HOPE WHEN YOUR HEART IS BREAKING

How do you exercise hope when you are grieving in the depth of your soul? In the 12th chapter of John Jesus showed us something about this spiritual discipline. Listen to His voice as his heart bleeds with sorrow in verses 27,28.

“Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.”

In this chapter Jesus and His disciples come to the ultimate clash of good and evil. The chapter begins with Mary Magdalene anointing Jesus’ feet with the costly perfume, and of course, Judas’ objection. Then came our Lord's triumphal entry into Jerusalem with the multitudes shouting, “Hosanna!” Even some Greeks asked to see Jesus. But Jesus knew this was all leading to the ultimate sorrow of the cross. And He spoke the words, “Now is my heart troubled.” This heartache no doubt intensified as He went with His disciples to the garden to pray saying, “My heart is sorrowful even to death.”

Many of you have experienced deep sorrow in your life. If you have not, you will. While our heartaches are not as deep as our Lord's, we face sorrows that overwhelm our lives. In such times you will need a hope that is deeper than all that you are losing, a hope that goes beyond life and death. In His great sorrow Jesus gives us a glimpse of such a hope.

First He asks how He should respond. I'm not sure from the text whether He is praying or simply asking me how I think He should pray. Either way He asked if He should pray for God to save Him from the crisis. There is certainly a place for such prayers. That is how Jesus began praying in the Garden of Gethsemane. In Matthew 26:39 we read His prayer.

“My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me.”

But of course, even here He prays in submission.

“Nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”

But there comes a point where God tells us that escaping the sorrow is not His will. And as difficult as it was, Jesus knew His sorrow was the purpose of God. He says, “For this purpose I have come to this hour.” We often cannot see the purpose of what we endure. Your grief may seem pointless to you. But God knows the purpose of your heartache.

Then Jesus gives us the right prayer in sorrow. “Father, glorify your name.” This is the goal for anyone who has been redeemed, for anyone whose life is being transformed, who has been brought from alienation to the embrace of God's love. If your goal is something less than that, your sorrow will only deepen.

God's hope reaches beyond the darkened corridors of death. In 2 Corinthians 1 Paul speaks of facing death.

“For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.”

The point of our lives and the heart of our prayers ought to be for God to be honored whether we succeed or fail, whether we live or die. Paul wrote his letter to the Philippians from jail, not knowing if he would be released or executed. And he encourages them with these words.

“It is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death.”

As Jesus prays God's glory in John 12, something spectacular happens. A voice comes from heaven, saying, “I have glorified it and I will glorify it again!”

Some of the people standing around Him said it must have thundered. Others said an angel spoke to him. But Jesus said that was not it at all. He said, “This voice was for you.” They were the ones who needed to know God's glory and judgment were at hand. As we learn to pray for God’s glory, He speaks to our hearts, assuring us of His glory and grace. And others around us will glimpse His glory as well.

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WHEN WERE YOU SAVED?

There are those who are convinced that our salvation was predetermined before the foundation of the universe. Incidentally, I believe that. There are scriptures that make it clear. (Eph.1:4 among them) However, to fully understand that, we need to think some things through.

In Matthew 11:20-24 Jesus denounced the cities who did not repent.

“Then He proceeded to denounce the towns where most of His miracles were done, because they did not repent: ‘Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented in sackcloth and ashes long ago! But I tell you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will go down to Hades. For if the miracles that were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until today. But I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.’”

It is important to note that Jesus did not say, “When you saw those miracles you could not repent because you were not chosen.” This passage seems to indicate that they would be condemned in the judgment “because they did not repent.”

I recently saw the question on the Facebook, “What is Calvinism.” The answer given was Romans 8: 29,30.

“For those He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers. And those He predestined, He also called; and those He called, He also justified; and those He justified he also glorified.”

l want to emphasize the word, “foreknew,” in these verses. A strong Calvinist might point out that the word “foreknew,” here refers to a previous relationship, rather than knowing your hair color or your name. However, while this certainly refers to more than the omniscience of God, it cannot mean less. God has always known every decision you will ever make, every thought you have ever thought or ever will think. And He has known everything about your character and destiny from before the foundation of the world. In Matthew 12:37 Jesus told us we would be acquitted or condemned by our words. He has known every word we have spoken or will speak.

Now, let me connect the parable Jesus told of the sower and the seed in Matthew 13. Let's read the first part of the passage First beginning with verse 3.

“Then He told them many things in parables, saying: “Consider the sower who went out to sow. As he was sowing, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and ate them up. Others fell on rocky ground, where there wasn’t much soil, and they sprang up quickly since the soil wasn’t deep. But when the sun came up they were scorched, and since they had no root, they withered. Others fell among thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them. Still others fell on good ground and produced a crop: some 100, some 60, and some 30 times what was sown. Anyone who has ears should listen!”

Before Jesus explains this parable, He tells His disciples why He speaks to the people in parables. And I think it is important for us to look at this explanation before we go on to the explanation of the parable.

“Then the disciples came up and asked Him, 'Why do You speak to them in parables?'

He answered them, 'Because the secrets of the kingdom of heaven have been given for you to know, but it has not been given to them. For whoever has, more will be given to him, and he will have more than enough. But whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. For this reason I speak to them in parables, because looking they do not see, and hearing they do not listen or understand. Isaiah’s prophecy is fulfilled in them, which says:

You will listen and listen,

yet never understand;

and you will look and look,

yet never perceive.

For this people’s heart has grown callous;

their ears are hard of hearing,

and they have shut their eyes;

otherwise they might see with their eyes

and hear with their ears,

understand with their hearts

and turn back—and I would cure them. 

“But your eyes are blessed because they do see, and your ears because they do hear! For I assure you: Many prophets and righteous people longed to see the things you see yet didn’t see them; to hear the things you hear yet didn’t hear them."

There are two things that I think are important to see about why Jesus spoke in parables, and why some people receive the word of God and others do not. First, hearing and understanding the word about the kingdom of heaven is a gift. Verse 16 clearly says, “Your eyes are blessed because they do see, and your ears because they do hear.”

But there is some personal responsibility in this truth. In verse 13 Jesus says He spoke to them in parables so they would not understand. But the reason he gives for their not understanding, from the prophecy of Isaiah, is that they won't understand what they have been told. And He seems to be saying, “If I made this clear enough, even these people who reject Me would come to understand and I would cure them.”

Recently, someone approached me on Facebook, asking if it was fair to say my position was that some people will receive Christ because they are righteous. I answered, “No, my position is that the matter is complex.”

There are two points upon which I strongly disagree with this notion. The first is the concept of righteousness here. To say that some of us are righteous because we admit we are not righteous and need a Savior, is strange indeed. The only possible way you could say that, was if righteousness were comparative. Is someone righteous because someone else is worse? The only One we can compare our righteousness to is Jesus. None of us come close to His holy standard.

My second concern, is that this answer is more simplistic than what Jesus gives us. I do not know how many kinds of barriers may stand between a person and the grace of God. I do not know that we have anything to do with some of them. For instance, I was born in a place, and into a family where I would hear the gospel all my life. To be honest, I really didn't understand it in my younger years. And I certainly cannot explain why God put up with my hard-headedness as long as He did. But God put me in the place of hearing His word. I did not choose where I would be born. If you are concerned about the fairness of salvation, how was my privilege fair? I too believe God is absolutely just. And that will be demonstrated in the end. (Eph.3:10) But for now it is complex. What other barriers might there be to someone's being chosen by God? This is far more information than God has given us.

