Sunday Post-Game (March 25, 2012)

Yesterday was a milestone in our history as we kicked off two services! And by God's grace it went really well.

Our Volunteers are Awesome Our church has grown to the size now where there are a great many of our volunteers that I've never actually met. So, when I find someone who's face I know but name I don't turning up quite early on a Sunday to setup, I'm struck with gratitude. Our teams (and their leaders) did an outstanding job. It looked like we'd been doing this for years.

Pruning Hurts but It's Necessary I'll admit, part of me wasn't looking forward to two services. I mean, a full house just feels better than a less full house. But full houses can also make you lazy. "Oh look at us, we're so full this Sunday..." and motivation to scatter is sapped. In going to two services, we're not only creating more room for more people to worship Jesus. We're creating a small visual reminder that we all have a role to play in that. Prune the fruitful branch and what happens? Pain. But after the pain, more fruit.

Thank our Teams All our teams worked hard(er) yesterday. So, when you see someone next weekend carrying a gigantic speaker, teaching our kids, or welcoming guests, thank them for their service. Heck, invite them out to coffee, get to know them. Show some love to those who show it often.

You probably don't know this (because there's no reason you should) but the story of Cain and Abel was the very first text of Scripture I ever preached. Since first thinking about this story, it's never ceased to amaze me just how unapologetically real, raw, and uncensored the Bible is. Here are some lingering thoughts for your perusal.

Cain Thought God Owed Him You can see Cain's heart in the way he reacted to a "no" from God. Cain thought (like many of us) that God is obliged to accept us. We deserve a shot. We deserve acceptance. Cain was wrong, and so are we. God owes us nothing. That he gives us goodness at all should tell us what kind of good, loving, gracious sovereign we actually have.

Self-Pity is Sin When Cain was told no, first he got angry. His anger gave way to a puddle of self-pity in which he wallowed. Anger and self-pity are emotions we experience when we feel that someone has wronged us. Cain felt like God wronged him. Abel wronged him. He deserved to be angry. He deserved to be pitiful. This is the blindness that sin creates. It covers our ability to see that we, yes us, are the problem. Self-pity is sin.

No one Else to Blame Cain murdered Abel. Cain. It wasn't like he was from a bad part of town. There wasn't a bad culture. No poor schools to blame. No bad group of friends. We're so quick to look around at something other than our nature to blame for depravity. But this story won't let us. It's just the nature of this fallen human, one generation from paradise. The problem isn't (primarily) school, government, sex, drugs, rap music, friends, mom, dad, him, or her. It's you. It's me.

The Righteous Guy Died I realize that at any given moment there's someone on TV with a great suit and a plexiglass pulpit who'd like to sell you his book all about how if you're righteous and live by faith nothing bad will ever happen to you. The Bible, however, knows nothing of such nonsense. Abel was the first guy outside of Eden who was righteous by faith. And he was murdered. Doesn't seem fair? Not what you thought? How could a loving God? Remember, the inheritance of righteous in the next life is good enough to overshadow his temporary suffering in this one. It's a shadow and the sun. The sun shines the shadows away and the shadow leaves nothing but a memory.

The Righteous Guy (Figuratively) Rose Cain's line turned out to have lots of culture and no righteousness. Where was the promised redeemer of Genesis 3 coming from? From the line of Abel. Abel died, but Seth was born in his place. Figuratively speaking, the righteous line rose from death. Sound familiar? It should, because just as Cain killed Abel in sin, we killed Christ. Just as the ground opened to receive Abel's blood, Christ when into the ground. And just as Seth was born to take his place, Jesus came back to life so that all who might call on the name of the Lord would be saved.

You and Future You

You're an achiever. You're here for a purpose and you know it. You've got a plan, and you don't understand those who don't. You are busy building future you. My city is full of people like you. Heck, my house is full of people like you. People like you are people like me, and we are, by default, living for the future version of ourselves. This is my natural mode. Call it a strength, decry it as a weakness—it's who I am. And largely speaking, it's who much of my city happens to be. We live today for tomorrow. And tomorrow we'll be living for the days following.

For me, the rabbit hole goes deeper. I have lists. My lists have lists. There are books I hope to write. Churches I hope to plant. Degrees I've yet to attain. Sermons I'm still to craft ...and that's just work me. Dad me and husband me have lists too. Conversations I've yet to have with my daughters. Adventures with my sons. Dates with my wife. Today I'm thinking about those things. All of those things. I think about all of those things every day. All of the things that future me will do. All of the goals future me will accomplish. All of the ways future me will be better.

And I sort of hate it.

Don't get me wrong, I love achieving. Most achievers do. But hidden within the God-given grace to get it done is a liability so sharp that you can hardly feel it cutting you. That is, until it's in so deep that you're hemorrhaging joy. You achieve and achieve, thinking that tinge of pain is nothing that can't be made better with a little more doing. Then you wake up one day and you feel it before you've done anything. You're already behind. It's 5:30am and you're already oppressed by the lists that future you is demanding you accomplish if you're going to be him one day. You've been cut. Now you're bleeding joy all over the floor.

The future version of yourself is a good guy, but he's a terrible god. He inspires you with his greatness—at least, the selfish, narcissistic you. But when you fail him, his knife awaits. Your holy book is your list, your worship is your work, and your reward is yourself—the "you" you so desperately hope to be.

O fellow achiever, hear these words well as I shout them in the chasms of my own soul:

The present Jesus is better than the future me.

Say it often. Say it in the morning when you already feel behind. Say it after accomplishing a great goal and your joy is full. Say it in the silent daily moments when your lists are pressing in. Say it before you sleep your short, efficient rest. He is better than you, even future you.

Jesus is a better God than future me, or future you. His holy book is the gospel, our worship is our joy, and our reward—thank God—is not ourselves. It is him. Glorious, gracious, God. When you please him and do all your list, remember that without his grace you'd accomplish nothing. When you fail him and your list is undone, remember that he is there with limitless grace for failures. The glory of God isn't in make the good better or the achiever more efficient. The glory of God is to make dead live. So, die to future you. Then, let Jesus make you live again.

Sunday Post-Game (March 18, 2012)

In the book of Jeremiah, the message of God was described as the burden of the Lord. Approaching the topic of the fall, that's exactly how I felt—burdened. Having spent a good amount of time thinking and praying through the roots of our fallenness, a few thoughts occur...

