An Encouraging Promise

The book of James contains one of the most encouraging promises I've ever read in the Bible. Consider the following statement from James chapter 4:

"Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you." (James 4:8)

This amazing Biblical promise can provide great encouragement for many different types of people. First, for the true Christian who desires (above all else) to be near to the Lord and to experience His glory, this is an absolute Holy Spirit-inspired promise that God will draw near to you if you draw near to Him. Now of course that doesn't mean God is just sitting there waiting to do our bidding and will come immediately whenever we want Him to, but it is a promise that He will not forsake those who continue to draw near to Him. And what I have found in my own experience is that the Lord is very merciful and many times will draw near to you without delay, especially when you really need to experience His presence.

For Christians who have grown distant from the Lord and greatly desire to be near to Him again, this statement is equally encouraging. Just as the persistent widow was eventually granted justice against her adversary (Luke 18), God will draw near to you and restore your intimate relationship with Him if you persist in seeking Him. From my own experience, this can certainly take a while, but it is infinitely worth it! And because it can be such a painful process to grow close to the Lord again, you are greatly motivated to not ever let this happen again!

Finally, for those who do not yet know the Lord, James 4:8 can provide great motivation to seek Him until He saves you. If you're someone who has been seeking to know God but hasn't found Him yet and are ready to give up, this is a promise that your efforts and perseverance will not be in vain if you continue to pursue the Lord with all your heart. Here are a few other verses that share this same truth:

"But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul."
(Deut. 4:29)

"You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." (Jer. 29:13)

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened." (Mat. 7:7-8)

If you are someone who has never even attempted to find God, then be encouraged that the God who created the universe is real and He will be found by all who persevere in seeking Him. God created you to know Him and to be enthralled by His glory, and He desires for you to come home where you belong (1 Tim. 2:4).

Reflections on Psalm 119

I recently read Psalm 119—the longest and (I think) one of the best psalms of the book of Psalms. Here are some reflections that I would like to share:

1) 24 times in my Bible I underlined words and phrases where the Psalmist describes the law of God (or the commandments of God, the testimonies of God, the words of God, etc.) in terms of his delight, his love, his joy, the longing of his soul, or other such hedonistic phrases (verses 14, 16, 20, 24, 35, 47, 48, 70, 77, 92, 97, 103, 111, 113, 127, 129, 131, 159, 161, 162, 163, 165, 167, and 174). Now arises the question: "Why is it that the Psalmist finds so much pleasure in following the commands of and hearing the words of the LORD?" And I would suggest that the answer lies in how much pleasure he finds in the LORD Himself (His Person, His attributes, His fellowship, etc.). Think about that for a moment...

2) Consider Psalm 119:11...

"I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you."

True love takes care not to offend, irritate, or dishonor another person. Just think about the relationship between a husband and wife. If the husband truly loves his wife and cares for her feelings, I think he will be taking strides to honor, cherish, and remember her out of the natural loving inclinations flowing from his heart.  A husband who does not truly love his wife will not have such natural tendencies, and will thus be prone to irritate, dishonor, and neglect her. So consider what true love for God looks like in light of what the Psalmist says in this verse. He takes a genuine care not to offend or dishonor ("sin against") the majesty of God. And one way that he does this is by knowing more of God (what He's like, who He is, and what He commands) through His Word ("I have stored up your word in my heart"). Do you find that you have an awareness of the feelings of God in your life and how your actions and attitude affect Him?

And let me just add something that has blessed me much with regard to how we should approach the Word of God. Psalm 119:18 says, "Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law." I have found that reading the Bible with no real purpose other than getting through it (as part of my daily routine or Bible reading plan) tends to bore the heart; but if my approach is to "behold wondrous things" in the Scriptures, then I find more of the life and sweetness that flows out of the words of God. In other words, when I approach the reading of Scripture I am on a mission to discover great truths or great things about Jesus that will open my eyes more to the reality of the glory of Christ and the Gospel. I hope that this approach will give you a renewed desire to feast and meditate on the beautiful things found in the Word of God.

3) While reading Psalm 119 I have noticed how much the Psalmist desires and pleads for the goodness of God to be present in his life. This “goodness” could also be thought of as blessings from God, salvation from God, being favored by God, or other such things, but it basically boils down to experiencing the abundant goodness of God in your life (or, more simply stated, things go well for you in life in a good and spiritual sense). Some of the specific things that the Psalmist mentions with regard to the goodness of God include: comfort (v. 76, 82), life (v. 77, 88), deliverance from trials (v. 84), and not being put to shame (v. 80). I find this second one (having life) to be an intriguing desire. I don't think the Psalmist is simply referring to staying alive instead of dying (although that could be part of it), but rather that he wants to feel alive. He wants to have a steadfast spirit inside him and have motivation and purpose in life. I oftentimes find myself wanting to feel this way too (as opposed to feeling depressed, tired, or unmotivated), and I can rejoice to know that God delights in showing such exceeding goodness to His children and that He is glorified in doing so (see Jer. 32:40-41 and 33:9 below).

