3 Keys to Solid Christian Living

Readers, I just wanted to let you all know that I haven't forgotten that the New Testament existed. Today, we are going to look at the book of II Corinthians in particular 4:7-5:21.

What we would like to look at it that passage that is often quoted from, II Corinthians 4:8-9, 

"We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;"

Now this doesn't make much sense, given that when we find ourselves in trouble, we become distressed, and when we are perplexed, we're in despair, persecution leads to feeling forsaken, and cast down is basically synonymous with destroyed, right? What even is the apostle Paul saying here?

Well, he's saying that that's not true in his life. I guess an evaluation on how it could not be true in Paul's life is in order.

Well, let's start with the very beginning. When you want to study out a passage, you must look at context. The first context we must look at is the context of the book. When reading the book of II Corinthians, you wouldn't be surprised to find a lot of reference to service. More references are to service, it would seem than to anything else.

In addition, it is often mentioned as a part of the service question the subject of grace, both as a motivation for  the service, as well as a supplier of strength for that service. Thus, the book of Corinthians deals with service of the Lord, specifically as it pertains to the grace of God.

This is confirmed when we examine the beginning of the book, where immediately upon giving his salutations, Paul writes in II Corinthians 1:3-6,

"Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ. And whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer: or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation."

Thus then begins out answer. The grace of God is prevalent in the suffering and trouble of the apostle Paul, so that he can say that he is not distressed because he is comforted of God and may comfort others.

II Corinthians 4:7 introduces these verses further by expressing truths about the power of God, further showing that the power of God is at stake here.

"But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us." 

So the power of God and His comfort allows Paul to see his suffering solely as good for those around him. But wait, there's more. When examining all the verses following II Corinthians 4:8-9, we see a detailed outline of three reasons why Paul is able to manage his trouble without distress. Further, these three reasons provide three key perspectives that Christians should have if they desire to live victoriously.  So let's take a look.

1. Strengthened to serve others by the power of God

II Corinthians 4:10-12 states,

"Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. So then death worketh in us, but life in you."

The first thing to notice in the text is that the suffering isn't just "light" from our perspective. Paul is living in constant danger of his own death. Further, the suffering itself is strong, so that physically, He is bearing the marks of Jesus' suffering in his own body.

Look at a listing of some of the suffering that Paul has gone through at the time of this writing in II Corinthians 11:24-27, 

"Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness."

That's quite an impressive resume, don't you think? Paul suffered greatly, but note the last phrase of verse 12. "But life in you." Paul has death and suffering working in him, but because of that, the Corinthians have life.

Whether it is meant by that, prosperity and protection from suffering (seems likely due to the parallelism with death), or something more of an eternal nature is not the point. The point is that Paul suffers so that others may benefit.

And how is all of this possible? How can he say those words? Well, let's look at II Corinthians 4:13-16, 

"We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak; Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you. For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God. For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day."

So what does Paul mean in verse 13, where he says the "same spirit of faith." It certainly conveys that he has a faith and trust in (presumably) God, but what spirit does he refer? I guess the words it is written convey a quotation from the Old Testament that the Corinthians would have access to. Well, let's look at that passage, Psalm 116,

"1 I love the Lord, because he hath heard my voice and my supplications. 2 Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I call upon him as long as I live. 3 The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell gat hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow. 4 Then called I upon the name of the Lord; O Lord, I beseech thee, deliver my soul. 5 Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; yea, our God is merciful. 6 The Lord preserveth the simple: I was brought low, and he helped me. 7 Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee. 8 For thou hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling. 9 I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living. 10 I believed, therefore have I spoken: I was greatly afflicted: 11 I said in my haste, All men are liars. 12 What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits toward me? 13 I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord. 14 I will pay my vows unto the Lord now in the presence of all his people. 15 Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints. 16 O Lord, truly I am thy servant; I am thy servant, and the son of thine handmaid: thou hast loosed my bonds. 17 I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the Lord. 18 I will pay my vows unto the Lord now in the presence of all his people. 19 In the courts of the Lord's house, in the midst of thee, O Jerusalem. Praise ye the Lord."

There are a lot of parallels between this psalm and the passage in II Corinthians. It makes sense why Paul would want the Corinthians and indeed us to think about it. Unfortunately, time does not permit me to show you all of these parallels. So let's just focus on the big picture.

This psalm is a psalm of gratitude and obligation for the Lord because of what He did for the psalmist in a time of trouble. The psalmist praises the Lord, and says that he will now walk before the Lord as His servant.

That is the context when the psalmist pens, "I believed, therefore have I spoken." The idea is that because he trusted God in his trouble, he is able to speak now about service to the Lord.

So, how is that Paul is able to talk about serving God and others? It is because he trusted in the Lord's power when he underwent his suffering and persecution. That's how he can say that he is not distressed in the midst of his trouble.

And what a power of God it is! II Corinthians 4:14 reminds us that this power is one that is not just any old power, but the power that raised Christ from the dead! Any suffering that Paul or any of us go through will pale in comparison to the scale of unlikelihood to the resurrection of the dead.

No wonder Paul is ok with his suffering and able to see it as a benefit for others. But even further, the power of God is a very personal force. Verse 16 reminds us that "though our outward man perish, yet our inward man is renewed day by day."

Day by day, our soul is strengthened. Constantly, the Lord is right there to strengthen us, as He will never leave us, nor forsake us. Trials are typically seasonal, but God will always be there to pick you up if you should fall!

2. Not worried about temporal state because focus is on eternity

The second key is one that has been close to my heart for a little while. One that I have even shortened to two words so that I could use it to sign letters and emails. We must all live for eternity. However, I must say that the words, "For eternity," are not actually a good way to end a email to a member of the opposite sex. Talk about the wrong messages...

This key is introduced first in II Corinthians 4:17, 

"For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;"

Now, we've already made a discussion above about how Paul's suffering was hardly "light." But here he calls it light. How can that be so? This wording is as confusing and strange as the wording of verse 8-9. Troubled, but not distressed? Light affliction? I don't know, fellows, I just don't know.

But Paul's perspective is seen pretty clearly when we see the final phrase of the verse, "A far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." The affairs of this world, and our position within them should matter less to us because eternity if truly our goal.

It's as Dr. Jason Lee, dean of the School of Biblical and Theological Studies at Cedarville University, explained in a class lecture. The end of the Christian life is eternity. By this, he means both that the final outcome and resting place for a Christian is heaven and that the goal of the Christian life is to further the cause of Christ in eternity. That's all there is to it.

Continuing in our text, we find II Corinthians 4:18-5:4,

 "While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal. or we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life."

This verse expresses more of the idea that we should focus our eyes upon heaven. This is seen very clearly in verse 18 as it directs us to look at what is not seen, as that is what is truly important.

Now we've all heard the typical rhetoric on this. Governments and regimes fall, families break apart, and our favorite televisions series get cancelled! (wait, that's not right), but God remains forever. And the work you do for God will also remain forever. Consider the words of II Timothy 1:12,

"For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day."

Why focus on our outward temporal condition and let our troubles cause us distress when there is a war to be won which has eternal consequences for all the participants?

