Here we get into the details about faith and life

The Forecast

Because we understand our fearful responsibility to the Lord, we work hard to persuade others. God knows we are sincere, and I hope you know this, too. 2 Corinthians 5:11 NIV

I live in a part of the country where we have winter. Those of you in Florida or Arizona, I’m sure you’ve at least seen winter on TV. If you happen to live in, say, Wisconsin or Minnesota, let me clarify. I live where people still get excited about winter weather. Sometimes excited in a good way. Other times, just crazy.

A couple of weeks ago the forecast called for an ice storm. Ice storms are like the angry hornets of winter. So all of us amateur meteorologists stayed glued to the weather radars, storm-trackers and highway conditions for a solid week trying to determine when exactly it was going to hit. And by extension, what was going to be canceled. Friday afternoon was the zero hour. Schools dismissed at noon. The college closed. (I got to go home early. Yay!) Games were postponed. Meetings were called off.

Everyone took the necessary, reasonable precautions because they knew what an ice storm could do. (We have lost a windshield and two Chevrolets to ice.)We heeded the warnings and we were all home, warm, and safe when the storm finally hit.

My friends, we know that Scripture is full of warnings about what happens after this life is over. We know. We’ve heard it. We’ve studied it. We’ve listened to late night preachers with charts and bad haircuts explain it all. We have experienced the grace and mercy of Jesus. We know we’re going to be safe when that promised storm of judgment hits.

Not everyone will, though.

And we wouldn’t even think of leaving a dog or even a cat outside during an ice storm, not even the hateful one that hisses every single day. But yet, we leave people outside the safety of the cross.

I’m as guilty as anyone, so I started considering why. Is it because there’s no brightly colored app showing approaching judgment in stop motion animation? Or is it because I just don’t care? Don’t I care what Jesus said? Don’t I care about the people He loved enough to die for? Or do I believe that since I’m safe, that’s all that really matters?

To be honest, I don’t think I can fix it. That’s not a copout, exactly. I prefer to be selfish and inactive and a whole host of things that a follower of Christ shouldn’t be. That’s why Jesus says, “I will make you fishers of men.” I will give you the burden for those around you. I will give you words, and opportunities. I will change your heart. I will give you eyes to see. I will help you understand your fearful responsibility.

You’ve seen the forecast just like I have. We know what judgment means. Will we work hard? God will know if we are sincere.

Praying

By Paula Wiseman

And Hannah prayed and said: “My heart rejoices in the LORD; My horn is exalted in the LORD. I smile at my enemies, Because I rejoice in Your salvation. 1 Samuel 2:1

Hannah was childless. 1 Samuel chapter 1 describes her frustration and despair in the face of infertility. It also records her petition to God at Shiloh. Chapter 2 records her prayer after receiving her petition.

We looked at this chapter at a recent worship retreat, and honestly, it troubled me. Hannah got what she wanted. It is easy to praise and worship God when He gives us our heart’s desire. What happens when He doesn’t? What about the people who earnestly pray but never receive their petitions? How do they find the words to praise or the heart to worship? How do we get to the place where the prayer in Chapter 2 happens regardless of every other circumstance?

Often I’m better at asking questions than answering them, but let me offer some points to consider.

Our definition of answered prayer is messed up. The truth is God answers every single prayer we offer. Every one. We tend to only count the answers we like. When we get what we want, we testify to answered prayers. When we don’t … we bemoan God’s silence or His inattentiveness.

Let’s look at an example from Hebrews 11, the roll call of faith. We celebrate that litany of victory and deliverance, but things change in verse 35:

Women received their dead raised to life again. And others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. Hebrews 11:35

Did you catch that? Some were raised from the dead. Some were tortured to death. They are listed side by side. The outcome is not the final word on faithfulness. In the same way, the outcome is not the final verdict in answered prayers. However, the answers are always rooted in a plan that most of the time we will not see or understand. That is a hard thing to accept.

If you’ve been with me for a while, you know that several years ago we were certain that God was leading us to pursue adoption. The process took years. It was frustrating, with lots of red tape and hoop-jumping, not to mention the financial end of things. Then days before things would be final, it all collapsed, and we were left empty-hearted. In our bewilderment, the question God posed was, will You still trust Me? Who else can I trust? You have the words of eternal life.

