Are we there yet?

I often refer to essays I hear on the radio.  It is the medium from which I get most of my news, and to which I am exposed most often (during my long commute to and from work--45 minutes each way, and hour and a half a day, thirty hours a week, fifteen hundred hours each year for the last 12 years).

Anyway, there has been a series of essays from different families, each recounting their holiday traditions--a little Jewish boy excited about lighting the Menorah; a woman looking forward to watching made-for-TV movies all night on Christmas Eve; and today, a Hispanic grandmother talking about making bunuelos on New Year's Eve.

For those who don't know, bunuelos are golden, crispy-sweet, tortilla-like fritters sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar, or topped with syrup.  The tradition held by this Abuela (grandmother) was that the bunuelos could not be made or eaten before midnight.  She said her children and grandchildren would start asking about them as early as 8 or 9 p.m. on New Year's Eve.  "When do we start making the bunuelos?  Can we start making them now?"  About 11 o'clock, she would start rolling out the dough, letting her grandchildren playfully argue over whose turn it was to help roll the dough balls out flat, or sprinkle cinnamon-sugar over them when they came out of the fryer.  Then the family would enjoy the sweet fritters together as the new year arrives.

"Whatever the New Year brings," she said, "we can tackle it because we've done it together, we've seen the New Year come in as a family."

One of our family's holiday traditions is to go to the Christmas Eve service held by our church.  Although there are three services, starting at 6 pm, 10 pm, midnight, we enjoy going to the midnight service.  We sing carols, light candles, and listen to encouraging words from the pastor.  Some years, offerings are taken, not for the church, but for families in the community in need.

Being a part of that service is meaningful.  Like the Mexican grandmother in the radio story, we feel like whatever life throws at us, we can handle it because we are a part of something bigger--the family, the local church, and ultimately the community of God.  I use the word "community" on purpose, rather than Church or Family or even Heavenly Host.  It conveys that we commune with God; we take communion together; we communicate with each other.


The day is coming when we will see God face to face.  We will fall prostrate at His feet and worship Him personally.  Lord, haste the day!  This is what we live for.  If you do not have a personal relationship with God, I would like to introduce you to His Son, Jesus, who is called the Christ (or the Messiah).  This Jesus was born into this world to redeem us.  It is His birth that we celebrate--He is the Reason for the Season.  This redemption involved sacrifice--Jesus laid down His very life for you and me.  But God has raised Him from the dead, so that we, too, might live.  It is a mystery, and requires faith.  By faith we commune with Him and He with us.


We celebrate the fact that whatever comes our way, we can overcome it because we have access to God through His Son, and together, we experience each day as God's family.

Clicking Cows vs. Calling on the Creator

I heard a ridiculous essay on the radio this week.  Here is the transcript:

GUY RAZ, HOST:
From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Guy Raz.
MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:
And I'm Melissa Block.
Zynga is the company behind popular Facebook games like Farmville and Cityville. Over 200 million people play Zynga games each month. And before the end of the year, the company is expected to have its initial public offering. Industry analysts have valued it at $15 to $20 billion.
RAZ: Not every person is a fan, though. One videogame designer recently set out to parody Zynga's games by creating an absurd version of his own.
P.J. Vogt from WNYC's On The Media has the story of an attempt at satire that didn't exactly go to plan.
P.J. VOGT, BYLINE: Last summer, Cindy Barrett got hooked on this Facebook game. The way the game works, you get a point every time you click. Cindy was battling her brother, Eric, who was routinely beating her.
CINDY BARRETT: At that point I maybe had 10 clicks a week. My brother would always have 12 clicks and it would make me frustrated. So I befriended the top clickers. They taught me how to get more clicks. Literally, within a day, I had something like 200 clicks. And I was like, hey, Eric is there any way you can compete with me? 'Cause I think at that point he had six. And it just went downhill from there.
VOGT: The game is called Cow Clicker, it's the work of a game designer named Ian Bogost. Bogost's creations are usually more like art than entertainment, people don't typically get hooked on them. Take his most recent work, a game poem called "A Slow Year." The point of the game is to experience the seasons.
IAN BOGOST: The winter game, the sun is rising. It's dawn and you've got a cup of coffee which is slowly getting cold. And you want to kind of time your enjoyment of the cup of coffee with the amount of time that it's going to take the sun to rise. It's a first-person drinking game for the Atari.
VOGT: Bogost hates popular social networking video games – games like Farmville that clog your Facebook newsfeed with notifications about how your aunt just harvested her virtual crops or your dad put out a hit on mob boss. He decided the best way to criticize those games would be to make the dumbest one he could imagine. That was Cow Clicker, the game Cindy found. The reductio ad absurdum of Facebook games.
BOGOST: You know, a game in which all you do is click on a cow and that's it. Maybe you pay for the privilege to click on a cow.
VOGT: You click your cow. It moos. Wait six hours and you can click it again. Or, you can get virtual money, either through clicks or by spending real cash that you spend to reset the timer and immediately click again.
LEIGH ALEXANDER: People took notice. The media took notice.
VOGT: Leigh Alexander is a game journalist who's also friends with Bogost. She wrote about Cow Clicker for the website Kotaku.
ALEXANDER: He was in every gaming magazine and some non-gaming magazines regarding Cow Clicker. It was much more popular than I think he had ever predicted it would be.
VOGT: Game journalists liked Cow Clicker because they got the joke. And as more players poured in, Bogost was surprised to find himself feeling pretty proud.
BOGOST: Gleeful. I mean, when people play your game, you can't help but feel pleasure. That's what you want. And I did feel that way for some time, especially when, you know, there was a relatively even distribution of different kinds of reactions.
VOGT: The resulting buzz brought in more players. But most of them weren't in on the joke.
ALEXANDER: Somewhere along the line, his larger user base began to be people who, either they understood it was a joke and they still enjoyed it or they just didn't get it or they just didn't care. Like, people really loved their cows.
VOGT: Fifty thousand people. For many of them, Cow Clicker was just another mindless, addictive Facebook game, indistinguishable from the mindless, addictive games it was meant to parody.
BOGOST: The ironist players dropped off. What I was left with were real players who were making demands, you know, who wanted things that I wasn't giving them in the game. They wanted different cows. They wanted, like, Cowthulu.
VOGT: Wait, Cowthulu?
BOGOST: Yeah they wanted a, you know, Lovecraftian Cthulu cow - Cowthulu.
VOGT: That's the bovine equivalent of a tentacled creature named Cthulu, created by H.P. Lovecraft and beloved by geeks. Still psyched that people were into his game, Bogost gave them what they wanted.
BOGOST: You know, there was a pirate cow, a ninja cow and a cow that costs over $100. When you bought that cow, we sent a real cow to the Third World. You know, I was very eager to put more material into the game to see how people would react.
VOGT: But eventually, he got uneasy.
BOGOST: After a while I realized they're doing exactly what concerned me about these games. They're, you know, becoming compulsively attached to it. There was one point when I realized that I was now attached to in a compulsive way. I was worrying about what the cow clickers thought while I was away from the game. And that was the moment at which I both felt kind of empathy with the players. And also, I began to feel very disturbed by the product.
VOGT: He decided to sabotage the game, to tweak it, to make it more maddening, more dumb.
ALEXANDER: At one point, he just like, he took the default cow, switched it to face the other direction and charged 20 bucks for it. And people bought it.
VOGT: Bogost couldn't diminish people's love for Cow Clicker. The game generated its own fan culture.
BOGOST: Cow Clicker poetry, silkscreen printed T-shirts. There was this woman who did these sort of Cow Clicker portraits of all her Cow Clicker friends.
VOGT: Bogost decided that if he couldn't ruin Cow Clicker, he'd kill it. He got in touch with friends across the world, and had them hide clues in the real world for Cow Clicker diehards to find. Once assembled, the clues spelled out a chilling prophecy.
BOGOST: Cowpocalypse, and then there was this timer that started running. And with the timer ended, then the game would shut down. Or at least that was the implication. I never really said what would happen.
VOGT: In a final twist of perversity, Bogost designed his game-ending countdown clock to speed up whenever anyone played the game and to reset if people paid money.
BOGOST: I wanted the players to feel like they were accelerating their own demise by playing. And then be tempted to maybe purchase their way out of it. And several people, like, extended the clock at the very last minute a few times.
VOGT: When you create something, you don't get to decide how it will be received. Ian Bogost's game wasn't designed to be enjoyable, but it turned out to be possibly the most resonant game he's ever made. His take on what that might mean is actually pretty optimistic.
BOGOST: It shows us how weird and complicated simple things really are. And shows me not that like I'm some sort of brilliant designer who made this thing that was bigger than I thought it was but how resilient and creative people are. I did this thing that was Cow Clicker, and in spite of it, they rose above and sort of made it something more than it really was.
VOGT: That's one way to look at it. Here's another. You remember that countdown clock?
BOGOST: When the clock finally counted down to zero, there was a cow rapture.
VOGT: Here's how the Cowpocalypse actually transpired.
BOGOST: All the cows were whisked away. And all that was left were the little shadows where they had been standing. But the game continued to run. And, in fact, the game continues to run to this day. And there are still people clicking on the spot where a cow used to be.
VOGT: Bogost still gets messages from confused Cow Clickers. A typical complaint, which Leigh Alexander, the videogame journalist, published, read that after the rapture, Cow Clicker was quote, "not a very fun game" any longer. Bogost answered: It wasn't very fun before. For Bogost, Cow Clicker was never about fun. It was a joke. But as it turned out, the joke was on him.
I'm P.J. Vogt.
BLOCK: PJ Vogt reports for WNYC's On the Media.

