Thankfulness in Colossians

The book of Colossians reveals that our walk as Christians hinges on our thankfulness to God for what he has done for us in Jesus, what he is doing for us in Jesus, and what he promises to do for us in Jesus. Even so, we might not instinctually connect Colossians to the concept of thankfulness. Rather, Colossians is most well-known, and rightly so, for having some of the most stunning christological language in all of Scripture. I mean, who can keep themselves from being swept up into the mind-boggling wonder of descriptions like this in Colossians 1:15–18,

 

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.

 

We’re truly breathing the rarefied air of pristine alpine peaks here. But what is Paul’s aim in soaring to these spectacular heights? Well, it is certainly authentic worship on his part, so that would be the ultimate end. But why invite the Colossians into this worship? What gift does Paul seek to impart here? To answer this question, it helps to consider what seemed to be the climate in Colossae.

It seems that some false teaching had recently clouded the Colossians’ view of this christological summit. Given a few of Paul’s commandments, this false teaching was on the order of a strange mix of asceticism, mysticism, and pagan and/or Jewish rituals that all billed themselves as a means to grow in wisdom and knowledge of God. In response, Paul issued instructions such as these:

 

 Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath (Colossians 2:16).

Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels (Colossians 2:18).

If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations— “Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch” (referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to human precepts and teachings? (Colossians 2:20–22).

 

But to all these, Paul says “These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh. If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.” (Colossians 1:23–3:1).

In short, false teaching tempted the Colossians to add to the gospel of Jesus some legalistic measures or practices in order to make themselves worthy of God and to increase their knowledge of God. So that was the situation at Colossae. And, that is why Paul’s entire message to the Colossians from the beginning is this:

Jesus the Son of God, who is your life, is supreme; therefore, just as you received Jesus, so walk in him (Colossians 1:18; 2:6).

So, to return to the top, what is Paul’s aim in highlighting Jesus’ supremacy? Well, according to the message I just articulated, Paul aims to spur the Colossians to right obedience. But we might say, how does Jesus being supreme inspire obedience? How are the two connected? We find the connection in the relative clause, who is your life.

See, essential to Jesus’ preeminence is that he is the first born from the dead (Colossians 1:18). It is through supreme Jesus’ cross and resurrection that sinful man has been reconciled to God (Colossians 1:20). It is through supreme Jesus that the Father qualified sinful man to share in the inheritance of the saints in light (Colossians 1:12), which is their hope laid up in heaven (Colossians 1:5). It is through supreme Jesus that the Father delivered sinful man from the domain of darkness and transferred him to the kingdom of his beloved Son (Colossians 1:13). It is through supreme Jesus that sinful man has redemption, the forgiveness of sins (Colossians 1:14). And, it is through supreme Jesus that sinful man is being renewed in knowledge after the image of his creator (Colossians 3:10). Jesus is supreme. And, his supremacy, his preeminence, goes hand-in-hand with his redemption of sinful man, whom he makes new and to whom he promises eternal, resurrected life. He is the first born from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. Paul ascends to such apexes to remind the Colossians that this is their present spiritual condition. Supreme Jesus has made them alive and new, and he is making them alive and new. And because of Supreme Jesus, this is also the Colossians’ future. He will resurrect them alive and new to live with God for all eternity.

What should such a reality inspire in the Colossians? Thankfulness. And here we’ve arrived at the main point of this post. Notably, Paul does something more in Colossians, than he does in any other epistle. What is that? He exhorts his audience to thanksgiving.

 

…we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his…so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him…giving thanks to the Father…(Colossians 1:9–12).

Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving (Colossians 2:6–7)

And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful (Colossians 3:15).

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God (Colossians 3:16).

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him (Colossians 3:17).

Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving (Colossians 4:2).

 

Colossians is a short book. The density of exhortations to thankfulness is impressive and noteworthy. What does this reveal to us? It reveals this: Our walk as Christians hinges on our thankfulness to God for what he has done for us in Jesus, what he is doing for us in Jesus, and what he promises to do for us in Jesus.

