July 21 - Righteous Prayer

 Read today’s texts first: 2 Kings 18,19; 2 Chronicles 32; James 5

MAXIMize YOUR DAY

Human will factors not only into salvation

but also into “working out” that salvation.

Back to the divine tensions we talked about three days ago. We are saved by God’s grace, not our own works. It has nothing to do with our righteousness and everything to do with His. And the Calvinists would say “Amen!” But what we are reading in James creates the counterbalance: we prove our faith in God’s grace by our works, and the fact of Christ’s imputed righteousness by our own right living (2:14-26). Can I get an “Amen” from the Arminians?

In our reading today it becomes clear that the power of human will factors not only into salvation but also into “working out” that salvation (Phil. 2:12). Some would say that once you are saved you are always saved, but then why so many warnings about possible apostasy. If we cannot fall away, why would James urge us to turn around a straying brother (one who was saved) and in doing so, save him from death (5:19,20)?

And if our righteousness (right living) is a non-issue, why does it affect the effectiveness of our prayers? The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective (5:16b). Our OT readings beautifully illustrate how our own right living is a huge factor in answered prayer. Hezekiah was facing overwhelming odds, the same army who had just defeated and enslaved the ten northern tribes of Israel. But his prayers were heard and answered like no other’s. They didn’t even have to lift a finger, or a spear, to fight back. God sent their enemies running for home by deploying just one of His angels (32:20,21). Hezekiah’s success was clearly linked to his own right living (18:5-7).

“Lord, I know that I did not earn or even deserve Your salvation, but I also know that You expect me to work out that salvation with fear and trembling. Thank You for filling me with Your Spirit so He can help me make those right choices and pray righteous prayers!”

  

July 20 - Guess Who Moved?

 Read today’s texts first: 2 Chronicles 29-31; James 4

MAXIMize YOUR DAY

Drawing near to God means eliminating
things in our life that might draw us away from Him. 

You may have seen it on a bumper sticker or a church sign: “If you feel far from God, guess who moved?” The truth behind that rhetorical question comes out in both our readings today. Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you (4:7,8). James was calling the early Christians back to a place of humble reliance on God. Hezekiah was doing the same thing in Judah.

While the northern tribes of Israel were being deported to Assyria because they consistently moved away from God, Hezekiah boldly led Judah back to complete devotion to Him. All of the kings of the northern tribes, as well as the evil kings of Judah, led the people away from God into idolatry. The good kings led them toward God and away from idolatry. But only Hezekiah had enough gumption to tear down the high places and every remnant of idolatry throughout his kingdom. That speaks to me on a personal and leadership level - drawing near to God requires the elimination of anything in our life that might draw us away from Him.

James refers to these things as “the world.” You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Or do you think Scripture says without reason that the Spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely? (4:4,5). God is jealous; He simply will not tolerate anything in our life that competes for our highest devotion. Our walk with God is like a marriage; complete fidelity is the foundation of that relationship.

“Lord, this past year has been a wonderful season of identifying and eliminating the things in my life that have at times distracted me from You. Today and every day left of my life I devote to drawing closer to You!”

July 19 - Religious Smorgasbord

 Read today’s texts first: 2 Kings 17; 2 Chronicles 28; Psalms 46; James 3

MAXIMize YOUR DAY

A smorgasbord of idolatry is
always toxic and eventually deadly.

Jan and I recently experienced a luxurious Mediterranean cruise. Part of the reality of the real world we returned to was making our own meals again, which was a difficult adjustment from the endless buffets we enjoyed on our cruise ship. Who doesn’t love a variety of foods to suit fleeting fancies at any hour of the day? That thought sets the backdrop for our readings today, but instead of food, the smorgasbord was religion!

Over six hundred years earlier God set His people free from enslavement in Egypt. Ironically, those refining fires of adversity forced them together as a community and forged a pure faith in their God. They did this in secret, in fear for their lives, while the Egyptians all around them worshipped many gods. God miraculously delivered them and provided for them. They became the great nation of Israel, blessed with their own prosperous land and the freedom to openly worship the God who made it all possible. Instead, they turned their backs on Him to embrace the worthless man-made gods of the nations who once fled in terror from the God of Israel (17:15-17).

Wisely, God brought them back to their former state of captivity, this time to Assyria, to help them regroup as a nation and rediscover their faith in Him. It would take a while, and it would get worse before it got better. The Assyrians sent their own people and those from other enslaved nations into the cities of Israel, who then introduced their gods into what was already a multi-faith culture (17:29-33).

Sound familiar? It bears a remarkable resemblance to our land in our day. God’s people arrived in North America to set up our nations with founding principles and laws based on Judeo-Christian values. God blessed us and the rest of the world took notice. But lately, as we began to question our founding faith, we opened ourselves to man-made idols, some home-grown, others imported. Immigrants from other nations offered their interesting array of designer gods to help us prepare the veritable smorgasbord of idolatry we have today.

