Refreshing Sleep

So He giveth His beloved sleep. (Psalm 127:2)

Ours is not a life of anxious care but of happy faith. Our heavenly Father will supply the wants of His own children, and He knows what we have need of before we ask Him. We may therefore go to our beds at the proper hour and not wear ourselves out by sitting up late to plot, and plan, and contrive. If we have learned to rely upon our God, we shall not lie awake with fear gnawing at our hearts, but we shall leave our care with the Lord. Our meditation of Him shall be sweet, and He will give us refreshing sleep.

To be the Lord's beloved is the highest possible honor. He who has it may feel that ambition itself could desire no more, and therefore every selfish wish may go to sleep. What more is there even in heaven than the love of God? Rest, then, O soul, for you have all things. Yet we toss to and fro unless the Lord Himself gives us not only the reasons for rest but rest itself. Yes, He does this. Jesus Himself is our peace, our rest, our all.  On His bosom we sleep in perfect security, both in life and in death.

Sprinkled afresh with pardoning blood,

I lay me down to rest

As in the embraces of my God,

Or on my Saviour's breast. 

----C.H. Spurgeon, Faith's Checkbook

The Earth is Yours

Your voice it thunders
The oaks start twisting
The forest sounds with cedars breaking
The waters see You and start their writhing
From the depths a song is rising

Now its rising from the ground

Holy, Holy
Holy, Holy Lord
The earth is Yours and singing
Holy, Holy
Holy, Holy Lord
The earth is Yours
The earth is Yours

Your voice it thunders
The ground is shaking
The mighty mountains now are trembling
Creation sees You
And starts composing
The fields and trees they start rejoicing.

Now its rising form the ground
Its rising from the ground
Hear us crying out
Hear us crying out

Holy, Holy
Holy, Holy Lord
The earth is Yours and singing
Holy, Holy
Holy, Holy Lord
The earth is Yours
The earth is Yours

Martyn Lloyd-Jones on Thinking and Faith

Faith, according to our Lord’s teaching in this paragraph [Matthew 6:25-34], is primarily thinking; and the whole trouble with a man of little faith is that he does not think. He allows circumstances to bludgeon him.

That is the real difficulty in life. Life comes to us with a club in its hand and strikes us upon the head, and we become incapable of thought, helpless and defeated. The way to avoid that, according to our Lord, is to think. We must spend more time in studying our Lord’s lessons in observation and deduction.

The Bible is full of logic, and we must never think of faith as something purely mystical. We do not just sit down in an armchair and expect marvelous things to happen to us. That is not Christian faith. Christian faith is essentially thinking. Look at the birds, think about them, and draw your deductions. Look at the grass, look at the lilies of the field, consider them.

The trouble with most people, however, is that they will not think. Instead of doing this, they sit down and ask, What is going to happen to me? What can I do? That is the absence of thought; it is surrender, it is defeat. Our Lord, here, is urging us to think, and to think in a Christian manner.

That is the every essence of faith. Faith, if you like, can be defined like this: It is a man insisting upon thinking when everything seems determined to bludgeon and knock him down in an intellectual sense.

 —Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, p. 399. Paragraphing added.

The same way you're saved is how you ought to live.

Colossians 2:6 says, So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him.

This is such an awesome scripture for it says that the way we were saved is the way we must live. You didn't get saved by trying and struggling; likewise, you can't live your life on your own strength.

Every believer is saved simply by believing (and receiving) God's love, grace, and mercy. Therefore, live each day of your life by receiving God's strength and walking in His grace and mercy. Remember, the same way you're saved is how you ought to live.

Man Shall Not Live by Bread Alone

"Every commandment which I command you today you must be careful to observe, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land of which the Lord swore to your fathers. And you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord."

Deuteronomy 8:1-3  (NKJV)

God, give me the desire for you like the desire you have for me.

If you've been around a church, you've certainly heard that God loves you. Although that is true, the word "love" hardly does justice to the way God views you. God's relentless passion and his incomparable zeal for you is beyond comprehension. You can only begin to understand the very tip of the iceberg of God's love for you.

