Transcendent Praise

Matthew 23:37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.

This was Jesus’ heart cry to his beloved city, Jerusalem. May it not be his heart cry to you this morning? Will you be a chick just this once? We live in a noisy, hurried and sometimes brutal world. Personal storms and challenges can leave us feeling bruised or battered. Enters the Savior who says: Come, get under my wings, let me cover you until this storm passes. Will you yield, just this once. Don’t try to figure anything out, just surrender to his embrace. God will sort things out for you.

I am a country girl, so I understand fully the picture that Jesus paints here of the hen and her chicks. My mother warned us as children not to approach the hen once she had settled down and spread her wings over her chicks, that is, if you valued your eyesight. She will literally fly into your face in a flash. I used to stand and watch the mother hens. It did not matter how many chicks they had, they would keep spreading the wings and draw the last chick in until not a bit of one of them was visible. Totally protected! God is good like that! There are times when you need that kind of covering.

The Psalmist David used another symbol from nature – the rock. “Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge. Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.” (Psalm 62:5-8).  He is your hiding place.

Revelation 2:10-11 Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death.

The above text is from the letter to the church in Smyrna, one of the seven churches to receive such letters. Each letter is tailored to the circumstances peculiar to that church at the time. Smyrna was experiencing virulent persecution and this letter was sent to them to encourage and promise them that even if they die, no hurt would come to them by the second death. “What?” you ask. The second death speaks of eternal separation from God. (Read Revelation 20: 1-6). Each letter to the churches pointed out their individual strengths as well as their errors or weaknesses and the need for change. To the extent that there was repentance and a new commitment to be faithful, a specific reward was promised. It is noteworthy however that for each of them the expectation was the same – that they should be over-comers.

The concept of benefits and rewards is evidenced throughout the Scriptures. God is a loving caring Father and takes pleasure in rewarding his children both in the natural and spiritual realms. We should dive into the Word to ferret out his promises and allow them to enrich our lives and fuel our faith for whatever circumstances may emerge so that we too can be over-comers.

Acts 23:1 Paul looked straight at the Sanhedrin and said, “I have fulfilled my duty to God in all good conscience to this day.”

Americans celebrate Memorial Day on the last Monday of May each year to honor those who died while serving in the armed forces. As the day approached in 2017, there was a news report about a 23 year-old Jamaican-born immigrant paratrooper who died in Iraq. America was his adopted home and it was his second tour of duty as he had prior service in Afghanistan. That is a lot for such a young man I thought. As his photograph was projected on the television screen I thought how smart and perfectly groomed he looked in his uniform. Neighbors said he was a very nice, calm, and “cool” young man who often spoke of his pride in serving his country. When I looked at his eyes however they seemed sad and vacant and I wondered at what point in his career that picture had been taken.

My next thought was about his family. How sharp the pangs of pain must be. He was so young and full of promise. And then I wondered about the men and women who volunteer to go into the armed services knowing full well that they may not survive. It is certainly not for the money and though they may have some romantic notions of glory, I’m sure they know it is a rough ride to the top, if they make it at all. So it comes back to the basic love of country and a sense of duty.

“Duty” is such a small word but when duty is executed with enthusiasm and commitment, it is a refiner of the soul. When I think of people in the armed services, I think of Samson whose purpose was determined by God before he was even born. The angel of the Lord told his mother, “You are sterile and childless, but you are going to conceive and give birth to a son.” In defining his purpose the angel said, “No razor may be used on his head, because the boy is to be a Nazirite, set apart to God from birth, and he will begin the deliverance of Israel from the hands of the Philistines.” (See Judges 13:1-5).

Wars have always been fought and they will continue to be fought. To the families who lose husbands, wives, fathers, mothers, sons and daughters in the process, please know that heaven takes note of your loss. They chose to do their duty and demonstrated the kind of love Jesus was describing when he said: “Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13- KJV). We are truly grateful.

1 Kings 19:7-8 The angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.” So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God.

Child of God are you weary and discouraged? The above passage is an excerpt from the life of Elijah, the man of God. He is completely worn out and in a meltdown. He is on the run for his life from King Ahab’s wife Jezebel who had sworn to have his head for having killed off 450 prophets of Baal. Looking at his plight I find myself wondering how he of all people could be facing such an ordeal. Elijah was a man who had great anointing from God. He had just come down from Mount Carmel where the Lord had demonstrated his presence and power by sending fire down from heaven to consume the sacrifice which he had prepared in God’s name. It had all been to God’s glory as the people of Israel fell prostrate and cried out: “The Lord – he is God! The Lord – he is God” (See 1 Kings 18:39). In contrast King Ahab and the false prophets who worshiped the god Baal had been unable to get any answer to their prayers.

