Tag Archives: pure

HABAKKUK’S SECOND DILEMMA-3

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Habakkuk 1:12-15 NLT
[12] “O Lord my God, my Holy One, you who are eternal— surely you do not plan to wipe us out? O Lord, our Rock, you have sent these Babylonians to correct us, to punish us for our many sins. [13] But you are pure and cannot stand the sight of evil. Will you wink at their treachery? Should you be silent while the wicked swallow up people more righteous than they? [14] Are we only fish to be caught and killed? Are we only sea creatures that have no leader? [15] Must we be strung up on their hooks and caught in their nets while they rejoice and celebrate?”

Poor Habakkuk! He just couldn’t keep up with God. First, he had to process God’s incomprehensible plan to raise up and permit a godless nation to overrun his people. Now he has to come to terms with a contradiction in the very nature of God. If God is holy, how can He use ungodly idolators to fulfill His purposes?

Since God patiently responded to Habakkuk’s questions, it seems that He didn’t consider Habakkuk’s questions arrogant or impertinent. He had something important to teach His distressed prophet about the wisdom of His ways. He responded to Habakkuk’s honesty by taking him step by step through His actions to a place of understanding and personal faith.

Let’s consider Habakkuk’s second question. How can a holy God use ungodly instruments for His purposes? God’s answer, which we will see in our next meditation, opens up a new perspective on God’s sovereignty.

For the moment, we must consider God’s relationship with evil. Evil people with their evil deeds impact our lives every day. Some of us live with them; we work with them; we bump into them in the course of our day; they are around us everywhere. They govern our nation and are bent on inflicting their ungodly decisions on all the people. Where is God in all this?

The story of Job will help us gain a true perspective of God’s use of evil. First, God never tolerates the evil in people. He has no part in it. He is holy, utterly separated from evil people’s thoughts, actions and behaviour. God never tempts us to do wrong.

James 1:13-15 NLT
[13] “And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else. [14] Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. [15] These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.”

Our sinful behaviour comes out of our sinful nature…our desires, our choices, our actions but…

Evil has inescapable consequences and evil people will reap them…and the consequences we suffer are not God’s fault.

However, God uses what evil people do, either to us or by us, to corall us into thinking and learning differently about sin. In His wisdom, God works, IN ALL THINGS, for our good.

What an astonishing revelation! How riveting to realise that not even our sin, heinous as it might be, is wasted in our lives. We learn more from what we have done wrong than what we have done right. God weaves our sinful behaviour and its consequences into the tapestry of our lives, the dark threads forming a contrast and revealing the magnitude of His mercy and grace.

Can you see the difference between God causing sin and God using sin in the lives of people? Since He is holy…utterly separate from sin, and demands holiness on us if we are ever to approach Him and be acceptable to Him, He took action to ensure that unholy humans would be transformed by His grace from sinners to saints.

No, Habakkuk, God’s action by raising up and using the ruthless Babylonian army was never a denial of His stance against sin but rather the evidence of His sovereign mercy. Without His drastic intervention to turn His people from their idolatrous ways, the Jews would have perished in their sin. He was preparing them for the moment when He Himself would break into history in the form of a tiny human baby to deal with sin though never part of it.

God’s reassurances regarding the mystery of His ways would lead Habakkuk, step by step, into a new perspective and a new way of handling life’s seemingly insoluble dilemmas.

To be continued…

A PERFECT HIGH PRIEST

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A PERFECT HIGH PRIEST

Such a high priest truly meets our need – one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. Unlike the other high priests, He does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for His own sin, and then for the sins of the people. He was sacrificed for their sins once for all when He offered Himself. For the law appoints as high priests men in all their weakness but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been made perfect forever (Heb. 7: 26-28).

What confidence we can have in our high priest!

Unlike the Levitical priests who went before Him, He does not have to offer another sacrifice, not for Himself or anyone else – “It is finished!” No one will ever succeed Him as high priest – He lives forever. No one is more qualified than He – He is the Son of God, no less. He is a perfect high priest in every way – holy, blameless, pure set apart from sinners and exalted above the heavens.

How can a Levitical high priest ever come anywhere near Him in fitness for their office?

When we consider Jesus, who He was, how He lived, what He did, what He said, how He treated people, how He loved and obeyed the Father, how He stood for and upheld the truth, how He suffered and died without resistance, how He rose from the dead, it is difficult to understand why His own people did not recognise who He was. Both then and now, how can they ignore the evidence? How can they reject Him, and refuse to acknowledge that He is both Son of God and their Messiah?

