The Trustworthiness of God

A friend of mine recently shared from Sam Alberry's little book, '7 Myths about Singleness' regarding the faithfulness of God especially in times of uncertainty and anxiety. I tracked the book down and here is that section:

From 7 Myths About Singless by Sam Alberry, pg.138-139:

"I am grateful to my friend Kathy Keller for reminding me that God doesn't give us hypothetical grace but only actual grace. The point is that when we imagine all those worst-case-scenarios, we are imagining them without factoring in the presence and grace of God that would be there if they actually happened. As Kathy wrote in an email once, "God doesn't play that game. He doesn't inject hypothetical grace into your hypothetical nightmare situation so that you would know what it would actually feel like if you ever did end up in that situation." He only gives grace for our actual situation. Replaying these scenarios over and over inner mind is therefore not at all helpful and actually factors out what God would be doing were it to ever happen. What we're imagining is actually life in that situation without God's presence. Better to find something else to fill our minds with. C.S. Lewis makes a similar point when he says, "Remember one is given the strength to bear what happens, but not the 101 different things that might happen." One of the Scriptures I found myself returning to during that time of meltdown, and which is still a wonderful comfort, is Psalm 139 and these well-known words:

Psalm 139:1-6

O Lord, you have searched me and known me!

You know when I sit down and when I rise up;

    you discern my thoughts from afar.

You search out my path and my lying down

    and are acquainted with all my ways.

 Even before a word is on my tongue,

    behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.

You hem me in, behind and before,

    and lay your hand upon me.

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;

    it is high; I cannot attain it.

Forgot Christmas?

"We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure." Hebrews 6:19a
Is that a good description of your soul today? Anchored...firm and secure?

Do you remember seeing presents under the tree weeks before December 25?  The anticipation, curiosity and excitement could be unbearable to a child. But if your name was on a present then it was secure and firm that you were receiving something on that special day. It was undeniable even though you had to wait for it, it was secure. There is a real parallel to our our lives today.

By the time of the first advent, the Messiah had been promised to come and yet the people had grown weary, a Saviour had been prophesied to come yet the nation grew tired and lost hope. It was like the nation of Israel was like a child who forgot that Christmas was coming...actually...thats exactly what they became like.
Something that comes up over and over again throughout the Bible (one thing that most of us are not good at or like)...is that God's promises 'by their nature demand patient endurance to receive' (D.L. Allen). Think of Abraham and Sarah awaiting a child into the twilight of their life...based on a promise; or Moses leading the people in the wilderness for 40 years...based on a promise...not to mention the prophets or what about Simeon in the Gospel of Luke who waited late into his life to see the Christ...based off a promise.

God remembers his promises, He is faithful and will fulfill this in the right time. Perhaps its okay this Christmas to watch children (even adults?) get excited for Christmas, the anticipation of the promise...is it today? How many more sleeps? I can't wait! God's promises are secure, they are firm and our soul is anchored in them. Promises to provide, to care, to nurture and guide. But also it is a promise to save and to cleanse and a promise that Horatio Stafford captures well:

And Lord haste the day 

when the faith shall be sight, 

The clouds be rolled back as a scroll; 

The trump shall resound, 

and the Lord shall descend, 

Even so, it is well with my soul.

Gal 3:29: “If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”

Advent

"The word advent means coming. In this season of the year, we focus on the meaning of the coming of the Son of God into the world. And the spirit of our celebration should be the spirit in which he came. And the spirit of that coming is summed up in Luke 19:10 "The Son of Man came to seek and save the lost."" 
That is how John Piper begins his advent devotional The Dawning of Indestructible Joy (you can download the pdf for free!: https://www.desiringgod.org/books/the-dawning-of-indestructible-joy).

Jesus came to seek and save the lost. That means he knew that there were some...many...most...okay all of us...that were lost and needed saving. That he would come and rescue fallen humanity is the good news, the gospel! We first get to really sink our teeth into this story in the nativity as Mary and Joseph, the super excited shepherds peak in on the manger scene. But this all began long before that, long planned, long arranged and long decided on.
God's plan to rescue you was not a response to a foxhole prayer or a knee jerk reaction to something you did. He planned and knew you long before you were born (Ephesians 1:13).

Crazy.

So what is the condition of your soul at the start of this advent? Can God begin a new work, a renewing work in you? Can He find you? Can He locate the key to softening your heart and filling you to the full of His presence this advent? Even in this midst of Christmas plays, family gatherings, racked up credit cards, and ramped up expectations???

Of course He can.

The first advent He took a young virgin and filled her lips with praise that have lasted centuries; He spoke to a group of shepherds keeping watch in the background of society and filled them with wonder and belief; He spoke to a group of wisemen from far away and led them to the Christ Child where they would be filled with joy because they met Joy incarnate.
Filled with praise, filled with wonder, filled with joy.

I want that.