Paul uses the illustration of our bodies as seen in temple/tabernacle imagery. Right now, our bodies are temporary. When these forms die, we will receive new bodies in heaven which will last for eternity.

And we should yearn for those eternal bodies, and we should not be so wrapped up in our temporal bodies, that we fail to provide clothing for our eternal bodies in the first place.

Now I don't want to give you the impression that we stop taking care of our earthly bodies, or stop caring about life on this earth altogether. It is still important, and we have a role to serve now for the cause of eternity. Let's not get too heavenly minded that we're no earthly good. Look at the words of Philippians 1:21-26,

 "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour: yet what I shall choose I wot not. For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better: Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you. And having this confidence, I know that I shall abide and continue with you all for your furtherance and joy of faith; That your rejoicing may be more abundant in Jesus Christ for me by my coming to you again."

With that established, let's continue in our text to see what might be the most important thing we should look for in heaven, which also supplies our meaning, confidence, and satisfaction here on earth. II Corinthians 5:5-8 explain,

"Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit. Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: (For we walk by faith, not by sight:) We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord."

The earnest of the Spirit. It's an interesting term. One of my current internship mentor's favorite biblical phrases. With that in mind, I think it would be remiss not to pause on it for a little bit.

We all know that we have the Holy Spirit in our lives. We all know that we can have fellowship with the Lord now through the Holy Spirit. But what does this term "earnest" mean?

Now maybe you are all more savvy at financial terms than I am, but I had to learn this term. Earnest money tends to be given as a pledge. You give a portion of the money on your house, which is to show your interest in paying the rest.

The earnest of the Spirit. Hmm... Are we then given by the Lord a little fellowship with Him as a promise and commitment to an even greater fellowship with Him when we make it to eternity? I think yes.

And I think that that can indeed gives us confidence as Paul expressed here, knowing that we are absent from the Lord now, but we are still going to be present with Him in the future, and you know what? That pure fellowship with the Father is what we should yearn for.

3. Whether in the body or absent from the body, goal is to please the Lord. 

Continuing in the text, we find the absolute most important key for Christian living. One that solidifies why OUR condition wouldn't lead us to distress. And that key is that we are all about being accepted of the Lord. II Corinthians 5:9 explains,

"Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him."

The main thing that should be accepted here is not so much that we are striving to be accepted of the Lord. The idea of pleasing or being accepted of the Lord is something that we've heard enough that it is ingrained in our very identity.

No, the point that should be seen is that we are striving or labouring to be accepted of the Lord. Being accepted of the Lord is not something that will just come to us. We can't magically expect all things to work out beautifully for us if we don't put in the effort.

Obviously, we need to remember that acceptance of God at salvation is by faith alone and no labor is required, but as Paul writes this passage to Christians, his focus and idea is that to please the Lord after salvation, we must work. But why would we bother? II Corinthians 5:10-13 explain,

"For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences. For we commend not ourselves again unto you, but give you occasion to glory on our behalf, that ye may have somewhat to answer them which glory in appearance, and not in heart. For whether we be beside ourselves, it is to God: or whether we be sober, it is for your cause."

We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ. That provides us with a terror, knowing that the truly eternal actions that we committed whether we were storing up treasures in heaven, or treasures here are going to come back and haunt us.

We don't want to glory in just the appearance we can show off to other Christians because that won't truly serve us when we get to heaven and the Lord who knows our hearts is there to judge us for our wrongdoing. Perhaps this is why the apostle Paul is so interested in serving the Lord and others with his life.

Or maybe it goes deeper. Maybe the real reason why we should be ok with suffering for Christ's sake is what he has done for us. II Corinthians 5:14-17,

"For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again. Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more. Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."

When we become in Christ (another of my mentor's favorite biblical phrases), we become a new creature. We are called into living a different life. Paul described this in verse 15 above that we are not to "henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again."

The love of Christ in out lives constrain us. We know that we were all once dead. That no matter how many good deeds we did (or how rich we were), we were dead in our trespasses and sins, and needed the Lord to do something miraculous.

And He did. He owed is nothing, but He loved us so that He came down in human form to die for our sins. And when we accept Him, we are repenting of our sin. We are to stop serving ourselves and commit to serving God. We are to live, as Psalm 116 expresses, in complete obligation and thanksgiving to the Lord.

You all have heard before how at a competition for preaching, singing, and my personal favorite, Bible Quizzing, there was a banner that read,

"He died for me; the least I could do was live for Him." 

You also might remember my Iron Man illustration. Quoting from the post, "Internet, Iron Man, and Indebtedness," 

"In the movie Iron Man. Mr. Stark is fatally injured and should very well die. Through the surgery of one Yinsen, Tony's life has been saved. Stark and Yinsen plan a daring escape from their imprisonment (by the way, they've been imprisoned), and in the process, Yinsen dies. His last words to Tony are simple.

          'Don't waste it. Don't waste your life.' 

Tony's life has been spared twice by the man Yinsen, and the last words seem to have an effect on Tony. He understands that he is greatly blessed, and responds accordingly. In an important point of the film, he tells Pepper simply,

          'I shouldn't be alive... I'm not crazy, Pepper. I just finally know what I have to do.           And I know in my heart that it's right.'

I know the deepness of what I'm about to say is going to blow your mind, but here goes anyway. Jesus gave Himself to give us a blessing far greater than Tony's. Instead of having a chance at happiness in temporal life, Jesus died to give us guaranteed happiness for all eternity.

Tony responded to his blessing with a changed outlook and different behavior choices to pass on a better world to those around him. We as Christians should respond to our blessings with a different focus in life, and a strong desire and great boldness to better people's eternal (and temporal) situations."

We are indebted to Christ, and we ought to labor for the sake of being pleasing to the Lord. And we ought not to think it too big a deal to do so. We ought to be willing to bend over backwards to be accepted of the Lord. To quote Psalm 116:12,

"What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits toward me?"

I'm glad you asked. The Lord doesn't leave us hanging on what specifically would be pleasing to Him. Obviously, there would be a large part of the Bible, revealing God's character, and what would thus please Him. But our text has an answer for that as well. In what I promise to be the last part of our text today (thank you for reading this far; I am kinda impressed), let's look at II Corinthians 5:18-21, 

"And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him."

Ministers of reconciliation, ambassadors of Christ, evangelists fulfilling the Great Commission. I guess that's how we are able to please the Lord. And with that mission, I guess we can look at trouble, and see it as a benefit for others because we are living our live to please God by serving others.

 

So if we were Made to Enjoy Him...

I promise I will go back to expositional accounts of Scripture before too long, but right now, I will instead share something peripheral to the theme of a Biblical text. In this instance, it has to do with my in-depth study of Ecclesiastes that is coming by so much more slowly than I would like it to.

So, in Ecclesiastes, one statement and theme I keep coming back to is simply - God created us to enjoy Him forever. Of course, this is nothing new. We have all at some point been told that the reason we exist is to ultimately give God the glory, and we do that by serving Him and enjoying Him now and forever.

But it seems that that isn't where we focus in our daily walk with Him. Rightfully so, we are concerned with walking worthy of the calling which we have received when we received salvation. And I definitely don't want to take away from that.

Yet I think it is possible that in our desire to live a holy life, we have forgotten that the purpose God ultimately has for us is to enjoy Him. What that means is, when we read the Bible, we shouldn't only be concerned with guidance for our life.

