When Peace Is Like A River

By Amber Thiessen

How do you know if your soul has peace?

An elderly woman lies in her hospital bed, the sun sets, the lights go dim, she becomes restless and unsettled. Her son and daughter sit at her bedside, saying their goodbyes for the evening, reassuring her that they will come and see her the next day.

She stops them. Don’t go, she pleads.

They sit back down awkwardly, wondering at this request. She tells them she’s afraid. What happens if I fall asleep and I don’t wake up? She asks.

Ill-prepared to answer her, they gave some vague, calm reassurance and left, the unsettled soul to face her own fears.

In rural Africa, there was an older couple, the husband became sick over a few days, suddenly turned critically ill one night. On that same day, the wife became plagued with a loss of vision, she couldn’t drive and they were unable to evacuate for medical help.

As he recounted this story, he shared of their evening together, praying, worshiping, discussing his last wishes. He knew, as he lay his head down to sleep, he may not wake up the next morning, but, trusting his life in the hands of his Savior, he fell asleep in humble surrender.

What an example of perfect peace.

I’ve had fears in my life. Fears for my children and their safety, as we lived in rural Africa, or the season after my daughter’s bone marrow transplant, living in isolation, praying she wouldn’t “catch” anything bad with her weakened immune system. Fears in my mothering and my marriage, that I’m not good enough, that I’m not ‘measuring up’.

These fears creep in, increasing the temp of our heartbeat and causing thoughts to race through our mind.

The middle of a pandemic also causes fears to rise, as children go back to school, resume activities and masks become the new normal. There are fears because of so many uncertainties, as we are inundated with lots of information and new requirements. We wish that it wasn’t this way, we resist our new reality.

Peace is like a river

“For thus says the LORD: “Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream” Isaiah 66:12

As the old hymn goes, “when peace like a river attendeth my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll. Whatever my lot, thou has taught me to say it is well, it is well, with my soul.”

A river is a body of water, channeled by it’s surroundings. The river curves and flows along with the landscape it finds itself in, across prairies, down the mountains, until it reaches it’s destination.

When ice jams, or fallen trees block the river’s path, it diverts, and the water finds itself flowing confidently in unknown (and unwanted) territory.

The river flows confidently because it follows the path of gravity: Obstacles may block it’s way, erosion changes it’s path, and the landscape guides it’s direction. Water won’t stop moving, it always keep going, even when it’s slow.

How is this true for us?

The Gospel reminds us that Christ is the Prince of Peace. He was destined to come to earth, to live a perfect life, to suffer betrayal, hatred and physical pain, in order that we would be reconciled to God.

When we love and follow Christ, that perfect peace flows steady like a river into our souls, because peace is our position in Him, it is our state of being.

In the same way, the peace of God is meant to confidently flow in our lives. When we face obstacles, the path may be redirected, or circumstances cause our way to bend, we remember that perfect peace is flowing like a river along with us on our journey.

So, is your soul at peace?

Posted at: https://www.amberthiessen.com/post/when-peace-is-like-a-river

Is God Enough?

By Karen McMahon

“And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19

Have you ever asked yourself the question, “Is God enough?” I have. Many times. I know my heart well enough to know it is “prone to wander, prone to leave the God I love.” It is a liar. It deceives me and it is wicked. In my wayward heart I can think, God is enough, and at the same time cry out, “I don’t deserve this,” “Life’s not fair,” and “Why me Lord?”

Do you ever noticed that what people say they believe about God doesn’t always line up with how they respond to challenges in life? On Sunday mornings, with hands raised, we sing, “Christ is enough…I surrender all,” but is that really our heart’s cry in the midst of a life turned upside down by difficulty?

For example, do we remember we offered our life as a living sacrifice, “surrendering all,” when cancer is the diagnosis? When we lose a job and then our house? When friends betray us and children become prodigals? Do we embrace Christ as enough when we desperately want marriage, but are single?

How Do You Know When Christ is Not Enough?

Even outside a season of difficulty our heart’s alliance can quickly shift from the Creator to His creation. We can know this by examining the deeds of our flesh (Galatians 5:17-21). These deeds are our responses to events in our life and evidenced by works: worry (Matthew 6:24-25), hurt (Psalm 34:18), a struggle to forgive (Colossians 3:13), anger (Ephesians 4:31), gossip (2 Corinthians 12:20), discontentment with life (Philippians 4:11), trials without joy (James 1:2), unfulfilled dreams (Isaiah 30:15), weariness (Hebrews 12:3), fear about the future or hopelessness (Psalm 39:7).

Good desires become lusts when you lose sight of your greatest need—Christ. The outworkings of a heart not satisfied with God reveals where your heart’s true alliance is. One way to recognize a heart that doesn’t find Christ to be enough is to ask, “What do I love most?” The answer to this question will tell you what controls you.

We are Controlled by What We Love Most

If you love financial security and your finances dry up, you will find out quickly how important this idol is. Does love for God control you even when God’s sovereign hand challenges your thinking in this area? Either God controls you and is satisfying or something/someone else does. We cannot serve two masters (Matthew 6:24).

Or take another common illustration: worry about what others think. This is a mind controlled by fear, not God. Fear says, I want others to think well of me therefore I’m controlled by what others think (people pleasing/fear of man). Let’s take that thought even farther. What if the Lord orchestrates or allows your reputation to be tarnished unjustly? Is Christ enough because you know God cares about your character (which is what you can control), not reputation?