If Sin Doesn't Break our Hearts, then our Hearts are Already Broken. That is, if we are not emotionally moved by what we encounter in Genesis 3, then there's something wrong with us. Everything we hate, every injustice, and every sad fact is rooted in the rebellion and curses of Genesis 3. If we don't feel the weight of that, then something has happened to our capacity to feel anything.

Modifying Behavior will Never, Ever Work. The religious response to sin will never succeed in dealing with it, because sin is deeper than our actions. Sin is rooted in our autonomy and foolishness.

All Sin Begins with Autonomy Contrary to popular opinion, autonomy is not a virtue, but a damnable vice. Autonomy ("self-law") is the insistence that our own, individual capacity to reason is as authoritative as God's revelation. It's living life unhitched from God's lordship and leadership. This is the exact opposite of the way our minds should work. It's unreasonable to reason out from under the source of all reason (God). Yet, for us to sin, that's precisely what we must do: think independently from God. Eve did this when she saw that the fruit was desirable with her own eyes. Not God's eyes. Hers.

Autonomy Makes us Fools Once we've decided—even implicitly—to be our own masters (autonomous), then all our best wisdom will be foolishness. The Scriptures say that Christ is the wisdom of God by which the world was founded. True wisdom is found in the fear and reverance of the Lord. If we reject him, then what we think will make us wise really ends up making us fools. Eve thought the fruit would make her wise, but in the end she just became a fool, and we followed her.

Disobedience is the Visible Fruit of Autonomy and Foolishness On the surface, sin looks like all the bad things we do. Yet, we can't make it to bad behavior before we become autonomous fools. To change, something must be done about that deep, fibrous root of autonomy.

Jesus Rescues Autonomous, Foolish, Lawbreakers Jesus is better than Adam. He passed the test of temptation. Adam did not. He perfectly obeyed the law of God. Adam did not. He was not autonomous, but only did what his Father said. He lived his life submitted to God, full of wisdom, acting in obedience. If we trust him and ask him, all his perfection can be ours by faith.

The coming weeks hold great momentum and growth for all of us. But our growth will require faith and hard work. I can't wait until next week when we kick of two services at Aletheia!

Sunday Post-Game

Yesterday at Aletheia we kicked off our new teaching series in the book of Genesis. It was a great start, and I'm more excited than ever to dig into this crucial book. But the fact is, the scope of the book of Genesis is beyond what sermons and Sundays can capture. This 50 chapter book covers more time than any other book of the Bible. Taken in its most natural sections, I could happily find myself preaching through this book for 7 years. Let's be honest. No one really was begging me to do that. So, we wrote a book for you, hoping it would empower and encourage you to do some digging yourself.

The Point The main theme of Genesis 1-2 is simple: God creates. In those two words lie volumes of theological beauty, some of which we explored yesterday. These two words confront us with the fundamental reality of God, and his rights as creator to write our story. None of us get to self-define. None of us get to take God's good gifts and redefine them. Creation, humanity, marriage, sex, and work—all of these are good gifts, made by a good God, for a good purpose, within a good context. If God creates, then we don't get to change them, because they are not ours to change.

Secondary Issues There are some other issues that we bring to this text that—in my opinion and those of my commentators—are not the main point of the text. That doesn't mean that we shouldn't ask these questions, but it does mean that when we do, we must realize that the text wasn't written to answer these questions, primarily.

• Age of the Earth - This is an interesting in-house debate among Christians. What does Genesis teach regarding the age of the earth? Broadly, there are two camps: young earth and old earth. While there are dozens of varying theories within each heading, a few issues come up. Young earth advocates will point out that the text, read most naturally, leads us to think that God made the earth in six, literal, 24-hour-day periods. The best arguments I've seen for this position come from Answers in Genesis. More popular these days is the Old-Earth position. This view tends to synthesize some degree of evolution and modern cosmology with the biblical witness. Good work on this view can be found from Reasons to Believe. This is an old, often passionate debate. Before you dive in remember: unity in the essentials (creation, christology, the gospel), diversity in the non-essentials (age of the earth), and in all things charity (love those with whom you disagree).
• Evolution - Not surprisingly, neo-darwinian synthesis, DNA, and the exact date of the Cambrian Explosion are not mentioned in Genesis 1-2. Why? Because this work was written to Israel en route to the promised land, not to the director of the NIH. However, the scriptures do give us some guidelines on how to think about evolution. If God creates, then we cannot think of evolution in the way our atheistic counterparts do. It cannot be blind, merciless, and infinitely creative. (Creativity, by the way, can never be the product of a process, but only of a mind...) A lot of good work has been done on this topic. My favorite few books that open this up are Signature in the Cell (Meyer), Three Views on Creation, and Darwin's Black Box (Behe). Before you grind your axe over your favorite view, read. Always a good idea.
• The Goodness of Sex, Love, and Marriage - The Scriptures have a lot to say about sex, love, and marriage. These are all good gifts that God gave us for with a good context. Last year, I wrote my first book on the topic, and I'd like to shamelessly self-promote it to you.

Growth Recently, we've experienced a real surge of numerical growth in Sunday attendance. For that grace, I'm grateful. This has caused us to launch a second service, and think more about the future. Here are my thoughts about our growth:

• Everything good comes from God, and I'm not him. While your pastors are God's people, this growth is a gracious gift from our King, not due to primarily to any awesomeness on our part. So, make Jesus your rockstar, not your leaders.
• This increases our responsibilities. More people means more lives to steward and more disciples to make. So don't just sit back and watch the show. Get involved, get trained, and make disciples.
• Growth must always be rhythmic to be sustained. We must grow toward God in holiness, sanctification, and worship, and toward others in love, mission, and discipleship.
• Pray. Pray all the time. Pray that we'd make disciples, plant churches, reach campuses, and do more for the Kingdom as God gives more to us.

I'm pumped, people. Simultaneously grateful and more determined than ever, I'm ready for a great week alongside you.

Prayer & Fasting, Day 40: God Will.

I am watching over my word to perform it. (Jeremiah 11:12) I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose, (Psalm 51:6).

I, the Lord, do not change. (Malachi 3:6).

He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! (Revelation 22:20).

