Do not fret because ....

Three times in this morning's reading from Psalm 37:1-11, we are told not to fret (vv. 1, 7. 8). I can't resist the silly joke that this prohibits playing guitar in church. As always the Hebrew words are richer than ours, and “fret” is just one possible translation here. And what it can also mean is to be angry, to be aroused; to burn with anger; to rage; to be jealous; to compete, to contend with; to fret. When a thing is repeated it's important, when it is repeated twice, it's very important. Well, fretting is our default, and we have to wage spiritual warfare to overcome it. There are many reasons to not fret, this Psalm gives some of them, and some of the antidotes. In verse 1 should not fret, be aroused or burn, because of evildoers. There is plenty of wood for that fire! In verse 7 we must not fret because evildoers seem to prosper. In verse 8, it is because fretting causes harm, it does no good and it changes nothing. Easier said than done, right?

The serenity prayer talks about changing the things I can. So what am I instructed to do? Well I need to trust, do good, live life to the full and feed my mind, soul and spirit with thoughts of His faithfulness (verse 3). we are to delight ourselves in Him (v 4), and I can do this because He Himself is my exceedingly great reward (Genesis 15:1). I am to commit my way to Him, trusting that when we do our part, He will do His. We need to wait patiently on His timing, and to rest in Him (vv 5,7). Part of feeding on His faithfulness is holding fast to His promises, first of all of my vindication when I walk in these instructions (v. 6); and second of all, knowing by faith and His character, that He will deal with the wickedness (vv. 2, 9, 10). Note the thrice repetition, His dealing with wickedness us sure. His Kingdom will come, His will will be done!

Two more things, fitly his section of the Psalm finishes with “But the meek shall inherit the land, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.” The Hebrew word translated here as land is “haretz.” The Hebrews would understand this as the Biblical land of Israel. Jesus quotes this verse in Matthew 5:5 where it is the earth, and ultimately it is the new heavens and the new earth. Our rewards are both in the here and now, and in eternity (see Psa 27:13 NKJV). The second things, is that in another part of this morning's readings we see that Jesus' family thought that He was out of His mind, and the Pharisees accused Him of casting out daemons by Satan (Mark 3:21,22). So if you have been misunderstood, know this morning that Jesus has been there too and wants to come along side you to encouragement (Hebrews 4:15; Matthew 11:28-30).

Father, the line from the hymn comes to mind this morning “though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the ruler yet.” Help us Lord when we are temped to fret, or if we are in the middle of fretting, to take advanced of Your tools, Your truths and Your deliverances. We choose this morning Lord to replace our anxiety by feeding on Your faithfulness, and bringing our prayers and supplication to You with thanksgiving (Philippians 4:4-7) in Jesus Name Amen

“Those who are well have no need of a physician

... but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance” (Mark 2:17). Jesus had just had one of His many encounters with the Pharisees. This time He was being criticized for eating with the tax collectors and sinners. We are not told precisely who the sinners were, nor what was the precise nature of their sin, but they were certainly not Pharisees, at least at this point in time (c.f. Luke 7:40-43). It we take this verse on its own, rather than in the context of the whole of the gospels, it would be easy to think that Jesus was saying that the Pharisees were righteous. But elsewhere He tells us that “Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the Pharisees you will in no wise enter the kingdom” (Matthew 5:20). The scriptures also tell us that all our (self) righteousness is as filthy rags in the Lord's sight (Isaiah 64:6). So what is going on here? Does the Lord not want to reach Pharisees?

Well, the Lord is not willing that any should perish but all come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). But this occasion was not the time to preach the gospel to them. In their self righteousness they could not hear. I have often said we can't understand the good news until we understand the bad (i.e. Romans 3:23). Perhaps He was provoking them to jealousy (c.f. Romans 11:14). But in any case , He came to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:10). Here He was seeking to save those who knew perfectly well they were lost. Though our society is a far cry from the religiosity of ancient Israel, the same divide is apparent in our culture. I hear people saying “I am a good person,” and from those who have a passing acknowledgement that there is a God, that “He will judge my good works along with my bad.” This, as if somehow helping little old ladies across the street would somehow atone for sins. God is a God of justice, and what we need is mercy not justice!

