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Dear Pastor Michael… My Heart Aches
Several weeks ago, I received a note from someone in our church, which held a very important question I surmise many of us might want to ask. Unfortunately it’s one of those questions we may be too afraid to say out loud. Some of us might wonder, “Is my question going to bring a lightning strike? Or am I speaking in contradiction to God’s Word? Will someone think I’m not a good Christian if I ask this?”
So with the permission and encouragement of the person who wrote me, I’ve included their note and my response. The personal information of the member has been changed or removed to protect their anonymity.
Pastor Michael,
Thank you for your sermon today and the elements and reminders that give us believers such Hope. The thing I struggle with is not being able to say, “Jesus, Come Quickly”. What about all the people that believers might know who don’t know the Lord Jesus as their Savior? One of my close relatives, for instance, is living a life separate from God. There are many more I could think of.
My heart aches for what the day would look like for the unsaved when all of us that are saved are rejoicing. It is a picture that I don’t like to envision often. Would there be any kind of help you could give me for this? I’m just pretty confused. Thank you for how you serve so diligently at North Park. I am thankful for your biblical leadership in the church.
___________________
Dear North Park family member,
The joy and delight in God’s Word that I see in you deeply encourages me! You and your family are such a blessing to North Park Baptist Church.
You have raised a very good question. How can we rejoice and look forward to the second coming of Christ, when the “day of the Lord” will mete out judgment and eternal condemnation to all the unrighteous? As you point out, all of us are close to those who show evidence of being spiritually lost and apart from Christ. Our relationships make the heartache all the more palpable. And what of those who have never heard or responded to the Gospel all over the world?
First of all, I believe the love, compassion, and concern you have for those outside of a relationship with Christ is no accident. God has filled your heart with love for the lost because this reflects His heart for the lost. Relating directly to “the coming day of the Lord” the apostle Peter described God’s heart this way,
“The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9 (see the prior context, too).
The same reflection of God’s heart for the lost is described in 1 Timothy 2:3-4,
“This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”
Paul then immediately conjoins God’s desire with God’s provision for salvation:
“For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time.” (1 Timothy 2:5-6).
God has provided the Way of rescue through Christ alone. From the deep well of God’s love, the Father ordained for the Son to die in our place, suffering the death we all deserved and bearing the just wrath of God, so that all who place their full trust in His provision will receive new, eternal life. The beautiful hope all believers have is summed up in John 5:24,
“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.”
All who trust in Jesus Christ will never face judgment. We will not be condemned. We are forgiven full and free because of the saving work completely finished by Christ. And yet, as you can easily see, we all must hear and believe. Those who do not believe the Gospel are already destined for judgment and nothing they do or don’t do can reverse their course. Only saving faith in Christ will save and change their eternal destination.
But here’s what we must remember…
1. God’s desire is on display in His provision of His perfect Son… who bore all God’s just wrath against sin so that all who receive the Son as their Savior will receive the righteousness of God in Him (cf. Rom. 3:21-26).
The Bible tells us no one is born in right-standing with God (Rom. 3:9-18, 23). Every human who has ever lived after the Fall of Adam has been born “in sin” (Psa. 51:5; Rom. 5:12) and bears the weight of God’s holy judgment against all sin, deserving death. This means that our children, our brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, and everyone else across the globe are born already condemned. But in great contrast with the judgment of God is the gift of God:
“For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one [Adam], much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. . . . so that, as sin reigned in death, even so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Rom. 5:18, 21)
So your heartache over what God’s judgment means for those you love is not wrong at all. In fact, your heart is reflecting God’s heart for the world.
2. God’s patience is on display every day through the provision of His Church… commissioned and empowered to herald the good news of His perfect Son.
If all people everywhere throughout all history are born sinners and thereby deserve God’s just judgment, the bottomline question is: so why hasn’t it already happened? And the answer is: God’s incredibly patient love for the people He has made. The “day of the Lord will come like a thief [unexpected, announced, suddenly]” (2 Pet. 3:10), but God’s patience is currently offering many the opportunity to hear and respond to the Gospel.
Violence and immorality had completely overtaken the world during the days of Noah. But year after year went by before judgment arrived. Why? The patience of God. Peter paralleled this to God’s offer in the ultimate ark of safety, Jesus Christ,
“…when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, that is, eight persons were brought safely through the water. Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you – not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience – through the resurrection of Jesus Christ…” (1 Peter 3:20-21).
Just as God provided the ark built by Noah as the rescue from judgment, so now God has provided the good news of Christ as the rescue from ultimate judgment.
At any given moment God has the just and righteous prerogative to consume every sinner and send them to their place of eternal torment: hell. But He doesn’t. He is patient, full of compassion, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy (cf. Isa. 30:18; Jonah 4:2). In Jeremiah’s Lamentations he wrote, “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail” (Lam. 3:22 NIV).
Our grace-giving, patience-loving God has now sent you and me and all the rest of His people into the world to share the message and mercy of Christ. He hasn’t provided the Church with salvation so that we may can it in jars, store it in the church pantry, and keep it all for ourselves. God is showing His patience to the world by sending His Spirit-empowered people into the world, equipped with the Gospel.
But this age will not last forever… which give us a very real sense of urgency to live for God’s mission.
3. God’s people don’t rejoice at the judgment of sinners but in the justice of God. Just as we shouldn’t rejoice or salivate over the execution of a murderer (no matter how evil they may be), we should never be gleeful over the impending judgment coming to earth.
We (aligned with God’s character) are thankful for vindication, justice, and freedom from the oppression of evildoers, but not at all happy that so many have rejected God’s provision of rescue and eternal life. We can be grateful that God is the one who will seek vengeance for His people, and therefore, we don’t have to take vengeance into our own hands.
Throughout Scripture, we find heaven rejoicing over lost sinners coming to repentance (see Luke 15:10), but judgment is always accompanied not with rejoicing but with sobriety, deep grieving, and humility. Our posture should reflect the position of heaven toward repentance and judgment.
We are to “love His appearing” (2 Tim 4:8), “looking for and hastening the coming day of God” (2 Pet. 3:12), because for those “in Christ” it will mean unending joy, peace, justice, and righteousness in the presence of God for all eternity. But we also look on the day of the Lord with an attitude of humility, contriteness, and urgency for God’s mission.
I hope this rather looooong reply helps you balance the two sides of “the day of the Lord” and yet also guides you to worship the Lord through the words, “come, Lord Jesus.”
Let me know if I’ve made this as clear as mud or if it helped at all.
In Christ Alone,
Pastor Michael
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Our Ruler-Creator and Personal Savior
On this beautiful, sunny winter day, let’s call to mind a central, life-changing truth that sets Christianity apart from all other world religions: The great, magnificent, one-and-only God is not only the transcendent Lord of all, but also the immanent, personal Lord. Ponder these words from Psalm 104 with me:
“Bless the LORD, O my soul!
O LORD my God, You are very great;
You are clothed with splendor and majesty,
Covering Yourself with light as with a cloak,
Stretching out heaven like a tent curtain.”
