Posts Tagged Think Thursdays
Think Thursday-The Shelter of Lies
Posted by Randall W. Ross in Teaching, Theology, Thoughts and Reflections on December 2, 2010
I recently had an opportunity to preach at Northside Bible Church in Muskegon, MI. My text for this “Thanksgiving Follow-up” service was Romans 1:16-25.
This may seem like a strange passage for the holiday season, but it becomes clear in verse 21 just how appropriate it is.
This passage reminds us of the Gospel.
- We see that it is good news that God has revealed Himself. (vs. 17, 18 and 19)
- We see that it is good news that we are made alive by His power. (vs. 16)
- We see that it is good news that the righteous live by faith. (vs. 17)
This is what should our hearts with gratitude in every season of life. This is what provides enduring hope that will never fail. This is what moves us to honor God as God.
However, this passage also goes on to show us what will happen to those who are not thankful for it. If God is not honored as God and praise and thanks is not given, it will inevitably lead to putting ourselves in His rightful place. (vs. 21 ff)
These people are lost, having exchanged the truth of God for a lie. (vs. 25)
As I was studying this passage, I came across a reference to Isaiah 28:14-18:
[14] Therefore hear the word of the LORD, you scoffers, who rule this people in Jerusalem! [15] Because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death, and with Sheol we have an agreement, when the overwhelming whip passes through it will not come to us, for we have made lies our refuge, and in falsehood we have taken shelter”; [16] therefore thus says the Lord GOD, “Behold, I am the one who has laid as a foundation in Zion, a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation: ‘Whoever believes will not be in haste.’ [17] And I will make justice the line, and righteousness the plumb line; and hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, and waters will overwhelm the shelter.” [18] Then your covenant with death will be annulled, and your agreement with Sheol will not stand; when the overwhelming scourge passes through, you will be beaten down by it.
(Isaiah 28:14-18 ESV)
The picture here is clear and tragic. When the truth of God is exchanged for a lie, people will construct a shelter with those lies. They believe that such a shelter will protect them from the coming judgement of God.
But it will not protect. Truth will win the day. God will win the day.
This passage then is an encouragement but it is also a warning to us. Do we exchange the truth of God for a lie? Are we sheltering under these lies thinking that they will protect?
As I reflected on this, I wasn’t feeling very good. This question was troubling to me. This passage cuts me to the core.
You see, I don’t know if you’re like me, but I am daily tempted to take refuge in lies.
Let me explain. Here are seven of the common lies that are pressed upon me along with their corresponding conclusions:
1. God isn’t watching.
So it doesn’t really matter what I do
2. God isn’t concerned.
So I won’t burden Him with my problems
3. God isn’t listening
So what’s the use in talking
4. God isn’t going to respond
So I should figure this out by myself
5. God isn’t in control
But I can be.
6. God makes mistakes
But I don’t
This all leads to the ultimate lie:
7. God isn’t God
I am.
Again, I don’t know if you are like me, but I am very familiar with these lies.
This path has been around since the beginning of time. It is what has led Satan to fall…it is what Adam and Eve believed… It is what assaults our hearts on a daily basis.
Another part of this warning is this, we can believe these lies and at the same time be very religious.
We can look very good-and do good in the world. But our hearts can still be dead. We can still not honor God. We can still not give thanks to Him.
I don’t want to be religious
I don’t want to shelter under lies.
I want to know God and honor Him as God
When I do– I get to see what He has done and what He is doing. It amazes me and fills me with gratitude.
When we know Him-We put our faith in Him. There is no other place to put it.
So what do we do? Are we caught in these lies? Are we sheltering under them?
We must repent.
We must believe in the Good News.
We must ask God to reveal Himself.
We must put our faith in Him alone.
We can say…I believe but help my unbelief.
One of my favorite hymns is Rock of Ages. I find the first verse of the song very appropriate in light of all of this:
Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee.
Let the water and the blood
from thy wounded side which flowed
be of sin the double cure
save from wrath and make me pure.
Be saved from wrath…Be made pure.
May we not hide in a refuge of lies.
But, Lord by your grace and because of the Gospel, let us hide in you.
Christ Followers or Sons of God?
Posted by Randall W. Ross in Conferences, Events, Thoughts and Reflections on July 22, 2010
I was reminded recently (via the message given by RC Sproul Jr. at the Ligonier National Conference) that we are often mistaken in the way we express our identity as believers. It is clear that when we do so, we miss a central truth regarding the Gospel. Let me explain.
