Keeping Because He is Coming

“Behold, I come quickly: blessed [is] he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.” (Re 22:7 AV)

We forget that Jesus could return at any minute.  Sure, He said this almost two thousand years ago.  That only means we are two thousand years closer to His coming.  In the scope of the history of mankind, that is pretty close!  Each dispensation lasted two thousand years or so.  Therefore, the clock is running out quickly.  Just like He said.  What should be our response?  He tells us above.  We are to keep the prophecies of the Bible.  Some believe the LORD is limiting this command strictly to the prophesies of Revelation.  That might be so.  Perhaps He is speaking to the tribulation saints here.  However, this could also be understood as the entire word of God.  Keeping it all.  As a whole.  Not merely obeying its commands.  Rather, to cherish, read, study, meditate, and apply the word of God is intended here.  Why?  Because He is returning very shortly.

The Greek word for ‘keepeth’ means, “to attend to carefully, take care of ; to guard; metaph. to keep, one in the state in which he is; to observe; to reserve: to undergo something”.  We get the feeling that keeping the word of God is far more than we might realize.  The word of God is God’s voice to mankind.  It is not only the reflection of His person and nature.  The word of God is Him!  The word of God is not a fourth person of the trinity.  The word of God is His expression of Himself to us.  In my generation, if you wanted to leave an audible message to someone, a tape recorder would be the equipment of choice.  Now we can send voice messages within our messaging app.  WhatsApp is the app of choice for our family.  Much of the time we send a text.  But there are rare occasions that we press that microphone button as say something.  If my wife walks by as I am playing the message, she will inquire as to who that might be.  I will say, “That is so-and-so”.  What I don’t say is, “that is so-and-so’s voice”.  This would be silly and a waste of time.  His voice is him.  He may not be with me physically.  But his voice is him, and he is with me audibly.  Imagine sitting in a room with a black curtain between you and another person.  You have a conversation.  You cannot see one another.  You cannot touch one another.  All you can do he hear one another.  One would not consider the other as less present because they are limited to one sense.  They are heard, and therefore, they are there.

This is why the Bible is supernatural.  The word of God is just like a voice message on a messaging app.  He cannot be seen.  He cannot be felt.  He cannot be touched.  Yet, He is no less here.  As the LORD approaches, one has to wonder how intimate we will be with Him.  The challenge above may seem a bit off.  If I know my wife is coming home very soon, why bother texting or calling?  I am going to see her is a very short while.  Jesus tells us to do the opposite.  The closer it is to His coming, the more active our relationship should be.  Keep the words of the prophesy.  Times are going to get worse before they get better.  Keep the conversation with Jesus going.  Even if He were to return tonight, it would be better to meet a Savior with whom you are intimate than one with whom you are estranged.

Sing Because He Made You Right

“In the transgression of an evil man [there is] a snare: but the righteous doth sing and rejoice.” (Pr 29:6 AV)

What is that snare?  Our wise king tells us.  It is the opposite of singing and rejoicing.  It is misery and weeping.  The righteous are not always cheerful.  We are not always smiling.  Life happens, and it gets us down.  Sin was not the cause.  We may lose someone, we are fired from our dream career, our finances are crumbling, or we are going through the wringer for our faith.  Our health might fail, our home might dissolve, or our children might reject the precious faith under which they grew up.  Troubles and trials happen.  We don’t feel much like singing and rejoicing.  However, these times pass.  We heal from loss, or we find another career; our finances improve; as does our health.  Relationships are reconciled or replaced, and our children return to the faith.  Things improve.  Singing can return.  Joy can be a part of our day again.  If I am reading Solomon right, living right also produces joy and singing.  This often overcomes our trials without even realizing it.

