The Bible doesn't say what kind of fruit it was that Adam and Eve ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and brought sin into the world, but tradition says that it was an apple. (See Genesis 1-3). If that's true, I think it must have been a sour apple. It may have tasted good at first, but in the end it turned sour just as its taste turns stomachs.
Satan still packages sin the same way- it always looks good wrapped in pretty paper with a sweet smell, but in the end it rots in your stomach. "Bread gained by deceit is sweet to a man, but afterward his mouth will be full of gravel." (Proverbs 20:17) In contrast, Scripture calls us to feast on Jesus and His death and Resurrection that has brought us salvation from sin instead. (See John 6:25-59). "Oh, taste and see that The Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!" (Psalms 34:8) Chew on that for a while. :-)
Showing posts with label evil. Show all posts
Showing posts with label evil. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 12, 2019
Sunday, February 24, 2019
This Looks Like a Job for the Son of Man!
Sometimes I feel like Jor-El on Krypton trying to warn the political leaders and other scientists that the planet is about to explode! Sometimes it feels like, "My joy is gone; grief is upon me, my heart is sick within me." (Jeremiah 8:18)
I keep trying to share the Word God has given me- the Gospel of Jesus Christ- the Good News that God loves us and even though our sin separates us from Him and condemns us to Hell, He wants to save us from that! That's why Jesus died and rose- to pay for the consequence of all our sins. When we put faith in His completed work for us and follow Him, we have salvation and eternal life! :-)
Yet so many are still so lost and refuse to see the Lord who could save them and would do so if they'd let Him! (Luke 13:34)
".....I have become a laughingstock all the day; everyone mocks me. For whenever I speak, I cry out, I shout, 'Violence and destruction!' For the word of The Lord has become for me a reproach and derision all day long. If I say, 'I will not mention Him, or speak any more in His Name,' there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot." (Jeremiah 20:7b-9)
"But The Lord is with me as a dread warrior; therefore my persecutors will stumble; they will not overcome me. They will be greatly shamed, for they will not succeed. Their eternal dishonor will never be forgotten." (Jeremiah 20:11)
"Oh that my head were waters, and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!" (Jeremiah 9:1)
" ....'Return, faithless Israel, declares The Lord. I will not look on you in anger, for I am merciful, declares The Lord. Only acknowledge your guilt, that you rebelled against The Lord your God....." (Jeremiah 3:12-13)
God longs to save everyone if we'll let Him. We have to admit we haven't obeyed Him and turn to the only One who has perfectly obeyed- Lord God Jesus!
And no matter the response, we must keep declaring this Gospel wherever God sends us.
"But The Lord said to me, "Do not say, 'I am only a youth,"; for to all whom I send you, you shall go and whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you," declares The Lord." (Jeremiah 1:7-8)
So like Superman continues to fight the never-ending battle, keep fighting the good fight and "never tire of doing what is right." (2 Thessalonians 3:13)
Some will listen- some won't; that's up to the Holy Spirit. Just as Superman fights for Truth, Justice and the American way- keep fighting for the Truth, Life and the Only Way! He will help you handle whatever action you face in the fray and He will return one day to take those who love Him up, up and away! Until that blessed day, stay strong holding on to the One who's still the Son of Man and Man of Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow- the Son of God- and know that The Father holds us firmly in His palms and His plans move forward on course stronger than a locomotive- faster than a speeding bullet and able to leap tall buildings of doubt in a single bound- yet they will all come together in His time and to His plan.
May this brief visit in the Fortress of Solitude give you some respite from the devil's Kryptonite and strengthen you for the race before us. Onward and upward- but always in His strength. This looks like (because it is) a job for the only real Super Man. :-)
I keep trying to share the Word God has given me- the Gospel of Jesus Christ- the Good News that God loves us and even though our sin separates us from Him and condemns us to Hell, He wants to save us from that! That's why Jesus died and rose- to pay for the consequence of all our sins. When we put faith in His completed work for us and follow Him, we have salvation and eternal life! :-)
Yet so many are still so lost and refuse to see the Lord who could save them and would do so if they'd let Him! (Luke 13:34)
".....I have become a laughingstock all the day; everyone mocks me. For whenever I speak, I cry out, I shout, 'Violence and destruction!' For the word of The Lord has become for me a reproach and derision all day long. If I say, 'I will not mention Him, or speak any more in His Name,' there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot." (Jeremiah 20:7b-9)
"But The Lord is with me as a dread warrior; therefore my persecutors will stumble; they will not overcome me. They will be greatly shamed, for they will not succeed. Their eternal dishonor will never be forgotten." (Jeremiah 20:11)
"Oh that my head were waters, and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!" (Jeremiah 9:1)
" ....'Return, faithless Israel, declares The Lord. I will not look on you in anger, for I am merciful, declares The Lord. Only acknowledge your guilt, that you rebelled against The Lord your God....." (Jeremiah 3:12-13)
God longs to save everyone if we'll let Him. We have to admit we haven't obeyed Him and turn to the only One who has perfectly obeyed- Lord God Jesus!
And no matter the response, we must keep declaring this Gospel wherever God sends us.
"But The Lord said to me, "Do not say, 'I am only a youth,"; for to all whom I send you, you shall go and whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you," declares The Lord." (Jeremiah 1:7-8)
So like Superman continues to fight the never-ending battle, keep fighting the good fight and "never tire of doing what is right." (2 Thessalonians 3:13)
Some will listen- some won't; that's up to the Holy Spirit. Just as Superman fights for Truth, Justice and the American way- keep fighting for the Truth, Life and the Only Way! He will help you handle whatever action you face in the fray and He will return one day to take those who love Him up, up and away! Until that blessed day, stay strong holding on to the One who's still the Son of Man and Man of Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow- the Son of God- and know that The Father holds us firmly in His palms and His plans move forward on course stronger than a locomotive- faster than a speeding bullet and able to leap tall buildings of doubt in a single bound- yet they will all come together in His time and to His plan.
May this brief visit in the Fortress of Solitude give you some respite from the devil's Kryptonite and strengthen you for the race before us. Onward and upward- but always in His strength. This looks like (because it is) a job for the only real Super Man. :-)
Sunday, January 6, 2019
A Faith That Works
It's the classic faith vs. works paradox of Christianity. I've struggled with it much too. 1 Corinthians 3 is true- you can't throw that out. But 1 John 4 is true too.
It is primarily about knowing and loving Jesus. When it becomes all about what good works we do for God, it reverts into Judaism, hoping to be saved by keeping the law. But if I'm just loving and knowing God and I'm not doing any good works, am I really saved?
I mean- James 2 is there for a reason too. Well, if loving and knowing God doesn't naturally drive me to do the good works He designed for me to do all along, then yes- I'd question my salvation experience and my real level of love for God and knowledge of Him. But if I'm always doing good works because I know it's expected and not out of a heart that loves and knows God, then I become a works-based Pharisee. It's got to be both. But the order goes like this- FIRST- Jesus loves me for no reason I can understand except for just being who I am- God's creation.