See how this plays out? We may pray that we surrender all, but do we really surrender all? Our comfort, jobs, ministry, health, reputation? Do we really hold loosely to everything we have and say like Job, “Shall we accept good from God and not accept adversity?” (Job 2:10) “The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord.” (Job 1:21) “Though he slay me, I will hope in him.” (Job 13:15)

The truth that God is enough is where I want to live 24/7. But I don’t. To say this, to know this, that’s the easy part. To put it into practice is not a simple thing to do. When the day-to-day pressures come upon any of us, we can easily slip back into old thinking patterns. We must press forward through moments and times when life consumes and feelings seem impossible to ignore.

Feelings Don’t Rule

Truth does. How can your heart sing that Christ is enough no matter what is gained or lost in life? By knowing Him and remembering truth. Remembering truth is renewing your mind all throughout the day. Mind renewal doesn’t happen automatically. We need to put to death wrong thinking (Colossians 3:5) and be renewed through His Word (Romans 12:2). Daily victory is won with each small, miniscule step forward as you push through feelings and choose to trust and find satisfaction in Him alone.

Our Satisfaction Has to be in God

Nothing in this world will satisfy (Ecclesiastes 2:17)

• When I am in debt and don’t know how I’ll pay my bills, is God enough?

• When my marriage is not what I want it to be, is God enough?

• When I lose my husband to cancer, is God enough?

• When I need to forgive what seems unforgivable, is God enough?

• When my spouse uses words to hurt me, is God enough?

• When someone will not forgive me, is God enough?

• When my friend betrays me, is God enough?

• When a parent’s health is declining, is God enough?

• When my marriage is over, is God enough?

• When a boyfriend breaks up with me and I don’t know why, is God enough?

• When my child dies, is God enough?

• When my church disappoints me, is God enough?

• When I remain single and all my friends are getting married, is God enough?

• When they find I have cancer, is God enough?

• When my child is living a destructive life, is God enough?

• When my spouse tells me they don’t love me anymore, is God enough?

Final Thoughts

God never guarantees us a happy stress-free life. He certainly doesn’t promise we won’t have troubles in this life (John 16:33). Don’t believe the lie that you need more. Don’t give in to fleshly fears. Don’t let Satan tempt you to doubt God’s Word. Satan will whisper, “God is not enough. You need more, you won’t be satisfied with just Him….” That is a lie! Don’t buy into it. Taste and see that the Lord is good! He is enough (Psalm 34).

Whether you have plenty or nothing, or when circumstances become more than you think you can handle, Christ is enough. You can lose everything and be okay because no one can take away Christ. When those times come, and they will, fight to remember truth. Thank Him for the trial, for the loss, for never leaving or forsaking you. Cry out to Him in your pain. He knows and sees all. But always stand firm on truth and remember,

“And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19)

He is sufficient for you and for me.

This blog was originally posted at First Evangelical Free Church of Maplewood, MN, view the original post here.

"Do Not Fear" - Isaiah 41:10

“Do Not Fear”

By Wendy Wood

So do not fear, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Isaiah 41:10

When we are gripped by fear, when our palms are sweaty, our hearts are racing, and we are going from one distressing thought to another picturing worst case scenarios, we are so caught up with our emotions and being aware of how badly we feel, that we focus on little else. Fear is an emotion that is strongly felt. Fear can be paralyzing and can keep us from moving forward or making a decision and thereby we are not exercising faith or doing what needs to be done. Fear can also cause us to react to a situation in the way that will get us back to feeling safe and comfortable.  In these moments we are more concerned about alleviating fear than honoring God. But, fear can also be a great help to us. Fear may bring the adrenaline and strength necessary to act heroically in a dangerous situation. Fear may be helpful in alerting us to desires in our hearts that have grown too strong. When we are commanded in scripture to “fear not”, God is commanding us not to give way to a negative interpretation of our circumstances because He is already providing what we need. God is gracious and kind in providing for us ‘arguments’ for why we can trust Him and not give way to fear.

“Do Not Fear”

Reason #1.  “I am with you.”

Why do we not need to fear? God is with us. God, who is sovereign, all-powerful, all-wise, all-loving, good, just, righteous, and holy, is with us. When we stop and think about Who God is, and that He is always with us, we truly have nothing to fear. “I am with you” is the most often given promise in the bible. Just a few of the references are:

Isaiah 43:2  “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you”

Matthew 28:20b  “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Genesis 28:15  “Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go”

Deuteronomy 31:6  “Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”

When you are tempted to fear, stop and meditate on the ever-present God of the universe.  He is with you!  How does that change the way you view your circumstances?

“Do Not Fear”

Reason #2  “I am your God.”

Why do we not need to fear? God is personal. God is my God. God knows me and cares for me. God has set His love on me and has promised to dwell with me both now and forever. God has put His Spirit within me to guide me, teach me, remind me of His truth, and to convict and help me. I have no reason to fear when I am trusting that God is MY God. David knew God as a personal God.  

Psalm 63:1

“O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;

    my soul thirsts for you;

my flesh faints for you,

    as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.”

Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

Zephaniah 3:17

 “The Lord your God is in your midst,

     a mighty one who will save;

he will rejoice over you with gladness;

    he will quiet you by his love;

he will exult over you with loud singing.”

