 Why?
Growing up I was always confused at the idea of calling this ‘Good Friday.’ I understand that it is a necessary Friday, meaning Jesus had to die so that we could be saved from our sins. I also understand that it was Jesus’ purpose and intent to bear away our sins on the cross. However, Jesus’ suffering and the reality of my sin has always made me cringe at this day. I also think it is helpful to mourn the need for this day. The disciple’s were fearful and confused. Of course, they should have known by what Jesus had told them that He would rise from the grave, but if I had been there with them I have no doubt I would have been in the same state of fear and confusion with them. It was a dark day that hid the reality of victory. The morning sunrise on Sunday would show that the battle had already been won on Friday. Death defeated and defied! But still the day was dark and Jesus’ work was horrific. But let’s not miss this opportunity to remember all that Jesus was doing on the cross and in the grave. Physical Jesus’ death was a real physical death. One attempt to explain away the reality of Jesus’ death and resurrection has been to say that He only appeared to be in a physical body. But Jesus was a man with flesh and blood and that physical body was beaten and abused. He was gruesomely nailed to the cross of real wood. Imagine, Jesus nailed to a tree that He Himself created. Jesus' side was pierced and His own real lungs filled with fluid. His death was physical and included all the pain, vulgarity, and humiliation that was common to this horrid method of torturous death known as crucifixion. Voluntary Jesus’ death was a voluntary mission. Jesus’ life was not taken from Him. He willingly laid it down (John 10:17-18). Jesus’ redemptive work was not some kind of reactive response to the sin of man but actually the kind intent of God from eternity past to show and demonstrate His grave and love for unworthy sinners (Romans 5:8). Jesus’ voluntarily submitted to the will of the Father in accomplishing the grand plan of reconciliation between God who is Holy and man who is sinful (Matthew 26:39). Vicarious Jesus’ death was vicarious. Jesus actually and truly died for every believer. Jesus did not just potentially die for you. If you are a born again believer, then Jesus actually died in your place. This is known as substitutionary atonement. This means Jesus was actually standing in your place. Imagine that you were Barabbas (Matthew 27). Had Jesus not been, there is no doubt Barabbas would have hung on that cross, but Jesus' substitution for you was just as real and infinitely more important. Jesus was the substitution for Barabbas sparing Him the pain of the cross but He spared you from the pain of eternal hell. Victorious Jesus’ death put death to death, crushed the serpent’s head and washed away all the sins for His people. The reason we call this “Good Friday” is because it is the day the mission was accomplished! Jesus won the victory and landed the fatal blow against death and sin and Satan on that hill far away. Jesus was lifted up on that cross and He has never stopped drawing all men to Himself since that day. Today if He is drawing you, let me urge you to turn from the sin that made the cross necessary and place your trust in Jesus Christ who alone will save you from your sin and give you His righteous credit! Trust Him today so that you will live!
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 Easy
So this week has been Spring Break. As a homeschool family, not much changed for us but I have noticed a lot of people on vacations. It is a great thing to get away. It is especially great to have a break, not just from school or work, but from the craziness of this last year. I believe I have noticed that in many of the photos I have seen. People breathing a little easier and worrying less. The Lord did not make our body to exist on high alert all the time. The strain and stress of life can take its toll, and we just need a break. One interesting problem can be that we become so accustomed to our high stress life that taking it easy becomes hard work. In this confused state of imbalance the individual isn’t able to relax even when resting. This propels us into a cycle of never getting truly refreshed, always tired and always needing to take a break even when we just had one. You have probably experienced something like what I am talking about when your mind can’t quit and your heart is racing and you are on an emotional rollercoaster. The solution is not as easy as just taking a break or a breath. We have to learn the hard work of resting. Work Related Much or this kind of stress is work related or derived from the specific responsibilities that we have in our lives. (I’ll let you make your own list.) But would you believe that work is a blessing and that your work as purpose. Notice I didn’t say your work has a purpose. I said your work has purpose. What I mean is that your work has the purpose for which God made you and work. God made Adam and gave him a job. This career path was established before the fall and the entrance of sin into the world. Work was a part of Adam’s purpose as an image bearer of God in the creation. The work involved dominion over the earth and animals as well as care for these things. With the addition of sin and subtraction of spiritual life, humanities relation with the work changed. The work got hard! In Genesis 3, God tells Adam that instead of the earth being his partner it would now be his adversary. Also, instead of the work being pleasant it would require effort (Genesis 3). From now on, if Adam is going to eat he must work. If he is going to care for his wife, he is going to work. If he is going to care for his children, he must work. And it is not just the Old Testament that emphasizes the need for work. In 2 Thessalonians 3 the Apostle Paul says that if someone does not work he should not eat! (2 Thessalonians 3) In this text Paul is referring to those who are able but idle. He wants them to follow