Tag: God

Seeking God with All Your Heart

On By Jason SmithIn Devotional, Theology for Life2 Comments

By Jason Smith

Life is filled with distractions that pull us away from what matters most. We all know this. Most likely, there have been times where you have recognized this fact playing out in your life. You spend a whole evening watching TV; afterwards, you wonder if that was time well-spent. Or, you spend hours shopping for the perfect thing to meet your needs only to come up empty. Or perhaps you get stuck reading one news feed after another until you realize that an hour has zipped by and little was really accomplished.

So how do we avoid these time-wasting distractions and make time for God? I think it’s helpful to consider what a distraction really is: something that pulls your attention away from what you need to focus on. In a way, it’s like when I make a run to the grocery store to buy some milk. If I’m focused on getting to the milk, I will probably take the most direct pathway. Of course, milk is nearly always tucked away in the far corner of the store (it’s a big marketing conspiracy to entice your eyes with everything else the store has to offer when you’re really only there for the essentials), so I have to maneuver my way through a host of potential distractions.

Oh, look – cookies. That would go well with the milk. Oh, and there’s some salad options – better grab something healthy, too. And look! The cereal is on sale! It would be pretty silly to get milk and not get cereal…

You get the picture. But imagine that before you even step foot in the store, you make the commitment to not be distracted by any other potential purchases. You tell yourself, “All right. I’m coming out those doors with nothing but a jug of milk in my hand.” Imagine you even let a friend know about your plan so that they can help hold you accountable. That would probably firm up your resolve.

All In

When it comes to seeking God, it’s not all that different. When you truly commit to making time for fellowship with your Creator, it will happen. Just like the man in love with a woman will let no hindrance or distraction interfere with their time together, so it is with the one who truly seeks God. God never calls for half-hearted commitment from us. He wants us to be all in.

Consider how Moses counseled the people of Israel before they entered the land God promised them. He reminded them first of the miraculous deeds God did to bring them all the way out of slavery in Egypt to where they now stood. He then warned about the temptation to seek after “man-made gods” of the neighboring nations, which are counterfeits of the true and living God. After warning about their susceptibility to these dishonoring distractions, Moses said, “But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul” (Deuteronomy 4:29, NIV). Essential to seeking God is obeying His Word:

“You shall be careful therefore to do as the LORD your God has commanded you. You shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.” (Deuteronomy 5:32, ESV)

In other words, don’t let anything sidetrack you from walking with the Lord and listening to His voice.

When asked what the greatest commandment was, Jesus similarly urged us to love God with our entire being: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37, NIV).

Jesus called for comprehensive, wholehearted devotion. He knew that anything less than wholesale commitment to God was a woeful neglect of the purpose for which we have been made.

The Problem

The problem, as the Bible describes it, is that our loves are disordered:

“For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.” (2 Timothy 3:2-4, ESV)

Created by God and for God, we all have chosen instead to live for ourselves. This is the basic definition of what the Bible calls “sin.” Martin Luther said that we are incurvatus in se. That is, our hearts are turned inward, so that we live for ourselves rather than for God. Though our hearts cannot be satisfied apart from God, our affections have been so warped that the self has become the center of gravity. This is the universal problem of sin.

The worst part is that we can’t break out of this cycle. Even our best deeds are marred by patterns of self-centered thinking. Our hearts are chained to the desires that displease God. Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin” (John 8:34, ESV).

The Remedy

So, what’s the remedy?

Only Jesus can break the hold that sin has on our hearts so that we can seek Him. It’s as though the poison of sin was gathered up in a bottle, and Jesus willingly drank it for us. The anguish and punishment owing to us was borne by Him. “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness” (1 Peter 2:24, ESV).

Living to God and righteousness is our created purpose. But only through Jesus can this great purpose be realized. Jesus said if He sets us free, we will be free indeed (John 8:36).

When you come to Christ, not only is the power of sin broken, but you now have new Spirit-wrought desires to live fully for Him. The self can no longer reign. There is only room on the throne for one King.

Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” (Matthew 16:25, ESV)

When Jesus spoke those words, taking up one’s cross could only mean one thing: it was a call to die to oneself, that you might fully live for Him. That’s why Peter said Jesus bore our sins “that we might die to sin and live to righteousness.” Jesus calls us to lay everything down – our pride, our ambitions, our self-centered thinking, our fear that we might miss out on something better – and follow Him with abandon. In Jesus’s words, anything less is to “forfeit your soul” (v. 26).

Wholehearted Devotion

What does all this mean? We can only seek God fully when we surrender ourselves to Him. We can only say “Yes” to God without reservation when we have first said “No” to our own selfish pursuits. We will know we are seeking God when we are spending time with Him in His Word, the Bible.

“Blessed are those who keep His testimonies and seek Him with all their heart.” (Psalm 119:2, BSB)
“With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments!” (Psalm 119:10, ESV)

Jesus calls for wholehearted devotion, because He knows that seeking God is the only path to true life. Those who follow Jesus now live in a new direction. This will mean laying aside all distractions that seek to steal our attention away. The Bible is clear that those who follow Jesus with a whole heart will look radically different from the rest of the world. Not only will this mean going against the grain of the world around us, it will also mean going against the grain of the selfish desires that still cling to our hearts in this life.

You might be thinking, I don’t know if this is for me. I’ve already chosen a different direction for my life. I’m not even sure God would want something to do with me anyway.

But the Bible says God is rich in mercy. In fact, He’s not a God looking for a reason to cast you aside. Consider how Scripture describes His character:

“Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy.” (Micah 7:18, NIV)

Did you catch that? God delights to show mercy. He takes great joy in pouring out grace and forgiveness on sinners who surrender to Him. As long as there is still breath in your lungs, this applies to you.

“Seek the LORD while He may be found; Call upon Him while He is near.” (Isaiah 55:6, NASB)

Feel free to comment or share your thoughts below!

Is Original Sin a Biblical Idea?

On By Jason SmithIn Theology for Life, Why I Believe5 Comments

By Jason Smith

One of the hardest Christian doctrines to swallow is that of original sin. To many, it sounds old-fashioned, pessimistic, and puritanical. But what exactly is it?

According to theologians, the term original sin does not describe the first sin of Adam in the garden, although that is a common assumption. Instead, original sin teaches that we have all inherited a corrupt and self-centered nature from Adam. Original sin is the condition of being sinful by nature.

A Little Savage

Throughout church history, various people have disputed this teaching. One somewhat infamous theologian named Pelagius taught that we don’t come into this world corrupted, but rather, morally neutral. He said every human being is free to follow Adam’s bad example or live a morally unmarred life. Much like the philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau who came along centuries later, Pelagius believed that man was conditioned to sin by a corrupt society, but goodness naturally flowed from the human heart.

I’m fairly certain that parents everywhere would disagree with Pelagius. No child needs to be taught how to lie their way out of a jam or how to steal that forbidden cookie. Even secular publications recognize this.

The Minnesota Crime Commission issued the following statement in response to the rising crime rate:

“Every baby starts life as a little savage. He is completely selfish and self-centered. He wants what he wants when he wants it – his bottle, his mother’s attention, his playmate’s toy, his uncle’s watch. Deny these and he seethes with rage and aggressiveness, which would be murderous were he not so helpless… If permitted to continue in the self-centered world of his infancy, given free reign to his impulsive actions, to satisfy his wants, every child would grow up a criminal, a thief, a killer, a rapist.”[1]

What this commission observed is merely what Christians have long taught about original sin. King David put this in stark terms:

"Surely I was sinful at birth,
    sinful from the time my mother conceived me." (Psalm 51:5, NIV)

John Calvin explained it this way:

“Original sin, therefore, seems to be a hereditary depravity and corruption of our nature, diffused into all parts of the soul, which first makes us liable to God’s wrath, then also brings forth in us those works which Scripture calls ‘works of the flesh’ [Gal. 5:19].”[2]

Not Just “Mostly” Dead

It is because of original sin that evil runs amuck in this world, and it is the reason we all need the redemption found in Jesus Christ alone.

