What's TFC's More of God?

What is TFC's More of God?

Someone asked me this today; here's my answer:
During our More of God seasons (3-4 times per year) we encourage folks to alter their lives a bit by giving up a little food for all or just parts of a couple of days, so that they can give a bit more time and focus to prayer.

The fasting part of M.O.G. is optional. We don't mandate that people fast. But just becasue it's not mandated doesn't mean that it's unimportant. Congregational fasting shows unity in prayer and in a display that we all, together, desire God even more than food.

The prayer part of MOG shouldn't be viewed as optional (unless folks have other unavoidable stuff going on). TFC members really should join us in the two day season of prayer since in the Bible church leaders have the responsibility to call congregations together for seasons of prayer, and every believer needs to be a part of this at least on some occasions.

During the days of each More of God event, we encourage people to pray alone, with each other, and with their families more than they might normally. We suggest that they spend time praying for their families, their care groups, their church, their pastors, the various ministries of the church, the mission of the church, and unbelievers that they are trying to reach for Christ.

It all comes to a climax on the Friday PM at 7:00PM, when we gather to pray specifically for "more of God": more of His love, more of His power, more of His grace to live transformed lives, more of His Holy Spirit to give us spiritual gifts and power to edify each other and reach our world, more of His presence to change us and to change others through us.

This Friday time is normally a free flowing time, with no set agenda by the pastors. We simply start by singing (normally) and then pray and speak and share prophetic words of encouragement as God brings these all to mind. We don't want to manage God on these occasions; we want God to control and lead us.

There you have it!!

Don't Run; Root. (Psalm 37 #10)

One of the temptations we face when thugs take over government or the workplace or the neighborhood or the home is to run. We're tempted to try to escape, find a safer place, go into hiding, get away from the danger zone. I'm not sure this is the best way.

I wouldn't say that there is never a time to escape (after all I do remember an Acts 9:23-25 scene in which Paul escapes Damascus in a basket lowered over a wall, a scene that makes me smile as I play back the grainy footage of that night-time escape in my mind; a bit of a humbling moment for a mighty apostle, wouldn't you say?). Friends, if there is imminent danger to body or soul, escape is a very real option, and in some cases duty.

But something tells me that often God's preference for us in hard times, when the heat of persecution or cultural meltdown increases is not that we run but that we root.

You'll remember that Psalm 37:1-40 is God's counsel to us when thugs rule and evildoers turn up the heat. And among the many commands given us is that of Psalm 37:3--"dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness."

The Hebrew word translated "dwell" means to settle down, reside, stay. This is a call to stay put; to dwell in the land; to root rather than to run.

The additional admonition to "befriend faithfulness" is our translator's attempt to capture an uncertain Hebrew phrase. Check other translations and, instead of "befriend faithfulness," you'll find "feed on faithfulness" or "enjoy safe pasture" or "cultivate faithfulness."

One thing all the translation attempts have in common is a picture of steady, staying grace. Psalm 37:3 is either a call to settle down and be faithful, or to settle down and feed on God's faithfulness, or to stay and graze in the pasture of God's grace. One thing it is not is a call to run.

I'm reminded of God's words to His exiled people in Jeremiah 29:4-7. Folks, while in our own Babylonian captivity under thugs and thieves in high places, perhaps the best thing we can do is "build houses (or rent apartments) and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce" and then build godly families as Jeremiah commands.

In other words perhaps the best thing we can do is take root and bear fruit. Perhaps the best thing we can do is to go about the business of everyday living, quite indifferent to the turmoil around, just minding our own business (as Paul puts it in 1 Thessalonians 4:10-12), taking care of our own affairs, working hard, tending our families, living quiet lives of consistent godliness, and whatever happens, simply keeping on keeping on.

Hard times are not times to run and hide; they're times to stay and shine (Matthew 5:10-16). What the world needs today is not more Christians moving away from the hot spots, retreating into safety to build communes, but Christians dwelling in the cultural war zones and staying put come what may.

Today's world and church need willing Christian stayers: men and women who'd rather be faithful than safe; who'd choose deep roots in a war zone over a cozy bunker in the country; who stick it out in church and society even when the times get hard indeed.

Real Social Action: Taking Radical Steps to Undermine Thievery and Thuggery in High Places

In our series, Thieves, Thugs, and Christian Faith (which is based on Psalm 37:1-40), we're trying to frame a biblical response to cultural and political evil. You'll have to read back to see what we've covered so far. Today we'll consider how to take meaningful action.

Real, radical Christian social action is this: "Trust in the Lord, and do good...The righteous is generous and gives...Turn away from evil and do good" (Psalm 37:3, 21, 27).

Do good. Be generous and give.

Consider the simple yet radical action to which God calls us when we face thugs and thieves in high (or low) places. He does not call us primarily (if at all) to arms or to political action or to boycotts or to media blitzes. He calls us to do good.

Doing good is biblical parlance for living a generous, kind, compassionate, giving, hands-dirty-with-serving and hearts-connected-with-compassion lives. It's the very opposite of raging and fuming. It's the near opposite of passive news-watching and collective whining via Christian airwaves.

It's getting out there into the real world of human need and doing something through witness, love, kindness, hospitality, service, and compassion for the poor, the outcast, the alone, the alien, and yes, even the thug.

It's not faulting the illegal alien, it's finding him and loving him. It's not condemning the gays, it's befriending them and gracing them. It's not blasting and scorning the politicians, it's praying for them, and pleading for God's mercy upon them--because we actually and truly love them.

Read--and practice--the words of Jesus in Luke 6:27-35. Love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you. Bless and pray for them. Turn your cheek. Give. Lend, expecting nothing in return. Be merciful. That is radical Christian social action. Everything else is bluster. Worse it is quite possibly simply fear, self-righteousness, and/or bigotry.

