Know You are Loved

See what great love the Father has given us
that we should be called God’s children– and we are!
(1 John 3:1 CSB)

This is the Good News – that the Father loves us. That we are precious to Him. That we are in His intimate family. That His love is essential to His character, and thus will never change.

If you are in Christ Jesus, if you believe in Him as your Savior, your Lord, your Treasure, if you love Christ Jesus – that is the result of the Father’s love for you. “We love because he first loved us. (1 John 4:19). “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8).

We must remember His love every day – His love that never changes, His love that never ends, His love that is not dependent on anything we say, on anything we do, on anything we accomplish.

What happens when we forget His love?

  • When criticized, we either are defensive (feeling that if the criticism is correct, we won’t be loved), or are controlled by the critic (trying to win back his love by changing our behavior).
  • When feeling depressed and hopeless, we either plaster a smile on our faces, stifling the feelings, or turn away from God, thinking He has let us down.
  • When someone wrongs us, we either aim to convince the perpetrator of his sin, or pretend we’re ok and live a normal life outwardly while bleeding internally.
  • When gossiped about, we either wonder if we deserve it, or frantically search social media to track the terrible things being said about us and then do whatever we can to get even.
  • When tired, we either gut it out and get more and more tired, or try to create our own rest, getting angry and annoyed with those who interfere.

All these negative responses come from letting our feelings drive us – feelings of hurt, of inferiority, of inadequacy, of exhaustion, of depression. Jesus never says, “Your feelings will set you free.” Instead, He says, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32). The truth that sets us free includes the truth of the Father’s love for us. When we know we are loved – when we know that the Father has declared us righteous, has justified us completely by His grace through faith in Jesus, and thus He accepts us and sees us as His own precious possession – then we are free from the chains that compel us to those negative responses. Confident in His love, we can respond differently:

  • We don’t have to let the face of the criticizer or oppressor dominate our thoughts. We can seek the Father’s loving face – and respond out of that security.
  • We don’t have to pretend everything is fine when hurting. We can cry out, like a little child with her daddy. We can weep and mourn – while holding on to the One Who loves us.
  • We can listen to critics and pray to see what is behind the criticism – yes, what ways we may have failed and need to change by God’s grace, but also what hurts and pains may be motivating the criticism, and thus be able to acknowledge that pain and stand beside the hurting criticizer.
  • We can endure the trials and tribulations of this world, not because tomorrow will be better – it may be worse! – but because nothing can separate us from the Father’s love; He will bring us safely through even the valley of the shadow of death to His heavenly Kingdom, and Jesus will return to reign forever.
  • We can see the troubled Christians around us not as problems to solve, but as others loved by God whom we can help endure in hope until they see Jesus face to face.
  • We can follow our Savior in displaying meekness – which is strength leveraged for the good of another.
  • We can know that when we are wrong or when we sin, we are still loved.

So do you feel hurt? Do you feel despairing? Don’t suppress the feelings – rather, thank God for them. But don’t let those feelings control you. Rather, use the feelings to prompt you to remember the truth of God’s love.

That’s how Jeremiah responded to feelings of despair (read Lamentations 3:17-18 to hear the depth of his feelings). In the midst of horrors far beyond what we have experienced, the prophet says:

This I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” (Lamentations 3:21-24).

Call to mind the Father’s love. Have that hope. Know that love every morning – every beautiful, peaceful sunrise and every horrible, pain-wracked break of day.

Do you wonder if the Father loves you like this? He does, if you are in Christ. Do you then wonder if you are in Christ? If so, come to Him! The only requirement is that you are weary and heavily burdened! (Matthew 11:28). So repent and believe in the Gospel (Mark 1:15).

Friends, in Jesus you are loved. Today. Tomorrow. For all eternity. God is faithful to His character – and thus He is faithful to love us now and forever. Remember that love. Call it to mind. And then bask in that love.

[Beth and I were privileged to take part in the annual Treasuring Christ Together retreat October 19 to 21. I try here to synthesize ideas presented and discussed at the retreat. Several different talks prompted this devotion – including those by Sean Cordell, Lance Parrot, Nathan Knight, Kenny Stokes, and Tim Cain. Anything you think particularly well said probably did not originate with me! Unless noted, Scriptures are ESV.]

 

 

What is the Gospel?

“The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” That’s how Mark begins his Gospel. Similarly, Jesus’ first statement in Mark is: “”The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15).

But what is the Gospel? What are we to believe?

Consider these eight elements of the Gospel stated or implied in this passage.

1) God is King!

Jesus says the Kingdom of God is at hand. Who is king in the Kingdom of God?

  • Not Joe Biden
  • Not Donald Trump

God is king in the Kingdom of God.

And though we see all around us sin and misery and disaster, rebellion against God, anger at God, despising of the name of Jesus, God assures us: “I am in control; I am bringing about My wise and good purposes.”

In Daniel 7, God appears on His fiery throne, with ten thousand time ten thousand standing before Him. Then one like a Son of Man comes to Him – picturing Jesus coming to the Father – and the Father gives Jesus “dominion and glory and a kingdom” – that is, all authority. Daniel then tells us He is the king not only of the Jews, but of all peoples and nations. His kingdom will never end; He reigns forever.

So God is King. Jesus is King. No one rivals His power. As Jesus says in Matthew 28, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.”

Thus the Gospel begins with this truth: God is King. Jesus is King.

2) His Kingdom is at hand!

God gave Daniel that vision more than 500 years before the time of Jesus. The people have waited centuries for God’s Kingdom to come. Finally, John the Baptist comes to prepare the way for the promised King, in fulfillment of prophesies through Isaiah and Malachi. John knows he is only a forerunner, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I” (Mark 1:7). Finally, the time is at hand (Mark 1:15). The return of the King is soon.

3) This is terrible news for God’s enemies

The Gospel, the Good News, is terrible news for those who remain God’s enemies.

From the first man and woman, from Adam and Eve, all men have been rebels against God. All of us are “by nature children of wrath” (Ephesians 2:3). We have rebelled by saying:

  • We know better than God how to run our lives
  • We know better than He who we really are
  • We know better than He how we can have security, joy, fulfillment

Since God created us to love Him, to delight in Him, to show what He is like, we have thus violated the very purpose of our creation. God therefore has a perfect right to dispose of us – as we would dispose of a mug that leaks when we fill it with coffee. Indeed, the Apostle Paul tells us in that when Jesus comes from heaven, He will inflict “vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might” (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9).

You do not want to be among God’s enemies on that day. But you need not be His enemy:

4) This can be Good News for you!

Mark says this is the beginning of the Good News of Jesus for you do not have to remain a rebel against God. You do not have to suffer the eternal punishment away from the Lord who is the source of everything good in you.

How can that happen? I can I change from being God’s enemy?

  • You don’t have to make yourself presentable before God
  • You don’t have to do some great task to prove you are worthy
  • You don’t have to do thousands of acts of penance

Instead, Jesus says you must simply “repent and believe the Gospel.” That is, you must repent and believe the four elements of the Gospel we’ve already stated: God is King, the Kingdom of God is at hand, this is terrible news for God’s enemies, and this can be Good News for you. And you must believe the four remaining elements:

5) Jesus is the Son of God

We see this in Mark 1:11. Jesus comes to John the Baptist at the Jordan River. John baptizes Him, lowering Him under the water, and raising Him up. Then: “A voice came from heaven, ‘You are my beloved Son; with You I am well pleased.’”

If Jesus is the Son of God – what must be true about Him?

