Some Reviving

For we are slaves. Yet our God has not forsaken us in our slavery, but has extended to us his steadfast love before the kings of Persia, to grant us some reviving to set up the house of our God, to repair its ruins, and to give us protection in Judea and Jerusalem.  -- Ezra 9:9

We were slaves to sin, to the old nature, to the powers and principalities of this world and its darkness.  The deliverance of the Jews from their captivity and exile and their restoration to Jerusalem foreshadows our deliverance through Christ who, as Philippians 2:7 says, effectively made Himself a slave like us.  He experienced the rejection of death and exile in hell.  Then He arose triumphant -- just as He had said, at the end of three days, “reviving” and rebuilding the true Temple of God – His own body. 

The world is troubled in many ways today.  There is fear and violence and uncertainty.  Financial crises loom.  Terror and persecution stalk the lives of innocent people in countries all over the planet.  Fools cry, “Peace, peace”, but there is no peace for those ruled and controlled by spiritual wickedness. The problems faced by humanity cannot be solved by military interventions, global initiatives, bail-outs, bail-ins, or changing flags. 

When it comes to eschatology, as I have said before, there is a lot I don’t know, but I do know the Lord gives wisdom to those who will ask of Him.  For those Christians who have not asked already, I would suggest that now would be a really good time to ask in earnest.  I’m not saying that the Lord has spoken to me about anything, but I have a feeling we are going to go through some changes and difficulties such that most of us in the West have not seen or experienced. 

It will, I think, be a kind of exile.  Keep Peter’s warning in mind:  For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? (1 Peter 4:17)  People are hollering about America being judged for court decisions and such.  The Lord might decide to straighten out His people before He starts on the world.  We should not be discouraged if that should be the case for it means we are closer to revival, renewal, and restoration than ever before.

Down and Out in Egypt

Egypt was glad when they departed, for dread of them had fallen upon it. -- Psalms 105:38

I admit that I am a rather perverse Christian.  I always smile when I read this verse.  It has often been the case in my life that people have been glad to be rid of me, probably not so much for dread as for annoyance.  The basis of the psalmist’s chant is Exodus 12:33, The Egyptians were urgent with the people to send them out of the land in haste. For they said, We shall all be dead.  Plague after plague and destruction wrought by God had left the Egyptians fatigued, terrorized, beaten and baffled. 

The world has been, here in the West, remarkably tolerant of the Church in some of its manifestations.   There is, these days, though, a rising and more blatant animosity being expressed, not only by the militant atheists but society in general.  I am not worried by this. 

As individual believers, the times of stress and turmoil that we face can be the times when we experience the most rapid and genuine growth and fruitfulness. So, it can be, too, with the Church as a whole.  Persecution brings purification, and, sometimes the Body of Christ is in need of that, though we certainly don’t enjoy or welcome it.

There isn’t much that I would call “official” persecution going on here in the United States apart from the incursions of the fabulous gay –marriage gestapo against bakers and photographers.  The growing cultural opposition and antagonism to any public expressions of Christian faith, values, and piety, however, indicate that a watershed may be approaching.  More and more people find the idea of free speech on the part of anyone outside the Borg offensive.  Not content with ignoring and deriding us, they might prefer to have us silenced.

I am old enough to have attended school when the teacher led us in prayer, when Bibles were commonly found and even read from in the classroom, and we stood together to say the Pledge of Allegiance.  I doubt that any of those things were harmful to any child.  Being a child, when these activities ceased, I did not give much thought to it.  I am such an opponent of public schools and the dastardly teachers’ unions that I would oppose sending children to those indoctrination centers even if they allowed prayers.  In fact, it may not be too long before they do sanction prayer – five times a day, facing Mecca.

When the Israelites left Egypt, the biblical account states that they spoiled the Egyptians, taking much in the way of jewelry, gold and silver from their former masters.  The Lord was able to move the hearts of the Egyptians and make those arrangements because it all belongs to Him.  I believe that He will, amid the coming turbulence, give gifts to the Church, perhaps material riches, but certainly wisdom, insight, understanding, skills and talents that are necessary for the furtherance of the kingdom.  This will be the case all around the world, even in the heart of Muslim nations and oppressive socialist regimes.    

