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Brick #43 – Habakkuk 3:17-19a

“Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. God, the Lord, is my strength;” (Habakkuk 3:17-19a)

In this short book tucked away toward the back of the Older Testament, Habakkuk asks the kinds of questions that we all ask from time to time.

Why, God, do I cry for help and it seems like you don’t listen? (1:2)

Why do you tolerate wrongdoing and injustice in the world? (1:3)

Why do you do nothing when wicked people triumph over the righteous? (1:13)

Where are you when I’m jobless and and have no hope for a financial upturn? (3:17)

The one thing that you notice when you read this book is that though Habakkuk is complaining, he is complaining to God. This is a healthy kind of complaining. It is the complaining of a man who passionately loves God and is trying to make sense of who He is and what He is doing in the world around him. It is the kind of complaining that takes the time to listen to God after he puts all his gripes out on the table. It is the kind of complaining that isn’t trying to twist God’s arm into getting what he wants. Habakkuk loves God but there is much that he does not understand and much that he does not like. So he tells God. He is not ditching his faith; he is not turning his back on God; he is not complaining to whoever is willing to listen. He is talking with God. I say “with” rather than “to” because he takes the time to listen to what God has to say.

Pastor/author John Ortberg says in his book God Is Closer Than You Think, “When we are passionately honest with God, when we are not indulging in self-pity or martyrdom but are genuinely opening ourselves up to God, when we complain in hope that God can still be trusted – then we are asking God to create the kind of condition in our hearts that will make resting in His presence possible again. And God will come. But He may come in unexpected ways.”

After he has said his piece to God, Habakkuk finds peace with God. He is reminded that God is indeed in control. He is reminded that dire circumstances do not mean you cannot experience joy. He is reminded that each day he needs God’s strength to deal with life. He is reminded that even though life often seems unfair, that God is a fair and just Sovereign.

May we find our joy and our strength in Him today – no matter what we may have to complain about!

Brick #42 – 2 Timothy 1:12

“Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him for that day.” (2 Timothy 1:12)

Do you believe what you say that you believe? And do you have lifestyle convictions that lend credibility to your faith?

In the passage preceding this verse, Paul talks about how he has been saved by grace through faith in Christ and has been appointed a herald and apostle of the gospel. This is what he believes and bases his life on. He has experienced persecution and difficulty and torture as a result of his beliefs. His suffering for the sake of the gospel gives his faith credibility. No one doubts that Paul believes what he says he believes because he is willing to suffer and die if that is what it takes to live out his faith. He is not in any way ashamed of the fact that he is a follower of Jesus. What he says reflects this; what he does reflects this; what he endures reflects this.

Where does this kind of conviction come from? As I look at my own life and the Christian culture in general I see very few examples of the kind of conviction that Paul displayed. As I think about this question, there seems to be a past, present, and future element to establishing strong convictions that result in courageous living. Here are my thoughts for what they are worth…

Past: Convictions comes from a genuine encounter with our resurrected Savior – There is an eternal difference between knowing about Jesus and knowing Jesus. Many people know about Him but knowing about Him does not transform you. Knowing Jesus is transformational. When you meet Him, when you have a genuine encounter with Him, then you are changed. Your life canNOT ever be the same. The things that matter to you change. You begin to care about the things that matter to Him. Convictions begin to develop because you are thoroughly convinced that He is Lord and reigns triumphant in your life. Paul had a life-changing encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus that was both overwhelmingly convincing and emphatically convicting.

Present: Convictions come from the Holy Scriptures – As we immerse ourselves in the Word of God, the Spirit of God changes our heart and challenges our mind so that we become convicted of sin in our own lives and in the injustice that we see around us. The Scriptures have the power to pierce through our apathy and indifference; to invade our capricious conscience; to penetrate the fallow and infertile ground of our wayward hearts. As we are saturated with Truth, God’s Spirit can supernaturally create within us robust convictions that will enable us to stand the strength of any storm that might encroach upon our lives.

Future: – Convictions come from having a clearly defined end goal – For instance, if my goal is to shed 100 pounds of weight and I have a clear picture of what it takes to get there then I suspect that 2 of my convictions will involve a healthy diet and regular exercise. If my goal is to stand before the Father upon my death as one who is holy and unashamed then I will develop convictions along the way that will help to steer my choices regarding what I can and cannot do. One of Jonathan Edward’s Resolutions went like this: Resolved, never to do anything, which I should be afraid to do, if it were the last hour of my life. Thoughts of death turned his mind to eternal realities, making worldly temptations of the moment seem empty and unattractive. Living as if he was in his last hour helped him keep sinful things at a distance. Having his heart and mind set upon heaven helped him cultivate clear and concise convictions.

