Tuesday, July 29, 2008

He Is Able

A song crossed my mind today as I tried to comfort a soul with the reminder of God’s ability to deliver. In fact, I am singing it in my mind as I compose this meditation. When our children were all home and we had family devotionals, we used to sing this song. The chorus goes like this:

“He is able to deliver thee, He is able to deliver thee;
Though by sin oppressed, Go to Him for rest,
Our God is able to deliver thee.”

This then brought to mind the question our Lord Jesus posited to two blind men, who cried out to Him to have mercy upon them. It is a searching question that we do well to put to ourselves, whenever we approach God with a need.

Matthew 9:28 And when he was come into the house, the blind men came to him: and Jesus saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him, Yea, Lord.

“Believe ye that I am able to do this?” That is the question. Our Lord did not ask them if they believed He would do it. He rather asked them if they believed He could do it. The blind men responded by affirming their faith in the Lord’s ability. To this affirmation of faith our Lord responded.

Matthew 9:29 Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you.

Faith in His ability to deliver these blind men moved our Lord to actually deliver them. Just believing that God is able to perform has far reaching consequences for good. Whatever darkness, distress, despair, debt, disease, or other d-word you may be experiencing, when you bring it to your Lord, do you believe He is able to deliver you? Even if the Lord does not deliver you in the way you might desire of Him, do you still believe He is able to deliver you?

Consider the example of our father Abraham.

Romans 4:19 And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara's womb:
20 He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;
21 And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.

Observe that a strong faith is fully persuaded that God is able to perform what He promises, even though the circumstances seem impossible, as they did to Abraham and Sarah. Abraham did not consider his own weakness. He rather focused on what God was able to do. We would all be better off if we focused more on what God is able to do and less on our own weakness.

Let the following verse give you some idea of the extent to which your God is able to deliver you.

Ephesians 3:20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,

Our God is able to do all that we ask or even think. We cannot think of anything beyond God’s ability to perform. He can not only do all that we ask or think, He is able to do above all or beyond everything that we ask or think. He can not only do above all that we ask or think, He is able to do abundantly or exceedingly above all that we ask or think. But He can not only do abundantly above all that we ask or think, He is able to do exceeding or extremely abundantly above all that we ask or think. In other words, God’s ability extends extremely beyond the extremes of anything that we can verbalize or imagine.

Or try this one on for size.

Hebrews 7:25 Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.

That uttermost reaches your most desperate and far-reaching needs for deliverance. No matter how big the problem or weak your ability to deal with it, God is able deliver you. Your problem will never be beyond God’s ability.

So the next time you are in trouble and someone tries to encourage you by pointing you to God’s ability to deliver, do not respond with a sigh, “Yea, yea, I know…….” That sigh is an expression of doubt. Instead, confidently affirm as did these two blind men, “Yea, Lord.” You have not even begun to tap into His ability to save you.

Remember that the Lord responded to the faith of these blind men by saying, “According to your faith be it unto you.” Christ was honoured by their faith in His ability. God deals with us according to our faith. We will miss much in the way of blessing if our faith in God’s ability is weak. If our faith in God’s ability is weak, that indicates that we think God is weak. This kind of unbelief grieves the Spirit of God. Remember the words of the song and recite them with a full persuasion of their truth: “He is able to deliver thee.” Affirm your faith in His ability and then watch Him perform on your behalf!

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Waging War

While the word war refers primarily to armed conflict between nations or between opposing parties within a nation, it can also be applied to any active contention between living beings. Like it or not, we all have to wage war with others from time to time. This can take on the form of nations declaring war upon each other, or a person physically fighting off an attacker, or persons contending with one another in a court of law or in the court of the church, or two opponents engaging in a verbal debate, or parents having to resist a rebellious teenager. As Christians, it is our duty to avoid conflict as much as possible as the following verse clearly shows.

Romans 12:18 If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.

Dr. Robin Wright once said that we should not go looking for battles. He said that God will bring to us the battles that He wants us to fight. I quite agree with Dr. Wright. Our general disposition should be toward seeking peace rather than conflict. However, as the above verse allows, there are times when it is not possible to live peaceably with other men. At such times, there will be conflict. In the face of this possibility, it pays to know how to wisely wage war.

War is never something any of us should rush into. Consider these two passages given by the wisest man that ever lived with the exception of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Proverbs 20:18 Every purpose is established by counsel: and with good advice make war.

Proverbs 25:8 Go not forth hastily to strive, lest thou know not what to do in the end thereof, when thy neighbour hath put thee to shame.

If you are considering waging war, it is always wise to seek out good advice before doing so. To hastily jump into a conflict without counsel can leave you defeated in the end. The great military strategist Sun Tzu taught that it takes more than courage to win a war. A reckless general may be courageous, but lacking wisdom, he will be a calamity. Battles are lost for want of counsel.

Proverbs 11:14 Where no counsel is, the people fall.

