Category Archives: Righteousness

Super Powers

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If you need to lift up a car, sometimes adrenalin is enough.  But every now and again it would be nice to be Superman.  Admit it.  Who doesn’t, when stuck in a  traffic jam, want to don the cape and go sort it out, tossing vehicles into the ditch to get things moving.  Who doesn’t wish they could destroy ISIS or maybe even the IRS?  Be nice to have super powers, wouldn’t it?

Followers of Jesus are supposed to have super power but God’s power, not Superman’s power  And that’s better.  God’s power might not sell comics, but it is mighty. 

Paul prays his friends, as a result of being filled with the Spirit of God, would be:

“…growing in the knowledge of God,  being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience,
  –  (Colossians 1:10b-11)

God’s power doesn’t come with a cape.  But notice how it comes to us, how much power it is and what it is for. 

God’s power comes as we grow in the knowledge of God. Knowledge, in this sense, conveys the idea of intimate relationship.  It’s not book learning, it’s the way a kid learns more about his dad by going fishing with him.  The better our relationship with God, the more we can expect  His power in our lives.

How much power?  God’s power is “according to His glorious might.”  God’s glorious might was displayed when He spoke galaxies into existence.  But don’t expect to do any celestial remodeling.  “According to” means power given by God, sufficient for His purpose. God’s power, at its Source is unlimited.  As it is given to us, it is sufficient.  When you charge your phone, you plug it into the electrical grid, which crackles and pops with millions of watts of power.  But you only receive the tiny trickle of that immense power sufficient to charge your phone. Any more, and it would destroy your phone, maybe burn down your house. God’s unlimited power, available to followers of Jesus, is given in sufficient measure to achieve His purposes.

And what is His purpose? What is God’s power for, as described in this prayer?  As we grow in our relationship with Him, God’s amazing power is given to us “so that you may have great endurance and patience…”  While Superman’s power clobbers bad guys, God’s power enables endurance and patience. 

It that sounds disappointing, and you would rather clobber than endure, consider which act of power has been has actually made things better in the long haul: the nuclear blast over Hiroshima or the endurance of Jesus on the Cross?

Red Pencil

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As it came time to bury Ann Maree’s ashes, I began looking through her Bible, to see what passages and verses meant the most to her.  Easy enough to tell; she had a red pencil and carefully underlined her favorites.  Your eye was automatically drawn to the places her heart hung out.  Especially The Psalms; some of those wound up looking like a grammar school theme after Mrs. Owens was done with it.

I was also taken by the lines she did not highlight, contrasting them to those she did.  For example, consider some lines from Psalm 31.  As Stage 4 bladder cancer continued its inexorable siege, you might think she would have underlined this:

“Turn your ear to me,
come quickly to my rescue;
be my rock of refuge,
a strong fortress to save me.” – (Psalm 31:2)

But she did not.  No frantic plea for healing.  No desperation.  Instead, she settled herself with this:

“Since you are my rock and my fortress,
for the sake of your name lead and guide me.”  –  (Psalm 31:3) 

Through her red pencil, she said, “I know I can trust you, even in the midst of this final struggle, so please, God, show me what I should do.” 

I was gripped with awe.  Ann Maree never made a big public deal about how much she trusted God, but in her quietness and peace, the straps of her faith were cinched tight.

You can see it for yourself, in the rest of what she emphasized with that red pencil:

“But I trust in you, LORD;
I say, “You are my God.”
My times are in your hands…” –  (Psalm 31:14-15a)

“How great is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you.”  –  (Psalm 31:19a)

“Praise be to the Lord, for He showed His wonderful love to me…”  –  (Psalm 31:21a)

“Into your hands I commit my spirit; redeem me, O LORD, the God of truth.” –  (Psalm 31:5)

Watch Out for the Lyrics

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In the gathering dusk, the harmonies settled in, comfortable, tight and mysterious.  The guitar was soft, rich and deep, a confident, rock-steady downbeat.  A few hands clapped in light, syncopated rhythm. They sang:

“Keep your lantern trimmed and burning, 
Keep your lantern trimmed and burning”…

Moments like that are rare and precious, they sweep you up and pull you in. Maybe you love singing that old Gospel song and have memories like that. 

