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God All Sufficient

From The Valley of Vision (a book of Puritan prayers):godisable

O Lord of grace,

The world is before me this day, and I am weak and fearful, but I look to you for strength;

If I venture forth alone I stumble and fall, but on the Beloved’s arms I am firm as the eternal hills;

If left to the treachery of my heart I shall shame your name, but if enlightened, guided, upheld by your Spirit, I shall bring you glory.

Be thou my arm to support, my strength to stand, my light to see, my feet to run, my shield to protect, my sword to repel, my sun to warm.

To enrich me will not diminish your fullness; all your lovingkindness is in your Son. I bring him to you in the arms of faith. I urge his saving Name as the One who died for me. I plead his blood to pay my debts of wrong.

Accept his worthiness for my unworthiness, his sinlessness for my transgressions, his purity for my uncleanness, his sincerity for my guile, his truth for my deceits, his meekness for my pride, his constancy for my backslidings, his love for my enmity, his fullness for my emptiness, his faithfulness for my treachery, his obedience for my lawlessness, his glory for my shame, his devotedness for my waywardness, his holy life for my unchaste ways, his righteousness for my dead works, his death for my life.

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What a Day That Will Be!

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 Peter 5:10 ESV)whataday

Sometimes knowing how familiar words are defined can be worshipful in the study of Scripture. Here’s how dictionary.com defines these four words:

Restore—to bring back to a former, original, or normal condition, as a building, statue, or painting; to bring back to a state of health, soundness, or vigor. And here’s the kicker: we don’t know what our former, original condition looked like. We have never experienced it! We have to go all the way back to the Garden of Eden, see Adam and Eve without the condition of sin to know that. What a Day That Will Be!

Confirm–to establish the truth, accuracy, validity, or genuineness of; corroborate; verify: to acknowledge with definite assurance. Peter wrote to scattered Christians who had lost their homeland and their identity as good Jews. Here he promises them a permanent place with a permanent status. What a Day that Will Be!

Strengthen—to make stronger; give strength. What encouragement! To those who are physically or emotionally weak right now–God will strengthen you! It may be today…it will definitely happen in eternity. What a Day that Will Be!

Peter saved the best for last:

Establish—to found, institute, build, or bring into being on a firm or stable basis; install or settle in a position, place; to show to be valid or true; prove; to establish the facts of the matter; to cause to be accepted or recognized; to bring about permanently. What a Day that Will Be!

John Newton, former slave trader and author of Amazing Grace, said it this way:

“I am not what I ought to be, I am not what I want to be, I am not what I hope to be in another world; but still I am not what I once used to be, and by the grace of God I am what I am.”

If you have time, take about 2 minutes and listen to the words of this old song:

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Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall

rainy_daysNo one in his right mind wants to suffer. Sometimes suffering comes quickly: the stroke that robs your mom of her dignity; the heart attack that takes your dad’s life. Other times suffering comes slowly: the early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s; the slow, painful divorce.

Suffering is unavoidable. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow said it this way:

The Rainy Day

The day is cold, and dark, and dreary;
It rains, and the wind is never weary;
The vine still clings to the mouldering wall,
But at every gust the dead leaves fall,
And the day is dark and dreary.

My life is cold, and dark, and dreary;
It rains, and the wind is never weary;
My thoughts still cling to the mouldering Past,
But the hopes of youth fall thick in the blast,
And the days are dark and dreary.

Be still, sad heart! and cease repining;
Behind the clouds is the sun still shining;
Thy fate is the common fate of all,
Into each life some rain must fall,
Some days must be dark and dreary.

Peter, writing to suffering saints in the first century, put it this way:

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 Peter 5:10 ESV)

Peter agreed with Longfellow: suffering is inevitable. Into each life some rain must fall. Suffering is the common plot of every human being. Life languishes. Problems persist. Grief grips. The difference between Peter’s words and Longfellow’s dirge is this: Longfellow depends on the sun shining behind the clouds. Peter points to the God who shines through the clouds. He is the God of all grace who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ.

Your suffering is not wasted. God himself shapes you through suffering. When suffering has reared its ugly head and left you mangled and marred by the pain of life, God himself shows up and restores, confirms, strengthens and establishes you. Take heart. God has not forgotten you. He sees you, not as you are, but as you will be.

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Debt Free Living

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21 ESV)

opraiseOnce Wendy and I were having dinner in a nice restaurant, enjoying the meal, enjoying one another’s company. We got ready to leave and there was no bill to pay. The waitress told us someone had paid it. “Wait a minute,” I contested, “who did that?” I wanted to thank them. Part of me wanted to try to pay them back. There was nothing I could do. The bill was paid…in full.

