When God's Wrath Is Your Comfort

A great pearl from John Piper that help us focus on the One who rights the wrongs:

"All of you have been wronged at one time or another. Most of you, probably, have been wronged seriously by someone who has never apologized or done anything sufficient to make it right. And one of the deep hindrances to your letting that hurt and bitterness go is the conviction — the justified conviction — that justice should be done, that the fabric of the universe will unravel if people can just get away with horrible wrongs and deceive everyone. That is one of the hindrances to forgiveness and letting grudges go. It’s not the only one. We have our own sin to deal with. But it is a real one. We feel that just to let it go would be to admit that justice simply won’t be done. And we can’t do it. So we hold on to anger, and play the story over and over again with the feelings: It shouldn’t have happened; it shouldn’t have happened; it was wrong; it was wrong. How can he be so happy now when I am so miserable? It is so wrong. It is so wrong!

This word in Romans 12:19 is given to you today by God to lift that burden from you. “Never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God.” What does this mean for you? Laying down the burden of anger, laying down the practice of nursing your hurt with feelings of being wronged — laying that down — does not mean there was no great wrong against you. It does not mean there is no justice. It does not mean you will not be vindicated. It does not mean they just got away with it. No.

It means, when you lay down the burden of vengeance, God will pick it up.

This is not a subtle way of getting revenge. This is a way of giving vengeance to the one to whom it belongs. It is taking a deep breath, perhaps for the first time in decades, and feeling like now at last you may be free to love. I long so much for you to know the freedom to love."

Prophecy For Right Now

Revelation 2 and 3 comprise the letters to the seven churches. In these chapters, we find things the churches were commended for and things for which the Lord rebuked them. We find solutions for the problems they faced and encouragement for their faithfulness.

In the letters to the seven churches, we also find out a great deal about our Savior. Jesus know us personally; he knows our works and he knows the difficulties we have faced (2:2-3). He hates those who spread false doctrine and false prophecy (v.6). He is the One who existed from the beginning and will last until the end; the One who defeated death and came to life (v.8). He promises reward to those who persevere (v.10) He is the One who holds the truth that cuts through the lies of the enemy (v.12). He is patient with sinners, but will ultimately punish the unrepentant (v. 20-23). The Lord also sees through our vain attempts to look spiritual (3:1-3) and is actually even more appalled by lukewarm faith, than no faith at all (v.15-17).

To the faithful, he promises everlasting life and promises to be our advocate to the Father (v.5). He promises the faithful will be spared from future judgment (v.10). He urges us to repent of our sins and he will shape us into his image (v.19). But best of all, our Lord promises that if we respond to him, He will have a personal relationship with us and allow us to share in his Kingdom rule (v.20-21).

Godly Perspective for Hard Times

The trials we go through can be extremely painful, seem never-ending and feel completely overwhelming. Yet, as believers we know that because the Lord is all-powerful and always present that what we go through has passed through his loving hands. Therefore it is crucial that we have the proper godly perspective for the hard times we face or are currently facing. Dr. Charles Stanley offers these truths that we must grab ahold of:

• The Lord controls the timing and intensity of my trial.
• He has a specific purpose for allowing it.
• It may yield something in me that I presently lack,
• If I trust God with a joyful attitude, I'll benefit from adversity.
• Christ wants to demonstrate His ability to sustain me under great pressure.
• He walks with me every step of the way.
• Through the power of the Spirit, I'll come out of this trial victorious.

Plans For You

More times than I'd like to remember, I've surged ahead with my own plans and agenda and then asked God to bless what I was doing on the back end. Jeremiah 29:11 speaks of a much better way--- For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Notice who has the plans and who they are made for. Notice the promised outcome. The Lord spoke these words through the prophet Jeremiah during a time when his people were in exile in Babylon. In the earlier verses, He urges his people to live where they are and be productive (v. 5-6), to pray for the land where they were in exile (v. 7) and to be aware of false prophets and not be deceived (v. 8-9). Then He promises to deliver his people home after their 70 years of exile has been completed (v. 10).

