Tag Archives: Broken

Exiles with an Inheritance

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“Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.” (1 Peter 2:11–12 ESV)

Remember that this is not your home – we are sojourners & exiles – therefore abstain from the passions of your flesh.  The way to beat fleshly passions is to know (remember and believe) that we have an inheritance coming.  An inheritance that is far greater than anything the world has ever seen.  When we foster fleshly passions, they do harm to our souls.  We cannot foster fleshliness and holiness simultaneously.  We tend to think that we can have both, but we cannot.  You will be growing in one and the other will be loosing strength in your heart.  They are divergent paths.  What are you fostering?

Peter views believers as the new Israel and views non believers as Gentiles.  We have indeed been grafted in by the Vinedresser.  Live uprightly so when they accuse you of wrong doing, they will have no evidence to support their charge.  They will see your good deeds and glorify God for them.  This sounds like Matthew 5:16.  Though, not all will glorify God, some will come to repentance.  The way to walk in obedience is to dwell upon the goodness, mercy and grace of God – Who has adopted us.  We must remember our identity in Christ – a chosen people, adopted children, objects of His affections, co heirs with Christ.

God is enough

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“Truly God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled, my steps had nearly slipped. For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
For they have no pangs until death; their bodies are fat and sleek. They are not in trouble as others are; they are not stricken like the rest of mankind. Therefore pride is their necklace; violence covers them as a garment. Their eyes swell out through fatness; their hearts overflow with follies. They scoff and speak with malice; loftily they threaten oppression. They set their mouths against the heavens, and their tongue struts through the earth. Therefore his people turn back to them, and find no fault in them. And they say, “How can God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High?” Behold, these are the wicked; always at ease, they increase in riches. All in vain have I kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence. For all the day long I have been stricken and rebuked every morning. If I had said, “I will speak thus,” I would have betrayed the generation of your children.
But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task, until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end.
Truly you set them in slippery places; you make them fall to ruin. How they are destroyed in a moment, swept away utterly by terrors! Like a dream when one awakes, O Lord, when you rouse yourself, you despise them as phantoms. When my soul was embittered, when I was pricked in heart, I was brutish and ignorant; I was like a beast toward you.
Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
For behold, those who are far from you shall perish; you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you. But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, that I may tell of all your works.” (Psalms 73:1–28 ESV)

I love the honesty of Scriptures – the writer acknowledges the reality of how it seems that wicked people often times seem to have relatively few problems and walk in relative ease.  “For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.” (Psalms 73:3 ESV)  This can even cause us to be envious.  This is a psalm to push us to contentment, even when it seems like those who do not follow God are walking in prosperity.  It cautions us not to be tempted to follow their lead.

Verses 4-12 reveal some of the ways that their lives are prosperous & easy – they have plenty of food & resources and seem to be spared the futility & troubles that the rest of humanity walks in.  Verse 6 is a turning point:  “therefore pride is their necklace; violence covers them as a garment.” (Psalms 73:6 ESV).  Because their lives have been relatively easy, because they have had few difficulties they become prideful – as if they had spared themselves from these difficulties due to their own abilities.  This is like Romans 1:28-31 where there is a failure to acknowledge God and His goodness.  When we take credit for the good in our lives and don’t give it to Him we become glory thieves.  We have natural abilities that we did not generate on our own.  We did not choose the families that we were born in or that we were exposed to the gospel.  We could have just as easily been born in complete poverty where the gospel is not preached and anarchy is the law of the land.  We did not choose that.

There is a point at which we have to ask ourselves if difficulty & suffering that ultimately strengthens our faith is worth it or do we really just want an easy, comfortable life.  Do we want comfort, security & ease or Jesus?  They seem to be mutually exclusive.  The psalmist’s logic goes like this:  because their lives have been relatively painless & prosperous they have become prideful at their circumstances & now they walk in all sorts of hard hearted “follies.”  They look down upon others, oppress them & pridefully brag against God & others.  ““How can God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High?”” (Psalms 73:11 ESV).  The writer concludes like this:  “Behold, these are the wicked; always at ease, they increase in riches.” (Psalms 73:12 ESV).  We have to begin to see some of the difficulties in our lives as a gift of grace to us because it causes us to see Him more clearly.

Why is it that we seem to think that we can have prosperity & fail to see how prosperity can create problems in our pursuit of Jesus.  You can’t chase both at the same time (Matthew 6:24, Luke 16:13).  If you have a life of relative comfort, ease & prosperity be grateful, but be aware of its power to draw you away from singular devotion to Jesus!

