Majoring on Minors

Conrad Mbewe speaks a word of wisdom on the "prosperity gospel" and the way it confuses majors and minors:

The Prosperity Gospel Majors on Minors from Desiring God on Vimeo.

Half-Truth and Happiness

I thank God for revealing his truth to humanity—for sending Jesus, who is the truth (John 14:6); for his written revelation:  “Your word is truth” (John 17:17).  The Scriptures give light to show the way in a dark world (Psalm 119:105).  How we need God’s truth!

But still, distorted or veiled or incomplete or diluted or slanted words of truth are dangerous:  half-truths hurt people.  Like teach­ing that “God is love” while ignoring the fact that “God is light.”  Or teach­ing that we’re not saved by good works without clari­fying that we are saved unto good works.  Or favoring the NT and ignoring the OT.  Or tell­ing people to love neighbors without helping them first love God.

A certain half-truth recently went viral online:  Victoria Osteen (co-pastor with Joel Osteen at Houston’s positive-thinking Lakewood Church) declared, “When we obey God, we’re not doing it for God … we’re doing it for ourselves, because God takes pleasure when we’re happy.  Just do good for your own self.  Do good because God wants you to be happy.  When you come to church, when you worship Him, you’re not doing it for God really.  You’re doing it for yourself, because that’s what makes God happy.”  Here's the video:

The Christian blog-o-sphere lit up like fireworks in response.  First it was everyone saying how outrageous Osteen’s remarks were.  Then, after a bit, it was how some of the criticisms revealed an opposite error.  One half-truth was being exchanged for another.

So, what’s the grain of truth from Osteen?  It’s that God doesn’t need our worship—he has no need.  We don’t do good “for” God in a way that makes up for any deficiency in God because, of course, he has no deficiency.  The Maker and Master of all things is not “served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything” (Acts 17:24). 

What’s more, everything that exists belongs to God (Psalm 24:1; 50:10-12).  We’re merely stewards of his property entrusted to our care (Luke 12:41-48; 1 Cor 4:7).  So we’re just not in a position to “give” God anything.  Even you yourself belong to God (“You are not your own, for you were bought with a price,” 1 Cor 6:19-20).

So Victoria Osteen touches on something true:  we don’t act for God in a way that makes up for any lack on his part (he lacks nothing).  Plus, all that we might give to God is really his already.

But still, there is a grievous distortion of God’s true word in Osteen’s remarks.  In response, Ligon Duncan points to the Westminster Catechism:  “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.”  Duncan contends, “Our fullest joy cannot be realized or exper­ienced apart from the pursuit of God’s glory.”  “True worship is both God-glorifying and soul-satisfying.”  Psalm 73:25 comes to mind, Whom have I in heaven but you?  And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.  And 16:11, You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

The whole truth is that God does want you to be happy—so much so that he insists you find your happiness in what’s truly, eternally satis­fying.  So don’t just worship or do good because “it’s the right thing to do.”  Saying the right words or doing the right thing without a heart of love for God is not Christian worship (Matt 15:8; Rev 3:16).

Here’s a good word from eighteenth century evangelist, George Whitefield:  “A life spent in communion with God, is the pleasantest life in the world” (from his sermon, “Walking with God”).

The Bible commands us, “Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4).  So again, God wants you to be happy.  Now a reckless reading of this verse locks in on Part B:  Hey, here’s my ticket to getting what I desire—let’s see, I desire a big house, luxury cars, perfect health, high status, trouble-free rela­tionships…  But that interpretation is crazy—and wrong.  Any response to Psalm 37:4 that takes joy in God’s gifts more than in the All-Satisfying Giver himself (remember:  “Delight yourself in the Lord”) amounts to idolatry. 

It would have been so much better if Victoria Osteen had said, “God wants you to be happy in Jesus:  in his love and acceptance, in his forgiveness and comfort, in his purifying and refining work to make you holy and help you walk in his steps!  That’s what you were made for, and no pleasure in mere prosperity will ever satisfy your heart.”

