Home thoughts from abroad.wordpress.com

Psalm 89: 38-45

See three very important things:

God keeps His Word: It looked as though God had broken His Covenant to the psalmist. But let’s not jump to hasty conclusions. Study hard to know exactly what God has said in His Word. Don’t settle for a superficial knowledge of the Bible. God did exactly as He said (30-32). The Psalmist, and the people of his day, just didn’t fully appreciate all that God had said. This shows how godly people can have major blind spots. We know now that God’s covenant with David did not fail and never will. But the psalmist lived before Jesus’ time, and he had probably lived through the siege of Jerusalem and what looked like the final and irreversible destruction of David’s throne. The big question was what had gone wrong? Had God renounced His covenant with David (39), the very covenant He had declared He would not violate (34)? It seems the psalmist had forgotten the warning God gave to Solomon (1 Kings 9:4-9) as well as not understanding the full import of his own words (30-32). We can read God’s Word selectively. It may not be deliberate, but people have the knack of subconsciously editing out what they don’t want to see.

Privilege brings responsibility: If God has made us His covenant people, then He expects us to keep within its terms. Disobedience has consequences, and this holds true for believing people. We don’t have an exemption clause. God’s anger (38) is a real thing. He is not an over-indulgent granddaddy figure in the skies, saying, ‘There, there now; boys will be boys.’ If it’s okay for us to be angry over sin in our children, why would we have a problem with God’s anger? He is a moral God; a holy God. He cares about wrongdoing. He cannot be indifferent to it. Our God is an awesome God. Beware of the ‘God All matey’ syndrome! Hebrews 12 talks about God disciplining His children. He chastens us. This is not because He doesn’t love us, but because He does. God’s anger is to be seen as a facet of His true love. Real love will become very angry over that which spoils and mars and defaces the life of the one so loved. God loves us; we’re His children; and because of that deep, deep love he will discipline us. God’s grace brings forgiveness into our lives. But His free grace must not be turned into cheap grace in our thinking. There are warnings as well as promises in the New Testament. Let us heed them.

Be careful where your security lies (40): Things we trust in that are not God will fail us. They are flimsy. There is no ultimate security in anything man-made. Be careful that you are not attempting to lean on a spider’s web. It will not hold you.

Prayer: Lord, I know I am no longer under law but under grace. I now also recognise that this fact does not mean that I can live carelessly. Help me to pursue holiness with single-minded passion, knowing that I can look to you for all necessary help and strength.

Romans 13: 8-14

Here is another example of how practical Second coming teaching is as we find it in the pages of the New Testament.

There is a story told how, in a certain village, the church clock went haywire. One particular day it struck 12, but didn’t stop: 13, 14, 15…on it went! A little boy went racing home, burst into the kitchen and exclaimed, ‘Mummy, mummy it’s later today than it’s ever been!’

Well, it is just that (11b, 12a), and Paul, therefore has some important (and earthy) applications to make. If we truly believe that Jesus is coming back:

It will affect our finances (8a): Many professing Christians remain undifferentiated from the rest of the world in terms of their money management. They live beyond their means and stack up debt. But God calls us to a different standard. (Anyone reading this who has got caught in a downward whirlpool of debt may want to check out the organisation ‘Christians against poverty.’ They offer practical help and hope to get people out of such circumstances.)

It will affect our interpersonal relationships (8b – 10, 13b): Outside a church in Guildford, Surrey, I saw a sign which read: ‘Love won another.’ There is something winsome about love. If we love, we will automatically fulfill the man ward aspects of the law. When you love others, you complete what the law has been after all along. The Message. We won’t commit adultery; steal etc. because we love this person. We won’t want to wrong them in any way. (We won’t have anything to do with dissension or give ourselves up to jealousy either. See 13b). Here are some of the deeds of darkness we need to put aside. These things need to become our ‘old cast-offs.’

It will affect our morals (13): A boy, writing home from boarding school said to his parents, ‘The previous vicar used to tell lots of moral stories; but this new vicar: he’s got no morals!’ The world of Paul’s day was as corrupt as ours, if not more so. It was a moral sewer and its stench reached the sky. The Christians then were not to be conformed to it; nor are we. You will see that we have to put effort into growing in holiness. There are things we must do and they will not (cannot) be done for us by anyone else. (You will note, for example, the place of the mind in holy living: 14b. In order to be a winner and not a loser you have to submit your mind to Christ. This is particularly so in sexual temptation. If you lose the battle in your head you will have problems, for as we think in our hearts so are we. There are places you can’t afford to let your mind go. You have to be like a parent lovingly but firmly holding the eager child back from potential dangers.) But we do these things in total dependence on the Lord Jesus Christ (14). It’s about trusting Him to let His life shine through ours; relying on Him to become like Him.

