"God-Who-Forgives"

"You answered them, O LORD our God; You were to them God-Who-Forgives, though You took vengeance on their deeds." (Psalm 99:8)

This is a seeming contradiction:  "God-Who-Forgives...took vengeance...."  I will not attempt some "deep" exegesis here. 

The reality of human existence is that any may receive forgiveness of sin in our Lord Jesus Christ, but this does not mean forgiveness cancels the effect of sin.  I am thankful that my sins are forgiven and that because of the Blood of Jesus Christ He, "cast all our sins into the depths of the sea," and, "as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us."  What is most disturbing, however, and should give us all cause to be very careful as to how we live, is that every sin has a cause and effect reality.  It's called, consequences.  Forgiveness does not deal with consequences.  I am not asserting this as "sound theology," but it could be that, "vengeance on their deeds," is, "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap."  People blame God for so much, some for everything, yet the truth is that man insisted on his own way in the Garden, and has been doing so every since.  "But My people would not heed My voice and Israel would have none of Me.  So I gave them over to their own stubborn heart, to walk in their own counsels."
Could this be the, "vengeance," of which our text speaks?

A group of us are gathering later this month in a house meeting to share communion, aka, The Lord's Table, together.  Our participation in the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ is our life, our forgiveness, our eternal salvation.  Historically this has been the focal point of Christian fellowship.  I can think of nothing more wonderful for Followers of Jesus than to share His Table.  Here, in Jesus Christ's Body and Blood, we find forgiveness, "joy unspeakable," peace.  Here, though we all bring the consequences of our sin, we also bring our love for one another, our grace, our understanding.  You and I cannot change the sowing and reaping cycle.  We can, though, show grace and mercy to one another, just as Our Lord does to us-- "God-Who-Forgives."

Father, in Jesus' Name, I may bemoan the consequences of things which I have put in motion, but I fully accept responsibility for them, and thank You that You are, "God-Who-Forgives."  Amen.
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Unreached People Group: www.apfunreachedpeoples.blogspot.com

"Mainstreaming Anti-Semitism": www.apf327.blogspot.com
      

When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"

"Looking unto Jesus"

Hebrews 12:2

What Is The Call Of Jesus To Humanity?

"If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." (Jesus, as recorded in Matthew 19)

Evangelicals have said of Jesus' encounter with the "rich, young ruler," that our Lord was not saying that keeping the law would save him, but, I guess, some "sinner's prayer" would.  I have led people in "the sinner's prayer," and there is indeed something in it which speaks of coming to Father in Jesus Christ.  One must always keep in mind, however, that while there are Biblical principles contained in it, it can mislead us in regards to the Law of God.  We must be very careful with this evangelical fear that people will get the wrong understanding of The Law of God.  Each of the commandments which Jesus told the young man to keep are just as applicable today as they were on Sinai----------------------

and to that searching young man.

"If you want to be perfect (complete)," was the key.  The Law without a life of following Jesus Christ is useless.  This is not a disparagement of the Law, rather, it is an affirmation of the Bible as a whole, complete, that one part without the other is incomplete.  A person can labor to keep The Law so that he can go to Heaven, but without a surrendered life to Jesus Christ, Heaven is unattainable.  This is what Jesus was saying to this self-made young man.  He did right in that he kept the law, but Luke's record says, "You still lack one thing....follow Me."

Our Lord Jesus did not come to start a know-what-you-need-to-know-just-to-get-by religion.  He came to bring us to completion/perfection, in other words, to Himself.  John 14 says that Jesus came so that we can, "come to the Father...by Me."  I suggest this as perfection:  Follow Jesus and He will bring us to Father so that we in Jesus in the Holy Spirit will be in Father in Jesus in the Holy Spirit Eternally." 

 

Father, in Jesus' Name, I pray for a continual attitude of, "sell all that you have and distribute to the poor..; and come, follow Me."  Amen.

