Month: August 2016

A Promise Forsaken (Part One)

DSCN35291 Kings 11:37-39

As I read our Bible reading for last week, I thought about the sad account of Jeroboam I of Israel. Like Solomon before him (1 Kings 3:10-15), the Lord gave him a conditional promise, after Solomon had turned to worship idols in the latter part of his reign. The Lord explained Solomon’s disobedience to Jeroboam and made this promise to him: “However, as for you, I will take you, and you will rule over all that your heart desires; you will be king over Israel. If you do whatever I command you and walk in obedience to me and do what is right in my eyes by obeying my decrees and commands, as David my servant did, I will be with you. I will build you a dynasty as enduring as the one I built for David and will give Israel to you. I will humble David’s descendants because of this, but not forever’” (11:37-39 NIV).

Let’s notice a couple things about this promise. We need to think through this promise to grasp the tragic character of Jeroboam’s failure that we will look at next time.

  • Part of it proclaimed what God would certainly do. Jeroboam would rule over ten of the tribes of Israel. This portion of the covenant kingdom came to be known as Israel (it had the majority of the people) or Ephraim (a metonymy, using the name of the most prominent tribe for the whole), and many Bible teachers refer to it as “the northern kingdom”. This part is a simple statement of fact; God had chosen Jeroboam as the king or “shepherd” of his people. His authority to rule came from God’s sovereign act. I’ll let you ponder the significance of this in regard to presidential elections (cf. Romans 13:1-7).
  • Part of it involved the nature of Jeroboam’s desires. Read his story and you will see that he had a desire to lead, which can be a good desire if the person is truly godly, or evil and dangerous, if the person’s heart is not right with God. Understand clearly that the all-knowing Lord of the universe knew exactly the type of man Jeroboam was. The true story of God’s glory involves many such people.
  • The promise was conditional, as was the law covenant that Jeroboam lived under. It came with an “if”. This fact should not obscure in any way that this was a good and sincere promise. Had Jeroboam obeyed the Lord, he would have received the blessings. He would have had an enduring dynasty or house. God made a genuine offer to Jeroboam that he would have delivered on, if Jeroboam had obeyed. The goodness of God’s promises is not changed or tainted by the character of people to whom he offers them. For example, Jesus offers eternal life to all who will repent and believe. The fact that many reject or even despise the offer does not alter the truth that the Lord invites all to believe and live.
  • God motivated Jeroboam to obey in faith. David had received God’s covenant promise that he would have an enduring house or dynasty. God let Jeroboam know that he could also have a blessing like the one promised to the man after God’s own heart. God invited Jeroboam to think of what he had done for David. Jeroboam needed to trust God’s goodness.
  • The Lord explained this promise in relation to his promise to David. God did not hide any “fine print” from Jeroboam. In some way unexplained, Jeroboam could have an enduring house like David’s, though at some point greater glory would come to David’s house. How could this happen? Perhaps the descendants of Jeroboam might have been princes in David’s restored kingdom. God was not going to alter his eternal purpose in Christ (Ephesians 3:11). But the all-wise Lord could have worked out something highly significant. Jeroboam had only to trust the covenant Lord of Israel, and he and his family would have been richly blessed.

In the Bible, God has made an offer of eternal life to people. We can take the promise of eternal life through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and tell it to the people that God has placed in our lives. Who is around you to whom you can tell the good news? We have a good promise; let’s tell it to others!

Grace and peace, David

A Deeper Explanation of Salvation – Colossians 2:13

Today we post another message from our Sunday morning series in Colossians. This recording is “totally as is” and so there might be occasional questions and/or comments, and background noises. May the Lord bless you as you listen!

Grace and peace, David

A Good Restart

DSCN38002 Chronicles 14:1-15

Along with our thoughts on the psalms, we will also do a short series from 2 Chronicles on the reign of Asa, king of Judah. Asa was David’s great-great grandson; his reign began 60 years after David’s ended. He is listed as a good king of Judah. Asa’s reign divides neatly into three periods: his early years, a middle period of peace and progress, and the final six years of steep decline. Today, we will look at his good start as ruler of God’s people. And let us recall that all of this is written for our instruction. For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. (Romans 15:4 ESV; cf. 1 Corinthians 10:11).