(Psalm 104:1-2)
Transcendence meets immanence. Did you miss it? Look again at the second line. The psalmist declares His praise to our Creator using the most revered name of God (YHWH, signified by all caps), but then says that this most revered One, is also his God – “my God” (v. 1b). In praise to the LORD, we speak as people in personal relationship with the omnipotent One. Yet the psalmist also does not diminish the “holy other” nature of God in his words of direct, personal communion. With all enthusiasm and reverence, he speaks of the Lord’s greatness, majesty, unapproachable light, and His work of cosmic creation. Psalm 104 continues these themes in specific, beautiful detail.
In God’s immeasurable power, He is not only the ruler and Creator over all things but also the personal Savior of all who trust in Him. The God who has the power to make all things also has the power to make personal, real contact with those whom He has made. Herein is the heart of the Gospel!
His Journey (Not Ours)
God is not a divine watchmaker who spun the world into existence and left us to merely keep on spinning. God is not an unapproachable judge hovering like a hidden monster on a mountaintop. God is not a disinterested or unloving Creator who has no care for His creation. God is not befriended or appeased by us climbing a twenty-seven step ladder or making an arduous pilgrimage.
No, the all-powerful God was powerful enough to journey to us, come to our home – Earth – and bear our sin, die as our substitute. Why? “…to bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18b). He made the journey we could not make. He won the battle we could not win. He carried the cross for all our sins “so that we become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor. 5:21).
As the ancient psalmist rejoiced in his personal communion with God, looking forward in faith to the Promised One who would come, so we look back in faith to the Promised One who came… and through Him we, too, can proclaim, “O LORD my God, You are very great!”
I am looking forward with great anticipation to our gathering tomorrow as we glory in God through collective worship at North Park Baptist Church. Would you join me in prayer for continued renewal, revival, and spiritual awakening in all our hearts?
May Jesus Christ be praised!
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Post-Holiday Season Hope
“Twas’ the night before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse…”
All our young children, no doubt, had gingerbread men and toys galore dancing in their heads as they went off to sleep on Christmas Eve (since children don’t know what “visions of sugar-plums” are anymore). Yet for us adults, those feelings of excitement and anticipation may feel like a faraway memory.
Just pause for a moment. Can you remember what that felt like? Maybe for you that elation is no longer in receiving gifts galore, but in the thrill of seeing how your children or grandchildren respond when they open the gifts you give them. Perhaps that sense of excitement is now more closely paralleled in adulthood by events like:
“I’m getting married next month!”
Do you remember that feeling? Or maybe for you it is…
“I’m closing on a new house tomorrow!” or “We’re finally going on our long-awaited vacation!”
Christmas… Post-Taste
I’m fairly certain we all looked forward to Christmas this year. Yet now that it’s past – the wrapping paper is in the trash, the batteries are already dead, and the seasonal sales are no more – what’s next? New Year’s Day, the Super Bowl… Next Christmas? Well, sure.
But many of us may feel and look sort of like my son Hudson’s Advent calendar, which he quickly chowed through two weeks before Christmas. Behold:
All our time and energy goes into “that one day” and when that day is done, many of us might be happy but a lot of us feel wiped out, burned out, let down, or downright empty.
But what if the biggest thing you and your family looked forward was something more, something that would never let down?
Is there a hope that never dies…
that sustains you,
motivates you,
inspires you,
energizes you…and even dramatically changes your focus about everything?
Yes, indeed.
Post-Holiday Season Hope (that lasts)
God, the Creator of all things, Sustainer of life, and Savior of mankind offers us joy in this life. But even more so, a hope – THE BLESSED HOPE – beyond this present, fractured world.
Over and over again throughout the Old and New Testaments, God was and is pointing His people to hope, to hope for the consummation of His plan of redemption. However, it is not a fly-by-night hope, a “I hope so” attitude that matters very little in everyday life. No, God’s message of hope for His people changes everything… about our future and about our present.
God’s message of hope is ringing like a song throughout every book of the Bible.
We could go to nearly any page in the scriptures to hear the anthem. But let’s just turn to several key passages from Daniel, Zechariah, and Revelation, which paint the surprising landscape portrait of hope for Israel, God’s chosen nation (who He still has a specific future plan for) and for us, the believing Gentiles, who have been grafted in by His grace and “made heirs according to the promise of the hope of eternal life” (Titus 3:7; cf. Romans 8:17).
Let’s turn first to Daniel 7:13-14, 27 for our first glimpse of the consummation of redemption. At this juncture, we’re not going into the specific timing of end-time events, but instead focusing on the centerpiece of the whole event… at the overarching theme and finding it in One person, One King, who is returning…
For Post-Holiday Season Hope (that lasts) we’ll journey toward 3 hope-giving truths and one central call-to-action as as we move from Daniel 7:13-14 to Zechariah 3:8-10; 6:13; 14:9 and wrapping up with Revelation 22:1-5.
You can listen to the full audio message by clicking on the play button below or by subscribing to our iTunes podcast.
This sermon entitled “The Heart of Christmas (Part 4): Consummation” was delivered at North Park Baptist Church of Grand Rapids, MI on Sunday morning Dec. 27th 2015.
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The Song of Christmas: A Poem
A wicked king ruled o’er the land
Darkness and dread poured from his hand
A thick gloomy mist draped over the people
Weary and worn, there was no sign of a steeple
This evil king was not heir to the throne,
His path was crooked and cruel, “so let it be known!”
He usurped authority, overturned the law,
Coerced to the place where he now sat sneering with set jaw
“How long!?” the countrymen cried.
Toiling under his heavy hand
They tried to revolt, but to no avail
Victory seemed utterly futile on their worn, torn trail
The civil unrest and growing distress stretched higher
Yet all this drove the insidious man to squeeze his grip even tighter
Crushing taxation…
Religious oppression…
Murderous schemes…
Immoral regression…
The people wondered and wandered and worried:
“Who can save us?”
“Is there hope?”
“Will a righteous one ever ascend the throne?”
“Is there one to make everything right
To mend our shattered lives,
Wipe our tear filled eyes?”
“Will we ever stop living amid this king’s lies?”
Then a promise sounded from the ancient past
A message from the Father of the Promised One, at last
His words shot with blazing light into the shadows of night:
“The people who walk in darkness will see a great light!”
Like a young sapling, He will grow from the lonely root
He will be the Branch that bears good fruit
He will be the Shepherd who cares for all the sheep
He will be the King who rules with perfect peace and equity
The promise rang like a signal bell across the land,
Its song was singing from mountaintop to timber stand:
“He is arriving! Be ready! He is coming!”
The sad chorus of oppression turned to hymns of anticipation
Hope was returning, Love was restoring
But the refrain of a Savior…
Made the incredulous king recoil as a viper
Ready to inflict and poison like a sniper
Alluring with lies, scheming their demise
His tactics of torture, deception, and theft hushed the song
Spreading sad silence once again far and long
The power of fear rose each year
The promise of freedom seemed to disappear
Year after year their burden increased
They buried their loved ones
Their hope seemed deceased
Yet then in the silence and sorrow and tears
A heavenly messenger appeared…
“Strike up the song! For your King is here!”
