All Who Believe Battle Unbelief

Article by Jon Bloom

“I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24). This plea — this prayer — of a desperate father, who was interceding to Jesus on behalf of his afflicted child, expresses in five simple words a profound, difficult, confusing, and common experience. All followers of Jesus have both belief and unbelief, both faith and doubt, present in us at the same time.

We see this paradoxical presence elsewhere in Scripture. We see it in Peter, who walked on water only to start sinking when unbelief set in (Matthew 14:28–31). We see it in Thomas, who declared, “I will never believe” without physical proof of Jesus’s resurrection, while still believing enough to stay with the other disciples until Jesus finally appeared to him (John 20:25–26). We see it laced through the Psalms, like Psalm 73, where saints wrestle out loud with their unbelief. And we see it all too frequently in ourselves, which is why we identify with the desperate father’s prayer. Unbelief is a “common to man” temptation for believers (1 Corinthians 10:13).

But though it is a common temptation (and often a subtle temptation), it is a spiritually dangerous one, one that can lead us “to fall away from the living God” (Hebrews 3:12). It is an enemy we must fight vigorously.

“Do not fear God’s discipline; fear unbelief.”

We each fight unique battles against this enemy, because each of us has unique experiences and unique temperaments that make us uniquely vulnerable to certain forms of unbelief. Getting help to see our vulnerabilities to unbelief is crucial to winning our battles. And it is something Jesus is happy to help us with, if we ask him.

Desperate and Vulnerable Father

The father of the afflicted boy in Mark 9:14–29 surely had a unique vulnerability to unbelief. And it’s not difficult to understand why. Just imagine what his experience had been like up to the point when he encountered Jesus.

He had spent a number of years, likely doing everything he could, in order to help his son (Mark 9:21). The terrible affliction had a demonic source, which had tormented the boy since early childhood, causing violent seizures and preventing him from speaking (Mark 9:17–18). The father, and no doubt his wife, had saved their precious child — their only begotten son (Luke 9:38) — from death numerous times, rescuing him out of fire and water (Mark 9:22). Which means they lived with the daily dread that they might not be there in time to save him the next time. And they lived with the future dread of what would become of him when one or both were no longer there to save him.

They also likely lived with a deep fatigue brought on by continual vigilance night and day. They may have endured a kind of recurring relational strain on their marriage that often accompanies stressful and painful parenting situations. They likely lived with the numerous ways their son’s affliction affected them financially, from the direct costs of seeking out help for him, to the indirect costs of having less time devoted to earning a living. And on top of all that, they likely lived with the shame that perhaps they, or their child, had somehow sinned and brought this curse upon the boy — a shame compounded by knowing that others likely wondered the same thing (as in John 9:1–2).

Unique Battles in a Common War

Surely this beleaguered father had prayed often for his priceless son, but with no visible results. Surely he had previously sought out other spiritual leaders or exorcists to drive the devil out, but to no avail.

Hearing stories of Jesus’s power over disease and demons stirred in him enough hope that he brought his child to see Jesus. Not finding the famous rabbi, he pleaded with Jesus’s disciples for help. But they were no more effective than anyone else had been (Mark 9:18). We can understand why his hope, and therefore his faith, seemed to be ebbing low when Jesus showed up.

The reason I say all this is to show how this father was very much like us. His unbelief had roots in his unique experience. So does ours. His fears and disappointments shaped his expectations. So do ours. He was vulnerable, in deeply personal places, to losing the fight for faith. So are we. We can sympathize with this man when he pleaded with Jesus, “If you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us” (Mark 9:22), because we’ve probably prayed or thought similar things.

We might expect Jesus to respond as gently and kindly to this desperate father as he did to the leper seeking healing, to whom Jesus, in pity, reached out and touched, saying, “I will; be clean” (Mark 1:40–42). But that’s not how Jesus responded.

Surprising, Merciful Rebuke

Jesus’s response to this father catches us off guard: “‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes” (Mark 9:23). This shocks us. And the reason is because most of us can identify more with the father’s struggle than with the leper’s. We expect Jesus to comfort this man, but instead he rebukes him. It makes us wonder, Is this how Jesus feels about our unbelief?

“All of us who believe in Jesus also have unbelief in Jesus.”

One way to answer is that, in the Gospels, Jesus consistently affirms those who express faith and rebukes those who express doubt and unbelief. The leper he healed is a good example. This man said to Jesus, “If you will, you can make me clean” (Mark 1:40). This is a declaration of faith, and it moved Jesus to a compassionate response of healing.

But the father of this afflicted boy said to Jesus, “If you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us” (Mark 9:22). There’s faith in this request; faith is why he sought Jesus out in the first place. But there’s also unbelief; part of him doesn’t expect Jesus will be any more successful than others had been. So, he receives Jesus’s rebuke, just like Peter did in the water and Thomas did when Jesus finally appeared to him (Matthew 14:31; John 20:27–29).

And here’s what we need to remember: Jesus’s rebuke to a believer who is allowing unbelief to infect and enfeeble his faith and govern his behavior is a great mercy.

Mercy of Discipline

Faith is the channel through which God’s graces of salvation and sanctification and spiritual gifts all flow. Unbelief obstructs the channel and therefore inhibits the flow of God’s grace (James 1:5–8). So, Jesus’s rebuke of the man’s unbelief is the mercifully painful, momentary discipline of the Lord intended to expose the disease of unbelief (to use a different metaphor) so the believer can see it for what it is and fight it; because if he doesn’t, he will not share the Lord’s holiness and will not bear the peaceful fruit of righteousness (Hebrews 12:10–11).

In that sense, Jesus is the good physician. He does not coddle doubt and unbelief, just like a good doctor doesn’t coddle cancer in a patient. If left invisible and untreated, it will kill. So, what Jesus is doing is helping this struggling father see clearly his sin of unbelief, just like he did for Peter and Thomas.

