Pastor Glenn's Weblog

Confidence in Him Who Sees the End from the Beginning

It has been a tough few months for me and a particularly tough week.  But God has reminded me over and over of his sovereign control, of his faithfulness, and of his steadfast love for his people.

Two things in particular have ministered to me this past week.  The first is the verse I decided  to have our congregation memorize as I teach a series of messages called “Hope in the Midst of Hopelessness.”  Though I thought it was for the congregation, God has already used it’s truths to encourage me.

May the God of hope fill you will all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.   –Romans 15:13 (ESV)

The second thing that has touched me numerous times this week is a quote I came across in preparing my Sunday School lesson.  We are watching a PBS television series called “God in America.”  Though a secular-made film, there is so much to discuss from a biblical perspective; it has been a very interesting class.  This week we looked at Abraham Lincoln’s spiritual journey during the civil war and loss of his son Willie.  The pastor who gave the eulogy for Willie had a huge impact on President Lincoln, especially this section about trusting a sovereign God.  It has had a positive impact on me as well.

What we need in the hour of trial, and what we should seek by earnest prayer, is confidence in Him who sees the end from the beginning and doeth all things well.  Only let us bow in His presence with a humble and teachable spirit; only let us be still and know that He is God; only let us acknowledge His hand, and hear His voice, and inquire after His will, and seek His Holy Spirit as our counselor and guide.  And all, in the end will be well.     — Phineas Gurley

We need confidence in him who sees the end from the beginning and does all things well.  That is certainly what we need.  May God grant it!

My Shepherd All My Life Long

Genesis 48:15-16.  This passage recently caught my eye in my devotions.  The background for it is interesting.  Joseph’s brothers and his father Jacob had recently moved to Egypt, and Pharaoh was to meet them.  Joseph warned them that when Pharaoh asked their occupation not to say they were shepherds but to say they kept livestock (Gen 46:33-34).  But guess what?  As soon as Pharaoh asked the anticipated question, they answered with the dreaded word (47:3)!  They were shepherds; their father was a shepherd, and they couldn’t remove themselves from being shepherds.  In other words, being shepherds was their entire life experience.

So when Jacob was old and near death, he decided to bless Joseph’s sons.  It is not the blessing that caught my eye as much as the description Jacob used of God.  “The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life long to this day, the angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless these boys.” (48:15-16 ESV)   This man who was a shepherd all his life, this man who was over 140 years old, looked back and said God was his shepherd all those years.  What a tender thought!  He knew what a shepherd was; he knew how a shepherd cared for his sheep, and he knew how God had cared for him.  This casts Jacob, who was a deceiver in his earlier life, in a different light than I usually see him.  In spite of his sinful ways, he had a dynamic relationship with God.

I wonder if David had recently read this portion of Genesis when he penned his most famous song, Psalm 23, “The Lord is my shepherd.”  And, centuries later, when God walked on this earth, he used the same imagery when he called himself our Good Shepherd (John 10).

God’s Wondrous Works

Here is what I saw and what I read in my devotions yesterday morning:

Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable.  One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts.  On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.  They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds, and I will declare your greatness.  They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.  The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.  The LORD is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made.  All your works shall give thanks to you, O LORD, and all your saints shall bless you!  (Psalm 1445:3-10 ESV)

Like a Weaned Child

I am passionate about the intellectual aspects of Christianity.  Some of the posts in this blog are indicative of that.  God wants us to worship him with our minds; he wants us to think deep and godly thoughts.  But there is also an emotional, experiential side to the Christian life, which is expressed in things like joy and peace.  Often individuals (and also churches) ignore one aspect or the other.  Those who emphasize the intellectual aspects of Christianity are afraid that emotion will ruin their theology, something I’ve seen happen; while those who emphasize the emotional aspects are afraid that intellectual questions will destroy their joy and excitement, and I’ve seen that happen too.  The biblical truth is that the emotions come from the correct intellectual understanding of who God is and what he has done for us.  A deep understanding of God’s word produces joy and peace.  The Psalms of Ascent are one place where those two aspects of Christianity meet.  The intellectual understanding of these poems bring out emotionally powerful pictures.  That is certainly true in Psalm 131:  “My heart is not proud, O Lord; my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me.  But I have stilled and quieted my soul like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me.” (NIV)  While never departing from the truth, there are times when we theological types need to allow the emotional aspects of our faith to rule; we need to simply enjoy our sovereign, loving God, utterly consumed with who he is.  As consumed and contented as a baby in it’s mother’s lap.

