Many Afflictions

“Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.” ESV Psalm34:19

Don’t you find it difficult to pray “thy will be done” sometimes? I mean, don’t you sometimes want to pray for your own will to be done? Those were two thought provoking questions that came up in a small group bible study recently. And I think the answer is yes to both. It is difficult, especially when you find yourself overcome by some sort of affliction or hardship, to pray for anything other than relief. Yet while we should always yield to God’s will, it is not wrong to make your desires known to God in prayer.

One of the simplest definitions of prayer that I’ve seen comes from a book titled “Pray With Your Eyes Open” by Richard Platt. Dr. Platt describes prayer simply as a believer’s communication to God. Prayer is the means by which we “talk” to God. Pratt goes on to say that our prayers actually “project our faith” onto God. My observation has been that our faith shines brighter in prayer the deeper our afflictions. In the Puritan prayer “Valley of Vision” one line puts it this way, “The deeper the well, the brighter the stars.”

Christians are able to maintain their faith and project it through prayer during affliction because they know that this life is not the end. We don’t simply cease to exist when this life is over. Christians have what some have described as a “blessed hope;” a hope and faith in being united with Christ at his second coming. Peter describes the present reality of this hope this way: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” (1Peter 1:3) This reminds us that the Lord will ultimately deliver all his children from every affliction, though they be many, that they’ve faced on this earth.

As our discussion about prayer continued, someone reminded us of a time-tested method or system of prayer that makes it easier to yield our personal desires to God’s will. It’s called the ACTS method.

ACTS simply reminds us of four basic, orderly steps in prayer that glorify God and acknowledge him above and before our desires. The “A” stands for adoration. Hence, we should begin by praising God. The “C” stands for confession. It really is important (and biblical) to confess your sins before God and ask for his forgiveness. The “T” stands for thanksgiving. At this point, after confessing personal sins, how could you not be thankful that you worship a forgiving God? Finally, the “S” stands for supplication; this is the where you communicate your desires to God. If you follow this systematic way of praying you’ll find that your requests to God will be much more humble and your prayers will project your faith onto him.

Gospel Thoughts

"Turn [look] to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.”

^ESV Isaiah 45:22

(Adapted for print from notes taken during a message delivered recently by Barry King. Barry is pastor of Grace Baptist Church in Wood Green, London.)

The simplicity of the gospel is remarkable; “Look.” How simple. This word refers to Numbers 21and the story of the wandering nation in the wilderness. There, the people were commanded to “look” unto God. Now, through Isaiah, God commands again “look” to me for salvation. But Isaiah also prophetically points to John’s gospel where again we see the command to look unto God for salvation. This is the simplicity of the duty of all men to believe.

But there are some among us who would complicate the gospel by placing an overemphasis on either introspection or education. The command is to look, not to lament. Have I been under enough conviction? Am I lowly enough? Good questions perhaps, but the command is to look! Do I really know enough? Have I really fully understood the gospel? Is my grasp of theology comprehensive enough? Looking back on my salvation, I’m not sure I understood my sin correctly; perhaps I didn’t understand enough. Again, this confuses the simplicity of the command; look! Sometimes we create tension and imbalance in the hearts of people who hear us by confusing the simplicity of the command to simply look unto God.

The exclusivity of the gospel cannot be denied. “I am God and there is none else.” There is no other name but Christ by which men can be saved. We must confirm the exclusivity of this duty of all men to believe.

The gospel call is universal in that all the ends of the earth are to look unto God for salvation. The command and call is not just for Jews or Gentiles; it is for everyone. The God of the bible is not just the God of western religion. The gospel and command to believe is for the whole world!

With God, all things are possible. Many examples exist in scripture of commands that are impossible for men yet possible by the power of God and the command to look is no different. The man with a withered hand was commanded to stretch forth his hand; something a well man might do but not a man with a withered hand. But when Jesus commanded him, he extended his hand and it was well. What about “Lazarus come forth!” Dead men don’t walk from tombs, but Lazarus did what was impossible at Jesus’ bidding. And likewise even the worst sinner can be compelled to “look” through the power of the gospel call.

“If it is the duty of all to believe, [and it is of course,] it is our duty to preach the gospel to all men.” We must exercise and act on our responsibility to evangelize. Call it what you will; evangelizing, witnessing, etc.; you must share the gospel. We are to share the gospel intentionally. We should be praying for a lost world. “When is the last time you wept over your city?”

Alone with God

“That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea.” ^ESV Matthew 13:1

Hectic is perhaps the best adjective to describe the ministry of Jesus. Once he began to teach the religious folks tried to make him stumble, educated folks challenged him in open forums, and crowds pressed on him everywhere he went. Once, while he was teaching, his mother and brothers came looking for him but such a great crowd surrounded him they couldn’t even get near him and were forced to stand on the outside and call for him. It had to be hectic and stressful.

How do you suppose Jesus dealt with the hectic pace? What was his stress relief? Permit me to give a partial answer.

