Month: September 2011

Correction in Love

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5, 6)

It isn’t long in the life of a Christian before they hear and commit to memory these verses. They are well worth the effort because the application of them in every aspect and every moment of life is beneficial. This directive is in the Bible because we are inclined to do the exact opposite. The fallen corrupt nature that we inherited compels us to trust in our own abilities.

Solomon gives us four applications relating to faith and trust in the Lord.

The first application is as stated above: will I trust my wisdom or the Lord’s? What we do with all four applications is based on who we think we are and who we think the Lord is. Solomon tells us that the Lord is the One who created and sustains all that exists (vv 19, 20). He is the Potter and we are the clay so who has the greater wisdom?

As stewards of the life the Lord has given us we should take care of our bodies and not abuse them. God has graciously allowed people to understand the human body so as to bring healing to many problems but people are fallible and knowledge incomplete. Ultimately we will do well to trust the Lord for our health and healing (vv 7, 8).

The next application of our trust in the Lord is with regard to material possessions and money (vv 9, 10). When we are doing well we think that the Lord is blessing us for our faithfulness and when material wealth is withdrawn we think we must have gone astray or been disobedient. This notion does not conform to biblical revelation. Even Jesus had no more than His clothing and there are many examples of other godly men being like this in the Bible. Whether we trust the Lord or material wealth is revealed not when we have plenty but when material wealth is withdrawn. If we can’t trust the Lord in lean times then we certainly do not trust Him in the plentiful times.

The last of the applications of trusting the Lord that Solomon gives us here is that of chastening and correction (vv 11, 12). A father who loves his children will chasten and correct his children. Such activity is an act of love when done correctly. Only a humble and teachable person will accept chastening and correction, one who knows he is bent on wrong ways. Out of love the Lord chastens and corrects our wayward ways as a shepherd does his sheep.

The much loved Psalm 23 is written by Solomon’s father, King David, in a similar vein when he wrote, “Your rod and your staff they comfort me” (v4). The rod of correction and chastisement and the staff to shepherd and direct bring comfort to the one who knows his own sinful disposition.

Knowing the Creator

“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer” (Psalm 19:14)

A few years ago in an RE class a 10-year-old girl asked how she could know that God existed. This was in the context of an exercise showing how we could determine that a person existed long ago.

This was the first really encouraging sign we had seen in the few weeks we had been taking RE. God had provoked this girl’s curiosity to the point that she asked the question. It was not unlike the question I posed when I was about that age, “If God exists then it must be possible to know Him in a person way.” The day before the RE class, in my personal devotion, I had been meditating on Psalm 19 which covers the three main ingredients of the answer to her question.

“The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork” (v 1). Whether we gaze into the night skies or the deepest depths of the sea, into the forests or in the deserts, on the mountain peaks or in the river valleys, or even under the plants and mulch in our gardens, there we see His handiwork. The greater part of God’s creation is never seen by mankind and yet it sings His praises and glorifies Him. The small part we do observe does reveal to us the beauty and wisdom of the Creator and gives us reason to believe there is a Creator.

However, this is insufficient to save us from sin and death and bring us into a personal relationship with Him.

“The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure. The statutes of the Lord are right.“ (vv 7, 8). The second revelation of God is through His Word which by His great grace we have available to us in our own language. The Law reveals our sinfulness and God’s holiness and mercy and grace lead us to the Saviour by and through whom we may be saved.

“Cleanse me …” (v 12) God’s mercy to mankind is that He is able to cleanse and forgive all our sin. This is of course only possible in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ and this is the third aspect of knowing God (Hebrews 1:1-3). Without the cross and Christ’s shed blood we cannot know Him.

As for everyone this young girl had the witness of the world around her that declared the existence of a Creator. The Word of God delivered to her by God’s people is also a witness in order that she discover that she can have, but does not yet have, an intimate relationship with that Creator. The Word of God reveals how that is possible through Jesus Christ.

In Our Time

“Do not grant, O Lord, the desires of the wicked; Do not further his wicked scheme, Less they be exalted” (Psalm 140:8)

This Psalm is written by King David and is a prayer that the Lord would: Deliver him from the plans of evil men and preserve him from violent men (v 1); Keep him from the power of evil men and again to preserve him from violent men (v 4); Shelter him from harm in battle which must also include violence (v 7); and bring down the wicked to their end (vv 9-11).

This Psalm is written for David’s own situation; but as a type of Israel’s Messiah, it will also have its fulfilment when Messiah Jesus rules the world from Jerusalem – in fulfilment of His covenant with David.

For these requests to be made it is evident that evil men were plotting against the king and his life and rule were under threat. In the Psalms written by David we find a confidence in the Lord to fulfil His covenant with him.

We live in a world full of troubles; not least of these are violent men who oppose anything godly. Their motives are many but they are all under the power of the evil one and of the spirit of antichrist.

On this anniversary of one of the many very violent acts in our time we would do well to lift up our eyes to the Lord with a prayer and for an answer.

“I will lift up my eyes to the hills –
From whence comes my help?
My help comes from the Lord Who made heaven and earth” (Psalm 121:1, 2).

We may look to the “hills” (UN, USA, NATO, EU, etc.) for help but no help will come from among men, quite the contrary.

“The heart of man is deceitful above all, and desperately wicked; who can know it? I, the Lord, search the heart; I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings” (Jeremiah 17:9-10).

In answer to the question the writer declares that it is the Creator alone who can give that help.

We live in a world where people have a greater ability to express wickedness and on a much larger scale than in times past. Is this cause for us to be discouraged in the Lord? By no means: Jeremiah and David both declare that the Lord will administer justice to all according to their life and actions.

When the Holy Spirit convicts the heart of a person that they are of the same wickedness as those who perpetrate such evil deeds, they are then well placed to call on the name of the Lord. In Him alone are forgiveness of sin and the gift of new life. It is in Him alone because He alone is “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).

Grace to Help

“Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16)

“Let us come…”  This is yet another of Christ’s invitations for us to come as children to one who loves us and whom we love. No child needs an invitation to come to his/her father to start with. Only a break in the relationship will bring such a thing into being.

“boldly …” This is the idea of confidence, not presumption or demand, just as a child ought to be able to come to his/her father. When they know their father loves them they will come to him gladly, often and without fear of rejection.

“to the throne of grace” As a child naturally comes to his/her father expecting favourable treatment so we may come to our Heavenly Father. Unfortunately children in our world may not always receive it and become discouraged. Grace is there because of a relationship not the performance of the child.

Because we live in a fallen world every family is dysfunctional to some degree. Fathers often lack the example and training of how to be a godly father. So where can we go to find a faithful example of how a father should conduct himself toward his children?

Right! To the Bible, our Maker’s “manual” to bring correction to the bad role models we have seen and followed. Of course, the Bible will also reveal the role models worthy of emulating. Even if we do not always have a right attitude and don’t always perform in the right way toward our children, we can give them the example that we are learning from God’s Word.

On my 50th birthday my son gave me a poem which includes these lines:

“Every morning I get up and see the closed door, light streaming out

I know that behind that door you are praying for me

The closed door is to me a symbol, a sign

That reminds me of your walk with the Lord”

This is the grace of God – a son not exasperated! But it would have been quite a different poem had not Christ intervened in my life when my son was a young child. Our family became less dysfunctional through the years as we modelled our attitudes and behaviour on those revealed in our Heavenly Father. For me, as father, the relationship between God and Israel has been a great source of guidance, understanding and wisdom.