The Realist And The Optimist

2 Cor 1:8

8 For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our trouble which came to us in Asia: that we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life. (NKJ)

Some may be surprised to know this verse is even in the bible. Even more surprising is that these words were spoken by the Apostle Paul himself. But I'm very thankful that they are included in the canon of scripture. They have the power to resonate with each and every one of us at various times and seasons of our lives. I'm sure I've been guilty of throwing out some cliche' such as "He'll never put more on you than you can bear". Theologically this may be true, but Paul gives us a "real world" scenario. There are three phrases here I want to look at in more detail.

Paul tells the Corinthians that he and his companions were "burdened beyond measure". He literally felt as though the burden was so heavy, it was beyond what words can express. The next phrase is "above strength". Literally, it was more than they felt that they could physically (and probably emotionally) handle. Next, Paul says that they "despaired even of life". There really is no way to sugar-coat the situation. Paul says that realistically it looked like they were not going to make it! Here is where many of us struggle with emotional honesty and transparency.

Paul was anything but a pessimist. Some of his most encouraging words were spoken to others during times of his own imprisonment. And in the midst of that, Paul never refers to himself as the prisoner of Caesar (or any other human leader)- but always the "prisoner of Jesus Christ". Paul was a man of tremendous faith and belief in the sovereignty of God. And yet he is honest enough to assess the situation without some facade of faith which denies reality. Paul admitted that things were so bad, they seemed hopeless in the natural. Luke made a similar declaration in the book of Acts while he and Paul were aboard a ship during a terrible storm (see Acts 27:20).

God delivered Paul (on both occasions) from what seemed like impossible perils. This gave Paul the ability to remain optimistic despite the "realities" of his situation(s). Notice his words in subsequent verses:

2 Cor 1:9-10

9 Yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead,

10 who delivered us from so great a death, and does deliver us; in whom we trust that He will still deliver us, (NKJ)

And now we gain some insight into why God (at times) allows us to go through such trials of faith. Through these instances, we learn who is really in charge. Most of us are hardwired to be self-sufficient. This thinking overlaps into our spiritual lives as well. We become tempted to be self-reliant and to think we have "arrived". These situations are often painful and uncomfortable (Heb 12:11), but they remind us to look to the One who is able to raise the dead!

Notice the tenses in verse 10 (pasted above). God delivered (past tense) Paul from his trouble. God is even now (present tense) at work delivering Paul (and us)- even if we don't see the outward evidences. And finally, there is hope (and faith) that God will yet (future tense) deliver you and me. You may feel that you are in a place right now where things look bleak. Maybe you feel (just like Paul) that you're not going to make it through. But try to remember the miraculous interventions of the past. If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, God has already delivered you from the worst possible fate (eternal death!). God is at work in your life now. He is working behind the scenes, causing things to work together for good if you are called by God and love Jesus Christ! (Rom 8:28). And you can trust that the same One who saved you and is presently at work in your life, will be faithful to complete the work He has started in you! (Phil 1:6).

So in summation- don't be a religious phony who wears a pretentious mask of faith. If things are bad, you're not going to make it worse by being honest about it. But by the same token, don't let your realism become an opportunity for pessimism and despair. Yes, things are bad, but believe that better days are ahead. If you are a believer in the Lord, this is absolutely the truth- the best is yet to come!!!!

Until next time....

The Gourd of the Lord

Jonah 4:6 And the LORD God prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head, to deliver him from his grief. So Jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd.
(KJV)

Today, we're going to take a final look at the book of Jonah. We opened this series of blogs by talking about 3 things the Lord did. And guess what.....that's how we're going to end it too! When we last left Jonah, he had preached his message of destruction, and the people of Nineveh responded by turning to God in repentance. Subsequently, God turned from His intentions and pardoned the people of Nineveh. Jonah should be happy now, right? Not exactly.

Jonah 4:1 But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry. (KJV)

I won't spend much time dealing with Jonah's shallow and selfish response. But I will say this; there are times when our expectations and God's will don't converge. Yes, there are some who say if you simply have enough faith, you can make anything happen by saying the magic words or following the right formula(s). This too, is a shallow expression of faith. From our vantage point, it is often difficult to understand the "big picture". Jonah had just experienced the "altar call" of a lifetime. He saw more converts in one day than many of us will see in a lifetime. But he wasn't happy. He obviously didn't "get it".

At this point, we might expect the ground to open up and swallow Jonah alive. How dare he take such an attitude, after God went to such great lengths to preserve him for this very mission. But, as is always the case- God is much more merciful than we give Him credit for. Even in the midst of Jonah's pity party, God is doing a redemptive work and teaching a lesson. So let's look quickly at 3 things that the Lord did.