Now, I'm wondering if people can't find something better to do with their time than to stare at a computer screen and click on shadows of raptured cows.  I'm wondering if people can't find something better to do than to play a computer game that is a parody of other computer games.  I'm wondering if people can't find something better to think about than ways to improve a computer game, and send messages to the creator of the game with suggestions.

Perhaps in the broader context of life, we can go about our real lives in the real world.  Perhaps we can, with our God-given imagination, think of ways to improve our world.  Perhaps we can message the Creator of the world with those suggestions.  It is called Prayer.  And the Creator is called God.  And God wants to partner with us to make this world a better place.

There are two ways you can make this world a better place.  One is to read the Earth's Owner's Manual.  This is called the Bible.  You can discipline yourself to study and growth in knowledge of God and His Word.  This is called discipleship.  The other way you can make this world a better place is to tell other people about God, and invite them to accept Him as their Lord and Savior.  This is called Evangelism. 

There are many study helps available to grow in discipleship and evangelism.  One place you can find material to help you grow spiritually, or to help your church start a discipleship program is at http://walkinhisword.co

Make a difference

Small minds talk about people; average minds talk about events; great minds talk about ideas.

 A male relative on my father's side was described in this way: whatever he did, he managed to do it like he was fighting a fire.  For a Depression-era blue collar or agricultural worker, that was high praise indeed.  No matter what job you gave him, he attacked it with zeal and passion; he was solely focused on the job as if it were the most important thing in the world to him at that time.

I was reminded of that story as I scanned the radio dial last week, trying to find something worth listening to as I drove around town running my errands.  The all-sports station was airing a gossip piece about some professional ball-player's relationships with a semi-famous actress.  Small minds talk about people.  My favorite all-news station was talking about a plane crash at an air show in Nevada where the pilot and two spectators were killed.  (The death toll has now been raised to nine, as six of the wounded who were hospitalized in serious condition passed away).  Now, this was a more important story, but it was the hundredth time that day I had heard this story--it was like it was a slow news day, and this reporter just read the AP teletype as if he was reading the current weather report.  I heard no sadness for the families mourning their loved ones; I heard no suggestions of how such accidents could be avoided in the future; there was not even an analysis of the cost (in human lives) of air shows nation-wide each year.  Average minds talk about events.  

Next I tuned in to a Christian talk station, but they were doing a music segment.  Now, there is nothing wrong with listening to music, especially Christian music.  It is entertaining, and sometimes uplifting; but most of the time music on the car radio is background to conversations you have with your passenger, or secondary to the thoughts you entertain in your head: "I have to remember to pick up milk before I get home.  Home Depot has a sale on faucet covers.  Did I remember to cover my gas grill?  Oh, look, the gas gauge is on empty--I'd better go fill up."  And on and on it goes.  Mundane things, details of life that won't matter an hour from now, much less next year, or a decade from now, or after I am gone.

"Meaningless! Meaningless!" says the Teacher.  "Utterly meaningless!  Everything is meaningless."  What does man gain from all his labor at which he toils under the sun?  Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever.  The sun rises and the sun sets, and hurries back to where it rises.  The wind blows to the south and turns to the north; round and round it goes, ever returning on its course.  All streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full.  To the place the streams come from, there they return again.  All things are wearisome, more than one can say.  The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing.  What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.  (Ecclesiastes 1.2-9)

We live in an age of information overload, where news of a Kardashian wedding (why is this family famous? what have they done? no, wait--I don't even want to know) gets the same attention as the war in Afghanistan.  No one ever hears of the work of the Lord, unless a missionary dies in a plane crash, or a priest gets indicted for sexual misconduct.

And it always seems like when we turn off the television and get back to building relationships with people, the first thing people talk about is what was on television last night.  People are more tuned in to pop culture than to the work of the ministry.  And when you try to encourage people in their Christian walk, they complain that their Bible study is dry--always reading about "So-and-so begat so-and-so", or "This tribe of Israel had six thousand men, and that tribe had eight thousand."

Life is hard.

We cannot be discouraged.

In order to get to the discussion of ideas, we have to disregard the gossip and direct conversations past events and toward ideas.  We have to remember that God is a creative God, and that His best idea was to have fellowship with us.  We must remember that God is a problem-solving God, and that when our biggest problem was separation from Him, He sent His Son to bridge that gap.  Sharing that message with people is the most important job we can have at any point in our lives.

We may praise those whose work ethic reminds us of fire-fighters.  But in the end, the whole world will be consumed with fire.  We have to be about saving people.  Not just people that will die without our help, but people that will die and go to hell unless we tell them about Jesus.  That is what gives our lives meaning.

Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God, and keep His commandments, for this is the whole purpose of man.  For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil. (Ecclesiastes 12.13-14)

Solomon concluded that life is meaningless without God, therefore our whole purpose is to keep His commands.  Jesus said the greatest commandment is this: to love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind and strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself.  How do you show your love for God? By giving Him your heart, and doing everything you do for His glory.  How do you show your love for your neighbors? By showing them God's love.   How did God show His love for us?  "But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: while were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5.8)

When we take that idea of God's sacrificial love for us-- when we dissect it and discuss it and take it to heart-- we are motivated to do something about it.  So don't spend your days chasing your tail, watching the sun come up and then go down. Don't spend your years talking about the weather or chasing the wind.  Make a difference in somebody's life today.  Tell them about Jesus.

Share, so the World will know

I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ.  (Philemon 6)

The Apostle Paul certainly did carry out the Great Commission in everything that he did.  We all need to be reminded of what Jesus told us just before he ascended into heaven:

All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.  And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.  (Matthew 28.18-20)

Jesus has authority over all things: all time, all people, all nations, all spirits--everything.  This is good news, because Jesus humbled Himself and became one of us; he submitted to death on the cross, as a sacrifice for our sins; and He was raised from the dead by God, who has given Him authority over sin and death.  Think about that.  If God had given this authority to Satan, the fallen angel, we would all be overcome by the demons of darkness.  If God had given this authority to the archangel Michael (whom Daniel called the Protector of Israel, and whom John in Revelation said led the heavenly armies against the dragon and his angel), then only Jews would be saved, and the rest of us would have been defeated by the hosts of heaven.  But God gave His Son Jesus authority over all things, and that is good news that needs to be shared.  Jesus told this to His disciples:

Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.  Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. (Mark 16.15-16)

 But in the Great Commission, Jesus went beyond evangelism; He commanded discipleship.  He did not say go make Christians out of all nations.  The Crusaders tried this in the Middle Ages, and they failed.  We cannot just lead people to Christ and then leave them hanging.  We must teach them how Jesus told us to live.  He said we must make disciples of all nations.  What does "disciple" mean?  Well, it has its root in the word "discipline"; and certainly, disciples of Christ must be careful to avoid sin.  But when Jesus chose twelve men to be with Him during his ministry on earth, He did not beat them with a stick.  He taught them, both in words and by example.  He spoke to them, and lived with them, and laughed with them and cried with them.  They watched Him, and listened to Him, and learned from Him.  Now that Jesus has gone to prepare a place for us, we must teach others how He lived.

Paul did this in his missionary journeys.  Acts chapter 14 talks about Paul preaching the good news in Lystra, and doing good work there.  But some Jewish leaders came down from Antioch and said evil things about Paul and Barnabas.  The Jewish leaders ran them out of town in Lystra. 

The next day he (Paul) and Barnabas left for Derbe.  They preached the good news in that city and won a large number of disciples.  Then they returned to Lystra...strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. (Acts 14.20-22)

Notice that Paul did not preach and then leave.  He made disciples, and when he left them for another town, he came back and encouraged them in their faith.  He did this all through his ministry.  But God knows that one man cannot reach the entire world for Christ.  That is why He commanded us to make disciples and not just converts.

Let me tell you what I mean.  If I invent a new widget, I might try to get all of my friends and acquaintances to buy the item.  I might buy advertisements to ask people to buy my widget.  And if I am successful, I might sell a few hundred.  I might hire salesmen to go and sell the widget for me.  If they are all as successful as I am, I might sell a few thousand.  But if I can teach all of my customers how to use the widget and how to sell it to their friends, and if those customers sell the widgets to their friends and teach them how to sell it to their friends, and so on, then very soon we will all have sold millions of widgets.  It's like a multi-level marketing scheme: if I can convince you to involve two or three others, and those three others convince three apiece, now there are twelve customers, and I have only spoken to three of them.  If the marketers down the line all get three, and their customers get three more, and those people each get three more, it won't take very long to get into the millions.