Instead, our primary purpose should be on getting to know the incomprehensible God a little bit better, so we can appreciate and enjoy Him just a little bit better. After all, that is why we are made.

Within that theological purpose of the text, we will find pure motivation to serve God and to make our walk worthy of our calling, but that should never be the focus. Because to be blunt, that's not why we were made.

Moral living is merely a means to an end of growing closer to God. And seen within this light, is the only way that I can ever see a Christian change his life for God from the inside out. It is also the best way to know what a holy life looks like is to truly get to know the one who defines it.

Priorities Revealed in Decision-Making

When we find ourselves in life, there are many given choices that we would have to make every day. And whether we are purposeful about those decisions or just kinda make them, we are ultimately revealing our true priorities in the way that we interact with this thing we call life.

So, what does that mean when we choose to sin in our lives. None of us would consciously create a plan that involved a terrible terrible sin once a week because (I hope) not one of us is that mixed up in their priorities for that to so openly and honestly reject God.

But since our subconscious decisions reveal a lot about our heart and our priorities, what does it mean when we rather make an effort to sin.

Simply, it reveals that we delight more in that sin at that moment than in  pleasing God. We have decided that our personal pleasure is more important than obedience to God.

Obviously, I don't want to depress you all too much here; there at least is the point where we are specifically trying our best to serve the Lord, but we all will still have moments of weakness, where we sin. We are after all, only human.

But we must realize what that sin actually shows about us within that point of time, and know that there is no such thing as an "accidental" sin. And since every sin reflects an attitude in our hearts of putting something other than God as more valuable in our lives. I think that there indeed can be nothing to be said about "little" sins either.

The Lord will Fight for your Worship

Just in case you were wondering, you should trust God. Such we see admonished in the earlier verses of Isaiah 26. But as you would expect from a well-crafted biblical book, it doesn't repeat that same phrasing over and over again with no further exposition.

As Isaiah continues onward through his explanation of the topic, he reveals an interesting part of God's character. One that is very unique and very real in our lives to this day.

Specifically, look to verses 12-16,

"Lord, thou wilt ordain peace for us: for thou also hast wrought all our works in us. O Lord our God, other lords beside thee have had dominion over us: but by thee only will we make mention of thy name. They are dead, they shall not live; they are deceased, they shall not rise: therefore hast thou visited and destroyed them, and made all their memory to perish. Thou hast increased the nation, O Lord, thou hast increased the nation: thou art glorified: thou hadst removed it far unto all the ends of the earth. Lord, in trouble have they visited thee, they poured out a prayer when thy chastening was upon them."

So, it would seem from these verses that the Israelites worshiped false gods that were not the LORD. This the Lord responded to by destroying those gods so that even so much of their memory perished.

The Lord does not let His dominion and the worship that he rightfully deserves to head over to another being at any time. Instead, He determines that He will keep the loyalty of His people, even if that means destroying their other gods.

Seeing how the Lord is immutable and all, it seems obvious that He still acts in the same way today though the application may be a little bit different. Sometimes though, when the Lord begins to see our hearts being turned away to other things that are not Him, He will fight for our hearts by destroying our idols to being with.

But just because the Lord will fight for you, doesn't mean that you should make Him. On the contrary, like other elements of God's grace, I believe that this should only encourage you to try harder to live in a way pleasing to the One who would do so much for someone He doesn't need at all.

As She Spake to Joseph Day by Day

In the picture of purity, we see with the life of Joseph, there are many routes in which he is tempted to commit sin, or tempted to just get angry. This is not a shocking revelation to most of you.

But perhaps the part that seems so crazy about Joseph's life is the way the situation happened with Potiphar's wife. It just seems rather odd that after trying to sleep with Joseph, apparently his denial was a reason to get revenge upon him by accusing him of attempted rape. That doesn't really make sense to me.

But regardless, it was the intention of Potiphar's wife to lie with Joseph, and she was persistent in that purpose. She spoke to him asking for him to commit this sin every single day. As Genesis 39:10 says,

"And it came to pass, as she spake to Joseph day by day, that he hearkened not unto her, to lie by her, or to be with her."

I don't know, but I think it would be hard to continually say no to a sin when it is placed before you each and every single day. I can only imagine that Joseph began to understand that this woman would ensure secrecy of the event.

Yet as that verse speaks, he continually hearkened not unto her, and stayed strong in the faith. How could he withstand such  temptation for so long? Nothing would have kept him faithful except reliance upon his God.

But even after this resistance, how might he have felt after he loses his position in Potiphar's house by refusing to sin. Had he just said yes to Potiphar's wife, he would likely have remained in that position. So how come at this point he didn't decide that serving God was counter-productive and served him no purpose?

Instead of coming to denounce his service, we see Joseph in the text doing in the prison exactly what he did in Potiphar's house - serving faithfully.

So, know these couple of things. Temptation will be persistent, and you might find yourself in a difficult position at times. Also, know that serving God may not always come with physical rewards, but then that's not the point. The point of serving God is to please the one who loved you enough to die to take away your sins.

The Boasting Ax

The Bible has some interesting words to describe those who claim recognition, glory, and credit for their own actions in fulfilling God's plan. He describes them as axes boasting against the one that uses it.

Ok, so I guess I should be a little more clear. The Lord calls the King of Assyria that in Isaiah 10 for how he will boast of his inevitable destruction of Jerusalem.

The Lord of course used the wicked to punish the wicked, but then the ax that he has wielded decides to boast itself against Him. Listen in on the Lord's rebuke In Isaiah 10:12-15, 

"Wherefore it shall come to pass, that when the Lord hath performed his whole work upon mount Zion and on Jerusalem, I will punish the fruit of the stout heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his high looks. For he saith, By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom; for I am prudent: and I have removed the bounds of the people, and have robbed their treasures, and I have put down the inhabitants like a valiant man: And my hand hath found as a nest the riches of the people: and as one gathereth eggs that are left, have I gathered all the earth; and there was none that moved the wing, or opened the mouth, or peeped. Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith? or shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh it? as if the rod should shake itself against them that lift it up, or as if the staff should lift up itself, as if it were no wood."

 Hey, the Lord is sovereign, and He is able to empower men to do His bidding. But after we have done His bidding (either willingly or unwillingly), we tend to take all sorts of credit for the good that we have done.

But how is it that the ax is boasting itself against Him that is using it? or the rod against Him that is lifting it?

It's not as if the rod is suddenly going to jump up and lift itself. Neither are we going to be able to accomplish anything without God. So maybe just maybe we should give Him the credit, and not be like this wicked King of Assyria.

A Single Man in Possession of a Good Fortune...

"“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife."

Thus begins the famous work Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. It would seem through the scope of the story that the situation is just a tad bit backwards that every single woman is in want of a husband of a good fortune, but that is the irony, isn't it?

Dissecting Jane Austen's works is not my strong suit, so I will not go deeper into that analysis, but isn't it crazy how many Christians today fit into this mold? It seems to be a truth universally acknowledged that every Christian young male and every Christian young female ought to get married. And it seems fitting to tackle this subject after Valentine's Day.. 

