A Grievance To God

4.19.15
"Habakkuk's Complaint"

Open a newspaper or read the headlines on your favorite news app and chances are there will be reports of violence, prejudice, and other forms of injustices transpiring locally and around the world. As Christians, we may often pause to ask "why?" If we do not internally ask the question, there are plenty of others who are non-believers to ask the question for us. Why does all this take place? Where can we go to file a complaint?

In the seventh century B.C., the prophet Habakkuk had a complaint for God and asked a very similar question about the movement of Babylon throughout the middle eastern countries which threatened Israel and God's people. In Habakkuk chapter 1 he complains to God:

"How long, Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out 'violence!' but you do not save? Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrongdoing? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife and conflicts abound. Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never prevails. The wicked hem in the righteous, so justice is perverted."

Wow! Here we are some twenty seven hundred years later and we could file the same complaint. We see violence everyday. We see tolerance of injustice and persecution of the righteous when there should prosecution of the unrighteous and protection for the innocent.

God answers Habakkuk's complaint with a rather peculiar statement. He tells his questioner:

"Look at the nations and watch - and be utterly amazed. For I am doing something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told." 

God goes on to describe how he is allowing the Babylonians, ruthless and impetuous people, to sweep across the land and allowing them to be feared, deride kings, scoff at rulers, and devouring all they come upon. God tells Habakkuk that these men who are so intimidating, their own strength is their god.

I can picture myself in Habakkuk's place. You ask God a question and he gives back and answer that makes you even more perplexed. Maybe he is thinking "So, what you are saying God is that you see all this bad stuff and you are allowing it to happen?" Great. That does not help. Habakkuk tries a second time to clarify the question. He asked God specifically acknowledging that God is too good to look upon evil, so how can God look upon these evil men doing evil things?

Good point. In a debate that kind of point would seem to be an "aha, what ya gonna say 'bout that" kind of argument. But if we pause a moment to really think about the statement, we would retract it immediately. True, God is pure good. True, God does not look upon sin. He can have no part in it. We must also keep in mind that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). If we want to make the point to God that he should act on every person's sin, then we would have no one on this earth. What Habakkuk is asking and we would ask ourselves, is why God doesn't go after the really bad people of this world.

Who are the really bad people of this world? People who are other than us. That is our flaw: we see only others as evil. We too often do not recognize the evil in us. Our vision is small and God's is huge. God explains to Habakkuk (and us) that we are too small to understand the plans that he has made. Plans that take into account the evil and wrongdoing of this world and yet will somehow end in our salvation, the world's restoration, and eternal harmony for those who believe in Him.

That is God's real advice - believe. In Habakkuk 2:4 he tells us that the "righteous will live by their faith". It is that belief, that faith, in God to be in control that should carry us on even when the world looks dark and foreboding. Like a trusting child, we should trust that God our father is in total control - even over those things that appear not to be.

Living Water

4.12.15
"Living Water"

In 1905 a miracle happened. The Colorado River was engorged with excess water from massive snow melts and burst through the irrigation system that the early California settlers had built to tap into the fresh supply of water to plant and develop a lush agricultural industry. These forceful waters flowed free of their restraints for two years before engineers were able to stop the flow and return the man made irrigation system to working order. In those two years the waters spilled into the Salton Sink.

The Salton Sink was a 40 mile long salt flat and desert area sixty miles inland from Palm Beach. The water filled the Sink and formed the Salton Sea. Developers arrived in the 1950s and began promoting the lake as the California Rivera. By the 1960s there was a town of 15,000 with vacation homes, resorts, and marinas popping up every day. It was a dream location and the future promised only more and more fun!

Then disaster. In the 1970s, run off from area farmers, which included agricultural chemicals, caused huge amounts of algae to grow. As the algae died, bacteria consumed the decay and released tons of Hydrogen Sulfide gas into the water. This poison filled the water and caused millions of fish to die overnight. As the fish floated to the shores, birds from the area fed on the fish and died from the poison. The miracle of the desert had become a graveyard.

The primary issue was a lack of fresh water. When the engineers corrected the flooding in 1907, they cut off any fresh supply of water to the lake. The poison collected, and there was nothing to flush it out. People are too often like the Salton Sea. There is a promise of life, but in the end there is none.

Jesus made a promise that everyone who followed him and were believers in him would have "rivers of living water flow from within them." (John 7:38) The bible explains in the following verse that he was referring to the Holy Spirit, which would come to dwell in all who believe. How many times have we seen people or churches come from seemingly miraculous new births. The individual who accepts the offer of forgiveness from Jesus, but never submits to him as LORD. The church which plans and surveys themselves into the heart of a community, only to be left hollow at the core with only their community service as its shell. Where is the flowing life giving water Jesus was talking about? Why is it we see too often a Christian or church who is a dry and parched land, not a source of refreshment or renewing?

I believe God reveals an answer to this question in Jeremiah 2:13. There God tells Israel -

"My people have committed two sins: they have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water."

Have we forsaken the living water of God for the false hope of finding life in empty cisterns? Who would do that? I am a fan of Dr. Pepper cola. For others it may be Mt. Dew or Diet Coke or maybe Crystal Pepsi (it was a real thing, honestly...Google it). These drinks have faithful followers and once smitten with a brand, we do not switch easily. There are times though when finances do not allow for the name brand, and in a moment of weakness we seek an alternative. Perhaps you have been to the store and seen the Dr. Thunder or Mountain Lightning cans. They look similar, smell similar, but taste...not quite the same. But hey, we can save a few cents getting the inauthentic alternative.