My dad, a retired pastor, tells the story of inviting an evangelist to his church for a revival (a series of nightly worship services designed to win souls, and encourage church members to continue in soul-winning after the evangelist leaves).  The evangelist divided the people at the service one night into two groups.  Those on the left side of the aisle, and those on the right.  He started on the left side, going down into the crowd and taking people up to the front of the church with him, one by one.  Soon he had a small group, maybe a dozen people or so.  Then he went to the right side of the aisle, and took two people by the hand and led them to the front.  He instructed those two people to go get two more, and then those four were instructed to bring two each to the front.  After each wave, there were eight, then sixteen, then 32 people up front.  His point was that he could go out and share the gospel with one person at a time, and could win to Christ a few people.  But if he shared the gospel with just two, and instructed them how to win two more, and those people were instructed how to win still more, then the number of souls saved would increase exponentially.

My aim here is to motivate you to discipleship.  Spend some quality time with someone who knows Scripture, and who can teach you who Jesus is and what He is all about.  Then go find someone that you can teach, and show them what Jesus has told you.  And after a time, let that person go so he or she can teach someone else, and then find another person you can disciple.  There are helpful books everywhere; my dad has written some, and soon there will be a website where you can buy his discipleship manual.  But don't wait.  People are dying every day without Christ.  You cannot reach them all.  But you can widen your circle of influence by teaching others how to share their faith, and how to walk in His word.

I heard a Bible Translator once, who said that Jesus will not come back until the whole world has heard of Him in their own language.  We cannot stand by and wait for a multi-lingual preacher to tell them.  We must tell the good news to our friends, some of whom may speak another language; and that person may share the gospel in his language, and one may hear who speaks a still different language.  In this way we can hasten the Second Coming of Christ.

ABCs of Salvation

We’re saved, we’re freed for evermore!
(Gretel: Your eyes are shut, pray who are you?
You’re sleeping, yet you’re singing too.)
O touch us we pray that we may all awake!
We thank you both!
The spell is broke and we are free,
We’ll sing and we’ll dance and we’ll shout for glee!
Come children all and form a ring
Join hands together while we sing!
Then sing and spring, then dance and sing
That through the wood our song of praise may sound
And echo repeat it all around!
The angels whispered in dreams to us in silent night
What this happy happy day has brought to light.
Ye angels who have watched o’er our steps
And led them right,
You we praise and thank for all our joy and wondrous Delight.
We’ll thank you all our life!
(From a children's opera by Engelbert Humperdinck based on the story of Hansel and Gretel)

In the scene above, from the re-telling of the story from Grimm's Fairy Tales, Hansel has just pushed the wicked witch into the oven and shut the door.  Scores of gingerbread cookies come to life, representing other children that the witch had kidnapped.  They all gather around Hansel and Gretel and sing the song, "We Are Saved."

In Christian circles, we talk a lot about being saved.  Salvation is an important doctrine, but I think very often we gloss over the term.  Some in the World mock Christians because they don't understand the term "saved."  Saved from what?  They don't understand the danger they are in spiritually--they believe the story of Jesus and his Redemption of all mankind belongs on the shelf with Grimm's Fairy Tales. 

The term "saved" implies that there was a danger that we have avoided.  Exactly what are we saved from?

Saved from Sin
Just like in the fairy tale above, where the children were in danger of being cooked for the witch's dinner, we are in danger of being consumed by sin.  Satan, the father of lies, lures us into complacency--a sense that we will be all right without God.  The more we see sin, the more accustomed we grow to it.  The more comfortable we are with it, the more we indulge in it.

At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures.  We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. (Titus 3.3)

Saved from Hell
Many people today think of God as loving and forgiving.  Followers of the social gospel believe that Jesus came to help the poor, and feed the hungry, and heal the sick.  They forget that He also came to save people from their sins.  God is a God of love; but He is also a God of judgment.  One day He will judge us all, separating the sheep from the goats.  Jesus came to give a hope and a future, a way to avoid sin and hell.  In His famous Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said:

If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away.  It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.  And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away.  It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go to hell. (Matthew 5.29-30)

Saved by Grace
Once people realize they are in danger of hell fire, they try to clean up their act.  They try to avoid sin, and live a godly life.  But once sin blackens our soul, we cannot bleach it out; we cannot cover it up.  The stain is always there.  We would be willing to give our right arm for a second chance.  Thankfully, God has provided that for us.

But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy.  He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. (Titus 3.4-5)

So once we realize that we are separated from God by sin (Romans 6.23 "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord"), and that we are all sinners, every one of us (Romans 3.23 "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God"), we come to the point where we know that we need a Savior.  Jesus is our Savior. Once we acknowledge that fact, and believe in Him, and call on His name, we will be saved.  It is as easy as ABC.

The story is told of a poor man who played the lottery religiously.  He hoped and prayed that he would win. One day he saw the good news that the ticket he held had all of the correct numbers.  He had won!  He danced for joy, because now all his prayers had been answered.  He put the lottery ticket in a safe place, and went out and quit his job.  He didn't need to earn any more money, he had won the lottery.  He bought a new car and new furniture on his credit card--he didn't have to worry about paying, because he had won the lottery.  But when the bills came due, he had no money to pay, because he had missed on crucial step--he had failed to cash in the ticket.  So his new car and new furniture were taken away.  He lost his house, because he had not kept up the payments.  He was hungry and destitute, even though he had won the lottery.

Many of us are just like that man.  We know that Jesus came to save us.  We believe His word of salvation.  But we do not receive it--we don't act on that knowledge and belief, so we miss out on the very thing we know is available to us.

This 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 has 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. (Romans 10.9-10)

Acknowledge the truth.  Believe the word.  Call on His name.  Don't miss out.  Everlasting life can be yours.  Faith in Him will save you.  Grace is abundant and free.  Heaven or hell, the choice is yours.  I can't save myself.  Jesus is the only way. (You get the idea).

 

 

Give Glory to God

When I was in college, I had an encounter with a young coed who was in the throes of depression.  Being an eternal optimist, I tried to encourage her with the most uplifting scripture I knew: I said, "Thanks be to God who, in Christ, always leads us in triumph, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of Him everywhere."  (2 Corinthians 2.14).

She shook her head, and sighed.  "I guess I'm not feeling very triumphant today."  And she turned around and left.  Now there may have been better ways for me to encourage her, but her attitude seemed to be that God owed her joy.  If He did not bless her, she would not praise Him.  This is an attitude we all seem to have in the modern age.  Yes, we will raise our hands and praise Him mightily when things are going well for us.  But in our darkest moments, we withhold the very praise that the Light of Life inhabits.  And that's sad.

Listen to these three verses, and try to guess the context of each one.

Then Joshua said to Achan, "My son, give glory to the Lord, the God of Israel, and give Him the praise.  Tell me what you have done; do not hide it from me." (Joshua 7.19)

Sing to the Lord! Give praise to the Lord! He rescues the life of the needy from the hands of the wicked. (Jeremiah 20.13)

A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. "Give glory to God," they said.  "We know this man is a sinner." (John 9.24)

God is glorified in Truth
In the first verse, Joshua had been leading the Israelite army to one victory after another, under the leadership of God.  It kind of sounds like Achan was a mighty warrior, who had performed a great feat on the battlefield, and that Joshua was encouraging him to tell everyone about his victory.  But in actuality, Achan was a war profiteer, and had stolen some spoils of war for himself.  This was in direct disobedience to God's command that everything be destroyed.  So as a result of Achan's sin, the Israelite army had suffered a bitter defeat that day.  Achan knew he had disobeyed God, and had been the cause of the loss of life of  his countrymen; he also probably knew that admission of guilt would bring swift and severe punishment to him and his family.  But Joshua encouraged him to "give glory to God" and tell the truth.

So giving God praise is not necessarily connected with our own well-being.  In this context, "give glory to God" was an encouragement to tell the truth--it was like putting your hand on the Bible and swearing to tell the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.  The phrase could be used in this way, because lies do not bring glory to God.  Even if confession brings the sting of death, God is glorified in Truth.

God is glorified in our need
The second example above is from a long lament by the prophet Jeremiah.  He had just prophesied against a priest, the son of the chief officer in the Temple.  Jeremiah called him out for lying, for giving false testimony in the Temple, and for prophesying lies.  But the priest had Jeremiah thrown in prison.  Jeremiah complained in prison that he had only told the truth, had only said the words that God had given him to say; yet he was sitting in a prison licking his wounds, while the priest walked free.  Jeremiah cursed the day he was born; he said the day his father knew that a son had been born to him was not a day of rejoicing, but a day of weeping.  Yet in all of this self-pity, Jeremiah recognized that God was stronger than his circumstances.  Jeremiah may have been beaten and imprisoned, but God would be glorified forever.

A contrast is made between God and man: God is good, men are evil; God is powerful, able to rise up against the wicked; men may think they are in control, but not one of them knows the day he will die.  So even when Jeremiah was angry at the world, and had every reason to be depressed, he gave glory to God.  So should we.

God is glorified in our healing
In the third example above, it sounds like the men were asking questions of a sinful man who had been blind, but that God had restored his sight.  Were they joyful with him, that God would do this wonderful thing in his life? No.  They were the Pharisees, the church leaders of the day.  They had it in for Jesus, who had performed the miracle that allowed this poor man to see.  It was not the man that the Pharisees were calling a sinner--it was Jesus!