Now I really really want to get married myself. I want to have a wonderful wife one day with whom I can serve the Lord. We should have somewhere between 1 and 100 little children running around our house (no, I would not really expect it possible to get a hundred children, the number is just supposed to show that I have no preference for the number as long as it is greater than 0).

But in today's Christian culture, it would seem that we think it is necessary for us to be married to serve the Lord (and if I'm real with you, the pressure seems much greater on the lady than on the gentleman and that's also just wrong). That however is just sad. The only thing necessary to serve the Lord is willingness.

Of course, no one is explicitly saying that we have to get married to serve the Lord; all would know such a claim to be ridiculous. But the way we have set up our culture is implying it to be true.

Perhaps our Christian culture has forgotten the entirety of Paul's admonition in I Corinthians 7. Here Paul develops a very key theme - both marriage and non-marriage can be honoring to God. Paul himself is partial to non-marriage, and it's easy to see how this fails to effect his ability to serve the church.

As I aforementioned, I am partial to the concept of marriage. I love families, not gonna lie. And that shouldn't have to effect my ability to serve either. Noah didn't have difficulty serving the Lord because of his wife. 

Paul however does highlight some challenges, such as having to put a high priority in your life upon your family, and then having difficulty ensuring that high priority doesn't just become too high.

But the main takeaway is that marriage and non-marriage can both please God. So keep that in mind, y'all, and don't coerce young ladies and gentlemen to get married. It's not for everyone. (I do still hope it's for me though.)



The following was the obligatory relationship post. It was about time that it was written. It started because Ryan had no idea of what to write about, and found himself writing the beginning words to Jane Austen's novel. Then suddenly an idea! 

10 of Your Blessings (It's a Start for Counting)

1. God created humanity. There was no need for an incredibly magnificent God like ours, to take any interest into creating humans. We did not need to exist for God to find fulfillment, though yes, our purpose is to please God.

2. God placed man in an ideal world with luscious fruit and luscious fruit, and no animals hunting us humans. Wouldn't it be an incredible sight to watch dinosaurs walk with humans, and not be trying to eat them? 

3. But God wasn't a deistic type God, which would have made sense. He has no reason to be interested in us as individuals, but He stayed and communed with man.

4. (Also, God didn't just destroy the world altogether after Adam's sin. We know that one day He will create a new heaven and a new earth, so He obviously had that ability. But He didn't use it after man corrupted the ideal world that He placed them in.)

5. Indeed, even after man messed things up, He remained in a relationship with man, going to great lengths to set up a sacrificial system that allowed the Israelites to enjoy a relationship with him, albeit a broken one.

6. Further, He refused to leave it as only for the Israelites. Contrary to negative popular opinion, God allowed His covenant with Abraham to extend to non-Israelites, like the men of Gibeon, Barzillai the Gileadite, and so on.

7. Then the Lord wasn't content with keeping tne relationship as purely broken. Jesus then laid down His crown to be born from a virgin in a manger.

8. Jesus went through and lived a perfect life, then went and died on the cross to take away the punishment for all our sins, to all who will accept His death as a substitution for their punishment. Raising again the third day, we have a promise that we too will raise again to life eternal.

9. Furthermore, the Lord refused to leave it to just the Israelite, but opened up His route of salvation to the Gentiles. All people now have the opportunity to get to have that intimate relationship with Jesus Christ that brings with it salvation.

10. Even still, God doesn't just give us eternity, and then become a deistic type God when it comes to this world. He still cares for us, and tells us that He will "never leave us, nor forsake us." We have His words that through our struggles, we will have Him strengthening us.

The History of Humanity

God is awesome. We heard as much last week. We have probably had it also grounded in our very face that the Lord who sits on the throne is one who is just simply awesome in the ways that He interacts with man.

Yet today I again want to share with you a simple, yet very very true history lesson. So here goes nothing.

Once there was nothing in existence, save one being, whom we call God. He decided for some reason that despite His extreme lack of obligation or need for such a thing, to create a world. It was an ideal world, and He put his creatures like man into it.

Now let's just make one thing clear - from a purely logical standpoint, a Deist God just makes sense. After all, a God who is so great that He can literally just speak things into existence is probably too transcendent to even care about His creation. I see no reason why He shouldn't just create the world, and leave us all to our own devices.

But in the ideal world that God placed Adam and Eve, He didn't just leave them alone, but specifically made sure that they had whatever they needed to survive. He even went so far as to allow them an opportunity to have a relationship with Him.

And Adam and Eve took that great blessing that was given to them, and they defiled it, breaking the one commandment that God had given to them to keep.

At this point, God's actions also don't seem to make sense from a logical perspective (logic is so very human after all). He could have easily destroyed the earth right then and right there and start afresh (or not restart at all). But He didn't. He decided to give Adam and Eve a lighter punishment of simply banishment from the ideal world that they were living in.

At this point, a deistic God really starts to make sense. Why should God still be concerned about these people who denied the blessings He gave them in exchange for some fruit? Nonetheless, the Lord goes to great lengths to keep man in a relationship with Him, albeit a broken one.

Eventually selecting the Israelites as His people, He looks after and guides them, confronting their enemies, and giving them a way to worship Him as He deserves. As He continually blesses them, they continually defile those blessings. And yet He still continues to bless them.

Indeed He blesses them through their sin until the point that in the very last book of the Old Testament, He proclaims,

"I am the Lord, I change not. Therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the Lord of hosts."  

These are all the blessings God has bestowed on man prior to His actually coming to earth, and taking on the punishment for our sins, so that we can truly have a restored fellowship with Him.

Pretty amazing blessings, right? Well, how exactly are you responding to this blessing? Are you defiling it like humanity has done throughout history, or are you doing your best to serve the Lord in all the ways He deserves?

Oddest Rebuke in the History of Mankind

I have made it to the end of the book of Job. As most of you know, the book ends with the Lord rebuking Job for four chapters.

As I was reading Job truly to figure out what Job was being rebuked for, I was paying rather close attention to what the Lord said, so that I could determine whether my prior guesses were correct.

But the rebuke doesn't like a typical rebuke. Outside of maybe Job 40:2, the Lord says absolutely nothing of what Job's sins are, and what Job has done that has engendered this rebuke. Instead God spent His time explaining His transcendent power and majesty.

Naturally, this rebukes produces very much of the desired effect (how could God fail in His efforts?). In Job 42:5-6, Job responds,

"I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes."

And there you have it - repentance comes as the result of the Lord's rebuke. Repentance comes because of a further knowledge of who God is. I don't believe it is too much of a stretch to say that ultimately all true repentance will come from a greater knowledge of who God is.

Perhaps if we want to live a life of godliness, we ought to start by gaining a greater knowledge of who God is. And we also ought to continue by gaining a greater knowledge of who God is, and you know what? We ought to end by gaining a greater knowledge of who God is.

I'm Ashamed of my Quality Education

God can use anything and anyone for his purposes! We all know this to be true. Indeed, I wrote in my last "Ethics" post proclaiming that true humility is being comfortable with your own weakness because it is not your ability, but the Lord's that does all the work.

I have grown up my entire life hearing about how God uses the people who are weak specifically to show His strength all the more. The implication created by this was that the Lord can get more glory out of Joe Schmoe, a high school drop out, than with Dr. G.I. Feelbetter with three Ph.Ds and an IQ off the charts.

