As Far As The East Is From The West

Ps 103:12-13 “As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us. Just as a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him.”

The Lord’s forgiveness of sin is a transaction more potent than just a legal pardon. It is not similar to the way people forgive each other, for it is one thing to forgive and another to forget. When one is sinned against it can be hard to forget. That is not the case with our Lord.

We learn a great truth from the Bible when we approach God on His terms (that is fearing Him, Ps 103:13). He forgives. But He actually does more than that. He removes! Psalm 103, a Psalm written to declare the mercies of God includes removal. The imagery provided is geographical, that is, as far as the east is from the west so our sins are taken away from us. Upon our planet this would be the farthest anything could be taken away before it started coming closer again. It is easier to think it terms of North Pole and South Pole; these two cannot be any farther away from each other. The North Pole cannot be any more north. Nor can the South Pole be any more south. Thus, the Lord has removed the transgressions of His people as far as the east is from the west. That is to say, He has taken them out of the way and as far off as possible, so far that He has forgotten our transgressions.

Now in our little worlds this can be difficult to comprehend. But if we think in terms of the work that Christ made in His sacrifice we are helped. Colossians 2:14 is a neat verse that teaches us about the effectiveness of Christ’s death:

“Having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.”

Our Father has canceled the sin debt for each believer in Christ. If you are trusting in the cross, your sin debt, your transgressions, were removed from you. What a joy to contemplate this truth! He did something that no person could do.

This truth may be difficult for some to put into play. Some may question that if God has removed our offenses so far away why do we still feel guilt over them? Or if God has removed them why is it that we may be tempted and commit them again?

This sin removal is one that applies to God’s records and not so much to our memories. We do have a tendency to remember and perhaps feel guilt. But I do not think we need to or ought to. If our past offenses are removed and forgiven then we can forgive ourselves, lose the guilt and move on. But that may be easier said than done.

Furthermore, even though God has forgiven and removed our offenses it doesn’t mean that the memories will not come back in the form of temptation leading to recurring sins. Sin is ugly and it takes godly discipline to work through it. But since God has gone to such great lengths to remove our sins from us as far as the east is from the west, we should also go to great lengths to make it a practical reality in our lives. Can we agree with God that our sin has indeed been cast into the depths of the sea? (Micah 7:19). If so perhaps the discipline of daily prayer and confession can reflect this. Perhaps, allowing your mind to be renewed by the scriptures many times each week will begin to let the reality of sin removal set in. 

Gospel Versus Fear

Fear is something we all possess though it surfaces differently in each one of us. Fear is not always bad or always good. I like to think it exists on a continuum. The better end of the continuum is the fear that keeps us alive. An example would be the respect one has for the edge of a 200-foot cliff, that is, we stay back; to fall is to die. The other end, the worse end of the continuum, is the fear that seriously hinders someone. For instance, this fear causes one not to leave the house or talk to other people. However, I suggest that a healthy understanding of the gospel will begin to diminish this type of fear.

In Gideon’s case, the LORD told him to go and rip down his Dad’s altars (Judges 6:25). That seedy altar of Baal and the Asherah pole stood as symbols of Israel’s blatant idolatry and apostasy. Now it was time for the symbols to go, God told Gideon to tear them down. But Gideon’s fear welled up, so Gideon ripped them down after dark with ten men (Judges 6:27). The presence of friends and the cover of dark temporarily diminished his fear.

Fear is part of the theme in the short narrative of Gideon. Fear is present when Gideon was threshing wheat so that he could hide it from the enemy he feared (Judges 6:11). It recurs until he hears of the dream from the camp of the Midianites, which was golden proof that his 300-man army would beat the big bad enemy that was too numerous to number (Judges 7:15).

But why wasn’t Gideon’s fear put to rest earlier in the narrative? The LORD called him a “valiant warrior” and reassured him of His constant presence (Judges 6:12). Surely, that would be enough for him to march onto his Dad’s place in broad daylight and tear down the pagan altars without any friends to protect him. I imagine that would be enough to prevent him from testing the LORD. The answer to this is not simple; but to be sure, believing the truth should displace fear. Furthermore, the patience of God comes into play in Gideon’s life. Gideon struggled to overcome his fear but the LORD did not give up on him. God’s patience is amazing in Gideon’s life. He continues in faithfulness and patience toward Gideon as he grapples with fear and as he grows to trust in God and His faithfulness.