God is the God who chooses to come to His people and dwell with His people. God didn’t meet us half-way, He came to us, all the way to our sinful, dead state,  and met every single one of our needs in Christ. God knows you and loves you as one of His children. When you trust God’s heart is for you, you can rest in security and peace.  You have no need to fear because the God who breathed out stars, who places the boundaries of the oceans, who knit you together in your mother’s womb, is your God. How would your view of your circumstances change if you meditated on the truth that God is “your God” and is “for you”.

“Do Not Fear”

Reason #3  “I will strengthen you.”

Why do we not need to fear? God’s strength is given to us as the third person of the Triune God. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God and the Spirit of Christ. He is described as both in scripture because the Trinity cannot be separated, yet is three distinct Persons (Is 11:2-3, Matt 3:16, Rom 8:9, Gal 4:6). The presence of the Holy Spirit in a believer is evidence that salvation is real.  When Jesus was about to die and knew He would be returning to heaven, He promised His disciples that the Spirit would be even better because God would be dwelling in us and with us (John 14:17).  God gives us power in wisdom through the Spirit as He helps us understand scripture and teaches us truth.  The Spirit enlightens us to know and understand the hope we have in Christ. The Spirit is the power that enables us to display the fruit of the Spirit as we are progressively sanctified.   Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 1 is a beautiful description of the Spirit’s work in us.

Paul prays that they (and we) may have “the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places…” (vs 17-20)

Later in Ephesians 3 Paul again prays “that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God” (vs 16-19).

The Spirit allows us to know God and His love for us. The Spirit helps us comprehend how great God’s love is and to experience the fullness of God in our hearts. The Spirit helps us enjoy God and delight in Him which brings joy and peace.

Colossians 1:11 tells us that God has given us “all power” that helps us to endure with patience whatever circumstances we are facing. That power comes from the Holy Spirit within us. If we are walking in step with the Spirit, our response to difficult circumstances will put God’s power on display as we are patiently enduring whatever we are facing.

When God promises to provide a way out of temptation (1 Cor 10:13), He has in mind the gift of the Spirit to convict us and give us strength to fight the temptation.  When God tells us we are sanctified in truth, His word is truth, (John 17:17) it is the Spirit who illumines His word to us to change us into His image.  

The Spirit gives us power to love others and be self-controlled and to abound in hope in this difficult world (2 Tim 1:7, Rom 15:3)

When we are trusting that God will strengthen us, we don’t need to fear.  He will give us the strength of wisdom, the strength to battle temptation, the strength to love others even when it is difficult, and the strength to fix our eyes on Him and the day when we will be with Him face to face.

“Do Not Fear”

Reason #4  ‘I will help you’

God describes Himself as a “helper”.  

Psalm 54:4  “Behold, God is my helper;  the Lord is the upholder of my life.”

Hebrews 13:6 “So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear;  what can man do to me?”

To be a helper means to come to one’s aid, especially in time of need or difficulty.  God is not a reluctant helper. His plan of redemption from before the foundation of the world, was to come to the aid of sinners and give life-giving aid. God’s very nature is to be a helper.  He desires to shower us with mercy and grace (Eph 2:4-5). His heart is gentle and lowly (Matt 11:28-30). He is not stingy with kindness or compassion.  His gives out of the abundance and riches of who He is at His very nature. Ephesians 2:4 says “But God, being rich in mercy…” came to give life to sinners who were dead in their sin. God’s very being is rich in mercy. God yearns to help us, especially in times of need and difficulty. He came to us while we were sinners and enemies of His, how much more, now that we are His children, will He help us.

If we trust that God’s very heart is to help us, we need not fear anything.  God has secured our salvation with Him, what can man do to us?

“Do Not Fear”

Reason #5  “I will uphold you with My righteous right hand”

The right hand in scripture signifies God’s power and strength.   Jack Wellman on Patheos website says, “ This [phrase] ‘right hand’ occurs 166 times in the Bible so it is no accident that the [phrase] ‘right hand’ has significant meaning. God inspired Isaiah to write “For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I am the one who helps you” (Isaiah 41:13). The right hand signifies strength, perhaps because most people are right-handed and that is the hand that normally has their greatest strength.”  When God promises to uphold us with His right hand, we can have confidence that God is referring to His strength.  As the all-powerful God, He promises to uphold us.  In Exodus 15:6 God shows His strength in saying,  “Your right hand, O Lord, glorious in power, your right hand, O Lord, shatters the enemy” and often used His right hand against His enemies as in Exodus 15:12 “You stretched out your right hand; the earth swallowed them.” Daniel 4 reminds us that “none can stay His hand”.  God’s righteous right hand is determinative.  Nothing is stronger.  Nothing can break the grasp that God has on His children.

The right hand in scripture also refers to the hand of blessing.  When Jacob is blessed by his father, it is the right hand that is placed on Jacob’s head to bestow the honor (Genesis 28:14).  When God says that He will uphold us with His right hand, He is guaranteeing all the blessings promised to His children.  Ephesians 1 tells us that we have “every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realm” as His children.  God’s right hand holds our inheritance secure.

To trust God will uphold us in His righteous right hand is to rest securely in all His promises, because He holds them with strength and power. For those He foreknew, He called, He justified, He sanctified, and He glorified (Romans 8). The guarantee of our blessings and help are secure because they depend on God’s faithfulness and strength, not ours.

God gives us five reasons in Isaiah 41:10 to “Do not fear”.  Meditate on these promises today.  Find the peace that surpasses understanding by living like these promises are true - because they are!  

Wordless

By Susan Lafferty

Wordless. I don’t know what to say. How to pray. 