What does knock off cola have to do with us and the flow of the Holy Spirit? We have this amazing, true, authentic, genuine source of life, knowledge, comfort, and connection with God but we too often block the flow of it in our lives because we are busy building reservoirs of our own making. Reservoirs that cannot hold water. They cannot offer life. In the end they will bring disappointment and death.

What are the knock offs in your spiritual life? What have you filled your spiritual plumbing with? Service? Giving financially and being recognized for doing so? Committee work? Planning? We too often assume that if there is movement, we must be doing something right. The Israelites were moving for forty years, but it wasn't getting them any closer to the promise land!

How can we get the flow of the Holy Spirit in us again?

1. Confess. James 5:16 connects confession with healing. If we want ourselves individually and our churches to heal we must begin with confession of our self made reservoirs. They don't work anyway, so why cling so hard to them instead of clinging to Jesus?

2. Repent. God tells us in Jeremiah 15:19 that if we repent, he will restore us so that we may serve him. Repentance is an act of refusal. It is our declaration that we will not go that way again. We confess that we made those broken cisterns, and repent to ever doing it again.

3. Believe. Jesus told his disciples in Matthew 21:22 that if we believe in that which we pray for, it will come to be. Prayer with belief is praying for a sunny day and not taking an umbrella with you for a walk. Prayer with unbelief is taking an umbrella...just in case. 

Salton Sea had a good run. There are people still today who remember the "good old days" there at the beach or out on the water. Do people talk about you that way? OR your church? Perhaps like the poisoned sea we should place warning signs at our church doors warning people of the hazard to their spiritual health if they chose to come in. Or perhaps we should pray to God to restore living waters in us and in our church? Won't you pray for that right now?

Following The Feet Of Jesus - Walking In New Life

4.5.15
Easter Sunday 2015

There is much debate over the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. I am not about to enter into that arena. That is not the purpose of this entry. Instead, I begin with a clear belief that Jesus was nailed to a cross, stayed there until he died a physical death, was buried in a tomb, and on the morning of the third day he came alive again!

In Matthew we read that there were a group a ladies who had gone to the tomb to anoint the body with proper burial rituals. When they arrived, they were greeted by an angel who told them "I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said." (Matthew 28:5,6)

"He Is Risen", no greater words were spoken. Most Americans can remember the words of Neil Armstrong when he took the first lunar steps of any human being. They are memorable because they marked a significant change in mankind's history. So do the words uttered by this angelic messenger! Many men had been leaders of belief groups. Many had died martyred for their beliefs. We can visit the graves of these men and women around the world.

But Jesus was different.

His death is recorded and confirmed by the separated blood and water which flowed from his wound on the cross.  The fact that the Romans and Jewish Pharisees posted guards at his tomb confirms for us that he laid in a tomb. The significant difference about the death and burial of Jesus was that he did not stay dead! He came alive again with new life!

Wow! That's great for Jesus, but how does that affect me? In Jesus' call to follow him, he invites us to follow him in his resurrection and new life! Paul describes it in Romans 6:3&4: "We were therefore buried with him [Jesus] through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life."

Extreme makeover shows are a huge hit on television these past few years. Watching people change their clothes, hair, even bodies through exercise or surgery, has become a national fascination. But even new clothes wear out or go out of style. New bodies can be returned to their plumpish nature given enough time and lack of discipline. Jesus is offering something completely different. He is transforming the inside!


There are three things I believe we should know about this new life Jesus is offering:

1. We are free from sin (Romans 6:5-7).

Paul tells us that if we join Christ in his death through baptism, we are free from sin since anyone who has died is free from the power of sin over them. This is a major component for the ministry of Jesus. In Luke chapter 4 we read about Jesus speaking at the local synagogue when asked to read from scripture. He reads Isaiah 61:1 - "The LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners." Jesus declares to those listening, and to us, that he was here on earth to fulfill this prophesy. When he sits down after reading, he states as much when he tells the audience "Today these words are fulfilled." He came to set us free - free from sin.

2. We no longer have to fear death (Romans 6:8-9).

Paul explains to us that by dying with Christ and sharing in his new life death has no mastery over us. It is no longer the boogey man beneath the bed. No longer the thing we should fear. Jesus has conquered death and we are free from its dominion over us. This new freedom and release from fear should bring a huge relief to those who are followers of Jesus! The worst thing in life is the end of it, and if that is no longer a fearful thing, we should live in constant joy!

3. This new life is eternal (Romans 6:23). 

"The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our LORD." Paul is telling us that we have wages due us for our hard work in sin: death. Separation from God for all eternity. BUT, and this is a huge deal, the gift (meaning we did not earn or deserve it) of God is to share in the eternal life of Jesus. Some translations have the word everlasting in place of eternal. This is not accurate. Everyone has everlasting life. Our soul, once joined with the body and birthed will last forever. That is everlasting. Long after our body and soul are separated, the soul lives on.

Jesus offers eternal life. Eternal life means it has no beginning or end. Only God has such a life. Jesus, as part of the Triune God, has that life and shares it with us. The difference? All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and all souls will be everlasting; but Jesus allows us to have his life record, which means we are seen by God the Father as never falling short or never having sinned. We are seen through the filter of Jesus' eternal life.