Brennan Manning once said that he believed God the Father will ask one question and one question only on Judgment Day- "Did you believe that I love you?" And I think this is why he said that. His love and grace is the foundation for everything else. It's because I believe I am known and loved by God that I put faith in His salvific work through Christ's death and Resurrection. And that love for Him naturally drives me to want to be like Him and obey Him. If Chewbacca can faithfully follow and obey Han Solo because he owes him a life debt, how much more should we do the same with Jesus to Whom we owe an eternal life debt? But Chewie is not Han's slave- he's his loyal friend who loves him fiercely and deeply first and foremost.
That's a good model of our love relationship with King Jesus. We fall out of fellowship when we sin but the love never ends. (1 Corinthians 13) That's why we have 1 John 1:9 and that's how it is with real true friends. We forgive each other and restore the fellowship. God doesn't love us for what we can do for Him. John 15:5 says we can do nothing apart from Him anyway. Jesus also says that if we love Him, we'll obey Him.
I know this is true in any good romantic love relationship too. When you truly love someone, you naturally want to know everything you can about them. I can think of a girl that God has blessed me with knowing that I felt this way for and still have a deep philio love for as friends even though the relationship didn't work out. And every time I see anything to do with her home country I get excited. We talked with each other for hours at a time and never got tired of it. There were always new things to learn. I loved to reference her name anywhere I could- just thinking about her made me happy. Just looking at her picture and reading her letters made me smile. I wanted to name drop her everywhere.
The romantic eros love is representative of the desire God has for us and the desire we should have for Him. (Just read Hosea 2.) And when we love God with that kind of passion, we find ourselves not only learning about Him and knowing Him more but desiring to please and obey Him more- and eventually becoming like Him more. As in the relationship with my friend I described, I found both of us becoming like each other in some ways because we know what each of us likes and our particular emotional needs and such. This is of course exactly what happens in the covenant marriage relationship as husband and wife become one unit that works and operates together. The wondrous thing is that their individuality is not diminished but they become more themselves than ever before, much as our union with Christ, as C.S. Lewis explained it.
This brings us to the marriage of faith and works as we see laid out in The Bible in passages like Ephesians 2:8-10 and Philippians 2:12-13. Yes, we are saved by Grace through faith alone. However, as John Calvin said, saving faith is never alone- it naturally brings good works with it. Jesus Himself said in John 8 that we would show ourselves to be His disciples by our fruit. But if it's all about our works, why did He come down on the rich young ruler and tell him he still lacked one thing- he needed to sell all he had and give it to the poor and then follow Him? I think Jesus was trying to get him to do a heart check.
I think the rich young ruler thought he was following God by law-keeping in itself but it wasn't because he really desired God. His reaction of leaving in sorrow proves that he loved his stuff more than God. In Matthew 13, Jesus describes salvation as someone who finds treasure buried in a field and in his joy, the man who finds it, sells all he has to buy the field and get the treasure. That is a picture if how we are to desire Jesus.
The grace and faith that save us drive us to do the good works that God had already planned for us to do. We are to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling, knowing that it's God who works in us both to will and to work for His good pleasure. Thus, it's not an either-or situation, but a both-and situation. The order is always paramount though. It starts and ends with God. He draws us to Himself and saves us. He moves in our hearts to be more like Him. When we fall because we have cut off fellowship with Him, His Spirit draws us back and we repent and the fellowship resumes- but the relationship is always intact.
My parents have often told me an approach in prayer life that is applicable here- pray as if it all depends on God and work as if it all depends on you. I believe God honours our faith and particularly when we demonstrate it by taking action. This is the great paradoxical nature of the faith and works relationship in The Bible and in our lives. It all comes down to the heart and motives.
We can either fall into two errors, as seen in the two brothers in Jesus' parable of the lost son in Luke 15. One is openly defiant to his father and blatantly lives in sin and then finally comes to his senses and returns in repentance. Note that the Father runs faster than The Flash, Road Runner, Speedy Gonzales and Superman combined to his son as he comes down the robe. The love of the father is totally undignified as he enthusiastically embraces his most likely muddy, smelly, pig slop-covered son and showers him with hugs and kisses before he can get a word of his prepared apology out. Now, make no mistake, the son did admit he had sinned before his father and Heaven and came in humble repentance but the father's love was already there and poured out.
Too many times we have the attitude of the elder brother who is as lost in his righteousness as the younger son was lost in his wickedness. The elder brother cites his years of service and faithfulness and complains that he never got a young goat to barbecue with his friends. The father explains that he is always with Him and all he has is his but it's fitting to celebrate this lost brother who was found; this dead son who is now alive. It seems both the younger and elder son wanted their father for his stuff- the younger forced his hand in rebellion for it but the elder thought he could earn it through righteous works. The truth is that it's freely given to all of us- it's The Father's good pleasure to give us the Kingdom! (Luke 12:32)
We must repent of both our errors though. The younger son had to repent of his wickedness and the elder son had to repent of his righteousness. We can't earn God's love or deserve it or pay Him back for it- it's a free gift. (John 3:16-17, John 8:32-36) We are all desperately in need of it and once we've experienced it, it should so change us that we want to live a life of love to God and others in gratitude, with a heart set free to love and know others in agape love as He has known and loved us first!
P.S. I must acknowledge Rev. Timothy Keller's excellent book "The Prodigal God" for much of the ideas about the parable of the lost son as well as Brennan Manning's incredibly awesome "The Ragamuffin Gospel" book, both of which I highly recommend reading! I have read and reread and reread the latter and cried over it numerous times. As I have said before, the most profound theologically rich Christian song I know is still "Jesus Loves Me". Rest in that Truth today. :-)
I mean- James 2 is there for a reason too. Well, if loving and knowing God doesn't naturally drive me to do the good works He designed for me to do all along, then yes- I'd question my salvation experience and my real level of love for God and knowledge of Him. But if I'm always doing good works because I know it's expected and not out of a heart that loves and knows God, then I become a works-based Pharisee. It's got to be both. But the order goes like this- FIRST- Jesus loves me for no reason I can understand except for just being who I am- God's creation.
Brennan Manning once said that he believed God the Father will ask one question and one question only on Judgment Day- "Did you believe that I love you?" And I think this is why he said that. His love and grace is the foundation for everything else. It's because I believe I am known and loved by God that I put faith in His salvific work through Christ's death and Resurrection. And that love for Him naturally drives me to want to be like Him and obey Him. If Chewbacca can faithfully follow and obey Han Solo because he owes him a life debt, how much more should we do the same with Jesus to Whom we owe an eternal life debt? But Chewie is not Han's slave- he's his loyal friend who loves him fiercely and deeply first and foremost.