This implication is just flat out wrong! Yes, it is totally true that since all that is needed to serve the Lord is submission, the Lord will get glory out of a submissive Joe Schmoe. But it is nonsensical to say that a submissive Dr. G.I. Feelbetter would not meet the same end.

You see, the way I understand it, submission is all that is needed to serve the Lord, and a weak education has nothing to do with it.

Now I know some people here are thinking that I'm crazy for making this a blog post. After all, isn't it obvious that education is not a hindrance to service? One would think so, but I see in some of my Christian circles a startling rejection of education.

Though certainly not universal, when I was starting to work deeper to further my education through means such as debate, or even heading here to Cedarville University (it's pretty swell here by the way), there was limited support not for me as an individual, nor for my particular ways to further my education, but for the whole process of education in the first place.

I'm seeing a society emerge in the church where true education is simply unnecessary and dangerous. But I never see the Lord tell us that we need to be ignorant in order to be used by God. I cannot find one verse in the Bible that can even be misinterpreted to mean that the Lord wants us to be stupid. Such a verse does not exist.

Indeed, if we look to one of the greatest men in the early church, we see clear evidence that God can and will use the educated - the great apostle Paul. Paul had, of course, what we would consider today a secular education. Trained as a Pharisee, he understood the ins and outs of all the reasons why some Jews would not accept Christ.

Rather, than being an impediment to his ministry, his education was able to greatly increase it. Along his journeys, he had to deal with several belligerent Jews and answer their arguments accordingly. Thankfully, the Lord had equipped him to do so with his formal training.

Paul was even able to communicate formally to several government officials and actually have them listen to him. Now if government officials were anything like they are today, that is quite an impressive feat! If Paul hadn't been educated, God certainly could have used him still, but not in the same way. Perhaps Paul would have had just as much of an impact, but it wouldn't have been the same impact.

It is important to note that Paul's education was God's equipping tool, but Paul understood that he still needed God to wield it correctly. Paul wrote several of the verses we quote to remind us that God's is whose strength we need. Take a look at some examples:

"For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong." ~II Corinthians 12:8-10

"This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh." ~Galatians 5:16 

"For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh. Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more: Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ." ~Philippians 3:3-8 

As if Paul wasn't enough, we can take a brief glimpse at the book of Daniel. The book of Daniel follows the lives of "Daniel and his fellows" (specifically, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nago) from the reign of Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon to that of King Darius of the Medo-Persians. Through this, there are many stories that show God's strength and protection.

But let's remember one thing - not one of them was likely to happen had Daniel and his fellows been poorly educated. Look at Daniel 1:3-7,

"And the king spake unto Ashpenaz the master of his eunuchs, that he should bring certain of the children of Israel, and of the king's seed, and of the princes; Children in whom was no blemish, but well favoured, and skilful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding science, and such as had ability in them to stand in the king's palace, and whom they might teach the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans. And the king appointed them a daily provision of the king's meat, and of the wine which he drank: so nourishing them three years, that at the end thereof they might stand before the king. Now among these were of the children of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: Unto whom the prince of the eunuchs gave names: for he gave unto Daniel the name of Belteshazzar; and to Hananiah, of Shadrach; and to Mishael, of Meshach; and to Azariah, of Abednego."

Note from these verses that Daniel and his fellows were placed in their position because of natural beauty, yes. But also because they were "skilful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding science... and whom they might teach the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans."

The Lord orchestrated that these four would have these particular positions, so that we can have the message about "purposing in your heart" from Daniel 1, the story of the fiery furnace in Daniel 3, even the story of the writing of the wall in Daniel 5, and of course, the story of Daniel and the lion's den in chapter 6. Had these men not been educated, the book of Daniel would have looked completely different.

So yes, God has used the uneducated. But no, God does not only use the uneducated. Submission is all that is needed for one to serve the Lord, and if that takes you to getting three Ph.D.s, fantastic. I will be scared to speak with you, but it's still pretty fantastic. If submitting to the Lord causes you to drop out of high school, hey, that's pretty fantastic, too!

Let's not be caught in a delusion either way. Let's not focus so much on education being unnecessary for serving the Lord that we consider it a detriment. If used for the right reason, it can pay great dividends in our service to the Lord.

Filling your Soul with Good

I have been branching out a bit over the last few devotional posts. Although I have technically done devotional posts in the past that simply expounded on certain scripture, I feel most at home and comfortable when telling a narrative and bringing out the truths God revealed to me from it. But I have always said it's good to be out of your comfort zone every now and then, so here goes.

Today, we are going to discuss a little batch of poetry in the book of Ecclesiastes. Ecclesiastes as a book stands to reason out where one can find satisfaction in life, declaring time and time again that all is vanity. We ultimately discover that the whole duty of man is to fear God and obey His commandments. 

While that is the main lesson of Ecclesiastes, Ecclesiastes also has a secondary theme that is developed throughout the book, especially the early portions of the book - everyone should enjoy the work that they are called to do and be content in the station that the Lord has placed them in. Just to list one example, this theme is referenced in Ecclesiastes 3:11-13, 

"He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end. I know that there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice, and to do good in his life. And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God."

Like I said, this theme of enjoying the labor that is placed before us is seeded throughout a large part of the book; however, I would not like to bite off more than I could chew. Thus, today we will focus in on the theme only as it develops in Ecclesiastes 6:3-12,

 "If a man beget an hundred children, and live many years, so that the days of his years be many, and his soul be not filled with good, and also that he have no burial; I say, that an untimely birth is better than he. For he cometh in with vanity, and departeth in darkness, and his name shall be covered with darkness. Moreover he hath not seen the sun, nor known any thing: this hath more rest than the other. Yea, though he live a thousand years twice told, yet hath he seen no good: do not all go to one place? All the labour of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled. For what hath the wise more than the fool? what hath the poor, that knoweth to walk before the living? Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire: this is also vanity and vexation of spirit. That which hath been is named already, and it is known that it is man: neither may he contend with him that is mightier than he. Seeing there be many things that increase vanity, what is man the better? For who knoweth what is good for man in this life, all the days of his vain life which he spendeth as a shadow? for who can tell a man what shall be after him under the sun?"

 Solomon starts his discussion here with a nice parable. A man lives two thousand years, and has a hundred children. He is the pinnacle of what man would desire in his life. Yet Solomon argues, that if "his soul be not filled with good," that he would be better off to have been still-born. That is quite harsh, there, King Solomon.

But how could this wonderful life not be filled with good? We've just discussed that he has everything that man desires in his life, so that nothing is lacking! But notice that this is not what Solomon has said.

Solomon never denies that this man's life is filled with good. On the contrary, his entire parable is centered on that fact. Solomon wonders whether his soul is actually quite filled with good. The consensus on what Solomon means on this (examining the context, I would have to agree) is that Solomon was discussing whether this man was enjoying his good, whether he was truly joyful about his circumstances.

Solomon is very gently reminding us that our joy is independent of our circumstances. If our circumstances are great, we may not be any more joyful than if our circumstances are depressing. The thing about circumstances in life is that they just don't satisfy our joy the way that God can.

