The Fear of the Lord

 Oh fear the LORD, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him. (Ps 34:9) 

I love walking down a deserted beach, listening to the roaring and crashing waves remembering the Scripture “the voice of the Lord is like many waters”. (Ez.43:2;Rev.1:15/14:2) It is a glimpse of the power of God who created the heavens, the earth, the sea and all that is contained therein, both visible and invisible.  The restless ocean must abide by the boundaries set by God “this far, and no further” and it can only trespass beyond this point by His permission. For He commands and raises the stormy wind, which lifts up the waves of the sea. (Ps.107:25) Anyone who has stood on the shoreline during a violent storm learns a new respect for the power behind nature as it relentlessly protests against its borders.  It is a reminder of our smallness and utter helplessness in this universe apart from God, but Jesus demonstrated that even the wind and sea obey Him, and this generated a deep fear of Him among His disciples. (Mk.4:41) 

We are living in times when much of the western church has neglected to learn the fear of the Lord. We are bombarded with distractions and technological advances that captivate our attention, and draw us away from meditating on the things of God. Many live away from the language of nature, and are surrounded by man-made structures and systems that magnify mans’ ingenuity.  We live lives that are relatively routine and dependent upon our ability to earn a living. Our attention to nature may be limited to a garden, or a nicely manicured lawn or the nuisance of mosquitos and gnats.  Perhaps this is why the Psalmist counters that the heavens declare the glory of God…(Ps.19)…where-ever we are, we need only look up to see what our God has made and sustains.  

 Often I have heard it explained that the “fear of the Lord” is a “reverence” of Him.  I probably have said it myself. It is impossible to have a true “reverence” for a God that we do not fear. (Ps.89:7)  There has been such a focus on the “Love of God” in Christ Jesus, that there has been a lackadaisical regard to His other simultaneous attributes. His Omniscience, His Omnipotence, His Omnipresence, His Immutableness, His Holiness, His Sovereignty and Justice are neglected in light of His love and mercy.  How grateful we are for His love and mercy, but if the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, then we should rightly understand this God who created us and joined us to Himself in His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. 

We experience thunderstorms with awe. Unless we were living in tents much of our fear of them is muted by the safety of our homes. Scripture declares that His lightnings light the world, the earth sees and trembles. (Ps.97:4). Lightning and wind may be intimidating, but God Himself makes these things. (Jer.10:13/51:16)  We must learn to see our God not only through the humanity of Jesus Christ, but through His divinity. He is the same, yesterday, today and forever. (Heb.13:8) He is the same God of the Old Testament, as He is in the New Testament. He has changed us, but He has not changed. He is not like us. (Ps.50:21)

Christian persecution is on the rise worldwide and hints of it seem to be lapping upon the shore of America. When we have learned to fear the Lord as the Creator of those things which are terrifying, we need never to fear anything else. Fortunately, we can learn a healthy fear of the Lord so that we do not wander from Him. (Dt. 17:19/Jer.32:40) 

We are accepted in the Beloved, hid with Christ in Him, and we His Saints who fear Him, and Him alone have a God who alone should be feared. If this God is on our side, who can be against us? (Rom.8:31) Therefore having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.(2Cor.7:1) 

DJ

Centrality of the Cross and Appreciation of the Cost

…and I have forgiven that one for your sakes in the presence of Christ lest Satan should take advantage of us, for we are not ignorant of his devices….(2 Cor.2:10-12)

The Apostle Paul and those with him were not ignorant of the devices Satan used to undermine their ministry and take advantage of areas in their lives which were not in alignment with the Word and Ways of Scripture.  They realized that un-forgiveness would put them at a disadvantage and undermine their effectiveness in the preaching of the Gospel.

Are we ignorant of the devil’s devises? Are we aware that not only does the devil undermine and gain a foothold in areas of sin, but he is also sows discord within relationships.  The devil is in the “extremes” and he likewise magnifies pain. He keeps a person in bondage by encouraging them to hold a grudge and blame others, rather than to grow.

Who walks upon this planet and has not been a casualty of pain? Who has not suffered the consequences of someone else’s action or harsh word?  It is an inevitable fact of life that we suffer because of the selfishness of someone else, and that we cause others to suffer because of our own selfishness. The one who dealt the pain seldom appreciates the hurt they have caused, and the one who experiences the hurt and pain, seldom forgets it.

In a world full of people rubbing against one another even with the best intentions, will injure others and this injury eventually causes an insensitivity and callousness of feeling, much like the callous is formed on skin that is constantly rubbed and irritated.  The only remedy is charitable love.  This sort of love acknowledges the hurt, but forgives the one who has inflicted it. The trouble is that the devil that bore witness to the hurt, whispers to the victim of offense all manner of charges and accusations about the perpetrator in order to sow discord between them. It may be a person’s intention to forgive, but the devil keeps stirring the pot. We’ve not a “sea of forgetfulness” into which to cast the offense, as God has, but in Christ we have access to all that is our inheritance.  God has committed all things to Christ who has made these very things accessible to us, who abide in Him.

