The Great Deception

Tonight, I want to share with you a thought from 1 John chapter 3:

No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother . . . Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.

This can be misunderstood. Don't read this and come away thinking that truly saved people don't sin anymore--they do. But the difference is that unsaved people enjoy sin, and saved people cannot enjoy sinning because they are grieved in heart and pricked in conscience when they willfully rebel and sin. Now, repeated rebellion and a willful lifestyle of sinning after one has become a believer suppresses the Holy Spirit's ability to influence you, and your soul becomes calloused and hardened. But generally, if you are saved, and if indeed the Holy Spirit dwells in you, then you will find yourself pricked by sin and unable to enjoy it--at least, not for very long. I find this often. The more I read my Bible and consistently pray and meditate on things that are pure, good, lovely, and of good report, the more I am offended and grieved by the evil language of some of my classmates and colleagues. I am glad for this, because it is all too easy to become used to it. I do not want to ever become used to it. I want to be pained every time I hear my Savior's name taken in vain. I work very hard and pray for wisdom all the time to discern truth from error in what I hear, and what I am taught in my classes.

For example, today we entered our unit of death and dying. Now, in the medical field, it is recommended to incorporate a "spiritual element," whatever that happens to be, for each particular patient, so that they may die in peace after having "lived it up" at the end of their lives. Nowadays, we're allowed to recommend that terminally ill diabetic patients eat whatever they want, so long as they enjoy themselves in their final months on earth. The focus is comfort and pleasure. Now, there isn't necessarily anything wrong with these recommendations. What's wrong is that they woefully miss the point. Not every road leads to heaven, but inevitably, every patient who dies is spoken of as having "gone to a better place"--whatever that may be, and nobody really seems to be willing to say, because they actually have no idea.

They are all deceived. Those who die apart from Christ do not "go softly into that good night," to quote a famous poem. They go to a terrible end, which is really not an end at all. Salvation has nothing to do with being "a good person," thus being earned by good deeds; it is entirely by faith alone in Christ alone. And, as a Christian, I encounter these topics with a far heavier weight of sober understanding than those around me. How grieved I am, how I choke back tears of anguish when they carry on in such a way, blindly stumbling into hell, yet they are repulsed and offended by such "narrow-minded" views as mine. But I know that narrow is the way that leads to life, and few are those who find it. Wide is the way of destruction, and many are those who enter by it.

So my loves, let the Spirit of God reside unfettered within you. Fill your heart with his holy thoughts. It is good and right and profitable to be offended and grieved by sin. Let his love fill you. Let that love flow out of your grateful soul into the world around you--let it wash over the people in your home like a healing wind. Be an instrument of peace and purity, not in word only, but in deed and thought and private meditation.

Reckless Abandon

(From my email to the girls this evening, thoughts laid on my heart in these late, quiet hours.)

Tonight, I'm reading from Matthew 26 through 28.

Now when Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper,
a woman came up to him with an alabaster flask of very expensive ointment,
and she poured it on his head as he reclined at the table.
And when the disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, “Why this waste?  

For this could have been sold for a large sum and given to the poor.”
But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why do you trouble the woman? 

For she has done a beautiful thing to me.
For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me.
In pouring this ointment on my body, she has done it to prepare me for burial.
Truly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world,
what she has done will also be told in memory of her.”

Here are a few thoughts for you to ponder about this woman and her love for her Lord. Her name was Mary (identified in John 12:3, the sister to Martha and Lazarus). Already a close friend to Jesus, Mary here takes a flask of very expensive perfumed oil, and anoints Jesus with it as a demonstration of her love for him.

If you were to give a gift like this, you would spend over a year's wages. Who does a thing like that?

She understood that there wasn't much time left with Jesus. His death was imminent, and although she didn't know any more than the disciples knew about upcoming events, she sensed that the time was drawing short, and she didn't want to miss an opportunity to shower pure, humble, grateful love and honor on her her Savior. The disciples, however, missed the urgency of the hour and complained about what a waste all that oil was! Look at it now--gone. It could have been sold, and just imagine how many good deeds could have been done for the poor people with the money! What a waste. They missed the point. Entirely.

There is no gift too costly, no attention too lavish, no devotion too extreme for Jesus. The disciples, well-intentioned, were blind to what was right before their eyes. Mary had eyes to see and ears to hear. Who knows how much she gave up to get that oil for Jesus. And while anointing might seem strange to us, in that culture it was a symbol of honor, devotion, highest esteem, purity, holiness, being set apart, etc. etc. How fitting.

Oh, sweet girls! If only we could be like Mary, and love Jesus with such reckless abandon that nothing seemed too grand to give him, but rather, all we have to offer seems too small in comparison to his grace which he has given to us. How can we give him any less than everything?

But notice this: Mary was no more pious than you or I. She was born a sinner too. How did she get that infectious love for Jesus? By being with him. By spending time at his feet, gazing at his face, soaking up his every word. She immersed herself in him, and the love that filled her soul and burst out in glorious acts of devotion was a direct result of spending time with her Savior. So must you and I do. We cannot expect to be spiritually minded if we allot a mere fifteen minutes to Jesus several times a week. We must be drenched, saturated, mind and soul, drowned in his words of righteous truth. We must shut out the world from our mind, sweep it clean and fill it with his voice. Then we can love him as we have not yet loved him.

Goodnight, dear ones. If the Lord returns before tomorrow, then I will see you at his feet. If not, I will see some of you among his people, his bride, his beloved Church, tomorrow as we worship together.

