June 2021 – Snapshots

Faith Toward God

Faith toward God is foundational in spiritual life, along with it’s twin and counterpart: repentance from dead works. (He 6:1) Faith is belief and trust, what we rely upon; it reflects our basic understanding of the universe, what’s trustworthy and what isn’t, and orients our thoughts and actions on every level.

As a child, we start out trusting; it’s instinctive because we must at first – utterly dependent. As we grow up observing our environment, our expanding experience begins to show us what we can truly count on, what’s stable, consistent, reliable and trustworthy.

As life unfolds and our trust is consistently violated, we become skeptical — what seems reliable on the surface generally isn’t in the long run. People are selfish, fickle and weak, sometimes even malicious and evil. Personal strength and intelligence fail us, our stuff breaks and our wealth bleeds away.

Finding what’s ultimately and perfectly reliable, if anything at all, becomes a journey in itself, one few undertake. Yet we remain vulnerable and dependent, controlling so very little, so we become cynical, anxious and depressed, acting out a belief that nothing and no one is ultimately trustworthy — violating our basic design — our instinct to trust.

To find rest, we must look beyond the physical, beyond personal relationships, beyond health, wealth and power. (Ps 62:10) God Himself is our only possible option here: if He isn’t both utterly sovereign, and also completely trustworthy, reliable, faithful and good, then there’s nowhere else to turn. (11) Our journey ends here, either way. (De 4:39)

The first step is coming to understand God’s utter sovereignty: all things work out according to His own perfect timing and will (Ep 1:11), everything in both Heaven and Earth. (Da 4:35) Yet the fact that His will permits evil and suffering moves us to question His goodness, and we fall short of faith toward God.

We may place our trust in powerful people (Ps 20:7), or turn to our wealth (1Ti 6:17), but it’s empty in a world where God’s ultimately in charge. (Ps 62:9)

Faith toward God is turning to face Him honestly as He is, and as we are; it’s taking that final step: submitting to Him, getting off the throne of the universe, humbling ourselves and admitting we don’t have either the right or the ability to ever doubt the goodness of God. (Ps 62:8) He permits evil and suffering according to a glorious, eternal purpose (Ro 8:28), which we may well not understand for a very long time. (De 29:29)

It’s OK, to not understand; but we can still trust Him, obey Him, love Him, and we should — we must. To come to God, to find peace and rest in Him, we must believe and act out the fact that He’s both sovereign, and also perfectly good: a rewarder of all who diligently seek Him. (He 11:6) This faith itself is the gift of God (Ep 2:8), enabling us to quench the fiery lies of the evil one. (Ep 6:16)

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Give an Answer

When unbelievers ask us why we believe and act the way we do, why we have any hope living in this evil, broken world, we should be ready to give an answer. (1Pe 3:15) We shouldn’t just give them sentiment either; true faith is based on facts.

Scientific facts, archaeological and historical facts, well-attested to over centuries, provide the groundwork of earnest belief. We don’t believe a certain way just because our parents did, or because friends and family agree. Godly faith isn’t blind; it’s grounded in wisdom and reason. We should be familiar with the factual grounds of our faith and be prepared to provide a reasonable defense.

Perhaps the greatest challenge to our faith will be on moral grounds, why we don’t accept the LGBTQ or Social Justice agenda. Those who’ve invented their own false Christ think He accepts any behavior because He’s too loving to correct or rebuke anyone. They won’t tolerate those who refuse to bow the knee to political correctness.

In the face of such challenges, is it appropriate to begin quoting scripture? If they reject scripture as authoritative, why would they care what it says? The wicked are often expert at finding flaws in arguments, pointing out apparent inconsistencies, and referencing academic/scientific authorities to support their rejection of Christianity. Trying to answer their objections can be very difficult and time consuming, and even well-reasoned answers will be unacceptable to the darkened heart. This approach seldom ends well.

Perhaps it is better to ask them to explain the basis of their own confidence. In my experience, atheists don’t arrive at their position through any clear evidence, but by rejecting false religion: it’s a strawman fallacy. For a moral code, ask them how they know what good and evil are, and why they act as if evil exists. They can’t help but act this way; it’s in their very design. How so?