Have you ever worked on a project with someone who wasn’t dependable? Because they were flaky, you couldn’t depend on them. When they worked, their work was good, but you couldn’t really depend on them to be the same person or do the same job from one day to the next. Sound familiar? Maybe you know someone like that. Or, maybe you are someone like that.

We began be seeing that God is, and today we end by remembering that God will. All the different attributes of God, all of the acts of God, and all of the will of God will be accomplished. We do not have to doubt. We do not have to fear. There is no need for worry. God will be himself forever, and he will never, ever stop accomplishing his will.

This has two implications. First among them is this: because God will, we can. Who wants to work for a company that’s crashing? Who wants to sail a sinking ship? The fact that God will always remain fully himself gives us great confidence when we seek to do his will. He won’t leave us. He won’t change his mind. He is watching over his word to perform it. Therefore, working with him is always 100% guaranteed to bear fruit.

Additionally, we can rest. Because God will never change; because his plans never fail, we don’t have to be anxious. Rest is possible, because God will. Even when we don’t God will. Even when we fail, God will. Even if we’re incapable, God will. He looks into the world and says with full assurance, “My counsel will stand. I will accomplish my purpose.”

The life, death, resurrection, and promised return of Jesus are proof positive that God will. Will what? Will save, will love, will be uncompromisingly himself ... will stop at nothing to see his people redeemed. As we stare wonderingly into the attributes of God, may our hearts be ever convinced that the God we’re coming to know is the God who will never change, forever reign, and will always be fully himself.

Only when our hearts are captivated by the God who will can we fully be what he’s calling us to be. We can work because he will work. We can rest because he will accomplish. We can know him because he will always be the same.

Eternal God, thank you for doing and being all you will do and be. Thank you that you do not change. Thank you that you will always reign. The more I see of you the more I know I can work, because you will work with me. The more I work with you the more I can rest, because I know it is you who will accomplish your will. So God, I rest all my hope and peace in you. You will, so I can. 

Praise you, God. Amen.

Prayer & Fasting, Day 39: God is Truth.

God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it? (Number 23:19) Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being,and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart. (Psalm 51:6).

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14).

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6).

Our culture is preoccupied with truth. We’re the kind of people who love to get to the bottom of things. We like our 20/20 exposé specials. We want to know the inside scoop. We value people with lots of degrees who’ve studies the facts. In short, we want to know that what we know is true.

But what about who we know? Are we as concerned that who we know is true?

This question may sound strange to you, but it wouldn’t sound strange to Jesus. Jesus introduced himself to humanity using a word that up to that time had never been attributed to a person. He called himself truth.

This makes us squirm a bit. We’re used to fact-truth. Truth comes in bullet points. We read truth on paper. We can’t know truth as a friend, can we? After all, truth is definitely propositional. That 2+2=4 is a fact that is true, but impersonal. I’m not friends with 2. I don’t get angry at 4. But Jesus says something fundamentally mindblowing. He says that he is truth.

God is not like us. He doesn’t lie. He doesn’t exaggerate. He tells the truth, because he is the truth. All truth derives from God, because God is the truth. He doesn’t just know truth “out there,” as though “2+2=4” was hanging out before he got around to creation. He is truth. And this fact is extremely important to us.

First, it means that any real search for truth will find its fulfillment in Jesus. Jesus has revealed himself to us full of grace and truth. That means that he’s knowable, and is inviting us to know him too.

This also means that lying is a big deal, because it isn’t just something God doesn’t like, it’s opposed to his very nature. Therefore, God wants his people to be gracious truth-tellers, just as Jesus was.

Finally, God’s truth-ness means that we can truly know him. Knowing God isn’t a game. It’s not a religious manipulation. We don’t have to worry about the next 20/20 special uncovering something false about him. If we know Jesus, we can be at peace in our souls. We know the truth, and in knowing him, we are now free.

Prayer & Fasting, Day 38: God is Listening.

...if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7:14) And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. (Matthew 6:5-7).

And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne, and the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel. (Revelation 8:3-4).

“If God already knows everything that’s going to happen, then why pray?” Sometimes this question comes from an honest curiosity. Many times, however, it comes from our own hearts when we feel like our prayers are hitting the ceiling. “After all,” we begin to think, “God’s strong enough to get his will done without us. So, it doesn’t really matter, does it?” This is the first step down a slippery slope that leads to our spiritual apathy.

Does God know the future? Yes. Does God control the events of the future? Yes. Does that therefore mean that we shouldn’t pray? No. Why? Because God is a listening God, and he delights to act in history in response to our prayers.

The times of the kings of Israel were marked with great highs and some startling lows. In the midst of this roller coaster, God made a promise to his people. If they would humble themselves, turn from sin, and seek him in prayer, God would listen. The same is true today.

But of course, we don’t believe that God will really just listen to us. That’s why we decorate our simple cries to our Father with extra, superfluous, religious language. We don’t really believe that God is good enough to know us and our needs intimately. We work those religious reflexes in a vain attempt to get God’s attention. What we don’t realize is that this lack of faith in God’s listening skills actually shuts his ears to us.

Christian, God is listening. He hears and he answers your prayers. “But I’ve been praying for years and he still hasn’t come through.” Now think of that for a moment. If my children ask me for something, I will often say, “Yes, but later.” Why should we be surprised if God says the same thing. Sometimes, God tells us “no,” and other times, “yes.” Whatever we pray, we always get an answer, because God has a will concerning everything we bring to him.

In Revelation, we’re told that our prayers arise before God like sweet smelling incense. Another image is that these prayers fill up bowls, which God pours back out when he answers us. What’s the point? The point is that God takes our prayers seriously. He hears. He listens. And, because of Christ, we know that he responds. The promise he gave us is that our “heavenly Father already knows what we need.” He has provision prepared for our prayers. Let us then happily and humbly ask him.

Prayer & Fasting, Day 35: God is Returning.

I will give them a heart to know that I am the Lord, and they shall be my people and I will be their God, for they shall return to me with their whole heart.
(Jeremiah 24:7). The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.
(Matthew 18:3-4)

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.”
(Revelation 21:1-5). In the beginning, God and man walked together as friends; partners in the world. This was short lived, as we know. When we brought sin into our world, we pushed God out. But ever since then, he’s promised a return.