The pendulum swings; the wheel turns.  Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

When Under Siege

At kings they scoff, and at rulers they laugh.  They laugh at every fortress, for they pile up earth and take it.  Then they sweep by like the wind and go on, guilty men, whose own might is their god! -- Habakkuk 1:10-11

Humans will have their god.  If it is not the true God, in whose image we are made, it will be an idol made in our own image.  I do not know that anyone is irredeemable.  I tend to think that even the worst of us can live by the grace of God, and that, … as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men (Romans 5:18).  Nevertheless, the unrighteous and the wicked, like the poor, will likely be with us always. 

Habakkuk learned that not only does God allow those who reject and deny Him to live, sometimes He allows them to overcome the godly and the righteous.  As I look around at the world today, I see honor given to those who lie and deceive, concupiscence celebrated, violence and bloodshed glorified and exalted.  Meanwhile those who would follow Christ in obedience, meekness and humility are scorned and ridiculed when they are not directly oppressed.   God has not abandoned His world or His people, but I understand where some might begin to wonder and doubt. 

Though the prophet himself seems to question how it is that a wholly pure and holy God is able to … idly look at traitors and [remain] silent when the wicked swallows up the man more righteous than he (Habakkuk 1:13), he knows that there is what is called the ineffable mercy of God.  The Lord, as we are told elsewhere, takes no delight in the death of the sinner.  He is long-suffering that all might repent. 

If, as the determinist Christian might think, God already knows who will be saved and who will be condemned, this space for wickedness would have to have some other purpose.  It might be argued that evil makes the goodness and glory of God more triumphant and radiant as darkness, by contrast, makes a candle more visible.  Rather, I say, the light of God overwhelms the flickering candle of human righteousness as a clear sun rise swallows the light of a lantern.  I believe that God gives us this liberty to decide, to choose, and to freely obey or disobey in His light. 

As there is room for freedom between God and man, so there is action and reaction in the relationship of the righteous to the unrighteous.   It may be that our patience and faithfulness in the face of unjust treatment will be the opening of the door upon which Christ knocks.  I wonder sometimes if more sinners have not been delivered by one who held his tongue than by the most eloquent sermons.  I believe Francis of Assisi said something like that.  

Sometimes, the child of God recognizes the need for correction in his own heart:  O Lord, you have ordained them as a judgment, and you, O Rock, have established them for reproof (v.12).  The wickedness that surrounds and even attacks us should make us better, drive us closer to God, and encourage us in our pursuit of holiness.  It is not meant to destroy us, and it will not.  This is where we say, “God is in control.”  He sets the limits.  We shall not die (v.12). 

We may ask – I ask, speaking of persecution or just trouble in general, What have I done to deserve this?  On the other hand, I ask the same question when I look upon the Cross and the infinite grace and mercy of God in my life.  I did nothing to merit that.  Oppression, pain and suffering do not always come because we have sinned in some specific way.  Yet, pain comes.  We can feel sorry for ourselves.  Or, we can embrace the fire and allow it to further refine and purify us.  I know a lot of people who are far better and holier than I am, but I know none living perfected in this world. 

Do You Have the Time?

We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. --John 9:4

The Lord made this statement to His disciples because He was on His way to the Cross.  I think that we are to “make hay while the sun shines”.  It is a basic principle of a successful life that we ought to make use of present opportunities – unless the Spirit checks us.  The promises of the future may not be fulfilled. 

Jesus says this in the context of a question from His followers when they came upon a man blind from birth and wanted to know if the cause of this defect lay with the individual or his parents.   Jesus answered, It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him (John 9:3).  This doesn’t mean, I don’t believe, that God made this man blind just so He could cure him.  A couple of chapters farther on, Jesus says something similar with regard to the illness of Lazarus being a condition that “does not lead to death” but being for the glory of God (John 11:4). It means that God seizes the opportunities created by evil and the consequences of our living in a fallen world to bring us life, encouragement, hope, and joy.

I do not often know why things happen.  In this sense, any work that I do is usually done in the dark.  I do what my hand finds to do (Ecclesiastes 9:10) as best I can.  I cannot know if it will make much difference in the course of history, but it will make a difference in me and possibly in another person or two that I am able to help out. 