So we finally come to the parable itself. Let me point out a few crucial things that explain why some of us come to Christ, and some of us do not.

“You, then, listen to the parable of the sower: Whenever anyone hears the word about the kingdom and doesn’t understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the one sown along the path. And the one sown on rocky ground—this is one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy. 

Yet he has no root in himself, but is short-lived. When pressure or persecution comes because of the word, immediately he stumbles. Now the one sown among the thorns—this is one who hears the word, but the worries of this age and the seduction of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. But the one sown on the good ground—this is one who hears and understands the word, who does bear fruit and yields: some 100, some 60, some, 30 times what was sown.”

Matthew 13:18-23

I will briefly enumerate what I have to say about these verses.

1. First, this is a matter of spiritual warfare. The devil snatches the gospel away from those who hear but do not understand. And while I do not know all that is involved in his taking hearts captive to do his will, I know that it is the right thing to pray.
2. The second matter is understanding. Even as a believer, I must cry out to God for spiritual understanding. And then I must explain truth, faith, the gospel, and other things that release spiritual power in the lives of people. 
3. The third is a matter of a divided heart. When my heart is filled with the cares of this world and the seduction of wealth, the whole purpose of my conversion maybe lost. What is the purpose of the Kingdom of Heaven? I do believe you can get insight on who is really saved from this parable. But Jesus does not present that as the point. The kingdom of heaven was not come to mankind so we can abandoned Earth to the judgment of God. The kingdom was brought to Earth so that our transformed lives might bear fruit, establishing a stronghold of the kingdom of heaven in this world.

Now, I have written this so people will think these matters through. I think that is important whether you agree with me or not. I am aware this has become a painful issue. And there seem to be 3 faulty positions on this issue. At this point I do not wish to give arguments for why I think these positions are faulty. I would simply like you to think about them.

Some of you will label me as a hide-bound Calvinist, and write me off as a heretic. More of you may think this theology is too complex to understand or worry about. And some of you will call me an Armenian. You at least need to know that is not necessarily accurate. Armenian beliefs are fairly specific. And it often seems to me that people are excluded from the fold by what I would label, extra-calvinisticum. George Whitefield and John Wesley disagreed over these issues. But at the funeral of Wesley, Whitfield recognized the Holiness of his brother in Christ.

I love the poem by Edwin Markham that Charles Swindoll has slightly rearranged in his sermons.

“Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout

He drew a circle that left me out.

But love and I had the wit to win:

We drew a circle and left him In!”

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A VACANT GENTERATION

In Luke chapter 11 Jesus told us what happens when a demonic spirit is driven out, possibly by a crisis and human effort, maybe even a well meant intervention of friends, but the demon is not replaced by the power of God through the indwelling Holy Spirit. The end of that person will be worse than it was to start with.

I wonder if Jesus told this on a number of occasions throughout his ministry. Because in Matthew chapter 12, probably on a different occasion, Jesus used this story as a parable to demonstrate something on a grander scale. Look at these verses and especially at the application from the context that is given in Matthew 12:45, the final verse of the passage.

“When an unclean spirit comes out of a man, it roams through waterless places looking for rest but doesn’t find any. Then it says, ‘I’ll go back to my house that I came from.’ And returning, it finds the house vacant, swept, and put in order. Then off it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and settle down there. As a result, that man’s last condition is worse than the first. That’s how it will also be with this evil generation.”

Matthew 12:43-45

Here Jesus is explaining not simply what happens to a person, but what happens to an entire generation that turns over a new leaf without the power of God. We too are living in a generation in which God's presence, purpose, and power are vacant from our culture.

I have written lately of my concern about the press in our generation toward not wanting to live if life were no longer comfortable or diverting.* I believe this is evidence that the purpose even of many who profess Christ in this generation is ease and pleasure. 

I said I wanted to write as long as possible. And when I could no longer write, I could still pray for people whom God brings into my life. I believe this is God's purpose for me. This is good, and I hope it is the plan of God for me. But this misses a more important truth. The fuller purpose of my life is the glory of God. 

I begin my morning devotional each day with John 12:27,28 where Jesus was troubled as He looked ahead to the agony and indignity of death on a cross and separation from His Heavenly Father.

"Now is my heart troubled, and what shall I say? 'Father, save me from this hour'? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name!" Then a voice came from heaven: "I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again."

John 12:27,28 

In relation to these verses I have written out the simple prayer, “Father, I pray that Your Name may be glorified through my life.” The things that I mentioned may bring Him glory. But He can still be glorified if I am unconscious, without dignity, feeble minded, or in too much pain to write or even pray beyond crying out to God to release me! At least in the final stanza of His glory everyone will see how He wove even this together for His glory and my good in the entire tapestry of my life.

But I grieve for what is yet to come upon our generation where God's glory and purpose are vacant. The final state of our generation, will be much worse even that it is today.

*(You can see some of what I have written on this concern by scrolling down to Facing Death With Hope, in this blog, The Anchor of The Soul, http://theanchorofthesoul.blogspot.com/ )

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WATCH AND PRAY

Have you ever seen a medieval castle? Have you noticed the broken lines at the tops of the walls? A rook or castle on a Chessboard has the same cuts.
I suspect you could guess what those were if you didn't already know. They were essential to the defense of a castle. Those slots were the lookouts for soldiers on watch.

On several occasions Scripture tells us to watch and pray. Have you thought about what God is saying to you in those passages? Let's look at those Scriptures and allow God to speak to our hearts through them. The first of them that comes to my mind is when Jesus was praying with His disciples in the garden before the cross. He prayed earnestly that that cup might pass from Him. And yet He surrendered His heart to the will of God. Then He looked and saw that Peter, James, and John were asleep. He was amazed that they could not watch with Him for one hour. And in Matthew 26:41 Jesus commands us.

“Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
The word translated, “watch” here is also used for soldiers, or possibly shepherds, keeping the watches of the night. On that very night while they were in the garden soldiers would come to arrest Jesus. This would be the most severe trial that the disciples would ever face. Earlier Jesus had told them they would all abandon Him. Peter and the rest swore they would never leave Him even if they had to die with Him. Their spirits were willing but their flesh was weak.

You might say they should have known this trial was coming. Jesus had told them over and over again. And it didn't take any great genius to see that the High Priests had determined to kill Him.

And it it should not surprise you that you are going to face trials and temptations. Peter himself warns us that we are going to be tried. In 1 Peter 4:12 he wrote,

“Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.”

Like soldiers on guard duty we are told to watch and pray for spiritual strength and protection.

The next place we are told to watch and pray is in Luke 21 where Jesus warns us about the trials that will come in the last days. In Luke 21:36 Jesus gives us this same command.

“Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.”

It seems to me that many of these things are already coming upon us. I am crying out to God for a great prayer movement. We need to be on guard, and pray as we have never prayed before. These things could be seen to begin when the Roman General, Titus, led his army to destroy the city of Jerusalem. As Jesus predicted, not one stone of the beautiful temple was left upon another. 2 Timothy 3:1 and other Scriptures warn us that there will be terrible times in these last days. Will we be on guard as these things come about? How seriously will we watch and pray?

We are also to watch for our hope in God during difficult times. He has made very great and precious promises to us even for the worst of times.