Colossians reveals to us that we must stoke the flames of thankfulness in our hearts. To do that, let’s follow Paul. Let’s take his invitation to try as we might to summit the peaks of Jesus’ supremacy. We must be fascinated by and stand in wonder at who Jesus is and what he has done for us. We must see Jesus as supreme. And, when we see him thus, we cannot help but be thankful.

Let Us Pray: Help in Prayer from D.A. Carson’s “Praying with Paul”

Praying can often be challenging in many ways. Simply finding time to pray once throughout the day can be elusive, let alone trying to find and establish a rhythm of prayer. We find our time in prayer comes in fits and starts and often looks random as opposed to regular and rhythmic. Then once we do start praying, we find that our mind tends to wonder to-and-fro to the point that we often can’t even remember what it is we’ve already prayed for or haven’t prayed for yet. What is the remedy? One very helpful and encouraging resource for building a regular rhythm of prayer in one’s life is D.A. Carson’s Praying with Paul: A Call to Spiritual Reformation.

The Introduction and first two chapters alone are a treasure trove of practical and biblical wisdom. First, Carson identifies the immense value of prayer. Then he offers some practical steps to help us start praying and to help us drown out the noise of everyday. And then he offers insight into building a biblical framework that helps guide our prayers. This practical wisdom helps eliminate distractions and the biblical wisdom informs and streamlines our prayers so that we pray in the Spirit, in accord with the heart of God as revealed by Scripture.

 

The Need for Prayer

We will not ever prioritize prayer or ever establish a rhythm of prayer in our lives if we do not recognize the immeasurable value of prayer. Carson notes, “The most urgent need of the church in the Western world is the need to pray.”[1] Carson acknowledges the swath of other areas the church needs to address and be prepared to respond to (Issues like overwhelming biblical illiteracy, cultural moral decay, the sexual revolution, the rise of cultural intolerance for those disagreeing with majority cultural virtues, unreached and unchurched people groups, etc.). However, he maintains “the one thing we most urgently need is a deeper knowledge of God. We need to know God better.”[2] And what is one of the primary ways in which we grow in our intimate knowledge of God? How do we know God better? We pray.

“One of the foundational steps in knowing God, and one of the basic demonstrations that we do know God is prayer—spiritual, persistent, biblically minded prayer.”[3]

So once we recognize its value, then the next natural step is to engage in the practice of prayer itself.

 

Practical Steps for Prayer

I once had a track coach who offered powerful wisdom for improving one’s running ability and speed. He could often be heard saying to us unfit, ailing, frustrated wannabe track stars, “Do you want to know how you become a better, faster runner? You run.” In chapter one, Carson makes much the same point with prayer. If we want to see improvement in our prayer lives, the first step is to pray. Or, to say it another way, we often struggle in prayer because we don’t pray regularly. Carson addresses this point specifically in this way, “Much praying is not done because we do not plan to pray.”[4] He then offers perhaps one of the simplest yet most profound pieces of wisdom with regard to prayer: “It is better to pray often with brevity than rarely but at length.”[5] The first step to improving our prayer life is to pray.

Carson then offers some simply practical steps to help eliminate distractions. Among these are: vocalizing prayers, praying through Scripture, making prayer lists to follow, journaling prayers, having a prayer partner, etc.[6] The takeaway from these suggestions is that there are practical steps we can plan to take along with good and wise practices that help focus our prayer efforts. Some will find different practices to be more beneficial than others. The key is finding what works for you.