The Legacy of a Humble Woman

Tonight I want to share with you from the book of Ruth, which I read today. Entire volumes have been written on Ruth, and she is truly one of the most notable women in the Scriptures. I just want to remind you that she was no superwoman; she was a flawed sinner just like you, and just like me. Her situation was one of vulnerability, dashed hopes, uncertainty, fear, poverty, and rejection. But Ruth was willing to put her only trust in the God of the Israelites, and she was willing to do anything to be in submission to him. After her husband died, she could have returned to her father's house in Moab, and probably married again there. But she chose to leave her birth family behind, and leave her homeland with her mother-in-law. Two widows, poor and grieving, leaving behind their old lives and going forward into a life they did not know, but Ruth chose the living God as her God, and she valued him more than her earthly life's position.

That is a testimony for us. A few thousand years later, Ruth's heart of humility and servanthood still shines as a beacon of noble character. She had no possible way of knowing that God was about to redeem her and reward her faithfulness by giving her an amazing husband and grafting her in to the lineage of the Savior who would redeem the world. For all she knew, she and Naomi would die of starvation, forgotten by all and uncared for. But she chose to believe that the Lord would be faithful to care for them, and you can bet she did not go gleaning the fields with the hopes of catching any man's eye--that work was hot, sweaty, dirty, and hard--not really the sort of activity that makes a woman look or feel her best. She was probably physically exhausted, dusty and sweaty and smelly, with chapped hands and an aching back, but her heart was with her mother-in-law, and she worked tirelessly to provide for the older woman in her care. Such selflessness was rewarded greatly.

We must emulate this kind of character. The heart that thinks always of other people, cares for them compassionately, and serves them when no handsome man is looking. The heart that is willing to let others get the credit. The heart that is quiet, gentle, honest, and hard-working. The woman whose tongue speaks soothing, healing words, even when her lips are cracked and her throat is parched, her emotions are frayed and her body is on the brink of collapse. The hands that always find the strength to do one more act of kindness, no matter how they tremble. These are the crowning gems of a truly righteous woman, and such character traits are the work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts as we surrender our selfish passions to him, and we live and breathe and work and form the habits of obedience, both inwardly and outwardly. Such is the legacy of a quiet, humble woman, who simply loved God and tried to do what she knew was right, day after day, without thought of personal gain. Such was the story of Ruth, which has stood the test of time, and still inspires us and teaches us today.

May the Lord make you each like her.

Blessings to you, sweet girls, as you finish out your week.

When the Going Gets Tough . . .

My trial: my oldest, sweetest horse had to be put down today . . . which got me thinking about trials and difficulties in general.

And, part of today's scheduled Bible reading was from Genesis 36 through 39. There is a lot of information in these passages. Joseph's imprisonment by his brothers and deportation into slavery in Egypt is briefly interrupted by the graphic and bizarre account of Judah, another of Jacob's sons, and his anonymous, illicit relationship with his widowed daughter-in-law, resulting in the birth of twin boys, Perez and Zerah. Their story is significant because it highlights the origins of the line of Judah and his illegitimate son, Perez, both of whom would be instrumental in the lineage of the Messiah. After this narrative, Joseph's story resumes with the account of his servitude in Potiphar's house until the mistress of the house sends him to prison on false charges of sexual harassment and assault, when in fact she had attempted to seduce him numerous times, only to be rejected by Joseph's unwavering commitment to righteousness before God.

Look at Joseph's life: his mother died when he was very young. His father loved him, but this special love made his brothers hate him. They wanted to kill him, but instead opted to sell him as a slave. Can you imagine how frightening that would be--to have your own siblings plotting your murder? As a slave in a foreign country, Joseph serves, without pay or chance of being free, in Potiphar's house. The LORD is with Joseph, and all that he does prospers--how wonderful! Alas, the "good circumstances" change swiftly and unjustly because of one selfish, sinful woman. Potiphar's wife was guilty of all manner of seductive sins--the Bible says she tried to allure him "day after day," being bold and brazen and doing everything she could to snag him. In her wickedness, it must have been humiliating to be rejected by a righteous man--who was also a slave. Instead of repenting, her pricked conscience causes her to lash out in an attempt to cover up her own sins by accusing Joseph of the very sins of which she was guilty!

And, what happens? God speaks to Potiphar in a dream, tells him his wife is a cheating crook and not to believe her, but to give Joseph double honor for his integrity, and Joseph prospers and earns his freedom, and a big shiny medal of good conduct, and . . . . . . wait. That's not how the story goes at all.

Joseph actually gets thrown into prison for a crime he never committed, with no hope for a trial or release. Can you imagine how dark and despairing that cell must have seemed? Where was God? Why didn't he vindicate the innocent? Where was justice?!

Well, God had a much, much bigger plan.

We know the rest of the story, how God uses Joseph instrumentally to redeem the house of Israel in the dark days of famine that are yet to come. But Joseph didn't know this. God didn't tell him what was going on. Joseph lived by faith, and I think we can safely agree that his trials were much bigger than yours and mine. Remember, he was only a teenager. I'm sure he would have much preferred to stay in Canaan, marry a nice girl, raise sheep and have a normal life. But that was not his calling. You and I have callings, too. Ours may well be to live that quiet life in submission to the Holy Spirit, perhaps someday by the side of a righteous man and raise up a family for the glory of God. Or, you may be called to any number of other tasks. You probably won't feel 100% confident, it may be entirely against your plans, and you may feel like life is actually taking a serious turn for the worse and your circumstances are spiraling out of your control. Good--they were never in your control to begin with. Surrender the future to the One who sees it already, and be willing to live through dark and confusing days with faith that your struggling is not in vain. Remember Joseph, forgotten and forsaken by all, but loved, remembered, and blessed by God.

