Don’t hope for November

I wrote after Scott Brown’s upset victory in Massachusetts that it could be the worst thing for Christians and I’m afraid I am turning out to be a prophet. Already you can see people whose trust should be in the Lord looking to November to “take back the country” and “repeal Obamacare” and everything else that will just burn up one day.

I’m not saying we shouldn’t use our citizenship properly. Paul did that on multiple occasions – both to make life easier for future Christians and to preach the Gospel in Rome. But Paul didn’t use his considerable rights as a Roman citizen to change the political system anymore than Jesus argued that Caesar should be paid taxes.

One of the more disturbing things I’ve seen in a while is worth a whole blog post (which will be coming). Glen Beck, a Mormon, had a bunch of “evangelical christians” on his show. (Maybe this happens a lot, I don’t know I only see his show once in a while and find it both enlightening politically and entertaining). At one point he looks at these guys and says something like “I’m a Mormon. Is there any reason you can’t fellowship with me?” None of them said anything about the fact that Mormons deny Jesus Christ is God and that it’s a big deal to deny Christ because it means you’re going to hell. About a week later I read online that one of these guys actually said he thinks Glen is saved even as a Mormon. Amazing.

As Christians, we should have hope. But the basis of our hope is not politics or a return of Republican rule in Washington DC. Our hope is based on the fact that God’s Holy Spirit is indwelling us testifying to us that we are His kids. Nothing else matters, not this November and not in 2012.

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. (Romans 5:1-5)

Establish the Work of Our Hands – II

In my last post I talked about Psalm 90:17 as it relates to my current situation and some of what it means that Moses prayed that God would establish the work of Israel’s hands. This time I’d like to talk a little about how that plays out in the lives of people like me and others who have lost a job, seen income reduced or are otherwise affected by the economy right now.

To me the most important thing to remember here is that Moses looked to God to establish the work of their hands. He had a nation of 2,000,000 people at his disposal and he still turned to God to establish the work of their hands. I am reminded of the verse “Unless the LORD builds the house the laborers labor in vain” (Psalm 127:1). Moses knew that to be true and he trusted God who is completely trustworthy to be the one who directed their steps and established their work. I am a very proud guy and I am often very tempted to think my success is up to me rather than trust God in this way.

More than that, I think it’s important to remember that God is not impaired by economics. Things can be very bad in the economy and God can do what He wants anyway. Do you remember the story in 1 Kings 17. God sends Elijah to meet a woman who is supposed to feed him. This occurs in the middle of a terrible drought and things are so bad for the widow she plans to use all she has to make one last meal so she and her son can eat one last time before they die. Her economic situation was much more desperate than almost anything anyone with America, Canada or Europe’s safety net permits. Yet God provided for her so that her flour and oil did not run out (even though she KNEW there was only enough for one more cake left).

Why did God do this? It wasn’t to be nice to the widow. I presume there were other families equally desperate during this time and we don’t have any records of God being so merciful to them. The reason He did it was to feed Elijah in a way that brought Him glory. God established the work of the widow’s hands to promote His glory.

This is where I start thinking about Job 42:1. After seeing the error of his thinking, Job confesses “I know that you (God) can do all things. No plan of yours can be thwarted.” God does have a plan. His plan might not have anything to do with our economic prosperity or America’s re-emergence as the single global economic superpower. But whatever His plan is, it will not be thwarted under any circumstances.

Are you out of a job as I am? God’s plan for you will not be thwarted. He has promised to provide for your needs and He will do it. You much be humble enough to accept the means of provision He decides. In the New Testament, that seems to be one another love shown by members of your local church.

Are you okay for now but worry about the future? God Himself will establish the work of his faithful servants and there is no cause to worry. There is nothing unemployment rates or national debt or the “wrong” president or Congress can do to stop that.

Are you comfortable living in the generous welfare the country has provided? With extended unemployment benefits, discount health insurance, food stamps, mortgage reductions and so many more things it can be tempting for even a believer to get content in his or her laziness. Remember that Moses prayed that God would establish the WORK of their hands. Paul said those who didn’t WORK shouldn’t eat. One of the very first commands in the Bible was for Adam to WORK in the garden. God invented work and we should seek to glorify Him in whatever work He gives us to do.

Afganistan is not the worst war

I was thinking as I watched a news report about General Petraeus’ change of command ceremony in Afghanistan about how badly the war effort there is going. We were largely unprepared for what we encountered. We gave ourselves far too much credit for early successes and underestimated the enemy’s ability to rise up again. We didn’t wage war with the enemy in a way that would be ultimately productive. We kept changing who would be held responsible for the prosecution of the war. Our enemy there is crafty and doesn’t see this with results that are measured in days or weeks but in years and decades.

The greater war I am thinking of is the war against sin we all fight. Some of us don’t even seem to realize we’re in a war in the first place which is why so many are losing ground. Those who have not turned from their sin do so because the deceitfulness of sin has blinded them from the truth. Satan is like the Taliban or Al Qaeda times 100. He is deceptive and the father of lies. Christians who are no longer slaves to sin still fail to win these battles for all the same reasons the USA and NATO is failing in Afghanistan. We do not prepare for the battle that we’re in. We give ourselves too much credit for past victories over sin and forget that while it may not be standing at our door in an obvious way, it is crouching there waiting for any opportunity to attack. We often do battle sin in a way that sacrifices long term benefit for immediate results by using crutches like rules and emotionalism instead of being motivated by love for Jesus. We blame others for our sin because they antagonize or tempt us, rather than simply face the fact that we alone are responsible for our choices.

What’s a Christian to do?

• Pray for the young men and women in harm’s way in Afghanistan. The news accounts break my heart as I see people in their early 20′s losing their lives in this war. Pray for the families they leave behind – that they would turn to the Great Comforter to be their strength and sufficiency.
• Use the media accounts of the struggle of this war to remind yourself that you are at war with a deceptive enemy, but that the stakes are much higher for you – your soul and eternity.
• Battle the deception the way the Bible says to. Hebrews 3:13 says ¹³But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. God says a main weapon against the deceiver and is other Christians exhorting us – that is we should be coming alongside other people to remind and encourage them about holy living. It is a command, not an option. That also means that God has designed it so that we all need to be exhorted, as well as to exhort others.
• We need to be alert. The Bible says ” Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” Lions don’t jump up and down and announce their presence before pouncing on gazelles to devour them. The military uses sophisticated technology and recon teams to see the enemy coming so they are not surprised. We need to use the tools God has given us – prayer for ourselves and our families, the exhortation of those around us, a heart that grows in loving discernment (Phil 1:9).
• Pray for the leaders whose decisions affect your battle with sin. Church leaders can make decisions that affect their people’s sensitivity to the war, their understanding of the severity and the consequences, and how prepared for battle each individual Christian is. We need wise leaders who see eternal things for what they are and lead us in the right direction – not fearing the battle but confident in the One who has already won it for us.
• Finally, be confident that He who began a good work in you will be faithful to bring it to completion. I know it is easy for me to fall into sin, to lose a key battle, and to immediately become despondent or depressed. When we take our eyes of Jesus and look at our own performance it’s like forgetting about our secret weapon. If you are a Christian, all your sin has been paid for. Not most, but all. One of the great lines in any hymn ever written:

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

We should pray that good will prevail over evil in Afghanistan. We should ask God to save sinners there who are blinded by the deceitfulness of sin. We should pray that our young men and women fighting there would discern the crafty tactics of their enemy. Their success is not sure, but ours is. It was secured 2000 years ago when the Son of God volunteered to serve by bearing human flesh and dying in the place of sinners who deserved death. Praise God that we cannot lose what He has already secured for us.