God's Presence

…for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. (Philippians 2:13 ESV)

The Presence of God

Things go better with Coke, the commercials used to tell us.

Things go better with bacon.

Things go better with friends.

In so many circumstances we are told, or acknowledge that things go better WITH something else.  But all of us do not enjoy Coke.  All of us (strange as it may sound) do not enjoy bacon.  And all of us do not enjoy the company of friends all the time.

But every aspect of our lives is better with God the Father.

His providential care is necessary.  His omnipotence protects His people.  His foresight and foreknowledge give us peace.  His plans bear fruit, His actions give success.  His love gives joy.

Every aspect of our lives is better with God the Son. His sacrificial love is necessary.  His sovereignty protects His people.  His understanding gives us peace.  His leadership bears fruit.  His commands give success.  His love gives joy.

Every aspect of our lives is better with God the Spirit.  The connection He brings between God and us is necessary.  The application of God’s Word to our hearts gives us peace. His teaching bears fruit.  His principles give success.  His love brings joy.

God’s presence is what leads to ALL our reasons for thanksgiving.

Give thanks today for God’s presence.

Salvation

Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift! (I Corinthians 9:15 ESV)

Salvation

I have usually been thankful for a paycheck… but it is a restrained thankfulness, because a paycheck is giving me something that I have usually earned.  I am often thankful for birthday presents… but it is a restrained thankfulness because those gifts, in a way, are a reward for making it through another year.  I am sometimes thankful for being able to finish a task or project… but it is a restrained thankfulness because the completion is accompanied by fatigue, effort, and loss of time.

But Paul declares that he is thankful for his salvation.  And all the more because that gift, he says, is inexpressible.  His salvation was not earned, is not a reward, and does not come from hard work.

Paul’s salvation was by grace, through faith.

We would be understandably less grateful if we received eternal life through good financial investments.  Yes, we would be glad, but part of that gratitude would aim towards our cleverness.  We would be understandably less grateful if we received eternal life through high numbers of Bible verses read, memorized, or placed on posters around our home.  Yes, we would be glad, but part of that gratitude would aim towards ourselves.  We would be understandably less grateful if we received eternal life through being nice, thinking kind thoughts, or being generous.  Yes, we would be glad, but part of that gratitude would aim towards ourselves.

But none of those things lead to salvation.

God saves by grace.

God saves because of His love.

God saves because Jesus paid our heaven-blocking sin-debts.

And that is amazing… and that is worth profound thanksgiving!

Troubles

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (James 1:2-4 ESV)

Troubles

It is easier to be grateful for pleasant, comfortable, and tasty things.   But if we trust that God is always at work in our lives doing what HE knows is best for us, we should also somehow thank God for our troubles.

Because God teaches us through them.  God causes growth through them.  God increases our faith through them.  God blesses us through them.

Our natural response is to complain about troubles, problems, and trials.  But if the lens of our faith and trust can effect our sight, it is possible for us to be content even in troubles, understanding even in troubles, joyful even in troubles, thankful even in troubles.

It is not easy. 

And perhaps we can best begin this change by thanking God in small troubles, and practice.

We receive a speeding ticket, and we thank God for teaching us to be safer when driving.  We get sick, and we thank God for teaching us to take better care of our bodies, His temples.  We lose a job, and we thank God for teaching us to be better stewards through frugality.  We feel the effects of old age, and we thank God that heaven comes soon.

Gratefulness is a choice. 

Choose to be thankful even in troubles.

Imperfect People

 I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, (I Corinthians 1:4 ESV)

Imperfect People

The Christians in Corinth were not perfect people.  In fact, their shortcomings, faults, and unrighteousness caused Paul to write two letters to them, redirecting them towards sanctification.

Those folk were schismatic, yet Paul thanked God for them.  Those folk were bigoted, yet Paul thanked God for them.  Those folk were judgmental, yet Paul thanked God for them.  Those folk were purposefully ignorant, yet Paul thanked God for them.

Paul also noted and was grateful for the positive traits and attitudes, and righteous actions of the imperfect people in the church in Corinth.  They strove to understand God, and Paul thanked God for them.  They were joyful worshippers, and Paul thanked God for them.  They leaned on Christ alone for their salvation, and Paul thanked God for them.

In fact, their positives and negatives both reminded Paul of God’s grace, mercy, and love.  And so Paul thanked God for them.

We, too, are surrounded by imperfect people.  Whether those around us share imperfections as described in the books of Corinthians, or whether we see different faults, everyone around us is imperfect.