Picture your biological children. Or picture your biological parents. Can’t you see your likeness in them? There is a family resemblance to you, isn’t there?

Just so with Jesus.

Jesus is the Son of God, “the exact imprint of His nature” (Hebrews 1:3). Indeed, Jesus tells His disciples. “He who has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9).

  1. Jesus is man, but without sin

So Jesus is the Son of God – but as we have seen, Daniel 7 calls Jesus the “Son of Man.” Indeed, Jesus refers to Himself by this title dozens of times.

The son of Mary, the one born in Bethlehem, who grew up in Nazareth, who taught in Galilee, who was crucified rose from the dead outside of Jerusalem, was a genuine man. Like you and me, He ate, He drank, He got tired, He had flesh and bones. He was human. Really human.

He was like us in every way except one.

Jesus is the only human who never sinned, who never rebelled against God. That’s why God says at His baptism: “With You I am well pleased.”

  1. Jesus died for the sins of all who believe the Gospel

Jesus tells His listeners, “Repent and believe in the Gospel” – because that is the only way to be put right with God. Your sin, your rebellion, your arrogance separates you from God. You are by nature under His wrath, condemned to that eternal punishment. But if you believe in this Gospel, if you believe in Jesus as Lord, Savior, and Treasure, God takes your sin, your condemnation, and assigns it entirely to Jesus hanging on the cross. Once Jesus takes the punishment you deserve, you yourself, united to Him, become well-pleasing to God. For when God looks upon you, He sees His well-pleasing Son.

Thus, the only possible forgiveness of sins is through faith in risen Savior.

8) Finally: God not only saves us from condemnation but God grants us Himself!

John says, “I have baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit” (Mark 1:8). That is: In Christ, you will be covered with, filled with God Himself!

Once the Spirit fills you, He bears fruit in your life: Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). Thus, by the Spirit God is transforming you into the likeness of Jesus. You are being made like Him now and will be perfected on the Last Day.

Thus the Gospel includes not only freedom from condemnation, but freedom from slavery to sin now, and the promise of perfection when Jesus returns:

  • No more sin
  • No more temptation
  • No more lust
  • No more jealousy
  • No more fits of anger

God will delight in you as He delights in His Son, and you will delight in Jesus as the Father delights in Him.

This is the Gospel, friends. Know it. Believe it. Proclaim it. Live it. Submit to your King. Rejoice in Your Savior. By the Spirit, walk as children of light. And eagerly anticipate Jesus’ return.

[This devotion is based on part of the October 3, 2021 sermon on Mark 1:1-15. You can watch that service at this link; the sermon audio is available here.]

When Do We Need God?

When do you need God? When do you need His grace, His help?

Many people think of God like an insurance policy. Most of us pay insurance premiums regularly.  We receive a policy annually and file it away somewhere, knowing that it is available in the event of a crisis – if our house burns down or our car crashes, or our life ends. Having such policies in case of emergency is a comfort. But day by day, we don’t even think of them.

Now, God does tell us to call upon Him in every crisis. He is indeed our Rock, our Fortress, our Strong Deliverer (see Psalm 18, especially verses 1-3, as well as numerous other Scriptures). As such, He is better than any insurance policy, for with Him there are no deductibles, no premiums, no riders, and no exclusions. No crisis will separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus, whether fire, hail, flooding, or acts of war – and certainly not acts of God!

But unlike insurance, we need God on our good days as well as our bad, when all is going great as well as when our world is falling apart, when we are bubbling over with joy as well as when we are in the depths of sorrow.

We need Him first because He grants us breath. As the Apostle Paul tells the Athenians, “He himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything” (Acts 17:25). He has the right and the power to remove that breath from us at any time: “When you take away their breath, they die and return to their dust” (Psalm 104:29). Our times are in His hand (Psalm 31:15); He may take my life at any moment (Luke 12:20). Thus I need His grace if I am to live out the day.

Second, we need Him constantly because every good we have – whether abilities or possessions or intelligence or perseverance or friends or family or health – is a gift from Him: “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights (James 1:17); He “gives you the ability to produce wealth” (Deuteronomy 8:18 NIV); “a person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven”(John 3:27). List what gives you the greatest joy. Then list what makes you special. Write beside each: “This is an undeserved gift from God.”

Finally, we need Him if we are to have true joy. Jesus tells us, “Whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it” (Mark 8:35). He also says, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). David exclaims, “In your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore (Psalm 16:11). True life, true joy, everlasting pleasures – these are found only in God through Jesus.

So praise God that He insures us from all the dangers and troubles we might face. As the Apostle Paul writes knowing he is about to be executed, “The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom” (2 Timothy 4:18 NIV). Cry out to Him in every crisis, knowing that in Jesus you are secure.

But don’t file God away, waiting for a crisis to pull Him out! Rather acknowledge and delight in your need for Him every second of your life. He is the Giver – we are receivers. He is the ever-flowing fountain – we are those who drink. He is the Sustainer – we are those strengthened. Rejoice in that dependence. Be grateful towards Him. And, because of all His benefits to you, hold up your cup of salvation and ask Him to fill it again, and again, and again (Psalm 116:13).

[Scripture quotations are ESV unless otherwise indicated.]

God at the Center

Think of the Bible as a work of literature. Who is the main character? Who is the protagonist? Abraham? Moses? David? Peter? Paul?

No. None of these.

The protagonist of the Bible is God.

The opening line of the Bible makes this clear: “In the beginning, God . . .”

Before all things – before there was a beginning – God is. He exists. And He chooses for the beginning to happen. He is not created; He creates.

Now, remember a bit of basic grammar. Look at this sentence: “The Panthers beat the Jets.” What is the subject of this sentence? Who acts? The Panthers. What is the verb in this sentence? What action is taking place? Beating. What is the object of the action? The Jets. Subject = Panthers, Verb = beat, Object = Jets.

So now consider the first several paragraphs of the Bible, Genesis 1. This chapter contains 42 active verbs (other than in sentences God speaks). Who is the subject of these active verbs? Who is acting? In 41 of these cases, God is the subject of the active verb (and in the 42nd, the earth fulfills God’s command).

God is the subject. God is the one who acts. God is the main character in this introduction to the Bible – and indeed, in the entire book. This book is centered on God.

Why does God act in Genesis 1? Why is He the subject of all these verbs? Why does He create anything?

The Bible tells us that God created the world to show His glory. Psalm 19:1 tells us this is true of the material universe: “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” Isaiah 43:6 and 7 explain that mankind also is created for God’s glory: “Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth, everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory.” Later in the same chapter God speaks of “the people whom I formed for myself that they might declare my praise” (Isaiah 43:21).

What does “created for my glory” mean? That last verse helps. The Bible uses the word “glory” to mean: “What makes an object good, or important, or interesting.” Creation tells us about God – about what makes Him good, important, and interesting. Creation exists – we exist – to display to others what God is like. And since God is fully praiseworthy, in order to fulfill that purpose, we must declare His praise, we must praise Him with all of our being.

Thus, Genesis 1, this first chapter of the Bible, must be God-centered. He is the one who acts. All He does, all His acts are for the praise of His own glory.

Friends, this is theme of the entire Bible. If we are His people, we are called to be God-centered. We are to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. We are to focus our every desire on Him. We are to say with the psalmist, “Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you” (Psalm 73:25, emphasis added). We are to focus our attention on Him: “Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus” (Hebrews 12:1-2).