So shall it be for us, if we walk by faith. :)

All or Nothing

An excerpt from last night's email:
 
Morning by morning he awakens;
    he awakens my ear
    to hear as those who are taught.
⁵ The Lord God has opened my ear,
    and I was not rebellious;
    I turned not backward.
⁶ I gave my back to those who strike,
    and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard;
I hid not my face
    from disgrace and spitting.
⁷  But the Lord God helps me;
    therefore I have not been disgraced;
therefore I have set my face like a flint,
    and I know that I shall not be put to shame.
⁸     He who vindicates me is near.
(Isaiah 50:4b-8a)

Persecutions and heartaches are guaranteed to you if you have chosen Christ. His way is the narrow way and few are those who find it. Wide is the gate that leads to destruction and many are those who enter by it. The world is at enmity with God and abhors his justice, righteousness, mercy, and every perfect and holy attribute. Nonetheless, though you endure griefs and burdens, God helps you. He says, "My yoke is easy, and my burden is light," because, as one of my favorite speakers says, "Jesus gets into the yoke beside you and pulls right along with you," making the load easier to bear. You will not be put to shame, but earn an incorruptible crown of glory. Set your faces like flint in the face of persecution, and lift your eyes to Jesus. He opens your ear to wisdom, your eye to truth, and strengthens your resolve for the road ahead. You must give all or nothing. Christianity is 100% in or 100% out. We must love him more than comfort, more than earthly peace of mind, more than our own skins, more than our fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters and all the people and possessions we hold dear. This is hard to do. Ask him to help you surrender everything to him. You must be completely consistent--if God hates it, so must we. If God loves it, so must we. If God commands it, we must obey. If God is grieved, we must weep. If you would be sent to the Evin prison in Iran, or hanged in an American jail, or shot or burned or drowned in the sea for professing faith in Jesus Christ, would you follow him to your death? Search your souls, for the Scripture says: "examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith." And the Spirit of comfort will strengthen you and give you what you need for your hour of tribulations. Chances are, you won't be held at gunpoint and given the option to deny Jesus and live or confess him and die. But you must prepare as if this dramatic crisis is coming soon to test your faith. How much better to be found steadfast and armed when the storm hits.

Remember, "“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²² On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ ²³ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’" (Matthew 7:21-23)

Also, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me." (Luke 9:23) "You will recognize them by their fruits." (Matthew 7:16) "Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me." (Matthew 10:37)

Pray. Read. Beseech God daily, hourly, moment-by-moment. When you discover sin in your life and your heart, hate it with a white-hot hatred and delay not a second before repenting to God with a smitten heart. If the devil can jade you, callous you, desensitize you to the heinousness of sin, he will---because he knows how to deceive and disarm.

But, your mighty Defender is always at hand. Be strong in the LORD, and be of good courage, your mighty Commander will vanquish the foe. Fear not the battle, for the victory is always his, he will be with you wherever you go!

A Terrible Story

I finished the book of Judges tonight, reading chapters 17 though 21. These final chapters don't really advance the chronological timeline of Israel's history, but rather give us a terrifying glimpse into the moral depravity of that era. "Chaos" should be the defining word for this period. As the book closes, we come across what may be the single most sickening, repulsive story in Scripture; the account of the Levite and his concubine.

A few things to note:
1) A concubine was a female servant, whose primary purpose was to bear children, thus expanding her master's household and power. Sexual relationships outside of one-man-one-woman-for-life are never condoned in Scripture, and without fail, every time one is mentioned, we are able to observe the heartache and tragedy that accompanies it.

2) Ancient pagan cultures often practiced polygamy (one man with many wives and/or concubines), and its influence infiltrated the Israelites throughout their history. Again, it is always wrong and a sin against God.

3) Women were devalued in the ancient Near-East culture. The advent of Christianity deserves much of the credit for raising women's status above the traditional, devaluing status of household slave. Keep this in mind--as modern liberal feminists tout the "oppression" of Christian gender roles, remember that the age of grace brought to women an increase in the way they were valued.

Back to the story: you are probably familiar with it. It's one we often try not to read aloud, and we might skip over quickly when reading, but it is in Scripture for a reason, it is part of the inspired word of God himself, and it is there for our instruction. First, the unnamed girl, the concubine of a Levite man, ran away from his house, back to her father's home. Don't misinterpret this as an innocent escape. She left---why? To "play the harlot." A harlot is a prostitute. Although we may pity her grisly demise, we must also understand that she condoned, pursued, and participated in acts of sexual wickedness. You reap what you sow, and in many ways, the tragic harlot's death suited the path she had chosen to follow.

After retrieving his runaway concubine, the man and his entourage journey homeward, stopping to rest in the city of Gibeah. Gibeah was not a foreign city; it belonged to the tribe of Benjamin---fellow Israelites to the traveling Levite. Even so, the city proved so debauched that it was no safer than the ancient cities of Sodom and Gomorrah (in fact, this account parallels the Sodom and Gomorrah story very closely, as if to say--look! Things are no better now than they were then!).