If I was to guess, I would say the two biggest reasons people don’t see their need for Jesus are:

1) People downplay the majesty of God’s holiness; and

2) People downplay the seriousness of their own sin.

You could think of it like this. The less high and holy God is and the less morally corrupt we are, the less obvious it is that we need a divine Savior. If we human beings are basically good by nature but not everything we could be, then a human solution is all we need. Many would argue this way. What we need is self-improvement skills, a more developed society, or better education.

You ready to hear what the Bible says about us? Brace yourself; it’s not pretty. The Bible claims that we are by nature “dead” in our “trespasses and sins.”[3] We’re not talking “mostly dead” as Miracle Max might put it (The Princess Bride); this is dead dead. It says that we are “sons of disobedience” who follow the devil’s leading, obey the fleshly “desires of the body,” and are “by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.”[4] Did I mention that it says the devil has blinded us to keep us from seeing the truth about God’s glory?[5] The Bible traces the problem not merely to bad fruit in our lives, but to the fact that we are spiritually dead at the root.

Ouch! Not exactly a boost to your self-esteem, perhaps. But doesn’t this teaching explain a lot about why we are the way we are? When you look around this world, doesn’t it seem like something has gone drastically wrong with the human race? Why so many wars? Why so much bloodshed? Why is it that you lock your doors at night and need a password to log in to your computer? Why do people have to earn your trust rather than already having it from the time you meet them?

G. K. Chesterton once wisely observed that “Certain new theologians dispute original sin, which is the only part of Christian theology which can really be proved.”

He had a point, didn’t he? When you scour the annals of human history over the last few millennia or when you flip on the evening news, isn’t it painfully obvious that human beings are naturally depraved, just as the Bible teaches.

Interestingly, only Christianity holds this view about our natural condition. No other faith system is willing to say that we inherit guilt and corruption from our first parents. But the Bible gives it to us straightaway as the problem that needs to be solved.

Not the Way It’s Supposed to Be

In his letter to the Romans, Paul says that while we inherit our moral corruption from Adam, there is also a way to inherit a righteousness that is not our own from Jesus.

“Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous.” (Romans 5:18-19, ESV)

Notice that Paul says it was not a host of atrocities, but only “one trespass” that “led to condemnation for all men.” Sin is always heinous; it is always an affront to God’s glory and a rebellion against His right authority. We should never again downplay the seriousness of sin after reading this. All it took was a single sin to drag the world down into condemnation. Only one!

If that seems over the top, could it be that we too don’t think sin is all that bad? Isn’t it our nature to relabel our own sins so that they don’t sound so bad?

Cornelius Plantinga Jr. writes:

“Vices have to masquerade as virtues – lust as love, thinly veiled sadism as military discipline, envy as righteous indignation, domestic tyranny as parental concern.”[6]

While we tend to see sin primarily as harming ourselves or others, the Bible makes it clear that sin is first and foremost against God Himself. We can try to pretty it up and make sin sound not so bad, but the reality is that you and I were born with a deep-seated hostility to our Maker. That is original sin. And original sin is the foremost reason the world is “not the way it’s supposed to be.”[7]

God created us to be good, but we’re not. So, what hope do we have?

An Alien Righteousness

Thankfully, the Romans 5 passage above explains that while Adam’s disobedience brought condemnation, another man’s obedience can make many righteous. God the Father sent Jesus into a world mired in sin and already condemned not to destroy us but to save us (John 3:16-18). On the cross, the sinless Jesus took the condemnation owed to us so that through faith in His loving sacrifice, we could be acquitted of all guilt and justified.

“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:1, NIV)

Spiritually speaking, the Bible says that we will belong to one of two men. In Adam, we inherited his corruption at conception and were marked by the associated guilt. In Christ, we inherit His righteousness by faith and are now marked by His redemption through the cross.

R. Albert Mohler said, “Most Americans believe that what their problem is, is something that has happened to them, and their solution is going to be found within. In other words, they believe that they have an alien problem that is to be resolved with an inner solution. The gospel says that we have an inner problem, and the only solution is an alien righteousness.”[8]

Do you believe that?

The Bible says that as long as we identify our chief problem as something external to us (our environment, society, family), we will never see our need for Christ. But the moment we agree with God that it is our sin that has separated us from Him,[9] then we are ready for the alien (external) righteousness of Christ that He lovingly gives us through faith.

Have thoughts on this post? Share in the comments below!

[1] This report is quoted in Charles Swindoll, You and Your Child (Nashville: Word Publishing, 1998), 21.

[2] John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, ed. John T. McNeill, trans. Ford Lewis Battles (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1975), 2.1.8.

[3] Ephesians 2:1.

[4] Ephesians 2:2-3.

[5] 2 Corinthians 4:4

[6] Cornelius Plantinga Jr., Not the Way It’s Supposed to Be: A Breviary of Sin (Grand Rapids: Eerdsmans, 1995).

[7] Ibid.

[8] Mohler said this in his talk “Preaching with the Culture in View” at the 2006 Together for the Gospel Conference.

[9] “It’s your sins that have cut you off from God. Because of your sins, he has turned away and will not listen anymore.” (Isaiah 59:2, NLT)

Photo by Johnny Greig

Should I Live My Truth?

On By Jason SmithIn Theology for Life, Why I Believe2 Comments

By Jason Smith

We live in an age of “anything goes” when it comes to religion or spirituality. If it warms your heart or excites you or if it works for you, then go for it.

Into this cultural context comes the big question of truth. What is it? How do we know truth?

Historically, truth has been defined as that which corresponds to reality. To tell the truth is to say how things really are – objectively and independently of how I feel about it.

Truth and Authority Redefined

Today, people have redefined truth to mean “whatever I strongly feel to be true in my heart.” That’s why you hear people say things like “You’ve got to live your truth” and “Everyone has their own version of the truth.” The truth is no longer understood to be something “out there” that I must go and discover. Instead, it is something that rises up within my own heart. And there’s a reason for that. Truth is a binding word. That is why many will argue that if something is true for someone else, then we should never question it. Otherwise we’re asking others to not be true to themselves. To be inauthentic. To live a lie. Or so the argument goes.

J.P. Moreland explains this line of thinking:

“Today, people are more inclined to think that sincerity and fervency of one’s beliefs are more important than the content. As long as we believe something honestly and strongly, we are told, then that is all that really matters.”[1]

But no matter how much I may passionately believe that something is good for me, that fact alone does not make it true.

Intuitively, we recognize that truth is closely linked to authority. If I get to define what is true for me, then I am my highest authority, and I don’t have to answer to a truth that stands outside of me or to a God who determines what is true.

Despite how common this claim is in our culture, the reality is that you and I don’t get to decide what is true. Trying to elevate our feelings and opinions to the level of moral truth doesn’t change the fact that when God declares something to be so, it is true for everyone.

Truth and Love

This doesn’t mean that personal experiences don’t matter. One well-known political commentator has a famous line: “Facts don’t care about your feelings.”[2] It’s a witty slogan perfect for bumper stickers. But the problem I have with most bumper stickers is that they often leave something wanting, something left unexplained. While I agree that facts don’t care about your feelings, followers of Jesus should care. We belong to One who showed incredible compassion for the lost, the hurting, and the misled.