So again, the command to "give glory to God" was a solemn charge to tell the truth.  The Pharisees were conducting an investigation of Jesus and His actions, so they could turn the court of public opinion away from Jesus and back toward themselves.  The witness for their prosecution suddenly became a witness for the defense when the man said, "Whether He (Jesus) is a sinner or not, I do not know.  One thing I do know: I was blind but now I see!" (John 9.25).  This testimony was not likely going to get him in the good graces of the Pharisees; he would probably be excommunicated from the synagogue for such words.  But glory did not belong to the Pharisees; glory belonged to Christ Jesus, the Healer.

As these three examples show us, we can't let our circumstances control us.  God is still God, whether we feel good or not.  He is still King of all Creation, whether we are on top of the world or struggling to hold it together.  He is still worthy of our praise, whether we see His blessing or not.

Last night my wife and I had a discussion about rewards in Heaven.  Are there different levels of Heaven that Man can aspire to?  Will those who did good works for God on earth be given greater recognition in Heaven?  My thought on this is I don't know; but if we earn any praise, it should be turned back on Jesus.  If we earn any crowns, they will all be cast down at Jesus feet.  The point is that if we are to humbly thank God in the best of circumstances (we're talking Heaven here, people!), then how much more are we to glorify God in the worst of circumstances here on earth?

Why should I feel discouraged, why should the shadows come,
Why should my heart feel lonely, and long for heaven and home,
When Jesus is my portion? A constant friend is He;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.

"Let not your heart be troubled," His tender words I hear,
And resting on His goodness, I lose all doubts and fears;
Though by the path He leadeth, and only one step I may see,
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.

Whenever I am tempted, whenever clouds arise;
When songs give place to sighing, and hope within me dies;
I draw the closer to Him, from care He sets me free,
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.

I sing because I'm happy; I sing because I'm free!
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.

Jesus wants you to be with Him

Last week I saw a bumper sticker that said, "Be Happy Right Now, Because Right Now Lasts Forever."  The message is shallow and pithy, because happiness is not the ultimate goal of humanity.  We may think that it is, but it is not.  The message is also incorrect, as the moment can be broken in an instant. And new circumstances cause the "right now" you were experiencing a moment ago to change, and the "right now" that you will have five minutes from now is different than what you are experiencing as you read these words.

See, life is a series of moments, of decisions, of turning points that you may or may not control.  Your personal growth depends on how you react to the challenges life brings you.  The challenge you faced yesterday may have taught you how to overcome the challenge you face today.  So "right now" is not a continuum; it is a series of points in time that make life interesting.

In his letter to a young christian named Titus, the Apostle Paul urged him to be holy, to teach godliness, to hold onto hope, and to know the redemption granted through Christ Jesus.

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. (Titus 2.11-14)

Too bad that passage won't fit on a bumper sticker, because it is a better challenge for us than any bumper sticker you could find.

Grace
The grace of God is the undeserved love God showed us in Christ while we were still sinners and His enemies.

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly...But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us....For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life!" (Romans 5.6, 8, 10).

This grace is given by which we are saved apart from any moral achievements or religious acts on our part.  Titus 3.5 says, "He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy.  He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit."  Ephesians 2.8-9 says, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast."  Even the faith we have to accept God's gift of grace is a gift from God.  But this same grace instructs us that our salvation should produce good works.

Godliness
Read verse 12 again.  "It teaches us to say "NO" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age."  We are born with a sinful nature, separated from God.  We are encouraged to put off that nature and to put on godliness, through the Holy Spirit.

The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies and the like.  I warn you, as I did before, that those who life like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.  Against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5.19-23)

Hope
What is our blessed hope?  Paul said it is the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.  The grace we spoke about earlier is not an end to itself.  The godliness to which we aspire is not to make us feel good about ourselves.  We want to receive grace and take on godliness because of our hope in Christ that He will return and take us home with Him.  2 Timothy 4.1-2 says, "In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of His appearing and His kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage, with great patience and careful instruction."

We don't live in the moment; we try to change the moment for the glory of God, in the hope that He will come and make all things right.  Hope is not sitting around wistfully, saying, "Gee, I hope I get to heaven some day."  NO!  Our hope is grounded in faith that we WILL see Jesus again, not in judgment, but in love.  That is what grace is for, and it is why we strive for godliness.

Redemption
While we are waiting for the glorious appearance of Christ our Lord, we are to purify ourselves and to be an example against worldliness, so that some in the world may be led to Christ.

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.  Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.  For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.  Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. (Ephesians 6.10-13)

In the 17th chapter of John, Jesus says a prayer for the disciples, and for all believers (both present and future), just before he is arrested and crucified.  In this prayer, He shows us His heart.  His greatest desire was to have us with Him always.

Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory You have given Me because You loved Me before the creation of the world. (John 17.24)

Think about that for a moment.  Jesus was not saying He wanted us in heaven with Him.  It is not a stationary place.  Where Jesus is changes, moment by moment.  A few hours after He prayed this prayer, he was being led up to death.  He wanted us to be with Him there.  Three days later, He was raised from the dead.  He wanted us to be with Him there. In the decades that followed, Jesus moved in the hearts of his disciples so that the knowledge of Him would spread around the world.  He wanted us to be with Him there.

Wherever Jesus is working in the lives of people today, He wants us to be with Him there.  The message is that we have seen the glory of God, the glory that God gave to His Son (and to us) because God loved Him (and us) before the creation of the world.  With that message, Jesus is doing great work all over the world today, and He wants us to be with Him there.  One day, when His work on earth is done, and He comes to take His children home, He will want us to be with Him there, too.

 

Coming Soon! Judgment Day: The Wrath of God (It will make your ears tingle!)

Hollywood loves disaster movies.  Terms like "spine tingling" and "hair raising" have been used to describe scary films for almost a century.  And as technology improves, the images become more and more realistic.  But as frightening as the films may be, there is always something in the back of our minds telling us, "This is just a movie."  So when it is over, we can go back to our normal lives.  We may have to sleep with a night-light for a few days, but pretty soon, we'll be over it.

There are at least three instances in the Bible where the wrath of God was revealed to His people, and the physical response was so traumatic that God predicted that their ears would tingle.  Think about that for a minute.  The God of the Universe is so angry, so fed up with sin, that He points His finger in your face and promises to punish you severely.  Your blood pressure shoots up.  Your heart rate increases.  All the blood drains from your face, and you feel faint.  You can actually hear your blood pumping.  Numbness and tingling spread to your extremities--your fingers and toes become numb and your ears literally tingle.  This is how scared these people were after hearing the words of God. This is the reaction the Bible describes when it says "make their ears tingle."

Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit

And the Lord said to Samuel: "See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make the ears of everyone who hears it tingle.  At that time I will carry out against Eli everything I spoke against his family--from beginning to end. For I told him that I would judge his family forever because of the sin he knew about; his sons made themselves contemptible, and he failed to restrain them.  Therefore I swore to the house of Eli, 'The guilt of Eli's house will never be atoned for by sacrifice or offering'."

Remember, Eli was the High Priest in Israel, in the time before kings.  God ruled the land, with the priest acting as the Mediator between God and Man.  It was assumed that the priest's sons would follow in his footsteps.  But Eli's sons blasphemed God.  There were rules set down from the time of Moses on how to conduct yourself in the Tabernacle or the Temple; breaking those rules disqualified you from serving as priest.  In fact, Eli's sons had committed some acts that should have exiled them from Israel.  But Eli looked the other way.

Samuel had been given to God by his mother.  He would be the next priest.  It was his job to tell Eli what God had said.  In this case, Samuel, a boy probably no older than 13, was acting as a mediator between God and Eli.  In the Old Testament, the High Priest was endowed by the Holy Spirit of God.  When Eli's sons disrespected their father and his position, they blasphemed the One he represented.

Jesus said:

And so I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.  Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this life or the next. (Matthew 12.31-32)

 Leading Others Toward Idolatry

The Lord said through his servants the prophets: "Manasseh king of Judah has committed these detestable sins.  He has done more evil than the Amorites who preceded him, and has led Judah into sin with his idols. Therefore this is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: I am going to bring such disaster on Jerusalem and Judah that the ears of everyone who hears about it will tingle.  I will wipe out Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down.  I will forsake the remnant of my inheritance and hand them over to their enemies.  They will be looted and plundered by all their foes because they have done evil in my eyes." (2 Kings 21.10-15)

Manasseh had been an evil king.  He made bad choices.  He decided to worship the idols that God had expressly told the people not to worship.  But because of his position and power, he caused others to abandon God as well.  He led the people of Israel away from God and toward the detestable practice of idolatry.  And God promised to wipe them out, even to the third and fourth generation.

Look, you can do whatever you want to do--it's your life.  But when you start making others turn away from God, look out.  Jesus said, "Things that cause people to sin are bound to come, but woe to that person through whom they come.  It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone around his neck than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin.  So watch yourselves." (Luke 17.1-3a).  God's judgment is swift and sure.

