God Is Holy           09-23-18

Summary

God’s Holiness cannot be underestimated or underemphasized.  This (RE)Cap installment will not be an
attempt to consider God’s Holiness, but instead thoughts on why reconsidering
His Holiness is imperative.

It is a mistake to see God’s love as the foundation of Who He is, for
God’s Holiness is the foundation. 
Misplacing these two results in a theology very different than His.  Compare these two viewpoints:

God’s Foundational attribute is love, followed by His Holiness:  God intends me to worship Him for His love, to become increasingly loving, and I will escape Hell as a receiver of Christ’s standing in love before God.  It is through His Holiness that He will bring me to this outcome.

God’s Foundational attribute is Holiness, followed by His love:  God intends me to worship Him for His Holiness, to become increasingly holy, and I will escape Hell as a receiver of Christ’s standing in Holiness before God.  It is through His love that He will bring me to this outcome.

At our last meeting, we discussed the Author’s approach to God’s
Holiness, and found his treatment lacking. 
This month, rather than backfilling his thoughts, let’s consider this
Bedrock Issue of God and His Person.

Key points

A thought about God’s Glory

If on a warm summer’s day, perhaps we could consider that the searing nuclear source of the Sun is like Father God, and the warmth and the Sun’s effect is like the Holy Ghost.  The One who offers sunscreen, sunglasses through which we may look safely into the Sun, Who explains the Sun to us and shields us from the destroying radiation if we were to stand right in front of it – is Jesus.

We rightly enjoy the warmth of the Sun and the good it brings.  We rightly embrace the loving offer of Jesus
and all of the priceless and incredible benefits He offers.  What of our pursuit, recognition, worship of
God’s Holiness?   God’s Glory, His Holiness,
is the consuming force behind
all things seen and unseen, proceeding and outlasting Creation.  If Holiness is central to His Person, how do
our priorities compare?  What if we ask
to enjoy the warmth but not the Sun? 
What if we focus on the sunglasses or the benefits, but not the
Sun?  The warming effect, our Friend
Jesus, the Sun in the sky – all are to be taken together.  Fixating on one at the expense of the Whole
is our loss, and it is not what He expects from us.

God is Holy

How much human effort has gone into considering and writing about God’s
Holiness?  Any honest treatment on an
attribute of God demands volumes of thought. 
In fact, as vast as God is, it can be argued that our efforts to capture
a full understanding will fail, as we are mere dust, mere fallen creatures
veiled from seeing Him.

“For now we see
in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but
then I shall know just as I also am known.” 
(1 Cor 13.12)

Yet in an effort to understand – which He endorses us to undertake –
consider John Piper’s definition:

God’s holiness is His infinite value as the absolutely unique, morally
perfect, permanent Person that He is and Who by grace made Himself accessible —
His infinite value as the absolutely unique, morally perfect, permanent Person
that He is.

Jesus was sent to us as one of us, that we might grasp the enormity of
God through a Person Who took on our form. 
Yet even the God-Human Jesus revealed the brilliance of His Holiness on
the Mount as Peter, John and James looked on:

As He prayed,
the appearance of His face was altered, and His robe became white and
glistening. // But Peter and those with him were heavy with sleep; and
when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men who stood with
Him.  (Luke 29.29, 32)

God’s greatest Attribute

God’s expression of love is the greatest aspect we currently see, in
Christ.  According to His Word however,
this is not His greatest attribute, but it must be His Holiness – the ultimate seat
of His Person.  Consider John’s reaction
to Christ’s revealing Himself in John’s vision.

And when I
saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me,
sayingto me, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the
Last. I am He who lives, and was
dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys
ofHades and of Death.  Write the things which you
have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will
take place after this.” (Rev 1.17-19)

John’s reaction is not to Jesus’ love, but to His Holiness.  Also, consider the four living creatures attending
to Father’s Throne, who say “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is
to come!”  (Rev 4.8), and, the twenty-four Elders seated around His
Throne, who John observed “And the twenty-four elders who sat before God on
their thrones fell on their faces and worshiped God”.  (Rev 11.16)    Jesus
shows us the God Who is Love, but this Message of love is built upon the truth
that His Love could not be perfect without His underlying Holiness.

Yes, His love is most excellent. 
Yet, we err if we conclude His love is the center of the God we are to
pursue.

Or do you
presume upon the riches of His kindness and forbearance and patience? Do you
not know that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?  (Rom
2.4)

He calls us to repentance to His Holiness.  The reason to trust His Person is His Holiness.  His intent, His ability, His guidance, His
grace, His Son, His Salvation, His promises, even His love – all of these rely
and rest upon His Holiness.

We are His Workmanship.  He trains us into Holiness.

As God values the prayers of the Saints, Peter tells us our adherence to
His command to be Holy effects His hearing of our prayers.  And what of our growth in submission to His
Holiness?  When do we often find
ourselves calling out the most to Him?  Christians
are pitched into learning to navigate a relentless struggle between our nature
of sin and His demand of holiness.  Don’t
we each soon forget God when we are at ease, then cry to Him again when need
arises again? 

Remove falsehood
and lies far from me; Give me neither poverty nor riches – Feed me with the
food allotted to me; lest I be full and deny You, and say, “Who is the
Lord?”  Or lest I be poor and steal, and
profane the name of my God.  (Prov 30.8-10)

If this is true – that we forget God, and that He intends to continue
our training in holiness until our time here is done – can we deny His
allowance of a steady diet of new challenges specifically tailored to address
where He sees we need to grow in Holiness? 
We have an endless need to grow in holiness and reverence.  Yet our pride, our misconceptions of Him, our
fears, our wrong use of reliance upon ourselves and others and objects – all of
these He commands against.  Our better
grasp of His Holiness offers answers to all of these sins.  As He sees fit, He crushes and He uplifts –
all under His Holy Throttle – to press out our sin and extract the wine of Holy
Worship.  We cannot afford to not grasp
His Holiness, and fortunately, He will not allow it.

We tend to learn more of God’s Character when we are pressed into trials
that compel us to turn to Him for relief. 
Our desire for rescue brings us to consider our sin and His
response.  His response deepens our
understanding of His Character and value. 
This better understanding drives our worship further as we realize His
Holiness, love and care.

And what is promised to those who overcome, who succumb to the training
and overcome sin, embracing holiness?

To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is
in the midst of the Paradise of God. 
(Rev 2.7)

He who overcomes
shall not be hurt by the second death. 
(Rev 2.11)

To him who
overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a
white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him
who receives it.  (Rev 2.17)

And he who
overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the
nations  (Rev 2.26)

He who overcomes
shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the
Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His
angels.  (Rev 3.5)

He who
overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go
out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of
My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I
will write on him My new name.  (Rev
3.12)

He who overcomes
shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son.  (Rev 21.7)

And this is rooted in pursuing Him and learning holiness through the
direction of His Word.

Behold, I set
before you today a blessing and a curse: the blessing, if you obey the
commandments of the Lord your God which I command you today; and the curse, if
you do not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside from the
way which I command you today, to go after other gods which you have not
known.  (Duet 11.26-28)

Shall we sin, neglecting Holiness, so that grace
and love abounds?

God loves us, and we are invited to flee to Him and His rescue through
Jesus.  Jesus’ offer and Work is the
means to the end – our journey does not end at the Cross, but instead begins
the road to holiness, the road to overcoming sin, free of condemnation for our
mistakes and disobedience.  He beckons us
first to the Cross, and next He says ‘Follow Me.’

To loosely quote Spurgeon: Are we no longer accountable to His Standards
of Holiness?  We under Christ are no
longer under His Law, but under grace (Rom 6.13).  Jesus said not a jot or tittle would pass
away, so the Law remains – but for what? 
Under the Blood, the punishment for disobedience – death – is quenched,
but not the command to follow it, nor the benefits that obedience to Holiness
brings.  The Law reflecting His Holiness
has been shifted from the outside of our rebellious hearts and moved, written
on a new heart of flesh desiring to follow Him. 
The Law is there to become instilled, soaked through, to increasingly
become the controlling factor in the believer’s heart.  It is His living command, the right road to a
Holy life.  The promise from our Holy
Guide ‘involves lifelong security: Salvation at once, guidance unto our last
hour, and then endless blessedness’.

This affects how we view, approach, respond to, and
pursue God

Beware of simply making God’s kindness to us as the seat of our Worship,
for this aspect of Him is not the source of Who He is.  True, this is an essential part of Him, but
it is fully and absolutely His Holiness that exceeds all else.  The Apostle John, who dwells on God’s love
extensively, first confirmed of His Holiness, upon which he built his
Epistles.  For if we rest finally on
God’s love, and mistake it for His final and defining thought towards us, where
will we be when He rightly decides to correct us?  Will we, in the worst of experience, question
Him and Who He is?  Will we question His
love, even His existence, if we conclude the outcome He conducts is not
loving?  Yet, if we conclude His outcome
is Holy, we stand on firm ground. 
Consider Job and how he settled this issue, following his great loss –
he praised God for His Holiness, and as that was the unquestionable basis of
his worship, Job was clear to give thanks to God for both giving and for taking
away.  Job valued His Holiness.

“The Lord gave,
and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord.”  In all this Job did not sin nor charge God
with wrong. (Job 1.21a-22)

This also affects our stance on the teachings and Worship music we sit
under.  Are we fed a constant diet of His
kind treatment towards us, or are we exposed to a Biblical proportion of the
High Church sort, of His Glory, Honor, Holiness?  Singing week after week about our woes and
how He loves us is a poor nutrient by itself. 
But including the right portion of His unquestionable worth, glory,
majesty keeps us in a right posture towards the unseeable, otherwise
unapproachable God.  It is then, knowing
more of our utter lowliness, that we can rightly value Christ in His bridging
this incredible gap.

Jesus left a greater position to stoop down and become flesh.  Yes, His Labor at Calvary was magnificent,
His Work pure and sufficient.  It was out
of the vault of Father’s Love and Glory that Jesus was sent to us on loan.

Consider too, Jesus’ appearance was normal and typical, “He had no form
or majesty that we should look at Him, and no beauty that we should desire Him.”  (Isa
53.2a)  Yet at the
Transfiguration on the Mount, he allowed His burning Glory – His Holiness as
God – to be seen.  Jesus revealed the
core of the true God, a Holy Glory otherwise unbearable without Jesus as our
Shield and Reconciliation to the Holy God.

He certainly accomplished the utmost more than any son of man could, because
none of us could ever qualify as the sinless Lamb nor bear the burden of the
Cross.  However, this gargantuan Love cannot
be God’s greatest attribute.  It must be
what undergirded His ability to carry out this Task – it must be first His
Holiness.

God shows us a Holy God first, followed by holy Love:

“Teacher, which
is the great commandment in the Law?” ³⁷ And he
said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and
with all your soul and with all your mind. ³⁸ This
is the great and first commandment. ³⁹ And a
second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. ⁴⁰ On
these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” – Matt 22.36-40

I am
the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of
the house of slavery.  You shall have no
other gods before Me. – Exod 20.2-3

Honor your
father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that
the Lord your God is giving you. – Exod 20.12

Both passages demonstrate the order of Holiness first, followed next by
love.  In the Ten Commandments, the first
half are of the Holiness of God, the second half of loving others.

The Pendulum Swings?

Many of us have been exposed to ‘Fire and Brimstone’ ministers who
almost exclusively focus on God’s Wrath (attached to His Holiness) and the need
to repent.  Perhaps we’ve also been
exposed to the ‘Love and Grace’ ministers who almost exclusively focus on
forgiveness and peace (attached to His Love). 
For those who have experienced a lopsided diet of either, predictable
problems arise – that God is impossible to satisfy and I will likely be lost
(heavy on Holiness), or, God winks at my sin and has no expectations whatsoever
(heavy on Love).  In fact, both halves
have truth in God’s character, actions and intent.  But of course, one half of the ingredients
won’t make a cake.  A Biblically
proportioned view of His Holiness – expressed in Love – underlies the entirety
of His Word to us.

The obvious solution is a clear representation of the whole truth, as
God tells it.  Ministries that have taken
this tact have predictably flourished. 
Sounds simple, doesn’t it?

But it’s not.  The Heart is tricky
(The
heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; Who can know it?– Jer 17.9); Accordingly, our motives
and understanding are flawed (Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on
your own understanding.  – Prov 3.5); It is therefore easy
to misrepresent God, Who holds leaders to a high standard (Not many of you
should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be
judged with greater strictness.  For we
all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is
a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. – Jas 3.1-2), and Who takes the issue very seriously (For I testify
to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to
these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book;
and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall
take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the
things which are written in this book. – Rev
21.18-19)

Coming off of the recent swing of ‘Fire and Brimstone’, it is argued
that we’ve fled to the ‘Love and Grace’ side to appeal to an injured or perhaps
more stiff-necked public.  Yet, in
considering how Jesus would approach this question, we can conclude He would
take it on the whole, straight down the middle. 
As we read the Gospels, we see that is exactly what He did.  Yes, He was killed for it, but none the less,
He accepted Father’s driving Holiness to be tantamount, and refused to swerve
to the left or the right.  Father called
this good and accepted His Work.

Thanks and praise to a Holy God, Who loves us relentlessly.

(Re)cap                                                                                                                                                                          06-15-18

The Good and Beautiful God

Chapter 5 – God Is Love

Summary

It is true.  God’s love is central
and core to His Person – we cannot read His Word and conclude otherwise.

We’ve all been schooled on the problems of ‘romantic love’, the idea
that love centers around often blind, warm feelings.  Is this a true basis of love?  Perhaps not, if we look to the essential
issue behind love – a willful commitment, per God’s law, to another who we have
no expectation to repay us.  Consider
Jesus’ discourse in Lk 6.32-36.  It ends with the commandment to “be merciful,
just as your Father also is merciful.”

The last time we met, John walked us through the problem of assuming
that Father’s love is as performance-based as the fallen-Human love around us, expressed
in the way our world teaches us to expect to be treated.

In this (RE)Cap, let’s look at an aspect of our Father’s willful
commitment and mercy towards us.  Let’s
look at how a devoted love is expressed to a people who can’t but fail to show
Him a worthy response, and who by our very nature, often begin our trek to the
Cross kicking and screaming against Him. 
We go to the Cross for the first time, even as His enemy.  Against all of this, He demonstrates how His
devoted and merciful love overcomes the worst we have to offer.

Spoiler alert: God’s Offer, in love, has conditions.

Key points

Conditional love is usually cruel – but why?

Life, and our peers, both teach us about the often conditional use of what
is called love and acceptance.  This is
no secret.  But, let’s also recall Paul’s
words – he knew of God better than most anyone – that we see through a glass
dimly (1 Cor 13.12, Job 36.26).  Let’s recognize that starting even now, the
remainder of our existence in Christ will be spent pondering our God and
shedding our misconceptions about Him. 
We grow to see His worth.

We could likely agree that conditions for acceptance can be distasteful
to us.  But why?  It’s likely due to fickle or unfair terms, or
perhaps a person’s disingenuous motives that result in our being rejected.  But, are conditions and their use the
problem, or could it be that the one in charge of the conditions misuses them?

We approve of conditions with those we call friends, those we invite
into our home, or share personal information with, or give help, money, care,
love.  God Himself prescribed conditions
for guests to join His people Israel in worship and even nationhood.

While God’s Offer is conditional, His resultant relationship-Love is
unconditional.  This flawless,
God-branded love is possible through Christ’s fulfilling those conditions and
sharing (imparting) Father’s satisfaction of those conditions, to us who accept
the Offer.

The conditions of Father’s Offer cannot be cruel,
because He’s not cruel.

We might recognize the conditional nature of the relationships around
us, and see inconsistency and inequity. 
The chain of relationship between us and Father is also conditional, but
with an important difference – the conditions required for our relationship
with God have been borne by Jesus.  The
conditions were God’s intent even before Creation, before we existed.  As God unilaterally carries His Covenant with
Abraham (Gen 15.9-11, 17-18a),
Jesus also is the sole Author of our Salvation once we have answered His
irresistible Call.  We who will accept
the Offer were already intended to be included without a chance of
failure.  Father ensured we could not
escape, that His Goal would be met, by His assuming responsibility for His
Conditions.  Father’s demand for sin’s
payment, and the sinless Man-Vessel Who would satisfy Him, are non-negotiable
to us.  To answer that Condition, He
specifically gave Jesus to accomplish the job of Sacrifice.  Father’s terms being ‘finished’, Jesus revealed
the New Covenant allowing us forgiveness, and so satisfaction of God’s Wrath
against us who accept.  Father intended
the overall plan before anything began. 
Jesus alone would perfectly satisfy Father’s Wrath and impart the
benefitting result to us.  Jesus, as our High
Priest, will protect and keep us safe us in that Covenant.  It is God’s to Offer – but He will never,
never take it away from His children, once received and cemented in His holy
Salvation.

So, yes, conditions exist in all relationships.  The difference between the relationships we
know with our peers and the one we know with God are that God is perfectly
wise, righteous, loving, and without sin. 
Our peers, fellow sinners like us, are not.  Therefore, we cannot rightly project our
peer-relationship expectations upon God. 
We must shed what we think we understand of relationship, embrace the
truth of His Conditions, and believe Him – even when we fail Him, even when the
Enemy tempts with “Did God actually say..?”.

Conditions from God can’t be confused with conditions
between peers.  We are not God’s peers.

Does Father have Conditions over our eternal life with Him?  Yes: We would choose Jesus, else we will
suffer Judgment and endless torment in Hell.

Are a Fireman’s conditions of “Climb down the ladder from the burning
building – only the ladder, there’s no other choice available” – cruel?

Does Father have Conditions over His children adopted under the Blood of
Jesus? Yes: He fully accepts us into His family and loves us no matter
what.  Bound tight under His love and
life’s Sovereign circumstances, is escape from the call to trust and obey
possible?  We are, as glad bondservants
of Christ (Eph 6.6b), conscripted
into learning obedience to His ways as His Law is written on our new heart.

There are no conditions excluding us from God, once
we’ve met The Condition of confessing Christ.

Will He swivel from us and turn away? He cannot, because He adheres to
the Conditions met by the Son He gave, into Whom we can be grafted.  Does He tend to us, watch us, correct us?  Does He sit with us as we mend from the hurt
of life, either anonymously at the hands of a fallen world or from
self-inflicted pains as we went the way He didn’t hope for us? Yes: He is our
Father, He loves us, He won’t quit us.  (2 Sam 7.14-15, Heb 12.5-11)

Disappointed with His children?  Apparently, not possible.

Devoted to His reputation and to seeing His designs
through?  Absolutely.

Is God ever disappointed with us? 
Perhaps a strong argument could be made that the answer is no.  Consider Webster’s definition of ‘disappointment’: The feeling of dissatisfaction that follows
the failure of expectations or hopes to manifest.

Disappointment happens when the expected, doesn’t.

Note:  Disappointment is different
than yearning or longing.  Consider
Jesus’ appeal in Matt 23.37 – “O
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are
sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen
gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!  See! 
Your house is left to you desolate; for I say to you, you shall see Me
no more till you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ”  Jesus demonstrates His knowing the future in
saying ‘you
shall see Me no more till you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the
Lord!’.  He also states His desire
to see this sure end brought forth in ‘How often I wanted to’.  This is not disappointment, but His urging
the people forward in a knowing, patient concern.

Is disappointment possible for a God of Omniscience – all knowing, including of future
events – Who knows the end from the beginning? 
If God cannot be surprised, that would mean His hopes cannot be dashed
when something doesn’t happen.  He
already knew that would be the case. 
And, no, this doesn’t give us license to do nothing – we’re here under
His sanctified training for our benefit, not God’s.  He needs nothing from us, but intends to use
life and opportunities to teach us obedience and peace.

If He cannot be surprised, then God is not disappointed when His child
fails, due both to Christ’s Blood and His seeing it prior.  Our sin elicits His dissatisfaction, and
moves Him to correct us.  But, the Gift
of Christ’s Atonement has freed us from Father’s Wrath, and in exchange, we
have been bought into a relentless, loving path of Sanctification.  Our job is to pursue Him, repent and cooperate
with Him, learn to know and to trust Him, to live in the Spirit and not the
flesh – “I
thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! 
So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh
the law of sin.  There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in
Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the
Spirit.  For the law of the
Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and
death.” Rom 7.25-8.3

Never surprised, but knowingly patient and diligent
in making us better Worshippers.

Jesus our High Priest has compassion for us and our failures.  Father intimately knows who we are, and we
never surprise Him.  This ‘program’ of
Salvation is not capable of nor is designed to put us under God’s
disappointment, (For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world
through Him might be saved.  Jn 3.17) but to allow boundless
room for us to maneuver under God’s instructive care (For we are His workmanship, created
in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should
walk in them. Eph 2.10) and
learn how to see Him, ourselves, and Creation as He does.  We are granted time to learn what it means to
be a child of the King, and to grow in our capacity to love and Worship Him for
it. (But
you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special
people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness
into His marvelous light. 1 Pet 2.9)

Therefore, as we will certainly discover ourselves opposing God
(sinning), let us believe Him and not the Enemy who lies and accuses.  Instead, we must search His Word for the
truth, reform our thinking to His, confess our fault, and move ahead in
already-assured love and forgiveness through our Brother and Friend Jesus.

A hard life, but not a hardened Father.

The Fallen world is a hard place to reside, but the difficulties
suffered by a child under his Sovereign God cannot be attributed to His turning
away.  Instead, ask:

Do I belong to Him through faith alone in Christ?

     If so, is this hardship the natural
outcome of not following Him?

         If so, He loves me and I
must still repent, obeying His Word.

If not of my own consequence, shall the clay question the Potter?  Shall we accept only the good and bemoan the
bad?  Instead, follow the Rabbi Who was
blameless and remember “though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things
which He suffered.” (Heb 5.8),
learning of the Spirit’s Fruit, bearing instruction as He did, and asking Him
for the necessary peace and strength He promises to complete the task. (And He said to
me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in
weakness.”    2 Cor 12.9a)

Either way, I will not call Him a liar and question His devotion to His
child, and I will ask for and expect His sure help (Joshua
1.9, Matt 6.25.33, Phil 4.11-13, Heb 5b-6, Rom 8.28).  All the while, I know my God loves and cares
for me, working as the author and perfecter of my faith (Heb
12.1-2).

So, Christ follower – have you too skinned your knee (or broken your
leg) on Life, even crashed and burned, even found yourself opposing the God Who
loves you?  Seek Him and His directions,
know yourself, repent and ask forgiveness – and move ahead in the unconditional
love of the Father Who delights in the contrite heart of His child, Who He
intends to see succeed.  Let’s revel in
His generous conditions, and His boundless love.

Final thoughts to consider.

The above might read like a Calvinist’s TULIP tract.  Whether it does or not, let’s be faithful to
the plain reading of His Word and let the labels fall where they will.  In fact, Scripture threads together the
Effectual Call to the predestined soul, yet of a person who has
responsibilities as a free moral agent (who cannot escape God’s Sovereign
influence).  Our ‘heart’ is the only thing
in Creation that God allows to oppose Him. 
Perhaps, we have our choice of ‘will’, yet it is never outside of a God
Who steers it sovereignly: “The king’s heart is in the hand of the
Lord, like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever
He wishes.” Prov 21.1.  I suspect His joy is in capturing and winning
the affection of that otherwise hopeless, hateful heart.  In the end, God’s love conquers all.

His willingness and sure ability to suffer our rejection, even under
forgiveness in the Blood, is held in place by the Conditions He has offered, fulfilled,
and abides by.  Is that not the greatest
love, worthy of Worship?

Finally, if how our Father deals with us is true, then how might this
teach us to treat others – especially those who we are to love (everyone), yet
who disappoint us (everyone, given enough time and opportunity)?  The
parable of the ‘unforgiving servant’ is one good illustration (Matt 18.23-35).  I know I have (decreasingly?) been that
servant, and I praise God that He continues in loving patience to train, even
discipline, me to be like Him instead. 
Praise to Him whose love will never quit His children.

God Is Love
                                                                                                                                                          06-15-18

Summary

It is true.  God’s love is central
and core to His Person – we cannot read His Word and conclude otherwise.

We’ve all been schooled on the problems of ‘romantic love’, the idea
that love centers around often blind, warm feelings.  Is this a true basis of love?  Perhaps not, if we look to the essential
issue behind love – a willful commitment, per God’s law, to another who we have
no expectation to repay us.  Consider
Jesus’ discourse in Lk 6.32-36.  It ends with the commandment to “be merciful,
just as your Father also is merciful.”

The last time we met, John walked us through the problem of assuming
that Father’s love is as performance-based as the fallen-Human love around us, expressed
in the way our world teaches us to expect to be treated.

In this (RE)Cap, let’s look at an aspect of our Father’s willful
commitment and mercy towards us.  Let’s
look at how a devoted love is expressed to a people who can’t but fail to show
Him a worthy response, and who by our very nature, often begin our trek to the
Cross kicking and screaming against Him. 
We go to the Cross for the first time, even as His enemy.  Against all of this, He demonstrates how His
devoted and merciful love overcomes the worst we have to offer.

Spoiler alert: God’s Offer, in love, has conditions.

Key points

Conditional love is usually cruel – but why?

Life, and our peers, both teach us about the often conditional use of what
is called love and acceptance.  This is
no secret.  But, let’s also recall Paul’s
words – he knew of God better than most anyone – that we see through a glass
dimly (1 Cor 13.12, Job 36.26).  Let’s recognize that starting even now, the
remainder of our existence in Christ will be spent pondering our God and
shedding our misconceptions about Him. 
We grow to see His worth.

We could likely agree that conditions for acceptance can be distasteful
to us.  But why?  It’s likely due to fickle or unfair terms, or
perhaps a person’s disingenuous motives that result in our being rejected.  But, are conditions and their use the problem,
or could it be that the one in charge of the conditions misuses them?

We approve of conditions with those we call friends, those we invite
into our home, or share personal information with, or give help, money, care,
love.  God Himself prescribed conditions
for guests to join His people Israel in worship and even nationhood.

While God’s Offer is conditional, His resultant relationship-Love is
unconditional.  This flawless,
God-branded love is possible through Christ’s fulfilling those conditions and sharing
(imparting) Father’s satisfaction of those conditions, to us who accept the
Offer.

The conditions of Father’s Offer cannot be cruel,
because He’s not cruel.

We might recognize the conditional nature of the relationships around
us, and see inconsistency and inequity. 
The chain of relationship between us and Father is also conditional, but
with an important difference – the conditions required for our relationship
with God have been borne by Jesus.  The
conditions were God’s intent even before Creation, before we existed.  As God unilaterally carries His Covenant with
Abraham (Gen 15.9-11, 17-18a),
Jesus also is the sole Author of our Salvation once we have answered His
irresistible Call.  We who will accept
the Offer were already intended to be included without a chance of
failure.  Father ensured we could not
escape, that His Goal would be met, by His assuming responsibility for His
Conditions.  Father’s demand for sin’s
payment, and the sinless Man-Vessel Who would satisfy Him, are non-negotiable
to us.  To answer that Condition, He
specifically gave Jesus to accomplish the job of Sacrifice.  Father’s terms being ‘finished’, Jesus revealed
the New Covenant allowing us forgiveness, and so satisfaction of God’s Wrath
against us who accept.  Father intended
the overall plan before anything began. 
Jesus alone would perfectly satisfy Father’s Wrath and impart the
benefitting result to us.  Jesus, as our High
Priest, will protect and keep us safe us in that Covenant.  It is God’s to Offer – but He will never,
never take it away from His children, once received and cemented in His holy
Salvation.

So, yes, conditions exist in all relationships.  The difference between the relationships we
know with our peers and the one we know with God are that God is perfectly
wise, righteous, loving, and without sin. 
Our peers, fellow sinners like us, are not.  Therefore, we cannot rightly project our
peer-relationship expectations upon God. 
We must shed what we think we understand of relationship, embrace the
truth of His Conditions, and believe Him – even when we fail Him, even when the
Enemy tempts with “Did God actually say..?”.

Conditions from God can’t be confused with conditions
between peers.  We are not God’s peers.

Does Father have Conditions over our eternal life with Him?  Yes: We would choose Jesus, else we will
suffer Judgment and endless torment in Hell.

Are a Fireman’s conditions of “Climb down the ladder from the burning
building – only the ladder, there’s no other choice available” – cruel?

Does Father have Conditions over His children adopted under the Blood of
Jesus? Yes: He fully accepts us into His family and loves us no matter
what.  Bound tight under His love and
life’s Sovereign circumstances, is escape from the call to trust and obey
possible?  We are, as glad bondservants
of Christ (Eph 6.6b), conscripted
into learning obedience to His ways as His Law is written on our new heart.

There are no conditions excluding us from God, once
we’ve met The Condition of confessing Christ.

Will He swivel from us and turn away? He cannot, because He adheres to
the Conditions met by the Son He gave, into Whom we can be grafted.  Does He tend to us, watch us, correct us?  Does He sit with us as we mend from the hurt
of life, either anonymously at the hands of a fallen world or from
self-inflicted pains as we went the way He didn’t hope for us? Yes: He is our
Father, He loves us, He won’t quit us.  (2 Sam 7.14-15, Heb 12.5-11)

Disappointed with His children?  Apparently, not possible.

Devoted to His reputation and to seeing His designs
through?  Absolutely.

Is God ever disappointed with us? 
Perhaps a strong argument could be made that the answer is no.  Consider Webster’s definition of ‘disappointment’: The feeling of dissatisfaction that follows
the failure of expectations or hopes to manifest.

Disappointment happens when the expected, doesn’t.

Note:  Disappointment is different
than yearning or longing.  Consider
Jesus’ appeal in Matt 23.37 – “O
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are
sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen
gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!  See! 
Your house is left to you desolate; for I say to you, you shall see Me
no more till you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ”  Jesus demonstrates His knowing the future in
saying ‘you
shall see Me no more till you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the
Lord!’.  He also states His desire
to see this sure end brought forth in ‘How often I wanted to’.  This is not disappointment, but His urging
the people forward in a knowing, patient concern.

Is disappointment possible for a God of Omniscience – all knowing, including of future
events – Who knows the end from the beginning? 
If God cannot be surprised, that would mean His hopes cannot be dashed
when something doesn’t happen.  He
already knew that would be the case. 
And, no, this doesn’t give us license to do nothing – we’re here under
His sanctified training for our benefit, not God’s.  He needs nothing from us, but intends to use
life and opportunities to teach us obedience and peace.

If He cannot be surprised, then God is not disappointed when His child
fails, due both to Christ’s Blood and His seeing it prior.  Our sin elicits His dissatisfaction, and
moves Him to correct us.  But, the Gift
of Christ’s Atonement has freed us from Father’s Wrath, and in exchange, we
have been bought into a relentless, loving path of Sanctification.  Our job is to pursue Him, repent and cooperate
with Him, learn to know and to trust Him, to live in the Spirit and not the
flesh – “I
thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! 
So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh
the law of sin.  There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in
Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the
Spirit.  For the law of the
Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and
death.” Rom 7.25-8.3

Never surprised, but knowingly patient and diligent
in making us better Worshippers.

Jesus our High Priest has compassion for us and our failures.  Father intimately knows who we are, and we
never surprise Him.  This ‘program’ of
Salvation is not capable of nor is designed to put us under God’s
disappointment, (For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world
through Him might be saved.  Jn 3.17) but to allow boundless
room for us to maneuver under God’s instructive care (For we are His workmanship, created
in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should
walk in them. Eph 2.10) and
learn how to see Him, ourselves, and Creation as He does.  We are granted time to learn what it means to
be a child of the King, and to grow in our capacity to love and Worship Him for
it. (But
you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special
people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness
into His marvelous light. 1 Pet 2.9)

Therefore, as we will certainly discover ourselves opposing God
(sinning), let us believe Him and not the Enemy who lies and accuses.  Instead, we must search His Word for the
truth, reform our thinking to His, confess our fault, and move ahead in
already-assured love and forgiveness through our Brother and Friend Jesus.

A hard life, but not a hardened Father.

The Fallen world is a hard place to reside, but the difficulties
suffered by a child under his Sovereign God cannot be attributed to His turning
away.  Instead, ask:

Do I belong to Him through faith alone in Christ?

     If so, is this hardship the natural
outcome of not following Him?

         If so, He loves me and I
must still repent, obeying His Word.

If not of my own consequence, shall the clay question the Potter?  Shall we accept only the good and bemoan the
bad?  Instead, follow the Rabbi Who was
blameless and remember “though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things
which He suffered.” (Heb 5.8),
learning of the Spirit’s Fruit, bearing instruction as He did, and asking Him
for the necessary peace and strength He promises to complete the task. (And He said to
me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in
weakness.”    2 Cor 12.9a)

Either way, I will not call Him a liar and question His devotion to His
child, and I will ask for and expect His sure help (Joshua
1.9, Matt 6.25.33, Phil 4.11-13, Heb 5b-6, Rom 8.28).  All the while, I know my God loves and cares
for me, working as the author and perfecter of my faith (Heb
12.1-2).

So, Christ follower – have you too skinned your knee (or broken your
leg) on Life, even crashed and burned, even found yourself opposing the God Who
loves you?  Seek Him and His directions,
know yourself, repent and ask forgiveness – and move ahead in the unconditional
love of the Father Who delights in the contrite heart of His child, Who He
intends to see succeed.  Let’s revel in
His generous conditions, and His boundless love.

Final thoughts to consider.

The above might read like a Calvinist’s TULIP tract.  Whether it does or not, let’s be faithful to
the plain reading of His Word and let the labels fall where they will.  In fact, Scripture threads together the
Effectual Call to the predestined soul, yet of a person who has
responsibilities as a free moral agent (who cannot escape God’s Sovereign
influence).  Our ‘heart’ is the only thing
in Creation that God allows to oppose Him. 
Perhaps, we have our choice of ‘will’, yet it is never outside of a God
Who steers it sovereignly: “The king’s heart is in the hand of the
Lord, like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever
He wishes.” Prov 21.1.  I suspect His joy is in capturing and winning
the affection of that otherwise hopeless, hateful heart.  In the end, God’s love conquers all.

His willingness and sure ability to suffer our rejection, even under
forgiveness in the Blood, is held in place by the Conditions He has offered, fulfilled,
and abides by.  Is that not the greatest
love, worthy of Worship?

Finally, if how our Father deals with us is true, then how might this
teach us to treat others – especially those who we are to love (everyone), yet
who disappoint us (everyone, given enough time and opportunity)?  The
parable of the ‘unforgiving servant’ is one good illustration (Matt 18.23-35).  I know I have (decreasingly?) been that
servant, and I praise God that He continues in loving patience to train, even
discipline, me to be like Him instead. 
Praise to Him whose love will never quit His children.

(Re)cap                                                                                                                                                                           05.04.18

The Good and Beautiful God

Chapter 4 – God Is Generous

A forward note

This chapter’s (Re)Cap is a bit different, in that we’ve considered a
scope of thought and Scripture beyond what the chapter addresses.  The chapter addresses God’s Generosity; the
(RE)Cap addresses God’s Wrath and His Generosity.  In one way, we might question having more than
a summary of filler thoughts to expand on this month’s discussion.  On the other hand, this subject as a whole
should burn in our souls, and it seems right to discuss it.  Many have observed that we suffer a
Post-Christian environment that threatens to strip us of our worship and joy in
God, because it’s easy to gravitate to the more attractive parts of His story
that this environment selectively promotes.

If we’re not very careful, every one of us, as mere humans, is prone to
settle into the parts of His story that bring us a false ease in a
grandfather-god – or an incorrect slavery to malicious-god.  He is neither of these, but He is instead a
Righteous God Who demands perfection, and Who offers incredible Love and Grace
beyond measure to answer His demand of perfection.

And so, He offers His Son.

I perceive our group is rather rounded in the Wrath/Grace mix.  This chapter (and perhaps this book) assumes
the reader has been overexposed to Wrath, and so promotes the Grace.  In this (Re)Cap we don’t take either part for
granted, but gaze beyond the Chapter’s focus, looking to include the balance of
Scripture’s mix in an effort to consider how Gracious God Is.  Proportions of anything that differs from
God’s Word only brings loss.  My hope is
that through considering this topic, we can grow in our reverence, hope, joy,
faith, love and trust in God.

Summary

I admire this book we are pondering. 
The author’s works have brought relief to many people as he reveals
topics on God.  However, his book is not
intended to be a complete work, but actually a nudge to awaken us to the basics
of knowing, understanding, and trusting Father. 
This is a book bringing some core topics to study, engage, and pursue in
the Word given to us.  In today’s Church,
the problem of Biblical illiteracy is often woeful, and the Body suffers
incredibly for it.  This book is not
intended to instruct on the Whole of God, but instead is a sampler platter to
whet the appetite.  Father wants us to
dig deep, Jesus made the way, and the Spirit stands ready to teach.   (Psalm 27:4)
“One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell
in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple”.  The issue rests on our willingness to engage
Him.

Key points

God is indeed Generous

A sense of His generosity through too narrow a view including only ‘He
loves me’, or simply ‘Jesus died for me’ – without acknowledging the whole
range of Truth He gives us in His Word – is a weak and incomplete foundation to
build an appreciation of His generosity. 
How much more is a cup of water to a man who knows he is dying of thirst
than to another who is just a bit parched? 
To have a better appreciation of His Generosity, we need to step back
and seek full sight of His care, beyond a view of only our personal concerns
that naturally occupies the majority of our thoughts.  We are rightly concerned about our life and
circumstances, but it is easy to make this the center and whole of our
attention.  Yet we are not the majority
and center of God’s Goals – there is far more at play.