This passage of Scripture gives me great hope. God knows when I am in a dry season. He knows when I am suffering. He encourages me to keep on living and not let the present circumstances cripple me in fear. He commands me to hold to his truth and not be swayed by the lies of enemy and those who don't know Him. And best of all, He promised to deliver me safely home.

Patrick Morley, President of Man in the Mirror Ministries and a man who I respect greatly, shared these thoughts on how we can actually create our own gospel by surging ahead with our own plans instead of the ones that God has prepared for us before time began:

"When I became a Christian I already had a plan for my life. So when I read the Bible I was, in essence, looking for evidence to support the decisions I had already made. When I read a verse that went in the direction I was going in anyway, I would underline that verse--often memorize it. But when I read a verse that veered off in a direction I didn't want to go, I would figuratively smudge that verse off the page. Soon I was following the God I was underlining in my Bible. I had created a fifth gospel--Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Patrick. In due time God graciously and painfully rerouted me to the true gospel.

Jesus said, "The Scriptures cannot be altered" (John 10:35). Unless and until we accept the timeless authority of the Scriptures, we will never enter into the fullness of the "new creation." To read the Bible with an agenda is to seek the God we want. To surrender to the authority of the Scriptures is to seek the God who is. How many gospels do you have?"

Pre-meditated Murder

During a discussion today in Sunday school, a friend of mine said that the original sin in the Garden was pre-meditate murder on the part of satan. I've certainly had many thoughts about what Adam and Eve did in the Garden and the resulting devastation, but I must admit I never thought of it in terms of pre-meditated murder. But what an apt description.

What the enemy did was bring death upon the prize of God's creation. In John 8:44, Jesus himself calls him a murderer from the beginning. John 10:10 reminds us again that he comes to kill, steal and destroy. Because of his own banishment from the presence of God, the enemy knows that sin separates us from the Lord's presence as well; resulting in spiritual death.

Yet while satan is guilty of pre-meditated murder, we have a Savior who gives us pre-meditated salvation. The Word of God became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14) so that all who received Him would become children of God (v. 12) and see the Kingdom of God (John 3:3).

The Power of Praise

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 tells us to Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Camp out on this for a moment. We are to always rejoice; even if the situations and circumstances in our lives makes us want to do anything but rejoice. We are to pray without ceasing; meaning that our communication with God must be continual and constant no matter what we are going through or how we feel. We are to give thanks in all circumstances; even in the difficult ones knowing that everything passes through his divine hands and he promise to work all things for our good (Romans 8:28).

Hebrews 13:15-16 urges us to continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God because it is pleasing to Him. And sometimes offering up praise is a sacrifice because of how sin and suffering wears us down but our Lord knows how much we benefit from the power of praise.

My man Pastor Dan Downey knocked it out of the park again with his devotional, "The Precious Power of Praise". Look at all the things that happen because of praise:

Praise - Honors God! Praise - Undergirds faith! Praise - Brings deliverance! Praise - Is the voice of faith! Praise - Is the language of heaven! Praise - Sets the stage for God to move! Praise - Releases the angels to minister! Praise - Fuels joy, which is your strength! Praise - Knocks down walls of resistance! Praise - Stills the enemy and the avenger! Praise - Dispels darkness and depression! Praise - Must precede, not follow blessings! Praise - Gives God the legal right to help you! Praise - Brings the presence of God onto the scene! Praise - Is a sure sign of acceptance of the Word of God! Praise - Is the highway that faith moves its blessings down! Praise - Is calling those things that be not as though they were!

Claiming Promises

He promises to never leave us or forsake us. He promises to sustain us when we give him our burdens. He promises to give us renewed strength when we wait on him. He promises to deliver us from our afflictions. He promises to renew us and uphold us with his righteousness. He promises to give us anything we ask according to his will. He promises us abundant life. He promises us an undefiled inheritance. The Creator of the Universe promises all these things to those who love Him. I’m claiming these promises.