01
Jun '20
Frustrated. Angry. Tired. But Hopeful!
01
Jun '20
My wife and I read through the Bible together each year. Our reading plan had us in Hosea this morning. Two verses from Hosea 4 made me think of the United States in general and American Christianity in specific.
- Hosea 4:1 caused me to think of this land that I love: “Hear the word of the Lord, ye children of Israel: for the Lord hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.”
- Hosea 4:6 brought American Christianity (and I mean that in the loosest sense) to mind: “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.”
I am not making an exegetical argument. Just relating what ran through my mind as I read those verses this morning, June 1, 2020.
Frustrated. Angry. Tired.
There is no doubt that the reason my mind ran the way it did is because I’m frustrated, angry, and tired of the hate and the hysteria. Frustrated, angry, and tired of the injustice that is all too common and not at all one-sided. Frustrated, angry, and tired of leaders who are hirelings instead of shepherds, who seem only concerned with their own agenda and popularity, often at the expense of what is best for their community and this country.
I’m frustrated, angry, and tired of people who claim to care for others. People who claim they want justice. Who say they want to right wrongs, but who only perpetuate more hate, increased violence, and further suffering.
I’m frustrated, angry, and tired of the self-righteous. Pharisees are not a thing of the past, nor are they restricted to fundamentalism as many professing believers like to trumpet. Modern Pharisees do not all look alike or operate under the same banner. But self-righteous, judgmental, hypocrites who create their own standard, one they can’t hope to keep but with it condemn all others, still exist. They post on social media frequently.
BUT HOPEFUL!
I am frustrated, angry, and tired, but I’m also confident in the Lord Jesus Christ! God reigns. Heaven rules. There is no reason to be hopeless. There is every reason to be hopeful. So, I will not give in to my feelings of frustration, anger, and fatigue. Instead, I will trust my Lord and His Word. “He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:29-31)
That means instead of singing this world’s chorus, I will endeavor to see others as Christ does. I will seek to model grace and truth with my life, and graciously speak the truth with my mouth. God’s Word is truth. I will trust my Lord to renew my strength, and seek, by His grace and power, to not sin in my anger, frustration, and fatigue. I will seek to honor Christ.
The Love of God
Let’s end where we began. The theme to Hosea’s prophecy is that nothing can eclipse God’s love for His covenant people. As discouraging as the two verses from Hosea 4 quoted at the start are, Hosea 11:4 is twice as encouraging: “I drew them with cords of a man, with bands of love: and I was to them as they that take off the yoke on their jaws, and I laid meat unto them.” Those marvelous words remind me of the 19th century hymn written by James Small: “I’ve found a Friend, oh, such a Friend! He loved me ere I knew Him; He drew me with the cords of love, And thus He bound me to Him. And round my heart still closely twine Those ties which naught can sever, For I am His, and He is mine, Forever and forever.”
God is love. God’s people often fail to demonstrate a whole-hearted love for Him. But God is always ready to receive and restore those who confess and forsake their sin.
If you are a believer who has succumbed to going with your feelings instead of trusting God’s promises, repent and be restored.
If you are an unbeliever, confused by all the hatred and injustice that you see, turn to and trust in the God who is love and only just. He will receive you and make you new. His grace is amazing. He is love.
Read more...
22
Apr '20
The Gospel Dynamic Empowers Our Civic Duty
22
Apr '20
As believers this world is not our final home. We are just passing through. Still, we do live in this world. Specifically, I live in and pastor a church in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, one of the sovereign states that constitute the United States of America. Therefore, we as a church have a civic responsibility to our local community, state, and nation. The gospel is what powers our civic duty. We cannot separate gospel truth from our community involvement and engagement. Belief and behavior. Profession and practice. One or the other is never enough. Both are necessary. Gospel truth cannot be separated from gospel living. This is our civic duty.
Tonight at 7pm we will livestream another installment in the series Biblical Counsel for Pandemics (our anytime), and we will be focused on Titus 3:1-7:
Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work, To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men. For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
Kentucky, USA is my home, and I love it. It is also the home to many other people, not a few of whom do not share my worldview or my values; in fact, they are adamantly opposed to them.
Read more...