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Disturbing Trends in Eastern Europe: www.apf327.blogspot.com

Unreached People Group: www.apfunreachedpeoples.blogspot.com

When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"

"Looking unto Jesus"

Hebrews 12:2

How To Feel Good About Yourself

"O LORD, be gracious to us; we have waited for You.  Be their strength every morning, Our salvation also in the time of distress." (Isaiah 33:2, NASB)

Our text is from this quarter's Major Prophets reading.  It could not have been more timely.  I receive a monthly prayer guide from Open Doors and the following request was posted for today, January 17.  It comes from the country of  Ethiopia.  "Another church in western Ethiopia has been looted by Muslims.  The area is notorious for hostile behavior towards believers.  Recently, two [believers] were beaten to death attending secret believers meetings.  Church leaders say the situation is getting worse and ask supporters to earnestly pray for the church elders to lead with divine wisdom and be strong for their members." 

People like to "feel good about themselves."  They like devotionals which aid that pursuit.  And I can say that I never "feel better" about myself than when I am walking in obedience to Jesus Christ and His Words, "pray for one another."  This, "one another," does not mean just those in our local congregations, house meetings, or circle of friends.  "One another," means the Church, the global Church.  "One another," is any Brother or Sister in Jesus Christ whom I know or know of who needs prayer, from the "smallest" prayer need to a survival prayer need.  It is a most glorious life style!  

You should have received a notice I forwarded to you to join in praying for Followers of Jesus Christ in the 50 top hostile regimes in the world for the coming year.  It features a hostile regime each week.  Please join me in praying our text for our Brethren in Jesus Christ in Ethiopia, "Father, in Jesus Name, I pray that You will, "be gracious to [them]; [they] have waited for You.  Be their strength every morning, [their] salvation also in the time of distress."  Amen.

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US Cancels Joint Israeli Drill:  www.apf327.blogspot.com

Unreached People Group: www.apfunreachedpeoples.blogspot.com ;   

When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"

"Looking unto Jesus"

Hebrews 12:2

"Who Then Is the Greatest In the Kingdom...."

"At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, 'Who then is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?'  Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them and said, 'Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.'" (Matthew 18:1-3)

Instead of sending the child to children's church, Jesus said he is a prime example.  Paraphrase: "This child can teach you something.  Watch him."

I wonder how many of us ever, "become as little children."  According to Our Lord Jesus, this is the basis for entering, "the kingdom of heaven."  I have noticed over the years that the younger people are, the more open they are to input, the wonder of life, more observant.  The older they get the disease of boredom moves in, a person becomes more of a know-it-all.  This is probably the reason for the statement, "Give us a child until he is 8 years old, then you can have him."  I have often heard people say that when they first received Jesus they could not get enough of the Bible, went to every meeting they could get to, read everything. Then what happens?  No matter what the answer, the root is, "I'm maturing; no one can teach me anything I don't already know."

Our Lord goes on to say, "Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."  Okay; now think of that person whom you think to be, "the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."  Do they show any characteristics at all of a 2 or 3 year old?  Resist making a joke and seriously consider this.  Observe a 2 or 3 year old, a teenager----------------- and yourself, "these three; but the greatest of them is,"--------- "become as little children."

Father, in Jesus' Name, I pray for a restored wonder of life in You.  Amen.

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News, Commentary: www.apf327.blogspot.com

Unreached People Group: www.apfunreachedpeoples.blogspot.com

When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"

"Looking unto Jesus"

Hebrews 12:2

"Christ Crucified-- The Power and Wisdom of God"