That's a good model of our love relationship with King Jesus. We fall out of fellowship when we sin but the love never ends. (1 Corinthians 13) That's why we have 1 John 1:9 and that's how it is with real true friends. We forgive each other and restore the fellowship. God doesn't love us for what we can do for Him. John 15:5 says we can do nothing apart from Him anyway. Jesus also says that if we love Him, we'll obey Him.
I know this is true in any good romantic love relationship too. When you truly love someone, you naturally want to know everything you can about them. I can think of a girl that God has blessed me with knowing that I felt this way for and still have a deep philio love for as friends even though the relationship didn't work out. And every time I see anything to do with her home country I get excited. We talked with each other for hours at a time and never got tired of it. There were always new things to learn. I loved to reference her name anywhere I could- just thinking about her made me happy. Just looking at her picture and reading her letters made me smile. I wanted to name drop her everywhere.
The romantic eros love is representative of the desire God has for us and the desire we should have for Him. (Just read Hosea 2.) And when we love God with that kind of passion, we find ourselves not only learning about Him and knowing Him more but desiring to please and obey Him more- and eventually becoming like Him more. As in the relationship with my friend I described, I found both of us becoming like each other in some ways because we know what each of us likes and our particular emotional needs and such. This is of course exactly what happens in the covenant marriage relationship as husband and wife become one unit that works and operates together. The wondrous thing is that their individuality is not diminished but they become more themselves than ever before, much as our union with Christ, as C.S. Lewis explained it.
This brings us to the marriage of faith and works as we see laid out in The Bible in passages like Ephesians 2:8-10 and Philippians 2:12-13. Yes, we are saved by Grace through faith alone. However, as John Calvin said, saving faith is never alone- it naturally brings good works with it. Jesus Himself said in John 8 that we would show ourselves to be His disciples by our fruit. But if it's all about our works, why did He come down on the rich young ruler and tell him he still lacked one thing- he needed to sell all he had and give it to the poor and then follow Him? I think Jesus was trying to get him to do a heart check.
I think the rich young ruler thought he was following God by law-keeping in itself but it wasn't because he really desired God. His reaction of leaving in sorrow proves that he loved his stuff more than God. In Matthew 13, Jesus describes salvation as someone who finds treasure buried in a field and in his joy, the man who finds it, sells all he has to buy the field and get the treasure. That is a picture if how we are to desire Jesus.
The grace and faith that save us drive us to do the good works that God had already planned for us to do. We are to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling, knowing that it's God who works in us both to will and to work for His good pleasure. Thus, it's not an either-or situation, but a both-and situation. The order is always paramount though. It starts and ends with God. He draws us to Himself and saves us. He moves in our hearts to be more like Him. When we fall because we have cut off fellowship with Him, His Spirit draws us back and we repent and the fellowship resumes- but the relationship is always intact.
My parents have often told me an approach in prayer life that is applicable here- pray as if it all depends on God and work as if it all depends on you. I believe God honours our faith and particularly when we demonstrate it by taking action. This is the great paradoxical nature of the faith and works relationship in The Bible and in our lives. It all comes down to the heart and motives.
We can either fall into two errors, as seen in the two brothers in Jesus' parable of the lost son in Luke 15. One is openly defiant to his father and blatantly lives in sin and then finally comes to his senses and returns in repentance. Note that the Father runs faster than The Flash, Road Runner, Speedy Gonzales and Superman combined to his son as he comes down the robe. The love of the father is totally undignified as he enthusiastically embraces his most likely muddy, smelly, pig slop-covered son and showers him with hugs and kisses before he can get a word of his prepared apology out. Now, make no mistake, the son did admit he had sinned before his father and Heaven and came in humble repentance but the father's love was already there and poured out.
Too many times we have the attitude of the elder brother who is as lost in his righteousness as the younger son was lost in his wickedness. The elder brother cites his years of service and faithfulness and complains that he never got a young goat to barbecue with his friends. The father explains that he is always with Him and all he has is his but it's fitting to celebrate this lost brother who was found; this dead son who is now alive. It seems both the younger and elder son wanted their father for his stuff- the younger forced his hand in rebellion for it but the elder thought he could earn it through righteous works. The truth is that it's freely given to all of us- it's The Father's good pleasure to give us the Kingdom! (Luke 12:32)
We must repent of both our errors though. The younger son had to repent of his wickedness and the elder son had to repent of his righteousness. We can't earn God's love or deserve it or pay Him back for it- it's a free gift. (John 3:16-17, John 8:32-36) We are all desperately in need of it and once we've experienced it, it should so change us that we want to live a life of love to God and others in gratitude, with a heart set free to love and know others in agape love as He has known and loved us first!
P.S. I must acknowledge Rev. Timothy Keller's excellent book "The Prodigal God" for much of the ideas about the parable of the lost son as well as Brennan Manning's incredibly awesome "The Ragamuffin Gospel" book, both of which I highly recommend reading! I have read and reread and reread the latter and cried over it numerous times. As I have said before, the most profound theologically rich Christian song I know is still "Jesus Loves Me". Rest in that Truth today. :-)
Saturday, June 27, 2015
White as Snow (song)
There is a funny contradiction in the world today. On the one hand, some people want to keep insisting that all human beings are essentially good, though some make mistakes at times. But in the end, it's all like a Disney movie with some villians, of course, but ultimately most people are good overall. Of course, it seems that some of the same people who make these claims also shake their fists at God in Heaven and blame Him whenever evil erupts its repulsive ooze over humanity once again- and people suffer and lives are lost. Then the question is raised for me- how could a good people allow evil in the world? And when we're standing there, frozen in shock, maybe that's when we can come to recognize the truth- there is evil in this pervasive world- and we're it. We were all made to be good- made in God's image, Who is perfection itself- but we made the fatal choice to rebel against The Lord through Adam and Eve's sin- and now the world is under the curse of sin. Thankfully, God Himself has provided the remedy for sin. Though it stains us scarlet red, God can forgive our sins and make them white as snow. They've all been paid for by Jesus' death and Resurrection. We must take all our sin and let it go- leaving it nailed to the cross and put our faith in Jesus and live for Him instead. Thank God for His love and forgiveness!
"White as Snow" (parody of "Let It Go" from Disney's "Frozen" by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez; copyright by Nathan Ludwick 5/29/2015)
(Isaiah 1:18, Isaiah 45:21-25, Isaiah 64:6, Psalms 14:3, Psalms 53:3, Romans 3:1-20, Romans 3:23-26, Romans 6:23, Proverbs 20:9, John 1:29, 1 John 3:1, 1 John 1:7, John 3:16-21, John 14:6, John 10:1-18, John 6:35-40, Hebrews 10:10-12, Colossians 1:15-20)
Verse 1
.............
The snow glows white in Wisconsin tonight
What a fitting Christmas scene
The winter brings transformation
The fall looks like it's washed clean
Our sin is howling like a swirling storm inside
Couldn't keep from sin; Heaven knows we tried
Won't let Him in
But think He's pleased
If you're good, girl; boy, always keeping clean
Conceal evil
Don't let it show
Well, on our own...