(For a devastating critique of prosperity theology, see John Piper, Let the Nations Be Glad, 3rd edn., pp. 15-32.  For other helpful resources, search on “prosperity” at Desiring God.  See also the Sept­em­ber 3 article from Al Mohler).
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Christmas Contentment

 
It’s especially fitting at Christmas time to reflect on Pastor Jeremiah Burroughs’s 1648 book, The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment.  “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” (p. 19—note “every”).

There’s a “mystery of contentment” (ch. 2):  “It may be said of one who is contented in a Christian way that he is the most contented man in the world, and yet the most unsatis­fied man in the world; these two together must needs be mysterious” (p. 42).  “Mark, here lies the mystery of it, A little in the world will content a Christian for his passage, but all the world, and ten thousand times more, will not content a Christian for his portion” (p. 43).

This “passage/portion” distinction is really crucial.  It's like the interplay of Philippians 3 and Philippians 4:  in ch. 3 Paul is all restlessness and striving—discontent because he can’t get enough of Jesus (so he “presses on” to know Christ more fully); but in ch. 4 Paul is restful, at peace, non-anxious, joyful in the Lord, and content whether he has plenty or faces poverty.  The key is choosing your pleasures wisely: “If God gave you not only earth but heaven, that you should rule over sun, moon and stars, and have the rule over the highest of the sons of men, it would not be enough to satisfy you, unless you had God himself” (p. 43).

As for trusting God with your situation in life, Burroughs says this:  “Here lies the bottom and root of all con­tentment, when there is an evenness and proportion between our hearts and our circumstances” (p. 46).  Thus a believing heart thinks this way:  “The Lord has been pleased to bring down my circumstances; now if the Lord brings down my heart and makes it equal to my circum­stances, then I am well enough” (p. 46).

How do you calm your fretful heart?  “I know nothing more effec­tive for quieting a Christian soul and getting contentment than this, setting your heart to work in the duties of the immediate circum­stances that you are now in, and taking heed of your thoughts about other conditions as a mere temptation.”  Say to yourself:  “Well, though I am in a low position, yet I am serving the counsels of God in those circumstances where I am; it is the counsel of God that has brought me into these circumstances that I am in, and I desire to serve the counsel of God in these circumstances” (p. 52). 

Burroughs also says it more briefly:  “He has all things who has him that has all things” (p. 68).  “Many think, O if I had what another man has, how happily and comfortably should I live!  But if you are a Christian, whatever your condition, you have enough within yourself” (p. 78).  When “if only” beckons, sin is lurking very close by—beware!

“My brethren, the reason why you have not got contentment in the things of the world is not because you have not got enough of them—that is not the reason—but the reason is, because they are not proportionable to that immortal soul of yours that is capable of God himself”(p. 91).  That’s a 17th century way to say:  this world’s trinkets will never satisfy your heart’s deep longings.  There’s a God-shaped void in your soul and nothing can fill it but the all-satisfying and eternally magnificent Lord of glory himself (Gen. 1:27; Eccl. 3:11).

Burroughs sees this life as a voyage, and at Christmas this is vital:  “When you are at sea, though you have not as many things as you have at home, you are not troubled at it:  you are contented.  Why?  Because you are at sea” (p. 94).  “Thus it should be with us in this world, for the truth is, we are all in this world but as seafaring men, tossed up and down on the waves of the sea of this world, and our haven is Heaven; here we are travelling, and our home is a distant home in another world” (p. 95).

Wealth burdens the traveler four ways:  1) trouble (in one’s family and one’s dealings with others); 2) danger (“the sweet of prosperity invites the Devil and temptation”); 3) duty (of those given much God requires much); and 4) account (we’re all stewards, and those with great wealth have a great account to give to God) (pp. 103-107).

We must know three things about “God’s ways”:  1) “God’s ordinary course is that his people in this world should be in an afflicted condi­tion” (p. 115).  2) “Usually when God intends the greatest mercy to any of his people he brings them into the lowest condition” (p. 116).  3) “It is the way of God to work by contraries, to turn the greatest evil into the greatest good” (p. 117). 