"....We preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God." (1 Corinthians 1:23, 24) A young man, whose grandparents have been a part of Sarah and me for over 40 years, is a YWAM leader.  He is leading a team to Germany today, and part of the schedule includes three weeks in Berlin.  They arrive in Berlin on January 22.  He asked for "any spiritual insight you may have from your time there."  The following is what I wrote to him:  My only "insight" is that this is the capitol, and it has had significance for the German for centuries, even before unification under Bismark in the latter 19th century.  The militarism of Prussia has been, and I believe still is, a dominating "spirit" in Germany.  I would recommend a stop at what I call the "Bismarck complex just a few meters from the famous Grosser Stern (Victory Column).  I'm sure you will see some of what I mean.  Also, you will see from this complex the extremely high importance the German places on wisdom and intellect.  I once preached from 1 Corinthians 1: 18-31 in a church meeting.  One of the pastors said to me afterwards, "This is what Germany needs." The German People Group is indeed a great people.  They have given the world some of my favorite people, e.g., Jan Huss, Count Zinzendorf, Auguste Franke, just to name a few.  But they also gave the world Friedrich Nietzsche, Karl Marx, and Adolph Hitler; they have given some of the best and worst of humanity.  They are no worse nor any better than any people group, yet I believe deeply that they have a destiny which no other people group has.  Their history of militarism and worship of the wisdom of man will some day be at the heart of "the final conflict." This wisdom-worship spirit dominated the ancient world also.  It's "capitol" was Greek philosophy, "....Greeks seek after wisdom...."  This spirit has battled the Church through the ages, took over the major universities in America, and has led to the downfall of Western Christianity as the leader of the Global Church of our Lord Jesus Christ.  One of the figures in the Bismarck Memorial in Berlin is a "sibyl reclining on a sphinx and reading the book of history."  The word "sibyl" is from a Greek word meaning "prophetess."  Here is what the Greek writer, Heraclitus, wrote:  "The Sibyl, with frenzied mouth uttering things not to be laughed at, unadorned and unperfumed, yet reaches to a thousand years with her voice by aid of the god."  Well, Heraclitus, there is also someone else who "reached to a thousand years," which is why, "We preach Christ crucified." Father, in Jesus' Name, deliver me from any "Sibyl" spirit in the world.  Amen. ****************** "Iraq's Descent into Ethnic Mayhem:  www.apf327.blogspot.com Unreached People Group: www.apfunreachedpeoples.blogspot.com

Beware the, "Why? and, "I Do Not Deserve This"

"In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong....Why do You hide Your face, and regard me as Your enemy?" (Job 1:22 & 13:24)

The word, "why," in our text is used at least 21 times in the Book of Job.  Most have heard over our life time someone ask the question, "Why did God allow this to happen to me?"  The assumption seems to be that the questioner is so righteous and good and deserving that he/she finds God guilty of gross unfairness and injustice.  I see no justification in such a question.  If I pray with any sense that I "deserve" an answer, I am praying wrongly.  "Answers" to our prayers come only from Father's Grace in Jesus Christ and Christ's Atoning Blood, not my worthiness.  If we want to discuss what I "deserve," well, you just do not want to "go there."  I highly suggest that if "deserve" is found somewhere in your theology, you remove it immediately.  Nothing good will come of it.