the example that he and his missionary companions had set for them of labor and toil. Rest Why would God make Adam’s work hard? Was this just punishment or does it have a deeper purpose? Also why does the Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul give such a insistant command to the idle or lazy? I think that God does have a purpose for work and for work being hard in His redemptive plan. Now this is just a short blog and not an exhaustive theology of work, but I have a point to make. I think that hard work serves us and God in His redemptive purpose. I believe that the necessity and intensity of our work is meant to cause us to crave the rest that we need. We all are like little children fighting against the nap that we don’t want to take but work guides us to our time and place of rest. God made us to work and to rest! However, the rest we almost need is not a trip, time off, or even a great nap. No, the rest we really need is a person. The truth is that the impossible task that we cannot accomplish is our own salvation. We cannot work long enough or hard enough to be justified or sanctified or glorified based on our effort and strength. But God has loved us by giving us the rest that we desperately need in the person of Jesus Christ! When God’s people were wandering in the wilderness they needed rest but found none because through their unbelief they could not access the rest in the promised land. But the Hebrew writer in the New Testament tells us that the way to that rest is open by faith. If God gave us lives of ease and relaxation, no doubt it would only be as we went our stubborn and rebellious own way into the fires and flames of hell. Work drives us to the rest that is ours as believes in Jesus Christ. Read Hebrews 3:7-4:13 and consider Jesus' invitation “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28  Results
Do you believe that when you speak to God He really listens? Do you believe that He really answers? When asking these questions we are usually focused on the positive aspects of prayer. The focus is on how we can expect God to reveal Himself to us through His word and Spirit. Or we may be focused on how God resolved a difficult situation. Or God was gracious to make clear the path forward when making a difficult situation. This is all great! Our Father who is in heaven loves for us to come to Him with all of these things and even more. But what about when you say something foolish or sinful to God? Do you assume that God disregards those prayers? If we believe that God hears and heeds our prayers, why not those? Actually, I believe that He does respond to those prayers too. Most of the time He shows us grace in helping us to see the error and come to Him quickly with repentance and reliance. But sometimes when those who are hardened by sin and bitterness cry out to God with foolish words, He gives them exactly what they have requested. Silly Congregation Have you ever asked for something or desired something and when you received it you realized it was not satisfying? This is exactly what happened with the Isrealites in the wilderness. Frankly, it is important that we acknowledge from the start the silliness of questioning the plan of God, but to some degree we all do. In Numbers 14:2, the people grumble against Moses and Aaron and since they are God’s representatives the grumbling is against God. They lament that they would have been better off to have died in Egypt. They have believed the bad report of the ten cowardly spies and are afraid to take possession of the promised land. They go on to say that they would be better off to die in the desert. What is so amazing about this is that in an amazing and terrifying way God gives them exactly what they ask for in this foolish moment. The people are so brazen that they are ready to stone Moses, Aaron, Joshua, and Caleb but God stops them. Then God tells Moses that He will destroy and disinherit the people and start over with Moses. At this Moses argues for the reprieve of the people for the sake of God’s own glory among the nations. (More on that in a moment) God has shown this people His power and given this people His commandments and provided for their every need. The Lord has shown them kindness, grace, and mercy unmeasurable, but they have proved to be faithless. The Israelites have three problems that have kept them from believing God and resting in His promises and presents. First, their sight seems hindered. They have been overtaken by spiritual nearsightedness. They just can’t see far enough. They are seeking instantaneous gratification which is leading them to overreact to the temporary hardships. Secondly, they are cowards full of fear. Their faithlessness is most evident in their fear of the people of the land. They are literally giving more credit to these strange people than to the God who brought out of Egypt and through the sea! Third, their desires are too weak. Instead of a passionate desire to follow God and receive His best gift, they are content with the slavery of Eypgt or barron waste of the desert. And so that's what God gives them! Faithful In this, God shows that He is faithful even if they are not. Moses had pleaded for the people on the basis of God’s reputation. God, however, knows how to accomplish all His purposes. First, the Lord is faithful to judge. These people have proven themselves to be unbelievers and so God will judge them. They have said that they would be better off to die in the wilderness and so that’s exactly what God does! God says that not one of those who were over the age of 20 during the Exodus will be allowed to enter the promised land. The congregation must wander in the desert 40 years till all the unbelieving generation is dead, except for the faithful Joshua and Caleb. In this way, God both judges their sin and gives them their demented desire. Secondly, God is faithful to save the nation. Through this 40 year wilderness season God saves a people who will enter into the land promised. The nations must marvel at what the Apostle Paul would later call the kindness and severity of God. He both punishes Israel and saves Israel with the same action. Finally, God is faithful to win the glory. Remember Moses' argument for not destroying the people was God’s glory, fame, and reputation. But God was able to demonstrate His grace and judgement and still receive all the glory. And this is the story of the gospel. For this God is the one who is both just and justifier of the one who has faith in the Lord Jesus Christ!  A Fine Line
