Jump Start # 4006

Psalms 145:3 “Great is the LORD, and highly to be praised; and His greatness is unsearchable.”

Throwback Thursday: an article from the past

Great is Our God

Some church leaders are so eager to make everyone happy, that they have become obsessed with presenting a safe and gentle Christianity. They have defanged the tiger of Truth. They have tamed the Lion, and silenced the call for change. They make Christianity sensile, palatable, and even comfortable. They have watered down the message and blended in with the culture that there is no real difference between the world and the child of God. Our world is seeing a people whose God is tame and lifeless.

The world desperately needs to see a God who is big and holy and frightening and powerful and alive and gentle and tender. A God who splits the earth open. A God who divides the sea. A God who made the sun stand still. A God so powerful, yet so caring that His attention is drawn to the death of a small bird. A God whose love so mystifies us that we race to His side where He showers us with blessings of forgiveness and acceptance. A God whose voice thunders, “come unto Me…” A God who is so unlike the world around us, tha tonly in Him can we find true joy and lasting hope. A God who is so special and so unique, that He is worth changing our lives for. Our God is not a trinket. He is not confined to a box, a building or a nation. Great is our God. Great is His message. Great are His promises. Great is what He expects from us.

It was Jesus who told the disciples to “cast out into the deep.” Let us not keep God near the shore, where all is safe and sure and defined by us.

Great is our God!

Roger

October, 1998

Jump Start # 4005

Psalms 38:20 “And those who repay evil for good, they oppose me, because I follow what is good.”

In this Psalm, David is acknowledging and confessing his sin to the Lord. Earlier in the chapter we find, “For I confess my iniquity; I am full of anxiety because of my sin” (18). He pleads both for forgiveness from the Lord and protection from his enemies.

In a straightforward manner our verse proclaims, “they oppose me, because I follow what is good.” For readers of the N.T. this is not shocking or a new revelation. Jesus had told His disciples multiple times that they would be hated because of Him. Wherever the light went, opposition followed. This is the pattern in the book of Acts. This is the scene in Revelation as the seals are broken open.

Yet, even though we know this, it still bothers us, troubles us and is hard to understand. Why do people mock and make fun when all I have done is try to walk with the Lord? You’d think that people would be happy to have Christians around. It is the Christian who will be a servant. It will be a Christian who is first to forgive. It is the Christian who brings honesty and joy to the table of life. It is the Christian who will be kind. It is the Christian who will jump in and serve others. Yet, they oppose because I follow what is good.

Some thoughts from this:

First, we must never act in a way that resembles revenge, getting back or getting even. When you throw mud with someone who is throwing mud, you both lose ground. Gandhi said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, leaves both blind and toothless.’ Human nature wants to defend, strike back, but we can’t. It was the instruction of the Lord that said, ‘do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also’ (Mt. 5:39).

Second, we often are trying to find a reason or a cause why someone opposes us when all we are doing is right. We sometimes take it personally. If I did something different, then they wouldn’t treat me this way. This leads some to slow down their faith and to find bridges to cross over to comfortable land of compromise. That is not the right answer either. It’s not you. It’s the concept of Christ and all that the Lord stands for. By doing what is good, some are shamed. Some feel guilt. Some think if you go away then they won’t be reminded of what they ought to be doing. So rather than change their ways, they attack the messenger or they oppose the one who is doing what is good.

As hard as it is, we must continue to do good. When they whisper about you at work, keep smiling. When they talk about you, just keep doing outstanding work. Be a servant, even to those who do not like you and want to oppose you. Arguing profits little. Many are not interested in dialogue. They want to mock, ridicule and belittle you. Remember, they did that to the Lord.

Third, our chapter in Psalms ends with this sentence, “Make haste to help me, O Lord, my salvation” (22). David looked to the Lord for help and so must we. Don’t take matters into your own hands. And, through these stormy times, there are wonderful spiritual lessons to be learned if we look. Our character is shaped upon the anvil of trials. When things are going well, we often can feel little need for the Lord. It’s when the waves of storms are crashing around us that we pray deeper, read more passionately and seek the Lord harder. And, because of that, our faith grows. We become the beacons of help for others. We show that God has taken care of us.