The best way to change really bad people is to love them. Remember Romans 12:14-21. Make sure to stop and read that Romans text really slowly and thoughtfully, or you'll blow a chance to be transformed.

Simple series of questions (some with answers):

1. What is the best way to overcome evil? Do good.
2. What is the best way to handle the illegal alien problem? Love the alien more than you love a healthy economy or the nation's future well-being and lead the alien to Jesus.
3. Are you more concerned about the homosexual's agenda or the homosexual's soul?
4. If Obama is really an evil enemy of all that is good, then what are specific good things we may do for him to overcome his evil?
5. Are you against higher taxes simply because you want to keep more money in your pocket, or because you truly believe that you can give it away in a more effective, others-helping way than government can? You shouldn't want lower taxes so you can have a higher standard of living; you should want lower taxes so you can invest in heaven through greater giving.
6. Do you speak out and take action more vigorously for the plight of the unborn or the cause of missions and evangelism than you do for the state of the economy or the defence of American style democracy? What have you given more time, attention, and tears to in the past six months?
7. Which worries you more and prompts you to more prayer, generosity, and action: the fact that we have thugs in high places, or the fact that there are neighbors next door who've never really heard the gospel or met a sane Christian with a bold witness, and that there are 10-15 thousand people groups around the world who have never even heard of Jesus Christ because American Christians refuse to give and go in such a way as to finish the task of local and global missions?

With all due respect and deep affection for all the dear saints who are doing much good every day to affect others for Christ, may I say this bluntly about the majority in churches today: maybe American Christians should whine a whole lot less and simply do good a whole lot more.

A Vale of Tears and a God Who Is Enough

Just a brief word for today.

This morning I serve at a funeral for a dear old saint who passed away this past Saturday evening. She was the kind of person whom one could not visit or see in church without walking away smiling. How she brightened a room with her zest for life and her growing faith!

Now she's gone home, much happier still.

This world is filled with sorrows--illness, family griefs, financial losses and crosses, deep loneliness, death, and taunting and rejection for one's faith in Jesus. Indeed, this morning I am called to care for the griefs of others having a good share of my own griefs.

But God lives. And in all that I have been called to endure myself, this is what I have found: trials are not so much about God testing us as they are about God proving Himself.

It's about God proving His sufficiency in our deficiency.

It's about God allowing us to find out that He Himself is our enough.

Have you discovered that yet?

A Passing Gospel Thought: Jesus friend of Sinners

Friday Gayline and I shared the gospel with two people: one a 40 year old God-cursing, foul, furious sinner, the other a smiling, smug, 80 year old God-refusing do-gooder. The first hated God because he'd been molested by a priest. The other refused God because, well, she was simply so good that she couldn't conceive how she needed Him.

Both were equally doomed; both equally in need of grace; both equally savable at the foot of the cross. But probably the first will find that salvation long before the second. Unlike her he won't have to dig through mile-deep self-righteousness before he finds the filth within and sees his need.

He's the kind the Savior came to save, for Jesus is the friend of sinners. On the other hand, the 80 year old is in trouble for Jesus is the worst nightmare of the self-righteous.

Food for thought.

Delighting in God: How to Expel your Fear of Thugs and Thieves (Psalm 37 #8)

So in Psalm 37:4 we are told to "delight in God and He will give us the desires of our heart." As mentioned yesterday this is a way of saying that when evildoers seemingly have the upper hand (which is the case in Psalm 37 and today), believers must gaze at God with affection and delight rather than at their surrounding circumstances or the powers that be.

In so doing their fear, fretting, and fuming will dissipate, and their desires (for more of God and grace and joy) will increase. The spiritual formula is really quite simple, even if not always easy to apply. Here it is: In hard times, delight in God. When times grow dark gaze at the Light. When times are tough, turn to the bright, pleasing, satisfying Wonder, whose name is God.

When you do, fear will be expelled and desires satisfied.

One reason why so many Christians today are all hot and bothered to the point of spiritual distraction is because they are spending far more time gazing at problems than at the God above those problems. Time doesn't permit me to expound at length about how to remedy this, but can I suggest a simple piece of advice (which I know you're all smart enough to figure out how to apply)?

For every ten minutes you spend watching the news, evaluating economic and political theory, critiquing politicians, reading the lastest alarms from conservative watchdog groups, or keeping current on the latest scandal in Washington or on Main Street, spend an hour delighting in God.

I'm not exaggerating or kidding. Ten minutes watching the news should be preceded or followed by an hour in the Word of God or prayer or fellowship with believers or reading a book extolling the attributes or gospel or grace or glory or sovereignty of God.

Delight in God and he will give you the desires of your heart. Wallow in the gutter of political thuggery and theory or cultural decay and you will only get mad and afraid.

I heard yesterday (in a conversation) about a local civic leader apparently taken down in an FBI investigation. Guess what: in a total of five minutes of conversation and follow up reading I knew all I needed to know about it. If I spend any more time on it, I lose joy, fuel anger, get weak, start sinning.

I can get all the news I really need daily in a very few minutes of headline reading. More than that and I'm headed for the gutter. Instead I choose to spend my time beholding the One whose glory fills the earth and whose hand rules the nations.

Delighting in God, I get more of God and all the joy he gives, even when the world is upside down with corruption.

Today's thought.

But Why Trust God when Thugs Rule?! (Psalm 37 #7)

Psalm 37:1-40 is as good a soul-antibiotic as you'll find anywhere to remedy the disease of discontented rage infecting Christians in our topsy-turvy world today.