Behind on my reading, I sat down the other day to read through several passages of Matthew in one sitting. Incidentally, reading wide swatches of scripture at once sometimes gives you a clearer overall picture of what’s going on than reading snippets. Anyway, I picked up on a thought that I had not considered much before; Jesus enjoyed stepping away from the crowds and spending time alone with God (see Matthew 13:1, 14:13, 14:22).

Withdrawing to be alone—just him and God—seemed to be a refreshment for Jesus. Sometimes the respite was very short but refreshing all the same. Then the crowds, hard-headed disciples, family, and travel difficulties returned, but Jesus always began to teach to them again with great compassion. It was “back to the grind,” but with a refreshed spirit.

Nobody would dare argue that our lives are not hectic today. How do you deal with it? Do you withdraw for a short time to be alone with God? Do you pray? The Psalmist admonishes us to “delight yourself in the Lord...” (Ps 37:4). Is that how you refresh your spirit? All too often I think we seek our refreshment in more doing and going instead of in the Lord. Be honest, do you ever come home from vacation tired instead of refreshed?

Jesus withdrew often to be alone with God. Does the thought of being alone with God seem to be desirable to you or does it strike a fearful chord deep down inside? Being alone with God was refreshing to Jesus because he stood in a right relationship with him but time and again scripture speaks of unrighteous spirits trembling at the mere mention of his name.

Alone with God; Christians should rejoice in the thought. But, if this seems a bit unpleasant, ask God to place you in a right relationship with himself. The times are hectic; ask God to give you refreshment in him.

True Love

“Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,” ESV Ephesians 5:25

The bible has a lot to say about love but the picture that it paints hardly resembles the love embraced by society today. As I think about it, the picture of love that our society paints is actually quite selfish. It is a love that flows from what we can get or enjoy in return. On the other hand, the picture of love painted in scripture is an unselfish, giving love.

Think with me for a moment about gift advertisements you’ve seen lately. It doesn’t much matter what product is being promoted—diamonds, automobiles, even pajamas—the message is the same; buy this special gift for your loved one and in return you’ll get a happy, smiling, content for the moment loved one that showers you with affection because of your thoughtful expenditure. While there is nothing wrong with any of the gifts I’ve mentioned or gift giving in general, we should be careful to examine our motives in gift giving to make sure they’re not self-serving.

Love, as expressed in the bible is never self-serving. On the contrary, biblical love always serves other people. For instance, the gospels recount Christ’s command to “love your neighbor as yourself.” (Mark 12:31) Paul commended the Thessalonian church because their love for each other was increasing (2 Thessalonians 1:3) and the Gospel of John most certainly reveals the unselfish nature of biblical love: “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13) You see, the motive behind biblical love is serving; not self-serving. Biblical love is motivated out of what you can do for the other person, not what you can get in return.

So true love (biblical love) is perhaps best manifested not in occasional gifts, but in everyday service to loved ones. Getting up on a cold dreary morning for hard day of work can be an expression of love—serving family and others in your vocation. Getting up early to turn up the thermostat or stoke the fire can be a gift of love. Ironing an outfit before work or school can express your love. Simply listening to your spouse and children can be an expression of your love towards them. Even putting peanut butter on both sides of a sandwich so the jelly doesn’t soak through can be an act of love!

Sometimes it is the simplest things that best express biblical love. And simple, giving, serving, biblical love eventually develops into a love for which you would even sacrifice yourself for your loved ones just as Christ gave himself for the church. As a matter of fact, it’s a command, not a request.

This Valentine’s Day (even if you buy a gift for the holiday) why don’t you commit to expressing love to others year round in a serving, ongoing way without regard to what you’ll get in return just as Christ loved the church?

The Earth Groaned

“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” ESV Matthew 6:21

The cataclysmic movement occurred over eight miles beneath the surface and sixteen miles outside the capital city, but it was a deep, guttural groan that struck fear in the hearts of all on the surface as it reeked havoc in Haiti. In less than one minute on January 12, 2010 the face of a nation changed forever; hundreds of thousands of souls passed into eternity and all earthly treasures lay in ruins.

My friend Luis lives 125 miles away from the epicenter in Santiago, Dominican Republic. The first word I received from him said simply, “The earth shook very hard here today.” I learned later that even that far away the earth shook so hard that people poured into the streets in fear. When I spoke to him two days later, as the devastation became more evident, his church (Iglesia Baustista de la Gracia) was already mobilizing a relief effort; $6,000 had been pledged, 25,000 bottles of water had been ordered and they had agreed to pay the travel expenses for 35 local doctors to travel to Haiti for a week. Before the weekend was over, they would need an additional $20,000 for initial food and supplies for a clinic.

Buying the supplies was easy but getting them to Haiti would prove both difficult and dangerous. How would they avoid being robbed and looted on the way? By the grace of God! The Dominican Republic military volunteered to escort them to the border where the United Nations provided an escort on to Port-au-Prince and all arrived safely.

Now, almost two weeks later as hope for rescuing survivors wanes, the need continues. In a very short time, international news coverage will dissipate as public interest drifts to another calamity or everyday problems at home—but the need will continue. And I’m confident that when public interest and fascination wanes even more, Luis’s church will still be laboring and ministering however God enables them in this ravaged region.