When we forgive, we may petition the Lord also to forgive this person.  It is fair to acknowledge to God our suffering, but because Christ suffered on our account, we relinquish all indebtedness. We may be justified in our complaint, accusation and blame, but we rather suffer the wrong because of Christ’s suffering for our wrongs. When we transgress we are like the instruments used to shred His flesh and we become identified with the inflictors of His affliction. Christ has forgiven us of a lifetime of sin, how can we then not forgive others? 

If we are unforgiving, it is because we do not truly appreciate what God has done for us. We may be grateful, but we do not appreciate it. While we were yet sinners, Christ died for the ungodly. (Rom.5:6) He loves us mercifully for we’ve done nothing to deserve it, we are called to do the same. In doing so, we experience in a very small measure the pain of sin in the world and share in the sufferings of Christ. 

Whenever another offends us because of self-centeredness and pride, our natural instinct is to defend ourselves and “self” builds a fortified wall of defense with pride standing guard at the gate. This natural process causes hardness of heart and an inability to love unconditionally.  We ought rather to bear the injury, recognizing that our own sin has also injured others, and Christ. With the cross in view, we petition the Lord to forgive, even our enemies, for we ourselves are guilty and have been forgiven much.

The devil stirs the pot of anguish and discord, our answer to this malicious agitator of humanity is this; “I remember the cost of my sin upon the Son of God which afflicted not only His flesh, but His very soul, which was poured out for my sake. He was entitled to judge me, but He chose to forgive me. I likewise choose to forgive this person.  I will count this offense and my suffering as a glimpse and insight into the pain that I myself caused Christ.” This is the centrality of the Cross of Christ.

DJ

Our Firm Foundation

If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do? (Ps.11:3)

Over the years, I have read Psalm 11:3 believing that the implied conclusion of the matter was that in this scenario “the righteous can do nothing”.  That conclusion seemed self-evident when one tries to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ to this generation. “We are living in a post-modern culture” we are told, and so the message of salvation has to be “modified to the times”. This position has always troubled me, but more-so now that I’ve learned a bit more of what “pre-modern, modern and post-modern” society actually means.

Briefly, since Christ, a pre-modern world view accepted the Biblical narration of the world system and has generally been the world view of most civilized societies up until the mid-1600’s.

The Modern world-view has a more skeptical view of the Bible, and relies heavily on the “Scientific Method” an obsolete standard for spiritual matters.  This world-view cast doubt on many Scriptural truths. Scriptures that were once considered absolutely true began to be redefined as mythical or allegorical. The concept of “truth” itself was loosened from its mooring suggesting that truth is “relative”. This gave birth to the “post-modern” worldview.

The devil’s proposal “Hath God really said…?” drifted through halls of academia like an intoxicant settling in the minds of those who now unfortunately stand in many American pulpits. The post-modern society that we are perceived to be living in is the fruition of the doubt cast upon the Word of God, the casting of truth onto the ground (Dan.8:12/Is.59:14), and the introduction of an “anything goes” mentality that confounds logic.  It is a cultural and religious upsweep that gathers all religions into one and judges the true Christian faith as divisive and antiquated.  It is this “world view” that dominates the times that we are now living in.  

While there are currently other religious beliefs that also claim exclusivity, these are, according to Scripture, under the sway of the spirit of this world, and will in due time, join forces against Christianity. (Dt.32:17/1Cor.10:20/1Jn.5:19) Christian persecution is on the rise world-wide.  It is the preaching of the cross of Christ and His resurrection that offends the devil and magnifies Jesus. Calvary is an absolute historical truth marked by the spilled blood of our Lord Jesus Christ that is an everlasting testimony to all of creation of His victory over the devil and his works.  Those who hold a modern or post-modern worldview cannot fully receive this truth. Although they may ascent to this doctrine, they do not live their lives under this banner. We are called to bear witness of the truth, not to modify it. Occasionally words may be necessary.

The post-modern version of Jesus Christ is not the Christ of the Bible. It is man’s attempt to reach others with the message of God’s love, but it is powerless to save. There is no conviction of sin and there is no repentance, the prerequisite to God’s forgiveness. Truly if the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do? The remedy to that dilemma is found in the remaining verses of this Psalm. The Lord is in His holy temple, the Lord’s throne is in heaven, His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men, the Lord tests the righteous…For the Lord is righteous, He loves righteousness; His countenance beholds the upright.(Ps.11:4,5,7) When we suffer through various trials, we gain experience with the Lord and learn to trust Him. Double-mindedness is eradicated and stabilizes us (James1:8), and we are given a new heart and Spirit (Ez.11:19;18:31;36:26/Heb.10:16/2Cor.1:22). 

Ours is to trust the Lord, pray for discernment and walk in obedience to His Word. God will not confirm a counterfeit Christ, molded to fit the times. He will confirm the truth (Mk.16:20). The Lord is in His Holy Temple, and we are that Temple. (2Cor.6:16/Eph.2:19-22) God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself.  Christ is in us to continue that work. (2Cor.5:19) As we yield to Him, He will bear the fruit through us. (Jn.15:5)

DJ

“A dead Christ I must do everything for; a living Christ does everything for me.”

