of the law in the process of salvation.  The Galatian church wanted to add to the law.  Unsaved Israelites tried to convince the Gentile believers that salvation, in part, relied on obedience to the law.  Paul is teaching that they are saved by grace and kept by grace.  But the curious thing about the present tense is that it suggests that even if we are secure in our salvation, we can still frustrate the grace of God.  This is fascinating.  And also a bit convicting.  Many believers find themselves doing just that.  We know enough to believe that the law cannot save or keep us.  We accept and believe that God’s grace is what saves us and that it is His grace that keeps us saved.  What we struggle with is living a life of righteousness to earn continued grace.  Just like saving grace cannot be earned, abiding grace cannot be either.

It is our nature to reject grace.  A young man who lived on the streets was seen by a wealthy benefactor.  He enquired as to the identity of the lad and wondered where his parents might be.  He was informed that the boy had no living relatives.  He was orphaned on the streets.  This man, on a promise of a meal, coaxed the young man into his carriage.  They rode together and chatted for a bit.  Upon reaching his estate, the wealthy old man sat the boy down, and his chef prepared a wonderful meal.  When the boy rose to leave, the benefactor wondered if the young man would like to take a dip in the pool.  This street urchin hadn’t had a bath in years.  After he was all cleaned up, the kind gentleman gave him a fresh set of clothes to wear.  He had stayed long enough for dinner.  After dinner, it was too late to return him to the streets, so this wonderful man gave him a room to stay.  Little by little, the kindly gentleman won the trust of the young boy.  After a bit, the young boy simply felt out of place.  He would be found helping the employees cleaning, gardening, or any other chore that needed attention.  The master of the house would have none of it.  This precious life needed attention, and he was not about to require his young charge to do anything that might be construed as working for one’s keep.  As this young man grew older, he tried harder to do for the master so that he wasn’t enjoying things without some renumeration.  Eventually he left because he could not stomach being the object of another’s kindness.  He wanted to make his own way in the world.  He wanted to prove his worth.  He wanted to make his own statement.  This is our nature.

It is in our nature to work for the blessings of life.  Grace does not come easy.  Pride gets in the way.  Self-expression intervenes.  Self-determination interrupts.  To refuse the grace of God is to frustrate the grace of God.  Whether the needs of life, forgiveness, or joy and happiness are manifestations of God’s grace; they have to be accepted.  There is nothing we can do to earn the grace of God.  Humility is the necessary ingredient to accepting the grace of God.  Let God be God.  Even if being God means being kind and benevolent.  Let God be God.  I know.  Part of us wants to do something.  We feel guilty.  God fusses over us, and we do not deserve it at all.  We are shamed because God is so good.  The goodness of God leads us to repentance.  Accepting the grace of God is accepting the relationship of Creator/creation.  We do not want to take advantage of the grace of God.  We don’t want to fall on it as an excuse not to live for His pleasure and glory.  Frustrating the grace of God is no more than refusing it and relying upon something else.  Usually, we ourselves.

Strength Through Weakness

“For though he was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power of God toward you.” (2Co 13:4 AV)

The phrase “through weakness” can throw us off a bit.  Remembering that Jesus was all human as He was all divine, helps.  From the blood drops in the garden to His seven cries from the cross, Jesus was at His weakest moment.  His humanity was pushed to the limit.  I think Paul is speaking of surrender.  As Christ surrendered to the event of crucifixion, we are also surrendered to the will of the Father.  That is what is meant by being weak in Christ.  Our wills are broken.  Our desire is to obey the Father.  The promise is what we want to consider here.  Even though Jesus surrendered unto the torture and death of the cross, He lives for the Father.  Because He lives for the Father, the Father gives Him power to do so.  In the same sense, if we are weak in Christ because we are surrendered, then it will be the power of God that enables us to live.  Becoming weak that we might be made strong is the idea here.

I drove a car recently that had a bunch of safety features.  We rented a car for a ride down to visit my son.  This car had a bunch of assists.  One of them was a lane assist.  When the cruise control is engaged, the car will watch for the white lines of your lane.  If you begin to drift, it will attempt to steer you back into your lane.  Unless the turn signal is on, the car will gently take over the steering so you stay centered in your lane.  The car I have now does the same thing.  It also has brake assist.  I have to tell you, I don’t care for the lane assist.  This means surrendering some autonomy for safety.  The brake assist is great.  I had a car in front of me spontaneously break and turn right.  If the brake assist were not engaged, I might have locked up the wheels.  Using the assists requires a bit of faith in the technology.  It also means the driver has to yield to something bigger than himself.  He has to allow the technology that can respond much quicker to have some control over the car.  I am not there yet.  I’ll use the brake assist all day long.  But the lane assist has to wait a bit.  Not there yet.