Over the next several weeks as we prepare for Christmas I will attempt once again to write frequently as a compliment to any readings you may be doing already for this special season.

But know this as you begin this new week, advent meant that he was coming...coming to seek you out and to save you.

Benediction

A benediction...what is it? Usually its the closing words from a church service, a funeral...even a wedding; it serves as a blessing and closing before everyone is dismissed. To a regular church goer it can trigger a pavlovian response--a yawn, a stretch and a quick glance to the door and clock.

But Paul's benediction in the middle of his letter to the Ephesians is anything but a final set of ho hum kind of words:
Ephesians 3:20-21
“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen”

This comes at the end of an epic prayer (3:14-21) that the church in Ephesus would be strengthened so that Christ could dwell in them, he prays that they not only be grounded in love, but also comprehend the incomprehensible love of God that is in Christ Jesus and closing that we would be filled to the fullness of God. Mind blowing stuff really. And that is why he ends with these words that God would do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine...I don't think Paul even really understood how God would do these things.

So what do you imagine that God would do for you today? Do you even think he wants to do anything for you this day? If you have come to think that God just tolerates you or keeps putting up with you or has resigned to being perpetually disappointed with you...its pretty hard to believe God loves you, much less was interested to help you in anyway.

But look at the benediction once more.

John Stott breaks down these couple verses to show all that God does to build our faith again--that God loves us:

1. God can do…he is not idle, not sleeping, not distracted, not dead
2. He answers prayer…The God of the universe hears you.
3. Able to do what we think and imagine—He reads our minds (better than Santa Claus!)…before a word is out of our mouths he knows it already…what do you imagine for you life? Have you told God that? If you do not ask, do not receive.
4. All we ask…every detail, every hearts cry
5. Beyond what we ask…His expectations are more than we think!
6. More Abundantly…not calculated pieces or parcelled out fragments of grace
7. Far More abundantly…Vastly more than more! There are no limits to what God can do. The angel Gabriel would tell Mary, 'With God nothing is impossible' Luke 1:37

"I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."

That's what God wants to do for you today. On a cloudy, cold November morning...God has a good, big plan for you and I. Amen.

'Christ's love is as incomprehensible as his riches unsearchable' John Stott

How far does God's love extend?

How far does Gods' love extend? How far will it go...till it runs out?  Does it run out? My patience runs out, my creativity drains quickly, my endurance seems to decline with every passing year but does God's love end?. I was reading Psalm 107 as part of my Bible reading plan (M'Cheyne's), and the opening line is: 'Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His faithful love endures forever.' (emphasis mine). Forever.
To prove the point the psalm looks at 4 groups of people that find themselves in situations that bring to question if God's love is still around.
1. 'Some wandered in desolate wilderness...' These guys are lost, confused and turned around with little to no hope of finding their way back home, or anywhere safe. They're hungry and desperate.
2. 'Others sat in darkness and gloom...' This group has rebelled from God and is paying the price...dungeons and gloom with heavy chains. Feeling rejected by men and God.
3. 'Others become fools through rebellion...'. It seems this group also rebelled against God but this led to illness that was so bad the doctors could do nothing more for them; they are in complete distress.
4. 'Others went out on the sea in ships...' only to run into an epic storm and 'their courage melted away...they were at their wits end'. This group is simply going about their work when their world erupts into unexpected chaos.
Each situation is very relatable even to the casual observer--who hasn't been at their wits end or experienced unexpected chaos? Who of us can confidently say we have not rebelled against God and not paid for it one way or another though lingering guilt and broken relationships?
And at the end of each situation it says that 'they cried out to the LORD in their distress and trouble'--they are beyond human help and finally cry out to God when all hope seems to be gone. In each of these it can feel as though God is far away, far removed and waiting for us to fix our own mess...but look what He does: "He delivered them from their distress. He led them by a straight way...he broke their chains...he saved them and healed them...he stills the storm to a whisper and guided them to their desired haven.'
It is in the darkest pits; at the end of a dead end; in the greatest storm and the most hopeless state that God's love extends even there...actually does some of its most amazing work.  His love here is not a passive, limp encouragement note...its active--breaking, freeing, delivering, calming, healing...exactly what we need.
Jesus refers to himself as the Good Shepherd (John 10), one who leads the sheep, heals them, restores and protects them and finds them when they have wandered away into dark valleys. What a great Psalm and such good news going into a new week!