But like Paul, we get to be thankful for them.  For the mutual meeting of needs.  For the mutual opportunities to forgive.  For the mutual need for learning.  For the mutual drive and pull towards our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Make a list of all the people in your circles, and like Paul, thank God for them.

Material Blessings

Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. And now we thank you, our God, and praise your glorious name. (I Chronicles 29:12,13 ESV)

Material Blessings

When Bing sings that we should count our blessings instead of sheep to help us fall asleep, he was more helpful than we might think.  Yes, it is Hollywood, vapid and simplistic. 

Yet lack of sleep is often caused by worry.  And worry is often caused by a perceived lack of physical blessings.

Realize, instead, how God has blessed you physically.  We readily note our have-nots.  Instead notice our haves.  We readily notice any decline in wealth.  Instead notice our wealth itself.  We readily notice when others have more.   Instead notice today’s incredible physical blessings, irrespective of any comparison.

Our God owns the cattle on a thousand hills (Psalm 50:10).  And He has put a lot of those cattle in our pastures.  That is a reason for a lot of gratitude.

And our future physical blessings are even better!  Every physical blessing we receive and notice today, are merely a hint of the wonderful blessings God’s people will experience eternally with King Jesus!

It is not unspiritual to focus a bit on our physical situation.  But rather than dwell on shortages and lacks, open your eyes to how much He has blessed you.

And thank Him.

SIng

A Brief Foray Into More Thanks-Giving

Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving; make melody to our God on the lyre! (Psalm 147:7 ESV)

Sing

And suddenly the season of Thanksgiving is upon us.  The official, sanctioned, calendric day that modern Americans set aside for expressing thanks is in one week.

Obviously, you do not need me to utter than we should be thankful more than once per year.  But even with that knowledge, we do not really have a season of thanks, we have a day.  Somehow fit in between meal preparation, turkey-eating, and football.  Maybe you do, but my thanks giving on thanksgiving is not as heartfelt as my complaint-giving, or my worry-giving, or my discontent-giving.

But scripture can help us get out of that rut.

More than knitting our brows and TRYING harder to be grateful, we can be encouraged and challenged by God’s Word to develop that attitude of gratitude. 

Psalm 147 begins our journey by urging us to use music to cultivate thanks-giving.  Music has a strange and wonderful effect on our heart, our psyche, and our mind.  I listen to most of my music on the radio.  Lately, I have noticed that music amplifies my mood.

If I am cheerful, almost any song can seem more cheery.  If I am worried, almost any song can seem more concerning.  If I am bored, almost any song makes me want to change the station.

If we begin each day intending to be thankful, perhaps the songs we listen to can amplify that desire.  Perhaps the word can remind you of God’s goodness, regardless of the lyricist’s ideas.  Perhaps the melody can lift our hearts towards true joy, regardless of our dire circumstances.  Perhaps our listening, even behind our consciousness, can get us started this year to have more than a day of thanksgiving.

The Psalmist seems to think so.

Give thanks in all things.

Wrath

In that day, “A pleasant vineyard, sing of it!   I, the Lord, am its keeper; every moment I water it.

Lest anyone punish it, I keep it night and day; I have no wrath.” (Isaiah 27:2-4 ESV)

Wrath

The Bible mentions vineyards around 65 times.  Usually, vineyards are metaphors for God’s people.  We are planted by the Lord, nourished by the Lord, sustained by the Lord, and harvested by the Lord.

But the best part of being the Lord’s Vineyard is this:  God’s vineyard does not receive His wrath.  We deserve God’s wrath, of course.  We ignore the vine-keeper, rebel against the vine-keeper, and even cause the death of the vine-keeper’s only begotten Son.

But God chooses to send His wrath against the Messiah, instead of against His people.

And that is the gospel in a nutshell… or a grape.

God’s love for His people causes Him to defend us against His own wrath.  And that defense was found on the cross, where God’s wrath, which deservedly would have been aimed at sinners, instead was aimed at Christ.

God does, in fact, have wrath.  A lot of it.  But He has no wrath left to put on His people, those who have believed in Christ.  Because He put all His wrath on Christ, instead.

His love for His people redirected His wrath away from us.  His love frees us from His wrath.  And that makes a pleasant vineyard.

Vineyard

In that day, “A pleasant vineyard, sing of it!   I, the Lord, am its keeper; every moment I water it.

Lest anyone punish it, I keep it night and day; I have no wrath. (Isaiah 27:2-4 ESV)

Vineyard

Someone I know takes careful care in caring for a plant.  Personally, I do not think I could care long term for a plant in the way this woman does.  She has nurtured, protected, and provided for her collection of particular plants.  And with the way she cares for them, I would not mind being one of her plants.