Belief is big; it is the silver bullet into the heart of fear. Belief causes us to taste death and live life. However, belief does not come easy, we want piles of evidence hoping it will offer sure proof. Real belief, the kind that destroys fear, brings us to action. It pushes us out of the house and into the faces of our enemies. This is clear in Gideon’s account. His personal fear was overcome by believing God at His word, which led him to battle.

Personal fears vanish in the presence of our earthly Daddy or Mommy. I recall standing at the end of the diving board at the St. Helens swimming pool, very afraid to jump. However, when Dad came over and stood in the pool near the end of the board, I jumped! Guess what? I did not look back and that led to lots of fun that summer jumping off the diving board.

Thus, why is it that you deal with fears dear Christian? God is always with you. You are perfectly nestled in His sovereign hand. He promised to provide all of your needs. He is your perfect, heavenly Daddy. You could not take a breath without His power, nor could you put any words together to form a phrase without His presence, He holds you together and if He stopped you would stop living.

Therefore, as you and I face our greatest fear, namely death. Let us stand together as a church family to remember the words of our Savior, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies” (John 11:25). Jesus’ good news kills death and it should diminish any of our fears. Live in confidence for Jesus is your God and Savior. 

*Kevin DeYoung speaks of gaining courage through communion, click here to read his post. 

Comfort in Trouble: Psalm 77 & Remembering the LORD's Power

Seeking the Lord in times of trouble is a common thing to do. Even the most godless of people will cry out to Him when adversity strikes. And this is what we find when we read Psalm 77. In this particular Psalm, we see a child of God crying out to Him in distress.

My voice rises to God, and I will cry aloud; My voice rises to God, and He will hear me. In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord; In the night my hand was stretched out without weariness; My soul refused to be comforted. When I remember God, then I am disturbed; When I sigh, then my spirit grows faint. Selah.

You have held my eyelids open; I am so troubled that I cannot speak. I have considered the days of old, The years of long ago. I will remember my song in the night; I will meditate with my heart, And my spirit ponders (Psa 77:1-6).  

The reason for his distress isn’t mentioned but it must be something very dangerous or uncomfortable. Thus the Psalmist, much like us, spent hours in prayer over it. He said, “my hand was stretched out without weariness,” as he prayed diligently through the night. He is so distraught he cannot sleep nor can he talk. The only solace he can muster is remembering old memories when life was good (vv 5-6), back when he supposedly had no problems.

“Will the Lord reject forever? And will He never be favorable again? Has His lovingkindness ceased forever? Has His promise come to an end forever? Has God forgotten to be gracious, Or has He in anger withdrawn His compassion? Selah” (Psa 77:7-9).

Take a moment to reflect on your life. Certainly you have dealt with several problems that were uncomfortable and/or dangerous. Prayer is an obvious choice in those times, but did you get the answer you wanted? . . . each time? Curiously, even though we may burn through a night in earnest prayer the comfort or answer that we want from God may not come. This is what happened to the psalmist (see Ps 77:1-6). Further, notice the series of questions in vv 7-9. “Will the Lord reject forever? And will He never be favorable again? Has His lovingkindness [covenant faithfulness] ceased forever? Has His promise come to an end forever? Has God forgotten to be gracious, or has He in anger withdrawn His compassion?”

At first these questions sound ludicrous since they question God’s promises (and aren’t we taught to never question God’s promises?). Why would such questions even occur to a child of God? But even God’s children can be easily confused. To be sure, God has promised Himself to us, He has promised eternal life to us who embrace Jesus as Savior but He has not promised a comfortable life. In fact, Christ calls us to die to self and follow Him (Matt 16:24-26). Followers of Christ often leave behind testimonies of their difficult lives—some even ended in torturous martyrdom.

Then I said,  It is my grief, That the right hand of the Most High has changed. I shall remember the deeds of the LORD; Surely I will remember Your wonders of old. I will meditate on all Your work And muse on Your deeds. Your way, O God, is holy; What god is great like our God? You are the God who works wonders; You have made known Your strength among the peoples. You have by Your power redeemed Your people, The sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah.