Asa’s reign began with repentance and return to the true worship of the Lord (14:1-5). It will help us to know the setting of these early years of Asa’s reign in Judah (14:1). He came to the throne after years of spiritual decline during the later years of Solomon and the reigns of Rehoboam and Abijah. As we consider this decline, it makes us ask, “How did the southern kingdom of Judah sink into such a condition?” Part of the answer lies in the passage of time; it is about 40 years after the midpoint of Solomon’s reign. A generation has passed since the building of the temple. Grace does not pass from parents to children. Godly parents may have spiritually apathetic children and godless grandchildren. Mostly, this spiritual condition sprang from the reintroduction of idolatry into Israel from Solomon’s many wives. The people were led astray from the Lord. Although their way of life was not good, God gave Judah a time of peace. Peace is a great blessing, and we ought to praise God for every day of peace we enjoy. God provided a young man with an opportunity to concentrate on the true worship of the Lord his God (cf. 14:6b). I make an appeal to our younger readers. Use your days of youth to serve the Lord. Everything you do by grace through faith when you are young can be a building block for greater service later. Hours of worship, prayer, Bible reading, and meditation provide resources that you can draw upon when you have less strength and are much busier.

Asa led his people in through repentant actions (14:2-5). A godly world and life view produces godly actions. When the Lord brings you to know the truth, he wants your way of worship to be transformed to agree with the Bible. We live in a day when people assume that worship style and forms are ruled by human pleasures and preferences. Yes, I know that one aspect of worship flows out from who we are, but the other aspect must be what the living God desires. A worship service is not to satisfy the felt needs of those present. “I like…” or “I don’t like…” are heard far too often in most churches. What does God like?

Asa had to remove false worship from his kingdom. First of all, this meant getting rid of the worship of false gods. The people had sunk deep into spiritual and sexual sin. The “sacred stones” were fertility gods, and Asherah was the supposed wife of El, the chief god. Worship of fertility gods involved sexual immorality. Asa also had to remove the incorrect worship of the living God. During the old covenant, the people were to bring all their offerings to the tabernacle or later the temple. But from the time of Eli, they had started to offer sacrifices on high places. This was contrary to what God had ordered; God was not pleased by this false worship. In the new covenant, all our worship must only be through the Lord Jesus Christ on the basis of his finished, once for all sacrifice. This is why we pray in Jesus’ name to the Father, and not to anyone else or on account of anyone’s merits but Christ’s; for example, wrongly assuming that fasting on some supposed holy day or during a holy season gives you a better position with God.

Asa had to reestablish a proper old covenant relationship with God. So he commanded them to seek the Lord (not other gods) and to obey God’s laws and commands (regulations about both the way of worship and the way of life). Consider Deuteronomy 4:29-31, 39-40.

Again, this requires us to live in God’s presence in Christ and his better covenant. Every part of our life and worship must be in Christ, with Christ, for Christ, and through Christ.

Grace and peace, David

Intensity

IMG_0909Psalm 5:1-3

O Lord, hear me as I pray; pay attention to my groaning. Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God, for I pray to no one but you. Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord. Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly (NLT).

I think Psalm 5 is a neglected psalm. Over many years among many Christians, I have never heard anyone refer to it. In a way, this does not surprise me, since most believers run in narrow streets when it comes to the passages of Scripture they read, especially when they feel troubled, and the few hymns or praise songs they sing in their churches. I like the modern hymn “In Christ Alone”, but I don’t want to hear it every week. Romans eight is a great chapter, but others are just as valuable. I’m not sure why most Christians don’t refer to Psalm 5; perhaps the neglect can be traced to their pastors and teachers. However, this is not our topic today.

This Psalm, which is also by David, shows a man with spiritual intensity. David clearly was a man of strong desires and concentration. He was able to lead a band of unruly men for many years, while being godly. This is a rare combination. David’s passionate nature carried over into his friendship with the living God. He was not reluctant to use bold words and to tell God plainly what he thought about his circumstances and his opponents and about sin and its effects.

