gratitude for grace

Do not forsake me, O LORD!

O my God, be not far from me!

Make haste to help me,

O Lord, my salvation!

Psalm 38:21-22

As I prepare, in gratitude, to celebrate and give thanks today, I am reminded by the penitent passion of David in Psalm 38 to be at all times most thankful that God delivers me from the worst that is within me. Psalm 38 was composed in the moral aftermath of David’s confession and public exposure of the sins of adultery, murder, and conspiracy. The Law demanded death for all three offenses. And yet David pled for mercy, for forgiveness, for a return to healthy relationship with God. David is well aware of God’s discipline and wrath because of his guilt (Psalm 38:1-2). He is burdened in the depressing weight of the guilt of his sin (Psalm 38:3-4). He takes responsibility for his foolishness and selfishness (Psalm 38:5-8) even as it physically exhausts him to do so.

David acknowledges and is hurt by the relational damage he has done (Psalm 38:1-12). He is so done with the shame and guilt that he feels speechless and struck dumb (Psalm 38:13-14). And what does he do in this state? He turns to God in full repentance. He rejects living by feelings for living by faith.

And then insights about God give David hope:

• God will answer as we wait (Psalm 38:15).
• Confession clears a path to deliverance by God not only from sin, but from the torment of accusers (Psalm 38:17-20).
• God reveals a new direction, following the good, that emerges from His grace and forgiveness (Psalm 38:20).

And all those insights lead to confidence that God, in forgiving grace, will not forsake us. Jesus, Who is our salvation, will help those who humbly confess sin, grieve over the consequences, and then follow God Who is salvation. Thank You, God, that You deliver us at our worst to help us serve and love You at Your best!

a different gospel

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.

Galatians 1:6-7

I too am astonished at the way in which “different gospels” ensnare souls. Satan loves to counterfeit. He loves to clothe his lies in a robe of religiousity, twisted thinking, and a pinch of what looks like truth… but this is destructive. There are many distorted gospels today. Here are some that come to mind:

• Legalistic distortion. It is all about what I do, not much of what Jesus did matters. I will prove to you how good I am. I will judge sin around me distorting the fact that Jesus took all of the judgment at the cross.
• Liberal distortion. There is no such thing as sin. Jesus tried to show us a way to happiness by accepting ourselves as we are in Him. We can only find love by loving ourselves and accepting “the way we are”. There is no need for a redeemer, just a divine buddy who accepts us as we are and changes to be like us.
• Loving distortion. God just wants me to love everyone and everything and be kind. It starts with loving myself. And Jesus tried to tell people this but they killed him for it. His disciples couldn’t deal with it and created a new religion, destroying his original message.

All these distortions are lies. Jesus died for our sins. He was raised for us to find renewing power so He could change us. A new birth means we repent of an old sinful life, allow the gospel to renew our deepest, darkest impulses and live in the transforming work of God’s Spirit and Word as new creations in Christ.

You are

He is your praise. He is your God, who has done for you these great and terrifying things that your eyes have seen.

Deuteronomy 10:21

You are my praise, O God

to You I will always sing

for You have done everything

for me that I could not

You are my praise, O God

for Your power alone

paid the price to atone

for the sin-debt that I could not

You are my praise, O God

great is Your sustaining grace

in Christ I will always see Your face

when my broken sin meant I could not

You are my praise, O God

forevermore I can sing

and thanks I will bring

before You I stand when I should not

You are my God

the center of this soul

where You sustain and hold

what circumstances I can not

You are my God

I worship You my King

with Your people I can sing

of the glory I have not

You are my God

Creator, Sustainer, Savior, Lord

Redeemer, Enabler, precious Word

You teach me what I know not

You are my God

and I bow before You

I submit to all You do

thankful You are and You do what I cannot

the darkest day

And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

Mark 15:34

And in that moment Jesus bore the worst anyone could ever imagine. With the evil of all humankind upon Him, every murder, every torture, every genocide, all the sorrows, griefs, burdens, and sins ever done in all the earth for all of human history past, present, and future, Jesus found that God the Father had truly forsaken Him. He was all alone in all that pain. He knew no sin but became sin for us. And nailed to a cruel cross with a crowd of onlookers jeering insults, Jesus atoned for MY sin. It was the world’s burden He bore as well as all my pain and grief and selfish sin heaped upon Him at the moment. No wonder the world went dark (Mark 15:33).

