Hellfire & brimstone?

30/9/12015

S:

O: As modern Evangelical Christians, we have shied away from the old "fire and brimstone" preaching and instead we put more emphasis on the grace and forgiveness of God. This is generally good and correct, but sometimes I need to be reminded of the other side of the coin.

Sin is a very serious issue. Passages like this do exist. It's not just a matter of "We mustn’t do evil because it grieves the heart of God" or "We mustn't do evil because it hurts other people." It's also because somehow it does imperil us spiritually.

How does this all tally with grace & forgiveness, and salvation? I don't know precisely, but we do know that there are a lot of things that are true, that may be difficult or impossible for us to get our minds around.

Scientists have been able to teach chimpanzees sign language, and so people have been able to hold conversations with chimpanzees. Probably, you could even teach them counting and simple arithmetic. But you couldn't teach them calculus. It would seem contradictory to them -- how can you add up an infinite series of numbers and end up with a finite sum, for example?

And yet, calculus is manifestly correct -- we build bridges and skyscrapers, aeroplanes and satellites with them. The fact that a chimpanzee cannot understand calculus doesn’t stop it from being true.

God is way more intelligent than we are than we are to chimpanzees. So is it surprising that there are mysteries that we cannot comprehend and yet are true?

A: So, while I can rest in the peace of Christ's sacrifice, God's saving grace, and His infinite salvation, I must be aware that in some manner, I can still imperil my eternal soul when I sin. How this can both be true at the same time, I don't know, but I do know that sin is serious stuff spiritually.

So, when I am tempted, I need to remember passages like this. "Don't play-play," as Phua Chu Kang says.

P: Father, I continue to struggle with sin. Please remind me of its seriousness when I am tempted, so that I may stay true to You. When I do sin, may I quickly repent and come to you for forgiveness. Thank You for Your provision of Jesus Christ to save us. In Jesus' name, amen.

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Note: this is using the SOAP method. For more information, see this page (not written by me.)

Hedonism doesn't satisfy

15/8/15

S: Ecclesiastes 2:10-11 Anything I wanted, I would take. I denied myself no pleasure. I even found great pleasure in hard work, a reward for all my labors. But as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless—like chasing the wind. There was nothing really worthwhile anywhere.

O: My first impression of Ecclesiastes the first time I studied it years ago was very negative. The problem with this book is that this is a record of Solomon's thoughts when he was a jaded backslidden believer. He had started out with so much promise as a young man dedicated to God, but then, as time went on, he strayed away from God, partly due to marrying unbelieving wives who led him into spiritual adultery with other gods.

But reading it again this week under the guidance of Pastor Kris Langham's Through the Word Bible Audio Guide, I was struck by this passage. Langham points out the contrast between Solomon's hedonistic "I denied myself nothing" with Jesus' call to "deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me." (Matthew 16:24 / Luke 9:23)

Solomon, having drifted from God, searched for meaning in life. He tried pleasure, studying, work, wealth, and many other things. Nothing satisfies.

A: When life gets tough, sometimes I entertain the fantasy of throwing away everything and living for pleasure. Solomon's life is an example of how that doesn't satisfy. See also the lives of so many celebrities we know of. They have wealth, fame, anything they desire, but end up in rehab centres or even taking their own lives, because ultimately, it's meaningless.

We cannot find ultimate fulfillment in life by indulgence. Ultimate meaning only comes from eternal purpose. Godliness with contentment is great gain. (1 Timothy 6:6). To a lesser extent, it's like the pleasure of a family versus the hedonistic single life - as illustrated in this For Better or For Worse cartoon.

P: Father, when I'm feeling down, remind me of this truth, "If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it." (Matthew 16:25) In Jesus' name, amen.

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Note: this is using the SOAP method. For more information, see this page (not written by me.)

Corruption & Conviction

1/8/15

S: Acts 24:24-27 A few days later Felix came back with his wife, Drusilla, who was Jewish. Sending for Paul, they listened as he told them about faith in Christ Jesus. As he reasoned with them about righteousness and self-control and the coming day of judgment, Felix became frightened. “Go away for now,” he replied. “When it is more convenient, I’ll call for you again.” He also hoped that Paul would bribe him, so he sent for him quite often and talked with him. After two years went by in this way, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus. And because Felix wanted to gain favor with the Jewish people, he left Paul in prison.

O: Felix actually felt convicted at Paul's preaching. However, instead of responding to that conviction with repentance, he sent Paul away. But he kept calling him back because the message was so compelling, and also because he had hoped Paul would bribe him to set him free.

A: Even when government officials are corrupt, God still can work things out for good (even though Paul himself ignored the Holy Spirit's warning not to go to Jerusalem earlier.) Eventually Paul did manage to get to Rome and preach the Gospel there.

