The good news of Christ
This poem was inspired by this comment
For our transgression we lament,
O God, whose eyes see naught of sin;
With broken pride, our strength is spent,
Against the world we cannot win.
Your heavy hand upon us weighs,
How long to rest, O Lord, how long?
Why must we wait? Why such delays?
Why must we sing this tearful song?
Reveal your power, your upraised hand,
Come heal our sad and broken soul;
Break now your silence, give command —
To bring relief and make us whole.
For love were we created — let love
prevail among us, genuine,
sincere, and willing to learn —
in all things honest, earnest,
accepting — as you accepted us.
Welcoming house of God!
Let nations come to dwell here!
To begin and end with you
Is all a man could dream of.
The dawn of each new day
Brings copious gifts from heaven;
To offer a prayer of thanks,
That dissident act of courage.
Provide, O Lord, each need
Of your obedient people.
What joy to speak at your feet,
The Sovereign God of powers!
Come bless your humble servant
With naught but nearest presence.
The Japanese art of kintsugi or ‘golden repair’ mends broken pottery with gold, silver, or platinum, and in the end, makes the piece worth more than it originally did. While all we see are the ways in which we have been broken by sin, God, who loves us unconditionally, sees our great value to Him. We are to return that love in kind through true worship.
I. Romans 8:28-39. The body is loved by the Bridegroom. Academically, we don’t doubt His love for us (Romans 5:6-8), we claim. We just doubt our worth. But, many know that a parent’s love for a child doesn’t make the value of that child go up or down depending on the child’s behavior. So, God loves us greatly and assigns us infinite value–so much that He gave us His Son.
II. John 4:23-26. The Bridegroom is seeking true worshipers. When two single people are attracted to one another, they seek each other with a desperation, hoping that he or she is the one to marry. So, even though God loves all He has made, He is seeking ‘true worshipers,’ those who will be part of His bride, the church, and will love Him back (in spirit and truth). That manifests itself in repentance (Luke 15:4-21) as He mends us back together in kintsugi-like fashion to make us more valuable to Him than we were before.
III. Revelation 19:7-9. The bride makes herself ready, her fine linen the righteous acts of the saints. This is the true worship she engages in–that which is in spirit and truth. So many today have the zeal for God without right doctrine. They are like blindfolded dart players, rarely hitting the target. Like the five virgins who had forgotten to buy oil for their lamps, they eagerly await the Bridegroom in vain (Matthew 25:1-13). We must return His seeking of us with true worship that combines both.
Any relationship is two-sided. We deceive ourselves if we believe God will seek us if we aren’t seeking Him in return. We must return His love with true worship.
Idolatry. That’s so Old Testament! After all, no one today worships something they put before God … oh. Well, maybe there’s money and materialism, success and sensuality, jobs and hobbies, food and entertainment. Perhaps the list could even extend into all the negative ways we seek to escape the stress of life instead of putting our trust in God.
What’s the reason the cycle of sin in the time of Judges as well as now continues to repeat in God’s people? What is it about idols that made them and us forsake God, so that they and us cry out for a deliverer?
I. Judges 10:6-16. God knew that mankind, if given the chance, would turn to other things than Him and so carved it into stone (Exodus 20). The foundation of idolatry is covetousness (Colossians 3:5). We are made in God’s image, but since we cannot control God, we strive to make God in ours. Instead of taking joy in being God’s chosen people, we compromise to become like everyone else. And then we become complacent because what we serve is not greater than ourselves.
II. Romans 1:15-16. How can the gospel break the cycle of sin. Our world of relative morality works to make us believe that sin and judgment aren’t real and so paves the way for idolatry. At times in Judges, God’s people would temporarily break the cycle by acknowledging their sin. We must be convinced that repentance is essential (Romans 2:2-5), judgment is real (Romans 14:10-12), and that the gospel is the solution (Romans 6:1-11).
III. Hebrews 7:22-25. But unlike God’s people of the time of Judges who would fall back into sin and idolatry when the judge died (Judges 2:16-19), we have a Judge, the perfect deliverer, who always lives to intercede for us. Therefore, once rescued from sin and death, we never need to go back into the life we once lived.
Christians, who know the power of the gospel, need to return to trusting God fully and not seek idols of their own fashioning.
In a time so much like today, God’s people in the time of Judges struggled to live out His commands without compromising with the evil world around them. Often, they failed, found themselves enslaved, and would cry out to God for deliverance. When they did, God would send a judge who would save them, but the people only remained faithful until the judge died.
Abimelech was one of those judges, and his story teaches us several lessons.