And it worked. We see this in the father’s desperate cry to Jesus: “I believe; help my unbelief!” And like Jesus pulling Peter out of the water, and showing Thomas his hands and side, he honored the father’s faith, however defective, and set the boy free (Mark 9:25–27).

Jesus Will Help You See Your Unbelief

All of us who believe in Jesus also have unbelief in Jesus. It’s not surprising, because we all live with deceitful indwelling sin (Hebrews 3:13). And we all live in a fallen, deceitful world. So, we all must frequently fight for faith (1 Timothy 6:12) by battling unbelief.

“Unbelief will block the channels of faith, it will rob you of joy, and, if undealt with, it will destroy you.”

But the presence of unbelief in us is often subtle. We don’t always see it clearly. It has roots in our unique experiences and in our unique temperaments, which make us uniquely vulnerable to its deceitfulness. Our doubts can seem to us understandable, even justifiable. But like all sin and fallenness, unbelief is spiritually dangerous. What we really need, even though we might prefer to avoid it, is for Jesus to mercifully help us see our unbelief, even if it means his momentarily painful discipline.

Having followed Jesus for decades, I have experienced his discipline numerous times, including recently. I have learned to even ask him to discipline me when I recognize the symptoms of unbelief (which, for me, are a lingering, shadowy presence of doubt and skepticism and self-pity and self-indulgence). I ask Jesus to discipline me, not because I enjoy the pain and humbling of the exposure of my unbelief, but because I want the joy of fully believing that God exists and is the rewarder of those who seek him (Hebrews 11:6). And I want the channel of his grace toward me unclogged. And so I pray with the psalmist,

Search me, O God, and know my heart!
     Try me and know my thoughts!
And see if there be any grievous way in me,
     and lead me in the way everlasting! (Psalm 139:23–24)

I have found that Jesus answers.

And he will answer you. He will answer the prayer, “I believe; help my unbelief!” And he’ll help you fight your unbelief by exposing it, that place you want to conceal. But do not fear his discipline; fear unbelief. Unbelief will block the channels of faith, it will rob you of joy, and, if undealt with, it will destroy you. The momentary pain of the discipline, however, is the path to greater joy, for it opens the channels to more of God’s grace — to more of God.

Jon Bloom (@Bloom_Jon) serves as teacher and co-founder of Desiring God. He is author of three books, Not by Sight, Things Not Seen, and Don’t Follow Your Heart. He and his wife have five children and make their home in the Twin Cities.

Posted at: https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/all-who-believe-battle-unbelief

Keeping Your Lamp Ready for Christ’s Return

by Leslie Schmucker

In ancient Israel, when a man and a woman were to be married, they first were bound by a year-long betrothal, during which the husband and wife were legally joined, but the marriage was not consummated. Everyone knew when the year was up, the groom would, with much fanfare, return to the bride’s home and take her with him to the house he had prepared for her.

No one knew when the groom would return. It was his father who gave the go-ahead, and while the bride waited, she readied herself. She kept her bags packed and her lamp ready to go with an ample supply of oil. Unpreparedness would have implied complacency and lack of honor to the groom. For the couple, the betrothal year was spent in joyous and eager anticipation. 

We Are His Bride

In his parable of the ten virgins, Jesus used this imagery to describe the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 25:1-13). Waiting for the groom involved the bride and her attendants keeping an ample supply of oil to trim their lamps, in the event the groom returned at night. Dark lamps meant being shut out of the celebration. Dark lamps resulted in being left in the dark.

Throughout the gospels, Jesus used marriage as an allegory for his relationship to his church. Here, the church refers to the global body of followers of Jesus Christ, not a religious institution. If you believe that you are a sinner in need of a savior, and that Savior is Jesus Christ, you are his bride. 

The Promise of His Coming

More than two thousand years have passed since Jesus told that parable. His bride is still waiting. Many are asking the church, “Where is this messiah of yours? I think you may be mistaken.” I admit, more than once, I have been tempted to ask the same thing.

But Jesus is coming back. Based on the hundreds of prophecies and promises in the Bible that have already been fulfilled, there is no reason to believe otherwise.

So, how’s your lamp?

Five Ways to Keep Our Lamps Trimmed

John Piper describes the lamp as the trappings of Christianity— what some might call religion. “I go to church. I carry a Bible. I pray before meals. I try to keep the Ten Commandments.” The oil, Piper says, is “life, faith, hope, love, reality.” Trimming an empty lamp is foolishness. Empty religion is foolishness. And, as Piper explains, “A life of foolishness deepens foolishness.” 

Here are five ways, based on Piper’s description of the oil, to keep our lamps trimmed while we wait for Jesus’s return:

1. Life

We are given only one earthly life, and Christ would have us lose it completely. “Whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (Matthew 16:25). 1 John 4:4 says anyone who follows Jesus Christ “belongs to God.” 

Jesus demands no less than our entire life, which is then “hidden with him” (Colossians 3:3).  When our life depicts the gospel, we are keeping our lamps trimmed. When the heavens dissolve, will you have been found  “alive together with Christ” (Ephesians 2:5)?

2. Faith

The level at which you seek to cultivate your relationship with God is indicative of your level of faith. Regularly reading scripture, being an active part of a Bible believing church, meeting regularly with fellow believers, and filling your mind with the things of God are the soil in which faith grows. 

Are you nourishing habits that produce an “assurance of things hoped for” and a “conviction of things unseen (Hebrews 11:1)?” When we consistently demonstrate a life of faith, we are keeping our lamps trimmed. When the heavens dissolve, will you have been found faithful?

3. Love

In Matthew 25, Jesus describes what it looks like to love in God’s economy.