There is a tinge of bitterness and jealousy at the prosperity of the wicked – it doesn’t seem right or fair!  “All in vain have I kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence. For all the day long I have been stricken and rebuked every morning. If I had said, “I will speak thus,” I would have betrayed the generation of your children.” (Psalms 73:13–15 ESV)  A true heart of bitterness is revealed.  Who hasn’t felt this way when life seems to be going so unjustly?  Our bitterness in situations like this spill into all areas of our life – and is normally rooted in a bitterness towards God.  Honesty & bitterness at what seems to be unjust is welcomed by God.  Is He not the Sovereign omniscient Lord of all?  He knows what’s in your heart, you might as well tell Him!  Jesus’ death bought you the right to confidently approach God as Father and share what is really going on inside of you.  There is no more hiding or pretending for the Christian.

What we see revealed was the psalmist’s real motives.  “All in vain have I kept my heart clean.”  The singer reveals that what he really wanted was God’s blessing.  Isn’t this true of us – don’t we desire God’s blessing & protection more than we desire His presence?  This is especially true when life is difficult; don’t let the bitterness sit in your heart, let it diagnosis your idolatrous desire for God’s goodness and protection more than His presence. The bitterness in verses 13-15 are really aimed toward God if you peel the layer of the onion all the way back to its core.  Life has not gone the way that we wanted, expected or planned and we are mad at God because He has not given us what we really think that we need or deserve.  The beauty of the gospel is that we get reconciled with God – that is it.  We get God, nothing else is guaranteed which frees us from bitterness and anger.

We feel like the psalmist when we believe that God has abandoned us?  Brutish ignorance is the result of a bitter heart that feels like it has been treated unfairly (verses 21-22).  And yet, the psalmist is careful not to let his bitterness spill over onto others so as to undermine their faith (especially the faith of the next generation, see verse 15).  This is wise counsel, but it still does not deliver us from bitterness.  Trying to understand this is a wearisome task on our own; it is futile, meaningless.  We can mull it over, try to figure it out and weigh it on all sides, we can wear ourselves out trying to understand, but the answer is not in us; the answer is not found under the sun.

It is wearisome, futile & meaningless until we come in to the presence of God.  Perspective becomes clear in the presence of God, we get above the trees in order to see the forest, we are comforted at His presence, we see that there is a larger & grander plan than just us.  In His presence, trusting God doesn’t seem meaningless any longer.  The psalmist starts to sound like Habakkuk (see Habakkuk 3:17-19) as his perspective shifts.  The smallness of creation becomes apparent when we are in the presence of the infinite Almighty.

The Psalmist turns the corner as a result of being in the presence of God (v23).  He realizes that he is with God because God is his sustainer, protector & guide.  Whom do we have in heaven besides God (more specifically Jesus, who is interceding at our right hand)?  The heart has shifted from dwelling upon the horizontal to seeing the vertical realities as it proclaims “Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.” (Psalms 73:25 ESV).  Is this your singular affection?  This is what happens to the heart that has been in the presence of God – to gaze on the beauty of majesty, albeit veiled, always produces a peace that surpasses all understanding & a heart that sees Him as the supreme treasure worth trading everything for.  Sanctification involves us getting ourselves to the sanctuary and begging God to reveal Himself.

Regardless of what happens in this world even though our heart & our flesh fail us, we find that God is our strength and our portion – He is enough, regardless of what is happening around us (v26).  Tough marriage, difficult child, physical ailment, financial stress, relational breakdown, overall futility in life?  Go to the sanctuary and beg God to reveal Himself and stare until you see it.  When He reveals His majesty, your perspective will begin to change.  Things end badly for those who don’t desire God, “but for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, that I may tell of all your works.” (Psalms 73:28 ESV).  This life is brief, pursue Him as the supreme Treasure that He is!

Why We Worry

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Do not be anxious about your life. (MATTHEW 6:25)

“Why do we worry? Because we don’t believe. We’re not really convinced the same Jesus who can keep a sparrow in the air knows where our lost luggage is, or how we’ll pay that car repair bill. Or if we believe He can deliver us through our difficulties, we doubt if He will. We let Satan sow seeds of doubt in our minds about God’s love and care for us.

