“Vindicate me, O God, and plead my case against an ungodly nation; O deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man! For You are the God of my strength; why have You rejected me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?” Psalm 43:1-2
Have you ever felt that you were personally attacked and needed an advocate? I can think of several times in my life that I have felt very alone in the world and had no defense against the assaults hurled in my direction. Further, the current social climate of our nation makes it difficult to hold to Christian values and basic biblical principles. To say that I feel a bit oppressed by this is an understatement. Then there is my illness. While I accept it as part of God’s plan for me, it can be tiring and leave me feeling alone and assaulted unnecessarily. Whether from friends or medical personnel, it is difficult to abide those who doubt the realities of living with a rare disease…especially and invisible one. Finally, there are times when I feel that I am my worst enemy and that I need an advocate to protect me from myself.
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“He who lays up treasures on earth spends his life backing away from his treasures. To him, death is loss. He who lays up treasures in heaven looks forward to eternity; he’s moving daily toward his treasures. To him, death is gain.”
Randy Alcorn
http://www.crosswalk.com/faith/spiritual-life/inspiring-quotes/30-inspiring-christian-quotes.html
“Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:16
Just. It’s a very small but significant word. On the one hand it can be used to defend actions as reasonable, proper, righteous, deserved and lawful. On the other, it can be used to express a lack of certainty, low expectation, or a lesser degree than desired. As Christians we often use “just” inappropriately in our discussions with others and in our prayers. The problem is that we often use the stronger version of the word in relationship to ourselves and the weaker version in reference to God. When we do this, we think of ourselves “more highly than we ought to think” and underestimate God.
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“For you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light.” Ephesians 5:8
When I’m up to it and the weather is nice, I like to ride my bike to the gym. Today was one of those days. I didn’t expect it to be warm enough, but the sun was shining which made the air pleasant. I had dressed for cooler weather, so I became a little warm as I rode. While at the gym, I was concerned that I might get too warm on the way home. However, while I was there, a heavy cloud cover rolled in and the ride home was actually a little cooler than I like. What a difference a little sunshine can make and what a difference various forms of light make in our lives.
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“Lord, make me to know my end and what is the extent of my days; let me know how transient I am. Behold, You have made my days as handbreadths, and my lifetime as nothing in Your sight; surely every man at his best is a mere breath. Selah. Surely every man walks about as a phantom; surely they make an uproar for nothing; he amasses riches and does not know who will gather them. And now, Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in You.” Psalm 39:4-7
Last week I suggested to my wife that we go on a WaveRunner tour which we did. To understand the significance of that statement, you need to understand that while I love going to the ocean, I’m not a fan of venturing very far out into the ocean. When I do, I like it to be on a very large boat, e.g. cruise ships, ferries, etc. and I prefer to have land in sight at all times because, in a word, I’m fearful.
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“Praise the Lord, my soul. Lord my God, you are very great; you are clothed with splendor and majesty.” Psalm 104:1
My wife and I are currently on vacation staying in a seaside condo. We determined a few years ago that we are “beach people”. We like to see and visit other places, but our first love is a seaside beach. Marie grew up by the ocean in New England. I was inland; consequently, my only encounter with the ocean was an overnight stay in Daytona while on a college choir tour. She was excited to get me to the ocean and once there I was hooked. At dinner last night we were talking about that fact. As we talked while eating seaside, Marie observed that it is quite possible that I love the ocean more than she does. I agreed stating that trips to the ocean are as much or more about my soul than rest and relaxation.
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“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!” Matthew 7:7-11
Several years ago, a friend brought balloons to a study that we were co-leading. As an object lesson, she had each of us write our prayer request on a balloon then we took them outside and released them together. It was an excellent way to visualize how to present our needs to God then let go and trust Him to do what is necessary. As a result, I’ve started to look at my prayer life differently. More recently, I was praying about a fairly substantial concern. As I began to pray, I was convicted of the need to pray with confidence. I don’t know that I’ve ever done that quite this way before. Rather than telling God what I needed, I started thanking Him in advance for His provision in response to my request. As a result, I was filled with hope and praise. It’s not that I wasn’t confident of God’s provision beforehand, but praying in this way took away the desire to “micromanage” God…that kind of prayer that is more like drafting a legal document rather than a making a request of my Lord. Since then, my mind keeps returning to the topic of prayer and the attitude we should take when praying.
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“Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” Colossians 3:1-3
In high school, I was a member of the Speech Club. After a few competitions, one realized that it was much easier to evoke fear, anger and sorrow than happiness. Consequently, with a bit of skill and practice it was fairly easy to do well with darker prose and drama. However, anyone choosing comedy had to really work to get the judges attention quickly and employ good timing to score well. This is true in life also. Because of our sinful nature, our tendency is toward fear, anger and sorrow rather than joy. As a result, we tend to focus on our problems and losses rather than what God is accomplishing through them and looking to Him for sustaining grace. Further, we often get so caught up in daily life that we neglect our relationship with God. That’s why Paul encourages the Colossians, the Romans and the Philippians to focus on “the things above” rather than our earthly circumstances.
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“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the men of old gained approval.” Hebrews 11:1-2
In my late twenties and early thirties, I had two friends with whom I went camping and hiking twice each year. As we were trying to avoid insects and snakes, we would go late in the fall and early in the spring. Sometimes we would experience wonderfully warm weather; sometimes it was cold and rainy; the rest were somewhere in between. Together we enjoyed great vistas, got lost on poorly marked trails, endured wet sleeping bags and very cold showers (as it was off season in the parks), joking about each other’s quirks, met some nice folks and feared a few; but mostly we grew closer through the shared experiences and evenings by the campfire. Two of the three of us are probably too infirmed to tolerate those trips now, but they will ever live in our memories and be a bond that draws us together.
The walk of faith is a lot like that. Sometimes we feel great about our faith and our relationship with God. Other times we have more questions than answers and feel a distance between ourselves and our Lord. There are the seasons when the battles are raging around us or temptation seems to be impossible to withstand. Some stretches of our journey seem so clearly marked and well defined while others just don’t make sense and we find ourselves doubting and lost. In short the path of sanctification is usually a winding road. While we may understand that God is moving us closer to Him and leading us to our Heavenly home, it’s often difficult for us to see or feel any sense of progress from our limited vantage point with incomplete information. To that end, there are some situations and their related promises that we would do well to ponder carefully in order to maintain clarity.
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“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” 1 Peter 1:3-5
Do you ever have days when you just can’t function? Today is one of those for me. It’s cold and I feel it to the bone. My body rebels against any movement and my mind is just as sluggish. I know from experience that it will pass and that there will be better days, but today I don’t feel like I’m much use to anyone and wonder if there’s really and value in trying to do anything. After all, doesn’t Ecclesiastes tell us that all is vanity? At times like this, I have to keep plodding until the fog lifts and, in the meantime, remind myself that the truth of the situation is much different. Today’s necessity is to focus on the fact that it’s worth the effort to endure and that’s what the passage above does for me. It reminds me…us… that we are valued, have purpose and that there is a reward for our efforts.
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