Immutably Holy, God’s Wrath towards sinners rightly burns, demands to be
satisfied.  His Wrath is inescapable,
inevitable, necessary.  As God cannot
change – and as there is no reason to do so (great news) for He is complete and
flawlessly Perfect, and as He is the Source and Basis for everything because
nothing is above Him – everything under Him must be brought into agreement with
Him.  Sin must be purged, the sinner’s
right wage must be paid through death, His Realm must be purified, and
everything out of His Perfect alignment, removed.

Hinge Verse: Rom 2:4 – Or do
you presume upon the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience? Do
you not know that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?

It’s easy to miss what lies below the surface

Ice – both bergs and cubes – show only 1/7 of the whole in plain
view.  The majority of the reality lies
hidden under the surface.

God’s Word reveals the whole of reality He would have us understand,
including that beyond what we would otherwise perceive.  For this we are given His Word, reliable and
true.  It is not completely everything
about God, but completely everything God would reveal to us.

His Word is reliable

So how can we hope to know the truth about God’s Realm and His
involvement, about the whole of what’s in play, in Creation and beyond?  God graciously has provided us with
everything He knows we need to have, to understand His views, expectations and
promises.  Is the Word reliable?  While there is an exhaustive number of
reasons we can say ‘yes’, consider:

Of everything recorded during Mankind’s history, Scripture is uniquely
reliable:

–     No
parts of the Bible are found to be contradictory to the Whole

–     It
continues to be supported, not disproven, by history and archeology

–     Later
duplicates of original Scripture are found to be true to more ancient editions

–     The
Hebrew duplication processes was exhaustive, ensuring true accuracy

–     The
number of prophesies made prior to their fulfillment are numerous

–     Mankind
has realized a high degree of universal agreement, in accord with the effort and
faith invested, of wisdom/guidance/peace/relationship.  This is called Orthodoxy.

Another good starting point is Moody’s Erwin Lutzer, who is one skilled
scholar addressing this in ‘7 Reasons Why You Can Trust The Bible’.

Biblical unawareness and its consequences

We willingly live with Biblical unawareness and disregard for God.  This doesn’t have as much to do with one’s
capacity to understand, but instead an unwillingness to strive to understand
all one can in his capacity.  God offers
to teach and enlighten us, and the Holy Ghost is promised to always help us
when we seek Father’s Wisdom – If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives
to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. (Jas 1.5), and  But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father
will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your
remembrance all things that I said to you. (Jn
14.26), and Show me Your ways, O Lord; Teach me Your paths.  Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You
are the God of my salvation; On You I wait all the day. (Psalm 25.4-5).  Our
Enemy encourages disregard and unawareness, tempting on all fronts.  Trials in our lives give opportunity to
withdraw from God, to seek substitutes, to stoke our disregard.

We can agree that God is perfect, with no speck or blot.  We can also find agreement He loves us in
Christ, reconciled to Him.  But what fills
our understanding between Him and us?  The
more narrow our understanding His Word, the more unproportioned we see
ourselves.

Filling out the reality of God’s perspective with
Scripture

Does God possess anger?  Is He
right in having it?  Who will receive it?

Directed
towards His People, Israel:

Deut 32:22  For a fire is
kindled in My anger, And burns to the lowest part of Sheol, And consumes the
earth with its yield, And sets on fire the foundations of the mountains.

Isaiah 33:14 
Sinners in Zion are terrified; Trembling has seized the godless “Who
among us can live with the consuming fire? Who among us can live with continual
burning?

Deut 9:7-8  Remember! Do not
forget how you provoked the Lord your God to wrath in the wilderness. From the
day that you departed from the land of Egypt until you came to this place, you
have been rebellious against the Lord.   Also
in Horeb you provoked the Lord to wrath, so that the Lord was angry enough with
you to have destroyed you.

Warned of after
the Cross:

Matthew 3:12 
“His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His
threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn
up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

Matthew 10:28  “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul;
but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

2 Thessalonians 1:8-9  …dealing out retribution to those
who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of
the Lord and from the glory of His power…

Shown to John,
in the Revelation of Jesus:

Revelation 14:9-11a 
Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone
worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on
his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is
poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented
with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence
of the Lamb.  And the smoke of their
torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night….

Revelation 20:10 
And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and
brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be
tormented day and night forever and ever.

Revelation 20:11,13-15  Then I saw a great white throne and
Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And
there was found no place for them…The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and
Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged,
each one according to his works.  Then
Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.  And anyone not found written in the Book of
Life was cast into the lake of fire.

Does God offer Grace?  Is He generous
in giving it?  Who will receive it?

Conversely,
consider Scripture of God’s Realm and Grace:

Ephesians 6:10-13 
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His
might.  Put on the whole armor of God,
that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.  For we do not wrestle against flesh and
blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the
darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly
places.  Therefore take up the whole
armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having
done all, to stand.

Eph 1:13-14  In Him you also
trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in
whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,
Who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased
possession, to the praise of His glory.

Revelation 21:1-5 
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the
first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city,
new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned
for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the
dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be
his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their
eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying,
nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” And he who was
seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am
making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are
trustworthy and true.”

John 3:16  “For God so
loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should
not perish but have eternal life.

We all face inescapable Realities where God is concerned – and this is
everywhere, because He is Sovereign.  The
great news is Jesus’ offer to bring us into Father’s family, fully recognized
as His Children, with Christ not only as our Savior, but as our Brother.

God’s patience and Jesus’ forgiveness are the key
issues, but we make a mistake when we view them as the sole issues

Paul explains through Scripture that the New Covenant replaced Moses’
Law, providing the Pathway to reconciliation – yet remember, it does not make
God wink at sin, but satisfies His Wrath. 
His intent – to cast out sinners, unrepentant – remains, and will
happen.

Jonathan
Edwards, on the unbelieving Israelites

In Jonathan Edwards’ notable 1741 sermon on the Passage ‘Their foot shall slip in due time’, “Sinners
in the Hands of an Angry God” observes that the Hebrews were the people chosen
by God, protected by Him, sustained by Him, and under miraculous display.  Edwards illustrates the reality of their
precarious situation, if not for God’s generosity:

• They were always exposed to destruction; as one
  that stands or walks in slippery places is always exposed to fall.
• As he that walks in slippery places is every
  moment liable to fall, he cannot foresee one moment whether he shall stand or
  fall the next; and when he does fall, he falls at once without warning.
• They are liable to fall of themselves, without
  being thrown down by the hand of another.
• The reason why they are not fallen already and
  do not fall now is only that God has graciously upheld them.

One takeaway from Edwards sermon is this:  Unsaved sinners are in a precarious,
dangerous position.  But, God graciously
cares for us out of His Love and His commitment to His promise to do so through
Salvation in Christ.  We have a hard time
seeing the true risk we face, but an easier time enjoying the general and
specific results of His care – even to the point that we see the results but
fail to recognize how much from God takes place behind the scenes.  And even if Saved through Christ yet not understanding
this, we risk becoming glad receivers of Grace who can fail to appreciate and
worship the God Who is responsible – even contributing to Spiritual Idolatry
and disregard.  It is available to read, or on audio.

One final thought on His Generosity – Inclusion at
someone else’s party

The Jews, The
Church, and our Jewish Savior

Finally, consider that the Church has not replaced Israel, but the
Church instead benefits from God’s Covenant with Abraham:  Gen 22.18 – In your seed
all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My
voice.

Paul states in Romans 11:11
& 14 – I say then, have they (Israel) stumbled that they should
fall? Certainly not! But through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy,
salvation has come to the Gentiles.  For
I speak to you Gentiles; inasmuch as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify
my ministry, if by any means I may provoke to jealousy those who are my flesh
and save some of them.

We are the grafted branch, not the host tree, per Romans
11:17:  …you, being a wild olive tree,
were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and
fatness of the olive tree…  Verse
24 demonstrates that we, while equal in Christ, are subordinate to Jews per the
Covenant with Abraham:  Romans 11:24 For if you were cut out of the
olive tree which is wild by nature, and were grafted contrary to nature into a
cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, who are natural branches, be
grafted into their own olive tree? 
All who receive Christ will have Salvation.  The Gentile Church is a big part of His
Plan.  Yet, the Jews have the first seat,
not the Church; they alone are the chosen people, saved by a Jewish Messiah (Jn 4:22b – (Jesus to the Samaritan
woman) …we
know what we worship, for salvation is
of the Jews.)  With incredible generosity, He has included us
to their ‘party’.

God IS indeed Generous!

Can we grow to see the larger scope of what’s in play, and how His
generosity is full from top to bottom – not just within a narrow view of the
life we live and see?  Knowing,
understanding, and trusting God to our fullest ability stokes our Worship, and
rightly belongs to such a loving and generous Father.

God Is
Generous                                                                                                                                       05.04.18

A forward note

This chapter’s (Re)Cap is a bit different, in that we’ve considered a
scope of thought and Scripture beyond what the chapter addresses.  The chapter addresses God’s Generosity; the
(RE)Cap addresses God’s Wrath and His Generosity.  In one way, we might question having more
than a summary of filler thoughts to expand on this month’s discussion.  On the other hand, this subject as a whole
should burn in our souls, and it seems right to discuss it.  Many have observed that we suffer a
Post-Christian environment that threatens to strip us of our worship and joy in
God, because it’s easy to gravitate to the more attractive parts of His story
that this environment selectively promotes.

If we’re not very careful, every one of us, as mere humans, is prone to
settle into the parts of His story that bring us a false ease in a
grandfather-god – or an incorrect slavery to malicious-god.  He is neither of these, but He is instead a
Righteous God Who demands perfection, and Who offers incredible Love and Grace
beyond measure to answer His demand of perfection.

And so, He offers His Son.

I perceive our group is rather rounded in the Wrath/Grace mix.  This chapter (and perhaps this book) assumes the
reader has been overexposed to Wrath, and so promotes the Grace.  In this (Re)Cap we don’t take either part for
granted, but gaze beyond the Chapter’s focus, looking to include the balance of
Scripture’s mix in an effort to consider how Gracious God Is.  Proportions of anything that differs from
God’s Word only brings loss.  My hope is
that through considering this topic, we can grow in our reverence, hope, joy,
faith, love and trust in God.

Summary

I admire this book we are pondering. 
The author’s works have brought relief to many people as he reveals
topics on God.  However, his book is not
intended to be a complete work, but actually a nudge to awaken us to the basics
of knowing, understanding, and trusting Father. 
This is a book bringing some core topics to study, engage, and pursue in
the Word given to us.  In today’s Church,
the problem of Biblical illiteracy is often woeful, and the Body suffers
incredibly for it.  This book is not
intended to instruct on the Whole of God, but instead is a sampler platter to
whet the appetite.  Father wants us to
dig deep, Jesus made the way, and the Spirit stands ready to teach.   (Psalm 27:4)
“One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell
in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple”.  The issue rests on our willingness to engage
Him.

Key points

God is indeed Generous

A sense of His generosity through too narrow a view including only ‘He
loves me’, or simply ‘Jesus died for me’ – without acknowledging the whole
range of Truth He gives us in His Word – is a weak and incomplete foundation to
build an appreciation of His generosity. 
How much more is a cup of water to a man who knows he is dying of thirst
than to another who is just a bit parched? 
To have a better appreciation of His Generosity, we need to step back
and seek full sight of His care, beyond a view of only our personal concerns
that naturally occupies the majority of our thoughts.  We are rightly concerned about our life and
circumstances, but it is easy to make this the center and whole of our
attention.  Yet we are not the majority
and center of God’s Goals – there is far more at play.

Immutably Holy, God’s Wrath towards sinners rightly burns, demands to be
satisfied.  His Wrath is inescapable,
inevitable, necessary.  As God cannot
change – and as there is no reason to do so (great news) for He is complete and
flawlessly Perfect, and as He is the Source and Basis for everything because
nothing is above Him – everything under Him must be brought into agreement with
Him.  Sin must be purged, the sinner’s
right wage must be paid through death, His Realm must be purified, and
everything out of His Perfect alignment, removed.

Hinge Verse: Rom 2:4 – Or do
you presume upon the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience? Do
you not know that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?

It’s easy to miss what lies below the surface

Ice – both bergs and cubes – show only 1/7 of the whole in plain
view.  The majority of the reality lies
hidden under the surface.

God’s Word reveals the whole of reality He would have us understand,
including that beyond what we would otherwise perceive.  For this we are given His Word, reliable and
true.  It is not completely everything
about God, but completely everything God would reveal to us.

His Word is reliable

So how can we hope to know the truth about God’s Realm and His
involvement, about the whole of what’s in play, in Creation and beyond?  God graciously has provided us with
everything He knows we need to have, to understand His views, expectations and
promises.  Is the Word reliable?  While there is an exhaustive number of
reasons we can say ‘yes’, consider:

Of everything recorded during Mankind’s history, Scripture is uniquely
reliable:

–     No
parts of the Bible are found to be contradictory to the Whole

–     It
continues to be supported, not disproven, by history and archeology

–     Later
duplicates of original Scripture are found to be true to more ancient editions

–     The
Hebrew duplication processes was exhaustive, ensuring true accuracy

–     The
number of prophesies made prior to their fulfillment are numerous

–     Mankind
has realized a high degree of universal agreement, in accord with the effort and
faith invested, of wisdom/guidance/peace/relationship.  This is called Orthodoxy.

Another good starting point is Moody’s Erwin Lutzer, who is one skilled
scholar addressing this in ‘7 Reasons Why You Can Trust The Bible’.

Biblical unawareness and its consequences

We willingly live with Biblical unawareness and disregard for God.  This doesn’t have as much to do with one’s
capacity to understand, but instead an unwillingness to strive to understand
all one can in his capacity.  God offers
to teach and enlighten us, and the Holy Ghost is promised to always help us
when we seek Father’s Wisdom – If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives
to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. (Jas 1.5), and  But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father
will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your
remembrance all things that I said to you. (Jn
14.26), and Show me Your ways, O Lord; Teach me Your paths.  Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You
are the God of my salvation; On You I wait all the day. (Psalm 25.4-5).  Our
Enemy encourages disregard and unawareness, tempting on all fronts.  Trials in our lives give opportunity to
withdraw from God, to seek substitutes, to stoke our disregard.

We can agree that God is perfect, with no speck or blot.  We can also find agreement He loves us in
Christ, reconciled to Him.  But what fills
our understanding between Him and us?  The
more narrow our understanding His Word, the more unproportioned we see
ourselves.

Filling out the reality of God’s perspective with
Scripture

Does God possess anger?  Is He
right in having it?  Who will receive it?

Directed
towards His People, Israel:

Deut 32:22  For a fire is
kindled in My anger, And burns to the lowest part of Sheol, And consumes the
earth with its yield, And sets on fire the foundations of the mountains.

Isaiah 33:14 
Sinners in Zion are terrified; Trembling has seized the godless “Who
among us can live with the consuming fire? Who among us can live with continual
burning?

Deut 9:7-8  Remember! Do not
forget how you provoked the Lord your God to wrath in the wilderness. From the
day that you departed from the land of Egypt until you came to this place, you
have been rebellious against the Lord.   Also
in Horeb you provoked the Lord to wrath, so that the Lord was angry enough with
you to have destroyed you.

Warned of after
the Cross:

Matthew 3:12 
“His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His
threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn
up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

Matthew 10:28  “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul;
but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

2 Thessalonians 1:8-9  …dealing out retribution to those
who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of
the Lord and from the glory of His power…

Shown to John,
in the Revelation of Jesus:

Revelation 14:9-11a 
Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone
worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on
his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is
poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented
with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence
of the Lamb.  And the smoke of their
torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night….

Revelation 20:10 
And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and
brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be
tormented day and night forever and ever.

Revelation 20:11,13-15  Then I saw a great white throne and
Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And
there was found no place for them…The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and
Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged,
each one according to his works.  Then
Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.  And anyone not found written in the Book of
Life was cast into the lake of fire.

Does God offer Grace?  Is He generous
in giving it?  Who will receive it?

Conversely,
consider Scripture of God’s Realm and Grace:

Ephesians 6:10-13 
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His
might.  Put on the whole armor of God,
that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.  For we do not wrestle against flesh and
blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the
darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly
places.  Therefore take up the whole
armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having
done all, to stand.

Eph 1:13-14  In Him you also
trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in
whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,
Who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased
possession, to the praise of His glory.

Revelation 21:1-5 
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the
first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city,
new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned
for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the
dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be
his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their
eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying,
nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” And he who was
seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am
making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are
trustworthy and true.”

John 3:16  “For God so
loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should
not perish but have eternal life.

We all face inescapable Realities where God is concerned – and this is
everywhere, because He is Sovereign.  The
great news is Jesus’ offer to bring us into Father’s family, fully recognized
as His Children, with Christ not only as our Savior, but as our Brother.

God’s patience and Jesus’ forgiveness are the key
issues, but we make a mistake when we view them as the sole issues

Paul explains through Scripture that the New Covenant replaced Moses’
Law, providing the Pathway to reconciliation – yet remember, it does not make
God wink at sin, but satisfies His Wrath. 
His intent – to cast out sinners, unrepentant – remains, and will
happen.

Jonathan
Edwards, on the unbelieving Israelites

In Jonathan Edwards’ notable 1741 sermon on the Passage ‘Their foot shall slip in due time’, “Sinners
in the Hands of an Angry God” observes that the Hebrews were the people chosen
by God, protected by Him, sustained by Him, and under miraculous display.  Edwards illustrates the reality of their
precarious situation, if not for God’s generosity:

• They were always exposed to destruction; as one
  that stands or walks in slippery places is always exposed to fall.
• As he that walks in slippery places is every
  moment liable to fall, he cannot foresee one moment whether he shall stand or
  fall the next; and when he does fall, he falls at once without warning.
• They are liable to fall of themselves, without
  being thrown down by the hand of another.
• The reason why they are not fallen already and
  do not fall now is only that God has graciously upheld them.

One takeaway from Edwards sermon is this:  Unsaved sinners are in a precarious,
dangerous position.  But, God graciously
cares for us out of His Love and His commitment to His promise to do so through
Salvation in Christ.  We have a hard time
seeing the true risk we face, but an easier time enjoying the general and
specific results of His care – even to the point that we see the results but
fail to recognize how much from God takes place behind the scenes.  And even if Saved through Christ yet not understanding
this, we risk becoming glad receivers of Grace who can fail to appreciate and
worship the God Who is responsible – even contributing to Spiritual Idolatry
and disregard.  It is available to read, or on audio.

One final thought on His Generosity – Inclusion at
someone else’s party

The Jews, The
Church, and our Jewish Savior

Finally, consider that the Church has not replaced Israel, but the
Church instead benefits from God’s Covenant with Abraham:  Gen 22.18 – In your seed
all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My
voice.

Paul states in Romans 11:11
& 14 – I say then, have they (Israel) stumbled that they should
fall? Certainly not! But through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy,
salvation has come to the Gentiles.  For
I speak to you Gentiles; inasmuch as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify
my ministry, if by any means I may provoke to jealousy those who are my flesh
and save some of them.

We are the grafted branch, not the host tree, per Romans
11:17:  …you, being a wild olive tree,
were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and
fatness of the olive tree…  Verse
24 demonstrates that we, while equal in Christ, are subordinate to Jews per the
Covenant with Abraham:  Romans 11:24 For if you were cut out of the
olive tree which is wild by nature, and were grafted contrary to nature into a
cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, who are natural branches, be
grafted into their own olive tree? 
All who receive Christ will have Salvation.  The Gentile Church is a big part of His
Plan.  Yet, the Jews have the first seat,
not the Church; they alone are the chosen people, saved by a Jewish Messiah (Jn 4:22b – (Jesus to the Samaritan
woman) …we
know what we worship, for salvation is
of the Jews.)  With incredible generosity, He has included us
to their ‘party’.

God IS indeed Generous!

Can we grow to see the larger scope of what’s in play, and how His
generosity is full from top to bottom – not just within a narrow view of the
life we live and see?  Knowing,
understanding, and trusting God to our fullest ability stokes our Worship, and
rightly belongs to such a loving and generous Father.

(Re)cap                                                                                                                                                                           03.02.18

The Good and Beautiful God

Part 3, Chapter 3 – What is your Cup?

Summary

The topic of trials and sanctification is core to the human experience
under Father God – and is perhaps only second in importance and difficulty to
the understanding His Theology.  Our
difficulty comes from many directions, including an inability to understand His
mind (“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord. Isa 55.8), that our perceptions and affections are directed
towards us and not Him (Haughty eyes and a proud heart – the unplowed field of the
wicked – produce sin. Prov 21.4),
and we fall short if we do not progress in learning surrender and trust to Him
in the circumstances He allows (…you know that the testing of your faith produces
perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and
complete, not lacking anything. Jas
1.3-4).  The question ‘What is
your cup?’ can illuminate our understanding of God and our alignment with Him.  Yet, we can learn faith and peace in it all,
because ‘we are all God’s handiwork’, and He loves us recklessly.

Key points

Two perspectives, yet only one must prevail.

It is very understandable that we as fallen people favor our view from
our perspective.  In the moment that ushered
in the Fall, mankind’s gaze swung from God to ourselves – and every human since
then born of an earthly father has suffered the consequences brought upon us by
Adam – The seeing of ourselves as more important than God.  This is a Theological fact, demonstrated
through billions of life experiences throughout history.  The only Human to escape the consequence had
to be “born
of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might
receive adoption to sonship.” (Gal
4.4b-5).  Jesus was born of
God the Father: “And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the
power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will
be called holy—the Son of God.” (Luke
1.35).  Coming from a lineage
outside of our ‘sin-infection’, Jesus arrived Holy.  This Holy Jesus, being and knowing God
personally, explained to us the reality of our situation and how we can be
rescued.  “For God sent not his Son into the
world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved.” (John 3.17)  Our perspective – self focused and incorrect
– may be countered with His perspective – God focused and true.  And as God is Sovereign, His perspective will
prevail.  The question is, will we strive
to understand and cooperate?

Head and Heart Knowledge

A ‘head knowledge’ is inferior to a ‘heart knowledge’.  A reformed heart is His goal because the
‘heart’ is the root and seat of character, not the head.  Consider:

For where your
treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matt 6.21)

And He said to
him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your
soul and with all your mind. (Matt 22.37)

But what comes
out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. (Matt 15.18)

And I will give
you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the
heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. (Ezek 36.26)

Head knowledge is necessary to advance towards a faith in what is true,
but unless that knowledge lands on a contrite and willing heart by faith,
knowledge does no good.

“Then Jesus said
to the crowds and to his disciples, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on
Moses’ seat, so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they
do. For they preach, but do not practice.” (Matt 23.1)

“…but that
Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in
reaching that law. Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it
were based on works.” (Rom 9.31-32a)

The (otherwise) incorrigible heart

And so, our otherwise irredeemable problem.  Contrary to current and popular opinion, we
are not a race that is inwardly good, and can choose wrongly.  Rather, we are inwardly wrong and, save
godliness, will also choose wrongly. 
Corrective glasses are of no use to a blind man.  And as the eye must first be repaired, so too
our heart.

This is, aside from the work of God, an impossible task to us. “Can the
Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his spots?  Then also you can do good who are accustomed
to do evil.” (Jeremiah 13.23, sarcasm by
God intended)

Faith comes from God alone (Jas 1.17),
through our hearing His Word (Rom 10.17),
asking His understanding (Jas 1.5),
and stepping forward on His statements before we would see the results
appear (Jas 2.17).  Consider: The moment before you found an
assurance of Salvation, had you ever tasted it beforehand?  No, each of us learned we needed it, heard
and understood His promise of it, and asked Him in faith believing He would
answer as He said He would.  This would
have been your first taste of His reforming an otherwise irredeemable
heart.  And so the boot camp of the rest
of our lives in Christ began.

Sweating it out of us

Now faith is the
assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. (Heb 11.1)

By faith Noah,
being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear
constructed an ark for the saving of his household. (Heb 11.7a)

And whatever you
ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith. (Jesus, Matt 21.22)

The faith God intends to increasingly forge in us will always focus on
Him (Mk 11.22), fully grounded
in His Character which is explained to us in His Word (Ps
119.142), and affirmed in His response (John
14.21).  God and the faith He
intends is not the problem, our blind and stubborn hearts are.

So, how would He inform a heart that can’t understand Him, or penetrate
the callouses on a heart that is free to defy Him?  Ask any parent, and hear that a child’s error
might be from either ignorance or from disobedience.  Do we use the same correction for both
cases?  Both cases are to be instructed
to the degree they can, and grace tempers the response.

Father holds unquestionable love, the gift of faith, the sovereignty
over circumstance, and the wisdom to instruct. 
All of these He employs in our training. 
We commonly call them trials.  And
so, knowing what He is achieving, why He does it, that He loves and protects
us, and that He intends us to know/understand/trust Him – we can embrace James’
command:

Count it all
joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the
testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its
full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (Jas 1.2-8)

Is James alone in this admonition? 
Consider:

Peter – “Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their
souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.” (1 Pet 4.19)

and, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the
proper time He may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on Him, because He
cares for you. (1 Pet 5.6-7)

Paul – “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of
knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have suffered the loss of all
things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ…” (Phil 3.7-9)

and, “Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever
situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to
abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing
plenty and hunger, abundance and need.” (Phil
4.11-12)

and, “So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness
of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to
harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. 
Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave
me.  But He said to me, “My grace is
sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will
boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest
upon me.  For the sake of Christ, then, I
am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities.
For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2
Cor 12.7-10)

As Creator, Father has a right over us and an obligation to us.  This is the consequence of coming into His
family, of becoming His child.  “Whoever spares
the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.” (Prov 13.24).  This is a corrective rod of love, one that
refuses to see His child turn back to the slop (Lk
15.16) and to protect your faith (2
Thes 3.3, Heb 12.2).  And so,
does the Potter have no right over the clay? 
(Rom 9.21)  Doesn’t Jesus offer us a yoke? (Matt 11.30)

This is why it is imperative to learn the Character of God, because He surely
will prevail over you, His child.  The
excellent news is that He is loving, patient, merciful, kind, wise, and righteous.  True, our trials are often utterly painful,
but should we expect it to be an easy exercise to dislodge the opinions and
beliefs of a blind or stubborn heart that conflict with a holy understanding
and trust in Him, an understanding and faith He insists upon?  To this point Peter points out that it is
surely a difficult task for us and for God – “If the righteous is scarcely saved,
what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?” (1 Pet 4.18)

But more so, we have assurance of His intent and love for us through
these difficulties, which glorify Him and benefit us: “And we know that for those who love
God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to
his purpose.” (Rom 8.28), and
that we “might
obtain a better resurrection”.

Praying for help

Shall we pray for relief, peace, or faith in deliverance through the One
behind it all?  The Word tells us to pray
for all of these.  However, praying only for
the parts we want instead of what Father intends will not get us very far.  True, Scripture reports many, many times
where removal of the problem occurs. 
However, is there in any of Scripture this response without the
inclusion of faith in the Deliverer?  It
is easy for us to go right to the pain and ask that it goes away, but if it is
not faith building, can we expect God to do it? 
He wants peace for us, but never at the expense of faith in Him (remember Paul,
2 Cor 12.7-10).  Father intends us
to learn and rely upon and expect peace through faith in Him, as a child.  An early removal of the circumstance He
superintends is counter to what He tells us to expect, if it removes His
opportunity for us to grow.  So, we pray
for relief, faith, and peace in Him.

He knows each of His children intimately and crafts life to fit each one
of us unto His end goal.  Learning to
trust Him can truly only come through experience, else it would only be head
knowledge.  He loves us and perfectly
protects our faith.  His purpose will be
realized for each one of us.  In all of
this He calls us to learn Him, to trust Him, to find real peace.

A Personal Note

Several years ago, I found myself deep in the weeds in trials – it was
heading into the hardest point in my life and I felt almost hopeless.  Struggling towards Father, I asked Him for a
lifeline, and He gave me a reprieve I hope to always remember.

Our family went to the theater see a movie, and before the show they
played the following Pixar short film. 
As I watched it, I thanked God for His care, and wept.  He graciously helped me begin putting things
into His perspective.  God answers, and
He can show up wherever He pleases.  He
encouraged me to be still and know He had everything covered.

Hint:  Father God drives the truck, the Jackalope is a Jesus figure 🙂

What is
your Cup?                                                                                                                                  03.02.18

Summary

The topic of trials and sanctification is core to the human experience
under Father God – and is perhaps only second in importance and difficulty to
the understanding His Theology.  Our
difficulty comes from many directions, including an inability to understand His
mind (“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord. Isa 55.8), that our perceptions and affections are directed
towards us and not Him (Haughty eyes and a proud heart – the unplowed field of the
wicked – produce sin. Prov 21.4),
and we fall short if we do not progress in learning surrender and trust to Him
in the circumstances He allows (…you know that the testing of your faith produces
perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and
complete, not lacking anything. Jas
1.3-4).  The question ‘What is
your cup?’ can illuminate our understanding of God and our alignment with Him.  Yet, we can learn faith and peace in it all,
because ‘we are all God’s handiwork’, and He loves us recklessly.

Key points

Two perspectives, yet only one must prevail.

It is very understandable that we as fallen people favor our view from
our perspective.  In the moment that ushered
in the Fall, mankind’s gaze swung from God to ourselves – and every human since
then born of an earthly father has suffered the consequences brought upon us by
Adam – The seeing of ourselves as more important than God.  This is a Theological fact, demonstrated
through billions of life experiences throughout history.  The only Human to escape the consequence had
to be “born
of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might
receive adoption to sonship.” (Gal
4.4b-5).  Jesus was born of
God the Father: “And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the
power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will
be called holy—the Son of God.” (Luke
1.35).  Coming from a lineage
outside of our ‘sin-infection’, Jesus arrived Holy.  This Holy Jesus, being and knowing God
personally, explained to us the reality of our situation and how we can be
rescued.  “For God sent not his Son into the
world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved.” (John 3.17)  Our perspective – self focused and incorrect
– may be countered with His perspective – God focused and true.  And as God is Sovereign, His perspective will
prevail.  The question is, will we strive
to understand and cooperate?

Head and Heart Knowledge

A ‘head knowledge’ is inferior to a ‘heart knowledge’.  A reformed heart is His goal because the
‘heart’ is the root and seat of character, not the head.  Consider:

For where your
treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matt 6.21)

And He said to
him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your
soul and with all your mind. (Matt 22.37)

But what comes
out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. (Matt 15.18)

And I will give
you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the
heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. (Ezek 36.26)

Head knowledge is necessary to advance towards a faith in what is true,
but unless that knowledge lands on a contrite and willing heart by faith,
knowledge does no good.

“Then Jesus said
to the crowds and to his disciples, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on
Moses’ seat, so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they
do. For they preach, but do not practice.” (Matt 23.1)

“…but that
Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in
reaching that law. Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it
were based on works.” (Rom 9.31-32a)

The (otherwise) incorrigible heart

And so, our otherwise irredeemable problem.  Contrary to current and popular opinion, we
are not a race that is inwardly good, and can choose wrongly.  Rather, we are inwardly wrong and, save
godliness, will also choose wrongly. 
Corrective glasses are of no use to a blind man.  And as the eye must first be repaired, so too
our heart.

This is, aside from the work of God, an impossible task to us. “Can the
Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his spots?  Then also you can do good who are accustomed
to do evil.” (Jeremiah 13.23, sarcasm by
God intended)

Faith comes from God alone (Jas 1.17),
through our hearing His Word (Rom 10.17),
asking His understanding (Jas 1.5),
and stepping forward on His statements before we would see the results
appear (Jas 2.17).  Consider: The moment before you found an
assurance of Salvation, had you ever tasted it beforehand?  No, each of us learned we needed it, heard
and understood His promise of it, and asked Him in faith believing He would
answer as He said He would.  This would
have been your first taste of His reforming an otherwise irredeemable
heart.  And so the boot camp of the rest
of our lives in Christ began.

Sweating it out of us

Now faith is the
assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. (Heb 11.1)

By faith Noah,
being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear
constructed an ark for the saving of his household. (Heb 11.7a)

And whatever you
ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith. (Jesus, Matt 21.22)

The faith God intends to increasingly forge in us will always focus on
Him (Mk 11.22), fully grounded
in His Character which is explained to us in His Word (Ps
119.142), and affirmed in His response (John
14.21).  God and the faith He
intends is not the problem, our blind and stubborn hearts are.

So, how would He inform a heart that can’t understand Him, or penetrate
the callouses on a heart that is free to defy Him?  Ask any parent, and hear that a child’s error
might be from either ignorance or from disobedience.  Do we use the same correction for both
cases?  Both cases are to be instructed
to the degree they can, and grace tempers the response.

Father holds unquestionable love, the gift of faith, the sovereignty
over circumstance, and the wisdom to instruct. 
All of these He employs in our training. 
We commonly call them trials.  And
so, knowing what He is achieving, why He does it, that He loves and protects
us, and that He intends us to know/understand/trust Him – we can embrace James’
command:

Count it all
joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the
testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its
full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (Jas 1.2-8)

Is James alone in this admonition? 
Consider:

Peter – “Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their
souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.” (1 Pet 4.19)

and, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the
proper time He may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on Him, because He
cares for you. (1 Pet 5.6-7)

Paul – “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of
knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have suffered the loss of all
things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ…” (Phil 3.7-9)

and, “Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever
situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to
abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing
plenty and hunger, abundance and need.” (Phil
4.11-12)

and, “So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness
of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to
harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. 
Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave
me.  But He said to me, “My grace is
sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will
boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest
upon me.  For the sake of Christ, then, I
am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities.
For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2
Cor 12.7-10)

As Creator, Father has a right over us and an obligation to us.  This is the consequence of coming into His
family, of becoming His child.  “Whoever spares
the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.” (Prov 13.24).  This is a corrective rod of love, one that
refuses to see His child turn back to the slop (Lk
15.16) and to protect your faith (2
Thes 3.3, Heb 12.2).  And so,
does the Potter have no right over the clay? 
(Rom 9.21)  Doesn’t Jesus offer us a yoke? (Matt 11.30)

This is why it is imperative to learn the Character of God, because He surely
will prevail over you, His child.  The
excellent news is that He is loving, patient, merciful, kind, wise, and righteous.  True, our trials are often utterly painful,
but should we expect it to be an easy exercise to dislodge the opinions and
beliefs of a blind or stubborn heart that conflict with a holy understanding
and trust in Him, an understanding and faith He insists upon?  To this point Peter points out that it is
surely a difficult task for us and for God – “If the righteous is scarcely saved,
what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?” (1 Pet 4.18)

But more so, we have assurance of His intent and love for us through
these difficulties, which glorify Him and benefit us: “And we know that for those who love
God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to
his purpose.” (Rom 8.28), and
that we “might
obtain a better resurrection”.

Praying for help

Shall we pray for relief, peace, or faith in deliverance through the One
behind it all?  The Word tells us to pray
for all of these.  However, praying only for
the parts we want instead of what Father intends will not get us very far.  True, Scripture reports many, many times
where removal of the problem occurs. 
However, is there in any of Scripture this response without the
inclusion of faith in the Deliverer?  It
is easy for us to go right to the pain and ask that it goes away, but if it is
not faith building, can we expect God to do it? 
He wants peace for us, but never at the expense of faith in Him (remember Paul,
2 Cor 12.7-10).  Father intends us
to learn and rely upon and expect peace through faith in Him, as a child.  An early removal of the circumstance He
superintends is counter to what He tells us to expect, if it removes His
opportunity for us to grow.  So, we pray
for relief, faith, and peace in Him.

He knows each of His children intimately and crafts life to fit each one
of us unto His end goal.  Learning to
trust Him can truly only come through experience, else it would only be head
knowledge.  He loves us and perfectly
protects our faith.  His purpose will be
realized for each one of us.  In all of
this He calls us to learn Him, to trust Him, to find real peace.

A Personal Note

Several years ago, I found myself deep in the weeds in trials – it was
heading into the hardest point in my life and I felt almost hopeless.  Struggling towards Father, I asked Him for a
lifeline, and He gave me a reprieve I hope to always remember.

Our family went to the theater see a movie, and before the show they
played the following Pixar short film. 
As I watched it, I thanked God for His care, and wept.  He graciously helped me begin putting things
into His perspective.  God answers, and
He can show up wherever He pleases.  He
encouraged me to be still and know He had everything covered.

Hint:  Father God drives the
truck, the Jackalope is a Jesus figure J

(Re)cap                                                                                                                                                                           02.02.18

The Good and Beautiful God

Part 2, Chapter 3 – Father’s Character

Summary

What is more useful to understand about a person – his past actions in a
given set of circumstances, or his overall character that resides behind his
actions?  The record of a person’s
actions might be an indicator of his character, but knowing his actual character
is far superior in predicting what he might do in circumstances that have not
yet happened.  Given endless
possibilities, a universe of circumstances we might face, the best way we’d be
able to have reason to trust him would be based upon his character – the fiber
of his personality and from which his responses would come.

Key points

Nature and Nurture

In our previous discussion, we considered the influencers in our
lives.  We asked whether these people had
helped, hindered, or left neutral our knowing, understanding, and trusting Father
God.

In the debate of nature versus nurture, we are born with dispositions
(nature), yet must learn command over our actions.  Actions are filtered through our beliefs, our
Narrative, shaped by our influencers (nurture). 
We cannot escape the truth that our interactions with persons who play a
role in our life make impressions that color and steer our viewpoint.  Yes, we alone are responsible for our
actions.  Yet, the basis of who we are that
informs our actions are shaped much by these influencing people in our lives.

Sizing up our influencers

So, consider your influencers, the people who have closely interacted
with you, those who have helped shape you.

How would your influencer compare to the following description?

(S)he is someone who I believed had a clear view of the truth, conducted
their life very well without mistakes, had a steady hand and never failed in
responsibilities, always put my interests first regardless of mood or
circumstance, never failed to seek reconciliation nor held a grudge, could
always be trusted to be near to respond, and always protected me despite the
cost.