These verses make me think that God is more like HER than like me.  We are the Lord’s vineyard.  And being the Lord’s vineyard is a fantastic thing.  Because God looks after His vineyard even more than the woman looks after her plants.

Maybe because plants, vineyards, and God’s people need a lot of care to survive.

Maybe because plants, vineyards, and God’s people relish being on the receiving end of unconditional love.

Maybe because plants, vineyards, and God’s people thrive when looked after.

Maybe because plants, vineyards, and God’s people are helpless, temporary, and weak… but when a caregiver gives care, they are helped, long lasting, and strong.

God loves like a gardener, and we plants are glad.

Death

He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken. (Isaiah 25:8 ESV)

Death

God’s love is not a minor thing.  His love is immeasurable.  His love is limitless.  His love is infinite.  And while He shows that love to His people in tiny ways every day, His love is not only found in the small details.  Don’t get me wrong, I praise Him for those small, often unnoticed actions. 

He holds oxygen and hydrogen together in the correct proportion so His people have water.

He makes gravity, strangely considered by physicists as the weakest attraction, so that we can walk, and run, and sit.

He empowers electricity so that God’s people can see at night, be warm in the cold, and dry our hair quickly.

But His love also has taken care of more dramatic things.

The biggest of all, the most shocking thing that His love caused, the most important result of His love, is that death is no longer simply the result of sin’s curse… terrible, painful, and final.  God’s love, displayed as He gave up His Son’s life for us, swallowed up death.

Now death is merely the doorway into God’s complete Kingdom.

Yes, it still has sting.  Yes, it still causes sorrow.  Yes, it is still connected to Sin.

But God, in love, through love, and because of love, swallowed it, digested it, and changed it.

God’s love was powerful enough to destroy death.

That is a lot of love.

Empires

The Lord has broken the staff of the wicked, the scepter of rulers, that struck the peoples in wrath with unceasing blows, that ruled the nations in anger with unrelenting persecution. (Isaiah 14:5,6 ESV)

Empires

Empires are easy to see in today’s world.  They usually are.  Mankind’s governments tend towards tyranny, and oppression, and even evil.  Throughout history, human rule (and man’s inhumanity to man) tends to decline and fall.  And on the way, things get ugly.

But those kinds of empires always fall, because the Lord breaks them.

Always.

Think about the worst tyrannical empires in history.  They are gone. 

On the other hand, the Kingdom of God grows.  It prospers because of God’s favor, not because of wealth, or military might, or clever politics.  Even if oppressed and forced underground, the Kingdom of God grows.  Even if mocked or ignored, the Kingdom of God grows.  Even when it seems to be losing, the Kingdom of God grows.

And God inevitably breaks what is not the Kingdom of God.

And God builds His Kingdom because He loves His people.

His love is what guarantees His Kingdom’s growth.  Nothing else. 

The safe place, no matter how powerful the Empire, is in God’s Kingdom.  His love is here.

Song

“Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and my song,

and he has become my salvation.” (Isaiah 12:2 ESV)

Song

Sometimes I sing on purpose.  Sometimes I sing by accident.  Sometimes I sing carefully.  Sometimes I sing thoughtlessly.  Sometimes I sing loudly.  Sometimes I sing… well, I usually sing loudly.

Because my the ‘sing’ part of my brain is closely connected to the ‘feel’ part of my brain.  And the ‘sing’ part of my brain is closely connected to the ‘think’ part of my brain.  And the ‘sing’ part of my brain is closely connecte to nearly every other part of my brain.

Today, I am in the mood to sing.  But when I examine all the things that make me sing, today, I realize that all of them are connected to God’s Love… all of them are derived from God’s Love… all of them are empowered by God’s Love… all of them are because of God’s Love… all of them are responses to God’s Love… all of them are expressions of God’s Love.

In love, He created me and my world, so He is my song.  In love, He redeemed me, though unworthy, so He is my song.  In love, He blesses me, so He is my song.

It is a good song.  Know God’s love, and sing it, too!

Strength

“Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and my song,

and he has become my salvation.” (Isaiah 12:2 ESV)

Strength

God’s love, which can draw our trust like honey draws bears, can be observed in His strength.  

When we love, we know we can not love enough.  We do not have the power, ability, or strength to do all that our beloved needs.  Whether our beloved is our spouse, our children, our parents, our siblings, our church, our friends, our community, our city, our nation, or our pet.  We come up short.

But God does not love that way.  He does not have our limitations.  He does not have our mortality, limited resources, lack of knowledge, or selfishness.  God’s love does not come up short.