 

Developing a Framework for Prayer

In chapter two, Carson urges us to develop a robust framework for our prayers. And as the title of his book suggests, he models this framework off of Paul’s prayers. Specifically, he models it off of Paul’s prayer for the Thessalonians in 2 Thessalonians 1:3–12. There, Carson points out that two elements make up Paul’s framework for his prayer:

  1. Thankfulness for signs of grace in the Thessalonians
  2. Confidence and hope in God’s coming reign at Christ’s return, and the justice it will bring

So, when we pray, we too should recognize the varying signs of grace that God has granted in us and our church family. And we make it a point to thank God for such gifts of grace. Such gifts could be increased faith, increased love, increased knowledge of God, growing maturity, perseverance in trials and suffering, people using their gifts to build up the body, confession and repentance, etc. When we recognize such graces, our instinct should be to thank God for them. As we develop this framework, we will likely find that we become more proficient at recognizing them. We will begin to identify God’s gifts of grace where before we might of looked right past them. So when we pray, we infuse our prayers with thankfulness for signs of divine grace.

And, when we pray, we pray with a view to and longing for the fullness of God’s kingdom that comes with the return of Jesus. We anticipate not just the joy that comes with his presence but also the justice that comes with the consummation of his kingdom. All wrongs will be made right. God will vindicate all his people, and God will exact retribution on all the enemies of him and his people. Saints have always fit their prayers into the reality that God will deliver vindication and justice for his people, whom he knows intimately. Think of David’s prayers to God in the Psalms (cf. Psalm 139, which we have recently memorized as a congregation). Therefore, when we pray, our prayers take on a tincture of hopefulness because Jesus will return. And so in our prayers we raise up this plea to heaven, “Come, Lord Jesus” (Revelation 22:20).

 

Let Us Pray

We must recognize the value and need for prayer. With Carson’s help, we can find ways to plan for prayer and develop practices to eliminate distraction. And with Carson and Paul’s helps, we too can begin to develop and build a framework for our prayers that infuses them with thanksgiving and hope. When we pray, we commune with God, grow in our knowledge of him, thank him for his varied gifts of grace in our lives, and joyfully anticipate Christ’s return when he will right all wrongs. So the only thing left for us to do is to pray. So let us pray.

[1] D. A. Carson, Praying with Paul: A Call to Spiritual Reformation, Second. (Baker Academic, 2015), xi.

[2] Carson, Praying with Paul, xiii.

[3] Carson, Praying with Paul, xiii.

[4] Carson, Praying with Paul, 1.

[5] Carson, Praying with Paul, 2.

[6] Carson, Praying with Paul, 2–20.

Cultivating a Thankful Heart

How important is gratitude to God?

The Apostle Paul commands us, “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

Gratitude is thus central to our becoming what God intends us to be. But we easily fall into ingratitude, focusing on what God has not given us as opposed to what He has.

Consider these seven categories of items, from the past and in the present, for which we should express thankfulness to God:

1) Salvation, in all its parts

We were by nature children of wrath, but God being rich in mercy made us alive in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:3-5). That salvation is completely undeserved; it is all a gift, all by His grace (Ephesians 2:6-9). In Christ Jesus we have complete forgiveness through His sacrifice on the cross, and thus have access directly to God the Father. He adopts us into His intimate family and has His Holy Spirit dwell in us. He transforms us more and more into the likeness of Jesus.

2) Obvious Other Gifts

God sometimes grants us pleasures, joys that are clearly unexpected gifts from Him. Here’s one from my life:

I was a competitive distance runner for almost 25 years. As a 37-year old In 1993, I ran a small town Thanksgiving Day 5k in Massachusetts that I should have won. But I limped home third, showing no guts and little speed. I was disgusted with myself.

The next day I got up before sunrise to run a five-mile loop. Looking at the thermometer, I almost got back into bed – it was 7 degrees, the coldest morning so far. I forced myself out of the house, just planning to go through the motions.

And then God gave me the gift. After a mile or two, I found myself running with tremendous freedom, with smooth form, with considerable speed, soaking in the beauty of the sunrise over the mountains.

All that I loved about running was encapsulated in that effort.

