Truth and Consequences

Jesus said, "I AM the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but by Me." No one.

Jesus prayed to the Father for His disciples, "Sanctify them through your truth, Thy Word is the truth." Sanctification occurs only through one's relationship with the truth of God's Word. And He promised that when the Spirit of truth has come, "He will teach you all things."

Jesus said, "you will know the truth and the truth will set you free." Men who reject God's truth often boasts of their "freedom," but they are instead slaves to the master whose mission is to deceive, kill eternally, and destroy. True freedom--found in Christ alone and nurtured by His Word--empowers a man or woman to follow Christ and live the abundant life that only obedience to Him can provide. "I have come that you might have life and have it more abundantly."

Paul tells us that a culture begins its moral decline by suppressing the truth that God is the Creator and that the creation declares His glory. Suppression, of course, implies that they know it's true--that He is the Creator--but they have no intention of living in light of that truth--of admitting that they are responsible to Him and His righteous commands. They become then a people who live in darkness but call it light--a people who claim to be wise when they are fools. They are "ever learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth." When you deny and suppress the truth and then try to find "truth," you are on an impossible journey.

A man or woman's attitude toward the truth that Jesus in the Truth and that access to eternal joy is found in Him alone determines their eternal destiny.

A man or woman's attitude toward the written Word--the truth that sanctifies and transforms--determines the degree to which they enjoy the abundant life right now--and eternally.

A culture's attitude--and the individuals within it--toward the truth that God is the Creator of all things and that a man then is responsible to Him and to His commands reveals how futile--empty--is their thinking, how foolish--illusionary--is their wisdom, and how impossible is their attempt to suppress the truth and escape the consequences.

We live in a world of Pilates. "What is truth?" they ask--and then turn away before they hear the answer that they do not want to hear. But they cannot hide from the consequences.

Hostility

Jesus was not using hyperbole when He warned us of the world's hostility. They love their darkness and hate the light. But that just means that it is even "more important" that we be the lights of the world that He has called us to be. Why? So that men--even hostile men--will see our good works and have to glorify our Father who is in Heaven. As I often say, we make the invisible God visible. What the world believes about Jesus, they believe because of the lives we live. What did Jesus do in response to the hostility of the world? Lovingly died for them. Lovingly prayed for them. "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do."

Saints

When God redeems us through Christ, the Spirit sets us apart--we become His saints--His holy ones. We don't need to perform miracles to be a saint--the miracle is the regenerating power of the Spirit to take a man or woman dead in trespasses and sins and make them spiritually alive forever. He does expect us to be holy as He is holy through the Spirit's power within us. The angels today are proclaiming Him holy at this moment before His throne: "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come." May our lives proclaim the same to those around us. Saints. Holy ones. That's you and me. So live.

The Wall

When I choose to sin deliberately, to make choices that I know are wrong--a betrayal of His dying love for me, Satan begins to build a wall around me--to try to enclose me in an "inescapable prison." He can do that because he knows that my heart is already cold toward my Savior and His love. My wants have become more important to me than His call to faithful, courageous discipleship. And, of course, as I choose the path of deliberate disobedience, I will be given the applause and acceptance of the world around me--encouragement, even participation in my choice.
The wall, the "prison," is built of many things. One is the lie that there will be no consequences. And since the consequences are rarely immediate, I embrace the lie wholeheartedly. But it is a lie. The consequences are coming; they may even be--though unseen--at work right now in my life. Another "stone" is a deepening insensitivity to sin. I slide further and further away from Him--the Spirit is grieved and then quenched. His power in my life is silenced. But what a deadly silence. A third "stone" is often the choice of unbelief. Which after all is easier--to continue in my sin, bask in my acceptance by the world, or humble myself and repent of my willful life of sin? And what will my new "friends" think of me if I do that? But my disbelief does not make God disappear--or my responsibility for my choices. Often, the final "stone" is the lie that I have gone so far away from Him that repentance and His forgiveness are no longer accessible. There is no way out of "the prison," He lies to me.
If you know and love such a one, intercessory prayer is vital. Patient, loving, non-judgmental, humble prayers are essential. Love never fails. Love never quits. Love is patient. Love is gentle. And I must ask for the strength to allow God's love to do whatever it takes through whomever He chooses to bring the rebel back into His embrace--back to the foot of the cross. The work is the Spirit's work--not yours. Prayer is your work--your labor of love.
And if I know and love someone behind the wall, imprisoned by Satan's lies, I must live a life of faithful obedience. I must ask God by His grace to keep me faithful, keep me loving Him through daily discipleship--through obedience in the calling He has given me. My life must testify that it is worth it to follow Him--to lovingly obey Him.
And if I find myself in the "prison," there is only one "cure"--a humble confession of my sin, repentance for my sin, and a return to His love. Don't believe the lie that you are "too far away"--that the prison wall is unbreakable. You are one courageous step way--the step of humble repentance. He will obliterate the wall with the loving power of His complete forgiveness. There will be great joy on earth--and an even greater celebration in the throne room of the God of love.