Chorus 1
...............
We're evil! We're evil!
(I) can't hope to match up to The Lord
Yes, we know we're evil
Turn away and seek The Lord!
Isaiah 64:6 says
All good deeds we've done-
The Lord says they're rotten filthy rags anyway
Verse 2
..............
It's funny how resistance
Makes everything His fault
And we feel He's hidden- if only
He'd let us see Him all
The Christ revealed that wish for you
Jesus- God's image- Way, Life and Truth
He died for wrongs
And rose so we'd
Be free!
Chorus 2
................
All evil
In one go-
Christ has won over sin for all time!
Let Him go
Save your soul
You need to receive Christ
Hear what God says in Isaiah
Let's read 1:18
Bridge
.............
Like how snow flurries through the air into the ground
Our souls can be washed clean though our sin's scarlet- hear God now
"Come use thought- realize this- I can wipe (out) all bad!"
Though all you've known is black, the cross has changed all that!
Chorus 3
................
White as snow!
White as snow!
(My) sins are white like wool thanks to God!
White as snow!
White as snow!
That perfect Lamb of God!
Here I stand- by The Christ I'm saved
Like it says in 1st. John
Behold how The Father's loved (in) 3:1- yay!
"White as Snow" (parody of "Let It Go" from Disney's "Frozen" by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez; copyright by Nathan Ludwick 5/29/2015)
(Isaiah 1:18, Isaiah 45:21-25, Isaiah 64:6, Psalms 14:3, Psalms 53:3, Romans 3:1-20, Romans 3:23-26, Romans 6:23, Proverbs 20:9, John 1:29, 1 John 3:1, 1 John 1:7, John 3:16-21, John 14:6, John 10:1-18, John 6:35-40, Hebrews 10:10-12, Colossians 1:15-20)
Verse 1
.............
The snow glows white in Wisconsin tonight
What a fitting Christmas scene
The winter brings transformation
The fall looks like it's washed clean
Our sin is howling like a swirling storm inside
Couldn't keep from sin; Heaven knows we tried
Won't let Him in
But think He's pleased
If you're good, girl; boy, always keeping clean
Conceal evil
Don't let it show
Well, on our own...
Chorus 1
...............
We're evil! We're evil!
(I) can't hope to match up to The Lord
Yes, we know we're evil
Turn away and seek The Lord!
Isaiah 64:6 says
All good deeds we've done-
The Lord says they're rotten filthy rags anyway
Verse 2
..............
It's funny how resistance
Makes everything His fault
And we feel He's hidden- if only
He'd let us see Him all
The Christ revealed that wish for you
Jesus- God's image- Way, Life and Truth
He died for wrongs
And rose so we'd
Be free!
Chorus 2
................
All evil
In one go-
Christ has won over sin for all time!
Let Him go
Save your soul
You need to receive Christ
Hear what God says in Isaiah
Let's read 1:18
Bridge
.............
Like how snow flurries through the air into the ground
Our souls can be washed clean though our sin's scarlet- hear God now
"Come use thought- realize this- I can wipe (out) all bad!"
Though all you've known is black, the cross has changed all that!
Chorus 3
................
White as snow!
White as snow!
(My) sins are white like wool thanks to God!
White as snow!
White as snow!
That perfect Lamb of God!
Here I stand- by The Christ I'm saved
Like it says in 1st. John
Behold how The Father's loved (in) 3:1- yay!
Sunday, April 5, 2015
Physician, Heal Thyself (poem)
[Note: Here is a poem from the archives (March 20, 2008 to be exact) that felt appropriate, especially after an article I read today about the rich people who invest tons of money into scientific research for ways to defy death and live longer- all the while ignoring the eternal life that Jesus offers to us through faith in His death and Resurrection. Hallelujah- what a Savior!]
I'd been reading through Jeremiah in my devotions at the time and this just kind of hit me one day- and I decided to go the poem route this time. So here you go. It kind of deals with the problem of evil in the world- and the claims of people who think that all people are basically good- but at the same time they also vilify God for not taking an active approach to evil in the world... One day God will eradicate all evil from the world- but on that day it’ll be too late for the skeptics- because that will be the day He comes back to set up His kingdom and eternally banish the devil and his followers to punishment in Hell. " Oh yes- He’s gonna stick an apple in the devil’s lying mouth and cook him in a sulfur stew- one that’ll never be through. Is it soup yet? NO!"( Not a direct quote- but it’s from "Dear John Letter (to the devil)" by Keith Green- I love his songs! ;-))
So anyway, here’s the poem I was talking about. And that’s it for now.
"Physician, Heal Thyself"
................................
(by Nathan Ludwick; copyright 3/20/2008)
(see Jeremiah 17:9, Isaiah 64:6, Romans 6:23)
In this world that begins wth crying
(Assuming you make it that far without dying)
(Like a cancer that has to be killed-)
(Take a pill and drop the bomb- Nice choice, Mom!)
It seems too often we leave life the same way
Kicking, struggling and fighting to hold on to the pain
The pain that fills our in-betweens and lets us know we’re alive
With all the trials, sorrows and grief
We hardly have time for anything else in an existence all too brief
And whether yours are pink or white we all face the same strife
At least in this one commonality all humans can finally unite
But difference brings division as subtraction tempers suspicion
An addition of attrition makes for a multiplication of munitions
And all the arithmetics of politics still leave us base at the base
"Where is the love?" cries the woman of Ramah
Surely we can join together and rise above this
But once the gun is cocked, down comes the hammer
No, we didn’t start the fire but on this one Smokey’s a liar
We’ve been trying to fight it since the Garden
But the second degree burns only made our hearts harden
For a world where insolence begets violence in the extreme
And weak, tired and scared souls must protect their feelings at all costs
Because our egos won’t tolerate toleration for any cause
And we’ve taught ourselves how to gratify ourselves and make it all good
But when we can’t do that anymore we’re faced with a reality that shakes us to the core
Shakes us forward and shakes us free
Or shakes us to awake and fully engage our carnality entrenching mortality
And human life becomes nothing but prey when we’re nothing but hairless apes
When everyone does what’s right in his own eyes
It’s only a matter of time before someone loses a contact
And then concludes everyone’s impaired but her
And here is where we all live for now in the land of roaring lions
But only two because there is no non-secretarian of the jungle, only a King
Where one devours one while the other devours us that acquiese to coalesce
And he tells us we’re good of our own merit and lets us think we thought that ourselves
And those who know only the untame lion is truly good cling to the mane of salvation
It only begs the question for skeptics as each day’s paper brings evils unfurled
"How can a good people allow evil in the world?"
We keep telling ourselves we’re better than this and hope optimism will end the evils we’ve wrought,
There is a balm in Gilead but it flows only from Immanuel’s veins- the free gift of God.
