Meditations

Friends In High Places

“Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens,
Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not
have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but
we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—
yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace
with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and
find grace to help us in our time of need.”
~Hebrews 4:14-16

Soul Snacks: What a difference it makes just knowing you have someone in high authority who’s got your back! You live more confidently, act more courageously, risk faith more often, let go of your failures more easily, seek forgiveness more readily, sleep more peacefully, worry a whole lot less, and wake up ready to face the day with more energy that you’ve ever known before.

That’s the privilege Christ-followers enjoy—or should—and that includes you! After paying the price for your sins by dying on the cross, Jesus entered eternity to begin his heavenly ministry as your very own personal high priest. Now, he stands before the Father night and day to represent you. He intercedes on your behalf. He is praying for you. He is rooting you on.

He understands your fears—he faced some pretty overwhelming stuff when he was here. He understands your temptations—all of them. He faced them, too. He knows your weaknesses—he had to overcome them one by one. He knows what it is like to be rejected, disappointed, persecuted, to go without, to have no place to call home, to be misunderstood. He even knows the heaviest weight a human being carries—the reality of one’s own death. Jesus has been there, done that.

But he did all that for you! That’s why he is a faithful, empathetic high priest. And that is why you can come into the very throne room of Father God with complete confidence, walk right up to the throne and ask him for what you need: Help, provision, healing, forgiveness—whatever.

You can do that because of what Jesus has already done—he paid the price for you to do that. That is now your right, your privilege, and your responsibility. You can also do that because of what Jesus is doing right now—he is standing alongside you with his arm around your shoulder before the Father bringing your case before the only One who has the power and authority to do anything about it.

You’ve got a friend in high places—the highest place. That ought to make a difference in how you live today. So show a little moxy, why don’t ya!!!

P.S. “Our peace and confidence are to be found not in our empirical holiness, not in our progress toward perfection, but in the alien righteousness of Jesus Christ that covers our sinfulness and alone makes us acceptable before a holy God.”  ~Donald Bloesch

Tears In A Bottle

You keep track of all my sorrows.
You have collected all my tears in your bottle.
You have recorded each one in your book.
~Psalm 56:8, (NLT)

Soul Snacks: Aren’t tears a mysterious part of what it means to be human?  It is strange that we have the capacity to cry—to expel water from our eyes when we are sad.  It seems to serve no real purpose—although science can explain the physiological “why” and mental health experts can explain the psychological “why”.

That still leaves the question of “why” tears—why were we created with that capacity?

Perhaps this psalm provides a clue.  Maybe they are to remind us that God cares about the things that make us sad enough to shed tears.  So much does he bear our sorrow that he collects our tears in a bottle, as the New Living Translation says, or as other versions put it, “he records them in his ledger.”  In other words, God takes note—implying that he is not only aware of our sadness, but he will not forget it.

What is it that is making you cry today?  A heart broken by a fractured relationship?  A dashed hope or the death of a dream?  A failed family?  A personal sin?  The consequences of a past mistake that continues to haunt you?  What is it that you feel such deep sadness over?

It is likely that no one truly knows the depth of what you are feeling right now.  Maybe no one will ever see those tears that have rolled down your cheek—and the intense hurt that caused them.  Even if they do see your tears, how sad it is that long before your pain is healed, people will forget and move on.

There is One who sees…and One who cares…and One who never forgets.  And He wants you to know that, my friend.  And that One, your Heavenly Father, simply asks you to take comfort in His compassion (Psalm 103:13), and to place your trust in him.  In fact, so strongly does he desire your trust, that he repeats the invitation twice for emphasis. (Psalm 56:4,10-11)

I hope you will do that. Entrust those tears to God. And let the very next tear that fills your eyes and spills down your cheek be a reminder that your tears never really just dry up and fade into a painful memory, they go right into the bottle of that One who truly cares!