But longing stirs. Hunger to hear Your voice. See Your lamp shining in the dark. 

I try to look ahead. Nearsighted vision blurs the future. Shapes without edges loom. Nothing is clear.

So I open the Scriptures. Hold Your Word close. And read in black and white, words on the page.

Your Word

These words in Your Word fill the empty places of my prayers. Speak loud who You are. The psalmist articulates what I cannot. 

I cry out. And Your Word reveals, with radiance. 

Searching out pride that leads to confession.
Highlighting purpose.
Deeply personal. Yet far-reaching. Global.
Whispering comfort, when there are no answers.

Truth clarifies this moment.
Manna. Not for tomorrow or next week.
But for today. 

It is enough. 

Abide in the Word

Wordless. I encounter the Word made flesh who walked among us. Glorious. Full of grace and truth. Making a way through His death and resurrection.  

He rescues me from sin and death. Eternally. 
Invites me to rest, remain, abide in Him.
Through prayer and the Scripture.

I am sealed, filled with His Spirit.
Part of His Body, the Church. 

My Lord and my God. 

He is enough.

Wordless

The future I cannot see is surrendered in this step by step journey. Moment by moment. Walking with Him. 

So somedays, I sit. Wordless.
But resting. In the One who calls me by name.

He knows the way.

“God, you are my God; I eagerly seek You. 
I thirst for You….
So I gaze on You in the sanctuary
to see Your strength and Your glory.
My lips will glorify You
because Your faithful love is better than life.”
Psalm 63:1-3

What about you?

Have you ever felt at a loss for words? Unable to express to the Father what you long for?  When did you discover He is enough?

Posted at: https://susanlafferty.com/2020/09/06/wordless/

Seeking the Lost

By Barry York

A few weeks ago, we returned home after a wonderful family vacation in Michigan. A week filled with sunny days, afternoons at the beach, and hearty family meals at night had us rested and relaxed. As it was dusk and distant lightning threatened rain, we hustled to unload our vehicles. We were able to get all the suitcases, bags, and boxes into the house just before the doubly dark skies opened up and a heavy rain began.

A bit weary after a day of traveling and unloading, Miriam my wife, Celia my daughter, and I sat down and enjoyed a few minutes of reflection over snacks before deciding to head to bed. Around 10:30 p.m. Miriam, thinking our dog Oscar was already in his crate, went in to close him up for the night. But Oscar, our pet King Charles Spaniel of eight years, who has grown increasingly blind because of a chronic disease this breed often suffers, was not there. A thorough search through the house revealed that he was missing.

In the midst of all the ins and outs of unloading, we remembered we had left him outside to do his business. In all our years here, Oscar has never wandered away. We can let him out and, after no longer than ten minutes, he is back at the door barking or scratching to be let back in to be rewarded with the doggie biscuits he loves. But he was not at either of our doors.

For the next couple of hours we searched for Oscar. In the pouring rain with lightning flashes overhead, we used lights as we tromped though woods, looked around neighbor's yards, and walked then drove along streets calling for Oscar, hoping we would spot him. One neighbor even joined us at that late hour to help us. But well after midnight, we came back home defeated. With no sign of him anywhere, we were convinced that the coyotes we often hear at night, and that the neighbors keep warning about, had snatched Oscar. I could not distinguish the rain from the tears on my wife and daughter's faces as I sought to comfort them. One would say "I know he is just a dog" before bursting into tears again. We could not believe our family vacation had ended on such a sad note. The thought of him being torn apart by coyotes haunted us.

However, well after 1:00 a.m., as we were trying to ready ourselves for bed, Miriam and I heard a shout from Celia. When Oscar came up missing, she had posted about it on various forms of social media. Someone had seen her post on a neighborhood app and another one on Facebook, where a man asked if anyone had lost a blind dog. She then contacted us. Apparently Oscar, confused due to his blindness, having been away on our vacation, and the storms, had wandered out onto the street. A man in a car almost hit him, but stopped, picked him up, and took him to a nearby neighbor's house. In the wonders of the digital age, we found out that Oscar was alive and we could pick him up the next morning!

So after that dark, rainy night, there was a joyous reunion early that sunny, Sunday morning. Celia retrieved Oscar from the neighbor's and brought him home, his tail wagging furiously amidst all the loving and petting. I think there were more tears shed, though for different reasons than the night before. Everyone following the story on social media rejoiced with us.

                                                      ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Last week, I taught a church planting class at RPTS to over thirty folks from all around the country. It was a wonderful week, as we shared the challenges, struggles, and joys of bringing the gospel to others. At one point, I was emphasizing how vital it is to keep an evangelistic thrust in a church plant. To help them empathize with sinners, I encouraged them to meditate on how the Bible describes them.

For sinners, like our little dog, are lost, blind, and, by all appearances, dead. Yet are we willing to go out and search for them? Do we keep calling them over and over again to come home to Christ? Do we shed tears over the prospect of them being destroyed eternally? Do we use all righteous means available to seek them? Do we have the faith, encouraged by Luke 15, that lost people, pictured as straying sheep, misplaced coins, and wandering sons, will eventually return to their rightful place? Do we anticipate rejoicing wholeheartedly when what is lost is found by Christ?

After all, Oscar is "just a dog." How much more joyous it should be to us when a lost sinner, made in the image of God, returns to his Maker and Redeemer! Do people in your congregation or church plant seek the lost and rejoice over their salvation like they would in finding a lost sheep, coin, or dog? Do you? Do I? May the Lord give us more the heart of our Savior, who came "to seek and to save that which was lost" (Luke 19:10).