For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me. As you did it to one of the least of these, my brothers, you did it to me. Matthew 25:35-36, 40

In other words, while you waited for my return, you loved. And in that love, you showed that you love me also. 

How are you loving in your sphere of influence? From motherhood to the mission field, when we love others we are keeping our lamps trimmed. When the heavens dissolve, will you have been found loving?

4. Hope

Romans 8:24 says we were saved in hope. But not the kind of hope that we have when we hope the weather will cooperate for our vacation, or the hope that the adoption we so longed for will come through. Christian hope is a sure hope. It is an eager anticipation of a secure future with Christ, as adopted children and heirs to his throne. It is a hope without wondering if. 

To what extent do you anticipate the return of Jesus Christ? Have you allowed complacency to dull your sense of hope? When we possess a sense of eager expectation, we are keeping our lamps trimmed. When the heavens dissolve, will you have been found fervently hoping for the appearance of Christ?

5. Reality

The hope in which we live is “folly to those who are perishing” (1 Corinthians 1:18). But this hope in which we live is more real than anything our senses can apprehend in the temporal world. 

C.S. Lewis became a Christian while seeking to debunk Christianity. But in the end, after extensive research meant to affirm his atheism, he concluded, “Heaven is reality itself. All that is fully real is Heavenly. For all that can be shaken will be shaken and only the unshakeable remains.” 

Does your life reflect your belief in the reality of heavenly things? When we regard heaven as more real than earth, we are keeping our lamps trimmed. When the heavens dissolve, will you be found to have been grounded in the reality of the gospel?

Jesus is coming. Today or thousands of years from now, the Giver of oil has an endless supply to ready his bride for his impending return. May we all keep our lamps trimmed.

Leslie Schmucker

Leslie Schmucker (@LeslieSchmucker) retired from public school teaching to create a special needs program at Dayspring Christian Academy in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. She and her husband Steve have three grown children and seven grandchildren.

Posted at: https://ftc.co/resource-library/blog-entries/keeping-your-lamp-ready-for-christs-return/

Remembering God’s Faithfulness in the Face of a Detour

by Dave Harvey

Traffic stood still. That’s never a good thing when you’re traversing the Pennsylvania Turnpike. After thirty minutes without moving, curiosity began to take over. Drivers turned off their ignitions and shed their seat belts in search of fresh air and accident information. The guy behind me walked forward and a conversation ensued. Over the next three hours, he poured out his story of pain, loss, and disappointment. I shared how Christ answers the deepest longings of the heart. I hope he heard me. Four hours later, traffic began to inch forward. I shifted into drive, marveling at how God fills unexpected detours with kingdom purpose. 

In 2 Samuel 6, we meet David as the prophet Samuel anoints him king. Samuel had asked Jesse, David’s father, to gather his sons. There were eight boys altogether but only seven were invited to the anointing party. David was left out in the fields because Jesse assumed that God would never choose a ruddy shepherd boy. But the truth is that God loves to take the least likely—the least likely people and the least likely moments—and use them to magnify his strength.  

After he was anointed, David was phenomenal. He slew Goliath and dominated in battle. After David’s victories, a new song hit the top of the charts in Israel, “Saul has struck down his thousands and David his ten thousands” (1 Sam. 18:7). When King Saul heard the crowds singing for young David, he was enraged with jealousy. He attacked David and sent him fleeing for his life. The future king and great warrior became a fugitive. He was constantly on the run and ended up living in a cave. David had been a rising star, but he became a fleeing felon with hit squads trying to track him down. 

It was a major detour; more significant by far than being stuck in traffic on the Turnpike. David was lonely, despairing, afflicted, and in need of deliverance. But from that place of desolation, he prayed Psalm 57: 

I cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfills his purpose for me. He will send from heaven and save me; he will put to shame him who tramples on me. Selah. God will send out his steadfast love and faithfulness (Ps. 57:2–3). 

In that moment of desolation, David looked to the past and said, “God, you’ve been faithful before, and you’ll be faithful again.” Later the apostle Paul would echo the same sentiment. In the midst of his own tragic detour he wrote, “He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again” (2 Cor. 1:10).

How about you? Do you trust God’s faithfulness to deliver again in the midst of your daily detours? Perhaps you feel it now each time you leave your home: the great unknown awaits out in public. Masked faces populate public places, reminding us that we’re not in Kansas anymore. Restrictions are being lifted, but the coronavirus remains present. There are risks that are punctuated each time the press reports a small outbreak. Where do you look in the midst of this unexpected reality? What shall we say to these things? 

Follow David and Paul’s example of faith. Look to the ways God has delivered in the past: “If God is for us who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” (Rom 8:31–32) What father wouldn’t run to his kids in their moment of weakness? Whatever detours you’re facing—tribulation or distress, pandemic or persecution, you can have confidence that your God is present with you. He has delivered at the cross, and he will be faithful to deliver again. You may even find that he’s given you a gospel opportunity in the midst of a detour. 

Editor’s Note: This originally published at RevDaveHarvey.com

Dave Harvey

Dave Harvey (D. Min – Westminster Theological Seminary) is the president of Great Commission Collective, Dave pastored for 33 years and founded AmICalled.com. Dave travels widely across networks and denominations as a popular conference speaker. He is the author of When Sinners Say “I Do”, Am I Called, Rescuing Ambition, and co-authored Letting Go: Rugged Love for Wayward Souls. Dave’s recent release is titled I Still Do! Growing Closer and Stronger Through Life’s Defining Moments. Dave and his wife, Kimm, have four kids and four grandchildren and live in southwest Florida. (For videos or articles, visit www.revdaveharvey.com)

Posted at: https://ftc.co/resource-library/blog-entries/remembering-gods-faithfulness-in-the-face-of-a-detour/

No Meekness Without Might: What We Learn from Christ’s Gentleness

By David Mathis

“Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?” (Rev. 6:16–17).