#1- God prepared a gourd (4:6)- This gourd provided shade from the intense heat of the day. Psalm 145:9a says "The Lord is good to all". Jesus says that God sends sun and rain on the just and the unjust (Matt 5:45). God is good to everyone! When we see injustice, we often ask the question "why do bad things happen to good people?". Such questioning ignores the fact that God allows good things to happen to everyone- regardless of whether they deserve it or not.

#2- God prepares a worm (4:7)- The worm reminds us not to hold too tightly to the things of this world. Paul told the Corinthians that all that we see in the material world is temporary (2 Cor 4:18). Life is filled with change and various seasons. Our lives can easily be devoted to the temporal. I recently had a laptop failure which reminded me how quickly years worth of work can be lost forever (here's a friendly reminder to always back up your data!). Ask yourself this question- how much of your time do you devote to issues of no eternal value? Obviously, I'm not suggesting that we spend every waking moment teaching or preaching. It is my opinion that God wants us to enjoy life- not simply endure it. But where are our priorities?

#3- God prepared a wind (4:8)- The wind reminds us that our only defense is faith in God. Our security does not rest in the amount of possessions we can amass in this life. We can do our best to insulate ourselves from disaster, but truly our lives are in God's hands. The gourd of yesterday, can be destroyed by the worm of today- offering no protection from the winds of tomorrow.

All of this makes Jonah wish for death. Again, at this point, we might expect the Lord to simply grant his request. At the very least, we might expect Divine silence. Instead, the Lord engages Jonah in dialogue (4:9). He explains to Jonah that the gourd was an object lesson. Jonah's priorities were totally askew. He had no concern for the thousands of innocent children living in Nineveh. He seemed only concerned about his reputation, the "unfortunate" repentance of the people of Nineveh, and of course- the withering of the gourd.

We are a culture of stress and anxiety. Some of our fears may be legitimate. Some of our anxieties may well be warranted. I would be lying if I said I never experienced either of them, so I don't stand in judgment of you today. But I want us to take an inventory today, and see where our priorities stand. How much of our time is spent in frustration and anger because our expectations and God's will don't seem to be on parallel tracks? Could it be that God is using us in a way that we despise and yet it's for the greater good?

The book of Jonah has always left me a little uneasy because of the ending. We don't end this book with a benediction, a hymn, or an Amen. The book ends with a question. Just as Jonah was left with the question, so are we. In light of God's love for all mankind, what are we going to do about it?

Until next time...

Who can tell what God will do?

Jonah 3:9 Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?

We will continue today in our installment of blogs regarding Jonah. The story of Jonah is truly remarkable on so many levels. The mercy and grace of God often gets overshadowed in discussions about Jonah's ride in the big fish. When Jonah was finally released from the belly of the fish, a revival of biblical proportions took place. Jesus says that Jonah's arrival in Nineveh was a "sign" to the people (Luke 11:30). This prophet of God arrived in the city with a message of destruction; "Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown". Jonah's message was not of the "repent or else" variety. It was merely a pronouncement of impending calamity.

And yet something remarkable happened. This city known for its wickedness and opposition towards the people of God had a great awakening. The king of Nineveh proclaimed a fast and instructed the people to "cry mightily unto God". When we fast-forward to the end of the chapter (3), we see that God changed his intentions based on their response. The book of Jonah sometimes presents a problem for those of us who demand that every ounce of theology be systematic. In this book, a prophet's message of doom does not come to pass. In this book, God changes his course of action based on human response. Did this take God by surprise? Of course not. But this shows that a relationship with God is dynamic- not static!

For me, one of the highlights of chapter 3 is this example of the king of Nineveh taking a chance on God's mercy. Remember that the people of Nineveh had no guarantee that anything would change their outcome. At this point, they could have simply mocked Jonah, or taken the attitude of "let us eat and drink; for tomorrow we die" (I Cor 15:32b). But instead, they risk everything and cast their hopes upon the mercy of God. And they were not disappointed! Now contrast the people of Nineveh (those who had no promises or guarantees) with believers in Jesus Christ (those who have been given "exceeding great and precious promises" -2 Peter 1:4).

You cannot go wrong with God. Among our greatest fears, is the fear of rejection. But we have some wonderful and comforting promises from scripture that I want to share with you in closing.

Joh 6:37 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.

Jam 4:8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

The Man in the Mirror

2Co 13:5 Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates? (KJV)

Many of you are familiar with the myth of Narcissus. He's the young man who sees his own reflection for the first time and falls madly in love with himself (so much so, that he never leaves the pool of water where he sees his reflection and dies there). The Christian life calls for self-examination. We're going to talk about that briefly today.

Self-examination can be challenging because we are not always qualified to evaluate our own hearts. Here are just a few scriptures which indicate that:
Jer 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
Pro 16:2 All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the LORD weigheth the spirits.