Another place where we are called to watch and pray is much more positive. Colossians 4:2 says,

“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.”

We not only need to watch for spiritual attack that will come. But I am afraid we are not alert enough to see God at work around us. There is great encouragement and joy in seeing the hand of God and thanking Him for working in our lives.

Finally, we need to watch and pray for others in our families and in the church where God has stationed us. Ephesians 6:18 commands us.

“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”

In 1 Samuel 12:23 Samuel said he would be sinning against the Lord if he failed to pray for the people of Israel. Are you alert to pray for those God has commissioned you to pray for?

We need to see watching as motivation and preparation for prayer. But all four of these passages see watching as integral to prayer. As we spend extended time in prayer God shows us more and more of what we will face and what He is doing and preparing to do all around us.


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A LETTER FROM GOD

I am not sure we fully appreciate the value of communication in these days. We live very near the old American Pony Express route. For a year and a half in the mid nineteenth century, until the telegraph service finally crossed the continent, riders carried the mail on fast horses from station to station from Colorado and points east to California. That was an expensive and often dangerous undertaking all for the sake of mail service.

We live a little over ten miles from the little town where snowshoe Thompson lived. In the same era as the Pony Express Thompson carried mail on 10 foot skis across the high Sierras from Mormon station to Placerville California.



Of course, most of us in America receive far more mail than we would like. Much of it is what we call junk mail. But letters from important people or people we love are still precious. I love the story of Kathy Keller, Tim Keller's wife, receiving several letters from C.S. Lewis when she wrote him as a 12 year old girl. They were actually written within weeks of Lewis’ death.

But no letter would be as valuable to any of us as direct communication from God. That is what we have in the 29th chapter of Jeremiah. Jeremiah sends a letter to the exiles who had been carried off to Babylon. And in that letter he gives them and us direct communication from God himself. This is not unlike the letters from Jesus to the seven churches in Asia Minor at the beginning of The Revelation.

Many of us are familiar with Jeremiah 29:11.

“I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

I recently heard someone say that our putting this verse on t-shirts and greeting cards, and applying it directly to our lives is a misuse of scripture. The person said you could only apply this to your life if you were in fact one of the Israelites exiled to Babylon in the 6th century before Christ. I believe that is a mistake. We have this letter in Scripture because God speaks to us from it. And this letter reveals important things about the character of God, and how he deals in our lives today.

GOD'S PLANS

First God declares in this passage that He has plans for you. I need to be honest here. I am not very good at making plans. I am always cynical about my ability to know what will happen in the future. But I understand that meaning in life comes from purpose. And God gives us assurance here that He has a plan. God assures the Israelites in exile that they are not simply in the hands of blind fate. And even though it may look to us like God does not know what He is doing, He knows. This brings to my mind His promise in Romans 8:28.

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

This verse does not say everything will be good in our lives. That was certainly not true for the children of Israel under judgment. But God was assuring the people that He was going to work even this evil, even this hardship, for good in their lives.

The Children of Israel were deported to Babylon because they had rejected God. But God still had plans for them. Someone recently asked me if I believed in the perfect and permissive will of God. He told me he had not done something that he was convinced was the will of God. And he felt he could no longer have God's best for his life.

I said I didn't think that was a good or biblical way of looking at the will of God. I would rather say the will of God is dynamic. He has a specific will for you no matter what happened in your past. A good example of this is found in 1John 1:9.

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

So, suppose I sin. That is completely out of the will of God, is it not? Now, what is God's will for me? God's specific will for me is to confess that sin to Him. You have already strayed in significant ways from the will of God. But He still has a specific will for your life. His will may not be easy. But it is perfect for you.

GOD'S KNOWLEDGE
It was very difficult for the people of Israel to see any good in their captivity in Babylon. And it is sometimes impossible for us to see good in our immediate situation in life. But God is saying to them and to us, “I know.” You and I cannot know what the future holds. But God knows; and we can trust Him.

GOD'S GOODNESS
In Jeremiah 29:11 the NIV says God has plans to “prosper” us. The ESV says plans for our “welfare.” The Hebrew word here is Shalom. The foundation of the word shalom is peace. But it is used in the Old Testament for a much broader concept than simply the absence of war. It refers back to the time of prosperity particularly under the reign of David and Solomon. Of course God's peace begins with a right relationship with God. God is saying His plans for you begin with your getting right with Him. And Shalom has to refer more to spiritual welfare then it does material prosperity.

And God says His plans are not to harm you. Now here the Hebrew word for harm is the word for evil. It is the same word that is used in the garden of Eden for the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God's purpose in His judgment of the children of Israel was not their final destruction, but repentance.

GOD'S LOVE
The blessing of God is primarily relational. God's nature and his purpose for us is wound up in His infinite love. God desires a relationship with you. The very next verses in Jeremiah 29 read,

“Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.”

GOD'S HOPE
In this letter God and Jeremiah tell the people to settle down where they are and live in Hope. There is a theology that is often being applied in our day which simply says wouldn't it be wonderful if the Lord would come back today and this world would burn. But God is saying, “Don't give up. Keep on serving Me. You have hope.” This reminds me of 1 Corinthians 15:58 which God has often used to encourage my soul.

“Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”

GOD'S FUTURE
I am in an unusual place in life. I have terminal cancer. And I need to say, nothing in my life has helped me get a grip on the future as much as my cancer. I am able to see significance in every moment of my life.

I see relationships in a new light as my time on this Earth is shortened. That is not to say that I am always kind or patient with people. I am certainly tempted not to be kind. But I hunger to love them with Christ's love. And I pray for God to do things in their lives that I could never accomplish.

Prayer itself has become much more important to me. My cancer brings me to Exodus 33 where Moses cried out to see the glory of God. And I am convinced that God will use my prayers to touch the lives of those around me.

And I still need to minister. I need to pour myself into God's purpose. I am thankful that He allows, has even called me to write. And I think it is important to see that whatever ministry God calls you to will make life more meaningful.

All of these things relate to the future. Those of us who believe in Jesus have eternal life. And life beyond this life will be a continuation, even an expansion of the purpose and fellowship that He lavishes on us on Earth. That hope makes everything more meaningful now and forever.


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WHY ME?

Have you ever asked, “Why me?” when you faced pain or heartache? How can a church or a church leader minister to hurting people who are asking the question, “Why?”

Let me propose three crucial facets of ministry to people who might ask this question in the midst of hardship. We must deal with this issue by teaching, love, and encouragement.

Teaching is foundational to ministry in such situations. The question itself can be prompted by bad theology. Many of us living in sheltered and affluent societies have the notion that if you are a Christian, or possibly a good person, God will not allow terrible things to happen in your life. This is a false doctrine. You will not find it anywhere in Scripture. I believe it is legitimate to ask God that you not be led into the temptation that comes in trials. But in John 16:33 Jesus said, “In the world you will have tribulation.” Your people need to know that God has not promised them the American dream. The purpose of life is not comfort or pleasure.

However, it is important to note that you need to teach these things before your people come into heartache. The parents of a teenager killed in a car accident don't need your teaching in the crisis. They need God's love through you and through your church. Sometimes the less you say in a tragic situation the more God's love can be poured out through you and your presence with them. It is more important to pray with them than it is to teach them. They need your prayers and the prayers of the whole church family to endure the trial.