In Elijah’s despondency he asked God to take his life. He just could not find the energy or inspiration to go on, so while on the run he laid down and fell asleep. Physical exhaustion will get you every time! The body needs rest, period. No one can get so holy to the point of ignoring this basic need – God planned it that way. Lack of rest distorts your perspective on life. The beauty here is that even in your sleep or state of helplessness, God can and does minister to you. The Lord sent an angel to wake up Elijah and feed him, twice. Another physical need – Eat and drink what is good for you. God can do little with you if you are malnourished because hunger and poor health become a distraction.

Having taken care of the physical, you will then be able to comprehend that God is not finished with you. Your assignment is not over. The Lord will show you the way forward – your Mount Horeb is still ahead.

Hebrews 12:1-3 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

The above exhortation follows what we could call the listing of the members of the Hall of Faith in chapter 11 of Hebrews. Abraham (new name) is the most prominent of these and the simple summarized basis for his distinction was “Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness”. (Genesis 15:6). In other words, whatever the Lord promised or revealed to Abraham, he took it as truth even though the thing promised was not yet evident in his prevailing circumstances.

Abraham chose to make an investment in God’s character. That is faith! Many since Abraham have done so. I think of men and women who have gone out to the mission field – some to extremely dangerous places – knowing full well they will not have the conveniences to which they had become accustomed. Some even take their young children, thereby abandoning any hope of offering them the privileged lifestyles to which they were born. Those people are called, just like Abraham was, and like the others listed in Chapter 11 they have moved on to a life of faith.

I am sure you could nominate to the Hall of Faith people you have known. Some you might consider to have “traveled light” or who lived very simple lives but left no doubt about their relationship with God. They may even have endured hardships we cannot even contemplate. They understood something we are still learning.  Like Abraham, they were looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. (See Hebrews 11:10). They were just passing through the earth, so they had their eyes fixed on Jesus, the author and perfecter of their faith. We are not all called to live identically radical lives, but every believer is called to live as a “nominee” to the Hall of Faith – taking God at his word.

Isaiah 46:9-10 Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God and there is no other; I am God and there is none like me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.

When I read the Book of Isaiah I hear the prophet relentlessly declaring who God is: The Lord, the Lord of Hosts, God – the only God, the One who knows the end from the beginning (the Alpha and Omega). Set against this reality he proceeds to warn the people about their wickedness and in particular their worship of idols. Idol gods of wood, silver and gold – things they fashioned with their own hands and intellect and then bowed down to them.

Growing up, the worship of objects made by man’s hands was not part of my culture. Then I came to New York and, depending on where you live or travel about daily, it is possible to see images of various ‘gods’ from different cultures in shop windows. So you can walk in, buy a ‘god’ take it home and build a shrine and then bow down to it. Wow! Friend, if this is part of your background, I do not condemn you for it but I urge you to search the Bible and see what the Lord God thinks about this practice. In Isaiah 46, God is asking his chosen people Israel to see the comparison between him and the other gods they were choosing to worship. The conclusion – God has no equal or rival!

When I consider the wider American society however, I often wonder whether instead of gods that can be bought in a store if there are not many others such as the endless pursuit of riches, sports, television and pleasures. All these are intertwined in some way. Worship is what takes priority most often when you decide what to do with your “discretionary time”. Identify that activity and you will know what your god is. Then there is this thing called “work” which has turned many of us into either slaves or prisoners. With the advent of the internet, social media and cellphones, “work” has now invaded family life and even bedrooms. May God help us to consciously smash these idols to pieces or relegate them to a place in our lives where they do not compete with or steal the worship due to the Lord God!

Psalm 43: 5 Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.

The first line of the song “How long, Lord Jesus, how long” came to me one morning as I listened to the news broadcast on the death of most of the passengers on a bus in Egypt who were gunned down because they refused to renounce their Christian faith.

This kind of news is so disturbing and the frequency with which innocent lives are being taken nowadays can certainly lead to a feeling of helplessness and hopelessness. What can a person do, and believers in particular? Firstly, do something practical. If you are in a position to help when things go wrong, do so. Can you provide shelter, clothing, food, money, anything? Perhaps you can show up to bring comfort.

Secondly, pray. Pray without ceasing, bear these situations up to God in prayer. When the Chibok girls were taken some years ago, prayers were going up continually for them. Although some still remain captive, many have since been released. Thank God. I will continue to pray for those who are still captive because I know God has greater purpose for their individual lives.

How do you personally quiet your own soul in the face of all the tragedy, wickedness and the sadness that threaten to overwhelm you in these times? Firstly, remind yourself that the Scriptures sounded the alarm long ago: “But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days.” (2 Timothy 3:1). The King James Version uses the phrase “perilous times”. This chapter in Timothy then continues to detail all the attitudes and actions which will prevail. So, secondly we are exhorted in verse 12 to be aware that: “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”  Thirdly, remember to hope only in God, knowing that whether we live or die we belong to him. Make no room for despondency. Encourage yourself as David did in Psalm 43. Continually offer up a sacrifice of praise from deep within you. Finally remind yourself that Jesus took the time to prepare his disciples for the troubles they would face in their day, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

Genesis 32:30 So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.”