So, if we believe Jesus is coming back, there are filthy garments to take off (our ‘night clothes’ you might say). According to Paul’s words here, they are financial mismanagement, lack of love and sexual immorality. But not only do you have a negative exhortation; there is the all-important positive one to be Christ-like; to be clothed with Jesus Himself (14a). We are called to live as befits the daylight, for that is where Christians are going to be forever. Hallelujah!

Get out of bed and get dressed…Dress yourselves in Christ, and be up and about! The Message.

Prayer: Lord, may the hope of seeing you as you are have the effect of making me more like you.

Romans 13: 1-7

Here are some key points to take away from this passage:

The institution of government is God’s idea: In my Bible I have highlighted the following words: God has established…established by God (1)…what God has instituted (2)…God’s servant (2 x in 4)…God’s servants (6). So government is part of God’s order for society, and therefore there is a must (1) about our submission. It is a matter of conscience (5b). Look also at all the references to authorities and authority (1, 2, 3, 5 and 6). (Warren Wiersbe has pointed out that God has established government because people are sinners and need control. As all governmental authority comes from God, we must respect the office, even when we can’t respect the conduct of an individual officer. Fear of punishment, he says, is not the highest motivation for obedience, but it beats chaos!)

God has raised up the current government in my country at this time: (In particular note Daniel 2:21) Here in the UK in 2013, this means that God, and not the democratic process,  is ultimately responsible for putting the coalition in to power. That is not to say that He is a Conservative or Lib Dem Himself, but He is in overall control of the universe and has a purpose in this particular government being in office at this moment in history. (Consider John 19:11)

We are called to be good citizens: As someone has said, being citizens of heaven must not minimise our sense of responsibility on earth. It is our Christian duty to be fine citizens. Indeed, I would say we are to be exemplary members of society. Whatever makes men good Christians makes them good citizens. Daniel Webster. We are to submit (1) and not rebel (2). Part of this submission involves the payment of taxes (6/7). It will also mean being law abiding. In particular God has instituted government for the preservation of law and order (3-5).  The police aren’t there just to be admired in their uniforms. God also has an interest in keeping order and he uses them to do it. The Message. It will also entail praying for our leaders, including interceding for their conversion.  (1 Tim.2:1- 8)This submission doesn’t mean, however, that we can’t disagree where we believe the government is wrong, or criticise bad policy. (This wasn’t an option open to Paul’s readers living, as they did, under a dictatorship, but it is to us in our democracy.) The important thing is to do so respectfully. We show respect to all people because we have profound respect (reverence more so) for the God who made them and instituted the structures of governance in the first place.

There has been a long tradition in the church of interpreting this teaching in the following way: We will obey men as far as we can and for as long as we can, until there comes a clash (if there does) with the Law of God. There may come a point (as there did for the first Christians) where we have to say that we must obey God rather than men.

Be a good citizen. All governments are under God. Insofar as there is peace and order, it’s God’s order. So live responsibly as a citizen. If you’re irresponsible to the state, then you’re irresponsible with God, and God will hold you responsible. Duly constituted authorities are only a threat if you’re trying to get by with something. Decent citizens should have nothing to fear. The Message.

Prayer: Sovereign Lord, I pray for all who carry the burden and responsibility of government on their shoulders, whether at local or national level. Please give them wisdom, courage and integrity to lead us with righteousness and maintain an orderly society. Above all, may those who are not yet Christians come to know you personally.

1 Chronicles 8:1-9:1

Onward Christian soldiers, marching as to war…

In chapter 7, we looked at how God calls us to be fighting men and women, ready to go out to war (11b). In the words of a book title, we are Born to battle. Like it or like it not, as a Christian you’ve enlisted. There’s a war on and you’re in the army now.

In chapter 8, I see three key characteristics of a Christian warrior:

a.)    Bravery (40)…brave warriors… It undoubtedly takes courage to live the Christian life. My pastor at the ‘Elim’ church in Wigan often said, ‘If it’s worth being a Christian, then be a real one!’ But we know that being the genuine article is far from easy. It takes guts. Let’s not pretend otherwise. What do you need courage for today? Right now ask God to supply your need.