This would be an amazing person. 
And, if an influencer, would be a priceless and mighty force in your
life.  Yet, the truth is that a person of
this sort is rare, and by strict definition, impossible.  Placing the measuring stick next to the best
person you have ever known, experience shows us that real people traverse the
scale, all the way down to the despicable.

Sizing up Father

Now, carefully consider that statement again, and rather than a view towards
your human influencer, look through it towards Father God:

Father is someone who I believe has a clear view of the truth, conducts
His life very well without mistakes, has a steady hand and never fails in
responsibilities, always puts my interests first regardless of mood or
circumstance, has never failed to seek reconciliation nor held a grudge, can
always be trusted to be near to respond, and always protects me despite the
cost.

The statement reflects this month’s study which included restatements of
the Lord’s Prayer:

God is near, present

God is pure, Holy

God is powerful and the King Who rules His realm

God cares, provides for us

God pardons our sins against Him

God protects, rescues us from trials and evil

Our Father in
heaven, hallowed be Your name,

Your kingdom
come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us today
our daily bread.

And forgive us
our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

And lead us not
into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

Matthew 6:9-13

Who He Is; Who we believe He Is

Do you sense any hesitance in seeing Him that way?  If so, you’re a fellow, fallen human.

The goal of this exercise, and more so the Goal of the Lord Jesus
Himself, is to help us see the inconsistencies of our heart in relation to the
truth He tells us about the Father He knows. 
This is the Father Who strives to rescue us, to bring us back to our
intended place before Him.

Last month, we read that the models (influencers) in our lives, good or
bad, can be a blessing – if we take care to test our narrative and weigh it
against the true Model.  Jesus taught the
Prayer to reveal Father to us, and also to help us see the inconsistencies
between our views and Reality.  His Goal
is to help us know, understand, and trust the Father He trusts.  This long transformation is our
Sanctification.

Can we believe Jesus’ explanation of Father?  Can we realize the contrast between His (and
our) Father and the influencers who have shaped our expectations of God?  Here, we are to see the truth about Father,
and repent of the notions that might stand in our way:

God’s fatherhood
must define what human fatherhood ought to look like, and not the reverse.
(James Bryan Smith)

Father’s Character                                                                                                                          02.02.18

Summary

What is more useful to understand about a person – his past actions in a
given set of circumstances, or his overall character that resides behind his
actions?  The record of a person’s
actions might be an indicator of his character, but knowing his actual
character is far superior in predicting what he might do in circumstances that
have not yet happened.  Given endless
possibilities, a universe of circumstances we might face, the best way we’d be
able to have reason to trust him would be based upon his character – the fiber
of his personality and from which his responses would come.

Key points

Nature and Nurture

In our previous discussion, we considered the influencers in our
lives.  We asked whether these people had
helped, hindered, or left neutral our knowing, understanding, and trusting Father
God.

In the debate of nature versus nurture, we are born with dispositions (nature),
yet must learn command over our actions. 
Actions are filtered through our beliefs, our Narrative, shaped by our
influencers (nurture).  We cannot escape
the truth that our interactions with persons who play a role in our life make
impressions that color and steer our viewpoint. 
Yes, we alone are responsible for our actions.  Yet, the basis of who we are that informs our
actions are shaped much by these influencing people in our lives.

Sizing up our influencers

So, consider your influencers, the people who have closely interacted
with you, those who have helped shape you.

How would your influencer compare to the following description?

(S)he is someone who I believed had a clear view of the truth, conducted
their life very well without mistakes, had a steady hand and never failed in
responsibilities, always put my interests first regardless of mood or
circumstance, never failed to seek reconciliation nor held a grudge, could
always be trusted to be near to respond, and always protected me despite the
cost.

This would be an amazing person. 
And, if an influencer, would be a priceless and mighty force in your
life.  Yet, the truth is that a person of
this sort is rare, and by strict definition, impossible.  Placing the measuring stick next to the best
person you have ever known, experience shows us that real people traverse the
scale, all the way down to the despicable.

Sizing up Father

Now, carefully consider that statement again, and rather than a view towards
your human influencer, look through it towards Father God:

Father is someone who I believe has a clear view of the truth, conducts
His life very well without mistakes, has a steady hand and never fails in
responsibilities, always puts my interests first regardless of mood or
circumstance, has never failed to seek reconciliation nor held a grudge, can
always be trusted to be near to respond, and always protects me despite the
cost.

The statement reflects this month’s study which included restatements of
the Lord’s Prayer:

God is near, present

God is pure, Holy

God is powerful and the King Who rules His realm

God cares, provides for us

God pardons our sins against Him

God protects, rescues us from trials and evil

Our Father in
heaven, hallowed be Your name,

Your kingdom
come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us today
our daily bread.

And forgive us
our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

And lead us not
into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

Matthew 6:9-13

Who He Is; Who we believe He Is

Do you sense any hesitance in seeing Him that way?  If so, you’re a fellow, fallen human.

The goal of this exercise, and more so the Goal of the Lord Jesus
Himself, is to help us see the inconsistencies of our heart in relation to the
truth He tells us about the Father He knows. 
This is the Father Who strives to rescue us, to bring us back to our
intended place before Him.

Last month, we read that the models (influencers) in our lives, good or
bad, can be a blessing – if we take care to test our narrative and weigh it
against the true Model.  Jesus taught the
Prayer to reveal Father to us, and also to help us see the inconsistencies
between our views and Reality.  His Goal
is to help us know, understand, and trust the Father He trusts.  This long transformation is our
Sanctification.

Can we believe Jesus’ explanation of Father?  Can we realize the contrast between His (and
our) Father and the influencers who have shaped our expectations of God?  Here, we are to see the truth about Father,
and repent of the notions that might stand in our way:

God’s fatherhood
must define what human fatherhood ought to look like, and not the reverse.
(James Bryan Smith)

(Re)cap                                                                                                                                                                               1.05.18

The Good and Beautiful God

Part 1, Chapter 3 – God is Trustworthy

Summary

Just because someone has attributes, it does not automatically equate to
their intent and treatment toward you.  A
wise man might give his thoughts or keep them to himself, a wealthy man could
give or keep money, a violent man may choose or not to rob you.  Knowing God’s Character is foundational, but
trusting Him and His response is another issue.

Beginning Chapter 3, we start to have a look at how trust works, why it
develops, where it can fall off of the rails, and why it is important to
consider our stance before Father.  His
intent is to show and convince us that He is Trustworthy.

Key points

Understanding someone’s character is an important
issue.  Knowing what to expect from that
character and trusting it is a whole other issue.

Perhaps one of the main, universal drivers shared by every human is a
desire for the avoidance of pain. 
Beginning at that premise, we can possibly trace the beginnings of every
behavior, decision and hope.  And perhaps
this is because the existence we experience in life is the polar opposite of
the state of existence for which we were intended – one of peace surrounding a
perfect God Who knows no deficiency.  We
just weren’t made for this falleness.

Found both in Scripture and the hopeful tales spun by mankind, in
‘Heaven’ there is no need, pain, loss – only joy, gladness, provision,
peace.  It seems in the end, we are all
drawn to this.  Even the Lost hope for
the dead to be ‘in a better place’.

A correct understanding of Scripture will repair the fallacies we
attribute to God.  Yet, the Goal of God
and His Word are not simply to rescue us from Hell – it is to move us
increasingly into relationship with the God with Whom we will reside, once the
wrath we’re due has been addressed.

The report of Creation heralds perfection.  Everything began “very good” (Gen 1.31).  Scripture is replete with assurances of God’s
goodness.  We are told He is right, fair,
full of mercy, even good intent.  There
is little room for argument concerning His Character.  However, to varying degrees we are faced with
a disconnect between God’s Character and how we trust He will respond to us.  Now, ‘varying degrees’ is an enormous
understatement.   As we consider Jesus’
trust of Father and learn to compare it to our own warped state and outlook, we
face a seemingly bottomless chasm of mistrust. 
Father understands this, and His work is to continually invite us to bridge
that ravine with Truth and confirmation. 
We are His workmanship (Eph 2.10), and the works He brings us to walk in
only succeed as we engage these works trusting Him (Jn 15.5).  These exercises build our trust in His
Character and response.

For we are His
workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared
beforehand, that we should walk in them. Eph
2.10

I am the vine;
you are the branches.  Whoever abides in
Me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do
nothing. Jn 15.5

Father calls each and every human towards a primary
Goal, and every Believer participates in their progress towards that Goal.

Father of course understands this, and goes to endless lengths to help
and to accommodate us towards the Goal. 
Laying a foundation of Who He Is through Scripture, the next course of
bricks begins.  He teaches us to trust
that He will not keep these attributes to Himself, but instead work to in us to
“taste and see that the Lord is good”.

Oh, taste and
see that the Lord is good!  Blessed is
the man who takes refuge in Him! Ps 34.8

God’s goodness is a given, yet not until we would taste and take refuge
are we blessed.  Why?  Because knowing of His Character is one
issue, while trusting His Character as directed towards us is a whole other
issue.

In the same way that an expert in a field who doesn’t have hands-on
experience is incomplete, so too are we if we thoroughly know the reports of
God in Scripture yet lack a trust borne out of an engaging experience with Him.

How will we grow to know what to expect from
Someone Who is unseen?

So herein lays the problem: How would we hope to grow in our
understanding of and trust in an invisible Person?  Without reservation, we can agree that a knowledge
of Him through the Scriptures is essential, lest we would know of and believe
in a God other than the One written of.  But
remember, we all begin this Walk ignorant of Him, and ignorant of the
Scriptures.

Consider the universal progression every human is called to tread:

• Recognize there is a God
• See the Scope of His presence and involvement
• See our core opposition to Him and His ways
• Hear His call and His demand to repent and
  return to Him
• Acknowledge our need for Him
• Ask for Rescue from our fallen state
• Recognize this newly reconciled relationship
• Cooperate towards a progressively changed
  ‘heart’
• Patiently help others to realize the same you’ve
  learned
• Prepare to meet Him

Notice that this cycle applies to us across the spectrum – whether we’re
not yet Saved, or if we’ve followed Him all of our life since Salvation.  The Lost finds rescue in the cycle; the Saved
finds progressing Sanctification.  In
both scenarios, the participant is called to and learns to trust Him.

The cycle of knowing, understanding and trusting Him is an upward
ascending and increasing spiral, like a spring small at the bottom growing
larger at the top.  As He nurtures us, all
steps of this cycle are played over and over again in an expanding
success.  We can even locate ourselves in
this progression before or after receiving Salvation – the cycle number you’re
on might be different, but the process repeats and remains the same because the
Goal remains the same.  It is a lifetime-long
road, but He is caring and patient.

To increasingly engage in the above requires trust in God, yet a God we
are to progressively know better.  And so
the question was posed:  Consider other
people in your life who represented an influence over you.  For instance, what characteristics did
(presumably) your Dad have, and how do you recognize the effects your view of
God the Father?  Why?  Because we begin life ignorant of God,
perhaps first learning about influencing characteristics from our Dads.  In traditional families, we will first know
more of our Dad’s/Influencer’s character before learning Father’s.  This foundation preemptively colors our
understanding and attitude about authority, grace, God, and how we can expect Him
to respond.  Not intended in the least to
be psyco-babble, nor an excuse for our choices, we cannot seem to escape what
even Sesame Street teaches toddlers – to know something new, build upon
something similar you already understand.

From Scripture, we are also instructed to learn from parallels in the
same way – Moses’ instructions of the Tabernacle and Laws were a shadow (Heb 8.4-5),
sound leaders are to be imitated (Heb 13.17), and we have Jesus’ example to
follow (1
Pet 2.21).

Now if He were
on earth, He would not be a priest at all, since there are priests who offer
gifts according to the law. 5 They serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly
things. For when Moses was about to erect the tent, he was instructed by God,
saying, “See that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown
you on the mountain.” Heb 8.4-5

Remember your
leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their
way of life, and imitate their faith. Heb
13.17

For to this you
have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example,
so that you might follow in His steps. 1
Pet 2.21

The Influencers in our lives, good or bad, can be a
blessing – take care to test your narrative and weigh it against the true
Model.

We trotted out the question concerning our Dads’ influence on our view
of Father, and got answers across the spectrum – good characteristics leading
us to God, bad traits informing us of a problem in contrast to His traits, and even
a neutral influence neither good nor bad. 
In our group’s case, they all influenced our path to God.  Perhaps we all know of someone whose Influencers
have helped to spin them off into destruction, or even a very good person who
has still failed to embrace God.

If we agree that the universal progression every person is called to
tread listed above is true, and that our view of God is effected by our Influencers,
then we can acknowledge it is imperative to run all influences – what we read,
hear, associate with, believe – through the sieve of Scripture.  We must derive what is called right by the
Truth, and repair our perceptions.  On
the topic of trusting Father, what things are snagging you?

A personal experience.

I was gently asked, “I notice you refer to God the Father as
“Father”.  Would you please explain
that?”

After more thought, my answer is that I conclude it is Scriptural (Rom 8.14-17),
a term of glad submission and endearment, and an expression of a personal
relationship He beckons me to.

For all who are
led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 
For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear,
but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba!
Father!”  The Spirit himself bears
witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then
heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with Him in
order that we may also be glorified with Him. 
Rom 8.14-17

I perceive a godly Dad as one who strives to be wise, provides
instruction and direction, protects, and insists on God’s way in patience and
love.  Imitating Jesus, he would do
everything he could to live up to his role in the world (not just in the home, and
beyond being only a ‘spiritual leader’) as prophet, priest, and king.  All of these attributes and responses are
perfectly declared and demonstrated by Father God.  I love His Pure dealings with me, and His
forging of these same attributes in me as His child.

Those who have influenced me throughout my life have not been many of
these things – both persons of bad character overall, and even fellow fallen
Believers who are learning holiness like I am. 
But in a clear and absolute way, I recount how God has increasingly been
that perfect Father for me.  It is not
that He has increased, but instead He has helped me increasingly embrace Who He
fully Is and recognize His dealings with me. 
The outcome of any progressively Sanctified heart includes a repaired
understanding of Him, and with repentance, an ever wider lens that sees
Him.  Father, our Heavenly Father, works
towards fulfilling His intent to grow each of us this way.  He has been consistent and true to me, and
this is why I choose to reverently call Him Father.

Consider early Church father Polycarp’s response to those who would have
him deny Christ.  There stood a man who
had learned to trust God, and I want to know Him in the same way.

The proconsul then urged him, saying, “Swear, and I will release thee; —
reproach Christ.” Polycarp answered, “Eighty and six years have I served Him,
and He never once wronged me; how then shall I blaspheme my King, Who hath
saved me?” At the stake, to which he was only tied, but not nailed as usual, as
he assured them he should stand immovable, the flames, on their kindling the
fagots, encircled his body, like an arch, without touching him, and the
executioner, on seeing this, was ordered to pierce him with a sword when so
great a quantity of blood flowed out as extinguished the fire.

My privilege of a growing closeness to Father cannot be special or
unique – I read in the Word that this relationship is intended for every human
being who would embrace Christ, obey the Spirit, and trust Father.

God is
Trustworthy                                                                                                                               1.05.18

Summary

Just because someone has attributes, it does not automatically equate to
their intent and treatment toward you.  A
wise man might give his thoughts or keep them to himself, a wealthy man could
give or keep money, a violent man may choose or not to rob you.  Knowing God’s Character is foundational, but
trusting Him and His response is another issue.

Beginning Chapter 3, we start to have a look at how trust works, why it
develops, where it can fall off of the rails, and why it is important to
consider our stance before Father.  His
intent is to show and convince us that He is Trustworthy.

Key points

Understanding someone’s character is an important
issue.  Knowing what to expect from that
character and trusting it is a whole other issue.

Perhaps one of the main, universal drivers shared by every human is a
desire for the avoidance of pain. 
Beginning at that premise, we can possibly trace the beginnings of every
behavior, decision and hope.  And perhaps
this is because the existence we experience in life is the polar opposite of
the state of existence for which we were intended – one of peace surrounding a
perfect God Who knows no deficiency.  We
just weren’t made for this falleness.

Found both in Scripture and the hopeful tales spun by mankind, in
‘Heaven’ there is no need, pain, loss – only joy, gladness, provision,
peace.  It seems in the end, we are all
drawn to this.  Even the Lost hope for
the dead to be ‘in a better place’.

A correct understanding of Scripture will repair the fallacies we
attribute to God.  Yet, the Goal of God
and His Word are not simply to rescue us from Hell – it is to move us
increasingly into relationship with the God with Whom we will reside, once the
wrath we’re due has been addressed.

The report of Creation heralds perfection.  Everything began “very good” (Gen 1.31).  Scripture is replete with assurances of God’s
goodness.  We are told He is right, fair,
full of mercy, even good intent.  There
is little room for argument concerning His Character.  However, to varying degrees we are faced with
a disconnect between God’s Character and how we trust He will respond to us.  Now, ‘varying degrees’ is an enormous
understatement.   As we consider Jesus’
trust of Father and learn to compare it to our own warped state and outlook, we
face a seemingly bottomless chasm of mistrust. 
Father understands this, and His work is to continually invite us to bridge
that ravine with Truth and confirmation. 
We are His workmanship (Eph 2.10), and the works He brings us to walk in
only succeed as we engage these works trusting Him (Jn 15.5).  These exercises build our trust in His
Character and response.

For we are His
workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared
beforehand, that we should walk in them. Eph
2.10

I am the vine;
you are the branches.  Whoever abides in
Me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do
nothing. Jn 15.5

Father calls each and every human towards a primary
Goal, and every Believer participates in their progress towards that Goal.

Father of course understands this, and goes to endless lengths to help
and to accommodate us towards the Goal. 
Laying a foundation of Who He Is through Scripture, the next course of
bricks begins.  He teaches us to trust
that He will not keep these attributes to Himself, but instead work to in us to
“taste and see that the Lord is good”.

Oh, taste and
see that the Lord is good!  Blessed is
the man who takes refuge in Him! Ps 34.8

God’s goodness is a given, yet not until we would taste and take refuge
are we blessed.  Why?  Because knowing of His Character is one
issue, while trusting His Character as directed towards us is a whole other
issue.

In the same way that an expert in a field who doesn’t have hands-on
experience is incomplete, so too are we if we thoroughly know the reports of
God in Scripture yet lack a trust borne out of an engaging experience with Him.

How will we grow to know what to expect from
Someone Who is unseen?

So herein lays the problem: How would we hope to grow in our
understanding of and trust in an invisible Person?  Without reservation, we can agree that a knowledge
of Him through the Scriptures is essential, lest we would know of and believe
in a God other than the One written of.  But
remember, we all begin this Walk ignorant of Him, and ignorant of the
Scriptures.

Consider the universal progression every human is called to tread:

• Recognize there is a God
• See the Scope of His presence and involvement
• See our core opposition to Him and His ways
• Hear His call and His demand to repent and
  return to Him
• Acknowledge our need for Him
• Ask for Rescue from our fallen state
• Recognize this newly reconciled relationship
• Cooperate towards a progressively changed
  ‘heart’
• Patiently help others to realize the same you’ve
  learned
• Prepare to meet Him

Notice that this cycle applies to us across the spectrum – whether we’re
not yet Saved, or if we’ve followed Him all of our life since Salvation.  The Lost finds rescue in the cycle; the Saved
finds progressing Sanctification.  In
both scenarios, the participant is called to and learns to trust Him.

The cycle of knowing, understanding and trusting Him is an upward
ascending and increasing spiral, like a spring small at the bottom growing
larger at the top.  As He nurtures us, all
steps of this cycle are played over and over again in an expanding
success.  We can even locate ourselves in
this progression before or after receiving Salvation – the cycle number you’re
on might be different, but the process repeats and remains the same because the
Goal remains the same.  It is a lifetime-long
road, but He is caring and patient.

To increasingly engage in the above requires trust in God, yet a God we
are to progressively know better.  And so
the question was posed:  Consider other
people in your life who represented an influence over you.  For instance, what characteristics did
(presumably) your Dad have, and how do you recognize the effects your view of
God the Father?  Why?  Because we begin life ignorant of God,
perhaps first learning about influencing characteristics from our Dads.  In traditional families, we will first know
more of our Dad’s/Influencer’s character before learning Father’s.  This foundation preemptively colors our
understanding and attitude about authority, grace, God, and how we can expect Him
to respond.  Not intended in the least to
be psyco-babble, nor an excuse for our choices, we cannot seem to escape what
even Sesame Street teaches toddlers – to know something new, build upon
something similar you already understand.

From Scripture, we are also instructed to learn from parallels in the
same way – Moses’ instructions of the Tabernacle and Laws were a shadow (Heb 8.4-5),
sound leaders are to be imitated (Heb 13.17), and we have Jesus’ example to
follow (1
Pet 2.21).

Now if He were
on earth, He would not be a priest at all, since there are priests who offer
gifts according to the law. 5 They serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly
things. For when Moses was about to erect the tent, he was instructed by God,
saying, “See that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown
you on the mountain.” Heb 8.4-5

Remember your
leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their
way of life, and imitate their faith. Heb
13.17

For to this you
have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example,
so that you might follow in His steps. 1
Pet 2.21

The Influencers in our lives, good or bad, can be a
blessing – take care to test your narrative and weigh it against the true
Model.

We trotted out the question concerning our Dads’ influence on our view
of Father, and got answers across the spectrum – good characteristics leading
us to God, bad traits informing us of a problem in contrast to His traits, and even
a neutral influence neither good nor bad. 
In our group’s case, they all influenced our path to God.  Perhaps we all know of someone whose Influencers
have helped to spin them off into destruction, or even a very good person who
has still failed to embrace God.

If we agree that the universal progression every person is called to
tread listed above is true, and that our view of God is effected by our Influencers,
then we can acknowledge it is imperative to run all influences – what we read,
hear, associate with, believe – through the sieve of Scripture.  We must derive what is called right by the
Truth, and repair our perceptions.  On
the topic of trusting Father, what things are snagging you?

A personal experience.

I was gently asked, “I notice you refer to God the Father as
“Father”.  Would you please explain
that?”

After more thought, my answer is that I conclude it is Scriptural (Rom 8.14-17),
a term of glad submission and endearment, and an expression of a personal
relationship He beckons me to.

For all who are
led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 
For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear,
but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba!
Father!”  The Spirit himself bears
witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then
heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with Him in
order that we may also be glorified with Him. 
Rom 8.14-17

I perceive a godly Dad as one who strives to be wise, provides
instruction and direction, protects, and insists on God’s way in patience and
love.  Imitating Jesus, he would do
everything he could to live up to his role in the world (not just in the home, and
beyond being only a ‘spiritual leader’) as prophet, priest, and king.  All of these attributes and responses are
perfectly declared and demonstrated by Father God.  I love His Pure dealings with me, and His
forging of these same attributes in me as His child.

Those who have influenced me throughout my life have not been many of
these things – both persons of bad character overall, and even fellow fallen
Believers who are learning holiness like I am. 
But in a clear and absolute way, I recount how God has increasingly been
that perfect Father for me.  It is not
that He has increased, but instead He has helped me increasingly embrace Who He
fully Is and recognize His dealings with me. 
The outcome of any progressively Sanctified heart includes a repaired
understanding of Him, and with repentance, an ever wider lens that sees
Him.  Father, our Heavenly Father, works
towards fulfilling His intent to grow each of us this way.  He has been consistent and true to me, and
this is why I choose to reverently call Him Father.

Consider early Church father Polycarp’s response to those who would have
him deny Christ.  There stood a man who
had learned to trust God, and I want to know Him in the same way.

The proconsul then urged him, saying, “Swear, and I will release thee; —
reproach Christ.” Polycarp answered, “Eighty and six years have I served Him,
and He never once wronged me; how then shall I blaspheme my King, Who hath
saved me?” At the stake, to which he was only tied, but not nailed as usual, as
he assured them he should stand immovable, the flames, on their kindling the
fagots, encircled his body, like an arch, without touching him, and the
executioner, on seeing this, was ordered to pierce him with a sword when so
great a quantity of blood flowed out as extinguished the fire.

My privilege of a growing closeness to Father cannot be special or
unique – I read in the Word that this relationship is intended for every human
being who would embrace Christ, obey the Spirit, and trust Father.

(Re)cap                                                                                                                                                                           12.01.17

The Good and Beautiful God

Chapter 2 – God is Good

Summary

Most any Christian you ask will agree (confess) that God loves us, that
He is Love, that love showed itself on the Cross.  In the midst of good fortune, we often hear
about His blessings.  During the hard
times the common anthem is “He has a plan”.

While all of the above is very true, we have an opportunity to discover
that these statements are actually topical – just the tip of the iceberg – if
we’ll take time to further consider His Word, His explanation and demonstration
of His Character.  Chapter 2 introduces
us to a bit more of the topic “God is Good”.

Key points

Prelude

Our Author Smith began his walk no different than any of us.  He recognized God as Ultimate, confessed his
own sin and need, and called on Jesus for His offer.  He also, until one day, had little direct
experience with God outside of a quiet Christian life.  To this point in his walk, he
agreed/confessed of His love.  But, when
real trial was visited upon him and his family, the next leg of his walk began
as the Lord helped him understand a bit more of His Character and Intent. Early
on, Smith discovered that there are many degrees of depth – as well as a range
of opinions – on how God deals with us. 
But most importantly, he came away with a personal report, an
experience, of God’s care for him.

This is uncomfortable, what do I need to do to make
it go away?

Removing ourselves from uncomfortable situations (or placing ourselves
into pleasurable ones) isn’t difficult to appreciate.  Our world, from day one, is a constant
reinforcement of cause and effect: If it burns my hand, move it away; If I’m
cold, put on a jacket; If I’m hungry, eat; If I don’t want a ticket, don’t
speed; If I don’t want to be struck in the nose, show respect.  Conversely: if I don’t want to be fat, eat
less; if I want to get there faster, speed; If I am in jeopardy, take
preemptive measures.  Our lives are
replete with taking care of business and responding in some sort of action.

So, when difficulty visits us, it is natural to seek a way to avoid, or solve,
or endure the situation.  Pain, fear,
loss, death – all of these are not what God left us with on Day Six of
Creation.  It’s also not what we can
expect once everything is straightened out in the End. He will wipe away every
tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be
mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. (Rev 21.4)

But for now, in this Age before the Gathering occurs, we are in a place
of tension.  Somehow we have to reconcile
a natural desire for peace and comfort v/s understanding God’s Character and
Intent towards us v/s how we are to respond to trails and heartache.

Who sinned? 
Or, How does God see things and how should I respond?

This Chapter shares the Smith’s experience following the diagnosis and
the ultimate death of their daughter.  He
shares the responses of other Jesus followers, and the range of theology about
God is sadly lacking.  We also shared
around the table our own experiences with responses given to us like this.

Ask 10 people to explain something abstract (as opposed to the answer to
a math equation) and we can expect 10 different viewpoints.  And, the more complicated the topic, the
wider ranging (read: the farther from the truth) the answers might be.

Now, ask 10 people, even Christians, about an aspect of Almighty
God.  But wait, in His case it doesn’t
mean there are no definitive answers – this is why He has given and protected the
Scriptures, and has given the Spirit, and deals directly with each of us
personally.  The answers from those 10
people will directly correlate to their exposure and experience with Scripture,
Spirit and personal experience.  Perhaps
it is even safe to say that any number of people, if thoroughly experienced in
these three things, will come to much the same conclusions about that aspect of
God we’ve asked them about.  Why?  Because He is seamless, pure and consistent
in His expression of Who He is.  Yes, the
ways He demonstrates it to us as individuals might be different, but the Truth
behind the demonstrations run true to His Character.

God is Good and He loves me.  This situation is terrible.  Can this be reconciled?

Sink low enough into a difficulty, or spend enough time suffering an
injustice, and we might likely find that our comfort in ‘God loves me/He has a
plan’ is challenged.  Have any of us ever
found ourselves boxed into this problem?

1. God loves me

2. God is Sovereign and all powerful

3. This is a horrible pain/injustice/your need here

Is it possible that even the most devout Follower could come to a place
where he would ask God “Why haven’t you fixed this for me?”  After all, He has the means to, and He says
He loves me, right?

What is God working to accomplish?

At the most basic and simple human level, if I will show my love to
someone it will probably revolve around their comfort and pleasure.  This is the stuff of romance novels, the
sweeping off of feet.  But what of a love
with a deeper view, perhaps something like wanting our children to learn how to
handle a budget?  In this case the result
might sometimes be they can’t immediately have what they want.  Parents would likely see the degree of pain
the children experience as reasonable and necessary.  This parent would be loving, yet there is
pain.

What is God’s main, bottom line goal in Creation?  That He would be acknowledged, praised,
glorified, worshipped as the One and True God. 
What is Father’s main, bottom line goal for us and Creation?  In the Westminster Catechism, the answer to Question
One is a common – and excellent – answer: That we would glorify God and enjoy
Him forever.

Both cases contribute to His goal. 
As we are involved in this, and as we are lacking as fallen people, and
as He loves Himself and loves us, we enter Salvation to begin our training out
of our wrong beliefs/actions, and into our understanding, faith and trust of
Him.  As a child learning to budget
experiences pain (followed perhaps by financial peace through godly obedience),
should we not expect pain as Father teaches us through difficulty while keeping
the End Goal in view?  If so, our list
might now look like this:

1. God loves me

2. God is Sovereign and all powerful

3. This is a horrible pain/injustice/your need here

4. I know and am learning He is Good and Trustworthy

5. He will even provide me comfort as I suffer His teaching trial

6. As I learn to trust Him, I too can learn to say I ‘Count it all joy’ (Jas 1.2-4)

This is why we have Jesus to lead the way, even when we would ask God
“Why haven’t you fixed this for me?”  For
He too asked Father this same question:  “Father, if you
are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be
done.” (Lk 22.42), and again
in obedience on the Cross “And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice,
“Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mk 15.34)

Even Jesus, perfect, learned as a Man to trust and obey Father: “Although he
was a son, he learned obedience through what he
suffered.” (Heb 5.8).  Can we expect that our course would be any
different than that of the Second Adam, Who we follow and have Salvation
through?  If Father loved Jesus, and He
also loves us, then we have hope of reconciling the ‘God is Good and He loves
me / This situation is terrible’ issue. 
Because, remember He also tells us:

The eternal God
is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms;

Deut 33:27

The steps of a
good man are ordered by the Lord, And He delights in his way. Though he fall,
he shall not be utterly cast down; For the Lord upholds him with His hand.

Ps 37:23-34

If I say, “My
foot slips,” Your mercy, O Lord, will hold me up. In the multitude of my
anxieties within me, Your comforts delight my soul.

Ps 94:18-19

My help comes
from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth.

Ps 121:2

He heals the
brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.

Ps 147:3

Fear not, for I
am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I
will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’

Isa 41:10

When you pass
through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not
overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor
shall the flame scorch you.

Isa 43:2

And we know that
all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the
called according to His purpose.

Rom 8:28

And,

Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give
you the kingdom.

Lk 12.32

The list goes on and on.

Some final thoughts.

And so, we can find reconciliation with His love and our suffering.  We can say “This happened because God had a
plan”, while also saying “Though this happened, God has a plan on what to do
about it”.

There is much more to consider on this topic.  John Piper, on the eve of his cancer surgery,
scribbled out his booklet “Don’t Let Your Cancer Go To Waste”.  In it, Piper makes a good argument that even
‘bad’ things are a gift from God.  He
reasons that as Sovereign, it isn’t possible for anything to pass Father’s
notice – He can stop an event, cause an event, or let an event proceed that
comes out of the fallen world.  Was
Piper’s cancer caused by God, or allowed by God, or not stopped by God?  Piper chooses to anchor his opinion in
Father’s Sovereignty and love, concluding that whatever reason He chose, He did
indeed choose it.  And on that, Piper
thanked God for His gift of cancer. 
Piper saw it as deemed proper and necessary for His child John, in
pursuit of God’s main goal of glorifying Himself and in helping John to see
things increasingly His way.  Piper
counted it all joy, and we can too.

God is Good
                                                                                                                                                        12.01.17

Summary

Most any Christian you ask will agree (confess) that God loves us, that
He is Love, that love showed itself on the Cross.  In the midst of good fortune, we often hear
about His blessings.  During the hard
times the common anthem is “He has a plan”.

While all of the above is very true, we have an opportunity to discover
that these statements are actually topical – just the tip of the iceberg – if
we’ll take time to further consider His Word, His explanation and demonstration
of His Character.  Chapter 2 introduces
us to a bit more of the topic “God is Good”.

Key points

Prelude

Our Author Smith began his walk no different than any of us.  He recognized God as Ultimate, confessed his
own sin and need, and called on Jesus for His offer.  He also, until one day, had little direct
experience with God outside of a quiet Christian life.  To this point in his walk, he
agreed/confessed of His love.  But, when
real trial was visited upon him and his family, the next leg of his walk began
as the Lord helped him understand a bit more of His Character and Intent. Early
on, Smith discovered that there are many degrees of depth – as well as a range
of opinions – on how God deals with us. 
But most importantly, he came away with a personal report, an
experience, of God’s care for him.

This is uncomfortable, what do I need to do to make
it go away?

Removing ourselves from uncomfortable situations (or placing ourselves
into pleasurable ones) isn’t difficult to appreciate.  Our world, from day one, is a constant
reinforcement of cause and effect: If it burns my hand, move it away; If I’m
cold, put on a jacket; If I’m hungry, eat; If I don’t want a ticket, don’t
speed; If I don’t want to be struck in the nose, show respect.  Conversely: if I don’t want to be fat, eat
less; if I want to get there faster, speed; If I am in jeopardy, take
preemptive measures.  Our lives are
replete with taking care of business and responding in some sort of action.

So, when difficulty visits us, it is natural to seek a way to avoid, or solve,
or endure the situation.  Pain, fear,
loss, death – all of these are not what God left us with on Day Six of
Creation.  It’s also not what we can
expect once everything is straightened out in the End. He will wipe away every
tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be
mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. (Rev 21.4)

But for now, in this Age before the Gathering occurs, we are in a place
of tension.  Somehow we have to reconcile
a natural desire for peace and comfort v/s understanding God’s Character and
Intent towards us v/s how we are to respond to trails and heartache.

Who sinned? 
Or, How does God see things and how should I respond?

This Chapter shares the Smith’s experience following the diagnosis and
the ultimate death of their daughter.  He
shares the responses of other Jesus followers, and the range of theology about
God is sadly lacking.  We also shared
around the table our own experiences with responses given to us like this.

Ask 10 people to explain something abstract (as opposed to the answer to
a math equation) and we can expect 10 different viewpoints.  And, the more complicated the topic, the
wider ranging (read: the farther from the truth) the answers might be.

Now, ask 10 people, even Christians, about an aspect of Almighty
God.  But wait, in His case it doesn’t
mean there are no definitive answers – this is why He has given and protected the
Scriptures, and has given the Spirit, and deals directly with each of us
personally.  The answers from those 10
people will directly correlate to their exposure and experience with Scripture,
Spirit and personal experience.  Perhaps
it is even safe to say that any number of people, if thoroughly experienced in
these three things, will come to much the same conclusions about that aspect of
God we’ve asked them about.  Why?  Because He is seamless, pure and consistent
in His expression of Who He is.  Yes, the
ways He demonstrates it to us as individuals might be different, but the Truth
behind the demonstrations run true to His Character.

God is Good and He loves me.  This situation is terrible.  Can this be reconciled?

Sink low enough into a difficulty, or spend enough time suffering an
injustice, and we might likely find that our comfort in ‘God loves me/He has a
plan’ is challenged.  Have any of us ever
found ourselves boxed into this problem?

1. God loves me

2. God is Sovereign and all powerful

3. This is a horrible pain/injustice/your need here

Is it possible that even the most devout Follower could come to a place
where he would ask God “Why haven’t you fixed this for me?”  After all, He has the means to, and He says
He loves me, right?

What is God working to accomplish?

At the most basic and simple human level, if I will show my love to
someone it will probably revolve around their comfort and pleasure.  This is the stuff of romance novels, the
sweeping off of feet.  But what of a love
with a deeper view, perhaps something like wanting our children to learn how to
handle a budget?  In this case the result
might sometimes be they can’t immediately have what they want.  Parents would likely see the degree of pain
the children experience as reasonable and necessary.  This parent would be loving, yet there is
pain.

What is God’s main, bottom line goal in Creation?  That He would be acknowledged, praised,
glorified, worshipped as the One and True God. 
What is Father’s main, bottom line goal for us and Creation?  In the Westminster Catechism, the answer to Question
One is a common – and excellent – answer: That we would glorify God and enjoy
Him forever.

Both cases contribute to His goal. 
As we are involved in this, and as we are lacking as fallen people, and
as He loves Himself and loves us, we enter Salvation to begin our training out
of our wrong beliefs/actions, and into our understanding, faith and trust of
Him.  As a child learning to budget
experiences pain (followed perhaps by financial peace through godly obedience),
should we not expect pain as Father teaches us through difficulty while keeping
the End Goal in view?  If so, our list
might now look like this:

1. God loves me

2. God is Sovereign and all powerful

3. This is a horrible pain/injustice/your need here

4. I know and am learning He is Good and Trustworthy

5. He will even provide me comfort as I suffer His teaching trial

6. As I learn to trust Him, I too can learn to say I ‘Count it all joy’ (Jas 1.2-4)

This is why we have Jesus to lead the way, even when we would ask God
“Why haven’t you fixed this for me?”  For
He too asked Father this same question:  “Father, if you
are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be
done.” (Lk 22.42), and again
in obedience on the Cross “And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice,
“Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mk 15.34)

Even Jesus, perfect, learned as a Man to trust and obey Father: “Although he
was a son, he learned obedience through what he
suffered.” (Heb 5.8).  Can we expect that our course would be any
different than that of the Second Adam, Who we follow and have Salvation
through?  If Father loved Jesus, and He
also loves us, then we have hope of reconciling the ‘God is Good and He loves
me / This situation is terrible’ issue. 
Because, remember He also tells us:

The eternal God
is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms;

Deut 33:27

The steps of a
good man are ordered by the Lord, And He delights in his way. Though he fall,
he shall not be utterly cast down; For the Lord upholds him with His hand.