P.S. “A child’s tear rends the heavens.” ~Yiddish Proverb”

BASIC TRAINING

“My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be
quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become
angry, for man’s anger does not bring about
the righteous life that God desires.”
~James 1:19-20

Soul Snacks: One of the basic skills we must acquire to meet life’s challenges successfully is in learning how to respond in God-honoring ways to hurtful people, devastating circumstances and crushing disappointments.  How we handle the hurt we experience in our lives will lead either to bitterness or it will open the door to blessing.

I find it interesting that this is one of the first lessons God teaches us in Genesis through the example of Cain and Able.  In Genesis 4, these two brothers, Cain and Able, offer their sacrifices to God.  However, for some reason unknown to us, God finds Able’s sacrifice acceptable, but not Cain’s.  Cain is so thoroughly upset over this, that he sinks into depression, seethes with anger and begins to plot violence against his brother.

God knows the wrestling match going on inside of Cain and comes to him with this challenge:

Then the LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted?  But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.”

It is important to note that God didn’t explain His reasons for not accepting Cain’s sacrifice, He didn’t address the fairness or unfairness of it, He focused in on Cain’s heart, and challenged him to offer a right response:  “Cain, do what is right, then you’ll get rewarded—the choice is yours,  But know this, how you choose to respond will either lead to blessing or bitterness.

The lesson is clear:  We cannot always control or even change our circumstance, but we can choose how we are going to respond to them.  And how we respond is of utmost importance to God.  What happens inside of us is so much more important to God than what happens to us.

Now fast forward to the ending chapters in Genesis to the story of stories.  The mistreatment of his brothers and the false accusations of Potiphar’s wife lands Joseph in jail.  When, after years of enduring this hardship, he is elevated to the highest position in the land and now has a chance for revenge, how does he respond?

With bitterness?  Anger?  Retribution?  No.  His response is one of grace of the highest order.  Why?  Because Joseph was convinced that God had ordered his life and therefore could bring good out of his circumstances—if he remained faithful and patient:

“Am I God to judge and punish you?  As far as I am concerned, God turned into good what you meant for evil, for he brought me into this high position I have today so that I could save the lives of many people.” (Genesis 50:20)

Are you tempted to complain about your circumstance today?  Is there someone who has hurt you deeply?  Are you enduring unfair treatment or false accusations?  This could be your finest hour…or worst.  It all depends on your response.  How you handle this will either lead to blessing, or bitterness.

Put your life and circumstances in God’s hands.  Be faithful and patience.  Offer Him your trust and let Him work the details out to your advantage.—He knows what He is doing.  Psalm 139:16 says, “Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.”

I think we can trust Him, don’t you?

P.S. “If a man meets with injustice, it is not required that he shall not be roused to meet it; but if he is angry after he has had time to think upon it, that is sinful. The flame is not wrong, but the coals are.”  ~Henry Ward Beecher

Led By God

“The Lord directs the steps of the godly.
He delights in every detail of their lives.”
~Psalm 37:23 (NLT)

Soul Snacks: What is the best way to do the will of God, to always act in ways that please him and invite his blessings not only on the big decisions but on the daily details of life as well?  It is simply to place before him the offering of a godly life.

The Contemporary English Version translates our verse this way: “If you do what the Lord wants, he will make certain each step you take is sure.”

Perhaps you have experienced, like me, that life has only gotten more complex as the years go by.  It is often very difficult to discern the will of God between better and best.  Sometimes there’s a gray fuzziness that clouds the right path where the road forks in our journey.  And since we usually don’t hear the audible voice of God saying, ‘this is the way, walk ye in it!” or have his undeniable hand steering our every forward movement, we are left wondering, “what am I to do?”

According to the psalmist, we can trust that God himself has been closely attending our journey on the path of righteousness.  We have been guaranteed that the Lord has been with us all along the way, and is there now, even in the smallest details of our lives, making sure that our journey will lead to where he pleases.