The Moth in the Closet

Paul pleads with us to remember that there is a war of conformity going on in this world. The world is constantly trying to convince us that worshiping God, surrendering our bodies to be used to serve Him (self-control), is a waste of time--pointless; a misguided sacrifice. Their point of attack is our mind--our thinking. They know if they can just change our assumptions about what is good, what is acceptable, what pleases or displeases God, what is sin, that our actions will soon demonstrate that change of mind. They do not tell us to do certain things; they just convince us that doing certain things are not evil, not displeasing to God. Once we believe that the darkness is light, we surrender our bodies to the things the world loves that God hates--the lusts of the flesh, the lusts of the eyes, the pride of life--the pride that boasts of its freedom to do as it pleases. Those, of course, are the things our Savior died to free us from being enslaved to. The mercies of God that He has lavished on His children enable them to be free to worship Him with their bodies--to be that living sacrifice acceptable and pleasing in His sight. We must be constantly on guard. We must feast on the Word so that the Spirit can remind us of what the truth is--still is, no matter the arguments of the world. Conforming to the world's way of thinking is not instantaneous--it is subtle, gradual. The illustrations the Word uses are that it is like a moth in a closet slowing, imperceptibly, destroying the garments; or the hair on a person gradually turning gray one strand at a time. That is why Paul pleads with us to daily offer ourselves up to Him as a sacrifice of love for His redeeming, freeing mercies. That is why Paul pleads with us to be continually renewing our mind by constant immersion in the Word. That is why Paul says that repeating the old truths is a necessary thing, a safeguard--an act of renewal. When we tire of hearing of God's great love toward us, we set aside the urgency to love Him sacrificially, and our minds drift away from obedience, become susceptible to the conforming power of the world's lies. Is there anything more dangerous then, then a day without reading and meditating on the Word?

"Thy Word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against Thee."

"Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path."

"How does a young man cleanse His ways? By taking heed to the Word of God."

The righteous man--the flourishing, prospering tree whose leaves do not wither--delights in the law of God, mediates on it day and night.

I plead with you brothers, because of God's mercies, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice to God ... do not be conformed to this world, but live lives that reflect that you know and embrace what is pleasing and acceptable to Him--and to Him alone.

A Gentle Spirit

Jesus calls His people to a life of gentleness--to a life of meekness and humility. He desires for us to be like Him, one to whom the weary and burdened can come in order to find encouragement, a soft word to their anger, a quiet strength, rest for their soul.

Listen:
"Blessed are the gentle for they shall inherit the earth."
"A gentle (soft) answer turns away wrath."
I "urge you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ."
"Walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness.
The "hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God."
"The fruit of the Spirit is . . . gentleness.

To be like Him, we must be gentle.
Remember His description as He entered Jerusalem on the way to the cross: "Behold, your King is coming, gentle, and mounted on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden." The King of Glory arrays Himself in gentleness.
He describes Himself: "Come to Me, all you are weary and burdened. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your soul." Jesus, a sharer of our weariness and heavy burdens, the Savior whose gentle presence gives strength and rest to our souls.

Do you long for, pray, that He might transform you into such a presence. Is it your heart's strong desire to be one to whom the weary turn knowing that in your presence they will find a quiet strength, an encouraging word, a soft answer for their angry hearts, a sense of rest for their troubled soul? I will only be walking worthy of His calling for my life if I allow His Spirit to fill me with His gentleness. Do I live such a life in my calling? Do my students know that in my classroom they will find encouragement, soft and gentle answers to all their struggles, a quiet strength that puts their souls and hearts at rest no matter how weary their day? I pray that He enables me to be such a presence. Daily.
Whatever your calling, whatever your gender, a "gentle, quiet spirit is precious in the sight of God." May the Spirit so control us that we can be such a rock of gentleness in the lives of all those He sends into our lives. "Walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness." May those who come into our presence sense His presence and find rest for their souls.

Faithfulness

God is faithful.

As David testifies, "For the Lord is good; His lovingkindness (loyal love) is everlasting, and His faithfulness to all generations."

"The Rock! His work is perfect, for all His ways are just; a God of faithfulness and without injustice; righteous and upright is He!"

As the writer of Hebrews tells us, when we are faithless, "He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself."

Simply put, our God always--now and forever, keeps His promises. Sometimes in times of difficulty, I question His faithfulness, but that's usually because I've lost sight of the cross, of my unworthiness, and that He has promised to discipline me so that I will quit relying on my own strength and live by faith in who He is--the rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. And His rewards are eternal. God's faithfulness does not mean that we will live a life free of difficulty and storms; in fact, it means just the opposite. But in the storms, He will never leave me or forsake me. He in faithfulness disciplines every son and daughter because His love is pure, righteous, just, and loyal. In the earthquakes of life He is The Rock, our Rock--steadfast, immovable.
And we, too, must exhibit faithfulness at all times. "The fruit of the Spirit is . . . faithfulness." We must be people who keep our promises--faithful even when others are faithless. We must consistently live lives of obedience, lives that say to those that are watching, "we believe in the promises of our God." We must be people of loyal love, justice, righteous and upright. Jesus condemned the Pharisees because they ignored the "weightier provisions of the law--justice and mercy and faithfulness."
In total reliance on the Spirit, faithfulness prays, like Habakkuk, "though all is lost, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation." Faithfulness prays, like Paul, "I will do those things that reflect--"imitate"--His heart in such a way that you can imitate me." Faithfulness prays, like the wise disciple, "in the difficult storms of life, I will live a life of obedience, standing firmly on the promises of the Rock of my Salvation." Faithfulness prays, like James, "I will care for the widows and orphans; I will not use my tongue to destroy others; I will be a man or woman of my word--my 'yes" will mean 'yes,' my 'no' will mean 'no'; I will live a life that affirms through my obedience that I am a useful, genuine member of the people of God."
Faithfulness proclaims in all circumstances, "I will sing of the lovingkindness of the Lord forever; to all generations I will make known Thy faithfulness with my mouth."
There are some lines in that little chorus we used to sing that perhaps sums up faithfulness best: "Though none go with me, still I must follow; though none go with me, still I must follow; though none go with me, still I must follow; no turning back, no turning back."--even if the "none" are those we love with all our hearts.
One of the greatest testimonies that we are trusting in the faithfulness of the one God who always keeps His promises is our life of faithfulness to Him--lives of obedience, integrity, justice, righteousness, loyal love, and praise.

"Lord Jesus, keep me faithful--no matter what."