Diluting the Worship of God with Pagan Rituals

Hear the word of the Lord, O kings of Judah and people of Jerusalem.  This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Listen!  I am going to bring a disaster on this place that will make the ears of everyone who hears of it tingle.  For they have forsaken me, and made this a place of foreign gods; they have burned sacrifices in it to gods that neither they, nor their fathers, nor the kings of Judah ever knew, and they have filled this place with the blood of the innocent.  They have built the high places of Baal to burn their sons in the fire as offerings to Baal--something I did not command, or mention, nor did it ever enter my mind."  (Jeremiah 19.3-5)

He goes on to say that God would allow other nations to slaughter the people of Jerusalem for their sins.  God is a jealous God; He expects full obedience to His commands.  Yet with every generation, the people became more lax in their worship until some started including pagan prayers and rituals into their worship of God.  That led to the next generation sacrificing to other gods as God had commanded them to sacrifice to Him.  And then finally they started human sacrifices, which God had never, ever intended to be done.

Just like God knows the physiology of His creation (i.e. He knows what makes our ears tingle), He also knows our hearts.  Instead of watching each generation of His people fall away, and having to judge them for it, He provided the ultimate sacrifice.  He sent His Son, so that all could be forgiven.  This forgiveness is available to all who ask Him to save them.  It is available to you.  If the thought of Hell and damnation causes your ears to tingle, ask Him to save you today.

Sadly, we have become so hardened to the Truth that we ignore it.  Just like the old scary movies don't make us jump any more because we have seen too many of them, the Old Testament promises of judgment don't break our hearts anymore, because we have all become accustomed to grace.  But one day, that grace will no longer be extended to all.  On the Day of Judgment, God will separate the sheep from the goats, the good from the bad, the called from the worldly.  He will send His own to heaven and eternal reward.  He will send everyone else to hell and eternal punishment.  If that doesn't make your ears tingle, it should.

Our pilgrimage to God's House

When I was in college (a Baptist affiliated school), we had an intramural sports program, and many from the men's dorm participated.  They would get creative with their team names.  During the intramural football season one fall, one team called themselves "Sons of Thunder".  This was clearly a reference to the disciples James and John--Mark 3.17, in listing the twelve disciples that Jesus had chosen, says this: "James, son of Zebedee, and his brother John (to them he gave the name Boanerges, which means Sons of Thunder)."  Apparently these two disciples, and maybe their father too, were so bombastic and so full of hot air that Jesus gave them this nickname.

Anyway, this intramural team was so bad, and lost so many games, it was embarrassing.  The next season, they re-named themselves "Tons of Blunder."

In the book of Psalms in the Bible, there are several of the psalms written by men who called themselves "Sons of Korah."  Now, this is not a very flattering name for themselves.  Korah was a Levite who stood up to Moses and challenged him.  His gripe was that Moses and Aaron held an elevated position in the camp, over the other priests and Levites, who had also been set apart by God.  Numbers 16.3 says, "They came as a group to oppose Moses and Aaron, and said to them, 'You have gone too far! The whole community is holy, every one of them, and the Lord is with them.  Why then do you set yourselves above the Lord's assembly'?"  Well, Moses took this challenge to God, and God commanded everyone in the camp to step away from the tents of Korah and his friends.  Numbers 16.32-33 says, "and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, with their households and all Korah's men and all their possessions.  They went down alive into the grave with everything they owned; the earth closed over them, and they perished and were gone from the community."

Now why would men generations later identify with such an infamous character?  This was not a man to be emulated--he was judged by God, and swallowed up by the earth.  He had insolently stood up to God's representative, and pridefully staked a claim as being equal to Moses; God humbled him and his followers, and made a spectacle of them before the whole camp.

I think this is why the psalmists identified with Korah.  Maybe they felt that God had humbled them.  Maybe they felt that God had separated them from the camp, and buried them alive in the ground.  Many of the psalms that they wrote are mournful and sad.

As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God.  My soul thirsts for the living God.  When can I go and meet with Him?  My tears have been my food day and night, while men say to me all day long, "Where is your God?" (Psalm 42, 1-3)

But now You have rejected and humbled us; You no longer go out with Your armies....You crushed us and made us a haunt for jackals and covered us over with deep darkness....We are brought down to the dust; our bodies cling to the ground.  Rise up and help us; redeem us because of your unfailing love.  (Psalm 44.9, 19, 25-26)

Did you notice that last verse?  There is an over-riding hope, a desperate appeal to God's love for their redemption.  And these verses were written centuries before the birth, death and resurrection of Christ.  Anyway, this was the background of my weekly reading of the book of Palms this week.  I read chapter 84, and was struck with the tone of it.

How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord Almighty!  My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. (Psalm 84.1-2)

Perhaps the writers were speaking of the Temple of God.  They longed to be in the presence of God on this earth, and the closest place they knew to Him was at the Temple.

Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young--a place near your altar, O Lord Almighty, my King and my God.  Blesses are those who dwell in Your House; they are ever praising You. (Psalm 84.3-4)

Perhaps the writers noticed birds nests in the eves of the building, as they entered the Temple to worship.  They heard the songs of the birds when they gave their offerings, and likened the birds singing to their singing praises to the Creator.

Blessed are those whose strength is in You, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage.  As they pass through the Valley of Tears, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools.  They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion. (Psalm 84.5-7)

Perhaps the writers noticed others who had come to worship at the Temple of God, who had traveled long distances.  Many had made long pilgrimages to the Temple of Zion, and the tears they shed along the way rivaled the springs in the valley and the autumn rains.  Each one's journey had a common theme: they had only been able to take one step at a time, as God had given them strength--step by step, strength to strength, until they had reached their destination.

Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.  For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does He withhold from those whose walk is blameless.  O Lord Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in You. (Psalm 84.10-12)

Those who were in the Temple of God rejoiced at being there.  They felt His presence and His purpose in their lives as long as they were there.  Have you ever had a spiritual mountaintop experience, one so deep and meaningful and moving that you never wanted to leave?  This was the psalmists' desire.  If I have to quit my job back home, I'd rather be employed as a Temple doorman than to leave this place.  God is good.  Trust is good.  Trust in God is very, very good.

This weekend I got to visit my dad.  He has always been a strong man, and a source of strength and encouragement to me.  I'll never forget his reaching up and lifting me down from the roof when I was too afraid to jump.  He has always been taller, bigger, stronger than I.  But now he appears frail and weak.  My heart breaks for him as I watch him battle cancer.

This made me look at the Psalm in a new light.  When the Sons of Korah said "How lovely is Your dwelling place," were they longing for heaven?  When they envied the birds for being close to God, were they wishing that God had given them wings like the birds, so they could fly up to heaven and be closer to God?  The angels in heaven are ever praising God; perhaps the psalmists were saying that the angels were blessed when they wrote, "Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising You."

Maybe the pilgrimage they spoke about in verses 5-7 were the trials of this life; maybe the Valley of Tears is this earthly existence, where we mourn the loss of loved ones who have passed on.  We must carry on, "from strength to strength", until we can be united with them once more in heaven.

Hear my prayer, O Lord God Almighty; Listen to me, O God of Jacob.  Look upon our shield, O God; look with favor on Your anointed one. (Psalm 85.8-9)

Our hope is in heaven.  When we pray to God, we pray in the name of His Son, Jesus, the Anointed One.  When we pray, we seek God's favor; perhaps we want Him to see whose side we are fighting for, whose mark is on our forehead and on our right hand.  "Blessed is the man who trusts in You."

God, please be with my dad.  Do not withhold any good thing from him, because he trusts in You.  Bless him in this valley, and welcome him into Your gates when he reaches home.  Amen.

Weak and wounded sinner
Lost and left to die
O, raise your head, for love is passing by
Come to Jesus
Come to Jesus
Come to Jesus and live!

Now your burden's lifted
And carried far away
And precious blood has washed away the stain, so
Sing to Jesus
Sing to Jesus
Sing to Jesus and live!

And like a newborn baby
Don't be afraid to crawl
And remember when you walk
Sometimes we fall...so
Fall on Jesus
Fall on Jesus
Fall on Jesus and live!

Sometimes the way is lonely
And steep and filled with pain
So if your sky is dark and pours the rain, then
Cry to Jesus
Cry to Jesus
Cry to Jesus and live!

O, and when the love spills over
And music fills the night
And when you can't contain your joy inside, then
Dance for Jesus
Dance for Jesus
Dance for Jesus and live!

And with your final heartbeat
Kiss the world goodbye
Then go in peace, and laugh on Glory's side, and
Fly to Jesus
Fly to Jesus
Fly to Jesus and live!

The Potter's House

Have thine own way, Lord, Have thine own way.
Thou art the Potter, I am the clay.
Mold me and make me after Thy will,
While I am waiting yielded and still.

In Jeremiah chapter 18, we get a glimpse of what God is like.  The prophet put it in human terms, words we can all understand.

This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: "Go down to the potter's house, and there I will give you my message." So I went down to the potter's house, and I saw him working at the wheel.  But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him. (Jeremiah 18.1-4)

If you've ever seen a skilled craftsman making pottery, it is a beauty to behold.  The lifeless lump of clay starts moving with the spinning of the wheel, and as the potter lovingly caresses it, it takes shape.  The motion of the wheel and transformation from a useless lump into a useful pot makes it seem like the clay comes alive.  There are times when the clay appears to have a mind of its own--as the artist's hands build up the sides into thinner walls, the walls might topple over.  This might have been the "flaw" that Jeremiah described as he watched the potter shape his vessel.