What a comforting thought—that the steps of a righteous person are ordered of the Lord!  So when you come to a fork in the road, as Yogi Berra would say, “take it”.  If you have been doing your part—praying, obeying, trusting and honoring God, being in fellowship with his people and accountable for your life, studying his Word—God has directed steps that have led you to where you are now.  Now take the fork, God will have directed that as well.

Proverbs 3:5-9 reminds us,

Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own.
Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track.
Don’t assume that you know it all. Run to God! Run from evil!
Your body will glow with health, your very bones will vibrate with life!
Honor God with everything you own; give him the first and the best.
Your barns will burst, your wine vats will brim over.

P.S. “If you think little about yourself, you will have rest wherever you reside… If you are silent, you will possess peace wherever you live…To throw yourself before God, to not measure your progress, to leave behind all self-will—these are the instruments for the work of the soul…Give not your heart to that which does not satisfy your heart.” ~Abe Poeman, 4th century Egyptian Monk

Stopping Traffic

“I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe
in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You,
Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one
in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.
~John 17:20-21

Soul Snacks: Jesus spent his last hours on earth praying desperately for the unity of his church. He knew that without unity, the church would fall apart. But with it, Jesus knew that nothing could stop his people from accomplishing the mission of reaching the world with the Gospel.

That is the power of unity. The great preacher Vance Havner once said, “Snowflakes are frail, but if enough of them get together they can stop traffic.” So it is with the church. If we get together in unity in our church, we’ll stop the traffic in our community.

The question is, since we all agree that unity is a powerful and a necessary thing, how do we move from agreement to action? How can we practice unity?

The Apostle Paul gives us some insight in his words to the church in Ephesus:

“As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” (Ephesians 1:1-3)

Did you notice the word, “effort?” Paul says we are to “make every effort” to attain and maintain unity in our church. Frankly, it takes hard, focused, continual, intentional and strategic effort individually and corporately to keep the church united as one.

The word “effort” means to be diligent, to be zealous, to make haste to do something, in this case, being eager and fully dedicated to maintain the unity of the Spirit. It refers to a holy zeal to guard our Christian unity. Why do we need holy zeal? Because Satan’s number one goal is to divide us. That’s why each Christian needs to take the responsibility for the spiritual unity of his or her church.

James Hewitt tells the story of one woman’s unforgettable experience teaching Vacation Bible School with her primary class. The class was interrupted one day about an hour before dismissal when a new student was brought in.

The little boy had one arm missing, and since the class was almost over, she had no opportunity to learn any of the details about the child’s disability or his state of mind. She was afraid that one of the other children would make a comment and embarrass the poor little guy, and there was no time to warn them to be sensitive.

As the class time came to a close, she began to relax. She asked the class to join her in their usual closing ceremony. “Let’s make our churches,” she said. “Here’s the church and here’s the steeple, open the doors and there’s…”

Then the awful reality of the situation hit her like a ton of bricks. The very thing she’d feared the kids would do, she’d done. As she stood there speechless, the little girl sitting next to the boy reached over with her left hand and placed it up to his right hand and said, “Hey Davey, let’s make the church together”.

If you and I give every ounce of effort to keep the unity of the Spirit with other believers, we will make the church together!

P.S. “We must all hang together or assuredly we shall all hang separately”. ~Benjamin Franklin

Lopsided

“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him
we might become the righteousness of God.”
~II Corinthians 5:21

Soul Snacks: What an amazing exchange that took place when Jesus hung on the cross as the sacrifice for sin!

Jesus became sin so that I could become saved.

Jesus was abandoned and I was embraced.

Jesus received God’s wrath and I received God’s righteousness.

Jesus got what he didn’t deserve and I got what I didn’t deserve.

Jesus didn’t get what he deserved and I didn’t get what I did deserve.

Jesus went through hell so that I could go to heaven.

Jesus endured hatred and I was showered with love.

Jesus died so that I could live.