Even in trials you can encourage people to pray, to seek God, and to see that He is at work in the situation. And you can encourage them to seek God's glory in the midst of crises. There is an answer to the question, “Why.” It is actually the same answer to the question of why God blesses us. The purpose of heartache and blessing is to glorify His name. One of the ways God will be glorified through trials is by the character that He develops in you. You can encourage people to trust that God is working in their lives. James 2 calls us to rejoice when we fall into many kinds of trials, because we know that tribulation develops patient endurance. James goes on to say we must let endurance produce its perfect work in our lives. In Romans 5 we find the same promise. There Scripture tells us that endurance develops character. And character produces hope. And hope does not disappoint because the love of God is poured out on others through our lives. 2 Corinthians 1:3,4 speaks to this.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”

So, let patience have her perfect work

Of character and hope in and through our lives.

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SPIRITUALLY NEEDY

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

Matthew 5:3

I am not sure we think enough about the Beatitudes. Jesus gave us these truths as the foundation of His kingdom in our lives, in the world, and forever. I love the name, “Beatitudes,” because these eight principles are not just something we are to hear like a lecture. They are what we are to become.

The first of the Beatitudes given us by Jesus is, Poverty of Spirit. Are you poor in spirit? All of the Beatitudes are counterintuitive. They go against all human thinking. But I think this first one is the most alien to our thoughts about spirituality. The point is, you are not going to make it on your own. Jesus is saying you are blessed if you are spiritually deficient, because He provides what you lack.

Let me give you a picture of deficiency. Can you imagine being in a boating accident? Maybe you were going out of a bay into the ocean when your boat overturned. As you are thrown free you realize some things you had not fully understood when you were still in the boat. The water is colder than you ever imagined. And The ocean is bigger than it looked before. You could never swim to a distant shore, which you can't see from the water. You wouldn't even know which way to swim. You go into panic mode, kicking your feet and flailing your arms. Your panic increases as you realize you can't keep this up much longer.

Then from nowhere it seems, a Navy SEAL appears. He couldn't have got there this quickly had he not been on watch when your boat went down. As he approaches, you are still kicking and whipping your arms about. Your fist actually blacks one of his eyes or bloodies his nose. But he speaks words of hope to you. “Calm down. You will never be able to save yourself.” If he were not there those would not be hopeful words. But those words force you to relax in his arms. And he begins drawing you with his confident strokes toward the shore.

You are actually blessed by the fact that you could never save yourself. Jesus came to save you. Your weakness is a blessing because you have a Savior. And the fact that you could never save yourself helps you rest in His arms.

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MOURNING WILL BE COMFORTED

Matthew 5:4

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

I recently listened to a re-dramatization of Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express. Dame Agatha drew that marvelous story out of the heartache of mourning. The story was built around the extended grief caused by the kidnapping and murder of a child.

Mourning is indeed one of the most painful aspects of life in this fallen world. Every pastor has to deal with such heartbreak. Many years ago I was pastor in a dairy community near a large city in Texas. A family I did not know came knocking on my door one morning before daylight asking if I would pray for their baby. Unfortunately their baby, who turned out to be a four or five year old child, was already dead. The child had died that night in a careless accident. And, of course, the hearts of that whole family were broken.

My Father's heart was broken when my mother died after they had been married 60 years. I had no memory of seeing my father weep in my entire life, even at his own mother's funeral. But for over a year after my mother's death he hated to go anywhere because he could not seem to speak to anyone without tears streaming down his face.

The one time that Scripture tells us Jesus wept was at the graveside of a friend. Jesus knew He was preparing to raise Lazarus from the dead. But He also knew the depth of pain death inflicts upon those whom He loves.

You can read a great deal about means of comforting those who have lost loved ones. And I am sure many of them have some efficacy. But there is a depth of pain there that can never be completely alleviated in this life.

And yet we find this promise from Jesus, that those who mourn are blessed because they will indeed be comforted. The comfort Jesus is speaking of is greater than any comfort we can administer. And in fact this is a comfort we can only grasp by faith in this life. God alone can bring about complete comfort to those who mourn.

In the Return of the King, the final book in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Sam Gamgee wakes up after the ring has been destroyed in the fires of Mount Doom. He is amazed that he is alive. And Gandalf, whom he was certain was dead, is standing before him. And he asks, “Is everything sad going to become untrue?” Though we must endure heartbreak in this life, we are promised all things lost will be renewed and every tear will be wiped away when we stand before our Lord in the end. And while it is hard for us to believe from this perspective, the goodness of that day will be good enough to turn even our heartache into comfort. Our deepest heartache will be replaced by Joy.

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THE MEEK SHALL INHERIT

“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

Matthew 5:5

We use the word meek so seldom in Modern English that few of us are certain about its meaning. And in fact the concept may be quite as alien to us as the word. To be meek means to be pliable or submissive. Now there are at least four crucial aspects to meekness. First, to be meek means to be teachable. And here we automatically assume benevolent parents and teachers.

Possibly because it sounds similar, many think of weakness in relation to meekness. But that is in error. A football coach loves a player who is meek. That is the player who will do whatever his coach tells him to do. I have a favorite story from the book Watership Down where the the warren is being attacked by other rabbits. Hazel gets an idea that will save the warren. But he has no time to explain. He tells Bigwig not to let anyone enter the main entrance until he returns. Bigwig blocks the tunnel with his own body. And the enemy rabbits attack him mercilessly. They torture him for hours without any results. They decide the only way they will ever get him out of the tunnel will be to talk him into giving up.

“Why don't you give up?” they ask. “Why are you are you staying here and enduring all this?” 

Bigwig confounds them with his answer. “Because my chief rabbit told me to.” That was meekness, not toward his enemies but to his own leader. Meekness may in fact be the opposite of weakness. Meekness can be disciplined strength.

The second aspect of this Beatitude is more general and much more difficult. Later in the same sermon Jesus told us not to “resist the one who is evil.” If someone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other. If anyone sues you to take your shirt, let him have your cloak too. Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you. It is difficult to discern when you must submit, and when you cannot. There are times when you become evil by giving in to evil. But Jesus frames this as a general principle trusting God to take care of you when you are mistreated.

The third aspect of meekness is in the realm of success and failure. Jesus is not telling us we shouldn't do our best to succeed at what we are given to do. But when you're in the situation where everyone else is grasping for prominence, you can let them have this world's glory as you wait for honor in the eyes of God. And of course in this world the meek will not be given success without a fight. Those who grasp and fight will win in this world. Those who demand their own way will win the Earth. But the children of the resurrection will inherit the earth from God.

These first three aspects are encompassed by the overall aspect of meekness toward God. We are to spend all of our lives becoming more and more submissive to the will and purpose of God. 

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WHAT DO YOU HUNGER FOR?