We say we want workers to be paid a “living wage” yet we decry employers like Chick-Fil-A and Hobby Lobby because they are owned by Christians.  We mock, attack, and ridicule Christianity and Christian values then are shocked to find that businesses, corporations, and governments are concerned only with money, power, and control and are rife with corruption, dishonesty, hypocrisy, and scandal.  We celebrate degeneracy and decadence and wonder why things are dying and going downhill.

The cure for America is not to pass laws requiring us to treat one another like – I don’t know – maybe Christians, but for us as individual Christians to live like Christians regardless of the government or the media or what other people think.  Right now that is not too hard, but it is getting harder quickly.  When the government can force businesses to fund abortions or bake cakes in violation of their convictions and religious beliefs, we are bordering on persecution.   

The time to get on the right track is now.  The time to do the right thing is now.  The time to stand up together against tyranny and government overreach is now.  The time for fervent prayer is now.  The time for radical obedience is now.  The time to do the works of Him who sends us is now.  

The time is now.

Scarcely Saved

Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name.  For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?  And “If the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?”  Therefore let those who suffer according to God's will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good. – 1 Peter 4:16-19

Massive and unwelcome change seems to trouble the minds of many in these days.  Some are experiencing economic setbacks for the first time in their lives.  Some look to the future with dread.  Meanwhile, for years, Christianity has shied away, or, as we say down home, boogered at the prospect of preaching harshly and condemning transgressions and iniquity.  The preferred messages are about how to have a happy marriage and how to be financially blessed by God.  We may hear a lot about how much God loves us, which is true.  He loves us so much that He put His judgment upon His own Son, making Him who knew no sin to be sin for us. 

While that does demonstrate His love and grace in the most compelling way imaginable, it also reveals the condemnation that lies upon human nature.  Let us not be deceived nor deceive ourselves:  the whole world lies under sentence of death. 

Sometimes innocent people suffer and even die in unjust, unfair ways.  Little children are gunned down by madmen.  Helpless babies are aborted in their mothers’ wombs.  People going about their business are attacked and killed or maimed by animalistic thugs.  Terrorists blow themselves up to bring death to their enemies in the name of their god.  Tornadoes sweep through schools.  Hurricanes drown, flood and destroy. 

Peter wrote his letter probably a little before the persecution of Christians under Nero, around 64 AD.  According to tradition, just a few years later, in 68 AD, Peter died by crucifixion.  Shortly after that, Jerusalem was destroyed.  God’s people, both Jews and Christians, often suffered greatly in those days.  Judgment indeed fell upon the household of God.

Is something like that about to happen again?  Americans are sometimes unaware that it is happening in many places.  Right around here, I don’t think they will be literally crucifying preachers any time soon.  But, yes, there is going to be a purging and cleansing in the Body of Christ.  Judgment is going to fall upon America and Europe.  The innocent will suffer. 

How can God let that happen?  The Lord will permit judgment to fall because we, both as the Church and as nations, have failed repeatedly to respond to the convicting work of the Holy Spirit.  We have ignored and even condoned injustice, violence, ungodliness, and unrighteousness.  Our hearts have become hard and calloused.  In our arrogance, we seek to merely mitigate judgment while clinging to our wicked ways.

Of course, not all of the bad things that happen are a direct result of immorality, hatred, or indifference.  As Peter points out, we may well be attacked, troubled, and mistreated only because we are Christians and do what is right, in which case we should – hard as it may be -- rejoice and be thankful that the Lord has considered us worthy to be persecuted for the sake of Christ.  We may also be “collateral damage” when judgment falls, though it may be that our Father will make a difference between the saints and the secular as He did when the land of Goshen was spared the plagues of Egypt. 

My prayer continues to be that my own heart would be broken, whatever that takes.  I cannot do better on my own.  I cannot sensitize myself or make myself to be repulsed and horrified by transgression – either my own or that of others.  I can get mad about it easily enough, especially if I am the victim.  What I need, though, is a work of God, for Him to create in me a clean heart and a right spirit.  It’s my only hope.