If they can’t site some scripture somewhere, some official written moral code that isn’t subject to their momentary whim, perhaps Hindu or Buddhist or Muslim, which they’re following earnestly and consistently, they’re simply making up their own morality as they go. Why then should they get so frustrated when they see us (supposedly) doing the same thing? It’s irrational.

And on the rare occasion when an antagonist does follow some documented code of conduct, it’s easy then to ask what evidence they have that this code was revealed by God. If they’re letting some mere mortal set up their moral code, why impose this on others? This isn’t much better than making up our own.

The very existence of the Jewish people proves God exists, and that Torah is His moral code: it’s not Man-made. And the very existence of Christianity proves that Jesus Christ rose from the dead, and he believed in Torah. If they can’t point to any other code with a more compelling factual and historical basis, and they can’t even get close, then why not follow Torah?

Such an approach may cause an unbeliever to consider why they feel so smug and confident in their unbelief, and to begin to question their own faith. Perhaps God would use this to convict them and move them to seek Him. (Ac 17:27)

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By His Blood

The Old Testament lays the foundation of justification by substitutionary atonement: blood must be shed to atone for our souls. (Le 17:11) There’s never been any other way to take care of our sin problem: something or someone must take our place.

Yet it’s clear that animals are an insufficient sacrifice for human sin (He 10:4); a sacrifice of sufficient worth must be presented for our souls. Jesus Christ is that perfect sacrifice (Jn 1:29); God makes Christ to be sin for us that we might be made perfectly righteous in Him (2Co 5:21); His blood is what eternally justifies us before God, makes us perfectly righteous in His sight. (Ro 5:9) Nothing else even gets close, but God is perfectly satisfied with the sacrifice of Christ on our behalf. (Is 53:11) Jesus Christ: He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. (1Jn 2:2)

So, being now justified by Christ’s blood, we are saved from wrath through Him. (Ro 5:9). This positions us to overcome the enemy (Re 12:11a), delivering us from the penalty of sin: death. (Ro 6:23)

The blood of Christ not only secures our justification, redeeming us — buying us back to God after we sold ourselves into the slavery of sin — through Christ’s sacrificial atonement for us on the altar of God, forgiving all our sins (Ep 1:7), it’s also sprinkled upon us (1Pe 1:2), as animal blood was sprinkled upon Israel (He 9:19-21), to sanctify us (He 10:29) and set us apart from this world so we can safely draw near to Him. (He 10:22) His blood purges our consciences of dead works so we may serve God. (He 9:14) Christ thereby effects and secures our sanctification (1Co 1:30), which results in us having a practical testimony, a righteous message or word emanating from our lives, which proves out our justification. (Re 12:11b)

Christ shed His blood to atone for our souls, securing our justification and sanctification. Yet some would take it upon themselves to try and apply His blood upon their houses, pets, furniture and cars, or upon an atmosphere, or setting — as if this would deter evil spirits from being able to access material things or invade our living spaces. This treats the blood of Jesus as an amulet or a charm, like an incantation or a magic spell in reverse. Is this an appropriate application of the precious blood of the Son of God?

I see no instance in scripture of anyone using the blood of atonement and sanctification in this manner, and no indication that evil spirits might be afraid to come near the blood of Christ. The entire nature of spiritual warfare is based upon entirely different principles, which are totally unrelated to such techniques.

God never tells us to resist and overcome the devil by pleading the blood of Christ; He teaches us to resist and overcome the enemy by believing and acting in truth. (2Ti 2:25-26) To the degree that lies have a home in our minds and hearts we’re in bondage (Jn 8:32); lies lead to sin, and sin enslaves. (34)

Inevitably, one will claim that pleading the blood works in their experience: it produces the results they want. This may be true on occasion, but this doesn’t justify the technique. Witchcraft works. (Ac 8:11) Why wouldn’t the enemy entice with superficial results if he can deceive us into demeaning and abusing the blood of Christ?