My wife hums.  She does so unconsciously.  She just hums.  All the time.  I ask her what she is humming because I don’t recognize the tune.  She replies that she didn’t realize that she was.  I met another person who did the same.  This individual is going through very deep and serious trouble.  The adversary is turning a life upside down, and the times are troubling, to say the least.  Of all the persons one would think humming would not exist, this would be the person and circumstances.  Yet, we were riding in the car, and the passenger, as low as one could go, was humming.  I shared with this person that my wife does the same thing.  Like my wife, I inquired as to the tune.  The humming minstrel’s reply was the same as my wife.  The troubled saint did not realize they were humming.  Quit a quandary.  What would possess two different people to hum, even in the midst of trouble?  I think our writer gives us the answer.  A singing heart is a sign of a heart that is right with God.  Even if that heart doesn’t realize it.  Humming is a great indication of an inward condition.  Catch someone humming and you might see someone who strives to live right.

A righteous heart is not limited to humming.  Sundays were big days for me.  They still are.  In my early Christian life, I went to church in the morning, but had to work in the evening.  Sunday mornings were an escape for me.  It was the one time when the world, the devil, and the flesh had to take a back seat.  It was the one time of the week where I met with people who loved the LORD and were not afraid to show it.  Later in the day, when I went into work, the boss would often catch me singing the hymns from the morning service.  Why?  Because Jesus made me righteous by His blood.  I wasn’t perfect.  But I am redeemed.  His righteousness is my righteousness.  Sin may always be an issue until the day that I die, but the righteousness of Christ is my garment.  I haven’t earned it.  I don’t deserve it.  His grace is why it came and why it stays.  So, there can be a song on my lips.  Joy of heart which comes by faith can be mine.  Parise be to God!

The Way to Better Memory

“I have remembered thy name, O LORD, in the night, and have kept thy law. This I had, because I kept thy precepts.” (Ps 119:55-56 AV)

Compliance to the law of God results in a memory that does not forget God.  A God who cannot be seen or heard is a God that is often forgotten.  Maybe we do not forget Him completely.  After all, we read our bibles, go to church, and listen to songs of praise.  We may surround ourselves with things about God, but how much to we retain Him in our minds?  How much of our day-to-day activities includes the presence of God?  The nighttime is an especially hard time to remember God.  When we fall off to sleep, how many of our thoughts are heavenward?  Are our minds occupied by the events of the day or the next day’s duties?  Does our mind entertain fears and anxieties?  Do will fill our minds with fantasy or complaint?  What, or who, do we remember in the stillness of the night?  That which is more real to us is what occupies the mind.  The Psalmist says that he possesses the memory of God in the night because he has lived his word in the day.  Being in the word, especially living in the law and promises therein, is what makes God real to us.

Recently, my wife and I traveled to a foreign country.  The experience was surreal.  People are the same no matter where they live.  Being five-thousand miles from home did not change human nature.  People are still people.  There are more similarities than differences.  However, culture and laws are different.  What is amazing to me is the assumption we make that the laws from where we come are identical to the laws to where we went.  I imagine the same is true no matter where someone is from and where they are going.  I remember being told to shoot the moles who made my front yard as personal trenching ground.  There were tunnels all over the place.  It looked like my lawn had a severe case of varicose veins.  My church member told me to take my .22 and stalk those ground rats very early in the morning.  I thought he was kidding.  The state from which I came would never permit it.  When my wife and I went to a different country, we lived as though we were in the United States.  We expected the laws to be identical.  Most were similar.  Some were not.  Living by the laws of our home country kept in memory our origins and our love for country.  It was hard to forget home when we lived as though we were there.

Forgetting God is something we face every day.  Not retaining God in our minds is part of our human condition.  Sometimes, it is deliberate.  Other times we fail to retain God because the events of life make it so.  One key of memory is found above.  It is not enough to study the Bible as a textbook.  It is not enough to use the Bible merely in a devotional sense.  If God is to be remembered, His word must be lived.  This may sound simple.  Paul tells us there is a simplicity in Christ.  If life has become so complicated that we begin to doubt God’s existence, it is not because God made it so.  We have.  Believer, if you are struggling, slow your learning about the Bible and increase living in the Bible.  Let your walk catch up to your thoughts.  If your thoughts get ahead of your walk, then your walk becomes undisciplined.  Do you want to remember God?  Then live in His word.

