Trials of Faith

Dear family in Christ, this was so strongly on my mind last night, so I felt the need to share it.

Remember Jesus' words to Peter, right before Peter fell into temptation and denied his Lord? He said, "Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers." (Luke 22:31,32)

The infinite wisdom and love and faithfulness in that sentence is just staggering. First, Satan asked permission from God that He could come against Peter like this, and we know from what followed, that God gave him permission to do so! It is certain that Satan wanted to utterly destroy Peter's faith by the temptations that he brought against him. But then, Peter belonged to Jesus, and Jesus assured him that He had already prayed that his faith would be upheld. Peter did stumble. He did succumb for a time to Satan's temptations. But because of Jesus' intercession, the grace of God brought Peter back, restored him, made his faith and devotion to Christ to be stronger than ever before, and used the whole ordeal to teach him how to strengthen the body of Christ.

Does it not not fill your heart with wonder and gratitude-filled worship, to know that Jesus intercedes for His own? Jesus is even now at the right hand of the Father, making intercession for His people! He will see to it that our faith does not fail, because He purchased our salvation with His own blood through the cross. This is such a certain and joy-filled fact! In His intercessory prayer just prior to the Crucifixion, Christ said, "All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one." (John 17:10,11) The Father, the Son, and the Spirit are in perfect unity. What the Son asks the Father for, the Father joyfully gives, because the Son prays only according to the will of the Father; the will of God will be accomplished, for none can stop His hand (Daniel 4:35); and all His will is carried out by His gracious Spirit.

Do you know a christian whom Satan is sifting like wheat? Are you aware of a brother or sister in Christ who is struggling with temptation to lose their faith? Join with Jesus in praying for them! See the awesome privilege and joy that God has given us to pray according to the will of God a prayer that He surely will answer. After speaking of the armor of God which we are to wear in our fight against the enemy, Paul exhorts us to "pray at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints." (Ephesians 6:18) We are one body, the body of Christ, who is our head. Let us hold fast to Him and do as He is doing, out of love, asking the Father to keep strong each and every member of the body.

After all that Peter went through, after all his failures, see the conviction and fervency with which He wrote these words, having learned by experience the immeasurable greatness of our Faithful God's power towards us who believe: "Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your Adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you." (1 Pet 5:9,10) Let our prayers for one another be according to this.

Yes, the trials and temptations will come. We are in a battle. The enemy of our souls is out to devour us. But we must fight sin, we must resist Satan, we must fill our minds with the truth so that we may stay strong in faith and not be destroyed by doubt. We must intercede for one another, be watchful to see a need, to recognize someone who needs our prayers. And we have a sure and certain hope: God Himself, by his never-ending supply of grace will keep us and uphold our faith; and just like He did for Peter, He will leverage all these things for a greater good and glory. We can trust Him. He cannot lie.

Are you yourself in the middle of a trial of your faith? Is the enemy coming strong against you with temptations and lies? Don't isolate yourself. Don't try to get through it alone. Reach out to another Christian. Ask for prayer. We need one another. God will use this for your good. Keep strong in your faith, and don't give up the fight. God promises that He will provide a way of escape, a way to withstand the temptations, so that you may bear it! (1 Cor 10:13)

On God's Sovereignty and the Christian's Sufferings

 The sovereignty of God is something I have been studying, pondering, praying about, and standing in awe of this last year.  Particularly in regards to our pain and suffering, and more specifically, in the lives of His own dear children.  It is a topic I think many Christians are perplexed, confused about, and which many even desire to avoid thinking about altogether.  Maybe because they are indeed going through very painful, heart-wrenching trials, which seem to have no purpose, and they cannot fathom how it could be working together for their good.  It might be that they have false presuppositions of the character of God, or that they simply do not know what the Scriptures teach about this aspect of Him.  