In the Gospel of Matthew, we read this of Jesus:

“When He saw the crowds, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” (Matthew 9:36, BSB)

Elsewhere in the Bible, we read this of God:

“As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him. For He knows our frame; He is mindful that we are dust.” (Psalm 103:13-14, BSB)

While truth should never be sacrificed in the name of love, truth is best delivered in the context of a loving relationship. Try as we might, we cannot have one without the other. Truth and love act as preservatives for one another. When you try and separate them, they both spoil.

Why We Need a Transcendent Authority

Many in American culture fail to understand that in order to determine whether something is objectively right or wrong, we must have a transcendent authority. Only a God who has created us and therefore holds authority over us can decide whether something is right or wrong. Whenever a higher authority is rejected, people get to pick and choose whatever is right for themselves. The biblical book of Judges is centered on how dark things become when everyone lives by their own version of morality.[3] Which is why all this talk about “living your truth” is really just a declaration of autonomy and liberty from all moral restraints. As Fyodor Dostoevsky said, “Without God… everything is permissible.” Families suffer, societies are ruined, and even whole nations are destroyed by such a poisonous philosophy.

Despite all those claiming the right to decide what is morally right for themselves, I still believe that everyone knows there is a transcendent moral standard that stands outside of them; it’s unavoidable. Our consciences bear witness to the fact that God’s law is written on our hearts (Romans 2:14-16). Deep down, none of us can deny that we are all beholden to this standard.

All you need to do is watch what happens when someone is mistreated by someone else. Sure, you can claim all day long that “everyone should just live their own truth.” But the moment your car stereo is stolen or a store overcharges you or you get penalized for something you didn’t do, suddenly your blood begins boiling and you feel the need to cry out, “You can’t do that! That’s not fair!” The moment we are harmed personally, our moral indignation betrays what we really believe: There is a transcendent moral standard to which we are all accountable, despite our frequent claims to the contrary.

After all, how could anyone ever say the Holocaust was evil or the Jim Crow laws were unjust or what the terrorists did on 9/11 was wicked unless there really is a transcendent moral standard embedded in the nature of God Himself? We all know it’s not enough to say, “I don’t personally like those things, but I’m not going to foist my version of truth on someone else.”

The Oldest Lie in the Book

In the book of Genesis, the serpent came to tempt Eve to eat from the one fruit that God had forbidden. We’re told that “the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made” (Genesis 3:1). In other words, he was an expert strategist. He had really thought this through. In order to entice Eve into rebellion against the One who had formed her and loved her, he had to point out something that she didn’t yet have. Despite all the delights of living in a beautiful garden with a husband who adored her and a God who met her every need, the serpent touched on the one thing she did not have: the ability to determine good and evil for herself.

After she initially objects to violating God’s single prohibition, the serpent assures her:

“You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:5, ESV)

That was the bait that convinced her to eat the fruit. Being like God. Standing in His place. Knowing good and evil as He does.

Well, how does God know good and evil? Not by experiencing both good and evil – the Bible everywhere denies God can sin – but by determining what is good and evil as only a moral authority can. So to be like God is to decide for oneself what is good, beautiful, and true. Eve believed the satanic lie that she could live her own truth and not face any consequences. “You will not surely die,” the serpent had said.

The Truth Will Set You Free

When Jesus of Nazareth walked this planet, He talked a lot about truth. Because we’ve inherited the sin nature from Adam, we are by nature truth suppressors.[4] Jesus explained that we fall for the same old lie that duped Eve. And just as she and Adam ran and hid from God, we all run from the truth. To be more precise, Jesus said we don’t want to know the truth about ourselves. In the Gospel of John, Jesus says:

“For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.” (John 3:20-21, ESV)

Jesus came into an already condemned world to bear our condemnation.[5] He said that apart from Him we are trapped in the darkness of deception. On the other hand, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32).

The gospel of Jesus Christ is a call to repentance and surrender. To repent is to admit we have gone wrong – that our version of the truth is not, in fact, the truth. When we surrender our lives to Jesus, our sins are forgiven (including the sin of distorting the truth) and our minds are renewed. From that point forward, we’re called to live in line with the truth of the gospel.

To sum up – yes, we should speak the truth in gentleness and love, not abrasively.[6] Yes, we need to be sensitive to the feelings, personal convictions, and experiences of others. Yes, we need to respect those who are different from us. After all, in the biblical worldview they are made in the image of God and thus imbued with unfathomable dignity as His precious creations.

But let’s stop claiming things that can only mislead: “People should be able to determine what is right and wrong for themselves” or “Everyone needs to live their own truth.” As followers of the One who claimed to be “the Way, the Truth, and the life,” we need to surrender to the truth as He defines it in His Word. 

"I the LORD speak the truth; I declare what is right." (Isaiah 45:19, ESV)

Living my truth might be the worst thing I could ever do. Instead, I am called to live God’s truth.

[1] J.P. Moreland, Love Your God with All Your Mind (NavPress: Colorado Springs, 2012). Kindle edition.

[2] This is conservative commentator Ben Shapiro’s line. For the record, I agree with much of Shapiro’s moral reasoning. Of course, because Shapiro does not believe the gospel, he and I just don’t see eye to eye on the solution to moral problems.

[3] This was the repeated message in the very dark book of Judges: “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” (Judges 21:24)

[4] See Romans 1:18-20; 5:12. According to the Bible, the universal sin is that human beings have “exchanged the truth about God for a lie.” We worship things of this world, rather than the Creator of this world.

[5] Romans 8:1-3; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 10:11-14; 1 Peter 2:24.

[6] Ephesians 4:15; 2 Timothy 2:24-26.

Did Jesus Claim to Be God?

On By Jason SmithIn Theology for Life, Why I Believe1 Comment
Cristo de la Concordia on San Pedro Hill, Bolivia

“But what about you?” Jesus asked. “Who do you say I am?” (Matthew 16:15, BSB)

When Jesus was on earth, He warned His followers that there would be many false pictures of Him in the future.[1] People would try to mold and shape the person of Jesus of Nazareth to fit their personal biases and assumptions. It is rare in our Western world to simply let Jesus speak for Himself and tell us who He really is.

The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are not merely theological treatises on Jesus; they are the earliest and most reliable records we have of the life of Jesus. All four of them were written during the first century, only a matter of decades after Jesus walked the planet. Think about the level of accuracy we have today for events that occurred only a few decades ago. Not only that, but these Gospels were all based on eyewitness testimonies of what actually happened.[2]

The Gospels tell us that in the middle of the night before Good Friday, Jesus was arrested and brought before the Sanhedrin, the ruling Jewish council, for a kind of phony trial. They had one agenda: Gather enough evidence to condemn Jesus to death. Jesus’ talk about the Kingdom of God arriving through Him was a threat to their authority. So they needed to kill Him.

Now the chief priests and the whole council were seeking false testimony against Jesus that they might put him to death, but they found none, though many false witnesses came forward. (Matthew 26:59-60, ESV)

This is really incredible. They’ve had three years to find some kind of dirt on Jesus. They’ve even had time to try and concoct some kind of false allegations against Jesus. But even when they try to cook something up, all their accusations fall short.[3]

“I Am”

Of course, when you know who Jesus really is, it only makes sense that you cannot find dirt on Him. For the first and only time in human history, you have a perfect Man walking around. Imagine that. As a toddler, He never flung food across the table or threw tantrums. In school, He was the perfect student. As a teenager, He never went through a rebellious stage. When things were difficult, He never resorted to lying or stealing or badmouthing. Jesus was morally perfect.

So how do you convict someone without a single blot on His moral record? You can’t. Your only two options are to make something up or get Him to say something that scandalizes everyone.