Here in Malaysia as well as in many other places, we are frequently faced with corrupt people in positions of power. While we should do what we can to change that, even if we are unable to change them, nonetheless, we can and should still follow God ourselves.

Do not despair! Ultimately God's truth prevails.

P: Father, when we feel discouraged, remind us that You are ultimately in charge.

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Note: this is using the SOAP method. For more information, see this page (not written by me.)

Unbelievable, though predicted

19/7/2015

S: Luke 9:21-22 Jesus warned his disciples not to tell anyone who he was. “The Son of Man must suffer many terrible things,” he said. “He will be rejected by the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He will be killed, but on the third day he will be raised from the dead.”

Luke 24:5-11 The women were terrified and bowed with their faces to the ground. Then the men asked, “Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive? He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Remember what he told you back in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and that he would rise again on the third day.” Then they remembered that he had said this. So they rushed back from the tomb to tell his eleven disciples—and everyone else—what had happened. It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and several other women who told the apostles what had happened. But the story sounded like nonsense to the men, so they didn’t believe it.

O: Jesus predicted his death and resurrection several times, and his followers knew about those predictions, yet they didn't think of that when he was crucified.

A: Jesus told us many things which we know, but in the living of life we tend to forget, e.g. Luke 12:4-7 “Dear friends, don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot do any more to you after that. But I’ll tell you whom to fear. Fear God, who has the power to kill you and then throw you into hell. Yes, he’s the one to fear. What is the price of five sparrows—two copper coins? Yet God does not forget a single one of them. And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows.”

Yet we so often fear death more than we fear letting our relationship with God drift away.

P: Father, remind me of Your truths, so that when the going gets tough, I'll stay true to You. In Jesus' name, amen.

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Note: this is using the SOAP method. For more information, see this page (not written by me.)

Conflicts among brothers in Christ

16/5/2015

S: James 4 Where do the conflicts and where do the quarrels among you come from? Is it not from this, from your passions that battle inside you? You desire and you do not have; you murder and envy and you cannot obtain; you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask; you ask and do not receive because you ask wrongly, so you can spend it on your passions.

Adulterers, do you not know that friendship with the world means hostility toward God? So whoever decides to be the world’s friend makes himself God’s enemy. Or do you think the scripture means nothing when it says, “The spirit that God caused to live within us has an envious yearning”? But he gives greater grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but he gives grace to the humble.” So submit to God. But resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and make your hearts pure, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn, and weep. Turn your laughter into mourning and your joy into despair. Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will exalt you.

Do not speak against one another, brothers and sisters. He who speaks against a fellow believer or judges a fellow believer speaks against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but its judge. But there is only one who is lawgiver and judge – the one who is able to save and destroy. On the other hand, who are you to judge your neighbor?

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into this or that town and spend a year there and do business and make a profit.” You do not know about tomorrow. What is your life like? For you are a puff of smoke that appears for a short time and then vanishes. You ought to say instead, “If the Lord is willing, then we will live and do this or that.” But as it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So whoever knows what is good to do and does not do it is guilty of sin.

O: I'm following a reading schedule from The YouVersion Bible App, and today, the reading was extremely on target.

Today's reading is James 4, and I just so happen to be in the middle of a horribly emotionally disturbing dispute with another follower of Jesus.

He said several things to me which hurt my feelings tremendously, and I think he's pretty vexed about it as well. Due to my recent realization that we as followers of Jesus have no right to anger, that there is no such thing as human “righteous anger” (see my 18 April life journal), I bridled my immediate impulse to reply with cutting remarks of my own, but probably due to us having different assumptions about the situation, he continued to say one thing after another which hurt my feelings.

He might not realize how much his words hurt me, and I think that, in spite of my attempt to be polite in return, my own angst showed through and cause him to feel even more vexed as well.

I also have to examine my own motives. I had made some suggestions to him which he had made assumptions about my motives which I think are incorrect, but then my reaction once he said words that hurt my feelings would likely be coloured by my feelings of hurt. In verses 1-3, James says that conflicts and quarrels among us come from our passions that battle inside us, and that we desire and do not have because we do not ask, and we ask and do not receive because we ask wrongly, to spend it on our passions.

In verses 4-10, he goes on to say that God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble -- so we must humble ourselves and submit ourselves to God -- then He will exalt us.

Then verses 11-12 tells us not to speak against our fellow believers -- not to judge our neighbour -- for God is the only true righteous Judge who can see all the circumstances behind everything -- we all can only see partially and so our judgement is flawed. This is, indeed, a big reason why there is no such thing as human “righteous anger”.

I admit that I indeed judged my brother and found him wanting. I felt justified to hit back at him, and felt that my anger was justified. Thanks to Brant Hansen's pointing out to me over the course of the last few months what the Biblical teaching about anger was, fortunately, I didn't hit back like I felt like I wanted to. But I can't say that my motives were pure.