Like the dawning light of a fresh spring morning
The news crossed the sky and went soaring
The Child, the Promise, the Savior is born!
Life, peace, joy is restored!
But the lies of the wicked king were chanted so long
Many believed his pathetic, unhappy song
They ignored the promise
Continued in darkness
Yet across the countryside…
Many weary remembered the Promise,
They believed the Truth, received Him as Savior with, “glory to God in the highest!”
His arrival? Not with trumpets.
His mission? Misunderstood.
His crown? Twisted thorns.
His throne? A cross.
But the story was not yet complete…
For His death marked the evil king’s defeat
He rose from the grave conquering
Sin and death no longer triumphing
We, the believing, are yet in Christ’s glad kingdom
Still the defeated enemy rasps to diminish our freedom
Yet the King’s First coming is proof for the Second.
So our song will not be silent!
His light is spreading across the land:
“He is coming. Be ready! Our King is arriving again!”
So in the heaviness of these days
Let anticipation frame your ways
For just as surely as the King’s first arrival,
So He will be arriving again
And His kingdom will have no end.
“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name.” (John 1:12)
This Christmas… God is inviting those lost in darkness, under the rule of sin and death, to come home to His love in Jesus Christ. Jesus is the only way of rescue.
Will you repent and trust in Him alone today?
__________________________
From our family to yours… we deeply appreciate all the wonderful friends and family members God has given us! Thank you for loving and encouraging us in the Gospel.
May God bless you with abundant grace and peace today as you celebrate and sing of Christ the Incarnate Son.
May you continue to greatly delight in Christ as you walk in the Light.
And here’s a pic with all of us smiling at the same moment, too. 🙂
Merry Christmas!
From the Breznau Family…
Merry Christmas ~ From the Breznau clan (2015)
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The Heart of Christmas
We love all the festive decorations, candles, lights, trees, and ribbons of Christmas around our house. In fact, Christmas music has been ringing and singing through our place since the beginning of November… or maybe even October. Memories of snowball fights, goofy red sweaters, sleigh rides, and hot chocolate warm my soul. How about you?
My wife, Stephanie, is always so creative and witty about our decorations. Here’s a picture of our living room right now:
Christmas 2015 at the Breznau Home
Yet through all the warm memories, shopping, and decorations, let’s recall the heart of Christmas. The Bible, God’s grand narrative of redemption and the coming kingdom, is a story most of all about Him.
Sure, there are many interesting men and women woven into the storyline of God’s Word. Kings and queens, small shepherd boys, villagers, carpenters, priests, and tax collectors all have intriguing parts in the Bible. The decisions of Abraham, the leadership of Moses, the perseverance of Ruth, the choices of David, and the courage of Esther teach us important lessons of wisdom, truth, love, and justice.
However, the Bible is primarily (and wonderfully) directing all readers toward one central character: Jesus the Christ. He is the heart of Christmas. The Bible beckons us to behold the glories of God’s love in the Good News of Jesus. Foretold in the Old Testament and fulfilled in the New Testament, all those lost in darkness are called to come home to God’s love.
As we move toward our celebration of Christmas Day and just beyond, we here at North Park Baptist Church are going to journey home through four key trail-markers in Scripture:
- The Promise (Jer. 23:1-8; Isa. 9:2-7) – THIS Sunday at 10:30am
- The Anticipation (Zech. 3:6-10; 8:1-8, 22-23; Micah 4:1-7) –Sunday, Dec. 13 at 9:00am and 10:45am
- The Fulfillment (Matt. 1:1-25; Luke 2:25-38) – Sunday, Dec. 20 at 9:00am and 10:45am
- The Consummation (Dan. 7:9-14; Rev. 5:6-14; 19:1-6) –Sunday, Dec. 27 at 10:30am
Would you join me in praying for personal revival in all our lives as we return to the heart of Christmas together? Would you pray with me that men, women, and children will come home to God’s love through saving faith in Jesus Christ as we communicate the Gospel at North Park Baptist Church? Thank you! 
“But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” (Titus 3:4-7)
Upcoming Sermons Here:
As we progress through The Heart of Christmas series, I’ll be posting the audio podcasts below, so that you can listen in or share the messages with a friend.
You can listen to these four messages by clicking the play button below or by subscribing to our iTunes podcast.
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The Word on Refugees
To listen to the full audio message entitled “God’s Word on Refugees,” click on the play button at the bottom of this post or go to our iTunes [Grace Exposed] podcast channel. This message was delivered at North Park Baptist Church of Grand Rapids, MI on Sunday evening, Nov. 22, 2015.
Last Wednesday evening, Hudson and I arrived home just as the late autumn sun was gently setting across the horizon. All day long a pattern of dreary weather wore on with cold drizzle and wind. But just before dusk, the heavy ceiling of nimbostratus clouds pulled back like the opening of grand theatre curtains. Bright red, orange, purple, and yellows hues danced across the sky. The stark backdrop of lofty clouds created beautiful yet strange looking formations…
Hudson peered up at the sky with a look of wonder and worry, “Papa! Look at the clouds…at the sky! They look different. It’s looks weird…I’ve never seen it like that before!” Hudson paused for a moment, then shouted out, “I’m scared!”
You and I would probably not be scared about an unusual cloud formation (unless it was a tornado). Yet seeing something new, different, out-of-the-ordinary, outside-our-creature comforts often brings up a bit of fear or worry within us.
Falling Apart
Over the past several weeks the news headlines have been ripping into our society with volley after volley of tragedy, terror, and devastation. The terrorist attacks on Paris. ISIS advancement. Jihadists trickling into American society. Governmental unrest. And perhaps loudest of all: The Syrian/Middle Eastern refugee crisis.
Yet for me, grief gripped my soul several months earlier when I encountered this picture of a little boy dead on the seashore.
3-year-old Aylan drowned at sea when the boat carrying his mom and 5-year-old brother capsized off the coast of Bodrum. Only his father survived. Justin Moyer provided the details in the Washington Post. This young Kurdish family’s hopeful destination was Canada, where another family member was attempting to sponsor their immigration.
A following picture shows the Turkish policeman carrying little Aylan away from the waves. One can’t help but notice one Velcro strap on his shoe has come undone, just like my own son’s small sneakers. And as Moyer points out, “though we can’t know what the policeman is thinking as he carries a dead child from the ocean, one thing is clear: He is looking away.”
Thousands more are attempting to flee their native homelands of Syria and Iraq as ISIS continues to leave a wake of destruction and terror.
Amid the firestorm of debate over the last two weeks about the refugee crisis certain questions rise to the surface:
Is it natural to have some feelings of fear about the idea of refugees coming in mass numbers to America? Certainly.
Should our country carefully screen all refugees via a thorough immigration process? Absolutely. (Note: it’s already quite exhaustive, see HERE)
Would it be difficult, hard work to assimilate refugees into our society? Definitely.
Will some of the people be dangerous or criminally-minded? Yes.
How many refugees should the USA welcome to our shores (if any)? Well…
With all these questions swirling around, we viewed this short film from Samaritan’s Purse about what some Christians are doing to provide love and care for refugees:
I can still hear their muffled cries. The sound won’t leave my ears.
