I DID IT

Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge.  Psalms 51:4

 

It was a visit I did not relish.  I’d discovered that one of my colleagues had been “unmasked,” and it was necessary to learn the truth.  In my work, calling and integrity are characteristics critical to effective ministry, and the integrity of my friend was being called into question.

There were numbers of troubling factors to consider.  The events had occurred several years ago, but they were just coming to light.  My charismatic friend readily charmed everyone she met.  There seemed no reason to doubt her veracity and professions of repentance.

Here were some things we had to process:  my friend’s confession occurred after the egregious wrong was discovered.  As we talked, I was told that the problems were being exacerbated because “someone was out to get her.”  And then there was the finger-pointing and self-pity.

It was easy enough to find a case with some relevance.  King David lustfully took what wasn’t his when he saw beautiful Bathsheba bathing on the roof of her house.  David was told that she was married but violated her and then sent her home.  When she notified David that she was pregnant, he sent for her husband, one of his outstanding warriors. Faithful Uriah refused to go home to his wife while the armies of Israel were still out in the field.  Finally, David plotted to have Uriah killed and gave Uriah the message that would lead to his own death.

God was angry with David reminding him of all he’d done in and for him.  As the prophet Nathan spoke to him, David was crushed and confessed, “I have sinned against the Lord” (II Samuel 12:13).  David went on to compose the 51^st Psalm in which he writes, “Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge…  Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow…  Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.  Do not cast me away from your presence and do not take your Holy Spirit from me.”

David didn’t blame anyone for his sin; he didn’t make excuses; he didn’t point fingers; and he didn’t try to justify himself.  He accepted responsibility for his behavior and understood the grief his sin had caused God who loved him most.  David repented.  Perhaps he had felt remorse before God’s Spirit confronted him through the prophet, but when faced with truth, David knew he was guilty.

My friend hasn’t yet learned the difference between remorse and repentance.  She is sorry she was caught, but she hasn’t recognized the pride that blocks true confession—“I have sinned against the Lord.”  She doesn’t yet weep over her sin. She weeps over the cost of her “unmasking.”  Until she is able to grieve for her sin, she can’t move forward into truth and freedom.  And there will be no deep healing.

There will continue to be anger at those who exposed her rather than the joy of receiving God’s forgiveness, mercy, and grace.  But God who is willing to forgive will wait and will possibly send friends like me to love and walk with her until she is ready to take responsibility for her sin.  God is good; he can make a way; and he is remarkable in his ability to restore.

 

Father, how much we all need your Spirit to guide us and to convict us when we sin.  Thank you that you are able to keep us from falling.  Help us to live and move and have our being in you so that we walk consistently in your righteousness and bring you glory.  And help my friend; give her understanding and a willing heart.  In Jesus’ name.  AMEN.

A GOOD WORD (OR TWO)

I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.  II Timothy 1:12b  (KJV)

 

 

At the outset of a New Year, it seems good to consider the security of our families and ourselves in this rapidly changing cultural, political, and spiritual environment.  As the gatekeepers of our households, how will we guard and provide for the welfare of those we love?  How will we keep them safe?

In the Middle Ages it was common for the nobility to erect towers as part of the fortification of their castles.  These towers, called keeps, were built of wood or stone and often served as places of last resort when outer defenses fell to attackers.  From Ireland to Wales, throughout England, France, and Spain, there remain vestiges of these early structures.  Tourists love to explore the ruins and imagine the stories held secret in the decay.

While physical security may not be the primary danger to present-day western families, at every turn there seem to be assaults upon our core beliefs, family values, institutions, and even our way of life.  Today’s parents of young children and teens have to be especially “wise as serpents and harmless as doves” in dealing with today’s threats (Matt. 10:16).  Information (and mis-information) barrages all of us relentlessly, while political correctness is a constant challenge.  It’s critical to our spiritual health that we know how to discern and keep ourselves and our loved ones.

The word keep can be used both as a noun and as a verb with God’s Word giving us plenty of indication of his and our responsibilities in this keeping relationship.  To begin with, there are numerous injunctions of what God expects of us, his covenant people.  For example, we are to keep his commandments (Ex. 20:1-17; Deut. 7:12, 29:9; I Chron. 28:8, John 14:15, 23), and in exchange, he promises to keep us, show us mercy, and prosper us (Deut. 7:12, 29:9; II Chron. 6:14).  In Psalm 91:11 God says his angels will have charge of us and will keep us in all our ways while Proverbs 3:26 says that he will keep our foot from being taken, referring to physical (and spiritual) protection.  (The 91^st Psalm, sometimes called the Soldier’s Psalm, is often prayed for those on the battlefield.)