Barry York. : Sinner by Nature - Saved by Grace. Husband of Miriam - Grateful for Privilege. Father of Six - Blessed by God. President of RPTS - Serve with Thankfulness. Author - Hitting the Marks.

Posted at: https://gentlereformation.com/2020/09/08/seeking-the-lost/

Help! I Feel Like a Failure

GREG PHELAN

I’ve been working on some projects that are just not moving forward. My boss has recently shut some of them down, and I can’t help but feel I’ve wasted a lot of time on things that failed. This is difficult, because I prayed diligently and worked as hard as I could on them. How can I let go of this frustration and feeling of failure?

If I’ve experienced anything the last few months, it’s consistent failure. As my available time has shrunk in half, the unforgiving limit of 24 hours in a day has shut down more projects than I even realized I was working on. In my case, and I suspect I’m not alone, failure is a central part of life these days.

For many of us, work is shot through with “supply shocks”: we have less time, less access, less capability, less support—and more demands—than ever before. At the same time, we may carry more responsibilities for aging parents or sick relatives or children out of school. Our work—both formal and informal—requires more of us, but from fewer resources than before.

On our own, we can’t do more with less. Our work goes unfinished. Our tempers get the best of us. Our words are harsh and unkind. Hopefulness evaporates. The inward curve of our souls turns deeper.

God made us finite and our world is broken. A boss shutting down a project is but one picture of that. We won’t escape failure, but we can find hope in it.

Our Failure Isn’t God’s Failure

First, what looks like failure to us—what might be failure on our end—could be something else in God’s economy. Consider the first martyr. Stephen, rising star and gifted leader in the church, gave an impassioned defense of Christ and got stoned. Surely it looked to some like a long-term evangelistic failure.

What looks like failure to us—what might be failure on our end—could be something else in God’s economy.

Let’s be honest: Stephen would have lived, and maybe made a few friends, if he had toned down his language a bit. Perhaps there wouldn’t have been a persecution. Stephen would have had other opportunities to proclaim the gospel, care for the Greek widows, and do signs and wonders. A lot of good work died with Stephen.

But Stephen’s death forced the church to scatter to Judea and Samaria and beyond, just as they’d been commanded but hadn’t yet done. And Stephen’s death likely pricked at the heart of the Pharisee who’d become the greatest apostle to the Gentiles. Stephen’s behavior only looks like failure if you don’t read past Acts 8:1. Or if you don’t realize that Stephen was being obedient unto death to the One who had died for him.

God is sovereign in our failures, weaving all things together according to his plan. What gets shut down by our boss or by the limitations of capacity and time, God may well work out for some greater success.

Grace in Humility

Second, there is grace in failure if we respond with humility (James 4:6). Only then will we find what we need to keep going.

Why did we need a Savior in the first place? Because we could never succeed at any self-salvation project. Even our best works were riddled with unrighteousness. Only by admitting defeat could we accept Jesus’s redemption.

We can find hope in our failure because God’s strength is made perfect in our weakness.

We’re always fighting pride that, when it defines us, can crush us. When we are proud, our identity is found in what we do, what we’ve achieved, what we’ve become. Our pride is why we can’t handle falling short, and our pride is why we forfeit God’s grace when we do.

But we can put that pride to death by remembering the source of our deepest identity. As it’s been said, we are human beings, not human doings. We are defined not by what we do, but who we are—really, whose we are. We are defined by our belonging to the God who purchased us. Even when we fail, in Christ we are not failures.

Ultimately, God’s sovereignty and grace frees us to fall flat. Because while we cannot do more with less, God seems to specialize in doing just that. We can find hope in our failure because God’s strength is made perfect in our weakness.

Posted at: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/feel-like-failure/

What is God Accomplishing in my Suffering?

John Piper

What is God accomplishing in my suffering and in your suffering? It’s a question Pastor John set out to answer from 1 Peter 4:12–19, a very important text we all need to understand and return to in times of personal suffering. I’ll read that text now, 1 Peter 4:12–19, and then we will hear from Pastor John. The apostle Peter writes,

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And “If the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?” Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.

To explain, here’s Pastor John.

I’m going to talk about why Christians suffer and how they can rise above it. But the same truth applies whether or not the suffering is coming from inside, from a disease, from a broken clutch — you name it. Whatever is tending to tempt you to be angry at people and God, that is (under God’s sovereignty) an opportunity of testing to prove and refine your faith, just as much as if you’ve been hit in the face by a person who hated you because you were a Christian. So the point is, while the text deals explicitly (most of it) with persecution, the principle — under God’s loving sovereignty over our lives and how we handle that — is the same as when the suffering comes from another source.

Keep on Rejoicing

The command is there: keep on rejoicing “to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ” (1 Peter 4:13 NASB). I think any suffering in obedience to and in union with Christ is sharing in the sufferings of Christ — even if it’s a hangnail, alright? If you are walking in the path of obedience with Jesus, and you get a stubbed toe, he cares — and it is suffering with him. And it tends to make you murmur and be angry, and therefore, it’s a big deal — not as big as if you were going to die, but it’s the same principle.