Matthew 5:6

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”

But someone may ask, "Aren't our hungers natural? Aren't they beyond our control?" To some extent I think that is true. But they can also be trained or tantalized.
A child asks, “Can I have some more candy?”
The parent answers, “No, it will ruin your supper.”
The parent knows a child can be trained to desire roast beef and carrots. If she only wants candy she will find tooth decay, obesity and death, rather than satisfaction.
You may not have to think too hard to remember times when you desired something desperately. But when you finally got it, you were disappointed. It may even have turned out horrible. Wouldn't you rather have spent all that energy and time longing for something that would have satisfied you deeply?
Real satisfaction only comes from things that are right with God. But we live in a world that is hopelessly rebellious against the will of God. One of the places you can see this most clearly is in our attitudes toward righteousness. If you think of righteousness in terms of satisfaction and joy, you have probably been a believer in Jesus Christ long enough that experience has changed your perspective.
It is more likely that you see righteousness and pleasure as opposite ends of the same scale.
You may want to ask, “Why isn't that, or he, or she, right for me? That is why the Bible uses a word we seldom use in other contexts. The word “righteousness” is more comprehensive. It refers to the whole purpose of something being to please God.
Of course, nothing in this world can completely fulfill our lives. But we can long for and put our faith in heaven where righteousness will be complete.

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THE BLESSING OF SHOWING MERCY

Matthew 5:7

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.”

This is the first of the Beatitudes that may come close to making sense to modern Westerners. However that is because we really do not understand. This almost sounds like Jesus was saying, “If you are nice to people, they will be nice to you.” There is some truth to that. But it misses the reality of human nature and society. The world is not made up of nice people who will always be nice to you. If you only know those kinds of people your life is indeed sheltered.

I recently heard a testimony of a man who shortly after coming to faith in Christ heard Brother Andrew, God's Smuggler, talking with a prominent Near Eastern Sheikh who was ordering the death of 8 Israelis because 4 Palestinians had been killed. Brother Andrew ask him, “But where does forgiveness come in?” The sheikh answered, “That is only for those who deserve it.”

Much closer to home, I heard a woman tell about a man in her child’s Public School who mistreated and lied about her daughter. This was a horrible time for their family. Later she got some perspective on the events because the man was diagnosed with a brain tumor. She said, “I can forgive him because we found out his behavior was affected by the tumor. But I can't forgive other School Employees, and even friends in our church, who believed him when he said those things, even though they had known our daughter all her life.”

I understand her hurt, and why she said what she did, but that was not what Jesus taught. Christian Mercy does not end with those who are excusable. Later in this same chapter Jesus tells us we are to be like our Heavenly Father who sends sunshine and rain on the just and the unjust. We are even to love our enemies with the love of God.

What some of you are already thinking is important to understand. It is not true that your enemy will show you mercy, if you show him compassion. What then did Jesus mean? Like all of the Beatitudes this looks beyond the rewards given by other humans on this Earth. Jesus was pointing to the ultimate mercy of our Heavenly Father.

Toward the end of Mark 11 Jesus gives us one the most powerful promises of praying in faith. And then in verse 25 he extends what he says about faith with these words.

“And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”

Jesus clearly links trusting God to forgive our own sins with forgiving those who have wronged us.

Matthew 5 concludes with the words, “Be perfect as your Father in Heaven is perfect.” How in the world are we ever going to obey this command? The only way we could do it is through the gospel. When we receive Jesus Christ, we receive His mercy, His righteousness, and His forgiveness for all who receive Him. Are you striving and praying to show His mercy toward those around you? We receive His power in our lives to love and forgive as He forgives. But we will not know our final Christ-like perfection until we stand before the Father in His forgiveness and grace.

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PURE IN HEART

PURE IN HEART

Matthew 5:9

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”

One of my favorite spiritual songs is Change My Heart O God by Eddie Espinoza. The lyrics read,

“Change my heart oh God.

Make it ever true.

Change my heart oh God

May I be like you.”

Purity of heart goes deeper than actions. It is purity of motives, purity of desire, purity of devotion to God and His righteousness. Purity of heart is purity in the very depth of your being. Purity can mean sinlessness. There is a sense in which purity means single mindedness. It also means transparency especially before God. And the promise here fits this latter meaning well. If you are open and transparent before God, He can reveal Himself to you. Purity of heart does not mean ultimate sinlessness except in the life of Jesus. But it does mean a willingness to be honest with God about our sins.

And I think it must extend to honesty with people, not operating with hidden motives. Someone once told me about hearing someone say about a friend, “He pretends to like me, but he probably talks about my behind my back.”

The man answered him, “No, you're wrong. He (the friend they were talking about) is as pure as water.” But to be honest, it is easier to give examples of underhanded motives than pure hearts. That is until we think about Jesus. One of the best places to observe His pure motives is when He was attacked and accused by the religious leaders. His purity always showed up their false motives.

In the 21st chapter of Matthew Jesus entered the temple not long after driving out the money changers. The scribes and Pharisees challenged Him asking by what authority He did those things.

Jesus said, “I will answer you if you will answer one question. ‘The baptism of John was it from heaven or from man?’”They talk among themselves saying, 'If we say it is from Heaven,’ he will ask us why we didn't believe in John. But if we say, 'It was from Men,’ We will lose popularity because all the people held John as a prophet.” He had them by their own prejudices. This is not the only example of their duplicity. Again and again they revealed their false motives.

So in Matthew 5:20 Jesus told us,

“Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

But Jesus was saying much more about our righteousness in this verse. He was saying unless His righteousness, His purity of heart, was given to us by God, we could never in our own righteousness enter the kingdom of heaven.


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PEACEMAKERS

Matthew 5:10

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”

Has there ever been a time of greater need for peacemakers? In these days everything from politics to dietary preferences divides people. What will bring us back together?

Years ago now, I took a team to Thailand to help lead a conference for missionaries working in Northwest China. One of our responsibilities for that week was to provide programs for the children of those missionaries. All the children spoke good English, but their families came from different parts of the world. Most of them probably also spoke one of the minority languages of Xinjiang Province. It may or may not surprise you to learn that some of those missionary children reflected stress on their lives. And we had to deal with conflicts nearly every day.

One afternoon one of the boys who seemed to be in emotional high gear all the time, ran right in front of me, accidentally knocking a smaller child down, and hit another boy in the back of the head with his fist. The boy who was hit was not hurt severely, though he did put his hand on the back of his head and look around for who had smacked him.

We were in the process of taking the children into the next room for one of their twice-a-day VeggieTale treats. I caught the offender by the arm and detained him while the other workers directed the rest of the children to gather around the television set to watch the video.

“What did you do wrong?” I asked the boy.

On the verge of tears he screamed at me, “I want to go watch VeggieTales!”

“But what did you do wrong?” I asked the second time.

“But he said . . .”

I cut him off. “What did you do wrong?” He wouldn't answer. He clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. I held him as he struggled to go into the next room. We were near the open door and he could hear the introductory song of VeggieTales.

“I want to go see the movie.” He yelled again.

“You have to tell me what you did wrong.”

“But I want to go!”

“You evidently don't want to go badly enough to talk to me about what you did wrong.”

“But Joshua. . .”

I stopped him again. “I'm not talking to Joshua. I am asking you to tell me what you did wrong.”

He struggled with me for about 20 minutes before he began to calm down.

He finally admitted that he had hit the other boy in the back of the head because he was mad. He evidently didn't know he had knocked the small girl down as he charged across the room.

“What do you think you need to do about this?” I asked. He was at first willing to miss the rest of the VeggieTales video rather than apologize. But the video was still playing within earshot. We usually showed two programs in a row. His restrained tears finally began to run as he agreed to apologise to the other two children as soon as the video was over. I took him in to see the rest of the video. He scooted in among the other children seated on the floor around the TV. He was still obviously upset.