  • David’s intensity appears in his repeated requests for God to listen to him. Picture someone waving their arms as they strive for attention, or perhaps the endless sending of texts and emails. Throughout his life, David had enemies, who were also the Lord’s enemies, who wanted to destroy him. David knew his desperate situation and kept on asking, seeking, and knocking (cf. Matthew 7:7-8). Christians today would rather moan and groan to each other than pour out their heart’s concerns to their Father in heaven. Attendance at prayer meetings or involvement in prayer times in small groups lays bare the apathy of many. David gives us a better example. Call out to the Lord and ask him to hear.
  • David’s intensity led him to express how he felt. Believers in our time are too formal and socially obsessed. To cry or to groan in prayer…? Can’t do that; what might someone think? He wrote about groaning. This word is related to the word for mediate, and so we can think of a groaning meditation. To meditate is not to seek a feeling of passivity but of engagement with God and his truth. David sang about crying out to God for help. If you softly say help to people, I doubt that anyone will notice. Surely, God knows all our words before we speak them (Psalm 139:4). But that is not the issue. The Lord wants us to share our lives with him, and this involves making our desires, fears, and perplexities known to him.
  • David’s intensity caused him to focus on the Lord. He confessed his total and sole dependence on the Lord. He did not pray to anyone else. He also prayed in the morning. He started the day in fellowship with his God. This strengthened his commitment to the Lord. We can pray anytime of the day we wish. Sharon and I usually pray together at night. Praying in the morning is not a command, but it might be a helpful example to build our spiritual intensity.

I boldly suggest that we all think though the words of our text. Perhaps we need to read them out loud before we pray, yes, even when we pray with others. The Lord wants our hearts (Matthew 22:37). We can start by praying from our hearts instead of merely by reading our requests off prayer lists that are so common in churches. David the king was a man after God’s own heart. Let’s learn from the words of this song.

Grace and peace, David

Confidence in God

DSCN2717Psalm 4

In Psalm 3, we saw how David the king turned to the Lord during a painful time of his life, which was the rebellion of his son Absalom against his kingly authority. Psalm 4 doesn’t give us any information about when David wrote these words. Most Psalms lack this information. We do not need to panic that we don’t have it. The Holy Spirit led the Psalm writers to record their experience with God and life, and so we are able to profit in whatever situation we might be in. As we read, let us remember that this is a song, intended for the benefit of God’s people as they sing together. Notice that the superscription tells us that it was written for the director of music, and that David intended that stringed instruments be used when it was sung. God loves artistic expression, and he desires that we use such abilities as we possess in worship and instruction of one another.

  • David sang about his need to receive an answer from the Lord (4:1). It is obvious that he sought a positive answer, as we all do. The Lord wants us to make our requests to him. He doesn’t not tell us to simply state the situation without making known the result we desire. Imagine saying to your wife or husband, “I’m thirsty.” Would you want to hear, “Thanks for the information”? No, usually when we make known our need, we specify what we want. In this example, “I’m going to get something to drink; would you like something, too?” I mention this because some people are of the erroneous opinion that you shouldn’t tell God what you desire. But the Lord wants you to use your mind and emotions and to ask him. With respect (“O my righteous God”), David made clear that he longed for relief from distress and mercy in the form of answered prayer.
  • David sang about the opposition that he endured from other people (4:2-3). The songs of our lives will have melancholy and even dark stanzas. This opposition was of a religious character. David had the task of leading Israel back to the Lord, because the reign of Saul had been a time of spiritual decline. David magnified the Lord, but others did not. His confidence in God was to them a matter of shame. We face the same kind of opposition from the ungodly today. Their attitude involved that they made the “evil exchange”. They turned from God to idols (cf. Romans 1:21-25). Notice that David openly rejected their course of action. He asserted the truth of the Lord’s covenant relationship with his people. Those who know the Lord have been set apart for him. God wants us to share our lives with him. We have become a people for his possession. This means that the Lord will hear us when we call to him. “O beloved, when you are on your knees, the fact of your being set apart as God’s own peculiar treasure, should give you courage and inspire your fervency and faith” (Spurgeon, Treasury of David, Vol. 1, p.38).
  • David sang about the way of life for God’s people (4:4-5). Though anger is a part of our lives, we must avoid sin in our anger, which is extremely difficult, because our thoughts, ideas, and emotions are easily twisted by sin. This requires self-examination of our ways. We need to consider what motivates our hearts and our actions. Since David wanted to lead his people back to the Lord, he pointed out the need to offer the sacrifices that God required in the law covenant. We live in the new covenant and have a perfect and finished sacrifice, the blood of Christ. So for us, the new covenant application is always and only to approach God our Father through Jesus Christ and his sacrifice.
  • David sang about his hope or confident expectation (4:6-7). He pointed out what his people could expect as they sought the Lord. He told them there would be doubters about God’s concern for them. In response to those who questioned, David boldly restated the source of blessing. Then he gave a personal testimony of the greater joy that the Lord had given to him. His joy was greater than what the doubters experienced in their material prosperity. True, joyful humanity is experienced when we rejoice in the true and living God, our family relationship with him, and contentment with the material provisions that he has given for our joy.
  • David sang about the rest that the Lord had brought to him (4:8). Yes, his situation had been one of distress. But now, through believing confidence in the Lord, he was able to “sleep in peace”. This confidence does not come simply through the exercise of prayer. We must not only pray but also rely on the Lord’s goodness, wisdom, and power as we wait calmly for what he will do.