God’s love is enough.  In fact, God’s love is more than enough.

His love is behind our salvation, His love is behind His providence, His love is behind every one of His character traits.  Justice, Graciousness, Merciful, Patience, Kindness, all are a result of His love.

That makes His love more than pleasant, more than exciting, more than nice, more than restful.  His love is powerful, limitless, and strong.

Trust

“Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and my song,

and he has become my salvation.” (Isaiah 12:2 ESV)

Trust

The Emperor Napoleon had a lot of underlings.  He supervised Generals, Admirals, Educators, Economists, and Administrators.  But beyond Napoleon’s reputation for being short, a military genius, and impetuous, Napoleon charismatically drew the loyalty of those in his government, social circles, and nation.

When folk of that era describe their loyalty, many of them declared that loyalty was the only reasonable response to Napoleon.  Because somehow Napoleon made his people believe that he loved them.

Love tends to breed loyalty.  Love tends to breed faithfulness.  Love tends to breed trust.

Isaiah’s declaration that he trusts God is founded on Isaiah’s knowledge that God loved Isaiah.

Sometimes we get that backwards.   But Isaiah’s (and our) trust in God comes from His love.  His love does not come from our trust.

If occasionally you find yourself lacking in trust, the answer is not to drive yourself closer to Him with guilt.

The answer is to consider His love. 

The more you can see, acknowledge, and wonder at His love… the easier trust becomes.

Returns

A remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God. (Isaiah 10:21 ESV)

Returns

A friend owned a classic car.  Over the years he had restored it, repaired it, revamped it, and revitalized it.  However, he reached the point in his life where he needed to sell it.

It broke his heart.  But he found a buyer.  And his car was gone.

But a few years later, the car was back in his driveway.  He enjoyed that car so much, that he pursued re-buying it, and once again called it his own.

God loves His people like that.

His people had disobeyed Him, ignored Him, and abandoned Him.  But He never gave up on them.  Even in the worst of their rebellion, knowing that He was going to send them into exile, He promised that they would return.  Because He loved them.

And He loves His people today, in that same way.   His grace is limitless because His love is limitless.  His mercy is deep because His love is deep.  His forgiveness is boundless because His love is boundless.

But God is not mamby-pamby nice.  His grace, mercy, forgiveness, and love are limitless because the means of His grace, mercy, forgiveness, and love are limitless.  Christ Jesus, the Messiah, our Savior, provides our ticket back to God.

Repeatedly.

Constantly.

Until we get it.  Until we understand it.  Until we stop taking advantage of Him.

And then we receive it eternally, with Him forever.

He welcomes us when we return, and in fact He pulls us back to Him.  Because He loves us.

Light

 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,

on them has light shone. (Isaiah 9:2 ESV)

Light

My regional electric company does not love me.  Therefore, when the power goes out in the middle of the night, while they certainly do try to restore the lights, they do not really sacrifice on my behalf.  In fact, everything they do for us they get paid for, and that is their primary motivation.

But God does love His people.  And Isaiah reminds us that before Christ, God’s people walked in darkness. 

This darkness is not necessarily physical, but rather the darkness of ignorance.  Until Christ the universe made no sense. The Messiah’s salvific arrival gave every moment of history meaning.  The darkness of no-knowledge is brightened by the God’s revelation of His plans.

This darkness is the darkness of selfishness.  Until the promise of Christ, human motivation did not move beyond selfishness.  But after the Messiah’s salvific arrival, God’s people can choose love, can grow in selflessness, and can follow Christ’s example.  The darkness of self-focus is brightened by the bright heart-changing of the gospel.

This darkness is the darkness of hopelessness.  Until awareness grew of Christ’s work all solutions were temporary, short-sighted, and doomed to failure.  But after the Messiah’s atoning work fixed every problem in the universe, God’s people can rely on Christ to fix the root cause of every problem: sin itself.  The darkness of failure is brightened by the light of the world, Christ Jesus.

And all because God loves His people.  He brings light, the only light, the true light because He has compassion on those who dwell in the dark.

Stumps

When the house of David was told, “Syria is in league with Ephraim,” the heart of Ahaz and the heart of his people shook as the trees of the forest shake before the wind.  And the Lord said to Isaiah, “Go out to meet Ahaz, you and Shear-jashub your son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool on the highway to the Washer’s Field. And say to him, ‘Be careful, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint because of these two smoldering stumps of firebrands, at the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria. (Isaiah 7:2-4 ESV)

Stumps

To receive the gift and hope found in these verses, we need a little background.  God’s people had divided into two nations, referred to here as “the house of David,” who were the Israelites who had tried to remain faithful to God; and “Ephraim,” who were the Israelites who had rejected God.

