disaster recovery

Disaster pursues sinners,

but the righteous are rewarded with good.

Proverbs 13:21

Keep the end in view. Proverbs reminds us of this simple faith fortifier all the time. Sin leads to a ruinous end for all who are selfishly deceived in it. Obeying God and seeking His righteousness is rewarded now and forever. Even though sin may seem alluring and carefree, it ends badly. And that warning should compel us to seek righteousness that only God can give us.

I wish to be led by the Spirit of God, through the wisdom of the Word of God, by faith in the completed sacrifice of the Son of God to a life fulfilling the purposes of God until I enter eternity into the home of God. Because Jesus died and rose again, I can by faith find my sins forgiven and be rewarded with His righteousness. And in following Jesus I will find good reward in my life now and for my future. Disaster overtakes sinners, but grace carries forgiven saints along in a flow of merciful care from the hand of God!

Lord,

Carry me along in Your mercy and grace. I am safe in Jesus. I am forgiven. I am declared righteous. I am clothed in Christ’s righteousness. I am a child of God in the care of my loving Savior! Forgive me when I doubt this and try to earn what You have given at great cost. May I always be grateful for Your great and free gifts that come by faith.

Amen

from bad to worse

Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.

2 Timothy 3:12-13

The Christian life is not a “safe place” in the world. Jesus promised His disciples that the world would hate them because it hates Him (John 15:18). Paul taught young churches that Christians enter the kingdom of God through “many tribulations” (Acts 14:22). It isn’t easy being a follower of Jesus. It IS however filled with joy. It IS very rewarding. But we are carrying a cross... the means of our public humiliation, ridicule, and execution. And we should not expect for Christian influence to ever get easier.

Paul warned Timothy that the path for society is that all cultures will trend from bad to worse. It isn’t going to get any easier. We won’t suffer less. As society marches fiendishly forward in a headlong rush to hell, Christians will need to stay true, at the cost of increasing persecution. And we will have to fight deceptions that infiltrate the church. There will be evil people in society with influence and leadership. There will be imposters even within the church... deceiving and being deceived.

There is a prescribed path that withstands this decay. It means two commitments rule us: 1) Stay faithful to the good faith we learned from God’s Word and those who mentored us in it’s truth (2 Timothy 3:14-15). 2) Proclaim it and equip other disciples through the Word so that they may do good works in an evil age (2 Timothy 3:16-17). The sacred writings are our only sure source as things go from bad to worse. God’s truth will hold our hearts and lives steady as we see all around us people giving in to deceptions that destroy and sadly compel some to defect.

persist in prayer

And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.

Luke 18:1

Some of the most difficult work in spiritual growth and maturity is found in prayer. Jesus told the parable of the persistent widow to remind us that prayer must be constant. We must keep at it just as the widow refused to stop bringing her injustice before the judge who was reluctant to move her up the docket. Her constant requests eventually got her hearing. So we must often keep praying and asking God for the same things over and over... day after day... sometimes year after long hard year.

It isn’t because God is distracted or unconcerned that we pray so persistently and wait so long. The reasons why we must not lose heart in prayer are many. Here are just three that come to mind from my experience:

1) We battle sin in our own hearts and easily succumb to giving up. We must constantly fight the battle to stay at prayer with persistence.

2) We live in a complex world of sinners whose sinful choices and actions complicate relationships and life situations. It is easy for us to give up because the matter seems insurmountable for which we need to be praying.

3) We are bound by time and feel the urgency of ticking clocks in our mortality. And God is living from the perspective of eternity. We give up praying sometimes because we cannot adjust to God’s cosmic scale of good work that He is bringing about all things for our good and His glory.

Lord,

I want to be persistent in faithful prayer. There are situations I’ve been praying for that are ongoing... for years... with nothing seeming to change. I confess I get disheartened by these expectations too easily! Forgive my lack of faith and persistence! I will take Your courage to not lose heart in mind as I pray. Help me to persist in prayer.

Amen

God ordained work

Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread,

but he who follows worthless pursuits lacks sense.