And thus, “There is no work which God has made—the sun, moon, stars and all the world—in which so much of the glory of God appears as in a man who lives quietly in the midst of adversity” (pp. 122-23).  Does the glory of God shine in your life this Christmas?

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Powerball Mania

As of yesterday, the Powerball jackpot had reached $550,000,000.  And today's news indicates that winning tickets have been sold in Arizona and Kansas City.

Playing the lottery is actually a huge gamble.  Now I know you can buy a Powerball ticket for a mere $2.  It's not that spending $2 is a “huge” deal.  What’s enormous is the risk that, if you did win, your life would unravel in chaos and isolation and disaster. 

Just consider some of the big winners of recent years.  Of course, there are stories of careful millionaires who've invested their winnings wisely and kept their heads on straight.  But there’s also a lot of sorrow and human wreckage strewn along Lottery Lane.

• In 2006 Sandra Hayes split a $224,000,000 Powerball jackpot with a dozen co-workers.  She later said, “I had to endure the greed and the need that people have, trying to get you to release your money to them.  That caused a lot of emotional pain.  These are people who you’ve loved deep down, and they’re turning into vampires and trying to suck the life out of me.” (source)
• In 2002 Jack Whittaker of West Virginia hit the Powerball jackpot:  $315,000,000.  But later, as a devastated man, he lamented how his windfall was to blame for his granddaughter’s fatal drug overdose, his divorce, hundreds of lawsuits, and an absence of true friends. (source)
• In 2009 James Groves of New York City won a 50% share of the Mega Millions $336,000,000 jackpot.  But promptly thereafter he was flooded with calls from friends and acquaintances wanting money.  “It’s a dream turned into a nightmare.” (source)

I could go on with stories of lottery winners’ lives ruined by bankruptcy, cocaine, pros­ti­tution, violence, and suicide.  But I’ll spare you.  My point is simply this:  Americans were lining up to buy 6.3 million tickets per hour yesterday (source) because they yearn for joy—for pleasure, for true happiness.  In fact, the human heart is spring loaded to seek happiness—God made us that way.  We've been designed to crave maximum delight in the all-satisfying presence of the Lord, here and now by foretaste, and one day with unspeakable joy in eternal presence of Christ!  But in this world we also lust after idols—after what’s created rather than the Creator, delights that don’t last, rewards that can never really satisfy our deep longings. 

John ends his first letter this way:  “Little children, keep yourselves from idols.”  So guard your heart:  don’t let yourself run after this world’s fleeting pleasures, but pursue the glorious joy of Christ with all your strength.  How foolish and sad it would be set your heart on a passing payoff.  Frankly, today’s jackpot—whether we speak of money or status or power or fame (etc.)—isn’t worth a thing compared to “Jesus priceless treasure.”  The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up.  Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field (Matthew 13:46).
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Lottery Madness

Not only is playing the lottery fraught with problems (spiritual and otherwise--see, e.g., the DG post today).  But just imagine what a mess it would make of your life to win $640,000,000.00.  I have to think, at the end of the day, that that big check would leave a person wondering who his/her friends really were.  And leave one asking, "What's real in these relationships of mine?"  "Who am I to the people around me?"  "What am I in their eyes?"

Such an odd and sad craze in our day.
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Letters from Jesus

The letters to the seven churches of Asia Minor (Rev. 2-3) contain brief, urgent words of the risen Jesus sent from heaven via the Holy Spirit to John the Apostle, the recipient of that grand vision we call “Revelation.” John’s job was to take down the message and get it to the churches.

Now in case you think Jesus’ words to a particular church (e.g., at Thyatira, Smyrna, or Sardis) were meant for them alone, look closely at how each of the letters ends: “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” That’s plural “churches”: each church was supposed to see what Jesus said to the others; we’re expected to be reading (or hearing) each other’s mail this way!

Let me touch on a few words of Christ’s fierce love for his church (and don’t forget 3:19, “those whom I love I rebuke and disci­pline”):

• The believers at Ephesus are steady, patient, and discerning, and they have the good sense to reject false teachers (2:2). “Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love” (2:4). Are you firm on God’s truth while your zeal for his honor fades?