All through this kangaroo trial, Jesus has stood there in total silence while the religious leaders slander Him, smear His name, and lie about Him. And this silence aggravates the high priest. So he asks Jesus the question he knows will get them the evidence they need to condemn Him.

Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” And Jesus said, “I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.” And the high priest tore his garments and said, “What further witnesses do we need? You have heard his blasphemy. What is your decision?” And they all condemned him as deserving death. (Mark 16:61-64, ESV)

The irony is that while they couldn’t convict Jesus based on a mountain of lies, when they finally got Jesus to clearly tell the truth about Himself, they had everything they needed to convict Him. All He had to do was acknowledge that He really was the Christ and Son of God.

Even as He hung from the cross, the religious leaders mocked Jesus by saying: “Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” (Matthew 27:43, NIV)

Who Do You Say He Is?

I wonder how you respond to His claim. Do you believe Him when He gives this response? What is your verdict on Jesus?

Bart Ehrman is a skeptic and historian who has written many books attempting to debunk the historical claims of Christianity. In an interview several years ago, he said: “During his lifetime, Jesus himself didn’t call himself God and didn’t consider himself God, and … none of his disciples had any inkling at all that he was God.”[4] But is this accurate?

The Bible doesn’t tell us that Jesus went around with a bullhorn saying, “I’m God! I’m God!” to everyone He met. That would be confusing and communicate essentially that He was what Christians now call God the Father. Instead, He spoke of Himself in a way that even faithful Jews who only believed in one God could recognize that He really was both divine and human. He forgave sin. He healed the sick, the blind, the mute. He calmed the storms. He called Himself the “I Am,” which was the divine name of Yahweh, the one true God.[5] He received worship as only God should.[6]

Jesus: A Good Teacher?

People today want to say Jesus was merely a good teacher. They want to say He was a great moral example. And some Eastern religions are even willing to say, “Sure, Jesus was god. And I’m god. You’re god. Hey, we all have a spark of the divine!” But to say Jesus was the unique Son of God and that this world has never known anyone else like Him goes beyond what our world can accept.

Here’s what Gandhi famously said about Jesus in his autobiography:

“My difficulties lay deeper. It was more than I could believe that Jesus was the only incarnate son of God, and that only he who believed in him would have everlasting life. If God could have sons, all of us were His sons. If Jesus was like God, or God Himself, then all men were like God and could be God Himself. My reason was not ready to believe literally that Jesus by his death and by his blood redeemed the sins of the world… I could accept Jesus as a martyr, an embodiment of sacrifice, and a divine teacher, but not as the most perfect man ever born. His death on the Cross was a great example to the world, but that there was anything like a mysterious or miraculous virtue in it my heart could not accept.”[7]

There are many people in our world today that share Gandhi’s sentiment. They’re happy to hold Jesus up as this great moral example, but they refuse to go beyond that.

But here’s the problem: Jesus Himself taught that He was the unique Son of God. Just listen to a handful of Jesus’ statements about Himself:

Jesus said to [the Jews], “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I Am.” (John 8:58, ESV)
“I and the Father are one.” (John 10:30, ESV)
“Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works.” (John 14:9-10, ESV)

See, the problem with Gandhi and so many others, is they want to accept Jesus as a great teacher, but they ignore what the Teacher actually taught. You cannot have it both ways.

When Jesus was asked directly if He was the Son of God, He said, “I Am.” Gandhi says Jesus’s death on the cross was a great example, but the reason the crowds demanded Jesus’s crucifixion is that He claimed to be the unique Son of God – the eternal God who took on human flesh to rescue us.

Liar, Lunatic, or Lord?

J. R. R. Tolkien, author of Lord of the Rings, once spoke to C. S. Lewis about the uniqueness of Jesus. Lewis was at one point an atheist, but he came to see that once you understand what Jesus really said about Himself, you can’t just call Him a great moral teacher. Lewis later wrote:

“I am trying to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: “I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.” That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic – on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg – or he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”[8]

Jesus’ teachings have been revered across the entire planet. Think about how wild that is for a moment. Here we have a poor itinerant rabbi from an obscure town in northern Israel in the first century who ends up crucified like a common criminal by the mighty ruling empire. How can this tragic tale be about God incarnate – “very God of very God” as the Nicaean Creed of AD 325 has it?

The only thing that could possibly convince someone that this man was in fact God is if three things are true:

1) He claimed it. We’ve seen He did.[9] When His disciple Thomas saw Him risen from the dead, he said, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28). Rather than correcting Thomas, Jesus said, “Have you believed because you have seen me?” (v. 29).

2) He lived it. No one could find Him guilty of a single sin, including His closest followers who lived with Him for three whole years. Just try convincing someone you live with that you’re perfect. One of His closest followers, Peter, said this of Jesus, quoting the prophet Isaiah:

“He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.” (1 Peter 2:22, NIV)

3) He proved it. Jesus proved in every way imaginable that He was just who He claimed to be. Not only did He forgive sins, but He also performed many miraculous feats throughout His life – including raising the dead to life. The evidence for Jesus’s miraculous wonders was incontrovertible. In fact, it was so substantial that we find opponents of Christianity explaining away His miracles by calling Him a villainous sorcerer in league with Satan.

But beyond all these miracles during His life, the greatest miracle that Jesus performed was in defeating death itself. Scripture says He tasted death for all of us. He really and truly died on the cross. But unlike all the other founders of the world religions, Jesus did something utterly unique – He came back to life. His tomb is empty to this day![10]

Because Jesus is the merciful God He says He is, we can turn to Him for forgiveness and eternal life. We don’t have to run from God, because we can know that, in Jesus, God is merciful and forgiving.

Christians have a living Savior who is also the God-man, and that’s why we have every reason to celebrate this great hope and walk with confidence in an uncertain world.

[1] Jesus said that even “the elect” (believers) can be deceived by some of these false representations. See Matthew 24:23-24.

[2] Luke 1:1-4; John 19:35; 1 Corinthians 15:1-18; 2 Peter 1:16.

[3] The best they can do is to twist His words about raising the temple if it was destroyed (John tells us He speaking about His body, see John 2:19; Matthew 26:61), but even that is flimsy at best.

[4] Bart Ehrman, NPR. Interview found here: https://www.npr.org/2014/04/07/300246095/if-jesus-never-called-himself-god-how-did-he-become-one

[5] See Exodus 3:13-14.

[6] There are numerous occasions in the Gospels where Jesus received worship (see Matthew 2:11; 14:33; 15:25; 28:9, 17; Luke 24:52; John 20:21). This is astounding when you consider that Jews viewed worship of anyone other than God as idolatrous blasphemy. In other instances, we see men and angels refuse worship and divert attention to God (Acts 3:12-13; 10:25-26; 14:11-15; Revelation 19:10; 22:8-9).

[7] Mahatma Gandhi, Gandhi: An Autobiography.

[8] C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (1952)

[9] Jesus claimed both implicitly (through doing things that only God can do, like forgiving sins) and explicitly (through His bold assertions identifying Himself as Yahweh God). See my post “What Is God Like?”

[10] For the evidence for Jesus’s historical resurrection, see my posts “Why I Believe in the Resurrection of Jesus” and “12 Reasons to Believe that Jesus Rose from the Dead.”

Every Reason for Gratitude

On By Jason SmithIn DevotionalLeave a comment
Cliffs of Moher, Ireland

“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
    his love endures forever.” (Psalm 118:1, NIV)

We are entering the season of gratitude, but, if we’re honest, many of us feel anything but grateful right now. We have lived through 2020, and much of it has not been fun. We’ve seen the entire globe caught up in the spread of a pandemic. We’ve seen injustice, civil unrest, wildfires, hurricanes, and a heated presidential election.