Giving up autonomy and the privilege of self-determination does not come easy.  We are thinking, acting, rational human beings.  We can make choices.  Sometimes those choices are correct.  We love being independent.  We love the statement of individual worth.  Paul is showing us that just the opposite is true.  By surrendering the sense of Self, we actually become stronger people.  By trusting and obeying the Father, as the Son, we live in power and victory.  The world tells us that individuality means empowerment.  The more of an individual we become, the stronger we become.  That is actually false.  The more like God we become, the stronger we become.  Surrender is often seen as a bad word.  Among our world that values independence and self-determination, yielding to a higher authority is seen as weakness.  This is foolish talking.  When I fly, the pilot surrenders the plane to air currents and gravity.  To do so means to soar among the clouds.  Paul says that to yield in obedience and faith to the will of the Creator God means to live in power rather than in weakness.

Rags to Riches

“For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.” (2Co 8:9 AV)

Rich is such a relative term.  How rich is rich?  In what exactly is some rich?  Material things?  Paul is speaking to the church at Corinth regarding giving to relieve the needs of the saints at Jerusalem.  He uses the example of other churches much more destitute as the model for the church at Corinth to follow.  Although the immediate context is the giving of material things, the baseline is what Christ has done for us.  This measure is not in physical things, although God does provide our every need.  Rather, the baseline it given to the Corinthian church as the motivation to share the material by which God has blessed.  That which Christ gave was eternal life.  He gave everything he materially had.  He gave his family.  He gave his friends.  He gave His place in glory.  He limited the exercise of His divine attributes.  He gave His personal comfort and necessary food.  He went so far as to give His life.  When Paul says that Jesus Christ became poor, it literally means He became as poor as any one person could ever be.  They even took His garments from Him and gambled with them.  Wealth is not always measured in tangible ways.

I was asked many years ago why my gaze was primarily cast downward.  The one asking thought I was despondent or depressed all the time.  But that was not the case.  My eyes were primarily cast downward because there was an entire world to be discovered at the level of my feet.  There were many pennies found.  Several larger denominations were discovered.  There were relics buried in the dirt waiting to be risen anew.  When hunting became a hobby, one doesn’t look up for sign.  One looks down.  The eyes look for tracks, scat, or any other indication that one’s query is nearby.  A scrap here.  A rub there.  Fresh tracks.  Droppings.  They all indicated that meat might be coming to the freezer.  To take the shot, one must look down before one looks up.  If our eyes are constantly cast upward, we will miss the details that make up life.  With eyes cast down, life moves slower.  Prizes become more noticeable and appreciated.  I have a little wooden box with some of those treasures lying within.  A few Indian-head nickels are there.  A diamond tie tack is safely stored there.  A few rare pennies are in that box.  Many little things that mean the world to me are in that little box.

We go through life so fast that we miss the richness of what God has bestowed.  We are so temporally minded that we forget how eternally blessed we are.  There is a place called heaven where the streets are gold and the glory of God outshines the sun.  There is a place so wonderful that human words fail to describe it.  Most of all, an eternity of unbroken fellowship with our Creator is waiting the poor sinner.  No, Jesus did not die so that we could have a full bank account and a house so large that half the city could live there.  Jesus did not die so that every wish we could have would be met, no matter what that might be.  Rather, the riches from God are not tangible ones.  Those things we enjoy in this life will pass with this life.  Those things given for eternity are here to stay.  We are blessed.  More than our minds can comprehend.  All because Jesus made Himself poor.

Wanting Eternity for the Right Reason

“For we that are in [this] tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life.” (2Co 5:4 AV)

Paul states the genuine desire of those who love the LORD and desire eternity.  The phrase “not for that we would be unclothed” means not so that we may be free from our temporal existence.  That is how the despondent lost world reacts to life.  They do not seek death because they have a far greater existence awaiting.  Rather, they seek death because they believe it will be an end to their miserable present. Paul, on the other hand, is sharing that those who know Christ look forward to physical death because in physical death, we are clothed in eternal life.  In other words, we look forward to eternity because there is something far better.  We do not look to eternity to be rid of something far worse.  I know.  It sounds like a distinction without a difference.  But it is not.  Paul understood the balance between serving God in the flesh and wanting to be eternally in His presence.  I think this is another example of this balance.

The difference is like a child who has a load of homework that he desperately wants to be done with.  He sits down.  He reads.  He writes notes.  He studies for tests.  He completes his worksheets.  He takes practice tests.  Why?  Perhaps he has friends outside who are waiting on him.  Perhaps there is a favorite TV program coming on.  Maybe because as soon as he is done with his homework, he can think of something else.  There might be another reason.  Perhaps he works really hard at his homework because he knows that the next day, his teacher will apply what he learned the night before.  Perhaps he sees the value in the present trouble.  Maybe he sees a higher grade.  Maybe he sees career opportunities based on how hard he works.  Maybe he sees recognition from his peers when graduation rolls around.  Maybe he sees different options with colleges or careers.  The first boy simply wants the homework to end because he doesn’t like doing it.  The second wants to finish his homework because he knows it has a purpose and reward at the end.  Both will be done with their homework.  The first will resent the work, while the second will welcome the work.