The bible says that we really don't know our hearts. This is ironic, because I often hear the phrase "God knows my heart". This is typically a spiritual way of saying that we aren't going to do the right thing, but our intentions are good. We often judge others by their actions, but judge ourselves based on intention. The truth is that many times we are not aware of "why" we do things. The Lord is able to show us the purity of our motivations (or the lack thereof).

There is also the challenge of what I call "the comparison trap". We like to measure ourselves by looking at others (typically those who are not meeting the bare minimum requirements) and comparing ourselves to them. Sometimes we are like the Pharisee who prayed "I thank thee that I am not as other men are......extortioners, unjust, adulterers, .....or even as this publican." (Luke 18:11). We can always find someone who is doing a little worse than we are. Paul says that using others (even other Christians) as a means of comparison is not wise (II Cor 10:12).

So how do we undertake such a daunting task? Prayerfully, and with holy awe (Psalm 4:4. Psalm 26:2, Psalm 139:23-24)- with diligent search (Lam 3:40)- and an attitude to obey (Psalm 119:59). The Word of God will reveal our heart and its intentions (Heb 4:12). So take a moment today and look at the man in the mirror. You may or may not like what you see. But you owe it to yourself to see if you are truly "in the faith". Very few people would buy a new home without an inspection. And who among us would purchase a new car without taking a test drive? Should we be any less diligent in eternal matters?

There are benefits to self-examination. Paul said that self-examination can help us to avoid temporal judgment (I Cor 11:31). We will all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, but many of us face needless chastisement in this life because we fail to "judge ourselves". John says that our prayer lives will flourish when our hearts are free from condemnation (I John 3:20-22).

Until next time....

What's special about 24?

You thought this post was going to be about Jack Bauer right? Sorry to disappoint you my friends. The number 24 is significant to today's entry because it signifies a special year. The story of Abraham in the bible is one that inspires faith. As a matter of fact, his story personifies what it means to be justified by faith. Abram's (who would later be named Abraham) story begins at the young old age of 75 (Gen 12:4). God appears to him and makes him a promise that he will be the beginnings of a great nation. Abram's great desire was to have a child of his own (Gen 15:2). God promises him that he will have a child, and Abraham believes! (Gen 15:6).

But like all of us, Abram also has his questions about how the promise of God will actually come about. There's a lot of story I'm leaving out (huge understatement here), but for sake of time, I'm going to pick up 24 years after Abram/Abraham's initial encounter with the Lord. By this time, Abraham and Sarah have come up with what I affectionately call "plan B". Using their own deductive reasoning skills, they figure that they will help things along, and thus Ishmael is born. I wonder how many times we have tried to "help things along" in our own lives, and out of our impatience we have birthed an Ishmael of sorts.

Now Abraham is 99 yrs old, and the Lord appears to him again (Gen 17:1). God reaffirms his initial promise to Abraham, talks about the covenant of circumcision, and changes Sarai's name to Sarah (I would love to blog some time about the Lord's habit of changing names, but we'll keep moving for now). Then God speaks those words to Abraham which he had longed to hear:

Gen 17:21 But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year.

From God's perspective, 24 years are just a vapor. From man's perspective, 24 years can feel like an eternity. Even though Abraham laughed when he received this good news (Gen 17:17), it was most certainly a laugh of joy and awe, because Paul tells us in Romans that Abraham did not stagger at the promise of God (Romans 4:20). But I wonder how often Abraham was mocked during those 24 years. How many times was he the object of ridicule and scorn?

Waiting for the promise(s) of God can be so difficult. As the days, weeks, months, and even years go by- we are often tempted to lose heart. Many of us have settled for a "second best" alternative, because what God has promised us seems just too good to be true. The longer we have to wait, the more weary in well-doing we can become. One thing I want to point to your attention is this phrase "at this set time" in Gen 17:21 that I posted above. We are usually willing to theologically agree that God knows the end from the beginning. But I find that on a practical level, we feel that the same logic does not apply. When God appeared to Abram at age 75, I believe that he knew that the process was going to take roughly 25 years. I'm not so sure that Abram knew that though.

Many of us are waiting today. We're waiting for our lives to take a turn for the better; for health to improve, finances to recover, marriages to be restored, fractured relationships to be mended. Maybe we don't have a "thus saith the Lord" promise like Abraham to fall back on, but we do have the promises contained in His Word. They are promises of peace, of joy, of restoration and wholeness. God came to Abraham in year 24 and told him that He was still going to do exactly what He promised He would do in the first place. I don't know how long you've been waiting, but I wanted to tell you that the same is true for you and I.

Gal 6:9 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. (ESV)

Until next time...

Walking on Water

Several Gospel writers record the account of Jesus walking on water. Matthew includes a unique perspective which shows that Peter also walked on the water to Jesus. I hope you will be blessed, inspired, and encouraged as you listen to last Sunday's sermon entitled "Walking on Water".

You can listen to the sermon in mp3 format here (if you have any difficulty with the link, you can also click the blue icon to the right which says "Listen Now")