Character is about the kind of person you are and how those qualities are displayed on the outside. Integrity is about the consistency between the outward reflection of character and who you are when no one is looking. Today, social media and the availability of instantaneous communication has made it possible to see into one another’s life in ways that are amazing and sometimes frightening. However, these views are somewhat curated and false personas and secrets are as prevalent as ever. It can actually be a difficult endeavor to calculate what should and should not be shared. Some people are over sharers. These folks tell things that can actually be harmful or information that other people do not need to be burdened with. But there are obviously also those who are harboring secrets. Not willing to allow the sin or the shame to be exposed to the light of public knowledge. Some things don’t need to be public. I believe that Jesus’ instruction in Matthew 18 about the proper course for church discipline would practically mean that the vast majority of offenses would be kept private. However, confession and repentance often does require a public aspect. The fact is that we are all accountable to someone and we need that accountability for our own good and God’s glory. Societal In the greater culture around us we know there is a great need for accountability. In a perverse way that is what the cancel culture is really all about, holding those with unacceptable views accountable. Historically, it has always been true that every community develops some form of system to hold the members accountable whether formal laws and courts or informal norms and expectations. I do not want to be misunderstood to be affirming the cancel culture, only that accountability is not only a good thing but a necessary thing. As Christians we should not expect the lost world, the sons of this age, to behave biblically but we should use scripture to define right and wrong regardless of the norms and standards which are accepted and promoted by the culture. Also we must remember that we are accountable for what we believe and how consistently we live with it. Ecclesiastical (Church) We must also hold each other accountable. This is not out of a desire to judge one another but actually a commitment to love one another. Loving one another means watching out for their good. When we see another Christian in sin it really should affect us and in more than one way. For one we should be concerned for the state of their soul. All sin even in the life of a Christian does damage to your fellowship with God. We should not be ok with watching a brother or sister struggle in their relationship with the Lord because we are too cowardly to lovingly call them to repentance. Another effect, especially if this is someone in your own church, is a concern for the witness for Christ in the community. I’m not even so much meaning that the individual’s sin is a bad witness but rather the permissive and apathic response of the church speaks volumes to the community that we have a low view of both sin and the Savior. Inevitably we also know that sin does more than just hurt the individual's relationship to God and harm the testimony of the church, sin will hurt people. Most likely this sin will hurt the most vulnerable around this person and for this reason alone we ought to confront it. Finally, sin is ultimately an affront to God. We should be on a mission to put to death the sin in our own lives. First and foremost I must nail my own sin to the cross daily and follow after Christ. But sometimes we need help mortifying sin. Accountability isn’t about attacking one another but helping one another kill sin and love God. Pastoral The last variety of accountability I would like to address in this post is pastoral accountability. It can be easy for ministers to hide in plain sight. Which is probably why we see so many high profile men falling into moral failure. On this note, I would invite you to please hold me accountable because I am not foolish enough to think that I couldn’t fall (1 Corinthians 10:12). The other point to make about pastoral accountability and honestly the much more serious and frightening point is that pastors are accountable for how they have shepherded Jesus flock. Jesus’ brother James wrote that we who teach will be judged more strictly (James 3:1). And I must point you to a passage that is ever in the forefront of my mind, Hebrews 13:17. “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.” (ESV) In this text we are told that the elders are responsible for keeping watch over your souls as those who will give an account. I always have to ask myself which souls I have to account for and the only answer I can come away with is those souls in covenant relationship to the church I am in covenant relationship with. Of course, every teacher and preacher is responsible to proclaim the truth in or out of the church but the overseeing responsibility is meant for the sheep. It is a serious one and not to be taken lightly. Ultimately, accountability is serious and seriously needed!  Interaction