Many of us have been caught off guard by this year and are more focused on getting the ground back beneath our feet than looking for reasons to be thankful. Having an attitude of gratitude suggests there is something to smile about, yet we might find more reasons to be sour-faced this year. You and I are probably more concerned with getting this year behind us than reflecting on all we have to thank God for these past twelve months.

For myself, I can say there’s definitely been times this past year when I’ve found it easier to complain than praise God.

If you had to guess, would you say that there’s been more expressions of anger or gratitude on your lips lately? More irritation or elation? Gloom or glee?

Someone might suggest it’s oxymoronic to try to “count your blessings” in a year that feels so cursed. If that’s you, it might surprise you to learn that “cursed” is precisely the word that the Bible uses to describe, not just the year 2020, but the present condition of our world.

Very early in the story of Scripture, God creates a beautiful world and fills it with living creatures. At the apex of creation, God creates human beings to be His close and personal friends. Perfect harmony exists. But then the first human pair make the terrible decision to rebel against their Maker and go their own way. In the aftermath of their mutiny, God pronounces judgment. “Cursed is the ground because of you,” God tells Adam (Genesis 3:17, NIV). However, God promises a Savior who will one day rescue them from the evil that has overtaken them, but the plot takes many twists and turns before He even shows up.

According to the Bible, our world today is cursed. And this account is meant to be read as sober history. Although many today want to write this story off as a myth, I find it interesting that Jesus and the biblical authors always refer to Genesis as genuine history.[1] But, really, is it so hard to believe? In fact, doesn’t the Genesis account make sense of the fact that our world is both beautifully and intricately designed and also filled with tragedy and suffering?

The Apostle Paul explains it this way: “We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time” (Romans 8:22, NIV).

There’s no doubt about it: this year and every year since humanity’s fall has been tarnished, damaged, and spoiled by sin. Our world is broken; we are afflicted on every side by death, disease, and disaster. Life on earth is not everything God meant it to be.

“For the creation was subjected to frustration,” (v. 20). Frustration. Can you relate? And yet the thought doesn’t end there. “For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God” (Romans 8:20-21, NIV).

Although right now creation groans and aches under the brokenness of sin, God will one day redeem creation itself. The natural world will be set free from the cycle of decay and disorder along with all the children of God.

Our world is fallen. Picture a beautiful sports car right after it’s been through a head-on collision. The beauty and design is still there, but it’s badly distorted. Such is the case here. We have never seen this world as God originally created it, but all those who know God will one day see this creation reclaimed, refined, and renewed. Speaking of this future state that the Bible calls the New Heavens and the New Earth, we are told: “No longer will there be any curse” (Revelation 22:3, NIV). Don’t miss this promise: No more curse! Cue the angelic choir singing “Hallelujah!” The curse will be reversed.

And, like the account of the curse, this is no fairytale. This is a genuine promise of a coming restoration, and thus a cause for celebration.

Because God is rich in mercy, He has promised to not abandon this beautiful-yet-bruised planet. Heaven itself will invade and restore this world to be a place free of pain, disease, tears, and, yes, even death (see Revelation 21:1-5). God will take what is best about our incredible world and purify it of all that makes this world unbearable. Most importantly, God Himself will dwell with His children when creation is made new: “God himself will be with them and be their God” (Revelation 21:3, NIV).

Maybe we have trouble thinking of things to be thankful for because all our focus is on the “groaning” of this current world rather than the glorious future God has in store for it. When the anxieties and challenges of life seem to multiply, it’s very easy to find reasons to grumble. But when we put our confidence in God’s Word, we have every reason for sheer gratitude. On those days when life seems dreary, look with the eyes of faith on the future that God has in store for His own, and then thank Him in advance.

As you adopt this future-oriented perspective, you’ll find it easier to thank God for the countless smaller blessings in life today. Don’t let them slip by without noticing. They will remind you to persevere — with gratitude.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” (Philippians 4:6, NIV).

[1] See Matthew 19:3-6; 24:38-39; Mark 10:5-9; Luke 11:50-51; John 5:45-47; Romans 5:12-14; 1 Corinthians 15:20-22; 2 Peter 2:5; 3:5-6.

Balancing Grace and Truth

On By Jason SmithIn Devotional, Theology for LifeLeave a comment

As an evangelical Christian in 21st century America, the constant challenge I find myself in is learning to balance grace and truth. As followers of Christ, we know that both of these are equally essential and mutually reinforcing. The Gospel of John says that Jesus came as “the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).

In a practical sense, this means we must never shy away from holding on to our Christian convictions, namely those derived from the Bible. But on the other hand, we are to always be sharing this truth with openness, love, and empathy. If I was to guess, I’d say that Christians have historically known what it means to proclaim the truth about God, what He expects of us, and what He has done to rescue us. However, grace is a concept that has often befuddled people, both religious and irreligious.

I remember being taught in Sunday School that grace means “unmerited favor.” Sounds pretty good, but what does that look like? Of course, the chief example of grace from the Bible is God’s far-reaching love for those who have rejected Him, even to the point of being willing to come as a human and die for their sins. Again, this helps to fill out what we’re talking about when we use the word grace, but what does it look for us to show grace to others? After all, I cannot die for the sins of my neighbor, and they certainly cannot die for mine.

I think for starters we have to consider ways we can follow Christ’s example, such as the way He warmly embraced and unconditionally loved those who were considered spiritually and morally inferior. Jesus showed acceptance for people of every political stripe. For example, among His twelve closest companions was a former tax collector employed by the Roman Empire (Matthew) and a member of the Zealots (Simon), a group committed to dismantling Roman rule through guerilla warfare.

Jesus’ radical love for social outcasts even earned him the nickname “Friend of tax collectors and sinners,” a label the religious elite intended as an insult. At the same time, Jesus never downplayed the significance of repentance, costly discipleship, and the need to commit ourselves wholly to Him as both Savior and Lord. He called people to leave their sin behind, even while He embraced them in their sin.

A distinguishing feature of grace is not merely to show love toward those who don’t deserve it, but especially to show unconditional love and forgiveness toward those who have wronged you. Grace doesn’t hold a grudge in silence or seek to get even openly. Instead, it is the third option of accepting the one you would more naturally be inclined to disdain.

Both truth and grace are essential, but if I had to guess, Christians today are known less for their gracious attitudes than their willingness to stand for the truth. Many who have recognized this deficit have made the equally egregious error of sacrificing biblical truth on the altar of good public relations. However, I believe there is a far better way to show the world both of these necessary, Christ-like qualities.

One recent example I read about involves American pastor Tim Keller. Keller is known for his remarkable ability to communicate the relevance and beauty of Christianity within a secular culture. In 2017, Keller was given the highly esteemed Kuyper Prize at the Abraham Kuyper Center for Public Theology at Princeton Theological Seminary – that is, until it was abruptly taken away. Keller was well-deserving of the award for his leadership and ministry. In fact, he was even named among Fortune magazine’s “World’s 50 Greatest Leaders” in 2018.[1] Nevertheless, when word got out that Keller would be the recipient of the Kuyper Prize, several students and faculty objected that Keller was unfit to receive the award, citing his conservative views on marriage, sex, and women’s ordination.

The incredible thing is that while the award was taken away, the Kuyper Center asked Keller if he would still be willing to speak at the conference where the Kuyper Prize would be given to someone else. Instead of harboring resentment, Keller gladly accepted the offer.