It is easy to get sidetracked from this, isn’t it? It is easy to get wrapped up in the affairs of this world or even in Christian activity and end up violating the call to be God-centered.

This happens in other parts of our lives also. Consider school, at any level. What is the primary purpose of school? To learn! We could say that school is supposed to be Learning-centered. But do all students stay centered on learning?

  • The focus of one student is, “How can I impress that girl?”
  • The focus of another is, “How can I have fun today?”
  • The focus of a third is, “I hope our basketball team wins!”
  • The focus of a fourth is, “I want to do well on the SAT!”

None of these considerations is bad in and of itself. But all of them – even the focus on the test – can be a distraction from the central purpose of school: Learning. If the school is to fulfill its purpose, the focus must be first and foremost on learning.

We too are easily sidetracked from the purpose of our creation, both as individuals and as churches. We easily slip into becoming man-centered or activity-centered. For us to serve our main purpose, we must remember that God is the subject of all creation. He is the main character in the Bible – and thus in all of history. Our purpose is to magnify Him.

We as a church must remind ourselves of this time and again. That’s why our first core value is to be God-centered:

We value putting God at the center of all that we do. We put His glory and His honor first, asking in every decision, “Will this bring the greatest glory and praise to our God?”

May we fulfill this statement in all our acts as a church, and in each of our individual lives – so that we truly might live to the praise of His glorious grace (Ephesians 1:6).

[The sermon “In the Beginning – God!” on Genesis 1:1-2:3, preached 4/18/04, expands on these thoughts. Audio is here.]

9/11 20 Years On: Reflections on God’s Sovereignty

On September 11, 2001, we were living on the campus of a Baptist seminary in Ndu, Cameroon. Less than three weeks after our arrival with six children in tow (and having suffered a car accident our first full day in the country), we were shocked when a fellow missionary informed us of the terrorist attack in New York (he did not yet know about the Pentagon or Flight 93).

That evening I opened my Bible to the next Scripture in the Bible Unity Reading Plan and read of God’s destruction of His own temple, His own city. Amazed at God’s provision of just the right text for the day, I continued to the following day’s reading in the book of Lamentations. Jeremiah (the most likely author) weeps over the destruction of Jerusalem – the slaughter of women and babies, the abandonment of His people by God, the tearing down of the temple (note: at that time the temple was older than any building in Washington DC is today, and more important to the Jews than the White House, the Capitol, and the Washington Monument – combined – are to us). God had warned the nation of this coming judgment through Jeremiah himself, saying that their denial of Him would inevitably lead to their destruction (Jeremiah 22:7-9). Nevertheless, the horror overwhelms the prophet:

The LORD has done what he purposed; he has carried out his word, which he commanded long ago; he has thrown down without pity; he has made the enemy rejoice over you and exalted the might of your foes…. O wall of the daughter of Zion, let tears stream down like a torrent day and night! Give yourself no rest, your eyes no respite!… Pour out your heart like water before the presence of the Lord! Lift your hands to him for the lives of your children, who faint for hunger at the head of every street. Look, O LORD, and see! With whom have you dealt thus? Should women eat the fruit of their womb, the children of their tender care? Should priest and prophet be killed in the sanctuary of the Lord? In the dust of the streets lie the young and the old; my young women and my young men have fallen by the sword; you have killed them in the day of your anger, slaughtering without pity. (From Lamentations 2:17-21)

“You have killed them.” Jeremiah does not sugarcoat this tragedy by denying God’s sovereignty and responsibility. God has brought it about, using evil men fulfilling their sinful desires to accomplish His – yes – good and perfect will (Habakkuk 1 and 2). He is sovereign; He is responsible; He is good.

When facing disasters and tragedies, in our arrogance we often try to put ourselves in the Judge’s seat and pretend to bring God to the prisoner’s dock to charge Him with doing evil. “You could have stopped this, God! And You didn’t. So You must not be good, or You must not be sovereign.” But we are not wise, impartial judges; we are condemned evildoers. He is the One Who is light, and in Whom is no darkness at all; when we, by assuming the Judge’s seat, implicitly claim to be without disqualifying sin, we deceive ourselves, we preemptively call God a liar, and we prove that there is neither truth nor desire for truth in us (1 John 1:5-10). By ignoring God’s revelation about Himself (He is pure, sovereign and good!) and about us (our hearts are deceitful above all things!), we engage in circular reasoning: we assume that God is a liar and that we are in a position to judge Him before the proceedings begin. This is just a kangaroo court.

If we are to rightly consider tragedy and evil, we must acknowledge this truth: We don’t deserve to live. We exist by God’s mercy, and by that mercy alone. The only reason you and I draw breath today is that God’s perfect Son, who lived the life we should have lived, was scourged and nailed and hung naked on a cross to die a shameful, horrible death. God “has done what He purposed” (Lamentations 2:17): He did what He purposed in destroying Jerusalem, in the terrorist attacks of 9/11, in every natural disaster – and in sending His Son to the Cross. As we will consider this Sunday, “Our God … does all that He pleases” (Psalm 115:3). And in addition to exercising righteous judgment, He pleases to offer to all rebels, to all evildoers, to every one of us, the gift of His crucified and risen Son. He offers to us through that Son His New Covenant, under which He will be our God and we will be His people, and He will never turn away from doing good to us; He will put the right fear of Himself in our hearts so that we never turn from Him (Jeremiah 31:34, 32:40). To all who accept His offer, He makes this promise: Through whatever evil we face, through whatever setbacks we encounter, through whatever pain we endure, He will stand beside us. Furthermore, all that pain and suffering will work in us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison (2 Corinthians 4:16-18).

There are many important lessons from the terrorist attacks of 9/11 that we should consider on this twentieth anniversary. But none is more important than the biblical truth of God’s working all things together for the good of His people and the glory of His Name.

So join me in prayer:

Father, help us to believe this truth and to live consistently with it – to weep over sin and evil and sorrow, to fight the sin and evil in our own hearts, and to trust You throughout. Deepen our confidence in You, our trust in Your Word, so we might know that even the greatest sorrow and the most severe tragedy we face cannot compare to the sorrow and tragedy of the Cross – and the greatest joy and delight we face in this life cannot compare to the coming joy of being presented to Jesus as His perfected and renewed Bride at His coming. Save us from arrogance; exalt the Cross and the New Covenant in our minds; comfort us with Your love; show us Yourself.

 

Aging with Grace

Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is gained in a righteous life. (Proverbs 16:31)

With both of my parents in their nineties and my father hospitalized for the last month, I have been drawn to Scriptures that speak particularly to those who are aged. Here is a selection to help those of us who have gray hairs today or who eventually will have them.

Examples of the elderly in Scripture:

Many of God’s servants are faithful to the end of their lives – and for some, their key role in biblical history takes place after they are advanced in years. These are great examples for us. Consider the lives of Abraham, Sarah, Moses, Samuel, Barzillai (2 Samuel 19), Elizabeth, Zechariah, Simeon, and Anna.

Others start well but are unfaithful in old age, serving as negative examples: consider especially Solomon (1 Kings 11) and Asa (2 Chronicles 16).

How can we be like the positive examples and unlike the negative? First, we must remember God’s promises. Here are six that are especially important to hold on to as we age:

First promise: “I will always carry you!”

Listen to me, O house of Jacob, all the remnant of the house of Israel, who have been borne by me from before your birth, carried from the womb; even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save. (Isaiah 46:3-4)

Second promise: “I will always lead you and guide you!”