Proverbs 12:11

God has created the means for people to provide for themselves. It’s called “hard work.” Those who do so for the glory of God, who apply themselves to what God provides as labor for an honest living have their needs supplied. It’s great to work. Work has always been God’s design for us. Work is what God did when He created the universe. God worked, He enjoyed the goodness of His work, then he rested from it. And He created Adam and Even to work the garden that God himself had planted. Work isn’t a curse... it is a blessing.

But temptations abound for an “easier way”. Those are all bound to be “worthless pursuits” as this proverb reminds us. We expend energy and resources that could have enhanced our work on things that distract and never truly provide. Some people do this all their lives, always shunning work for some hope for “easy money”. They are known as failures. This proverb basically says they aren’t very smart.

Work is good. Hard work is rewarding when it is accepted as God’s provision for us and done with a thankful heart for His worship. And though this life involves labor, there are cycles of sabbath for restful worship as well. God will take care of us through His means given to each of us... which is in some way “working our own land”.

no shortcuts

No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops.

2 Timothy 2:4-6

Paul presses into Timothy three pictures of endurance in the face of suffering as he urges the young man to lead a church well. Timothy is to submit to His Lord Jesus like a soldier in the chain of command seeks to please and follow the orders of his commanding officer. He is to run like a trained athlete to win the race by the rules lest he be disqualified. He is to work hard, toiling consistently in the background, like a patient farmer who enjoys his harvest in due season. Single-minded submission, commitment to specific ways of service, and hard work that waits for the result are all components of ministry that is well done. 

So many church leaders want shortcuts and instant success. What else can explain the embarrassing glut of “how to” books, videos, and consultants available to pastors and church leaders? Publishing houses market strategies, programs, a stable of media star training gurus, all promising success and turnkey ministry for a price. My email box overflows with the over-hyped advertising.

Lord,

You deserve the best I can give You. There are no shortcuts for soldiers, athletes, or farmers. There are no easy street answers in the ministry of the gospel. May I submit to Your authority as I serve You alone. May I run well by Your rules to win the race. May I work hard, unseen, faithful... tilling, sowing, tending, and reaping until You bring the regular harvest.

Amen

a righteousness better than riches

Riches do not profit in the day of wrath,

but righteousness delivers from death.

Proverbs 11:4

An unfathomable wealth of righteousness has been given when Christ’s perfect holiness covered my sin. And that is what saves me from God’s wrath. I do not face hell in judgment. I am delivered by Jesus. Nothing makes eternity fearful, for Jesus is my Savior!

No amount of worldly wealth can procure this hope. No success... no acclaim... no high capacity achievement... no grappling to the top of a career pyramid. All of these are powerless to save from the perfect justice of a holy God. None can make me pure in His sight. Only the perfect righteousness of the Son of God can satisfy. Thankfully, it is freely offered in love by God to all who will turn from sin, in sorrow repent, and in grateful joy receive Christ’s forgiveness believing His death on the cross took their punishment and trusting His resurrection for new life that will last forever. In Jesus we are delivered from death!

Jesus,

I thank You for Your perfect life and Your perfect sacrifice. You died my punishing death so that I might believe and find Your righteousness delivering me on the day of wrath! That is the greatest part of my life, the richest treasure I know.

Amen

what to want

What the wicked dreads will come upon him,

but the desire of the righteous will be granted.

Proverbs 10:24

I want to want what is right. That is what it means to be a righteous man. I can do what “looks right” with totally wrong motives. I can do wrong, thinking that I have the right reasons. But if I do the right things starting with wanting the right things, the promise of this proverb can be true of me.

I want to want what is right. And the only way I know to do this is to 1) pray for God to show me what to want... 2) read His Word to find what are the right things to want... & 3) allow God’s Spirit to work in me so that I want what God wants as I am transformed. When those things happen I can enjoy the blessing that “the desire of the righteous will be granted.”

Lord,

Help me to sort through the competing desires of my heart. By wearing “gospel glasses” help me see what I want that isn’t what You want. I pray that Your Spirit will nudge me to repent of selfish, sinful, or lazy wants. And I ask for wisdom from scripture to direct my desires to be righteous.

Amen