The waters saw You, O God; The waters saw You, they were in anguish; The deeps also trembled. The clouds poured out water; The skies gave forth a sound; Your arrows flashed here and there. The sound of Your thunder was in the whirlwind; The lightnings lit up the world; The earth trembled and shook. Your way was in the sea And Your paths in the mighty waters, And Your footprints may not be known. You led Your people like a flock By the hand of Moses and Aaron (Psa 77:10-20).

Now, in verses 10-20, we see a transition begin to occur in the author’s heart. He is beginning to rise above his trouble to look to the “Most High.” He is forgetting his distress and getting lost in the greatness of his Sovereign Master. He is transitioning emotionally as well, from depression to happiness. His mind was self-absorbed but now becomes Christ-absorbed. Instead of begging God to solve his problems, he remembers the works of the Lord . . . the amazing things He did long ago . . . and His extraordinary deeds (vv 11-13). Truly Yahweh is one of a kind and no one can best Him!

The Psalmist’s outlook has completely changed. No longer is He questioning God; now He is savoring God’s character and power and wonder. God’s parting the Red Sea is part of his meditation. “Your way was in the sea and Your paths in the mighty waters” (v 19). He remembers that by His power He redeems and shepherds His people “like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron” (v 20) through the Red Sea unto redemption from the Egyptians.

In times of trouble, no matter how difficult, we can remember the Lord’s wondrous works. By remembering Him we are comforted, by remembering Him our minds are renewed and we begin to see how God uses trials and difficulties to shape us. Lest anyone be anxious, remember, you are part of God’s flock. This means He is caring for you and will care for you all your days. As He parted the Red Sea and delivered His ancient children, He has redeemed you as Christ grasped your hand and began to shepherd you. Let us look to the Good Shepherd dearest one, no worries, only comfort!

Do Better? Yeah Right!

I kneeled, at an old fashioned altar following pastor Gilming’s message. God saved me about 15 years prior to this Sunday night but I was confused, thinking that in some miraculous way by walking that aisle Christ would transform me into a better man, or at least one who didn’t want to sin as often. As was custom, a man came upfront and I explained my frustration, he related well as my brother explaining that his life was no different. He prayed with me and asked God to strengthen me so that I could do better.

Doing better was the preferred lifestyle. Granted, I was the biggest sinner I knew (and still am) but wanted to “do better” or so I thought. But how? Unfortunately, at the altar the gospel of Jesus Christ was not mentioned; we didn’t think we needed it for the mundane day-to-day sanctification. Sadly, I was becoming satisfied with a sour life, thinking change for me was impossible even though Christ had saved me when I was a child. But there remained a huge miserable hole in my life as a college student. I desperately needed the “now” gospel only I did not know it. One pastor explains this problem well:

The good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ is a “then-now-then” gospel. First, there is the ‘then’ of the past. When I embrace Christ by faith, my sins are completely forgiven, and I stand before God as righteous. There is also the “then” of the future, the promise of eternity with the Lord, free of sin and struggle. The church has done fairly well explaining these two “thens” of the gospel, but it has tended to understate or misunderstand the “now” benefits of the work of Christ. What difference does the gospel make in the here and now? How does it help me as a father, a husband, a worker, and a member of the body of Christ? How does it help me to respond to difficulty and make decisions? How does it give me meaning, purpose, and identity?[1]

Why are we so ineffective as Christians? Why is it that our lives tend to reflect more of the world than more of the gospel? Could it be that we fail to believe the gospel in the day-to-day stuff? We forget that He can empower us to be salt and light as parents or at work or wherever we go. When we forget, we become blind. Then the sins and the stresses of life take over and we only remember ourselves and wallow in pity. We tend to forget what we already know, according to 2 Peter 1:3-10:

Seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust. Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins. Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble.

I forgot! I failed to remember His cleansing and His divine power in the gospel of Jesus. “For too many of us, our sense of identity is more rooted in our performance than it is in God’s grace . . . [furthermore,] we find it much easier to embrace the gospel’s promise of life after death than we do its promise of life before death!”[2] Without a constant awareness of Christ’s presence we begin to live anxiously, we avoid all difficulty and suffering and are overwhelmed too easily. Our greatest problems exists within us not outside of us, that huge miserable hole, exists in each one of us.