In the course of the evening, the Levite's group is taken in by an older man, and sure enough, as night falls, the sickly wicked men of the city came to the house, wanting to have the Levite man handed over to them for homosexual purposes. Wicked yes, but even more repulsing is what the Levite and his host opted to do in such a dire situation...save their own necks by tossing out the concubine girl to the crazed men. The word Scripture uses to describe these men, "Belial," is used in the New Testament as a name for Satan. The men abused the girl all night, and as daylight came, they left her in the street. She dragged herself to the door of the house where her "husband" was snuggled up cozily in his bed, and she died there on the doorstep.

The story goes on to say how he discovered her there and told her to "Get up, and let us be going." My ESV study Bible notes, "the Levite's matter-of-fact reaction to his concubine's death illustrates his callousness." And then, to incense the country over the incident, he butchers her body into twelve pieces and sends a piece to each tribe in Israel. I can't help but wonder if he did this to shift the blame onto the debauchery of the men of Gibeah, and downplay his own responsibility for the crime by tossing her out to save his own skin? It would seem to fit. And, it did work: Israel erupted into a bloody civil war, and the Levite man slinks into obscurity, and is not mentioned again.

Wow, what a terrible story. Instead of diving into the myriad of ways we could extract moral lessons from this story, I want to use it as a marker on your road, to emphasize why it is important for you to understand the purpose, design, and precious value God places on manhood and womanhood. When humanity deviates from his perfect blueprint, chaos ensues and treachery reigns supreme. Don't be duped into believing that our own culture is not so debased as Sodom, Gomorrah, or Gibeah. The specifics may change, but the heart of mankind remains desperately sick and full of darkness.

And, although we like to sympathize with the poor girl in the story, whose pitiful life ended in a nightmare-come-true, we must own up and realize that we are guilty perpetrators of the wickedness around us. When was the last time we poured out our hearts in intercessory prayer for our brothers, near and around the world? When have we taken responsibility for the ominous crusade of feminism that has poisoned our era and crippled our men? When have we admitted that we women are all harlots at heart, desperately in need of a Savior?

It is time. There is no need to despair, no need to crumple in fear. It is time to assess the hardness of our own hearts and the wanton affections that we let reside there, little seeds of destruction that grow and choke our souls. Return to your Savior, precious girls, now while you are young and full of life and energy, now while the compass of your life can still be set. Take joy, take hope, and take up the torch of your noble-hearted sisters throughout history: for, "I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." (Phil 3:13-15)

Follow Your Heart?

From today's email:

I read from Genesis 32, 33, 34, and 35 tonight. Once again, the story of Jacob's family is resumed and more chapters are added to their saga. There are a few phrases in these passages that especially peaked my interest, and I thought I'd share them with you:

32:1 Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him.

32:24-26 And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. ²⁵ When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. ²⁶ Then he said, “Let me go, for the day has broken.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”

I love how both of these passages mention a sudden, startling encounter with God or his angels, yet there is little detail, and the story is told simply, without drama. The power of the story comes from its truth: after meeting God as Jacob met him, neither you nor I would ever be the same, as Jacob was not that same from then on. He was learning poignant lessons about struggling against God and trusting him. Jacob's life was marred by lifelong deceit, fear, and sin, but he learned, throughout his life, the power of God as an eyewitness in way that few people have ever experienced. At some point during this sudden wrestling match in the darkness, Jacob realized his opponent was God himself, for when dawn came and he was overpowered, he resiliently held on and boldly asked to be blessed. He realized that a match with God would never be won, especially by physical force, but by faith he still believed God's promises to him of special blessing.

We must ask God to make us like this. We, too, desire faith and gritty resolve to cling to God even when it is desperately painful and frightening all around us and we do not understand what is going on. We hold on and believe his faithful promises.

Also, as we're talking about godly womanhood this year, you might note the tragic tale of Jacob's daughter Dinah, who, on her family's pilgrimage, "went out to see the women of the land," and was raped by a pagan prince. When the young prince and his father asked for her to become his wife, her brothers tricked the men of the pagan city into performing circumcision, and while they were all sore and healing, the two brothers murdered every man in the city. Sure, the brothers were right to be incensed over the crime against their sister, but they reacted without consulting their father or God, and their revenge far outweighed an appropriate punishment for the crime. Nonetheless, they showed no remorse, but rationalized their terrible sin of mass murder by shrugging their shoulders.

Interesting to note is that the only phrase about Dinah herself, "went out to see the women of the land," may have a negative connotation. The same phrase, "women of the land," only occurs once elsewhere, in Genesis 27:46, when Rebekah complains about Esau marrying pagan women who made her life miserable. So I am left to wonder: why did Dinah go out to see these women? Where exactly did she go? Was she sneaking out alone to a pagan city? Did she make friends with rowdy women and associate with bad company? Did she want to look or behave like them? It would seem that Dinah may not have been a particularly wise young woman. For her to go out alone in a strange country, in that ancient culture, would have been very forward and unwise--and unsafe, as we see. Also, she caught the eye of the prince of the land---how? Was she flirtatious? Posing as a prostitute? Or innocently minding her own business? We don't know. But we can see that she ultimately ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time, with the wrong people. How she got there, we can only surmise.

Think on it carefully, and fast forward a few thousand years. You are much like Dinah, in a pagan culture, with dozens of opportunities to make yourself vulnerable. And I am not talking about big, bad, obvious sins like taking up rowdy all-night partying with nonbelievers. What about . . . harboring secret desires to go away to a college where you can finally "be your own woman" and be in charge of your own life? How about . . . having online discussions that you wouldn't want your parents to see? How about . . . dreaming up fantasies in your mind in which you're always the heroine? How about . . . resenting your parents' guidelines to not wear certain clothing that you rationalize as "harmless," or "just my style," but which you secretly know may be a bit too revealing? How about . . . feeling so discontent with your current situation that you're just "holding out" for that perfect man to come rescue you. How about . . . [insert any other thing in your heart that isn't surrendered to God]. These things have the potential to gnaw away at your souls, weakening your defense.