So the question we need to ask ourselves this morning is “Do I need the great Physician?” If I have cancer, but refuse to acknowledge it, I will not likely go to the Doctor. If I do not acknowledge my sin, I cannot claim the promise of forgiveness to those who confess it (1 John 1:9). And when we do not confess our sins, not only are we not forgiven, but “our bones waste away” (Psalm 32:3). I am quoting David of course, who is telling us poetically that unconfessed sin leads to sickness of both body and soul. Using the same picture David, in the “repentance” Psalm, cries out “Make me hear joy and gladness, that the bones You have broken may rejoice. Hide Your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.” He goes on to ask “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me” (51:8-10).

Father, there is no greater joy than knowing that my sins are forgiven that I am cleanse from the pollution of it all, and You are renewing my spirit day by day. I confess that my sins were like scarlet, but now, by Your mercy, they are as white as freshly fallen snow (Isaiah 1:18). Thanks for the analogy Lord, but not too much more please (snow) in Jesus Name Amen

The LORD ... has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant

This quote (Psalm 35:27) caught my attention, possibly because I had recently been listing to a Youtube video for Patrica King. She was seeking to bring balance and correction to the “Prosperity gospel.” Those who teach it might conclude from this verse that God wants you to be rich. Certainly He would not take pleasure in you being poor. But consider that “the poor are rich in faith” (James 2:5), and “those who desire to get rich fall into temptation .. and into many foolish and harmful desires” (1 Timothy 6:9)! But also the word translated “prosperity” here, is not all about money. Among its meanings the Hebrew lexicon includes completeness, safety, soundness in body, welfare, health, prosperity; peace, quiet, tranquillity and contentment.

Capitalism is evil, but it is better than anything else we know. Why evil? Well, because it is driven by greed, and the marketing that sustains it teaches us to covert. Covetousness is idolatry (Exodus 20:17; Colossians 3:5). Idolatry is about putting our trust in anything that's not God. And as above, it is ultimately destructive. I find some of the thinly veiled manipulation of the televangelists, grievous. I know that it puts many off the gospel. I do not judge, because each one must give an account to God. That does not mean I don't grieve, and I was heartened to learn that a well known televangelists had publicly repented for his part in the excesses of the prosperity gospel. Some see the success of such ministries as God's endorsement, but we need to remember that “the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable” (Romans 11:29), and there are certainly successful rich people who are wicked, does God approve of that?

But we can go the the other extreme and preach a poverty gospel. Good for you if you feel lead to make a vow of poverty. But please don't teach that God wants everyone to be poor, that'a not Biblical. Certainly there are examples in the scriptures (Acts 2:44,45). But we must not make a theology out of example. Paul in talking about giving Paul says “I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened” (2 Corinthians 8:13). It is not always easy to find the right balance. We do need to remember the poor (Galatians 2:10). But when Mary was criticized for her extravagant worship, Jesus tells that “the poor you always have with you” (Matthew 26:6-13). All this raises questions as to priorities in giving. We give so that the gospel can go forth, we give to feed the poor. We give to teach a man to fish, and we give to allow children in developing countries to go to school! Jesus is our example he taught the people, fed the poor, healed the sick and preached the gospel!

Father, thank You, You are pleased when we are successful, and that You are concerned for our welfare. Help us to get our attitudes right. The prayer comes to mind “Give me neither poverty nor riches ... lest I be full and deny You ... or lest I be poor and steal” (Proverbs 30:8, 9). We will not find what You require of us by principles alone, but by principles and the leading of Your Spirit. It is the love of money , not money itself , that is the root of all evil. Help us to keep our eyes on You as our highest priority, and we will give You the praise in Jesus Name Amen

The time is fulfilled ...

... the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe the gospel (Mark 1:15). Suddenly after four hundred years of silence John the Baptist had burst on the scene to prepare the way for Jesus (verses 1-4). After being baptized, and John put in prison, Jesus announces His ministry with this morning's quote. “The time is fulfilled,” He says God had sent forth His Son “born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons” (Galatians 4:4,5). John was not the only one who had been preparing the way. The Father had spent several centuries preparing a people, teaching them His ways, giving the Law, emphasizing His holiness and His requirements, but also showing steadfast love and Mercy to those who love Him and obey Him (Exodus 20:1-6).