Now it is always possible that one could be suddenly attacked by a thug, which would require him to quickly resort to self-defense. But by practicing forethought and caution, one can often avoid the places and people where those kinds of attacks are more likely to occur.

Proverbs 22:3 A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished.

Seeking counsel is especially important when the desire to wage war is motivated by anger or revenge since passion tends to interfere with good judgment. Observe that one should make war with good advice. Your information will never be any better than your source of information. Talk to people of experience and sober judgment, who have both witnessed battles and fought some themselves. And don’t just talk to the people you expect will agree with you. Get an opposing viewpoint. In fact, you will find it safer to get several viewpoints. “In the multitude of counsellers there is safety” (Proverbs 24:6). Weigh all the information and then decide on a course of action.

Before entering into any conflict, always ask yourself what you intend to accomplish. What is your objective? In a publication entitled War: Moral or Immoral, Colonel R. B. Thieme, Jr. wrote: “No great military organization has ever succeeded without a thorough knowledge of its objective.” Is your objective to rescue a kidnapped family member as when Abraham waged war to rescue his nephew Lot (Genesis 14:12-14)? Or is it getting your fair share of property? Or is it stopping a behaviour that is destroying the company, or the church, or the family? Or is your objective merely to take revenge? If so, you are intruding into God’s domain.

Romans 12:19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.

Always be sure your objectives do not clash with God’s express will for you life.

Also, before you enter into a conflict, ask yourself if this is really your battle to fight. Sometimes in our zeal to right wrongs, we take on what is properly another person’s battle. I may see wrong in another pastor’s church, but righting that wrong is not my responsibility. God did not commit to me the oversight of every church. Our U.S. military today is stretched too thinly because we have bought into the idea that it is our calling as a nation to right the wrongs of other nations. Solomon said it so well in this proverb:

Proverbs 26:17 He that passeth by, and meddleth with strife belonging not to him, is like one that taketh a dog by the ears.

And when you contemplate whether to wage war or not, always count the cost and ask yourself if it is worth that cost. Our Lord taught the wisdom of this principle.

Luke 14:31 Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand?

32 Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace.

Now there may always be that battle worth fighting whether you win or lose. Many a Christian has lost his job, his friends, his family, and even his life because he stood his ground on principle and would not surrender. Of course, in the larger picture, such loss is only temporary. In the end, the Christian will emerge the victor.

Matthew 16:25 …whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

A Call to Worship

Psalms 103:1 Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.

This verse raises a favourite topic of mine to consider, the topic of worship. The experience of worship intrigues me. Worship is such an essential part of our Christian profession. It should be the passion of our lives. Nothing is more important. I find myself often frustrated that I do not draw from the worship experience as much as I want. I must constantly battle annoying distractions. This frustration only leaves me yearning to try again. I suspect that we will never fully enter into the experience of worship until we reach glory.

In the above verse the Psalmist is having a dialogue with himself. As human beings our Creator has endowed us with the ability of self-reflection. We can actually reflect on ourselves, consider ourselves, pass judgment upon ourselves, and carry on a dialogue with ourselves. Do you ever chide yourself when you do something wrong? I can really chew out Ben Mott. Or do you ever remind yourself to do something? I write notes to myself so that I can remember. All of this is our ability of self-reflection at work. This verse is an example of this marvellous power of self-reflection. The Psalmist is literally talking to himself. He is telling his soul to bless the holy name of the Lord. The word bless is actually in the imperative mood, which suggests that the Psalmist is commanding himself. He is issuing to himself a call to worship. Have you ever called yourself to worship?

Consider the definition of bless as it is used in this verse.

Bless – To call holy; to extol, praise, or adore (God) as holy, worthy of reverence.

To adore God as holy is to worship Him by definition. Now our Psalmist calls upon his soul to bless the Lord with all that is within him. The commentator G. Campbell Morgan had some very arresting comments to make upon this verse. He wrote:

The one value of these opening words is that they show us that worship is not involuntary, automatic. It calls for the co-ordination of all our powers, if it is to be perfect. This truth should arrest us whenever we enter the place of worship. The sanctuary is not a lounge, a place of relaxation. We should enter it with all the powers of personality arrested, arranged, dedicated.

To which I say, “Amen!” Worship is something we should prepare for. We ought to focus all our powers of desire, feeling, thought, and purpose upon the exercise of worship. Worship is something we should look forward to. We should go to church intending to give the worship of God our best. No doubt we will get more out of church worship, if we put more of ourselves into it!

Think about something you really look forward to doing. Maybe it is taking a vacation. Perhaps it is watching or attending a sporting event. Or maybe it is pursuing a relationship. Consider how much you pour yourself into it. Now compare that with how you approach worship. Do you approach worship with as much of yourself invested in it as in other things. If not, then you need to have a talk with yourself. You need to take charge of yourself and command yourself to bless the Lord with all that is within you. I challenge you to issue to yourself a call to worship the Lord. I can call you to worship. But it will be much more effective if you call yourself to it!

I would appreciate it if you would leave a brief comment letting me know that you are receiving these meditations. Thank you.