God has given you safeguards for a reason. Parents. Siblings. Church family. Wise friends. Rules. To protect you. Poor Dinah--lost in the shuffle amidst twelve brothers and possibly other sisters, a lying, cheating grandfather, a feuding mother and step-mother, and a father plagued with character flaws--either didn't have the safeguards in place to protect her, or they were there and she disregarded them, setting the stage for a horrendous encounter that would follow her the rest of her life.

Examine your own life situation, your secret pulling at the reigns, your dreams of "freedom" and independence, and ask God to show you if your heart desires things that could harm you or leave you unprotected. We are not really half so strong as we imagine--physically, emotionally, or spiritually. Let him be the gatekeeper of your heart, and don't let your affections out to roam--they'll lead you astray every time. :)
Disney and Pixar may say, "Follow your heart!" but we know the truth:  

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? (Jeremiah 17:9)

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life. (Proverbs 4:23)

Trying to be Good

From an email sent last night to my girls:

This evening, I'm reading from 1 Corinthians 3-4.

¹¹ For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. ¹² Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— ¹³ each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. ¹⁴ If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. ¹⁵ If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.

My ESV Study Bible simply says this:

 "Works that Christians do in Christlike faith faith and obedience will survive and be rewarded; work done in the power of the flesh or in disobedience to Scripture will not. Although those who have believed in Jesus have already been justified by faith: "Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:1),

and will not face condemnation on the final day: "Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life" (John 5:24, Romans 8:1 & 33),


God will still judge their works: "For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; for it is written,

“As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me,
    and every tongue shall confess to God.”

So then each of us will give an account of himself to God" (Romans 14:10-12, 2 Corinthians 5:10),

and reward them accordingly: "But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you" (Matthew 6:1-6, 16, 18; 10:41-42). Paul's point applies not just to church leaders but to anyone who contributes in any way to the building up of the church."

This applies to you and me. Let us examine our hearts, our secret agendas, our hidden motives. We can fool the world, we can fool ourselves, but God cannot be fooled. We want our hearts and motives to be pure and holy; they are already transparent to his all-seeing eye. We want our works to be the natural result of a heart that loves God and delights to do his will. We want our good works to be a testimony of his grace to the world. We want our labors to be enduring treasures that we can offer to God, not for any merit--our debt is already paid, and good works never earned anyone salvation--but as a tribute of praise and whole-hearted worship. If you struggle with doing good things so someone will notice and admire you, or if you are insecure about your salvation and hope to earn points with God by "being good," remember these thoughts:

1) We are saved solely by grace, not by any good works, for "if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace." (Romans 11:6) Salvation is specifically "not a result of works, so that no one may boast." (Ephesians 2:9)

2) Good works serve as testimony to an unsaved world: "Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven." (Matthew 5:16) "But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works." (James 2:18)

3) Good works are an essential evidence of genuine saving faith: "For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead." (James 2:26)

4) The sweetest, purest offerings are these: "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise." (Psalm 51:17)

And, 5) God himself is working in you. "For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure." (Philippians 2:13)

Good night, girls. I'm praying for you. Have a blessed week, "what e'er betide"!!!

On Singleness

My girls and I are just starting a group read-through of John Piper and Wayne Grudem's book, Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood. This past week, the girls read the two prefaces and the forward. This email, sent out today, addresses the topic of singleness discussed in this portion of the book. Reading this excellent book will help you understand what I'm addressing in this email:

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Good morning girls! (I always start out these emails with "good morning," but by the time I finish them it's afternoon....or evening!)

I trust you are having a good week. Remember, "good" doesn't mean life is going well around us; it means our souls are knit to God and we are trusting him moment by moment, submitting to the influence of the Holy Spirit, being filled with his peace and his self-sacrificing love, and busily devoting ourselves to serving him with a right attitude. The world can crumble to bits, everyone around you might let you down, and all your nice plans go out the window . . . and you can still be having a good week.

I read from Matthew today, and as often happens, there was a reference to Matthew 19 in the forward to Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, which I was also reading. The verses go like this:

²⁷ Then Peter said in reply, “See, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” ²⁸ Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. ²⁹ And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life. ³⁰ But many who are first will be last, and the last first.

I hope you have been able to read our selected portions from the RBMW book this week, and fill out your vocab list and journal page. I promise, the vocab list for this coming week is quite a bit shorter!

Maybe you felt like the readings this week don't really apply to you yet. Much of the foreword talked about lifelong singleness. I realize that this is probably not where you are right now in your concerns and thoughts, but I think this chapter was good for a few reasons:

1) You are single now. You may not think of yourself as single, because you aren't really old enough for marriage yet, and haven't considered this much yet. But, you aren't a little girl anymore either, and you are joining the ranks of us "older girls" who have been walking on this road for quite some time.

2) It is highly unlikely that our entire email group of girls in this prayer group will remain single for the entirety of their lives. So, chances are singleness won't apply to you for very long. Maybe a few years, and then you could be launched into wedded life. However, you will always have single friends, and you must understand singleness and marriage from a Biblical perspective if you are to be an effective friend to those people.