While I appreciate the promises for mercy and physical oversight, I particularly relish those verses that refer to mental, emotional, and spiritual protection.  God has promised to keep us in his perfect peace when we trust him and stay focused on him (Isa. 26:3).  This supernatural peace that cannot be understood (because it only comes from God) will keep our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus (Phil. 4:7).  It follows, then, that remaining at peace is a product of abiding confidently and securely in Christ.

And if we ever get concerned about losing our place in him, Jesus prayed that his Father would keep us from evil (John 17:15).  Of course, we have to exercise our own will and cooperate with his leading, but he can be trusted to do his part.  Finally, Jude 24 describes Jesus’ power as able to keep us from falling, and to present us faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy.  That is the ultimate protection, and these verses are only a smattering of God’s expressions for guarding, for keeping, his children.

They are good words to ponder for ourselves and to teach our children and grandchildren as we go forth into this New Year:  obedience and trust results in being kept.  Just like those families in the Middle Ages, we, too, can run to our strong place of safety and protection—but ours is one that never fails.

 

Father, thank you for so many precious promises that give us life and hope.  May we glorify you as we trust your keeping power.  In Jesus’ name.  AMEN.

THERE’S ALWAYS MORE

 

I am come that they might have life, and that they might have [it] more abundantly.  John 10:10  (KJV)

 

 

I just read about a lady who was known for her extraordinary Christian maturity.  One day her pastor asked her to preach the Sunday sermon believing that her experience would be instructive to the congregation.  On the Sunday when the lady rose to speak, her sermon was short and sweet.  “Dear Friends,” she began, “there’s always more.”  And with that, she sat down.

Just begin to ponder that simple message:  there’s always more.  The God of the Infinite, the one who promised to meet all our needs, the Alpha (beginning) and the Omega (ending), the great Creator never operates in scarcity.  He never runs out of any resource—of love, of grace, of mercy, of patience, of whatever we need.  And there’s no end to the delights of knowing him.

Think of what this means in your present circumstance.  As a parent, spouse, friend, employer:  there’s more wisdom, there’s more understanding, there are more ideas, there’s more love…  As an intellectual:  there’s more to contemplate, there’s more to learn, there’s more to investigate, there’s more for growth…   As a leader:  there’s more direction, there’s more discernment, there are more resources, there’s more creativity…  As a disciple:  there’s more to discover, there’s more to obey, there’s more to abandon, there’s more to enjoy…  We could fill in the blanks indefinitely.  Suffice it to say, that in Christ, there is abundance.

Lest we consider God as having limited resources, just look at his provision for the Children of Israel in the wilderness; for Elijah in hiding; for Ruth in Bethlehem; for David in his wanderings; for Israel in exile; for feeding the four thousand and five thousand; for rescuing you and me; and for the times he is always there for his people.  His hand is not shortened that he cannot save nor is he deaf that he cannot hear our prayers (Isaiah 59:1).

We sometimes treat our spiritual beings as add-ons.  They’re peripheral to our real lives.  But Jesus says I’ve come to give you abundant life, more than we’re currently experiencing.  If we’re not living in abundance, there’s more.  God has more for us than we can think or imagine and waits for us to move beyond our impoverished selfishness into his endless provision of more.  Wherever we find ourselves, there’s always more.  Dare we take the challenge?

 

Father, charge our spiritual imaginations that we reach out in faith to you to receive more from your goodness.  Move us beyond our spiritual poverty into the richness we have in Christ Jesus.  Gratefully, we pray in Jesus’ name.  AMEN.

JUDGING

 

For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.  Matthew 7:2  (NIV)

 

My friend Maria was traveling in South America in a city known for its high crime rate.  She had a business appointment and wanted to reach her destination as soon as possible.  She noticed that the cab driver had been traveling a circuitous route from the time he picked her up.  Having lived a number of years in New York where cabbies would often drive out of their way in order to hike rates, Maria became rather annoyed but didn’t say anything.  She later learned that kidnappings occurred whenever someone stopped for a red light, and her driver had been turning a different direction any time he saw the red lights—to keep her safe.

How often do we make judgments of people based on our personal experiences or evaluation of their character?  Jesus told us that we are not to judge (Matt. 7:1), and if we do, we’ll be judged by the same measure.  Do we look at others with mercy and compassion, making allowances for background or circumstances?

What about the rule of love?  Love doesn’t dishonor others; it doesn’t delight in evil; it protects and hopes; and it never fails (I Cor. 13).  The Golden Rule that we like to have applied to ourselves should remind us that “what goes ‘round comes ‘round.”  Let us love, not judge.  Besides, Oswald Chambers says there’s always one more thing you don’t know about that other person…

 

Father, thank you for the grace that covers us.  If you should mark iniquities, who would stand?  We’ve all fallen short of your righteousness and constantly need your mercy.  Help us, in turn to be merciful.  In Jesus’ name.  AMEN.