I can still see their mud-stained tears. The sight won’t leave my mind.
I can almost smell the faint aroma of the seashore…
The Best Question
While we may have myriad questions about the politics and economics involved in this refugee crisis, as Christians the most important question is not if they come but when they come, how does God want us to respond? Wherever they are in the world, how should we respond to the sojourner, the refugee?
DEFINITION: ref·u·gee noun
Political pundits on both sides of the refugee debate tend to ignore God’s Word. But we’re not going to do that. God spoke on this issue long ago and His truth still rings true today. As followers of Jesus let’s carefully, prayerfully, and biblically wade into the choppy waters where American Christians, politicians, bloggers, and refugees seem to be drowning in a swirling riptide of anger, sadness, fear, and compassion. Yet let’s anchor the conversation in God’s Word, which I firmly believe will guide us to a safe and peaceful shore.
Our guide for all of life, faith, and practice is not Fox News, CNN, or USA Today, but God’s Holy Word… which always cuts right to the heart of the issues we face. So let’s journey together in God’s Word to see five guideposts along the trail of how we should respond to refugees.
God’s Word on Refugees
1. We show our love for God by loving what He loves.
God instilled a heart to care for sojourners in His people. Here’s how He explained His character and His command to the Israelites:
His Character: “For the LORD your God is the God of gods and the Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God who does not show partiality nor take a bribe. He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing.”
His Command: “Love the sojourner, therefore, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.” (Deut. 10:17-19)
Now be careful, just because we are Christians under the New Covenant does not mean we are to forget about displaying the character of God, as detailed in the Old Testament. God’s heart for the refugee-sojourner is replete across the Old Testament (see also Exodus 22:21-22; 23:9; Lev. 19:33-34) and God’s command to love and care for refugees isn’t merely a guideline buried in that particular historical context with no bearing on how we are to live today.
The church isn’t Israel nor is America the church. But God’s law for Israel concerning His love for the foreigner has a timeless truth for the church. Just as Israel was to be a light to the nations, so the church is now to bear Christ’s light to all nations. God’s people across all time are to display God’s love for refugees.
2. We express God’s compassion when we give refuge to refugees.
The righteous man, Boaz, followed God’s love for refugees when he welcomed, protected, and provided for Ruth, the Moabitess. After Boaz initiated specific care for Ruth as she gleaned from his fields, Ruth responds:
“Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground and said to him, ‘Why have I found favor in your sight that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?’
Boaz replied to her, ‘All that you have done for your mother-in-law after the death of your husband has been fully reported to me, and how you left your father and your mother and the land of your birth, and came to a people that you did not previously know. May the LORD reward your work, and your wages be full from the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to seek refuge.” (Ruth 2:10-12)
Ruth considered herself a nokria (“foreigner”), the lowest of the low – even perhaps considered a harlot, an outcast from Jewish society. Yet Boaz viewed her the way God saw her: one seeking refuge under His wings. Boaz didn’t just communicate truth about God, he expressed the compassion of God by giving refuge to Ruth.
At a different point in history but declaring the same truth, the nation of Judah was to provide refuge for Moab against the constant attacks of Assyria:
“Let the outcasts of Moab sojourn among you; be a shelter to them from the destroyer.” (Isaiah 16:4a)
Why should a good and godly Israelite do such a thing? Because it not only expresses God’s compassion but also displays a foretaste of the coming kingdom, ruled by the Davidic King, Jesus Christ:
“When the oppressor is no more, and destruction has ceased, and he who tramples underfoot has vanished from the land, then a throne will be established in steadfast love, and on it will sit in faithfulness in the tent of David one who judges and seeks justice and is swift to do righteousness.” (Isaiah 16:4b-5)
One day Christ the King will bring perfect justice and righteousness to earth. But until that day comes we, as followers of Christ, are to demonstrate the character of that coming kingdom.
3. We are most like our God when we love people who hate God (and us).
Even ISIS! Yikes. Even refugees who may or may not be “safe”? Yes. Jesus makes this point strikingly clear:
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” (Matthew 5:43-45)
Now just so you know that I’m not going doctrinally liberal or crazy, the strongly conservative pastor John MacArthur said nearly the same thing, in reference to the passage above: “[Christians] are most like God when they show love to people who hate God.”
Jesus ups the ante. To follow His path of discipleship means we love (in tangible ways) and pray for those who may label us their enemies. To “be sons of your Father” doesn’t indicate we earn our way into the family of God through loving our enemies but that we show we’re in God’s family by loving our enemies. We look like our Father! For this is precisely what God in Christ did for us:
“For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.” (Romans 5:10)
4. We demonstrate the righteousness we’ve received in Christ by showing the righteous reign of Christ in our lives.
Jesus Christ gave His disciples a glimpse of the judgment line between the righteous and the unrighteous:
“Come…inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world, for I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me. . . . Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.”
“Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me nothing to drink; I was a stranger and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me. . . . Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” (Matthew 25:34-46)
When Christ returns to make all things new, His reign will proclaim justice and righteousness, grace and truth. So when we feed, clothe, house, and visit the refugee we are showing the reign of Christ in our lives. These actions are evidence of God-given righteousness by grace through faith, not the method of obtaining righteousness (cf. Rom. 3:20-23; Gal. 2:16; Tit. 3:5; Eph. 2:8-9). Therefore, God’s people should be mobilizing not weaponizing to prepare to display Jesus Christ (i.e. glorify God) to those coming in massive migration from Northern Africa and the Middle East. Let’s give them a foretaste, an appetizer of the coming kingdom…
5. We find true life when we lay down our lives to live out Christ’s life.
When we die to our safety, reputation, and desires we find life as it was meant to be lived: glorifying God by enjoying God. Our initial reaction to this might be somewhat like Peter’s response to Jesus’ talk of “suffering many things…being rejected..and being killed” (Mark 8:31). Peter pulled Jesus aside and rebuked the Messiah (see v. 29) for saying such outlandish things. This talk of suffering and dying wasn’t in the plan! Was it?!
Peter didn’t know the meaning of life. He was flat wrong. His mind was not focused on “God’s interests, but man’s” (v. 33b). Jesus then turned to all the disciples and called the whole crowd together to tell them about true life as it is meant to be lived:
“If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.” (Mark 8:34b-35)
We are not promised an easier, safer life than Jesus, our Master and Teacher (Matthew 10:24-26; John 15:18-25). But His life is real, abundant life. His life alone satisfies our deepest longings and needs.
So don’t be afraid. Live by faith, not by feelings or fear. Fear cripples faith but faith motivates mission. Fear is driven by self and a focus on self drives out compassion. Yet our God calls us to the path of faith. His way provides strength, courage, tenacity, and boldness to stare into the faces of refugees and our enemies… and to reach out with love.
Here’s a note from someone loving refugees right now:
“[I] just read an update from a friend that said they offered a blanket to a refugee in the name of Jesus. The man said, ‘Who is this Jesus? Since I left home he has given me food, a place to stay and now a blanket. I want to know him.” (via Chuck Wade)
Faith or Safe?