I. Judges 9:1-24. Gideon’s illegitimate son, Abimelech, was a terrible guy who went to his terrible family and gathered around him terrible people to do a terrible thing: he killed the seventy sons of Gideon, his half-brothers, all except Jotham, the youngest. As Jotham tells Abimelech and his family that they will destroy each other, he gives an extended metaphor that helps us today. The trees (the family) was trusting in brambles (Abimelech) to rule over them, but they won’t like the refuge that brambles offer. We must not put our trust in the things of this world but only God.
II. 1 Corinthians 9:24-27. Also, just because you’re being used by God doesn’t mean He approves of what you’re doing. Pharaoh teaches us this (Romans 9:17). So do the wicked men who put Jesus to death and probably thought they were doing the right thing (Acts 2:22-24). We must persevere in the face of discipline (Hebrews 12:11-17) and obey God’s commands so that we will not be disqualified for the prize.
III. Psalm 46:1-3. Thirdly, we must be careful in whose or what we’re taking refuge in. Our situation being so similar to God’s people’s situation in the time of Judges, we must be careful not to compromise with the world. The brambles are all around us, begging us to come rest in their shade: the economy, politicians, health, youth, friends, self-concept. These are all temporary and will melt with the elements in the heat on Judgment Day (Psalm 20:1-9). Christ and His work on the cross and at the tomb, however, are eternal. Only in Him, the King of Kings, may we take refuge and live.
In who or what are you taking refuge? Examine your life, the way you interact with others, your social media posts, how you spend your time. While calling yourself a Christian, you may find that you’re spending a lot of time in the shade of brambles.
A man bought a new radio, took it home, and placed it on the refrigerator. He plugged it in, tuned to WSM in Nashville (home of the Grand Ole Opry) and proceeded to do the most unusual thing. He pulled all the knobs off!
He had already tuned in all he ever wanted or expected to hear, so he chose to limit his radio reception to one station.
Perhaps if more people would do this with the word of God we would have a lot less religious confusion in the world. Too many are turning to every “channel” of doctrine. Paul warns,
“Be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive” (Eph. 4:14).
We must tune only into God’s channel — His holy word — for our direction. This is why Jeremiah declared,
“O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps” (Jer. 10:23).
—Tom Moore, revised, taken from “The Sower“
O Lord God, I want so much!
I want a trusting heart,
A will that always chooses your commandments,
Faith that will not waver,
A mind absorbed with your truths,
A soul inhabited by your Spirit,
Lips that speak blessing,
Eyes that see the possibilities and opportunities,
Strength that will not break under pressure.
I want even more, O Father!
People who turn to you,
Glory for your unequalled name,
A day that is the best ever,
An hour alone in prayer and meditation,
Friends to walk beside me in your paths,
A family that honors Christ,
A congregation that carries your salvation to all,
A hope that never wavers,
Love to receive and more to share.
Can I dare to ask and receive it all?
Our idea of ‘servant’ is probably in the context of ‘public servant,’ someone who should work for us but acts more like a king on an elevated throne. Jesus the perfect king-servant showed that a servant is one who sacrificially helps others above self. Indeed, the only way a biblical servant is above another is when he stoops to lift another up.
I. John 12:12-33. Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead in full view of the crowds got everyone’s attention, especially those in power who wanted to hold onto their power. A line was drawn in the sand, and Jesus’ challenge was heard: “if anyone serves me, he must follow me.” To Peter and others who thought in worldly ways, following Jesus meant glory and honor … and power (John 13:31-38)!
II. John 13:1-8. Jesus illustrated that this wasn’t the case when He, through whom all things were made, removed the trappings of one above all others and did the work of the lowliest servant–washing feet. Confused by this, Peter, who surely remembered Jesus’ transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-5), balked at this redefinition of serving (Philippians 2:5-8) and had to submit to its necessity. With the later help of the Holy Spirit, he seems to have gotten it (1 Peter 2:21-25).
III. John 13:12-17. Before Jesus explained His actions, He “resumed his place” as their Lord and Master. The disciples must have recalled their earlier conversation about who was greatest among them (Matthew 20:22-28). That person, Jesus explained, is the wheat willing to fall to the ground to die to produce many seeds or the one who gives his life for a friend (John 15:12-17). Just as Jesus would be the greatest servant for mankind, He calls us to do for others what He has done for us.
We have been given great freedom to choose how we live our lives. May we not in selfishness indulge the sinful nature with that freedom but rather serve one another in love (Galatians 5:13), just as Jesus did.