• Smyrna faces persecution and poverty, yet ultimately they’re “rich” (2:9). Smug Laodicea, however, sees itself as wealthy and self-sufficient, while in the deepest sense they’re spiritually destitute (3:17). This contrast makes one think: is it treasure in heaven or on earth that excites you?

• Smyrna is about to face yet more suffering, but Christ lovingly assures them that they don’t need to fear: even if they end up in prison or are put to death, it all leads to receiving a crown of life—eternal joy beyond the reach of death (2:10-11). Does the threat of danger strike terror in your heart, or do you rest in the rock solid assurance that God works ALL things for your good?

• Sardis does good deeds and they appear to be “alive” as a church. But Jesus isn’t fooled by appearances; in fact, these “believers” are dead (3:1). So is Christ’s letter to them a coroner’s report: no hope for Sardis? No. He urges them to repent: there’s still time; they can still give up their play-acting, come to Jesus, and live!

• Truth is at stake in several cases: false apostles threaten (2:2); the “teaching of Balaam” (2:14) and the “teaching of the Nicolaitans” (2:15) are adopted by some, for which they must repent (2:16); a “Jezebel” figure is tolerated and her teaching is followed, so Jesus warns that this must stop (2:20); others who reject her teaching are commended (2:24); those who falsely claim Jewish identity are rebuked (2:9; 3:9); believers who “have kept my word and have not denied my name” are blessed by Jesus (3:8). Truth matters! Don’t let anyone tell you “doctrine” isn’t important and actions are what count—that’s an unnecessary and foolish either-or.

• Christ watches how these believers live—their “works” are fully known to him, no secrets (2:2, 5, 19; 3:1, 8, 15). Of course, we’re not saved by deeds, but our actions provide a window onto our hearts. So again, don’t fall for a silly either-or (e.g., like thinking actions don’t matter but beliefs do). What are our deeds saying (or not saying) here at GBC: is our faith obvious in how we live?

• Let’s come back to that prosperous congregation: Laodicea (3:14-22) has fallen into luke­warm religion—neither hot nor cold, neither for Jesus nor against him. They have a mild faith—mediocre, middle-of-the-road, tame, safe, beige, boring. When coming face to face with Majesty, one thing the sane cannot do is yawn: who yawns while riding the Maid of the Mist up beneath Niagara Falls? But Laodicea yawns. Why? They feel self-satisfied; wealth deludes them into thinking they “need nothing” (3:17). Jesus confronts this insanity: truth is, they’re “wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.” He says this not to condemn, but lovingly to confront sin and beckon these spiritually destitute souls to repent and receive life. What is the temperature of your faith today?

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In good times and hard times

In trying times, as in the best of times, the Lord beckons us to rely on him in every way—that is, to walk by faith. After all, he pro­vides the bounty and health and laughter we enjoy on the pleasant days, but he also brings us through the dark valleys to help us grow deep in trust and humility. What do we have that isn’t from God and isn’t maneuvered by God for our good (1 Cor 4:7; Rom 8:28)? The Lord is a loving Father who seeks what’s best for his children (Matt 7:11; Heb 12:3-11).

So when the hard times hit (is it economic tribulation, relationship demise, health decline, or something else?), be ready to cling to Christ. And likewise, when prosperous times strike, be ready to rely on the Lord and don’t let comfort become your god.

Psalm 62, from a time when David faced intense adversity, can help us in this venture of courageous faith:

• Don’t let trials distort your picture of God. The Lord remains our “rock” and “fortress” and “refuge” (vv 2, 6, 7, 8).
• Don’t lose sight of the fact that the Lord alone is the source of our ultimate deliverance and rest (v 2, 5-7).
• Determine (praying for God’s help) to “trust in Him at all times” (v 8) and not just on sunny days. Expect to face hard­ship and plan now to keep holding on to the Father’s hand.
• Don’t fall for the temptation to rely on your money or skills or work ethic or any other earthly benefit: “though your riches increase, do not set your heart on them” (v 10). Be alert here: with any degree of wealth comes an insidious lure to rely on that prosperity and take credit for it.
• Don’t lose track of the exquisite balance of love and strength within the character of God (vv 11-12). So when circum­stances are grueling, remember that the Father still loves you and still is able to weave all things together for good.