Ps 37:23-34

If I say, “My
foot slips,” Your mercy, O Lord, will hold me up. In the multitude of my
anxieties within me, Your comforts delight my soul.

Ps 94:18-19

My help comes
from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth.

Ps 121:2

He heals the
brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.

Ps 147:3

Fear not, for I
am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I
will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’

Isa 41:10

When you pass
through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not
overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor
shall the flame scorch you.

Isa 43:2

And we know that
all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the
called according to His purpose.

Rom 8:28

And,

Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give
you the kingdom.

Lk 12.32

The list goes on and on.

Some final thoughts.

And so, we can find reconciliation with His love and our suffering.  We can say “This happened because God had a
plan”, while also saying “Though this happened, God has a plan on what to do
about it”.

There is much more to consider on this topic.  John Piper, on the eve of his cancer surgery,
scribbled out his booklet “Don’t Let Your Cancer Go To Waste”.  In it, Piper makes a good argument that even
‘bad’ things are a gift from God.  He
reasons that as Sovereign, it isn’t possible for anything to pass Father’s
notice – He can stop an event, cause an event, or let an event proceed that
comes out of the fallen world.  Was
Piper’s cancer caused by God, or allowed by God, or not stopped by God?  Piper chooses to anchor his opinion in
Father’s Sovereignty and love, concluding that whatever reason He chose, He did
indeed choose it.  And on that, Piper
thanked God for His gift of cancer. 
Piper saw it as deemed proper and necessary for His child John, in
pursuit of God’s main goal of glorifying Himself and in helping John to see
things increasingly His way.  Piper
counted it all joy, and we can too.

(Re)cap                                                                                                                                                                           11.03.17

The Good and Beautiful God

Remainder of Chapter 1 – How We Change

Summary

Jesus offers a new life, one that is full.  One that is close to our intimate Father and
all that entails.  Stepping into the
Family is the beginning, but we begin a long walk of realization, of His
progressively showing us the things in us that interfere with this close
relationship He intends for us to have with our Holy Father.  This requires change in us, not on the
surface but at the ‘heart’ level.  But
how?  Who can change one’s ‘heart’?  The answer is God alone, and this chapter
explains the mechanics of who we are and how we might cooperate with God, find
true change, and begin actively growing closer to the One Who loves us best.

Key points

Prelude  God mercifully explains to us what mankind has strived to understand for
millennia – how are we made?  What makes
us tick?  Why do we do the things we
do?  And Who better to explain, than the
One Who made us?

A multitude of philosophies and approaches have developed through our
history on the topic of our behavior and how to see it change.  Questions have to be answered concerning how
we work before anything can be said of how to bring about change.  Consider the options:  Are people innately ‘good’ or ‘bad’ on the
inside?  Are we solely responsible, or
can ‘the Devil make me do it’?  Is change
a matter of shaping habit and behavior alone? 
Does God change and grow us, regardless of our participation (or lack
thereof)?  Our Creator provides us with
answers to these questions in His Word to us, his children.

Tossed about the sea of these questions, life can be miserable –
especially to the person who is aware of his faults, the outcomes of his
behavior, and the need to change. 
Misunderstanding how we are made leads to ineffective attempts to change
– and the misery of desperation, perhaps even disenchantment with God.  To be stuck in an awareness of need – and a
longing need for help and answers – leaves one with a miserable resignation to
a sad existence.  But it doesn’t need to
be this way, if we will follow our Lord’s instruction and position ourselves to
receive His help.

The Mechanics of the Human ‘Heart’  Jesus stated that “what comes out
of the mouth proceeds from the heart” (Matt
15.18a).  The ‘heart’ is described
as responsible as the seat of who we are, and what God is primarily concerned
about in us. Consider that a search for the word ‘heart’ through the Bible
produces 862 instances.  A few that are
relevant to Father’s concern of our heart condition include:

(Before the
Flood) Gen 6.5 “The Lord saw
that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of
the thoughts of his heart was only
evil continually.”

(To the king
Abimelech on not taking Sarah into his bed when warned by God) Gen 20.6a “Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know
that you have done this in the integrity of your heart”

(Given from God
by Moses to the Hebrews) Deut 10.12-13 “And now,
Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your
God, to walk in all his ways, to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all
your heart and with all your soul,
and to keep the commandments and statutes of the Lord, which I am commanding
you today for your good?”

(Jonathan’s
armor bearer responds to attack the garrison) 1 Sam 14.7 “And his armor-bearer said to him, “Do all that is in your heart. Do as you wish. Behold, I am
with you heart and soul.”

(David’s plea) Psa 139.23 “Search me, O God, and know my heart! 
Try me and know my thoughts!”

(God states) Jer 17.10 “I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways,
according to the fruit of his deeds.”

And, (Concerning
Father’s Work through the Spirit) Rom
8.27 “And He who searches hearts
knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the
saints according to the Will of God.”

Father calls the root of our person the ‘heart’, and shows much
attention to it.  Perhaps the clearest
passage attesting to this is 2 Chron 16.9a, “For the eyes
of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support
to those whose heart is blameless
toward Him.”

The ‘Will’ and its role in our behavior  What role do we think our ‘Will’
plays in our behavior?  Without God’s
explanation of our heart, it would be easy to assume that our Will is
responsible for our actions.  Consider
the terms ‘Will power’, or ‘setting your Will’ to do something, or the ‘Will is
weak’.  These terms seem to indicate that
our Will alone is responsible, but in consideration of the vast passages of the
heart, it cannot be held responsible.

Bending our Will to bring about change results in a short-lived
outcome.  Yes, we can do pretty much
anything for a while – some of us more so than others depending on the
circumstance – but in the end, we all eventually come back to show our true
colors, or the reality of our state of heart.

Our book’s author suggests that the Will is ‘the hinge on which decision
is made’, ‘responding to the impulses’ of the things that influence it.  Maybe a good description, but can we add that
the Will – while it can be strained for a while to affect behavior – is really
the outward-facing outcome we see as a result of the heart behind it?

Isa 50.7 states “But the Lord
God helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced; therefore I have set my face like a flint, and I
know that I shall not be put to shame.” 
Using the Will to support a behavior and hold it in place for the time
being isn’t a bad thing.  Isaiah has a
courageous heart that rests in God’s help, and he sets his Will as a flint to
assist in his intent – but it is not the seat of his intent.

Influencers of the Will – what drives our behavior  Our author
writes that the Will instead responds to 3 primary, underlying influences: The
Mind, the Body, and the Social Context. 
These three things are all warped by our falleness, the result of the
sin of us and in the world.  Mind, Body
and Social Context are all creations of God, and were perfect when
created.  The introduction of sin warped
these things, and we now respond accordingly.

Jesus, too, possesses these three things.  In His sinless case, however, they remain as
the ‘Manufacturer’ intended – and so is the outcome of His actions.  Jesus’ Saving Work is the basis for seeing
these things redeemed back to their correct intent, and thus we can grow into
an increasingly closer awareness of God, and have a full life – “I came that
they may have life and have it abundantly.” (John
10.10b)

Jesus’ goal is that all three things in each follower would be brought
to heel, to increasingly be repaired and changed, back to the way Father
intended.  This change is a cooperative
act of each believer responding to the initiating Grace of God, Who states He
wants us to repent and return to our original purpose of seeing, trusting,
valuing and Worshipping Him.

Understanding the cooperative nature of change is important.  God does not change us without our
participation, and we cannot change ourselves without God’s Work of Grace.  He alone has the means to change the heart of
a cooperating believer of Christ.

Specifically, the Mind
relates to our worldview, our beliefs, our attitudes that drive our
responses.  Our part is to hear his Word
and embrace the challenges to our differing perceptions, then to repent.

God’s Grace = Giving of the Truth, His promise to help us gain wisdom. “If any of you
lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach,
and it will be given him.” James 1.5

Our cooperation = Read, strive to understand, work to recognize the use
of the Word. “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of
your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is
good and acceptable and perfect.” Rom 12.2

The Body – be it the flesh, emotions, desires – influences our decisions, often
towards the wrong conclusions.  Aside
from the basic ‘sins of the flesh’ are pain-avoiding and pleasure-seeking
influencers as we seek shortcuts to a false peace, and thus play out through
the Will – Prov 30.7-9 “Two things I
ask of You; deny them not to me before I die: 
Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor
riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full and deny
You and say, “Who is the Lord?” or lest I be poor and steal and profane the
name of my God.”, and, Prov 7.21-22 “With much
seductive speech she persuades him; with her smooth talk she compels him.  All at once he follows her, as an ox goes to
the slaughter, or as a stag is caught fast”

God’s Grace = Jesus’ instruction (command) on choosing Him over
ourselves – “And He said to all, “If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself
and take up his cross daily and follow Me. 
For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life
for My sake will save it.” Lk 9.23-24

Our cooperation = Choose to know Christ as superior to all other things
– “Indeed,
I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ
Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count
them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not
having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes
through faith in Christ” Phil 3.8-9

Social Context – We are in large part a product of our nurture, the outcome of the way
we were raised, that we live, and what people and their ideas – contrary to
Father’s – that we embrace – Tim 1.3-4 “As I urged
you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge
certain persons not to teach any different doctrine, nor to devote themselves
to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the
stewardship from God that is by faith.”, and, 2
John 6-7 “And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is
the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, so that you should
walk in it.  For many deceivers have gone
out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the
flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist.”, and, 1 Cor 15.33 “Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good
morals.””

God’s Grace = A command that we separate from influences that we hold
more dear than God; that falsely inform us – “Whoever loves father or mother more
than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is
not worthy of me” Matt 10.37, and, “Whoever walks
with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.” Prov 13.20

Our cooperation = Choose friendship with godly influencers who also fear
and pursue God – “As soon as he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was
knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.” 1 Sam 18.1, and, “A friend loves at all times, and a
brother is born for adversity.” Prov 17.17,
and including Jesus, “No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not
know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I
have heard from My Father I have made known to you.” John 15.15

Father cares greatly about our Heart, because it is the seat of who we
are.  He seeks those after His own heart
(David, per 1 Sam 13.14a).  Our closeness to Him is in direct proportion
to our holiness.  Yes, we are forgiven
and can stand before Him on Christ’s Work. 
But consider a life of seeing Him now through an active cooperation of
knowing his Word, repenting and being changed, and expecting to see Him.  “Whoever has My commandments and keeps them, he it
is who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will
love him and manifest Myself to him.” John
14.21

How We
Change                                                                                                                                           11.03.17

Summary

Jesus offers a new life, one that is full.  One that is close to our intimate Father and
all that entails.  Stepping into the
Family is the beginning, but we begin a long walk of realization, of His
progressively showing us the things in us that interfere with this close
relationship He intends for us to have with our Holy Father.  This requires change in us, not on the
surface but at the ‘heart’ level.  But
how?  Who can change one’s ‘heart’?  The answer is God alone, and this chapter
explains the mechanics of who we are and how we might cooperate with God, find
true change, and begin actively growing closer to the One Who loves us best.

Key points

Prelude  God mercifully explains to us what mankind has strived to understand for
millennia – how are we made?  What makes
us tick?  Why do we do the things we do?  And Who better to explain, than the One Who
made us?

A multitude of philosophies and approaches have developed through our
history on the topic of our behavior and how to see it change.  Questions have to be answered concerning how
we work before anything can be said of how to bring about change.  Consider the options:  Are people innately ‘good’ or ‘bad’ on the
inside?  Are we solely responsible, or
can ‘the Devil make me do it’?  Is change
a matter of shaping habit and behavior alone? 
Does God change and grow us, regardless of our participation (or lack
thereof)?  Our Creator provides us with
answers to these questions in His Word to us, his children.

Tossed about the sea of these questions, life can be miserable –
especially to the person who is aware of his faults, the outcomes of his
behavior, and the need to change. 
Misunderstanding how we are made leads to ineffective attempts to change
– and the misery of desperation, perhaps even disenchantment with God.  To be stuck in an awareness of need – and a
longing need for help and answers – leaves one with a miserable resignation to
a sad existence.  But it doesn’t need to
be this way, if we will follow our Lord’s instruction and position ourselves to
receive His help.

The Mechanics of the Human ‘Heart’  Jesus stated that “what comes out
of the mouth proceeds from the heart” (Matt
15.18a).  The ‘heart’ is described
as responsible as the seat of who we are, and what God is primarily concerned
about in us. Consider that a search for the word ‘heart’ through the Bible
produces 862 instances.  A few that are
relevant to Father’s concern of our heart condition include:

(Before the
Flood) Gen 6.5 “The Lord saw
that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of
the thoughts of his heart was only
evil continually.”

(To the king
Abimelech on not taking Sarah into his bed when warned by God) Gen 20.6a “Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know
that you have done this in the integrity of your heart”

(Given from God
by Moses to the Hebrews) Deut 10.12-13 “And now,
Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your
God, to walk in all his ways, to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all
your heart and with all your soul,
and to keep the commandments and statutes of the Lord, which I am commanding
you today for your good?”

(Jonathan’s
armor bearer responds to attack the garrison) 1 Sam 14.7 “And his armor-bearer said to him, “Do all that is in your heart. Do as you wish. Behold, I am
with you heart and soul.”

(David’s plea) Psa 139.23 “Search me, O God, and know my heart! 
Try me and know my thoughts!”

(God states) Jer 17.10 “I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways,
according to the fruit of his deeds.”

And, (Concerning
Father’s Work through the Spirit) Rom
8.27 “And He who searches hearts
knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the
saints according to the Will of God.”

Father calls the root of our person the ‘heart’, and shows much
attention to it.  Perhaps the clearest
passage attesting to this is 2 Chron 16.9a, “For the eyes
of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support
to those whose heart is blameless
toward Him.”

The ‘Will’ and its role in our behavior  What role do we think our ‘Will’
plays in our behavior?  Without God’s
explanation of our heart, it would be easy to assume that our Will is
responsible for our actions.  Consider
the terms ‘Will power’, or ‘setting your Will’ to do something, or the ‘Will is
weak’.  These terms seem to indicate that
our Will alone is responsible, but in consideration of the vast passages of the
heart, it cannot be held responsible.

Bending our Will to bring about change results in a short-lived
outcome.  Yes, we can do pretty much
anything for a while – some of us more so than others depending on the
circumstance – but in the end, we all eventually come back to show our true
colors, or the reality of our state of heart.

Our book’s author suggests that the Will is ‘the hinge on which decision
is made’, ‘responding to the impulses’ of the things that influence it.  Maybe a good description, but can we add that
the Will – while it can be strained for a while to affect behavior – is really
the outward-facing outcome we see as a result of the heart behind it?

Isa 50.7 states “But the Lord
God helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced; therefore I have set my face like a flint, and I
know that I shall not be put to shame.” 
Using the Will to support a behavior and hold it in place for the time
being isn’t a bad thing.  Isaiah has a
courageous heart that rests in God’s help, and he sets his Will as a flint to
assist in his intent – but it is not the seat of his intent.

Influencers of the Will – what drives our behavior  Our author
writes that the Will instead responds to 3 primary, underlying influences: The
Mind, the Body, and the Social Context. 
These three things are all warped by our falleness, the result of the
sin of us and in the world.  Mind, Body
and Social Context are all creations of God, and were perfect when
created.  The introduction of sin warped
these things, and we now respond accordingly.

Jesus, too, possesses these three things.  In His sinless case, however, they remain as
the ‘Manufacturer’ intended – and so is the outcome of His actions.  Jesus’ Saving Work is the basis for seeing
these things redeemed back to their correct intent, and thus we can grow into
an increasingly closer awareness of God, and have a full life – “I came that
they may have life and have it abundantly.” (John
10.10b)

Jesus’ goal is that all three things in each follower would be brought
to heel, to increasingly be repaired and changed, back to the way Father
intended.  This change is a cooperative
act of each believer responding to the initiating Grace of God, Who states He
wants us to repent and return to our original purpose of seeing, trusting,
valuing and Worshipping Him.

Understanding the cooperative nature of change is important.  God does not change us without our
participation, and we cannot change ourselves without God’s Work of Grace.  He alone has the means to change the heart of
a cooperating believer of Christ.

Specifically, the Mind
relates to our worldview, our beliefs, our attitudes that drive our
responses.  Our part is to hear his Word
and embrace the challenges to our differing perceptions, then to repent.

God’s Grace = Giving of the Truth, His promise to help us gain wisdom. “If any of you
lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach,
and it will be given him.” James 1.5

Our cooperation = Read, strive to understand, work to recognize the use
of the Word. “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of
your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is
good and acceptable and perfect.” Rom 12.2

The Body – be it the flesh, emotions, desires – influences our decisions, often
towards the wrong conclusions.  Aside
from the basic ‘sins of the flesh’ are pain-avoiding and pleasure-seeking
influencers as we seek shortcuts to a false peace, and thus play out through
the Will – Prov 30.7-9 “Two things I
ask of You; deny them not to me before I die: 
Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor
riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full and deny
You and say, “Who is the Lord?” or lest I be poor and steal and profane the
name of my God.”, and, Prov 7.21-22 “With much
seductive speech she persuades him; with her smooth talk she compels him.  All at once he follows her, as an ox goes to
the slaughter, or as a stag is caught fast”

God’s Grace = Jesus’ instruction (command) on choosing Him over
ourselves – “And He said to all, “If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself
and take up his cross daily and follow Me. 
For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life
for My sake will save it.” Lk 9.23-24

Our cooperation = Choose to know Christ as superior to all other things
– “Indeed,
I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ
Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count
them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not
having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes
through faith in Christ” Phil 3.8-9

Social Context – We are in large part a product of our nurture, the outcome of the way
we were raised, that we live, and what people and their ideas – contrary to
Father’s – that we embrace – Tim 1.3-4 “As I urged
you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge
certain persons not to teach any different doctrine, nor to devote themselves
to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the
stewardship from God that is by faith.”, and, 2
John 6-7 “And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is
the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, so that you should
walk in it.  For many deceivers have gone
out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the
flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist.”, and, 1 Cor 15.33 “Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good
morals.””

God’s Grace = A command that we separate from influences that we hold
more dear than God; that falsely inform us – “Whoever loves father or mother more
than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is
not worthy of me” Matt 10.37, and, “Whoever walks
with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.” Prov 13.20

Our cooperation = Choose friendship with godly influencers who also fear
and pursue God – “As soon as he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was
knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.” 1 Sam 18.1, and, “A friend loves at all times, and a
brother is born for adversity.” Prov 17.17,
and including Jesus, “No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not
know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I
have heard from My Father I have made known to you.” John 15.15

Father cares greatly about our Heart, because it is the seat of who we
are.  He seeks those after His own heart
(David, per 1 Sam 13.14a).  Our closeness to Him is in direct proportion
to our holiness.  Yes, we are forgiven
and can stand before Him on Christ’s Work. 
But consider a life of seeing Him now through an active cooperation of
knowing his Word, repenting and being changed, and expecting to see Him.  “Whoever has My commandments and keeps them, he it
is who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will
love him and manifest Myself to him.” John
14.21

                                                                                                            2-1-19

Summary

The Good and Beautiful Life may be a new book title, but it’s not a new
concept.  Rather, it is a message at the
center of Jesus’ ministry and embraced by the Church through the
centuries.  Yet, it has seemingly been
forgotten, beginning in the 20^th century.  The author Wilbourne recently wrote of his
growing realization of the chasm between the Grace he embraced and his
unchanging life in Christ –

“And yet, after a while, having heard this song of grace over and over,
and after singing it myself again and again, when I looked at my own life I
began to feel a growing distress. . . . The distance in my own
life between the grace I proclaimed and the life I was living—that gap was not
shrinking. Grace covered me, but why wasn’t it changing me?”

Smith’s book addresses an important aspect of this issue.  At our last meeting we began with the
introduction and a discussion about our overall place in the world, before and
in Christ our Lord.

Key points

Discussion Notes

This month I’m sharing my notes from our meeting
where we examined the ‘heart’, His Spirit, and how we understand Him.  While it’s not an expansion on our
discussion, I hope the notes can stand enough on their own to encourage our
thoughts and consideration.

1. Consider
   the correlation of the polluted World and Self, and the wet fish problem.

• Consider
  the command to Holiness and obedience to Scripture, which is contrary to our
  understanding and inclination.

• The
  Goal is learning and adopting virtue, a life of God’s understanding and
  practice, while still in the unredeemable problem suffered upon the world.

• Jesus
  tells us the seat of a person and his actions is the ‘heart’.  The problem is not only that our heart is
  warped, but aside from the protests of our God-given conscience (which we can sear),
  we have no other basis whatsoever to doubt if we are right or wrong before
  God.  This is the fish that cannot be
  unaware that it is wet – it knows no better until shown (and convinced) (and
  accepts) otherwise.

• It
  matters if we are right before God for at least two reasons – our alignment
  with our Creator’s intent for us, and His judgment of our worthiness on the
  Last Day.

• Show
  me a sinner who is content in his state, and see a man who fails to realize his
  plight now and on the Last Day.

• God’s
  Goal is to call us back Home out of this delusion of wrong content, learning
  and enjoying living in the Kingdom, now. 
  Jesus came to help, not condemn – He tells us the truth of God and
  us.  The Old Testament is a demonstration
  of His and our characters; the New Testament reveals the New Covenant and
  explains how to live in God’s realities.

• Aside
  from the conscience and His Word, His Spirit in us as followers of Christ is
  the truest exposure to God we have.

1. Luke 24.27, 31-32 – 27 And beginning
   with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the
   Scriptures concerning himself…31 Then their eyes were opened and they
   recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. 32 They asked each other,
   “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and
   opened the Scriptures to us?”

• Gal 5.22 – Love, joy, peace,
  patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.

• Consider
  the difference between two postures of heart:

1. Prov 12.18 – There is one whose
   rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.

1. Wherever we see the
   smoke of actions, words, thoughts that are contrary to the Character of God,
   the Fruits of His Spirit, we can know there is a fire of misalignment, sin.

1. This book goes on to
   help us see, understand, and seek repentant healing form blights of sin.

1. His Word, His Spirit,
   our understanding, our repentance, our conformity – all under His forgiveness
   and as His workmanship.  These are the
   makings of the Beautiful Life in the now, a foretaste in in our Saved lives
   today, and of the fullness we hope to have when we stand before Him free of sin
   in us and sin in the Creation we occupy.

1. John 14.21 – He who has My
   commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will
   be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.

Intimacy
with Father                                                                                                                         10.06.17

Summary

Our new book deals with how we might move into a life of intimacy with
Father.  We acknowledge (read: Millennia
of pondering) that Jesus did this with perfection – but what does this show
us?  His successful navigation as a Human
is a banner for us to learn and follow. 
Perhaps His chief goal, after Salvation, is to help us understand how to
live in the Kingdom of God, now.  His
reliance upon and trust of the Father He knows was His success – and should be
ours as well.

Key points

Prelude  We usually strive to do the ‘right thing’ in the eyes of God, but
why?  The first answer should be to
glorify Him, but who can’t say the notion of peace and success isn’t a
motivator?  Fair enough, because among
the promises in the Word are our peace and success. Matt 6.19-20, Prov 3.3-4, Rom 8.28, Ps 29.11, et al.  As well
is our natural desire to avoid the opposite, pain and difficulty.  And therein lies the issue – we might reason
1. God is good; 2. He is Sovereign; 3. He says He intends to bless us; 4.
Difficulty comes; 5. We scramble to discover what we’ve done wrong, that it
would be corrected, and the pain would go away.

Confliction about God (or at least what He might do
next?)  If we
see things this way, it is not hard to come away confused and conflicted about
God.  The responses of God of the Old
Testament compared to the Father Jesus tells us about can add to the issue.  How to reconcile this while acknowledging
both reports about God are true and of the same Person?  This is what the author addresses by examing
what Scripture says of Jesus’ understanding of Father, as He knows Him across
the Old and the New Testaments.  Jesus
shows us the full and true realities of the Father He knows, understands and
trusts.

Define failure and success  Aside from the ‘world’ that
doesn’t belong to God, ask a typical follower of Jesus to define success, and
he will rightfully include peace and prosperity.  But is this God’s economy?  Jesus was asked what was most important, and
He answered in Matt 22.36-38: “Teacher, which is
the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the
Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.
This is the great and first commandment.  We are also told in Eph
2.10: For we are his workmanship, created in Christ
Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we
should walk in them.  Father
intends for us to put Him first, and will bring us to do so as He works on us.

When do we tend to draw unto God; in plenty or in need?  Father intends us good, but will not suffer
being 2^nd in our ‘hearts’. 
And, as mentioned at our meeting, we often find we are left more useful
to Him – having a better understanding of Him – after trials test our faith and
turn us to Him.  Therefore, shall we call
our peace success, or is a higher success shown as a deeper reliance upon God
that results in true peace?

Jesus threw in  Jesus fully threw in to the Human condition, except for sin.  He navigated life following/relying upon
Father through the same means available to us. 
His success is the Banner we must follow – but how?  We must come to see, understand, and trust
the Father that Jesus knows.  We must
grow into His Narrative, and thus our perception – and response to life – comes
into line with His.  This is how we are made
like Him.

By all accounts, we are a lost cause. 
Sin has warped us and made our intentions patently against Him.  Our eyesight is incapable of seeing the Truth
without His intervention.  What seems up
is too often down, and vice versa.  Enter,
Jesus.  Our Savior not only won our
forgiveness, but He graciously demonstrated what life looks like in harmony
with and in full reliance upon Father. 
Furthermore, He personally attends to our schooling, making us ready to
be received and stand perfected before Father on that Great Day.

Big difficulties = bigger usefulness  We all know mature Followers,
those who have better expression of the Spirit’s Fruits (Gal 5.22-23) that
show as godliness, wisdom, usefulness to the Body.  How do they come to possess this?  The answer is through a learned familiarity
with His Word and Its application.  It
also hinges on a hands-on history of experience with God Himself, won through
the slow process of seeking Him, drawing close, learning dependence – through
knowing, understanding, and trusting Him. 
And this is all by His design, under His Sovereign care of the very
details and circumstances of our lives.

Can’t lead where you haven’t gone  So, what might be an excellent
use of the life God gives each of us? 
Line one of the common Catechism states our Chief Goal is to ‘glorify
God, and enjoy Him forever’.  The Great
Commission (Matt 28.18-20) includes making disciples and teaching them to observe Christ’s
commands.  Taken together, an excellent
life involves a more experienced soul helping a less experienced one.  Therefore, our job is to cooperate with God’s
teaching of us, growing in maturity, and helping others who have yet to embrace
more of Him.  This is our call to grow,
because who can lead where they haven’t gone?

Narrative is imperative  What we believe – that is,
embrace, not simply acknowledge – resides in the ‘heart’.  It is from here our actions play out, and is
therefore central to who we are. 
Scripture is replete with God’s references to our heart.  Jesus said in Matt
15.18a “But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart”.  And consider A.W.Tozer’s observation; “Were we able to extract from any man a
complete answer to the question ‘What comes into your mind when you think about
God?’, we might predict with certainty the future of that man.”

If our narrative is key, then it reasons that we must fight for an
improving one.  Who better to inform our
narrative than the One who knows God best? 
Jesus not only went to great lengths to explain Father and the Kingdom,
but He also demonstrated the ties to the Old Testament, lived an example,
provided the Words for the New Testament, and continues to craft and shape us
even today.

Saturday 2/21/17 notes

‘Fear and Fortitude’

The Big Thing Father gifted me with was the heart change
concerning my fears vs believing His assurance and promise.  This was not
a new concept to me, as I have pounded away at Scripture for years on the subject. 
Looking back through my notes, I see instance after instance of these Texts
about trust, provision, not to fear, care for me, etc.

However, as we discussed, it was finally to my heart that He
added the catalyst only He can add, that caused the seeds of His Word to have
Their effect.  It occurred on the afternoon of the 17^th as I
was listening to Weber’s 3^rd chapter, concerning his take on the
grueling Army Ranger training.  He said “The point of our (Ranger)
training was to overcome our basest fears.”

Suddenly, everything came into perspective for me, and I
suspect I was healed.  I say suspect, because I will ask myself in a year
if I’m still tethered down in peace.  My prayers are that this is not a
momentary thing, but that a foundational reality has changed in me.

I realized that the contrary views of my whole life and my
actions have been largely based upon (avoiding) the fears of discomfort – loss
of provision, bruised pride, disrespect, harm.  In response, I have looked
to excel at the barriers to the things that cause those discomforts.  The
problem is, aside from being sinful, these preventative barriers are horrible
taskmasters.  Worse yet, because they are employed to circumvent Godly
trust, they are sin and sure to fail.  While He has done much in me to not
retaliate against much of the sources of those discomforts, I still centered my
intentions around keeping the causes at bay through my own efforts.  The
biggest one – loss of provision – is the mountain of the bunch.  Because
of His goal to heal me, it isn’t a surprise to me to see the state of
provisional threat He’s allowed me to be in for the past several years.

The challenge, of course, is His promise to provide, both
while we act and while it’s not our job to act.  The problem of painful
difficulties and the certainty of them could only be answered two ways – excel
in my efforts to stave them off, or do what is truly only my part and trust His
ability, intent, and His sureness to keep His promises.  In short, as I
failed to choose the second answer, life has of course been difficult.

Weber’s statement suddenly shed light on all of my folly,
but more so, at the same time God gave me comfort and faith in the Scriptures
about Him that I’ve strived to embody.  Despite difficulties (as I
perceive them, but are nothing to the God Who governs and provides), I finally
understood this big step in reconciling the discomfort of the difficulties I
face with the Father Who governs them.  Weber’s words, made relevant to me
through Father’s Grace, showed me that the fears that torment are to be removed
by their training, and removes my fear (sin) of God’s actions towards me, and
thus removes my tormenting fear.  And THAT is when I realized my sin, the
sin Father revealed to me, I repented of, He healed me of.  My base fear
has been not resting in Him, as I tread the discomforts I fear, which are
allayed by His care.  Once I understood that, I fled to Him in the hope of
leaving my fear of His not doing what He says He will, which then resolved my
fear of the discomforting things.  By His Grace, it was like He
simultaneously produced the chicken and the egg, taking me out of the spin
cycle by answering both questions.

The joke of this to me (on my humanity) is that all of this
reads soundly.  We all know it.  I’ve spoken on it for a very long
time.  But thus the point I made Saturday, that though we have the truth,
without the catalyst of God, nothing penetrates our heart.  Thus, Eph
2.8-9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of
yourselves; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not
of works, lest anyone should boast.”

I’ve done my best to explain this, and it might seem like a
circular argument.  BUT, that’s the point of anything we attempt in
grasping God.  Miraculously, He alone makes the connection in an otherwise
circular argument.  That seems to be the case in all things relating to
crossing the threshold to Him.  We can read it, understand it, believe it
– but until He and He alone activates it, we can do nothing.  Not in
Salvation, not in Sanctification, not in our endeavors, RE: John 15.5 “I am the
vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much
fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”

I used (to have) to say in my futile fortitude, “I refuse to
be afraid, I will trust Him.”  Now I can say, “I don’t need to be afraid,
He’s led me to trust Him.”  Dale, I am truly amazed, but not at all
surprised.

Praise God, praise God.

The thing is, we are to have fortitude. My fortitude is
futile if It’s not striving towards God, or if I don’t understand God must add
His catalyst. If I don’t strive while remembering those two things, it IS
futile. But, if I do then we can be glad when Jesus says “To him who overcomes
I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone,
and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who
receives it.”

Fortitude is necessary and required. Not understanding why,
it can be conducted in futility.

Hello, my name is Mike, and I am one of Lefty’s friends. Nikki and the family kindly asked me to speak to you today about her Dad.

When I was a younger man, I recall being at a funeral. One thing that made an impression on me was a bagpipe. The sound of a bagpipe is curiously somber and vaulted at the same time. It really set a tone for the service. Afterwards, I approached the player and said to him “Thank you, that was outstanding. I’d like to have something similar one day, at my own funeral.” He looked at me, and said “That’s nice, son – but remember, your funeral will be for the living, not for you.”

I was at another memorial a few months back for a friend of mine, named John. He and I went back several years, and I think I have a pretty good idea of who he is. His Service was unsettling to me, however.

John belongs to Jesus, and his life reflected that fact. One by one, people approached the lectern and relayed stories about how John had helped them, how he had treated them well. These things are good, yet the sad part is that I am sure John would have clarified things for everyone. John knew that if there was anything truly good to be found in him and his actions, the sole source would be Jesus in him. Everyone was making a big deal about John, but I believe he and I would have agreed the big deal should have been about Who made him who he is.

You might also notice my use of present, not past terms in talking about John. I did not say “Who John was”, but instead I say “Who John is”. I will speak of Lefty in the same way.

The reason for this is while John and Lefty – specifically their Eternal souls which are not presently with us – are quite existing and alive with the Lord, because they are His followers. Scripture tells believers “to be absent of the body is to be present with the Lord”, and promises that “He who believes in the Lord has everlasting life”.

Recalling, remembering, telling about the person we love is good. Believer’s Eulogies and Sermons will have a common Theme, but they serve their Theme differently. They look at the same Common Theme – Jesus – yet from two different approaches. A Christian Eulogy should expound a follower’s life and show how that life was impacted by the truth of Jesus. A Christian funeral Sermon will show Jesus calling us, should show us why we need Him.

All of that said, I do have words about Lefty and his exhibition of Jesus through him.

Critics of the Faith might say “For someone who claims to be a Christian, his behavior says otherwise”. That could be true, and it could be a damning indictment – if the issue was settled only on one’s behavior. It is also true that a genuine follower of Jesus can have flaws. What all of us should strive to see, however, is how God sees the issue. His first question is, “Do you believe my Son Jesus and do you belong to Him?”

Those belonging to Jesus are works in progress. One huge change that overcomes a Christian is he now belongs to God, and the training begins. Those who take up Jesus’ offer are in fact sold into service to Him. The great news is that He is a great Friend, a Friend Who will no longer allow us settle to live for ourselves. We now belong to Him, and He teaches us how to put Father God and others first. And, He understands that is counter to our old nature, and makes ample reasons and opportunities to accept this new nature, through Him.

Spending enough time with someone who belongs to Jesus, we have an opportunity to see the evidence of this. I believe I saw this confirmed through the years with Lefty.

There are many of us here who belong to Jesus, and who are friends of Lefty. We have seen him in action, and we know something of his character. Preparing to speak to you, I polled some of our mutual friends and asked “What are the core things about Lefty that strike you?”

 
Many answers, yet a common theme.

Caring, and God fearing

Blessed with perseverance

Described by his friends with appreciation and love

Adventurous, above his disability

A role model I thought of while studying the Book of Job

Ready to serve others, and be used as Father required

A positive attitude – always doing “Excellent!”

Faced adversity in stride; counted it Joy.

Alert to, and appreciative of, God’s Blessings

Compassionate towards others in need; a servant

If you are a student of the Bible, you will recognize passages that assure us this will be seen in a person who belongs to Jesus. In shorthand, much of this is ascribed to the Fruits of the Spirit. Specifically, the Fruits of the Spirit refer to the consequences of the Holy Spirit given to you, when you concede that Jesus is right, that you need Him, and you receive Forgiveness. The personality of the Spirit plays out in a cooperative follower, here in Scripture, called “Fruits”:

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.”

Consider the list of answers from those who knew Lefty, and we see the obvious correlation. Lefty was a mere human like the rest of us. He had his days where he chose to exhibit more of his sinful self than the Spirit in him. Yet, with his life he showed the infusion of God’s Spirit. This Spirit is call the surety, or the guarantee, of our belonging to Jesus. Besides having repentance as well as asking Jesus to be Saved from Judgement, it is the closest way we can suppose if we or others belong to the Lord. And when He is in you, and through you, and about you – you increasingly succumb to His reality as He plays out in your life.

I can stand here today and comfortably say three things about Lefty, and I ask you to consider:

1. As we find good things about Lefty, it is the result of Christ’s Work and the Holy Spirit
2. Lefty’s eternal soul, the eternal part we all possess, belongs to Jesus, and is with Jesus today
3. Lefty was unique, but he was not special. Any of us can have what Jesus gave to him.

Praise God, and thank you.

lament /lə-mĕnt′/ – To express grief for or about; mourn.
“lament a death.”

We see David lamenting to God in the Psalms and should ask “Is this how I should lament to God today under Christ?” Nobody escapes difficulties, so how should we address God about this? David’s is a good model, but with a big exception for Believers today.

It seems best to address lamentation against the Biblical line of progression, from an acknowledgement of God, through the end goal of embracing a full trust of Him. This, after all, is His goal in Salvation, and the end goal of coming into His family under the New Covenant:

1. Beginning in rebellion or ignorance of God, we cannot deny the evidence of His existence and handiwork.
2. Through general revelation, He broadcasts His reality and expectations to all Creation.
3. By God’s grace, He reveals Himself to those He chooses, calling them to Himself in an inescapable way.
4. Providing the means, including the faith to turn to the Christ, the chosen are Saved.
5. We are assured of His close and direct presence, including His Spirit in us
6. Thus begins our tutelage, our training into knowing, following, and trusting Him.
7. The world, broken under sin, continues to be our habitation.
8. Under His direction and protection, Father superintends our lives and orchestrates all things towards our learning to know and trust Him.
9. Through this, our lives continuing in a painful world, under His care, we have ample opportunity to learn to choose how we will see things.
10. As novices, we traverse difficulties through complaint, avoidance, or lashing out.
11. Increasingly, learning of God through His Word and personal experiences, His children increasingly acknowledge His purpose and care as superior to our self-focused desires and the avoidance of the slaying of the flesh.
12. In this, we learn obedience to not only His Sovereignty, but to trust His love, intent, ability, and worth.