Then God gave me another gift – I wrote about that run. Unbeknownst to me, eight months later I would suffer a knee injury that would prevent me from ever running like that again. But our Lord prompted me to write in part in order that I would have that reminder for the rest of my life of His gift of running.

I wrote, “I am most thankful not for the years of races, not for the hard training, not for any speed I may have, but for this Thanksgiving Friday run.” (You can read my write-up here.)

What obvious gifts are you thankful for?

3) Clear Answers to Prayer

God involves us in accomplishing His purposes via prayer in part so that we will give thanks to Him when He answers: “You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many” (2 Corinthians 1:11).

So remember what you pray for – and give thanks when He answers!

4) What We are Tempted to Think We Produced or Obtained Ourselves

Let me just list several examples to prompt your reflection:

  • Spouses
  • Children
  • Jobs
  • Income: “It is [God] who gives you the power to get wealth” (Deuteronomy 8:18)
  • Homes
  • Health and Fitness
  • Skills and Abilities
  • Education
  • Christian virtues: faith, obedience, perseverance, even the desire to follow Him (Psalm 119:36)

5) What We are Tempted to Think We Deserve

Again, here are some possible examples:

  • Life – He created us
  • Breath – He sustains us
  • Sleep – “He gives to his beloved sleep” (Psalm 127:2)
  • Daily provision – food, health care, peace
  • A functioning government – While it is easy to see flaws in our government, very few people in the history of the world have lived under a better government than ours.

We recognize all the items in these first five categories as good. The problem is that we often don’t acknowledge them as from God, and so we fail to give Him thanks.

The last two categories are different:

6) Gifts that We Easily Overlook

We are tempted not to notice these gifts – instead, we often complain when we don’t encounter them. Examples:

  • An efficient customer service agent
  • A courteous driver
  • Electricity when it doesn’t go out
  • Police who do their jobs effectively and professionally
  • The church members who aren’t up front – who prepare the Lord’s Supper, who put up signs, who clean the church, and do so many other tasks

What do you benefit from that you overlook? Thank God – as well as the people involved.

7) Always and for Everything by Faith in God’s Future Grace

The seventh category brings us to Paul’s statement that we should give thanks “in all circumstances,” or, as the Apostle says in Ephesians 5:20, “always and for everything.” That implies that we should thank God for trials and difficulties – even for the results of sin.

So we should rightly thank God for:

  • Tragedies
  • Deaths
  • Disappointments
  • “Negative” answers to prayer – when the sick are not healed, when the door to a job or a ministry or marriage is not opened, when a relationship is not reconciled, when a war is not

How do we give thanks for these?

We do not thank God for the sin, the sorrow, the pain, the suffering. But we do thank Him that He is working out His purposes even through such hardships.

Remember what our Lord says in Luke 11:11-12: “What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?”

A good father doesn’t refuse to give his child something good, and never gives his child something harmful. But when a good father’s two-year old asks for a cookie he may well give him an orange. We – spiritual two-year olds that we are – often struggle to see how what God gives us serves His purposes. But if we are in Christ, whatever He gives us is for our good and His glory.

Sometimes we get a glimpse of how God is at work, as Paul did 2 Corinthians 1:8-9:

We were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.

Paul discerns one way God worked through that difficult trial – He highlighted Paul’s dependence on Him. God undoubtedly was accomplishing millions of other objectives simultaneously; as the Apostle says elsewhere, “How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways” (Romans 11:33). Though Paul doesn’t see those millions of accomplishments, he is able to thank God for this one good result of his trial – for this one way this difficulty was an egg and not a scorpion.

So when in the midst of trials and difficulties, look for ways that God may be at work. Ask Him to show you a glimpse of what he is accomplishing.

However, even when we pray for such glimpses, oftentimes we fail to discern any good that results from the evil we experience. How do we thank God “always and for everything” then?