The Song of all Songs

“And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous [are] thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true [are] thy ways, thou King of saints.” (Re 15:3 AV)

It is easy to forget just how great our God is.  It is interesting that both with Moses and the group singing above, they do so immediately following deliverance.  Moses sang this song upon deliverance from Egypt.  As the Red Sea closed upon their enemy and the eerie quiet of peace fell upon them, a song rang out of joy and gladness that their enemy had finally and fully been destroyed.  Even to this day, Egypt has never been the force it once was thousands of years ago.  Above, we hear the song of the saints delivered from Satan’s grasp.  The tribulation is in full swing.  The last three and a half years have begun.  The two witnesses have been raptures.  The 144,000 witnesses have been martyred.  The remnant of saved Israel is safe in the wilderness.  One has to believe that at this point, anyone who has trusted Christ is safe from Satan’s wrath.  The last half of the tribulation is the greatest outpouring of the wrath of God on those who hate Him since the time of Noah’s flood.  The righteous have been delivered.  The fight is over.  They rest in the might and power of their God to praise Him for all that He has done! 

We are no different.  We have every reason to praise God in the same way.  We have been delivered from sin!  The old man will one day perish, and we will be delivered from temptation, failure, guilt, shame, and estrangement.  We have been delivered from loneliness.  God is always at our side.  Even if we spend our twilight years with no one to talk to, God is still there.  We have been delivered from fear.  We have been delivered from a purposeless life.  Now that Christ is our Savior, we have a future.  We have been delivered from ignorance.  As the Bible becomes more precious to us, so do the wisdom and truth it shares.  We have been delivered from Satan and the world.  They have only as much influence as we allow.  We have been delivered from much.  But it is easy to forget from whence we came.

The words of praise above are perfect.  God is Almighty.  There is nothing He cannot do.  All things are under His control.  There is nothing hid from His sight.  He is the King of saints.  His sovereignty is not limited to His law.  He is King of the saints by protection and provision.  Our God is a benevolent and loving King who loves His children with everlasting love.  Today is Thanksgiving.  Today is a day to remember the blessings bestowed from a wonderful God.  Today is a day of gratitude and reflection.  Today is a day to remember that above all else, we are children of the Most High.  He loves us.  He gave His life for us.  And one day we will sing the ultimate song of deliverance.

Fighting a Defeated Foe

“And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.” (Re 12:10-11 AV)

We have to be reminded of two things.  First, we are not defeated.  If satanic forces are making our lives miserable, they are only doing so by the permissive will of God.  Just like the Devil’s attack on Job, God restrains satanic activity to our breaking point.  There is nothing they can do that God cannot contain.  When Job went through his trial, God was with him even though he could not sense it.  When Job faced his trial, God would not permit the Devil to take his life.  This would suggest the Devil could have if permitted to do so.  Being refused the ability of death, God was making a statement that Job would survive and even thrive.  God is always in control.  We also must remember the means by which we overcome.  The blood of Christ covers all our sins.  Those that we have committed and those yet to be committed.  There is nothing we have done or will do that the grace and mercy of God will not absolve.  The Devil may accuse all he wants.  But the sins are gone!  Hallelujah!  The manner in which we hold that faith is also important.  The testimony of our relationship with God is a major factor.  Our profession of faith matters.  Others take the word of testimony to mean the Word of God.  That works too.  Christ used the scriptures to defeat Satan in Matthew and Luke chapters four.  The evidence of victory is not loving our lives unto death.  In other words, if Satan is defeated, we don’t care if we live or die because we know we have a place in heaven, which he can never take away!  Glory!

As Satan gets an advantage, faith becomes our strongest ally.  Although the blood of Christ cleanses us from all sin, we must believe this.  Active faith cannot undo faith exercised in the past.  If we have repented and trusted Christ in the past, no amount of faithlessness in the present can undo that choice.  We are saved!  Living in that truth by faith seriously hinders the Devil’s influence over us.  Consistent testimony that we are children of God, or disciplined meditation in the word of God around relevant passages of scripture, seriously does the Devil’s desires some damage.  We do these two things in and by faith.  We testify we are children of God because of the word of God.  We read the Bible as the very voice of God, who speaks to us through the words contained therein.  Believing Satan has no power over us takes his power completely away.  What is the evidence?  Our eyes and desire are on the heavenly and not the earthly.

