D-Day and the Christian Life

I am reading a book about D-Day, the most famous battle of World War II. It is mind boggling to think of what our boys went through. Walking into machine gun fire. Watching your buddies drop dead and wounded all around you. Arrive, if you survived, at the beach exhausted and dazed by what you just experienced. And now to have to advance up cliffs under fire. The miraculous thing was that there were a few who started the advance in the face of impossible odds. Those few encouraged the others and the tide of the battle was changed.

Our life as Christians is like that. We may think that any effort we exert to advance Christ's kingdom is fruitless. The chance of us doing anything to stem the tide of wickedness is nil. But we need to put on the armor of God, pick up the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God, pray with all prayer, and do our part in the mission God has given us.

Some of those boys died not knowing that they had made a difference in the war. So to, we may never know till we get to glory how God used our feeble efforts for his kingdom. But let's press on. Do our part and leave the results to Him.

O How I Love Thy Law

I was sitting in Sunday School about a year ago, and the teacher made and the teacher made this comment: Affection drives cognition. I have thought a lot about that statement. You can apply that thought in so many areas. If I love something, I will do whatever it takes to learn about it. If I truly love God's law, I will be thinking about it constantly. It will be my default mode.

O how I love thy law. It is my meditation all day long.
Ps. 119:97

It's all about being in Christ

I just finished going through I John again. This time I was impressed by the fact that being in Christ is a packaged deal. When you get him, you get it all; his life and his character. There is no other kind of Christian.

Explaining Propitiation to Children

About a week ago I had to break up a scuffle between a couple of my kids. "You can not hit her," I told my son. "But she was mean to me and annoying me and it makes me so angry." "You're right," I told him. "Your sister was mean and annoying. You know that anger you feel? That's how God feels when we sin, even more so, because all sin and meanness is ultimately against God. But Jesus died so he could be the propitiation for our sin, so he would take God's wrath in our place. If you tell Jesus you are sorry for your sin and ask him to forgive you, God's anger about your sin falls on Jesus instead of you. Jesus really loves us to tell God to be angry with him instead of us.

The lights went on. His face softened as he realized the greatness of God's love for him, and the truth of propitiation.

I John, a Book of Contrasts

One of the things that strikes me as I read this book is all the contrasts; love and hate, truth and lies, abiding in Christ and not abiding in Christ, children of God and children of the devil. The list goes on and on. This should not be surprising because John himself was a man of contrasts. He had a passion against evil ("Lord, should we call down fire from heaven and destroy them?"), and deeply loved Christ, the embodiment of good. John was the one who leaned on Jesus' breast.Right now I am making a list of all the contrasts. It is taking me quite a while, but I think it will be worth it. I think John is drawing two circles for us- those who are in Christ and those who are not.

The over-arching questions of the book are "How can I know who is in Christ and who is not?" and "How can I know if I'm one of those in Christ?" These questions are vital to all of us, including children. The need to satisfactorily answer them grows more intense as they become teens and enter adult hood. The questions could be rephrased as "How can I know I'm saved?" and "How do I know who's telling me the truth?".

After I finish my list of contrasts, I want to make a list of all the occurrences of the word "know". Then I hope to tie it all together in an outline. 

Thinking About I John

Some people are forest people and some people are tree people. Forest people see the structure first and fill in the details, and tree people see the trees first and then get the structure. I tend to be a forest person. I never really feel I understand something until I see the structure.

I've been trying to get a handle on the underlying premises of I John. Here's what I've come up with. I would consider these a work in progress and subject to further clarification.

1. God has made known to us eternal life in the incarnation of his Son. This is the basis of our fellowship with Him and with others.

2. Those who have fellowship with God and are in Christ will be evident because they display his character-God is light and God is love- and have his Spirit.

Psalm 37: Promises for when the Wicked Prosper

I made a list of all the things God promised, both to the wicked and to the righteous. Then I reread my list. "Do I really believe this?" I had to ask myself. The promises are so great.Almost fantastical. Imagine the God who created the universe caring, helping, protecting and providing for me. From a naturalist point of view this is weird. Unbelievable. But for those who are born of the Spirit, who have the Spirit of God indwelling them, these promises are a bedrock of confidence and comfort.

Here is a partial list of the promises.

Promises for the Wicked

• They will fade like a leaf.
• They will be cut off.
• Their sword shall enter their own heart.
• They will perish.

Promises for the Righteous

• If they delight in God, God will give them the desires of their heart.
• If they commit their way to him and trust in him, he will act.
• They will have an abundance of peace.
• God will bring forth their righteousness as the light. He will vindicate them.
• God will give them justice.
• God will uphold and help them.
• God will provide for them in famine.
• Their children will be a blessing.
• God will not abandon them to the power of the wicked.
• God will not forsake them.

Verses 39-40 sum it up.

The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;
    he is their stronghold in the time of trouble.
⁴⁰ The Lord helps them and delivers them;
     he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
    because they take refuge in him. (ESV)

Prayer 

Dear God, help me to really believe this and to trust you when times are tough.