 Whatever the case, I believe that it is not only important, but essential, to the lives of believers, and in order for their relationship with Christ to thrive, that they be discipled and taught what God's Word says about His absolute sovereignty.  He has written these things for our comfort and joy, that we might be able to have implicit and childlike trust in who He is and all He does.  The knowledge of these things are given to us to make us strong and confident in our hope, believers who stand firm and are not shaken, no matter what trial or affliction or persecution or sickness comes against them.  These truths have turned my world right-side up, and have gotten me through some of the darkest periods of my life.  Really, I should say, that it is God who has done this, by His gracious Spirit, through His precious Word.  That is why I am just bouncing up and down to share this!  Truth needs to be proclaimed, to cast out darkness and lies, to bring light and life, to renew our minds so that we might be conformed to the image of Christ Jesus and grow in love for Him.

 What do we mean when we speak of God as being sovereign?  A definiton of Sovereign, from the Webster's 1828 dictionary: "Supreme in power; possessing supreme dominion; as a sovereign ruler of the universe; superior to all others; chief."  God works ​all ​things according to the counsel of His own will. (Eph 1:11)  "But our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases." ~Psalm 115:3~ At first glance, that's a bit hard for us to want to accept isn't it?  Okay, sometimes, it's really hard.  If God is in complete control of all that happens, how does that translate to all the suffering we're going through?  In reality, there is no tension between God's sovereignty and our sorrow and suffering; it's just that as the creatures, we have a hard time wrapping our mind around the implications drawn from the fact that God is the Creator, and we are the work of His hands, that we actually don't have an inherent right to control and dictate our own destiny.  As Creator of ​all​ things, God is by definition ​above​ all things.  All things belong to Him and He may do with them whatever He deems best.  "For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions, or rulers or authorities- all things were created through him and for him.  And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together" ~Col 1:16-17~  The ​very essence of ​who​ He is requires, necessitates that He be The Sovereign.  For there can by definition be only ​one​ Sovereign, only ​one​ who is above every other, in complete control, with absolute authority and freedom of will.  This One, can be none but He who is "Yahweh, He is God, there is no other besides Him... Yahweh, He is God in heaven above and on the earth below, there is no other... See now that I, I am He, and there is no god besides me." ~Deut  4:35,39; 32:39~

 We know from Revelation 4:11, that all things were created by God's will and for His pleasure.  In Ephesians 1:5, in speaking of God's sovereign, loving choice of us unto salvation, Paul tells us that it was according to the "good pleasure of His will".  That is why we can rest and trust in His sovereignty: because the Sovereign, Almighty God is good, righteous, holy, merciful, and abounding in lovingkindness.  "The LORD is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made... The LORD is righteous in all his ways, and kind in all his works." ~Psalm 145:9,17~  And His love exists in perfect continuity with His sovereignty, never in opposition to it.  Because of ​who​ He is, we can trust that when God says He has the "right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use" (Rom 9:21), He does so in perfect love and justice, as "The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice.  A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he." ~Deut 32:4

So, we see that God's Word clearly tells us that He is the Supreme Ruler over all things and that nothing here on earth happens without His consent.  But are the painful things that He allows to happen to His children, the evil He allows Satan to bring against them, really working together for their good?  Sometimes it's so hard to see past the suffering we are enduring right now.  It's so easy to let the darkness obscure the light, to cloud our vision from the truth that will give us freedom and joy and resolute trust that God's promises are true!  How do we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus so that we don't become disillusioned, filled with doubt and discouragement?   A good start is to ask ourselves what we really believe is our greatest good, what we believe God is ultimately working toward in our lives?

Romans chapter 8, from which we receive our promise that "all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." (v28), really helps to give us the big picture about this.  Verse 30 tells us that "those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.".  These things are spoken of as already having been done, accomplished.  This verse is sometimes referred to as the 'Golden Chain'; the links here cannot be broken.  If He has set His eternal love upon you, and Christ, the "Lamb who was slain before the foundation of the world" (Rev 13:8), died to purchase you, He will most certainly draw you to Himself by His Spirit, justify you, and bring you home to glory to be with Him and made like Him for all eternity!  These promises are life!  