Do you know Jesus? If the answer is yes. How do you know that you know Jesus? Knowing someone is not a matter of formality but rather of relationship. Of course, some relationships are formal: a wedding covenant, your covenant relationship with the saints in the local church, or even contractual relationships at your job or in business deals. But those formalities are really about defining the nature and obligations of the relationship. The actual knowing is in the quantity and quality of time spent in communication and interaction. No amount of formal agreement or simple factual information can supplement the kind of give and take that forms true relationships. Have you ever listened to someone on the radio, tv, or internet and felt like you knew them? I have and I can note a couple of times where I really felt like I knew someone because of the many hours I had heard from them. I knew all kinds of things about their family and hobbies. I understood their personality and mannerism. But when I met them it was clear we didn't really have a relationship because while they communicated with me I was not interacting with them. They didn't know me. Pharaoh Most people claim to know God or Jesus. Just the other day I saw a post from a lady who openly admitted that she didn't read the Bible but knew God through dreams and impressions. I wonder however what she compared the 'god' she knew to so that she knew he was the true God? Without the sure word of scripture there is no way to know. In Exodus 5:2, Pharaoh says something astounding. When Moses and Aaron come to tell him for the first time to let the Israelites go out to worship YAHWEH, Pharaoh says, "Who is YAHWEH that I should obey His voice and let Israel go? I do not know YAHWEH." We must remember that this is the Pharaoh who has risen to power that didn't know about Joseph either. He doesn't understand the wisdom and power of God. In Pharaoh's ignorance he was extremely arrogant. The problem is not just Pharaoh's lack of facts or historical accounts. Pharaoh didn't say I don't know about YAHWEH (which he probably didn't). However, Pharaoh spoke in relational terms, I don't know YAHWEH. In this way the Pharaoh was appealing to his own authority as greater than God's. If YAHWEH was anyone important then the great Pharaoh would have already known. But God is going to demonstrate in Pharaoh who has true authority and power. There is great danger in ignoring the facts about God and even greater danger in not having a genuine relationship with God. Many people simply do not know what they are missing. I mean that literally! They know some stuff about God and maybe even think that they have entered a formal relationship with Him, but we actually know Him through true communication (Scripture, prayer) and interaction (gathering with the saints in a true church, baptism, Lord's Supper). Depart Pharaoh said he didn't know YAHWEH. Jesus told us that someday many people are going to come to Him thinking that they have a relationship with him. They are going to appeal to things they have done and experiences they have had that they were sure Jesus was a part of. But like my 'relationship' with the radio or podcast guys, Jesus doesn't know them. The most frightening words I can imagine hearing are, "Depart from me you workers of iniquity, I never knew you.” (Matthew 7:21-23) He never knew them. I'm sure many that will hear those words will know all Jesus' stats and even be able to quote some of Jesus' words. But they didn't know Him. The only way to know Him is to divorce your sin and self. In the Bible it's called repentance from dead works. Then you must trust Him. Faith isn't just knowing facts or believing principles. Faith is trusting in God (Father, Son, & Spirit). Finally, start interacting with Him. The Bible says, “Call on the name of the Lord and you will be saved!” (Romans 10:13)  Definition
I love language! As one given the gift of gab, I love words. Language gives us all kinds of powerful avenues of expression and nuance. One of the elements that is especially important in our communication is the concept of precision in language. Our use of vocabulary and syntax should allow for clear communication of complex ideas that illustrations and even examples cannot define. Our God is a deity who speaks! And He has spoken in a clear and cogent fashion in His word. One concept that it is important for us to understand clearly is the definition of sin. In 1964, Justice Stewart of the Supreme Court of the United States stated, in an effort to define obscenity, “I know it when I see.” I think that most people, especially professing Christians, have an idea about what they believe sin is. However, too often it seems that our definitions are sentimental and subjective rather than objective and absolute. What I would like to do is deal with a couple false notions about what sin is and then seek to find a Biblical definition for the term. More than Intention Many people believe that for an error to be considered a sin it requires a level of intentionality. But the Bible is clear that sins can be both intentional and unintentional. In the Law of God the covenant people were told to make sacrifices for unintentional sins (Lev. 5:15). The only reason that people would need to make the sacrifice is if their mistake was actually sin and brought about real guilt. As morally accountable beings that alone exist as those made in the image of God, humans are capable of both sins of omission and commission. Sins of omission are the failure to do things that we should do and sins of commission are the active involvement in things that we should not do. In both of these cases our intent is not what makes the action or inaction a sin. The old adage “the road to hell is paved with good intentions” is partially true. Even in Matthew 7 Jesus says that many will say to Him “Lord, Lord” but will not prove to be true believers. They will appeal to many works that they thought were righteous but they were actually sin. More than Harm Also many people in our culture believe that harm must be done for sin to be committed. While I would argue that harm is always done when sin is committed even if the harm is to the sinner themselves, harm is not necessary for sin to be sin. In our culture consent has become the arbiter of right and wrong. This is really an idolization of personal autonomy. But consent does