To be sure, there is a world of items that we can use to fill that hole, from legalism to mysticism and the pursuit of right theology. Church ministries and Christian friends filling our miserable gaps may be appealing but will not fix the hole. That is, theology, good friends and ministries may lead us to the solution but are not the solution. However, turning to Christ and admitting to Him our daily need for forgiveness; also, being mindful of His cross and the divine power we get from it begins us on the way of filling this gospel gap appropriately. Don’t be fooled, sanctification is hard work and growing in Christ equals brokenness before Christ. Thus, let us (like the Apostle Peter) remind each other of our brokenness and of the effective gospel that so perfectly fills that miserable hole in each one of us. When the hole is loaded with the gospel, you will be changed into salt and light.

“Therefore, I intend to remind you constantly of these things even though you know then and are well established in the truth that you now have” (2 Peter 1:12).

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[1] Timothy S. Lane and Paul David Tripp, How People Change (Greensboro: New Growth, 2008), 4.

[2] Lane and Tripp, 5.

A Prayer for Assurance of Salvation

Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water (Hebrews 10:19-22).

Struggling with doubts of one's salvation is something most every Christian deals with at one time or another. The assurance that comes upon a child of God comes in time and with an understanding of the confidence we can have because of the work of Christ, just as we are reminded in this passage from Hebrews 10. It is good to struggle to gain assurance of your salvation, it seems that if the gospel is just easily and quickly believed, it can also be let go easily, perhaps like the seed that fell on rocky soil (Luke 8:13).

I wrote this prayer as an encouragement for us to gain assurance of salvation:

 

Gracious Heavenly Father,

We thank You for giving us spiritual life in the death and resurrection of Christ Jesus. Dearest Father, teach us not to doubt the work that your Son has completed on the cross but show us how to fully embrace Jesus’ cross work and make us fully believe it.

We ask that you would make us more aware of the blood of Jesus and the confidence that we can have by it, enough confidence to boldly come before You even though You are most holy.

Show us this new and living pathway to Yourself that You have made perfect by the body of Your Son. Remind us that this way is intended for we who are called by You, that it is attainable by faith. Remind us that this path is where we begin to gain assurance.

It is difficult, Father, when we look at our own lives and see the messes we have created. It is easy to think, “God could not love me.” But Father, we pray that you would show us this truth of assurance. Make a faith within us that expresses trust in your promises to us. Specifically, the promises that Christ is our High Priest and the cleansed heart that He gives to those who draw near sincerely.

Teach us to look to Jesus Christ, our High Priest, our Holy Savior, our Lamb that was slain so that we would be made holy. And Father, make us not look to ourselves for assurance, not even a decision that we made. Our hearts are so fickle and can be unreliable…but You O’ Lord are totally reliable. Thus, give us, the followers Jesus Christ, assurance that we are saved from the wrath to come.

In Jesus’ Holy Name We Pray, Amen!

New Blog

Getting this blog up and going has been something I've wanted to do for a while. My hope is that it will serve Christ by equipping and encouraging others with the truth. Further, I enjoy writing and I want to be a better writer. One of the prerequisites to being a good preacher or speaker is being a good writer. So my hope is that with this blog, everybody benefits, especially the church.  Lastly, I pray, that God would be glorified in me and in you.

For the Savior,

Chris

A Prayer for The Blessed Life

How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night. He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its seasons and its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers. Psalm 1:1-3

As I reflect on these verses, they have turned my heart and mind toward prayer; prayer for myself and prayer for you, the people of Prineville Community Church.

I invite you to read this prayer and pray it along with me this month:

O most gracious and mighty Father, I pray that your heavenly blessings would fall upon us. Not for our own selfish pleasure, but that you might give us all that we need to live in purity and holiness. Allow us to reflect upon all that You have given us so that we can pursue godliness and continually know Your happiness. Convict us of the worldliness that creeps in unawares. By Your Word, empower us to put off what needs putting off. Then direct us to put on what needs putting on, namely, Christ Jesus. 


O Father, of all that we need; cause us to desire Your Word above all. Make us fall in love with it. Allow us to savor Scripture until Christ returns for us. It is not enough that we would only delight in it. Thus, give us the time, place and desire to meditate upon Scripture. 