It’s a stunning glimpse of divine judgment. A sixth seal is opened. The earth quakes, the sun goes dark, the moon turns to blood. Stars fall, and the sky is rolled back like a scroll. The earth’s kings and “the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful . . . hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains” (Rev. 6:15). So terrified are they at “the wrath of the Lamb” that they call to the mountains and rocks to fall on them. They would rather be crushed to death than to face omnipotent wrath.

Did you do the double take? Excuse me, “the wrath of the Lamb”—the Lamb being Jesus Christ? How’s that? We know Christ to be gentle, meek and mild. Who would cower before him like this? Before God the Father, of course, we expect that. But Jesus?

Those of us who love that he is gentle and lowly need not be afraid to rehearse that his wrath is horrific. To know the sovereign power and unmatched strength of Christ—and the sheer terror of those who realize they have opposed him—will both keep us from misunderstanding his gentleness and make his remarkable gentleness all the more impressive.

Gentle and Lowly

We dare not minimize the portrait of Christ in Matthew 11:28–30 simply because many are at home with this emphasis today. This is a penetrating self-revelation from Christ himself—and all the more if he is sovereign and strong, and his wrath is terrifying:

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (Matt. 11:28–30)

It’s no accident that these words have been greatly celebrated. Such an invitation, from such a person, is precious beyond words.

And his gentleness toward his people is all the sweeter as we learn what sovereign strength lies beneath it. His gentleness doesn’t replace his sovereign strength; rather, it cushions the application of his great power as he marshals it in service of his weak people.

In a day when we seem increasingly aware of the danger of other people’s power and strength, it’s vital that we see this in Jesus, and throughout Scripture. The answer to the dangers of strength isn’t its loss, but the godly exercise of power in gaining the Christian virtue called gentleness.

Gentle Rain

Take rain, for instance. Hard rain destroys life, but “gentle rain” gives life (Deut. 32:2). Violent rain does harm, not good. The farmer prays not for weak rain, or no rain, but for gentle rain. The means of delivery is important. We need water (to support and give life) delivered gently, not destructively and not too meagerly. Gentle doesn’t mean feebly but appropriately—giving, not taking, life.

The answer to the dangers of strength isn’t its loss, but the godly exercise of power, in gaining the Christian virtue called gentleness.

So also, “a gentle tongue is a tree of life” (Prov. 15:4). Gentle doesn’t mean weak but fittingly strong, with life-giving restraint—giving something good not in a flood but in due measure. Or consider wind for sailing. A gently blowing wind answers a sailor’s prayer (Acts 27:13), while a violent wind spells trouble (Acts 27:18).

In the Old Testament, the virtue of gentleness is best seen in God himself, who “comes with might” (Isa. 40:10). How does he wield this “might” toward his people? Next verse: “He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young” (Isa. 40:11). Violence is the destructive use of strength (Isa. 22:17); gentleness its life-giving exercise.

Strongest Men Are Gentle

When the apostle Peter contrasts good power with bad, just rulers with unjust, he describes noble leaders as “good and gentle” (1 Pet. 2:18). This is no celebration of puniness. The opposite of a crooked master isn’t a weak one—who wants the protection of a weak lord?—but “good and gentle.” We want gentle leaders, not weak ones.

We want leaders with strength and power not used against us but wielded for us. Which is what makes the image of a shepherd so fitting, and timeless, in both the Old and New Testaments. Sheep are manifestly weak and vulnerable. So they need shepherds who are good and will use their power to help them, not use and abuse them. We need strength in our shepherds, with the added virtue of gentleness.

Weak men are often preoccupied with feigning and talking about their strength. Truly strong men give their energy and attention not to parading their strength but to demonstrating gentleness to those in their care. They’re able to rightly exercise their manifest power for others’ good. Insecure men flex and threaten. Men who are secure in their strength, and the strength of their Lord, aren’t only willing but eager to let their gentleness show (James 3:13), and even be known to all (Phil. 4:5).

Weak men are often preoccupied with feigning and talking about their strength. Truly strong men give their energy and attention not to parading their strength but to demonstrating gentleness to those in their care.

It should be no surprise, then, that Christ requires such of the leaders in his church (1 Tim. 3:3). Gentleness isn’t optional but essential in Christian leadership. “As for you, O man of God, . . . pursue . . . gentleness” (1 Tim. 6:11). True gentleness in the pastors not only gives life to the flock but also models for the flock how it can give life to the world (Titus 3:1–2). How different might our discourse have been in 2020 if our strongest voices had been gentle?

Gentleness Himself

In the end—whether as congregants or pastors, whether as men or as women, husbands or wives, fathers or mothers, bosses or employees—genuine biblical gentleness is formed and filled by God himself in Christ. When we admire his gentleness, we don’t celebrate that he is weak. Rather, as his feeble sheep, we enjoy that not only is our Shepherd infinitely strong, but he is all the more admirable because he knows how to wield his power in ways that give life to, rather than suffocate, his beloved.

Mighty and meek, Christ came not as a domineering and abusive King but as a good and gentle Lord. He descended gently into our world in Bethlehem, grew in wisdom and stature in Nazareth, taught with toughness and tenderness in Galilee, and rode into Jerusalem “humble, and mounted on a donkey” (Matt. 21:5) to lay down his life.

Mighty and meek, Christ came not as a domineering and abusive King but as a good and gentle Lord.

And he summons us still today with the invitation that takes nothing from his power, but only adds to what makes him remarkable: “I am gentle and lowly in heart.” So, we, like the apostle Paul, both receive and also seek to imitate “the meekness and gentleness of Christ” (2 Cor. 10:1).