Think of it like this: We can understand someone dying for a person worth dying for, and we can understand how someone good and noble could inspire us to selfless sacrifice. But God put his love on the line for us by offering his Son in sacrificial death while we were of no use whatever to him (Romans 5:7-8, The Message).

How should we respond to the knowledge that God put his love on the line for us? How can we do anything other than put our love on the line for Him and passionately pursue that same God who passionately pursues us? If you were stranded in the ocean and someone came out to rescue you, immediately you would want to join up with and get to know that person. God offers rescue from the domain of sin and darkness; it would be foolish to want anything other than to join up with and get to know the very God who rescues you.

This is the essence of Paul's drive to know God: But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead (Philippians 3:7-11).

Paul was so intent on knowing Christ that he considered everything else in life to be trash compared to knowing Christ. When Paul witnessed the extent of God's desire for him, Paul's response was to passionately, relentlessly desire and pursue God.

Learn from Paul. Pray that God would give you the same desire for Him as He has for you.

Wait for the Day

Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes.  He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts.

(1 Corinthians 4:5)

We cannot know what secret decree of God's justice makes this good man poor and that bad man rich; why this man, whose immoral life should cause him to be torn with grief, is, in fact, quite happy; why that man, whose praiseworthy life should bring him joy, is instead sad of soul; why this innocent party leaves the courtroom not just unavenged but actually condemned, unfairly treated by a corrupt judge or overwhelmed by lying testimony, while his guilty opponent not merely gets off unpunished but goes gloating over his vindication.  Here we have an irreligious man in excellent health, there a holy man wasting away to a shadow with disease.

Even though we cannot understand what kind of divine judgment can positively or even permissively will such inequalities -- since God is omnipotent, all-wise, all-just, and in no way weak, rash, or unfair -- it is good for our souls to learn to attach no importance to the good or ill fortune which we see granted without distinction upon the good and the bad.  We learn, too, to seek the good things that are meant for the good, and to avoid at all costs the evil things that are fit for the bad.

When, however, we come to "judgment day" or "the day of the Lord," we shall see that all God's judgments are perfectly just:  those reserved for that occasion; all those that He had made from the beginning; and those, too, He is to make between now and then.  On that day it will be shown plainly how just is that divine decree which makes practically all of God's judgments lie beyond the present understanding of men, even though devout men may know by faith that God's hidden judgments are most surely just.

--St. Augustine of Hippo

Perfect Government

The LORD reigns forever; He has established His throne for judgment.  He will judge the world in righteousness; He will govern the peoples with justice.

(Psalm 9:7-8)

The justice of God is not to be understood along the lines it is commonly represented.  Those who represent God's justice as if it were in opposition to His mercy -- as in the proverb, "I appeal from justice to mercy" -- are in error.  The Scripture speaks of it very differently.  Justice is to be understood as that faithful protection of God by which He defends and preserves His own people.  And judgment is the rigor which He exercises against the transgressors of His law.

"Judgment and justice."  When these two words are joined together, they express perfect government.

So if we find it strange that God treats us with too great strictness and we do not see the reason why He does it; if we are puzzled why God does not spare us in our weakness, that He does not pity us as we think He ought -- let us not give in to such fantasies or believe their lies, but let us always remember this:  God is just, whatever else He is.

It is true that we shall not understand the reason for everything He does.  But the reason for this is easily traceable to our finite and weak condition.  Must we measure the justice of God by our own feeble senses?  Where would that lead?  And what would be the purpose of it?

So then, let us learn to glorify God in all that He does.  And although His hand may be rough to us, let us never cease to confess, "Alas!  Lord, if I enter into judgment with You, I know very well that my case is lost."

--John Calvin

Over and Above This World

Is God Unjust?  Not at all!  For He says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion."

(Romans 9:14-15)

Standing over and above this world is the Great Judge of all.  Though men may mistreat me, God never does.  That God allows a human being to mistreat me unjustly is just of God.  While I may complain to God about the human justice I have suffered, I cannot rise up and accuse God of committing an injustice by allowing the human injustice to befall me.  God would be perfectly just to allow me to be thrown in prison for life for a crime I didn't commit.  I may be innocent before men, but I am guilty before God.