The path of Salvation begins with animosity towards God, and is designed to end in our animosity towards ourselves. This is the amazing gift He offers, that we be free of what kills us and be given what fulfills us.

Perhaps, any discussion of righteous lamentation – defined as the acknowledgement to God of things that grieve us, without accusing Him – needs to be framed through the above summary. To do so, the whole of Father’s intent for us through Jesus must be conveyed in Biblical proportion.

Is life difficult? Of course it is, more so for some than others. Opportunity for grief due to sin is unavoidable, and lament is therefore a path every believer must travel. The lineage of lament and how it progresses is well seen pre-Cross, but it cannot end there if we acknowledge the results of Christ’s work, even now.

Life during the time of the Psalms and life now under the New Covenant share the same opportunity for pain, and for lament. However, the remedy offered now under the Cross is superior to that available before Jesus was Glorified.

David cannot be called wrong in his writings. The Hebrews were told to obey, lest God would turn from them. David was correct in asking God how long He would turn away, and in finding relief by looking backwards and forward to God’s faithful response to them.

However, a key component of this changed with the work of Christ. He tells us we are no longer under the obligations required for God’s affection, closeness, favor, love, relation. Asking God where He is, why is He doing this, if He no longer cares for us is, by definition, blasphemous. It is contrary to His Word to those in Christ.

In this Age, we are offered the opportunity to be friends of, the children of, Father. His Spirit in us is the guarantee and evidence of His closeness and commitment. The God Who intended good for His chosen then is the same God we have now. However, we no longer have basis to ask, “Where are you?” Taking this position is misrepresentative of Father, His intent, His promises, His actions. It is a lie, is offensive, and is a grievous misrepresentation of Him and all Jesus tells us He stands for.

Do we still tread the path of difficulty? Yes, as long as sin remains. Yet, the path of lament – while appropriate and inescapable – should be an increasingly shorter one into the arms of Father for a child growing into Sanctification.

The path of lament is a narrow one. Acknowledging our grief is honest, and can fork into one of three routes: Denial of grief’s existence; anger and rebellion towards God; or straight to Him in His Truth. The first two are through ignorance or denial of what He has promised us, or in rebellion towards Him in favor of idols rooted in our self-love over Him. The first two are rooted in Biblical ignorance, the third in faith of the Truth.

This path should be expected to grow ever shorter. While sin remains, it will not vanish. But, the remedy is faith in Truth, and running ever quicker to Him.

Jesus promised a new arrangement, a new relationship with Father. James tells us to flee quickly to Him and “count it all joy.” Jesus says He will “never leave nor forsake us.” Those under the New Covenant are brought in to the Family to learn the new realities of this life in Father’s House. Those under the Old Covenant did not have this – they could only look forward to it.

This all said, it is good to look to the Psalms to reveal the workings of the Human experience though grief, towards God. However, and this is imperative, we must recognize that theirs was an inferior position to ours. If so, adopting David’s lament while looking towards God, without emphasizing Jesus’ Solution of being in the Family, threatens to mislead today’s Believers into stalling on the path of lament. Worse yet, not underscoring the fork in the road, versus highlighting Father’s superior answer to rush to Him, threatens the Believer with defaulting to the wrong alternatives.

If lamentation is rightly taught, then the far superior promise and reality of Father’s love and care needs to be held up. If we fail to see the importance of this, and mistakenly emphasize the practice of lament, we mistake the means as an end. Yes, lament – the confession to Father that we hurt – is appropriate. But, take care not to make much of the path, rather than the destination.

Foxe’s Book of Martyrs reports many, many followers of Christ who understood this. There appears not to be one victim of evil who turned to the left or the right on the path of affliction. Did they voice lament to the God they would soon meet? Often, yes. But by and large they comforted themselves in the knowledge of Father’s Truth, His Sovereign love and goals. Without fail, they trusted Him. This is His high goal.

Do we see the superior choice they were reported to make? And do we understand and cling to the Gift of adoption our Lord made available? Do we hold highest how much Father loves us, how immediately close He attends to us? If we don’t, it is our fault, not His. The Church exists to equip, and when this topic is misunderstood or misappropriated, Her members are maimed. It should not be this way; it is not what He wants for us.

Submission is inferior to
Reverence.  However, in Reverence how can
I but submit?

March 18, 2013, following two weeks of preparation on a
new trading plan, I again believed I was following Father’s direction in my
choice of work and how He would lead me to successfully carry it out.  For the past 2 ½ years, day by day, I sought
His direction on refining my trade, looking forward to success.  16 hour days, most every day of the week was
the norm.  I can’t say I could have
worked any harder; every day was spent to its fullest.

The discouragement could hardly have been greater,
either.  Day after day, money went out
and little if any came in.  Loss after
loss, I fought back discouragement and turned to God asking for help.  I knew learning something new like this would
be hard and the risks very high, yet the reward would be a good and secure
living.  Every realization that the trade
plan was still lacking would lead me to seeing the next change.  Each reexamination would bring me an
improvement I doubted I myself could have conceived.  I believed these were direction from God’s
Spirit, echoes I am familiar with hearing. 
Today, I’m not sure if it was Him or the enemy.

That Monday the 18^th, a much hoped for success
turned into another loss.  This time,
rather than patiently accepting yet another hard knock, I became angry.  I slammed down the mouse, flew out of my
chair, and began venting my anger, I hope respectfully, at the God Who I
believe was guiding me.

I went outside to smoke. 
Being cold, I went to the greenhouse and shut the door.  Pacing back and forth, years of frustration
grew, as did my anger.  Pacing, pacing,
yelling at God for the first time I can recall in my life, I looked East
towards the door – and it was gone. 
Instead, I saw, from the shoulders up, Jesus.  I recognized Him immediately, smiling at
me.  Curiously, tragically, I didn’t
recognize the gravity of the moment either. 
I looked at Him and seethed “I’m killing myself to make this go, we’re
going down the toilet, and You’re there smiling at me.  What the Hell is that all about?”

It was the worst day of my life, and the best day of my
life.  And I didn’t even realize it.

Amazingly, it would be another couple of hours before I
actually took inventory of what had happened. 
Jesus appearing to me.  Smiling as
I showed incredible irreverence.  What
was I to make of it?  My initial
conclusion was akin to a good parent looking lovingly at a child in the throws
of a tantrum, knowing that this too would work out.

8/22/2014

Sanctuary, 11:00am

1. Call to Service, 1st song
2. Opening prayer
3. Message, Part 1

We, friends and family Kathleen Cooke, are here today to lay her remains to rest. Born April 4th 1923, deceased August 17th 2014, she was preceded in death by her husband William. Raising a family of six – Ted, Jackie, Joe, Sue, Penny and Danny – her family now numbers 66 people. The family thanks you for showing your love by attending today.

Myself, I have known Kathleen for several years as a minister at Colonial Nursing Home in Crown Point. Some of the family I met at the home as they visited with her, and most everyone else last year at her 90th birthday party.

Kathleen is an interesting soul, a person willing to talk about her relationship with God. About a year ago as I visited, we talked about her life at Colonial, and about the end of her life here on earth that would one day come.

In times like this, we stop to look back and consider the person we knew, the person we mourn. For us here today, I believe there is an assortment of thoughts about Kathleen and the person she was. Who do you picture in your mind when you think about Kathleen? What attributes do you see?

4. Eulogy, open mic invitation
    
5. Message, Part 2

Matthew 11: 28-30
Jesus said: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Our hopes for our loved ones. Anyone who has ever loved somebody knows of the hopes we have for them. We want what is best for them, for their care, for their comfort, for their protection, for their happiness. Most any parent cannot help but to have hopes for their children. Standing by a person we love who is ill, suffering, about to cross the threshold of death – we naturally have hopes for the ease of their suffering, hopes for what awaits them once they pass away.

Kathleen had hopes for what would be heard in this service today. Often times, we might think about what will be said of us at our own funeral – kind words, cherished memories, affirmations of our character. Stories even circulate about a man who faked his own death, only to listen with eyes closed to the comments of the passersby.

Kathleen’s hope was that her friends and family would hear about the reason for her hope, the reason she clung to when life was difficult, the reason she pursued as the focus of her life. I believe Kathleen knew the value of hope in things true, and avoided hope in things false. What good is it to hope in something that is false? Kathleen sought, pursued, and rested in the hope promised by Jesus – she rested in Biblical Hope. Biblical Hope is a strong and confident expectation, a trust that a certain thing will happen, a trust in the words of God to us through the Bible.

Kathleen hoped for us today to hear the truth about the Jesus she trusted. She wanted the reason for her hope to be explained, proclaimed, as an act of love to the ones she loved.
The Hope promised. Many of us here may not yet realize it, but we need what Jesus has to offer. Why? Because Father God is pure and loving, He’s without sin, He’s without fault, and He cannot wink at our refusals to acknowledge Him as the Supreme Center of all things. God is pure and loving. That is not the case with us. If we’re honest with ourselves and accept His loving diagnosis, we have no choice but to see that we need Him.

This is important! Jesus said He did not come here to condemn us, but to save us from the Judgment that Father God has every right to pursue. Father wants all of us to stand clean before Him, He does not want anyone to be removed from His Heaven. But, for this to happen, we each must see our sin, our need for Him, our need for the complete Forgiveness offered through Jesus alone.

Listen! Father is not a prudish tyrant who wants to catch and punish us at every opportunity. Father wants to see us – you and me – come back to Him and begin an endless, joyful, priceless relationship with Him. This lavish, loving, grace-filled relationship begins with recognizing that Jesus is the Answer, and then asking Him to restore us to the Family of God. Jesus is not simply the Way to avoid Hell; He is the only Way to be reconciled with God. Avoiding Hell is simply a consequence of reconciliation with God. Reconciliation with God is the whole point.

Jesus taught a prevailing theme: He did teach on Hell and removal from God’s presence, but He had much more to say on the offer of incredible, complete, and forever Forgiveness for all of the things we do against God. It is true that there are preachers who tend to focus on the rightful warning about Hell, but try to use it to someone scare people towards Jesus. But if we do that, we ignore the main theme of Jesus’ announcement – that we can be relieved of guilt and have the Spirit of God in us right now – just by simply asking. Right now, new believer by new believer, God’s Kingdom advances!
 
The Hope lived. Even as Christians, we are not without fault. Remnants of sin remain, but, sin no longer commands us. Once we are Saved by Jesus, we are progressively changed from the inside out, expressing more and more the miracle of God in us. As He patiently corrects our self-centered layers, He breaks out and expresses His personality through us. Throughout their lives, followers of Christ will increasingly show love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. This is The Hope lived.

The Hope promised, The Hope lived, The Hope delivered. We each have one life, and while alive, have the opportunity to turn to faith in Jesus. That’s one reason why we’re here. The result of Hope delivered is at least three-fold: We are relieved of guilt and experience the reality of God’s Spirit in us; We are changed into new people with a new outlook, and finally; We will cross over from bodily life, into death, but with the promise of being received by Jesus Himself. The Apostle Paul wrote “while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord.” Therefore, to die, to be absent from the body, followers of Jesus are instantly present with Him. This is an exclusive gift to followers of Jesus. Those who reject Him will not have any of these things. Every human being will stand before God one day, but only those who have yielded to Him will be treated as friends, and as members of His family.
 
What this Hope is not. In God’s presence, we find Heaven. God has clearly and rightfully stated that He must be acknowledged as first and supreme in every aspect of our lives, our fabric. The hope of every Christian who passes on is to gaze upon Jesus, to dwell with Him, to Worship Him.

God has explained Heaven through His Words in the Bible. It’s His realm, it’s His to explain. Heaven is not the ultimate retirement, nor our personal playground, nor anything other than what the Bible tells us it is. As soon as God brought Kathleen’s life here to a close, as a follower of Christ she immediately was ushered into Jesus’ presence to begin complete adoration and worship of Him. Being in the presence of God is not about our earthly desires fulfilled, but about the desires of God in us being fulfilled.

Kathleen’s Hope. Kathleen had two hopes as this day approached. She had the hope of meeting her Lord face to face, beginning a deeper and endless relationship with Jesus. She also had hope that this service would be a powerful opportunity for her family and friends to hear the truth about Jesus and the Hope He offers to us, if we would only consider our need and His Solution. She wanted everyone to understand what is essentially involved with knowing, trusting and hoping in Jesus. She has gone to embrace the reality she rightly hoped for.

Can you recognize your need?
Can you see Jesus’ offer?
Will you believe and rest your Hope in Him?

Let us pray.

6. Closing prayer
7. 2nd song
8. Dismissal to Graveside; Reception announcement  
   Graveside

God is Good
Psalm 27.13-14

I would have lost heart, unless I had believed
That I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart;
Wait, I say, on the Lord!

God is our Protector
Isaiah 41.10

Fear not, for I am with you;
Be not dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you,
Yes, I will help you,
I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.

God is our Provider
Psalm 23
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me;
Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Assurance of the Resurrection
2 Corinthians Chapter 5, Verses 1 – 8

For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven, if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life. Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.

 
Burial Rite

In peace, let us pray to the Lord.

Almighty God, who has knit together Your elect in one
communion and fellowship, in the mystical body of Your Son
Christ our Lord: Grant, we beseech You, to Your whole
Church in paradise and on earth, Your light and Your peace.
Amen.

Grant that all who have been baptized into Christ’s death and
resurrection may die to sin and rise to newness of life, and
that through the grave and gate of death we may pass with
Him to our joyful resurrection. Amen.

Grant to us who are still in our pilgrimage, and who walk as
yet by faith, that Your Holy Spirit may lead us in holiness and
righteousness all our days. Amen.

Grant to Your faithful people pardon and peace, that we may
be cleansed from all our sins, and serve You with a quiet
mind. Amen.

Grant to all who mourn a sure confidence in Your fatherly
care, that, casting all their grief on You, they may know the
consolation of Your love. Amen.

Give courage and faith to those who are bereaved, that they
may have strength to meet the days ahead in the comfort of a
reasonable and holy hope, in the joyful expectation of eternal
life with those they love. Amen.
 
Help us, we pray, in the midst of things we cannot understand,
to believe and trust in the communion of saints, the forgiveness
of sins, and the resurrection to life everlasting. Amen.

Grant us grace to entrust Kathleen to Your never-failing love; receive
her into the arms of Your mercy, and remember her according
to the favor which You pour out to Your people. Amen.

Grant that, increasing in knowledge and love of You, she may
go from strength to strength in the life of perfect service in
Your heavenly kingdom. Amen.

Grant us, with all who have died in the hope of the
resurrection, to have our consummation and bliss in Your
eternal and everlasting glory, and, with Kathleen and
all Your saints, to receive the crown of life which You
promise to all who share in the victory of Your Son Jesus
Christ; who lives and reigns with You and the Holy
Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

 
Please, All Stand to Pray

In sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life
through our Lord Jesus Christ, we commend to Almighty
God our sister Kathleen; and we commit her body to the ground;

Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust. The Lord bless
her and keep her, the Lord make His face to shine upon her
and be gracious to her, the Lord lift up His countenance
upon her and give her peace. Amen.

Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be Your Name,
Your kingdom come,
Your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.

Finally, brethren, farewell. Become complete. Be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.

Leadership, Authority, and
Subordination

In over twenty five years of knowing each other, my wife and
I have learned a lot about relationships and the factors that make them work –
or not.  The truth is, it really didn’t
begin to gel for us until we became aware of God’s Word and began shaping our
roles according to His commands.  Today,
from the outside looking in, an observer might see her needing something done
at the house, while I’d prefer to be doing something else.  Deferring to her, I would choose to do the
tasks she desires.  Or, perhaps I have my
sights set on pursuing an activity which she sees as a lot more work for her,
yet she chooses to support me.  Or maybe,
I choose to make a decision that is not popular with her, but before I do, we
discuss it so I can see her perspective as well, and she knows my decision is
informed of her desires.

The choices we have made aren’t merely polite and simple, nor
without large consequences.  While often
deferring to each other, I have lead my family through informed choices – cross
country with all of our belongings; through several life changing decisions;
into three different businesses; into many Ministry adventures; through many
disagreements and conflict; and as a family, through countless minefields of
issues with far too many strongly opinionated participants.

I believe a measure of our success has been the fact that we
have successfully covered an extreme amount of ground as a family, despite the
fact we began as undisciplined, un-Churched, married sinners.  Yet at the same time my wife would report she
is satisfied with my leadership, while not recalling many times where I forced
my way, even though I did make choices and led my family in directions with
which they didn’t always agree.  It was
in the times I forced my way without considering her desires that I made some
of the worst decisions that hurt my family. 
Godly leadership is unapologetically effective and decisive, yet at the
same time strives to be cognizant of the needs of those following.  It is a skillful mix, avoiding both extreme
pitfalls of disengaged wimp and controlling tyrant.  Skillfully leading any group of rebellious
sinners with their own desires, and all the while as you have your own competing
desires as well, can only be learned by following God’s directions and
respecting our roles.

The question was posed to our group:  What is one way a husband might hinder his
relationship with his wife?  My answer
was “shortsightedness”.  When I was asked
to expand on my answer, I believe I made two mistakes.  First, I made a controversial statement that
came off as callous and easily misunderstood. 
It was blunt, and without a proper explanation is even harder to
defend.  Second, with realistically only
a couple of minutes to explain myself, it was impossible to give a thorough
explanation.  I should not have opened a
subject I would not have time to explain, and in doing so, I caused confusion
and division.  For both of these, I am
sorry.  Please forgive me if I offended
you.

If you care for a further explanation of leadership and
authority, I have included my thoughts below. 
I don’t make a habit of pages and pages of text to make a point, but I
believe this is a very misunderstood topic, and I want to share what I have
learned so anyone who is interested can grow with me as we follow Jesus, in our
roles as leaders.  If you have anything
to contribute (or dispute), please share with me so we can be as iron
sharpening iron.

Leadership and
Authority

Authority might be defined as having the responsibility over
resources, the right to conduct those resources as seen fit, and the
responsibility to answer for the outcome of the effort.  In all cases, the Bible shows that legitimate
authority, be it in men or women, is granted by God.  It is prescribed in God over mankind,
government over citizens, Church leaders over members, a husband over his wife,
and parents over their children.  All
mankind are equal in God’s Creation, and among us is a hierarchy of organization
and responsibilities.  Therefore, anyone
in his respecting role, and his corresponding responsibilities, are sanctioned
by God.

This also means that legitimate authority is established
upon assignment, not merit.  Authority
has nothing to do with a person’s abilities, and in fact, means that authority
remains even in an ignorant leader.  Bad
leaders are still responsible.  This is
why it is so important, when possible, to carefully choose what leadership we
place ourselves under.  Our job, as subordinates,
is to comply with our leaders the best way we can, in as much as those leaders
are in accord with God’s expectations. 
We are never expected to sin against God, no matter what our leaders
expect of us.

Children, as long as they are under the headship of the
father of the family, are under authority. 
Technically, I believe this means until those children are either
married and have formed their own respective family, or have gone out to
establish themselves in a single, celibate life.  A daughter must therefore choose her mate
well.  In marriage, each commits to a
covenant agreement before God, and once consummated in sexual intercourse, are
bound by Holy matrimony until one or the other dies, or through legitimate
divorce, or upon the Lord’s return.  That
woman is now subject to her husband’s authority, and their joint standing
before God.  She would do very well to be
sure she is committing to a godly husband who, with her, understands their
responsibilities before God, and they both should understand how to discern
their surroundings and divide the Word accordingly.

Such is it in placing ourselves under Church
leadership.  Again, it behooves us to
know the leaders’ fear of and commitment to God, as well as the basis of their
decisions and how the Church is organized. 
Believers are to be under Church authority, and in obeying this, are
offered the protections of the Church.

It is common today for people, including believers, to
attend a congregation yet not become members. 
The problem, aside from not understanding the issue to begin with, is
two-fold; first, attendees might require guidance, even Church discipline.  Non members who do not commit to the bond to
the Church then find it convenient to just leave when confronted by the
uncomfortable process of discipline. 
While apparently not a covenant bond like marriage, this avoidance of
Church membership – and more specifically a commitment to hold oneself under
the leadership’s Bible-guided, legitimate authority no matter what – is still
rebellion in that the attendee will not submit to that authority under
membership.  It is preferable in their
eyes to leave and find another Church that does not challenge or know about
their sin.  In the end, non-members enjoy
many of the benefits of the Church, without the safety of the bonds of being
under authority.  The problem arises when
this person, faced with godly, Bible based discipline, leaves to escape what
they need the most – correction, forgiveness, and repentance.

How leaders thrive

The best example of leadership we might follow is seen in God.  Jesus, and other leaders who work to emulate
Him, show us the living out of the Scriptures. 
Some key points in Jesus’ example include: Sanctioned by Father;
Knowledgeable of His responsibilities and boundaries laid out in the Word;
Instruction of the facts to those under Him; Careful examination of the current
issues in relation to Scripture; Reacting and following through as Father
expects; and, doing all in love and while understanding the needs of all people
involved.  In summary: the leader
exercises his resources, in accord with God’s Truth, all done in love – be it towards
our child, our congregant, our wife, our employee, or anyone under our charge.

How leaders fail

Conversely, a leader has unlimited opportunities to fail,
such as failure to acknowledge the responsibilities of himself or his
subordinates, which leads to confusion, abandonment of his post, or
rebellion.  Or, he might fail to instruct
all in his circle of responsibility, which leads to a lack of cohesion to God’s
directions, and to problems that might have been avoided.  For example, consider Eve.  Genesis 2 and 3 describes Father’s
instruction to Adam, as well as Adam’s responsibilities to govern, all before
Eve was created.  Scripture does not tell
of God talking to Eve, and we conclude that Adam was to instruct her, as he was
her authority, under God.  In the Fall
however, Adam stood by as Eve proceeded to take of the fruit, and then too, did
Adam from her hand.  In this, Adam failed
to either instruct her or turn her away. 
As further proof of his responsibilities, though she ate first, Father
placed the most substantial curse on him – and through him sin entered the
world, not her.  This was Adam’s failure
to live out God’s expectations.  In this,
Adam failed to read the situation correctly and follow through as Father
expected, as well as his thoughtless exercise of his responsibilities, lacking
love and regard for the billions of people his actions would ultimately affect.

I will get my way
anyhow, in the end

Be it good or bad, right or wrong, popular or despised,
informed or ignorant – the decision of a legitimate leader, as it agrees with
God’s expectations, is his right and responsibility. 

A shortsighted leader is interested in the immediate
outcome, often in that it satisfies his goals. 
His priorities trump those of others, be it through an exercise of
power, pride, ego, wealth, gratifications, or other personal gains.  In all of these cases, he puts himself first,
and accordingly, the people he is responsible for are placed behind his own
consideration.  Pressing ahead for his
own gain, at the expense of others without consideration or understanding,
damages the chief tool of his influence – the relationship.  This is a shortsighted, I-want-it-my-way-now,
approach.  He will likely get his way,
but at what cost?

A longsighted approach is based upon opposite goals:
Admiration of what is right, the betterment and success of his people,
promoting the success of his people’s efforts over his own, and generally
foregoing short term gratification in exchange for the payoff down the
road.  The leader knows that success
means all affected parties believe their relevant input has been considered,
and they find it easier to work to support the goal he has pointed them
toward.  Most of us feel safe under good,
longsighted authority.  Once in
submission, I felt comfortable under Father. 
In my roles as leader, sanctioned by God, I also feel comfortable exercising
my responsibilities.  The people under a
leader’s charge should also feel comfortable, as he leads wisely and in
consideration of his subordinates.  Good
leadership is that in which a subordinate can achieve more that he might on his
own.

In the end, the person in authority makes the final
decision.  A Scriptural approach employs
participation, but is not a democracy. 
By definition, a pure democracy is decided by the will of the majority,
and no one person has authority over another and all are equal in effecting the
outcome.  It is also not a shared
leadership, where both husband and wife are equal authorities over their
marriage and family.  Instead, God
prescribes for us a positionally authoritative hierarchy, exercised in a
Biblical love where we always strive to put the other’s needs first, yet as we
carry out our responsibilities in agreement with Scripture.  This would be a leader who, in accord with
Scripture, in Biblical love, takes his subordinates into consideration as he
makes an informed decision.  He will
direct his resources as he sees fit, and one day will answer to God for the
outcome of his efforts.

Can women lead, and excel at their work?  Of course, under the authority over
them.  Women are under the same
principles of authority as men.  Husbands
often make a mistake in believing their authority is threatened by their wife’s
activities – especially when she is better at it than he is.  But a wise husband knows his authority has
nothing to do with how smart he is, and he actually realizes his wife is a
tremendous asset who can help him achieve more than he ever could have on his
own.  His wife can thrive as she
exercises her abilities, under his authority. 
Both men and women have the ability and privilege of pursuing their
chosen activities, in as long as their primary responsibilities to their family
and each other are first met.

Leaders who do not execute their post as commanded by God
will suffer loss.  So will subordinates
who resist their leaders’ authority, though it agrees with Scripture.  Men who do not submit to legitimate
authority, who fail to understand and embrace their role as husband and father,
who fail to know the Word and instruct their family and help them obey, who
allow their authority to be assumed by others, or who abuse their position,
will suffer loss for their failure. 
Women who do not submit to legitimate authority, who fail to support
their husband in his efforts, who attempt to control him and fail to submit, who
fail to uphold their responsibilities before God, will also suffer loss for
their failure.  The work of every leader,
as well as the obedience of every subordinate, will be judged.  In the end, we all are subordinate under
Father.  We are equal in value, but not
in responsibility.  And accordingly, we
will not all be found equal as we are judged according to the quality of our
work, be it as leader or subordinate.

Informed decisions
and appeals

This doesn’t mean a leader exists in a vacuum, answering to
no one.  A wise leader solicits the
opinions of everyone his decision will involve, and takes those opinions to
heart before setting the course.  This
also means that a wise subordinate understands the process and uses it as
well.  Acknowledging that his leader will
make a decision that affects him, a subordinate will do his best to inform his
leader of the issues he should consider before making a decision.  This might even be a passionate argument, but
it should never be confused as a passionate challenge to legitimate
authority.  If both parties understand
that it is not the issue of authority at stake, but instead the issues
impacting the pending decision, it paves the way for an honest discussion about
the facts as they impact the decision to be made.  And once the decision is made, it is the
responsibility of everyone subject to the decision to support it and follow
through.

Love and fear as
motivators

A pastor has observed that husbands employ one of two
approaches in directing their families – leading through love, or forcing
through fear.  There are four different
aspects to this notion: Leading versus forcing, and, love versus fear.  All four are effective means, in their own
right.  But, all four are not
interchangeable.  We might, at first,
believe that the negatives – force and fear – do not belong at all.  However, don’t we see this very thing in God’s
handling of Israel at Mount Sinai?  And
King Belshazzar of Daniel 5, so scared his knees literally knocked.  And what of God’s Law, promising the sure
demise of those who didn’t obey, as well as the numerous times He followed
through when they failed to do so?  The
Jews had every reason to fear God, and when they failed Him, people died.

Conversely, leading and love are the hallmarks of this Age
of Grace, following the Cross.  Enemies
of God are warned by the pre-Cross actions of God in the Old Testament, but He
has stayed His Judgment for the time being and asked everyone to turn to Him
now during a period of clemency.  The
Lost are shown love and grace, and no one is forced to comply, they are led to
obey – if they will.

Forcing someone is an act against their intentions, while
leading is an invitation to follow.  The
first is pushing someone to the instigator’s conclusion, while leading is
drawing them to the conclusion.  Forcing,
at its worst, is a violation of someone’s personhood, while leading is making
an environment to attract that personhood on its own volition.  A wise leader, acting Biblically, will seek
to lovingly lead his followers to the conclusion he has in mind.

Love is not one
dimensional

Father shows us love in several ways – not only tenderly
holding our hand as we are led along the Path, but also in the assurance and
justice of the protection of His legal hierarchy and order.  His love for
us – in dividing what is right and wrong – isn’t shown by His winking at us and
letting things slide, but instead in His absolute adherence to His dutiful
leadership through His Just Law.  I’m thinking about the love that Jesus
showed us in the Cross.  That was a show of selfless love in giving Himself.  However, His simply giving of Himself in just
any sort of death wouldn’t Save us.  Our Salvation is an absolute legal
exercise as He satisfied Father’s Justice, through a legal sacrifice on the
Cross, to settle debt according to the Law, to be legally propitiated, or
attributed, to us.  His governing us in justice is a strict adherence to
His Law, which because it is absolute, provides us shelter.  Therefore,
even his absolute Law is a show of His loving care for us.  If we only see
Jesus’ holding our hand, yet overlook His loving Justice through the Law, we
would only be seeing half of the picture.

Resolute love

Resolute: Firm, unyielding, unbendable, determined, unwavering.

In my mind, I see Jesus on the Cross in His steely
resolution to complete the task, bravely carrying out His role for the sake of
His subordinates, Humanity and Creation.  Was the scene lacking gentleness
and the softer expression of love?  In many ways I think so, but it
wouldn’t make it any less loving.

The statement “I will get my way anyhow, in the end” was
callous.  The intent was reaffirming the
reality of a man’s role in leadership, and demonstrating a side of a man’s
responsibility in deliberate contrast so it could be showcased.  Soft men, who only exercise passive love yet
not resolute love, and those who are easily pushed over in their authority, should
see they are lacking a sense of duty towards their wives, children, and whoever
else would try to dissuade them.  Good
leadership includes both an exercise of soft love and resolute love.

The statement “I will get my way anyhow, in the end” is also
a warning to all of us.  The realities of
the authority of a leader mean that he will get his way (under God’s
authority), and followers must do their part (under God’s expectations).  But this also advises us to be sure we
carefully lead, taking all underlying issues into consideration, and that
subordinates both respect the leader’s rights and work hard to help him make
good decisions.  Resolute leadership is a
shelter and a blessing, and resolute subordinates play an important role in
helping the leader achieve that.

Leading with
conviction

A halfhearted approach to our responsibilities would be a
mistake.  If you were convinced that God
had a specific purpose for you, wouldn’t you firmly stand your ground and carry
out your job as best you could?  Consider
Nehemiah, who set out to rebuild the Temple and the walls of Jerusalem.  Nehemiah reported that he was on a mission
from God, supported by His clear declaration of intent.  While rebuilding the wall, their enemies
sought to stop them from building and threatened to attack.  Nehemiah responded by posting the military
officers behind the workers, and the workers themselves were also armed to
fight. (Neh 4.13-18)  Nehemiah knew Who
had sent him, he fiercely stood his ground, and he invoked God’s Name and His command
as the basis of his authority, both over his people and his enemies.  Nehemiah knew why he was there and what he
was expected to do, and no one was going to dissuade him.  We too are under that same God, and likewise,
we should not be dissuaded from our responsibilities, lest we be judged as
unfaithful.  And to anyone who would seek
to take our position and assume our respective authority, Nehemiah says we
should fight, backed by the authority of the Lord.

Is it correct for a leader to state he will have his way
anyhow, in the end?  Yes.  But a wise leader knows that while he can
expect to have his way, it is always best to do it well, in a longsighted
manner for the overall sake of his cause and his people.  If we do this well, as subordinate or as
leader, we can look forward to one day hearing “Well done, good and faithful
servant!”

Hannah
Scheffer’s Testimony

Hi
everyone, my name is Hannah Scheffer and I want to be Baptized to publicly
share that I am ready to give it all in to God, and I am ready to start my walk
with him.

I
grew up in a Christian family and being Saved and Baptized was always a big
thing for me.

Being
Saved was the first step, and the second step is being Baptised at the start in
my walk.

I
always doubted my self and asking the question like “Am I saved?” or “Does God
really want ME in heaven?” I didn’t realize how much faith I was lacking with
my relationship with God.

However
that all changed one Thursday night at AO. Pastor Travis was talking about how
we needed to give our life to God and trust in him in everything that he wants
us to do.

He
gave an example of a poker chip. In the game of poker, you could bet a little,
you can bet a lot, or you can go all in. He asked how much we would put in if
our relationship with Jesus was on the line.

Would
we commit a little for God and say I will let you have a little of my life, or
say God, I am going to let you have most of my life. Or do you want to stand up
and say “God, I want you to have all of my life and I want to follow you in
everyway, everyday!”

He
ended the sermon with asking us one question: “What poker chip are you? Are you
willing to risk going all in for God?” That night really spoke to me, and after
that, I looked hard at where I was in my walk with God, and where I should be.

After
my Baptism, I am excited for my new life with God.

I
see Father God teaching us about Himself and His relationship to us through the
gift of our own children, and the perspective that brings.

I
can understand something of God’s perspective through the experience of
fatherhood that I get to share with Him.

And
as a follower of Jesus, He tells us to help our children to know about Him
through the Word and by sharing insight from our own experience in the Walk.

Your
Mom and I try to show how sinners follow Jesus, so that you can, too.  And here we are today, and I am very pleased
to have this opportunity to enjoy the fruit of our labors and be a part of
Jesus command to make disciples.

Today
you acknowledge His place in your life, and you can begin the lifelong process
of gaining your own personal insight as you live John 14:21 – to know his Word,
to obey it, and to see Him show up again and again in your life.

I
am very proud today, and very happy for you!

Test Yourself, Christian

·  Going to church does not make you a
Christian; nor does saying a prayer, going down an aisle, passing a catechism,
telling yourself that you are, or trying to be a decent person. You can only be
a Christian if Christ is in you, which can be tested and proven
according to the scriptures.

Test Yourself

2Cor
13:5 (NIV) Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test
yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you–unless, of course,
you fail the test?

1Cor
11:28,31 (NAS) But a man must examine himself… If we judged ourselves rightly,
we would not be judged.

2Cor
13:5 (Wey) Test yourselves to discover whether you are true believers; put
yourselves under examination…

·  God gives us instructions on how we can and
should “test ourselves” in scripture, which can be grouped into five
major categories: 1) Gospel Belief and
Confession; 2) Born Again / Sonship /
Correction; 3) Repentance / Deliverance
from Sin; 4) Good Works by Grace,
and 5) The Fruit of the Spirit. The
first three are starting points, but can also serve as ongoing tests, as we
will see. The last two are living proof of “Christ Jesus in us”, or
not. These scriptures should encourage those who are true Christians, and give
cause for sober reflection to those who think they are but are not.

2Pet 1:10a (NAS) …Be all the more
diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you.

1Cor
15:1-4 (Jer) Brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you,
the gospel that you have received and in which you are firmly established;
because the gospel will save you only if you keep believing exactly what I
preached to you–believing anything else will not lead to anything. I taught
you… that Christ died for our sins, in accordance with the scriptures,
that he was buried; and that he was raised to life on the third
day, in accordance with the scriptures.

Rom
10:8-13 (NIV) …”The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your
heart,” that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: That if you confess
with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart
that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with
your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that
you confess and are saved… for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the
Lord will be saved.”

·  We must believe the right Gospel about the
right One. Christian life starts with an embracing of the Gospel, but what we
believe in is also an ongoing test as well. We are warned in scripture
not to drift away from the faith as we go through life, which is a real
danger. Do we believe in, and are we following, the simple and
scripture-defined Gospel of Jesus Christ?

1John 2:24 (NIV) See that what you
have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will
remain in the Son and in the Father.

2Cor
11:3-4 (Jer) But the serpent, with his cunning, seduced Eve, and I am afraid
that in the same way your ideas may get corrupted and turned away from simple
devotion to Christ. Because any newcomer has only to proclaim a new Jesus,
different from the one that we preached, or you have only to receive a new spirit,
different from the one you have already received, or a new gospel, different
from the one you have already accepted–and you welcome it with open arms!

Gal
1:9 (Phi) I am amazed that you have so quickly transferred your allegiance from
him who called you by the grace of Christ to another “gospel”! Not
that there is another gospel, but there are men who are upsetting your faith
with a travesty of the gospel of Christ. Yet I say that if I, or an angel from
heaven, were to preach to you any other gospel than the one you have received,
may he be dammed!

Rev
3:3a [Jesus:] “Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey
it, and repent.”

Heb
2:1 (NIV) We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard,
so that we do not drift away.

Heb
10:23 (NKJ) Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering…

John
3:3-7 (NIV) Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the
kingdom of God unless he is born again… Flesh gives birth to flesh,
but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying,
‘You must be born again.'”

1Pet
1:23 (Phi) For you are not just mortals now but sons of God; the live,
permanent Word of the living God has given you his own indestructible heredity.

Gal
4:6 (NIV) Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts,
the Spirit who calls out, “Abba [Daddy!], Father.”

Rom
8:14-16,23 (NIV) For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of
God… You received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out,
“Abba, Father.” The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit
that we are children of God… Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the
firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our
adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.

·  Those who believe in the Gospel and follow
Jesus will be born again into new, spiritual life. This will result in what is
termed “the Spirit of adoption” which is evidenced by the “inner
witness” of “Abba, Father”. This is an inner knowing that
we are children of God, where we cry out “Daddy! Father!” with love
and expectation by deep, spiritual instinct.

Rom
8:9,15-16 (Phi) You cannot, indeed, be a Christian at all unless you have something
of his Spirit in you… You can say with a full heart, “Father, my
Father”. The Spirit himself endorses our inward conviction that we really
are the children of God.

·  Christians do not habitually remain in sin,
as we will see in the following test. Yet we all can stumble, we all can fall
into sin. Hopefully, this is not deliberate, but even if it is on occasion God
can still use it to encourage us that we are His children. For if and when we
sin, the correction / rebuke / chastisement of the Lord will train us into the
righteousness of Christ–if we are His.