Admire His Mercy—and Might

The day is coming when the wicked would far rather quietly pass out of existence than stand before the omnipotent Christ they’ve scorned and rejected. His sheer strength and power will terrify them. But not so for his people. We’ll love his strength and admire his power.

We’ll glory that he has made us his own and wields all authority in heaven and on earth for our deep and enduring joy—and he will lavish it on us forever in the life-giving proportions of true gentleness.

David Mathis is executive editor at desiringGod.org, pastor of Cities Church, and adjunct professor with Bethlehem College and Seminary in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is the author of The Christmas We Didn’t Expect. You can follow him on Twitter.

posted at: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/christ-gentleness/

Teaching A Counselee To Lament

By Wendy Wood

David and the Psalmists knew how to express their feelings to God.  We can see in the Psalms  the joyous exclamation of praise and worship as the authors rejoiced in the greatness and goodness of God.  But we also see the reality of sadness and grief expressed in the Psalms of lament.  The Psalmists show us how to take our feelings to God, whether those feelings are positive or negative.  Our culture wants us to believe that negative emotions are abnormal and can be “fixed” with medication or we should distract ourselves with a pleasurable experience.  But God's word tells us differently. The bible is full of real people with real emotions.  We see Tamar in shame and grief over a horrible evil that has been done to her.  We see Elijah discouraged and self-pitying sitting under a tree just after an amazing display of God’s power and presence.  David is sad and overwhelmed as he is pursued by Saul and his men looking to kill him.  Asaph, a worship leader, expresses bewilderment and confusion as it seems evildoers are prospering and he is not.  God invites us and shows us how to express our genuine feelings to Him and how to seek help and hope in times of sadness and grief.

Our counselees will benefit from learning that negative emotions are a normal part of life in a sin-cursed world.  Jesus expressed His troubled emotions in the Garden of Gethsemane.  If Jesus, who never sinned, experiences a distressed and troubled soul in this world, we too should expect times of difficulty and negative emotions.  Being sad is not wrong or sin.  Being grieved is a normal response to this world.  Our counselees need to see that God created us in His image, to experience the full range of emotions, and that God has purpose in our emotional responses.

God wants our emotions to draw us closer to Him.  God desires that we take our emotions to Him, to be honest and bold in our expressions of sadness and hurt.  God wants our dependence on Him when we are experiencing these emotions.  

The Biblical lament does not stop at the expression of emotion.  We are not to just sit in the depressed state of negative feelings, but are called to remember who God is, to recount His faithfulness through scripture and our lives, and to commit to trust God and His promises in the moment and for the future.  The Psalms were songs for public worship. The Psalmists expected that worshippers would feel scared, sad, overwhelmed and confused at times. David and the people of God sang about their sadness and grief and expressed hope in God corporately as a way of worship. Our counselees need to lament and come boldly to the throne of God to find hope and mercy (Hebrews 4:14-16).

I frequently use Psalm 13 and Psalm 73 as examples to teach counselees how to lament.  In following the pattern set out in scripture, a counselee can honestly express their hurt feelings and be met by a sympathetic High Priest in Christ who also has experienced those emotions (Hebrews 4:14-16).  They can experience the comfort and mercy from God that He offers to His children (2 Corinthians 1:3-8).  And they can declare the faithful works of God (Psalm 136) and declare His attributes and character (Psalm 103:6-14), and rest in the promises yet to come (1 Peter 5:10). A lament helps us remember that in this world, we will be sorrowful yet always rejoicing. The sorrow is real. We really do suffer. But the rejoicing is real, too, because God is God.

Psalm 13 is short and an easy pattern to follow. I suggest you start here with your counselee. 

Psalm 13

How Long, O Lord?

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

1. How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?

    How long will you hide your face from me?

2   How long must I take counsel in my soul

    and have sorrow in my heart all the day?

How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?

Verses one and two express the emotion.  The difficulty has been going on for a long time.  “How long?” asks David.  It feels like an eternity to David.  “How long will you hide your face from me?” expresses that it feels like God is distant and not answering David’s prayers.  David clearly states he is sorrowful.  He is upset that people around him are cruel and mistreating him.  David doesn’t sugarcoat the hardship he is going through.  But the key is that David goes to God.  He’s not complaining to a friend.  He’s not gathering support for his pity-party.  David goes to God and therefore demonstrates that He trusts God as the Sovereign One over the situation David finds himself in.  David goes to God because he knows that God loves him and has the power to act.

3   Consider and answer me, O Lord my God;

    light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death,

4  lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,”

    lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.

David then makes a request as a plea to God.  David needs help! “Consider and answer me” is a request for help that again demonstrates that he trusts God has the answers!   “Light up my eyes” is David asking for God to show him Truth and lead him through his difficult circumstances. David is trusting God’s justice in righting the wrongs of his enemies and trusts that God will vindicate him.  David shows faith in God through these requests.  He takes his feelings to the only One who can help him.

5  But I have trusted in your steadfast love;

    my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.

6   I will sing to the Lord,

    because he has dealt bountifully with me.

And then David worships!  David talks to himself.  He stops listening to his emotions and instead speaks to himself of God’s faithfulness and love.  He counsels his heart with Truth. What overflows from his heart is a beautiful statement of his faith and trust in God.  His circumstances haven’t changed yet.  His enemies still surround him.  He still has sorrow and difficulty, but David worships because God is always worthy of worship.

Assign a lament to your counselee.  Have them pattern a personal lament in this six verse format.  The first two verses should express the situation and feelings they are experiencing.  The second two verses should be a cry for help.  The last two verses are a declaration of truth and worship.   In this world we will have trouble, but God has not left us alone or without means to address every emotion we experience.

Meekness Assessment

Questions adapted from Martha Peace

Are you a meek person?