And it was to this prepared people that He sent His Son. So when Jesus speaks of the Kingdom (the rule) of God, His hearers would know exactly what He was speaking about. We cannot begin to understand the good news (the gospel), if we do not first understand the bad. God is holy and just, and there is coming a day of judgement, and all of us have “sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Justice is about getting what we deserve. This is the bad news! Mercy (spoken of above), is about not getting what we deserve. Centuries before, the Lord spoke in the prophetic past saying “The Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6). The good news then is that the Kingdom is at hand, about to break into the there and now, and we are to repent and believe it. The Greek lexicon says that to repent is “to change one’s mind for the better, heartily to amend with abhorrence, one’s past sins.” It's about turning from our sins, and bearing fruit worthy of repentance (Matthew 3:8). Scripture knows nothing of a salvation that leaves us unchanged. In fact change is evidence of faith (James 2:18).

The phrase translated “is at hand,” is interesting. The sense, is that it is near, it is already here, but at the same time not yet in it's fullness. Jesus commands us to preach that the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand, and then to heal the sick, cleanse the lepers and raise the dead (Matthew 10:7, 8; 28:20). What is on my heart this morning, is a prophetic word from Bob Jones. He was an amazingly accurate prophet. He prophesied in 1982, for example, that there would be people in Asia with unplugged TVs in their hand, listing to the international House of prayer in Kansas city. He did not have the language for cell phones, but it is happening. At the same time He prophesied that the great end time revival would come after the Kansas city Chief's won the Superbowl. They won it last month, and it was fifty years since they even appeared there. What I am saying is that it looks very much like the “time is fulfilled” for the end time harves, and it's time for the church to step up to the plate.

Father, we are excited, but woefully unprepared for the coming end time revival. Help us to make sure our lamps are full of oil. Show us what You need us to do. Our eyes are on You Lord, even so come Lord Jesus, in Your precious Name Amen

The LORD is near to the broken hearted

The second half of this Psalm we were looking at yesterday (34), starts by teaching us the fear of the Lord (verse 11ff). It is summed up perhaps in the phrase “Seek peace and pursue it” (verse 14b). Peace (shalom) with God includes righteousness, doing good and keeping our tongue from evil (verses 13. 14a). But seeking peace and righteousness does not promise us a trouble free life. Quite the opposite for “Many are the afflictions of the righteous” (verse 19a).  However,  when “the righteous cry out, the LORD hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles” (verse 17). He repeats it, to be doubly sure we got it “The Lord delivers him out of them all” (the afflictions verse 19b). But it might just take some time, and total deliverance might not even come in the here and now (c.f. Revelation 6:10)!

Jesus tells us “In this world you will have trouble,” and “I have told you these things that you might have peace,” and “be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). I sometimes think that one of the best forms of witness we can give in a world that shouts us down, is the way we handle trouble. If it is to be a positive witness, then we must allow the Lord to draw us close when the troubles of the world break our hearts. Sometimes that trouble comes from Christians. In fact I have been more hurt by Christians than others. And part of that,  is that I expected better. I am not saying that I am, or was, without fault, but then neither were they! But the second half of the title verse tells me that He “saves such as have a contrite spirit.” An we need to deal with things in humility!

So putting this together, the witness He wants from us is for us to be in process of learning to fear the Lord, to seek righteousness and peace and to trust that He will in His time deliver us from all our troubles. And we need  to go to Him when the troubles have broken our hearts. And as I said above we may need to wait for this. But so often it is in the waiting,  as we choose to trust,  that we enter the process of being transformed from one degree of glory to another (2 Corinthians 3:18).