But watch out for what it says!  It’s a dangerous message.  There is no way a oil lamp or kerosene lantern can keep itself burning.  It must be cleaned and adjusted.  Most importantly, it must be filled.  The song tells “you” to keep yourself trimmed and burning.  It implies you can do it if you will just try hard enough and persevere.  Nothing could be further from the truth.

Jesus said, “You are the light of the world,” going on to illustrate His imagery with an oil lamp.  But He also said, 

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. –  (John 15:5)

We who follow Him are but branches through which His life grows, lanterns through which the oil of His Spirit is transformed into light.  Only by His power, life and light, are we able to keep burning.

Somehow, David understood that Who keeps the light lit.  3000 years ago, he wrote:

“You, LORD, keep my lamp burning;
my God turns my darkness into light.” –  (Psalm 18:28)

Golden Delicious

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Apple trees don’t struggle to figure out who they are and what they should do.  Perhaps you shouldn’t, either.  Apple trees produce apples; they bear fruit.  Apples emerge because the sap of life flows through the tree.  I don’t know how it happens, simply that it does.

We do well to remember that when we deal with Bible passages about bearing fruit, such as this one: (We’ve lingered over this part of Colossians (see last few posts) in which Paul prays for God to fill his friends with spiritual wisdom…)

“… so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work…” –  (Colossians 1:10a)

If you’re not careful, a passage like that can fill you with insecurity:  “Am I doing enough?  Am I pleasing God?  Am I doing good work?  Am I worthy?”  Knock it off!  The new life of Christ does not shake a bony, accusing finger in our faces!  Remember the apple trees. 

Jesus gives us new life, the life of His Spirit, to live in us as we live in Him.  In that state, He says, we will bear much fruit. 

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”  –  (John 15:5)

What’s that fruit going to look like?  What sort of “every good work” am I meant to do?  You will see.  Your fruit might look like apples.  Mine might taste like grapes.  But don’t worry: once we put our faith fully in Jesus, God fills us with His Spirit, His life in us produces fruit, and He is pleased.

“…for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.” – (Philippians 2:13)

What It’s For…

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A catalog of toys for the very wealthy features a hammer, so well made and balanced, it costs nearly $200.  It comes with it’s own display box. You can set it on the desk in your office, smugly showing your clients and colleagues that you own a better hammer.  Big deal!  That’s not what hammers are for.

In the previous post, I explained how you can have spiritual wisdom and understanding that surpasses that of a mountaintop guru. (See: Without Boots or Beard)  But so what?  What on earth would you do with such wisdom and understanding?  What’s it for?  It’s not just for putting on display, not even on  some Tibetan peak.

Paul prayed his friends might attain spiritual wisdom…

“…so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God…”  –  (Colossians 1:10)

Spiritual wisdom is for using,  for living.  You’ve heard the old saying, “He’s so spiritual he’s no earthly good.”  Rubbish.  If you have spiritual wisdom and understanding, you live better, more fully.  Peyton Manning excels at football because he has studied the game.  He plays with wisdom.  People who have wisdom, from God’s Spirit, understand this gift is meant for living, really living.  Jesus didn’t sit around humming and pondering his belly button.  He lived a robust, energetic life, filled with purpose.

But what does “worthy of the Lord” mean?  It almost sounds as though Paul wants them to measure up so God won’t be mad.  That’s not it.  It means to live in such a way that the advantages of spiritual insight are fully brought to bear in everything you do.  If you own a Ferrari and only drive it down to the corner store for milk, you’re not using it in a manner worthy of the power under the hood.  If you have wisdom and understanding from God and don’t do anything but sit around singing hymns, you’ve wasted His power. 