Am I more likely to think “This makes me angry!” or “What might God be doing in this situation”?  Proverbs 19:11

What would more likely come to mind - “Love is patient.  I can respond in a kind way and give glory to God.”  or “This irritates me!”  1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Which describes how you typically react?  Sighing and withdrawing in anger and frustration or in gentleness trying to help the other person to understand?  Colossians 3:12-13

1. Do you stop and ask yourself before responding…

   1. Why am I angry?

   2. What reason is there for all this emotion?

   3. Should I be so strongly reacting because of such a sudden provocation?Philippians 2:3-5, 1 Timothy 6:11

  While angry, do you ever reveal secrets, slander, make accusations, use reviling language, call names, or take God’s name in vain?  Titus 3:1-2

Are you more likely to play angry thoughts over and over in your mind or give the other person a blessing by praying for them?  Ephesians 4:31-32

Do you insist on clearing yourself when unjustly accused or do you entrust yourself to the One who judges justly?  1 Peter 2:23

Is it easy for you to acknowledge your error or do you insist on vindicating yourself?  1 Peter 5:5

Will you listen to someone’s reproof of you even if they are your inferiors (such as your child) or do you blame them?  Psalm 37:5-8

Do you struggle with anxiety and anger during or before your menstruation period and allow it to affect your words and actions?  Colossians 3:8-17

Do you think calm thoughts or are you in inner turmoil?   James 3;13

Do you deal gently with others showing patience and compassion or are you hard and unforgiving?    Colossians 3:13, Philippians 4:5

Do you enjoy life and love life or do you dread each day and fret and worry?  Philippians 4:6-7

Are you easily provoked or slow to anger?  Proverbs 31:26

Are your thoughts calm and rational or do you sometimes overreact to circumstances?  Ephesians 5:2, 1 Peter 2:11-12

Do you show compassion to fellow servants or exact payment for sins?  Matthew 18:21-35

Are you hasty with your words or do you take great care to think about how you respond?  Ephesians 4:29-30, James 4:1

Do you use anger, threats, or manipulation to those under your authority or do you give instruction in love?  Psalm 106:32-33

Do you err on the side of mercy when correcting those under your authority or are you harsh?   Psalm 103:8, 14

Do you grumble and complain at your present circumstances that disappoint you or are you grateful to God for what He is doing?  1 Thessalonians 4:11, Phil 4:12

Do you assume that others are intending to criticize or harm you or do you assume the best of others unless proven otherwise?  1 Cor 13:7-8

Are you becoming more aware of times when you are not gentle with others and when you are disputing with God?  1 Cor 10:12

When it is necessary to reprove another person, are you likely to lash out impulsively or more likely to gently try to help them to turn from their sin with goodwill, soft words, and objective arguments?  Galatians 6:1

Do you brood and become angry when you are persecuted for your faith or do you rejoice that God counted you worthy to suffer for His sake?   Matthew 5:11-12

Are you envious of sinners or do you place your trust in God?  Psalm 73:21-28

Do you become aggravated or frustrated with God over your circumstances or do you have great joy in serving Him on His terms?  Isaiah 45:9, Proverbs 19:3

The Incarnation

By Alex Croutworst

During Christmas we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ! This is the incarnation: God coming to earth as fully man and fully God. In Matthew chapter 1:18-21, we read about the birth of Jesus Christ. The angel appears to Joseph to tell him that Mary’s baby will be named Jesus, because He will save people from their sins. The name Jesus means “Savior.” This is what Jesus DOES for us. Jesus saves us from our sins.

As we continue reading in Matthew chapter 1, we see in verse 23 a quote from Isaiah 7:14, “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” The name Immanuel means “God is with us” or “God with us.” This name shows us that Jesus is WITH us. He is guiding and helping us. Even at the end of Jesus’s time on earth before He ascends into heaven, He promises to give His followers the Holy Spirit. That’s why He says in Matthew 28:20, “ ‘And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’ ” We receive the Holy Spirit of God when we repent of our sins and trust in Jesus as our Lord and Savior.

So, why is the incarnation important for followers of Jesus Christ? The writer of Hebrews says it clearly in Hebrews 2:17, “Therefore he [Jesus] had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.”

Jesus became human in every way (expect He did not sin) in order to represent us as our high priest, the final high priest! If the incarnation did not happen, Jesus could not have died for our sins on the cross. He could not have risen from the dead on the third day to defeat sins and death SO THAT we can have a relationship with a holy and righteous God. He could not have ascended into heaven and be seated at the right hand of God. And because He ascended into heaven and left earth, He sent the Holy Spirit to indwell us so that we can carry out God’ work on earth!

The incarnation is essential. That’s why we celebrate the birth of Jesus, the one who saves us and is with us!

Take some time to meditate on these scriptures that focus on the character of God:

· Humility of God – Hebrews 2:5-7

· Generosity of God – John 3:16-17

· Plan and Purpose of God – Colossians 5:15-20, Galatians 4:4-5

The Crucifixion of Christ

By Kaitlin Young

Years ago, I sat in the back of a Maundy (Holy) Thursday service in Le SacréCoeur in Paris, taking in the architecture, art, and music of this famous Catholic church while also attempting to listen to the service (and only successfully catching about every third word). For those who do not know of this celebration (I didn’t, until that day), it precedes Good Friday and commemorates the Last Supper and Jesus’ washing the disciples’ feet. It’s the beginning of the end of Jesus’ ministry on earth. While sitting in that pew, I reflected on what Jesus showed us during His ministry on earth, as well as what He endured as he prepared for the cross. As He sat and washed the filthy feet of the one who would betray Him. As He broke bread with His closest friends and knew it would be the last. Looking at the faces of those around the table who did not yet fully understand what would take place in the course of the next 24 hours.