My soul finds rest in God alone;

My salvation comes from him (Psalm 62:1).

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Look Up!

We’re all painfully aware that the mood of our day is downcast. We’ve been shaken by the collapse of trusted financial institutions and Fortune 500 corpor­ations. Slip-sliding global markets have sent us scurrying home to stuff the few dollars we have left into the mattress. And job security is a thing of the past. This propels us into a panic and guard-the-fort mode—and followers of Christ are not immune to this temptation.

And that’s exactly why we need the Lord’s gracious help to look up—look up from our dismal doubts and worst case scenarios, and look into his radiant face. Here’s the bottom line: in hard times, God is NOT honored when we sink into fear, circle the wagons, and ignore his powerful presence. Look up: “Lift up your eyes!”

“I lift up my eyes to you, to you whose throne is in heaven” (Ps 123:1). “Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name, by the greatness of his might, and because he is strong in power not one is missing” (Isa 40:26). “Get you up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good news; lift it up, fear not; say to the cities of Judah, ‘Behold your God!’” (Isa 40:9).

So times are tough—that’s true, humanly speaking. And you need help? So do I. We all need help to avoid falling into the swamp of self-preservation; we all need help to look up and rivet our heart’s attention on the all-sufficient, all-satisfying Lord: “I lift up my eyes to the hills—where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth” (Ps 121:1-2). “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” (Ps 27:4).

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Making Sense of "Church"

What is the church? Just a group of people with a common interest (like a book club or bowling team or community service agency)? The Bible’s answer is emphatic: NO. As the body of Christ, the church is a living, supernatural spiritual organism—and there is nothing else like it in the entire universe. The church is a colony of heaven; it’s a fellowship of travelers on their way home. The church is the very fullness of Christ (Eph 1:22-23), exhibit “A” of God’s wisdom to angels and demons (3:10-11), the theater of his glory (3:20-21), and the beloved, radiant bride of Christ (5:25-27).

Such a stunning, lofty vision of God’s church, however, often doesn’t make it all the way from words we acknowledge to truth that soars in our hearts. Instead, we find ourselves vulnerable to a thousand pressures to devalue and “horizontalize” the church, and so we lose sight of the mind-boggling reality of the body of Christ (it’s as though a veil falls over our eyes…) and we shape our lifestyles that make the church “just one more thing to do.” Please pray with me for deliverance from this God-dishonoring, joy-draining practice!

When we stand in awe of what the Lord has done and is doing in his church, we’ll find ourselves joyfully giving the body life and mission of GBC a strong priority. I appreciate Paul Tripp’s recent comments on what hinders the cultivat­ing of community in the American church. Here are some excerpts (from a blog post at the Desiring God site):

“…we’ve bought an unbiblical definition of the good life of success. Our kids have to be skilled at three sports and play four musical instru­ments, and our house has to be lavish by whatever standard. And all of that stuff is eating time, eating energy, eating money. And it doesn't promote community.” … “I’ve talked to a lot of families who literally think it’s a victory to have 3 or 4 meals all together with one another in a week, because they’re so busy. Well, if in that family unit they’re not experiencing community, there’s no hope of them experiencing it outside of that family unit.” … “We have families that will show up at our church on Sunday morning with the boys dressed in their little league outfits, and I know what's going to happen. They're going to leave the service early. Now what a value message to that little boy! Do I think little league is bad? I don't think it’s bad at all. I think it's great. But they’re telling him what's important as they do that.” … “You can’t fit God’s dream (if I can use that language) for his church inside the American dream and have it work. It’s a radically different lifestyle. It just won’t squeeze into the available spaces of time and energy that’s left over.”

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Why This Recession?

I appreciate John Piper's insights from Scripture about what the current economic recession, under divine sovereignty, is for. His main points, in summary, are these:

(Some of) God’s Purposes in This Recession

Now what are some of God’s purposes in this recession? I will mention five:

1. He intends for this recession to expose hidden sin and so bring us to repentance and cleansing.
   
2. He intends to wake us up to the constant and desperate condition of the developing world where there is always and only recession of the worst kind.
   