After he was settled in, the boy he was angry at touched his shoulder and motioned for him to sit by him. He scooted back to be next to the other boy who grinned at him. He didn't wait until the video was over to say he was sorry to the boy who reached out to him.

This story highlights some of the dynamics of peacemaking that Jesus gives us in Matthew 5:10.

First, peace comes from a peacemaker rather than a situation.

A peacemaker is always someone who is at peace with God. Note I did not say someone who has made peace with God. If you are at peace with God, God has made peace with you. But you must humble yourself to respond to His grace.

Those who have received God's peace have had their arrogance washed away at the cross of Jesus.

And finally, Peacemakers reach out to others as God has reached out to us.

This is not necessarily a sequence of steps. The relationship, humility, and purpose of God's peace are fundamental our relationship with God. People will see and recognize a radical difference in God's peacemakers. And God Himself will not be ashamed to identify us as His own.

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THE SHOCKING BLESSING OF PERSECUTION

Some of the most hope filled verses in the Bible are found in the Beatitudes as Jesus began his ministry with The Sermon on the Mount. These words are quite as hopeful as the most powerful promises at the end of The Revelation.

For several reasons I want to look at the Beatitudes in reverse order. When we do this we see some things very clearly about them. When you plunge into the deep water first, you get a better idea of this pool's depth. I fear that many people who say they love the Beatitudes have only dabbled their toes in the shallow end. These teachings certainly do not reflect the pleasure ethic that has saturated society in the West and to some extent the entire world. These words of Jesus come to their stinging conclusion in Matthew 5:10-12.

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

These words are not an abrupt change from the rest of the Beatitudes or of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. They represent the heart of who Jesus was, of what He did, and of what He taught. Many years ago now I served for short time in Uganda. I had a friend there whose name was Onesimus Jonah Juma. As I was returning to the United States Onesimus went to serve in a very difficult place. We exchanged letters for some time. And he shared with me in those letters some of the difficulties he faced in the name of Jesus. At the end of one of his letters he wrote, “Remember, we serve a crucified Christ.”

To some extent, I'm going to have to take what Jesus said here on faith, because I am not going to easily understand the blessedness of persecution. But there is sense in which the Holy Spirit at least gives us a glimpse, or maybe a taste, of goodness in this extreme.

The first facet of what Jesus tells us is The Possession of the Kingdom in Persecution.

This is not merely something we will enjoy when we get to heaven. Jesus says, “Theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven,” not, theirs will be the Kingdom. Even while you are being reviled, shamed, lied about, or tortured, you are proving that Jesus Christ is King! He is Lord in your life, and Lord of the universe. And there is great joy in that realization.

Next, in the midst of persecution we come to grips with the reality of God's Promises in Persecution.

Jesus tells us to rejoice because our reward will be great in Heaven. What you are paid for something makes a great difference in how you think about it. If you were employed to carry bricks at $0.50 an hour, you might be tempted to complain about the drudgery. But what if you had signed a contract to carry bricks for $1,000 a minute? We have assurance that whatever we suffer will by no means compare with the ultimate reward of faithfulness to God. The more you have to endure, the more assurance you can have of the glory that is yet to come.

Finally Jesus points out the Identity that is Affirmed in Persecution.

Jesus said this is how they treated the prophets who were before you. When you suffer for the name of Christ, you join an elite corp. You are standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Elijah on Mount Carmel. You stand with Isaiah and Jeremiah, Daniel in the Lion's Den. You are identified by God as being among those who are most faithful to Him.

This is a very crucial promise for those living in our day. In the past few centuries most Christians in the West were not severely persecuted, although there was always a price to pay. That is no longer true, if it ever was on the world scene. In many parts of the world people joyfully pay a terrible price for following Christ. In fact some misseologists have estimated that more people died for the name of Christ in the 20th century than in all 20 centuries since the cross. And few would dispute that more are paying the ultimate cost in the 21st century. And it is important for us to encourage our brothers and sisters, joining Jesus in assuring them, “Rejoice, for your reward is great in heaven.”

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BREAKING DEPRESSION'S GRIP

It is important to see hope as something that makes a difference in our daily lives. Among the things hope affects are discouragement and depression. Most of us have experienced depression from time to time. Some of my heroes dealt with personal disconsolation. Among them Charles Haddon Spurgeon, the great nineteenth century pulpiteer. On several occasions as thousands who came to hear him on a Sunday morning sang hymns and waited for him to come to the pulpit, the great preacher wouldn't appear. Finally, his deacons would go and knock on his study door. “Dr Spurgeon, you must come out. It is time for you to preach.” He would answer, “I can’t.” And the deacons would take up an offering and send him for several weeks on the French Riviera.

Depression can have a terrible hold on our lives. I am no exception to that, but it was not a major problem for most of my life. However, depression is a side effect of some of my cancer treatments. And I have had to learn to break out of the gloom. I have not always been successful, but I believe that what I have learned about this from Scripture will be helpful to many people. Psalm 42 is a great place to start. The psalm concludes with these words.

“Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation and my God.”

Many of you are familiar with a gospel song that comes from Psalm 42, Why So Downcast O My Soul, by Marty Nystrom. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vA-S_0LcRWs Listening to this music always lifts my heart. Psalm 42 calls us to put our hope in God. Let me point out some means of putting our hope in God.


1. Praise

Praise is a major theme of the Psalms from beginning to end. The Hebrew people sang these songs in wonderful worship. You may be familiar with the story from the writings of Josephus about Alexander the Great ascending the Temple Mount on his white charger prepared to destroy the city. But as he did he saw the people dressed in white ropes singing the Songs of Ascent as they worshipped and prayed for the Lord to spare their city. Josephus says Alexander got off his horse and bowed with them in worship.

Praising God will certainly be counterintuitive to you if you are suffering from depression. But that is the very first thing you need to do to break depression's hold. Another gospel song that declares this truth is Praise The Lord, made popular by The Imperials https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfTQg9whI-s . The lyrics read,

“For the chains that seem to bind you

Serve only to remind you

That they drop powerless behind you.

When you praise Him.”

Praise is an act of the will. You can praise God even when you are feeling down.


2. Remembering

Psalm 42 begins as the heart cry of someone who feels far from God. But in verse 4 the psalmist remembers glorious worship he has been part of in the past. Remembering is crucial to walking with Christ. We need to remind ourselves of what we know about God. We need to remind ourselves who God is. We need to remember what He has done for us. Remember His promises. In Psalm 42 we are called to remind ourselves of worship when we did feel like worshipping. Have you ever thought about this? When your heart is stirred as never before in worship, you are making memories that God can use to break depression when you are plagued with it?


3. Talking to Ourselves

In verse 5 of Psalm 42, as in the final verse, the psalmist talks to his own soul. “Why are you so downcast, O my soul? Put your hope in God.” The world, the flesh, and the devil will speak constantly to your heart. To counter those words you need to talk to yourself. You need to tell yourself to hope in God.


4 . Corporate Worship

Psalm 42 speaks of the joy of corporate worship. Ephesians 5:18-20 relates worshipping together to the filling of the Holy Spirit. I seldom think of the filling of the Spirit in these terms. But my idea that the filling of the Holy Spirit is something that only happens to individuals relates to a major American heresy. We think of spiritual growth, and service, and devotion as things we do alone. But we are filled with the Holy Spirit in communion with the family of God.