Many of us have, at the very least, seen photos or clips of the crucifixion scene reenacted. The physical torment of lashings, thorns imbedded into his scalp, the burden of a 30 to 40-pound tree hauled to the place of his death, thick nails drove into his hands (likely, wrists), and feet (likely, heel bones). Being stripped of clothing, spit on, mocked and cursed, abandoned by some of those closest to Him, slowly suffocating. Dying devoid of human dignity in a manner saved for the lowest of society, adjacent to two convicted criminals. This man who did nothing wrong.

However, as we look back to what some now consider “Holy Thursday,” as an account in Scripture, there is even more to the crucifixion that must be considered. “And being in great agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” (Luke 22:44). Jesus prayed on the Mount of Olives to his heavenly Father that night, with whom He had never known anything but right relationship. He knew He was about to endure the full wrath of God for our sins. He was about to experience the fullness of separation from God.

“What happened at the cross, for those of us who claim to be its beneficiaries? It is beyond comprehension, of course. A three-year-old cannot comprehend the pain a spouse feels when cheated on. How much less could we comprehend what it meant for God to funnel the cumulative judgment for all the sinfulness of his people down onto one man…What is physical torture compared to the full weight of centuries of cumulative wrath absorption? That mountain of piled-up horrors? How did Jesus even retain sanity psychologically in absorbing the sum- total penalty of every lustful thought and deed coming from the hearts of God’s people-and that is one sin among many?” (Gentle and Lowly, pg. 199-200)

Remember that Christ endured all of this to display His glory and perfect love. As Pastor Koby reminded us on Sunday, this is the epitome of a demonstration that God FOR you. He is for you! “The gospel is not a way to get people to heaven; it is a way to get people to God. It’s a way of overcoming every obstacle to everlasting joy in God.” (God is the Gospel, pg. 47). Only through Him can we understand our true identity, purpose, and have a right relationship with our heavenly Father.

For this week, stop and take some time to meditate on the cross and all that it encompasses:

The Gospel accounts of the crucifixion can be found in Matthew 27:32-54, Mark 15:21-39, Luke 23:26-49, and John 19:16-37.

“…but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.” Romans 5:6-11

“who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” Philippians 2:6-8

And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. Luke 9:23

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. Galatians 2:20

1) Thank God for what He has done for you. Don’t do this flippantly – consider the weight of your sin and what it cost Him.

o “You will never make yourself feel that you are a sinner, because there is a mechanism in you as a result of sin that will always be defending you against every accusation…There is only one way to know that we are sinners, and that is to have some dim, glimmering conception of God.” (Martyn Lloyd-Jones)

§ Spend time reflecting on who God is. By knowing Him, we see ourselves more clearly. • Resource: Verse Study on the Attributes of God

2) Following Christ also means counting the cost to your own life. For those who know Him, you make a choice each day to follow Him.

o What areas of my life am I surrendered fully to God and living and desiring His glory?

- versus -

o What areas of my life am I living for myself? Some key questions to reveal this might be: § What sentences (either out loud or in your head) begin with, “I deserve…” or “I must have…” or “I have a right to…” or “I need…” (etc.)

3) Pick a verse listed above and commit to memorizing and meditating on this verse this week.

o Use a dry-erase marker to write it on your bathroom mirror – read 4- 5x while brushing your teeth, or each time you wash your hands.

§ Bonus: erase a couple words each day and see how much you remember.

o Make it your phone lock screen and read it every time you pick up your phone (before you do anything else with it!)

o Write it on an index card and tape it to your fridge – read every time you get a glass of water or make something to eat.

o Fighter Verse is a great app for memorizing.

o Pray through the verse each night

§ Do more than just memorize words – while it’s great to have God’s word stored in your heart, you need to use it.

Take time to ponder what you are reading, ask God to make this personal to you, and ask yourself what you need to change in your thinking, believing, and/or actions as a result of what you are learning from Scripture.

For further reading:

• God is the Gospel (John Piper)

• Gentle and Lowly (Dane Ortlund)

• The Attributes of God (AW Pink)

• None Like Him (Jen Wilken)

• Booklet: The Attributes of God (Brad Hambrick)

The Resurrection

By Jon Walker

A Devotion on 1 Corinthians 15

I Corinthians 15, sometimes known as the “resurrection chapter”, is Paul’s beautiful and logical explanation of the hope found in the resurrection of Jesus. A chapter that speaks to both head and heart. Making the appeal for the historical truth of the resurrection while showing its immense meaning for those who trust in Jesus for their salvation. It’s one of the longer chapters in the new testament but well worth the time read. Before going any further, read through 1 Corinthians 15, asking that God would give insight and understanding of His word.

Read 1 Corinthians 15

Context.

I Corinthians is a letter Paul wrote to a church he helped start in the Greek city of Corinth. This city was known in some ways as an ancient Las Vegas or Amsterdam where you could have “experiences” not available in other places. The phrase “to live as a Corinthian” was used in the ancient world to describe someone without moral rules. In short, it had a reputation. Plant in the middle of that: a church. From the letter Paul wrote it’s clear they really struggled to grow up in their faith and live holy amidst their culture. For most of the letter Paul is addressing how they treat one another, their bodies and their church. But he is now addressing a belief that was creeping into their church. It was being taught and believed by some that resurrection doesn’t happen. They still wanted Jesus but without His being raised from the dead. Paul’s point: that doesn’t work. At all. You cannot have a meaningful Jesus without the resurrection. That belief doesn’t logically hold together and it undermines every hopeful element of trusting in Christ. Without the resurrection all of Christianity falls apart and with it is held together. To better understand this there are three larger truth that we can see in an overview of 1 Corinthians 15.