The great antidote to anxiety is to come to God in prayer about everything. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7). Nothing’s too big for Him to handle or too small to escape His attention. Paul said we’re to come to God “with thanksgiving.” We should thank Him for His past faithfulness in delivering us from troubles. We should thank Him for the fact that He’s in control of every circumstance of our lives and that nothing can touch us that He doesn’t allow. We should thank Him that in His infinite wisdom He’s able to work in this circumstance for our good. We can thank Him that He won’t allow us to be tempted beyond what we can bear (1 Corinthians 10:13).

The promised result is not deliverance, but the peace of God. One of the reasons we don’t find this peace is that all too often we won’t settle for anything other than deliverance from the trouble. But God, through Paul, promises us peace, a peace that is unexplainable. It will guard our hearts and minds against the anxiety to which you and I are so prone.”

Gerald Bridges;Jerry Bridges. Holiness Day by Day: Transformational Thoughts for Your Spiritual Journey Devotional (p. 81). Kindle Edition.

God is never absent, incapable or tardy in acting.

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God is never absent, incapable or tardy in acting.  He is unchallenged, always present and sovereign in nature – you can bank on that truth, even when your heart is not feeling it!  “Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear;” (Isaiah 59:1 ESV)
SIn separates us from God (59:2), but The Ultimate Redeemer will satisfy justice and secure true salvation for His children; He will give us His Spirit and put His words in our mouths and sustain us (59:19-21).  The people of Israel wanted  justice & salvation, but they don’t want the God of that salvation (11-13).  Do we want God or do we just want His blessings?

God Centered Perspective: Broken

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God Centered Perspective:  Broken.  Our current experience is a far cry from the paradise that the bible describes in Genesis 1 & 2; we intrinsically know that we have all been born outside of Eden.  The restful rhythm of life that existed in the paradise of Eden, and that every human soul longs for, now evades us; the contentment, rest, and happiness that was once experienced in perfect paradise in the presence of God was fractured as a result of sin.  When Adam and Eve ate of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they shunned God’s authority, care, sovereignty, provision & protection and the results were catastrophic.1  The main thrust in Genesis 3 is to teach the Jewish people that humanity was not created in its current state, but this condition was brought on by their own doing.2  The fracture that occurred as a result of Adam & Eve’s rebellion (you and I would have done the same thing) is a complete fracturing of the entire created order – this is not a simple break; it is akin to a shattered mirror.  The consequences of sin are grave:

1.  Humanity’s relationship with God has been fractured; the Bible says that we are spiritually dead, totally depraved, broken, hopeless, helpless, in need of outside intervention.3
2.  Human relationships are fractured; this relational fracture is most poignantly seen in the  battle for authority in marriage – women now have a tendency to rebel against their husband’s leadership role and men now naturally drift towards oppressing women.4
3.  Death, pain & suffering are now an everyday occurrence; physical death enters and pain during child birth is just one example of the pain and suffering that are now part of the world.5  Death, disease and difficulty were not part of Eden.
4.  The creation itself has been subjected to futility (meaninglessness)6; God cursed the ground that He had called man to cultivate.  The central calling of Adam was to cultivate, to work at and invest in his culture, his work, his wife, his children; everything that we are called to cultivate and have dominion over now wars against us.  The perfect paradise of Eden has been lost.  This means work, children, husbands & wives, relationships and health will, at times, war against you.

All things that were created to glorify God are now but a glimpse of the majestic grandeur that they once were.  This fracture is the reason for poverty, injustice & oppression; cancer, hospitals & nursing homes; tornadoes, tsunamis & earthquakes; holocausts, genocides & jihads; Zoloft, Adderall & Xanax; wheelchairs, walkers & hearing aids7.  Our sin is the reason that there is pain, suffering, death, crime, disease, poverty, divorce, murder, natural disasters, hardship & a soul level meaninglessness in this world.8  All things are now broken and will never be made new until Jesus’ second coming when He ushers in His eternal kingdom.9  The creation that God made and called “very good” is now fractured as a result of our sin and rebellion.10

So how do we life productively in a world gone wrong?11  How do we keep from resigning ourselves to passively trying to merely survive this life?  The Jews in the first century wanted a Messiah that would overthrow the Romans and set up His own rule and reign on earth.  But, before God could set up an earthly kingdom, He had to deal with the real problem which was not outside of man.  Sin and rebellion in the hearts of man was (and is) the real problem that Jesus came to defeat.  The kingdom of God has begun by setting up the rule and reign of Christ in the hearts of His children.  God restores part of the created order in the hearts and lives of those that are His, but they are still fallen and still live in a fallen and broken world; their hearts, however, increasingly long for home.  Redemption has begun, but is not yet complete.  Messiah is ruling & reigning in the hearts of His people; He is progressively restoring the image in us so we are more accurate reflectors of His glory.