Whatever your opinion of Keller’s convictions, no one could deny that Keller exhibited remarkable humility in doing this. Because of Keller’s trademark graciousness, many spoke out in his defense. In an op-ed piece, Katherine Alsdorf, the co-founder of New York’s Center for Faith and Work, even had this to say about Keller:

“We partnered in the establishment of the Center for Faith and Work, which may have done as much as any church in decades to honor Abraham Kuyper’s vision of humble, respectful engagement in a world of many faith perspectives. His teaching combines a deep confidence that the gospel can change everything from our hearts, making us more humble and generous, to the institutions and society around us. While he would never have sought a “Kuyper award,” I can’t imagine anyone more worthy of it. Like some of the women who have objected and instigated the withdrawal of this award by Princeton Theological Seminary, I do not share Tim’s complementarian views. However, I am deeply saddened by the tone of these objections, more so by the final effect.”[2]

What I love about this is that Keller’s response allowed him to have a far greater impact on his detractors than any act of retaliation would have. There are many times when it is easy for us to want to tear down our opponents for some scathing remark made about us. But how much more effective – and more importantly, how much more like Jesus – it is to “turn the other cheek.” To allow ourselves to be insulted, if only that will mean we can have an opportunity to put both grace and truth on display. Because in doing this, we will be putting Jesus on display.

Feel free to comment below. I’d love to hear your thoughts!

[1] Fortune Editors, “The World’s 50 Greatest Leaders,” Fortune, April 19, 2018, http://fortune.com/longform/worlds-greatest-leaders-2018/.

[2] Katherine Leary Alsdorf, “OpEd: Tim Keller Hired Women in Leadership,” Journey Through NYC Religions, March 29, 2017, www.nycreligion.info/oped-tim-keller-put-charge-train-men-women-leadership/.

Through the Lens of Eternity

On By Jason SmithIn Devotional2 Comments
Photo by Justin Kern

By Jason Smith

Perseverance is a powerful thing. It can make or break an individual. And it can make or break your trust in God. As someone has quipped, “By perseverance the snail made it to the ark.” And perseverance is something we all desperately need right now.

In the movie Chariots of Fire, the champion sprinter Harold Abrahams suffers his first ever defeat. The Olympic athlete is utterly devastated by the loss, and he begins pouting on the bleachers. When his girlfriend comes alongside to encourage him, Abrahams says, “If I can’t win, I won’t run!” His girlfriend wisely responds, “If you don’t run, you can’t win.” Abrahams went on to win the gold medal in the 100-meter dash of the 1924 Olympics. Hers was the voice of perseverance, urging him to go on, despite difficult setbacks.

When facing a trial, we have to gain perspective if we are going to persevere well in life.

The Eternal Perspective

When we are able to see our current pain or trial in light of eternity, it really does change everything. The things that will last begin to stand out, and you begin to give everything the attention it deserves. You’ll major on the majors, and let a lot of the minor issues go. They won’t seem as big in light of eternity.

The Apostle Paul knew what it meant to suffer. And yet, his confident hope in the face of trials is astonishing.

He writes, “So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but things that are unseen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18).

If you were to lift a 200-pound anvil on to one side of a massive scale, it’s going to feel enormous. No question. You’re going to experience incredible strain on your muscles, and your back might give out under the weight. But if you were to drive an 80,000-pound 18-wheeler on to the other side of the scale, that same anvil will appear as light as a feather as it’s lifted up in the air.

In the same way, our present suffering may feel enormous right now, but on the scale of eternity, the infinite joy and relief that awaits the child of God in Heaven and on the New Earth will make what we have endured seem as light as a feather and as brief as the blink of an eye.

A pastor friend of mine has said that whenever he and his wife are in the midst of adversity, they always try to ask the question: “Will this matter in eternity?” That’s a good question to ask. “Will this really matter in eternity?” Seen through the lens of eternity, everything we deal with in life is brought into right focus.

Pure Joy

James, Jesus’ half-brother, counsels fellow sufferers in this way: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance” (James 1:2-3, NIV).

That’s a pretty radical message. “Consider it pure joy,” James says, “whenever you face trials.” Joy in trials? Joy in a pandemic? Joy in suffering? Joy when mistreated by others? What a strange perspective. That’s what you call counterintuitive Christianity. And this is so important.

A lot of times our gut reaction to any kind of challenge or pain is to grow impatient or embittered about what’s going on. We ask, “Why me?” because we can’t see a good reason that God would allow this suffering.

And a lot of times we can even grow angry with God. And the way this usually manifests itself is in getting angry or impatient at other people, particularly those closest to us. We can be angry at the situation, then angry with God, and pretty soon we are angry at the next person who is under our shadow.

But James says, “Look, the reason you’re so upset is because all your focus is on this struggle in the here and now. You’re consumed with all that’s going wrong. That’s why you’re angry.” But the short-range perspective won’t help us. We need an eternal perspective on the temporary challenge.

And look when James says, “Consider it pure joy,” he’s not living in a fantasy world. He knows that the pain in the moment is real. He knows how much grief hurts. In fact, James, who was the half-brother of Jesus, was the pastor of the church in Jerusalem, which was constantly facing trials and suffering. He knew how painful life can be all too well.

But he says, “Consider it pure joy,” because he doesn’t want us to miss the forest for the trees. When we are in a major trial, our tendency is to put all our focus into what’s troubling us. But James says, we have to actively consider it pure joy first, because in the moment it sure doesn’t feel like pure joy. We need to see, with the eyes of faith, that God has good plans for us through this trial. “Take the long view,” James says, “Imagine ways God could use this for your ultimate good and His everlasting glory.”

In the Middle of It All

Remember Romans 8:28? If you don’t know it already, mark this verse down as one to commit to memory: “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” That’s a powerful promise we need to bank on every day.

Do you love God? Do you have a relationship with Him through Jesus Christ? If you don’t, I encourage you to entrust your eternity to Christ today. He died and rose again so that you could be granted eternal life with Him.

If you do, here’s the promise: God is working all things together for your good. Now, seriously, what could possibly be a better promise than this? The God who knows the end from the beginning is working for your good in the middle of it all. Everything you face in life, every challenge, every struggle has a purpose. We make mistakes. Trust me, I’ve made my fair share. But God never makes a mistake. He never slips up. He’s working for your eternal good in every situation you face.

So that’s why we need to first get the long-term view on every challenge we face. Because in the moment, we just want to shout, “No!” Don’t we? “No, God! Don’t let this happen.” “No, God! Make this go away.” But we need to see this challenge as a test, as an opportunity to grow.

No matter what trial you are facing right now, you will be able to persevere when you first get an eternal perspective on the temporary challenge.

Feel free to comment below. I’d love to hear your thoughts!

New Mercies Every Morning

On By Jason SmithIn Devotional1 Comment

By Jason Smith

Sometimes people assume that the stories found in the Bible are always otherworldly, with every page being filled with outlandish miracles, ethereal heavenly visions, and glorious angelic appearances. They imagine that the Bible might cater well to “dreamers” who enjoy predictable stories but not so well to those who live in the grit and grime of reality. But what really struck me when I began to actually read through the Bible is how incredibly real to life all the narratives truly are.

I learned that it was very much a book written for humans and by humans, even though – I’m convinced – it is ultimately given from God.[1] Some open their Bibles and expect to read about God’s people always succeeding and conquering “the bad guys” in dramatic fashion – all for the glory of God, of course! To be sure, there are “success stories” in the Bible. With God’s help, Joshua soundly defeated Jericho, and David took down Goliath with a single smooth stone.

But on the whole, you don’t find God’s people riding one big wave of victory after the other. Very often, the so-called “good guys” are deeply flawed and have mixed motives. They often struggle with doubt. Sometimes they even get angry at God. And perhaps the thing that makes people in the Bible seem most real is that they suffer.