Thank God that He promises that:

  • He is at work – even when we can’t see how
  • He has not given us a scorpion
  • He is sustaining our faith in the midst of the trial
  • He provides in His Word and in church history accounts of others in similarly terrible circumstances – and those worked for the good of His people and the glory of His Name.

I encourage you to cultivate a thankful heart by considering these seven categories. Identify and thank God for one example from each, whether recent or from your past. Thank Him for:

  • One aspect of salvation
  • One obvious gift
  • One clear answer to prayer
  • One good you are tempted to think you earned or produced
  • One good you are tempted to think you deserve
  • One gift you easily overlook
  • One difficulty that considered by itself is not good

You may want to do the entire exercise in one sitting. Alternately, perhaps it would be more beneficial to pick one category a day over the course of a week. In either case, then share these thanksgivings with someone else. Ask him or her to do the same.

Continue to remind yourself that any good, any pleasure, any delight, all health, all wisdom, all knowledge, any growth, any improvement, any Christlikeness comes from God – and they are ours only because of Jesus.  Apart from Him, either the entire human race is destroyed under God’s wrath, or we live in a Genesis 6:5 world: “Every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time” (NIV).

So cultivate a thankful heart. Give thanks always and for everything. Express that thanks to God and to one another.

And so fulfill the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

[This devotion is based on part of the March 27 sermon, “Give Thanks in All Circumstances.” You can listen to that sermon via this link.]

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].

 

God’s Power – For What?

Why do you need God’s power? When you pray that others might be empowered by God, what outcome do you have in mind? The completion of some great task? Effective witness of the Gospel to thousands?

Surely there are times when we should pray for such outcomes. But consider the Apostle Paul’s prayer in Colossians 1. He makes a number of requests for that church, yet especially asks that they might be “strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; giving thanks to the Father” (Colossians 1:11-12a).

Paul himself is under arrest when he writes (Colossians 4:18). The natural reaction to such circumstances would be to chafe at these bonds, to be annoyed at the limitations on his freedom and ministry – even to be bitter and angry towards God for this experience of suffering.

But he rejects this natural reaction. He endures to the end. He rejoices always in the Lord. He gives thanks in all circumstances.  He does all this by the power of God working in him.

Having fought this battle against temptation in his own life through dependence on God’s power, he prays that the Colossians might do the same. Let’s walk through this part of his prayer:

  • He prays that they would be strengthened not just with a bit of power, but with “all power.” This fight is so important – and the adversary tempting Christians to despair, to anger, to frustration, is so powerful – that we need great power, all power to resist.
  • To accentuate the extent of the power, Paul asks that we be strengthened with power “according to His glorious might.” That is, in accord with the great power of God Himself. That is the mightiest power possible!
  • He prays that God might strengthen us with this power so that we would live out “all endurance.” He asks that we be able to bear up under whatever trials, sufferings, or setbacks we might experience.
  • Furthermore, he prays that we might be strengthened to all “patience” or “longsuffering.” Confident in God’s sovereign control, we know that He is working all things together for His good and wise purposes. Even in the valley of the shadow of death we wait patiently, eagerly anticipating God’s turning to the good what evil men and malevolent spiritual forces mean for harm.
  • In addition, he prays that we would exhibit joy as we endure patiently. We are not gritting our teeth, saying, “I can get through this, I can get through this!” By His power, we like the Apostle rejoice in the Lord always, in all circumstances.
  • Finally, he prays that we might maintain an attitude of thankfulness. Whatever our circumstances, we are always recipients of undeserved gifts. Every breath we breath, every calorie we consume, every minute we live is a gift of God. By His power we can continue to recognize those gifts even in the midst of horrible suffering.

So, pray this way for one another. Pray for strength according to God’s mighty power, so that we might have all endurance and patience with joy, always with an attitude of thanksgiving. God is pleased to answer such prayers – so that we, individually and corporately, might be conformed more and more to the image of His suffering yet conquering Son, to the glory and praise of the Father.

Thankful for the Word

In this Thanksgiving season, I am especially thankful for the Word of God.