And I will lead the blind in a way that they do not know, in paths that they have not known I will guide them. I will turn the darkness before them into light, the rough places into level ground. These are the things I do, and I do not forsake them.  (Isaiah 42:16)

Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen. (Jude 24-25)

Third promise: “My goodness and love will pursue you always!”

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever. (Psalm 23:6)

But the steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children’s children (Psalm 103:17)

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39)

Fourth promise: “In Me, you will always bear fruit!”

The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. They are planted in the house of the LORD; they flourish in the courts of our God. They still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of sap and green, to declare that the LORD is upright; he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him. (Psalm 92:12-15)

He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. (Psalm 1:3)

He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit. (Jeremiah 17:8)

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. (Philippians 1:6)

Fifth promise: “By My power, you can resist temptations – including those that are particular to old age”

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. (1 Corinthians 10:13)

Sixth promise: “In eternity, you will have pleasures forevermore at My right hand”

For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. (2 Corinthians 5:1)

For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption. You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. (Psalm 16:10-11)

After remembering God’s promises, cry out to Him in dependence every day:

First: Cry out to see Him:

One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple. (Psalm 27:4)

[We must] run with endurance the race set out for us, keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:1b-2a NET)

Second: Pray: “Teach us to number our days and to be satisfied with your love”

The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away. Who considers the power of your anger, and your wrath according to the fear of you? So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. Return, O LORD! How long? Have pity on your servants! Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. (Psalm 90:10-14)

O LORD, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am! (Psalm 39:4)

Third: Cry out asking Him to fulfill His promise to keep you and to use you to the end:

In you, O LORD, do I take refuge; let me never be put to shame! …Do not cast me off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength is spent…. For you, O Lord, are my hope, my trust, O LORD, from my youth. Upon you I have leaned from before my birth; you are he who took me from my mother’s womb. My praise is continually of you…. O God, from my youth you have taught me, and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds. So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come. (Psalm 71:1, 5-6, 9, 17-18)

Fourth: “Sustain me as you sustained the Apostle Paul to the end”

For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing. (2 Timothy 4:6-8)

May we all fight the good fight, finish the race, and keep the faith, to God’s glory through the strength He supplies by His Spirit because of Jesus.

(Scriptures are ESV except where noted)

 

 

Grace Greater Than All Our Sins

[The Hammer of God by Bo Giertz (1905-1998) is a profound novel set in Sweden, describing how God brings to faith, sanctifies, and uses His servants. Written from a Lutheran perspective, the novel displays powerful insight into God’s work and His sovereign, loving care for His people.

In the first third of the novel, a young Lutheran curate, Savonius, serves as assistant to an elderly pastor and dean. This young man is much caught up with the world: he wants to impress the young women around him; he wants to dress well; he thinks he belongs in academia and not among the poor and unlearned. During a reception with prominent people – a reception that Savonius is much enjoying – the dean receives word that a dying man named Johannes needs a pastoral visit. Much to Savonius’ dismay, the dean tells him to leave the reception and minister to Johannes. In a powerful scene, Savonius is completely incapable of helping this man who is very conscious of his sinfulness and doubts his salvation. But a young woman comes, a strong believer, who speaks the Gospel to him. Savonius then administers the Lord’s Supper, and the dying man sees and accepts the grace of God. When Savonius departs, a peasant leaves a verse with him, Luke 22:32, Jesus’ words to Peter after prophesying his denials: “But I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.” The following excerpt contains Savonius’ response – Coty]

 

Two waves of feeling alternated within him. From one direction, came resentment. Did this peasant mean to imply that he was not converted? From the other came a mighty surge drowning every other feeling and filling his consciousness  to the brim. This was not the word of a man-it was the Word of God, a sternly clear statement about his condition.

Not converted, supported by the prayer of Another, and yet called to strengthen his brethren! He saw it with almost supernatural clarity, as from outside: he saw himself, slightly intoxicated, red garter rosettes at the knees, stepping into the carriage in the summer night with his head full of gavotte melodies and his heart of selfish concern for his own honor. He had not thought at all about the sick man; he had had no sympathy to spare for him, and much less, any thought for his salvation. He had completely forgotten him who had commissioned  him. But far beyond the pale sky of the summer night sat One enthroned who in limitless mercy had prayed for his unworthy servant, prayed that his wretched, bloodless faith might not die completely in the chill night air of raillery and jesting, but that it might be made to burn anew with a warm and living flame. He saw it all as a panorama: the forest road on which Henrik Samuel Savonius, God’s unworthy servant, was carried toward the abyss of humiliation, supported by the Savior’s intercession, himself forgetful of all that was holy, but remembered by the Holy One he had forgotten. And, in the same melancholy dimness, on another road that stretched before him like a white ribbon, he saw a lone woman, guided by that same great Mercy, rendering the service in which the incompetent servant of the Word had utterly failed. Unprofitable-but still not rejected. Had not God permitted  him to administer the Holy Sacrament with his unworthy hands? Had he not been allowed to turn the key that, by the authorization of the Savior, opened the gates of heaven? Had he not been privileged to be the celebrant at the heavenly joy feast at which Johannes on his death bed beheld the angels of God? And had not God now, to cap it all, sent him this message, so overwhelming in its undeserved and overflowing grace: “Strengthen thy brethren.” God wanted to use him after all!

He sank to his knees, rested his elbows on the rickety desk, and pressed his forehead against the knuckles of his folded hands.

“Lord, Lord, how canst Thou? Lord, is it thus Thou rewardest my transgressions? Dost Thou clothe me in grace because I have so deeply despised Thee? Lord, I am too insignificant. Lord, I am not fit. Thou knowest my pride. Thou knowest that I have wanted all the glory for myself. Thou knowest that I wanted to be seen and admired, but not to serve and bear Thy cross. Lord, have mercy upon me! If Thou still art not done with me, take me completely!”

He knelt in silence. He seemed to feel that his whole being flowed slowly into the hands of God, that he was lifted out of all the past and gradually poured into a new mold, a new life and a new will which took him in its strong grip. And when God took his soul in his hand, he felt the challenge, “Strengthen thy brethren,” as an all-constraining and dominating call.

“Dear Lord,” he murmured, “if Thou wilt use me, I will go at Thy bidding.”

Now he seemed to see before him the gray, malodorous crowd in homespun, these Swedish commoners, forsaken by their leaders, in danger of drinking themselves to death, and in their desperation being dished out a few miserable sermons, concocted of fine phrase…. It was to these he was now sent, and he would go forth in the power of God.

[From The Hammer of God by Bo Giertz (1941 in Swedish; English 1960, revised 2005. This edition © 2005 Augsberg Fortress. Link to Amazon page. By the way, God’s work is not done at this point: Savonius has several more failures ahead of him.]

 

How Should We Love Our Country? “We and Our Fathers Have Sinned”

“My country, right or wrong!”

During my early teens, in the middle of the anti-Vietnam War movement, some countered the protesters with this phrase, saying it is the duty of citizens to back their country – even if it is in the wrong.

My father was in Vietnam, risking his life as a pilot. He had talked with the family about why he was going, why the war was important. So I had frustrations with the antiwar movement. But even as a teen, I had qualms about, “My country, right or wrong.”

I didn’t know at the time that it originated way back in 1816. A naval hero, Stephen Decatur, who had defeated the North African Barbary pirates, gave this toast: To “our country: In her intercourse with foreign nations may she always be in the right, and always successful, right or wrong.” Over time, the phrase lost its nuance, becoming: My country, right or wrong.