In the Old Testament, we can find a lot of promises like the one in Jeremiah. God promised to come not only to rule his people externally as their king. He promised to live with them internally as their beloved God. What sin separated, God was repairing. He would come to his people, and they would come to him.

This work was completed in Jesus Christ. God came to be with humanity. He taught us. He suffered for us. He died for us. He rose for us. Before returning to his Father, Jesus made another promise—he would return. God would come back to bring an end to the work of redemption. God would return.

In the two thousand years between Jesus’ words and today, many have begun to live as though Jesus wasn’t serious. It’s not unlike those people who wait outside the store on the night before black Friday. They spend so much time waiting that many of them start to live in the line. They bring tents, provisions, and start to live as though the line was the point. How we do the same! We get so moved in to our moment on earth that we act as though we don’t really believe there is a greater day coming when all this will change.

Be assured, God is returning. This is both good and bad. For those who find their joy and refuge in Jesus Christ, seeing him will be the consummation of their delight. Happiness and peace will flood their yearning souls like a tidal wave. But for those who’ve lived shortsightedly, imagining that this life is final reality, Jesus will be a terror.

This reality changes the way we live. Knowing that Jesus is returning first means that we who delight in him can hold our “stuff” with open hands. We can be generous with money, food, and resources because this treasures won’t last. It also means that our individual purposes fit under, not over, a high one. God is not excited about the wicked perishing. In fact, in the gospel he’s make provision for their rescue. So, whatever our purpose in life, it must be subservient to God’s purposes to rescue the lost. And finally, the coming of the Lord fills us with peace. When Jesus returns, he’ll take care of every injustice. He’ll right all wrongs. He’ll beautify the ugliest brokenness among us. Therefore, we can rest assured that our work for him on the earth will actually, in the end, last.

Today, let us see heaven’s coming in our distant vision. Pray that God would bring into your far sight the coming of his son. If he does, then the way you live will change.

Prayer & Fasting, Day 33: God is Gracious.

The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. 
(Psalm 103:8). Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 
(Matthew 18:3-4)

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 
(Ephesians 2:8-9).

Grace is simultaneously the most sublimely simple yet frequently misunderstood idea in Scripture. Everything within us fights grace. We want to work. We want people to get what they deserve—especially those people who hurt us. We want to believe so, so desperately that we get what we deserve, and what we deserve is good.

Grace is different. The comparison between religion and grace is as stark as light and darkness. Religion says, “do,” while grace says, “done.” Religion says, “work so God will love you,” while grace says, “you’ve been loved so much, let’s get to work.” But what does this means, really? What is grace?

Grace is that unmerited, free, generous kindness from God to us. It’s not a substance like air or water. It’s a part of God’s nature—to be kind to his enemies, and to love those who are far off. God’s greatest display of grace was, of course, when we gave up the life of his son to save mine and yours. We are saved by grace, not by works of religion. Have you any idea exactly how much that means you are loved, Christian? Have you considered the sheer volume of God’s affections for you, that he treats you not as you deserve, but as Christ deserves? What grace.

And yet, our hearts are so naturally resistant to grace. We are cynics of grace so often. “God couldn’t save me,” we might say, “I’ve done too much.” Our hearts machine excuses that supposedly disqualify us from God’s grace. But all that really does is show us our desperate need for it. How can we possibly shed this hardness of heart? How can we really begin to open up ourselves to the possibility of God’s grace?

Jesus gave us some great examples of grace-getters. This group of people are professional happy love-takers. Totally dependent, they never bother to fool themselves into thinking they don’t need help. In fact, they ask for it all the time. Who are they? Children.

Jesus said that unless we approach his grace the way children approach life, then we won’t get it. Children are humble—that is, they are aware that they need, well, everything to be given to them. My children wake up every morning and ask me for breakfast. They’ve never, ever gone without it. And yet, they always ask. Why? Because every morning they’re hungry. Do I begrudge them for this? No, I make them breakfast because I’m their dad and I love them. Is it so different with God? Surely the distance between us and God is greater than the handful of years that separate me from my kids. How much more, then, are we in need of him?

O Christian, come to Jesus for fresh grace today. He’s not looking to you to try harder on your own. He wants so much to serve up a fresh measure of his grace each morning to you, would you but ask. So today, ask him.

Prayer & Fasting, Day 31: God is Worthy.

I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies. 
(Psalm 18:3). I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 
(Romans 12:1)

Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands,  saying with a loud voice,“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain,
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might
and honor and glory and blessing!” 
(Revelation 5:11).

I remember watching a television show about a woman who was a “couponer.” She reported to the interviewer to have spent around 25-30 hours per week clipping, saving, and sorting coupons, all in an effort to get as much free stuff as she could. After watching this for a while, I said to my wife, “If she spent that time working, she probably wouldn’t have to cut coupons. It wouldn’t be worth it.”

But of course, I’m just like that woman. There are many things that I do, ways I spend my time, that are simply unworthy (or worth-less) endeavors. You and I could, if we were honest, fill a list with some of the unworthy things we do. But God is nothing like that. God is totally, completely, always, worthy.

In English, the word, “worthy,” is related to the word, “worship.” That is, we worship what we find to have the most worth—what’s most valuable to us. And in the Scriptures we find over and over again that God is the most worthy being in existence. Therefore, he is worth our worship. David picked up on this in his statement, “I call upon the Lord who is worthy to be praised...” That is, God is worth being called upon. He’s the most valuable, excellent being in existence. So, I call on him. The result: salvation. The most worthy being is worth calling upon because he is more important, more weighty, and holds more value than anything which assails us. In worshipping him, we declare war on the worthless enemies of distraction, smallness, and meaninglessness.

In fact, God is so worthy of worship that he’s even more valuable than life itself. In Romans, Paul exhorts his audience to present their bodies to God as a living sacrifice. Why? Because it is the right way to worship such a God. He was so convinced that a life lived in total obedience to God was worth more—was better—than a life lived for self, that he said, “Just go ahead and consider yourselves dead to everything but God himself. That’s worship.” Wow.

But of course, that’s our destiny. Heaven is filled with countless beings who will be crying out for a thousand forevers, “Worthy!” God is worth all our worship, all our work, all our lives. There is no one like him. No one better. No one mightier. No one more lovely. No one. He, alone, is worthy, and from him to all other things find their subsequent value.