The world is broken and will never be restored until Jesus returns.  However, many believers set their hopes here, believing that they can get things to work and make them right, but the believer that finally understands that all things will never be made new on this earth is free to set his hopes and affections on Christ and eternal things.  Our hope is not in repairing this world and the things in it; our confidence is in the Creator who promises to recreate this world so that it needs no fixing.  The gaze of the child of God is heavenward, it is on Jesus and the day when He, not us, will make all things new.  Redemption has begun!  This focus gives us the ability to face affliction, depravity, death, disappointment and difficulty with hope. Instead of running and hiding from difficulty or insulating ourselves as if hardships do not exist we can weep with those who weep12 and empathetically enter in to other’s pain offering Hope because we know that this world is broken. Only Hope in God will satisfy.

As image bearers of the Almighty that He is progressively restoring, we are moved to action to be agents of restoration & reconciliation because we increasingly identify with our Father.  We work to restore that which is broken because we are reflectors of the Almighty.  We become eager to engage in and attempt to meet the overwhelming amount of physical needs in this world because we see them as a result of the fracture and not how they should be!  However, we never loose sight that the the rebellion of the human heart against its Maker is the greatest need of all.  No degree of water wells, education or food – on their own – have the power to redeem the soul.  We are not surprised when things are difficult and progress is hard; the sustained fuel to continue working is knowing that there is coming a day when God will make all things new – all things will be remade and nothing will be broken.13  The harmonious rhythm and rest of Eden will return.  Yes, sin has fractured the universe and our best efforts at living gracefully & faithfully still fall woefully short in their real world implementations in family, work and relationships because we are all broken.  Our hearts plead, “your kingdom come,” as we become increasingly more aware that we are “aliens and strangers” in a world that has been subjected to futility.




Prayer:  Lord, please help us to remember that we live in a world that is broken because of our sin.  Help us to set our hopes on you and on Your promises of restoration.  Help us to serve faithfully and become more accurate reflectors of your glory.