Trust in such devices may indeed be just one more way the enemy gains ground to steal, kill and destroy. We must be very careful, staying true to scripture and walking in truth. In spiritual things, the ends do not justify the means.

The precious blood of Christ has secured our redemption (1Pe 1:18-19) and brought us near to God. (Ep 2:13) Let’s be exceedingly thankful for this priceless gift, and reverent and sober in how we treat it.

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Job Cursed His Day

A dear friend tells me they regularly wish they’d never been born. I may have some vague idea what this feels like; it certainly can’t be good. My heart aches for them.

Having such a feeling implies our pain and suffering swallow up and extinguish the very lovingkindness of God, that no future good, even the majesty of Heaven, justifies the struggle of our existence. It’s giving up on God, and giving in to hopelessness. (1Th 4:13)

This is, of course, all a lie (Ps 63:3), but coldly relating truth as a clinical fact to a despondent, suffering soul may very well be unhelpful and counterproductive. (Pr 25:20) They likely already admit this truth, at least intellectually, and want to believe it deep inside, but when we lose sight of God’s goodness we faint (Ps 27:13), and words lose their meaning.

Before passing judgement, or reprimanding, let’s note carefully that Job did this in spades: he cursed his birthday (Job 3:1), in the strongest possible language, demanding it be forgotten (3), set apart from the rest of the year as a day of blackness and despair (4), and God never scolded Job for this. God let Job honestly express his suffering in the extreme and bore patiently with him … and didn’t curse his birthday.

The complexities of the snares and wounds of the depressed, the anxious, the neurotic, the layers of pain and deception and strongholds, are only known by God. Without divine perspective life can indeed be too painful for us to bear. (Ps 73:16)

As we look for ways to help our suffering brothers and sisters, we submit to God and bear one another’s burdens, fulfilling the Law of Christ (Ga 6:2), gently (2Ti 2:24) speaking truth in love (Ep 4:15), and only as He leads (1Pe 4:11), asking Him to minister grace through our words as He wills. (Ep 4:29)

Deliverance often comes one layer at a time, one puzzle piece at a time, line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little. (Is 28:10) God must give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth (2Ti 2:25) so they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil: until then, they’re prisoners of war, taken captive by Satan at his will. (26)

Let us comfort (2Co 1:4) by first listening and being present (Job 2:13), empathizing with their pain and feeling it with them as best we can. (Ro 12:15) Knowing that we care, that we’re there for them, may be all they need from us for now.

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Minister Grace

Our speech is unbelievably powerful; words carry the force of life and death (Pr 18:21); our lips can be a vehicle for good and also for evil. (Mt 12:35) We choose eternally every time we open our mouths.

We shouldn’t let impure words come out of our mouths (Ep 4:29a), lies or false accusation, or any malicious words (1Pe 2:1), intended to harm or afflict others (Pr 12:18), only edifying words which minister grace to others. (Ep 4:29b) We’re to speak truth in love. (Ep 4:15)

The fact that God intends to — and actually does — minister grace through our words is remarkable. Grace is God’s power enabling us to become more like Christ; God ministers grace through our words by speaking in and through us, converting souls through His truth, equipping others through the concepts we convey as well as in our tone and manner. As we abide in Christ He lives and loves and works in us, through our very wills and words, to transform others into His own precious likeness. (Ep 4:15) This godliness is indeed a mystery (1Ti 3:16), how God can work in us both to will and to do (Php 2:13), yet it’s reality.

Similarly, when we aren’t careful, Hell itself can set lives ablaze with evil through our words. (Ja 3:6) Every time we open our mouths we create new reality from the void before us, bringing into eternal being what has never existed before, and which will never be forgotten; not only when we’re speaking with great forethought and deliberation, but every idle word is captured and weighed. (Mt 12:36)

Our words fashion reality according to our wills and hearts, something reflecting our inmost being, and will ultimately prove out whether we belong to God. (37) We should speak with this in mind, in prayerful, sober restraint (Ja 1:19); we’ll be judged according to how our words, as well as our deeds, align with Torah. (Ja 2:2)

How powerful is the spoken word? What’s its potential? Christ promises words of faith can move mountains, that nothing’s impossible. (Mt 17:20) Christ’s promises are true, yet not everything we confidently proclaim comes to pass; the reality we create may not be what we expect. The problem isn’t in the promise, but in our understanding of faith: godly power isn’t found in selfish presumption (Ja 4:3), but in supernatural knowledge of God’s will.