Opposing those who do good may be the music that our culture dances to, but it isn’t what pleases the Lord. Keep doing good. Don’t stop. Don’t let others slow you down.

Heaven notices and that’s what matters the most.

Roger

Jump Start # 4004

Psalm 73:17 “Until I came into the sanctuary of God; then I perceived their end.”

Bryan Chapell in one of his books tells a story that takes place in the mining communities of Eastern Kentucky. A miner who was a strong believer was injured and paralyzed at a young age. He became an invalid. Over the years he watched through a window near his bed as life based him by. He watched fellow workers marry, raise families and have grandchildren. He watched the company he had served thrive without attempting to make adequate compensation for his injuries and losses. He watched as his body withered, his house crumbled and hope for better things in this life died.

Years passed. One day, the bedridden miner, now very old, had a visit by a younger man. “I hear that you believe in God and claim that He loves you,” said the young man. “How can you believe such things after all that has happened to you?”

The old, crippled miner replied, “There are days of doubt. Sometimes Satan comes calling on in this fallen-down old house of mine. He sits right there by my bed, where you are sitting now. He points out my window to the men I once worked with whose bodies are still strong, and Satan asks, ‘Does Jesus love you?’ Then, Satan makes me look at my tattered room as he points to the fine homes of my friends and asks again, ‘Does Jesus love you?’ Finally, Satan points to the grandchildren of a friend of mine—a man who has everything I do not—and Satan waits for the tear in my eye before he whispers in my ear, ‘Does Jesus really love you?’

Startled by the candor of the old man, the young man asked, ‘And what do you say when Satan speaks to you that way?’

The old miner said, ‘ I take Satan by the hand and I lead him to a hill far away called Calvary. There I point to the nail-pierced hands, the thorn-torn brow, and spear-pierced side. Then I say to Satan, ‘Doesn’t Jesus love me!’

The disappointments and defeats in life can make one feel unfortunate. It can make one believe that God has overlooked him. Others prosper while you struggle. Things seem to always work out for others and they never seem to work out for you. There are times when it feels like the faucets of blessings have been turned off. Oh, to have the faith like that crippled miner.

What can we learn?

First, the measure of God’s love is never in the amount of blessings that shower down. What we often call blessings may not be. Health, good fortune, wealth may seem wonderful to us, but those very things can take hearts away from the Lord. God loves you. God loves you if you are a prophet in a lion’s den, an apostle in a dark prison, or a scared fisherman in the midst of a storm. Children with demons, people with incurable diseases, those who were considered outcasts and out of luck were loved deeply by the Lord.

Second, Satan wants us to see what we don’t have. He wants us to feel cheated and ignored. Our old miner focused upon the cross. Look at what we do have. We have Jesus. Keeping your eyes on Jesus, found in Hebrews, and setting your mind on things above, found in Colossians, demonstrate where our attention needs to be. Everyone has bad days. Everyone has troubles. But, not everyone has the Lord. What a blessing it is.

The troubles of this life stay here. They do not cross over to the other side.

Third, in Chapell’s story of the old miner, nothing is said about what the young man learned. How we handle difficulties is much more than just about us. Our heart, our attitude, our words can make a big difference upon others who are near us. They watch us. They see how we handle adversity. They see what troubles do to our faith. For some, it is the end of their faith. For others, the troubles only make their faith deeper and sweeter.

In our passage today, the Psalmist was troubled by what he saw. The wicked prospered. They had few pains in life. It seemed that they were blessed even though they mocked God. These sights and thoughts nearly shipwrecked his faith. That is, until in our verse, he went into the sanctuary of God. There everything made sense. There Heaven prevailed. There hope was restored.

Taking Satan to Calvary—what a wonderful thought. Does Jesus love me? Yes, He does. The Bible tells me so.

Roger