I'd been reading through Jeremiah in my devotions at the time and this just kind of hit me one day- and I decided to go the poem route this time. So here you go. It kind of deals with the problem of evil in the world- and the claims of people who think that all people are basically good- but at the same time they also vilify God for not taking an active approach to evil in the world... One day God will eradicate all evil from the world- but on that day it’ll be too late for the skeptics- because that will be the day He comes back to set up His kingdom and eternally banish the devil and his followers to punishment in Hell. " Oh yes- He’s gonna stick an apple in the devil’s lying mouth and cook him in a sulfur stew- one that’ll never be through. Is it soup yet? NO!"( Not a direct quote- but it’s from "Dear John Letter (to the devil)" by Keith Green- I love his songs! ;-))
So anyway, here’s the poem I was talking about. And that’s it for now.
"Physician, Heal Thyself"
................................
(by Nathan Ludwick; copyright 3/20/2008)
(see Jeremiah 17:9, Isaiah 64:6, Romans 6:23)
In this world that begins wth crying
(Assuming you make it that far without dying)
(Like a cancer that has to be killed-)
(Take a pill and drop the bomb- Nice choice, Mom!)
It seems too often we leave life the same way
Kicking, struggling and fighting to hold on to the pain
The pain that fills our in-betweens and lets us know we’re alive
With all the trials, sorrows and grief
We hardly have time for anything else in an existence all too brief
And whether yours are pink or white we all face the same strife
At least in this one commonality all humans can finally unite
But difference brings division as subtraction tempers suspicion
An addition of attrition makes for a multiplication of munitions
And all the arithmetics of politics still leave us base at the base
"Where is the love?" cries the woman of Ramah
Surely we can join together and rise above this
But once the gun is cocked, down comes the hammer
No, we didn’t start the fire but on this one Smokey’s a liar
We’ve been trying to fight it since the Garden
But the second degree burns only made our hearts harden
For a world where insolence begets violence in the extreme
And weak, tired and scared souls must protect their feelings at all costs
Because our egos won’t tolerate toleration for any cause
And we’ve taught ourselves how to gratify ourselves and make it all good
But when we can’t do that anymore we’re faced with a reality that shakes us to the core
Shakes us forward and shakes us free
Or shakes us to awake and fully engage our carnality entrenching mortality
And human life becomes nothing but prey when we’re nothing but hairless apes
When everyone does what’s right in his own eyes
It’s only a matter of time before someone loses a contact
And then concludes everyone’s impaired but her
And here is where we all live for now in the land of roaring lions
But only two because there is no non-secretarian of the jungle, only a King
Where one devours one while the other devours us that acquiese to coalesce
And he tells us we’re good of our own merit and lets us think we thought that ourselves
And those who know only the untame lion is truly good cling to the mane of salvation
It only begs the question for skeptics as each day’s paper brings evils unfurled
"How can a good people allow evil in the world?"
We keep telling ourselves we’re better than this and hope optimism will end the evils we’ve wrought,
There is a balm in Gilead but it flows only from Immanuel’s veins- the free gift of God.
Saturday, December 6, 2014
The Facts of Life and What to Do with Them (song)
Just a quick one here- I wrote this one pretty quickly for fun one day- and it's based on some of my favorite Bible verses. And yes- these are the facts of life that Christ taught us. :-)
"The Facts of Life and What to Do With Them"
(parody of "The Facts of Life" theme song by Alan Thicke, Gloria Loring and Al Burton; copyright by Nathan Ludwick 11/18/2014)
(1 Thessalonians 5:21-22 and John 14:6)
You take the good, discard the bad- You test 'em both and there you have- 1 Thess. 5: 21 line....
In next line we're taught avoid evil- We're growing-
now we know about the facts of life (from) the Word of Christ.
Well, the world always schemes- so be living up to His creed.
And suddenly, you're finding out the facts of life are all about Truth (all about Truth)- Truth! (All about Truth!)
We've only got One Way, Truth, Life- I've determined He's Jesus Christ! (Learning from 14 John) Learning the Word of Christ (Learning the Word of Christ) and learning the facts of Life!
"The Facts of Life and What to Do With Them"
(parody of "The Facts of Life" theme song by Alan Thicke, Gloria Loring and Al Burton; copyright by Nathan Ludwick 11/18/2014)
(1 Thessalonians 5:21-22 and John 14:6)
You take the good, discard the bad- You test 'em both and there you have- 1 Thess. 5: 21 line....
In next line we're taught avoid evil- We're growing-
now we know about the facts of life (from) the Word of Christ.
Well, the world always schemes- so be living up to His creed.
And suddenly, you're finding out the facts of life are all about Truth (all about Truth)- Truth! (All about Truth!)
We've only got One Way, Truth, Life- I've determined He's Jesus Christ! (Learning from 14 John) Learning the Word of Christ (Learning the Word of Christ) and learning the facts of Life!
Wednesday, October 8, 2014
Some Long-Suffering and Faith Building (song)
This song explains that although sin does indeed come naturally, punishment of it is not necessarily always the reason for suffering. Sometimes we go through hard things simply because we live in a fallen and broken world. But we're never alone in it and need never feel alone again because Jesus has come to restore our relationship with God through His death and Resurrection and our faith in Him. And it's our faith and trust in Christ to move in us that compels us to endure and patiently wait on God.
"Some Long-Suffering and Faith Building" (parody of "Alone Again (Naturally)" by Gilbert O'Sullivan; copyright Nathan Ludwick 8/30/2014)
(James 5:11, Hebrews 11-12, Habakkuk 2:4, the book of Job [particularly Job 1:5 and 8, 1:20-22, 2:9-10, 2:11-13, 3, 7:11-21, 8, 11, 13:15, 13:23-28, 15:1-16, 16:1-2, 16:7-22, 17, 19:20-22, 19:25-27, 21, 22:21-30, 23, 25, 27:1-12, 32, 33, 34:10-12, 36, 37:14-24, 38:1-15, 40, 41:1-11, 42])
In an Israeli town
A patriarch's feeling pretty well down
He lost his wealth, his kids and health
And visiting friends come 'round
Been clinging to his God
But thrown way, way off
It's an affront to
Everything that he'd ever
Thought he'd known that God's like
Now he's shattered
Wife's urging him to blurt out a curse
What foolishness you're saying! Well, God gives stuff
And takes it up
No point in us complaining
We take evil or good
And praise God on His throne
In Job 2:10- now go read
To think that just the other day
Job who fears God; upright, no blame
Burning offerings for his children too
Thus Job did continually
But this test just knocked him down
There's tragedy all around
And he hurts so much, his friends are hushed
Sat that way for a whole week, yeah
Grieving, Job's in doubt
What about God and His mercy?
Job's bitter soul is in anguish
"Why did He desert me?"
In Job's hour of need
His friends have all agreed
"Well, Job- you've sinned, naturally."
It seems to be that the wicked hearts
Prosper in the world- that can't be fair then
Job 34:10
11, too
They get their dues
[Instrumental interlude]
Another friend comes to speak
Holding back; he's young in years
Then Elihu lets them hear
Now remember you guys Who is justified
In everything, so Him revere
And in 38:1 Job
Gets answered- God questions Job
"Can you understand?- Face Me like a man"
"Where were you when I laid earth's foundation?"