We don’t see any thoughtful person saying our government shouldn’t carefully screen all refugees through the process of immigration. One role of government is the protection of its citizens, “both foreign and domestic” (cf. Romans 13:1-7; 1 Peter 2:13-15). However, as followers of Jesus, our primary motivations are not derived from the government but from the Word of God. We are not called to what is safe but what is of faith. This doesn’t mean we throw wisdom to the wind. But it does mean we must set our minds on God’s interests not man’s. We must deny ourselves (even all our earthly comforts), take up our crosses, and follow Jesus.
We are not called to what is safe but what is of faith.
Many people told the missionary greats of the past that they were throwing wisdom to the wind, i.e. Hudson Taylor, William Carey, Amy Carmichael, Adoniram Judson, Jim and Elisabeth Elliot, etc. Yet history proves who was really speaking the true words of wisdom.
The fruit of the gospel is not found in a life of earthly ease, comfort, safety, and modest respectability, but in laying down our lives to live out Christ’s life here on earth.
May His will be done on earth, as it is in Heaven.
Key Action Steps:
When was living by faith ever promised to be safe? Never. God has always called His people to do out-of-the-ordinary actions to usher people toward his extra-ordinary grace. Let’s not wait for them to come to us, let’s go to them.
- Ordinary Bible-believing, Gospel-preaching churches (like North Park Baptist Church) who believe the life-transforming truth of the gospel may prepare to welcome 1-2 refugee families into the community with food, clothing, education, and housing.
- Our city, Grand Rapids, is 4th in the USA for cities equipped and active in settling refugees.
- If you’re a pastor or church leader and interested in joining together on this mission, I want to talk with you! Please go to the contact page and your message will be sent directly to my email inbox. You can also go to North Park Baptist’s Facebook page and send a message: https://www.facebook.com/NorthParkGrandRapids/
- Directly support Samaritan’s Purse International Relief as they minister to refugees in Greece and other locations right now.
- Directly supporting ABWE’s GAP Ministry through George and Deb Collins, which has team members on the ground working with refugees to provide medical care, food, clothing, and gospel witness: GAP MINISTRY #0820013
- Be involved in encouraging and supporting missionaries like Jon and Kris Shepherd (and family) with Global Gates, who are touching unreached, unengaged people groups in major USA cities (currently in NYC). These people groups are predominantly immigrants from West Africa, the Middle East, and SE Asia.
Let’s take the faith-step, not necessarily the safe-step. Let’s show them Jesus.
For Further Information:
Chances are if you’ve read all the way to the bottom of this post, you’re a person who enjoys reading and researching. Here are some links to other helpful, biblical articles written by pastors and theologians you can trust (a couple of whom are friends of mine):
- Building His Church in a Refugee Crisis by David Crabb at www.DesiringGod.org
- Stop Pitting Security and Compassion Against Each Other in the Syrian Refugee Crisis by Dr. Russell Moore
- Immigration Policy Must be Based on More than an Appeal to Compassion by Kevin DeYoung at www.tgc.org
- Eight Words from Jesus in a World of Refugees by D. Glenn at www.DesiringGod.org
- John Piper: 20 Principles for How Christians Should Relate to Muslims (and those of other religions) by Justin Taylor at www.tgc.org
- Why Evangelicals are Torn about Admitting Refugees to the US by Trevin Wax
- Something Christian Millennials “Don’t Get” by Klinton Silvey
If we are genuinely pro-life and living out Christ’s life, then we must genuinely care about these lives:
A terrified child clings to a rock on the shore as a group of Syrian refugees arrive on the island after travelling by inflatable raft from Turkey. The Eastern Mediterranean route from Turkey to Greece has overtaken the central Mediterranean route, from North Africa to Italy, as the primary one for arrivals by sea. From January to June this year, 68,000 people arrived in Greece, compared with 67,500 in Italy, accounting for nearly all the arrivals in the period.
This is Syria. Families are fleeing their native homeland because the conditions created by ISIS are utterly unlivable.
Samaritan’s Purse International Relief guides Syrian families to safe refuge on the coast of Lesbos, Greece.
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Transparency: A Four-Letter Word
Transparency: a four-letter word.
A four-letter word? Really? Perhaps you read that and raised your eyebrows. Maybe your lip curled in disgust that I would dare liken a harmless word such as transparency to a cuss word.
Regardless, we often treat transparency and all that comes with it, with an attitude of disdain and fear. Why? We need it, yet we dread it. We are afraid of it or of what it may bring. So we treat transparency, in it’s raw and honest form, as taboo. Genuine, relational transparency seems like unnecessary or awkward territory to traverse, not only in our churches but in our personal relationships with people every single day.
Here’s a window inside…
When a friend comes to you and wants to share how she is struggling, she is afraid. She’s scared that when you realize there are cracks beneath her perfectly built fortress, you will discard her as quickly as you did your empty Starbuck’s cup this morning.
Or it could be you are shriveling up inside, dying to be able to share with someone about the hurts you are facing, yet you cannot bring yourself to share with anyone because of the possibility of rejection. The fear of vulnerability keeps you trapped in a web of insecurity.
Or maybe you know someone going through a miscarriage, the death of a loved one, depression, or divorce and you don’t know what to say?
Have we ever stopped to think that when we keep silent and face our struggles alone, we are ignoring God’s command to carry each other’s burdens and have our burdens carried? Here’s how God inspired Paul to write about this:
“Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.” (Galatians 6:2-3)
We cannot deny that He has asked this of us, but we daily ignore it! We become so crazy busy with our lives, that the focus is on us, not on how we can be a community of believers loving and living life with each other.
Why do people fear honesty? When we are honest, we are opening up ourselves to growth and deeper relationships. We have to consider that we need to be ready to listen, not just share. There are others who need us to hear them.
Mother Teresa said: “Honesty and transparency make you vulnerable. Be honest and transparent anyway.”
So lift up your mask and let the facade crumble.
We are at a crossroads where we need to ask ourselves these questions:
Can we be real?
Can we be brave?
Can we be true to who we are as children of the one and only King?
Most importantly, can we be women (and men) of faith who truly believe Jesus knows what He is taking about when He told us to bear one another’s burdens?
Say yes and launch off the ledge. He is strong enough to catch you and only in the falling will you find your freedom.
What to say to your hurting friends? Just listen as they share and be there for them.
When we realize we’re not enough is the moment we begin to learn He is enough.
When we turn the page beyond our own self-reliance is the moment we enter a new chapter of learning the love of Christ and His people…we need each other.
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Persevering Prayer
A nuclear war is not fought with 12-gauge shotguns nor is a F-18 dogfight waged with M-16 rifles. Appropriate weaponry must be used for the context of the battle at hand.
The war we face as Christians is an intense, spiritual conflict that is not fought with typical, human-designed weapons. In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul gives us detailed intel on Satan’s mafia-like forces:
“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12)
So what are we to do? How can you and I “be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might” (6:10) when we’re up against the “schemes of the devil” (6:11b)? Here are God’s clear instructions: “Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day…” (6:13a). Following this imperative is a short handbook on the combat armor God provides for His people, set to the analogy of a Roman soldier’s gear — what Paul would have been seeing everyday as he remained under house-arrest (cf. 6:20). Truth, righteousness, the gospel of peace, faith, salvation, and the word of God all function together as the necessary equipment you and I need every hour of every day as followers of Jesus.