The first call of the Psalm is for us to trust; to trust God and commit our way to him. But why trust God? What do we know about God that is worthy of such trust when jobs are lost, careers screech to a halt, freedoms are curtailed, politicians remake our country, evildoers conspire in back rooms, and cultural morals sink lower (and stink more) than a cess pool?

I count no less than a dozen promises from God and about God that David passes on to us to undergird our trust in him. Let me point out a few:

1. God will break, crush, wither up, laugh at, obliterate, cut off, and in all other ways destroy the wicked (Psalm 37:2, 9, 10, 13, 17, 20, 34, 36, 38). God doesn't put up with wicked nonsense for long. There will be a day--in this world and in the next--when they will meet their end.
2. God will act (Psalm 37:5). I love that. Aslan is on the move. God moves, acts, works, does, rules, all to enact his plans. God is not silent and he's never still.
3. God will make justice blaze like the noonday sun (Psalm 37:6). Are we really being wronged? It'll be made right. Are our rights really being violated? God will not let that stand. Is injustice really happening? We need not fuss, fume, and fight for our rights. God will never let it go unresolved.
4. God is multi-generationally committed (Psalm 37:18, 25, 26). God loves us and our children. While evildoers will come and go, our children will remain forever, the blessed of the Lord. Friends: don't worry too much about your children's future in this mixed up nearly bankrupt world. They'll be fine. God has promised to see to it himself.
5. God is a spiritual hedonist (Psalm 37:4). Delight yourself in God (we hope to discuss how to do that tomorrow) and he'll give you your desires (i.e.-your delights and cravings). Think about that and you'll realize that it means that if you delight yourself in God, making him you highest desire and joy, you'll get more of God. God knows how to make his children happy, filling them with pleasure. It's by giving us himself during the raging afflictions of life.

Friends: don't curse the day or bemoan the times. Today's crises fuel the furnace out of which the pure gold of knowing God and delighting in God emerge. God loves to please us, so he's promised to give us our deepest desire: to know and be known by him. The Bible and experience tell us that trials, tribulations, thieves, and thugs do not diminish the believer's joy; they accentuate and increase it.

So let us embrace these troubled times as a gift from God through which he is going to give us more of himself! Do not fret over evildoers, for what man means for evil, God means for very great, very enjoyable, very satisfying good.

When Thugs and Thieves Rule Trust God (Psalm 37 #6)

Having seen that we are not to fret or fuss when evildoers have the rule over us, we need to learn from David what we are to do. Psalm 37:1-40 is laced with positive imperatives well worth our reflection.

Let's start where David does: "trust in the Lord...trust in him, and he will act" (Psalm 37:3, 5). This is connected in Psalm 37:5 with another command to "commit your way to the Lord." The Lord calls us in difficult times under dangerous people to make sure that our primary response is one of trust; trust in God.

The Hebrew words speak of entrusting ourselves to God. One word means literally: to roll onto. We are to roll our way onto God. That's another way of saying what Peter says: "[be] casting all your cares upon him for he cares for you" (1 Peter 5:7). 1 Peter was written for believers in days of thugs and thieves as well. His counsel then matches Ddavid's counsel hundreds of years before. Cast or roll your cares onto God.

Friends, I do not mean to be cliched. What we need in these troubling days is not bogus religious platitudes. What we need is real Godward faith; a conviction that every ruler, every thug, every thief, every trial is nothing more than a puff of air momentarily exhaled by a soveriegn all-wise, all-good heavenly Father who has nothing but the good of his people and the glory of his name in mind. Each will vanish as quickly as it appears, once its divine purpose is complete.

What we should feel, speak, and live in these hard days is simple, solid trust. What people should see and hear above all the shrill cries of Fox News on the right and NBC on the left, is our steady, calm, peace-filled voices, saying: "Our God is in the heavens doing whatever pleases him" (Psalm 115:2-11) and "Though he slay us, yet will we hope in him" (Job 13:15).

Every word we speak, every attitude we express, every response we exhibit should communicate that "though this world will devils filled should threaten to undo us, we will not fear for God hath willed his truth to triumph through us." I am in God's hands, not man's. And there I am truly and eternally safe--even if persecutors come, arrest, and kill.

So Christian: rise up against the tide of rage and fear. Stand in God and in an unshakable trust in his good and sovereign hand. And make sure that it shows. The world desperately needs to see that someone on this crazy planet has the inside scoop on Who's really in control.

Thugs and Thieves in High Places: a Review (Psalm 37 #5)

Sorry for the few days away, but it could not be helped.

In my current series I'm trying to answer the political/social crises of our times with a biblical perspective. Psalm 37:1-40 is a timely and powerful response, not only to the thugs and thieves that govern us, but also to the less than stellar, that is to say: the largely ungodly response that many Christians are displaying toward these powers that be.

Given that we've had a few days pause, let me review to get us all up to speed. Friends: this is a moment for us to shine, not to whine; a moment to radiate hope and grace, not to communicate despair and rage; a moment to so live in the midst of confusion and chaos that people actually ask us for the reason for the hope that is in us (1 Peter 3:13-16), not see in us the same frustration and fury that they see in everyone else!

So (by way of review) I've asked the question: "How is your present ('Christian') response to all these evildoers different from that of others in the world who share you basic political or economic point of view, but who are not Christians?"

I have also wondered if our response reflects a sound, solid, sure conviction that while presidents and kings come and go, "in the end there will be only one King standing?"

You see: a right relationship with, and view of, God should enable us to stop fretting (remember: the psalmist exhorts us not to fret three times). So Christian: "Cool down. Chill. Don't get emotional heart-burn over the thugs and thieves of human society. Whatever right responses there may be--like speaking out against evil, voting evil out of office when able, not conforming to the evil, rescuing victims from the evil, and praying for the evildoers--one thing we are not to do, is go into a slow burn. Don't become a boiling cauldron of worry, anger and rage (Psalm 37:8). Just don't go there."