There can be only one reason – prejudice. They have been deceived. Prejudice and blind unbelief caused the religious leaders to reject Him and to crucify Him. They refused to examine the evidence. Today we have a world of people who would rather believe the lies that are being propagated about Him as a substitute for the truth and the unsubstantiated claims that are made about Jesus and His word, than search for the truth for themselves.

Take the claim from the Muslim world, for example that the Bible has been corrupted. On what grounds can such as statement be made and where is the evidence? It does not become true because someone said it. What about those who deny that Jesus is God? When the religious leaders rejected Jesus’ claim, He pointed them to the evidence.

For this reason they tried all the more to kill Him; not only was He breaking the Sabbath, but He was even calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God (John 5: 18).

This was His defence:

If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true. There is another who testifies in my favour, and I know that His testimony about me is true. You have sent to John and He testified to the truth . . . I have testimony weightier that that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to finish – the very works that I am doing – testify that the Father has sent me. And the Father who sent me has Himself testified concerning me . . . You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me (John 5:31-33; 36-37a; 39).

On what grounds, then, can we have absolute confidence in the high priest God has appointed on oath to stand before Him for us? Our confidence lies in the evidence and witness of who He is. Whatever people may say about Him, based on their refusal to believe the truth, Jesus is, in every way, a perfect high priest, both the Son of God and representative of the Father and the Son of Man and representative of humanity.

Unlike the Levitical priests who all died and were replaced, Jesus died and rose again, and lives forever in an indestructible body as both sacrifice and firstfuits of the resurrection. We have every reason to trust Him. His blood speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. He ever lives to make intercession for us.

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Sex And Money!

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SEX AND MONEY!

Marriage should be honoured by all, and the marriage bed be kept pure, for God will judge the adulterers and all the sexually immoral. Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’ So we say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?’ (Heb. 13: 4-6).

Sex and money! Doesn’t the ungodly world revolve around sex and money? God has set the boundaries around which these two things are to be used for our blessing and benefit, and for His glory. When we stay within the boundaries, we enjoy God’s favour and blessing and both work for us as they should.

The problem is that human beings have said, “We don’t like your boundaries, God. They are too restrictive, so we’ll make our own rules.” However, our rules are – no rules. As far as sex and money are concerned, anything goes. The Hebrew concept of hell is a place with no boundaries. By casting off God’s restraints and refusing to believe that there are consequences until it’s too late, the human race has created its own hell on earth.

As bad as that is, what is worse is that the church, to a large extent, has followed suit. Church leaders, and prominent ones at that, rationalise sin away as though God’s standards are equal to “situation ethics” – whatever feels right to you is right. What passes for “love” is the excuse for every kind of sexual promiscuity and perversity. Homosexuality, for example, is condoned and excused because people of the same sex “love each other.” “Falling out of love” is a perfectly good reason for adultery and divorce, and pastors very often lead the way. As for fornication among the youth, well . . .

What passes for “God’s blessing” is a cover up for greed and even extortion within the church. How did we get to the place where we buy God’s miracles by being given the guarantee that, if we “sow into” so-and-so’s ministry, God will do what we want? The tragedy is that gullible, uninformed so-called “believers” swallow the bait and line the pockets of unscrupulous big-name preachers so that they can enjoy the hard-earned money of those they deceive. Guilt is the whip these “spiritual” leaders use to drive the people “in the name of the Lord.”

And what of what I call “charismatic shopping”! “For a gift of x amount or more (note the “or more” bit!), you can have this book, or CD, or DVD” or whatever is on offer. Have you ever! Imagine going into a shop and seeing the price of an article stated this way: “For a gift of . . . you can have this . . .” Isn’t is the same thing?

Satan, under the guise of promiscuous or perverted sex and greed, has staked his claim to be Lord, and laughs at those who follow him. He knows very well where he is leading them. He gets them exactly where he wants them, enslaved to sin and in line for God’s judgment. He knows he is heading for the lake of fire and he is determined to take as many with him as he can. He dangles the carrot of pleasure and gratification in front of the unsuspecting until they are hooked and then he laughs in their faces.

What should our attitude be to these two most powerful forces in the world – sex and money? God has set His boundaries – and our response should be to obey. The surprising thing is that, when we do, we enjoy more pleasure and gratification than all the pleasure people seek who do it by bending the rules. God is smart. He knows why we were made, how we were made and what works for us. He ought to, since He is our Creator, with apologies to the “big bang” people.