Dr. Sproul addressed the crowd in Orlando with a confession. He explained that there is a particular teaching that, in light of a clear understanding of the Gospel, he now has to repent for teaching. What has come to distress him is that for years he had taught that God loves you now as much as he ever will. There is nothing we can do to gain more of God’s love. This is often where we stop in our teaching.
While this is definitely true in what it affirms, it is slightly off. The truth of the matter, a central hope of the Gospel, is that God loves us in this way for the very fact that He loves His Son in this way. Now, through the atoning and substitutionary death of Christ, we are now clothed in the imputed righteousness of Christ. When God looks upon us, he doesn’t see filthy rags of our sinfulness, He sees the righteousness of His Son.
What Christ accomplished through Good Friday and Easter Sunday was not simply a doing away of God’s wrath. At the same time, He made it possible for us to know the fullness of God’s Fatherly love. We are now given the privilege of being called children of God.
In hearing this truth again, my heart immediately asked this question: “If this great truth of sonship and adoption is so central, then why are so many Christians trying out this new identifier ‘Christ Follower’?” So often we will hear people say in response to the question “Are you a Christian?” the seemingly provocative reply, “Well, I am a Christ follower.”
Again, while this is certainly true- we follow Christ, it misses the point and could be misleading to the hearer. Are we simply a follower of Jesus like Muslims are followers of Mohammed or Buddhists are followers of the…um…whatever? We don’t simply adhere to another way of life, a certain teacher we follow. We are radically different. We have become children of God.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
1 Peter 1:3-9
We have been born again. We have an inheritance. Two things unique to sonship through Christ, not traits of mere following. Through this (Christ’s atoning death that achieved our adoption) we have a living hope that is imperishable, undefiled and unfading. It is so because Christ has won it.
What is it that caries the Christian through trials and testings? Is it the quality of his followership…or the reality of his sonship?
We need to remember that the power of the Gospel rescues the thief on the cross and the death-row converted not because they follow Christ, but because he has made them His own.
Think Thursday- The Already and the Not-Yet
Posted by Randall W. Ross in Personal Connections, Teaching, Theology, Thoughts and Reflections on September 10, 2009
It just so happens that during the last few weeks I have been reading through Psalm 27. This is mainly a result of picking up the book A Shelter in the Time of Storm, by Paul Tripp. It seriously amazes me how the Lord provides His Word often to prepare us for and sustain us through trying times. Go figure. Our God is. Our God is a shield.
As I was reading through this Psalm today I was struck by the dual perspective of the final four verses. We find here encouragement for now and hope for what the future holds.
Teach me your way, O LORD,
and lead me on a level path
because of my enemies.
Give me not up to the will of my adversaries;
for false witnesses have risen against me,
and they breathe out violence.I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the LORD
in the land of the living!
Wait for the LORD;
be strong, and let your heart take courage;
wait for the LORD!English Standard Version
Because of what we face (enemies and adversaries) we are in need of wisdom and instruction in the here and now. Simply put, we need Him. We need to constantly be reminded of who God is and what His ways are at all times. What we have modeled here is that we need to ask for this. We need to ask that we would see Him, that we would follow His leading, that He would keep us from turning away or being given up to our enemy’s will.
We are not led here to ask the Lord to take our enemies away…but rather for the truth needed to be sustained and to persevere. We need Him so that we can survive and remain faithful.
We are then given a second part of reality. We readily see the need for God in the here and now, but we are not left without hope for what is in the future. The writer declares…My foes and false witnesses are against me now, and the truth of God is with me, but I know and I believe that there will come a time when it won’t be so.
One day we will look upon the goodness of the Lord. When all death…all sin has been finally destroyed…we shall stand in the land of the living and we will see Him. We wait for this day with the greatest anticipation. We have his sustaining Grace…and we have the promise of His future Grace. Indeed, I think the second is greater than the first.
We hear this same theme repeated by the Apostle Paul in his final words:
For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.
2 Timothy 4:6-8 ESV
God sustains us and allows us to be poured out for His Glory, but what is always before our eyes and longed for in our hearts is the day that we shall finally see Him. The righteousness that we know now in small measure will be complete when we are in His presence.
Imagine that day. The mere glimpse of Him is what regenerated us to new life. If that was the new birth, what will it be like when we see Him in all His splendor? What a day of rejoicing that will be. What a victory to celebrate!
So we must ask for His way to lead us through the valleys and pits…but our eyes must be always fixed on the light of the celestial city. We are where we are…but friends…we can see where we are going.
Thus, this is the Already and Not-Yet amazing Grace of God.
Think Thursday-Jesus Draw Me Near
Posted by Randall W. Ross in Teaching, Theology, Thoughts and Reflections on September 2, 2009
Jesus draw me ever nearer
As I labour through the storm.