And this begs the question, do we really believe this. Are we willing, today, to give God our bodies? How about our finances? What about our relationships, can he have those? What about our kids, spouses, mothers, and fathers? When we get a glimpse of the worth of God, then (and only then) are we able to say, “Worthy are you, Lord, to receive everything I’ve got...” So, how do you see him?

Prayer & Fasting, Day 30: God is Angry.

The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation.” 
(Exodus 34:6-7). When you father children and children's children, and have grown old in the land, if you act corruptly by making a carved image in the form of anything, and by doing what is evil in the sight of the Lord your God, so as to provoke him to anger,  I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that you will soon utterly perish... (Deuteronomy 4:25).

Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. (Romans 5:9).

Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” (Romans 12:19).

I remember speaking with my grandfather about his church experience growing up. As he did, a phrase kept surfacing and resurfacing, “God just seemed so angry.” Therefore, he didn’t go back to church when he became an adult. Who wants to go worship a being that’s mad all the time. We don’t even want to be friends with people like that. So, why in the world are we talking about it?

The reason is simple: if we lose the anger of God, then we lose the gospel. Moses was a servant of God. No one on the earth knew God like Moses did. And, at one point, Moses asked to see God—with his eyes. So, God took Moses and hid him in a rock, allowing him a glimpse of just a small part of his greatness. As his glory passed by, the Lord introduced himself with two character traits: his exceeding love, and his just anger. God thought these two parts of his nature were so important that he didn’t mention any of his other attributes (like grace, power, glory, etc.) He said, “I am God, my love never ends, and my anger at sin is just.”

This makes us very uncomfortable. Even writing this, I know that I’m going to get negative feedback. “We shouldn’t tell people that God is angry,” we’re told. “They need to know God loves them, not that he’s angry.” It is true that people need to hear of God’s love for them in Christ. But if they do not also hear that God is angry at the seemingly limitless sin that plagues the people he loves, then we are not telling the truth. God’s love will seem sentimental. It will be nice, like your distant relative who loves you. But you’ll misunderstand love, because you misunderstand wrath.

Wrath is a biblical word that describes the just, measured opposition that God has for everything that is opposed to his will, character, and people. Sin, therefore, makes God angry. So what are we to do? Is God just a cranky, lose cannon, stomping around heaven until the day that he finally blows all the sinners away?

No. God is not like that at all. We’ve become so accustomed to seeing anger as always, only, ever wrong, that to attribute it God feels wrong too. But it’s not God’s anger that’s wrong. It’s our unwillingness to come to terms with it. God is justly angry at sin. He hates injustice. He abhors rape. He can’t stand murder. He despises theft. We hate these things too, because we still bear the fingerprints of our maker. But here’s the problem with sin—it’s inextricably linked to us. Sin isn’t just “out there.” Sin’s “in here.” We sin. We are sinners. Therefore, God’s anger at sin means he’s angry with us.

So what is God to do? How can it be that he loves us, and yet is totally, determinedly, and eternally opposed to our sin? How can God destroy sin in righteous anger and not destroy us along with it?

Answer: Jesus. In Jesus, the full force of God’s anger at human sin was expressed so that the full measure of God’s love for people could be experienced. Jesus took the anger. We get the love. This should tell us a few things...

First, God’s anger at sin is serious. It’s no laughing matter. Nor is it the subject of trite pastoral wit. It’s deadly serious, because Jesus died for it. Second, it means that God’s love for us is serious too. For, if we are in Christ, then we don’t bear God’s anger. Christ did. Now we experience his love. Finally, it means we can live in peace. Why? Because God is more than able to distribute wrath rightly. We don’t have to take vengeance for violence. We can stop the cycle of pain. The cross tells us that everyone’s sin will meet God’s anger, either on the cross of Christ or on ourselves. The choice is ours.

Prayer & Fasting, Day 29: God is Incomparable.

There is none like God... (Deuteronomy 33:26a). There is none like you among the gods, O Lord, nor are there any works like yours. (Psalm 86:8).

To whom then will you liken God, or what likeness compare with him? An idol! A craftsman casts it, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold and casts for it silver chains. He who is too impoverished for an offering chooses wood that will not rot; he seeks out a skillful craftsman to set up an idol that will not move. Do you not know? Do you not hear? Has it not been told you from the beginning?  Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is he who sits above the circle of the earth (Isaiah 40:18-22).

One of the reasons that it seems difficult to wrap your mind around God is that he is quite simply incomparable. Of course, that brings up a question: why have we been comparing him to things and ideas this whole time? Good question.

There are two directions for comparison—two origins of our correlation. The first says, “God says he’s like _____.” The other is the reverse, “I think God is like ______.” This is an important distinction, because one is legitimate while the other is idolatry.

It is totally legitimate for us to compare God to something in the world if God does. In Isaiah, for example, God tells us that he will bear us up on wings like eagles. Therefore, God is like an eagle—mighty, beautiful, and strong. Jesus reveals to us that, if we are in Christ, God is our father. Therefore, God is like a really great dad. God has shown us that he is like many things in our experience. So, when we compare him to those things, we’re actually getting to know him a bit better.

But this can also go all wrong on us. It starts when we speculate about God. “I think God is like ______,” we say. And typically, we fill up that blank with whatever we like the most. This is not a legitimate way to know God because it doesn’t start with God, it starts with us. We come with a great deal of audacity to think that we can ascribe to the Almighty attributes we’re most comfortable with. Instead of humbly exploring and enjoying his revelation, we insist on the validity of our own speculation.

“But if God is incomparable,” you may ask, “then how can we compare him to anything at all?” This is where God’s incomparability becomes beautiful. Because God is God, whatever good likeness we see in his creation is but a shadow of the original that exists in God himself. If we have a great dad, we might say, “God is a great dad like my dad.” But, God is actually so much better than your dad (or anyone else’s) that his fatherhood is incomparable—it’s unparalleled.

Or, perhaps you’ve experienced someone else’s sacrificial love. Maybe someone gave up a lot to take care of you, for example. You might, therefore, compare God’s sacrificial love to this person’s. But, God’s love is so much more costly, even than our own, that his love for his people in incomparable.