Now, notice the end of that progression: we will be glorified, made perfect, like unto Jesus.  This is why in verse 18, Paul says that the "sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us."  And in verse 23, that we are eagerly awaiting the "redemption of our bodies", when we will no longer be subjected to sin and the flesh, but will finally know our full salvation.  In 2 Corinthians 4:17-18, Paul tells us why we should not lose heart: "For this light affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen.  For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal."  And Peter encourages us in his first epistle, "In this (that we are by God's power being guarded for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time) you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith- more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire- may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ." ~Pet 1:6-7~

Do you see a common thread running through all this?  What is the end, the goal, the result of these afflictions here and now?  What are we being told is our greatest good?  Glory-to be conformed to the same image as Christ day by day, and then perfectly and completely when Jesus comes back for us!  

Finally  God explains to us (stating three times in v 6,12,14!) in the first chapter of Ephesians what is the true and ultimate end result of all of this: The praise of His glory.  God is all glorious and brilliant in majesty, worthy to be worshiped and praised for all eternity.  And nowhere is the more clearly displayed in His plan of redemption of unworthy sinners, His grace towards those He has freely adopted as His own! (v5)  All of this, He works according to the counsel of His own perfect will. (v5,9,11) This journey, with all of it's trials and hardships, the whole scope of our salvation, our relationship with the Sovereign God of the universe, will in the end culminate to bring all praise to His glory.  Because of who He is and what He has done, we will have all the more reason and desire to lift up grateful hearts forever!

Truly, it is a marvelous, beautiful, magnificent story, created by a God who encompasses all those same attributes and infinitely more!  And our response to Him most surely should be to simply and humbly love Him back and to yield ourselves to His good and gracious will.  How true is the answer of the first question in the Westminster Catechism! "What is the chief and highest end of man? -Man's chief and highest end is to glorify God, and fully to enjoy Him forever."   As Paul did, I will leave this as the final conclusion to our ponderings on the Sovereignty of God: "Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!  How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!" ~Romans 11:33~

The Gift of Suffering

"For to you it has been granted for Christ's sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake..." ~Philippians 1:29a~

Suffering, trials and testings, just as our salvation, are granted to us by the grace of our loving Father, as a gift.  These things are for Christ's sake, because of the Father's great love for the Son; that we as Christ's body, His chosen Bride, might fill up the afflictions of our Lord (Colossians 1:24), and so bring praise to the glory of His grace.  It is a privilege and a gift to be called to suffer with Jesus; in this way we learn to know Him and are prepared to sing with pure and grateful hearts, "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!". (Revelation 5:11b)

We cannot at present fully understand the why, but we know the End, we know the One who knows.  Let us as little children, be content to trust our Father's good and perfect wisdom.  And on that day, when we stand before Him, clothed with the imperishable (Romans 15:50-58), we will truly know that He has done all things for our good and for our eternal joy in Him! (Romans 8:28)

These truths put to music... really makes it sink in.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWk8DRwDYDc

Cold Weather and the Majesty of God

A few days ago, we had an intense storm which brought in our first cold front of the season down here in sunny Florida.  As I was enjoying the loud bursts of thunder and watching the wind which knocked out my window screen (and thinking how tame this was compared to the snow storms all around the country), I was reminded of a passage of Scripture from the book of Job.  In reading and meditating on this, I was struck by the majesty and power and glory of God in a new way.

Here are some excerpts from Job 37:

  "Hear attentively the noise of his voice, and the sound that goes out of his mouth.  He directs it under the whole heaven, and his lightning unto the ends of the earth.  After it a voice roars; he thunders with the voice of his excellency; and he will not stay them when his voice is heard.  God thunders marvelously with his voice; great things does he, which we cannot comprehend... Out of the south comes the whirlwind: and cold out of the north.  By the breath of God frost is given: and the breadth of the waters is frozen... He causes it to come, whether for correction, or for his land, or for mercy... Touching the Almighty, we cannot find him out: he is great in power; justice and abundant righteousness he will not violate, and in judgment, and in plenty of justice: he will not afflict.  Men do therefore fear him; he does not regard any who are wise in their own conceit."
~Job 37:2-5,9-10,13,23-24
(A mix of KJV, NASB and ESV)