To love one’s life unto death means to esteem highly and be completely content with one’s life.  Or, more specifically, the attempt to attain such a state.  Those who love their lives unto death strive to attain the perfect life wherein nothing can bring a state of disappointment or discontentment.  That pretty much summarizes the entire world.  Even the carnal saint desires the same thing.  Those who love not their life unto death accept adversity, trials, and correction as part of life.  They may even accept them and welcome them as a necessary part of growing in Christlikeness.  They may even welcome them as God’s perfect will and the means by which they may glorify God.  Jesus tells us that a state of liberty from Satan is possible.  In fact, it is guaranteed.  The Devil has no power other than what the LORD permits.  He gives us the means by which we can overcome.  The result is eyes pointed toward eternity, knowing our struggles are only temporary.

Now, Stay There

“Order my steps in thy word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me.” (Ps 119:133 AV)

This passage is one of those timeless truths that seems to require revisiting.  We are fallen creatures struggling to live holy lives.  We are more successful since salvation came, but not nearly as much as we wish to be.  The writer is not telling God what to do.  Rather, he is surrendering his will to the hand of God because he is sick and tired of sin being his god.  He sees sin as a terrifying threat to him.  He wasn’t deliverance from himself.  He knows the only way to do this is to let God be God.

The word ‘order’ has more implications than what might first appear.  The definition goes beyond mere organization and structure.  It has a stricter meaning than simply laying down a plan with purpose in mind.  The word ‘order’ here means to fix solidly.  Imagine fixing your feet in concrete.  That is what the word has in mind.  The voice is imperative.  This suggests the only way deliverance from dominating sin can happen is if our lives are fixed in a concrete block of God’s word.  Our writer goes beyond the rod of the Shephard.  He goes beyond chastening.  What he is asking is that the LORD would permanently fix his soul in the law of the word of God.

Have you ever seen this scenario?  A father is trying to accomplish something or have a conversation with another adult, and his toddler is running around like a wild animal.  Perhaps he is trying to keep his whole family safe, and he has one child who is out of control.  Maybe he is strapping an infant into a car seat, yet his toddler is endangering himself by running around.  He picks his toddler up by the arms and plants him firmly in place.  He tells him, “Now, don’t move!”  The toddler is startled.  He is shocked into compliance.  One minute he was a free spirit.  The next; he was standing at attention.  One minute he had all the freedom in the world.  The next; he was forced to stand and not move.  This is the picture above.

We have a wicked and wild spirit within.  The old man wants to please the flesh.  He wants what he wants and does not care about the consequences.  The old man runs wild and needs some shock that will bring him unto subjection.  Our writer is asking the LORD to pick him up by the armpits, plant his feet solidly in the law of God, telling him, “Now, stay there!”

No Such Thing as Ignorance

“If thou forbear to deliver [them that are] drawn unto death, and [those that are] ready to be slain; If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not he that pondereth the heart consider [it]? and he that keepeth thy soul, doth [not] he know [it]? and shall [not] he render to [every] man according to his works?” (Pr 24:11-12 AV)

The degree of help needed should dictate our reaction to it.  Note that Solomon uses an extreme example of deliverance needed.  Those who are drawn into death or are ready to be slain are pretty extreme.  He is not speaking of someone who needs a few dollars for a hamburger.  Solomon is not referring to someone who needs a prepaid card to activate a cell phone.  Those to whom Solomon is referring are in a life and death situation.  Pleading ignorance is no excuse.  To put the above example in contemporary context, assume you are a doctor who knows much.  You walk the ICU and never look at one case.  Most of those laying in a bed are patients whom you could treat.  Perhaps you could save lives.  Yet, you stroll through.  When news comes of a patient who died, you simply say, “I had no idea”.  This is to what Solomon is referring.  We would think a person like that is morally bankrupt.  How could someone who solves life and death problems ignore what he knows exists?  Yet, as believers, we do this every day.