Take Jeremiah, for example. His nickname is “the weeping prophet.” It’s a pretty unfair moniker, really, considering all that the guy was up against. Pretty much every time God gave Jeremiah a speaking assignment, the prophet obeyed but then was mocked and rejected by his audience. You could sum up Jeremiah’s message to Israel like this: “1) You guys sinned, 2) God will judge you, and 3) But there is still the hope of restoration, if you repent!”

For some reason, the people didn’t really like that message – particularly points 1 and 2. Nearly the whole nation made it clear that they would rather Jeremiah just bug off. They preferred listening to all the false prophets, whose constant message was essentially: “Everything is awesome!” (see Jeremiah 23:16-22). They promised success and victory, but avoided the messy subjects of sin and accountability to God. Due to the city’s unspeakable evil, God determined that the Babylonian army would utterly crush Jerusalem.

Rather than a small band of rebels rising up at the very last moment to defeat the mighty evil empire – as we might expect in a Hollywood script – God’s people don’t win this battle. Jerusalem is decimated by the Babylonians. The book of Jeremiah ends with total defeat, rather than: “And they lived happily ever after.”

In addition to writing the biblical book that bears his name, many scholars believe that Jeremiah may have written the book of Lamentations (see 2 Chronicles 35:25). Given his historical position as an eyewitness of all that took place when Jerusalem fell, this makes sense, but we really don’t know.

In Lamentations, we get a sense for what the Apostle Paul meant when he wrote, “Behold then the kindness and severity of God” (Romans 11:22). God is always good and kind, but He also refuses to leave evil and rebellion unchecked forever.

As he watches the city of Jerusalem fall through tear-filled eyes, the author of Lamentations cries out:

“The Lord determined to tear down
    the wall around Daughter Zion.
He stretched out a measuring line
    and did not withhold his hand from destroying.
He made ramparts and walls lament;
    together they wasted away.” (Lamentations 2:8, NIV)

Imagine for a moment that the beloved city in which you live was being burned to the ground. How would that make you feel? It gets worse for this grieving man. In raw emotion, he accuses God of ignoring him:

“He has walled me in so I cannot escape;
    he has weighed me down with chains.
Even when I call out or cry for help,
    he shuts out my prayer.” (Lamentations 3:7-8, NIV)

This is in the Bible! The author continues pouring out his heart with bitter invectives against God – even likening God to a ferocious bear that mauled him and left him for dead (vv. 10-11)!

Maybe you can relate. Perhaps there have been times when you too felt like God was shutting out your prayers. Maybe this even led to a root of bitterness growing within. It’s possible you even accused God of failing to do His job… failing to be the God you need. That’s where this man’s heart was as he wrote this.

But then, something changes… drastically. It’s as though a ray of hope suddenly breaks through the thick clouds overhead and shines upon his wounded soul.

“Yet this I call to mind
    and therefore I have hope:

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
    his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness.
“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
    “therefore I will hope in him.” (Lamentations 3:21-24)

The author has wrestled intensely with how God’s goodness and sovereignty fit with the way his world is crumbling to a heap, and now he has broken through that struggle to the truth of God’s loving character on the other side. He has gone through what many have called “the dark night of the soul” and emerged with a clearer perspective on how desperately he needs God. He remembers that “his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning” (vv. 22-23).

What strikes me about Lamentations is how relatable it is. There’s nothing superficial or hunky dory about it. The author is deeply distressed throughout the entire book. But I also note how the author would have never been able to see the depths of God’s great mercy were it not for his agonizing experience.

Throughout this coronavirus crisis, many have wished they could find a time warp that takes them to the end of this pandemic. Such wishful thinking reminds me of Adam Sandler’s character on the movie Click. (Yes, I really am referencing an Adam Sandler movie in this devotional). In that film, Sandler’s character, Michael, discovers a universal remote control that allows him to pause time or fast-forward through difficult circumstances. In the end, Michael ends up fast-forwarding through his entire life. The lesson to be learned is that you cannot skip or avoid challenges in life, because life is filled with them – even as it is also filled with so much beauty and goodness.

In the same way, God does not intend for us to fast-forward through the challenging times of life. Instead, we are to be fully engaged with every moment He gives us. He calls us to walk through the valleys, not merely to fly from one mountaintop to the next. If it weren’t for the valleys, we would never grow. We’d become self-satisfied and spiritually anemic. Though unpleasant in the moment, trials in life are for our ultimate good.

Having gone through the valley of suffering, the author of Lamentations can now see God’s glory with greater clarity. Although pain and grief are here for a season, God’s love never ceases. “His mercies never come to an end” (v. 22). Every morning brings a fresh supply, and this reservoir of mercy will never run dry. “Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning” (Psalm 30:5). This is a powerful reminder to any who have suffered greatly and felt like God was ignoring them in their pain. When you seem all alone, God is still with you each step of the way. Even in the pain, God will bring new mercies. When all seems silent, God hasn’t forgotten about you. Know that everything your Father allows into your life is designed to ultimately draw you closer to Him.

[1] See my article “What Did Jesus Think of the Bible,” https://lampandlightdevotionals.wordpress.com/2020/04/24/what-did-jesus-think-of-the-bible/

Photo Credit: Pinterest

Our Anthem Is Hope

On By Jason SmithIn DevotionalLeave a comment

By Jason Smith

“And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.” (Romans 5:5, BSB)

Hope is something our world desperately needs right now. Widespread suffering and bleak economic projections have left people feeling lost and disoriented. Many feel caught in the perpetual cycle of hearing messages of gloom and doom.

Into this dreary darkness, God wants to shine a ray of hope. I love the chorus of a Switchfoot song that goes, “My heartbeat, my oxygen. My banner, my home. My future, my song. Your hope is the anthem of my soul.” Now, perhaps more than ever, Christians must recognize our anthem really is hope.

The beauty of Christianity is that it heralds a message of spectacularly good news especially for dark and dismal times like the present. The message of Jesus Christ carries a hope that nothing in this world can snuff out. What makes it so unstoppable is that it’s a hope that shines all the brighter as the world looks darker. It’s a message for this world precisely because it is a message that transcends this world. It stands above even a global pandemic and urges every person to listen and believe.

This hope found in Jesus does not rest on the success of political campaigns or how quickly a coronavirus vaccine is discovered – which I pray is very soon. The Bible calls this hope “an anchor for the soul, firm and secure” (Hebrews 6:19, NIV), something strong enough to weather even the fiercest storms. In Scripture, hope is something solid and sure – not a whimsical and flimsy pipe dream. Our “hope of eternal life” will never let us down because the “God who cannot lie” promised this “before time began” (Titus 1:2, BSB). We say things like “I hope it won’t rain on Saturday” or “I hope our team makes the Super Bowl,” but such hopes often ring hollow and really belong to the category of wishful thinking. The Christian hope, on the other hand, “does not disappoint us” (Romans 5:5, BSB).

So what is the Christian hope? Many have supposed that Christianity is about God rewarding the faithful. In other words, Jesus came to save the good, moral, and godly among us. What else could they think? After all, aren’t Christians engaged in a culture war eager to impose a biblical morality on the rest of society? I’ve spoken to many who see it that way.

But… what if Christianity’s message is filled with hope and joy, not because it’s first and foremost about moral reform, but about redemption in Christ. The reason I say it’s not about Jesus saving “the good, moral, and godly” is because the Bible itself says, “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly” (Romans 5:6). Read it again. Jesus died for the “ungodly” – the immoral, the vile, the perverted.

Does that offend you? Well, it could be that you’ve missed the fact that, according to genuine Christianity, no one is saved except “by grace” (Ephesians 2:8). Grace is a biblical term that means “God’s infinite love to the infinitely undeserving.” The reality is that every last one of us has inherited the brokenness of our first father, Adam. “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned” (Romans 5:12).