3) Some of you will likely experience a prolonged period of time where you aren't sure if marriage is God's will for you. Not all of us are married at nineteen. I have friends who have waited into their thirties or forties before being married. Singleness can be a difficult road, and if it is God's will for you to walk this path for any number of years, you will benefit greatly from understanding it early, now, through this study. You will need time to adjust your perspective of men, women, adulthood, sexuality, marriage and singleness in light of God's word.

4) Because you are single now, it is the appropriate time to develop habits and priorities that will save you much grief if you should ever experience a long period of singleness. Girls who daydream about marriage, fantasize about dreamy men and romantic notions do themselves much harm if God calls them to a time of singleness. Loneliness, anger, and unbridled fantasies wreak havoc on their souls and attitudes. By carefully reigning your affections in now, and cultivating a balanced, realistic view of marriage and singleness, you are preparing yourself to receive whatever status God in his sovereignty should choose to give you.

We will talk more about this tomorrow after church when we meet. Here is a prayer for you to think about:

"I cannot be certain that I will ever marry. I must not be repulsed by or afraid of lifelong singleness. I must trust You to care for me tenderly. I must not idolize marriage. I must not fantasize about marriage. I must busy my heart with knowing You more. I ask for peace and a right attitude. I am earnestly seeking Your will for my life, and I accept with joy whatever work You call me to do, married or single. Keep me gentle and tender; but O Lord, hedge me in and comfort me with Your perfect love when singleness makes me sad. Fill me with vision and joy. Let nothing and no one take Your place on the throne of my heart."

Sidetracked Service

 An email sent to my sweet girls recently:

Today I read from Matthew chapters 14 through 16. And, as often happens when reading the Scripture, I realized that the portion I was scheduled to read today directly correlated to the passage in Isaiah I read yesterday, and Jesus quotes to the pharisees the same verse I shared with you yesterday.

 Despite miraculous healing and displays of tender compassion for the crowds of lost people, the pharisees came to Jesus and demanded to know why his disciples didn't wash their hands before eating.

Can you imagine? In the face of divine miracles, mercy, and wisdom beyond what they had ever seen or heard--they chose to nit-pick about ceremonial traditions that weren't even part of Scripture. They were so distracted with doing, with serving as they believed was pious, that they missed the heart of the matter completely.

What does Jesus say to them? He points out that they have twisted the Scripture, because they taught that the commandment of God to honor one's father and mother didn't have to be followed if the person made a human "vow" that prevents him from doing so. Thus, a trivial human law trumps the holy and perfect mandate given by God.

Jesus says, "So, for the sake of your tradition, you have made void the word of God. You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said, 'This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.' "

Jesus says to the people listening to him (which includes you and me): "Hear and understand: it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a person . . . what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone."

In the devotional book,"My Utmost for His Highest" (by Oswald Chambers), yesterday's devotional thought was this:

"Beware of anything that competes with loyalty to Jesus Christ. The greatest competitor of devotion to Jesus is service for him. It is easier to serve . . . [But] we are not sent to battle for God, but to be used by God in his battlings. Are we being more devoted to service than to Jesus Christ?"

Take these thoughts to heart. They are not thoughts you will hear in popular culture, even in Christian culture, because we are surrounded by shallowness that has embraced a counterfeit religion. Go deep, sweet girls. Do not be conned into living something that isn't real to you.

"Service is the overflow of a superabounding devotion." If you serve without the devotion, you will know it is hollow and lacking. If you serve out of joyous passion for the God you know intimately, you will understand the joys of servanthood as few have known.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Remembering

Here are a few beautiful thoughts from Isaiah chapters 40-44 that especially touched my heart this morning:

"I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake; 

I will not remember your sins."

"Thus says the LORD who made you,
who formed you in the womb and will help you . . .
For I will pour water on thirsty ground, and streams on dry ground;
 I will pour my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants.
They shall spring up among the grass like willows by flowing streams . . . "

"But now thus says the Lord,
he who created you, O Jacob,
    he who formed you, O Israel:
'Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
    I have called you by name, you are mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
    and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
    and the flame shall not consume you.' "

"When the poor and needy seek water,
    and there is none,
    and their tongue is parched with thirst,
I the Lord will answer them;
    I the God of Israel will not forsake them.
I will open rivers on the bare heights,
    and fountains in the midst of the valleys.
I will make the wilderness a pool of water,
    and the dry land springs of water . . .
. . . that they may see and know,
    may consider and understand together,
that the hand of the Lord has done this . . ."

"Remember these things, O Jacob,
    and Israel, for you are my servant;
I formed you; you are my servant;
    O Israel, you will not be forgotten by me.
I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud
    and your sins like mist;
return to me, for I have redeemed you."

This brings to my remembrance the Keith Green song we know and love so well:

O Lord, please light the fire / that once burned bright and clear 

Replace the lamp of my first love / that burns with holy fear
Oh Lord, you're beautiful / Your face is all I seek 

For when your eyes are on this child / Your grace abounds to me.

Don't neglect reflecting on the grace of God, dear ones. Repentance is motivated by grace (Rom. 2:4). The life of the redeemed is a blessed road, despite our earthly woes and heartaches. We have the peace that surpasses all understanding, and we have the God of ages who says, "I will not remember your sins," "You are mine," "Return to me," "I will not forsake you." He says these things to you. Let your heart be tender to his love.

"Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling / Calling for you and for me . . . "

"I come to the garden alone, while the dew is still on the roses 
And the voice I hear, falling on my ear, the Son of God discloses . . ."

Coram Deo! ~cherrybee

No Fence Riders Allowed!