What should be our attitude toward our country – toward this country, the USA, which celebrates its 245th birthday today?

Today’s text, Psalm 106, helps us answer that question. Like the previous psalm, this one looks back at the history of Israel. But whereas Psalm 105 relates the history of God’s faithfulness to His promise to Israel and His sovereign control over all events in bringing about His plan, Psalm 106 highlights the sins and failures of the nation. God in response brings judgment – but nevertheless fulfills His promise.

Verse 6 introduces the theme: “Both we and our fathers have sinned; we have committed iniquity; we have done wickedness.”

We today can say the same about our country. We and our fathers have sinned. Yet there are some voices today calling for us to say little else about our country’s history, only: “We have sinned, we have sinned!”

But both for Israel and for us there is much more to say. Let’s see how this psalm helps us to know what more to say.

We’ll examine it under four headings:

  • A Command, An Observation, and a Request
  • Israel’s sins
  • God’s Righteousness
  • How Should We Love Our Country?

A Command, An Observation, and a Request

Though the confession of sin in verse 6 provides the theme for the bulk of the psalm, the author does not begin with sin. He begins instead where we should always begin: With God. Indeed, the psalm begins and ends with the command, “Praise the Lord!”

  • He is the good one.
  • His love never ends.
  • He has acted time and again showing that love.
  • We fail, but He never fails.
  • We could praise Him for the rest of our lives and never finish declaring all the praise He deserves.

So praise Him! Thank Him – whether you are rejoicing in good times or are suffering in bad times. God is always good, always worthy of praise.

That’s the command.

The observation is in verse 3: “Blessed are they who observe justice, who do righteousness at all times!” God observes justice; God does righteousness at all times. So we are blessed, we are fulfilling the purpose of our creation, when we act like Him.

The psalmist will highlight many cases in which the Israelites fail to do this. But nevertheless maintains: saying: This is the way to true joy: Be like Him.

The request is in verses 4-5:

Remember me, O LORD, when you show favor to your people; help me when you save them, that I may look upon the prosperity of your chosen ones, that I may rejoice in the gladness of your nation, that I may glory with your inheritance. (emphasis added)

Given what the psalmist is about to say, this is of great importance. The psalmist knows God will fulfill His promises to His people. He knows that despite all that he is about to say about sin, God will show favor to them, He will save them. He wants to be part of God’s people, sharing in that future.

Just so with us.

  • May we fulfill the command: Praising Him and thanking Him continually.
  • May we hold fast to the observation: That true blessings come only to those who by His grace take on His character.
  • May we – seeing His church, with all her weaknesses and failures – may we long to part of that church, part of Jesus’ Bride, confident that God will perfect His church and glorify His Name through her.

Israel’s Sins

This brings us to verse 6: “Both we and are fathers have sinned.”

The psalm then recounts seven specific sins at particular times prior to their entering the Promised Land, followed by a brief description of how those sins continued once they entered the land. All seven result from a failure to fulfill the earlier command, to remember the earlier observation, or to continue to make the earlier request.

First sin: At the Red Sea: Rebellion through failure to remember (Psalm 106:7-12)

God has shown His power and love through sending the plagues on the Egyptians while sparing the Israelites. But when the Egyptian army approaches them when their backs are to the Red Sea, the people forget God’s love, God’s power, and God’s faithfulness. They “did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love, but rebelled” (Psalm 106:7). As recorded in Exodus 14:12, they cry out, “It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.”

Second sin: In the Wilderness: Putting God to the test (Psalm 106:13-15)

This incident is recorded in Numbers 11. God has provided them for their sustenance miraculously, sending manna six mornings every week. But they cry out, “Oh that we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. But now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at” (Numbers 11:4-6). Despising God’s marvelous gift, they put His love to the test, effectively saying, “If God really loved us, He would give us whatever we want.”

Third sin: In the Wilderness: Jealousy of God’s chosen leaders (Psalm 106:16-18)

In Numbers 16:3, certain men say, “All in the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them. Why then do you [Moses and Aaron] exalt yourselves above the assembly of the LORD?” Yet God had shown in miraculous ways who His chosen leaders were. Thus Moses says in Numbers 16:11, “it is against the LORD that you and all your company have gathered together.”

Fourth sin: At Sinai: Idolatry (Psalm 106:19-23)

While Moses is on the mountain, the people have Aaron make a golden calf and worship it:

They made a calf in Horeb and worshiped a metal image. They exchanged the glory of God for the image of an ox that eats grass. They forgot God, their Savior, who had done great things in Egypt (Psalm 106:19-21).

Paul alludes to this passage in Romans 1:

Although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images (Romans 1:21-23).

Fifth sin: In the Wilderness: Lack of faith in God’s promise (Psalm 106:24-27)

This passage refers to the incident recorded in Numbers 13 and 14. Twelve men return from spying out the Promised Land. They all agree that it is fruitful, but ten of the spies say that the nation will be destroyed if they enter, for the land is populated by powerful nations, including giants. The people then want to choose a leader to take them back to Egypt.

As Psalm 106:24 says: “Then they despised the pleasant land, having no faith in his promise.”

This is the fundamental sin: Lack of faith in God, lack of faith in His promises.

Sixth sin: In the Wilderness: Worshiping false gods (Psalm 106:28-31)

Rather than destroying the inhabitants of the land, as God instructs, many of the people participate in the worship of Midianite gods (Numbers 25). This worship includes practicing sexual immorality with Midianite women.

Seventh sin: In the Wilderness: Not trusting God (Psalm 106:32-33)

God has provided miraculously for the needs of His people time and again. Yet when they lack water, they blame Moses, saying, “Why have you made us come up out of Egypt to bring us to this evil place? It is no place for grain or figs or vines or pomegranates, and there is no water to drink” (Numbers 20:5).

God tells Moses to strike a rock, and He will cause water to flow. But Moses, angry with the people, speaks as if the water comes by his own power. God then punishes him.

The General Sin: In the Promised Land: Desiring to be like other nations (Psalm 106:34-39)

God set them apart from every other nation. But they despise this huge privilege, this great honor of belonging to Him, of being unique, and therefore repeat the earlier sins of idolatry, failing to remember, and lacking faith in God’s promise.

Twice in this sorry narrative, the psalmist deviates from the litany of sin, highlighting the way God uses Individuals who hate the sin and take action in quite different ways.

  • The sixth sin: God sends a plague in punishment for the worship of Midianite gods. Leaders of the congregation are mourning over the sin and pleading with God for the people. At that very moment, a man brings a Midianite woman into the camp right in front of those pleading with God. They enter his tent and engage in sexual relations. Phinehas, Aaron’s grandson and thus in the priestly line, enters the tent and kills them both. As the psalmist says, “Phinehas stood up and intervened, and the plague was stayed. And that was counted to him as righteousness from generation to generation forever” (Psalm 106:30-31)
  • The fourth sin: God tells Moses He will destroy the people for their sin with the golden calf, and will make a new nation from Moses’ descendants. But Moses pleads with God. The psalmist tells us, “[God] said he would destroy them – had not Moses, his chosen one, stood in the breach before him, to turn away his wrath from destroying them” (Psalm 106:23).

These two Individuals are faithful to God in the midst of a sinful people. They both intervene – but in quite different ways. Phinehas acts, displaying God’s righteous wrath. Once that act takes place, God ends His plague. Moses on the other hand prays. He agrees that the people deserve judgment, but prays for God to be glorified among the nations by continuing to go with the people, so that other nations won’t be able to say that He brought them into the desert to kill them.