The excuse is ineffective because it is not the truth.  Willful ignorance is not possible here.  The vast majority of people we meet are drawn to death of ready to be slain.  Assuming the lost nature of a human soul is more probable than assuming salvation in Christ.  And the numbers are not even close.  It is far more likely, by a wide margin, that every person whom we speak to is drawn to death or ready to be slain.  Our problem is a perception problem.  We forget what it means to be lost and how perilous this condition truly is.  We preach Christ because we want to build churches.  We want the life and activity that come from results.  What we do not do is share the gospel as though someone’s life lays in the balance.  It is more serious than the loss of life.  Unless that lost soul turns to Christ, there will be a soul that is lost to eternal damnation.

Ezekiel has chapters dedicated to the watchman.  More than once the prophet warns those who can attempt the rescue of those in need.  In particular, the watchman sees pending danger as he stands atop the wall.  If he does not warn those within the city that an invasion is pending, then he is guilty in his neglect.  More specifically, Ezekiel warns the watchman to warn those in sin.  The warning is not limited to the pending curse.  Rather, the cause of the curse is voiced as well.  The phrase “his blood be upon thee” places blame for a lost soul on the prophet.  The sinner should have known better.  But the prophet who has the words of salvation is culpable.  Being disengaged is not an option.  This is how most of us avoid the responsibility of sharing the gospel.  If we live a solitary life, then there is no knowledge of a soul that will perish.  Not good enough.  Knowing there is a battle and avoid personal knowledge of it is still no excuse.  Let’s face it.  We are not doing the work of the evangelist if we ignore the individual soul doomed to eternal torment.

Hold And Hope

“But that which ye have [already] hold fast till I come.” (Re 2:25 AV)

“Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.” (Re 3:3 AV)

“Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.” (Re 3:11 AV)

“For surely there is an end; and thine expectation shall not be cut off.” (Pr 23:18 AV)

The Savior instructed two different churches to hold fast.  The church at Thyatira was told to hold fast because of its faithfulness.  They did all they could do and were successful.  Therefore, the LORD was not going to burden them with anything more than they could handle.  Therefore, they were to hold fast.  Smyrna was a church that was failing.  They were allowing their trials and persecutions to get the better of them.  They were told to hold fast what remained lest they lose what they had.  Both churches were told to hold fast as a measure of defense.  The one because of success.  The other because of active failure.  Holding fast was the last stand.  At their last stand, they were to drive the stake deep into the earth and, come what may, they would not move.  The adversary could do as he wished, but they were not moving.  It was their mountain to die on if need be.  Why the promise of Proverbs 23:18?  Because that is the answer to it all.  There is an end, and the hope in which we place will not fail.  There will be an end to all discord. 

Job is an incredible person.  To endure all that he did and not go down into a pit of despair from which there is no exit, I am sure, took all that he had.  He would not deny God’s existence.  He would not deny that God has a plan.  He would not deny the benevolent nature of God.  In fact, his circumstances; as horrible as they were; never changed the essence of who Job was.  He was confused.  He could not find a rationale for the events of life.  He could not answer the question ‘why’.  All that he faced and Job never allowed his circumstances to rob him of what he knew to be true.  If anyone is a personification of ‘hold fast’, it has to be Job.  He lost all his sons.  He lost all his wealth.  He lost all his ability to increase wealth or meet the needs of his family.  Job lost his health.  It was so bad he could not find one person to nurse him back to health.  He sat among the ashes and scraped off the boils that infested his body.  Job was as low as a human being could go.  But what did he do?  He held fast.  If anything, Job was stubborn.  He was not going to let the circumstances of life or the devil defeat him.  Listen to his words. “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him.” (Job 13:15 AV)

Which brings us to the hope of Proverbs 23.  Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, knew trouble was only temporary.  He knew that the trials of life or the circumstances of sin are not eternal.  There is an end.  The word expected is a precious one.  That word points to purpose.  An expected and does not mean merely as ceasing of the current situation.  What it means is the situation will cease because the purpose for it has been met.  The expected end is the end goal of the events we now face.  So, we are to hold fast because there is an expected end.  To the churches mentioned above, it is the return of Jesus Christ.  We will meet Him by life or by death.  There is an expected end.  In the meantime, the process of sanctification does have expected ends.  They vary and are numerous.  We have our own course to run.  We have different hurdles to jump.  But the nature of the race is still the same.  There is a tape stretched across the finish line.  There is a crown to be won.  If the devil sticks his foot out to trip us along the way, hold fast.  He can do nothing against a resisting saint!