It is of course much easier for us all to say that we believe this than to actually live our life that way. There can be a disconnect between what we profess to believe and how we actually live. As Orson Scott Card writes in his science fiction novel, Shadow of the Hegemon, 

"I don't know a soul who doesn't maintain two separate doctrines - the ones that they believe that they believe; and the ones that they actually try to live by. I'm simply one of the rare ones who knows the difference."

Of course, there is no easy way to bridge this gap, and going too far into that topic would branch me away from the thesis I am developing, so just acknowledge that knowing this is not the same thing as living it. (Also note that my use of this quotation does not endorse all of the psychology included within that particular chapter.)

So back to our main point, Solomon shows us the meaning of his parable by reminding us that many parts of life increase vanity. Thus, finding a way to better our own circumstances should not be our focus.

After all, with so much that just doesn't satisfy, how are we to know what is best for us? Now don't get me wrong. As a Libertarian, I still strongly believe that I know what's best for me more than anyone else on earth, and that you know what's best for you more than anyone else on earth. But as a Christian, I know that the one person who truly knows what's best for me is God.

Indeed God is the answer to Solomon's rhetorical question, "For who knoweth what is good for man in this life, all the days of his vain life which he spendeth as a shadow?" You better believe the Lord does. Thus, we all should be glad that God hath "named already" that which is to happen unto all men. Why would we "contend with Him that is mightier" than us?

That is why our goal should be focused on being content with where God puts us. As Ecclesiastes 6:9 states,

"Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire: this is also vanity and vexation of spirit."

Self-Evaluations do not Help You Serve the Lord

This post today was too generic for me to consider to be written before now, but it is not my place to say that there isn't somebody who needs this generic reminder - a reminder that I could use today I'm sure as well.

We as Christians go through our particular lives and try to evaluate our own behavior. Seeing as how we desire to greatly be used by God, and hope for our efforts to be pleasing to the Lord (I can hope anyway), we take time from our days to consider whether our actions have pleased the Lord. 

This is all well and good, but we must be careful in this process. You see, it is easy for us to change our motivations or to deceive ourselves into believing that we are serving the Lord more than we actually are. 

On two different occasions in the book of Proverbs, the Lord proclaims this truth, 

"The way of a fool is right in his own eyes." ~Proverbs 12:15

"Every way of a man is right in his own eyes." ~Proverbs 21:2

The Lord explains that men have a tendency to find their ways to be the moral and proper way. The book of Ecclesiastes explains this further in chapter 5, verse 1,

"Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil." 

I think we have thus far done much to understand that we don't like to admit even to ourselves that we may have erred, and that we instead tend to make ourselves think that our lives are more holy than they actually are. Now this means that our times of evaluation can be wasted and we may not necessarily expose our faults so that we can (through the Holy Spirit) conquer them.

Know that you aren't perfect, so if when you do an evaluation, you find no flaw in yourself, you have probably done something wrong. But how do you prevent that from happening?

The real thing I find here in those two verses from Proverbs aforementioned is that we should not rely solely upon our own evaluation, but entrust the help of others. Find some brutally honest friends, and ask them to tell you what they think of how you acted. I know, it's a scary thought to have to confide in someone else about your personal life, but it can be so worthwhile in the end.

And then of course, consult the One person who truly understands you and your motivations and who knows whether you are actually pleasing Him in your actions or not. He will reveal to you what you are truly seeking, and help you to seek the right thing.

So don't rely on your own self-evaluations. They are too easy for you to manipulate without you even knowing it. Instead seek some outside sources, like your friends, and of course the Lord. As our two verses in Proverbs say,

"The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise." ~Proverbs 12:15

"Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the Lord pondereth the hearts." ~Proverbs 21:2

Why Did Solomon Choose Wisdom?

There are few choices that stand out more in the Bible than when Solomon asked for wisdom in his life. As God himself mentions in 1 Kings 3:11, Solomon had many options available to him. He could have asked for long life, riches, vengeance on his enemies, or any other number of selfish things. But instead he asked for wisdom to be able to serve God's people more honorably.

Many Christians today wonder whether in these same circumstances, they would be able to do the same. For whom would they make request: themselves or God? 

If we examine Solomon's life before the Lord asks him this question, we'll see a few signs that indicate why he was so ready to ask for wisdom in the first place. These will by no means provide an exhaustive list, but it would be a good start to make sure these principles are true in our own lives. 

First, Solomon was already serving the Lord. He was going to great lengths to worship the Lord in the high places. Although it wasn't the best option, Solomon took advantage of the option available to him in relation to serving the Lord. In I Kings 3:3-5, we read, 

"And Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of David his father: only he sacrificed and burnt incense in high places. And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there; for that was the great high place: a thousand burnt offerings did Solomon offer upon that altar. In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee."

You see, you shouldn't plan to serve God when the time comes. It's not as if a secret button can be pressed that brings you into God's presence and suddenly you want wisdom from the Lord in order to serve Him more effectively..

Rather, when the time comes, you will need to have already been serving the Lord, already have been developing your relationship with Him. Without that, you can't expect to have such a selfless desire as this.

Second, Solomon had humility. Here's a simple thought: if you don't know that you need help, you'll never ask for it. Before he asked for wisdom, Solomon understood that he couldn't handle the tasks before him on his own intellect. Thus, it comes as no surprise when he says in 1 Kings 3:9,

"Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?"

Who is able to judge this thy so great a people? Fantastic question, Solomon. In our own lives, the questions would be different, but the point is, it doesn't matter who we are.

No human being on this planet is able to judge this so great a people, or strictly speaking serve the Lord in any capacity on their own power and wisdom. But have no fear, just as Solomon was able to serve the Lord as King because the Lord granted him wisdom, we too can have from God the wisdom necessary to serve Him fully.

What do you think allowed Solomon to make the right choice? Do you think I missed anything? Let the world know in the comments section.

The Purpose of the Christian Life

When asked about the purpose of the Christian life, practically every elementary child growing up in the Christian church will shout, "The glory of God!"

Now that's all well and good. We definitely are called to glorify God in our walk with the Lord. Indeed, we get this very admonition in I Corinthians 10:31,

"Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God."

Now of course, we have just divorced this verse out its context a bit (its context is actually about extra-morality in case you were wondering).  However, there is certainly truth to the statement found here in this verse that we are to glorify God. Indeed I Peter 4:11 explains further,

"If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen."

So there we have it, the purpose of the Christian life is to glorify God, that post was short and simple, I'll see you Friday!

Not so fast. It is one thing to say that we must glorify God, it is another thing entirely to have any sort of clue as to what that means.

A former Sunday School teacher of mine made it a point to not allow Sunday School answers in his class. What he meant by this were answers that we had been trained since youth were right, but that we just didn't understand. As regrettable as this is, I believe many Christians today are in this particular batch of understanding when they proclaim that their only purpose in life is to glorify God.

The common perception on how the glory of God is supposed to work, is we do things by the abilities God has blessed us with, and then voila! When we are starting to reap the benefits, we shout to the world, "Don't give me the credit! To God be the glory!"

But is that really all that is required to glorify the Lord in everything that we do? A few simple words after our accomplishments are made? Certainly there is absolutely nothing wrong with these words themselves (they could even come from a noble heart), but are they the only prerequisites necessary to bring God glory?