5. Listen to God

Listening to God is another important tool in overcoming depression. I do not mean simply remembering precious things God has told me in the past. I am also talking about actively hearing His voice in the present. I do several things to hear God’s voice. First, I listen to great preaching. I thank God for the technology that brings me teaching and preaching by great preachers like Rick Warren, N.T. Wright, Michael Ramsden, Ravi Zacharias, Tim Keller, and the list goes on.

It is also important to listen directly to God in His word. God regularly speaks to His children in Scripture. And when I memorize a verse or a passage, I store God's word in my mind for Him to speak to me again and again.


6. Meditation

I need to list meditation as a separate discipline here. When we spend time thinking about God's character, promises, directives, and assurances, He plants those things deep into our souls. In Psalm 119 David said he hid God’s word in his heart that he might not sin. God changes our character as we meditate on His truth. God will use this to transform our lives through the renewing of our minds. And breaking depression requires new thinking.


7. Rest

In our modern world we seldom think of rest as a spiritual discipline. However in Genesis 2:3 the Bible says God sanctified the Sabbath. Rest is Holy. When Elijah was discouraged and exhausted in 1 Kings 19, God gave him food, and He gave him rest.

I indicated earlier that some of my malaise has physical causes. I do not believe you have to have cancer for this to be the case. One of the physical and spiritual causes of depression is lack of sleep. I can devote time to rest. That may mean putting my cell phone out of reach, or even closing the computer, or turning off the TV at night.

Psalm 127:2 has been a favorite of mine for a long time. It says God gives his beloved sleep.

I had a chemotherapy treatment today. I often can’t sleep at all the first night after chemo. I can spend my wakeful hours in God’s word. And I can pray for my family and other prayer lists. But I also ask God to help me sleep.


8. Fellowship

Christian Fellowship is also an important tool for getting our minds off our own concerns. This can be difficult because when you are depressed you do not wish to be around people. But it is important to remember that we need one another in the family of God. Loving them and being with them is a blessing.


9. Giving

Giving will lift your spirits. In Acts 20:35 we are reminded that Jesus told us “It is more blessed to give than it is to receive. Giving someone else a gift brings more joy than receiving. This is especially true when your giving is being stretched by needs that God shows you. I am aware many of us no longer believe this. You have to put it into practice to realize how great this blessing is.


10. Praying for Others

Praying for other people is an important discipline for our spiritual lives. And it is an important means of getting our eyes off our own feelings. Several days ago I was feeling particularly down. I had gone with my wife to a large grocery store with a coffee shop. While she shopped I set outside the coffee bar and tried to pray, not only for the people sitting at other tables, but for people entering and leaving the store. I cannot think of anything I've done in a long time that made me feel better.


11. Obey

Obedience is a crucial means of lifting our spirits. In Luke 16 Jesus told a parable about being faithful in small things. When you are down it is good to look for some small thing you can do to obey God. When we stand before God, we will will hear Him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” But we can already hear Him whispering those words into our hearts as we obey even small things He has told us to do.


12. Giving Thanks

Finally, I believe the most powerful tool for breaking depression may be saying, “Thank you.” Thanking God is at the heart of this. I occasionally try to devote and entire day to giving thanks that God is working in the lives of people I meet, that he is present in my life, that he is worthy of my praise.

It is also good to formally thank other people for things they have done for us. It is worth sending someone a card or going to the trouble of writing a letter to say “Thank you,” to someone who has blessed you.

I know I have given you a long list. But small measures are seldom enough to break the hold of moods. I recommend that you print out this list, and try to do most, if not all of these things. I do not want you to feel guilty because this is too much. But I do encourage you to work hard to break the hold of depression. Depression protects itself by keeping you from wanting to be freed from it. Your depression itself will fight anything you do to break it. Pray that God will change your desires and behavior as you ask Him to deliver you from depression.


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LIFE AFTER HEAVEN

Our Lives in this world are all temporary. In 2 Corinthians 5 Paul pictures our bodies as tents. This is a great picture from Paul the tentmaker. He may have had bedouins in mind, moving every day with the sparse grass across the desert. He may have been thinking of sojourners traveling to a new city. What comes to my mind is a camping trip. A tent is not permanent. Look with me at these first five verses of 2 Corinthians 5.
“For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.”
Even though our bodies are temporary, the Holy Spirit dwelling in us guarantees something far better that is yet to come.

We look forward to A Resurrected Body.
If you have it in your mind that heaven will be a bodiless, timeless, ethereal existence where you sit on a cloud and strum a medieval harp, you are missing the promises of the Bible. We don't long to be naked spirits. Our longing is to be bodies that are raised again like Jesus. In Luke 24:39 Jesus invited His disciples to touch His resurrected body, saying “Does a ghost have flesh and Bones?” In verse 41 He asks His disciples if they have anything to eat. They give Him some fish, and He eats it in front of them. I don't know about you, but I am convinced the Marriage Feast of the Lamb will be a wonderful meal.
Actually, the hope of Christianity goes beyond heaven. Our hope is the resurrection of our bodies. And even before that takes place, This promise brings us to the renewal of our minds. Paul begins this passage with the words, “We know.” Do you know?

We look forward to A Resurrected World.
Revelation 20 promises us a completely restored Earth where we will reign for a thousand years. But Revelation 21 goes beyond that. God will make a new Heaven and a new Earth where no unrighteousness can dwell.

We look forward to A Resurrected Life.
We look forward to a new Earth and a new universe where we will have new lives. This will be a life of joy. God will have wiped away every tear. This will be a life of purpose. We don't know a great deal about what our lives will be like in the new Heaven and Earth. But we know we will live in the purpose of God. This will be a life of eternal meaning and fulfillment.

“Even so, come, Lord Jesus!”


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OUR HOPE IS IN HEAVEN

Recently my oncologist ask if I would add my experience to the ‘Patient Stories” on his website. I agreed, and began by looking at the stories already included there. I was amazed that out of 27 accounts only one had any mention of prayer or God or anything beyond this life. In 1 Corinthians 15:19 Paul tells believers that if our hope is only in this life we are of all people most miserable. This truth can be applied to cancer patients whether they are Christians or not. It is hard to be positive when you no you may very well lose everything you hope for. This of course is true for everyone, whether you have cancer or not. In Colossians 4:5 Paul speaks of the hope stored up for us beyond this life. Look with me at the context of this verse in Colossians 1:3-6

“We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God.

Our hope is stored in heaven for us. Our great treasure, our ultimate rewards are waiting for us in heaven. It is there that we will enjoy the embrace of our Lord, and hear him say, “Well done.”

The gospel gives our lives purpose, meaning, and hope beyond this life. and it will bear fruit in our lives and in the lives of others to the last breath that we take. If this is true, we do not need to escape our trials. God will give them meaning to the last moment we live on this earth.

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FACING DEATH IN HOPE

The 4th chapter of 2 Timothy is Paul's final declaration of faith before he was executed by Nero. When he pinned these words he was in prison and fairly certain of his imminent death.

I suppose that my situation is somewhat similar to Paul's, although Paul's physical condition was much more severe than mine. But my doctors tell me I am going to die before too long.

I have communicated with several people in the last few months that had a much different perspective on life and death than I. One was a man in his 80s who was actually in amazing health for his age. I told him I was reacting against people saying if they were in critical condition they didn't want “extreme measures” to keep them alive. I said extreme measures were what I wanted. He spoke to me as if he had much more wisdom than I. “Well, when you can no longer have quality of life you would rather not linger.” But what he called quality of life was comfort and diversion. He jokingly said, “If I couldn't play golf.” Those are not my purpose in life.