That is exactly how life is.  The LORD gave us one life.  By accepting Jesus Christ as our Savior and LORD, there awaits a far better eternity.  We can either look toward eternity as an escape from a life we resent.  Or, we could look forward to eternity because it is the culmination of a fight well fought.  We can either look at eternity as an escape.  Or, we can look at it as a reward.  How we look at it will determine our attitude in the present.  Paul was well balanced.  He knew the moment God called him home, he was done with earthly ministry.  He knew the moment the trumpet blew his call, there would be no more soul-winning or church planting.  When the call to come home came, there would be no more scripture to write, no more churches to encourage, and no more missionary trips to make.  Did Paul want glory?  Obviously.  But he wanted it for the right reason.  He did not seek death because it would put an end to his struggles, persecutions, or infirmities.  We wanted eternity because Jesus is there.  He wanted eternity so that there could be no more barrios to sinless communion with God!  Glory!

The Cure is Better than the Disease

“And our hope of you [is] stedfast, knowing, that as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so [shall ye be] also of the consolation.” (2Co 1:7 AV)

Paul is speaking from experience here.  He knows the church at Corinth, even though they may be suffering at the moment, will be ok.  How?  Because they are not going through anything he has not already faced.  Paul was asked to go through hard times in part so that he could be a help to others facing similar situations.  Note in particular how complete Paul’s faith is.  The statement he speaks above is not idle one.  Our great Apostle is stating that our consolation will be equal to or greater than our suffering.  In other words, no matter how deep the water may be, when the trial is over and God has done His work, we will be the better for it.  Our consolation will more than meet the needs of our trial.  This is an astounding statement and is absolutely true.

A few years back, I was suffering from a condition that caused my emotions to be completely turned upside down.  It bordered on frightening.  Not knowing there was an issue with my neuroendocrine system, I thought I was going crazy.  A number of very hard losses, one after another, produced stress which I was not prepared to handle.  This caused a system to be damaged, which in return, caused emotional imbalance.  It was really bad.  It wasn’t until we moved and the LORD led me to a doctor who was a superb clinician that I had a diagnosis and treatment.  After several years of treatment, my emotional balance is pretty much restored.  There are situations I must avoid.  There are moments when I have a slight relapse.  But all in all, the effect of the damage has been mitigated.  If you were to tell me a few years back that I would be normal again, I wouldn’t have believed you.  I thought the condition of which I was suffering would be lifelong.  There was no light at the end of the tunnel.  My perception was skewed by a physical problem that, with a wonderful doctor and the right treatment, has been rectified.  My consolation has met the trial and overcame it.

All glory to God!  With the treatment came some exercises that help me when times are a bit trying.  The Holy Spirit works with me through the word of God, reminding me of truths that are distant.  These truths are there.  They simply have lost their place in the forefront of my mind.  The Holy Spirit works with my heart to remind me of things I forget.  He opens my mind’s eye to new truths that need to be learned and believed.  The promise of God never ceases.  It doesn’t matter how we feel.  Our bodies can tell us one thing.  But the word of God will stand forever.  All I know is that no matter how deep the waters may be, the consolation of God is much greater.  Hang in there.  Help is on the way.  By God’s grace you will make it.  The word of God promises as much.

Yield and Hope

“Happy [is he] that [hath] the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope [is] in the LORD his God:” (Ps 146:5 AV)

Note in particular the present tense of the help and the future tense of the hope.  The verbs are both in the present tense.  But help us present while hope looks to the future.  Both are active at the same time.  How can that be?  We forget that life is not linear.  It is hard for us to grasp that two or more things that might seem contradictory can actually work in concert with one another.  We can be both here and there at the same time.  To us, we are here.  Someone else will say we are there if they are not here with us.  Above, we have an active help while hope rests in the finished work.  Hope, help, and hope again work together.  When God is working and we hope in the result of His hand, we are happy.

Have you ever tried to help someone and somewhere in the midst of helping, they interrupt and try to do it themselves?  They don’t like how you are going about it.  They do not think you can do it.  After a bit of frustration, you blurt out, “Do you trust me or not?”  I am a bit better at desktop publishing than my lovely wife.  She will wait until the last minute of a project, then ask me to do it for her.  I never allow her to watch me.  If I did, it would slow me down.  She would want to compile the project according to her thinking or how she organizes.  And there is nothing wrong with that.  It works for her.  Yet, I have learned better ways to do the same thing.  So if she is watching, she will interrupt.  She will ask why I don’t do it a certain way.  At first, I might explain.  But the interruptions become less of a learning experience for her and more of a way to get it done how she is comfortable.  So, I blurt out the words: “Do you trust me or not?”  She would be much happier if she would let me do it the way I do.  I would get it done faster, better, and with less interruption.  She will have to hope that when the project is done, it will meet her expectations.

Being happy in the LORD is an ongoing process.  It is not a permanent state of being.  Being happy in the LORD requires that we trust the LORD and get out of the way as He works.  One cannot hope if he does not yield.  One cannot accept help unless he hopes that help will come through.  Help may come without hope.  When we help our small children, they rarely notice.  It does not register the sacrifice required to make them comfortable and happy.  As they age, they appreciate the effort and love behind our actions.  They learn to trust that the effort and love will continue.  As we mature in the LORD, we realize more and more just how much God works on our behalf.  As we study the word of God, meditate on just how active God is in our lives, we begin to see He is a God who can be trusted.  Do we want to be happy?  Then we must learn to yield and the hope.