Thus God uses individuals in the midst of His sinful people for His good purposes.

God’s Righteousness

What is God’s righteousness?

It is more than His doing acts that are right and just. God not only does acts that are right and just; He is at His very core right and just. To do acts that are right and just is to display who He is – that is, to glorify Himself. So we can think of God’s righteousness as His living up to His character, His displaying His character. He does that in this psalm both by punishing sin and by being faithful to His promise. Let’s look at these in turn.

God punishes all the recounted sins except the first, at the Red Sea. The account of God’s righteous punishment of sin culminates in Psalm 106:41-43, where the psalmist summarizes the book of Judges:

He gave them into the hand of the nations, so that those who hated them ruled over them. Their enemies oppressed them, and they were brought into subjection under their power. Many times he delivered them, but they were rebellious in their purposes and were brought low through their iniquity.

God hates sin. He sees to it that every sin is punished. This is one important aspect of His righteousness.

But God also is righteous in being faithful to His promise, despite the sins of the people. We see this in verse 23, when God turns away His wrath after the incident with the golden calf after Moses prays; in verse 30 when He stops the plague after Phinehas acts; in verse 43, delivering the people many times. As the psalmist records:

Nevertheless, he looked upon their distress, when he heard their cry. For their sake he remembered his covenant, and relented according to the abundance of his steadfast love. He caused them to be pitied by all those who held them captive (Psalm 106:44-46, emphasis added).

While commenting on the Red Sea experience, Psalm 106:8 makes this point most succinctly: “Yet he saved them for his name’s sake, that he might make known his mighty power.”

God always displays His justice, His hatred for sin. And God always displays His love, His mercy, His grace. In both ways, He works “for His Name’s sake,” for His glory. That is His righteousness. And thus that righteousness is the only hope of sinful people like you and me.

How Should We Love Our Country?

How is our country today similar to ancient Israel? How is it dissimilar?

We certainly can say with the psalmist, “Both we and our fathers have sinned.” Similar to Psalm 106, we could look at the history of the United States and make a list of past and present sins. That list might include:

  • Saying all men are created equal and then not treating many as equals. At different times and in different ways, those sins have been against African Americans, women, Native Americans, Jews, Chinese, Japanese, Irish, Poles, Roman Catholics, and others.
  • Putting to death over 60 million unborn children in the last five decades. And though praise God the annual number of abortions has decreased, still today one in five pregnancies in this country ends in abortion; in some cities, that proportion is over one half.
  • Throughout our history, we as a people have run after idols: The idol of freedom, as if we are free to do whatever we may desire; the idol of prosperity; the idol of power; and, yes, the idol of country – “My country, right or wrong” is a symptom of that idolatry.

So, yes, like ancient Israel, our country’s history contains a long list of sins, of rebellions against God. We could say the same about every country today.

There are other ways that all countries, including the US, are similar to ancient Israel. Here are four:

  • God’s sovereign hand is over both. As God says in Jeremiah 27:5, “It is I who by my great power and my outstretched arm have made the earth, with the men and animals that are on the earth, and I give it to whomever it seems right to me.” He removes governments and sets up governments. He rules all nations.
  • There’s an element of corporate responsibility for our national sins. The psalmist says, “We and our fathers have sinned.” He doesn’t have to be guilty himself of any of these seven specific sins to say that. Recall that Daniel confesses sins of the people, saying, “We have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly and rebelled, turning aside from your commandments and rules” (Daniel 9:5). We know of no such sins committed by Daniel as an individual; indeed, the account of his life is exemplary.
  • We all have an Individual responsibility to act for God’s glory in our spheres of influence – as we’ve seen that Phinehas and Moses did. Whether through public actions, like Phinehas, or through private prayer, like Moses, we are to intervene for the good of our people and the glory of God’s Name.
  • God’s character doesn’t change – so our responsibility doesn’t change. The same God who punished and showed mercy to Israel still punishes, still shows mercy.

If our countries today are similar in all these ways to ancient Israel, what is the difference?

The difference is the promise.

God makes no promise to the US as a country. This nation is not God’s chosen people. There is no promise that through America, through our descendants, all the families of nations will be blessed. God does not promise a coming American Messiah.

The promise today instead is to God’s church – God’s worldwide church. The Messiah already has come – Jesus Christ. His Kingdom will endure forever. All the promises of God are “Yes” in Him.

Therefore: We do not know if the US will endure as a country until Jesus returns. We do not know if we will drift into irrelevance over time (as the Roman Empire did over centuries), or be conquered by a foreign power (as the Babylonian Empire was), or experience a massive revival and be a major force for the advance of the Gospel.

So given who we are as a country – how we are like and yet unlike ancient Israel – how can we love our country?

The answer is in the beginning of Psalm 106: the command, the observation, and the request.

  • We are to thank Among mighty deeds of the Lord is placing you in this country. We all are beneficiaries of the history of this country; we inherit a blessing by being born into or immigrating to the US. So thank God for the positive aspects of the history of this nation, especially for highlighting the idea that all are created equal. Thank Him for raising up those who sacrificed so that we might have this inheritance. Thank Him for freedom of speech – especially the freedom to criticize the government, which most people have never had. Thank Him for our elected officials, praying for them. Thank Him for freedom to worship, and pray that it may continue.
  • We are to know the observation: “Blessed are those who observe justice, who do righteousness at all times” (Psalm 106:3). Knowing this, we ask: How can we take the inheritance we have in this country and improve it? What can I do individually – in my family, in my neighborhood, in my city, in my church? Perhaps God will use you like Phinehas and Moses, having you play a major role in improving our wider society. But don’t look down on the seemingly small ways you influence those around you. Particularly don’t look down on prayer: For national and local leaders, for churches, for us corporately as a nation.
  • We are to make the same request: “Help me be among your people.” Our most important identity is in Christ. Our most important citizenship is in the Kingdom of God, not in the US. Indeed, the best way for you and me to love the US is to be an ambassador of the Kingdom of God, to be like Christ, to follow Christ, to love with His love, to serve by His power, to proclaim the Gospel and to act according to His righteousness.

Love the United States on this 245th birthday. Love our country by thanking God, by acting and praying, by being an ambassador.

Conclusion

So what about that phrase: “My country, right or wrong”?

That phrase does not represent biblical patriotism. No ancient Israelite should have said that; we surely shouldn’t today.

Yet: a lesser known incident in the history of that famous phrase surprisingly brings out the right way to understand it.

Carl Schurz immigrated from what is now Germany shortly before 1850. He became a citizen, served in the Union army in the Civil War, and in 1868 was elected to the US Senate from Missouri as a Republican. Disappointed with the presidency of Ulysses Grant, however, he left the Republican party and attempted to form a new one.

In 1873 a fellow senator accused Schurz of working to undermine the US. Implying that Schurz was still a foreigner, with his allegiance divided, this other senator said Schurz should live out, “My country, right or wrong.”

Schurz replied: “In one sense I do say, ‘My country, right or wrong:’ If right, to be kept right; and if wrong, to be set right.”

May we as ambassadors of the Kingdom of God be His agents to keep right what is good in this country, to right what is wrong, especially in our individual spheres of influence, and to thank and praise Him that our hope is not in any country, but in the redeeming power of Jesus, who has all authority in heaven and on earth. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed (Daniel 7:14).

[See Carl Cannon’s July 1 column at Real Clear Politics for the source of the Carl Schurz story. This devotion is based on the July 4, 2021 sermon, which is available as video here and as audio here].