not make an unrighteous action into a righteous one. In our society, a mugger who inadvertently kills an unborn baby is guilty but a abortion doctor is innocent. Or a sex trafficker is guilty but pornography producer is innocent. Or a rapist is guilty but unmarried consenting adults have done nothing wrong. But the reality is that Scripture defines all of these as sin. The issue of consent may change who is guilty and what they are guilty of but sin is still sin regardless of consent. We live in a victim culture. However, the truth is that while we have all been the victims of someone else’s sin, we are also all the perpetrators of sin. We are victimizers. No one is innocent. No one is sinless. We all like sheep have gone astray (Isaiah 53:6). We have all sinned and fallen short of God’s glory and none is righteous not even one (Romans 3). Victimhood does not absolve us of our guilt. Often in our culture the criminal is labeled as a patient in need of care rather than a sinner in need of repentance. The truly tragic part about this is that the therapeutic approach can label and explain but it cannot heal the brokenness. Only grace can do that! Only God Ultimately our actions are sinful because they are offensive to the objective holiness of God. The Law of God is not an arbitrary list of allowances and transgressions. Instead God’s law is an expression of His holy nature and goodness. The Law of God is the expression of the distinction of His covenant people meaning it displays His love and blessing. And the Law of God is a beacon of beauty to show us that we are desperately deformed and in need of radical transformation. When we sin it is not simply God’s rules that we break but His heart. By referring to breaking His heart I mean that we transgress His holiness, goodness, grace and love. Many people ask how a loving God could send sinners to hell, but the real question is how could he not? But that is the beauty of the gospel. Our holy and loving God takes our guilt and our shame and places it on Christ who bears away the offense against His holiness and glory. Ultimately our actions are sinful because of our existence as image bearers of God. you see we are not like the animals or angels because we bear God’s image. This means that our actions are meant to display something about God. The heavens declare the glory of God (Ps 19:1), but we display His image. The problem is that in Adam we all display that image mangled by the effects of sin. However, in Christ, the image is restored for He is the perfect radiance of the Father (Heb 1:1-4). Ultimately our actions are sinful because everything not done in faith (reliance on God) is sin! Even our righteous deeds are filthy rags (Is 64:6) so that without faith we cannot please God (Heb 11:6). It matters both what we do and why we do it. Sin is anytime and all the time when we don’t do the right thing for the right reason and the right reason is trust in God. Oftentimes atheists or anti-theists will scoff that they don’t need God to be good or do good things. The usual apologetic against this is that they can do good things but they just can’t give a good reason. But in reality without faith even those ‘good things’ are tainted, because whatever does not proceed from faith is sin (Romans 14:23)!  Desperately Needed
I have seen several people post comments implying or just stating that they are weary of living through so many historical events. One friend who is a history teacher joked that he would just start having his students record the historical events they are living though each week. We are currently living in tumultuous times with great uncertainty regarding our future. But one of the major issues that we have is a lack of godly discipline. Notice I said “godly” discipline not self discipline or even social discipline. In the current “cancel culture,” there are many ways that people are being disciplined to the worldly philosophies of our day. In addition, many people do discipline themselves but they do so according to the shifting standards of humanism. Our problem today is that humanity is progressing in the casting off of the discipline of God's standard. Worldly thinking rejects the biblical realities regarding our origins (creation), our condition (fall, depravity), our standard (God's law), our hope (gospel, redemption), and our future (heaven, hell). In Exodus 32:25, we are told that Moses saw that the people had broken loose. What had they broken loose from? Well they had been worshipping the idol of the golden calf and giving it credit for their deliverance from Egypt and Pharaoh. They had broken loose from worshipping the LORD (Yahweh). They became idolaters! As a result discipline was necessary! Severe What follows in the narrative is severe. If your view of God is a grandpa in the sky who just wants you to be happy then this will be hard for you to understand. I would encourage you that if your view of God cannot accommodate what we are about to consider, you need a Biblical understanding of who God really is! Exodus 32:26 tells us that Moses asked the people, "Who is on the LORD'S side?" This is an important question. Are you on the LORD'S side? What I mean is, are you prepared to be obedient to God in all things? I think many people believe that they have their own deal with God. But that isn't true. He is the same and His standard is the same with all people. This also means His gospel is the same with all people. Repent or you will likewise perish! When Moses asked this question all the Levites gathered around him. He instructed them to take their swords and slaughter their rebellious brothers and companions and neighbors. On that day, three thousand men died for the idolatry of God’s people. God disciplined them severely. What needs to be clear to us was that this did not happen to the Canaanites or other foreign pagans, but rather, this destruction commanded by God's prophet, was inside the camp of God's chosen people. God kills His people in response to their wicked