Redemption is such a lopsided transaction, but such is the love of God. I got the far better deal in this exchange, and for that I will never cease to be grateful.

P.S. “At the heart of the story stands the cross of Christ where evil did its worst and met its match.”  _John W. Wenham

What’s That Smell?

“We are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being
saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the
smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life.”
~II Corinthians 2:15-16

Soul Snacks: Smell, like all of the senses, is quite mysterious really.  What may be a pleasing aroma to me may stink to you, to put it bluntly. You may enjoy Aqua Velva; I prefer Burberry Brit.  You may enjoy the fragrance of a freshly cut rose, but the smell I enjoy more than anything is fragrance of cedar.  Weird, huh!  You may find the smell of popcorn cooking in the microwave oven mouthwatering; I can’t stand it.  It causes my throat to close up.  So if you invite me over to your house for movies, ditch the popcorn and let’s have some freshly baked chocolate chip cookies—which I’m convinced is the modern day equivalent of Old Testament manna.

The Bible reminds us that as Christians, we, too, have a smell.  We carry around the fragrance of Christ.  We can’t help it; it just naturally exudes from our being—or at least it should.  Paul tells us that the fragrance of Christ upon us rises up to God as a sweet scent—he just loves the smell. And to others who also wear the Christ-fragrance, it is an aroma redolent with life.

But to those who have rejected Christ, frankly, we stink.  I don’t know how to put it more graciously than that.  When they smell Christ on us, it reminds them of something bad.  It reminds them of the guilt they carry around from being hostile toward God.  It reminds them of the way of death by which the Bible says they travel.  It reminds them of the foolishness of the cross and the sheer lunacy of salvation by grace apart from works.  It reminds them of the boatload of spiritual truth they find unbelievable, narrow, unsophisticated and offensive.  And because of the aroma of Christ on you they may not want you in their presence.

Don’t let it shock you if people have to hold their nose around you every once in a while. And when that happens, just remember: You smell real good to God.

So wear the fragrance of Christ boldly and proudly—you’re wearing the most expensive perfume known to God.

P.S. “How was it that, even in the common tasks of an ordinary life, Jesus drew the praise of heaven? At the core of His being, He only did those things which pleased the Father. In everything, He stayed true, heartbeat to heartbeat, with the Father’s desires. Jesus lived for God alone; God was enough for Him. Thus, even in its simplicity and moment-to-moment faithfulness, Christ’s life was an unending fragrance, a perfect offering of incomparable love to God.” ~Francis Frangipane

A Few Good Men (And Women)

“Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘If anyone would come
after me, he must deny himself and take
up his cross and follow me.’”
~Matthew 16:24

Soul Snacks: Does Christ’s call to discipleship seem a little extreme in comparison to the “easy believism” that passes for discipleship today? You will likely hear a lot more about a life of comfort, security and success these days from spiritual leaders than straight talk on self-denial and cross bearing.

Jesus made no of promises of an easy, breezy, carefree Christianity. Rather, he demanded complete obedience, costly sacrifice, and selfless servanthood from those who would follow him. He told them that they would have to eat his flesh and drink his blood if they wanted a part in him. He said people would hate them, misunderstand them, reject them, persecute them, and put them out of the synagogues. And he even promised that people would kill them, believing that in so doing they were helping God out.

Yet the eleven disciples (one of them, Judas, got cold feet) fully bought into Christ’s call to costly discipleship. They left everything they had and everything they knew for a life that promised nothing except a chance to advance God’s kingdom in a resistant, hostile world. They fully understood that the overwhelming bulk of their rewards would come only afterwards, in the afterlife.

And, despite Christ’s less than appealing recruitment campaign, these first disciples, followed in the years to come by countless thousands of other hungry seekers, flocked to this self-denying, cross-bearing brand of Christianity. Jesus was a tough act to follow, to say the least, but these disciples eagerly signed up—and they changed the world.