It seems to me that if this were the case, the Christian has life pretty easy. He can do whatever he wants and just be sure to give the necessary words of God's glory and then on the final day, hear, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant."

But we have so many other commandments given to us in Scriptures about loving our neighbour, about sharing the word of God with those around us, about not being judgmental towards other believers. We know that our purpose in life is not that easy to accomplish.

We could say that we have to obey God's commandments in addition to glorifying God. This is possible, but then we have to admit that we have two purposes in our life. That's not a problem at all, but I don't think the purposes are truly separate.

In the second chapter of the book of Malachi, the priests are being rebuked for not giving glory unto the name of the Lord. Verse 2 declares,

"If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith the Lord of hosts, I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings: yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to heart."

However, as the rest of the chapter tells the priests their specific abuses, we don't hear that they didn't tell the people, "to God be the glory" when people tried to congratulate them on their service to the Lord. Rather, we hear about how they broke the covenant, led people astray, and called evil good.

The reasons why they have failed to glorify God are truly actions of disobedience to the Lord. Could it really be that the glory of God is all about the works that we do?

This should come as no surprise to those familiar with Matthew 5:16,

"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."

Even in the aforementioned I Peter 4:11, where we hear a direct command to glorify the Lord,  that glorification is tied to our actions and service of the Lord.

"If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen."

Glorifying God is not about the words we say when people start to credit us. Ultimately, bringing glory to God is an attitude of submission, service, and sacrifice. That then is the true duty of man - to respect and obey God at every turn.

As Ecclesiastes 12:13 says,

"Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man."

Sacrifice vs "Sacrifice"

In the book of Malachi, the spiritual condition of post-exilic Israel is once more being discussed. By this time, the Temple has been rebuilt and sacrifices are continuing. However, all is not well with the worship and sacrifices that the Lord is receiving by the hands of the Israelites.

The Israelites are trying to find ways to get away with going through the motions of sacrificing without actually "sacrificing" anything. Providing lambs that are of no use to them whatsoever, they are using the Lord's Temple as a garbage bin.

If they were to pass this off to any man, he would not accept it. If they were to give it to their governor, he would not accept it. So instead they pass it off to God. 

But the Lord is not pleased with this type of "sacrifice." As he says in Malachi 1:6-8, as the great King of Israel and the Lord of all the earth, he deserves more than the governors of the land, not less. 

"A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is mine honour? and if I be a master, where is my fear? saith the Lord of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name. And ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name? Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar; and ye say, Wherein have we polluted thee? In that ye say, The table of the Lord is contemptible. And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? and if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the Lord of hosts."

If you were to take the devotion that you present to the Lord, and present it instead to say, your father (it is Father's Day this Sunday after all), would he be pleased with your actions? Would he acknowledge that you had done well, or would he know you were just using him as a dumping post?

Better yet, whom do your actions show you respect more: your earthy authorities or your God?  Whom do you spend more time pleasing: your earthly authorities or God? For whom do you sacrifice your interests: your earthly authorities or God?

If your answer is your earthly authorities, remember this, the solution is not to respect your earthly authorities less, it is to respect God more. He is a Father, where is His honour?

Trials and Persecution 7: Day of Reflection

It is with a sad heart that I write this post today. This post will be the last of the series posts that have been the Wednesday posts over the duration of this blog. It is the first and hopefully only casualty this blog takes from the very soon not as flexible schedule my life will file under. A greater announcement regarding that will come next Wednesday.

But the show must go on; we have business to attend to today that isn't related to that which pertains to these series as a whole.

In life, we are bound to experience trials. There are self-help and encouragement books galore to show us how to survive and thrive through the struggles we find in our lives. Indeed some have gone as far as to say that success happens simply when people are able to overcome those obstacles in their life that would so easily beset them.

If success truly is determined by our abilities to overcome suffering, then we ought to be able to understand all that suffering encompasses. Truly, it makes sense that there are so many books dedicated to suffering. This is just another one of those written types of presentation regarding hardship for the Christian. But I would hope that thus far I have stumbled upon a certain amount of encouraging truth.

Let us review our discussion of the trials and persecution that a Christian will inevitably face by examining the history of suffering throughout the Bible.

Cause of Suffering

"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." 

Thus begins the Bible in Genesis 1:1. This is then the beginning of the world as we know it. Through the rest of the chapter, we hear about how the Lord created everything that we know. He declares of course after everything that he created, that it was good. 

Indeed it was perfect in complete harmony and bliss. Adam and Eve were placed in this utopia by the Lord, and the Lord even went so far as to warn them of which fruit was good to eat and which would cause certain death to interrupt their eternal bliss. But Adam and Eve decided they knew better than the Lord did, and ate the forbidden fruit anyway. Since that time, we've seen that the Lord was right, death and suffering of a both temporal and eternal kind were introduced into the lives of humans, all because of sin. 

Now we must be careful here. Just because the ultimate cause of all suffering is sin, does not mean that all individual suffering comes from a direct result of sin. Indeed, hardship can also come as a means of avoiding greater trials, a temptation from the devil, and to increase our faith for greater service to the Lord. 

It is impossible to tell for sure why each trial we see in the world is happening, but we best not assume that it is all because of sin. The book of Job among other portions of Scripture show us that this is not the case.

Cessation of Eternal Suffering

Adam and Eve have now reproduced and the world is populated. Through the seed of Adam, all man has been born evil, with nary a glimpse of righteousness in their minds. Men have a code of morality, and some men appear to live fairly decent lives based on it. But in Isaiah 64:6, we learn that even the good works we do are nothing righteous at all.

"But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away."

We remember that this sin in our lives is going to lead us through a life of suffering into the ultimate and eternal suffering. It is a pretty bleak scenario.

But the Lord is gracious. Just as He didn't give up on humanity after the fall in the first place, He hasn't left them to eternal suffering even now. He uses His omnipotent and sovereign power to supernaturally cause Himself to be born into this world without the evil seed of Adam.

At this point, God Himself calling Himself Jesus is a second and final Adam. He once again is placed in a world with no sin at first, and then was tempted just as anyone else would be. Yet through this all, Jesus did not sin.

Then in the end of it all, he went through the ultimate suffering on the cross, both physically and emotionally, as a penalty for the sins of the world. Jesus' atoning sacrifice promises to eliminate the eternal suffering of those who would accept it as punishment for their actions.

Notice though that Jesus' sacrifice doesn't promise anything regarding the hardship we face in our own world. The temporal trials that we face will not be magically gone once we trust in Jesus. In fact, if we truly trust in Jesus and follow in His words, the persecution we face should increase. Look at 2 Timothy 3:12,

"Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution."

Salvation and Christianity are not about having a fulfilled, wealthy life here on earth; it is about our eternal life being more abundant in the end. However, Christ doesn't leave us hanging out to dry nonetheless.

Christ's Strength through Suffering

Knowing that serving the Lord would only produce results that are troubling to our lives, we might be tempted to just decide to give up. Trust that the Lord will keep His promises to grant us eternal life. With our eternal suffering taken care of, we should see what we can do about working through that temporal suffering too. 

