Month: February 2021

While reading through the Bible we will see a reoccurrence of a theme that we should take note of every time we open its pages.  God is not hesitant to point out the diseases humankind faces, but as is the nature of a loving God, He just as quickly points out the cures.  In the greatest example, God, through men with pens, has warned us of the poison called sin that pulses through each of us.  God, through those same men, has revealed to us the antidote- Jesus.

This pattern is seen in almost every one of the New Testament books.  God says, “Don’t do this (because it is injurious to us), but do this (because it is beneficial to us). A wonderful example can be found in Ephesians 5.  Verse 17 says, “So don’t be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is,” and 18 says, “And don’t get drunk with wine, which leads to reckless actions, but be filled by the Spirit.” Paul tells us what we should not do, but does not leave it there. He tells us what we should do instead. Every “don’t do” in the Word is followed by a “but do” and He gives us the power to do it.

Paul understands, through the Holy Spirit, that just pointing out what we should not do leaves a void that needs to be filled with something. Not long ago I heard a phrase regarding parenting. A child psychologist said to a group of parents, “if you don’t train up your child, someone else will.” What that means is that if we leave a void,  it will be filled with something else, but that something else isn’t always good. That’s why Paul does not just say, “Don’t be filled with spirits” and stop there, but goes on to say that we should be filled with the Holy Spirit instead.

So God is the void filler.   No one knew that better than George Mueller who operated an orphanage in the late 1800’s that at one time had 1,000 orphans. One morning there was no food to eat, but he called all the children and staff together and prayed thanking God for the provision of food, even though no food was on the table. A few moments later a baker knocked on the door. He told Mr. Muller that God had led him to bake bread the night before and give it to the orphanage. Before the bread was given to the children, a milkman knocked on the door. He said that his milk truck had broken down and he wanted to give the milk to the orphanage.

God is the great provider.  He wants to fill our voids with something good.  He knows that the vacuum of emptiness will cause collapse and He wants to shore things up with something good and strong and long-lasting.  One time when I was remolding a house I had to take out a bearing wall, so I had to put in a large beam to carry the weight of the roof.  Just taking out the rotting boards would have been disaster.  So it is with so many things.  Just taking something rotten out

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of our life will be not last unless it is replaced with something better.

It is said if someone quits smoking he needs to do something to fill the void left. When my dad quit smoking in 1969 he had to have something to replace the three packs a day that he smoked every day.  He had to have something that replaced the nicotine, the smell, the movement of hand to lips, and a host of other habits.  There weren’t enough packs of gum, nicotine patches, or suckers that could replace that thirty-year habit.  He replaced the habit with prayer. He said he prayed non-stop all the way from Portland (where he smoked his last cigarette) to Grants Pass (where he died over forty years later). He said that after that day in 1969 he never craved a cigarette again.  No nicotine patch for him- he put on a prayer

patch instead.  God always supplies the alternatives if we want to use them.

In Ephesians 4:31-32 Paul tells us “to put away every kind of bitterness, anger, wrath, quarreling, and evil, slanderous talk. and instead, be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ also forgave you.” We cannot just put away the bad and stop there.  We must put on the good, as well.  If we don’t, the bad will return; the vacuum will be filled; the old nature will step back on the throne.

Today in my Bible reading Abraham was called to make a sacrifice and his son was laid upon the altar.  When the time came for the sacrifice, God didn’t say, “Nevermind, Abraham.  You proved yourself.  Untie Isaac and go home.”  No, God filled the void that was left on altar with a ram caught in a thicket.  If God asks us to give up something, he will graciously provide a better alternative.

The Bible is a book of answers.  To be otherwise would show a merciless God who has penned a medical book that lists diseases without the cures. But our God is merciful and prefers instruction to destruction.  The Bible is the greatest book ever written and describes the human dilemmas more honestly than any other.  Fortunately for us, it is also the book that outlines how to deal with those dilemmas.  So when God directs us away from something, He always directs us toward something else.  That is what a good God does; that is why we can say we have a good God.

“Declaring the end from the beginning…saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure.” Isaiah 46:10

What can we rely on during these unsteady times? The financial world is a roller coaster, violence dominates the news, family breakdowns are more frequent than not, COVID is wreaking havoc on businesses and schools, and and even churches are not immune to friction and fracture. It is not just institutions that are disintegrating, but people as well. Politicians, sports figures, celebrities, and professionals all take turns falling out of their places of respect. People look around desperately for something or someone to rely on but to no avail- or at least it seems that way.

We need someone who is constant in this inconsistent world. That kind of unchanging rock solid foundation can only be found in God. Deuteronomy 32:4 says the Lord is “The Rock! His work is perfect, For all His ways are just; A God of faithfulness and without injustice, Righteous and upright is He,” and in 1 Samuel 2:2 we are told,  “There is no one holy like the LORD, Indeed, there is no one besides You, Nor is there any rock like our God.”  God can be a refuge because He is the “same yesterday, today, and forever.”

We need to put someone in charge of our lives Who does not fluctuate with every change of wind- Someone whose every decision is based on rightness. Someone who actually has a plan for our lives. There is a famous military motto: “No plan of war survives first contact with the enemy.” This holds true in every human conflict because it is impossible to know for certain how one’s enemy will react or what circumstances may intervene to change any planned course of action, but this is not true of God.

God does not wonder what the future holds and we can be assured that God does not worry about his purposes coming to fruition.  Has it ever occurred to you that nothing has ever occurred to God?

He has never said, “Huh, I never thought of that, I’m glad you brought that to my attention.”  Because He knows all things, God’s plans are never frustrated, foiled, or even hindered. His word declares His purposes, His designs, and His works. He does not just describe the things that will come to pass, He has declared them and designed them. We will do our best to throw monkey wrenches in God’s plans, but ultimately He brings things into alignment with His will. He takes our wanderings and turns them into detours.

The guillemot is a small arctic sea bird that lives on the rocky cliffs of northern coastal regions. These birds flock together by the thousands in comparatively small areas. Because of the crowded conditions, hundreds of females lay their pear-shaped eggs side by side on a narrow ledge in a long row. Since the eggs all look alike, it is incredible that a mother bird can identify those that belong to her. Yet studies show that she knows her own eggs so well that when even one is moved, she finds it and returns it to its original location. 

Scripture tells us that God is also intimately acquainted with each of his children. He knows our every thought and emotion, every decision we must make and problem we are going through. Therefore, an understanding  of God’s omniscience should both evoke praise and bring comfort to believers.

The Word tells us that God’s great plans cannot be thwarted. He may allow fluctuation in the way they come about, but they will come about. Since He is the holder of the map, it would seem that He should be the one leading our lives. Ironically, we think we know more than the One who knows all. We will try in all sorts of ways to free ourselves from the captivities of this life, but only God has the keys to freedom.

There was once a prisoner who tried to escape prison by hiding in a truck. After an uncomfortable ride the truck stopped, he crawled out, and found himself in another prison just a short drive away. That is what we do if we try to escape the confinements of this life on our own. We will just travel from one prison to another attempting to right our life, always believing the next plan will work. There is only one who has the right plans for escape. Ironically, we build the prison, but He holds the keys.

We are enclosed by a wicked world, but God’s counsel shall stand. He will ultimately overrule wickedness for the good of his people and the glory of His name. His plans are not changed with first contact with the enemy because nothing surprises Him. He is the kind of  leader we want to put our faith in, to trust our lives to, and to follow wherever He might lead for only he knows the path to freedom.  Follow Him.