While you and I do not know the tune of Psalm 4, we still may sing it in our souls. Let its truth resonate through your heart. Meditate on it. “Sing it” with your brothers and sisters in Christ. Seek the Lord through it. Your Father in heaven does want you to have “greater joy”.

Grace and peace, David

Where Do You Run?

IMG_1148Psalm 3

David the king was a man of worship. He loved to communicate with his God, the true and living God. He prayed, he praised. He wept, rejoiced. He expressed anger, yet he again and again found rest in the Lord. David was glad to share his life with God, regardless of his worldly circumstances. Though he became king, he was often a fugitive from his enemies. We read of one of these times in the third psalm. The Psalms are songs, songs with many purposes. One purpose is to worship God for his glorious true story; another is to teach others about our place in God’s story.

Life hurts sometimes. David was not ashamed to write a song about the problems and pain God’s dearly loved people experience. David did not regard such happenings as a reason to doubt the Lord and to turn away from him. Instead, he wisely found that he could rely upon the God who is over all, even when it was easier to fear than to trust and worship.

David began this song by stating his situation (3:1-2). This is not to inform the all-knowing God about his problems. The Lord fully comprehends our needs before we state them. This is one way people share their lives with others. David talked to his God about what was happening. In the song, it lets others know of why he needed to turned to the all-powerful God. David had many enemies, and they assumed that they had David trapped. What made this especially painful for David was that the leader of his enemies was his own son, Absalom.

In this song David sings about his hope or confident expectation. It was that the Lord would be his shield (3:3). Since David was a warrior, he valued shields as a means of protection. We might think more about the airbags in our cars. He viewed the Lord as his protection in every direction: “you are a shield around me”. Regardless of the ways his many enemies planned to attack him, David was confident that the Lord was sufficient to guard him. God was the one who had lifted him up to be king, and so he was “safe and secure from all alarms”. Knowing God’s all-sufficiency produced four beneficial consequences in David’s heart and relationship with God. He wrote that we might sing about these benefits with him.

  • David addressed the Lord in prayer (3:4). He cried out to the Lord and the Lord answered him from his holy hill. (This is probably a reference to Zion, where David had brought the ark of the covenant, which was important in Israel’s old covenant worship.) In our time, we night speak of the “throne of grace” (Hebrews 4:16). David knew the importance of prayer (James 4:2). God is willing to be brought into our battles as the shield of protection that we need.
  • David affirmed his faith in the Lord (3:5-6). He sang about how he was able to lie down and sleep. Are you able to do this after you pray to the Lord about your troubles? Or do you toss and turn after you pray? Faith requires us to tell our need to God and to leave the results to his wise action. He saw the Lord very close to him. I don’t think David bothered to make an exact head count of his enemies. He used hyperbole to press the point of his complete trust in his Shield.
  • David appealed to the Lord to act for his good (3:7). Here, David prayed like a man under the law covenant. He asked the Lord to act in vengeance against the enemies of his kingdom. (David was God’s anointed ruler.) As Jesus taught his disciples, we are not to pray like this in our new covenant age (Luke 9:55). We do better to pray like Stephen (Acts 7:60). We need to ask the Lord to enable us to share the good news boldly with those who oppose us (Acts 4:29).
  • David admired God’s victory, which he had to wait for (3:8). The story of David tells us that the Lord did rescue him and his kingdom, though God’s victory brought great anguish to David’s heart (2 Samuel 18:19-19:8). We suppose that when God rescues us that we will only know great joy. But we must still live in a broken world in our own brokenness. The good news is that David was able to receive the rebukes of others, break out of his grief and depression, and write this song for the benefit of others.