Accepting the Love Of God

“And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.” (1Jo 4:16 AV)

Perhaps the LORD is following up from yesterday.  Yesterday, we discovered that it is ok to live in the reality that we are little children.  We always will be.  Our Father is so great that we will never be anything more.  We learned that it is ok to be comfortable with the child/father relationship we have with our Creator.  We were challenged to abide in Him as a child would abide in the security and affirmation of his or her parent.  Now we see a follow-up truth.  One cannot dwell with God unless he also dwells in His love.  To disbelieve that God loves us unconditionally also means we cannot dwell with Him.  The fault is not His.  The fault is ours.  If we are not living in the love of God, it is not because He has removed it.  If we do not dwell in His love, it is because we refuse to live there.  We know there is a doctrinal aspect to this verse.  John is speaking of simple salvation.  If we accept the love of God as manifested by Calvary’s cross, then we dwell in love.  As far as salvation goes, anyway.  What we fail to see is the practical.  John does not limit this truth to salvation alone.  Rather, this truth also extends to extra-salvatory love. 

In a child’s life, there are stages of separation from the love of their parents that are part of the process of growing.  As a toddler, the child will pull away the shoulder and exercise independence as a way to define who and what they will be.  They pull away.  But not very far.  When threatened, needy, or insecure, they run to Mom and Dad for comfort and affirmation.  Then, there are the adolescent years.  When a child hits his or her teens, parents become a bit of embarrassment.  The child distances himself because he is too afraid of what others would think.  This distance is rather far.  It often takes time and life to draw the child back to his parents.  One pleasure of weddings is seeing estranged parents and children reconcile over a major event of life.  Grandchildren come, and the child and parent become closer than ever before.  The parent has never moved.  He or she remains the steady rock that they have always been.  It is the maturity process of the child that strains and repairs this relationship.  A parent's love is never severed.  It is up to the child to come as avail themselves of that love.

With the saints, faith is the major issue.  God never leaves nor forsakes.  He never removes his love.  It may be manifested differently.  Circumstances of life dictate how God loves us.  But the fact that we have everlasting love cannot be denied.  I have noticed that the lack of faith in the love of God is becoming a widespread problem.  We simply have a hard time trusting that God could love someone such as us.  There is a problem with that.  Mainly, if we do not accept and dwell in the love of God, then we do not dwell with God.  To accept the love of God is to accept God’s presence.  When we do not accept God’s love, we are behaving like that adolescent who has deep doubts regarding His parent’s love.  The solution is very simple.  We must accept the fact of God’s everlasting love.  We much choose to dwell there.  We cannot run from it.  We cannot allow our self-hatred to drive us from it.  God loves us no matter what.  When we come to that conclusion and learn to trust it, then and only then do we truly begin to dwell with God in a fulness that can come no other way.

It's Ok To Be A Kid

“And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.” (1Jo 2:28 AV)

Such precious words!  Abide in Him!  Not only those words, but the ones that immediately preceded them.  Some would take offence at being called a little child.  The more spiritually mature we become, the more we welcome those words.  John may have penned the words.  But the words are from the Holy Spirit.  He is absolutely correct.  It doesn’t matter when we accepted Christ.  It could have been today or decades ago.  In the sight of God, we are all little children.  That is why the words that follow are so precious.  Abide in Him.  My mind goes to a time when a child would crawl on my lap for affirmation, comfort, security, or simply knowing me.  He or she would relish the time we could sit together.  Abiding in Him is not merely a walk of prayer and study.  Abiding in Him is a state of existence.  When we speak of abiding in our earthly father, this abiding can only go so deep.  There are connections.  But those connections are limited.  This is not so with our heavenly Father.  Abiding in Him has a much deeper meaning.