paganism. These people were protected in the plagues, blessed in the plundering of the Egyptians, delivered through the waters of the red sea, fed by God from heaven, and drank the waters of life from the rock in the wilderness. Paul even tells us in 1 Corinthians 10, that this rock was Christ. Yet, they rebelled against the LORD and we're destroyed. Household of God What about today? Was this just a reality back then in the Old Testament? I mean God used to deal with people that way but not now, right? We might be tempted to think that since the types and shadows of the Old Testament period are past and the reality of Christ has now come that God does not deal so severely with His people. However, if the standard was so high and the penalty so severe in the days of the old covenant, then I would expect rebellion and rejection of Jesus in the flesh to be even worse. Two New Testament examples may help us. First, remember Ananias and Sapphira from Acts 5. They were 'believers' included in the church and yet the Holy Spirit killed them for lying to God! A second example would be found in the next chapter of 1 Corinthians. As I stated, Paul reminds these Christians about how God dealt with the generation of idolaters in Moses’ day. But in the next chapter, chapter 11, Paul is discussing their desecration of the Lord's supper and he says for this reason many of you are weak and sick and some have died! God seems to still take worship seriously! In Hebrews 12, we are told that God disciplines us because He loves us and because we are His children. The point that I want us to see from this post is simply that spiritual discipline and church discipline are necessary if we are going to be godly Christians. Discipline within the church body is necessary if we are going to be a holy church. The Apostle Peter wrote, in 1 Peter 4:17, that it is time for judgement to begin in the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? Brethren, we must not despise the discipline of the LORD and we must not decline to exercise discipline in the church. It will seem severe to the world but discipline is the way of love and the hope for those drifting away from the truth!  Directions
Signs are helpful! Signs help us to identify where we are or point us in the right direction our desired destination. Signs are also a form of advertising, designed to let the general public, who in our culture are best described by the words: consumer and audience, know about a product or service. Signs are meant to encourage you on your way. Other times they are meant to warn you of possible or even imminent danger. Other times they are simply meant to capture your attention in hopes of influencing your behavior. The Bible talks about signs as well. Signs in the scripture have different purposes. It is also important to distinguish between the true signs and the false signs. But because signs are a part of how communication works and God is the foremost communicator He has, at times, used them and we need to understand them. Seasons Maybe the first thing that we need to grasp about miraculous signs in the Bible is that they are rather rare and grouped together. We often think of the Bible as a long book. However, considering the expanse of time covered in its pages, the Old and New Testaments together are but a brief account of the actions of God in the world. If we begin to get an accurate timeline in our minds and a general understanding of the quantity of time being explained and examined in the Scriptures then we can understand that signs and miracles have never been the normative experience of people not even in the Bible. In the Bible long periods of time sometimes elapsed when God's people needed to trust the sure revelation they already had without the words or works of any prophets. Also it is important to note that many of the Prophets did not actually perform any miraculous works. Some had miraculous things happen to them, but they did nothing themselves (Jonah). Most of the signs in scripture happened around some specific figures and events. While there were miraculous signs done at other times, the vast majority happened in three periods of redemptive history. The first period is the time of Moses and the Exodus from Egypt. During this period God used many miraculous signs to demonstrate His power over Pharaoh and the authorities of the earth. These signs also manifested His supremacy over all the deities of the Egyptians and by extension all the false deities of all the nation's. The signs were there so that those other nations would know that Yahweh the God of Israel was the true God. Also these signs displayed to the Israelites the faithfulness, love, and graciousness of God toward His people who He chose as His own and who He is in covenant relationship with among all the people on earth. The second period of signs was during the prophetic ministries of Elijah and Elisha. While there were many other prophets sent to proclaim the word of Yahweh to His people. Elijah is the great prophet and he and Elisha have the prominent miracle working ministries in the Old Testament. These signs were supposed to prove the reliability of Elijah and Elisha as true spokesmen for God. They were meant to authenticate the message of the messenger. Just as earlier signs were meant to show the greatness of Yahweh over all other so-called 'gods'. Consider the confrontation between Elijah and the 450 prophets of Baal in 1 Kings 18. Yahweh is clearly the true and superior God. During this period God is actively showing and distinguishing Himself and His people from the pagan cultures of the earth. But while Moses was a great deliverer of God's people, humanity needed a greater savior to go beyond the temporal and external deliverance that Moses brought. Also, while Elijah and Elisha were true prophets of God, we needed someone to not only speak to us for God but show us the Father (John 14) and be the exact representation of God to us (Hebrews 1:1-3). The third period of miraculous signs in the