We will not be Pathetic

 “No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength. A horse is a vain hope for deliverance; despite all its great strength it cannot save. But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love, to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine.” 

Psalms 33:16–19
Armies, warriors and horses – all intimidating, yet useless in the long run. So why has God left us in such a dangerous world, with such useless deliverers? He is not playing games with us – He does it so we will learnt to cry out to Him, trust in Him, look to Him for deliverance!...

• The Red Army was the pride of Russia, but now the USSR is a chapter in the history books. The mighty Goliath is now ashes. If you dig long enough, you might just find a Roman Centurion’s belt buckle in the ground somewhere. And every week outstanding soldiers are being killed by IEDs in Afghanistan.

• My daughter loves animals, and especially horses. At her first show-jumping competition, she was given a great big beast. He was all muscle, an outstanding example of equine strength. But yet, what use is a horse in the day of disaster? “There was a great famine in the city; the siege lasted so long that a donkey’s head sold for eighty shekels of silver” (2 Kings 6:25).

On the brink of seeing Babylonian systems crumble and fail, now is a fine time to “come out of her” and grow our child-like faith in the Almighty arm of God – the Arm that is never too short to save. God is never intimated, never alarmed, never in a quandary. God scoffs at the mightiest army and ignores the most perilous threat. He is the Awesome God, enthroned on High, from whom all power and authority flows.

And Jesus, our Man in Glory, has entered the heavens and sat down at the right hand of the Almighty! Because God hears Him and answers all His prayers, our prayers in His name are powerful and effective.

• May we as saints develop healthy gossip vines of the goodness and grace of God in our everyday lives, as we seek His intervention – and expect it. And why shouldn’t we?!

• May we as witnesses in the world not share in the same fears and terrified conversations as our worldly neighbors and friends. How will that help the cause of Christ?!

• May we as members of the same church encourage one another daily, while it is called today, and all the more as we see the Day approaching. Will we really say on our deathbeds, “I wish I had saved more money on my texting bill”?!
  

In these three things, we will find the extra oil that makes a virgin wise, not foolish.

Finally, what of those who pastor and preach? What is the watchword at this hour? I believe we should rather err on the side of risk than right doctrine; of laying hold of the promises rather than laying down church protocols; and of trusting Jesus through the storms rather than teaching others how to sail well. In so doing, we shall inspire others to faith, and do them much good. For we must not be so foolish as to think that we church-folk are immune from being tempted to trust in lesser deliverers – in the size of the church-army, in the potency of her warrior-ministers; or in the great strength of the gift-horses. All these are useless without simple faith that puts its trust first and last in the promises and power of Creator God.

Even so, even within our fears and frailties, come Lord Jesus.

Nick

Life is Chaos without Faith

Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the LORD! (Psalm 31:24)

This must surely be one of the most defining verses of the Bible. In it we have the intersection between heaven and earth. In heaven, is the Lord. In heaven is all power, glory, goodness, provision, purity, fullness, peace and joy. On earth there is chaos amongst men. On earth there is an overflow of cruelty, fickleness, poverty, misery, worry and sadness.

What is the intersection point? Who can deliver us from the storms in the world and in our own hearts?

In a word – JESUS. Jesus, the One who took on human form, who walked among us, who suffered and died. Jesus, who takes away our sins. Jesus, who brings us back to the Father. Jesus, who intercedes for us. Jesus, who baptizes us in power. Jesus, who provides for us. Jesus, who ever intercedes for us Jesus, our high tower. Jesus, in whom every promise of God is “YES”. Jesus, our Man in Glory.

Jesus IS "the Rock that is higher than I". On Christ the solid rock I stand; all other ground is sinking sand.

And how do we come to Jesus? How do we approach Him? By faith. By believing he exists, and that he rewards us with all we need as we ask and seek and knock. Too many Christians now leave the asking and seeking to their pastors or the “zealots”. To this, Jesus has spoken and said to each one of us, “Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving Me”. It is the Lord you are serving! Your life belongs to him, is wrapped up in him. Do you not know this? This is spiritual milk, that you no longer live but Christ lives in you. You have been seated in Christ at the Father’s right hand. Why do we forget? Because we do not think on these things. Why? Because we have become busy with other things, worldly affairs, temporary matters – stuff that is inconsequential compared to the Glory of God in Christ.

“We have lost the aura of glory, the mood of joy, the air of expectation”…D Salochi

Can you get it back? Of course. Of course you can. Of course.

“You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Or do you think Scripture says without reason that the spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely? But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:  “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.” (James 4:4–10)

Strong words. But strong medicine is needed in the face of all the…chaos, cruelty, poverty, misery, worries and sadness. And in their place, the Holy Spirit can and will raise up in you, through your humility, what is already overflowing from heaven – power, glory, goodness, provision, purity, fullness, peace and joy. Believe it! Only believe.

Nick