b.)    Zeal (13b) …who drove out the inhabitants of Gath. You may know that Gath was in Philistine territory. It was where Goliath hailed from. It was a stronghold of pagan religion. A Christian soldier is zealous to see God’s Name glorified and false religion exposed and driven out. A Christian soldier is zealous to overcome all opposition to the glorious gospel. Also, he/she has zeal to see the enemy overcome in their personal life. They want to drive out bad attitudes, wrong motives, sinful words and thoughts that will not submit to the Lordship of Christ. They have a passion for holiness. They hunger and thirst for righteousness (Mt.5:6). They deeply desire to get rid of everything in their lives that is displeasing to God. This is not a fight where we seek to bring people to conversion using worldly weapons (2 Cor. 10: 3, 4). Such an attitude is mistaken. We are in a spiritual battle in which we use weapons such as praise, prayer, fasting and the preaching of the gospel. Our fight is not one in which we seek to kill people, but rather bring them to life through faith in Jesus.

c.)     Skill (40)…who could handle the bow. God gives special abilities to each of us and He asks us to do all that we can with what He has put into our hands. There are areas of expertise that we each have been entrusted with, and we are to use them by His power and for His glory. (Think again of Psalm 144:1)

In the middle of this line, standing between the two statements in (13 & 40) we have Saul. We are going to be thinking more about this man, Israel’s first king, very shortly. Although he was to go badly off the boil ultimately, he started out well. But note the point that there were great soldiers both in his ancestry and his progeny. We reproduce what we are. There were warriors in Saul’s line both before and after him. May we be Christian soldiers of such bravery, zeal and skill that what we reproduce is a blessing to the generations to come.

If you’re a Christian, you can’t get away from soldiering. It’s just a question of whether you’re playing army games or really engaged in the fight.

Prayer: Thank you Lord Jesus that you are with us on the battlefield, and we do not fight alone. Even more, thank you that you have already won the war, and that we are fighting from victory and not for it.

1 Chronicles 7

Amidst another long list of names (and some interesting insights into the lives of certain people) there is a repeated expression here. It was easy to see it in my Bible because I’d highlighted it some time back: fighting men (2, 5, 7, 9, 11b).

When I was involved in a church plant in my home city of Lancaster, in the early 1980’s, someone who was endeavouring to plant a church in the Scottish Highlands preached at one of our services. He had a repeated theme, much like the one you see in chapter 7.  Again and again during the course of his sermon he looked at me and said, ‘It’s a fight all the way, but fight on brother!’ I knew down to my boots that he was right. It was a struggle. Spiritually speaking it was ‘blood, sweat and tears’, and around six months after I left Lancaster this little church I had laboured over closed down. It was heart-breaking.

Where have all the Christian Soldiers gone? asked Graham Kendrick in one of his great songs. He went on to affirm: God put a fighter in me. In the fight we grow up. Spiritually speaking, ‘boys’ become ‘men’. Praise be to the LORD, my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle (Ps.144:1). It seems to me that much of that training goes on in the battle. Let’s listen to ourselves; so many of our prayers are to avoid, or be rid of, unpleasant things. This is totally understandable. We are congenitally allergic to pain. But war is dangerous (21), and the call of God is to Endure hardship…like a good soldier of Christ Jesus (2 Tim.2:3). It takes difficulties in our lives for us to learn to endure, and, it seems to me, God’s training ground for soldiering is much tougher than any earthly parade ground or camp. He doesn’t want us to be chocolate soldiers (C.T. Studd) who melt in the heat of battle. I believe it is true of some professing Christians that although they will accept the description fighting men as a useful theoretical description, in no way are they ready to go out to war (11b; see also 4 and 40).

On a different note, in life ‘stuff happens’ (21-23): ‘stuff’ you didn’t choose and don’t want. But you can’t escape it. In times of trial and grief you experience another dimension of the battle, as you fight, by God’s grace, to continue to walk with Him and enjoy Him, in spite of the hurt. There is a time to mourn, but there is also a time to move on. Ephraim allowed himself time to grieve his terrible loss (22) and that is so important. This process should not be short-circuited by your own impatience (or anyone else’s). But you will see that although he remembered; he never forgot; he also moved on (23). I met an inspirational elderly lady a year or two ago. She had been a widow for around 20 years. She and her husband loved each other very much, and served God together. It was a big blow to lose him. But she said to me, ‘When my husband died, I decided I was going to live!’

Finally, here’s an interesting sequel on the church plant in Lancaster. Recently I travelled over to that area to see elderly relatives who are very ill. I passed Ryland’s House where we used to meet. It’s  a community centre set in park land: formerly the home of Lord Ashton, who was a great benefactor to the city. More or less opposite the entrance to Ryland’s House, I noticed the former Methodist Church building. It is now the home of what is, I understand, a thriving ‘Elim’ Pentecostal church. It was re-launched probably towards ten years ago, and our former secretary was a part of the new beginning. It was with great joy that he rang me to tell me, and my heart leapt at the news. Was all that praying and fasting in Ryland’s House worth it? Look across the road today and tell me it wasn’t!