The psalmist would have us be content, not envying the wicked or desiring more than we have (Psalm 37:1, 16). So what if politicians take away our present standard of living? So what if they limit our freedoms? So what if they don't listen to our voice? So what if they seem to get away with political thuggery? So what if my taxes go through the roof? So what--and yes, I mean it--if the USA we have known is forever a thing of the past?

Christians and the Church have flourished in conditions far worse than any on our horizon. We should prepare to do the same without grousing or complaining. The testimony of the gospel and the glory of Christ is at stake. We should be far more concerned about handling the abuse of our rights with grace than we are about the fact that our rights are being abused.

I'm not advocating that these evils don't matter at all, or that they shouldn't grieve us (for all evil should grieve us). But I am saying that whatever a right response to them might be, it does not include fret, rage, and discontentment. We should not fret over evildoers or allow ourselves the crippling and dishonorable "freedom" to rage against others or sink into unhappy discontentment because society just might be taking a really bad turn for the worse.

Based on David's inspired words I'd ask: "Do you have a little? Do you have today's bread, a couple of outfits to wear, something simple to get around in, a roof over your head, a glass of water, enough health to get by? Then you are better off than the D.C's power-grabbers and all the kings and presidents on earth. Make sure to enjoy what God has given you more than you worry about what government is taking away. Don't panic and fret over the media and cultural elite's seeming stranglehold on our culture. In the end they will perish while you endure."

I think that an accurate read of American history reveals that she has endured thugs and thieves at least as bad, and I think, far worse than what we have today (read about the political, business, slavery and segregated world of the 1,800's through 1960). I'm telling you: those were evil, evil days; days of unspeakable injustices at the hands of slave owners, business tycoons, and political power-brokers.

Yet those evildoers have come and gone--and the Church and people of God remain and are going strong! Brothers and sisters: in the end there will only be One King, One Power, One Dominion standing--and we'll be part of His kingdom.

So Psalm 37 has helped us to see what we are not to do in reponse to culture's thugs and thieves. From here on for the next several days we'll look at what we are to do. I hope you'll stay tuned.

Whatever You Do, Don't Envy Them (Psalm 37 #4)

When the world seems run by scoundrels, and when it seems like their skulduggery works so that they prosper, it can be tempting to wish we were in their shoes. This is one of the tempations that David challenges us to avoid in Psalm 37:1-40. "Be not envious of evildoers" (Psalm 37:1)!

One reason it's folly to envy those in power and who seem to be getting their way at the expense of others is that their flower is fast fading (Psalm 37:2). For the righteous to wish for what the wicked has--their power, their wealth, their influence, their victoires, their control of the White House, their manipulation of the system--would be as foolish as if the sun would envy a hundred watt bulb! The sun is more brilliant, and the sun's radiance more enduring. The 100 watter will flicker and die.

In short, the powerful and prosperous above us will "wither like the green herb" beneath a blazing sun (Psalm 37:2), while "the heritage of the blameless will remain forever" (Psalm 37:18).

For this reason, "Better is the little that the righteous has than the abundance of many wicked" (Psalm 37:16). Do you have a little? Do you have today's bread, a couple of outfits to wear, something simple to get around in, a roof over your head, a glass of water, enough health to get by?

Then you are better off than the D.C's power-grabbers and all the kings and presidents on earth. Enjoy what God has given you more than you worry about what government is taking away from you. Don't panic and fret over the media and cultural elite's seeming stranglehold on our culture. In the end they will perish while you endure.

Do you have a little with a righteous standing before God in Christ? You have more than all the wicked kings of earth combined! Do you have today's bread along with an increasingly transformed and righteous life by the sanctifying mercy of the Holy Spirit? Then you are the rich one. You are the truly powerful one. You are the one toppling the dominions and powers within by the grace of God.

I plead with my friends to give far more time and attention to enjoying, reading about, delighting in, and being satisfied with all they have in Jesus than they do reading about, fretting over, fighting for, and arguing about what the government is taking away, or how government might be better run.

I'm not saying that we shouldn't speak up or be concerned. I'm just saying that if you're fretting and fuming on a regular basis about all that's wrong with the world and the powers that be, you're letting them take away far more than your freedom or taxes. You're letting them take away your joy and contentment.

Whatever government can take away, they cannot touch a heart contented in God. Friends, whatever you do, don't envy the wicked or pine for the good old days. Live in the present moment of God's goodness and righteousness--and whatever happens you will be able to remain unfazed and unflappably joyful in your soul.

What Not to Do When the Wicked Prosper (Psalm 37 #3)

So what do we do when it seems that thugs and thieves have the upper hand with no one to stop them? How do we respond when the wicked flourish, and the righteous don't?

Once again I call us back to Psalm 37:1-40. There are more than 20 imperatives in this Psalm, with 3-5 more implied commands for us to keep in mind. Three of them tell us what not to do when the wicked prosper; the rest tell us what to do. Let's look today at one of the "thou shalt nots", thrice repeated in the Psalm:

"Fret not yourself because of evildoers...
"Fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way...
"Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil" (Psalm 37:1, 7, 8).

Sounds a little emphatic doesn't it?!

The Hebrew word repeated in each of these verses actually means: to burn, to kindle, to get all heated up. The translation "fret" is actually a little weak. It speaks of emotion more heated than mere fret or a tad of worry. David is telling us not to get all "hot and bothered" when the wicked seem to have the upper hand.

Cool down. Chill. Don't get emotional heart-burn over the thugs and thieves of human society. Whatever right responses there may be--like speaking out against evil, voting evil out of office when able, not conforming to the evil, rescuing victims from the evil, and praying for the evil-doers--one thing we are not to do, is go into a slow burn. Don't become a boiling cauldron of worry, anger and rage (Psalm 37:8). Just don't go there.