Can you just imagine how glorious God is if we can experience just a fraction of that glory in the sound of a crashing lightning bolt or the fierceness of a blizzard?  Those things make me feel very small and weak and helpless.  And I think that is how we should feel in the face of such weather.  We are indeed extremely small and weak and helpless, yet for some of us, it might take being caught in the midst of a storm (and that might be a physical, emotional or spiritual storm) which could very quickly end our existence to bring us to the understanding that we are completely dependent upon the Mercy of God; for life and breath, sustenance and protection.  It is the Almighty God who is in absolute control of the weather.  He brings the sunshine and the rain.  And His reasons for doing what He does, though beyond our human comprehension, are just and good and merciful; did He not tell us exactly why He causes storms to come? "...for correction, or for his land, or for mercy..."

Verse 24 says that because of these things, men fear God, and that God does regard those who think they are wise... Isaiah 57:15: "For thus says the high and lofty One that inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones."  And Jesus Himself told us, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for their's is the kingdom of God." ~Matthew 5:2

When faced with the power, majesty and holiness of God as I read in this passage in Job... I realize that I have nothing to offer Him; I am so totally dependent on His grace for everything, every moment of the day.  Everything I have, He has graciously given me; it is not according to anything I have done or thought or said.  I dare not think that I am wise or could ever begin to handle things on my own... I am a pauper before Him.

As Hebrews 4:1 says, "Let us therefore fear."  Let us stand in awe and reverence before our God, knowing how high and holy, how full of glory and honor He is, and trembling with deep humility at the assurance that the blood of Jesus Christ has purchased our entrance into His presence; where we may abide as dear children, sheltered and safe from all evil, and receive grace to help us in time of need! (Hebrews 4:16)  And let storms and cold weather, and any kind of weather, be a continual reminder of these truths!

Photo Credit: Jaime McLeod

Sing His Praises!

For a while now, I've been pondering and praying about what to post on here.  Many times, I would either sit down to write, and no words would seem to come, or I just could not get my thoughts to form into sentences.  I could not figure out what was wrong; I had plenty of things I wanted to write about, and they were things that would be helpful and edifying.   I realized today, that sometimes the things we wish to talk of are not always what the Lord is desiring to say.  So, what is He desiring to be said?
  My conviction is strong, that there must be no idle words spoken, and that whatever is spoken must bring honor and glory to the Lord Jesus.  And it is certain, that there is one thing that always brings Him glory and that He does indeed desire: the sacrifice of Praise, and the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His name! (Heb 13.15)

  So, I will proclaim the honors of His Dear name!  For truly, to the name of Christ Jesus alone, belong all glory and honor and praise!  There is none other who is worthy of our love and affection as is He!  Oh, think of all that He has done for us!  Do not forget all His wondrous works!  Remember all that He has brought us out of; how He redeemed us from bondage to sin and death, and how He has given us new and abundant life  in Jesus, His Son!  That because of that position in Him we now hold, there is no more condemnation hanging over our heads!  Remember what His blood has purchased; not only forgiveness of our many sins and the taking away of our guilt and shame, but also His gracious Spirit as a witness that we are children of God, our assurance of the hope of eternity with Him!  That we feeble and useless branches, have been engrafted into the True Vine, that our Good and  Father is the Husbandman who faithfully keeps us abiding, and that abiding in Christ, we may bear much fruit unto the glory of His dear name!
  Oh, that name of Jesus which is high above every other name!  None can compare!  His beauty is so much lovelier, His majesty is so much greater, His mercy is so much broader, His Holiness is so much purer!  He is the only Righteous and True One!  He is alone is good and Perfect!  Only He could be that Great High Priest who, in His Victorious Perfection, is ever interceding for us!
  Oh, praise His name!  Let us sing His praises continually, for ever and ever!  Truly, He is so very worthy!  Worthy of our every thought, every ounce of our adoration, every word of our mouths, every work of our hands; all must be for the honor and glory of Jesus!
  He is the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, the One who reigns and will reign forever more as Almighty God!!!

  Now unto Him be All blessing and honor and power and dominion and glory and praise due His glorious, awesome, worthy, Name!

