Liar, Liar, God’s on Fire

1 John 5:10-12

          Most of us don’t like liars. But many of us have lied at least once in our lives. We chose to cover something up in the moment, thinking it would cause us less pain. Lying is usually done to protect self. Some make lying a second profession. For those people, they often aren’t really sure what the truth is, or even what constitutes truth. They have lied so much they don’t even need a reason to lie. They lie even when there is nothing to protect.

          Our text today is one of the most offensive texts in the Scriptures because it is so clear in its meaning. And in our politically correct culture, clarity is the enemy. Yet, our text puts things very clearly. If you want eternal life, you must have Jesus. If you don’t have Jesus, you can’t have eternal life. No Jesus, no heaven. Know Jesus, know heaven.

          This truth is more emphatic than “the way, the truth and the life” that is so often stated. It is stated here both positively, having the Son means having life, and negatively, not having the Son of God means not having life.

          So what is it in the false teacher’s message that is shot down with these direct statements? They must have been claiming that having Jesus was nice, but that they had something else that really qualified them for heaven. They claimed a special knowledge that the Apostles didn’t have, a knowledge that only the insiders could gain. And they were the conduit for this insider knowledge. Poppycock!

          John tells us that God Himself has testified to the Truth of the gospel John had preached to his readers. God’s testimony is the most truthful testimony anyone could get, so we had better believe it. And the implication is that the false teachers didn’t believe God’s testimony as delivered through John and the other apostles. So the result, according to John, was that these false teachers were accusing God of lying. Like that will go over really well with God!

          One final note. The testimony in question here is about Jesus. It is not a testimony about some general truth about some Gumby God, changeable to meet the times, flexible enough not to make anyone upset. This testimony is about the absolute uniqueness and exclusivity of a relationship with the LORD. The only way to get that relationship is in Jesus. It steps on everyone’s toes equally. We are all excluded. We have all offended God. We all stand condemned. And we all must bow before Jesus and surrender, either now in this life, or at the final judgment. There is no second or third way to get to heaven. Jesus, only Jesus.

Waiting for the Outcome

Psalm 7:6-17

      One of the most difficult times in life is when you have to wait to find out the results. When the results could make major changes in your life, the wait can seem as if you are in a slow motion world. I imagine those innocent people charged with murder as they wait for the jury to return must barely be able to take a breath. Each moment the jury deliberates must tick on the large hands on the clock in the waiting area. Tick, wait, wait, wait, tick, wait, wait, wait, tick.

      When we feel like we are on the receiving end of injustice, time can also pass slowly. We can’t wait for the tables to be turned and relief to come our direction. In those moments we want the LORD to execute justice. We want Him to show up and make things right.

      This is how David felt as he wrote our Psalm. David has made his case before the LORD. He wants a verdict. He uses a metaphor of sleep to express his perception of the slowness of the LORD’s response. He wants the LORD to wake up.

      The scene David paints is of the final judgment of humanity. The LORD is sitting on His judgment throne and all the people have gathered for the verdict. The one word that strikes me in this middle section of the Psalm is the word secure. David does not feel secure. The violence of the wicked takes away the feeling of security. And safety and security are two of our most basic needs. This is why war-torn areas of the world are so straining of the civilian populations. They never feel safe. The learn to live always looking over their shoulder for the next danger.

      But this sense of security can also be taken away when parents are arguing and fighting in a home. Home is supposed to be a place where kids can retreat from the world and settle down, be calm, and rest. But when it isn’t, kids learn that the world isn’t a safe place, that they don’t matter enough for their parents to stop fighting, that they must take care of themselves since no one else will.

      David stands in a paradox. He knows the LORD is his protection, his shield, but he still feels unsafe because of the onslaught of his enemies. He knows the capabilities of the LORD. He has enough strength to take care of any foe. David wants to see that power at work against those who oppose him.

      But I love the picture of his enemies. They are pregnant with evil. They conceive trouble and give birth to disillusionment. Evil doesn’t happen instantaneously. It happens over time. One choice follows another. They must dig the hole. They see the danger, but they keep at it. So David wants the natural consequences of their evil actions to come falling on their heads. The LORD holds back consequences because He wants all to come to repentance. He is patient. David isn’t.

Physical Illness

Psalm 6:1-10

      Physical illness can affect our emotional and spiritual wellbeing. When we are sick physically we can feel down emotionally and weak spiritually. They are all connected to us, after all. They physical, emotional and spiritual parts of us are all really one. They are not separate boxes inside of us with hoses connecting them with on and off valves. We only think of them as parts of us to help us understand them, but they are all you. One part of you doesn’t go on strike and walk around with picket signs trying to get its own way.

      I write this to help us understand our Psalm for today. David is in some kind of physical pain, agony in his bones. We have no idea what ailment has overtaken him. Perhaps it is from running way from Absalom, his son who betrayed him. Maybe it is from sleeping on the ground rather than in his royal bed. Perhaps it is some illness. We just don’t know.

      We do know that David feels like what is happening to him physically is the result of the LORD’s hand in judgment. Discipline can come in many forms. David has the physical pain, but also his soul is yearning for an end to the pain and a restoration in his relationship with the LORD.