And by Jesus giving Himself on the darkest day, new light now fills the world. We can trust that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and on the third day rose again according to the scriptures. Bursting through the black clouds, the gospel shines an everlasting spotlight of hope! And in that massively important event, the central truth of humanity and of all human hope, salvation broke through the most impenetrable darkness of our worst days even today! There is no more darkest day because Jesus gave Himself on that day. The darkest day of human history has already been. There was only one afternoon like that one… the real Black Friday. And from it now all hope rises eternal.

Jesus,

You were forsaken on that dark day so that I can be accepted in the full light of God’s grace. You were abandoned so that I could be received as a son, adopted into God’s home, an heir of eternal life with You. My sins were part of that horrible weight on that day. My wrongs were made right in Your love and obedience. I am now dressed in Your righteousness alone, faultless to stand before the throne! I will have no dark day of judgment because You already had my dark day on Your dark day. You have taken the darkest day for all of us. Praise You, O King of love!

Amen

difficult by design

And you shall remember the whole way that the LORD your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not.

Deuteronomy 8:2

As a generation in Israel stood ready to cross the Jordan, enter the land God had promised them, and undo the forty years of judgement and wandering that had previously defined their lives, Moses reminded them that their difficult past had a definite, divine purpose. God had led them, not abandoned them, in the wilderness. God made that time what it was… a time to mature His people and show His power. He developed trust and obedience as the wilderness generation watched their parents die so that they might gain what the previous generation had rejected.

So what did God do by bringing them through all this difficulty?

• He humbled them. Hunger drove them to cry to God Who gave them manna (Deuteronomy 8:3). Their clothing stayed unworn over four decades in the desert (Deuteronomy 8:4).
• He disciplined them. God disciplined His loved children so that they might emerge mature in their faith (Deuteronomy 8:5).
• He tested their obedience. They new generation was ready to keep God’s commands, walk in His ways, and fear Him (Deuteronomy 8:6).

And after this difficulty and discipline came the delight of the new life! A Promised Land was all theirs for the taking. God was bringing them to good land with fountains, lakes, and streams. He was taking them from desert sand to fertile soil. They would grow wheat, barley, vines, figs, pomegranates, olives, and honey. Iron and copper would easily be found in abundance. They would eat and be full (Deuteronomy 8:7-10).

The God of desert discipline is also the God of Promised Land provision. He will bring both trial and treasure, testing and triumph, need and abundance, difficulties and grace to draw us nearer to Him. But it is clear, His good purpose will stand up through every minute of our experience.

not wasted

But Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me.”

Mark 14:6

Anything poured out in love and worship of Jesus is not wasted.

That lesson taught me clearly by a woman with Jesus is not wasted.

The flask of ointment broken and spilled out over Jesus was not wasted.

The fragrance and the flagrance devoted from her heart to Jesus was not wasted.

The reactions of the indignant were actually jealous of her generosity to Jesus. But it wasn’t wasted.

What do I have now to pour out from my life and goods to spill in extravagant worship of Jesus? It will not be wasted.

when the feelings are real but not true

For you are the God in whom I take refuge;

why have you rejected me?

Why do I go about mourning

because of the oppression of the enemy?

Psalm 43:2

Things are never as bad as my emotions make them seem. God is faithful. My feelings are not. I may even be taken up in my feelings into spiritual conclusions that are not even remotely accurate. That seems to be what is going on with this lament at the start of the forty-third psalm. The feelings are real, but are not true. The psalmist cries out for God’s justice as ungodly people appear to have the upper hand (Psalm 43:1). The prayer is one of faith (I have taken refuge in You) and of strong feeling (You reject me, I am mourning). It is a kind of worship to pray those feelings to God, as this psalm demonstrates.

There is a confidence in the light and truth of God’s Word to change the situation. And the feelings quickly change as true faith in God’s Word encourages the sufferer. The perspective of God’s presence brings peace (Psalm 43:3). And in the presence of God there is praise as the power of God is remembered at His altar where sin is atoned and wrongs made right in God’s mercy (Psalm 43:4).

And the soul that was once filled with negative feelings is confronted and comforted. The psalmist “talks back” to the negative self-talk. “Why are you cast down? Why are you in turmoil?” This is a blunt “Stop it!” moment. Faith turns the corner on feelings-driven anxiety. The soul now in confidence boldly makes a stand: “Hope in God.” It know that this real praise brings true perspective: “I shall again praise Him.” It knows what it now has in relationship with God: “He is my salvation and my God” (Psalm 43:5).

When troubled, I pray that my soul might work through the progression of Psalm 43.

1. I come to God.

2. I am honest about real feelings, as they are.

3. I look to God’s truth despite how I feel.

4. I praise God anyway for what He already has done.

5. I confront my wrong, feelings-driven, selfish agenda.

6. I hope in God, confident in salvation and in relationship He has made for me.