The Lord tells Isaiah that even though the rebellious Israelites who joined forces with a pagan nation, Syria, God’s faithful Israelites STILL had nothing to fear.  God calls the enemy, despite their rage against God’s faithful people, despite their military might, despite their power and arrogance,  mere stumps of burning wood.

God declares His protection for one reason:  He loves His people.

And He protects His people the same way, today.  Now, however, it is not a nation that God loves.  It is His church.  The Christian Church is now loved, protected, upheld, defended, and blessed in the same way that Old Testament Israel was.

So even when modern enemies such as hostile governments and laws, arrogant mockery of our faith, or a culture that believes God’s Truth is outdated attack His People, God calls them stumps of wood.  Not even really on fire, but only smoldering.

But remember, it is not because we are more loveable than the stumps.  It is only because we are more loved.  And that should be delightfully humbling.

Sent

And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” (Isaiah 6:8 ESV)

Sent

God asks this question a lot.  Because God has a lot of messages to send to a lot of people.  Yes, of course, God really only has one message: Jesus… but He has a lot of ways to tell a lot of people about that one message.

God loves His people.  And He has something to tell us.

If He did not love us, He would not care if we could hear Him.

So, He sent Isaiah to the Judeans.  Just like He sent all of His Biblical prophets to their audiences.

And He loves His people who did not happen to live in earshot of Isaiah. So He made sure those Words were written down… so we can read and hear them even tomorrow.

But God’s Words are not just intellectual religious treatises about nice things.  God’s Words are the only way to eternal life.  God’s Words are the only way to know Him.  God’s Words are the only way to meet Jesus, know Him, believe in Him, and join Him.

God has spoken because He loves us.

And God’s love causes His Word to be sent to His people.

Lips

And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.” (Isaiah 6:7 ESV)

Lips

In our culture, lips are personal, private things.  We greet strangers by shaking hands, not by touching their lips.  Lips are sensitive, communicative, and important.

And here, Isaiah’s lips are the entrance point of God’s enablement of Isaiah to do his job.

God wanted Isaiah to speak for Him.  And when Isaiah objects, knowing his inner faults, God answers Isaiah by the touch of His angel to purify Isaiah’s lips.

Because God intends Isaiah to speak for God.  Because the creator God knows that the things we say with our lips are windows to our identity.  Because God is approaching Isaiah personally, intimately, and intensely.

God fixes Isaiah by touching Isaiah’s lips.

And He did that because He loves His people, who needed Isaiah’s words.  And He did that because He loved Isaiah.

He touches our lips, too.  When we read His word (even Isaiah’s words), He touches our lips because He loves us.  When we pray to Him, He touches our lips because He loves us.  When we speak of Him to others, He touches our lips because He loves us.

Whistle

He will raise a signal for nations far away, and whistle for them from the ends of the earth; and behold, quickly, speedily they come! (Isaiah 5:26 ESV)

Whistle

We do not let our dog out without a leash.  He is a curious beast, and would follow his nose wherever it goes.  And I have not trained him to come back when I call.  My poor dog.

Training a dog to come when called is hard, but not impossible, work.  But when I consider why I have not made the effort, I must admit something.  I have not taken the time to teach him to come when I call, yell, or whistle, because I really do not love him that much.

But God whistles for His people to come.  That whistle goes out in His Word, through His Spirit, through His creation, and through His people.  God whistles both loudly and subtly.   God whistles both to the well-known and the hidden.  God whistles to everyone that He desires to come to Him.  And because He loves His people, He whistles a lot, without stopping.

God loves His people.  Listen, and come quickly.

Love Songs

Let me sing for my beloved my love song concerning his vineyard: (Isaiah 5:1 ESV)

Love Song

In high school, my best friend wrote a song for his girlfriend.  The lyrics were sweet, and hopeful, and sort of beautiful.  I composed the tune, and it was even better!

But he never sang it for her.  Almost as he finished writing, she broke up with him.  He decided he did not love her anymore, and put the song away.

In this verse, someone is singing about a vineyard.  And whether the singer here is Isaiah, or God Himself, the joy is found in the same place.  The song is sung because of love.

God’s love for His people causes songs.

In fact, in a way, all of Scripture is a love song from God to His people.

But God does not stop singing it.  Our rebellions, unfaithfulness, and sins only cause Him to sing more boisterously.  Our rejection of Him, our ignorance of Him, our deafness to Him have not stopped His Song.

Because His love is stronger than anything we can fail to do.

God loves us so much He sings.