Those words, eternal life, that’s what I need. My wants, even my heart’s desires, are usually focused squarely on the here and now. My needs are much deeper. Which brings me back to Hannah. If you read the entirety of her prayer in 1 Samuel 2:1-10, she doesn’t mention the baby. Not once. She mentions God’s sovereignty, His power, His might and His salvation. I think that was her takeaway. God was going to meet her greatest need, for salvation. He was going to provide Israel with a judge. In time He would send His anointed Deliverer. She understood her needs outweighed her wants.

God challenges me to look beyond those wants to my needs which He graciously fulfills. This is not to say it’s an easy thing to accept when you don’t receive. On the contrary, it’s painful, and it can’t be covered over by praise songs, or devotionals, or platitudes. But it forces me to face the question: do I love God or just the things He gives me?

No one is holy like the LORD, For there is none besides You, Nor is there any rock like our God. 1 Samuel 2:2

Think back to a time when you didn’t receive your petition. How did you respond? How did you grow as a result?

Lord, Open My Eyes

By Paula Wiseman

And Elisha prayed, and said, “LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” Then the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. 2 Kings 6:17

I’ve written before on this verse, on this account of Elisha helping his young attendant see with spiritual eyes rather than just physical ones. Back in November, some friends and I took a weekend for retreat, and this was the verse I brought home. We didn’t discuss it or mention it at all. We spent the time considering worship. The posts for the last few weeks hit on some of the ideas we focused on.

I won’t go into all the details of how I got from the retreat to this point, but Elisha’s prayer became my own prayer for myself. I am praying for God to open my eyes.

Open my eyes to Your work around me.
I don’t want to look around in hopelessness or frustration because it seems You are silent or disengaged, but rather in confidence that You see and know, that You have come down to deliver.

Open my eyes to the needs of others.
I don’t want to be so inwardly focused that I miss Your work in the lives of others. Show me how I can come alongside or carry a burden. Show me where my loaves and fishes can be multiplied, and give me the willingness to offer them.

Open my eyes to my own sin.
I don’t want to be so blindly self-righteous that I ignore or gloss over my own sinfulness. I have not arrived and I am in daily need of the transformation the gospel brings.

What prayers are you praying right now? Where do You see God at work?

Magnificat

By Paula Wiseman

For He who is mighty has done great things for me, And holy is His name. Luke 1:49

You know the story on this one. Mary had been visited by Gabriel with the news that she will give birth to the coming Messiah. She went to see her cousin, Elizabeth who had experienced a miraculous visitation of her own.

While there, Mary utters an amazing hymn, weaving together her own wonder and humility with praise for God and just a dash of prophecy. It is sometimes referred to as the Magnificat, going back to the Latin, she glorifies.

Perhaps the key to the whole thing is uttered by Elizabeth a few verses earlier in verse 45. “Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.” Luke 1:45. Maybe Elizabeth is referring to the angel’s message, saying Mary is blessed because she believed the angel. I don’t think so. I think it points to Mary’s habit, her lifestyle, her character.

She lived a life of faith, of belief in the promises of God. Her hymn proves that. Consequently, she understood that she had a role to play in the fulfillment of God’s plan. The angel gave her the details of that role and granted it was a little more significant than she expected, but Mary’s song highlights her belief in a God who was active in the affairs of men, who worked through men to accomplish His purposes.

You and I can stand with Mary and proclaim, He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name. (I could rattle off some mighty things He’s done in just the last week.) All of those things are evidence that God has not changed since Mary’s time. He is still active in the affairs of men, choosing to work through us to accomplish His purposes. It is my duty, then, to live a life of belief and to take on the role He gives me to play.

Oh, how my soul praises the Lord. How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior! Luke 1:46-47 NLT

If you wrote your own Magnificat, what would it say?

( I’ll post a chapter of Embraced tomorrow and then I’m taking the next week off. See you back here January 2. You are a blessing and an encouragement to me in so many ways.May the joy of the angels, the wonder of the shepherds and the devotion of the wise men be yours.)