May God make us men and women of conviction – men and women who really believe what we say that believe!

Brick #41 – Philippians 4:12-13

“I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:12-13

Contentment is a wonderful thing. But what is genuine contentment and how do you cultivate it in your life?

Jeremiah Burroughs, the Puritan preacher and author of The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment, describes contentment this way: “Christian contentment is that sweet, inward, quiet, gracious frame of spirit, which freely submits to and delights in God’s wise and fatherly disposal in every condition.” Think about that for a minute and it will begin to make perfect sense. It has also been said, “When you are discontent, you always want more, more, more. Your desire can never be satisfied. But when you practice contentment, you can say to yourself, ‘Oh yes – I already have everything that I really need.”

So how do you develop this kind of attitude. Here are a few things that i have learned over the years that perhaps will be helpful…

1) Cultivate a grateful heart – Thank God for what you do have right now , rather than grumbling about what you don’t have. Thank people everyday who come across your path for things that they do and ways that they serve you. People appreciate appreciation! Gratefulness fuels contentment. More and more our society is becoming a society of entitlement. We, as believers, need to model for the world what it means to be grateful for the incredible blessings that we experience everyday. And if you are not aware of these then you are not looking very hard.

2) Cultivate a fierce trust in the sovereignty of God – What I mean by this is that we must acknowledge that God is in control – even when it appears that life is out of control. And we must cling to the promise that “God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28). And we must confess that God “has chosen us before the creation of the world.” (Ephesians 1:4) And we must delight in the fact that “we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works.” (Ephesians 2:10) And we must worship Him “for in Him all things were created….all things have been created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together….”. (Colossians 1:16-18) Believers are not fatalists. Rather, we believe that God has a plan and a purpose for everything and that He will accomplish His purposes. He is in control. A strong grasp of the sovereignty of God fuels contentment.

3) Cultivate a daily recipience of the strength that God provides – We live in a self sufficient culture. But what we believe is counter cultural. We are taught to rely on ourselves (or the government) to muddle through this life. But as Christians we confess that we are needy people. We can’t do it on our own. We must have the strength that God provides through His Spirit if we are not just going to survive but to thrive in this world. Our prayer each day should be something like this: “God, today would You give me the strength and the courage and the grace and the compassion that I do not have on my own. Would you fill me that I might be used to display Your goodness and Your glory to those around me. I confess my need for You and my dependence upon You.” A daily recipience of the strength that God provides fuels contentment.

“Live near to God, and so all things will appear to you little In comparison to eternal realities.–” Robert Murray McCheyne

May you and I enjoy the contentment that comes from God as we freely submit to and delight in God’s wise and fatherly disposal in every condition.

Brick #40 – James 1:2-3

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.” James 1:2-3

Is James really serious? I mean does it make any sense at all to to be happy when hardship and difficulty comes our way. No it does not. And that is not what James says. He says, rather, that we should rejoice when we go through tough times. Big difference! No doubt you have heard it said that our happiness depends on our happenings – our circumstances, which more often than not we have little or no control over. But our joy is dependent on our relationship with God and our understanding of His purposes for our lives. God is not concerned so much for our happiness as He is with our holiness.

Here are 3 quotes from Tim Keller’s book Walking with God through Pain and Suffering that I have found helpful – and a few comments to go along with them.

“Christianity teaches that, contra fatalism, suffering is overwhelming; contra Buddhism, suffering is real; contra karma, suffering is often unfair; but contra secularism, suffering is meaningful. There is a purpose to it, and if faced rightly, it can drive us like a nail deep into the love of God and into more stability and spiritual power than you can imagine.” – (contra means “in contrast to”) Verse 4 of James chapter 1 goes on to say, “Perseverance must finish its work so that you can be mature and complete not lacking anything.” Scripture is full of story after story of how God has used suffering in the lives of His people to bring about His purposes. When we understand that there is a purpose to the difficulties that we go through then they become endurable.

“Suffering is actually at the heart of the Christian story.” – Our redemption was brought about because Christ was willing to endure the suffering of the cross on our behalf. Because He suffered and personally took upon Himself the wrath of God, we will not have to experience the agony of eternal damnation.

“Suffering is unbearable if you aren’t certain that God is for you and with you.” – One of the great promises of Scripture is that God will be with us. He will be with us in the good times and He will be with us in the tough times. He has said that He will NEVER leave us or forsake us. Suffering is always easier when you are not suffering alone.

Suffering is hard. I don’t wish for it. I don’t pray for it. I’m not looking forward to it. But I know that it will happen because we live in a world that is suffering from the consequences of the Fall. And I do recognize that God can use suffering in our lives to bring about good for us and glory for Him.