See, when we speculate about God, we get discouraged. Because, after all, how can we really know if God is like our comparison. The reality is much better. When we joyfully accept God’s revelation, then our knowledge of God is living and real, because we’re seeing God the way God sees God. Today, consider the likeness of God in human flesh, Jesus Christ. As you remember him, love his likeness. The real God is always better than the one we make up, anyway.

Prayer & Fasting, Day 28: God is Active.

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. (Genesis 1:1). Say therefore to the people of Israel, ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm... (Exodus 6:6).

Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. (Psalm 121:4).

And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” (Revelation 21:5).

In the 18th century, the natural sciences were exploding. At this point in history, men of science began to picture the world like a giant clock, and God as its maker. The only problem with this view was, once the clock got started, the maker was out of a job. So, deism—the view that God created the world and walked away—grew. Today, vestiges of this deism live on, even in the church.

Perhaps you don’t think so. But I think that many well meaning Christians have such a lofty view of God, that they don’t really see him as an active, living, moving being. God is static—he’s out there, somewhere. But the Bible has a very different picture of God.

In the Scriptures, we see the Lord active in a host of ways. Let’s think about three: creation, redemption, and restoration.

First, God is active in creation. He made it. But he didn’t stop there. He didn’t just construct the clock and go take an eternal nap. He’s the power source of the clock. Furthermore, he continues to keep the clock working. That is, God is active in his creation.

Secondly, God is active in redemption. God didn’t just make the world, he loves it. He loves us. He loves his people, and he won’t suffer them to be lost forever in their own sin. So, God promises to redeem, and then actually does it. Sending Moses to the children of Israel, he said, “I will redeem.” Sending Jesus to the children of Adam (you and me), he says the same. He is active to come and save. And he still is, by the way. He is still moving, acting, and saving. How do I know? Well, he’s saved me. That’s at least some proof.

Finally, God is active in restoring the world and everything in it. In his vision of the future, John looked and saw Jesus bringing a new heavens and a new earth out of the old. A heavenly city was seen coming down from the sky, and ever tear was wiped away. No one was sick, no one was sad, and all evil and injustice had been destroyed forever. Summing up all that he was doing, Jesus said, “Look! I am making all things new!”

Don’t fool yourself for a moment into believing that God is inactive. Just because you may have a hard time seeing him move does not therefore mean that he is static. You can’t see the mighty oak grow either, but its roots will displace the greatest of man made structures. God is active, and he invites your activity with him.

Prayer & Fasting: Day 27: God is Beautiful.

One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple. (Psalm 27:4). For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; he is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the Lord made the heavens. Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and beauty are in his sanctuary. (Psalm 96:4-6).

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. (Philippians 4:8).

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. At least, that’s what we’ve been told. Taken to it’s logical conclusion, however, and the word beauty becomes meaningless. It’s a word which totally depends on what individuals prefer. It’s not occurred to us that beauty might just have an objective foundation. Beauty might, most fundamentally, be found in God.

In fact, that’s exactly what the Scriptures teach us. Goodness and beauty aren’t ideas that cultures agree upon, merely. These are concepts rooted in the person of God. God is beautiful. Therefore, whatever looks, acts, and seems most like him is what is truly beautiful. The psalmists knew this. In their songs, they sing and shout about how great and beautiful God is. In Psalm 27, David describes the beauty of the Lord as the singular preoccupation of his life. He’s saying, “If I could do any one thing, all I’d want to do is gaze at your beauty.”

Maybe that sounds soft to you, but it hardly is. These words are uttered in a psalm where David was pleading with God for help. The beauty of God wasn’t some abstract, flaccid, weak idea. At least not to David. To him, God’s beauty was reason for confident and peace. He knew that the goal of his life was to stare in wonder at the beauty of God. The idea of doing so was so powerful that it brought him deep, profound peace.

Psalm 96 echoes the theme. “...strength and beauty are in his sanctuary,” sings the author. Why? Because God’s beauty is connected to all his other perfections. The beauty of God is what we see when all his manifold perfections are on display. When the power, grace, justice, and peace of God all collide together, then there’s only one word appropriate to describe it: beauty.

So what does this matter to us, practically? It means that to preoccupy our mind with the beauty of God can change us. Paul says as much to the Philippian believers. He admonishes them to think on what is good, true, and beautiful. In the midst of hardship (especially then) we can think about God’s beauty and our whole perspective changes.

Are things hard today? Are you exhausted, tired, and hurting? Wherever you are on the spectrum of experience, this is what the Scriptures teach: to think on God’s beauty is to change. It is to lift your eyes from the dingy, ugly, day-to-day pain that marks the life and gaze into heaven. Then, having such a gaze, to repaint the heaven you see back onto your own experience.

This is what Jesus did. His life was hard. But being in constant communion with God did two things: it gave him perseverance in hardship, and it gave him power to change it. In Christ, we see the power of preoccupation with the beauty of God. And we see something deeper still—we see beauty incarnate.

Prayer & Fasting, Day 26: God is Near.

Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). 
(Matthew 1:23). And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age. (Matthew 28:20).

And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for “‘In him we live and move and have our being’. (Acts 17:26-28).

Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. (James 4:8).

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.” (Revelation 21:3).

Perhaps the greatest news of the Christian story is that God has come from his high and lofty place down to us. The core message of the gospel is not that we must ascend to God through religious duty. The good news is that God has descended to us, by grace and mercy.

Centuries before Christ was born, Isaiah prophesied about one who would be called “Immanuel,” which means, “God is with us.” Thus, when Jesus was born, Matthew immediately made the connection from prophecy to fulfillment. Jesus had come, God was with his people. What a miracle to behold!

But the news gets better for us. Because Jesus has ascended back to the Father, we possess treasure greater than even having Jesus sitting next to us—the Holy Spirit living within us. Jesus promised his followers as he left that he would be with them always. How? Because the Holy Spirit would come to live in them.

Contrast this with how you feel most the time. Do you feel like God is with you? Or, do you feel as though he is far off? However you feel (because feelings can be deceiving), you and I and all who follow Christ should rejoice at this: God is near! He is not far. He isn’t like the absentee father who just works all the time, never having time for us. He is near to us. Does he feel far? Then do what James says. Draw near to him in prayer, in the Scriptures, and in worship. These are channels of grace—of the very presence of God in our lives.