Heb
12:5-8 (Wey) And you have quite forgotten the encouraging words which are
addressed to you as sons, and which say, “My son, do not think lightly of
the Lord’s discipline, and do not faint when He corrects you; for those whom
the Lord loves He disciplines: and He scourges every son whom He
acknowledges.” …God is dealing with you as sons; for what son is there
whom his father does not discipline? And if you are left without discipline, of
which every true son has had a share, that shows that you are bastards, and
not true sons.

·  This is a very clear-cut test: if you can
continue in habitual sin and “get away with it”, no matter what you
say, you are not a child of God. On the other hand, if we really are His
children, this will be proven by the fact that He will not allow us to remain
in sin–or go far wrong–through His active correction in our lives.

Rev
3:19 (NAS) [Jesus:] “Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline;
therefore be zealous and repent.”

Heb
12:9-11 (Wey) Our earthly fathers used to discipline us and we treated them
with respect, and shall we not be still more submissive to the Father of our
spirits, and live? It is true that they disciplined us for a few years
according as they thought fit; but He does it for our certain good, in order
that we may become sharers in His own holy character. Now, at the time,
discipline seems to be a matter not for joy, but for grief; yet it afterwards
yields to those who have passed through its training a result full of
peace–namely, righteousness.

2Tim
2:19 (Wey) God’s solid foundation stands unmoved, bearing this inscription,
“The Lord knows those who really belong to Him.” And this also,
“Let every one who names the Name of the Lord renounce all
wickedness.”

Jude
1:4-5 (NIV) For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have
secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of
our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign
and Lord. Though you already know all this, I want to remind you that the
Lord delivered his people out of Egypt, but later destroyed those who did not
believe.

Eph
5:6 (Wey) Let no one deceive you with empty words, for it is on account
of these very sins that God’s anger is coming upon the disobedient.

Heb
10:26-27 (NIV) If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the
knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful
expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of
God.

1John
3:5-10 (Phi) You know that… Christ became a man to take away sin, and
that in him there is no sin. The man who lives in Christ does not habitually
sin. The regular sinner has never seen or known him. You, my children, should
not let anyone deceive you. The man who lives a good life is a good man, as
surely as Christ is good. But the man whose life is habitually sinful is
spiritually a son of the devil, for the devil has been a sinner from the
beginning. Now the Son of God came to earth with the express purpose of undoing
the devil’s work. The man who is really God’s son does not practice sin, for
God’s nature is in him, and such a heredity is incapable of sin. Here we
have a clear indication as to who are the children of God and who are the
children of the devil. The man who does not lead a good life is no son of God.

1John
2:3-7 (NIV) We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The
man who says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a
liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is
truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims
to live in him must walk as Jesus did. Dear friends, I am not writing you a new
command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning.

Luke
6:46 (Wey) [Jesus:] “And why do you all call me ‘Master, Master’ and yet
not do what I tell you?”

1Cor
6:9 (NIV) Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do
not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers
nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor
drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And
that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified,
you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of
our God.

John
8:34-36 (Wey) “In most solemn truth I tell you,” replied Jesus,
“that every one who commits sin is the slave of sin. Now a slave does not
remain permanently in his master’s house, but a son does. If then the Son shall
make you free, you will be free indeed.”

Titus
2:11-15 (NIV) For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all
men. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions,
and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while
we wait for the blessed hope–the glorious appearing of our great God and
Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness
and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is
good. These, then, are the things you should teach…

2Tim
2:19-21 (NIV) …”Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn
away from wickedness.” In a large house there are articles not only of
gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for noble purposes and
some for ignoble. If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an
instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and
prepared to do any good work.

·  When speaking of good works, it is important
to note that such can never save us, and this is a serious deception often
warned about in scripture. Rather it is the other way around: if we are really
saved then we will do good works. These are produced in us by the
ministry gifts of the Holy Spirit, given by the grace of God.

1Pet
4:10-11 (NAS) As each one has received a special gift, employ it in
serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. Whoever
speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever
serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so
that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ…

Rom
12:6-8 (Phi) Through the grace of God we have different gifts. If our
gift is preaching, let us preach to the limit of our vision. If it is serving
others let us concentrate on our service; it if is teaching let us give all we
have to our teaching; and if our gift be the stimulation of the faith of others
let us set ourselves to it. Let the man who is called to give, give freely; let
the man in authority work with enthusiasm; and let the man who feels sympathy
for his fellows in distress help them cheerfully.

Eph
2:10 (NIV) For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good
works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

2Tim
1:6 (NIV) For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God…

2Cor
9:8 (NIV) And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all
things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good
work.

Jas
2:17b-24 (NIV) Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
…I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe… Even the demons
believe… Do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless?…
Abraham’s… faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was
made complete by what he did… You see that a person is justified by what he
does and not by faith alone.

Acts
26:19-20 (NIV) [Paul:] “So then… I was not disobedient to the vision
from heaven… I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove
their repentance by their deeds.”

Col
1:10-11b (NIV) …That you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please
him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the
knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious
might.

Mat
3:7 (NIV) “…Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.”

Mat
7:16-23 (NIV) [Jesus:] “By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people
pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree
bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad
fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear
good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will
recognize them. Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the
kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name,
and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell
them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'”

Mat
12:33 (NIV) “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree
bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit.”

Gal
5:22-23 (NIV) The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness
and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong
to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.
Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.

John
13:35 (NIV) “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you
love one another.”

Col
1:6 (Wey) Just as it [the Gospel] has also spread through the whole world,
yielding fruit and increasing, as it has done among you from the day when first
you heard it and came really to know the grace of God.

Plp
2:12-13 (NIV) Therefore, my dear friends… continue to work out your salvation
with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to
act according to his good purpose.

John
15:4-5,8,16 (NIV) [Jesus:] “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No
branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you
bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a
man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can
do nothing… This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing
yourselves to be my disciples… You did not choose me, but I chose you and
appointed you to go and bear fruit–fruit that will last…”

2Cor
13:5 (NAS) Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine
yourselves!…

·  Now then; let us reflect on these
“tests” and give ourselves an honest self-rating of “Christ in
Us” in these five areas.

1. Gospel Belief and Confession: Do you believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ? Have you
   held fast to sound doctrine against the many false prophets
   offering a different gospel?
2. Born Again / Spirit of Adoption
   / The Lord’s Correction:
   Are you born from above? Do you have that ongoing “Abba,
   Father!” instinct within, that inner knowing of your
   relationship with Him? Is God treating you as His child when you fall into
   sin?
3. Repentance / Freedom from Sin: Have you resolutely turned away from sin? Do you
   habitually sin, or can you praise God in spirit and truth that He has
   truly “set you free indeed?”
4. Good Works by God’s Grace: Have you been given a grace-gift of ministry to serve
   others with? Is your life living proof of Christ in you, or have you only
   “mere words” and self-delusion to cling to?
5. The Fruit of the Spirit: Are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
   faithfulness, gentleness and self-control manifesting and growing in your
   life? Are you producing fruit in keeping with repentance?

·  As we go through the various seasons of life
we might well find ourselves deficient in one or more of these tests. Seeing
the whole of them can illuminate where we have stumbled, and encourage us to
deal honestly and urgently with any problem areas.

Col
1:27-29 (NIV) …God has chosen to make known… the glorious riches of this
mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. We proclaim him,
admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present
everyone perfect in Christ. To this end I labor, struggling with all his
energy…

Gal
4:19 (TEB) My dear children! Once again, just like a mother in childbirth, I
feel the same kind of pain for you until Christs’ nature is formed in you.

1John
5:12-13 (NIV) He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God
does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the
Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.

2Pet
1:10-12 (Phi) Set your minds, then, on endorsing by your conduct the fact that
God has called and chosen you. If you go along these lines there is no reason
why you should stumble. Indeed, if you live this sort of life a rich welcome
awaits you as you enter the eternal kingdom of our Lord and savior Jesus
Christ. Therefore I shall not fail to remind you again and again of things like
this, although you already know them…

Eph
3:16-21 (Phi) I pray that out of the glorious richness of his resources he will
enable you to know the strength of the Spirit’s inner re-enforcement–that
Christ may actually live in your hearts by your faith. And I pray that you,
rooted and founded in love yourselves, may be able to grasp (with all
Christians) how wide and long and deep and high is the love of Christ–and to
know for yourselves that love so far above our understanding. So will you be
filled through all your being with God himself! Now to him who by his power
within us is able to do infinitely more than we dare to ask or imagine–to him
be glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus for ever and ever, amen!

Why did God create man?

We often
point to the Westminster Catechism and state that our chief goal is “to glorify
God and enjoy Him forever”.  While a
great explanation from Man’s viewpoint, I have wondered about God’s point of
view, too.  I believe the question might
be, what does an Omnipotent and Omnipresent God do to exercise himself and
bring Himself glory?  No matter what, how
can He ever have an expectation that goes beyond His own thoughts, desires, or
interactions since He is boundless and perfect? 
It seems it might be like the owner of the department store buying
himself a gift – yet he owns it all and can’t be surprised because he knows his
inventory.

I think
the word ‘exercise’ is a good one, because what might an all powerful God do to
challenge or satisfy His creativity? 
Consider a young athlete who needs to run as fast as he can, or an
artist who strives to draw out the essence of his expression, or a conqueror
who needs to gather a domain and bring it under order, or a lover who desires
to show his affection to his beloved? 
Whoever has potential knows the need to exercise it.  And being made in His Image, shouldn’t we
wonder how much more our Maker desires to be excellent?

I believe
that God has taken on an incredibly dangerous and worthy endeavor, one that
showcases Who He is and what He alone is capable of.  Going backwards from the conclusion, we read
that in the end, He is worshipped by a sea of people who truly know and value
Him.  These are veterans of God, people
who know of His Mercy as they recall what they were and what they have become
under Christ.  People who have known the
truth of wretchedness and Relief, or sin and Forgiveness, of weakness and
Power, of hopelessness and then Hope, of strife and then Peace. These are
people who are rightly sold out to God and have every reason to adore and
worship Him.

Considering
all of Creation, it is all very incredible. 
A cursory survey of the stars and space is a thing of wonder, both in
the complexity and the magnitude.  A look
in our own world is a shocking display of creativity, complexity, order,
variety.  At the molecular and atomic
levels, even more amazing and intricate works abound.  Colossians 1.17 tells us that in Christ all of
these things consist, as He holds it all together.

However,
this incredible array of Creation is not the direct subject of Salvation, but
we are.  Jesus didn’t come as a Godly
natural anomaly, but as a man, as one of us. 
I think the incredible and daring work of God is that He created a host
of humanity that would say ‘no’ to Him. 
I believe this is incredible, because if He wanted to take the direct
route, He could have instead made all of us already worshipping Him – and even
believing we had taken the same long road through life to get there.  But no, He has instead chosen to exercise His
Will over us in a bid to convince us, compel us, draw us to turn to Him – and
all without ever overpowering us.  No one
has ever been forced to ask Forgiveness. 
Instead, He does takes the daring approach and goes as far as He can to
chance the risk of rejection – and in the end all to magnify His love for
us.  This is the means to the end, where
He carries all of our deficits as only God can, and thus creates true and
genuine worship!

Given two
minutes to explain the Gospel, what would you say? (To an inquisitive adult)

First,
let’s acknowledge there is a God Who has expectations.  One proof of this is your inherent sense of
right and wrong, which is there as an anchor to His expectations.  You, and everyone else ever born will face
Him and answer for our actions of our lives. He has spoken His expectations to
mankind and recorded them in the Bible.  The
Bible is how we can know Who God is and what He intends for us to understand.

Second,
let’s acknowledge that He is perfect, and that none of us are.  And so, each of us have defied His
expectations.  This means that He, as
God, has the right and obligation to hold each of us accountable for the right
and wrong things we have done.  Being
perfect and righteous, He cannot allow sin to remain unpunished, and so, all
who are guilty and unforgiven of any sin whatsoever will one day be removed
from His presence.  This will be
Hell.  This is important to understand –
every soul ever created will be presented before God in resurrected bodies that
will never again die.  Each of us will
spend eternity either in peace with God, or in torment without Him.

Third,
His goal is to surround Himself with people who recognize His value and worship
Him.  Those who will be allowed to remain
must be relieved of their debt of sin to Him. 
That means we must be forgiven by paying a debt we ourselves are
unqualified to pay.  We have nothing to
offer Him.  Before Creation was ever
made, He decided He would use Jesus to legally satisfy the personal, individual
debts of those He would Save.  He offers
us the only way that our debts can be paid, but it will only be through His
gift, not through our own efforts.  Only
God can save us from our sin and our debt.

Fourth,
Jesus, offering Himself as a sinless Sacrifice, as both a man like us and as
God, earned the right to release those who would ask Him for forgiveness.  To receive this from Him, He expects you to
recognize that He is God Who alone can save you; that you are a sinner who
cannot save himself; to admit your sins and commit to a lifetime of turning
away from them; and then asking Him for that Forgiveness.  Jesus has promised that no one can be Saved
except through Him.  He also promised
that anyone who asks Him for Forgiveness will not be turned away.  The repentant sinner who believes Who Jesus
is and the Promises He offers will immediately find relief of his guilt before
God.  As a follower of Jesus, you will
begin your journey of peace and assurance as you learn to follow your Lord.

Define
sin.  Describe in detail the results and
effects of sin.

I
would describe sin as an act that defies the stated expectation of God.  God calls Himself boundless in His Person and
attributes, and everything about Him is Just. 
We cannot know His thoughts except those He reveals to us.  Those utterances that have been revealed are
His Law and an expression of Who He is. 
Once God has uttered His Word to us, we are then responsible to obey
It.  Those Words He has not given us, the
balance of His thoughts that remain a secret to us, are still just as perfect
but are not our responsibility to keep. 
Being responsible to obey, if we do not, we commit sin against God.

The
results of sin are seated in our legal transgression against the Holy God Who
created us, in which we are now indebted to. 
The effects of this offense include a break in our initial relationship
with God, leading to consequences named by Him. 
At the onset of our sin, we are immediately on course to death, first
and immediately in our spiritual self, then in our physical body which will
later die, then as a result of sin on our ‘heart’ our actions debase, and
finally the people around us whom we influence and are responsible to are also
affected.

We
are told not to grieve the Spirit in our sin, proving that after Salvation as
He resides in us, as we can still choose to sin and have it negatively affect
Him.  We also know that central to
Christ’s Passion was the effects of Hell’s punishment for our sins.  And most importantly, the definitive
punishment suffered by Jesus as Father turned away from Him for the first and
last time in His endless circle of existence.

But,
ultimately, our sin offends the very thing that Saved us from it – our
relationship with the Lord Who denies His wrath in exchange for a sacrificial,
loving extension of Grace once again, that we would choose to turn to obedience
out of love for Him.  Sin’s effects on
our relationship cannot dislodge our Salvation, as we were never responsible
for its beginning, either.  But, sin does
damper our sensitivity to the Spirit, it hinders Father’s hearing our prayers,
and it pollutes those around us.

I’ve
thought about my sin and the sad ease I possess in choosing my desires over
Jesus’ demands.  I know academically the
effects, as well as the harm it brings in my life.  But, despite the consequences, I still will
choose to sin.  I’ve concluded the reason
is that I fail to appreciate the harm it brings to my Saviour, and that is
because I fail to draw closer to Him. 
The distance I allow insulates me from the reality, much like a faceless
crime victim is easier to harm than a loved one, face to face.  Damn my sin! 
I want to want to be pure.

Explain what is meant by the word “missional”, and describe
what a missional life might look like.

If I
understand Chris’ explanation, “missional” encompasses the core meaning or
focus of a believer’s life in fulfilling Jesus’ commission, not fulfilling our
desires to get Saved and ride it on Home.

A
missional life will rest upon an understanding of the core reason of a man’s
existence, being realized through his Saved life.  A useful believer (useful to Jesus, the only
Judge Who matters) is soaked through with his continual exposure to God, the
stirring of the Spirit, to quicken him into seeing, understanding, embracing,
and doing the work for which we were Saved, per Eph 2.10 “For we are His
workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared
beforehand that we should walk in them.”

A man
engaged in a missional life understands Who Jesus is; who he is as His slave;
Jesus’ intentions; recognizes the opportunities around him; grows in the Tools
he is given in the Word and the Spirit; and then operates in the authority
pushed upon him that he will have a life worth examination by his Lord on the
Last Day.

Critics
argue that proof for the Bible’s inerrancy is based upon circular
reasoning.  How would you answer this
argument?

I believe my job is to explain God to you as clearly as I
can, hopefully convincing you to look for Him yourself.  In the end, if you will find Jesus and
embrace Him, it will only be because He has called you Himself.  I cannot make that happen, and neither can
you.  The most I can do is bring you to
the foot of His Cross and point you towards your own introduction to Him.

I believe the Bible is the faithful compilation of
everything God intends for us to hear from Him. 
I have studied Its origins, Its interconnectedness and continuity of
theme, Its successful impact on people’s lives (including my own), and examples
of archeological and historical proofs. 
In the end, I realized that even if I were to hold the original texts
upon the parchments which Moses and Paul wrote, I would still be faced with the
same issue.  I must choose whether to
believe It, or not.

You question the validity of the Bible because it refers to
Itself.  One reason I believe the Bible
is because it wonderfully references Itself. 
Jesus pointed to all of the ancient texts which referred to Him, as
proof of His Deity.  I think that by your
reference that would be circular logic, but in having faith that would be
called prophesy fulfilled.

The Bible is called the Word of God, Jesus is called the
Word of God revealed in flesh to us, and we are told that we will only find
belief through faith in them both.  My
faith, once established, showed me the tapestry of the Bible like I never could
see it with eyes lacking faith.  If you
do not believe the Bible, I can understand that, because you do not have faith.  However, without that faith, you will never
see the Bible or Jesus for what they are. 
Only God can give this faith, if you will only ask for it.

My
suggestion to you, if you genuinely want to get to the bottom of the issue, is
this – without bias, seek God in the way He says he can be found, and see if He
responds.  See if you find Him.  If you truly endeavor to pursue the truth,
and He shows up, then you have your answer. 
If He doesn’t, then the rest of us would be wrong.  I believe He will come through, once again.

Explain
the difference between general and specific revelation.  Use specific texts to support your answer.

These
are the two ways God has elected to reveal Himself to mankind.  General revelation is through the natural
world and our natural selves – IE: Romans 1.19 states that every man knows of
Him in that “what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it
to them”, and Psalms 19.1 “The heavens declare the glory of God; And the
firmament shows His handiwork.”

Specific
revelation is God revealed through the supernatural, or the miraculous – IE:
Preincarnate physical, Gen 18.1 “Then the LORD appeared to (Abram) by the
terebinth trees of Mamre,as he was sitting in the tent door in the
heat of the day”, or Gen 14.18 “Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out
bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High”; or, in the vision in Daniel 7;
or His voice in Matt 3.17 “And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”; or through His
movement to guide men as per 2 Pet 1.21 “for prophecy never came by the will of
man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.”  Most
importantly of course is God made in Flesh, Jesus the Christ. Of John 1.14 “And
the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as
of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”

I
believe both categories speak of His character. 
No person will ever be without an awareness of the God of Everything,
and on the other hand, all who pursue Him can find Him personally.  It seems any other god remains beyond reach,
never allowing the lesser beings below to see him, yet in contrast our God has
allowed, encouraged, us to press in close – even now through His Spirit in us
as believers.

What does it mean that man was created in God’s image and
likeness?

Being that the Bible states that God
has no material form, and the fact that all of us look very different both in
person, race and gender, I believe the Image and Likeness He imparted upon us
refers to His characteristics and attributes.

I believe the seat of who we are is
found in our soul – the soul is the eternal aspect of man, the part Jesus
resurrects, the part that flees to God when we die, the essence of who we
are.  Our soul contains our person, our
memories, the lessons learned, the reasons we will understand Who God is, the
center of our total worship of a worthy God.

I also believe this is seen in God’s
‘respect’ towards our person, in that He never violates our person and expects
us to do the same.  Our sins against each
other are rooted in personal offense, not so much the physical.  Hatred, envy, lust, slander, pride – all are
against another’s person.  Consider
suicide, a sin because it violates our own person. Or drunkenness, as it
arrests our moral awareness and surrenders it to another controlling
factor.  Conversely, love must be
expressed toward another, or how can it be love?  Love perfectly expressed toward another is
our example in Jesus.  Also consider that
even in our Salvation, God has never forced or violated another’s person.  Even in groups that argue ‘free’ will vs
predestination, both parties must agree that while a decision was made, then
why was it actually made and by whom? 
Even then I would argue that we make a decision as a moral agent, yet
under the undeniable, unavoidable urging of God.  But, He stops at urging, never resorting to
force that takes our moral accountability away. 
I see God bringing us to a point where what other choice can we possibly
make?

In this ‘person’ I believe He has lent
much of His own aspects, so that in seeing into ourselves and the people close
to us, we might know something about Him. 
Consider some of the expressions of humanity, or of being human:
Emotions, creativity, morality, organization, desire, personal expression,
worship, and perhaps most importantly, our central desire for lack of
discomfort – namely, peace.  Peace is one
of the most central aspects of God’s trinity.

I believe we can see something of the
Person of God by putting together the pieces of evidence we find in the
genders.  Man and women are undoubtedly
different, yet each is made in God’s image, and therefore each tends to possess
a predominant part of Him.  However, in
the beauty of a healthy marriage, both spouses might experience a fullness of
love and peace as they each contribute their person to a whole that exceeds the
sum.

As parents, we can understand Father’s
parenting over us.  Under authority, we
can learn the comfort of being cared for by someone we trust.  As an authority, we can grow in our mandate
to provide and be righteous.  All of
these require the attributes God has passed to us, and are at the same time the
proof He actually did.

Give your best explanation of the Trinity, using specific
texts to support your answer.

I am not sure I am prepared to answer
this.  I believe the basics of the
Trinity include Three Persons, all God, holding distinct offices and
responsibilities, with subordination among Them under Father, yet none of Them
no less God Supreme.  Some texts illustrating
the Three existing simultaneously, yet in Their own roles, would be:

God Holy Spirit, Gen 1.2 “And the
Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters“; God Father, Gen 1.26
“Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image” (plural) and God Jesus, v27 “So
God created man in His own image” (unified), supported by Colossians
1.15-16 “He (Jesus) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all
creation. ¹⁶ For by Him all things were created that are in heaven
and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or
principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.”

We also see all Three present at Jesus’
baptism in Luke 3.21-22 “²¹ When all the people were baptized, it
came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was
opened. ²² And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove
upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, “You are My beloved Son; in
You I am well pleased.”

The shadows had been long, and it was brisk, cold. “Mike! Mike!” he whispered as we sat in the deer blind. A beautiful mulie buck had topped the crest of the hill between the draws, and he was on the move in our direction as he crossed the hay field. My friend had brought me to hallowed ground, a place he cared about, and shared two of his most intimate gifts with me – his family and their Nebraska farm. I really felt loved that day. And that deer was tasty.

Kent and I have spent a lot of time together as friends, and I suppose I could enumerate our friendship as the times we’ve shared. I will always remember our experiences with love and happiness. And as I consider how to eulogize Kent through our friendship, you need to know the basis of our relationship was not just our activities and time together, but more so our mutual love and pursuit of our Lord. Our friendship endured as the result of pursuing God together, not the other way around. I’d like to tell you about Kent’s walk with Jesus.

 
Nobody begins life in sync with God’s expectations. In the last years of his life here, Kent grew to bring himself increasingly under God’s Word, and as a result, those of us who know him have judged him to have lived a good life as a servant of Jesus. When we recognize and strive to change and to live according to what is right in God’s eyes, the result must be a life well ordered and one bearing good fruit. I believe Kent understood this, and in his pursuit of Jesus, he became an excellent and useful man.
I often explain to my own children that the world is in sore need of useful men and women of God, and Linda and I encourage them to continue to grow into their role. Kent has been one of the people we can point to as an example of what that can look like.

The person of Kent who left us to be with the Lord is not the same person I first met 10 years ago. I dare not say this to point out his faults, because who of us under conscription to Jesus hasn’t improved as a person compared to when we first found Salvation in our Lord? What I want to point out is that Kent began to follow Jesus, and he ultimately died a fine Christian man. However, he did not achieve this on his own volition, but through his willful cooperation in Jesus’ Sanctification of his life. I believe it is right to look to the many results of Kent’s life. But more so, we must acknowledge God’s willful shaping of him and his circumstances so that he, and more importantly Jesus, are given recognition for their contributions. Kent is a most notable person, who was made so in cooperation with the work of a most exemplary and merciful God.

My relationship with Kent truly began almost 4 years ago. When God reintroduced us, we were both quite different than we were 7 years before. We had no idea where God was about to take us, but as for me, I believed Kent was a quality person with whom I wanted to forge a closer relationship. In our first year we chose to go deeper into each other’s lives, and in turn, our love and appreciation for each other also grew, as did our growing sense of brotherhood in the Lord. One year later, to the day, God would begin to reveal the sad news of Kent’s disease.
Kent is a caring, thoughtful, and sacrificing friend. On Memorial Day weekend 2006 Kent began to understand he had a problem. We spent a long weekend of shooting, worshiping, and fishing. All the while, he chose not to tell me so as not to upset our time together. He put me before his own needs, in a time when he felt scared and vulnerable. Later in our relationship he would invite my family to join his, as he offered his family as a surrogate to ours. Kent and Bridgett’s families would show us much needed love, and embrace us. Finally, Kent and Bridgett allowed Linda and me to walk with them as they faced his cancer. Kent shared the best of what he had to offer me – he offered his friendship, his family, his hurt, and his heart.
I believe that weekend was the beginning of our realization that God had brought together two friends of like mind in God’s purpose, two men who at least wanted to frame our perceptions in agreement with God’s perspective. I believe we began to realize we were as Prov. 17.17 states: ‘…Friends who would love at all times, and brothers born for adversity.’ We knew this would be difficult, yet we had faith that in cooperating with God’s Word we were sure of our task, that it would surely bear fruit through the Grace of God Himself. From that point on, though we didn’t know what would lie ahead, we were assured of our Lord’s call to His expectations. We understood the work at hand, and we chose to pursue it.

This isn’t what either of us wanted, in our own desires. We wanted a long life together as friends, and we had only begun enjoying the sweet fellowship of two men who love each other as brothers. However, through all of this, we both strived to check our desires against our Lord’s commands. The rest of Kent’s life would flourish as a result to his surrender.
Looking back, I now see that Kent had an appointment to die. I now see that Father would ultimately allow Kent’s disease to take him away. However, most important from my perspective, have been the manifold intercessions and blessings of God that would show over and over that Father is merciful to us as he eased us to the appointed conclusion at Kent’s death bed. I believe many of us understand the work at hand is not yet finished, and we shall still choose to pursue it.
Jesus has repeatedly shown Himself through the loving and obedient intercessions of people of faith who, in belonging to Him, have demonstrated Jesus’ love through their service to Kent and his family. Many people, children of God through Salvation in Jesus, have been His hands and feet. Many people have shown the benefit of Jesus in them as they have been known by the love they have displayed. To these people, may the Lord say “Well Done!”

I have observed others who have faced devastating news, or the hardship of a terminal disease. In these times I believe it is easy to withdraw into self-focused despair and bitterness. We are only human. I believe it is easy to circle the wagons and fight for the desires of self. Again, we are only human. Yet in this, I witnessed Kent and Bridgett’s willingness to deny themselves and surrender to others that everyone might help them and thus serve the Lord. It is not easy allowing others to see your need, to know your weaknesses, to let others participate in your pain. However, in recognizing this as an opportunity to allow people to serve, they allowed Jesus to glorify Father as His disciples carried out His Work. In understanding and cooperating with God, Kent and his family have been benefactors of Jesus’ glorifying Work.
For the sake of Christ, we have seen many, many acts of service and love to the Eloes. These things do not happen by chance. These things do not persist solely by the efforts of determined men. These things happen through the intent and willful volition of a transcendent God, through the submission and obedience of God’s people in Christ.
Kent has been a good example to look up to. That means he is also a good example to follow in our own walk. I’d suggest it would be wrong to only admire Kent. Do these words and this day touch your heart? Then let us fear God’s Word. Let us follow and serve and love Jesus. Let us purposely forge friendships and give ourselves to those people. Let us be known by the love we show each other. I believe Father’s lesson for us is that we should strive to follow Jesus as Kent did. We should watch people like Kent and learn how to run the race.

I have witnessed others, suffering from terminal disease, dying without the accompaniment of these Works of God. I have seen others suffering by themselves, without any idea what to do, without anybody around them when they die, without embracing God’s Will or having His people to help them.

In Kent and Bridgett’s case, I have seen the total opposite. Kent has left us, but we know he now lives with our loving Lord. We have witnessed a useful man, dying well, as he strove to cooperate with God and see Him glorified. We have seen the benefits of a loving Savior through Kent and the many others who lived out the Spirit of Christ, as He compelled them. Do you like Kent? Do you admire him? Then follow his example and pursue Jesus, surrender to Him, acknowledge Him as your Lord and Savior. Order your life according to His expectations and enjoy the benefits of being a child of God.
We began this journey almost 3 years ago, bracing for impact. But in the end, all of us – Kent and those in the midst of Christ’s Work – have been shuttled to this day by a gentle, and compassionate, Savior.

We praise You, Jesus! We worship You, our God!

December 27, 2007

I have known Rick for almost two years now. The members of our ministry team visit the Colonial Nursing Home residents several times a month, and Rick and I came to know each other along the way.

In times like this, we stop to look back and consider the person we knew, the person we mourn. For us here today, I believe there is an assortment of thoughts about Rick and the person he was. Who do you picture in your mind when you think about Rick? What attributes do you see?

Perhaps your first thoughts are of a man in the nursing home, slow of speech and set in an electric wheelchair. A kind man, in need of help throughout the day. A person getting along in life, like many of the people he lived with.

Perhaps you remember him as a 19 year old, young and able. You think of Rick as the person he was back then, and recall how life was for you and him. You see the loss he suffered and the life that he had after his accident.

These are reasonable pictures to have of Rick, and yes, they are true.

Our ministry team currently holds a Church service twice a month at Colonial, and each team member is assigned to a resident so they might get to know the resident better and help take care of their needs.

I first came to know Rick when I couldn’t enter the Home without passing his room. He was resident number one in my mind, the first person I would get to see. He didn’t know what to make of me at first, but slowly, our friendship developed. Later, I would also meet Cheryl during her visits.

In our Church services, we follow a predictable schedule – once everyone interested is gathered, we begin singing hymns together, then a message from the Bible, then Communion, and we finish together with prayer. Week after week, we worship God and grow together in our relationships.
This year for our Christmas service, after singing carols with the residents, I asked everyone what one thing every person on earth would experience. Many residents called out answers, including Rick. They ranged from death to taxes, but we finally settled on the answer I was looking for: We will all face God and answer for ourselves, for the life we have lived.

I asked if anyone was scared about that. I explained that I knew some people who were so scared about facing God that they couldn’t even bring themselves to talk about dying. However, as we and the residents all clearly know, everyone can expect to die. The Bible tells us we each will face death, then God.

Some of the residents replied they too were afraid to face God. They were not referring to the act of dying, but to the fact of giving an account to God. All of us know we have disobeyed God, and He can not let our sins pass without penalty. I explained that Jesus offers us forgiveness, and that He paid the penalty for our sins when He faced God for us, on the Cross. I explained that if we accept Jesus’ payment for our penalty, we no longer face a reckoning with God. Jesus will change our relationship to God, and we can be God’s friend. I explained the Bible tells us we don’t need to be afraid of God if He is our friend, through Jesus.

Rick said he understood he had sinned against God. He also said he wasn’t afraid to meet God. People who give their lives to Jesus for His protection and care do not have to be afraid.

In considering Rick myself, I look to my experience with him and the details Cheryl told me. The fact of the matter is, Rick was a whole person who did not cease to exist after his accident. It is true he was changed in many ways, but the personality inside of him, his soul, continued to be and to grow.

He continued to enjoy music, singing, and drama. Always on the go, he was still motivated to live and be active. He was happy-go-lucky and willing to help other people. His wry humor shone forth through his disability and revealed a thinking man. He had his bad days like the rest of us, but overall, he was content. Rick was still a whole person.

How is this? Does anyone here wonder how you might respond to a life situation like this? To face a life like the one lived by Rick? How is it that Rick could be at peace? Likewise, how can we be at peace with God?

In all cases, it seems to begin with facing the facts. Fighting against something we cannot change most often leads to resentment. But in recognizing where we stand and living within that truth, we can apparently find peace. Was Rick at peace? Are you at peace?

The man who wrote the hymn “It Is Well With My Soul” penned those words in 1873 as his ship sailed across the very spot where his four young daughters drowned just weeks before in a tragic shipwreck. Yet despite the horrible reality and loss, he sought and found peace from Jesus, who he personally knew most of his life. Was he a grief stricken fool? Or, was he a man who took Jesus for His word and found peace, and found relief? Apparently, he had learned he could say to Jesus “I trust You. I know You will take care of me.”

We are all personalities, souls most precious and special – the result of a lifetime of experience and growth. Rick was no exception, a unique soul who found peace. We can have peace with God if we will believe Jesus and trust Him.

Rick Spoerhase
Committed, December 27, 2007

It is well with my soul

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,

It is well, it is well, with my soul.

It is well (It is well) With my soul (With my soul),
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blessed assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

It is well (It is well) With my soul (With my soul),
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

It is well (It is well) With my soul (With my soul),
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.

It is well (It is well) With my soul (With my soul),
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

1961 – 2007

This hurts very badly.  Al’s family thanks everyone for being here today and showing your love.  Thank you for caring.

Grief, sorrow, and despair have at least one thing in common, and that is the absence of Peace.  Peace is something we all want in our lives, and in the midst of grief, Peace has been stripped away.  Not knowing why things happen or what to do about it often invites despair; it allows despair to take root. 

Every one of us looks for Peace to ease our pain.  So then, where can we find Peace, that the pain might go away?

As the days unfolded, I witnessed many aspects of this reality.  There were many, many painful questions.  Why did this have to happen?  How is this going to end?  What do we do next?  Sorrow.  Anger.  Confusion.  Often times, a sea of grief, thick in despair.  It has been hard for everyone.

Talking with people about my cousin Al has confirmed much of what I already knew about him.  And I doubt the stories we hear about Al surprise anyone.  I would categorize Al as one of those people anybody could enjoy.  Personally, any time I think of him he has a smile on his face with his characteristic laugh.  He may have been one of the easiest going people we have known.

Preparing for today, I’ve talked with many family and friends about him.  We know he was a hard working professional, a painter who cared about delivering excellent work.  As a son, he started early in life driving his folks crazy, only later to have his mom enjoy a deep relationship with him, especially in the last few years.  As a father and family man, he continued to love his children and Anne.

A father’s love is special, and Al hardly had any choice but to love Ian and Elyse.  Both of them appear to be growing up to be people who care, and I’m sure he was proud and loved them very much.  And as a part of the big Midwestern Scheffer Clan, we all have our memories and stories.  Myself, I’ll always remember the times when Bert held me by my ankles and dunked my head into the water off of various Minnesota fishing piers.  Except the last time, when he went into the water, instead.  Whatever our relationship to Al, and many called him their friend, his death leaves a big hole in each of our lives.  His love for life was admirable.

As Aunt Claire counted off the hours and days, her question revealed that she sought Peace.  She did not ask “Where is God in all of this?”, but instead, she asked “What does God expect me to do about it?”  It wasn’t a question of God’s involvement, but in His expectations through this awful trial.  A good answer would be able to point her to that Peace.  A good answer would need to make sense and apply to the situation.

Caring advice is intended to explain what and why, in an effort to bring Peace.  Without guidance, without answers, despair will flourish.  Likewise, with good guidance, with good answers, Peace can replace despair.  God offers good guidance and answers.

God expects us to turn to Him – for real, perhaps for the first time in our life, on His terms – to turn to Him as the only one who can truly help a helpless situation.  True healing, true help, true Peace, must eventually come from Him.  People who personally know God can point us in His direction, but only He can actually help. These are some of the reasons that He is God.

This terrible situation will not disappear.  Time will pass, but this loss still won’t be taken away.  But, that’s not the point.  God’s offer of Peace is genuine and has been here all along.  This loss won’t be taken away, but His Peace alone can heal us of our hurt, if we ask Him for help.

Over the course of living through all of this, have you found any Peace?  Have you seen Peace at work?  As we’ve tried to sort this out, have God’s words and His perspective made sense?  Is it possible that you have come to understand a bit more of what Jesus is about?  I hope so, because I care about every person who is hurt in this loss – and I hope you will find the Peace that God promises.  Yes, Aunt Claire, that is what He expects from you, and from all of us.  He expects us to find and accept Peace for our whole life, by turning to Him.

The man who wrote the hymn “It Is Well With My Soul” penned those words in 1873 as his ship sailed across the very spot where his four young daughters drowned just weeks before in a tragic shipwreck.  Yet despite the horrible reality and loss, he sought and found Peace from Jesus, who he personally knew most of his life.  Was he a grief stricken fool?  Or, was he a man who took God for His word and found Peace, and found relief?  Apparently, he had learned he could say to God “I trust You.  I know You will take care of me.”

Life is indeed fragile, and we are but mere men.  However, we are also personalities, most precious and special – the result of a lifetime of experience and growth.  Al was no different than any of us in that way, but he was surely a unique soul.  Remembering the special person God made in Al is also a measure of Peace.

Al Scheffer

Committed, October 3, 2007

It is well with my soul

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,

It is well, it is well, with my soul.