Consider: Why don’t you love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength?

Here are three barriers that hinder such love:

  • The bad things in this world – including natural disasters, oppression, torture, and slavery. These can lead to doubts about the existence or power or love of God.
  • The good things in this world – God’s good gifts that we love more than the One who gives them. These lead us to take our eyes off of God. Even a wonderful spouse can lead us away from having an all-encompassing love for God, as we love that husband or wife more than we love Him. But temptations fit into this category also. Most temptations are for good things that we want in the wrong context: Sexual expression outside of marriage, more money or possessions than what God has granted us. So, often we respond in two wrong ways to the good things in this world: We either have them, and let our enjoyment and love for them become greater than our love for God; or we don’t have them, and spend our lives coveting them, thus failing to love God above all else.
  • The busy-ness of this world. Third, a lack of love for God may result not from some other desire or from tragedy – but just because we never even think of Him. We are so busy! We get up, get to work, get home, get dinner, watch our regular TV programs, exercise, call our parents, help the kids with the homework, take care of the dog. And, suddenly, it’s bedtime. The day’s over. Oops, no time with God today. So we say, “Well, tomorrow I’ll do that.” But then tomorrow zips by in the same manner.

How can we overcome these barriers and truly love God?

At the heart of all these barriers is ignorance of God – a practical ignorance if not an intellectual ignorance. If we let these barriers interfere with our love for God, then we are ignorant of God’s ways, of God’s delights, of what is most important.

How do we combat this ignorance? How do we tear down these barriers to loving God?

God’s Word is the key. God’s Word is the revelation of Who He is. God’s Word is the revelation of the only way to know Him, the only way to be acceptable to Him – through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ. God’s Word shows us the way to true life, giving us the right perspective on all the rest of life.

So the key way, the only way to deal with those impediments to loving God is knowledge of His Word.

Note this carefully: Knowledge is necessary for love.

This is very different from the way many people think. Even some churches say, “Let’s not emphasize teaching. Let’s not emphasize doctrine. Let’s just give everyone enough teaching so that they are saved, but then forget the rest. Doctrine divides. Let’s just all love God, and love our fellow man.”

But the Bible tells us that we must know His Word if we are to love Him, and through His Word we are enabled to love our fellow man. Correct doctrine, rightly taught and rightly prompting love, is key for the Christian life.

Consider Philippians 1:7-11. Paul says he holds the Philippians in his heart. He yearns for them with the affection of Christ Jesus. So what does he pray for them? He prays that their love may become like His love: that is, coupled with or abounding with knowledge:

[I pray] that your love still more and more might abound in knowledge and all discernment, so that you might test and approve the things that really matter, in order that you might be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, being filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God. (Philippians 1:9-11, own translation)

Do you see what he is saying? He starts by acknowledging their love for God. He then prays that that love might be coupled with more and more knowledge, so that they can know the difference between what is important and what is not. Then they will take on character of Jesus Christ – thus fulfilling their purpose of glorifying Him, and loving Him that much more. So for Paul, love and knowledge are intimately related.

We must think in these categories! Love and knowledge are not antithetical. To say ‘I love God” and

  • not to be in His Word,
  • not to hear Him proclaimed through preaching,
  • not to listen to the public reading of the Scripture,
  • not to read good books about Him –

is to be stating a falsehood. You do not love God if you are not trying to know Him better. Truly to love God is to have the desire to know Him. And we know Him first and foremost through His Word.

Jesus says the greatest commandment is to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:28-30). But these are not four independent ways of loving God! We cannot love God with all our heart unless we are also loving God with our mind. And vice versa.

Rather, loving God with all our mind is the way to love God with all our heart. So as we love God, we desire to know Him better. We thus will prayerfully fill our mind with His Word, and ask that God would open up His Word to us all the more. We therefore will know Him better, and love Him more – prompting us to seek Him through His Word all the more.