There is no other place like abiding in total security and affirmation.  Nothing compares.  Maybe that is why John addresses his letter to the little children.  As little children, we have many doubts and insecurities.  Will we be ok?  What is our purpose?  Are we really loved?  Will our source of strength and comfort make it all ok?  We get this idea that we should eventually grow out of our immaturity.  Compared to God, how realistic is that?  We are all little children.  There is still part of us that wants to run to our parents for a word of affirmation. This time of year is a bit rough for those who have lost parents.  I still forget that my mom passed away seven years ago.  When my wife and I make a project of Christmas cookies, my mind goes back to the Christmas cookie factory that was my Mom’s kitchen the Saturday following Thanksgiving.  My mind goes back to the snow-covered trees, the Christmas music, and the arguments over my Mom’s tree and the family tree.  I remember many of the traditions my Mom had for the holidays.  Canned cranberry sauce that only she would eat.  The tradition of New Year’s Eve comes to mind.  All these special times that makes me want to call my Mom and reminisce about the times she had with us children.  What am I doing?  I am living out the little child in me that felt secure and special.

It doesn’t matter how old we get.  It doesn’t matter how mature we are.  We are all little children.  And because we are little children, no matter the age or our experiences of life, we need to abide in Him.  Of late, I have apologized to the LORD for being so weak sometimes.  But maybe that is not the right thing to do.  Perhaps what we need to do is accept our weaknesses and live with them in the light of abiding in Him.  What a concept.  I know is sounds weak.  I know that others will pity us for this need for security and affirmation.  This is not weakness.  It is honesty and reality.  Too bad what others might think.  Compared to God, I am a little child.  Proud of it!  Heaven forbid if we ever outgrew the LORD!  Isn’t that what we do with our own parents?  We outgrow them.  Then we come to the age when we realize that we truly need them.  I am heading toward the twilight of my years, and I still miss my parents.  I wish they were here.  I wish I could make a phone call.  Just the sound of their voices would give me security and a sense that I mattered to someone.  Praise the LORD, that He excels in meeting this need.  So, admit you are a little child and abide in Him.  Let Him hug you and tell you that everything will be alright.  Because it will.

But

“The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” (2Pe 3:9-10 AV)

We often use verse 9 as a revelation of the heart of God to all souls.  Not Calvinism here.  There isn’t a soul God created with express purpose of damnation in mind. The Bible does not teach this anywhere.  God has an infinitely large heart for the lost souls of people.  He sent His Son so that we might have forgiveness of sin.  He gave us the gift of His Son because He created us to know and love us.  This is the God who is creator of everything.  He is not a God of evil, vengeance or destruction as the ultimate motive.  Not at all.  He is a God of love and grace first.  His first and greatest desire is that all souls might repent of their sins and love Him by faith.  In our passage above, there is one little word that is very important.  The word ‘but’ shows the balance between God’s love and God’s holiness.  God will not relax His standard of holiness for anyone.  Christ came and died that we might receive His holiness.  If we turn our back on His holiness, that is on us.  The word ‘but’ shows us that God’s grace has limits.  Yes, He wishes all souls would repent and not perish.  Yet because they will not, He must exercise righteous judgment.  The word ‘but’ is a very sobering thing.  Surprisingly, God’s grace in balance with justice is a comforting thought.

This scenario will sound familiar.  You are at a restaurant.  As you sit and enjoy your meal, a family with a small child sits across the aisle from you.  You know what is about to happen.  Your meal is going well, but the small child is not patient.  Mom and dad try to do the best they can.  They give snacks. They distract with crayons and a work page.  It works most of the time.  But this child is smart to their attempts.  He is having none of it.  He is out of control.  There is nothing that will please him.  Even when the food comes, he is still pitching a fit.  As you try to enjoy date night, your patience wears thin.  You rush your meal and get out of there as soon as you can.  While you leave, you are irritated.  You feel resentment that such a family thought it was a good idea to come to a public place and disrupt everyone else because they would not discipline their child.  A bit later, on your way home, you realize just how much damage those parents were inflicting upon their child.  It is not love to allow their child to act out.  If that child does not learn self-discipline, he will never amount to anything.  At some point, grace must end and justice must begin.