But instead of giving up, the potter regrouped, and made a different vessel.  Maybe this one had thicker sides, or was lower to the base.  But the point is that the potter was making the decision on how best to use this lump.  He did not ask, "Clay, what do you want me to make of you?"  He did not wait for the clay to say, "Potter, I really want to be a flower vase."

This is what God is like.  He calls the shots.

Then the word of the Lord came to me: "O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter does?" declares the Lord.  "Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand." (Jeremiah 18.5-6)

Again, Jeremiah uses words that we humans can understand.  I truly believe it is impossible to describe God in human terms.  But since that is our base of operations, our limitation, then God is described in ways that we might describe an Artist, or a Warrior, or a General, or a Father. In this case, in describing God's sovereignty, Jeremiah says He has a right to change His mind.  We know, however, that God is unchanging--He cannot be moved.  He is forever, and forever His word stands.  He is faithful to Himself always.  So how can He change His mind?

If at any time I announce that a nation or a kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned.  And if at another time I announce that a nation or a kingdom is to be built up and planted, and if it does evil in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it. (Jeremiah 18.7-10)

This is the mystery of Free Will given to man versus the Sovereign Will of Almighty God.  God may give some people a promise to destroy them, like He did with the city of Ninevah in the days of Jonah.  But if, like Ninevah, that city repents, then God will not destroy them.  You might say that this was His will all along; in this case, He threatened destruction (which is what they deserved) in order to get them to change.  In the same way, God may reveal His plan to bless His people Israel; but if the people sin (like He knew they would), then He will rain destruction down upon them.

Jeremiah was given a message to the people of Judah.  The prophet trusted God completely, so I'll bet He believed every word.  But God knew how the people would respond, even before He sent the message.

Now say to the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem, "This is what the Lord says: 'Look! I am preparing a disaster for you and devising a plan against you.  So turn from your evil ways, each one of you, and reform your ways and your actions.'  But they will reply, 'It's no use. We will continue with our own plans; each of us will follow the stubbornness of his evil heart'."

God was giving them a chance.  He had His plan to punish them, but He wanted to given them every opportunity to repent.  If they had turned from their wicked ways, God would have turned from His plan to punish them.  But because God is omniscient, He knew before Jeremiah gave the message that they would give up on God.  I work in insurance; we make predictions of frequency and duration of claims so we can set premiums; we make predictions of what a certain claim will cost, so we can set appropriate reserves to pay that claim.  A meteorologist makes predictions of weather patterns; a stock broker makes predictions of future costs of commodities.  You may make predictions in your vocation, as well.  But we all have one thing in common: our predictions are not infallible.   We can be surprised.  We can be mistaken.  Our predictions may be way off sometimes.  That is the difference between us and God: He never makes mistakes.  What He predicts will, in fact, happen.  You can count on it.

You may have had low times in your life where you just give up.  You may throw your hands in the air and say, "It's no use."  You may think, "I can't change.  I'm too set in my ways."  Or you may not think that change is worth it for you.  Isaiah 57.10 describes people who are so set in their sinful ways that they refuse to change.  "You were wearied by all your ways, but you would not say, 'It is hopeless.'  You found renewal of your strength and so you did not faint."  Somehow, you found strength to plod on through the hopeless fog; amazingly, you were determined to slog on through mud and muck even if you sink to your ankles with every step.  God is watching, shaking His head at you.  Does He not promise blessing if you repent?  Re-read Jeremiah 18.7-8 again.  Does He not promise to avert His judgment on you? 

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." (Jeremiah 29.11)

God knows your heart.  He knows you better than you know yourself.  You may not have thought yesterday that you would give your heart to Him today; but if you do, He will give you a hope and a future. He will change your destiny from hell to heaven; he might even work things out so that you avoid the absolute mess you were heading for before you called out to Him. When He gives you a choice to follow Him, do not say, "It is hopeless."  That is a lie.  He is the creator and sustainer of hope.  Let Him show you.  Let Him mold you into what He wants. 

What is God like?

In the ancient world, a person's name held great meaning.  For example, the patriarch Jacob (a name meaning "he deceives") was given a new name by God; he was called Israel (meaning "he struggles with God").  This new name, Israel, was carried on by the nation--for thousands of years, the people of Israel would struggle with God. But when God gave Himself a name, it was Adonai (meaning "The Lord").  And in the 34th chapter of Exodus, God explains what that Name means:

Then the Lord came down in the cloud, and stood there with him (Moses) and proclaimed His Name, the Lord.  And He passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, "The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.  Yet He does not leave the guilty unpunished; He punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation." (Exodus 34.6-7)

Broadly, this shows that God has two sides: On the one hand, He is gracious and loving, compassionate and forgiving.  On the other hand, He is jealous and exacting, and hates injustice; He never lets a sinner go without facing the consequences of his sin.  But how can this be? How can a God whose name is synonymous with love and grace and forgiveness also exact revenge and payment for sin?  He is like a parent who catches her six year old stealing candy from a convenience store.  The parent loves the child, and forgives him immediately; but the good parent will also make the child return the stolen candy and apologize to the store clerk.  This penalty is humiliating to the child, but it is necessary; the parent will also keep a close eye on the child from that point forward, to make sure that he does not repeat the offense.  And when the parent becomes a grandparent, she will tell her grandchildren about the time she caught daddy stealing candy, so that the grandchildren will not make the same mistake.  This is forcing humility to the second and third generation.

But what was God saying about Himself that we should know about Him, so that we can be like Him?  Specifically, we see attributes of God that come from His own spoken words:

• He is compassionate.  Exodus 22.25-27 says, "If you lend money to one of my people among you who is needy, do not be like a moneylender; charge him no interest.  If you take your neighbor's cloak as a pledge, return it to him by sunset, because his cloak is the only covering he has for his body.  What else will he sleep in?  When he cries out to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate."  
• He is slow to anger.  Psalm 78.32 & 38 says, "In spite of all this they kept on sinning; in spite of His wonders, they did not believe...Yet He was merciful; He forgave their iniquities and did not destroy them.  Time after time He restrained His anger and did not stir up His full wrath."  Jeremiah 15.15 says, "You understand, O Lord; remember me and care for me.  Avenge me on my persecutors.  You are long-suffering--do not take me away; think of how I suffer reproach for Your sake."  Paul said this in Romans 2.3-4: "So when you, a mere man, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God's judgment? Or do you show contempt for the riches of His kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you toward repentance?"
• He is abounding in love.  Genesis 19.16 speaks of the time that God spared Lot and his wife from the destruction of Sodom.  God sent angels to escort them out ahead of the fire and brimstone that would rain down on the city. "When he hesitated, the men grasped Lot's hand and the hands of his wife and his two daughters and led them safely out of the city, for the Lord was merciful to them." 
• He is abounding in faithfulness.  Psalm 108.4 says, "For great is Your love, higher than the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies."  Psalm 115.1 says, "Not to us, O Lord, not to us but to Your Name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness."  Psalm 138.2 says, "I will bow down toward Your holy temple and will praise Your Name for your love and faithfulness, for You have exalted above all things Your Name and Your Word."  One of my favorite verses is Lamentations 3.22-23: "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end.  They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness."
• He maintains His love to multitudes.  In the 20th chapter of Exodus, when God gives the Ten Commandments, the second commandment against making idols is underscored with this warning: "You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments."
• He forgives wickedness, rebellion, and sin.  In his prayer of dedication to the temple, Solomon said this in I Kings 8.30: "Hear the supplication of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray toward this place.  Hear from heaven, Your dwelling place, and when You hear, forgive."  Psalm 86.5 says, "You are forgiving and good, O Lord, abounding in love to all who call on You."  Psalm 130.3-4, 8 says, "If you, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand? But with You there is forgiveness; therefore You are feared...He Himself will redeem Israel from all their sins."  Isaiah 43.25 makes this promise from God: "I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions, for My own sake, and remembers your sins no more."  In Daniel 9.9, the prophet made this confession: "The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against Him."  The beloved disciple John said this in 1 John 1.9: "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and purify us from all unrighteousness."
• Yet He does not leave the guilty unpunished.  Joshua 24.19-20 says, "You are not able to serve the Lord.  He is a holy God; He is a jealous God.  He will not overlook your rebellion and your sins.  If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, He will turn and bring disaster on you and make an end of you, after He has been good to you."  Job 9.28 says, "I dread all my sufferings, for I know you will not hold me innocent."  Again in Job 10.13-14, "But this is what you concealed in Your heart, and I know that this was in Your mind; If I sinned, You would be watching me and would not let my offense go unpunished."  Nahum 1.2-3 says, "The Lord is a jealous and avenging God; the Lord takes vengeance and is filled with wrath.  The Lord takes vengeance on His foes and maintains His wrath against His enemies.  The Lord is slow to anger and great in power; The Lord will not leave the guilty unpunished." 

So I know I do not want to be an enemy of God.  I don't want to be one that struggles with God.  I want to know God by His name, the name He calls Himself: THE LORD.  I want to receive His compassionate mercy, His long-suffering, faithful love.  How do I do this?  Jesus came as a sacrifice for our sins, so that God's wrath would be averted.  If we accept Jesus into our hearts, He will take our punishment away.  What a glorious promise.  If you haven't given your heart to Him, please do it today.  There will come a time, at the Great White Throne Judgment of God, where we will have no more chances to repent.  If we do not have the blood of Jesus shielding us from God's wrath, we will be banished from His presence and sent to an eternity without Him.