When asked in a US radio interview how he was holding up to the stress of coordinating relief Luis replied: “Well, I’m actually very excited and very joyful that I’m a part of this [relief effort]. I think that very few things can give a man more joy than to serve and to serve God and to serve other people. It’s great not to be thinking about your needs but other people’s needs and I think it’s actually good for my soul and my heart. So, I feel very good.”

“….where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

If you’d like to help with the relief effort but don’t know how, I’d invite you to contact Tharptown Baptist Church (256-332-0063) or visit online at www.tharptown.com for more information.

Who is my neighbor? Haitians?

But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" ^ESV Luke 10:29

Haiti is in ruins and the death toll could rise into the hundreds of thousands before order is restored for the living. International aid is flowing towards the country though, so it would be easy to look the other way. With a history of corrupt government and squandered resources, it would be easy to turn a deaf ear to their cries for help. We’ve become so calloused in recent years that it’s really pretty easy to close our eyes and pretend that the suffering and death is not mounting. But those folks are our neighbors; or are they? What is the biblical definition of a neighbor?

One time a lawyer stood up to test Jesus in a public forum by asking the question: “What shall I do to inherit eternal life?” Surprisingly, the lawyer and Jesus agree on the answer. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” (Luke 10:27) But the answer raises another question that I suspect is a nagging one for the lawyer: “…who is my neighbor?” For the lawyer, it was the question of the day. Perhaps he thought his neighbors were other lawyers; the Pharisees perhaps; other religious leaders maybe. Though we don’t have time to expound on it here, it is highly unlikely that the lawyer would consider a Samaritan as his neighbor.

But at this point, Jesus tells the parable of the Good Samaritan. You know the story well. Three different people come upon a man who had fallen victim to foul play and left half dead on the roadway. The first two (both religious leaders) passed him by for reasons untold. The third was a Samaritan and a most unlikely candidate to lend assistance. But we know from Scripture that he did. He had compassion on the victim and went out of his way to lend a hand.

At the end of the parable, Jesus asks the lawyer a question: “Which of these three, do you think, proved [emphasis mine] to be a neighbor?” They agree that it is the person who showed mercy and Jesus commands the lawyer to go and do likewise.

Did you notice how Jesus phrased the question? The designation of neighbor doesn’t hinge on whether someone is physically located near me. Nor does it seem to matter what someone’s social status is. Ethnic background is thrown out the window as well. Jesus puts the emphasis on you, me and our actions. To whom can we prove to be a neighbor?

Today, Christians have an opportunity to prove themselves as neighbors by reaching out to Haitians during the aftermath of this earthquake. Will you be a neighbor?

If you’re looking for a way to be a neighbor to the suffering Haitians, feel free to drop me an email and I’ll direct you to some ways I’m aware of.

Resist the Devil

“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” ^ESV James 4:7

Through a friend, a prisoner emailed me some time back to make this point: Demons are real and spiritual battles rage continuously. He made his point in a very vivid way and it has set me to thinking about how to resist the devil and his demonic army.

Often times when reading about war and military actions the word resistance comes up. And it usually carries the implication of conflict or the meeting of opposing forces. I looked the word resistance up online and found this definition: “the act of opposing.” Similarly, a quick search on the word resist yielded: “to oppose actively.” These definitions make an important point; to resist, or the act of resistance is not passive. Resistance is active.

So, to resist is to actively oppose or engage. Likewise, in the case of our verse today, to resist the devil would mean to actively engage and oppose him. Rather than being passive against evil and the power of the devil, James is telling us to actively oppose him and the result will be that “he will flee from you.”

I have a passing interest in Civil War history because troops from the North and the South spent a lot of time, and often fought, right here in our backyard. One day while I was reading from Shelby Foote’s Civil War about some troops stationed in Tuscumbia, I came across a rather brash quote from a young General that is meaningful to our discussion of active opposition. In a message to Jefferson Davis, John Bell Hood wrote this: “You may rely upon my striking the enemy whenever a suitable opportunity presents itself, and that I will spare no effort to make that opportunity.”

Now think about the parallels for a moment. Hood was engaged in a physical battle. Christians are engaged in a spiritual battle. Hood vowed to strike (actively oppose) his enemy. Christians are commanded to resist (actively oppose) our enemy; the devil. Hood vowed to strike whenever he could. Does James indicate that Christian resistance is part-time? Finally, note that General Hood vowed to “spare no effort to make that opportunity.” May I suggest that we are to do the same? Spare no opportunity to resist the devil.

Followers of Christ can anticipate, even expect the devil to be lurking around every corner. The bible says he is like a “roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” (1Peter 5:8) Why then should we spare any effort to expose him? Why should we spare any effort to reveal the devil who is camouflaged, hidden in the shadows, ready to pounce at the first sign of weakness? The answer is obviously that we shouldn’t. We must spare no effort to fight and resist the devil. And what is our chief weapon? The sword of truth; God’s word—keep it at your side and in your heart.