It is well (It is well) With my soul (With my soul),
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blessed assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

It is well (It is well) With my soul (With my soul),
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

It is well (It is well) With my soul (With my soul),
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.

It is well (It is well) With my soul (With my soul),
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Some of the things Al Scheffer loved and made a part of his life:

Choosing a
Church

Some Questions
for the Pastor

Choosing
which Church to attend is not a simple question, because many issues are
involved.  To clarify – a good Church is
not necessarily what we might think, but it’s much more about what God thinks.  The Church is made up of His people and
leaders, and it goes on to reason that He has an opinion of what makes for a
good Church.

If
we were to find two Churches that He would approve of, then we are apparently
free to choose among them based on our preferences.  Churches, being made of people, will have an
endless variety of flavors and styles. 
And that’s great, because God loves the variety of people He has made to
fill His Churches.  We just need to make
sure we belong to a Church that obeys Him.

Church
leadership and their view of the Bible are two very important aspects coloring
a Church.  The Bible, and the Church’s opinion
of It, will dictate how they can be expected to handle everything under their
authority.  Knowing a Church’s leaders,
their character, and their direction is very important – because these are the
same people who will be in a place of authority over you, once you join.  You’ll want to be sure your leaders are
trying to do things God’s way.  Good
leaders will also be important to you if they are one day called on to help you
change course in your life.  Knowing that
your leaders do things God’s way is crucial.

The
following questions can help you identify the beliefs of the leadership of the
Church you are considering for membership. 
Consider Paul’s letter to the Colossians, and ask yourself if this
Church’s leaders are worthy, like Paul.

Colossians 1.25-29

I have become (the
Church’s; vs 24) servant by the commission God gave me to present to you
the word of God in its fullness— the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages
and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints.  To them God has chosen to make known among
the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the
hope of glory.

We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone
with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ.  To this end I labor, struggling with all his
energy, which so powerfully works in me.

Purpose of the Church

What do you believe are
the main functions and goals of a Christian Church?

What role does God the
Father play in the world?  The Son?  The Holy Spirit?

What role does prayer
play in your Church?  Service?  Missions?

What is the Bible

What is your view of the
Bible?  Is it historical?  Inspired? 
Suggestive and/or authoritative?

How does the Bible play
into the direction and activities of the Church?  What about the leadership?

Is the rest of the
Bible’s contents as valid as Jesus’ own words?

What style of preaching
happens here?  Topical?  Expositional?

Jesus

Who do you believe Jesus is,
and what was His purpose in coming here?

What do you believe
Jesus’ purpose is now?

Do you believe Jesus’
birth was actually a Virgin birth?  Is
that important?

Was Jesus mother, Mary,
somehow special?  Was she without sin?

How is someone “Saved”?

Church Leadership

How is the leadership of
the Church organized?

How is leadership chosen
at your Church?

Do you believe there are
different leadership and service roles based on gender?

How do you believe a
Pastor comes to serve the Lord?

What does a Pastor need,
to do a good job?

How are corporate Church
business issues dealt with here?

What do you expect of
your Church attendees?

What is your position on
Church Membership?

Church Members

Do you have to be a
member to be involved with ministry at your Church?

If we attended here, what
ministries might we be involved in?

What attention does the
Church place on attendees’ growth or discipleship?  What avenues do you have available?

How is guidance and
discipline handled with Church members? 
Non members?

For an
excellent source of  more in-depth study,
see “Life in the Father’s House”, ISBN 1596380349

Trials from God and the results He intends from us.

Our
lives and circumstances – what are they? 
To ourselves, to us as we focus on ourselves, we are quick to lose sight
of what our lives and circumstances truly are. 
The truth is, in light of God’s view, everything we are – our lives and
circumstances – are at best secondary. 
We must always be recalled to the fact that God, not we, is the Center
of everything, and in turn, everything revolves around Him and His agenda.  Whatever that agenda may be.  It is all His, and we do well to remember
this.  We are His possession, His charge,
His servants.  We own nothing.

The
good news is that this totally Sovereign God over all things is a True, Loving,
Perfect, Flawless God.

Ps 18.30 – ‘As
for God, His way is perfect; the word of the Lord is proven; He is a shield to
all who trust in Him.’

He
is without fault, and His way is perfect. 
We must, and can, trust Him.  To
those who do, He is our Protector and Shield. 
He has not nor ever will fail – He has and continues to prove it in His
actions.  His actions never sway from His
character.

As
our Shield, we are promised safety. 
Safety in the One who alone can truly provide, can truly deliver on His Word,
Who alone has shown His ways to be perfect. 
In Him we are truly safe from true harm.

Isa 41.10 –
Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you, yes, I will help
you.  I will uphold you with my righteous
right hand.

He
is True, Perfect, Righteous – and will help and strengthen us.  He is trustworthy, and tells us not to be
dismayed, for He will hold us up with His right hand, His flawless, strong
hand.

This
same Protector works our lives, the same ones He alone owns, for His good
purpose, for His good agenda.  He does all
of this while remaining Perfect, our Shield, strengthening us, holding us up,
assuring us not to dismay, not to despair. 
As He conducts our lives and circumstances, we can trust in why and how
He does so:

Rom 8.28 – And
we know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, to
those who are called according to His purpose.

These
are assurances reserved for those who belong to Him, and who, loved first by
Him, respond in devotion back.  These
same children of God must know that all are indeed orchestrated by Father to
achieve His agenda.  We, who belong to
Him, are included in the process achieving His purpose.  All of His orchestration, which He perfectly
conducts over all creation, is worked in harmony for this purpose – and we can indeed
trust Him while He does His work.  We
must trust, we can trust – He is God Almighty, He loves us, and His directives
are clear.

So,
in this, as we find ourselves in the various circumstances of our lives each
day, we must conclude to stop and ask ourselves: what is the situation I have
found myself in, what does God think about it, and how must I respond?  We must ask this while remembering the above
truths, and our answers must also reconcile with these truths.  Finding ourselves in any given situation, we
must acknowledge we are still and remain the possession and responsibility of
an All Powerful, Omnipotent, Loving, True and Pure God – and that He has
brought us to this situation sovereignly, and in this He intends His purpose,
and that He protects us from true harm, and that all of life works together,
and that He will use these issues to develop His children – and that we are to
count our trials as all joy because of these truths.  But how? 
We must first understand, then in faith in God’s Word, we must do our
best to obey.

Jas 1.2-4 – My
brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the
testing of your faith produces patience. 
But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and
complete, lacking nothing.

Relying
on God’s working of all things to His good, this too must include trials.  The trials we face are in an endless variety,
yet all trials can be sure to share one thing in common – they will bring us to
face a decision to believe God, or not.  In some way, every trial arrives to exercise
our faith by challenging our belief and measuring it by our reaction.  Because these exercises are always under the
ultimate Lordship of Father, we can be glad He is sovereignly committing us in
order to work His purpose of growing our faith, and so producing patience.  This patience is apparently valuable to God,
and so to us, for if we ‘let patience have its perfect work’, we will enjoy the
purpose He intends – our growing towards His completion as his craftsmanship.

Jas 1.12 –
Blessed be the man who endures <trial>, for when he has been approved, he
will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love
Him.

‘Who
endures trial’ is a truer translation than ‘endures temptation’.  More so, let each find its rightful place in
order, for temptation is a trial, but a trial is not a temptation.  Trials include many possibilities, including
temptation.  These trials are ultimately
for our benefit, and are so from God. 
Yet, temptations are not from God, for ‘He Himself <does not>
tempt anyone’.

By
enduring the trials brought to those who love Him, we participate in a Holy
Work, the Work of Sanctification, whereas we are purged of the sinful habits of
rebellion and of calling God a liar.  In
exchange, we are of those under His tutelage and who will be brought to His
approval as the Finisher of our faith.

Jas 1.19-20 –
‘So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak,
slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.’

This
Sanctifying work, conducted by Father Himself, is also typically a slow and
prolonged process.  We all possess a rate
at which we are brought to understand, absorb, and embrace the righteous
attributes of God.  His work is of the
Spirit in us as believers, yet while still in our sinful flesh – a body bent on
sin, yet at the same time embodied by the very Spirit of God Himself.  This same flesh resists God, left to
itself.  This same flesh will be
increasingly brought to comply with the Spirit within it, until we are called
to our Maker, our Saviour.  An arduous
process, we easily rebel as our old ways are exchanged for the New.  In our discomfort, we are urged to be ‘swift
to hear’ the good counsel before us, to be ‘slow to speak’ so as not to stifle
our counselors, and to be ‘slow to wrath’ and not reject God’s good
administration of our lives and circumstances. 
Only in patient obedience will we enjoy the benefit of His efforts.  And so, for this we will count it all joy.

Rom 5.  – ‘But we <also> glory in
<afflictions>, knowing that <affliction> produces perseverance; and
perseverance, character; and character, hope.’

So,
obeying and counting it all joy, knowing there is also purpose behind it, we
read also of glory in these afflictions which again bear the fruit of
Sanctification.  Father’s goal is
achieved in our open obedience to His Prescription; steadfastly enduring
affliction ‘produces perseverance’, the willingness to stay the right course; producing
then ‘character’, the evidence of good personality, one of experience in God’s
dealings; then to ‘hope’, the disciple’s far-reaching expectation of his Lord’s
response.  This hope is the Creator’s
goal, the prize, the fruit borne of His craftsmanship – the hope which He does
not hastily create but rather draws forth in a patient harvest.  He does not settle for a one dimensional,
forced, created response – He instead delights in a genuine longing fermented
of genuine response from His creatures. 
And perhaps this is one of the joys He derives from His work – not
simply stones crying out upon command, but beings of will, of His Hand,
responding in a way one step past His direct input.

‘Now hope does
not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by
the Holy Spirit who was given to us.’

Is
this His joy?  The hope forged in us in
response to His Husbandry?  Yet can this
hope also directly impress Him too?  He
began the work in the pouring out of love in us, and the echo we return to Him
is our hope.  Perhaps we can all enjoy
this hope, even God.

This
response, this hope, this crafting of our lives – all of this is reserved for
the children of the King.  Everyone else
must look to their father in expectation and receive only the bitter loss he
has to offer.  For we read that there are
only two of who we may belong – the prince of this world, or the King of all
kings.  And for either to whom we may
belong, to one or the Other, we can expect the fruit borne out of what
character each possesses.  The Liar is a
hateful, hopeless, deceptive, wicked task master, and those under his charge
can know only the same.  They must,
because he has nothing else to offer. 
Yet the Lord God is all that is Good, and His children will flourish in
His abundance.

‘Therefore,
having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus
Christ.’

Faith
in our Lord Jesus and faith in what God says about Him in His Word to us; in
this faith, in Jesus alone, we are Justified to God the Father, to Whom we have
been an enemy in our offense and sin, for He alone is a Holy God Who cannot nor
will not tolerate offense nor suffer it unpunished.  Yet in His obedience to the Father and in
Grace then towards us, our Jesus received Hell’s punishment for mankind that we
might be ransomed in the forgiveness which is remarkably, undeservedly, offered
to sinners.  This forgiveness brings us
before the Father, reconciled to Him in the now absence of sin’s debt.  We are free!

‘our Lord
Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in
which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.’

Having
faith, believing in what God says, ushers us into this grace of forgiveness,
and from this vantage we may gaze towards the glory of God, in justifiable hope
of Its Revelation.

Peace.  Faith. 
Hope.  All three exclusive
property of God, offered only to His children. 
All others must be devoid of these three.  So where does this leave us in the trying
times sure to visit us in this life?  For
the lost, they have nothing from their father to help them, and only more of
the same to torment them.  There is no
hope, only despair and false comfort. 
Yet for those Found, we shall count it all joy because we can be assured
that no aspect is lost on our God.  He
may, He will, bring trials to us – but He will never forsake us.  His
righteous approval waits for all who will understand and respond.  Amen.

All of you knew and loved Nick. Please accept my thanks for your love and support of Claire and his family during this time. I am sure he would be happy to know you are here for them.

I also want to thank Aunt Claire, and Mark, Tom, Nicki, and Al for the privilege of standing here before you today. I, too, loved Uncle Nick. And because all of our lives here are intertwined, we can all reflect on who he was to each of us and the impact he’s had on us. Actually, probably one good measure of a person is what can be said of him in the final summary of his life.

Historically, Nick Scheffer completed nearly 79 years amongst us. And during his time, he was quite notably a husband once, a father 4 times, a grandfather 10, and a great grandfather 11, with one more on the way. I also consider him to be an uncle/grandfather to me of sorts, in that he seemed to have been a surrogate father to my own dad, his nephew. Nick was a World War II Navy Veteran, serving in the South Pacific while driving a troop carrier from the USS Gilford. Afterwards, during his long career, he was recognized as a fine painter and decorator in the Region, a craftsman profession now spanning four generations of Scheffer’s.

Along the way, he found a love for fishing. He had the opportunity to twice fish Canada with longtime friends Dick Pruitt, and Bob Sheldon, and Andy Swart, and Bill Blackmore, and Harry Jasperson. Over many trips to Minnesota – his favorite times were the family fishing trips to Minnesota – he sent countless panfish to the fryer, and taught almost as many kids how to love it, too. I doubt I’m the only person here who was convinced I had caught my first “big one” all by myself off of the pier while my fishing pole was left unattended. He and Uncle Bob taught us youngsters how to water ski with our sneakers in the ski boots, too.

Retirement brought the opportunity to travel; several times to Florida and Hawaii, and even once to Australia and New Zealand – and with it new friends wherever he went. Nick was easy to love that way.
These are some of the notable things I have to say about Uncle Nick. But I believe, even more notable, is the truth spoken to us in a marriage of 53 years to his Bride, Claire.

This lifetime they have shared together has, without doubt, brought its share of ups and downs along the way. Any of us who have also been engaged in matrimony know this is certainly true for all of us, and it’s an expected part of the territory. The part I especially admire is their devotion to one another, especially during the trials of the past few years as Nick’s health waned.

Marriage has been given to us for many reasons, but one of the main purposes is that we might understand God better. He gave it to us, in part, that we might really understand the love He has for us.

To see this, don’t make the mistake of confusing love with affection. In a good marriage, self-sacrificing love is the basis, and affection is one of the results. A marriage built upon self-sacrificing love will withstand the ups and downs, but a marriage relying on affection alone will fail when our affection wanes. Real love serves the other person. Affection is a wonderful emotion in response, but it is still merely an emotion, not a devotion of our will to love and serve somebody.

My observation has been that Aunt Claire and Uncle Nick loved each other, sacrificing themselves for each other. I have heard and seen Aunt Claire’s devotion to Uncle Nick, even if he was having a bad time of it and wasn’t always so loveable. Claire remained devoted to him. And through the course of their marriage, they have both surely seen times when affection faltered, but love and devotion remained. That is why their marriage survived, and thrived, a lifetime. Affection is conditional; love is not. Real love is patient, kind, forgiving, and slow to anger.

This can give us a proper perspective of God’s love for us as people. The Bible says that everyone has offended God, and fallen far short of His requirements. We all have. The Bible also says that every single offense against God must be paid for, and that anyone finally found guilty of any offense will be cast away from God, into Hell. If this were the end of the story, all of us would be in deep trouble when we finally give an account for our lives. But the good news is that the Bible says God loves us and offers His Son Jesus, who has paid for our offenses. Jesus loved us and died for our punishment, in our place, even though we aren’t always so loveable towards Him. This is again a self-sacrificing love from Him, offered to anyone who would take Him for His word and believe Him. But to have it, we must take Him for His word and believe Him – that is the condition. Jesus is the only way God offers us for forgiveness. And our forgiveness is not automatic – we must ask Jesus for it and believe He will follow through. Otherwise, we can’t have it. If I don’t ask, I won’t be forgiven, and I will be in deep trouble.

I am so thankful for His unconditional love and His offer to Save me. As Aunt Claire and I talked outside the hospital room, I saw a picture of love for another person, and I admired it, and I was thankful again.

As I met with Tom to prepare for today, he told me one of the main things most of us will surely remember about Nick is his sense of humor. He kept it intact through all of his trials, right up to the end. Even as I was getting ready to say goodbye and leave the hospital, he was trying to get me to “pull his finger”. Ha Ha! That was Uncle Nick, too. He was and will always be loved by us who knew him, and he leaves us with many good things to remember about him, now in this summary of his life.

Nick Scheffer
Committed, February 27, 2006

10/27/2005

All of you knew Frank.  Please accept my thanks for your support of his family during this time.  I’m sure he’d be happy knowing you are all here.

There is one point I want to make today about the focus of our life.  We all know life is complicated, even chaotic – and it seems to get harder as we get older and more involved, if we’re not careful.

Now, while there is one focus we are to have in life, it is obvious that there are many competing entanglements – even very worthy ones – that make up the stuff of an interesting, productive life.

That said, however, we are only lying to ourselves if we fail to see what we are actually here for.

So, if I asked you, ‘Why are you here in life, and what for?’, what would your answer be?

———-

———-

The answer is before us in God’s Word.  So, if I’m going to do things right and as our Creator expects, I can always be sure He has revealed what we need to know in the Bible.

Jesus actually answered this very question.  It’s not personal satisfaction, nor even focusing on doing good deeds.  Instead, Jesus calls us to see God Himself as Supreme:

And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’  This is the first commandment.

God is the center of all things, bar none.  He is the Almighty, and we are here for His good pleasure and to worship Him.  We have nothing higher to be concerned about.  So how shall we love Him?   By believing the Father when He said:

“This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.”

———-

Jesus goes on to answer the second part of our question, ‘Why are we here in life, and what for?’  He said:

And the second (commandment), like it, is this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’  There is no other commandment greater than these.

Loving God, and loving our neighbor.  Loving another person often has little to do with a feeling you have towards someone you enjoy.  True love is expressed as a deliberate choice, in service to another, even if the other person is not acting loveable.  And True love, as God is True Love, comes first, from Him alone.  We are to ask for the capacity of that kind of love, and then spend it freely on the other person.  We cannot see a better picture of love than that of Jesus dying for us, even while we wanted nothing to do with Him.  The Apostle Paul wrote:

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

———-

———-

Frank and I became friends several years ago as I was working on a building project.  I came to know him through his son Tom, who has been a good friend of our family for over fifteen years.  The fact Tom saved my life one day probably helped to seal our friendship, but I’d also admit to loving Tom as a brother, despite both of our quirks.  Life is rich with friends like us.

Frank might not have been accused of being the easiest guy to get along with at times, but no one could convince me of his lack of devotion to someone he loved.  I know, because I saw his love for me and his family, especially Derek and Alex.  Now, just like Tommy and I are different people, so too were Frank and I.  But it was a commonality in a serving love that we found unity.  Jesus said His followers would be known for their love.  And He also commanded us to love our neighbor in a self sacrificing way, so as to obey and glorify God.  This love is ours to give because of Jesus’ love for those who belong to Him.  The Apostle James wrote:

We love because (Jesus) first loved us.  If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.

Even as we prepare to inter Frank’s body, all of the people here who cared about him are performing a service of love.  It’s what we do for people we care about when they die.

———-

———-

The only way of fulfilling Jesus’ answer to ‘Why are we here in life, and what for?’ is by embracing the declaration of His Supremacy as our only Savior.  In this, Jesus absolutely lays down the line, proclaiming:

“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

Jesus leaves no other means for forgiveness and peace with the Father God Who demands justice for our sin.  All of us are guilty, and we all must recognize it.  We recognize it now while there is still time for forgiveness, or later at Judgment, when it is too late.

Eternal peace in God’s presence, or eternal punishment under God’s wrath.  Which do we choose?

All of us have the opportunity to settle our debt now by accepting Jesus for Who he says He is, else we will face Hell as payment.  Beware!  Any other route to Heaven is a lie.  The wonderful news is that Jesus’ offer is simple, it’s free, and it’s guaranteed.

Me, you, Frank – anyone who trusts in faith that Jesus alone will save him and bring him into peace – will meet the Lord at their body’s death during these ‘last days’.

The funeral of a believer is a joyful time, not a sad one.  Salvation guarantees us a life in Christ, even if we die here.  There is victory in a believer’s death because our victory is already won by the Lord Who overcame death itself.  Paul noted that for a believer, “To be absent of the body is to be present with the Lord.”  Where is your sting, O Death?  I am with my Lord even now, before you can open your jaws to consume me.  Neither Death nor Hell can touch a child of God bought by Jesus.  He has defied you and conquered you, laying waster to your claims to me!

And why is this so?  Because those who believe in faith will be Saved:

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.   He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

and

“The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,”that is, the word of faith (I am) proclaiming: That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you WILL be saved.  For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.

———-

———-

So, why are you here in life, and what for?

See God.  See His expectations.  See your sin.  See Jesus.  See eternity in the balance.  Read your Bible and honestly ask God to show you the truth, ‘and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.’

Mark 12:30-32 (New King James Version)

³⁰And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’  This is the first commandment.  ³¹And the second, like it, is this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’  There is no other commandment greater than these.”

Luke 9:34-35

³⁴While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. ³⁵A voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.”

Romans 5:8 (New King James Version)

⁸But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

1 John 4:19-20 (New International Version)

¹⁹We love because he first loved us. ²⁰If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.

John 14:5-7 (New King James Version)

⁵Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?”   ⁶Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

2 Corinthians 5:8 (New King James Version)

⁸We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.

John 3:16-18

¹⁶For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. ¹⁷For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.  ¹⁸“He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

Romans 10:8-10 (New International Version)

⁸But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: ⁹That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.

John 8:32 (New King James Version)

³²And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

Acts
8:26-40 (New International Reader’s Version)

Philip and
the Man From Ethiopia

   ²⁶An angel of the Lord spoke to
Philip. “Go south to the desert road,” he said. “It’s the road
that goes down from Jerusalem
to Gaza.” ²⁷So
Philip started out. On his way he met an Ethiopian official. The man had an
important position. He was in charge of all the wealth of Candace. She was the
queen of Ethiopia.
He had gone to Jerusalem
to worship. ²⁸On his way home he was sitting in his chariot. He was
reading the book of Isaiah the prophet. ²⁹The Holy Spirit told
Philip, “Go to that chariot. Stay near it.”

   
³⁰So Philip ran up to the chariot. He heard the man reading Isaiah
the prophet. “Do you understand what you’re reading?” Philip asked.

   
³¹“How can I?” he said. “I need someone to explain it
to me.” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

   
³²Here is the part of Scripture the official was reading. It says,
    “He was led like a sheep to be killed.
       Just as lambs are silent while their wool
is being cut off,
       he did not open his mouth.
    ³³When he was treated badly, he was refused a
fair trial.
       Who can say anything about his children?
       His life was cut off from the earth.”
(Isaiah 53:7,8)

   
³⁴The official said to Philip, “Tell me, please. Who is the
prophet talking about? Himself, or someone else?” ³⁵Then Philip
began with that same part of Scripture. He told him the good news about Jesus. ^36
-37As they traveled along the road, they came to some water. The official
said, “Look! Here is water! Why shouldn’t I be baptized?” ³⁸He
gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the official went down
into the water. Philip baptized him. ³⁹When they came up out of the
water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away. The official did not
see him again. He went on his way full of joy. ⁴⁰Philip was seen
next at Azotus. From there he traveled all around. He preached the good news in
all the towns. Finally he arrived in Caesarea.

Matthew
28:8-10, 16-20 (New International Reader’s Version)

⁸So the women hurried away from the tomb. They were afraid, but
they were filled with joy. They ran to tell the disciples.

   
⁹Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings!” he said.

   They
came to him, took hold of his feet and worshiped him.

   
¹⁰Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Go and tell my
brothers to go to Galilee. There they will see
me.”

¹⁶Then the 11 disciples went to Galilee.
They went to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. ¹⁷When
they saw him, they worshiped him. But some still had their doubts.

   
¹⁸Then Jesus came to them. He said, “All authority in heaven
and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹So you must go and make
disciples of all nations. Baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit. ²⁰Teach them to obey everything I have
commanded you. And you can be sure that I am always with you, to the very
end.”

Mark
16:14-16

¹⁴Later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating. He spoke
firmly to them because they had no faith. They would not believe those who had
seen him after he rose from the dead.

   
¹⁵He said to them, “Go into all the world. Preach the good news
to everyone. ¹⁶Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved.
But anyone who does not believe will be punished.

John 3

Jesus
Teaches Nicodemus

   ¹There was a Pharisee named
Nicodemus. He was one of the Jewish rulers. ²He came to Jesus at
night and said, “Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God.
We know that God is with you. If he weren’t, you couldn’t do the miraculous
signs you are doing.”

   
³Jesus replied, “What I’m about to tell you is true. No one can
see God’s kingdom without being born again.”

   
⁴“How can I be born when I am old?” Nicodemus asked.
“I can’t go back inside my mother! I can’t be born a second time!”

   
⁵Jesus answered, “What I’m about to tell you is true. No one
can enter God’s kingdom without being born through water and the Holy Spirit. ⁶People
give birth to people. But the Spirit gives birth to spirit. ⁷You should
not be surprised when I say, ‘You must all be born again.’

   
⁸“The wind blows where it wants to. You hear the sound it
makes. But you can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going. It is the
same with everyone who is born through the Spirit.”

Acts 1

Jesus Is
Taken Up Into Heaven

   ¹Theophilus, I wrote about Jesus in
my earlier book. I wrote about all he did and taught ²until the day
he was taken up to heaven. Before Jesus left, he gave orders to the apostles he
had chosen. He did this through the Holy Spirit. ³After his
suffering and death, he appeared to them. In many ways he proved that he was
alive. He appeared to them over a period of 40 days. During that time he spoke
about God’s kingdom.

   
⁴One day Jesus was eating with them. He gave them a command.
“Do not leave Jerusalem,”
he said. “Wait for the gift my Father promised. You have heard me talk
about it. ⁵John baptized with water. But in a few days you will be
baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

Looking at the exhortations of Hebrew concerning the
perseverance of the saints and God’s use of Scripture, among other things, to
accomplish this, it seems we can often find difficulty in understanding how
this is so and how it even fits theologically. 
Perhaps, by taking a few steps back to look at the bigger picture, we
can have a better understanding of this, and so, do a better job of cooperating
with the Lord in the effort.

To begin, consider God’s Word.  God, being righteous and without bounds in His
ability, is also interestingly bound and constrained by whet He declares.  Whatever He utters, stands for the duration
of His existence, and cannot be changed, altered, nor amended.  Consider this, for a moment, in the context
of our human experience.  If we say
something, promise something, or even promise something as an oath or law or
commitment, we are bound by our honor to follow through, or at best will be
held accountable by other fallen men. 
Yet even in oath or in law, we find ourselves able to change or
disregard our promise in some way, even if it brings consequences.  The unfortunate truth is that we have the
ability to swerve form what we said.

God, on the other hand, is bound in His perfect honor.  Our deviation from an aoth is sin before God,
yet He cannot sin, and so cannot negate what He has promised.  The result is that whatever He speaks, stands
for eternity.  Jesus pointed to this in
saying our ‘yes should be yes, and our no should be no’; that ‘not one jot or
tittle of the Law would pass away, yet would be fulfilled’; and that ‘their
eyes are blind and their ears are stopped, lest they hear the Word and be
healed’.

The last reference might seem curious.  To understand it, consider the bigger issues
at hand,  Scripture tells us that the
elect were known before the foundation of the world, and because of this, we
can see the lineage of God’s work.  The
typical belief seems to be that the work of Messiah began and focused on the
Cross, and that it was there that everything was started and completed, as far
as our Salvation is concerned.  The fact
of the matter, however, is quite contrary.

The Christ’s Sacrifice and Resurrection were pivotal in His
overall work, but not the end of the issue by any means.  In His punishment, death, and raising up by
God, Jesus became eligible to begin the work He will be occupied with for the
rest of our existence now, in these Last Days, until the enemy is finally put
under and the Elect are finally gathered for presentation.  In His sinless birth and subsequent life, He
maintained and secured His qualification to become the Sacrifice Who would
present the human Blood necessary to cover the sins of men, and once so, be
raised to an endless human life as the One responsible for initiating and
maintaining our sinless status.  All of
this He does now as our High Priest, the office He won by the Sacrifice at the
Cross.  The Cross was not the whole of
his Work.  It was the beginning, the
qualifier responsible for earning His role now as our Mediator, a role He will
continue to hold until sin is put away forever.

Major commitments uttered by God:

The Elect shall be cultivated and gathered.

Their Salvation shall come through a Man, and He will
destroy the author of the rebellion they are being rescued from.

This people will be shown a facsimile of Heaven’s
governance, and by it will be taught obedience and its burden.

The One to rescue them will do so through satisfying the
Law, and in a new fashion under a new order, shall continue to secure them in
the same way they have been shown in the facsimile.

All of these things are sure and guaranteed, and for the
sake of His Name and Honor, they will not be allowed to fail.

Preparation for the Lord’s Supper

The
New Covenant:  Bought in Christ’s
Sacrifice, Administered in His Blood

Followers of Christ are brought into
the New Covenant by the Atonement.  This
is possible through the breaking or sacrifice of Jesus’ Body, to finally
satisfy the Justice demanded by God for our sins.  This Covenant with us is sealed in His Blood,
the same Blood that was spilled out to pay the terrible cost of the world’s
sin.  It is this same Blood we must be
covered in to escape Judgment, to participate in the Next Passover.

The
Lord’s Table:  A Remembrance of Jesus and
His Work – Past, Present, and Future

The Lord’s Table, the Holy Eucharist,
is one of the two Sacraments He has given to the Church to declare our
surrender to Him and to continue in our reverent remembrance of what He has
done through the Cross.  As the Passover
celebration renewed Israel’s
remembrance of the Lord’s mighty work in Egypt, so too does the remembrance
of His Sacrifice meet the Living Spirit’s testimony in us who have been Saved
by the Passover Lamb Jesus.  This Table
represents the culmination of God’s Work in creation, the reason why He spared
humankind despite our continual rebellion against Him, the Promise of the first
Covenanting fulfilled in seeing Abram’s spiritual children gathered as God’s
people.

The
Celebration is for Believers, Alone

We who believe have received the
confirmation of our forgiveness by receiving His Spirit in us.  As well, only those who know Jesus as their
Savior can rightfully acknowledge His Sacrifice, and rightfully participate in
the Supper which celebrates our Lord on the Cross.

The Last Supper focuses it’s entirety
on the betrayal of Jesus and the Sacrifice He was about to become.  Even though He knew exactly what was ahead of
Him, He did not proceed without giving thanks to the Father.

The
Cross, its Sacrifice, and the Worthy Blood begin the Pinnacle of God’s
Redemptive Work

Christ is the Bridge between the Old
Covenant and the New.  His Work on the
Cross fully satisfied the demand of Sacrifice by the Law in His punishment,
this is the bread, and the forgiveness we may have is now available through
faith in His Grace, this is the cup.  The
Lord’s Supper tells us this Truth again and again as we do it in remembrance of
Him.

Christ
is the Bridge between Salvation for the Jews and Salvation for the World

Both the bread and the cup are offered
in relation to what He was sent to do. 
The bread represents His Body as food for our spirit.  His Body was soon to be broken physically in
death and spiritually in God’s punishment, which would make Him eligible to
transfer forgiveness to those He had suffered for.

The cup represents His Blood, spilled
out to make payment for those He represented when He stood in our place for the
punishment of Hell.  His Blood also seals
us in the Promise of the New Covenant, our reconciliation to God and our
assurance of escaping Judgment.

As the blood of the Passover lamb
spread on the doorposts caused Death to pass over Israel’s children, so too will
those covered in the Blood of God’s Lamb be delivered safely past the coming
death of Judgment.  In this Supper, the
Lord wants us to see and remember the reason He came here.  The Supper shows Him standing on both sides
of the Cross: His Body broken to satisfy God’s demand of payment for sin, and
His Blood of the New Covenant, in the Promise of Salvation for those covered in
It.  All of this we do in remembering the
Lamb and His Promise of the Passover to come.

Preparation for the Lord’s Supper

The
New Covenant:  Bought in Christ’s
Sacrifice, Administered in His Blood

• Followers
  of Christ are brought into the New Covenant by the Atonement. 
• We
  must be covered in this same Blood to escape Judgment, to participate in the
  Next Passover.

The
Lord’s Table:  A Remembrance of Jesus and
His Work – Past, Present, and Future

• The
  Lord’s Table, the Holy Eucharist, is one of the two Sacraments He has given to
  the Church
• This
  Table represents the culmination of God’s Work in creation.

The
Celebration is for Believers, Alone

• Only
  those who know Jesus as their Savior can rightfully acknowledge His Sacrifice,
  and rightfully participate in the Supper which celebrates our Lord on the
  Cross.

The
Cross, its Sacrifice, and the Worthy Blood begin the Pinnacle of God’s
Redemptive Work

• Christ
  is the Bridge between the Old Covenant and the New.
• The
  Lord’s Supper tells us this Truth again and again as we do it in remembrance of
  Him.

Christ
is the Bridge between Salvation for the Jews and Salvation for the World

• Both
  the bread and the cup are offered in relation to what He was sent to do.
• As
  the blood of the Passover lamb spread on the doorposts caused Death to pass
  over Israel’s
  children, so too will those covered in the Blood of God’s Lamb be delivered
  safely past the coming death of Judgment.
• All
  of this we do in remembering the Lamb and His Promise of the Passover to come.

Summary of thoughts on Heb 6.4-9 after our 3/23/05 meeting

In considering Heb 6.4-9, please
refer to the overall context and flow of the author’s arguments, beginning with
Chapter 3.  It is my opinion that
Chapters 3 and 6 are bookends to the picture illustrating the parallels between
Israel
in the wilderness and the greater group of all of humanity in this
‘generation’.  I believe the two are
further tied together for the expansive comparison through the promise of Rest
to both groups (of which both show members refusing it), as well as the Christ
presented in the chapters in between as our High Priest.

However, after a more thorough
study, I’ve reconsidered the following qualifier in regards to the hinge point
in Hebrews 6.4b.

Partaker (of the Holy Spirit), Metochos,
is the deciding word in the qualifiers. 
The word is inescapably referring to someone who has become a partner,
sharer, involved in a way not possible without Regeneration.  The qualifiers – enlightened, heavenly gift,
partakers, tasted the good word of God and the (as well as the) powers of the
age to come – must clearly define the person in question as a believer.  So if that is the case, what is the point
about this person?

I still hold there is first a
parallel to be recognized between the Israelis in the wilderness and the people
of ‘this generation’.  However, this
person is shown in a superior position over his Old Testament counterparts, in
that while they fell away in unbelief, this person will not be allowed to fall
away because 1) He is held in place by a better Covenant, under the auspice of
a superior High Priest who sees everything, with nothing hidden (Ch 4 & 5),
and, 2) Even if he did fall away (he can’t, he’s secure) he wouldn’t have any
recourse because he would be attempting to sacrifice the Christ a second time
(won’t happen) for himself (God already willed it in Christ for him the first
time).  Therefore, since this person will
be held in Eternal Security, and will not be afforded a second chance at
Atonement, (let alone him crucifying Christ again himself, as well as bringing
Him shame), it is therefore truly impossible for this to happen.  There is merit in the parallels, but this
passage shows the situation to be superior in its security, over the first
scenario in the wilderness.  I hold vs
7&8 to be seen the same as in the original argument.

If this is the case, the passage
is simply pointing to the fact it is impossible for a believer to fall away,
let alone be reinstated again.  The one
Sacrifice is sufficient, along with the holding of each believer in the
Covenant by an all powerful God and Savior.

This seems to fit better, but
still does nothing to help the understanding of the scope of the Atonement.

However, if this is correct, this
passage would be more about the superiority of Christ the Priest, the singular
nature of the offer of Forgiveness, and the permanence of the Final Sacrifice –
than it would be of what happens to those who ‘fall away’, due to the fact that
the person in this example cannot exist.

Thoughts on Hebrews 6.4-9

Hebrews
6:4-9 (New King James Version)

4For it is impossible for those who were once
enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of
the Holy Spirit, 5and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the
age to come, 6if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they
crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.

    7For the earth which
drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, and bears herbs useful for those
by whom it is cultivated, receives blessing from God; 8but if it bears thorns
and briers, it is rejected and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned.

    9But, beloved, we are
confident of better things concerning you, yes, things that accompany
salvation, though we speak in this manner.

The question seems to revolve
around the identification and scope of those who ‘fall away’, and their
fate.  To examine this, chapter 3 begins
the discourse.

Hebrews 3.1-18

There is an unmistakable
difference between the Saved and those destroyed in the wilderness.  All heard, yet most would not believe despite
the clear evidence before them, as well as their promises to do so.

4.1-2

Author continues to show 1.
Concern for those in the midst who hear, yet don’t belong in belief, and 2. The
same Gospel presented to those lost in judgment to the wilderness is the same
Gospel proclaimed in these last days, His Age of Grace.

4.3-10

The predestined – those promised
rest – are yet to be completely revealed, for they are shown to still be
scheduled for Redemption even after the wilderness, David, Joshua, and the Lord
Himself.

4.11

Therefore, beware of falling
short, which would betray the truth of a lack of Salvation, made known through
the same sort of disobedience seen in the wilderness.

4.12-13

To assure there is no deception
and thus false hope of Salvation lying unrevealed, know that we can rely on the
Truth of God’s Word to show the reality of our condition.  With it, all issues hidden in the heart will
be laid bare for examination, if we would only embrace it.

5.1-4

The high priests we (the Jews)
all know are sympathetic in understanding the weakness of our condition, yet
they are not without their limitations.

5.5-10

The reason why Jesus is a better
Mediator – our perfect, compassionate High Priest.

5.11-14

Rebuke for laziness and
exhortation to repent and use the tools given them.

Hebrews 6.4-8

Now, tying back
to those in the wilderness in Chapter 3, the author returns to the subject of
‘those who fall away’.  Beginning with a
solid statement of ‘It is impossible’, he continues on to the qualifying
factors of these people, enumerating one issue upon the next until all of the
parallels with those who perished in the wilderness, are revealed.