It is astounding to me that God meets with mere men. How do I mean? God has revealed his nature through the prophets, angels and to individuals in times past and in these last days has revealed himself to mankind in the person of Jesus Christ his Son, first as a baby then as Savior of the world. (See Hebrews 1:1 and John 1:14).

The believer first encounters God when God draws him by his Spirit and brings him face to face with Christ on the cross and unveils the individual as a total bankrupt in the presence of love so overwhelming that the sinner can only say “yes Lord, forgive me and wash me clean”. After that the individual begins a new journey with God.

Jacob first encountered God after he had deceived his father Isaac and stolen the blessing which, in the natural, belonged to his elder brother Esau. And that was not his first offence against his brother either because years before that he had swindled his brother out of his birthright. Jacob was on the run for his life when God broke in upon him in a dream at Bethel. What is interesting to me is that God did not appear to him to bring judgment at that time for the wrong he had done. Instead God said: “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac” and pronounces one blessing after another over his life. God looked passed Jacob’s folly to implement his sovereign agenda and fulfill the covenant he had made to Abraham and Isaac.

In Chapter 31 of Genesis, God breaks in upon Jacob again and said: Go back to the land of your fathers and to your relatives and I will be with you.” Twenty years had passed and you could say Jacob got his pay-back in the natural from his father-in-law Laban who in turn deceived and manipulated him. Before Jacob meets up with his brother Esau again, God brings Jacob to a place of surrender. Jacob wrestled with God and learned for himself that God is sovereign over his very life. (See Genesis 32:24–32). That’s personal! Expect your own encounters with God in your day to day life. After all He is the one to whom we all must give account.

Job 29:1-6 Job continued his discourse. “How I long for the months gone by, for the days when God watched over me, when his lamp shone upon my head and by his light I walked through darkness! Oh, for the days when I was in my prime, when God’s intimate friendship blessed my house, when the Almighty was still with me, and my children were around me, when my path was drenched with cream, and the rock poured out for me streams of olive oil.”

If you know anything about the Book of Job, you know it is about a man who went through a long and fiery trial during which he lost everything, including his health. To my mind, it is one thing to lose everything if you did not have very much to start with. I say this not to diminish the pain of your loss but with the idea that your recovery might not take very long. On the other hand if you go from great riches to rags, I imagine the pain is greater still. This is the circumstance that Job is lamenting – he had great riches and with it a large and wonderful family, position and influence. If you read through to chapter 30 you will even come away with the impression that the loss of position and influence seems to impact him even more than the loss of his wealth.

Have you experienced calamity in any area of life: divorce, loss of the high flying job that made you the envy of your peers, loss of the athletic prowess that brought you praise, or do you remember fondly when you had money to burn and share with  more friends than you could count? Yes? All is not lost, so long as you are still alive and, I assure you, God is still on his throne.

The interesting thing about Job’s situation is that God considered Job as his servant who was “blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil”. (Job 1:8). Nevertheless God had allowed this trial by fire. The elements of the trial were engineered by the devil, but God drew a line in the sand that he could not cross – Job’s life was off limits – Hallelujah!  Job was mistaken that God was no longer watching over him. What about you? All that God wants is to give you a new vision of Himself without the filter of life’s trappings. Then he can pull you up again and your perspective will be forever changed. The Holy Spirit gave me this assurance:

“I am a faithful God. I do not destroy my children’s lives for the fun of it. My purpose is preeminent. My love compels me to restore the penitent child. That is the nature of my love.”

Romans 5:7 – 8 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Terrorist attacks have become common place in our day. When I first drafted this blog one had just taken place in Manchester, England at the end of an Arianna Grande concert. Much of the audience was young girls and their parents. By the next morning 22 were confirmed dead and 59 injured. The media confirmed that a suicide bomber was responsible.

These events, now sadly familiar, put the mind in a tailspin. How does one process this seemingly relentless carnage of innocent lives around the globe, whether in this manner or in endless wars? Each party justifies its actions in one way or another. But how can it be right to attack the innocent. The first victim of this latest attack was identified as an 8 year-old girl. Who did she offend? I have to conclude that she and all others are victims of hate, pure and simple.

I do not believe it is God’s will that our lives on the earth should be miserable. To the extent that we are, it is the result of our choices, beginning with Adam. His disobedience and ours keeps us mired in hate, pride, anger and divisiveness. We yield to the manipulations of the evil one: “… your enemy the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. (1 Peter 5:8). In contrast, God is ever reaching out in love to us and has made the supreme sacrifice of his Son Jesus to bring us back into fellowship with himself. “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. (1 Corinthians 13:4-7).