When I was 15 years old I attended a revival service. That night, for the first time, I realized I had a massive sin debt that only Jesus could handle. I had broken God’s law, broken Jesus’s heart, and acted a fool in my pride. As soon as the pastor finished preaching I went forward and received Jesus’s payment in full for my sins. What a sinner I was…what a Savior he is!

In 1865 Elvina Hall penned the words that say, better than I ever could, how I feel about what Jesus has done for me. Sing them as you read them:

I hear the Savior say,
Thy strength indeed is small;
Child of weakness, watch and pray,
Find in Me thine all in all.

Jesus paid it all,
All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow.

Lord, now indeed I find
Thy power and Thine alone,
Can change the leper’s spots
and melt the heart of stone.

Jesus paid it all,
All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow.

And when before the throne
I stand in Him complete,
Jesus died my soul to save,
my lips shall still repeat

Jesus paid it all,
All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow

O praise the one who paid my debt and raised this life up from the dead!

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Rescue Station or Country Club?

Consider the following quote from J.D. Greear’s book, Jesus Continued:

hand“In every age, the church faces the danger of degrading itself from a movement to a place, from a conduit of God’s mighty, rushing wind to a sacred place where we seek serene, spiritual moments; from a rescue station to a spiritual country club.” (page 49)

What the church is not.

The church is not a building. If it were, and it happened to be destroyed by fire, the church would no longer exist. Since the church is not a building, you don’t go to church on Sunday. You are the church Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

The church is not deposit account from which we make withdrawals when we need God. If it were, worship would be all about what I could get rather than what God has done. Church services would be little more than customer satisfaction events appeasing those who attend.

The church is not a country club. If it were, you could buy your way in and sign yourself out when the club voted on a rule you didn’t like. Your position in the club would depend on your ability to pay the club’s bills.

What the church is.

The church is a movement. It is dynamic, not static; changing, not stagnate. It got its start with a mighty rushing wind that swept through the upper room, swept the disciples off their feet and into the streets of Jerusalem and to all parts of the known world.

The church is a conduit. Through it flow the grace of God, the Gospel of the cross, the compassion of the Savior. Through God’s church, grace flows in and grace flows out. When grace ceases flowing out, the church ceases to be the church.

The church is a rescue station. As soon as someone is rescued, their attention turns to the dying people around them. They want to rescue others. For 2,000 years the church has rescued the perishing.

Who is within your arm’s reach today? Who is drowning in sin crying out for a Savior?

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Memorial Day: A Bittersweet Reminder

Memorial Day was borne out of the Civil War and a desire to honor our dead. It Happy-Memorial-Daywas officially proclaimed on 5 May 1868 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, in his General Order No. 11. “The 30th of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village and hamlet churchyard in the land,” he proclaimed. (memorialday.org)

How tragic that Memorial Day had its beginnings in the most devastating war the United States has ever fought. The Civil War was the bloodiest war ever fought. More than 500,000 Americans killed one another—compared to 4400 in the Revolutionary War, 2200 in the War of 1812, and 1700 in the Mexican War. The Civil War engaged more than 3 million soldiers. Even when you compare the number of deaths in WWII to the Civil War, considering that WWII involved 16+million soldiers, the casualties of the Civil War outnumber WWII by 100,000. It was a deadly war.

It was a costly war. The gross national product is the total market value of all the goods and services produced by a nation during a specified period. Again the Revolutionary War cost 10% of the GNP, the War of 1812 14%, and the Mexican War, 4%. Are you ready for this? The Civil War cost 199% of the gross national product. It was a costly war.

Memorial Day is a bittersweet reminder. We remember the men and women who have given their lives for our country in its relatively brief 240 year history. And we are reminded that the first celebration of Memorial Day followed a war that we fought against one another.Today we will decorate soldiers’ graves, fly the American flag and gather with family and friends for hamburgers and hotdogs. As we do, let the words of our pledge to the flag ring through our minds: one nation under God.

One nation under God does not fight against itself–God is about unity. One nation under God does not fight over the right to own slaves–God is about freedom.

Thank you to every man and woman who fought (and are fighting) to make this nation great. Today we remember you. Thank you God for making this nation great. Today we remember you.

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Throwback Thursday: We Don’t Know What To Do

throwbackThis week I’m starting throwback Thursday…revisiting popular posts.