But if you’re anything like most Christians I know, you’re still kind of wondering, “So how do I ‘put on’ and ‘take up’? Does this mean I stand in front of a mirror and imaginarily put on this armor each morning?” No… God’s guidance here is straight to the point and intensely practical:
“With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.” (Ephesians 6:18-20)
When the apostle Paul exhorted the believers in Ephesus to pray, he wasn’t outlining an optional tool for Christians. In fact, persevering prayer is one of the most central tools by which Christians are equipped with God’s weapons for war. Our real, ultimate fight is not against persons, people groups, or political parties but against Satan, sin, and his system. And when the bullets of Satan’s lies and the assaults of doubt and discouragement rip into our lives we must pray and keep praying because this is the way we fight and keep fighting the right fight… God’s way.
The syntactical connection between verses 18-20 and the preceding verses (14-17) is vitally important – even tactical. Don’t miss it. Two participles “pray/praying” and “be on the alert/being alert” are embedded in verse 18 and both carry the force of instrument or manner. Now catch this: the instrument God has sovereignly ordained for the utilization of His armor is prayer. Persevering prayer — praying against all odds with unrelenting intensity, commitment, and faith is the way we “put on” and “take up” the armor God has provided.
We stand strong in the strength God provides, that which is not sourced in ourselves but sourced in God, when we pray. For a full exposition of the reasons why we should pray and how we should pray, scroll down to the audio player where you can listen to my message from this past Sunday, entitled “Battle Ready: Persevering Prayer” (Eph. 6:18-20).
Our Call to Prayer
We here at North Park Baptist Church of Grand Rapids are calling one another to 12 days of focused prayer. If you’re part of our church family, I invite you to join with me in praying the 12 requests below over the next 12 days. You might take just one per day, following the sequence below. If you have additional time, you could pray through the list several times over the next 12 days. But most of all, let’s pray and keep praying because this is the way we fight and keep fighting the right fight… God’s way.
12 Days of Prayer for North Park
As an expression of our desire to be a church committed to personal and collective prayer, we encourage you to pray for the following items:
- Ask God to give our people boldness and depth in our commitments to personal and communal prayers.
- Ask God to richly bless our church with an experience of His presence and power, transforming us and empowering us to love and to serve in extraordinary ways.
- Ask God to raise up and develop new leaders and volunteers who would leverage their lives for God’s purposes for our church and the greater Grand Rapids area.
- Pray for God to give guidance, understanding, and encouragement to those who preach and teach the Word of God.
- Ask God to open all our hearts to the convicting work of God’s truth and the healing balm of God’s grace as we receive the food of the Holy Scriptures.
- Pray for God to move in the hearts of our men to take spiritual initiative in their homes, in our church, and in our city.
- Pray for God’s deepening influence in the lives of our people through our ABFs and other groups. Pray that these groups might be a catalyst for spiritual formation among our church family and for missional initiatives within our neighborhoods. Ask God to encourage and equip new and existing teachers and leaders.
- Pray for those living in our city who do not know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Ask God to lead people to a place of considering Christ and entrusting their lives to Him. Pray that they might be brought into the fellowship and ministry of our church or another like-minded assembly.
- Ask God to make our church a benevolent and beneficial presence, positively contributing to the well-being of the people in Grand Rapids.
- Pray for God to cultivate a spirit of radical generosity among our people, as they give of their time, energy, talents, gifts, and offerings to the work of the ministry. Ask God to provide the resources our church needs to minister efficiently and effectively in our city.
- Pray for wisdom about the future facility needs we may require, as classroom and parking space becomes increasingly limited. Ask God to provide additional space we can use for our worship gatherings and other ministries.
- Pray for God to continually strengthen our unity in mind, spirit, and mission as we serve together for the glory of Jesus Christ.
Other Helpful Resources on Prayer:
- Praying for a Breakthrough by Jon Bloom at www.DesiringGod.org
- 20 Quotes from Tim Keller’s Book on Prayer at www.TheGospelCoalition.org
- 10 Questions on Prayer with Tim Keller at www.DesiringGod.org
This article was adapted, in part, from my message entitled, “Battle Ready: Persevering Prayer” (Eph. 6:18-20) delivered at North Park Baptist Church of Grand Rapids, MI on Oct. 25th 2015, as a part of the series “WAR: Fighting the Right Fight… God’s Way.” You can listen to the entire message by clicking the play button below or by subscribing to our iTunes podcast.
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Lies We Believe
One bright summer day about 10 years ago I decided to receive a pre-op test to determine whether LASIK eye surgery was right for me. Although I ended up not forking out the $2,000 to go ahead with the surgery to cure my rather severe near-sightedness, I will never forget the horrendous after-effects of the test. I’m sure a LASIK exam is worth the final outcome but…
When I first arrived, they dilated my eyes in order to perform various measurements, including a metal object placed against my cornea to determine the thickness of the corneal tissue. However, my eyes quickly adjusted back to normal before they had time to finish their tests. What did that mean? They dilated my eyes a second time…. and because my eyes seemed to again quickly recover from dilation… they put a third dose of drops into my eyes.
“Ah…we will use a stronger prescription to dilate your eyes this third time.” remarked the doctor, with a professorial tone.
By the time the testing was done I felt like my eyes were spun in 20 circles and spliced into some sort of quad-vision. I stumbled out of the test area and over to the front desk where a 4-headed receptionist happily smiled and handed me goofy paper sunglasses to wear over my glasses.
“Drive slowly and cautiously,” she said with a grin.
“Is this some sort of cruel joke?” I wondered, as I groped my way over to my pick-up truck, narrowly missing the curb. To make matters worse, the doctor’s office was 45 minutes away from home. This was no short “hop, skip, and a jump,” as my grandpa used to say.
My drive back home was the scariest ride I’ve ever experienced. Bar none. It was nuts. The giant paper sunglasses left me with no peripheral vision whatsoever and the vision I did have was still double and blurry. If I turned slightly to the right or left they would pop out of alignment with my regular glasses and I would have no vision at all. In my dilated delirium I could not accurately see the road. Cars seemed closer and farther than they actually were. Everything was wildly distorted… my vision was not reality.
Blurring the Lies
Satan, our real enemy, uses a similar tactic in his attempt to deceive, discourage, and destroy followers of Jesus Christ. The devil drips the dilating drops of diluted teaching, dainty temptations, and discouraging doubts into our vision so that we buy into his lies. This scheming “serpent of old” utilizes lies to distort our view of the truth. He subtly twists what is true to sound like a lie and craftily forms his lies to sound like truth. Pricking at our pride and pain, he entices us to turn our eyes away from the truth that unlocks chains and opens cell doors.
Satan blurs the lies to appear as truth.