In Psalm 37:8 David gives a compelling reason why we must not travel that road --"Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil." When we allow the prosperity and success of the wicked to get to us, we begin to share their wickedness. Sustained fret and anger, even when we think it's justfied, begins to eat at the soul, and sin is not far behind. Fretful anger leads only to evil.

Soon, instead of loving, doing good to, and praying for our enemies, as Jesus tells us to, we will be:

-cursing the wicked
-plotting against them ourselves
-justifying lying and shenanigans of our own to try to dethrone them
-indulging unsubstantiated rumors about them
-believing the very worst about them
-hating and despising our enemies

So what do we do? One way to turn down the heat a bit is to consider the following question: "When all is said and done, what is the very worst that man can do to me?" Jesus tells us in Matthew 10:28 not to "fear those who can kill the body, but cannot kill the soul."

The very worst that man can do to me is kill me. But when man kills, God makes alive. What man puts in the ground God raises up. If the wicked persecute the righteous they only add to the reward of the righteous (Matthew 5:10, 11). If they kill the righteous, they only hasten the day of the saints' going home to glory.

Man's worst is God's best. That ought to help cool our passions.

A Conference, and My Blog Schedule for This Week

This week I get to go to a conference in Louisville, KY., with 7, 000 pastors and Christian leaders. The Together for the Gospel speaking team includes: C.J. Manahey, R.C. Sproul, John Piper, Mark Dever, John MacArthur, Ligon Duncan, Al Mohler and more.

Needless to say this a privilege to attend and I am grateful for a church family that applauds the value of such opportuities for me, and frees me to go. Thanks all for making it possible! I believe you all will feel the effects of this week for years to come as I continue to try to serve you. What I receive you will receive in one form or another.

And thanks to the team back here at home who carry on the work so effectively while I'm away. I love and thank God for you all!

As for the blog, I've got a post in our current series all ready to go for you tomorrow and Thursday. The other days I might (emphasis on might) offer an update from the conference. Then again I might not. We'll see!

May grace flow to all of you, with more joy than you know what to do with!
Tim

Thugs, Thieves and the Last Laugh (Psalm 37 #2)

Yes, the circumstances of the righteous in Psalm 37:1-40 still exist today. Wrongdoers have power and they use it for agendas dripping with evil. Driven by a lust for self, power, money, sex (yes it can be proven that sex of an immoral nature is the real motive behind various contemporary social, political, and even scientific views of our times), and a raging enmity against God (Psalm 37:20), they scheme against God and godliness everyday of their lives.

And often they prosper in their scheming ways (Psalm 37:7). I don't know about you, but it's hard to avoid the impression that political thugs and thieves are sitting in the same dark secret rooms where they've hatched their evil plots, now lighting up a victory cigar while smirking about how they've pulled another fast one on the peons below.

Evil men tend to be smug. In the preceding Psalm we see that the wicked has "no fear of God...[and]flatters himself...that his iniquity cannot be found out...[and] plots trouble while on his bed" (Psalm 36:1-4). This smug scorn of God, God's Law, and God's people continues prevalent today at every level of human society, right up into the halls of the White House, and across the world.

The world lives in open mockery of God, Truth, and Righteousness.

But God always has the last laugh. Indeed, "the Lord laughs at the wicked" (Psalm 37:13). When the kings of the earth "set themselves...and take counsel together against the Lord...saying, 'Let us break their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us,'" (Psalm 2:1-3) this is what happens: "He that sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision" (Psalm 2:4).

The Lord sits enthroned in heaven in open mockery of the thuggery of man. When man defies God's kingdom and seeks to establish one of his own, God simply laughs. He laughs a derisive, scornful, mocking, sovereign last laugh in return.

God laughs at them the way they laugh at us. The only difference is: God is holy and righteous in doing so, while they are simply fools.

And doomed fools at that. A major emphasis of Psalm 37 is the ultimate end of the unrepentant wicked (see Psalm 37:2, 9, 10, 15, 17, 20, 28, 35, 36, 38). They will be cut off and broken. They will perish, fade like grass in a blazing sun, vanish like smoke, simply "be no more".

So what does this mean? It means that when the wicked laughs at God, it leaves God unfazed and unchanged. But when God laughs at the wicked, it leaves the wicked in ruin and rubble.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, please know this: the unrepentant wicked will not long endure. If they insist on laughing at God He will soon have the last laugh. Their machinations and scheming prosperity simply will not last. In the end God wins.

In the shadow of this truth let us keep two things in mind:

1. First, let us pray for the wicked that they would repent before the laugh of God destroys them. So long as they have breath, there is opportunity for them to repent and come to Christ. Pray that God--in His just wrath--will remember mercy. Let us strive that when we think of the wicked fool who laughs at God we will be moved to compassion. For in man's folly is his ruin, unless he humbles himself before heaven's throne.
2. Second, if the wicked refuse to repent, let us simply never lose sight of this fact: our God is in the heavens deriding the arrogance of man. His sovereign plan is advancing toward the Day when the whole universe will hear the righteous, booming, blasting, consuming last laugh of God.

In the end there will be only one King standing.

Thugs and Thieves in High Places

Recently in the space of minutes I read first, numerous comments by Christians regarding our present political/cultural/social situation, and then second, Psalm 37:1-40. The contrast was so sharp, so diametrically opposite, so glaringly revealing that I knew as a pastor and brother in Jesus, I would need to call attention to it. I do so not to criticize sincerely concerned people, but to call to a better and more soul and God-pleasing way.