Where do you run in your troubles? I hope you turn to the true and living God, who is able to rescue you. Where do you run after the Lord rescues you? Do you focus on your remaining or new difficulties? Or are you ready to tell others of the comfort with which your Father in heaven has comforted you (2 Corinthians 1)?

Grace and peace, David

Colossians 2:11-12 – God Has Changed Us In Christ – Audio

Today we post another message from our Sunday morning series in Colossians. This recording is “as is” and so there might be occasional questions and/or comments. May the Lord bless you as you listen!

Grace and peace, David

Colossians 2:9-10

Hi everyone! As I prepare new articles, today’s post is an audio message from one of our recent Sunday morning gatherings. These are posted “as is”, and so you might hear background comments, brief times of silence, etc. This message is about the life and source of a Christian’s life and comfort.

Grace and peace, David

The Bigger Story (Part Three)

IMG_0993Ruth 4:13-22

Our God and Father always works to fulfill purpose through Jesus Christ the Lord. God acts in our lives in many ways to bring about the true story of his glory. As the Spirit of God says, This is according to His eternal purpose accomplished in the Messiah, Jesus our Lord (Ephesians 3:11 HCSB). The end of the book of Ruth shows that it is much more than a little story about two struggling widows who needed a kinsman redeemer to set them free and provide for them. It is part of a bigger story, about God providing a king for Israel: David. And that bigger story is actually part of the biggest story, for David is the one of the top two people in the line of Jesus the Anointed (Matthew 1:1). All that happened in the story was controlled by God to lead up to David. In this story of Ruth, God was writing a much bigger story than any of the characters imagined.

There are ten names in the genealogy. Not everyone from generation to generation is recorded; instead, “father” means ancestor in some sense. Biblical genealogies are lists of significance; fifth and seventh names in such lists were held in special honor. In this list, the fifth is Nahshon, the tribal leader of Judah during the wilderness (cf. Numbers 1:7; 2:3; 7:12, 27), and the seventh is Boaz, the kinsman-redeemer, the man who acted with costly kindness and love.

God has a purpose he is working out in human history; he does this through people. God tells us selected names in his word to highlight his involvement with real people in human history. They are not “just a bunch of names”; no, they are people, like you and me. All of them had a significant part in the line of the Messiah.

God works within a covenant community. This list spans many centuries (seven or eight centuries!) in the old covenant era. The Lord’s purpose worked out gradually over a long time. God’s new covenant community stretches over twenty centuries now. We are part of a bigger story than our own lives. We can read of Christians of other times and places and realize that we are part of the story of God’s glory with them

Ruth had gone to Israel to seek refuge under God’s wings (2:12). Does God reward those who seek him (Hebrews 11:6)? Yes, he does! Who could have forecast such a destiny for this widow from an outcast, despised people group? The Lord did more for her than she could have asked or imagined (Ephesians 3:20-21), by putting this outcast widow into the line of the Messiah (Matthew 1:1-17)! As God’s worked out his purpose in this line of people, his goal was not a neat and tidy list, filled with “nice” people. Think of the not so nice people we read of in this genealogy. There is shrewd Abraham, self-centered Isaac, deceiving Jacob, and incestuous Judah and Tamar. Rahab was a prostitute, Ruth a childless widow, and David, oh David, for all God’s blessings on him was an adulterer and murderer. After David, the line continued with Solomon, who was sexually immoral, Rehoboam would not listen to wise counsel, Uzziah was filled with pride, and Manasseh was an idolater, who sacrificed his own children to idols.

Jesus came to save his people from their sins. Even his own family line was filled with sinners, yet he came to be the friend of sinners. Is Jesus your friend? Turn from your selfish ways and trust Jesus to save you; he is the sinner’s friend. God builds his church with outcasts (cf. 1 Corinthians 1:26-29). They have a place in God’s heart; do they have a place in ours?