Brick #39 – John 10:10

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10)

This verse does two things: 1) It reminds me that I am in a spiritual battle and what the mission of my enemy is – this is important because it is easy to forget that there is a war being waged in the spiritual realm. 2) It reminds me why Jesus stepped out of heaven and what He wants for my life.

Regarding #1 – One of the best ways to combat the devil’s schemes is to understand his battlefield tactics. This is the reason that C.S. Lewis wrote his classic book The Screwtape Letters. The Screwtape Letters comprises thirty-one letters written by a senior demon named Screwtape to his nephew, Wormwood (named after a star in Revelation), a younger and less experienced demon, who is charged with guiding a man toward “Our Father Below” (Devil/Satan) and away from “the Enemy” (God). Here are a few quotes from Screwtape that give some insight into the enemy’s strategy…

“Indeed the safest road to Hell is the gradual one–the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts,…Your affectionate uncle, Screwtape.”

“It is funny how mortals always picture us as putting things into their minds: in reality our best work is done by keeping things out.”

“The more often he feels without acting, the less he will be able ever to act, and, in the long run, the less he will be able to feel.”

“(God) wants men to be concerned with what they do; our business is to keep them thinking about what will happen to them.”

“Do not be deceived, Wormwood. Our cause is never more in danger than when a human, no longer desiring, but still intending, to do our Enemy’s will, looks round upon a universe from which every trace of Him seems to have vanished, and asks why he has been forsaken, and still obeys.”

We must never forget that the enemy of our souls is a thief and a liar and a killer who wants to deceive, distract, discourage, and destroy us.

Regarding #2 – Because of my sin I was facing a dark eternal death. But Jesus came that I might have Life. And not just any kind of life but an abundant life. So, what does it mean to live abundantly?

First of all, Jesus is NOT promising a life of wealth and prosperity for believers. He is promising life that is truly life – a life that overflows with joy and gladness and purpose and hope. He is promising a life that is worth living, a life that is God-honoring, a life that is filled with promise and fueled daily by the presence of God. This passage in John 10 where Jesus calls Himself The Good Shepherd is reminiscent of Ezekiel 34 and what the Lord had to say about Israel, His flock:

“12 As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness. 13 I will bring them out from the nations and gather them from the countries, and I will bring them into their own land. I will pasture them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines and in all the settlements in the land. 14 I will tend them in a good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel will be their grazing land. There they will lie down in good grazing land, and there they will feed in a rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. 15 I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down, declares the Sovereign Lord. 16 I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak…”

Rescue! Pasture! Tend! Feed! Bind up! Strengthen!

Jesus came to give us life. Life that we don’t deserve but that by His glorious grace He gives us anyway. What a Savior!

Brick #38 – 2 Chronicles 7:14

“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14

No doubt you have probably heard this verse before. But are you aware of the context?

The Lord appeared to Solomon the night that the Temple/Royal Palace construction project was completed and made him this promise. Note that this is a conditional promise: If… then. And note the preceding verse: “When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people…” The Lord, who has chosen Israel as His people and the temple as His place, is saying there will be very difficult days in the future. Now, you would think that if the Lord is our God and we are His special people then we would experience nothing but the blessing of God. But no, this is not the case. At a time when there is great celebration for the people of God He says that there will be tough tests that will make you doubt everything that you believe and everything that you have seen Me do. And then He tells them how they are to respond to these tests.

I’m afraid that we don’t respond the way that we should. I’m not sure that we as the people of God are very good at test-taking. Give yourself a grade in each of these areas of the test…

“Humble themselves” – C.J. Mahaney says, “Humility is honestly assessing ourselves in light of God’s holiness and our sinfulness.” We tend to assess ourselves in light of other people and our own expectations rather than in light of God’s holiness and our own sinfulness. I’m not sure we really understand what it means to be the child of a holy God.

Consider what Jerry Bridges has to say:

“As we grow in the knowledge of God’s holiness, even though we are growing in the practice of holiness, it seems the gap between our knowledge and our practice always gets wider. This is the Holy Spirit’s way of drawing us to more and more holiness.”

“The Holy Spirit opens the inner recesses of our hearts and enables us to see the moral cesspools hidden there.”

“We become so accustomed to our sins we sometimes lapse into a state of peaceful coexistence with them, but God never ceases to hate them.”

True humility has nothing to do with low self esteem. It has everything to do with recognizing the greatness of God and the ugliness of our own depravity. Do you often think on these things?