When you see the warning signs, pray

 “Father, our heart breaks for America, we see discord at home, we see fear in the marketplace, we see anger in the halls of government.  As a nation, we have forgotten who made us, who protects us, who blesses us, and for that, we cry out for your forgiveness.” (Texas Governor Rick Perry.)

Yesterday the Governor of Texas hosted a day of prayer and fasting, and the mainstream media ridiculed him.  It might not have been such a huge story, except that there are rumors that Gov. Perry will announce his candidacy for President of the Unites States soon.  And as President of all the people, members of the media say, he cannot freely exercise his own religion of Evangelical Christianity because that may exclude people of other faiths.  And everybody knows that anyone who represents the United States of America must give up his own constitutional rights (e.g. freedom of religion) in order not to "offend" non-believers.

This is sad.  It's wrong.  It has got to stop.

Joel 1.4 says, "What the locust swarm has left, the great locusts have eaten; what the great locusts have left, the young locusts have eaten; what the young locusts have left, other locusts have eaten."  This verse describes a great calamity to a farming community.  Let me explain: if you see a swarm of locusts, it's usually because food is scarce. They gather up into huge swarms, sometimes containing as many as 50 billion insects.  They swoop down on crops, stripping the land bare.  Usually they move on.  But the prophet Joel is describing a scene that goes from bad to worse--the swarm has come and stripped the crops, but they have left behind pregnant locusts, who continue to eat what the swarm has not consumed.  Then, when the young are born, they eat what the pregnant insects have left.  After that, the young locusts attract mates, and eat what little was left over.  Are you sensing a cycle here?

Okay, you say.  I get it.  Joel was warning of a huge famine, and bugs would come destroy the crops.  So what?  There have always been famines in various parts of the world, and the human race has managed to survive, locusts or no locusts.  But it's not about the locusts.  In this passage, locusts are a metaphor for sin.  And water is a metaphor for blessing.  The scene is set when the water is scarce.  No water means no blessing, no cleansing from sin.  So the nation is in a moral famine.  Just like America today.  We are ripe for a swarm of locusts to come camp on us and wreak utter destruction on us.

In his vision of the Apocalypse, John described one scene in this way:

The fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth.  The star was given the key to the shaft of the Abyss.  When he opened the Abyss, smoke rose from it like the smoke from a gigantic furnace.  The sun and sky were darkened by the smoke from the Abyss.  And out of the smoke locusts came down upon the earth and were given power like that of scorpions of the earth.  They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree, but only those people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads.  They were not given power to kill them, but only to torture them for five months.  And the agony they suffered was like the sting of a scorpion when it strikes a man.  During those days men will seek death, but will not find it; they will long to die, but death will elude them. (Revelation 9.1-6)

Now, if I truly believe the Word of God, and I believed that sin had overtaken us like locusts taking over a field, I would do something about it.  If I believed that the devil (described above as "the star that had fallen from the sky to the earth") was about to open up the pits of hell (described above as "the Abyss"), and that the demons he let out would be like those swarms of locusts, I would fall on my face before Almighty God and ask His forgiveness.  If I sincerely believed that the devil could command the locusts to torture those without Christ (described above as "those people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads"), and that those tortured would cry out for death to rescue them from the agony, but death would not rescue them--if I truly believed that this was the way our Nation was heading, I would cry out to God, and proclaim a fast so that God's mercy would rain down on us.

Why would we persecute someone for having the courage of their convictions? Especially if those convictions were to seek God's blessing on this nation?  Two weeks ago the mainstream media was beside itself about the Tea Party.  Those conservative Republican congressmen ran on a promise of no new taxes, but didn't they realize our country was in a crisis? Reporters just couldn't believe that anyone would vote against tax increases, even if they had been elected on that promise.  After all, promises were meant to be broken, right? This is Washington, after all: that's how politics works--you promise what you have to in order to get elected, then you compromise your beliefs in the name of bipartisanship.  Besides, we were being told that if Congress did not raise taxes and raise the debt ceiling, America would lose it's triple-A credit rating, and the stock market would crash.  Well, guess what? The debt ceiling was raised, and we lost our triple-A credit rating and the stock market crashed anyway. 

So what does God say we should do about it?

Blow the trumpet in Zion, declare a holy fast, call a sacred assembly.  Gather the people, consecrate the assembly; bring together the elders, gather the children; let the bridegroom leave his room and the bride her chamber.  Let the priests, who minister before the Lord, weep between the temple porch and the altar.  Let them say, "Spare your people, O Lord.  Do not make your inheritance an object of scorn, a byword among the nations.  Why should they say among the peoples, 'Where is your God'?" (Joel 2.13-17)

And what will God's response be to true repentance?

Then the Lord will be jealous for his land, and take pity on his people.  The Lord will reply to them: "I am sending you grain, new wine, and oil, enough to satisfy you fully; never again will I make you an object of scorn to the nations." (Joel 2.18-19)

This is the blessing that we all seek. We all want our needs to be met; we all want to be fully satisfied, never in want, confident that others won't hate us.  And if all it takes is for the people of God to meet together, and pray, and call a fast--if that's all it takes, then God bless the organizers of The Response in Houston yesterday.  God bless Gov. Rick Perry for openly asking for God's mercy.  And God bless America, because we are steadfastly on the road to everlasting separation from God.

Life is too short

You do not even know what will happen tomorrow.  What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while, and then vanishes. (James 4.14)

August 3.  He worked for a trucking company.  She had gotten a job at an accounting firm.  A couple months ago they had seen their oldest daughter married in a beautiful church wedding.  Last month the younger twin daughters had been accepted into the colleges of their choice, one to Dallas Baptist University, and the other into the nursing program at Tarrant County Community College.
Life was good.
He called her.  "You want to take off work and be with me today?" he asked her.  It was a week day, a work day, but he had the day off.  She took the day off to be with him.  They went to breakfast, then headed north on I-35 toward WinStar Casino in Oklahoma.
She held his hand.  Traffic got pretty slow just south of Gainesville.  Construction on the northbound section of the highway caused a line of cars to creep along, then come to a complete stop.  They didn't worry, though.  They had all day.
Life was good.
Then it all ended.
A loaded tractor-trailer rig was headed north on the highway, some twenty minutes behind them.  The driver ignored the SLOW--CONSTRUCTION AHEAD signs flashing lazily that hot summer day.  The cab of the truck had an AM/FM stereo, but the signal from the Dallas station was fading.  The driver looked down just for a minute to find a new station, one that came in clearer.  Then, tragically, he hit the line of stopped cars going 55 miles an hour.
Life was over for the couple enjoying each other's company.  They would not see the birth of their first grandson.  They would not see their twin daughters go to their first day of college classes.  Thankfully, they would see Jesus that day.
It's been two years now, and many in their extended family have taken time today to reflect back on the couple's lives.  Joys for having known them.  Regrets for not doing more with them, or for them while they were here with us.  Two years since our lives were changed irrevocably.
"I should have played one more round of golf with him."
"I should have apologized for that thing I said to her."
"We should have had them over one more time for dinner."
Now, until we see them in Glory, those chances are forever lost.
Maybe that's what James meant when he wrote, "Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins." (James 4.17)  Life is too short for regrets.  The best way to avoid them is to confess and repent right then, and do whatever you can to restore fellowship.  Jesus gave an example to His followers.  He knew that volumes had been written in the Old Testament scriptures about the importance of giving offerings to God.  And yet He said this:

Therefore, if you are offering your gifts at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar.  First, go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift. (Matthew 5.23-24)

Maintaining fellowship with your brother is more important that your giving an offering to God.  See, God doesn't need your offering, but you need your brother.  "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another." (Proverbs 27.17).  "But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness." (Hebrews 3.13).  "Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching." (Hebrews 10.25).

I did not foresee the Day that my brother-in-law would be taken from us.  My sister-in-law has no more Tomorrows to share.
I miss you both. 
Will see you in Heaven, Goofy.  Take care of Snowflake.

The gospel of Paul

Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David.  This is my gospel.    --2 Timothy 2.8

The apostle Paul was a man of action.  He knew how to get things done.  But he also knew what it was like to fail.  He knew what it felt like when the whole world seemed to crumble around him: some people said evil things about him, untrue things; some people asked him to leave their places of worship, others threw him out of their town.  Some took the law into their own hands, and threw stones at him until they thought he was dead.  Some people called the authorities and had Paul thrown into jail.

Yet through all of this persecution, Paul kept on believing.  Not only did he believe, he kept on telling others about Jesus.  Not only did he tell whoever he met, he went to other towns and cities to meet more people, so he could tell them about Jesus.  When he was thrown in jail, he told the jailer about Jesus.  When he was shipwrecked, he told his shipmates about Jesus.  When the men of Lystra and Derbe--two towns in Asia Minor that he preached in--when these men took Paul outside the city and tried to stone him to death, Paul got up, dusted himself off, and went back into the city to tell them about Jesus.  That's dedication!