This is a type of virtuous circle, or positive feedback loop. Consider John 15:7:

If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you.

Loving God prompts us to pray, and prayer leads us to love God more. So our primary request is that the first part of the verse be true for us: We pray that we might abide in Him, and that His Words might abide in us. Note that Jesus chooses to say, “If My words abide in you” and not simply “If I abide in you.” He is thereby making the point that abiding in Jesus is not a state of higher consciousness that we somehow attain. Knowledge of Jesus does not come in some mystical way, but from His revelation of Himself. Jesus became incarnate, and those who saw Him, wrote of Him, and the prophets who lived prior to Him were carried along by the Holy Spirit to write of Him. God superintended all that, so that we might come to know Him through the way He ordained.

So our love for God – as well as our love for each other – must be based on the truths presented in God’s Word. Our love for each other is not based on some general idea of human worth. Nor is it based on feelings of human oneness. Our love for God is not based on whatever conception of God and Jesus I come up with in my head. Our love for God – if it is a love that fulfills the Great Commandment – must be a love that is based on the revelation of God in His Word.

Therefore, a genuine love for God must prompt us to know more of His Word. If it does not, it is not a true love for God.

So be thankful for God’s Word! And may we be devoted to that Word in our churches, in our homes, and in our private lives. May we know His revelation better and better – and so love Him and love our neighbor more and more.

[This devotion is an edited version of the introduction to a sermon on Psalm 119 from 2005.]

Looking Back, Looking Ahead, Pressing On: Giving Thanks for 10 Years of DGCC

Ten years ago we held our first public service as Desiring God Community Church. This weekend, we celebrate God’s faithfulness over this decade under the theme, “Looking Back, Looking Ahead, Pressing On: Gospel Ministry for the Joy of our City and the Nations.”

As we prepare for the weekend activities, give thanks together with me:

  • To John Piper for bringing in to sharp focus the biblical command to pursue our greatest joy in God;
  • To Kenny Stokes, for friendship and prayers, humble service and effective leadership;
  • To Amanda Knoke for her initial boldness in suggesting a Charlotte church plant, and for dedicated, enthusiastic service to realize that dream;
  • To Matt and Michelle, Jacob and Karen, Scotty and Lisa, Jim and Michele, and Erica, for following God’s call to go out from DGCC long term for the joy of the nations and the glory of our Savior;
  • To Vijay Sastry, Paul Chintada, P. Swamy, Caleb Rayapati, Johnson and Babu, Shadrach, Thomas, Stephen, and Elijah for partnership in Gospel ministry for the joy of the peoples of India;
  • To Rio, Renata, Alicia, Ali, and Rosemary, for partnership in Gospel ministry for the joy of the peoples of Indonesia;
  • To Steve and Paula Rumsey, for ten years of friendship and quiet, faithful, God-glorifying service to our King;
  • To Fred Balbuena, for seven years of co-laboring for the Gospel, always faithful, exemplifying a servant heart;
  • To Ed Conrad for his willingness to move hundreds of miles to help fulfill a biblical vision, and for the deep love that he constantly displays for God’s people as he helps all the rest of us fulfill that vision;
  • To Karl Dauber for his friendship and wise counsel;
  • To my parents and Beth’s parents for constant support, love, and prayers through the risks and uncertainties of church planting;
  • To Kevin and May, Sunil and Jerlin, Johnson and Vimala, Mike and Lily, George, Bruno, and many others over the years who have crossed language and ethnic boundaries to become a part of DGCC, fulfilling what we wrote on the front of our first Sunday morning bulletin in March, 2003:

God is calling us to establish a church that builds true, joyful community among believers from the many people-groups God has brought to the Charlotte area. We thus aim to be a church of the nations, with ministries to the nations, both those in Charlotte and around the world.