How? Simply by doing what Jesus had asked: They denied themselves, took up their crosses, and laid down their lives for his sake. Without a political voice, financial resources, social standing, and military might, this unlikely ragtag band of followers conquered the Roman Empire in less than three hundred years.

Such was the radical power of this brand of fully committed discipleship.

Do you worry, as I do, that Christ’s call to costly discipleship would empty most churches of its people in our day. Though most believers give mental assent to cross-bearing and self-denial, in reality there is very little evidence of it in their lives, or in their churches.

If Jesus rebuked Peter (Matthew 16:23) — “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men” — for suggesting Christianity without a cross (Matthew 16:24), what do you suppose he would say to us who have suggested Christian discipleship without cross-bearing?

Dietrich Bonhoeffer once remarked, “Christianity without discipleship is always Christianity without Christ.” We need to remind ourselves of that truth, because you likely won’t hear it from too many pulpits today. A.W. Tozer commented that “it has become popular to preach a painless Christianity and automatic saintliness. It has become part of our ‘instant’ culture. ‘Just pour a little water on it, stir mildly, pick up a gospel tract, and you are on your Christian way.’”

We must aggressively and boldly reject that brand of faith, because that is not the discipleship to which Jesus has called us. And that is not the discipleship that I want for my life.

How about you?

P.S. “Salvation is free … but discipleship will cost you your life.” ~Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Eternal Security
by The Great Finisher

“God will keep you strong to the end so that you will be free from all blame on the day when
our Lord Jesus Christ returns.  God will do this, for he is faithful to do what he says,
and he has invited you into partnership with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”
~I Corinthians 1:8-9

Soul Snacks: Do you believe in eternal security?  The eternal security of the believer has been hotly debated for hundreds of years by theologians much smarter than me, so it’s not likely that I’ll resolve the issue for you.

Perhaps you’ve already taken a position on this yourself—most Christians have.  Maybe you’re of the camp that believes you cannot lose your salvation—once you’re saved you’re always saved.  Or it could be you’ve joined doctrinal sides with those who’ve found Biblical support that it is indeed possible to “backslide” and fall away from God.

I grew up in a theological tradition that supported the latter.  I like to say we believed in backsliding—and practiced it regularly.  But all kidding aside, the older I get and the longer I’ve been a Christian, honestly, I’m not sure where I stand on this issue anymore. Frankly, there are compelling arguments for both sides.  I sometimes wonder if there is a third alternative that will be revealed to us when we get to heaven. Wouldn’t that be great!

But one thing I do believe, and that is, if it is possible to lose your salvation—and I say “if” it is possible—it must be exceedingly difficult to walk away from your relationship with God and into a life of sin for the very simple fact of the truth revealed in these verses—I Corinthians 1:8-9.  You see, you are not alone; your salvation is not up to you alone.  In fact very little of it is up to you.  That’s not to say that you don’t have a part to play—you do.  In verse 9, Paul says it is a partnership that you have been called into with Jesus Christ at the moment of your salvation.  You have to believe, obey, love and serve God.

But even then, God is helping you to do that.  According to verse 8, God is giving you the strength, and he will supply the strength to fulfill your end of the partnership until the day Jesus returns and finds you blameless.  Isn’t that great news?  You are not alone in your spiritual journey; someone greater than you is at your side helping you each step of the way.

And he is committed to finishing what he started in you.  Paul says it this way in Philippians 1:6, “Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”  Now here’s the deal, when God starts a good work, he always finishes it.  He doesn’t have a workshop full of half finished projects.  He completes them all—each and every one of them.  And since you are one of his good works, you can have that same kind of confidence Paul talked about that God will take you from the starting line to the finish line of your salvation marathon.