We have reached the end of Ruth. I hope that you have profited from these articles. I especially pray that they are used by God to lead us all to bring glory to the God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Grace and peace, David

The Bigger Story (Part Two)

IMG_4300Ruth 4:13-22

In one of our groups recently, we discussed the topic of God’s sovereignty. Our walk of faith can prosper when we realize that God is in control of all things, that he has a plan that he will achieve for his glory and the good of his people. For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen (Romans 11:36 HCSB). We have seen this idea in the book of Ruth several times. In this article, we will focus on it again.

In Ruth, we read the turnarounds that are part of the Lord’s ways. Many times these happen in small events. The small stories are important to God. We have seen God’s provision for two widows. God had given laws about gleaning and a kinsman-redeemer to provide for the needy. At the end of this book, we see him giving Naomi and Ruth a new family. This was very important to them and also to his plan, and so God provided (cf. Psalm 68:4-6). Naomi’s emptiness was replaced with fullness through her daughter-in-law and her son; she could enjoy being grandma to little Obed (4:16). What a great blessing it is to have grandchildren and to be able to hold them on your lap and care for them. Naomi’s arms are no longer empty, because God filled them. Perhaps you face some severe struggles right now. Your outlook might be gloomy, and you might be asking, “Does God care about the little story of my life?” Yes, he does. You are part of his great story and are significant. For this reason, reach out to him in faith. Take refuge in him until the disaster has passed (Psalm 57:1). When you are afraid, trust in him (Psalm 56:3).

God used the unexpected. After Ruth bore a child, the women praised the Lord for what he had done through Ruth. They told Naomi that Ruth was “better than seven sons”. This was high praise for Ruth in a culture where sons were highly sought after. It was the highest honor they could give the former Moabite, who had become a woman of honor. Now, think of what God taught Israel in the Torah. The Lord had given them the two great commands (Deuteronomy 6:5; Leviticus 19:18); he also told them to care for the alien living among them (Leviticus 19:33-34). But ironically, Ruth the alien was the one who taught Israel to care. She was like the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37). God did the unexpected through her.

The women celebrated two blessings for Naomi in the birth of Obed. Naomi was assured of a kinsman-redeemer in her grandson, and she had someone to care for her in her old age. Obed would renew her life or “turn her life back”. This is the same word as “brought back” in 1:21. How Naomi misevaluated her life then! She thought that the Lord had brought her back empty; surprise! God had given her a grandson who would bring back her life; he would sustain her in her old age. God did the unexpected. Have you been evaluating your life by its present circumstances? You need to change your mind and reevaluate them by your relationship to Christ. Are you in Christ? Then you have one who will renew or bring back your life again and again and again. But there is more to see that we in our culture don’t want to see.

The Lord also teaches the importance of community. We need to grow in our understanding and application of the truth of God’s set apart people, of our spiritual family. We need to join with those that Christ has joined us to. If we know the Lord, we are to share our lives with our brothers and sisters in Christ. This means much more than some casual chitchat on Sunday mornings. Our Father in heaven uses the sharing of life of his people to bring about good in our lives. Notice two examples of their community in action.

The neighboring women named the baby Obed (4:17). They named him Obed, which means “servant”. They saw his future as one able to serve Naomi and to provide for her when he matured. The community sensed the significance of the child and shared it with Naomi. Everybody could rejoice in what the Lord had done for her!  Perhaps letting others help name a baby seems strange to us in a self-absorbed western culture, but it seems that the parents would get all sorts of suggestions from their family and neighbors about naming a child (cf. Luke 1:59-66). They had a much healthier understanding of the need for community in a person’s life.

The women of the community celebrated the birth of Ruth’s son and Naomi’s grandson. The birth of a child is an important event in human life and should be celebrated. Sometimes men joke about women’s concerns about bridal and baby showers, but such times are important. Here the Holy Spirit puts God’s approval upon such events by putting this common event into the story; later Jesus showed the same sort of approval by attending a wedding and providing the best wine at the reception (John 2).

We need to be sharing all of life with one another. Read God’s word and pray that it will transform your thinking about your place and function in God’s family in a greater way than you have ever experienced.

Grace and peace, David