Notes:
1 In Genesis 2:16-17, we see God prohibiting Adam from eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  A question might arise, “why then did God put this tree in the garden, wasn’t He tempting the first couple?”  Adam had been given rule and reign over the entire earth, everything was beneath him.  He was at the top of the proverbial food chain; the image bearer of the Almighty.  However, the tree was a visible reminder that he was not over all things; the tree and its prohibition to eat its fruit reminded Adam that he was still under authority and that all things were not under him.  In short, the tree was a reminder that God was sovereign, ultimate and supreme and that he was not; Adam was created, God was Creator.
In Genesis 3, we see Satan tempting the couple to shun God’s authority and take life in to their own hands.  If we are not careful, we will tend to minimize this rebellion by thinking that it was a simple act of eating a piece of fruit.  We might think, “what’s the big deal?  Is eating a piece of fruit really worthy of the death penalty?”  We reckon that the death penalty is not worthy of jay walking.  The act of eating the fruit, however, was only the evidence of the rebellion that existed in the couple’s heart.  Adam and Eve effectively said, “I know that you say that you are sovereign, ultimate and supreme, but we want to be sovereign ultimate and supreme.”  This is treason, for which death is still handed down in many cultures.  The Maker of all things, the One who gave the couple their breath, their live, their food, their water is the One that they shunned and rebelled against.  The couple only had one commandment to follow and yet their lust for independence, power and control fueled by their pride rendered them incapable of obeying.  How much more incapable are we to obey, being born in sin and objects of His wrath (Ephesians 2:1-10)?
2 For a more in depth discussion on the fall of mankind, see The Fall by Bruce Henry
3 The theological term for this concept is Total Depravity.  Total Depravity means that no part of us remains untouched by sin’s staining effects.  Though we are not as bad as we possibly could be, no part of us is free from the effects of sin (our emotions, our minds, our hearts, our desires, our motives, our bodies, our intentions) even from birth.  This does not mean that we are utterly depraved; utter depravity is when every area is as depraved as possible. We are not as bad as we could be, but no part of us is clean.  Total Depravity does not teach that man is incapable of doing anything good in some ways (even as fallen people we are still image bearers), but we are unable to do anything good in relation to God.  Wayne Grudem summarizes this well:  “Scripture is not denying that unbelievers can do good in human society in some senses.  But it is denying that they can do any spiritual good or be good in terms of a relationship with God.  Apart from the work of Christ in our lives, we are like all other unbelievers who are “darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart (Ephesians 4:18).”  Grudem, Wayne (1999).  Bible Doctrine (pages 215-216).  Zondervan.
As a result of the fall, we are spiritually unable to know or pursue God; the bible says that we are spiritually dead. God told Adam that rebellion, as evidenced by eating the fruit that God prohibited and would result in death (Genesis 2:17).  Additionally, the bible paints a grim picture of our condition when it says that every intention of the thoughts of man’s heart was only evil continually (Genesis 6:5); the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick (Jeremiah 17:9); we are sinful before we are born (Psalm 51:5); no one is righteous, seeks God or does good (Romans 3:10-12); sin & death entered through Adam & affects all men (Romans 5:12-14); nothing good dwells in our flesh; we lack the ability to do anything good on our own (Romans 7:18); apart from Christ, we are dead in our trespasses and sins and by nature children of wrath (Ephesians 2:1-3); apart from Christ, we are darkened in understanding, alienated from God due to hardness of heart (Ephesians 4:18-19)
4 “To the woman he said, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.”” (Genesis 3:16 ESV)
5 Genesis 2:17, 3:16
6 Romans 8:18-39.  Man and creation was created to glorify God, but in its current state we are unable to do that fully.  Imagine the Grand Canyon or Yellowstone before it was subjected to futility by the fall!
7 Because of God’s common grace, we are fortunate to have medications, institutions and aids that help us to live in a broken world.  However, none of these were necessary in Eden.
8 The book of Ecclesiastes discusses the meaninglessness of life below the sun, when viewed in the context of the here and now.  We have to experience life above the sun, in pursuit of God, for things to make sense.
9 Revelation 21
10 Genesis 1:31
11  Paul David Tripp, Broken Down House:  Living productively in a world gone wrong
12 See Jesus Loved Mary, Martha & Lazarus so He Stayed Two Days Longer
http://thegospelcenteredlife.com/2011/07/15/jesus-loved-mary-martha-lazarus-so-he-stayed-two-days-longer/, Romans 12:15
13 Revelation 21

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Total Depravity

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Total Depravity is a theological term that teaches that no part of us remains untouched by sins staining effects.  Though we are not as bad as we possibly could be, no part of us is free from the effects of sin (our emotions, our minds, our hearts, our desires, our motives, our bodies, our intentions) even from birth.  This does not mean that we are utterly depraved; utter depravity is when every area is as depraved as possible. We are not as bad as we could be, but no part of us is clean.  Total Depravity does not teach that man is incapable of doing anything good in some ways (even as fallen people we are still image bearers), but we are unable to do anything good in relation to God.  Wayne Grudem summarizes this well:  “Scripture is not denying that unbelievers can do good in human society in some senses.  But it is denying that they can do any spiritual good or be good in terms of a relationship with God.  Apart from the work of Christ in our lives, we are like all other unbelievers who are “darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart (Ephesians 4:18).”  Grudem, Wayne (1999).  Bible Doctrine (pages 215-216).  Zondervan.

God told Adam that rebellion, as evidenced by eating the fruit that God prohibited, would result in death (Genesis 2:17); every intention of the thoughts of man’s heart was only evil continually (Genesis 6:5); the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick (Jeremiah 17:9); we are sinful before we are born (Psalm 51:5); no one is righteous, seeks God or does good (Romans 3:10-12); sin & death entered through Adam & affects all men (Romans 5:12-14); nothing good dwells in our flesh; we lack the ability to do anything good on our own (Romans 7:18); apart from Christ, we are dead in our trespasses and sins and by nature children of wrath (Ephesians 2:1-3); apart from Christ, we are darkened in understanding, alienated from God due to hardness of heart (Ephesians 4:18-19).

Death is Not Dying by Rachel Barkay

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Watch Death is Not Dying (Vimeo) by Rachel Barkay or Listen Now

Beatitudes: Life of Comfort

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The poor in spirit mourn over their sin and the pervasiveness of sin in the world.  They recognize that the world is broken.  This mourning produces a longing for greater things, for eternal things.  God comforts those who mourn.

A Life of Comfort (Matthew 5:4) by Brandon Barnard