The book of Jude says the same thing, “Now to him who is able to keep you from falling and present you before his throne without fault and with great joy…”  (Jude 24)  God is able.  You may feel weak and incapable in your spiritual walk at times; you may worry if there might be a time in the future where you would walk away from God.  But let me tell you this:  You are not alone.  Your salvation is not all up to you.  God is able to keep you from falling.  God is able to take you from start to finish and present you in the winner’s circle without fault (Jude 24), complete (Philippians 1:6) and blameless (I Corinthians 1:8).

You are not alone.  Your salvation is not all up to you.  If you can lose your salvation—if—then it must be the most difficult thing in all creation, since you will have to overcome God’s saving, sustaining, completing grace to do it.

You are not alone.  Your salvation is not all up to you.  God is able!  You now belong to the Great Finisher!

I hope that makes your day better!

P.S. “If the Lord be with us, we have no cause of fear. His eye is upon us, his arm over us, his ear open to our prayer—his grace sufficient, his promises unchangeable.”  –John Newton

Be A Uniter, Not A Divider

“Watch out for people who cause divisions…such people are not serving
Christ our Lord; they are serving their own personal interests.”
~Romans 16:17-18

Soul Snacks: I strongly believe that job number one for every Christian as it relates to our personal responsibility in the church is to protect the unity of the fellowship. There is no greater effort to which one can expend his energy. Likewise, there is no greater sin than to be party to disharmony and division among God’s people.

Several sobering passages in Scripture stand as eternal warning signs to us not to enter this territory. One of the most sobering reminds us that to engage in such behavior is to incur the displeasure and anger of God, “There are six tings the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: …a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.” (Proverbs 6:16-19)

Jesus reminded us that where disunity exists, destruction of the fellowship is not far behind, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” (Matthew 12:25)

Paul felt very strongly about disunity as well. Instructing his young protégé, Titus, in how he was to manage the local church, Paul said that division requires an immediate, consistent and aggressive response from church leadership, “Warn a divisive person once, and then warn him a second time. After that, have nothing to do with him. You can be sure that such a man is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned.” (Titus 3:10-11)

That’s how repugnant division and disunity is to God, and on the flip side, just how important unity and harmony is to him. In Jesus’ high priestly prayer in John 17, our Lord interceded for his church before the Father, praying, “I pray for all who will believe in me…that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you.” (John 17:20-21)

Of all the things Jesus could have prayed for, he was most concerned about the unity of the church. And since it was that important to Jesus, we must allow it to become that important to us as well. We must be very alert to any attitudes and actions on our part, or on the part of others, that would lead to even the smallest crack in the unity of the fellowship to which we belong. We have no right to harm the unity for which Jesus bled and died to preserve.

In light of that, I would suggest a few things that will help you to become one of those true heroes of the faith who helps preserves the unity of the church:

One, realize most of the stuff which causes division really doesn’t matter in the larger scheme of things. Paul told Titus, “avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels…these are unprofitable and useless.” (Titus 3:9) Most of the stuff that divides Christians just doesn’t matter. So just let it go.

Two, realize that there is more that unites us than divides us. We have so much common ground in Christ. If we would focus on that, our differences would be minimized and our common love for Christ would be magnified. Paul challenges us to “do the things that lead to harmony and promote peace in the church.” (Romans 14:9)

And three, get tough with those who selfishly push their own agenda at the expense of maintaining “the unity of the Spirit through the bonds of peace.” As Paul said, warn them once; even warn them a second time. Remind them that God hates disunity and detests the one who foments it. If they continue, if they are a chronic divider, Paul says to “mark them.” In other words, get tough, because the unity of your fellowship is more important than the feelings and wishes of some unhealthy, selfish, immature person who is willing to risk it to get their own way.

God loves unity. And God will bless you if you will love it too.

P.S. “Into the community you were called—the call was not meant for you alone; in the community of the called you bear your cross, you struggle, you pray. You are not alone even in death, and on the Last Day you will be only one of the great congregation of Jesus Christ. If you scorn the fellowship of the brethren, you reject the call of Jesus Christ.” ~Dietrich Bonhoeffer