We often blame God for injustices done to us and harbor in our souls the bitter feeling that God has not been fair toward us.  Even if we recognize that He is gracious, we think that He has not been gracious enough.  We deserve more grace.

Please read that last sentence again:  We deserve more grace.  What is wrong with that sentence?  Grammatically it is fine.  It has a subject, a verb, and a direct object.  There is no need for the editor's red pencil in that regard.  But there is something seriously wrong with the content, with the meaning of the sentence.

It is impossible for anyone, anywhere, anytime to deserve grace.  Grace by definition is undeserved.  As soon as we talk about deserving something, we are no longer talking about grace;  we are talking about justice.  Only justice can be deserved.  God is never obligated to be merciful.  Mercy and grace must be voluntary or they are no longer mercy and grace.  God never "owes" grace.  He reminds us more than once, "I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy."  This is the divine prerogative.  God reserves for Himself the supreme right of executive clemency.

--R.C. Sproul

That No Flesh Should Glory in His Presence

But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence.

1 Corinthians 1:27-29 (NKJV)

Radical Christian Sacrifice

When Trouble Comes

"The Lord had closed her womb" (1 Samuel 1:5) 

Today's Scripture (1 Samuel 1:5) is about a lady named Hannah who was to become the mother of Samuel the Prophet, who would be Judge of Israel.  At the time this was written, Hannah had no children, and that was the great problem in her life.  She had a husband named "Elkanah" who loved her, as it says, but life became complicated for he also had another wife named Peninnah, who had given him sons and daughters (1 Samuel 1:4).  Things were difficult for Hannah, because not only did she personally lack children by Elkanah, but "her rival...would provoke her bitterly to irritate her, because the Lord had closed her womb" (1 Samuel 1:6).  Elkanah's other wife had become really annoying in the way she treated Hannah.

Enclosed within both verses 5 and 6 of 1st Samuel are the identical words, "The Lord had closed her womb."  This is important because many have believed and taught that our good Lord, if He is good, (and He IS good – utterly good), would never allow us to experience problems in life.  If something goes wrong, that philosohy concludes it must be due to some error on our or someone else’s part – We lacked sufficient faith, or there was sin in our lives – something or someone caused it!  (But not God, according to that idea).

For those who believe that God DOES cause (or allow) some kind of harm to come to "good" people, it’s often in relation to blame (we are a race of people who like to assign blame).  The question is asked: "How could a good God allow this to happen to my child – to ME?"  Often this is a pretext utilized in order to refrain from receiving our Lord in a personal way.  "If God isn’t good, why would we want Him?" they seem to be asking, and reject the One who allowed this to occur.

There are very good reasons why God might allow trouble to come into our lives, but first, let’s establish whether or not He ever DOES cause or allow such things.   Actually just one such occurrence (like "The Lord had closed her womb") would establish the principle, but there are many more examples, and here are a few:

• "The LORD struck Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife" (Genesis 12:17)
• "Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes him dumb or deaf, or seeing or blind?  Is it not I, the LORD?" (Exodus 4:11)
• "The hand of the LORD will come with a very severe pestilence on your livestock which are in the field" (Exodus 9:3)
• "The LORD will smite you with consumption and with fever and with inflammation and with fiery heat and with the sword" (etc.) (Deuteronomy 28:22)
• "The LORD will make the rain of your land powder and dust" (Deuteronomy 28:24)
• "The LORD will cause you to be defeated before your enemies" (Deuteronomy 28:25)
• "The LORD will smite you with the boils of Egypt and with hemorrhoids (ouch) and with the scab and with the itch" (Deuteronomy 28:27)
• "The LORD will smite you with madness and with blindness and with bewilderment of heart" (Deuteronomy 28:28)
• "The LORD was against the city with very great confusion, and He smote the men of the city, both young and old, so that hemorrhoids broke out on them" (ouch again) (1^st Samuel 5:9)
• "I withheld the rain from you" (Amos 4:7)
• "I sent a plague among you" (Amos 4:10)
• "An angel of the LORD struck him because he did not give God the glory" (Acts 12:23)
• "There was given me a thorn in the flesh…concerning this I entreated the Lord three times that it might depart from me.  And He has said to me ‘My grace is sufficient for you…’" (2 Corinthians 12:7-9 – essentially the Lord responded with a strong "No" to Paul’s prayer