Spiritual wisdom is for “bearing fruit in every good work.”. That may be as simple as giving a cup of water to someone who is thirsty.  Or, it could look like the good work of a guy I know who goes around the country, helping people clean up after a tornado or a flood. 

By the way, I’ve seen that guy’s hammer.  He doesn’t keep it in a display box…

Deep Yearning

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Need something to smile about?  Check this out:

The reason that makes us smile from deep inside is because we have a knowledge, deep inside, that there is a deep rightness to this kind of peace.  The Bible word for rightness is righteousness.  I take the “eous” out of that word and it feels more natural: rightness.   Yes indeedy, the way things ought to be!

Deep inside each of us there is a place where we yearn for rightness.  We yearn for that kind of peace to be spread out across the world.  That thirst is there because God put it there.  He put it there and He will eventually satisfy it.  Here are some excerpts of what He foretold through the Old Testament prophet, Isaiah, about the coming Kingdom of Jesus:

“Righteousness [rightness] will be his [The Messiah, Jesus] belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist. The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox.” (Isaiah 11:5-7 with my explanations in brackets)

More remarkable than vegetarian lions and bears, people from all nations, even Israel’s former arch enemies, will come to her Messiah and unite with her in true peace!

Imagine,

“In that day the Root of Jesse [The Messiah, Jesus] will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations [other nations, not just Israel] will rally to him, and his place of rest will be glorious. In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the remnant that is left of his people from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt, from Cush, from Elam, from Babylonia, from Hamath and from the islands of the sea.” (Isaiah 11:10-11)

That might sound like “pie in the sky, by and by” except that Isaiah nailed his prophecies over the several hundred year period before Christ, and those about Jesus, His purpose in coming, His death and resurrection.  Isaiah is batting 1000.  When he looks into the future, to envision the Kingdom of Jesus, pay attention.  Especially as he tells of that deep knowledge, that deep yearning being fulfilled.

“They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.” (Isaiah 11:9)

The folks will not simply be peaceful, but thankful, too:

” In that day you will say: “I will praise you, O Lord. Although you were angry with me, your anger has turned away and you have comforted me. Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord, is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation.”” (Isaiah 12:1-2)

Oh, and by the way…   If you look up the word Isaiah used for “salvation” in Hebrew you will discover it is “Yeshua,” the Name of Jesus…

Quotes: The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

 

For Best Results…

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Rescue TragedyThey didn’t need to die.  If those refugees in the dinghy had only listened to their rescuers it could have turned out differently.  But, instead, they decided for themselves what to do.  Panic ensued.  People were trampled and drowned.  Heartbreaking, because no one needed to die.  If only they had listened…  (More about this below).

This world is a dinghy.  God has launched a  rescue.  We would do well to listen to His instructions.  When, instead, we make our own rules, when we decide for ourselves what works best, what’s right or wrong, eventually things go badly.  Because we don’t have the knowledge or wisdom of our “Rescuer.”  Too late, what seems good to us proves unsustainable.  What we planned as a party deteriorates into panic.  We mean well, but people die.

What causes fighting, rioting, terrorism and war?  How about starvation and disease?  Why have so many lost hope?  It’s not that God hasn’t told us how to live.  He has given us standards of righteousness and justice, love, compassion and humility.  But we know better.  By our own ideas, we chase after life and find death, both physical and spiritual.

Here’s a word for us all, for Supreme Court Justices and grocery store baggers.  For kings and cab drivers alike, For world leaders and local waiters.  Listen!  God warned us, saying:

“…They have chosen their own ways, and their souls delight in their abominations; so I also will choose harsh treatment for them and will bring upon them what they dread. For when I called, no one answered, when I spoke, no one listened. They did evil in my sight and chose what displeases me.” (Isaiah 66:3b-4)

When troubles come, frequently people bemoan the loss of the standards of humanity.  But that’s not it; it’s a loss of godliness.  We do better when we listen to the Manufacturer’s instructions.

