Category: Thoughts and Meditations

“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.

“They went to the chief priests and elders and said, ‘We have strictly bound ourselves by an oath to taste no food till we have killed Paul.'” – Acts 23:14

Anybody who says being a Christian is a ticket to an easy life free of problems is a liar! Such a person is either intentionally deceitful or utterly ignorant of both theology and history. Don’t believe false prosperity gospels!

Christ calls His followers (all of them) to unpopular obedience to Him. We are His ambassadors. Since His own people killed Him, as His ambassadors we should expect some opposition. This isn’t said to be discouraging but to prepare each follower of Christ for the challenges of our lifelong journey of faith.

The grace we enjoy, the union with Christ we celebrate, and the eternal life we look forward to comes with a responsibility. Fulfilling our disciple-making, gospel-proclaiming responsibility is always filled with joy, but it can also be hard, difficult, exhausting, painful, and dangerous work. Rather than avoid or lament this reality, we must learn to look forward to it!

It’s in these storms that we most richly come to know and rely on Christ’s sustaining grace, being strengthened by the presence of our suffering Savior Who is with us every step of the way!

“The heart of man plans his way,
but the Lord establishes his steps.”
– Proverbs 16:9

2020 has certainly reminded us that while our plans might be great plans, we don’t control the world! Fortunately God is a sovereign God who providentially rules the universe down to the tiniest detail. We can trust that He works all things for the good of those who love Him. We can also trust that He is all-knowing, all-wise, all-powerful, and all-good.

Thus we can cope during strange and painful times in the certain knowledge that while we may not understand the why’s or the how’s, we can rest in God’s sovereignty. This brings us back to our ever-changing plans. Planning is helpful and we should be people who plan. But we must also understand that as followers of Christ we serve a sovereign God who may confirm our plans or redirect us completely at a moment’s notice. We must learn to be OK with that reality. When we do, we truly yield control of our lives to the One Who can be trusted with that control. It’s then that we learn to walk in His way, allowing Him to establish our path rather than foolishly insisting on making our own way.