You have called me to this passage,
and I’ll follow, though I’m worn.May this journey bring a blessing,
May I rise on wings of faith;
And at the end of my heart’s testing,
With Your likeness let me wake.Jesus guide me through the tempest;
Keep my spirit staid and sure.
When the midnight meets the morning,
Let me love You even more.Let the treasures of the trial
Form within me as I go -
And at the end of this long passage,
Let me leave them at Your throne.“Jesus Draw Me Ever Nearer”
Music by Keith Getty; Words by Margaret Becker
Copyright © 2002 Thankyou Music
Storm…Testing…Tempest…Trial…
Are these the words that you think about when it comes to growing in your relationship with the Lord? I know it sounds strange to us, but God has seen it fit to use the difficult things in life to bring us into a sweeter and deeper connection with Him.
There is so much talk in our world…and among those that claim Christ…that God has something better for us…something better than all these things trying to get us down. We are encouraged to face our hardship and essentially command it to leave because God has increase and prosperity right around the corner. These voices claim that if we have enough faith, we won’t have to deal with this tough stuff and negative experience. We are told to see the difficulty as a hurdle to get around.
This sentiment is categorically untrue.
We see the opposite of this played out throughout Scripture. Think of the patriarchs, the judges, the prophets, the disciples and apostles. What marks their lives most notably is the fact that they endured amazing storms, testing, tempests and trials. The result was not a rejection of or hardness toward God (though always a temptation) but rather they held fast to the Lord in the midst of it all.
A quick glance through the Psalms shows us the raw but always trusting nature of life as God’s children. One of my favorites is Psalm 13:
How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
2How long must I take counsel in my soul
and have sorrow in my heart all the day?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?Consider and answer me, O LORD my God;
light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death,
4lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,”
lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.5But I have trusted in your steadfast love;
my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
6I will sing to the LORD,
because he has dealt bountifully with me.
David is discouraged. He is asking the Lord…Why…Why are my enemies succeeding? Have you forgotten me? How long will this go on for? But I love the way David brings it back to that which is steadfast. As if catching himself, he proclaims that God is trustworthy. He remembers that regardless of what is going on, he can rejoice…he shall rejoice. David can rejoice in the grace of God.
God sustains us through the turmoil of life…but greater still…He changes us as He sustains us. The goal of life, and consequently the goal of all that we experience within our blip on the screen…is for our sanctification…for our growth…for our becoming more and more like Christ as we see more and more of Him.
Nothing accomplishes this like the riding out the storm. Though it looks like He is sleeping in the boat, His power over the wind and waves has not diminished.
Nothing accomplishes this like enduring the test. Though it seems like all hope is lost and our flesh is failing, His flesh didn’t fail and we are given His Spirit within.
Nothing accomplishes this like being face to face with an immense trial of will and character. Though the pot is boiling hot and it seems that we will be consumed, we see that He is gently skimming the impurities and imperfections from the top.
He wants to see His face.
Jesus draw me nearer. So that the treasure of your likeness is formed in me.
Think Thursday-Runaway Car
Posted by Randall W. Ross in Christian, Media Critique, Music, Non-Christian, Personal Connections, Thoughts and Reflections on August 13, 2009
Stop this runaway car
I want to get off, I want to go back
If I left you there then I left it all behind
‘Cause all I’m feeling now
Is the weight of the world bearing down
I don’t have answers for any of my questions anymore
‘Cause I might have been wrong
I might have been scared, all alone
I might have been standing on the top of the world
What a difference a day makes
I turned and watched you walk away
I might have been standing on the top of the world
‘Cause I might have been wrong
You can listen to the Full Song HERE.
I got a hold of this album recently and couldn’t have predicted the timeliness of it.
The whole CD is full of songs about our journey here on God’s earth. At times His plan is clear, at times it only brings questions and heartache. Through it all we are reminded that “we are not that far, not that gone”. We see in the pain and suffering that we endure that it is not an absence of His presence but, on the contrary, it is Him pulling us closer to Himself, closer to Love.
I like this particular song because of it’s humility. I might have been wrong. I might have been scared. Who knows…things could have been just fine…but wow, what a difference a day makes. Regardless of what it was, I see that if I left Him behind…that is the point that things went haywire.
If we move from the place of communion with Jesus our lives will become a runaway car. We are filled with questions and we bear a weight that is meant to press us back to Him.
Where I find myself today is that strange place of just asking the questions. Where am I Lord? How did I get here? What does this weight mean? Lord, help me.
I would recommend picking up the CD if you get a chance. It has been an encouragement to me…who knew?…well…
