Category: Thoughts and Meditations

“Because your heart was penitent, and you humbled yourself before the Lord, when you heard how I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and you have torn your clothes and wept before me, I also have heard you, declares the Lord.” – 2 Kings 22:19

God hears, loves, and honors the prayers of a penitent heart! Whether you’re a king or a commoner, God hears your heartfelt cries of sorrow for the sin around you and of repentance for your part in that sin. As followers of Jesus, we know that our sins are forgiven whenever we turn sharply away from them (called repentance) and ask God’s forgiveness.

Unfortunately this marvelous grace we enjoy can sometimes cause us to be too casual and unfeeling about sin and the awful rejection of God’s authority it represents! Sin is truly and profoundly ugly and awful! Thankfully, the beauty of the cross is that we never need to wallow in sorrow in an unhealthy, self-flagellating effort to somehow “earn” God’s forgiveness, because that’s impossible.

Nonetheless, there’s a place for healthy lament and sorrow for sin – our own as well as that of our church, community, country, and world. There is value and significance in Christians lamenting to God with sorrow and repentance for the immorality and injustice that surrounds us (and not just one or the other based on our politics!)

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”

“And Hezekiah prayed before the Lord and said: ‘O Lord, the God of Israel, enthroned above the cherubim, you are the God, you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; you have made heaven and earth.’” – 2 Kings 19:15

When faced with a seemingly hopeless situation, we must always remember Who our God is: the sovereign Creator of the Universe! Just because we don’t know how to solve a problem doesn’t mean there’s no solution! God can work extraordinary things in even the most dire of situations.

Things certainly looked bleak for King Hezekiah. Jerusalem was surrounded by a vast and mighty army that had dominated the region for years. That proud army spared no effort in pointing out the hopelessness of the situation to the people of Judah. Both the people and the king were utterly demoralized!

In his despair, the king turned to the King. He went straight to the temple and literally laid the situation before God. He prayed for God to be glorified before all the nations by saving them from the Assyrians. This was a prayer God was delighted to hear and honor! In answering Hezekiah’s prayer, God worked wonders, God’s people were saved, and God was glorified!

Never forget Who your God is!

“Give justice to the weak and the fatherless;
maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute.
Rescue the weak and the needy;
deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”
– Psalm 82:3-4

Often the heart and will of God has been oversimplified to a single overriding concern for the spiritual salvation of human beings. God is certainly deeply concerned about that. Indeed, He sacrificed His own Son to accomplish it. However, to reduce His (or our) concern for humans to just salvation radically minimizes the heart and nature of God.

The Lord is a God of justice, mercy, compassion, and love for all whom He created in His image. He isn’t only concerned with the spiritual wellbeing and eternal destination of all people. He is also concerned for their well-being on earth. From beginning to end, the Bible (particularly the Old Testament prophets) reveals God’s concern for justice toward the most vulnerable populations among us. He commands those in authority and those blessed with much to speak for, work for, battle for, and practice justice and mercy.

Some Christians today view justice as a political issue, a matter of right vs. left, liberal vs. conservative, Republican vs. Democrat. It isn’t a political issue. It’s a matter of God’s heart, God’s nature, God’s will, and our obedience to God. Every Christian needs to be concerned about injustice and abuse within the society in which they are placed. Every Christian needs to be looking after those around them who are at greater risk and who are more vulnerable.

Again, this isn’t a political issue, it’s a theological issue! It’s a part of our calling and responsibility as people who follow Jesus to put down our politics and take up our biblical mandate to pursue justice and mercy.

“But my people did not listen to my voice;
Israel would not submit to me.
So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts,
to follow their own counsels.”
– Psalm 81:11-12

Though He is sovereign, God won’t force anyone to do the right thing against their will. He won’t force us to listen to Him or follow His plan for our lives. Indeed, one of the most frightening things He does is “give us over to our stubborn hearts” – letting us do whatever we most want to do and experience the consequences of that.

Though it sounds delightful in the moment, this is one of the heaviest and most profoundly distressing punishments found in the Bible. We can easily imagine the disaster awaiting a child who always gets his or her way (a brief, miserable, and meaningless life filled with dessert and endless entertainment that results in malnutrition, ill-health, and ignorance).

Rest assured, the outcome is far worse for adults given that same punishment. At times God simply removes His restraining hand and lets us do whatever we most want to do. The outcome is always dreadful sin, misery, meaninglessness, destruction, and ultimate judgment.

May we turn back, individually and collectively, from the siren song of following our own counsel, advice, and desires. May we turn to the Lord and faithfully walk in step with the Holy Spirit and in imitation of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior! May we listen to the Lord rather than our own stubborn hearts!

“There is a way that seems right to a man,
but its end is the way to death.”
– Proverbs 16:25

Our culture tells us from the earliest age to be true to ourselves and follow our hearts. This is the theme of countless shows and movies for kids. It’s the theme of our radically autonomous culture that demands approval, affirmation, and celebration of whatever anyone chooses or declares for themself.

Unfortunately, all that’s a deadly lie! Jeremiah 17:9 reminds us, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick.” Following our own natural desires, leadings, and paths without regard for God’s good and unchanging plan for human flourishing is the road to disaster.

All of us disobey God’s plan and will in ways large and small. All of us separate ourselves from our loving and kind Creator by rebelling against Him. The outcome of this is appropriate judgment and condemnation followed by eternal separation from God that our pursuit of self embodied. The final outcome is hell.

In God’s mercy, He has graciously provided a path to life, abundant and eternal life to be enjoyed now and forever. That life comes through faith in Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, who sacrificed Himself on a cross to pay the penalty for our rebellion against God. By His death and resurrection, Jesus has opened the way to life. However, we must each personally choose that way by embracing the Lordship of Jesus over our lives. We must believe in Him and submit our lives to His leadership. We must follow a new way, the way, His Way – the life of a committed follower of Jesus.