An excerpt from this morning's email to "my girls."

This morning I read from Psalm 24-26. These passages speak of the characteristics of the redeemed and their covenantal fellowship with God.

Who shall ascend to the hill of the LORD?
And who shall stand in his holy place?
He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
who does not lift up his soul to what is false,
and does not swear deceitfully.

My study Bible observes this: "Although [every Christian] may attend worship . . . not everyone will really receive blessing or will genuinely enjoy the status of righteousness. God expects his people to embrace their privileges from their hearts, and to show that in their behaviors."

Also, "The Hebrew word for 'clean' can also be translated 'innocent'--those with 'clean hands' are those who have acted innocently towards others." A "pure heart" is one absent of all unworthy motives. The passage continues,

He will receive blessing from the LORD and  

righteousness from the God of his salvation.
Such is the generation of those who seek the face of the God of Jacob.

What are we to do, then? We desire this blessing and righteousness. We hunger for intimate knowledge of the Holy One. Yet, we are reminded moment by moment of our woeful failure. The more we seek after wisdom, the more we see clearly our own ignorance. The more we strive for godliness, the more we seem to fail. It was easier to be apathetic and comfortable, was it not? And we whisper with the psalmist, ch 25, v 4-5:

Make me to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths.
Lead me in your truth and teach me, 

for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.

Take heart. Weep and pray, yes, and seek earnestly the face of God, laying bare your heart before him. And he says to you, dear one:

Good and upright is the LORD; therefore he instructs sinners in the way.
He leads the humble in what is right and teaches the humble his way.
All the paths of the LORD are steadfast love and faithfulness,
for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.

The ESV study Bible makes a wonderful observation about these verses: "Those who trust in the LORD seek his guidance, i.e., they want to learn what manner of life pleases him and how his commands apply to their specific circumstances. God's guidance in the Bible is almost always concerned with the moral virtues he wants in his faithful people; in light of these virtues they make their choices in the various circumstances of life."

This is so very comforting to me. I know young people who, fearful of displeasing God and acting contrary to his will, consequently never *do* anything. They wait, hesitant, peering out of the starting blocks, afraid to really get going anywhere. "I am waiting for God to show me what to do," they have told me--for years on end. And their time slips by. Don't misunderstand me, dear girls--there is a time to pray and wait in earnest for direction. And there is a time to move forward in faith, making choices, doing the work of the LORD in the best way you can in the circumstances you find yourself in--and you can rejoice and be content, knowing that there are many ways to apply the commands of Scripture to our lives and to walk in accordance to them. The moral absolutes of the Bible remain unchanged throughout the ages; how believers live these principles out in their daily lives varies greatly from culture to culture, era to era.

Follow the model of the psalmist, dear ones: observe the perfect righteous standard, which all of us have hopelessly missed, and reflect on the gracious salvation of our souls by our King, and rejoice greatly. Seek the face of the God of Jacob, inquire for guidance, and carefully tune your heart to the chords of Scripture. Then step out boldly, busily, never idle, working, reading, praying, learning, serving, praising, singing, trusting our LORD to use you as an instrument for his glory right now, right here. Do not be afraid to make earthly decisions. Don't hem and haw and teeter nervously on the fence of indecision: make them wisely and forge onward!

The Heart

 Another daily devotional email sent to "my girls," two weeks ago:

I read from Genesis chapters 24-27 today. Here is recorded the events surrounding Jacob's deception of his father Isaac, by trickery obtaining the blessing intended for the firstborn son. Previously, Esau had sold his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of stew. The family of Isaac is plagued with jealousies, injustice, favoritism, deception, hatred, and murderous intentions. By today's standards, this family would be dysfunctional indeed! Yet, they are the chosen lineage for Israel and Christ himself, and God uses them for his glory in spite of their woeful shortcomings.

As we've been mentioning in the last few emails, we see again here that the problem with this family is not external, but internal. Their hearts had grown affectionate for worldly ideas, and sin had crept in and taken a stronghold. Isaac favored Esau. Rebekah favored Jakob. Esau disrespected his honorable position and responsibility as firstborn. Jacob sneaked around, stealing and deceiving to get what he wanted. Rebekah assisted in lying to her own husband. Esau threatened to murder his own twin brother. All of these sins come from the heart.

It is so easy to lose perspective of the "big picture." We struggle with sin every moment of every day. But even as the Lord redeemed the line of Abraham and Isaac, so he redeems us and pardons our sins. Shame leads to repentance, which in turn restores a beautiful, intimate friendship with the highest, most sovereign, most terrifying and wonderful God of all that is. See here, in Isaiah 55:6-7:

"Seek the Lord while he may be found;
    call upon him while he is near;
let the wicked forsake his way,
    and the unrighteous man his thoughts;
let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him,
    and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon."

Take heart! Isaiah 56:1-2 says,
Thus says the Lord:
“Keep justice, and do righteousness,
for soon my salvation will come,
    and my righteousness be revealed.
Blessed is the man who does this,
    and the son of man who holds it fast,
who keeps the Sabbath*, not profaning it,
    and keeps his hand from doing any evil.”

[*keeping the Sabbath was a covenant sign that represented an entire lifestyle devoted to serving the Lord, including both secret thoughts and outward deeds]

Notice the Lord says to put away evil thoughts, then evil deeds? The one produces the other. As it was with Isaac and Rebekah, and their sons, who each entertained selfish thoughts, deceitful thoughts, jealous thoughts, grudging thoughts, so it goes with us. Humans haven't changed much through throughout the ages, really.