Five time I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one.  Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move.  I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. (2 Corinthians 11.24-26)

Yet through all of this persecution, through all of this danger and  peril, Paul kept on thinking in his mind, "Remember Jesus...remember Jesus...remember Jesus."  The exhortation Paul gave to young Timothy was likely what had kept Paul going throughout his ministry.  Jesus, the Christ, the Messiah, the Chosen One sent from God.  Jesus, who had the power over death, yet He submitted Himself to the rulers and allowed Himself to be nailed to a cross.  Jesus, who came from the royal line of David, who is Lord over all creation, and who will come again one day to rule as King of kings and Lord of lords.

If Jesus is at the top of our minds, if He is the first thing we think of when we wake up and the last thing we think of when we go to sleep, does it really matter what happens to us in between?  If we are lied about, or gossiped about, didn't Jesus already endure that?  If we are persecuted, physically tortured for our faith, Jesus has borne that, too.  If we are sent far from home, to a lonely foreign land whose customs we do not understand, that shrinks in comparison to Jesus leaving Heaven to come to Earth for us.  Paul knew this, and went way out of his comfort zone to share the gospel.

Even if it seems your whole world is crumbling, falling down around you, remember this:

Nevertheless, God's solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: "The Lord knows who are His," and "Everyone who confesses the Name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness." (2 Timothy 2.19)

In Isaiah 28, verse 16 says, "See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who trusts will never be dismayed."  Jesus is our foundation; He is the rock of our salvation, and a mighty fortress against His enemies.  All who trust in Him will be saved.

But Paul gives a second pillar to our foundation, a different inscription than the first.  "Everyone who confesses the Name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness."  To the church at Galatia, Paul said this:

But now that you know God--or rather are known by God--how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? (Galatians 4.9)

Paul was not saying you could lose your salvation.  Their place in God's family is secure.  But turning back to your sinful ways is like voluntarily going back into slavery after you have been redeemed and set free.  A friend of mine used to say "This is freedom" as he raised his hands in praise.  But then he would drop his hands and hold them out in front of him, as if he were handcuffed.  "And this is slavery.  Which would you rather be?"  God has freed us from the slavery of sin, but like Lot's wife, we are always looking back, longing for the days of sinful pleasures.

The encouragement Paul gives is to shun evil and pursue good.  The example Paul gave was to go all out, and to not be dissuaded from doing good even when he was persecuted for it.  The exhortation Paul gave to young Timothy is found in 2 Timothy, verses 11 through 13 (this might have been a first century Christian hymn):

If we died with Him
     we will also live with Him;
If we endure,
     we will also reign with Him;
If we disown Him,
     He will also disown us;
If we are faithless,
     He will remain faithful
     for He cannot disown Himself.

The wrath of God

Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God.  Your sins have been your downfall.  --Hosea 14.1

Have you ever thought that God hated you?  That He was doing everything He could to see you fail?  Sometimes the popular message that "God is Love" rings hollow in your ears.  You may feel like you are experiencing the Wrath of God more than His unfailing Love.

During the Protestant Reformation in the sixteenth century, a man named John Calvin, a theological leader in France and later in Geneva, actually taught that God hated some people and loved others, and there was nothing you could do to move from one group to the other.  The five points of his theological foundation are sometimes known by the acronym T.U.L.I.P.:

• Total Depravity, or Total Inability.  This is the concept of Original Sin.  All men are born into sin, and they have no ability to reach God on their own.
• Unconditional Election.  If God has destined you to become His follower, there is nothing you can do about it.  You can't lose your Salvation, because it was ordained by God.
• Limited Atonement.  Not everybody is going to be saved.  Jesus died for all the ones that were destined to become Christians, but the others cannot claim Christ's atoning blood for themselves, as God has rejected them.
• Irresistible Grace.  Again, if God has destined you to become a Christian, you can't choose not to participate.
• Perseverance of the Saints.  This is akin to Security of the Believer.  God has ordained your Salvation, and no one or nothing can separate you from it.

This is how some interpret the 15th chapter of the book of Jeremiah.

Then the Lord said to me: "Even if Moses and Samuel were to stand before me, my heart would not go out to this people.  Send them away from my presence!  Let them go!  And if they ask you, 'Where shall we go?', tell them, 'This is what the Lord says: Those destined for death, to death; those to the sword, to the sword; those to starvation, to starvation; those for captivity, to captivity.'" (Jeremiah 15.1-2)

No one was more favored by God than Moses and Samuel.  Yet God told Jeremiah that even the intercession of these two saints could not sway Him from His plan to punish them.  A bit of background.   Verse four says that all these curses were due to what Manasseh, king of Judah and son of Hezekiah, did in Jerusalem.  In I Kings 21, we get this bio:

Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty five years.  His mother's name was Hephzibah.  He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, following the detestable practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before the Israelites. (I Kings 21.1-2)

These detestable practices included rebuilding temples to foreign gods that his father had destroyed, erecting alters to Baal and symbols of the goddess Asherah.  He worshiped the stars, and desecrated the Temple of God, even going so far as to offer his son as a sacrifice to the gods.  He practiced sorcery, and consulted mediums.  Bad king, bad decisions, bad actions.  Because of this man's actions, God's wrath was poured out upon the whole nation.

But that's not all.  The wrath of God not only extended to the entire nation, but also to the third and fourth generations.  Manasseh's son Josiah was king after Manasseh died, and he tried to reverse some of the evil practices his father had brought into Jerusalem.  He tore down the altars to Baal, and removed the Asherah poles.  He killed all the priests devoted to the foreign gods.

Nevertheless, the Lord did not turn away from the heat of his fierce anger, which burned against Judah because of all that Manasseh had done to provoke Him to anger  So the Lord said, "I will remove Judah also from my presence, as I removed Israel, and I will reject Jerusalem, the city I chose, and this temple, about which I said, 'There shall My Name be'." (I Kings 23. 26-27)

How depressing!  Even if Josiah followed the Laws of God, the Wrath of God was so great that there was no blessing.  The Bible does not say that the people of Israel followed Josiah, or whether they were too happy about losing the idols they had worshiped for the last half-century.  Tearing down their beloved shrines and killing their priests may not have endeared the king to his people.  This may be why God did not turn away His wrath.  And the son and grandson of Josiah did not follow in the ways of God.  Again, this passage may be used to teach Calvinist doctrine.

But I don't think so.  See, God had already sent the prophets to preach that a Remnant of Israel would return to Israel, and rebuild Jerusalem.  These were the people who Jeremiah said were destined to be taken into captivity.  Just like water is purified by being flushed through a filter; just like gold is purified by fire, the people of Israel were purified by the fiery Wrath of God, and by being forced into captivity.  Only those who were faithful to God and to their Jewish faith would survive.  Not because God hated the people, but because He hated their sinful practices.  God wanted their behavior to be honorable to Him; if their behavior did not honor God, then there were punitive consequences.

I think if God were a psychologist, He would be a behaviorist, not a Freudian.  That makes me an Armenian theologically, not a Calvinist.  I believe that God always gives us an out, a way to repent.  In Jeremiah 15, after God had destined the evil men to death, starvation, sword or captivity, he said this:

The Lord said, "Surely I will deliver you for a good purpose; surely I will make your enemies plead with you in times of disaster and times of distress." (Jeremiah 15.11)

This verse tells me two things.  First, all people--all individuals, all families, all nations--will experience hard times.  It is how we respond that matters.  If we honor God, He will deliver us.  Not only will He deliver us, he will draw others to Himself by making an example of you.  Secondly, I don't think this message was to Jeremiah only.  I don't think that the prophet was the only one of the Elect, while the others who heard this message were eternally damned from the beginning of time.  I believe everyone has a choice to follow God.  The blessing may not come in this life, but if you have faith in God, your blessing will come.

I heard a story about a businessman in a sporty convertible that got lost.  He was zipping along the Farm to Market roads, trying to read his map and get back to the freeway.  As he was distracted by his GPS, he drove his car into a ditch, and try as he might, he couldn't get it out.   So he started walking toward the nearest farmhouse.  He knocked on the door, and asked the farmer if he could help pull his car out of the ditch.  The farmer led the man to his barn, and there they found an old, broken-down, blind mule. "This is Warwick, the mule," the farmer said.  The man wondered how this dilapidated old mule could help him, but he watched as the farmer led him to the car.  After tying the yoke to the car, and securing the mule to the yoke, the farmer yelled, "Pull, Ned!  Pull, Henry!  Pull, Frank!  Pull, Warwick!"  The businessman watched in amazement as the lone mule puled the car out of the ditch.  "That's amazing," said the man.  "But tell me, why did you call out the names of four mules, when only one was there?"  The farmer reached over and scratched Warwick behind the ears.  "Well, Mister, it's like this.  Ole Warwick is blind, see.  If he knew he was the only one pulling, he wouldn't be able to drag the car out by himself.  But if he thinks he has a whole team pulling with him, then there's no limit to what he can do."

It may seem like you are alone.  It may seem like your family, your nation, even your whole world is experiencing the Wrath of God.  But don't get caught up in what you can see.  Like Ole Warwick, the mule, do your best for God, and He will multiply your efforts.

The ways of the Lord are right; the righteous walk in them, but the rebellious stumble in them.  (Hosea 14.9)