Our own nation has turned this balance on its ear.  Those who are corrupt are allowed to roam free.  On the misunderstanding that allowing offenders to roam free is more compassionate that incarcerating them is misguided.  Our nation is doing no good for our nation, nor for the offender.  Justice is necessary as part of the growth process.  Unless we learn there are consequences for our choices, we will continue a downward spiral into total anarchy.  Justice must balance grace.  Otherwise, ungodliness and wickedness reign.  As a nation, we better figure this out quickly.  If not, society will digress into more and more evil.  It is not a kindness to forgive and free at all times.  Not a good thing at all.  There is a reason spiritual fruit is common among the incarcerated.  Because they are held accountable for their actions, they can not think on what they have done, confess their faults, and try to make it right.  The LORD is not slack.  Or the LORD does not flippantly offer grace.  No, He offers it time and again.  But if mankind refuses thousands of years of mercy, what choice does He have?  He will start over in a creation where sin does not exist.  ‘But’ is very sobering.  ‘But’ should drive us to repentance and reconciliation.  If lost, ‘but’ should compel us to seek salvation in Christ.

Trouble May Be A Brewin

“For the time [is come] that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if [it] first [begin] at us, what shall the end [be] of them that obey not the gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?” (1Pe 4:17-18 AV)

We have to remember that any hope of the rapture brings with it a time of cleansing.  Peter could be referring to the Judgment Seat of Christ.  And he may very well be.  However, there is also a possibility that the body of Christ may have to endure a time of judgment prior to the rapture.  Don’t misunderstand me.  I do not believe in a mid-tribulation rapture of the church.  It is funny how those who hold that view do so to condemn saints whom they think need judging.  But they exclude themselves in that number.  Anyway, as Israel suffered through the first three plagues, maybe in the process leading up to the tribulation, the church will also suffer through adversity.  This might be a pattern in God’s plan.  The righteous are so because of the blood of Christ and the ministry of the Holy Spirit.  Yet, we are not sinless.  Not by a long shot.  Perhaps there is coming a time when the body of Christ must suffer for our worldliness, apathy, and even heresy.  Our judgment will pale in comparison to what the God-rejecting world will suffer.  But perhaps this time of cleansing is coming.

Going to parochial schools, one would often encounter harsh punishment for class-wide infractions.  Our teachers did not mess around.  There was order and discipline in our classroom, and no matter how well behaved you were, there was some sort of punishment you deserved.  Those Nuns were strict.  I don’t think they were allowed to smile at all!  I can remember a few times when the class was acting up.  Now, I was the good kid.  Joining group mischief was not my thing.  Staying quiet and unnoticed was my goal.  It didn’t always work out that way.  There were a few times when our class performed poorly on tests or failed to complete an assignment.  Yours truly included.  The hammer came down.  But it came down in measure.  Since I was one of those well-behaved kids, my infraction didn’t incur the depth of wrath that others experienced.  There were a few times when myself and a few others were dismissed to the library to complete our sentences while the others sat in class and really got it.

That is what the LORD does.  He removes the righteous from the wicked.  Lot suffered some hardship because he allied himself with the wicked.  The Bible calls him Just Lot.  Lot was not perfect, however.  He almost offered his daughters to a sex-crazed crowd, who would have raped them and, in the process, probably killed them.  God took pity on weak Lot.  He removed Lot from Sodom and Gomorrah before the fire rained down.  In removing them, they lost everything.  They lost their livelihoods.  They lost their home.  They lost their extended family.  Lot even lost his wife.  Lot’s life was changed because of his disobedience.  But he was saved, yet so as by fire.  This might be what the church is facing.  We have much to account for.  We have failed in many ways. To think there are uncomfortable times ahead is not strange.  I pray it is not more than we can bear, but exactly what we need.