“God loves us so much that he will spare us nothing to get out of us what he really hates.”TweetShare on Facebook

This text doesn’t just say rejoice in spite of but because of suffering. That’s jolting. This is not a little piece of advice this morning from the power of positive thinking. “Let’s make the best of it.” “Let’s rise above it.” “Let’s be heroic.” “Let’s have some mind over matter here.” That’s not the point. The point is, you’re being called to do something that is so abnormal and so countercultural and so against human nature, it is supernatural and you can’t do it. And it isn’t for your honor. When it happens, it’s because “the Spirit of glory and of God” has come upon you and enabled you (1 Peter 4:14). And that’s true in those little tough things day by day, and that’s true in the big dangerous things. You can’t do it, but God can. And he gets the glory.

Aliens and exiles are what we’re reading about here, and how they respond to suffering. “Count it all joy,” James said, “when you meet trials of various kinds” (James 1:2). I mean, maybe he should have said, “Count it a little joy,” or maybe, “Someway, down the line, joy will come from it.” But why this massive “Count it all joy”? How do you handle that?

There’s only one way that I know of that can be not stupid or not foolish. One reason: God — there’s a God. We’ve been reading Jeremiah these weeks, and it’s just one chapter after another about how God reigns over Moab and Edom and Syria and Babylon. He reigns. That’s Jeremiah’s command and his belief and his message to us. And if there’s a God, and if he’s sovereign, and if he rules Satan and suffering and me, and causes kingdoms to go up and go down, and if he reigns over all the nations, and over all circumstances, and over my cars, and my children, and my wife, and my marriage, and my job, and my sickness, and this church, and he’s good, then it’s not stupid to say count it all joy; he loves you. Well, it’s not easy; but it’s there: keep on rejoicing because the suffering is not a surprise, but a plan.

Trust Your Maker

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you [or among you] to test you [it’s purposeful], as though something strange were happening to you. (1 Peter 4:12)

It isn’t strange. It isn’t absurd. It isn’t meaningless. You don’t tear your hair out and say, “There’s no point” — if you believe in God. You’ll see how it has a point: “Let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator” (1 Peter 4:19).

It is according to the will of God when we suffer; God wills it — even when Satan may be the immediate cause of it. We know that from the book of Job; we know it from 2 Corinthians 12:7–10, where the thorn in the flesh was what? A minister of Satan. Doing what? Humbling Paul and making him holy, so that he would love the glory of Jesus Christ because Christ was overruling Satan’s minister, and turning Satan into a means of Paul’s holiness. That’s the kind of God we have.

“Everybody’s imperfect. But there’ll be no imperfect people in heaven.”

God reigns over Satan, over suffering. And therefore, it’s okay to resist your suffering in prayer and pray against it and ask God to remove it, like Paul did. And sometimes he does, miraculously and wonderfully. And sometimes he doesn’t for holy and wise purposes because he loves us. But his sovereignty is not called into question by the immediate causality of sin and Satan. So many passages of Scripture show that God is overruling these things constantly for our great good.

When I Fall, I Shall Rise

Look at 1 Peter 4:17: “For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God . . .” Do you see the purposefulness in suffering now? This is God’s judgment upon the church:

For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us [Christians whom God loves with all of his heart and gave his Son to die for], what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?

So, the judgment of God is moving through the earth. And it begins with churches; the judgment of God comes upon churches. Why? Because he hates us? Not at all. But because he loves us so much, he will not spare us anything to get out of us what he hates. It’s not because he hates us. When a church or a Christian goes through times of darkness and trial, it’s because he loves us so much that he will spare us nothing to get out of us what he really hates — namely, sin.

And we are to count it — under the ashes, under the shadow, under the frown — joy. Not the kind of joy that heel-clicks and leaps in that moment, but that says, as Micah 7:8 says,

Rejoice not over me, O my enemy;
    when I fall, I shall rise.

He who has brought me into this darkness will plead my cause and vindicate me in time. So much has to be burned up within us. We’re all imperfect; everybody’s imperfect. But there’ll be no imperfect people in heaven. And a lot of God’s process of getting us ready for heaven is to burn the hell out of us.

Solzhenitsyn, the novelist, was in prison years ago in Siberia. He wasn’t a Christian yet. He was suffering, and Boris Kornfeld, a Jewish doctor, was sitting with him one night. He was also in prison, and Boris had become a Christian. And he talked late into one night with Solzhenitsyn, and gave his testimony about how he, as a Jewish doctor, had become a Christian. And then he was beaten to death in his bed that same night. And Solzhenitsyn wrote,

His last words lay upon me as an inheritance. . . . It was only when I lay there on rotting prison straw that I sensed within myself the first stirrings of good. . . . Bless you, prison, for having been in my life!

Isn’t that amazing?

Refiner’s Fire

The judgment of God moves through the world. It’ll come to a crescendo one of these days, but it’s moving through the world. It’s moving on churches — hundreds, thousands of churches coming under the judgment of God. When it moves in a church, it’s meant for purity because he loves us.

And when it moves on the world, it has one of two effects: either it awakens — like it did for Solzhenitsyn — or it condemns and destroys, if it is resisted and does not bring people to repentance.

But for the people of God, “the apple of his eye” (Deuteronomy 32:10; Zechariah 2:8), it refines; it purifies.

Posted at: https://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/what-is-god-accomplishing-in-my-suffering?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=6c263ccc-5b7a-4e71-97a0-c28b2986197a&utm_content=apj&utm_campaign=new%20teaching&fbclid=IwAR0T4DXN7hCsL-5T7tdJe2MqAaXLUSA7Bor31ovW53oZDEVVQQdrk4HlASw

What Is the Difference Between Practicing Self-Care and Being Selfish?