scripture happened when Jesus came in humility and honor to be our savior and redeemer. Jesus was the master in every way possible. He healed the sick and informed as well as drove out the evil spirits with just a word. Imagine what the gospels tell us! Jesus would touch the unclean lepers and instead of becoming unclean they would be healed. Jesus would touch the unclean bodies of the dead and instead of becoming unclean they would come alive. Jesus came with signs of compassion and signs of the commencement of the Kingdom of God. Then, after His ascension, His Apostles continued the powerful ministry with signs that proved they were His representatives so that their message could be trusted. Even today we as believers trust in the sure word of God that came through His Apostles. Wonders So what should we look for today? First, we must understand that we are not living in the age of Moses, Elijah, or Jesus. Also, the Apostle Paul is clear in 1 Corinthians 15 that He is the last Apostle of Christ, so we should not expect to do what they did. But I do think the Bible gives us some practical things to think about in the area of signs and wonders. The first thing that comes to mind for me is that when Jesus is speaking about those, who will come to Him but be cast out because they didn't really have a saving relationship with them, He says that they will say that they had prophesied, exorcised demons and done many mighty works. This means that just doing those things is no evidence that someone is truly from God. They could be a charlatan or a deceived deceiver. Those things are not proof that they are with God. But there is a second point for us to consider today. Scripture teaches that we walk by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). But signs aren't for people with faith but for those who can only see with physical eyes. It is not a consequence of true faith that causes us to look for signs and wonders but rather unbelief. As a believer I need signs. I have God's word and the indwelling Holy Spirit. What God has said is sufficient for the need of every believer. So let us live by faith and leave the sign seeking for those in the dark.  Want
Every human being has wants and desires. We often associate these with our sin but in reality wants are necessary. Each of us needs to eat food, but if we never had an appetite we would probably eventually reach a point of malnutrition that would result in death. I have now had the privilege to spend sometime in dryer climates and it feels amazing! However, in the desert if you had no desire for water you would quickly become dehydrated. The reality is that we all need to want! What God has made us to need and want most of all is to worship. But because we are fallen beings in a fallen world, our own deceitful hearts, and our lying enemy, conspire against us to lure us to want and desire things that are both bad for us and evil toward God. The classical word for this is idolatry, but in our clinical modern world we gave it a new name: addiction! At the heart of addiction is a desire for something that we think is going to serve us. We believe that the drug, or affair, or third burrito is going to bring us joy and fulfillment. Alas, it doesn’t because these idols, like all gods, demand allegiance! So instead of us using the substance, relationship, or whatever it may be, we are actually enslaved by it. We want it and really believe that we need it. It becomes our greatest desire and supreme treasure. We prefer this master to all others, even God. This bondage is what I mean by addictoltry! But before you think this isn’t about you realize addiction can be obvious or subtle, illicit or respectable. Obvious Opiates When we speak of addiction there are some things that come quickly to mind. Drugs such as marijuana, methamphetamine, and heroin for example as well as alcohol, nicotine, and even caffeine may stand out in our minds. These substances to greater or lesser degrees are dangerous. They promise enjoyment, fun, and acceptance but they deliver sadness, brokenness, and loneliness. The problem is that these things, once allowed access into our lives, demand the throne of our hearts. In the beginning they promise to be our partner, but sin is always seeking to be the king. The only answer is topple this illegitimate dictator with the rightful sovereign ruler. Jesus can bring freedom from this slavery but only when we seek Him, not as our servant, but as our Lord. Substances are not the only thing that can be obvious areas or dangerous desire. Sex and food can also gain a foothold in our hearts. Sexual captivation can take place through indulging lustful fantasies, use of pornography, and of course fornication and adultery. These are especially powerful because the sexual desire is a good gift of God to be celebrated and enjoyed in the loving covenant between husband and wife in marriage. So the sin distorts and corrupts the good desires that God gives us. Once again with this desire both commitment and procreation would be in peril in most marriages, but when the desire becomes master both commitment and family are often destroyed to serve this idol. Finally, food can often take control of our lives. This can happen in a couple ways. One we can become gluttonous. This does not have to just mean the hedonism of eating vast quantities of food, but also the craving for certain qualities or even specific foods. This is again dangerous because food is not only a want but a need. We have to master food while still using it to stay alive and healthy. You can’t completely abstain from food. That leads us to the other way that food can become an idol. Often the attempt to control our eating or more often our body image can take over our lives. Instead of simply finding a diet that is suitable to us we may be tempted to go to extremes to control intake or calories. Anorexia, bulimia, and other eating disorders are at the heart of ways of trying to use the control of food to not only affect the body and