Verses 13-17 points out the folly of us making promises. This situation arose because I agreed to do some work for this brother, which I thought would involve weekly emails and monthly visits, but his needs turned out to be much greater, and I found myself unable to fulfill his needs. Hence, I made some suggestions about how to change things to accommodate the situation, which he took very badly. This is what, from what I could see, precipitated the situation.

Earlier, for 2 or 3 months after we originally discussed doing this, I got busy and forgot to follow up, so he was upset that I had forgotten to follow up and said some things which I found very cutting. But it was easier to forgive him for those hurtful things because I realized that I had let him down by forgetting to follow up. This time, however, it was much harder, because I felt that I had done nothing wrong. Clearly, his assumptions about the situation were different and he had felt very wronged on his own part, which is why he said those new remarks which hurt my feelings badly even worse.

This morning, he sent me an email which indicated that he was also wanting to take steps to resolve the matter. I think that if I had given in to my anger and said cutting remarks back at him, we would not have reached this stage so quickly. Nonetheless, feelings are still raw on my side, and I think on his side as well, and I pray for God's wisdom.

A: “A gentle response turns away anger, but a harsh word stirs up wrath.” (Proverbs 15:1) This is so true. Our natural reaction when we are hurt is to hurt back. But that is not what God calls us to do. He tells us that when we get angry, to quickly put away that anger so as not to give the devil an opportunity. (Ephesians 4:26-27)

We have to do that.

P: Father, please give me wisdom how to resolve this situation amicably, and to grow in such a way as to prevent future recurrences. We are both brothers in Christ and we both think we are right in how we have acted in this matter, yet clearly we have caused great pain to each other. In Jesus' name, amen.

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Note: this is using the SOAP method. For more information, see this page (not written by me.)

Praying for politicians you disagree with

20/4/15

S: 1 Timothy 2:1-4 First of all, then, I urge that requests, prayers, intercessions, and thanks be offered on behalf of all people, even for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. Such prayer for all is good and welcomed before God our Savior, since he wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.

O: I must admit that I seldom pray for Najib and the rest of the Barisan Nasional politicians. Some of this is due to the busyness of life, but some of it is due to my animosity towards their policies which I believe are corrupt and undemocractic. But Paul was living under Roman oppression when he wrote these words... disagreeing with the government isn't a valid excuse.

A: I need to pray regularly on behalf of all people, even for politicians I disagree with in positions of authority. For God so loved the world ― the whole world ― that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. (John 3:16)


P: Father, just like Jonah needed to see Your heart for people that he disliked, I need to see Your heart as well. Change my heart, O God. In Jesus' name, amen.

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Note: this is using the SOAP method. For more information, see this page (not written by me.)

Be Angry?

18/4/15

S: Ephesians 4:26-27 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on the cause of your anger. Do not give the devil an opportunity.

O: I’ve always taken this verse to mean that I am to be angry, but not to keep it going, because letting anger keep going will turn into bitterness.

However, lately, Brant Hansen on his podcast has been recently pointing out that actually, this verse doesn't say we are to be angry. It's saying that if you get angry, get rid of it quickly so as not to sin! The New Living Translation puts it this way:

And “don't sin by letting anger control you.” Don't let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a foothold to the devil.

If we do a search on all the Bible verses with the word "anger" or "angry", we can see that they fall into 3 basic categories:

1. Humans being told not to be angry.
2. Human anger having bad effects.
3. God being angry because of something humans did.

There is no case of human anger being good! Only God's anger can be good — because God is perfect, and can see the whole picture. We humans cannot see the whole picture, and “Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires”(James 1:20).

We Christians often think that we must be angry against the evil people we see around us. But the Bible tells us “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23). So, none of us are righteous (Romans 3:10)

That's why “God demonstrates his own love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)

A: This is not an easy thing to do, and we certainly cannot do it on our own strength, but God calls us as followers of Jesus to love our enemies and do good to those who sin against us. (Matthew 5:44)

I freely confess that I have felt a lot of anger and hatred against people that I think are doing evil. Barisan Nasional, Dr. Mahathir, Najib, or even the guy who cut me off in traffic.

I felt justified in my anger. I pointed to how Jesus got angry and threw the merchants out of the Temple (Matthew 21:12) as justification for legitimate anger. But I forget: Jesus is perfect. Jesus is God. I am not God. I am not perfect. My human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires.

Yes, I will feel angry again. But then, the correct thing to do is to put it away. As soon as possible. And do not act on it.

P: Father, this is a tough challenge You have called Your people to. We are called to be a people of love — that’s how people will know we’re Jesus’ disciples (John 13:35) When I am angry again in the future, please remind me of this, and by Your Holy Spirit, let me put it away quickly and not act on it. In Jesus' name, amen.

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If you're interested in reading more about this issue, check out Brant Hansen's book, Unoffendable.

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Note: this is using the SOAP method. For more information, see this page (not written by me.)

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