Before you jump the ship that quickly, ask yourself, are you really prepared to go through trials and persecution without the Lord's presence, and without His strength in your life? Because whether you serve Him or not, hardship will find you. The only difference is, whether you have someone to help you in the crisis. (I'm going to neglect to mention that serving the Lord stores up eternal treasures in Heaven, so you can consider the persecution it beings in this Earth an investment.)

You see, as if the Lord hadn't done enough already by giving us both life and eternal life by His grace, He also decided that He is going to always be there for us to comfort us in all manner of our conversation in this world. Jesus Christ our Lord promises to strengthen us so we can manage to survive through any suffering that may befall us. As Sarah Arthur brilliantly puts it, 

"Jesus fought the war and has come back to help us win our battles." 

Paul explains in much more detail in Philippians 4:11-13,

 "Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."

After all that the Lord has done for me in relation to His grace, I'd say that I am willing to suffer a little for His sake, knowing that His presence is better than being comfortable in my life. With all the love He has given me, I would like to be able to please Him as I would any other person who cared about me so deeply.

Trials and Persecution 6: Together for Good

Many Christians like to point to the truths included in Romans 8:28 in a time of trial.

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."

This verse is commonly used as encouragement to those suffering, that ultimately all of the persecution we have in our life will ultimately work to provide us with a happier, more fulfilled life. But this is not a proper interpretation of this verse.

Yes it is true that occasionally we will see suffering working in order to save us from further harm, but nowhere does this verse truly tell us that we are to receive a fulfilled and abundant life on earth. If we examine the rest of Scriptures (particularly the New Testament) we learn that we are to live our lives for the glory and honor of God, and that truly that is the only purpose we have in life.

Thus, when it says that all things work together for good, why do we start to selfishly think that this good is something that is good for us? Nowhere in Scripture does it guarantee that our lives will be pleasant. They certainly can be joyful despite what we go through. But we have to acknowledge that our lives will bring persecution if we are truly living for God. Remember the words of 2 Timothy 3:12,

"Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution."

That persecution is in my mind, a small price in order to please the Lord, but it is a price. Pleasing the Lord does not promise rewards in this life.

In this life. That one phrase highlights a few deeper problem in Christian culture in relation to this verse. Since when have we become so concerned with the rewards we can receive temporarily on Earth anyway? Shouldn't we be more focused upon eternal rewards?

Yes, our eternal life is presented purely on the basis of the works of Jesus and our faith in Him. But our works can have an impact on the rewards that we will receive in Heaven. For instance, in 2 Timothy 4:7-8, we read,

"I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing."

We are promised rewards throughout Scripture for our service to the Lord, but they are always promised in eternity. In this world, we will have tribulation. In this world, we might not have the most enjoyable time. But in the next, we will have rewards.

I know this isn't the popular thing to say. Perhaps it is because it is a depressing subject that nobody wants to hear about.

But if there is one thing the Bible is clear about, it is this - the end of Christianity, the reason Christ came and died, was for our eternal benefit and not our temporal one.

When we interpret Romans 8:28 to refer to our temporal gain, we have divorced Christian life from its entire purpose. We have started to gain the wrong perspective on how we are to live our lives. Our ultimate goal has become to store up treasures on Earth, and not in Heaven. But Matthew 6:19-33 admonishes us,

"Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? ... Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."

So as we go through our suffering in today's society, we do have this consolation from Romans 8:28, all things work together for the Lord's and our eternal gain. That's still a pretty encouraging thought to me.

Continue to Trials and Persecution 7: Day of Reflection

Reexamining the Water Hose: Why Obedience May Not Please the Lord

In Christian churches today, we often hear an emphasis that our actions need to be pleasing to the Lord. We are told that we need to obey the Lord in all that He says, no matter the consequences, and the Lord will be satisfied with our works.

Only that's not entirely accurate. You see, obeying the Lord is only one half of pleasing the Lord. As you can see in a study of the book of Haggai, obedience at great risk means nothing if we don't also have the proper heart.

Remember the analogy I mentioned in Doctrines of the Christian Faith 3: Nature of Man,

"Imagine a water hose. When you turn on the water, water flows through that water hose. If you put clean water through a dirty water hose, the water is not going to come out clean. Rather all the impurities and filth of the hose are going to pass into the water.

Similarly, in our everyday life, the good works we do are contaminated because they have to pass through us, our dirty water hose."

Our hearts are the water hoses through which all our actions must pass through. The nature of our heart is adequate to change our actions from good to bad and from pleasing the Lord to displeasing the Lord.

Thus, we must make sure our hearts are focused upon the Lord. As aforementioned, in Haggai, the children of Israel err in this particular way.

Here's the background: the children of Israel have been in captivity for seventy years, but the Lord has recently granted them the grace to go repair His temple.

But the king of Persia has been misled regarding their intentions in this rask. Due to this, he forbids them from completing their work.

At this time, instead of continuing to obey the commandment of the Lord, the Israelites obey the earthly king.

Now let's not jump to judge them here. After all, this was their easiest option. Being in the king's good graces can always come in handy, and they don't have to wonder when the axe will fall on their heads. At least not from that king anyway.

The Israelites turn their attention from the Lord and from his house, and direct it to their own homes, neglecting the house of God.

That's where the book of Haggai begins. Because of the neglect of the temple, the Lord has withheld his blessings from the Israelites. Indeed, Haggai 1 explains,

"In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, in the first day of the month, came the word of the Lord by Haggai the prophet unto Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, saying, Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying,... Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your ceiled houses, and this house lie waste? Now therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts; Consider your ways. Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes. Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Consider your ways. Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the Lord. Ye looked for much, and, lo it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith the Lord of hosts. Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house."

The Lord has been gracious again to send Haggai to rebuke the people and bring them back to obedience. Make no mistake -  obeying THE King meant directly disobeying the Persian king. This could have brought any number of punishments onto the Jewish people. The Lord was requiring of them quite a big risk.

Yet when the Israelites resume their work on the temple, the Lord was not pleased with their actions and with their sacrifice.

Yes, they are obeying the Lord, but throughout this time of outward obedience, the Israelites never turned back their hearts to the Lord.  As Haggai 2:11-14 indicates,

"Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Ask now the priests concerning the law, saying, If one bear holy flesh in the skirt of his garment, and with his skirt do touch bread, or pottage, or wine, or oil, or any meat, shall it be holy? And the priests answered and said, No. Then said Haggai, If one that is unclean by a dead body touch any of these, shall it be unclean? And the priests answered and said, It shall be unclean. Then answered Haggai, and said, So is this people, and so is this nation before me, saith the Lord; and so is every work of their hands; and that which they offer there is unclean."

The Lord uses this analogy of Levitical law to indicate that the heart's unclean nature makes the work unclean. Because they turned not to the Lord, the Lord's blessings are still being withheld, and their works are not pleasing to the Lord.

In our Christian walks then, we must be careful not to just attack the visible effects of a sinful heart. Showing outward obedience may make us look good to other Christians, but it ultimately may not please the Lord.

At any rate, it alone is insufficient. The Lord doesn't want begrudging servants to His calling, He wants willing servants, with a desire to serve Him with their efforts. It's not enough that their efforts may align for that particular time. The water hose affects the water, my friend.