Daily comments from Christians about our cultural situation and political leaders express such anxiety, such anger, such fear, such hostility, such despair, such rage, such angst that I am much concerned that we as Christians are missing a grand opportunity to shine forth something very different to a watching world.

We are missing an opportunity to shine forth Psalm 37.

Over the next week or two I think it could transform us to meditate together step by step through this Psalm for the deepening joy and shining testimony of our lives.

I'd begin by calling attention to what this psalm makes obvious: there have always been thugs and thieves in high places. David uses multiple words to describe those of his day:

-Evildoers (Psalm 37:1, 9)
-Wrongdoers (Psalm 37:1)
-The wicked (Psalm 37:12, 14, 16, 17, 20, 21, 32, 35, 38, 40)
-Enemies of the Lord (Psalm 37:20)
-Ruthless (Psalm 37:35)
-Transgressors (Psalm 37:38)
-Duplicitous thieves (Psalm 37:21a)

The psalmist calls his times "evil times" (Psalm 37:19) in which sufferings were many, and plotting and dangerous people (Psalm 37:7, 12, 14, 15) gnashed their teeth against the righteous, conniving and scheming to destroy. These were people who gathered in dark, secret, smoke-filled rooms to formulate evil devices and strike deals to foist their evil agendas on common ordinary run of the mill decent people, no matter what the cost in human life or suffering those agendas might entail.

Let me be clear right up front: I agree with my many Christian friends who believe that there are such thugs and thieves in high places today. The degree of political muggings and evil shenanigans currently going on is appalling. Evildoers are in high places (and by and large such evil-doing is bi-partisan, spilling over into Tea Partiers, libertarians and the whole lot of them). Everybody's got an agenda. Few have a truly godly one.

So what do we do? David's inspired counsel to the oppressed victims of thugs and thieves differs sharply from the common response of American Christians. We'll examine that response in coming days.

But first let me ask a question to help you examine your own response: "How is your present ('Christian') response to all these evildoers different from that of others in the world who share you basic political or economic point of view, but who are not Christians?"

Is your response different in any clear and obvious way from Rush Limbaugh (the blustering rant), Glenn Beck (the mad Mormon), Bill O-Reilly (the verbal 'Catholic' bully), Sean Hannity (the smirking wiseacre), or any of the other conservative, anti-Obama, anti-establishment, government-bashing voices that don't seem to have a God-centered breath in their lungs, or Christ-satisfied, Heaven-trusting bone in their body?

Would an observer be able to tell the difference between you and them? Think about it.

As you do this, you may choose to read Psalm 37 repeatedly. Such reading in faith will be like an oxygen machine. It'll fill your lungs with faith and joy, yes even when thugs and thieves seem to prevail.

As it Was Written: Luke 24:44-45

Today marks the conclusion of our 2010 Lent series, Path to Glory. We hope you've enjoyed the experience as we have reflected on our Lord's journey through humiliation into glory. Before we conclude with one final reading, I want to mention a couple of things:
1. Thanks to all who've contributed to this series. It wouldn't have happened without you!
2. Tomorrow, I plan to start a several part series tentatively entitled: Christian Grace in Political-Cultural Crisis. Based on Psalm 37 this series will present a better response to our current poltical-moral-social crises than that which I perceive in many believers today. I hope it helps.
3. But before that, one last Lent post, this one from Ernie Kerwin, calling us to know and love the risen and ascended Lord. Enjoy.


After His resurrection, Jesus had some priority reminders for his disciples. Shortly he would be ascending to his Father, so he wanted to make the best use of his time with them.

The women at the tomb were given a reminder, from angels, of something Jesus had said to them,

"'He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.' And they remembered his words."

The two on the road to Emmaus were reminded, by Jesus, from the words of the prophets,

"'O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?' And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself."

Then he paid a surprise visit to His disciples. He reminded them,

"'These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.' Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures" (Luke 23:44, 45).

Later on in the chapter He reminds them of the promise of the Father, power from on high. My focus, for this time, specifically is Luke 24:44, 45.

Here are a few questions for you, how well do you know Jesus? Would you like to know him better? Are you wondering how you can know him better?

Paraphrasing Jesus' words the answer would be "everything you want to know about me you will find in the Scriptures". Jesus once said, "You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me."

So, how can we get to know him better? READ THE SCRIPTURES! Intimacy with someone you love can only truly happen as you get to know that someone on an ever deepening level. How deep do you want your love to be?

Are you having trouble understanding what you are reading? You're in good company, the disciples were obviously having trouble but Jesus "opened their minds to understand the Scriptures." He will do the same for you just ask "that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding" (Colossians 1:9b).

One last item, the things written about him "must be fulfilled". This is important because in the priority reminders of Chapter 24 it is the Gospel, which is of first importance that is proclaimed.

As you read your Bible look for Jesus. Look for the Gospel. The Gospel is not just confined to the New Testament. Dive in deep, drink deep; eat the rich Word of God.

by Ernie Kerwin

Seen by Many: 1 Cor. 15:4-11

As those who have been committed to the Christian faith know very well, without the resurrection of Christ, our faith is in vain and we are pitiful. So, the Apostle Paul takes the occasion (I Corinthians 15:4-11) to mention to us that the risen Christ was not only seen by the disciples and a few others, but that "he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time" (I Cor. 15:6).

It should be readily apparent why this fact was so important that Paul felt the need to mention it: there was a bombing on the Moscow metro system recently and the mounted cameras in the train stations captured some of the trembling and the destruction in the aftermath. At the time of our Lord's resurrection, there were no cameras, and no newspapers. Unless one physically was present, word of mouth was all that was left, so the fact that many of those five hundred brothers were still alive (not counting women and children) was important to the testimony of His victory over the grave.