Now, then--as we seek to dwell on pure, lovely, holy, beautiful, kind, inspiring, magnificent things, here is a poem for you today, as you cultivate within yourself the beauty that cannot be stolen away, the beauty that will someday permeate your own home with an infectious joy and blessedness to all who enter your door:

"Lord, let our house be something more
than just a shelter with a door;
May its windows gleam with light,
Shedding radiance through the night.
Not just a glitter of glass and chrome,
But give it the "feel" of a happy home.

Let it have flowers, a well-loved book,
Soft cushions in a quiet nook.
May it be more than a downy bed,
Or snowy cloth with silver spread;
Lend it some smiles, warm sympathy,
With kindly thought, true charity--
That all may recall, though far they roam,
That God was there--in the heart of home."

              -----Christine White, "Heart of Home"

The Power of a Woman

An email sent this morning to a group of nine young women with whom I'm privileged to fellowship:

Today, I'm reading from Judges 12-16, the story of Samson's birth, life, and death.

Since our focus is on the role of women in God's kingdom, there are definitely a few things that stood out to me in these chapters that are good lessons for us to think about today. First, God called Samson to a specific role from before he was born. Samson was chosen to judge and save Israel. Samson is listed among the heroes of the faith in Hebrews chapter 11. Samson, with divine power from the holy Spirit overcame thousands of Philistines in his lifetime.

But, Samson was also very sinful, and his biggest weakness was women. Several times throughout these passages we see Samson--the strongest man alive--succumb to the wiles of crafty women. He was lured in by their charms and helpless before their manipulation. The most famous woman in his story, of course, is Delilah--we all know how she wickedly manipulated him into revealing the secret of his strength. But, before her, there were others.

The MacDonald Bible Commentary notes, on the verse speaking of Samson's demand that his parents get him a certain Philistine woman for a wife, that "He had a weakness for women, and was willing to disobey God in order to get a women who pleased him." He had lusted after a Philistine woman, and his marriage to her turned into an all-out fiasco after she wheedled the answer to a riddle out of him and told her people. The situation resulted in the woman and her father being burned alive by their own people because of the Philistine's hatred of Samson. Samson also spent the night with a prostitute on another occasion, and throughout these chapters, we see the mighty warrior of God, selected for victory--falling prey to the powerful snares of evil women.

C.H. Mackintosh says this: "The lap of Delilah proved too strong for the heart of Samson, and what a thousand Philistines could not do was done by the ensnaring influence of a single woman."

It was ultimately Samson's unbridled fetish for seductive women that led to his humiliating downfall, when the Spirit of God left him, and he served, blinded, in a prison. We know the Lord returned his strength enough to buckle the pillars of the Philistine's party-house, killing more in his death than he had killed during his lifetime, but his story is still blighted by the lifelong reign of sin in Samson's heart, and his utter weakness to the powers of women.

If you've ever secretly wondered if it really matters that you're a woman, take note: it matters . . . a lot. Sure, we're not called to teach and preach in church, and we follow the leadership of the men God has given to us to protect and guide us --fathers, husbands, brothers, pastors--but the truth is, your influence as a woman is IMMENSELY powerful and you must never ever ever underestimate its strength.

Scores have men have been sent to their graves in a horrendous state of spiritual ruin because of women's power and influence, asserted for evil intent. Just observe how many, many warnings there are throughout Scripture of shunning the seductress, the evil woman who flatters, tricks, connives, manipulates, flirts---and viciously destroys. She is a terrible force to be reckoned with, and although her day of judgment comes, she still takes scores of victims with her to that pit of despair.

Countless other men, throughout the ages, have accomplished mighty feats of victory and reformation of entire cultures, and often they readily acknowledge their ever-ready, wise, able, helpful woman companions who enabled them to rise to such great heights. Do not dismiss the far-reaching influence of a righteous woman. Her husband, her children, her grandchildren, her great-great-great-great-great-

great grandchildren for generations yet to come, are shaped by the deeply imprinted mark of her shining character. Even sisters wield a powerful influence in the shaping of their brothers. It does not matter if your brother is years older or younger than you--you are in a position to win him to the faith, capture his heart, entrust him with yours, enabling him to practice the safeguarding of women that he is called to do, and your little comments throughout the day are each either cool sips of water to a fighting warrior, or fiery little darts that will break him down. Do not take this lightly--if you have a brother, you will answer to God for how you treated that man, tended or neglected that relationship, and shouldered or shirked that great, solemn responsibility given to you by the Lord.

But, by the same token, do not be afraid or discouraged, but be filled with exhilarated excitement and anticipation: you, as a woman, are not called to be stupid, timid, ignorant, un-opinionated, with no advice or insight. What a ridiculous lie! Don't buy it--it's just the awful ugly twin sister of the Lie of Liberated Feminism. Rather, the beautiful crowning glory of a woman of God is her courage, intelligence, humility, wisdom, insight, advice, and sweet-spirited, vivacious dominion over all her realms of responsibility. Imagine what an exemplary man Samson would have been if he had chosen a wise godly woman for his wife. How she would have helped him! Prayed for him! Advised him wisely! Alas, his weakness destroyed him.

Take courage, dear ones. The need for noble women has never been greater than now, and you are young: you stand at the crossroads, able now to set the course of history. Set your vision high. Do not settle for a drab, mundane, resigned existence. Take joy and be content in the upward call to godliness, a pursuit which clothes you with a beauty that cannot be found on earth, for it is not from this mortal realm, but from the eternal realms of glory.