"Singing morning stars"
"sons of God shouted with elation"
"Leviathan- you can't tame him or Me"
Job's words were poorly spoken
And when he prayed ashamed
God restored things twicefold- yay!
So Job and friends saw God's mercy
James 5 commends his patience, see.
....................................................................
"Some Long-Suffering and Faith Building" (parody of "Alone Again (Naturally)" by Gilbert O'Sullivan; copyright Nathan Ludwick 8/30/2014)
(James 5:11, Hebrews 11-12, Habakkuk 2:4, the book of Job [particularly Job 1:5 and 8, 1:20-22, 2:9-10, 2:11-13, 3, 7:11-21, 8, 11, 13:15, 13:23-28, 15:1-16, 16:1-2, 16:7-22, 17, 19:20-22, 19:25-27, 21, 22:21-30, 23, 25, 27:1-12, 32, 33, 34:10-12, 36, 37:14-24, 38:1-15, 40, 41:1-11, 42])
In an Israeli town
A patriarch's feeling pretty well down
He lost his wealth, his kids and health
And visiting friends come 'round
Been clinging to his God
But thrown way, way off
It's an affront to
Everything that he'd ever
Thought he'd known that God's like
Now he's shattered
Wife's urging him to blurt out a curse
What foolishness you're saying! Well, God gives stuff
And takes it up
No point in us complaining
We take evil or good
And praise God on His throne
In Job 2:10- now go read
To think that just the other day
Job who fears God; upright, no blame
Burning offerings for his children too
Thus Job did continually
But this test just knocked him down
There's tragedy all around
And he hurts so much, his friends are hushed
Sat that way for a whole week, yeah
Grieving, Job's in doubt
What about God and His mercy?
Job's bitter soul is in anguish
"Why did He desert me?"
In Job's hour of need
His friends have all agreed
"Well, Job- you've sinned, naturally."
It seems to be that the wicked hearts
Prosper in the world- that can't be fair then
Job 34:10
11, too
They get their dues
[Instrumental interlude]
Another friend comes to speak
Holding back; he's young in years
Then Elihu lets them hear
Now remember you guys Who is justified
In everything, so Him revere
And in 38:1 Job
Gets answered- God questions Job
"Can you understand?- Face Me like a man"
"Where were you when I laid earth's foundation?"
"Singing morning stars"
"sons of God shouted with elation"
"Leviathan- you can't tame him or Me"
Job's words were poorly spoken
And when he prayed ashamed
God restored things twicefold- yay!
So Job and friends saw God's mercy
James 5 commends his patience, see.
....................................................................
Some Long-Suffering and Faith Building (song) [intro]
We live in a fallen world. That is the sad fact of the matter. Everything is broken. Evil is rampant. Pain and suffering surround us. It can be overwhelming at times and leaving us feeling alone- again. (Naturally). And that, of course, is key to my point. The natural state of the world is in decay because of Adam and Eve's sin. But the second Adam from above, Jesus Christ, has come to redeem us and restore things to righteousness. (Romans 5:12-21) And though we have to wait for the fulfillment of everything in Revelation for the final healing (when Christ returns and fully restores and repairs everything broken and makes everything sad come untrue)- in the meantime, we have the promise of knowing that God is in control and He does have our good and best interest in mind and at heart. However, though Jeremiah 29:11 promises this, it doesn't necessarily mean that we will have a perfect and rosy life that is problem-free- at least, not in this lifetime and state. Jesus tells us that it is a hard road to follow Him- people will persecute and hate us for His Name and we will have to endure suffering. But Jesus also promises to never leave us and never forsake us- He goes through every pain and suffering with us. And He has already suffered every pain for us on the cross- and His glorious Resurrection means that we will also raise with Him in glory one day. And while we fix our eyes on the eternal and await that blessed Hope of Glory, we remember that our present suffering is not worth comparing to it. And we trust that God is faithful and He will work out His plan for us- and be with us through all the painful sorrows along that plan's path.
I'm also glad to know that we serve a God who listens to our every cry and never slumbers. (Psalms 121). He invites us to cast all our cares on Him because He cares for us. (1 Peter 5:7). And once we've done that- leave them there. Leave the worries and cares and pains and sorrows in His hands and trust that the Hands of Grace, Righteous Judgment, Mercy and Love will do what's right and will work all things together to the good of us who love Him and are called by His purpose. (Romans 8:28) Lamenting is definitely part of worship- it's simply being honest with God about where we are right now in this stage of life- emotionally, physically, spiritually, mentally, relationally- everything. He already knows anyway, so we might as well come right out and tell Him. Just look at Jeremiah. He's called the Weeping Prophet and I don't think it's just because he was weeping for Jerusalem. (Though he certainly was- his beloved city was going to be destroyed and he couldn't do anything about it. All he could do was be faithful to deliver God's message to the people that Jerusalem was going to burn. And this is a message that God had told him people would spurn and that no one would listen to- but he must be faithful to deliver it anyway. Wow! That's tough. And Jeremiah went through physical suffering as well, at one point being imprisoned in a slimy pit and feeling like he was about to die there!) So yeah- I think he was also weeping for himself some. And through the inspiration of The Holy Spirit, he poured out his feelings in a book called Lamentations. And see also books like Ecclesiastes, Habakkuk and a ton of the Psalms. Even Jesus cried out to God the Father on cross, "Eli, Eli lema sabachthani- Why hast Thou forsaken Me?" [in Matthew 27:46] ("My God, My God- Why hast Thou forsaken Me?"- He was quoting Psalms 22, by the way.) [Of course, as Psalms 16 notes- God didn't forsake Him in the end because He didn't leave His Holy One in the grave to corruption- but raised Him again! :-)]
And there are plenty of other examples to name of course. Elijah, coming off a huge victory over Baal and his prophets in 1 Kings 18, ran off running scared in 1 Kings 19, convinced that Ahab and Jezebel were about to kill him and that he was so sick and tired that he just wanted God to go ahead and do him in, kill him now and take him Home. But God spoke to him and told him that things weren't as bad as he thought and that He still had 700 folks who hadn't bowed the knee to Baal. He wasn't alone. And then there's Paul, about whom God actually told Ananias that He was going to show him how much he would suffer for Jesus' Name! And Paul certainly did! Just read the book of Acts. Shipwrecked, beaten, imprisoned, even stoned at one point- yet, he remained faithful- even to the death! (Biblical scholars tell us that Paul was most likely beheaded for his faith in Christ.) And what did Paul say about his situation? "For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." (Philippians 1:21) Writing from a Philippian prison, he told us to "Rejoice in The Lord always! And again, I say- rejoice!" (Philippians 4:4). Of course, Paul is also the dude who, through The Holy Spirit's inspiration, wrote about that Glory that's coming to which all the suffering and junk in this life ain't worth comparing!