“Pray” – In the context of this verse, when God says “pray” I don’t think He is talking about the kind of praying that is more often than not lifted before His throne of grace. I think He is talking about the kind of prayer that would be characterized as crying out to God, pleading with Him, imploring Him to come to their rescue because they recognize just how utterly helpless they are to do anything for themselves. How much of your praying is importunate praying?

“Seek My face” – David captures what God desires from us when he writes in Psalm 27, “One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek Him in His temple…My heart says of You, “Seek His face!” Your face Lord I will seek.” God desires that we seek Him for who He is not for what He might do for us. He wants us to seek His face, not His hand. What is your motivation for seeking God?

“Turn from their wicked ways” – Repentance. Turning away from sin and turning intentionally to God. Not something we in our post-modern culture do very well. Mostly because we have lost any notion that we are indeed sinners who apart from God’s grace would incur the fierceness of His wrath. And rather than understanding how much we hurt the heart of God when we, as His children, sin against Him – we rationalize and think of sin as not such a big deal – and that God is a big God and He’ll get over it and forgive us. Because after all, isn’t that what God is supposed to do. We don’t like to think of ourselves as wicked – and yet that is exactly what we were. Wicked sinners transformed by God’s glorious grace – who still have a tenacious sin nature that often rears it’s horrid head, even as we seek to seek God. Do you repent from your sin “in dust and ashes” (as Job says) or just blow it off as human nature?

We are “then” kind of people. We want God to hear us, forgive us, and heal us – without the “ifs.” We need to start paying attention to the ifs if we want to enjoy and experience the then.

May it be so for the people of God today!

Brick # 37 – 1 Peter 3:15

Untitled design “But sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts” (1 Peter 3:15)

Sanctification is the process of being made holy. The Lord is in the process of sanctifying us. He is making us holy as we journey through this life and prepare to be in His presence forever – His Holy presence. But what does it mean for us to sanctify Christ as Lord? Is He not already Lord?

Indeed He is! But does He reign as Lord in my life? Or do I allow something or someone else to occupy the place of Lord? Over the last several years you have no doubt heard of the “Occupy Movement” . Occupy is a grassroots protest movement that seeks to bring about social and economic reform through the abolishment of capitalism and a redistribution of the world’s wealth. Their slogan is “We are the 99%.” They are asking for the 99% to stand together against what they consider to be the financial tyrants of our world.

We need what I will call a reverse occupy movement of the heart. We need the 1% (the few willing to stand against spiritual tyranny) to allow Christ to solely occupy their heart. This is what it means to sanctify (or set apart) Christ as Lord. No longer is there any competition for who reigns and occupies the place of Lord in our lives. Money is dethroned. Success is dethroned. People are dethroned. Sex is dethroned. Whatever we have allowed to claim the throne of our hearts must abdicate in light of the Lord Jesus Christ’s coronation. He alone is Lord and we must sanctify Him alone as Lord.

Chuck Colson commented that in the early church, if a person stood up in a public arena and cried out, “Jesus is God!” no one would be offended because the Romans and Greeks believed in many gods. To call Jesus “God” would not have seemed revolutionary or even risky. But if a Christian stood up and shouted, “Jesus is Lord and there is no other,” he would be putting his own life at risk. The Roman Caesars claimed the title of Lord, and this was a central reason why Christians faced persecution. They were willing to obey Roman laws, but they were not willing to call Caesar “Lord.”

When Peter wrote what he wrote in verse 15 he knew that he was calling people to persecution and perhaps death. And yet he wrote this with a clear conscience because Christ is worthy of being Lord of our lives.

So here is the question for me and for you: What choices must we start making today to “sanctify Christ as Lord” in our lives?

Brick #36 – Hebrews 11:6

“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.” Hebrews 11:6

What if we really believed what we say we believe?

A few years ago I wrote a song that tried to describe what faith looks like in real life. It’s called Without Faith…

Faith is the assurance of the things you’re hoping for;

Faith is when you act upon the facts you can’t ignore;

Faith is when you wait upon the future that’s in store;

Faith is when you pray because you’re in a holy war.

Refrain:

And without faith it is impossible

To please our God who set us free

And those who say that they love Jesus

Must live and follow faithfully.

Faith is when you stand against the fears that are within;

Faith is when you’ve fallen down but rise to stand again;

Faith is when you boldly stand beside a fallen friend;

Faith is when you stand alone while others choose to sin.

(Refrain)

Faith is when you’re watching for the coming of the King;

Faith is when you lose your grip on all your worldly things;

Faith is when you’re not afraid of what tomorrow brings;

Faith is when you feel depressed but still you choose to sing.