The nearness of God is our future. The fall broke our closeness to God. But, when God makes all things new, we will be with him. Together, forever. We will be with him in still a measure greater than we are now, and he will be with us.

So what does this all mean? It means that no matter how you feel, what you think, or what your day is like, God is never too far away. He is not far from any of us. We simply must turn (repent) and see him (ask).

Prayer & Fasting, Day 25: God is Other.

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. 
(Jeremiah 2:13). O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens ...When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? (Psalm 8:1, 3-4).

... God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few. (Ecc. 5:2b).

“Does God get lonely up there in Heaven?”

My little girl was about five when she asked me that. It was a sweet question, and part of it resonates with us. She was struggling to understand God, because he is very different than her. God is other.

The “otherness” of God is admittedly difficult to understand. After all, if God is so different than us, how are we to understand him. Furthermore, if God is really so other, why does that matter?

In theology, this otherness is often called transcendence. This word means that God is higher than we are—totally above us. And it’s good news for us for at least a few reasons. First, if God really is above us, then we can trust him to have insight and thought that we don’t have. Whenever a human being is in trouble, he has a natural inclination to pray—to ask God for help. It’s been said that there are no atheists in foxholes. Why? Because when we need real help, we all inherently know that we should call on the one who is totally higher and totally other than us. When we’ve gotten ourselves into a mess, we don’t look to us to get out of it. Why? Because we need a God who exists on a different plane of thought and experience. We need another.

A second reason the otherness of God should give us cause for praise is this: we know him anyway! In Christ, this totally high, holy, and lofty God has come down to make himself known to us. In the Psalms, we see David extolling the greatness and majesty of God. He’s nothing like us. He makes the moon and stars. He makes people and angels. He creates and controls the universe. But David’s song doesn’t stop there. He continues to sing, “What is man that you are mindful of him?” His mind is totally blown by the fact that such a transcendent, other God has stooped down to know us. This is the reason that David wrote the psalm. God is totally other, and we get to have a relationship with him anyway.

Finally, the otherness of God should produce humility in us. Before any of us begin to run our mouths about the way life should be, we should take the preacher of Ecclesiastes’ advice: “God is in Heaven, you’re not. So, shh.” The loftiness of God should cause us to stop talking, look up in wonder, and worship. God is other, and we know him in Jesus. The totally other has become knowable. What grace.

Prayer & Fasting, Day 24: God is Better.

...my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.
 (Jeremiah 2:13). Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him! (Psalm 24:8).

Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” (John 6:35).

When I was in college, I loved ramen noodles. Loved them. As in, I probably ate them 3 days a week. Cheap, filling, what more could you want? But, after college I got married. Little did I know that my culinary life was about to change. Once I ate the food my wife made for us, I never wanted ramen again. To this day (many years later) I’ve never touched the stuff. Why? Because I’ve tasted something much better.

In the book of Jeremiah, the prophet sums up the nature of Israel’s sins against God. He paints the picture like this: loving and worshiping God is like drinking from clean, clear, cool, flowing springs. The water is good, satisfying, and plentiful. In our foolishness, however, we’ve decided to try to forge for water on our own, away from the spring. We’ve gone to dry place, and dug a hole in the ground. The only water that comes to us know is dirty rain water and toilet run off. And yet, we insist on drinking that water, instead of the spring.

This is a picture of the foolish pride of sin. In insisting that we know better, we merely demonstrate the obvious fact that we don’t. In trying to satisfy our deep soul longings with sex, power, family, relationships, career, or any other created thing, we find ourselves thirstier than when we started. Like drinking saltwater at sea, the tainted water of sin leaves us worse off. How do we stop? How can we possibly change?

Answer: Taste something better.

I legitimately thought that ramen was great until I tasted something better. I also thought bologna sandwiches and those gross slices of “cheese product” were great too. That is, until I ate at my first five-star restaurant. What’s the point? We’ll always think that sin and self-control are great until we taste and see that Jesus is better. And the wonderful news is, he is.

Jesus invited his followers not just to listen to his teaching. He invited ingest the gospel—the good news of his life, death, and resurrection. He wanted his people not merely to be on his side. He wanted them to feast at the table of grace that he was preparing for them.

The simple question for us today is, are we? Have you experienced Jesus as better than anything and everything else? Have you found serving and knowing him more filling than sin? Or, even more to the point, have you found him better than the really good things in your life?

This I promise: until you and I find God to be better than all else, then all else will be better than God. If God is to be glorified in us, then we must be satiated in him.

Jesus, satisfy me today. Cause me to see my sin and selfishness as disgusting. Help me lose a taste for sin as I taste and see that you are better. 

You are the satisfier of my soul. Help me to enjoy you so much that the idea of sinning against you becomes like a bitter taste in my mouth.

Thank you, Jesus, for being better than all the bad and all the good. Today, help me walk knowing this to be true.

Amen.

Prayer & Fasting, Day 23: God is Jealous.

I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. 
(Exodus 20:2-6). But Joshua said to the people, “You are not able to serve the Lord, for he is a holy God. He is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins.” (Joshua 24:19).

Therefore thus says the Lord God: Now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob and have mercy on the whole house of Israel, and I will be jealous for my holy name. (Ezekiel 29:35).

Jealousy is not good. At least, it’s not for us. And yet, the Bible tells us repeatedly that God is jealous. So, what does this mean? And furthermore, how is this at all good news for us?

Webster defined jealous this way: “Solicitous to defend the honor of; concerned for the character of.” This is a helpful starting point to understand the jealousy of God. In the Bible we see the jealousy of God expressed in two ways; jealousy of his holiness, and jealousy for his people. And this presents us with a dilemma.

In Exodus we read that we are to have no other gods but The Lord, Yahweh, the truth and living God. Why? What is the reasoning behind this? Because God is a jealous God. He is jealous for his people, and jealous for his holiness. God knows that if we, his kids, go seeking after other gods and alternative identities, then it’s bound to go bad for us—really bad. In fact, much of the Old Testament is the historical record of exactly how bad it goes when God’s people act like they aren’t. Because God loves us, he is jealous for our affection. This isn’t because he’s codependent or needy, though. It’s because he is good, and knows that no one else can truly take care of his people.