Again, this is just a sampling, and the point is that God DOES either cause or allow trouble to come into the lives of people just like you and me.  The question is – Why?  Actually, there are several reasons and we will look at just a few of them.

It is true, by the way, that much of our trouble is caused by the enemy (Satan).  But even his activities have a usefulness in the good and perfect hand of God.   As an example, look at Job Chapter 1.  It was Satan who did all those terrible things to Job, but we must also look where it started.  Satan was before the Throne of God (Job 1:6) and after a few words, the Lord asked Satan, "Have you considered My servant Job?  For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man…" (Job 1:8).  It was like a dare (a challenge) to the evil one, who took the bait and smote Job.  This was just like the enemy's response in relation to the Cross of Jesus Christ.  The enemy saw his chance and went for it.  But it was the Lord who gave him permission to act, and infinite good has come from the cross of Christ.

And we certainly CAN cause trouble for ourselves.  Often our problems are in relation to something we don’t have, but need, like money, a marriage, success in business, health, etc.  James tells that at least SOME of our problems come from a lack of prayer.  "You do not have because you do not ask" (James 4:2).  He went on to say that some of the failures to receive answers are "because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures" (James 4:3).

On the other side of these considerations is the character of God.  He is simply – "Love" (1 John 4:8).  Everything He does or allows is designed to bring you to the place of true faith (and you will like what He has in store for you).  The Lord God uses sickness and trials like a tool (and so does Satan), but in God's Hand, the problem is going to have a good outcome, whereas the enemy just wants to kill and destroy.  All will ultimately work for good, however, for God is indeed – good (Romans 8:28).

Our God is the one "Who pardons all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases," and, in Christ, we have the victory, because He "redeems your life from the pit" (Psalm 103:3-4).   We have established who He is, but some questions remain as to WHY He does or allows such difficulties in our lives.

Some of the answers are in James 4:2-3 – We bring part of it on ourselves.   Most (but not all) of the examples earlier in this sermon involved people (Pharaoh, et al) who were functioning against the will of God, and needed to be stopped.  And He WILL shape our lives to direct us.  As we see in the life of Paul:  "It was because of a bodily illness that I preached the Gospel to you the first time" (Galatians 4:13).  Paul had what was possibly something like a "cold" or the "flu" and it was not because he lacked faith or was a sinner, but it was in relation to the need of the Galatians.

We have trials that are intended to prove our faith (1 Peter 1:6-7).  The recipients of Peter’s letter had been "distressed by various trials…that the proof of your faith…may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ."  He’s going to allow trials in your life that will increase your faith and eventually, you’ll become glad that He did.

But the best of all, is that we have troubles so that we might become equipped to help others.  We are afflicted "so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God" (2 Corinthians 1:4,6).  Who is a person in a wheelchair going to listen to?  ANOTHER person who is (or has been) in a wheelchair.  And finally, we are afflicted "in order that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead" (2 Corinthians 1:9).  Our troubles may not be about us at all, but are allowed in order to help someone we may not have even met. We are being taken into a life where we can and will love and trust in God, no matter WHAT the circumstances are.

He intends to fashion us into persons who can "Rejoice always" (1 Thessalonians 5:16), "Pray without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5:17), and "in everything give thanks" (1 Thessalonians 5:18), for indeed "this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus."

We thank You, Father, for ALL that has happened in our lives, for You are preparing us in ways we cannot yet comprehend, for Your purposes and the glory of God.  We receive and trust in You now.  In Jesus Name. Amen.

Friday Study Ministries
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"While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8)

The Love of God for His Bride

God of This City