A few questions to ponder:

It’s one thing to say that you believe. It’s quite another thing to live what you believe and to EARNESTLY seek Him. Are you an earnest seeker?
What does “faith” look like in your life?
What about your life right now is causing you to “walk by faith and not by sight”?

Brick By Brick-Colossians 4:5-6

“Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” (Colossians 4:5-6)

Why are these verses foundational to our faith? Because as believers we are charged with influencing the world with the gospel. That means that we must deal with people. And people aren’t always easy to deal with. Paul is talking here about how to deal with people who are outside the church and disengaged from the gospel.

We must be wise – Wisdom is more than knowledge. It is the application of knowledge. But there are some things that are generally true about people that we need to keep in mind so that our actions can be wisely informed:

People need hope
People need encouragement
People want to live with purpose and joy
People are sinful

The more that we can understand people the better we can be at demonstrating the love of Christ to them.

We must be opportunistic – Pastor Mark Batterson says: “People who live in prayer mode see opportunities that other people don’t notice. People who don’t live in prayer mode are opportunity blind…. Prayer has a way of helping us recognize that what we might dismiss as human accidents are really divine appointments.” We must be prayerfully on the lookout throughout the day.

We must speak carefully and intentionally – We want what comes out of our mouths to draw people to Christ not repel them from Him. We forget sometimes just how powerful words are. Words can be inspirational. Words can change the course of history. Words can refresh the soul. But words can also devastate and kill. Speaking with grace and using language that is “seasoned with salt” means that we are being careful and intentional to use words in ways that move people to engage the gospel and find hope and joy in Christ.

We have what people need. Let’s allow our actions and our words to both speak loud and clear so that the gospel might triumph in our city and around the world.

Brick #34 – Matthew 9:36-38

36) When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37) Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38) Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” (Matthew 9:36-38)

These verses tell us a lot…

About People– Jesus was surrounded by people everyday. But, to him, they were more than just faces in a crowd. They were individuals who had hurts and burdens and stress and worries. They were people that needed encouragement and comfort and hope. He described them as “harassed and helpless.” I think that is an apt portrayal of people in our world today. The dysfunctionality of so many families, the number of people who are dealing with addictions, the plethora of folks who suffer from depression – are all indications that we are a society of harassed and helpless people.

About Jesus – Jesus was compassionate. It was compassion that compelled Jesus to suffer the humiliation of the incarnation. It was compassion that compelled Him to feed the hungry and heal the sick. It was compassion that drove him to the cross. Compassion is more than feeling bad about someone. It is a gut wrenching feeling coupled with a constraining desire to make things better.

A store owner was tacking a sign above his door that read “Puppies For Sale.” Signs like that have a way of attracting small children, and sure enough, a little boy appeared under the store owner’s sign. “How much are you going to sell the puppies for?” he asked. The store owner replied, “Anywhere from $30 to $50.” The little boy reached in his pocket and pulled out some change. “I have $2.37,” he said. “Can I please look at them?” The store owner smiled and whistled and out of the kennel came Lady, who ran down the aisle of his store followed by five teeny, tiny balls of fur. One puppy was lagging considerably behind. Immediately the little boy singled out the lagging, limping puppy and said, “What’s wrong with that little dog?” The store owner explained that the veterinarian had examined the little puppy and had discovered it didn’t have a hip socket. It would always limp. It would always be lame. The little boy became excited. “That is the puppy that I want to buy.” The store owner said, “No, you don’t want to buy that little dog. If you really want him, I’ll just give him to you.” The little boy got quite upset. He looked straight into the store owner’s eyes, pointing his finger, and said, “I don’t want you to give him to me. That little dog is worth every bit as much as all the other dogs and I’ll pay full price. In fact, I’ll give you $2.37 now, and 50 cents a month until I have him paid for.” The store owner countered, “You really don’t want to buy this little dog. He is never going to be able to run and jump and play with you like the other puppies.” To his surprise, the little boy reached down and rolled up his pant leg to reveal a badly twisted, crippled left leg supported by a big metal brace. The boy looked up at the store owner and softly replied, “Well, I don’t run so well myself, and the little puppy will need someone who understands!”

We ALL need someone who understands! That’s Jesus and that’s why He is a magnificent Savior. But it is not only Jesus…

About Us (His disciples) – Jesus is looking for followers who understand, who recognize the plight that people are dealing with, and who are impelled to do something about it. He is looking for laborers. He wants followers who are willing to be proactive. He wants ardent advocates who are willing to be part of a courageous vanguard that is not content to stay within the walls of the church but must take the risk of going out into the fields where the harvest is. He is looking for people with compassion!

He is looking for me to step up and step out. And perhaps He is looking for you as well.