 Andrew Murray (1828-1917)

Seasons

A friend of mine visited me a few years back, and noticed that I had a “thing for trees”. She noticed a few pictures around my house that showed bare deciduous trees in the winter, and inquired about them.  Some people prefer trees with blossoms such as we see in the spring, or broad green leaves providing shade from the summer’s heat, or a colorful palate of oranges, reds and yellows that burst forth in the autumn, but for me, the winter tree has a beauty that is indescribably unique. I never actually noticed the trees in the winter, unless they were covered with a layer of ice and sparkled in the sunlight, until the Lord spoke to me of hope in the dry seasons of life, and He used the winter tree to do it. 

The trees in the winter stand isolated, reaching heavenward, seemingly lifeless. They are void of leaves or other ornaments of beauty, and appear naked against the landscape.  They bear up during blizzards and because they are leafless, they are not greatly moved in the storms. The covering of leaves would in fact make them weak and vulnerable to breaking and so while the winter tree almost appears abandoned it is in reality, by the forethought of God, protected from the elements of this world.  I remember the day the Lord showed me the absolute beauty of the lace-like branches, bare and naked, against the sky.  It was the most beautiful I had ever seen a tree to be.  We are a bit like that.

 To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven (Eccl.3:1).  “Everything” includes our life and our walk with the Lord.  There are seasons where we feel connected to the Lord and all is well, and other seasons when we feel spiritually “dry”, walking through a dry and thirsty land where there is no water. (Ps.63:1) When we go through these dry seasons, we often become perplexed and wonder if we’ve done something that broke our sense of communion with the Lord.  It is important to examine ourselves to see if we have sinned against God, and to ask Him to reveal anything in our lives that may have offended Him and created a break in our fellowship.  Certainly being imperfect, we will probably come up with a few things that we suspect may have caused the sky to become as brass to our prayers, but having confessed them, we claim that promise that if we confess and repent of our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and cleanse of all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9) If the dry spell is due to sin, this remedies the problem if we are sincere.   

However, not all such desert experiences are due to sin and are, in fact, a part of the normal Christian life.  Such seasons have been called “wilderness” or “desert” experiences.  We learn of our weaknesses in such times and our dependence upon God. This is important to understand because we have an adversary who would love nothing more than for a Christian to become discouraged in such seasons of life.  I’ve come to believe that all discouragement is from the devil, who is the father of lies.(Jn.8:44)  The only weapon against lies is truth.  

The Word of God is the Sword of the Spirit, our weapon (Eph.6:17), and when discouragement creeps in we search for the truth in Scripture to counteract the lie, and cleave to it.  This is how we exercise faith. This is how we learn experientially the faithfulness of God.  If we never had the dry, winter season stripped of our ornamental coverings we would not learn of His faithfulness or the power of the Word of God against all discouragement.  The Lord your God has set the land before you, go up and possess it…do not fear nor be discouraged (Dt.1:21) If God commands us not to be discouraged, He also has provided for our need so that we are not discouraged.  Faith grows when it is exercised, and the promise of spring reassures us that this is just a season through which we all must pass.

DJ

Broadway

I saw a tunnel deep and dark
beneath a bridge in a public park.
Beyond my vision I could hear
the sounds of a party
clinking glasses and cheer.
The entrance was broad and groomed to invite
the young and the old ventured in out of sight.
I paused for a moment only to see
the only one hesitating seemed to be me.
I gingerly entered as others passed by
they were talking and laughing, yet
I wanted to cry.
I could not understand why I wanted to mourn
the entrance was broad, the pavement well worn.
The deeper I traveled, I saw more hesitate
but others seduced them saying "this is your fate".
There grew thistles and vines
that entangled the feet. The air became heavy
and was no longer sweet.
A panic set in as I saw others snared
who were trying to leave what they
never had feared.
The clanging of glasses that the darkness had covered
was the gnashing of teeth, I soon discovered.
The roaring of laughter that I heard within
were the cries of remorse of those
deceived by sin.
A melody played hauntingly over-head
"I did it my way" it mocked, the song of the dead.
A glimmer of light shown through on my side
and I rushed to it wanting a place to hide.
The crevice was narrow, difficult and steep
but upward I climbed away from the deep.
Often I tired as I struggled alone,
but hope would engulf me as I carried on.
"I am the way" was the song I now heard
"the Truth and the Life, just abide in My word."
"My Savior" I grasped at His hem to survive.
Where once I was dead, I now was alive.
He held on to my hand and would not
let me go. "This is the way" I beckoned to the lost
souls below.
On occasion I heard relief in a sigh as
another escaped the place where souls die.
As long as there is breath, there is hope for new birth
A new life joined to the King of Heaven and Earth.
This way, fellow pilgrim, not easy, I know,
but better than hell where the other souls go.
The rewards are far better than
the wages of sin
Ask, knock and seek
He will let you in.

Two Trees in the Garden

We have before us the Tree of Knowledge
with all its numerous degrees
the fruit of which still brings death
though to the eyes they please.
And yonder there, the Tree of Life
simplicity and rest,
the fruit is hidden behind the leaves
and yet, this fruit is best.