      David is even aware that the illness might end in his death. So he appeals to the LORD on that basis. In essence David says, “If you want my worship from me, don’t let me die. Dead men don’t worship.” David isn’t afraid to make appeals like this. He’s not trying to manipulate the LORD. He is simply being honest about how he feels, open and transparent.

      David is getting worn out as a result of both this illness and the turmoil with his enemies. Both of these weigh heavily on him. He has trouble sleeping. The sorrow of what he has lost keeps him in tears. And as you know, sorrow and grief can wear a person out. Grieving is hard work.

      It is amazing what being able to be open with our feelings with someone can do to help us feel better. Most of us just need one person with whom we can share, someone who ‘gets’ us, and then life seems manageable. David finds this in the LORD. We know this because near the end of the Psalm David declares that the LORD has heard him. It is great when we know the LORD has heard us, that someone understands what we are going through, that someone cares.

      Often battles don’t come as single events. Often they come at us from multiple fronts. David had both the physical and the political raging at the same time. He also felt as though the LORD was being a bit too slow in responding to his need. It is important to be aware of the multiple facets of struggle that we have at any given moment. They are not one attack, but several. Each one may be separate from the others, but they together create the struggle in which you find yourself.

      Bring the struggles to the LORD. Stay in His presence until you get restoration. Then you will be ready to attack the other areas of attack.

Getting Away with It

Proverbs 14:14

I received a text message telling me that I had used 90% of my allotted minutes of calling time with seven days to go before my billing plan resets. I don’t know if I will make it without going over minutes. Usually we don’t have any problem with the number of minutes in our plan. But I made three hour-long calls this month. Those calls pushed us close to the edge. Someone has to pay for this mistake. I guess it will have to be me!

Does it bother you that some people seem to “get away with it?” They are obviously doing something that deserves an intervention of the judgment type, and yet they seem to continue without any negative repercussions for their actions. I am sure you can think of a couple people in your life who fit this category, perhaps even you!

There is another way to think about this, is that we all are getting away with it to one degree or another. It is not that each of us needs grace. It is that some people’s actions are so egregious, so damaging to others that your soul cries out for someone to stop them dead in their tracks.

We all live in an age of mercy. The LORD is not making final judgments the moment sin happens. Currently, people do get away with things. That includes us!

There is a day coming when faithless deeds will earn their punishment and rewards will be given for acts done out of grace. That day is coming! But it isn’t here yet. So we yearn for justice for other people and grace for ourselves.

Would it be possible to pray for grace for other people? Could we pray for those who persecute us, mistreat us, or harm us?

It is true that someday the scales of justice will be visible, and on that day there won’t be any questions about fairness. We will understand more fully than we do right now. We will see the quantity of grace that we needed in our lives. I imagine it will be much more than we think!

So next time you see justice not being served, remember that there is a day coming when justice will be fully satisfied. I am glad I live under the grace and mercy of Christ.

The Ten-Plus-Nine’s

Psalm 19, 49, 79, 109, 139

To anyone who is willing to hear, creation itself screams God’s existence (Psalm 19:1). How anyone can miss this message seems impossible to me. It is so loud. From the smallest atomic particles to the vastness of space, and the structure of DNA to the balance of elements necessary for life, each detail and the presence of the whole speak of God’s existence and His intimate involvement in the universe. We are not the accident at the end of an innumerable chain of accidents. Our lives are not randomness coming to statistical inevitability. We are His creation. And He gives us His Word to provide for our lives (vv7-10). His Word helps us learn the “rules of the game”. They help us know the safe boundaries of our existence in His world (vv11-13).

As Siggy says in Bill Murray’s movie What About Bob, “We’re all going to die”. Too often we live our lives in denial of this reality. Psalm 49 reminds us, we are all going to die (v10). Rich and poor alike die. But God’s people have a promise: we will not stay dead (v15). He will redeem (buy back) our life from the grave. We won’t stay there forever. There is no need to envy wealth, for we can’t take it with us when we die (v17). There is no heaven for those who don’t know the LORD (v20).

 When the psalmist was under God’s judgment he had one question: How long will it last? (Ps 79:5) This is such a common cry. He recognized that part of the problem was not his fault. It was a previous generation’s sin that resulted in his current difficulties (v8). Not every mess we find ourselves in is a result of our own sin! Some of it is, of course, but not all of it. Sometimes we have to live with the consequences of other’s mess-ups. What can we learn in the middle of these difficulties? We can learn to call out and trust in Him (v9).

Psalm 109 talks about character assassination. When it happens we want justice (vv6-15), or perhaps revenge. Our human desire is for them to feel the pain we have felt. We want him to die early (v8), him not to have kids (v9), or for them to come to ruin (v10). We want his business to fail (v11), no one to come to his rescue (v12 and his memory to be forgotten (v13). We want him to pay (vv14-15). He just wants to know that the LORD has not forgotten him (vv26-27). So, if you ever feel like others are out to get you, this psalm may help put words to your inner struggle.

We can never escape from the LORD’s presence (Psalm 139). Inner space, our minds (vv1-6), and outer space (vv7-12): the LORD is there. That is because He has made us (v13). He has a plan for our lives (v16). And our response to this knowledge is awe (vv17-18). And yet we see injustice. If God has all this power and knowledge, why doesn’t he whoop up on the wicked (vv19-22)!