In the
wilderness, the Hebrews were ‘enlightened’ to the Gospel and God’s expectations.
After the Cross, so were the Hebrews, and later the Gentiles.  As well, everyone in all Creation is aware of
God (Rom 1.20).

In the
wilderness, they also ‘tasted the heavenly gift’, as do we now, after His
Incarnation and thus the Cross.  The
Preincarnate Christ protected Israel,
and God’s Wrath was stayed if they would adhere to His expectations.  So too do we all enjoy peace, both the
unregenerate are yet spared God’s wrath, and those who believe and obey the
Call to Salvation now have peace with God.

What is it to
‘partake in the Holy Spirit’?  If this
means to be under His blessings, be it His presence or His edification, then
both those in the wilderness as well as all of mankind now living, share this
experience.  They had God’s Truth
revealed to them.  After His Ascension ,
the Spirit poured out on us all to witness God’s Truth.  Even more so, He is given to the Saved He
indwells.

 ‘And have tasted the good word of God and the
powers of the age to come’ – Have not both groups done so?  Moses brought the Word and mediated many
mighty works of God.  At the time of
Hebrews’ writing, as well as even now, we too share claim to this experience.

All of these
qualifiers point to the reality of Chapter 3 and the parallels between those of
the Exodus and the contemporary Hebrews (and so, all of us now who
believe).  This is an illustration of the
precarious place we still hold today on the brink of damnation, unless we
believe and are shuttled to the surety of Salvation.  Anyone not yet Saved stands at the cliff’s
edge, only one breath away from a sealed fate.

The meat of the
passage is obviously verse 6.  The focus
is primarily on the impossibility of crucifying the Lord again, once the only
opportunity for Atonement has expired upon our death.  The passage is meant to show the one-time
supremacy and finality of the High Priest’s Sacrifice, and the futility of
expecting another chance at Salvation once one has irrevocably ‘fallen away’
from that opportunity of Redemption, through death.  He will not be put again to an open shame –
He has already done this; it was most sufficient, and “It is done”.

This cannot mean
a true believer, anchored in Christ, who has fallen away.  To think so would mean Salvation is not sure,
and defy numerous evidences in Scripture.

But what of the
person who “backslides”?  It must mean
one of two things – either that person never belonged to Christ, or, he is a
very poor example of a Christian, who’s ‘works will be burned in the fire’, and
who continues to ‘grieve the Holy Spirit’. 
But before we dismiss this thought, how else might we reconcile never
losing our Salvation, and the command not to grieve the Spirit, and our
inability to never be completely away from sin while still in the corrupt
flesh?  What is the ramification to an irrevocable
Salvation of a lifelong ‘smaller’ sin versus a lifelong ‘bigger’ sin, if both
are commanded to be submitted to God?  Is
not all sin abhorrent to God?  Since it
is the Father’s prerogative to chasten His children, as well as to see their
Salvation through, isn’t this His issue to judge?  This is not permission to sin, but perhaps a
realization of the mystery of God’s Grace. 
Does this raise questions seemingly irreconcilable?  Perhaps, but the existence of all three
concepts cannot be erased from Scripture. 
Therefore, we are left with either a vast swath of God’s grace, or still
a bad assumption.  None the less, this
issue is confined to what defines a backslider, not the meaning of ‘falls
away’.

This phrase ‘falls
away’ might be further defined in Luke
8.13 and 2 Thess 2.3.  In our nomenclature, we say Salvation and
Saved, both in the present tense.  The
reality is, however, we are yet to be Saved in deed, but are for now preserved
in a Covenant promising it will indeed happen, shown so with the deposit of the
Holy Spirit.  In the mean time, we are
held in Forgiveness and shielded from Wrath. 
The Promise is so sure, that even now we can go before God’s Throne
under the Righteousness imparted to us. 
We can actually stand before God as Forgiven, with that Act overcoming
the fact we are still yet sinners.  This
is a very busy time for our Redeemer as He continually mediates our sin,
holding us in the Covenant until we are removed from the flesh.  The actual Salvation will come on the Day of
Redemption, but we, and more importantly God, recognize its validity now,
before the fact.

So too, is the
phrase ‘fall away’ in the present tense while yet to be fulfilled in the end..  The falling away is an act of unbelief and
rebellion, carried out in action, and if its course is unchanged, will result
in damnation.  The falling away began
with sin’s entrance, and all flesh fathered by man is held to the
inheritance.  This is our natural
response, unless we are overcome and preserved in Christ, to which He can expect
us to cooperate in our Sanctification. 
We are all disobedient to varying degrees, but no one will thwart God’s
claim on a soul.

All of this
requires an Atonement different than what Calvin apparently saw.  If this is to be true, then Christ died for
all mankind, not just the Elect.  A
universal Atonement is necessary for verse 6 to come together, for it forbids
the attempt of the lost who have died without claiming Christ’s offer to
reinstate the Sacrifice a second time. 
To paraphrase, “Once the unregenerate leave the flesh in death, while rejecting
and refusing to believe the fact that Christ is the Savior of all mankind, as
well as the only way to Redemption to the Father, they can no longer expect a
second chance.  He bought them wholesale,
and now He will use His ownership against them in Judgment.”  This anchors the argument beginning in verse
4, “It is impossible”.

Does this mean all who come to
Christ have made a decision to accept what He claims as true?  Sure does. 
What then, does this mean in terms of the so called ‘free will’ of those
who chose?  Perhaps we need to ask “Why
then, did you choose?”  God’s effectual
call arrests the Elect, compelling us to action in the Truth.  We do not typically black out, only to awaken
to Salvation.  Instead, God lovingly
takes us by the hand, or by the hair if necessary, and pulls us into the Boat.

The example given in verses 7
& 8 shows a clear differentiation between fruit and briars.  Again, their existence is not questioned, but
to whom each belongs is the issue.  Aside
from application to the above line of thinking, (in regards to a sinning
believer, backsliders, etc.), a key point must be reckoned concerning verse
8.  In the original, the Scripture
confirms that a three step process takes place – bearing thorns, rejected and
brought near the curse, and finally, the burning.  If this is a picture of an unregenerate life,
flirting with the curse of Hell, which exhibits that fact in it bears briars
without value, then that person will die without changing course.  Verse 7 is an affirmation of the rain falling
on the just and not – common Grace – with all of us, Saved or not, benefiting
God’s blessing.  We are the wheat amongst
the tares, but in the end we will all be separated for Glory or for the Fire.

Hebrews 6.9-12

Finally, the author comes back to
the believers he exhorts, assuring them they need not worry as they continue to
show evidence of Saving faith though the fruits promised to accompany
Salvation.  Now, these cannot be confused
with the regular works of the unregenerate, but instead need to be reckoned as
the evidence the Spirit always produces. 
While James argues that the faith preceding the works is what separates
their value, the works themselves are still the same.  There are better ways God points to in
discerning our spiritual health. 
However, verse 10 shows that God watches and the readers were to be
encouraged.  In closing, verses 11-12
bring final balance to the discourse, urging them to press on, in agreement to
the points made.

My summary is that the scope of
who it is that ‘fall away’ is centered on the whole of the unsaved, whether in
the Church, or violently battling against Her. 
And no one, including the staunchest of enemies, will escape our
Sovereign God if He has them slated for Salvation – nor will any of His Elect
ever be allowed to exit the Covenant of the Blood, even if they press It to It’s
limits.  Once Saved, this person is now
God’s responsibility, for the defense of His Good Name.

This passage is a warning to both
the carpet baggers and the deceived who are yet to be Saved among us in the
Church.  But it also needs to include
anyone still alive yet resisting the Truth of Christ and His ownership of us
all.  In either case, God’s means are
deep and unknown, but we do know He will not lose any given to our Lord, and
that offer is open to any who would believe and repent.

James 2:18 (New King James Version)

18But someone will say, “You
have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and
I will show you my faith by my works.

Hebrews 3:6

6but Christ as a Son over His own
house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of
the hope.

Hebrews 3:12

12Beware, brethren, lest there be
in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God;

Romans 1:20

20For since the creation of the
world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things
that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without
excuse,

Luke 8:13

13But the ones on the rock are
those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root,
who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away.

2 Thessalonians 2:3

3Let no one deceive you by any
means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the
man of sin[a] is revealed, the son of perdition,

Hebrews 6:4-9 (New King James Version)

4For it is impossible for those
who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become
partakers of the Holy Spirit, 5and have tasted the good word of God and the
powers of the age to come, 6if they fall away,[a] to renew them again to repentance, since they
crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.

    7For the earth
which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, and bears herbs useful for
those by whom it is cultivated, receives blessing from God; 8but if it bears thorns
and briers, it is rejected and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned.

    9But, beloved,
we are confident of better things concerning you, yes, things that accompany
salvation, though we speak in this manner.

Assumptions

Can anyone be beyond the Saving
Grace of God, now, in this age of Grace, yet before they die?  No.

Fruit:  The man challenged by James in 2.18 has works
– ‘fruit’ – yet is shown still damned by his lack of faith despite his works.

Once across the threshold of
Salvation, who can be lost?  None.

Salvation is sure, once we are
lashed to our only Salvation, the Christ.

All will be enlightened to the
Gospel, per Romans 1.20; partakers of Common Grace, partakers of the Holy
Spirit who visits and convicts all in the world, and edifies only the Saved He
indwells.

Christ’s Work had to be a
universal Atonement, not limited.  Seems
to fit better with Scripture.

Jesus’ mother and Father –
the God-man

What
does Scripture reveal to us concerning the mystery of Jesus’ God and man
realities?  He came here to be among us,
Jesus the Son of God, God Himself in every sense, yet also fully man.  The Son of Man, introduced without sin and
obedient to His death, fully by design, intent, and necessity to bring His own
out from under the very same Law he was born under – releasing us from the Law
through our spiritual death and rebirth in His Spirit’s power.  Without this death, we are bound to the law
and to the sentence sin demands.

But
how did He become this unique Man?  He
must be both, yet without sin.  More
specifically, He must be introduced into humanity as true flesh and bone, yet
without the stain we all carry as sons of Adam, and with the attributes of God
as well.

In
the Garden, God set down the command both Adam and Eve would live under, but
Scripture records God giving instruction only to Adam (Gen 2.15-17), of which he
would apparently be responsible for Eve’s instruction.  His exclusive revelation to Adam, and so his
responsibility, is further seen immediately after the Fall (Gen 3.14-19)
as God deals with the three progressively. 
Adam is the last to be dealt with, as God started with the least and
finished with the most responsible.  Eve,
while being the first to eat of the Fruit, is not the focus of the failure, nor
responsible for the introduction of the lasting problem of sin in
humanity.  Instead, it is Adam who is
held accountable by God – due to his responsibility given in God’s instruction
to him alone, his failure to effectively instruct and shepherd Eve, in his
standing by while she made the decision and ate of it, and finally and most
importantly, his partaking of it himself. 
Adam’s higher accountability is illustrated in God dealing with him
last.  Now, afterwards, he has placed men
and women under an order of authority, apparently to remain in place as long as
sin reigns among mankind.

This
order of accountability is central to understanding the contributions necessary
to arrive at the God-man’s sinless birth. 
This also would need to be possible without God violating or arresting
His law.

Scripture
testifies we die in our inheritance of Adam, and It also tells us we will be
Saved through the new Adam.  The
significance is in that our sin nature has been passed to us by Adam, not
Eve.  Our Salvation is also the
responsibility of the new Adam.  This is
also evident when we consider the conception of the Christ-man.

Mary
was surely a sinner as all of the rest of humanity, despite the lie the
Catholic Church attempts to present in her sinless-ness.  She, as all of our daughters, had inherited
her sin nature from her father, and it would remain until God’s Salvation.  Scripture offers no other remedy, even
temporarily, of our sin.  We are either
under the law or not.  Furthermore, she
could not have received this sin nature from her mother.  The final proof of this must be our Lord’s
own conception.  If God will not ignore
His Word and the consequences, Mary had to be a sinner, but her sin had to have
no contribution to His sinless beginning. 
Our daughters’ sin ends with them, and it is not an inheritance for their
children.

Mary,
while a sinner, was the human contributor to God’s insertion into humanity.  She was also a Jew that He would be born of a
woman, and born under the very Law He would fulfill and overcome (Gal
4.4-5).  His Father, sinless by
necessity and miraculous to satisfy prophesy, was His God contribution.  A Father outside of the curse, able to
fulfill Isaiah 7.14, and of the essence of God, was mandatory.  She made him a Son of flesh, and He made Him
a sinless Son of God.

Only
God Himself could have been the Father of our Lord, just as Scripture
testifies.  Only Someone able to
miraculously impregnate Mary, as well as bring a Son into flesh Who would be
free from the sin we all are doomed to from Adam, the root of all races.

This
explains why enemies of the Cross are so bent on challenging the sinless yet
human birth.  If He was not flesh, nor
sinless, He could have no role whatsoever in the Sacrifice.  If He was not all of these things, there
would be no value on the Cross, nor any of the consequences that followed.  Give us a Saviour Who is only flesh, or Who
is stained with sin, and the whole issue is moot.  Thank God for His provision, and thank Jesus
for His obedience, Sacrifice, and subsequent work now on High as our Faithful
and Perfect High Priest – God glorified in His body of flesh.

Our
Biblical Tapestry

The
goal of this Study is that you would grow in seeing and understanding the Bible
as a tapestry of sorts.  We reference a
tapestry because it represents a whole picture – and in this case it is the
Revelation of God to you, through His Word.

A
tapestry is woven, and there are many different sorts of threads which run
through it.  If you imagine looking up
close and tugging on an individual thread, you might also imagine seeing where
else that thread runs through the tapestry. 
Studying the Bible, especially by reference, is illustrated in this way
too.

If
a tapestry is a woven picture of a story or idea, then see the Bible as a
tapestry a million miles squared.  And in
this tapestry are sections which are firmed up in your mind, while around these
sections are all of the blind area that you don’t yet understand or are even
aware of.  It might look sort of like
jigsaw puzzle that has several groups of the pieces, but most of the puzzle is
yet to be assembled.

In
your tapestry, these patches represent your current scope of Biblical
understanding.  Our job is to always be
sure the patches of our tapestry are true and confirmed, and to use them to aid
us as we continue to reveal more and more of the weave.

Pulling
on the Threads

The
Scripture cross references found on the inside margin of many Bibles today are
an excellent study tool.  Each of these
numbered references point out the various threads running through the verses as
they make their way through the rest of the Bible.  Pausing to follow each reference as you work
through your main passage of study helps you to see these threads revealed, and
shows you how they are also anchored in other bodies of text.  As we grow in our familiarity and
understanding of God’s Word, we come to recognize more and more of the islands
of thruth, and how they are linked together. 
And this is at the very foundation of any person’s Biblical acuity –
continuing to see more and more of these patches of the tapestry surface, while
recognizing the common threads that run in between each of them.

Why must
we pray?

We are commanded to pray

Salvation is free, but we’re not freed from service

It is not difficult to find Scripture commanding us to pray.

Pray without ceasing ( )

Pray lest you fall in to Satan’s hands ( )

Pray to your Father… ( )

Become more Christlike, be Sanctified, through confession
and growth in prayer ( )

More ( )

And fortunately, our Father has ensured that we are very
capable of carrying out His expectations.

We are drawn to pray

Isn’t it easy to pray when we are in trouble?  Looking to God for help during difficulties
is one way He expects us to seek Him. 
But what about the rest of the time?

A great byproduct of good prayer is edification in His
Spirit (consider Paul’s words to Timothy). 
There is often a deep satisfaction in spending intimate time in good
prayer with God.  This encouragement is
rewarding and draws us back for more. 
Jesus has promised that if we obey Him and do what He has told us to do,
we will be rewarded with His loving presence. 
(John 14:21)

We have the means to pray

A wise person in charge knows that in order for his
subordinates to flourish, they must have both the opportunity and the ability
to carry out their responsibilities.  God
our Father is absolutely the best overseer, and all things exist under His
provision, or supply.

He has made sure His children have a Priest, forgiveness,
access, the Holy Spirit, His Will in the Word, and plenty of opportunity.  Later we will discuss these means in greater
detail.  The main point is that He has made
it possible to succeed by providing all of the ingredients.  All that is required of us is obedience to
His Will.

We will be held accountable for our prayer

When someone is directed to do something – is given the
opportunity and has the means to do it – they will also be held accountable for
their response.  In this case we are told
to do so by God Himself, and He keeps perfect accounts of how we respond.

The examination lying ahead of us is a sure thing, and the
consequences are, too.  The good news is
that the Lord has promised rich rewards for those who love Him and labor for
Him, while those who do not will ‘suffer as one passing through the fire, yet not
perishing’.  There will be much joy in
our gathering in Heaven, but there will also be a lot of realization in what
has been lost through a failure to comply. 
Ephesians 2:10 tells it quite well – that we are still here, now Saved,
to serve God in good works.  God our
Provisionary has provided the opportunity and means to do this.

Every issue is eligible for prayer

All things under God’s sovereignty fall into one of two
categories:  those things in His Will,
and those not.  In both cases, prayer is
appropriate.

For the issues in His Will, we give Him gratitude and
appreciation, and adore Him for it.  He’s
responsible for each breath we take, and for all of Creation.  What about the work each of us has seen Him
do?  And what about all that He promises
in His Word, which He guarantees will be done?

As for the issues out of His Will, those polluted in sin,
there is plenty of opportunity.  But this
is no accident.  God’s Creation has been
subjected to sin in order for us to have a need of Him, and ample opportunity
to learn how to rely on His provision through faith.  Every time we take an issue to Him properly
in prayer, He is glorified, the issue is rectified, and we are Sanctified.  Every answered prayer is another issue
brought under alignment with God’s Will, and this pleases Him.

To Whom
and how we pray

God in Heaven
exists eternally in harmony and unity. 
The three persons of God revealed to us in Scripture, Whom we call the
Godhead or Trinity, are an eternal mystery. 
However, three distinct expressions of God are revealed in His Word, and
each of His roles are special and purposeful in prayer.

God the Father; the Source and Provisionary

A turning point
in our ability to effectively pray, and even successfully live as a child of
God, hinges on our view of God our Father. 
As Father, He is to be at the root of all of our needs met, our Provider
on all fronts.  This can be difficult to
grasp or even accept, especially if we try to compare Him with our earthly
fathers.  Like all men born into sin,
earthly fathers are sinners and prone to failure and limitations.  But God our Father is superior in ability, love, and motive.  In all three
things, He is pure and without limits, and He always deals with us in our best
interests.  Realizing that we never have
anything to fear as He deals with us is truly liberating.  We can always trust Him.  Knowing this frees us from our fears of His
response, because we can trust that He is superior, and that the outcome will
always be right if we follow Him.

As the Source
of all things, our Father possesses all resources.  Consider for a moment that He is without
bounds, and that He is over everything. 
That means all things, without exception.  As our Father, His desire is to see His
children learn to rely upon Him and to grow into the potential He has given us
as heirs of His resources.  His pleasure
is in seeing us flourish in our surrender to His provision.  He wants us to rely upon Him and learn how to
be responsible in using His resources. 
We pray to our Father for our need, and in our thanks for all of His
provision over us.

God the Christ; our Priest, Intercessor, and
Perfector

God the Father
has provided Jesus so we can do our part in His desire.  As our Provisionary, our Father has included
everything we need to serve Him in an acceptable way.  Jesus is pivotal in our relationship to our
Father, because we still are sinners, and we need forgiveness to thrive under
Him.  This is important because to grow
in usefulness requires us to interact with our Father, and to interact with our
Father requires us to have submissive and forgiven hearts.  Jesus completely meets the gap between God’s
requirements and our failure.

Jesus was sent
to eventually become the perfect representative, or priest, between God and
mankind.  Beginning with His sinless
birth, He lived among sin without sinning Himself, and finally embodied our sin
and its punishment as the flawless sacrifice, so that He could always stand in
our defense before the Father’s judgment. 
In line with the Father’s demands under the Law, Jesus fulfilled the
roles of both Priest and Sacrifice, and then went on to sit beside the Father
to represent mankind.  Today, He
continues to be the only High Priest the Father recognizes, and no one
communicates with God without going through Jesus.

He did not sit
down next to the Father to quietly wait for the end of the world.  Instead, Jesus’ continual intercession at the
Throne maintains His gift of Salvation and our effectiveness as servants to God
the Father.  Our ‘flesh’ has not yet been
reborn, and we continue to sin – therefore we continue to need a priest to have
forgiveness. This is not a threat to our Salvation, but it is our continually
being restored in our relationship with the Father.  Our Salvation is now secured in Jesus’ current
intercession, and in the future at the Great Judgment.  We are free from the Father’s anger because
of Jesus’ always saying, “I’ve paid for this sin, too, Father.”  We can always rely on Jesus representing us.

Jesus is
responsible for our growing in useful service now, and for our presentation to
the Father at the Gathering.  The ‘good
works’ we were Saved for serve the purpose of showing God to the world now, and
in shaping us for God later.  Starting at
the point of our Adoption, we continue to grow to become more like Jesus, Who
now owns us.  This process is our Sanctification, where we leave
more of our old selves behind, and in obedience, become more like what God sees
in our potential as His children.  All of
the means the Father has provided – a perfect High Priest, forgiveness, His
Spirit in us, limitless opportunity to grow and serve Him – are tools through
which Jesus oversees our preparation and
forgives our failures.  He is getting us
ready to meet and live with God Himself. 
We pray to Jesus and rely upon Him for all of these things, confessing
our sin, sharing our struggles, leaning on His Divine humanity.  He’s been there, and He knows our
troubles.  Jesus our High Priest is our
best friend!

God the Spirit; the Truth and Essence God shares
with us

We are able to
interact with God in Heaven through His Spirit, Who is here in us as His
adopted children.  Christ’s ascension to
Heaven made way for His Spirit’s distribution to us here in Creation, and is a
central result of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection.  The Holy Spirit in man, at this time now
after the Cross, is unique to authentic believers.  God’s Spirit will not be found in anyone who
is not forgiven and adopted.

The Holy Spirit
is responsible for teaching us how to grow into our potential.  He only conveys the truth that comes from the
Father, Who is truth in His very essence. 
The Spirit is placed in us to teach us how to know and obey God.  He exists as part of us.  This is an amazing sacrifice on God’s part,
because while we still are sinners, He remains patiently in us.  Despite our frequent offense to Him, He
faithfully continues to impress the truth to us.  He tolerantly serves us because of Jesus’
constant intercession.  He speaks truth
to us in revealing and applying the Word, and by edifying us in joy and
worship, or in convicting us in our sin. 
In all cases, it is because of He is bringing God’s truth to us so that
we will learn to properly react to God’s truth.

The Holy Spirit
is our assurance, a proof of our Salvation. 
He is a most priceless gift, the Spirit of God Whom those before the
Cross could only look forward to.  He is
the treasure we are stewards of, Whom we are to exercise to the fullest
potential.  He is our taste of God, a
preview of the sweet fellowship we will experience in full once we go
Home.  He is our connection in faith to
God, the very Spirit of Jesus our Savior. 
He relays our prayers before the Throne in the way useful and pleasing
to the Father.

To the Father, through His Christ, by His Holy
Spirit

Only people
whose High Priest is Jesus, who are indwelled with the Holy Spirit, are
recognized by the Father as His children. 
The Father has chosen to use priests as representatives between God and
mankind.  Jesus plainly stated that no
one would see the Father, except through Him. 
Jesus is the only One acceptable as the High Priest and perfect
Sacrifice.

Only the
children have the right to be heard and answered by the Father.  Effective prayer is only because of Jesus,
His Salvation, and His constant forgiveness of our sins.  Prayer before the Throne of Grace is only
through His Spirit in us, Who speaks only in truth.

Who do we pray
to?  This is best answered by considering
Who of the persons of God we worship and appeal to in prayer.  All three are God, and all three are worthy.  How do we pray?  Knowing Who God is and how He provides for
us, we can pray effectively to all three. 
This is good service to God, what He desires, and what He has told His
children to do in His Provision, His Priest, and His Spirit.

Sanctification; preparation for prayer

To experience God and His answer to prayer,
we must be properly prepared.  Anything
opposed to God’s Will is sin, and sin and it’s effects in us hurt our efforts
to serve Him.  This is not in opposition
to our Salvation.   Those Saved by Jesus
alone are fully forgiven.  However, we
are still here “in the flesh”, still sinners, and still suffering the
consequences of our sin – all of the way up to our death or our seeing the Lord
return.  But even though we are still
sinners, we can approach God as someone already forgiven, under the Sacrifice
of Jesus’ Blood.

The role of sin in the Christian life is
important to understand, because though we are forgiven, our sin still has it’s
consequences.  Knowing how sin affects
our walk, and what to do about it, will make the difference between a
successful walk and a failing one.

This is not an issue in opposition to our
Salvation.  Those in Jesus are Saved and
fully forgiven, though still sinners.  We
are Justified now before God on the merit of Christ’s Sacrifice and constant
intercession on our behalf.  However, we are
yet in the flesh, and we still suffer the results of our sin – all the way up
to death or when Christ returns and we are Glorified in our new bodies.

Though we are sinners, as Righteous through
Christ we may now approach the Throne of God in the Most Holy Place in
Heaven.  We may stand before God in the
Holy Spirit, clean under the Sacrifice of the Lamb’s Blood.

All of these issues speak of the Christian’s
heart.  The Gift of the Holy Spirit is
for the express purpose of the transformation of our heart, and thus our
life.  All that we do and are flows from
the heart, and God’s primary concern is our heart and the results following
it.  The nurture of our heart and our
interaction with the Holy Spirit in us is our primary responsibility, and sin
is the obstacle standing in our way.

The nurture of our relationship with the
Spirit in us revolves around five things – the study of the Word to know the
Person, Heart, and Will of God; prayer to God seeking our conformity to His
Word; the deliberate pursuit of a holy life before God; our obedience to His
Word, supported in prayer made profitable through a holy life; and our joy in
obedience to God, bringing joy in experiencing Him.  All of these issues are common and are seated
in the heart.  If these are necessary for
our transformation to Christ’s image, and if our heart is centrally involved,
and if sin hardens our heart and so dampens our responsiveness to God – then
the only reasonable thing to do is what God already demands.  Examine yourself, see your sin in your
reflection in Scripture, see what you are to be, be conformed in obedience
under the help of the Holy Spirit, turn from your sin, and strive to be a
useful slave to Christ in the Kingdom of God.

See sin for the blight it is.  See its hindrance on your heart, the same
heart responsible as the source of yourself and your Christian walk.  Recognize God’s despise of sin. Strive to be
holy, for He is holy.  Strive and live to
obey His law written on your heart.

Confessed and Sanctified

Once Saved, our Lord Jesus sets out to refine
us, restoring all of the parts of us distorted under our sin.  We are forgiven, but it’s still a long road
to the Christ-likeness we will know when He gathers the Church.  For now, while still in our sinful flesh, we
are sinners who have forgiveness.

The key here is that we continue to disobey
in sin, and we must constantly turn in confession to our Lord Jesus, repent,
and receive forgiveness relief from the burden of our sin.  It is a mistake to believe that one’s
original confession at Salvation will automatically bring forgiveness
liberation from all of the sins we are yet to commit, without any further
action from us.  No, we are told that
we have been set right before God, adopted, and now have entered into the New
Covenant under Christ.

In His Covenant with us, we are allowed to
confess and repent of our sin, and receive that forgiveness He earned at the
Cross.  We have been placed under the
care of Jesus’ grace and priestly authority. 
But we continue to be responsible for confession and repentance, in
order to be relieved of the sin that affects our relationship with God the
Father, Son, and Spirit.

When we sin, the Word shows us, the Spirit
convicts us, and we respond in confession, repentance, and a plea for
mercy.  When we do this, Jesus always
responds – the guilt and burden of our sin have been hung on the Cross, and He
is always ready to say ‘It’s alright, this issue is behind us now.  Don’t do that anymore.  Let’s try it one more time.’

Standing forgiven, soft hearted, and humble
before the Father, He hears our prayers.  
His Will is that we would be confessed and Sanctified, or made ready and
clean, through Jesus’ forgiveness.

Praying in
God’s Will; at the Throne in confidence

• Knowing God and being
  preparedKnowing God in Salvation,
  Scripture, and Person

• Obedience in service
  • We bring issues on our
    hearts before Him
  • We are obedient to what He
    expects of us
  • We are well equipped
  • We are to be servants like
    Jesus

• Faith in His response
  • Without faith we are just
    speaking into the air

§  Prayer thrives or fails on
the basis of God’s Will

• Confidence before the Throne
  belongs to those who know what to expect

<General overview of successfully praying in His
Will>

A main purpose of prayer is that we learn
obedience.  We grow in obedience through
learning what God expects, and then serving Him under those expectations.  When God answers prayer, it is because we are
operating under the truth, or Will, of God. 
And, because we have carried an issue to God that He desires to be dealt
with, in line with the truth of His Will, He responds. (yes/no/wait…)  We have learned and conformed to His truth,
He is glorified, and, still another issue is brought into alignment with His
Will.  In this, we have not forced His
hand or brought anything before Him that He wasn’t aware of.  Instead, we have recognized what He already
knew, and we have served as priests in bringing it to Him for His response, in
His provision.

Jesus is the perfect example of praying in the Will
of the Father.  He lived a sinless life
among us, and has always remained obedient to the Father’s Will.  His requests, always in alignment with the
Father’s Will, are always honored.  Even
as the Father denied His request to ‘let the cup pass’, Jesus was still in
obedience to the Father by praying ‘yet Your will, not mine’.

So, we can see that good prayer, in relation to
God’s Will, will always include:

• Knowing God and being prepared – that we know his commandments and His
  ‘personality’, and we are prepared accordingly
• Obedience in Service – that we bring an issue on our heart before Him,
  confident that this is what He expects (A sense of our
  duty, humility and worship, familiarity and compassion over the issue,
  diligence in prayer and service, choosing faith in His expectations and His
  response)
• Faith in His response – that He has responded according to His Will or
  truth, in His best interests over Creation (His
  provision, desire, loving attention, commands, declarations, mercy,
  faithfulness, and Glory)

Knowing God and being prepared

Knowing
God in Salvation, Scripture, and Person

We
will only know God through Jesus’ Salvation. 
Salvation includes the Father’s adoption of us, and all of the rights
associated with our new rank.  Without
Salvation, we have no right, nor any way, to approach God the Father.  Once Saved, we posses the Teacher, the Holy
Spirit.  He conveys the truth of God to
us through the Scriptures, and in the course of our diligent study, we grow in
our maturity of understanding God.

Knowing
God’s Will always begins with knowing God Himself, because God’s Will is who He
is.  Think of someone you are close to,
someone you know well.  Now, thinking of
that person in a particular situation, ask yourself ‘How would I expect him to
respond to something like this?’  If you
really know that person’s heart, you should be able to come to a reasonable
conclusion of how he would react.  This
is because you know that person through study and experience.  In comparison, God is perfect and without
sin, He has given us the Word and His Spirit to know Him, and so we can grow in
understanding what to expect.  God’s Will
corresponds to His whole ‘personality’. 
Knowing Him, knowing what He has to say about issues, and knowing how He
reacts leads to knowing how He will respond to us.

Rom 12.2

Obedience in service

We bring issues on our hearts before Him

God Saves people and enlists them into service as
priests, or those who can relate to Him. 
We have been Saved to serve God, and He makes many resources available
to us to carry out His expectations.  One
of our most important resources is our ‘heart’, and how we use it.  Our heart is the center of who we are
personally.  God’s goal is our heart to
be soft and humble, ‘with His law written upon it’.  A heart like this serves in prayer by coming
before the Throne of Grace, sensitive and overflowing with issues God cares
about.  These issues are spilled out
before Him through this healthy heart, and He answers.  As His priests, we are to cultivate and
maintain this heart He creates in us, and we are to be aware of issues and
carry them to Him for His response.

We are obedient to what He expects of us

An unfortunate mistake we can make is in believing
that God is OK with whatever our response is to His expectations.  We might think that He has just made
suggestions to us, and if we don’t follow through, that Jesus will simply
forgive us and release us from our obligation.

This way of thinking is actually sinful abuse of
Jesus’ grace, and willful disobedience to God the Father.  His grace is not for getting us out of the
obligations we now have to Him.  Instead,
His grace is employed in His patience as He trains us to become just like
Jesus.

A foundation of good prayer is in living and serving
God obediently.  Jesus’ perfect obedience
to God’s Will ensures His requests to the Father are always honored.  To be like Jesus, we too must know God’s Will
through His Word, and obey His instructions. 
When we are careful to follow His expectations, and serve Him as He commands,
we too can have confidence in our prayer, just like Jesus does – because we are
following through with what He already intends.

We are well equipped

Many Christians make a severe mistake in believing
that God’s rescuing them is the end of the story.  They might believe that He has been glorified
in that act of mercy and that they only need to concentrate on worshipping Him
and staying out of trouble until it is time to go Home.  Ephesians 2.8-9 states that
only God forges our Salvation, but 2.10 tells the rest of the
truth – that He has done so because He is drafting us into service.  We are here to learn God now, in this time
between being Saved and meeting the Lord in person.  In Saving us, He has equipped each believer
with the tools and resources needed to serve Him.  So then, through obedient service to Him, we
learn how He works, we are good stewards of what He has given us, and He is
pleased and glorified in our faithful response to Him.

We are called to ‘reasonable service’

In Romans 12:1, Paul calls
for our “reasonable service” to God. 
‘Service’ is in reference to the duty we are held to as His children,
and ‘reasonable’ is the measure of our response in relation to what God has
given us.  In this, the word ‘reasonable’
can seem almost irrational, because what else could we possibly hope for in
Jesus?  We who are Saved owe more than
our very lives to Him.  In fact, He has
not only given us the benefits we experience now, but we will spend all of
eternity with Him, not to mention the punishment He rescues us from.  As humans, we are destined to always be
slaves to one master.  It is a fact that
cannot be avoided.  In our Salvation, we
are removed from under our slavery to sin and the demands of Satan, and we are
placed under the Lordship of our loving Shepherd.  How could our situation possibly get any
better?  It is in light of these truths
that we need to consider Paul’s call to our service to the Lord.

We are to be servants like Jesus

Jesus models many qualities for us in His service to
the Father.  Good prayer rests upon these
same things – a sense of duty, humility, worship, familiarity
and compassion over the issue, diligence, and faith.  These are attributes Jesus has, and they are
what God wants us to learn as well. 
Prayer is done well when we exercise our use of these things

Our sense of duty is rooted in realizing Who
we belong to, owe our life to, and labor for. 
Humility is in seeing His mighty perfection and how we fit into
the order of things.  Worship is
our outward expression of reverence towards Him.  Familiarity and compassion for issues
is taking the time to understand and truly take them to heart.  Diligence is an unswerving, steady
march forward towards the goal, despite how we feel, but instead according to
what God has said.  And faith is
taking God at His word and believing Him regardless of anything else.  These are the things that Jesus is, and we
are to be like Him, too.

Faith in His response – that
He has responded according to His Will or truth, in His best interests over
Creation (His provision, desire, loving attention, commands, declarations,
mercy, faithfulness, and Glory)

Without faith we are just speaking into the air

If we go to God the Father in prayer, we must be
doing it in the belief that that He is listening and willing to respond.  The truth is, that without this faith, we are
just speaking into the air at no one. 
That would be a pretty foolish thing to do, and God doesn’t expect us to
have to do it that way.  Instead, He
wants us to learn, recognize, and believe in Him, so that among other things we
can approach Him in prayer, through faith that it is real.  Faith in God is ultimately the
essential in our relationship with Him. 
Without faith, without believing Him at His Word, we know no God.  It is impossible.  (2 Cor 4.18, Heb 11.1, 3, 6)

Prayer relies upon this same economy.  We must not only approach God through faith
in Christ’s Salvation, but also in faith of His provision, desire, loving
attention, commands, declarations, Holiness, mercy, faithfulness, and Glory.  Strong, correct faith is the bulwark of effective prayer.  And strong, correct faith is always rooted in
the truth.  And so, God’s Will, expressed
in His truth of the Word, displayed in the reality of His works, must be the
objects of our faith.   If this is so, as
we appeal to God through faith in the basis of His truth, our prayers are then
surely answered.

The Father’s response, His Provision, is welled up
in an endless reservoir, ready for distribution through us, his priests under
Jesus.  All that stands in the way of our
being founts of blessing to the arena around us is our obedient understanding
and application of His Will.  The Father
intends His royal priesthood to be stewards over Creation.  In rescuing us from sin’s grip, and in
equipping us with the best resources of God Himself, He is creating and
training us to participate in His stewardship over Creation.

Prayer thrives or
fails on the basis of God’s Will

God only answers prayers in agreement with His Will;
Prayer not in His Will won’t be answered

So then, what is God’s Will in the situation you
would pray about?  A good place to begin
would be in assessing the issue for both it’s overall theme as well as the
issues specific to it.  Consider it well;
take it to heart – on a heart that is soft and not calloused because of
sin.  See the pieces of the puzzle that
especially strike you, and ask, ‘why?’ 
Consider how God would respond to these heart issues of yours, and
reflect on how they compare to God and His Person.  Knowing what you do about Him, would He be
glad?   Then rejoice with Him and praise
Him for a good thing.  Would He be
offended?  Then consider further how His
standard compares to the issue, and ask Him to have mercy and see it change to
become something He would be pleased with.

Confidence
before the Throne belongs to those who know what to expect

Through
Jesus, we possess the unique right to approach the terrible Throne of God
Almighty Himself and be heard as His children

Know
that our growth in prayer is in learning and becoming comfortable with our huge
privileges as His children