O Father, as confusing and as hard as life may be, teach us that our key to happiness and success is quite simple. It is to live for You; to allow You to control our thinking and actions by meditating on the Bible. Then, cause us to be like a tree with deep roots, roots that live in nourishing soil. Like the tree, allow us to bear fruit and to never wither and die. 


We ask this, O Father, in the name and blessedness of Jesus Christ our Lord,


Amen.

Love at First Sight

Recently, my mind has meditated much on the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ; the scripture tells us that many will love His appearance (2 Tim 4:8). On the other hand, we are told that the world will grieve at His coming for fear of punishment (Rev 1:7). Regardless of what anyone will think about His return, all people seem curious regarding future events.

Regarding this curiosity with the 2^nd Advent and eternity, I’ve always found Acts 1:6-7 to be of interest. We see Jesus’ closest disciples, the 12 (minus Judas), with Him. He is about to ascend into heaven and they ask, “Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority;” Jesus then goes on to give them a job, that is the great commission (1:8). I like to think Jesus meant, do not worry about the timing of future events, but get busy with the work I gave you.

Rather than work, curiosity seems to get the best of a lot of us, just now I typed a Google search for “2^nd coming” just to see what would pop up. In two seconds I was reading, “the sign of the Son of Man has appeared in the sky and was discovered by NASA on January 6, 2010.”[1] This is a statement of desperate curiosity; one where clues for Jesus’ coming are in everything, even in images burned onto pancakes. By the way, their statement is absolute nonsense, not to mention a misuse of Matt 24:30. The sign in the sky will be Jesus Himself.

I wonder what fuels our curiosity, a curiosity so powerful that even some Christians misread and misuse God’s word, forgetting that Jesus said the timing of His coming is not for us to know. What motivates this? Do we think that we can better prepare ourselves? Or perhaps, are we just plain tired of waiting? This seems to be normal among many believers. We are like the child who feels as though five minutes is an hour when he is waiting for something special.

Now, as we anticipate the 2^nd coming, let us draw our attention toward the end of Paul’s letter where he focuses on the 2^nd coming as he wraps up in prayer:

“Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.” (1 Thess 5:23-24).

The Apostle wrote this letter to a young church, which was famous for its faith, hope and love. Yet, he asks God that they would be blameless at the coming of their Groom, the Lord Jesus.

His prayer includes two actions (v 23). The first is sanctification or becoming holy. Moreover, this sanctification is to set us apart completely, sanctification refuses to stop half way or so he prays. It is thorough. This is our hope.

The second is preservation; this is the guarding of our thorough holiness. His prayer was that God would keep them blameless so that they would be able to stand before Him without shame or guilt.[2] It was not enough to for him to stop at entire sanctification, but the hope was for a lasting holiness of their spirits and souls and bodies.

This prayer sounds impossible, who can attain such a level? Yes, we are excited at the coming of Christ but it also can produce fear. I imagine that the grief at Jesus’ return will be quite a scene. But will we who are supposed to love His appearing be filled with guilt?

The answer is implied in the next verse which reads, “Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass” (v 24). Here we are drawn back into v 23 realizing that God Himself completes the two actions. The Spirit is the one who sanctifies us and He is the one who keeps us blameless. This is the very work of God—not man. 

Further, God our Savior is faithful (v 24) and He will do this work, hence, fulfilling our hope and the Apostle’s prayer. Therefore, we worry not and we don’t need clues on the timing of future events. We strive to only trust Him and only serve Him. And we, like Paul, look forward to a crown of righteousness. Finally, I fully expect that at the moment of His appearing we will be in love, not grief. For now, let us look for ways to cooperate with the two-fold work of the Spirit within us. I pray that we would not grieve Him by harboring sins but that we might be free of those things and desire to please Him. That we might be delighted to come to worship Him on Sundays with the body, that we would long for quiet time with Christ in prayer and that we would posses such a conviction of His faithfulness that we might trust Him more to do this amazing work within each of us.

“In the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing” (2 Tim 4:8).

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[1] If you would like to read this for yourself, go to: http://www.cynet.com/Jesus/  Furthermore, there is a host of false claims out there, this year the date setters have set 12/21/12 as the date for a great transformative event, i.e. doomsday. This based on an ancient calendar, certainly not the mind of the Father. 

[2] Gene L. Green, The Letters to the Thessalonians (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2002), 269.