 

Why Must God Rejoice in His Works?

[This devotion is based on a sermon on Psalm 104 preached June 13, 2021. The audio is available here.]

Why did God create beautiful sunsets and majestic mountains? Why did He create the giant rings of Saturn and the tiny DNA double helix?

You might answer: So that in learning of them, we humans would learn of Him. So that we would see something of what He is like as we observe them.

Undoubtedly that is one reason for their creation: “The heaven are telling the glory of God, the skies proclaim the work of His hands” (Psalm 19:1). “His invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made” (Romans 1:20).

But what about those parts of His creation that no man has ever seen – that no man ever will see?

Think of a planet orbiting a star in a galaxy millions of light years from our own. Now think of a sunset on that planet – the particular mix of colors and hues. What did God create those sunsets? That beauty?

Not for us. Possibly in part for angels – the Job 38:4-7 suggests that might be the case.

But surely for His joy, His delight.

In Psalm 104, the author meditates on Genesis 1, and in so doing brings out God’s purposes in creation marvelously – especially God’s joy, saying in Psalm 104:31, “May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the LORD rejoice in his works.”

Note that this is not only the glory and joy of God the Father; this is also the glory and joy of God the Son. The Son was intimately involved in creation (John 1:2-3, Hebrews 1:2). So the glory of the Father in creation is the glory of the Son; the joy of the Father in creation is the joy of the Son. Indeed, the joy of the Father in creation is closely related to the joy of the Father in the Son.

In this devotion we’ll speak primarily of God – but remember: the Father, the Son, and, indeed, the Spirit are all involved; all have the same joy in creation.

The psalm tells us that God orders creation, provides for His creatures, gives and takes away life, glorifies Himself before men in creation, and rejoices in creation. We’ll consider these actions in turn.

God Orders Creation

God puts everything in its place, exactly where He wants it to be. We see this particularly in Psalm 104:6-9, where the psalmist reflects on both Genesis 1, the creation, and Genesis 9, the flood.

In verse 6, God dresses the earth with water, like a garment, covering it – indeed, during the flood, the waters even cover the mountains. When He decides, however, the waters retreat according to His plan (Psalm 104:7). Then the waters “flowed over the mountains, they went down into the valleys, to the place you assigned for them” (Psalm 104:8 NIV). Psalm 104:9 then speaks of the boundaries the waters would never again cross, as promised in Genesis 9:11.

The point: God orders the waters and the land – and, by inference, everything. There is a place for everything, and everything is in its place. The mountains, the seas – as mighty and powerful as they are – are placed by Him where He pleases.

God Provides for His Creatures

Psalm 104:10-23 show that the placement of the waters is not arbitrary. God puts the waters in places where He can bring sustenance and joy to His creatures. Indeed, He arranges all things with their welfare in view:

  • He provides streams of water for both domesticated and wild animals (Psalm 104:11)
  • He provides trees and bushes next to the waters as places for birds to nest and sing (Psalm 104:12)
  • Through rain, He causes grass to grow for livestock and crops to grow for mankind (Psalm 104:13-14)
  • For man especially, He provides wine for joy, oil for our skin, and bread for strength (Psalm 104:15)
  • He waters large trees in forests also, even those far from streams, providing nesting spots for different varieties of birds (Psalm 104:16-17)
  • He provides dwelling places for wild animals (Psalm 104:18)
  • As in the Genesis account, He separates night from day, light from darkness, using the moon and the sun (Psalm 104:19-23). Night in the psalmist’s day was for animals – and thus was a dangerous time for man. But even the most dangerous creatures, lions, “seek their food from God” (Psalm 104:21). And when God causes sun to rise, the lions retreat, while man – now safe from attacks – goes out to work (Psalm 104:22-23)

So God gives water, homes, food, night, day – and even joy to His creatures. Thus, there is not only a place for everything, with everything in its place, but there is provision for everything. All creation works harmoniously together as He wisely rules.

God Gives and Takes Away Life

The lions are not the only creatures who look to God for their food. He often provides food; they take it, and thus are “filled with good things” (Psalm 104:27-28). Recognizing His provision, we rightly thank Him before every meal.

But at other times God hides His face; His creatures then are dismayed or terrified – they panic (Psalm 104:29). Their lives depend solely on God: When He takes away their breath, they die; when He sends His spirit/breath, they are created (Psalm 104:30). As Jesus says, “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.” (Matthew 10:29). Thus for all creatures, there is “a time to be born, and a time to die” (Ecclesiastes 3:2), and God sees to it that both events happen at exactly the right time.

Sometimes we speak correctly of a “right to life.” That phrase is strongly biblical when referring to the right not to have another human take your life, unless you’ve committed a capital offense or you’re a soldier in an opposing army. We – and unborn children – have a right to life in that sense.

But you and I have no right to life before God. Life is a gift from Him. He gives us life initially; He sustains our lives by His mercy and grace; but He is under no obligation to keep us alive. He has the right to take away our breath at any moment.

The life of every human, every animal, every bird, every insect is in His hand. He is God.

God Glorifies Himself Before Men in Creation

In the psalm’s opening verses, the main point is not a description of God, but our reaction to Him. While contemplating creation, the psalmist cries out: “Bless the LORD, O my soul! O LORD my God, you are very great! You are clothed with splendor and majesty, covering yourself with light as with a garment, stretching out the heavens like a tent” (Psalm 104:1-2).

Psalm 104:24 highlights the psalmist being blown away as he thinks of all God’s creatures, many of which he can never see, and how God placed each in exactly in the right place: “O LORD, how manifold are your works! In wisdom have you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures” (or ‘possessions’) (Psalm 104:24).

Verses 33-34 then summarize the psalmist’s reaction to creation: “I will sing to the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being. May my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the LORD” (Psalm 104:33-34).

As mentioned, generating such delight, such praise is a key purpose of God in creation. We see His majesty, His greatness, His purity, His wisdom, His creativity, and so sing to Him every day – for all of our lives, glorifying Him by rejoicing in Him.

Do you do this?

When you look at the world around you, do you mainly notice its faults, its fallenness, its groaning? Or do you mainly see God’s glory?

There are many horrors in this world, many tragedies, many sorrows. Indeed, Jesus promises that we will have tribulation in this world. But the horrors of the world are not the essence of the world. At its essence, this entire creation is very good, as God declared in Genesis 1:31. We need to be able to delight in God’s creation, to delight in God through His creation, to see Him in the majesty and intricacy of what He has made. This psalm does not ignore the impact of the Fall, as we will see shortly. But the psalm looks past the fallenness, and sees the wisdom and power and glory of God.

We too must see that glory, must take note of that glory, must rejoice in that glory – as it exists today, thanking Him, even while we how much more glorious it will be when Jesus returns and redeems all things.

God Rejoices in Creation

God surely takes joy in revealing His wisdom and might to mankind through creation. But the psalmist speaks of another joy for God – perhaps a deeper joy: “Here is the sea, great and wide, which teems with creatures innumerable, living things both small and great” (Psalm. 104:25).

At the time of writing, there was no way for men to even know what is in the sea, leading to the question: Who do all those unseen sea creatures please?

The psalm continues: “There go the ships, and Leviathan, which you formed to play in it” (Psalm 104:26).

Think of Leviathan as a sea monster: dangerous, deadly to any ship traversing the sea. But what is God’s attitude toward Leviathan? He formed it to watch it play in the sea! He enjoys its frolics the way you or I might enjoy watching a black lab fetch sticks!