What follows is the simple prayer Jehoshaphat prayed when he received word that three armies were advancing against him–they were less than 30 miles away! From Jehoshaphat’s prayer we learn these simple, yet profound principles for praying during difficult times. His prayer opened with these words:

“O LORD, God of our fathers, are you not God in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. In your hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand you. (2 Chronicles 20:6 ESV)

Pray the character of God. Jehoshaphat was praying in the presence of all of Judah. They needed to be reminded of God’s great character. God, in heaven, has a perspective you and I will never have. He knows the end from the beginning. For Jehoshaphat, it was important to remember that God ruled over all the kingdoms of the nations. Do you believe that God rules over whatever you’re facing? He continued to pray:

Did you not, our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel, and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend? And they have lived in it and have built for you in it a sanctuary for your name, saying, ‘If disaster comes upon us, the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house and before you—for your name is in this house—and cry out to you in our affliction, and you will hear and save.’ (2 Chronicles 20:7-9 ESV)

Pray the works of God. God doesn’t need to be reminded of what he has done in the past–we do. Jehoshaphat, in the hearing of his people, prayed God’s mighty works. What has God done for you? What mighty works has he performed? As Christians, we need only go back to the agonizing cross and the empty tomb to see God’s greatest work for us.

And now behold, the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir, whom you would not let Israel invade when they came from the land of Egypt, and whom they avoided and did not destroy—behold, they reward us by coming to drive us out of your possession, which you have given us to inherit. O our God, will you not execute judgment on them? For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.” (2 Chronicles 20:10-12 ESV)

Pray your personal problems. Jehoshaphat named them–men of Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir. What are you facing today that seemingly has a stranglehold on you? Name it. Ask for God’s help. Be real. We do not know what to do. What hard words for a king to pray in front of his people!

But our eyes are on you. Turn your eyes on Him today.

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Why Are You Making Mud Pies?

And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” (Luke 19:5 ESV)

Mud-pie1

Jesus looked up into the sycamore tree and invited himself into the home of the most notorious sinner in all of Jericho. Jesus’s invitation reminds me of Joseph Hart’s 1759 hymn:

Come ye sinners, poor and needy
Weak and wounded, sick and sore
Jesus ready stands to save you
Full of pity, love, and power

Come ye thirsty, come and welcome
God’s free bounty glorify
True belief and true repentance
Every grace that brings you nigh

I will arise and go to Jesus
He will embrace me in His arms
In the arms of my dear Saviour
Oh, there are ten thousand charms

Come ye weary, heavy-laden
Lost and ruined by the fall
If you tarry until you’re better
You will never come at all

I will arise and go to Jesus
He will embrace me in His arms
In the arms of my dear Saviour
Oh, there are ten thousand charms

Why are you trading the world’s empty pursuits for Jesus’s 10,000 charms. C. S. Lewis said it like this:

“It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”

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Jesus, the Great Equalizer

So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. (Luke 19:4 ESV)

sycamore
A sycamore tree in Palestine

Jesus is the great equalizer.

Zacchaeus was short…so short he feared he wouldn’t see Jesus in the crowd. He did what any dignified, wealthy Jewish man would never do. He ran. The elite in Jesus’s day didn’t run–they walked confidently wherever they went. Zacchaeus was rich but when he heard Jesus was coming to town all of a sudden his money didn’t matter. All that mattered was seeing Jesus.

Jesus is the great equalizer.

Football quarterbacks give him credit. Army Generals pray to him. Presidents humble themselves before Him. Billionaires call him Lord. Paupers call him King. All who follow Jesus die to themselves and live for Him.

Jesus is the great equalizer.

Zacchaeus climbed a tree. It wasn’t just any tree, it was a sycamore tree. When we think sycamore tree, we think flaky bark and maple looking leaves. The sycamore tree Zacchaeus climbed was a fig-bearing tree. As a matter of fact, poor people often climbed this tree to pick its fruit. Zacchaeus, the rich (chief) tax collector climbed the tree of the peasant so he could see Jesus.

Jesus is the great equalizer.

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Our Impossibility: God’s Possibility

He entered Jericho and was passing through. And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. (Luke 19:1-3 ESV)

Luke makes three observations about Zacchaeus that don’t seem to jive:

  • He was a chief tax collector. He was hated, disregarded, despised, reviled. He trained others to be turncoats. You might say he didn’t only do drugs, he sold them. He was the chief tax collector.
  • He was rich. In Jesus’s encounter with the rich young ruler in chapter 18 He revealed the difficulty rich people have in entering the kingdom of heaven.  But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. Jesus, seeing that he had become sad, said, “How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” (Luke 18:23-25 ESV)

And then there’s the third observation…

  • …and he was seeking to see who Jesus was. The hated, cheating tax collector was interested in Jesus.

Don’t underestimate the drawing power of Jesus. Don’t miss the rest of the rich young ruler story:

Those who heard it said, “Then who can be saved?” But he said, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.” (Luke 18:26-27 ESV)