Taking "every" thought captive

 The last few weeks, a certain health issue has caused me to lose quite a bit of sleep.  Some nights, I get none.  Others, once my mind and body are deplete of all energy, I fall asleep in the wee hours of the morning right before I am supposed to get up.

 It has definitely been a very hard 'almost month', but I am so grateful for all the good the Lord has brought out of this trying season; in causing me to rely solely on His grace for strength, and for all the ways He is stretching and refining me, and growing His character in me.

  The first thing I had to learn was that exhaustion is no excuse for a fleshly attitude.  Irritation, frustration, and anger and anxiety have no place in my life, because God's grace is sufficient to impart His meek and gentle spirit to me if I just ask.  It does not make a difference how tired I am, for He has promised that in my weakness, His strength is made perfect. (2 Cor 12:9)

  Next, I have found how extremely easy it is to let your mind wander when lying awake for hours at night.  I've noticed that whatever I have been feeding my mind during the day, those things are what I think about at night.  So, if my day is spent immersed in the Word, praying, and meditating on the truths of the gospel, it is a lot easier for me to "take every thought captive to the will of Christ Jesus" when I cannot sleep.  (2 Cor 10:5)
  Memorizing scripture has been a huge help as well; the more scripture I know by heart, the more the Word consumes my thoughts.

  Oh, our Lord is so good and kind!  And He is so very faithful to fulfill His promise to give us everything we need for life and godliness! (2 Pet 1:3)  It has been so exciting to see first hand that truly, "all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose!" (Rom 8:28)

All praise and glory to Jesus Christ, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords!

God loves a "cheerful" giver

  As we seek to be conformed to the image of Christ Jesus, we can be certain that the refining process will not always be pleasant or easy, and more often than not, quite painful.  But when the pruning yields the fruit of His righteousness, and we see the smile on our Dear Father's face, we realize it wasn't all that bad in the first place!

  Several days ago, I had quite the convicting experience regarding an aspect of my life which I thought I had fully surrendered to the Lord; that "my" possessions, are not "mine".   Over and over again this day, I was asked to let someone borrow something or another of mine.  After about the fifth thing, I was thinking, "wow, why am I having to be so generous today?".  Now, nearing the end of the day, when I was asked to give something that would impede on my own personal time and cause me to have to change my own plans for the evening, I found myself struggling to say yes immediately.  That thing was important to me and I had been planning this all day.  But then the Lord brought the Word to mind. "Give to him that asketh of thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away." -Matt 5:42  I knew what I should do, His Word clearly told me.  So I said yes, but rather half-heartedly.  Again, He brought to mind the verse, "Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. -2 Cor 9:7

Oh, I praise the Lord that His grace does not fail us, and that He is ever patient with our childish, weak minds.  He is able to keep us from falling and present us faultless before Him! (Jude 1:24)  If I were left to myself, I could never make it! What a loving God we belong to!  And what a privilege, honor, and joy it is to be wholly given, and to give all to such a Worthy Lord!

My prayer that night was, "Oh Father, who am I to hold on to that which you have freely given me?   How can I keep that which is not truly mine?  All I possess, I have received from Your hand.  Oh, give me the grace to learn from Your own example and give freely to all who ask of me, without promise of return or even thanks!  For I am dead, and my life is hid with Christ, in Thee!"

  When we surrender our bodies to Him as a living sacrifice, we give up the right to have any personal belongings.  All is now His, to do with as He sees fit.  Which means whenever someone asks, we are to give.  And we are to give freely, going above and beyond their expectations.  Was not Christ the perfect example of this?  He only went where the Father led, only spoke what the Father told Him to speak, only did what the Father told Him to do.  And when His Father asked Him to give His very life, He gave it freely, and it was His joy to do so!  We never deserved what He gave, and could never have imagined so wonderful a plan of Redemption!  He went exceedingly above all that we could ask or imagine!

  Knowing how great an honor we have in following in the footsteps of our Savior, let us go forth with hearts that know that we give unto the Lord, not only unto men. (Col 3:23)  Let us have that mind in everything we do, for that is the mind of Christ, and that is the mind He has given us!

  Now unto the most worthy name of Jesus, be all glory and honor and praise due His name!