Any of the Corinthians could go to one of those witnesses and receive a first-hand account of the events of that day. Surely those who saw Him after the resurrection all knew about His death, so how overwhelming it must have been to actually see Him in the flesh!

As theologians tell us today, it would have been easy to corroborate if there had been deception in this event, because so many were still alive who had seen Him. Certainly if it weren’t true, at least one of those five hundred brothers would have broken rank and stated that in fact, His resurrection appearance was a lie or a deception.

During His life, logically, one might conclude that if anyone saw Christ and the miracles that He did, then one would be led to the conclusion that this was indeed a man who possessed deity, and there is considerable evidence for the risen Christ, so why don’t more believe?

I think we have the answer to that in verse 10 of this passage when Paul says "But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain." People don’t believe anything they don't want to believe, because they are blinded by their sin, as Paul was before he believed (and even persecuted the church).

The evidence of the bodily resurrection of Christ, though essentially important to historical Christianity, will not convince people to believe the claims of the living Christ. Thank God that we have the witness of the Apostle Paul to the fact of His resurrection; Paul was the last one to see Him on the road to Damascus. However, let's not forget that it is by grace alone that we have been saved as God opens our eyes to the truth of His word. All manner of historical evidences mean nothing if one either refuses to see or simply doesn't care.

by Rich Cromwell

See My Hands and Feet: Luke 24:36-43

Trust but verify.

There's something of a natural born skeptic in each of us. We hate to be taken, to be gullible, or naive. We distrust.

Those few men and women who gathered after Christ's death to mourn and wait, as he had instructed, had seen a litany of miracles performed by their Master. They'd even seen the dead brought to life. But certainly the miracles of a dead miracle worker die with him. Death is the end when it's the Wonder Maker who dies.

In a time of worry and pain, surely these men and women were aware that they could be deceived. There were men ready to confuse, take advantage, and silence them. Sure, Jesus had appeared to some of them and at least for that moment they had been convinced. But each minute he was not with them must have brought renewed doubts.

Jesus knew that they were human. And he knew that dead people, generally speaking, don't reappear. If they do, it's not likely that it will be an all-together positive experience for those who witness it.

So, to calm their worries, he let them verify.

Their Master had been a man. He was still a man. Their Master's flesh had been torn. His still bore the scars. Their Master's bones had been disjointed, but not broken. He was standing on strong legs. Their Master's hands and feet had been pierced. He showed them his feet and hands. Their Master had said "I thirst." He asked for food and ate in front of them.

Jesus, the God-man was a man, and he still is. His humanity continues even as he has been glorified.

How kind of him to calm the fears of his followers. How kind of him to prove to them and to us that he is real.

As a man for thirty-three years, he learned by battling against them, what our weaknesses are. And so, he kindly met those men and women and us in that weakness and made us strong.

He called them to trust and yet he let them verify.

How good.

by Tim W. Shorey

The Lord has Risen Indeed: Luke 24:13-35

The resurrection of Christ is not a mere claim made by Christians to bolster faith. It is a claim rooted in history. We say not only, "He is risen" but "He is risen indeed;" in actual fact and truth (Luke 24:34).

Luke 24:13-35 presents some of the many compelling proofs of the resurrection:

1. He walked with many and talked with them after his death (Luke 24:13-35).
2. He let them touch His actual body (Luke 24:38, 39).
3. He ate meals with them (Luke 24:40-43).
4. He reminded them that His resurrection and glory had been foretold in prophecies (Luke 24:44-49).

If interested in finding out more of the proofs read books like: The Case for Christ, by Lee Strobel, or Evidence that Demands a Verdict, by Josh Mcdowell.

What matters my friends is that you know beyond all doubt that Jesus is risen indeed. Mere wishing or hoping Him alive does not mean He is. Does the evidence prove it? Does the evidence give you reason to believe, reason sufficient to support making a decision to follow Him with all your heart for all of life?

Many who profess to be Christians fail to live lives that evidence that they really believe that Jesus is alive. If he's alive, then He is Lord, and everything about us should be convincing testimony that we know it.

You must know that He lives. Then you must live a life that proves that you know it.
Another way of getting at that is this: Would people looking at the character and priorities of your life be convinced that you really believe that Jesus is alive? Something to think about as we echo the words: "He is risen indeed."

He is Risen: Luke 24:1-12

For centuries believers have greeted each other on Resurrection Day mornings with this exchange: "He is risen...He is risen indeed!" Amen.

I think I'd rank Luke 24:6 as one of the top five most important sentences of all time. My nominations for the top five would include:

1. Genesis 1:1--"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."
2. Luke 2:11--"For unto you is born this day...a Savior who is Christ the Lord."
3. John 19:30--"It is finished."
4. Luke 24:6--"He is risen."
5. Rev. 11:15--"The kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever."

Take away statement one and there is no meaning to life.

Take away statement two and there is no hope for sinners.

Take away statement three and there is no atonement paid for sin delivering from God's wrath.

Take away statement four and there is no divine vindication of Christ or victory over death.

Take away statement five and there is no hope for the eternal future.

That about covers it. Quite possibly the five most important statements in history, and they give us the sweep of history at its core: God made all, redeems all His own, conquers death and hell in Christ, and subdues all the kingdoms of men and demons under His own.

He is risen and He reigns indeed. He is Lord of history.

Hallelujah!

Father, Into Your Hands: Luke 23:46

Today's meditation focuses on the last of Jesus' seven sayings on the cross, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit". Like the first six sayings, this one too fulfilled the Scriptures, being a direct quote from Psalm 31:5.

This verse begins by telling us that Jesus spoke these words "calling out with a loud voice". This was no private moment between Father and Son. This was meant for all to hear. A.W. Pink comments that it was loud so "that all might hear, and that his enemies who judged him destitute and forsaken of God might know it was not so any longer".