But God is also jealous for his holy name. God will not suffer the smudging of his credibility or greatness. Now, perhaps you hear this and think that God must be insecure. But it’s not like that at all. When we watch human jealousy, it often comes from people who are insecure about who they truly are. Jealous people are pitiable, because they’re not really all that great. God’s jealousy is totally different, because God actually is the greatest, holiest, most extravagantly wonderful being in existence. His jealousy is the only kind that makes sense, because he actually is worth being jealous over. This is good news for us, but it also creates a problem.

Joshua told the people of Israel that, given their sinfulness, they would be unable to truly serve God. We are no different. We are broken and cannot, on our own, serve and love God as we ought to. What are we to do? The only possible solution must come from God himself. And come it does.

In Ezekiel, we find an amazing promise. God’s jealousy becomes the foundation for our redemption. Even though we are sinful and unable to serve God, he will save us. The great dilemma between God’s jealousy for his people and his own holiness is resolved. How can God possibly forgive and redeem people who refuse to love him, and not violate his own holiness? In Jesus Christ.

In Jesus we find the great resolution of the tension between God’s love for us and his commitment to uphold the wonder of his holiness. He can’t just sweep sin under the rug, because if he did he wouldn’t be holy. Neither can he just forget his people, because he is jealous in his love for them. What is he to do? What are we to do?

The only hope we find is in Christ. In Christ, God’s jealousy for his people overflowed in the loving gift of his Son. In Christ, God’s jealousy for his name overflowed in the death of his Son for sin. In it all, we are redeemed, God is made glorious, and we are set free. What a great God!

Prayer & Fasting, Day 21: God is Generous.

The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season. You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing. (Psalm 145:15-16). And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luke 11:9-13).

Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. (Luke 6:31-33).

Have you ever attempted to communicate with someone, but failed miserably? When it comes to God’s generosity, there’s been a terrible miscommunication. Largely, the world divides into two camps about God’s generosity. In one camp, you find the worriers. These are the ones who are so concerned about money, possessions, career, and the other stuff of life, that they are terrified when and if they lack it. The worriers can never have enough, because they can never rest assured they will be taken care of.

On the other end of the spectrum, you find the willers. These are those that presume that relationship with God will make them rich, prosperous, healthy, and pain-free. Their prayers aren’t supplications of trust in God, but spell-like manipulations of God. They will money into their pockets from Heaven’s coffers. But, when suffering or lack does come, they fall away. Why? Because either God failed to provide or they failed to believe hard enough.

Jesus wasn’t a worrier or a willer. He didn’t have to be, because he knew God like a man knows a friend; like a son knows his dad. We don’t have to worry, because we know what God is like. He’s generous—exceedingly so. Jesus reminded his followers that even earthly dads take care of their kids. How much more, then, can we trust our heavenly one to give us even more? Indeed, Jesus said the gift God has waiting for us is better—the Holy Spirit himself. We don’t have to worry. God is good, and God is generous. The locus of our peace isn’t on our ability to understand how he provides, but on his character, that he always does.

Neither do we have to will all our provision. We’ve tried to let a love for stuff live alongside a love for God. But, as Jesus said, you can’t serve two masters. He didn’t give us promises to provide so that we could become so fixated on his provision that we attempt to manipulate God with our prayers for his stuff. Jesus said that if we seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, then everything else fall into place. Do you feel the peace associated with that? Do you feel the stalwart confidence that produces? If not, then perhaps you’re a worrier, or a willer.

Today, relax. Don’t worry about money, houses, spouses, and stuff. God has all that taken care of, and he already knows you need it. Pray, repent of worry, and ask God to provide for your needs. He’s really generous. Don’t will your money into existence, either. Don’t cut out all the promises about money from the Bible and only read those. Read them next to all the other ones. If you do, you’ll find that the goodness of God’s stuff wasn’t designed to make us want more of it, but of God himself.

Prayer & Fasting, Day 20: God is Holy.

Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders? (Exodus 15:11).

...put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. (Ephesians 2:22-24).

Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come! (Revelation 4:8).

Holiness is probably the most misunderstood, and universally disliked attribute of God. For some, the word conjures up images of a kill-joy. We confuse “holy,” with “holier-than-thou.” Our understanding of God suffers, then, because we don’t see the holiness of God as something beautiful and exciting, but as annoying which threatens our fun. Nothing, however, could be further from the truth.

In Exodus we read the great rhetorical question, “who is like you, God?” The answer, of course, is no one. No one is like God. And, this is the first part of what his holiness means. God’s holiness means that no one is at all like him. He is utterly unique, high, and different from us and everything else.

How is God different? In every way. While we can relate to God on the basis of his self-disclosure to us, we cannot begin to liken ourselves to his holiness. He is completely and totally unsullied by sin and depravity. This is not like us. We are selfish, lustful, proud, arrogant, bearing the marks of brokenness. God is not like this. Up to this point we’ve read over and over about God’s different perfections. Summarizing them all is his holiness.

God’s holiness creates a problem for us. If God is so holy, so totally and utterly different than me, then how can we really relate? If I’m marked by sin, and his holiness means he cannot even approach sin, what hope do I have of relationship with him. Answer: none. Zero. You and I have absolutely no hope of relating to God. He is holy. We are very much not. There is simply no way we can know him.

But there is a way he can know us.

You see, God’s holiness means that the only way any relationship could ever be established with him, is if it’s established by him. And in Christ, that’s precisely what he has done. The holy, perfect, ineffable God has come, willingly condescended to us, and become a man. This man—Jesus—has come to take our unholiness upon himself. Taking our depravity, Jesus died and was buried. But then, three days later he arose. His new life was then imputed to us, just as our sin was imputed to him. In this great exchange, he has given us new life, and new, fresh holiness.

We are told to put off the old self and put on the new—the holy self. That doesn’t come from within, it comes from Jesus. Are you struggling today with sin? Is temptation hitting you hard? Do you feel defined by the dirt and the grime of your past? Then I have wonderful news for you. God is holy, and in Christ he is sharing that holiness with you. All you have to do is let go of your sinfulness, giving it to him.

God’s holiness, and gracious way in which he has shared it with us will cause us to shout, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come!” We will sing that song to our holy God, because he has forgiven us and made us holy too.