3. He intends to relocate the roots of our joy in his grace rather than in our goods, in his mercy rather than our money, in his worth rather than our wealth.
   
4. He intends to advance his saving mission in the world—the spread of the gospel and the growth of his church—precisely at a time when human resources are least able to support it. This is how he guards his glory.
   
5. He intends for the church to care for its hurting members and to grow in the gift of love.
   

For the full message, click here.

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Brazen Lies

The Bible is crystal clear that Satan is a liar and the father of lies (John 8:44). In fact, one of the Enemy’s nicknames is “the deceiver” (Rev 12:9), and he’s ready and eager to launch all kinds of disinformation in your direc­tion. Through deceptive propaganda, Satan promotes all kinds of insidious falsehoods. Imagine what some of his grand lies might be:

· “There is no God” [but see Gen 1:1; Ps 14:1; 53:1].

· “‘The devil’ isn’t real” [Matt 4:1-11; 1 Pet 5:8-9].

· “You’re worthless” [Gen 1:27; Ps 8:5; 1 Cor 6:19-20].

· “You have to work harder to get God to love you” [Rom 5:8].

· “This life is all there is” [Matt 25:46; John 3:16; 1 Cor 15:19].

· “Busy-ness is good—go, go, go” [Ps 46:10; Matt 11:28-30].

· “Prayer is a waste of time—not productive” [Luke 11:8; Jas 5:16].

· “If you suffer, God’s failing to do his job” [Gen 50:20; Rom 8:28].

What about some of Satan’s lies related to finances:

· “You need more money to be happy” [Heb 13:5; Phil 4:6, 11].

· “The more you make, the more you should elevate your lifestyle” [Eph 4:28; 2 Cor 8:2; 9:7].

· “Wealthy people are more important than others” [Luke 16:19-31].

· “You’re the true owner of all your possessions” [Ps 24:1; 50:10-12].

How about in connection with sexuality:

· “No harm just looking” [Mt 5:27-30; 6:22-23; Job 31:1; Prov 6:25].

· “If everyone else is doing it, it must be okay” [Matt 7:13-14].

· “Sex before marriage is no big deal” [1 Cor 6:9; 1 Thess 4:3-5].

And in the area of outreach and evangelism:

· “No need to talk about Jesus, just be kind” [1 Pet 3:15; Mt 28:18-20].

· “Sharing your faith is rude” [Acts 8:30-38; 16:31; 17:16-33].

Let’s pray for discernment so we’re not taken in by Satan’s deadly lies!

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"God meant it for good"

The breathtaking story of Job drives home the point that affliction is not necessarily a punishment for sin (1:1; see also John 9:1-3). Nor is it helpful to say that Satan caused the pain, since Job spoke correctly (1:22) in stating, “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away…” (v 21).

Isaiah 53 prophesies of God’s Servant, the Substitute who would bear the guilt of sinners: “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (53:6). This, of course, anticipates the sacrificial death of the Son of God who “gave his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). Was Christ’s death the grim result of sin? Yes (Acts 3:15). Was it owing to the insidious schemes of Satan? Yes (Luke 22:3). But there’s more to say: at root, the cross was God’s doing. Isaiah 53:10, “Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer…” (so too Acts 2:23).

In both cases of extreme affliction, ultimately it’s God’s hand we see in action. Same with Joseph (the guy with the coat of many colors). His jealous brothers abused him and sold him as a slave, and he ended up wrongly imprisoned in Egypt for years—all undeserved. But God was up to something—God, the key Actor behind the scenes; God, the initiator of good plans even though they lead through dark valleys. The Lord maneuvered Joseph into an influential office in Egypt in order to save countless lives from a coming seven-year famine.