Then we get to the guy this song talks about. (And I know that's a really long intro!) Job may have felt alone, but he wasn't- he did have some true friends. I've always found it funny that though all his kids died, the one family member we do know he was left with is his wife. You'd think this should be some comfort for him- but she was the one telling him, "What? Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!" Wow! Thanks for the words of encouragement, dear!
But Job, in one stunning blow after another, lost all his livestock and all his kids. And then he got stricken with an incredibly painful disease that left him scraping sores on his body from head to foot with broken pottery. And that's how Job felt- like broken, smashed pottery. His world had just caved in. Now we're given an interesting picture of the story going on in the Heavenly realms- where God is proving to Satan that Job is indeed faithful and that he truly worships and follows God for God Himself- not for God's stuff. (And that is indeed the attitude we should all have. Of course, that takes having a relationship with Jesus Christ where we acknowledge Him as Savior and Lord and trust Him for His salvation and forgiveness through His death and Resurrection. And it takes a realization that everything we own comes from God- it's all His to begin with and He takes and He gives as He sees fit. And whether The Lord gives or takes, may the Name of The Lord be praised!)
And though Job doubted God on His plan throughout the book, he never doubted God's position of power and authority. As Job notes in Job 19:25-27, "For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last He will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, Whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. My heart faints within me!" And his friends Zophar, Bildad and Eliphaz didn't really help him on that front. But though those guys get a bad rap over their counsel to Job, they did do at least one thing that is pretty amazing! The Bible says that they saw how great Job's suffering was and in a show of solidarity, they sat with him in silence for seven days! (Job 2:11-13) I give them a lot of props for that- they did utilize quite possibly the best comfort we can offer those who are suffering- suffer alongside them in silence. (Romans 12:14-17)
Finally, Elihu comes along and sets everyone straight on a lot of misconceptions they've been presenting about God. God is always righteous in all His judgments. And God sometimes allows suffering for different reasons- not always just as punishment for someone's sin. But God has a purpose in it all and even in the midst of horrible suffering and pain, He can still bring a good end to it all and positive things can rise out of the ashes. The fire of pain and suffering is God's finishing tool for forging our refined lives into spiritual masterpiece works of art. (1 Corinthians 3 and Hebrews 12). And as Job acknowledges at the end of the book, after God shows up to answer Job's charges, we have spoken of what we don't know in front of the holy God. As Job said, we should put our hands over our mouths in our ignorance. God tells Job, in effect, "Hey, Job- Man up! Let's have it out. Since you know so much- tell me, can you wrestle down a Leviathan? Do you understand how all the creatures of the earth operate? Did you put the planets and stars in place? Do you command the seasons and tell them when to do what? Do you tell the snow when to fall? Do you tell the tide how far to come? Where were you when I laid earth's foundations?"
So the answer to the initial question about the pain and suffering and the world and why it's still here comes down to this: our sin. God created man to be upright and we've gone off in search of many schemes. And so evil runs rampant, wicked people seem to prosper for now and the righteous suffer. But as Asaph found out in Psalms 73- the wicked only prosper for a while in this life. Their final destination is eternal judgment in Hell, but the righteous through Christ have the promise of eternal life in Heaven! And as Job found out, there are some things we just can't know and understand now- and that we may never understand. But we can trust that God is good and that He always has our good and best interests in mind and at heart. He is not a sadist. He takes no pleasure in the death of anyone- even the wicked. (see Ezekiel 18:23) He only wants everyone to turn from their wicked ways and live! And sometimes, even as the righteous of God, we are called to suffer and trust that He still loves us and cares for us and is working out a good plan in the midst of it. As David said when he had to go through some pain and suffering (as a consequence of his sin), "Let me fall into the hand of The Lord, for His mercy is very great, but do not let me fall into the hand of man." (1 Chronicles 21:13) Amen. We can always trust the hand of The Lord. His hand does bring justice and judgment but we can also trust Him to remember His love and mercy and grace too and know that since Christ has paid for all our wrongs and endured all the suffering so no one else would ever have to- we can look forward to the coming Glory that will surpass all our suffering in the here and now. "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." (Hebrews 4:15-16)
And as Hebrews reminds us in chapter 11, the great Hall of Faith, faith is the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation. Read all the accounts there- these people followed God to places they'd never been, to and through incredibly hard challenges and more- and remained faithful and obedient through it all. They were seeking a better country- our Heavenly one. "And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God has provided something better for us, that apart from they should not be made perfect. Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of God. Consider Him who endured from sinners such hostility against Himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood." (Hebrews 11:39-40 and 12:1-4) And in Hebrews 13:11-13, "For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy places by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside the camp. So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through His own blood. Therefore let us go to Him outside the camp and bear the reproach He endured." Notice the key word through these passages- "endured". As we are reminded in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, this life we live is a marathon. Run in a way as to get the prize. We run for an imperishable prize. And in 1 Corinthians 16:22, we see the exhortation for The Lord to come. ("Maranatha!") But remember that the marathon comes before the maranatha.
And in running that marathon, it is Jesus Himself Who keeps us running, who gives us strength to carry on. It's this patience that God the Holy Spirit provided Job that Job is commended for in James 5:11. It's that patient endurance that we are exhorted to exhibit in Hebrews 11. And it's Jesus' righteousness that gets us the prize- and He's the One who moves our legs all the way through to the finish line. "The righteous shall live by faith." (Habakkuk 2:4) "Now to Him Who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of His glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen." (Jude 1:24-25)
I'm also glad to know that we serve a God who listens to our every cry and never slumbers. (Psalms 121). He invites us to cast all our cares on Him because He cares for us. (1 Peter 5:7). And once we've done that- leave them there. Leave the worries and cares and pains and sorrows in His hands and trust that the Hands of Grace, Righteous Judgment, Mercy and Love will do what's right and will work all things together to the good of us who love Him and are called by His purpose. (Romans 8:28) Lamenting is definitely part of worship- it's simply being honest with God about where we are right now in this stage of life- emotionally, physically, spiritually, mentally, relationally- everything. He already knows anyway, so we might as well come right out and tell Him. Just look at Jeremiah. He's called the Weeping Prophet and I don't think it's just because he was weeping for Jerusalem. (Though he certainly was- his beloved city was going to be destroyed and he couldn't do anything about it. All he could do was be faithful to deliver God's message to the people that Jerusalem was going to burn. And this is a message that God had told him people would spurn and that no one would listen to- but he must be faithful to deliver it anyway. Wow! That's tough. And Jeremiah went through physical suffering as well, at one point being imprisoned in a slimy pit and feeling like he was about to die there!) So yeah- I think he was also weeping for himself some. And through the inspiration of The Holy Spirit, he poured out his feelings in a book called Lamentations. And see also books like Ecclesiastes, Habakkuk and a ton of the Psalms. Even Jesus cried out to God the Father on cross, "Eli, Eli lema sabachthani- Why hast Thou forsaken Me?" [in Matthew 27:46] ("My God, My God- Why hast Thou forsaken Me?"- He was quoting Psalms 22, by the way.) [Of course, as Psalms 16 notes- God didn't forsake Him in the end because He didn't leave His Holy One in the grave to corruption- but raised Him again! :-)]
And there are plenty of other examples to name of course. Elijah, coming off a huge victory over Baal and his prophets in 1 Kings 18, ran off running scared in 1 Kings 19, convinced that Ahab and Jezebel were about to kill him and that he was so sick and tired that he just wanted God to go ahead and do him in, kill him now and take him Home. But God spoke to him and told him that things weren't as bad as he thought and that He still had 700 folks who hadn't bowed the knee to Baal. He wasn't alone. And then there's Paul, about whom God actually told Ananias that He was going to show him how much he would suffer for Jesus' Name! And Paul certainly did! Just read the book of Acts. Shipwrecked, beaten, imprisoned, even stoned at one point- yet, he remained faithful- even to the death! (Biblical scholars tell us that Paul was most likely beheaded for his faith in Christ.) And what did Paul say about his situation? "For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." (Philippians 1:21) Writing from a Philippian prison, he told us to "Rejoice in The Lord always! And again, I say- rejoice!" (Philippians 4:4). Of course, Paul is also the dude who, through The Holy Spirit's inspiration, wrote about that Glory that's coming to which all the suffering and junk in this life ain't worth comparing!