meet psychological, emotional or even spiritual needs. Victory over our stomachs will only come when Jesus is the Lord in our hearts! Subtle Seductions But there are other more social acceptable idols that can control our lives just as furiously as these other addictions. The problem often with these is the outcome may look good even while the addict is completely enslaved. If you are not just a person with a good work ethic but a true workaholic, the income may camouflage your slavery. The luxury and security your long hours afford may make diagnosis harder for the captivation of the soul. But the idol of the almighty dollar, the corporate ladder, or having your identity welded to your occupation is powerful, tempting, and deceitful. But we must remember that it is God who gives us the work and the reward, and find our identity not in money or achievement but in Christ alone. The idol of family is particularly dangerous because God has given us explicit instructions to love them. But our love and devotion to our families must be an expression of our devotion and commitment to Christ not a rival for our hearts and affections. This is probably most clearly seen in the way we honor our parents, love our spouses and raise our children. The most honoring thing that we can do for our parents is to glorify Christ. Depending on their spiritual condition, they may or may not understand how this honors them, but believers must obey the command according to God not our parents. Spouses must understand in a Christian household how that reflects the relationship between Christ and His church. So our love and respect must first be for the Lord then manifested in our lives toward our spouse. This is top shelf, high level Christianity but it is also what we are all called too. And this kind of faithfulness requires trusting and treasuring God’s word, frankly and faithfully seeking God in prayer, and purposefully and passionately serving God in obedience. Maybe the most dangerous of the family relationships is children. Here again God naturally fills us with a love and bias toward our own children. The problem is when the children become the focus of the home instead of Christ. We become parents raising kids and life is centered on their tastes and talents. But we aren’t called to raise children. We are supposed to train up young men and young women who will serve Christ, sacrifice for Christ and submit to Christ. But the only way that happens is if our children see us living that way. But they won’t see us living that way if they themselves have become the focus of the family. Christ must be king! The escape from addictoltry is reverent submission to Christ as Lord and King!  Brave
Are you brave? Maybe a better question is how do you know? I suppose nobody walks around thinking that they are a coward. However, sometimes we can excuse or cover up cowardly behaviors and attitudes by using less critical labels? My grandmother was a nervous type of person. She was what we call a “worrier” just by nature. But what does it mean to worry? It means we are not trusting that whatever happens, good or bad, is under control. I suppose every culture honors bravery, but the issue is how we identify it. I personally rather dislike being high off the ground. Since this is the case, I do not find sky diving to be brave at all, but rather dumb. Why would any sensible person jump out of a perfectly good airplane?! Of course I’m joking (kind of) but some things that we may call brave simply are the result of sheer stupidity. Fools do foolish things. Just because the foolish thing is dangerous, does not make the fool an example of courage. It is also possible that many things tallied in the courage column are the result of naivete. The person may be doing a good and noble thing but without the maturity and wisdom to realize what they are committing to in the long run. I have heard that there is a reason we send twenty year olds and not fifty year olds to war. But it could actually be that much of what gets classified as brave in our culture is real just bravado or arrogance. By this I mean that pride is at the root. Now, courage is a virtue and in most cases pride is a sin. Certainly sin cannot be the root of virtue. So what seems courageous, could at times, just be pride. A person could be pushed to take amazing risks to avoid shame and embarrassment. Real Courage Courage is not an optional attribute. It is not just something that would be good to have but it is essential if you are a genuine Christian. Listen to the warning we have about those who will experience the second death: Revelation 21:8 “But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” I think we tend to overlook the first couple of groups mentioned. Cowards will go to hell! This is serious! The reason is that to be afraid in a world where God is in complete control, is to doubt God. The reason the cowardly will be cast into the lake of fire is because their fear is the manifestation of their lack of belief in God. The second category named is the faithless. This probably refers to those who themselves could not be trusted or to those in rabid opposition to God. However, it seems to me that these groups are probably prone to overlap quite a bit. In light of this truth being a coward should scare us to death. The Bible actually tells us to be brave in several places. In Joshua 1:9, we are told, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” Notice Joshua is not told to just put on a brave face. Rather, he is given a reason to not be afraid. He is told that God is with him wherever he goes. But beloved God has made us that promise as well, that He will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5-6). The Apostle Paul even tells us that we have not been given a Spirit of fear (2 Timothy 1:7). Brothers and Sisters, we are called and equipped by God to be people of courage and commitment. These are at the very heart of what it means to truly trust and rest by faith in God and His precious promises. |