Winds of War and War and Remembrance are two historical novels by Herman Wouk.  In the latter work there is a monologue of one of the leading characters who is interred in a concentration camp where German authorities require Jews to refer to themselves as, "the stinking Jew."  Orders have been given for transport to the East, and the night before one of the trains is to leave the camp, Aaron Jastrow, writer and professor, is scheduled to give a lecture.  I have never read any work on the subject of human suffering that is any better:
"My Thereseinstadt friends, I have no heart tonight for a lecture. I will put aside my professorial notes. They are neat, bloodless, and irrelevant. My topic was to be the book of Job. That's what I'll talk about, but not as a professor, as one of you: the Theresienstadt Jew. Satan said to God--do you remember?--"Naturally Job is upright, seven sons, three daughters, the wealthiest man in the land of Uz. Why not be upright? See how it pays. Job is not upright. He's just a smart Jew," sneers Satan. "But take away his rewards, and see how upright he will remain." So God allows Satan to put Job through every trail but death. All his children die. All his wealth is wiped out. A horrible sickness strikes him. And so, reduced by a whim of God, to a broken, loathsome, plundered skeleton, covered with sores, Job sits on the ash heap. "Naked I came from the womb," he says. "Naked will I return. God has given. God has taken away. Blessed be God's name." Job has stood up to Satan's test. The oldest problem in human existence: senseless evil. But now comes a worse trial, a worse test. Job's comforters come. Passionately, they urge him to admit that since God is just, Job must have committed some terrible sin. "Search your deeds. Repent. Confess." But Job fights back. "I have not sinned. I will submit to the divine will, but not to pious platitudes." And so, in the depths of his most terrible hour, Job rises to stand toe-to-toe with God, and demand an answer to the great ultimate human mystery of senseless evil. "Why do you do this to me?" Well, Job gets his answer. An answer that answers nothing. God himself speaks to Job at last out of a roaring storm. "Who are you to call me to account? Can you hope to understand how or why I do anything? My universe is vast beyond human conception. Where were you when I laid the foundations of the world, when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of heaven shouted for joy? Can you comprehend the infinite mysteries of existence? You, a poor worm who lives for a few moments and dies?" An answer that answers nothing---------------- and everything. The roaring storm has declared only that God's reason is hidden, beyond Job, beyond the comforters. The universe doesn't always make sense. There is no guarantee of good fortune for good behavior. Crazy injustice is part of the enigma of the world and of our brief lives. Job humbles himself, is more than satisfied, and falls upon his face. My Thereisenstadt friends, this is the thought I would leave you with tonight. Who is it in history, who suffers ordeal after ordeal, plundering after plundering, massacre after massacre, century after century, yes looks up at the sky, sometimes with dying eyes, and cries, "The Lord our God, the Lord is one?" Who until then will leave the fearful mystery of undeserved suffering to God, and praise his name, saying, "The Lord has given. The Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord?" Nobody, my friends, but that loathsome, bereaved skeleton on the ash heap. Nobody but Job. He is the only answer, if there is one. The satanic challenge to an Almighty God, Job, 'The stinking Jew.'"

Father, in Jesus' Name, where was I, indeed, when You "laid the foundations of the world?"  For me I have not greater prayer than, "Thy Kingdom come.  Thy will be done in earth as it is in Heaven."  Amen.  
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When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"

"Looking unto Jesus"

Hebrews 12:2

The Bible Teaches Us to Love, "Correction"--- Really?

"Whoever loves instruction loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid." (Proverbs 12:1)

The word translated here, "instruction," means "discipline, chastening, correction;" hence, we could say, "Whoever loves correction, discipline, and chastening loves knowledge, but he who hates correction, discipline, and chastening is stupid."  If I accept our text, then I confess I have been, "stupid," in my life time.  The KJV correctly translates, "stupid, as, "brutish," which means "of, or relating to beasts."  This does not "preach" well.

The vast majority of human beings, "born again," or not, do not like correction.  A person may be in an "accountability relationship," but if someone outside his approved circles has "a word" for him, "he hates," it.  What pomposity.  If I pick and choose from whom I can receive correction, I am just deluding myself.  The reality today is that if I refuse correction, no matter who it comes from, it is simply due to pride.  

There are things, "issues," which need, "correction," in our lives about which we have known perhaps for a long time, maybe decades.  What can be embarrassing is that we knew we needed to do something about it, but did not, and someone, sometimes a person who is the last person we would want to receive from, calls it to our attention. 

There are people who are just critical or mean- spirited or just want control over our lives; may the Holy Spirit help us to discern such.  But may He also help us to discern those who really love us and want us to be our best in Jesus Christ.  If we follow carefully the teachings of Jesus in the Gospels, yes, in the whole of Scripture, we see our text as a fundamental Biblical principle; therefore, as a person who claims a love for His Words, I ask myself, What am I doing with all the, "correction," I have received in my life time?  