This is an especially good exercise when we see our sin and are feeling beat up with guilt.  Then the truths of the Gospel can minster to our emotions; we need to feel the impact of God’s grace and forgiveness.

When Satan tempts me to despair and tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look and see Him there, who made an end of all my sin.

Because the sinless Savior died, my sinful soul is counted free.
For God the just is satisfied to look on Him and pardon me.
— Charitie Bancroft

Philemon and Forgiveness

Some say the New Testament book called Philemon is about slavery.  It is about a slave who had escaped his master, but more importantly, Philemon is about relationships and reconciliation among Christians.  Jesus said, “If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.” (Luke 17:3-4 ESV)  Philemon and Onesimus are a great illustration of that point.  Onesimus was the slave of a Christian man named Philemon; he probably stole some money from his owner and escaped from slavery.  In God’s providence, Onesimus came into the company of the apostle Paul and through Paul became a follower of Jesus.  Paul is sending Onesimus back to Philemon to deliver this letter and the one called Colossians.

This little epistle is full of references to Christian relationships.  Paul calls Philemon “a beloved fellow worker” (v1); he compliments him on his “love for all the saints” (v5); then he adds “I have derived much joy and comfort from your love my brother, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you” (v7); he refers to Philemon’s goodness in this matter (v14); and he calls Onesimus “my very heart” (v12).  Finally, the kicker is when he asks Philemon to receive Onesimus back “no longer as a slave, but more than a slave, as a beloved brother!” (v16)  “Receive him,” Paul says, “as you would receive me.” (v17)

What Paul was asking Philemon was not an easy task.  Philemon may have been bitter because his slave stole from him; he may have thought Onesimus didn’t deserve to be a Christian (none of us do); he may have already made plans for punishment if Onesimus returned.  And now Paul has the audacity to ask forgiveness for this horrid run-a-way.  Yet that is the Jesus way.  May I be one who forgives those who sin against me, no matter how horrid it may seem on my economy.  God has forgiven me far more than I could ever be wronged by others.  Philemon must have been faithful to forgive, otherwise this great little book would not have been passed on to us.  May his tribe increase!

Prison, Prayers and Providence

I have been reading through Acts and pondered again something I mentioned while preaching through the book.  Paul was held in prison at Caesarea for two years while Governor Felix was hoping to get a bribe from him (24:26-27).  Eventually, that imprisonment would become a total of almost five years, two in Caesarea, two in Rome, and almost one in transit.  When we think of Paul, we may think missionary, church planter, or disciplemaker, but very rarely do we think prisoner.  Yet for five years he sat waiting the outcome of his mockery of a trial.  This took a great understanding of the sovereignty of God.  If I were in his shoes, I would be chomping at the bit for the next preaching opportunity, the next mission trip, the next unreached community, and Paul may have been anxious also, but it never shows.  He understood that God was in control and would bring about his desired results in his time.  God even told Paul that these circumstances would move him to Rome so he might testify there (23:11).

After reading Acts 24 and pondering that thought, I then read Psalm 6.  The following cry, which leads the chapter, sounds like something Paul may have prayed from prison:  “O LORD, do not rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your wrath.  Be merciful to me, LORD, for I am faint; O LORD, heal me, for my bones are in agony.  My soul is in anguish.  How long, O LORD, how long? (Psalm 6:1-3 NIV)  I wonder if Paul may have read these words during that five-year period.  But rather than complain, David, who wrote that prayer, goes immediately to the character of God and trusts in him.  The next words are “Turn, O LORD, and deliver me; save me because of your unfailing love.” (v.4)

It’s easy to complain about circumstances beyond your control, yet God is always in control.  Nothing in your life situation is outside of his eternal plan.  He knows what you are going through, even if it feels like five years of prison or uselessness, and he will bring about his perfect end through those circumstances.  You can trust in his unfailing love.