Singularly Devoted

By Paula Wiseman

And Elijah came to all the people, and said, “How long will you falter between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” But the people answered him not a word. 1 Kings 18:21

This is one of my favorite stories. Israel, under King Ahab, was suffering through a drought that was dragging into its fourth year. This drought had been proclaimed by Elijah, who boldly declared there would be no rain or even dew except at his word. (17:1) The drought devastated the agrarian economy, and neither the king nor Jezebel the queen, nor the hundreds of prophets of Baal on her payroll had been able to do anything about it.

Israel was torn. Jehovah was the God of their ancestors and certainly they were bound to sacrifice and pray to Him, Baal was the god of fertility and crops. Wouldn’t it be wise to court his favor as well? It made logical sense. Hedge the bets. Cover the bases.

It is easy to read this account with a condescending smile. Who could be so foolish as to try and follow God and an idol? Everyone knows idols aren’t real. But we grab the latest self-help book to find peace, balance our lives, raise our self-esteem, overcome our past. We chase diets and success and follow plans and regimens. We buy apps and organizers and planners and monitors to streamline and optimize. We pull from everything culture tells us we should be. Then we go to church and small group and we disciple and we’re intentional and missional. Just like we should be. Covering all the bases. Checking all the boxes.

Late in the afternoon after the prophets of Baal had exhausted themselves trying to impress a god who could never hear, Elijah prayed, “LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your word. Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that You are the LORD God, and that You have turned their hearts back to You again.”

Then the fire of God fell.

A single man, singularly devoted to the one true God.

The one true God is unlike any other. He is a God who loves us intently, who desires a relationship with us, so much so that He came and lived among us. He is the Word made flesh. He is Immanuel. Don’t falter. Don’t waffle. Don’t be like the people of Israel who stood in silence. Be that one singularly devoted to the one true God.

Confession Enables Worship

By Paula Wiseman

And David said to God, “Was it not I who gave command to number the people? It is I who have sinned and done great evil. But these sheep, what have they done? Please let your hand, O LORD my God, be against me and against my father’s house. But do not let the plague be on your people.” 1 Chronicles 21:17

David is one of the most discussed individuals in Scripture. He is supremely devoted to his God, enjoying a unique intimacy but then in the next chapter he throws it all away in a stunning display of arrogance. David does this multiple times. I suppose that is why we love him. He gives us hope in the midst of our unexplainable failures. He also shows us how confession enables worship. 1 Chronicles 21 records the aftermath of one of those failures, and the confession that follows. It is the account of David’s census

On the surface, and from our vantage point thousands of years later, this may not seem like such a big deal. A census makes good administrative sense, right? It wasn’t just a census, though. It was a reckoning of military strength. David wanted to rest on his perceived power and not the God who granted it. Blinded by his need for numerical confirmation of his own greatness, David ignored the advice of his closest advisors and ordered the count.

In verse 8, David prays, “I have sinned greatly in that I have done this thing. But now, please take away the iniquity of your servant, for I have acted very foolishly.” David is given the choice of judgments to fall on Israel. He chooses three days of plague. Thousands die in a costly lesson on the consequences of misplaced faith.

The prayer in verse 17 comes after David sees the effects of his sin, especially on the multitude of innocent people whose lives are irreparably devastated. It is far more intense and wrenching than his earlier confession. It is after this second confession that God sends instructions to build an altar.

Confession enables worship.

Worship requires fellowship, and there can be no fellowship if sin exists. In verse 8 David asks for his sin to be dealt with. It is a sincere prayer, not unlike one we would pray, I would pray. But then David is allowed to see why sin is so horrible – innocent people suffer because of his sin. Innocent people suffer because of my sin.

It is in the midst of David’s anguish and brokenness over his sin that God invites him to worship. God invites David to worship at the very spot where the Temple will be built, on the same mountain where Abraham would have sacrificed Isaac, on the same mountain where Jesus would deal with sin once and for all.

David buys the ground and offers burnt and peace offerings, the ones offered in faith that God would take away the sin and restore fellowship. In verse 26, God answered with fire.

Confession enables worship, and worship brings about intimacy.

In this season of Advent take some time to consider the amazing gift of Jesus, who not only takes away our sins but restores our fellowship with God. Spend some quiet moments confessing the hurt inflicted on innocent people because of pride and a determination to find strength in ourselves. Then accept the invitation to worship the God who answers by fire, consuming the sin and purifying the sinner.