Father, in Jesus' Name, help me to prove my love for Your Words by loving/receiving, "correction, discipline, chastening,"------- from whomever You choose to bring it to me.  Amen.
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An Israeli Jew Comments on Tebow: www.apf327.blogspot.com
Unreached People Group: www.apfunreachedpeoples.blogspot.com

When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"

"Looking unto Jesus"

Hebrews 12:2

A "Daniel Heart"

"And he said to me, 'O Daniel, man greatly beloved....'" (Daniel 10:11)

This is not said of everyone in the Bible.  The NASB translates, "greatly beloved," as, "man of high esteem."  The Hebrew Interlinear defines the word as, "beauty," or, "take pleasure in, to desire."  While everybody on Planet Earth is loved by God, from Adam to the most "lowly" person in the most remote part of the world today, Biblical Theology reveals that there are people who are those, "of high esteem," those who are a "pleasure" to God, those as Enoch, who, "pleased God."  

American theology has been invaded by the same mentality popular in that portion of the culture today which does not allow youth athletic competitions to keep score.  Everybody is the same, or, in other words, there is no reward for excellence.  It is the same mentality which will never consider Bible passages that speak of degrees of rewards in the coming life (Mt. 10, 16, 25, to name a few).  I know with many I'm on thin ice here, but maybe more Bible and less pop theology would be in order. 

Our Lord Jesus Christ teaches us to love all people; Jesus tells us that to love is the greatest commandment (Mark 12:29-31), and 1 John tells us, "God is love."  What I see in our text, however, is that while God supremely demonstrated His love for the world in Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Cross, there are some in His Creation in whom He takes "pleasure," people who are, "highly esteemed."  But how can one be in that number?  Psalm 51 gives insight to a "Daniel heart."  David prays in verse 10, "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me."  Our Lord Jesus said, "Blessed are the pure (literally, "clean") in heart, for they shall see God."  This is a "Daniel heart"------------------ and, I shall always pray for such.

Father, in Jesus' Name, I pray to be one, "greatly beloved," by You, "highly esteemed," by You, one You can, "take pleasure in, desire."  Amen.
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Politics, Israeli Style: www.apf327.blogspot.com

Unreached Peoples: www.apfunreachedpeoples.blogspot.com

When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"

"Looking unto Jesus"

Hebrews 12:2

Is This Such a Time?

"Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplication with fasting, sackcloth and ashes." (Daniel 9:3)

When a person does this, it is usually an indication that something very serious is going on.  Now some, to be sure, may do this out of a regular ritual, and that is not necessarily a bad thing.  But there are times in the life of an individual, The Church, and nations when something is looming on the horizon, or is already upon them, which calls for this intense, even repetitious declaration, "prayer and supplication with fasting, sackcloth and ashes."  This does not happen in the daily "quite time," or regular times of prayer in the Church.  After all, people do have to eat.  In the vast majority of Biblical references to such, "prayer and supplication with fasting, sackcloth and ashes," however, something has been revealed to the People of Jesus Christ, something which indicates a "cosmic shift" in events with ramifications far beyond the individual or a local congregation.  Biblically, in almost every case, such a fervor in seeking the Living Triune God is brought about by national and/or international events.

Such was the case of Daniel in chapter 9, which contains, incidentally, a great prayer for congregations, cities and nations.  Basically, it was a study of the prophetic, "God-Breathed," Word in Jeremiah which alerted Daniel that something of great significance was working in the nation.  It was not some "elite" group of prophets getting together to "get a sense of what God was saying."  It was, "the Words of God," which revealed to Daniel that events in the "super power" of the day, events affecting the Jews and, "the City of the Great King," Jesus, events in a prophetic timetable, which put something in motion in Daniel' heart.  Such a prophetic revelation as in our text is a call to denial, humbling oneself, The Church, a nation.

Events of the past year, current events, and what I see on the horizon indicate to me that our Lord Jesus Christ is calling His People to some very serious, "set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes."  Check your heart to see, "what the Spirit is saying to the Churches."

Father, in Jesus' Name, give me a heart such as Daniel's to hear and see what You have revealed in Your Word, and Your prophetic timetable.  Amen.
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News, Commentary: www.apf327.blogspot.com
Unreached Peoples: www.apfunreachedpeoples.blogspot.com

When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"

"Looking unto Jesus"

Hebrews 12:2