As a human race, we essentially told God to shove off, thinking we could become gods apart from Him. Because of our sinful nature, we all come into this world separated from God and justly condemned. We have all gone wrong, which is why our greatest need is to be reconciled to God and somehow put in the right. But “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). God’s moral standard cannot change. “The soul that sins shall die” (Ezekiel 18:20). God loves us dearly, but if He failed to punish our sin, this would lead to the moral order of the universe crumbling to a heap. Justice would be out the window forever. So what is God to do?

There is only one way God could save us while remaining perfectly just. He Himself would have to come and bear the punishment for our sin in our place. This is where the hope of the gospel glows with the brightness of heaven itself. You can probably think of someone you’d be willing to die for. But can you imagine dying for your enemy – for someone who has offended you, insulted you, and devalued you incessantly? Because that’s what Jesus did.

“For one will scarcely die for a righteous person – though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die – but God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by His blood, much more shall we be saved by Him from the wrath of God” (Romans 5:7-9). To be justified is to be “declared righteous” by God because when Jesus hung on the cross, He took your sin and gave you His righteousness.

The truly astonishing thing is that while we were plotting to become gods in our rebellion against God, God became a man in order to rescue us. “For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by His life” (v. 10).

This is the greatest message of hope our world could ever know. The moment you trust in Jesus Christ and His death for you, you are reconciled to God. From that moment on, “the wrath of God” (v. 9) no longer hangs over your head because you are covered in the grace of God. “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (v. 1)

The Bible says that when you know this peace with God, it changes everything. Your whole world turns upside down… or, rather, right side up. Paradoxically, you can now have tremendous joy in the midst of trials.

“…and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” (vv. 2b-5).

More than that, ours is a “living hope” because Jesus Christ is alive today. This is why Christians celebrate the resurrection of our Lord every Easter. His defeat of death signals to the whole world that the suffering of this world has an expiration date.

Do you see why this is the message of hope the world most needs? Whereas other hopes are dashed on the rocks of adversity, here is a hope that actually is strengthened by suffering. It’s a hope that God is offering you right now, because “Christ died for the ungodly” (v. 6). No matter how badly life looks, the Christian can always have this confidence: Our anthem is hope.

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God Will See Us Through

On By Jason SmithIn DevotionalLeave a comment

By Jason Smith

“The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.” (Psalm 34:18)

These are tumultuous times. Many are facing job loss or financial difficulties. Weddings and other pivotal gatherings and events have been canceled. Countless are confused, angry, and anxious about the future.

The number of confirmed cases of Coronavirus across the globe just passed 395,000 as I write this, with 17,252 deaths worldwide. The constant refrain in the news seems to be: “The world is a mess!” The ground beneath our feet seems to be cracking and crumbling. So, what can be done about this growing uncertainty?

Now, more than ever, we as a people need to turn to God’s written revelation. The Bible was given to us for all times, and especially for times like this. We need to know that God has not left us alone during this crisis.

When we face unprecedented challenges, we must see God reaching out to us in love. In fact, God gave us a psalm to address unsettled hearts in times of crisis.

Psalm 34 begins with the author David committing in his heart to praise the God over all in every circumstance: “I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth” (v. 1). God’s honor is not an afterthought for David. It isn’t an “if time allows” item on the agenda. He understands that the right response to crises is to worship the Lord who made us. But why?

Worshiping God: The Real Solution to Times of Crisis

Because we were designed for worship of our Creator, our hearts are most settled and at peace when we are reverently adoring Him for the God He is. When we can worship God in a crisis, we can know that we truly do love Him, not merely the blessings He bestows on us.

Job is known as the righteous sufferer of the Old Testament. Probably only a handful of people have faced more trials than him. He lost nearly all his livestock and possessions to thieves and a wildfire (1:14-17). His children died when a whirlwind caused the house they were in to collapse on them (1:18-19). Then, painful, puss-filled boils covered his entire skin (7:5; 30:17). His wife told him to blaspheme God and find a hole to die in (Job 2:9). And, lastly, his closest friends seemed to think he must have sinned horribly (8:2-7). Oh, and on top of everything else, did I mention he also had a severe case of halitosis – bad breath (19:17)? All this, despite the fact that Job “was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil” (Job 1:1).

So, what was Job’s response to this horrendous anguish he faced? He shaved his head, fell to his knees, and worshiped God. Yes, you read that correctly. Job cried out, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD” (v. 21). This likely seems strange to many readers. Shame, misery, and grief lead him into a worship session? What’s going on here?

Job understood something we often miss. The book’s author tells us what that was at the very beginning: Job feared God (v. 1). Because Job feared God, he understood that He was the Author of life, the only One deserving worship, and the only One we should rely on during times of upheaval. When everything in our lives seems disrupted, we need to rely on the Rock who does not change. “For He is the living God and He endures forever” (Daniel 6:26).

A host of solutions have been proposed in dealing with the current crisis. Some of these are good, but many may not be. Ultimately, they are not the decisive measures that can calm our hearts. Only turning in heart-filled worship to the “Father of mercies and God of all comfort” will give us the supernatural peace we’re all craving right now (2 Corinthians 1:3). “Taste and see that the LORD is good!” (Psalm 34:8).

God Hears Our Prayers and Sends His Angels

Listen to what David said: “I sought the LORD, and He answered me and delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to Him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed” (Psalm 34:4-5). When all is said and done, the question will not be: Did we survive the pandemic? Ultimately, no one gets out of this life alive! The question, rather, will be: In the midst of the pandemic, where did we turn for security? I don’t know about you, but I want to be included among those whom David describes as “radiant” and full of God’s love and peace, not dreading each day with fists clenched tightly.

I love what David says next, because it fits with the financial uncertainty we’re facing: “This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him and saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him, and delivers them” (vv. 6-7).

Our tendency in economically volatile times is to look down at our assets, accounts, and accruals. God says, “Lift your eyes up here. My angel will bring perfect peace to you who fix your eyes on Me.” Then David says something that could be baffling: “Oh, fear the LORD, you His saints, for those who fear Him have no lack! The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing” (vv. 9-10).

What exactly is this psalm promising us? This isn’t a blank check promise that as long as you ask God, you’ll always get what you want. No, it’s meant to be a statement of assurance to those who feel deprived of what they normally can count on. Come what may, for those who seek the Lord, they will find true contentment in Him. They will “lack no good thing” (v. 10).

God Will See You Through to the Very End

“The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit” (v. 18). This is the statement Psalm 34 seems to be building toward. It calls us to worship the Lord (v. 1). It assures that He hears our every prayer (v. 17). Then, it tells us what we most need to hear: God hasn’t forgotten about you in the midst of this crisis (v. 18). He is so close, in fact, that you can feel his presence right there with you when you quiet your heart.

Elizabeth Elliot, who experienced deep suffering and loss in her life, wrote, “When our souls lie barren in a winter which seems hopeless and endless, God has not abandoned us. His work goes on. He asks our acceptance of the painful process and our trust that He will indeed give resurrection life.”[1]

Psalm 34 ends with a warning and a promise. Many will fall to affliction and cast bitter aspersions on those who seek the Lord (v. 21), but ultimately those who take refuge in the Lord will find ultimate salvation with Him (v. 22). No matter what crises or afflictions come our way in this life, we can be sure that those who trust in the resurrected Lord, Jesus Christ, will also be granted a resurrected life where death is but a distant memory.

If you know your destination, you won’t be lost on the journey. He will see you through to the very end.

[1] Elizabeth Elliot, A Path Through Suffering (Ann Arbor, MI: Servant Publications, 1990), 43.