In 2 Timothy 4 Paul gives us a marvelous example of integral hope in his life. Paul's life even at that difficult end was still buoyed by a higher purpose. 2 Timothy 4:1,2 reads,

“I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.”

Paul challenges Timothy, and us, to preach the word. And faithful endurance of his painful situation was crucial to that encouragement. He saw his approaching death as part of his challenge and a crucial part of his worship. He encourages us in versus 6-8 by comparing his life to a drink offering.

“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.”

A drink offering was a powerful expression of devotion in the desert middle east where water was life. The first drink offering mentioned in Scripture was made by Jacob as he met God at Bethel in Genesis 35. As he emptied his canteen onto the ground, he was trusting his life to the Lord who had appeared to him. Later when drink offerings were included in worship in the Tabernacle the vessels for it were to be of gold, befitting costly devotion.

Paul sees his final circumstance as the ultimate worship and witness for God. And he could endure it however long it wood last for two reasons. First, as he wrote earlier to the Philippian Church,(Philippians 1:22-24) God might allow him to continue his purpose on this Earth. Also, he knew the reward waiting for him in the presence of God was worth whatever he had to endure.

Relationships were also crucial to the hope Paul clung to. The English Standard Version of the New Testament labels the final two-thirds of this chapter as, Personal Instructions. Verses 9-13 capture this.

“Do your best to come to me soon. For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. Luke alone is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry. Tychicus I have sent to Ephesus. When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, also the books, and above all the parchments.”

I do not believe Paul saw his purpose or even his worship as separate from the lives of other people. He was investing himself in them.

God has allowed me to live some years longer than the doctors thought I would. But I still have the cancer that they believe will take my life. Shortly after they began telling me my condition was terminal, I wrote an article for Mature Living Magazine entitled Filling The Unforgiving Minute. You can see that article on my website listed below. Of course I took my title from Rudyard Kipling's poem If. “If you can fill the unforgiving minute with sixty seconds worth of distance run.” In the article I said I wanted to devote the remaining days of my life to writing, prayer, and relationships. In these days I see writing is my purpose and calling from God. It is an extension of my original calling to preach. And of course prayer is essential to that. I pray for God to do what only he can do in the lives of people through my writing. Prayer is also crucial to relationships. I pray for those I love and for others i meet. And relationships are in the purpose of God. Even after my condition deteriorates so that I can no longer write, I hope to be loving and pray for people around me.




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THE PERSPECTIVE OF HOPE

After the cross, and especially the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the lives of the disciples were radically changed. One aspect of the change the Holy Spirit of God brought in their lives was the perspective of Hope. Who could have walked away from the crucifixion of Jesus without shaking their heads and asking, “What possible good could come of this?” But after Jesus rose again they saw their lives and in fact all of history from a different point of view. They rejoiced in the most dire circumstances, because they had seen the resurrection.

The Perspective of History
Their perspective was radically changed because of how they saw all of history. In the short time before He was to be stoned to death Stephen, the first martyr to the faith, certainly with some inkling about what he was stepping into, reminded the people of what God had done down through the ages with the Children of Israel. He was able to see and show them all these things clearly because now he saw Jesus standing above all history and eternity.

The Perspective of Jesus
When we see Jesus clearly we come to a great assurance of hope. He did not simply conquer the world in spite of the evil around Him. He conquered through evil itself. James Stewart the powerful Scottish writer and preacher of the 20th century wrote these words.
“They nailed Him to a tree, not knowing that by that very act they were bringing the world to His feet. They gave Him a cross, not guessing that He would make it a throne.
They flung Him outside the city gates to die, not knowing that in that very moment they were lifting up the gates of the universe, to let the King come in. They thought to root out His doctrines, not understanding that they were implanting imperishably in the hearts of men the very name they intended to destroy.
They thought they had God with His back to the wall, pinned helpless and defeated: they did not know that it was God Himself who had tracked them down. He did not conquer in spite of the dark mystery of evil. He conquered through it."

The Perspective of Eternity
Understanding that Jesus really rose from the dead has transformed the lives of people who followed Him all through the ages. They could minister in the midst of plagues at the risk of their lives. They gladly died to help their neighbors, and loved ones, and people that didn't even know. They were willing to stand for the Bible and the truth of the gospel even in the face of martyrdom.
We see this the death of Stephen. He could even pray for the men stoning him, “Don't hold this sin against them.” And he could pray, “Lord Jesus receive my spirit,” because he knew the Lord was there to receive him. And in fact itas not a unique testimony as he was dying, “Look, I see the throne in heaven and the son of man standing at the right hand of God.” I cannot help but wonder what they might have seen if they had looked. Stephen was certainly convinced they would see Jesus as he saw Him.

The Perspective of Prayer
My heart throbs at the simple prayer of Stephen, and so many others who have died from whatever cause, with prayer in their hearts and on their lips. When you come to know a risen Savior it radically changes the way you pray. And such prayer gives you hope in the face of life or death.

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BRIGHT SPARKS OF HOPE

When our daughter was barely a teenager she came down with a rare life-threatening disease. That was a terrible time for us. We spent many months in and out of Children's Hospital in Seattle. We longed for a word from God that her life would be spared. But God was silent. That is not quite true. That was a very hot time of God speaking to us, showing us things in Scripture, and ministering to our lives. But we were desperate for a word of assurance about our daughter's condition. And about that, God seemed to be silent.

We were a full year into the ordeal when God gave us Scripture to cling to. My wife came home one night from a teachers’ meeting at church saying, “I have a word from God!”

The lady leading the meeting had shared Romans 12:12 with her. She opened her Bible and read it to me.

"Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”

We both agreed that God was speaking to us, but we were not exactly sure how it applied. We had no questions about being faithful in prayer. Even when we were discouraged we prayed. And we had many friends and family members praying with us. People we didn't even know were praying for us and for our daughter.

And we knew to be patient in the affliction. But we welcomed this reminder. It would have been much easier for us to endure our own suffering than it was for us to deal with our daughter's.

But what did it mean to be joyful in hope? Our hopes always seemed to be mixed. We would have good news one day that would be crushed the next. But we began hunting for hope. And we were committed to rejoice right away.

One of our daughter's symptoms was huge ugly ulcers on her knees and elbows. Even the doctors winced when they examined them. My wife had to dress them every day. One day a dermatologist came by her hospital room and my wife said, “I think that ulcer on her right elbow might have been a little smaller today. The doctor talked with us for a few minutes and then drew a small ruler from her pocket. Giving it to my wife she said, “Why don't you start measuring it when you replace the tegaderm?”

My wife began measuring the the ulcer every morning as she redressed the ulcers. Several days later she measured and found the diameter of the ulcer had reduced by a milometer. We celebrated! And we rejoiced one millimeter at a time until her ulcers had healed completely.

Now there is an important facet of Hope that I need to point out here. We sometimes see our hope in tiny sparks in the midst of the darkness. We could not have rejoiced in tiny hope if we did not, somewhere in the back of our minds, have a greater and deeper hope. But rejoicing in those tiny sparks sustained us, and kept our eyes on God and the ultimate hope promised to us.

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