Quotes: The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
For more about the refugee tragedy, click HERE

Oh Shoot

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If Iran gets a nuke, would God stand by and let them wipe Israel off the map?  He let it happen before, about 2700 years ago. God had planned to use Israel to bless other nations as a living demonstration of how much better life works when you pay attention to the real God,  But, when they turned away and began to follow the gods and customs of their neighbors (now called Iran, Iraq and Syria), He allowed those countries to literally wipe His people off the map.  Almost.  God had not given up on His original plan.  Speaking through Isaiah, He said:

” A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse [i.e. Israel]; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.” (Isaiah 11:1, my explanation of “Jesse.”)

My neighbor got fed up with his apple tree.  You couldn’t eat the apples and it messed up his yard in the fall.  Here’s a picture of what used to be his apple tree:  .wpid-wp-1430490990902.jpg

It looks a bit like Israel did after they stopped  producing the kind of “fruit” God had intended.  But look very closely at the bottom, left corner of the picture.   Here’s a blow up:

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That’s a shoot, coming up from the stump of his apple tree.  You have to look carefully to even notice it.  To the casual observer it doesn’t look like it will amount to much.

 

You could make the same mistake when it comes to Jesus, the “Shoot” Who sprouted from the “stump” of God’s Chosen People.  You might miss Him, such a seemingly insignificant figure, compared to the might and grandeur of Rome.  But Rome has fallen and the “Shoot” is still growing.  Jesus is still blessing people of all nations who come to Him to be reconciled to God.  He is “bearing the fruit” of leading people to the real God.  Here’s more of what Isaiah wrote:

” A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord— and he will delight in the fear of the Lord. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist.” (Isaiah 11:1-5)

Quotes: The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

 

Who Ultimately Pays for Corruption?

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Newsflash: Corrupt government officials have been enriching themselves by “selling” favorable decisions to interested parties who are willing to pay.  The payments are usually carefully disguised as “gifts” or “donations” to avoid the appearance of corruption.  Surprised?  Of course not; it’s been happening on both sides of the aisle for as long as the aisle has been there.

But those who sell their influence should heed this warning.  It does not come from the media, or the public, or from any watchdog agency.  It comes from God.  He sent this warning to the leaders of His own people, but it applies universally, to every nation and across all party lines:

“Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees, to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people, making widows their prey and robbing the fatherless. What will you do on the day of reckoning, when disaster comes from afar? To whom will you run for help? Where will you leave your riches?” (Isaiah 10:1-3)

Quotes: The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Says Who?

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After 30 years, now it’s safe to eat eggs.  The experts were wrong. Of course, the experts used to think tomatoes were poisonous, too.  Nope, it’s Lima beans that are poisonous; ask any kid.  You can’t always trust the experts.  Expert publishers rejected the novels of John Grisham (16 times!).  Expert physicists rejected the theories of Einstein.  And expert religious leaders rejected Jesus.

Of course, God saw that coming.  He created us humans and knows how we tend to think we know all the answers.  Hundreds of years before Jesus, He inspired these words:

“The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone [or cornerstone – same word]; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes.” (Psalm 118:22-23 – with my explanation)

Jesus quoted that line to challenge religious leaders who had rejected Him.  He is the cornerstone of the Kingdom of God, the foundation stone upon which everything else in God’s Kingdom is built.  God has done this, not “the builders.”  Not the experts.  God’s Kingdom is still growing.  Every human kingdom ultimately collapses for want of a strong “cornerstone.”

We still have experts today – leaders, judges, officials, scholars – who choose to build without regard to the “Cornerstone.”  Inevitably, what they build is not so “marvelous.”

“[But]…this is what the Sovereign Lord says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who trusts will never be dismayed.” (Isaiah 28:16b)

Be careful who you trust.

Quotes: The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.