another year of vanity

Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher,

vanity of vanities! All is vanity.

What does man gain by all the toil

at which he toils under the sun?

Ecclesiastes 1:2-3

I don't think I have ever landed on a more appropriate passage for New Year's Even. Truly life is full of vain and seemingly fruitless toil. It can be mind numbing, especially if I only look at it "under the sun" without trying to discern God's work in my life.

That is one of the clues to understanding cynical Solomon in the book of Ecclesiastes. Many of his observations are strictly human, meant to show us the absurdity of human existence when viewed strictly from humanistic terms. Without God, life makes very little if any sense at all. That is kind of the point of the book.

Looking to the new year, I must look to God. People will disappoint me. They do it all the time. I will disappoint people. I do it all the time. I won't be satisfied in the work of my days and my labor in life without God's love, grace, and perspective to guide me. I don't want to dwell in the cynical sarcasm of Solomon. I want to look beyond myself and beyond life "under the sun" to "life in the Son" as I look to my Savior!

Lord,

I praise You for the life-changing uplifting perspective of the gospel. Jesus, You are my hope in this vain and fruitless world. You reward my life's work. You alone redeem me and my days from worthless vanity. Thank You!

Amen

on my side

If it had not been the Lord who was on our side—

let Israel now say—

if it had not been the Lord who was on our side

when people rose up against us,

then they would have swallowed us up alive,

when their anger was kindled against us;

Psalm 124:1-3

I was against Him

an enemy

when He loved me

died for me

saved me

And now won by that love

I serve Him

give my life to Him

worship Him

live by Him

God is on my side

Jesus changed me

drew near to me

held on to me

saves me

Whatever rages against my soul

will not prevail against Him

because in Him

I am held by Him

secure in Him

half a heart

And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, yet not with a whole heart.

2 Chronicles 25:2

This is an ominous life summary. Amaziah was so close, but because he was only half-hearted in his love of God, he ultimately suffered great loss. All of the victories his army gained on the field of battle were not quite spectacular. He was only half concerned about it and his army reflected the same self-concern, with Ephraimites looting Judah's own cites on the way back to Jerusalem (see 2 Chronicles 25:10-13).

His casual attitude toward God became an inlet for idolatry. Idols captured in battle captured his imagination and were worshiped by the king, resulting in God's anger on the nation (2 Chronicles 25:14-16). When God confronts the king with a prophet's word, Amaziah threatens to kill the prophet.

In the end half-heartedness is just idolatry with a mask. He is undone by an embarrassing defeat at the hands of Joash king of Israel that removed all power from Judah. After a few years as a puppet king, Amaziah is killed by a palace conspiracy (2 Chronicles 25:25-28). His story never has a good point to it. He did not give God all his heart.

I need a daily reminder.

To you it was shown, that you might know that the Lord is God; there is no other besides him. Out of heaven he let you hear his voice, that he might discipline you. And on earth he let you see his great fire, and you heard his words out of the midst of the fire.

Deuteronomy 4:35-36

The way in which God dwelt visibly among Israel in the Penteteuch was meant to bring the people close to Him in faith. They heard the law verbally from God Himself. They saw God lead by smoke and fire in the very center of the camp. God even spoke from that pillar to the people. They had His Word literally sounding out in the very middle of their lives. And yet they struggled with unbelief.

Deuteronomy is a reminder of the Law, a sequel of the covenant in a sermon meant to keep the covenant in mind for Israel. It is Moses' way of ensuring that the nation remembers the Lord. It was given so that between the visible reminders from God every day, and the written words of the Law, Israel would commit in covenant with God.

As always, faith in God among rebel humans who value most our own autonomy is not easy. Israel had God in the camp and His covenant in their hands. Yet they would fail in faith repeatedly, not just in Sinai, but also when they arrived in the Promised Land. We will always quickly forget, which is why we need God's Word to daily remind us as powerfully and as much as possible. I need it. I need a scripture saturated life. I need a daily reminder.

...how much he must suffer...

But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel.

For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.”

Acts 9:15-16

Jesus called Saul away from being a persecutor of Christians and into becoming the foremost preacher of the gospel in the New Testament. Jesus called Ananias to be the first Christian to come alongside Saul and to heal him from blindness. We know it was Jesus in verse 17, where Ananias reminds Saul that Jesus is Who met him on the Damascus road, and Jesus sent Ananias to restore Saul's sight. 

Jesus had plans for Saul. Jesus chose him, just like all the other apostles to send him before "Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel". That commission from Jesus serves as a biographical summary of Saul's life from that point onward and it shows us an outline of the direction that the book of Acts will go from that point on in the storyline.

But there is an ironic twist in Saul's calling. He must also surely suffer greatly for Jesus. The man who once led the persecution of Christians with fierce and unrelently intensity would change to become the one most persecuted for Jesus' sake. He would endure unexpected perils and pains for the sake of the gospel. He would admonish others to do the same. Indeed, Saul's life from that point on would be characterized by both advancing the gospel with wild success into new regions and simultaneously suffering for it. While called to minister the good news of salvation, he was also called to endure hardship along with it.  

consuming fire

Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe,

for our God is a consuming fire.

Hebrews 11:28-29

I find this admonition to be one of the strongest calls to worship in the New Testament. It balances grace with warnings, thankfulness with the fear of the Lord. And the awareness that it commands is a necessary reminder. The reverence it promotes is something my heart can lose if I am not careful to heed to the type of worship it demands.

First, the passage calls us to thanksgiving. It commands Christians to be grateful. Specifically, we are called to be grateful that God has given us a kingdom that cannot be shaken  in judgment. Jesus has taken all of that upon Him already on the cross for the church. Judgment comes for those outside Christ, but in Christ we are unmoved by the fear of the judgment and moved by the grateful thankfulness that Christ has taken all of it.

That moves us to worship, but it also keeps a healthy respect in our minds. Even though Jesus takes all our judgment, our God is still a consuming fire. He is the God of the burning bush, the God whose presence in the camp was a pillar of seething flame. We must still approach Him with respect, wonder, and a healthy, fearful awareness of His holy fire.

Ninevah: Nahum & Jonah

What do you plot against the Lord?

He will make a complete end;

trouble will not rise up a second time.

Nahum 1:9

That is the way God handles those who try to work against Him. They will not succeed. Their defeat will be complete and they will not live to trouble anybody a second time. God's justice and judgment are full. His purposes always prevail. No one may stand against Him.

With the prophet Nahum, the end of Ninevah is proclaimed. Jonah is a story about Ninevah's gracious moment of repentance granted by God. Nahum however is about Ninevah's final fall. Their wicked oppression and vile idolatry will never stand against God. God would make a final end of Ninevah.

So what should I do with this fact? I think it leads me to worship a strong God, not because His judgments or actions are vindictive, but because He is both gracious (Jonah) and firm (Ninevah) in His righteous actions toward humanity. And the God of both grace and justice came to earth in Jesus His Son to graciously save me while putting a final end to sin and death's hold on this world. Sin and death will not rise up a second time because Jesus has defeated them entirely through His death and resurrection.