I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me. I will rejoice in doing them good, and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness, with all my heart and all my soul. (Jer. 32:40-41, ESV)

And this city shall be to me a name of joy, a praise and a glory before all the nations of the earth who shall hear of all the good that I do for them. They shall fear and tremble because of all the good and all the prosperity I provide for it. (Jer. 33:9, ESV)

Far Away

This is a powerful video produced by Desiring God (John Piper's ministry) for Lecrae's new song "Far Away." The song is a tribute to the current Haiti relief efforts, and the video features powerful footage from the ground in Haiti.

The Battle Cry of Christian Hedonism

Resolved:  To endeavor to obtain for myself as much happiness in the other world as I possibly can, with all the power, might, vigor, and vehemence, yea violence, I am capable of, or can bring myself to exert, in any way that can be thought of.

- Jonathan Edwards

(quoted by John Piper in his book, Desiring God, pg. 159)

This resolution from the Puritan theologian Jonathan Edwards is perhaps the craziest thing I have ever read in my life. Edwards speaks as a man who has tasted of indescribably excellent things and is absolutely heaven-bent on obtaining as much of these divine excellencies as possible. Like Asaph in Psalm 73, God is the sole object of his desires and his portion forever!

Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

(Psalm 73: 25-26)

A Powerful Parable About Helping The Poor

I've been reading a book called The Hole In Our Gospel by Richard Stearns, and I came across a very powerful parable about helping the poor. I thought I would share it since it had an impact on me. Here is the parable:

One early morning, after a fierce storm had hit the coast, I strolled to the beach for my morning walk. Horrified, I saw that tens of thousands of starfish had been washed up on the beach by the winds and waves. I was saddened by the realization that all of them would die, stranded on the shore, away from the life-giving water. Despairing that there was nothing I could do, I sat down on the sand and put my head in my hands.

But then I heard a sound, and I lifted my eyes. There, in the distance, I saw a man bending down and then standing up, bending down and standing up. Curious, I rose and walked toward him. I saw that he was picking up the starfish, one at a time, and throwing them back into the sea.

"What are you doing?" I yelled.

"Saving the starfish," he replied.

"But don't you see, man, that there are tens of thousands of them?" I asked, incredulous. "Nothing you can do will make a difference."

He did not answer me but instead bent down, picked up another starfish, and cast it back into the water. Then he smiled, looked me in the eye, and said, "It made a difference to that one!"

(The Hole In Our Gospel, Richard Stearns, p. 162)

To Live Is Christ

Check out this awesome video posted on the Reach Records website! The video is a "typography" of a song by Trip Lee called "To Live Is Christ" (from the 13 Letters album). This album features songs for all 13 of the Pauline epistles, with the above song detailing the book of Philippians.

The Glory of God & True Contrition

The other night I was reading a sermon by Jonathan Edwards called "Praise, One of the Chief Employments of Heaven." As Edwards spoke about the "transcendent glory and divine excellency of God," I had a revelation of how right John Piper is when he says that true remorse for sin only comes from beholding the glory of God. Here are some thoughts I wrote down at the time:

Man can be made to see that his actions are evil in relation to other men, but this pales in comparison with the profound sense of shame and humiliation he will feel when he sees the infinitely bright and glorious excellencies of Christ and realizes what he has traded them for — the complete and total opposite. This is why evil men will hide their faces in shame when the glory of God is displayed to them at the Judgment. Imagine people seeing all of the infinite perfections of God, his infinitely glorious and sweet love and mercies, and realizing that instead of pursuing and embracing Him, they sought satisfaction in Jerry Springer and South Park. As Paul Washer says, "They will melt like wax figurines in front of a blazing furnace." Imagine how the man will feel who, while beholding the supreme beauty of Christ, realizes that he has spent his entire life excelling in things that God utterly abhors and leading others to do the same. Hugh Hefner's soul will implode into a million pieces when he stands before the glorious throne of the Almighty and fixes his eyes on the breathtaking beauty of Jesus Christ!

Stunned by the Beauty of Christ

When you think of great religious leaders and what they are like, what comes to your mind? You may picture Moses and his miracles, the Pope and his piety, or perhaps Gandhi and his non-violent reform. But what I would like to do in these next few paragraphs is show you something that stunned me about the greatest religious leader that ever lived—Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God.

In Luke 7:36-50, Jesus sits down to dine with a Pharisee, a strict religious man among the Jews. A “sinful” woman (or prostitute) comes up and stands behind Jesus. She then begins to weep over his feet, wet his feet with her tears, wipe his feet with her hair, kiss his feet continually, and anoint his feet with perfume. The Pharisee objects, knowing that she is a prostitute...but how does Jesus react? Does he preach against prostitution? Does he stay quiet? No. He defends her and loves her with intensity. He tells her, “Your sins are forgiven”—a powerful declaration of his love—and finally, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

Jesus—being one with God the Father—is perfect in righteousness, complete in holiness, and fierce in wrath against wickedness. But this same Jesus also loves contrite prostitutes. He loves those who are sorrowful over their sins, even if they have committed unspeakable acts against him. He loves them intensely and personally. He is not unwilling to befriend the lowest and most despised of our world. He humbles those who are proud and raises up those who are humble. When I read this passage from the gospel of Luke, I could not help but be struck with the beauty of Christ as he—the supreme leader of all religious leaders—condescended to this sinful woman and loved her openly among the Pharisees. And when I compare this wonderful blend of perfect righteousness and compassionate love to the gods of other religions—Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, etc.—I am stunned with the all-surpassing beauty of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.