Father, nobody said this Christian life was going to be easy, and it's just as well because it it not. We need Your help Lord to be “rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer” (Romans 12:12). Thank You Lord that You are close to the broken hearted. Thank You for Your comfort and Grace,  and we give you praise and glory again this morning Jesus Name Amen

Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good

It is likely no coincidence that this verse from Psalm 34:8a stood out to me,  from this morning's readings. We were recently discussing the difficulty of the fourth step of twelve-step programs “made a fearless moral inventory.”   This is notoriously difficult, and where, because of the  difficulties,  many drop out. Or they may need to revisit the previous steps. The process is broken down into steps for a reason.  After we come out of the denial that we have a problem (step 1),  we come to believe that God can deliver us from the insanity of our lives (step 2).  We then make  a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God (step 3).   After the fall, the Lord tweaked reality so that   our poor choices would have consequences.  This is designed to show us our need of Him (the ground is cursed for your sake Genesis 3:17 NKJV).  In order to live with ourselves when we make  poor choices, we suppress the truth in unrighteousness (Romans 1:18). And part of this,  is that we suppress the knowledge of God. We need to come back to believing that He is, that He is good, and that He can deliver us.  In other words the first three steps describe the process of coming out of darkness into His glorious light (1 Peter 2:9). And it is a process!

One of the advantages of twelve-step programs, as opposed to one on one counselling, is that we come together with those who are in various stages of coming out of darkness into His light.  Hearing the testimony of those who have found freedom by going  through the fourth step,  can encourage us to press on, even thought is it difficult.  This morning's Psalm is such a testimony.  As with all testimonies it comes with the invitation to “taste and see the Lord is good.”  David tells us that he sought the Lord and He heard him, and delivered him from all his fears (verse 4).  The fears in the “fearless moral inventory” likely includes the fear of judgement and condemnation.  But the Lord is good, and His mercies endure for ever. And when we confess our sins to Him He forgives us,  and starts the process of cleaning us up from the mess we got ourselves onto. And we are then free from condemnation  (Psalm 100:5; 1 John1:9; Romans 8:1).

This freedom is no small thing.  David describes the process as looking to Lord, and the effect is that “their face were radiant” (verse 5) i.e. peace and joy.  The type of fear  from which David was delivered in verse 4,  has to do with dread and terror. On the other hand when he tells us to  “ fear the LORD, you His saints” in verse 9, this fear has more to do with awe,  reverence and honour. He goes on to tell us that with this type of fear there is no want.   And in verse 10 he tells that “those who seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing.”  So we are to seek, fear and taste!

Father it is good and right and proper that we should have this second kind of fear, because it puts us in right relationship with You.  We need to taste and see Lord, to experience Your goodness. When we do this, we will have courage  to ask You to search our hearts and show us what we need to see in our fearless moral inventory. In Jesus Name Amen

The skin of Moses’ face shone

Moses had had intense encounters of the third kind with God on the mountain, and it had caused his countenance (the expression of his face) to shine. What is interesting to me, is that I have seen over and over a substantial change in the countenance of those who also have had an encounter with God today. I have seen it when demons have been cast out, and to me it is evidence of their delivery. I have seen it in those who are being delivered from drugs. And sadly, I have seen it change back when they have fallen off the wagon! It is hard to explain what you see, but it is very real.

Obviously present day “shining” it is not as startling as it was with Moses. I mean the glory of it on Moses' face was so intense, that the children of Israel could not look steadily on his it (2 Corinthians 3:13). And of course none of those I am talking about spent forty days and forty nights alone with God on the mountain as Moses did (Exodus 34:28). In speaking about this Paul talks about a veil that prevents unbelievers seeing the glory of the Lord in the face of Jesus Christ. “Nevertheless,” he says, “when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away” ( 2 Corinthians 3:16). And “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory which comes from the Lord who is Spirit” (verse 18).

As Jesus told us, while we cannot see the Spirit, for those who have eyes to see, the evidence is plain to see. Note that the phrase “are being transformed” is in the ongoing continuous tense, and it happens in the ongoing “beholding the glory of the Lord!” Moses' face shone because he had spent extended time one on one with the Lord, and it happens to us as we too spent time on on one with the Lord beholding His face in the beauty of holiness. It has taken a long time for me, in my mind's eye, to look Jesus in the eye. I was too covered in shame. But as I continued to try He took away not only my guilt, but also my shame (Isaiah 54:4).

Father, it is so easy to get distracted or to fill our lives with things that do not satisfy. Forgive us Lord, forgive me. Help us Lord to redeem the time, for the days are evil. Please fascinate us with Yourself, and give us hearts to respond. Help us to do our part in beholding Your face in the secret place, in Jesus Name Amen