Monthly Archives: June 2018

His banished be not expelled from Him

Posted on by
1

Sometimes the ways of the Lord are strange to us, but they’re not past finding out. And His power and incredibly undeserved mercy is one of the amazing things about Him. King David said, “Whether shall I go from Your Spirit or whether shall I flee from Your presence?” (Psalm 139:7 & 8) But, you ask, what about the rebellious? What about those who’ve turned away from Him in heart and mind? Is there hope for them?

My personal experience is that there is hope for ones like that. Because that was how I was. But then the Lord reached down and “delivered me from the lowest hell.” (Pslam 86:13) There’s the story told of Napoleon who had sentenced a young deserter to be shot for deserting a second time. His mother pled for mercy for her son from the Emperor of France. “He doesn’t deserve mercy,” Napoleon told her. “Sir, if he deserved it, it wouldn’t be mercy,” the distraught mother said.

And what truth there is in that. Mercy is not something we deserve, it is unmerited grace and forgiveness from a greater power. In our lives we find it from God and from Jesus. And that’s almost certainly what so many of us hope for when we think of the lives of our loved ones, some of whom are so very far away from the path of life and truth that they perhaps once walked on. How can it be possible that they can ever come back to the love of God and the life of God some of them once had?

Many of us know of the story Jesus told of the “prodigal son”, the classic story of a “backslidden” son who finally “came to himself”, repented of his foolish ways and returned to his father. It’s all such a timeless story of contrition, “godly sorrow that works repentance to salvation.” (II Corinthians 7:10)

But how does that happen? How does someone “come to himself” (Luke 15:17), as Jesus described what happened to the prodigal son? One thing we know from elsewhere in Jesus’ words is what He said about how anyone comes to Him, “No man can come to me except the Father which has sent me draw him.” (John 6:44) Jesus also said, “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.” So there’s this abiding event that is going on in our lives today: God’s Spirit drawing men to the truth, to the light and reality of the salvation that is in Jesus.

And yet we know that many, in fact probably all of us at one time or the other, have resisted the drawing of the Holy Spirit, some much more than others. “Today, if you will hear His voice, harden not your hearts,” (Psalm 95:7 & 8) King David said. But so many do harden their hearts and resist the loving appeal of the Spirit of God. And basically God gives us the majesty of choice and will not overrule our will. So how do any of us ever get rescued from our own evil hearts and darkened understanding? Like Paul once said, “Oh wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” (Romans 7:24)

In thinking about these things today, I was reminded of an obscure story in the Old Testament that touches on this subject. One of King David’s sons had been banished by the king but David’s heart yearned to be restored to him. It’s a long story but the highlight of it all came when a wise woman in Israel was sent by David’s general, Joab, to appeal to the king about the matter. She said this to him in trying to find a way for David’s son to find grace in the eyes of his father. “For we must all die, and are as water spilt on the ground  … nevertheless the Lord devises ways that His banished be not expelled from Him.” (II Samuel 14:14)

That’s the essence of it all. God in His mighty, infinite love and mercy “devises ways that His banished [all of us] be not expelled from Him.” Don’t ever discount the mighty miracle working power of God. He is somehow able to reach into the heart of the most hardened prodigal son or daughter, to bring them to contrition and repentance, to grant in their hearts the miracle of remorse and the realization of their often mighty wrongdoings.

He devises ways that His banished be not expelled from Him. That verse brought hope again to my heart this morning as I thought about some dear loved ones who’ve continued for years to “walk in the council of the ungodly and sit in the seat of the scornful.” (Psalm 1:1) But “if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart and knows all things.” (I John 3:20) Even when we were dead in sins, Christ died for us. And some are dead in their sins right now but still the Lord is working “behind the scenes” as the author and finisher of our faith to draw hardened prodigal sons and daughters back to Himself and the paths of life.