  • To present members of DGCC who today are living out this biblical vision more and more fully month by month, year by year;
  • To past members of DGCC who labored diligently, prayed wholeheartedly, gave sacrificially, and served faithfully over this last decade;
  • To Beth, for standing beside me and supporting me, for correcting me and calling me to account, for constant love and faithful partnership, for wisdom and grace, firmness and gentleness, in all circumstances of our life together: for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, by God’s grace and in constant dependence on Him;
  • To God the Father through Jesus Christ His Son: For the great privilege of being part of a body of believers – a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession – brought together to proclaim with great joy the excellencies of the One Who called us out of the darkness we deserved into His marvelous light. Continue to use us, O Father, over this next decade, to spread that Gospel for the joy of the undeserving and the glory of Your Name, here in Charlotte and around the world.

Receive, Receive, Receive

What do you deserve? How much of what you have – family, goods, health, friends, ministry, influence – is yours by desert?

In Deuteronomy 26, God gives instructions for an offering of the firstfruits of the initial harvest after the Israelites enter the Promised Land. In addition to the offering, they are to say these words:

“A wandering Aramean was my father. And he went down into Egypt and sojourned there, few in number, and there he became a nation. . . . The Egyptians treated us harshly. . . . Then we cried to the LORD, the God of our fathers, and the LORD heard our voice and saw our affliction. . . . The LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. . . . He brought us into this place and gave us this land. . . . Now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground, which you, O LORD, have given me” (Deuteronomy 26:5-10).

Moses then says, “You shall rejoice in all the good that the LORD your God has given to you” (Deuteronomy 26:11).

Notice the God-centeredness of this statement. The Israelites are to say, “We were not even a people, yet God chose us, guided us, and watched over us. He enabled us to multiply. He rescued and redeemed us – all we did was cry out! All we have is the result of His grace!”

Now, the Israelites might be tempted to say, “We had to fight battles to get here! We defeated the Amalekites, we destroyed the armies of Sihon and Og, we defeated the forces of numerous Canaanite kings. Furthermore, we worked the ground, we harvested the crops. Of course, God has given us much – but surely because of our hard work we deserve a considerable portion of what we have!”

But that is not the biblical attitude. Paul asks the Corinthians, “What do you have that you did not receive?” (1 Corinthians 4:7). And earlier in Deuteronomy, Moses warns the Israelites against thinking they deserve what they have worked for:

Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’  You shall remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth (Deuteronomy 8:17-18, emphasis added).

“It is He who gives you the power to get . . .” Complete the sentence. Put in place of “wealth” whatever you have that you think you deserve. Your job. Your friends. Your spouse. Your children. If you have worked for and received something worthwhile, even that is a gift of God. You did not deserve the ability to work.

My friends, whatever we have, whatever we are, whatever we love – all is a gift. Everything is ours by grace. We don’t deserve goods. We don’t deserve friends. We don’t deserve abilities. We don’t deserve family. We don’t deserve breath.

Today I turn 54 years old. This lesson – that I deserve nothing, that every good in my life is a gift and is not earned – is one I have needed to learn over and over again. So often, when matters don’t go exactly as I desire, the thought arises, “Surely I deserve. . . .” So often in times of joy I will pat myself on the back for what I have.

This evening there will be birthday presents to open. Last night before small group, there was a delicious birthday dinner complete with a 54-candle birthday cake. At moments like this, it’s relatively easy to say, “I don’t deserve these presents. I don’t deserve this party. I don’t deserve this 54-candle birthday cake.”

But, Lord God, help me to look at all else and say, “Everything good in my life is a gift from the Father. Whatever is good in my character, whatever I have received in pay, whatever joy in Beth or in the children or in athletics or in this loving church – all comes to me because of the mercy and lovingkindness of God the Father through Jesus Christ.”

And may I, in this next year of my life, say with the Apostle,

By the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me (1 Corinthians 15:10).

Thank you, Lord God. May I be overflowing with thankfulness for the abundance of Your undeserved grace toward me through Jesus Christ my Treasure.