Jesus said, “He [the devil] was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44b). As my friend, Pastor Eric Russ, wrote, “Deception is Satan’s favorite tool. He tries to misrepresent who God is by blurring God’s truth and will for us (Gen. 3:1-5; 2 Cor. 11:3, 14; Matt. 4:5ff).” (in Discipleship Defined, pg. 40)
Satan wants to get in your head and convince you that his lies are true. But don’t expect his schemes to be obvious. He is cunning and smart like a snake. He bites into us when we’re exposed to pain, hurt, and abuse. He splits hairs to craft wrong to look almost right. Our enemy camouflages destructive ideas with the appearance of life and light (2 Cor. 11:14b).
The legendary preacher, Charles Spurgeon, echoes this point from the past, “Discernment is not a matter of simply telling the difference between what is right and wrong; rather it is the difference between right and almost right.”
So how do we discern between truth and lie? How can you and I stand our ground “against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of wickedness in the heavenly places (Eph. 6:12)”?
God’s answer is simple, strong, and secure: We guard against Satan’s lies with God’s truth. We wrap the truth around ourselves like battle gear (Eph. 6:14). We wield the Word in the face of lies (Eph. 6:17). We smash down the destructive ideas of the devil with the dead-blow hammer of faith rooted in the risen Christ.
These thoughts are not at all original to me. Listen to what God spoke through the apostle Paul, “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ…” (2 Cor. 10:3-5)
So let’s smash the lies with God’s truth. Right now.
Lies we sometimes believe…
“We’re not really in a spiritual war or facing assaults from Satan or demons.”
- TRUTH: We are in a real war. Our real, ultimate fight is not against persons, people groups, or political parties, but against Satan, sin, and his system.
- “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” (1 Pet. 5:8; see also Eph. 6:11-13; 2 Cor. 10:3-6)
“My sense of worth and value is in what I do, what I have, and what I look like.”
- TRUTH: For those in Christ, our worth and value is in what God calls us: His children – adopted inheritors with all the saints in light.
- “He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.” (Eph. 1:5-6; see also Eph. 1:13-23; Col. 1:12)
“My past will always define me.”
- TRUTH: Your past may explain the way you are, but it need not define what you will become.
- “Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old things have passed away; behold, the new has come.” (2 Cor. 5:17; see also Rom. 12:2)
“If I’m really honest and authentic with my friends, I will be rejected…alone.”
- TRUTH: All who are in Jesus Christ are part of God’s family. He’s holding us together and building us together into a holy temple, with Jesus Christ being the Cornerstone. No matter who rejects you, God accepts you in His Son.
- “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.” (Eph. 2:19-22; see also Gal. 6:2)
“My education and intellect is the measure of my value to my society and family.”
- TRUTH: You’re intrinsic value is in how God defines you, not in how others describe you.
- “Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.” (Luke 12:7) “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light…” (1 Peter 2:9)
“What other people have but I lack would make me happier or more content in my soul.”
- TRUTH: God grants contentment to His people when their greatest treasure is in Him, not in what they possess on earth.
- “…I have learned to be content in whatsoever circumstances I am in…” (Philippians 4:11-12). “Do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; for for your body, as to what you will put on. . . . Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?” (Matt. 6:25-34; Luke 12:22)
“An occasional thought of lust for someone other than my spouse will do no harm to my marriage.”
- TRUTH: “…everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her as already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matt. 5:27-28)
“Spending multiple hours per day viewing social media, TV, or movies yet only 5 minutes per day reading the Bible won’t inhibit my spiritual growth.”
- TRUTH: We will harvest the crop we plant and nurture. What kind of harvest will you reap?
- “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.” (Gal. 6:7-9; see also Gal. 5:19-24)
Internalizing Bible verses is impossible for me and not really worth the effort.
- TRUTH: God’s Word is our central weapon against Satan’s attacks. How did Jesus confront the lies of Satan? With the Truth of God’s Word (Luke 4:1-13; Matt. 4). Know the Word and be ready with the Word.
- “Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” (1 Pet. 1:13; see also 1 Pet. 1:14; John 17:17)
“Small sin decisions won’t have serious consequences.”
- God’s TRUTH: Every decision we make is aligned with the way of sin or the will of the Spirit. Apart from the unmerited kindness of God, we will reap the consequences accordingly.
- “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.” (Gal. 5:16-17; cf. “Be sure your sin will find you out…” (Num. 32:23b)
What lie are you believing… today?
Are your actions or emotions built around a lie you sometimes believe? How would you complete this sentence?
“___________________________ will make me happy or at peace when I’m stressed, depressed, or angry.”
Stand strong in the strength that God provides. Guard against Satan’s lies with the weapons God provides.
Find hope again in the secure and timeless words of Jesus the Christ:
“If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, the truth will make you free.” (John 8:31b-32)
Watch my message “Battle Ready: Truth and Righteousness” (Eph. 6:10-14) from the series: WAR: Fighting the Right Fight… God’s Way, preached at Mayfair Bible Church on 3.37.3022; click here:
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Show Me Some Mercy!
“Show me just one shred of evidence that God has mercy! Give me some mercy!” shouted a small, elderly woman named Gladys.*
Her words stung into my heart and rang like a bell throughout our empty auditorium. Silence swallowed up the end of each sentence that burst forth from deep within her grieving soul. A piercing sound, then hushed silence… as if she were waiting to see if God might audibly respond for all to hear.
___________________________
My Tuesday morning had begun in predictable fashion as I dropped my son off at school, headed over to our church’s main facility, quietly prayed near the front of the platform, answered a few emails in my office, and then continued with our pastoral team and support staff meetings.
After the regular agenda wrapped up, John Nixon (our student ministries pastor) and I dove into a discussion on outreach and visioneering that pulled us passed lunchtime. But in the middle of our rambling, three quick rings on the doorbell at the main entrance grabbed our attention. We quickly stepped out of our impromptu conference to see who it might be.
One middle-aged man and three women (two middle-aged and one elderly) stood anxiously waiting for us to open the door. I greeted these unfamiliar folks with a smile, “Good afternoon! How are you? What can we do for you?”
As soon as the words left my mouth, all four visitors burst into a torrent of tears.
“Hi…my name is Frank. Can we come in a sit for a while?” the man whispered.
The elderly woman put her hand on my arm and between sobs told me, “My 27-year-old grandson committed suicide last night… and we didn’t know where else to go or what to do, so we came here. Can we go inside?” She motioned toward the auditorium with a quivering hand.
John and I quickly ushered them in and helped them find a quiet place to sit.
A Storm of Suffering
Like a dark, ominous thunderstorm the story poured out between intermittent sobs and sorrows. The middle-aged man, Frank, was father to the young man who died the night before. His son was an Army veteran, recently back from Iraq, and had married a beautiful young woman just this past June. He had been struggling with PTSD, yet his life was blessed in so many ways.
Laura, one of the two middle-aged women, spoke up, “more than thirty years ago we came here for a children’s program… called AWANA and vacation Bible school – we always felt loved and welcomed here.”
Frank spoke up, “We hope it’s alright that we came here. We just didn’t know what to do or where to go, but we knew this church would be a peaceful place…”
His words trailed off into a stream of tears as I reassured them that they were welcome to stay as long as they needed.
“Frank,” I said quietly, “May I pray for you and your family?”