Evening Wolves

Recently I was reading Charles Spurgeon's 'Morning and Evening' devotional and came across this meditation before bed. Thought I'd pass it along, hope you are encouraged:

“Evening wolves.” (Habakkuk 1:8)

While preparing the present volume, this particular expression recurred to me so frequently, that in order to be rid of its constant importunity I determined to give a page to it. The evening wolf, infuriated by a day of hunger, was fiercer and more ravenous than he would have been in the morning. May not the furious creature represent our doubts and fears after a day of distraction of mind, losses in business, and perhaps ungenerous tauntings from our fellow men? How our thoughts howl in our ears, “Where is now thy God?” How voracious and greedy they are, swallowing up all suggestions of comfort, and remaining as hungry as before. Great Shepherd, slay these evening wolves, and bid thy sheep lie down in green pastures, undisturbed by insatiable unbelief. How like are the fiends of hell to evening wolves, for when the flock of Christ are in a cloudy and dark day, and their sun seems going down, they hasten to tear and to devour. They will scarcely attack the Christian in the daylight of faith, but in the gloom of soul conflict they fall upon him. O thou who hast laid down thy life for the sheep, preserve them from the fangs of the wolf.

False teachers who craftily and industriously hunt for the precious life, devouring men by their false-hoods, are as dangerous and detestable as evening wolves. Darkness is their element, deceit is their character, destruction is their end. We are most in danger from them when they wear the sheep’s skin. Blessed is he who is kept from them, for thousands are made the prey of grievous wolves that enter within the fold of the church.

What a wonder of grace it is when fierce persecutors are converted, for then the wolf dwells with the lamb, and men of cruel ungovernable dispositions become gentle and teachable. O Lord, convert many such: for such we will pray tonight.

Sabbatical starts...

I guess the title is not correct as our sabbatical is well under way but this is perhaps the first chance I have had to consider the past few weeks. Its been full without a doubt! After a cup of 'smoking bishop' with good friends we were off to Mexico with Shonet's family, 7 days in the Cancun area. Here are some thoughts from that week: 

Mexico

December 30-January 6

1. Church community needed and missed
2. Paradise on earth is not necessarily paradise 
3. Serving the weak and vulnerable is hard
4. 1 Timothy 1:5 “The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart, a clear conscience and a sincere faith.” 

1. Church Community needed and missed. As much as travelling to an all inclusive resort had its perks—no dishes, no cooking, no snow!, there were many more important aspects that were missing. Having travelled to and lived with the local church in isolated areas, I knew what it was like to have a community care for you and be generous with no money attached...to enjoy the lingering conversation with a family over a cup of tea and to share in the inside jokes of the land. To be with Christians who do not share a common language but share a common Father is a taste of heaven to be cherished. In our week in Mexico we needed to visit the doctor on the resort a couple times (my boys!), and eventually ended up in the hospital in Playa De Carman (Anthony!). A credit card speaks loud and clear in an area that has plenty of financial motivation, but in moments of uncertainty and fear it was the Christian community I really missed, the community that lives out Galatians 6:2 “Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” Nothing replaces that. And though it was a very beautiful place, I missed the beauty of the Christian community.  
2. Paradise on earth is not necessarily paradise. I had always dreamed of going to an all inclusive resort but growing up somewhat poor (from a western stand point) and being in ministry always felt like this dream was out of reach. But when Shonet’s mother offered to take the family as a last trip due to health issues I looked forward to the ‘living with ease’ dream. Don’t get me wrong as I mentioned above there were plenty of great things there and we would enjoy going back if we got the chance. But the lie is that this kind of week is ‘heaven on earth’, but its so not. Jesus said life is realized and achieved not when we accumulate and fill ourselves or even achieve our greatest dreams but when we are emptied for others and are expended for the poor. I watched many others fill themselves with sun, drink and food till they swelled...but we all got on the plane and went home back to our lives. It was ironic that no applauded when we landed in Winnipeg. These are great weeks if you get them, but don't be bedazzled into believing this is the best life can get...there is plenty more enriching experiences than this. Enjoy it but leave it where it belongs--fantasy. 
3. Serving the weak and vulnerable is hard. For most of the week my dear wife was a nurse to her mother who was diagnosed with an early onset form of dementia that has run rampant. In fact caring for her mother has characterized much of the first part of our sabbatical (more on that later). But though we were in a lovely place, grandma needed care every half hour…changing the pace and expectations of the week. We believe she had a good time-Pina Coladas and all, but if you are a caregiver of someone then you understand the toll that can take. With Shonet caring for her mom, I was delighted to hang out with our 3 amazing kids, even though we got to know the doctor on a first name basis, they still found the humour and joy of the adventure. Kids are more resilient than adults. Faith and joy comes quicker to them. Its no wonder that Jesus recommends those who seek power in this world to study children. 
4. 1 Timothy 1:5 “The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart, a clear conscience and a sincere faith.” This was perhaps the only verse I really meditated on the entire week, it popped out to me from a book I was reading by David Powlison on sanctification (how does God change us?). The simple clarity of this verse was what I needed. Sometimes I just need clear direction—the aim of my charge is love...that issues from a pure heart (not tainted to love other things)...a clear conscience (any regrets, any dark hidden secrets?) and a sincere faith (how's that doubt problem?). It took all week to think on that.