BY BRAD HAMBRICK 

What is the difference between practicing self-care and being selfish?

This question seems like it should be easier to answer than it is. Actually, for many Christians, it is exceedingly difficult to answer and the source of significant debate. Internally, we often feel guilty to practicing good self-care. In conversation, we often have a hard time differentiating self-care from selfishness.

In order to engage with this question, I will offer three metaphors and then seek to extrapolate three summary principles.

Metaphor One: Oil Change

Nobody assumes that getting the oil change for your vehicle is selfish. Yes, it costs money and takes time. But it is universally seen as good stewardship of a larger investment – namely the vehicle. Actually, someone who neglects getting their oil changed is seen as foolish and lazy.

Oil changes and comparable maintenance result in the vehicle lasting longer and serving its purpose better. If we see our physical and emotional health as commodities to be stewarded, then the self-care parallels for this metaphor are strong and plentiful.

Metaphor Two: Airplane Instructions

If you’ve flown, you’ve heard a flight attendant say, “Put the oxygen mask over your face before putting it on your travel companion.” Initially, the thought of putting the mask on our face before our child seems selfish. But we realize doing so preserves our capacity to be available to care for the child during the potential adverse circumstance.

With this metaphor, we experience the same emotional angst we often experience with the self-care question. We realize that the choices being made are not made in an idealized bubble. They are choices made in a context where life is hard, and we are finite. We don’t get the luxury of making choices in a perfect world with unlimited resources. We make choices in a broken world with finite resources (i.e., energy, time, money, aptitudes, etc.).

Metaphor Three: Enjoying Art

Art is something that could easily be portrayed as wasteful, but rarely is. Music, painting, poetry, and other forms of artistic expression are viewed as valuable. Learning to appreciate these forms of art is seen as improving oneself. Creating these forms of art is seen as being a good steward of one’s ability.

Why is going to a symphony seen as valuable, but a parent seizing the relatively rare opportunity to take an afternoon nap is often viewed as selfish? I believe the answer is that the arts are more naturally seen to expand our capacities while a nap’s ability to restore cognitive functioning and enhance emotional regulation is not.

Summary Principles

After thinking through these metaphors, let’s articulate a few summary principles.

1. Self-care, like an oil change, increases the longevity of our ability to love God and love others.

2. Self-care, like airplane instructions, increases our availability to love God and love others.

3. Self-care, like enjoying art, increases the capacities with which we can love God and love others.

In these ways, good self-care is the opposite of selfish. Just because an activity is personally beneficial and enjoyable does not mean its selfish. Common self-care practices (i.e., resting, eating favorite meal, engaging a hobby, time with a friend, etc.) are enjoyable and beneficial.

By contrast, selfishness is more about motive than action.

• Selfishness does not care about the longevity, availability, or capacity to love God and love others.

• Selfishness focuses on the optimal enjoyment of one’s own life to the neglect of loving God and others.

Do these principles resolve all our question? No. Because we live in different situations with different resources and abilities, we will answer the question about self-care differently. There can be no universal rule about when self-care becomes selfish any more than there can be a universal rule about how many minutes a 6th grader should study for a math test.

But there is a theological point that needs more attention if we are going to engage this question well; namely that we are embodied souls. Our bodies have a strong influence over our souls. When we neglect our bodies, it becomes more difficult to express the virtues our Christian souls want to express. Jesus acknowledged as much when we said to his sleepy disciples, “Your spirit is willing, but your flesh is weak (Matt. 26:41).”

Hopefully, you have begun to realize that the better question is not “What’s the difference between self-care and being selfish?”, but “Where’s the line between the two? When does wise self-care become excessive and begin to become selfish?” This is how we think about most virtues. When are we so honest we become rude? When are we so generous we become frivolous? When are we so frugal we become greedy? When are we so compassionate we become gullible?

Again, there is no one-size-fits-all answer to these questions. Answering these questions requires self-awareness and situational wisdom. My hope is that, with the three metaphors and principles provided, your freedom of conscious to practice good self-care grows and your discernment about when self-care is being prioritized in unhealthy ways also grows.

We grow in wise-balanced self-care the same way we grow in being humbly honest, wisely generous, or compassionate-with-discernment… a bit at a time and little more with each passing month. If this reflection has given you a few tools to take the next step in that growth process, it has done all it was intended to do.

Posted at: http://bradhambrick.com/selfcare/

Spurgeon on the Heart of Flesh

by Charles Spurgeon 

“And I will give you an heart of flesh.” — Ezekiel 36:26

A heart of flesh is known by its tenderness concerning sin. To have indulged a foul imagination, or to have allowed a wild desire to tarry even for a moment, is quite enough to make a heart of flesh grieve before the Lord. The heart of stone calls a great iniquity nothing, but not so the heart of flesh.