“Would you, please? That would mean a lot to us right now.” Frank replied.
As I asked God to show them His abiding comfort, mercy, and peace during this heart-wrenching tragedy, I sensed some movement behind me coming from Gladys. I finished praying and turned around to see her shaking her head back and forth with her hands clenched tightly around her forehead.
_______________________
With eyes filled with sorrow, anger, and frustration she again turned her gaze toward me and demanded, “Can you show me some tiny piece of proof that God is merciful?! You can’t, can you?! You don’t know what our family has gone through! How can God be merciful when there is such pain and sorrow… suicide and murder in the world?”
All at once a hushed silence enveloped the room again. But I sensed there was more from deep within the mountain of her grief.
She again yelled back at God and me, “If God were real and merciful and loving… how could He allow this to happen!?”
“I feel like maybe I should go over to Satan! Or maybe my uncle who was an atheist had it right! It’s all just a bunch of hocus-pocus. Maybe there really isn’t any God at all.” She gasped at the echo of her words as they reverberated off the high wall at the front of our auditorium. I saw her eyes furtively glance up at the large cross that hangs as a centerpiece…
Her body sunk down into the chair as if her heart had just been squeezed like a lemon. But her weary, aging eyes focused intensely into mine.
I felt tears well up as I inwardly cried out to God for an answer. Should I say anything? Should I simply allow her to keep venting and releasing her frustration to God? But her eyes would not let me remain silent. She wanted to know, see, and sense that God really cared about their pain and suffering.
My heart ached as I reached toward her with words of hope, “Well, sometimes my wife and I have cried ourselves to sleep and wondered what God was doing – especially when we lost five babies to miscarriage,” I said softly. “We struggled with doubt and pain… but we’ve come to know and experience that God’s mercy and justice met together at the cross in the death of the His perfect Son, Jesus. The only hope we have for mercy is at the cross; that Jesus died for broken people and a broken world. . . .
. . . But His death wasn’t the end of the story. He rose from the dead on the third day just as He said He would and more than five hundred people saw and heard Him before He returned to heaven. The only hope we have for mercy is in Jesus, because in Him we know this life is not all there is… this life is not the end. There will be a day when all our tears will be wiped away and Jesus will make all things new. This will be true for all who trust in Him as the Savior, the one to Rescue us from sin, brokenness, and death.”
Gladys’ eyes dropped their gaze for a moment and she shook her head again, “But how does that give me some mercy RIGHT NOW! I want to see that God has mercy now! Is God really God if he can’t bring our Charlie back to us?!” She again demanded an answer, not merely a pastoral presence but a pastoral response.
“Gladys,” I replied, “One day Jesus’ closest friends lost their brother. He, too, was one of Jesus’ dear friends. The two sisters, Mary and Martha, were weeping and overwhelmed with grief because their brother, Lazarus, had died. But here’s the shocking truth: Jesus entered into their grief and He wept with them (John 11:17-37).”
…Tears streamed down God’s face. God’s heart ached with grief.
Jesus, God-in-the-flesh, mourned with those who were mourning. And, today, Jesus Christ still weeps over the destruction and death wreaking havoc across the world.
Charles Spurgeon, a brilliant Baptist preacher from a previous era said, “A Jesus who never wept could never wipe away my tears.”
Yet God has wept and, right now, He is still here to wipe away your tears. The presence of Christ is seen through the work of the Spirit in His people. And we, too, are here for you.
The dark day of Lazarus’ funeral became a celebration when Jesus, the Resurrection and the Life, turned over the tables on death itself and brought Lazarus back to life. . . .” (John 11:38-46)
“Gladys,” I continued, “God sees your pain and tears and suffering. And one day that same Jesus the Christ is coming again and He will make all things right.”
Mercy for Weary Souls
After continuing to listen and pray, I’m not sure about the direction of Gladys’ heart or of the others huddled together that day in our auditorium. But maybe some of you reading this right now have yelled the same questions back at God… waiting and hoping that He would respond. We have, too.
As I’ve reflected on my conversation with Gladys’ grieving family, God has taken me on a journey in His Word over the past few weeks. He’s walking me toward a larger portrait of His mercy.
Let the following truths about God’s mercy soak into your weary soul…
your grieving heart…
your tired mind…
your fractured faith…
In the deep cistern of despair after the nation of Judah had been overtaken and hauled off to captivity, the prophet Jeremiah called out:
“Remember my affliction and my wandering, the wormwood and bitterness. Surely my soul remembers and is bowed down within me. This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope. The Lord’s loving-kindnesses indeed never cease, for His mercies [compassions] never fail. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3:19-23)
Our knowledge and experience of God’s mercy is wrapped in His faithfulness within and beyond our present circumstances. The only hope for mercy is found in the God who knows the future better than we know our past.
The prophet Isaiah recalled God’s mercies in the ancient past:
“I shall make mention of the loving-kindnesses of the LORD, the praises of the LORD, according to all that the LORD has granted us, and the great goodness toward the house of Israel, which He has granted them according to His compassion and according to the abundance of His loving-kindnesses. . . . In all their affliction He was afflicted, and the angel of His presence saved them; In His love and in His mercy He redeemed them . . .” (Isaiah 63:7, 9)
To paraphrase my friend and teacher, Dr. James Allman, “What God has done in the past is a promise and a model for the future, but He is too creative to do it the same way twice.”
The rather obscure mouthpiece for God, Hosea, wrote of the futility of putting our hope for mercy in anything or anyone besides the Lord,
“Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God, for you have stumbled because of your iniquity. Take words with you and return to the LORD. Say to Him, “Take away all iniquity and receive us graciously, that we may present the fruit of our lips. Assyria will not save us, we will not ride on horses; Nor will we say again, ‘Our god,’ to the work of our hands; For in You the orphan finds mercy.” (Hosea 14:1-3)
Human methods for genuine mercy eventually fail. Human inventions of rescue and relief are only temporary. But God will give mercy to all who turn their hearts from man-made hopes to God-designed redemption.
All of the Triune God’s mercies toward humanity climax in Christ. Hear these words of prophecy from the father of John the Baptist that describe the dawn of redemption:
“…For you will go on before the LORD to prepare His ways; to give to His people the knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, with which the Sunrise from on high will visit us, to shine upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” (Luke 1:76b-79)
God the Father planned our redemption by His grace, God the Son accomplished our redemption through going to the cross, and God the Spirit draws us to God’s Good News and fills us with new, resurrection life in Jesus Christ the Son, all to the praise of God’s glorious grace. So the apostle Paul declared:
“But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus…” (Ephesians 2:4-6)
In our grief and pain and tears, we look upon the cross and see where God’s mercy and justice meets with broken humanity and offers the hope of redemption to us through what Jesus Christ did for us.
If your struggling with pain, suffering, doubt, or grief, would you tell a bit of your story below in the comment field? We want to listen and pray, and by God’s grace, be the presence of Christ by the work of the Spirit for you.
We can trust in His mercy… even today. In His mercy is the hope that is unstoppable, unquenchable, and unconditional because Christ will always remain faithful.
*The names of these four visitors to North Park Baptist Church have been changed to protect their anonymity.