His rules are simple. Rule number one: You can have all the sex you want, within the boundaries of monogamous marriage and a faithful and loyal relationship. Rule number two: You can have all the money you want as long as you work for it and use it to serve you, your family and those who are in need. Money is a good servant but a bad master.

Within these boundaries you will live in and promote peace in your family and wherever you can be of help to others. Unity in marriage is a reflection of the oneness within the godhead.  Generosity with your money and possessions is a reflection of the generosity of our God who gave His only Son to save us from perishing in our sin. Our best and only response to love like that is to do what He tells us because He knows that it works.

A wise person, according to the Scriptures, is one who does what works. A fool is one who knows that what he does, does not work but he does it anyway. He does the same thing over and over again but expects a different outcome. How dumb is that! For us as human beings made in the image of God, there is only one thing that works – obedience to God’s instructions.

So why buck the system? You will not hurt God but you will certainly hurt yourself.

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

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Mind Your Mind

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MIND YOUR MIND

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if there is anything excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received from me, or seen in me – put into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.” Philippians 4:8-9.

Paul’s prescription for living ends in a crescendo of triumphant declaration – the God of peace will be with you. How did he get there?

The key is in your thought life. What we think, we are and what we think, we do. Anxious thoughts lead to foolish choices. The solution is to take possession of your mind and bend it towards God instead of indulging in random and undisciplined thinking.

This is not about playing mind games. This is about spiritual warfare. Yes, spiritual warfare! The notion that spiritual warfare is about pulling down demonic strongholds over nations and regions and flushing out demons from behind every bush is not Biblical and a complete waste of time. The way to deal with the devil is to give him no place in your mind

Deeds and actions are conceived in the mind according to what we believe to be true. The hijackers of American Airlines Flight 11 believed that they were doing God’s will and pleasing him when they flew the plane into the north tower of the Twin Towers in New York. Reciting prayers to Allah as the plane crashed into the tower, they thought that they were doing the right thing because it was in keeping with their understanding of the will of their god.

Just as it is impossible to be anxious and at peace at the same time, so it is impossible to think two conflicting thoughts at the same time. The only way to get rid of wrong thoughts is to replace them with thoughts about things that are good, pure and lovely. Where do we find thoughts like that when the world is continually bombarding us with thoughts of ungodliness?

We will think the thoughts about the things that we have fed into our minds. We live in an era of information overload. Most of the information we receive is either anti-God or completely ignores God as though He does not exist. Like the hijackers of 911, the world has hijacked God’s blessings and prostituted them on their own pleasure and for their own benefit, not giving Him a thought when they squander His resources on themselves.

As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ and citizens of God’s kingdom, we are not to be like that. We are to fuel our minds with thoughts that honour God so that what comes out will be words and actions that reflect His presence in our lives. Satan can only plant thought in our minds. He cannot control our choices. It is up to us to filter out the thoughts that are Satan-inspired and not a reflection of the nature of God in whose nature we have been recreated.

“The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:5, 6.

A mind shaped by learning to think the way God does by filling our minds with God’s word, is a disciplined mind. The outcome is astonishing. “The God of peace will be with you.”  “What’s the big deal?” you say. “I thought that God is always with me.” Sure; that’s what He promised, but being with you and being with you are two entirely different things.

 

You can accompany a person who is committing a crime without being with him, approving of and supporting him in his action. On the other hand, you can be entirely with a person when he is doing a good deed, helping him wherever necessary so that the outcome is good. There are many references in Scripture where God was “with” a person so that he prospered and fulfilled his calling: Joseph in Egypt, Samuel, David as king of Israel and most of all, Jesus.

It’s that kind of being “with” us that Paul was emphasising. Just imagine – when you take the time to fill your mind with the word of God and begin to see your life from God’s perspective, instead of whining about your hardships, you will begin to praise Him. Difficulties will become opportunities, like they were for Joseph. Hardships will be lessons in trust, like they were for Paul. Don’t you think that you will experience God’s overwhelming peace because He is upholding and supporting you in your trial?

He will do anything for those who are willing to praise Him in trouble, because it is an expression of trust. And the outcome will be more than you can imagine of hope for just as it was for Joseph. Do the right thing for God and He will do the right thing for you. But you have to think it first!

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.