This good end is recognized by Joseph (eventually!). In Genesis 45:5-9 he says four times that it was God who sent him to Egypt. Now, of course he remembers how his nasty brothers had shipped him off with traders. But he’s looking beneath the surface: who was really at work in all those years of pain? It was God. Same in 50:20, where Joseph says to his penitent brothers, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” All that misery he’d gone through was intended by God to take place and (of course) lead eventually to God’s good goals.

There’s no shortage of pain and trauma to go around today, what with economic turmoil, crime, family breakdown, disease… The Lord is stretching our faith: are you willing to trust him to weave a beautiful fabric, in his time and in his way, even when it includes the black strands of your pain and suffering? Are you willing to let God be God, and to leave it to him to put things right in time or eternity?

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Financial Storms

Money is in the news these days—and the news is not good. That makes this a key moment to be sure we’re seeing financial matters the way God sees them. Let’s ask some questions.

Where did you get the things you have? From God (1 Cor 4:7), the giver of every good gift (Jas 1:17). He gives us life and breath and everything (Acts 17:25). The ability to make money is also from the Lord (Deut 8:18).

“The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it” (Psalm 24:1). Do you embrace the fact that all you have is really God’s? Even you belong to God—you were bought with a price (1 Cor 6:20). So that car of yours—it’s God’s. And your clothes: God’s. And your bank accounts and investments (shriveled as they may be) are God’s. And your electronics and books and house and ipod and vacation home and …

So if it’s all from God and belongs to God, what’s our role? We’re stewards, caretakers. Before the return of Christ, our job is to use all we have (time, talents, treasure) to serve others in ways that please the Owner—so when he comes back he finds us faithful (Luke 12:41-48). Are you using all you have to honor Christ and spread his Gospel?

Where does giving to God’s grand global cause (otherwise known as the church) fit into the scheme of things? Think about how the Macedonians set the pace for God-exalting, truly amazing giving: they were severely impoverished and yet they gave gen­erously, freely, gladly, beyond their means (beyond?!) (2 Cor 8:1-5). The point? You don’t have to be wealthy to excel in giving (Luke 21:1-4). In fact, loss of wealth may be just the medicine we need so we can give with radical generosity despite our lack. Jesus meant it when he said it’s more blessed to give than receive (Acts 20:35). Yes, the conventional wisdom says stockpile wealth for self (Luke 12:16-21), but God’s wisdom says work to gain to give (Eph 4:28). Be on the lookout for neighbors to bless right now amidst this economic hurricane—God may use your Christ-like love to bring your lost friends into his forever-family!

How should we feel as we watch American economic power droop and our own finances fade? Be content with food and clothing (2 Tim 6:8); be content with plenty or want (Phil 4:11); be content with what you have (Heb 13:5)? Why? Because the Lord will never leave or forsake his children. God may blow away our creature comforts, but HE will not leave us. And if we have Christ, we have enough!

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Lukewarm

Revelation 3:14-22 presents a chilling account of a church languishing in smug self-satisfaction, a congregation that finds its security in material resources rather than in the Maker of all things, and a church oblivious to its own spiritual poverty. As the text was read, I was struck with sadness at this decline into comfortable, status quo spirituality—how pathetic. And yet I had to admit that this safe-nice-easy-comfy, man-centered “faith” has its insidious appeal to my sinful heart: I saw myself in the mirror of God’s Word. How about you?

Jesus rebukes the Laodicea congregation for its lack of conviction, commitment, and spiritual passion. They’re lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—and this makes the Lord want to spit them out of his mouth (3:16). Such a jarring declaration needs to get our attention: if we allow earthly comforts and material security to have our hearts, the Lord will be repulsed by us. How dreadful!

And yet, grace prevails: Christ still knocks at the door of compla­cent, compromised churches. He could say, “Fine, you want to cozy up with your portfolio, you want to demand that I show my goodness by making your life comfy and cushy, you want to sing the praises of prosperity—fine. Go ahead. Away with you!!” But he doesn’t banish us from his presence—that’s the wonder of grace! He still knocks. Will we open the door of our confused souls and let Christ in? Will we humble ourselves, recognize our spiritual nakedness (3:17), and receive the Lord’s rebuke? Remember, Jesus says, “Those whom I love I reprove” (3:19).