God can and will speak through the godly as we abide in Him (Jn 15:7); Christ lives in us … grace is poured into His lips (Ps 45:2); He is full of grace and truth. (Jn 1:14) What’s He saying in us? Let’s be saying this, and only this. He can move mountains and hearts for His kingdom through us. Let the cry of our hearts therefore be: “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.” (Ps 19:14)

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Lusteth to Envy

James asks if we think the scripture speaks in vain when it claims our spirits lust to the point of envy. (Ja 4:5) The claim stumps scholars: there isn’t a quote quite like this anywhere in the Tenach (Old Testament). Mystery calls; there must be treasure here. (1Co 2:7)

If we look prayerfully at the context, James is addressing the difficulty we all face, particularly in times of suffering, as we observe the prosperity of those around us, wanting to have what they have and be more like them. (1) To the degree we fall into lusting after the comforts of this world (2) we align with and imitate the world, alienating ourselves from God. (4) Even our prayers may become warped (3), until we’re totally out of step with God.

There’s only one way out: grace – God enabling us to see more from His perspective (6a), a gift He bestows on the humble. (6b) As He realigns our desires in holy vision we resubmit to God (7) and draw near to Him again. (8a)

So, to overcome our lust and envy James exhorts us through this claim of scripture to repent, to cleanse our hands and hearts (8b), to grieve over our wayward affections (9); it’s the path of deliverance. (10)

James’ quote of scripture then, supporting his prescription for healing, would likely be found in a description of this conflict in the godly, where this gracious remedy, this heavenly perspective, is revealed and applied. Where might this be?

Perhaps Psalm 73.

The Psalmist, evidently a godly soul, finds himself struggling with envy as he observes the wicked prospering. (Ps 73:3) Some folk seem to have it so easy, skating through life, doing as they please, everything going their way, with no thought of serving God.

Who among the godly can’t relate to this, especially as we’re suffering through no obvious fault of our own? The wicked prospering alongside us just makes it all the more painful. (12)

Who doesn’t want to prosper and be in health? We certainly wish this on those we love (3Jn 2), so we tend to expect the same from God. Yet when God chastens and corrects us as we pursue Him (Ps 73:14) we may fall into doubting and resentment, hesitating and turning back from the very things James calls us to: cleansing our hands and purifying our hearts. (13)

But even as we notice our hearts straying, we know speaking aloud in such frustration is going to offend others in pursuit of God; so few have the wisdom to navigate this one. (15) Yet, as we contemplate these things and try to hold it all in, we may find the pain unbearable. (16)

The scripture’s saying here that the spirit within most all of us struggles with unholy desire at some point, particularly as we’re being scourged by God (He 12:6), and this inevitably leads to envy, wishing others didn’t have it so good since we can’t seem to get there ourselves. Consider it a universal problem, for all practical purposes; James evidently sees the scripture proclaiming it here, as well as the remedy.

In his unbearable pain, the Psalmist is driven into God’s presence for answers, and promptly finds deliverance in a new perspective. (Ps 73:17) He observes the end of the wicked, that they’re suddenly destroyed, without warning or remedy. (18-20) Their very prosperity blinds them to the urgency of their need, and effectively destroys them. (Pr 1:32)

This insight moves the Psalmist to repent, to realign his beliefs with God once more. He’s initially grieved at his foolishness (Ps 73:21-22), repenting and appreciating once again the precious hand of God in his life. (23-24) He is then able to refocus on the treasure he has in God (25) and is delivered from his trouble. (26)

Though James’ quote isn’t verbatim from scripture, it’s faithful to what scripture indeed proclaims. He hasn’t added to God’s Word as much as he’s distilled and summarized it for us, as those prayerfully filled with the Word may wisely do. (Mt 13:52)

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