The resurrection of Jesus happened. (verses 1-11)

To be a Christian is not to merely adhere to a set of ideals or teachings. Yes, we follow Jesus but we follow a resurrected Jesus. The claim of scripture that we all must make a decision about is that the resurrection happened. A real event, at a real moment in human history, witnessed by real people who saw the real resurrected body of Jesus with their own eyes. Touched him with their hands and trusted with their hearts. The resurrection sets Jesus apart and above any other. Merely our good teacher and He’s just another among many religious voices. But the resurrection proves the promise that His death does what scripture says: that it is the payment for and cleansing of the sin of anyone who believes.

Question: Do you trust the resurrection as a real event that means what God says it means?

The resurrection is our hope. (verses 12-57)

This is longest section and primary thrust of this chapter. Did you notice all of the “if/then” language when you read it? Paul uses a bit of compare and contrast to drive home just how different life is with or without the resurrection. Without it we are hopeless, stuck in our sin, pitiful and make God out to be liar as we await the (as one writer put it) “bully that always wins, death.” But with the resurrection it could not be more opposite. We have hope in the forgiveness of our sin, no fear of death and joyful expectation beyond this life. Hope in a biblical sense is not some empty sentiment to say to ourselves when times are hard. No, it’s the certainty of the fulfillment God’s promises based upon His perfect character.

Action:

1. Take a moment and make two columns. On the top of one write “If No Resurrection…” and the other write “If Resurrection.. Then fill in these two columns using verses 12- 57. For example “If no resurrection…then we only have hope in this life (v19)” or “If resurrection then…death does not win (v 55).

2. Take a look at the resurrection column and spend a few moments thanking God in prayer for all He does through it.

The resurrection gives our life meaning (v 58).

The resurrection means that we have boundless hope in death. But it doesn’t mean that we mentally escape here and now. If you are reading this then God still has you here for a reason. Part of what compels us to press on in this life, seeking to glorify God in all we do is the fact that this life isn’t all there is. What happens now does have eternal impact. This is shown in the final verse of the chapter when it begins with a “therefore”. Meaning that the instruction in verse 58 is the natural outpouring of the hope explained in verses 1-57. As C.S. Lewis said “If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this.” Yes, it is good that we trust the historical account of the resurrection and grow to understand the hope it provides but if we simply shelve those truths in our mind without it moving our heart to action then we have still fallen short.

Be encouraged that because of the resurrection of Jesus, this life isn’t the end and may that strengthen you to live for Him, in the difficulty of the here and now because one day you will see Him face to face.

Question: Do I treat the resurrection like an intellectual fact only, has it led me to live out what it says in verse 58?

The Ascension

By Wendy Wood

The Ascension shouts “Jesus is Alive!”  The ascension is the most overlooked aspect of the gospel but is vital to our faith.  After His death and resurrection, Jesus took His rightful place at the right hand of God.  As the Exalted One, Jesus continues to uphold and fulfill every aspect of His atoning work. Jesus is alive and actively completing the work that redeems God’s people as His own possession.  We need to remember and meditate on the living Christ in heaven.

There are two amazing truths that I want to focus on in this devotion.

First, Jesus intercedes for us.

“Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through

 him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.”    Hebrews 7:25

Jesus saves to the uttermost!  Uttermost means to the highest degree.  Jesus’ mercy and grace and forgiveness are to the highest degree. It’s not that we are just barely saved or that there is just enough grace to cover our sin.  Jesus’ sacrifice and on-going application of His grace is to the highest degree, more than enough to save us!   Jesus’ death on the cross took our punishment and removed the wrath of God from all who put their faith and hope in Him.  But He also continues His work as our Savior and Lord.  He always lives to make intercession for us.  Jesus prays for us.  Jesus pleads to God the Father on our behalf as our Savior and Lord. Dane Ortlund says, “Intercession is the constant hitting ‘refresh’ of our justification in the court of heaven”.  This is the on-going work of applying the saving grace He provided on the cross.  He is continually applying the grace we need moment to moment as He talks to the Father on our behalf.  He always is praying for us.  

How does this apply to your daily interactions?

• How does this change your thinking in the difficult moments of the day for you?  

• How might it change the way you think and feel about a disappointing conversation or a difficult moment with your spouse, child, boss, or friend?

• How might you respond differently when you are tempted to be angry or anxious?

• How does this encourage you when you are alone?

Second, Jesus is our advocate.

“My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”     1 John 2:1

Jesus not only prays for us all the time, but when we sin, He is also our advocate. Where an intercessor stands between two parties, an advocate takes one party’s side and they approach the other together.  An advocate is someone who speaks in favor of you or recommends you publicly.  Jesus continues the on-going work of salvation every single time we sin.  It’s not that God the Father continues to need His wrath removed from His children, but the heart of Christ (and God the Father) is so for His children that He continues to work on our behalf.  Jesus continues to extend the mercy and grace we need actively throughout our lives.  When we sin, Jesus is right there speaking in favor of us as His own.  We are encouraged to grow in our holiness at the beginning of 1 John 2:1.  “I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin.”  But God wants us to truly know His heart for us.  God continues to rescue and move toward us even in our sin.  God the Father continues to provide for us.  When we sin, “we have an Advocate, Jesus Christ the righteous.”  If you are in Christ, you are covered by the Righteous One and He speaks on your behalf.

How does this apply to your everyday life? 

• When you sin, do you realize Jesus is your advocate, right then and there?

• Are you tempted to try to hide sin and not run to His throne for grace and mercy?

• How does this encourage you to repent quickly when you sin and to work to put off that nagging sin in your life?

• How might this change your response when your spouse, child, boss, or co-worker sins against you?

Jesus always lives to make intercession for  you.  And when you sin, Jesus is your advocate.  Celebrate how much Jesus loves you and the way He saves you to the uttermost because He is alive today and forever!