“If to the right or left I stray,

That moment, Lord, reprove;

And let me weep my life away,

For having grieved thy love”

The heart of flesh is tender of God’s will. My Lord Will-be-will is a great blusterer, and it is hard to subject him to God’s will; but when the heart of flesh is given, the will quiver like an aspen leaf in every breath of heaven, and bows like an osier in every breeze of God’s Spirit. The natural will is cold, hard iron, which is not to be hammered into form, but the renewed will, like molten metal, is soon moulded by the hand of grace. In the fleshy heart there is a tenderness of the affections. The hard heart does not love the Redeemer, but the renewed heart burns with affection towards him. The hard heart is selfish and coldly demands, “Why should I weep for sin? Why should I love the Lord?” But the heart of flesh says; “Lord, thou knowest that I love thee; help me to love thee more!” Many are the privileges of this renewed heart; “‘Tis here the Spirit dwells, ’tis here that Jesus rests.” It is fitted to receive every spiritual blessing, and every blessing comes to it. It is prepared to yield every heavenly fruit to the honour and praise of God, and therefore the Lord delights in it. A tender heart is the best defence against sin, and the best preparation for heaven. A renewed heart stands on its watchtower looking for the coming of the Lord Jesus. Have you this heart of flesh?

Charles Spurgeon

Charles H. Spurgeon (1834-1892) served as the Pastor of the Metropolitan Tabernacle in London, England for nearly forty years and is the founder of Spurgeon’s College. Having preached to over 10 million people in his lifetime and being widely considered the “Prince of Preachers,” Spurgeon published more words in the English language than any other Christian in history and baptized more than 14,000 converts.

Posted at: https://ftc.co/resource-library/blog-entries/spurgeon-on-the-heart-of-flesh/

Our Greatest Need: Restoration

Dan Wells

In a world where so much has been lost, destroyed, forsaken, and forgotten, the human heart naturally longs for restoration. In today’s world, there is a longing for the restoration of truth, because truth has been obscured, hidden, and dismissed. There is a longing for restoration of civility, because we are being driven apart by violent, malevolent hordes, self-serving politicians, and vitriolic commentators. There is a longing for justice, because so many have been falsely accused while the guilty walk free. There is a longing for the restoration of marriage, because it has been redefined and abandoned. There is a longing for the restoration of peace, integrity, honesty, equity, and every institution that is good, because the world is governed by evil forces.

There are no stronger longings for restoration than those expressed in God’s Word. For forty years in the desert, Moses presided over a people who longed to be restored to their land. In the time of the Judges, the people longed to be restored to nationhood under a king. David longed to be restored to the fullness of worship where God dwells. Jeremiah and Ezekiel, among other prophets, wrote about the longing of God’s people for the restoration of Israel from the Babylonian captivity. A land, a king, worship, and rescue – all of these are given when God restores our fellowship with Him in Christ.

The Ultimate Restoration: Fellowship with God

The more that is lost, the stronger the longing for restoration. Never was so much lost as when the human race was given over to sin. The fall of mankind (Gen. 3) resulted in our being alienated from God. The removal of that fellowship was the biggest loss in history. It is the loss behind every other loss.

So, we long for restoration of fellowship with God. There is even a whole season, Advent, devoted to our hearts’ longing to be restored to that fellowship. God gave us this longing, because it was in His heart from before the earth was formed to deliver it. He loves to restore. He is a restoring God who knows our needs.

God’s Means: Redemption

When we think of our greatest need, we usually think of redemption, because if we are not redeemed, we will die in our sins and be cast into hell. Sin brings death and judgment, so we must be purchased out of that judgment. We must be redeemed from the penalty that our sins deserve in order to avoid eternal judgment. In God’s beloved Son, and only in Him, “we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Col. 1:14, cf v. 20). If Jesus does not take our evil deeds upon Himself and die on a cross, we cannot be reconciled to God (Col. 1:21-22).

But God’s program for the world is far greater than individual redemption: it is the total restoration of all that was lost in the fall of mankind.

In other words, we are not only redeemed from something (judgment). We are also redeemed to something. Colossians 1 reminds us that we were ransomed out of the pit of darkness and destruction. But it goes beyond that. “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son” (Col. 1:13, italics mine). We had to be redeemed from sin so that we can be restored to fellowship with God. Restoration is the essence of redemption!

The limitless reach of God’s restoring work is breathtaking.

It is easy to think of redemption as the ultimate end, but restoration means that there is more to redemption than the promise of eternal life. The lives of the redeemed are restored to good purpose on earth. God’s restored people “bear fruit in every good work and increase in the knowledge of God” (Col. 1:9-12). We are empowered to walk in obedience and live in harmony with others.

Restoration also makes it possible for us to train our affections – to love God and love others in this life (Matt. 22:37-39). After all, the believer is headed for a place where those affections have been perfected. So, we must see Jesus as glorious and desirable, and we must love the Church. Jesus is the one who redeems and restores us to fellowship with God and with the saints in light.

Far-reaching Effects

God loves to restore. He restored Job’s fortunes (Job 42), Naaman’s flesh from leprosy (2 Kings 5), Hezekiah’s life (Is. 38), David’s soul (Ps. 23) and the joy of his salvation (Ps. 51), and Nebuchadnezzar after he had become like a beast in the field (Dan. 4). He restores lands, borders, inheritances, temples, health, life, repentance, and the priesthood. Whatever He decides to restore, He restores. He even restores youth (Ps. 103)!

At the pinnacle of redemptive history, when God restores all things, He will gather us together (see Deut. 30:3) from every tribe and tongue and nation (Rev. 7:9-10). It is hard to believe there is something better than redemption. But there is, and it means a lot in these troubled times. God is going to restore society as it was meant to be – people living in unity of purpose, gladly submitting to the perfect will of God, who binds us together.

Behold, I am making all things new (Rev. 21:5).

Posted at: https://unlockingthebible.org/2020/08/greatest-need-restoration/