Earlier, the psalmist said: “He makes the clouds his chariot; he rides on the wings of the wind” (Psalm 104:3b).

God is not using the clouds or wind for transportation. Rather, He is pictured as riding on the wind as we might ride the roller coasters at Carowinds, or as a cyclist might be thrilled at hitting 40 miles per hour on a downhill.

The point is not that a pre-incarnate Jesus took human form and said “Whoopee!” while rushing along in the wind. This is a picture. Yet there is a clear and precious reality behind the picture: God takes great joy in His creation. He delights in His creation – not only because of what it communicates about Him, but also because He simply loves it. Creation – in all its intricacies, in all its abundance, in all its beauty –is a delight to God.

This picture lays the groundwork for verse 31: “May the glory of the LORD endure forever, may the LORD rejoice in His works” (Psalm 104:31, emphasis added).

The glory of the Lord should shine clearly through His creation. He should rejoice in His very good works. This is right and proper. Anything in creation that doesn’t give God joy does not belong.

What is that? What is out of place in the present creation?

All of creation is “very good” at the end of Genesis 1. But then Adam and Eve rebel against this good, merciful, loving God in Genesis 3. This rebellion stains mankind and the entire world, leading to the horrors we see throughout history to the present day. As Paul writes: “The creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now” (Romans 8:19-22).

In the marvelous word picture, anthropomorphized creation is groaning, eagerly straining forward to catch a glimpse of our future redemption, when creation itself will no longer be bound up with corruption.

And God Himself, naturally, hates this rebellion: “The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men” (Romans 1:18).

So: God delights in creation when everything is fulfilling its purpose, and He hates the rebellion of mankind and its impact on creation. Thus the psalm concludes: “Let sinners be consumed from the earth, and let the wicked be no more! Bless the LORD, O my soul! Praise the LORD!” (Psalm 104:35).

To many of us today, this verse seems out of place: The psalmist is delighting in creation – why even say anything about sinners?

But this verse is central to the message of the psalm. Sin has no place in God’s very good creation! God must rejoice in the entirety of creation! So sinners must be consumed from the earth; the wicked must be no more. The present, fallen state of creation cannot continue forever. Instead, the glory of the Lord must endure forever; God must rejoice in all His works, in their entirety. All remaining mankind must sing praise to God while they have being.

Revelation 21:27 underlines this truth: Nothing unclean will ever enter New Jerusalem, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life. That is: The ones to enter are those redeemed by the blood of Jesus by grace through faith, those conformed to His likeness by the power of the Holy Spirit, those who will praise His Name for all eternity in the new heavens and new earth, delighting with God in the vast intricacies of His creation, learning over millennia more of more of Who He is and What He has created, thus joining Him in rejoicing over all His works.

Conclusion: Should We Not Rejoice with God?

Thursday night, while a friend was over for dinner, a barred owl called out so loudly we knew he was close by. Over the years we’ve heard these owls frequently, but have rarely seen them. With the full foliage of June, there seemed little chance this would be one of those rare occasions. But I kept my eyes fixed in the direction of the calls – when suddenly, he took off and flew to the west. I only saw him for a split second through the leaves. But I was thrilled. The sighting was a gift of God. I’m so glad I kept looking.

Friends, join the psalmist in looking at creation, at noticing creation, at reflecting on the God who designed it so intricately. Open your eyes to see its beauty:

  • Smell the honeysuckle
  • Pick up a box turtle
  • Get up early to watch the sunrise

Delight in the beauty of God’s creation, and thus deepen your delight in the Creator.

Remember: He is a God of joy. He delights in what you and I can’t see. And this God of joy will delight in you – when you cease your rebellion, when you come to Him through the sacrifice of Jesus, when you assume the place He designed for you in His perfected creation.

Come to Him. Fulfill your purpose.

May the Lord rejoice in all His works – including you.

Fighting Persistent Sin

[Not long ago, a friend asked about fighting a persistent sin. Here is an edited version of my reply – Coty]

After God makes us a new creation in Christ, certain sins disappear. They never rear their ugly heads again. Often this happens immediately upon being saved, sometimes much later. He graciously gives us these tokens as a down-payment of the complete transformation that He promises in the new heavens and the new earth.

With some other sins, the temptation to give in may disappear for a time. But God has not removed our susceptibility. The disappearance is temporary. Satan waits “until an opportune time” to tempt us again (as Satan did, unsuccessfully, with our Lord – Luke 4:13). In this case, the period of zero temptation is a strategy by the Enemy to get us to let our guard down, to remove boundaries – as in a war, a general might withdraw his troops and temporarily not engage in any action, all the while preparing for a surprise major assault.

Then there is a third type of sin. These are constantly with us. We feel the temptation every day until we die or Jesus returns. Scripture calls us to battle these continually, putting to death the deeds of the body by the Spirit (Romans 8:13).

How do we do that? How can we put this third type of sin to death when the temptation keeps popping up every day?

The battle takes place on three fronts: In the mind, in the affections, and in actions.

The Battle in the Mind

1) Satan is a liar and the father of lies (John 8:44). What lies has Satan used successfully against you in the past in tempting you into these sins? Once you’ve identified the lies, arm yourself with the Word of Truth to fight those lies. This link provides some examples.

2) Fight desire with desire. Sin is not the way to love, joy, peace, security, or fulfillment. It is the way to death, to the destruction of all that is good, even all that is pleasurable.

3) Don’t downplay the importance of any sin. Never excuse it or claim it is not so bad.

4) Preach the Gospel to yourself, listen to the Gospel preached, and ask others to speak it to you. Satan will try to condemn you and to make you think that you are His slave. In Christ you are not. 1 John 1:5-2:2 is helpful here.

So points 2, 3, and 4 together say: Your sin is great. And the Gospel is greater.

5) Remind yourself regularly: This fight is temporary. God has placed you in it, requiring you to depend on Him to fight it. He will glorify Himself in the fight, and, in the new heavens and the new earth, He will make you perfect practically as you already are perfect positionally before Him in Christ.

The Battle in the Affections

1) Cultivate a hatred for this sin. Reflect on ways this same type of sin has destroyed the lives of others and dishonored our Lord. Reflect on the way Jesus did resist (if there are biblical examples) or must have resisted this temptation. Remind yourself regularly that sin is completely antithetical to who you are in Christ (1 John 2:28-3:10 is especially helpful, particularly verse 9. The KJV is quite literal: “Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.” We cannot sin without denying our new birth.)

2) Cultivate love of God, love of Jesus, especially a longing to be like Him.

3) Cultivate a love for your family and the family of God around you, thanking God always for each of them. Every sin will have an impact on them.

The Battle in Actions

1) Be quick to confess and repent, making no excuses.

2) Be quick to pray when tempted

3) Identify those situations and moods that lead you to be tempted, or to let your guard down, avoiding such situations when possible, and watching yourself even more carefully when you can’t. Develop a strategy for what you will do in those cases.

4) Seek help and prayer from others and develop a regular plan for who will ask you about your battle against such temptations.

5) Pray every day for each person in your family and for several in your church, asking God to use you in each of their lives.

Note that this is not a way to put the sin behind you once and for all. For sins in this third category, there is a daily – even hourly – fight the rest of your life. But the fight itself can be God-glorifying. That’s why God hasn’t taken away the temptation.

Love you, brother. You are indeed a new man in Christ. Live it out through the fight to depend on Him, the fight to love Him, the fight to love your family and the family of God.

In Him, Coty