It was said of Jesus, “a bruised reed He shall not break and smoking flax He shall not quench.” (Matthew 12:20) Some folks hardly even seem to be that. But in the infinitely merciful eyes of God, He sees an ember still there and has hope for the lost and rebellious when they seem past hope to us. These thoughts comforted my heart this morning when the outlook has continued to be bleak for some folks I love. It all really has to just be the Lord. “With man it is impossible. But not with God. For with God, all things are possible.” (Matthew 10:27)

 

To Build and to Plant

Posted on by
3

It’s easier to be a prophet of doom than a healer of wounds and a feeder of sheep. Sometimes it’s easy to see what’s wrong. But it’s often not easy to find a true solution, to champion genuine improvement and righteous progress. But without solutions, all our exposing of the darkness is mostly in vain.

At the beginning of the Jeremiah’s ministry, God spoke such mighty and eternal words to him, to define his future ministry. God said to Jeremiah, “See, I have set you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, to pull down, to destroy, to throw down; to build and to plant.” (Jeremiah 1:10) What deep truth, what supernatural balance. God didn’t tell Jeremiah to just expose the evil, He also told him to “build and to plant”. To show and manifest what was good, right and Godly, not just expose the darkness.

My gosh, how that part is so often missed by most everyone in our times. It can be a weariness to hear all the shrill voices, pointing out (often rightly) what’s wrong and unjust in this present world. There are multitudes who are keen to “root out, pull down and destroy” but very few who are building and planting , few who have genuine, viable, functional solutions to the problems they see.

It’s almost “just not done” to be positive, creative proponents of righteous solutions to the ills that have beset so much of the world we’re in. But if you’ve abandoned the fact that there can be solutions, if you’ve abandoned hope in real truth, genuine betterment of yourself and mankind, then your general tune will be pretty forlorn, as so many are.

“Deconstruction” is the order of the day for most of those of an intellectual bent. Well, pardon me but to hell with that. When does the construction start? Let’s hear about those who are out there fixing things, making a better world, fighting for equal justice for all and trumpeting truth, starting with God’s truth.

All my life I’ve felt there was something wrong with just being negative about something if you don’t have an answer or solution. So instead of joining in the cacophony of voices which point out all the wrong in this world, I’d much rather hear about something that’s the answer. Who’s found a solution? Who’s pointing society to truly higher ground?

I’m so very thankful for the life I’ve had of Christian service and discipleship. So often, love itself is the answer to so many problems in this world, big or small. And living a life of, not just believing in Jesus, but endeavoring to serve the Lord and be His instrument of peace to people everywhere has been a rich reward in itself for me.

How well Jesus summed up the whole subject when he spoke of those “building their house on the sand” as opposed to those who “build their house on the rock.” Jesus said, “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of mine, and does them, I will liken him unto a wise man, who built his house upon a rock. And the rain descended and the floods came and the winds blew and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that hears these sayings of mine, and does them not, shall be like unto a foolish man who built his house upon the sand. And the rain descended and the floods came and the winds blew and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.” (Matthew 7:24-27)

We’re to not only expose and throw down the evil of this world; we are to do like God commanded Jeremiah, “to build and to plant”. Jesus didn’t just say, “Woe unto you scribbles, Pharisees, hypocrites!” (Matthew 23:14) He also said, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” (Matthew 4:19) He said, “I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.” (John 13:15) So it is possible to build and to plant. There are solutions, even practical ones to the intricate, multifaceted complexities we face today.

And you might think I’m talking about doing what I have done, being a Christian missionary and at times doing social service work. I’m not. I have great respect for some I know who are putting their life on the line, often at the ends of the earth, to minister to the sick or help build infrastructure in underdeveloped areas. One time at about the utmost distance I’ve gone in my travels for the Lord, I met some dear people from “Doctors without Borders.” I was incredibly impressed by their bravery, dedication and selflessness to go where very few dared and to have genuine pragmatic concern for folks caught up in the Asian tsunami crisis of 2004.

So there are some who are building and planting, some who are laying down their lives for their fellow man. But I just wish there were more, perhaps especially among those in governments of the world at this time which seem so adrift and clueless. Are you building and planting? Or just pointing out all that’s wrong? May God help us all, and especially any in leadership of our nations, to effectively, vehemently build and plant.