Then we get to the guy this song talks about. (And I know that's a really long intro!) Job may have felt alone, but he wasn't- he did have some true friends. I've always found it funny that though all his kids died, the one family member we do know he was left with is his wife. You'd think this should be some comfort for him- but she was the one telling him, "What? Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!" Wow! Thanks for the words of encouragement, dear!
But Job, in one stunning blow after another, lost all his livestock and all his kids. And then he got stricken with an incredibly painful disease that left him scraping sores on his body from head to foot with broken pottery. And that's how Job felt- like broken, smashed pottery. His world had just caved in. Now we're given an interesting picture of the story going on in the Heavenly realms- where God is proving to Satan that Job is indeed faithful and that he truly worships and follows God for God Himself- not for God's stuff. (And that is indeed the attitude we should all have. Of course, that takes having a relationship with Jesus Christ where we acknowledge Him as Savior and Lord and trust Him for His salvation and forgiveness through His death and Resurrection. And it takes a realization that everything we own comes from God- it's all His to begin with and He takes and He gives as He sees fit. And whether The Lord gives or takes, may the Name of The Lord be praised!)
And though Job doubted God on His plan throughout the book, he never doubted God's position of power and authority. As Job notes in Job 19:25-27, "For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last He will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, Whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. My heart faints within me!" And his friends Zophar, Bildad and Eliphaz didn't really help him on that front. But though those guys get a bad rap over their counsel to Job, they did do at least one thing that is pretty amazing! The Bible says that they saw how great Job's suffering was and in a show of solidarity, they sat with him in silence for seven days! (Job 2:11-13) I give them a lot of props for that- they did utilize quite possibly the best comfort we can offer those who are suffering- suffer alongside them in silence. (Romans 12:14-17)
Finally, Elihu comes along and sets everyone straight on a lot of misconceptions they've been presenting about God. God is always righteous in all His judgments. And God sometimes allows suffering for different reasons- not always just as punishment for someone's sin. But God has a purpose in it all and even in the midst of horrible suffering and pain, He can still bring a good end to it all and positive things can rise out of the ashes. The fire of pain and suffering is God's finishing tool for forging our refined lives into spiritual masterpiece works of art. (1 Corinthians 3 and Hebrews 12). And as Job acknowledges at the end of the book, after God shows up to answer Job's charges, we have spoken of what we don't know in front of the holy God. As Job said, we should put our hands over our mouths in our ignorance. God tells Job, in effect, "Hey, Job- Man up! Let's have it out. Since you know so much- tell me, can you wrestle down a Leviathan? Do you understand how all the creatures of the earth operate? Did you put the planets and stars in place? Do you command the seasons and tell them when to do what? Do you tell the snow when to fall? Do you tell the tide how far to come? Where were you when I laid earth's foundations?"
So the answer to the initial question about the pain and suffering and the world and why it's still here comes down to this: our sin. God created man to be upright and we've gone off in search of many schemes. And so evil runs rampant, wicked people seem to prosper for now and the righteous suffer. But as Asaph found out in Psalms 73- the wicked only prosper for a while in this life. Their final destination is eternal judgment in Hell, but the righteous through Christ have the promise of eternal life in Heaven! And as Job found out, there are some things we just can't know and understand now- and that we may never understand. But we can trust that God is good and that He always has our good and best interests in mind and at heart. He is not a sadist. He takes no pleasure in the death of anyone- even the wicked. (see Ezekiel 18:23) He only wants everyone to turn from their wicked ways and live! And sometimes, even as the righteous of God, we are called to suffer and trust that He still loves us and cares for us and is working out a good plan in the midst of it. As David said when he had to go through some pain and suffering (as a consequence of his sin), "Let me fall into the hand of The Lord, for His mercy is very great, but do not let me fall into the hand of man." (1 Chronicles 21:13) Amen. We can always trust the hand of The Lord. His hand does bring justice and judgment but we can also trust Him to remember His love and mercy and grace too and know that since Christ has paid for all our wrongs and endured all the suffering so no one else would ever have to- we can look forward to the coming Glory that will surpass all our suffering in the here and now. "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." (Hebrews 4:15-16)
And as Hebrews reminds us in chapter 11, the great Hall of Faith, faith is the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation. Read all the accounts there- these people followed God to places they'd never been, to and through incredibly hard challenges and more- and remained faithful and obedient through it all. They were seeking a better country- our Heavenly one. "And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God has provided something better for us, that apart from they should not be made perfect. Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of God. Consider Him who endured from sinners such hostility against Himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood." (Hebrews 11:39-40 and 12:1-4) And in Hebrews 13:11-13, "For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy places by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside the camp. So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through His own blood. Therefore let us go to Him outside the camp and bear the reproach He endured." Notice the key word through these passages- "endured". As we are reminded in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, this life we live is a marathon. Run in a way as to get the prize. We run for an imperishable prize. And in 1 Corinthians 16:22, we see the exhortation for The Lord to come. ("Maranatha!") But remember that the marathon comes before the maranatha.
And in running that marathon, it is Jesus Himself Who keeps us running, who gives us strength to carry on. It's this patience that God the Holy Spirit provided Job that Job is commended for in James 5:11. It's that patient endurance that we are exhorted to exhibit in Hebrews 11. And it's Jesus' righteousness that gets us the prize- and He's the One who moves our legs all the way through to the finish line. "The righteous shall live by faith." (Habakkuk 2:4) "Now to Him Who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of His glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen." (Jude 1:24-25)
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