This saying represents a transition, a contrast if you may. The Son is back in communion with the Father again after a time of being forsaken. He is no longer in the hands of men, a description of his present state used by the gospel writers. He had voluntarily delivered himself into the hands of sinners so they might crucify him to fulfill the Scriptures. He is in their hands no longer! He now delivers his spirit back into the hands of his loving Father.

This verse also speaks volumes concerning the uniqueness of Christ's death. He had boldly proclaimed that no one takes his life from him, but that he lays it down of his own accord. The Greek words used to describe what Christ did in this verse back up his assertion.

The gospel writers use words that can be translated "he dismissed his spirit", "he delivered up his spirit", and "he breathed out his spirit". All of these put Christ totally in control. At his seemingly weakest earthly moment, Jesus is still in control of his fate.

He died like the Prince of Life, choosing to dismiss his spirit like I dismiss my math class when our class period is over. He delivered his spirit to the Father after using it to complete the work the Father had given him to do. It truly was finished, his atoning work, so now he breathes out his spirit in one last sovereign act as the man Christ Jesus.

So ends our Lord's unique earthly life, one in which he lived sinless at every moment so that we might clothe ourselves in his righteousness. So ends our Lord's unique death experience, an experience which guarantees that when we come to the end of our lives, we too may commend our spirits to our Father, the loving Father of our wonderful Savior Jesus Christ.

by Scott Stengele

It is Finished: John 19:30

Of the seven sayings of our Lord on the cross, "It is finished" is perhaps one of the pithiest sayings of all time.

The crucifixion of Jesus Christ has been viewed by all sorts, from a number of different perspectives. There were the anti-Semites who liked to blame his death on the Jews. In the early years of the 20th century, we had the liberal Protestants, who liked to see it as a noble but unfortunate event, for in their mind, this was the end of a great man called Jesus of Nazareth.

We have the modern day Arians, who deny the Deity of Christ, and view the cross as an example of personal sacrifice and nothing more (Jehovah's Witnesses). Then there were the Pharisees of the 1st century who viewed his death and said in their hearts,"good riddance".

Every Good Friday, we are reminded of this event. We do well to consider what our Lord had in mind when he uttered these words. The Scriptures clearly state that the wages of sin is death, the soul that sins shall surely die. Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree. Anyone who has read his Bible would know that this (death on a tree) was the death of a sinner.

Jesus spoke these words after 3 hours of darkness and just prior to his "committing his spirit into his Father's hands". What really went on for those 3 hours in the dark? What was finished? Who was Jesus speaking to? What did he mean by this?

As the sin bearer of the people whom the Father had given to him, He took their judgment upon himself. Here is exactly what was finished: a life of perfect obedience to the Law of God and the will of his Father, the redemption or purchase of his people, the propitiation or turning away of God's wrath toward his people, the reconciliation of a broken relationship between God and his people, the guarantee of a complete salvation of his people, from regeneration to glory and everything in between.

The words "it is finished" were not the words of an unfortunate victim. These were not the words of some poor man who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. This is not the language of an exhausted, defeated man who made an attempt to be a good example to his followers.

This was a cry of victory. These are the words of triumph, the expression of one who has victoriously completed his reason for coming to earth.

Moreover, these were not the words of a frustrated man to his onlookers. These words of victory were addressed to his Father. These are the words of a man in complete control of his life, and in complete control of his death. "No man takes my life, I lay it down of my own accord."

These words were not an exclamation of self pity, but were God centered. He came to do the Father's will, and it is now finished. But, it is not finished for everyone, only for those who receive Him by faith. As one human to another, I ask you: is it finished for you? Have you rested by faith on what Christ has accomplished for sinners?

by John Roberts

Why Have You Forsaken Me? Matt. 27:45-46

God, forsaken by God. How can this be?

It is popular today to wink at sin, to look the other way. After all, we're only human. God will judge us on a "curve", like in school when everyone does poorly on a test. No matter how bad the outcome, surely I'm better than the next guy.

After all, no one wants to hear about an intolerant God. The soul that sins, it shall surely die? You must be kidding. How can you sell that religion on Madison Avenue? These are modern times, we need a modern god. We need to invent a more palatable god, one who is easy going. After all, Jesus loves everyone doesn't he? He won’t send anyone to hell.

But we need to look at God's holy reaction to sin in our substitute. There was no winking, no looking away. He poured out every last drop of wrath that our sin deserved. He forsook his own Son whom he loved. For sinners to ever have hope of peace with God, a price had to be paid. God had to forsake His son. In light of this, what will he do with them who are not found in Christ on the last day?

Hear the words of Thomas Kelly from over 200 years ago:

"Stricken, smitten, and afflicted, See him dying on the tree!
'Tis the Christ by man rejected; Yes, my soul, 'tis he, 'tis he.
'Tis the long-expected Prophet, David's Son, yet David's Lord;
By his Son God now has spoken: 'Tis the true and faithful Word.

"Tell me, ye who hear him groaning, was there ever grief like his?
Friends through fear his cause disowning, foes insulting his distress;
Many hands were raised to wound him, none would interpose to save;
But the deepest stroke that pierced him was the stroke that Justice gave.

"Ye who think of sin but lightly nor suppose the evil great
Here may view its nature rightly, here its guilt may estimate.
Mark the Sacrifice appointed, see who bears the awful load;
'Tis the Word, the Lord's Anointed, Son of Man and Son of God.

"Here we have a firm foundation, here the refuge of the lost;
Christ's the Rock of our salvation, His the name of which we boast.
Lamb of God, for sinners wounded, sacrifice to cancel guilt!
None shall ever be confounded who on him their hope have built."

by John Roberts