Unlike the buffets on our cruise ship, which may have been excessive and a tad unhealthy, idolatry is always toxic and eventually deadly. The politically correct tolerance of our day seems to embrace every faith but Christianity. Bibles were thrown out of public schools and replaced with yoga mats. Christ was dropped from Christmas and many now consult the stars for daily direction instead of the Star Maker (17:16).

“Lord, as Jan and I return to simple, healthy meals together I pray for that same simplicity in our diet of spiritual food, based solely on You and Your Word.” Taste and see that the Lord is good (Psalms 34:8).

July 18 - Divine Tensions

 Read today’s texts first: Isaiah 32-35; James 2

MAXIMize YOUR DAY

When it comes to judgment and mercy, faith and works,
God is not “either/or” but “both/and.” 

As humans with limited perspective we tend to be either/or. We see tensions in the Bible, like judgment and mercy, faith and works (all mentioned in our James reading today) and we choose up sides: judgment or mercy, faith or works. We divide the church into doctrinal camps and waste valuable time defending our bias and decrying those who disagree. Most of the time, if we would just open our minds, our hearts, and the whole Bible, we would hear God’s Spirit say, “Stop – You’re both right! It’s not either/or; it’s both/and.”

First we need to realize our limited understanding. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord, “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8,9). Second we need to be okay not knowing how two seemingly contrary positions can both be true.

We need to be able to read through the lengthy judgments of God against those who reject Him, and be content with the moments of mercy He shows to those who humbly accept Him. The sinners in Zion are terrified; trembling grips the godless: 'Who of us can dwell with the consuming fire? Who of us can dwell with everlasting burning?' He who walks righteously and speaks what is right (33:14,15b).

We also need to know that we are saved by grace alone, not by works lest any should boast (Eph. 2:8,9). At the same time, we need to embrace the truth that faith in that grace is only made evident by our works. Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead (2:17).  Saying we believe is simply not enough. As James wisely points out, demons believe in God but you will never see them in heaven. So whether we read through Isaiah or James, God’s Word is clear, the redeemed are the same people as the righteous (35:8-10; 2:20-24).

“Lord, I am grateful for Your ‘both/and wisdom,’ that Your mercy triumphed over judgment (2:13) at Calvary and that my faith in that redeeming moment allows me to live righteously today and every day of my life with You! 

July 17 - Pollution Warning

 Read today’s texts first: Isaiah 29-31; James 1

MAXIMize YOUR DAY

Even with clear skies above,
a more insidious form of pollution is still lurking!

We may see it in L.A., occasionally in Vancouver, and in particular the Fraser Valley, especially lately with forest fires burning out of control. I’m referring to a pollution warning, being prompted by the last verse of James 1. But even when there are clear skies above us, a more insidious form of pollution is always there!

James, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, reminds us about real religion: Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world (1:27). I love reading through James - he tells it like it is, practical, no nonsense. If you say you have faith, show me by your words, better yet, your actions because they speak louder than words. And one of the things pure faith requires is just that, “purity,” staying uncontaminated by the world.

When visiting Puerto Vallarta recently, it appeared to be unspoiled paradise. However, one evening at the resort, before the live entertainment started, a music video was playing. I actually thought I liked the artist they were featuring until I finally heard the words to a song I’ve hummed along to before. There are good words, like “spiritual,” “born again,” “faith,” and “heaven,” but they all refer to sex, and I suspect it’s not the kind within the holy bonds of matrimony. What was more shocking was the mother and her 5 year old son beside us singing and dancing to those lyrics. It looked harmless, even heart-warming, but it was an insidious reminder of the pollution we see everywhere on this planet.

Our Isaiah reading talks about Israel’s fascination with returning to Egypt. The Egyptian Empire represents the world and Israel kept forgetting that God had miraculously delivered them from the bondage of that sin-contaminated environment. Reading God’s Word and applying it every day, even while on vacation, will keep us pure and we will be blessed in all we do (1:21-25). “Lord, thank You for the pollution warning I needed to hear today!”

July 16 - God of Peace

 Read today’s texts first: Isaiah 25-28; Hebrews 13

MAXIMize YOUR DAY

Memory verses learned as a child
are seeds of faith we harvest later in life.

Memory verses learned as a child stay with you. The testimonies I’ve heard in 50 plus years of ministry are strikingly similar, from the youth I pastored to the young adults I taught at Bible college to the adults of NorthRidge to the seniors I work with at Buchanan. Most of them started with seeds of faith planted as a child, possibly in Sunday School, Wee College, Catechism, summer camps, Vacation Bible School or bedtime Bible stories. This should encourage every parent and every children’s worker in every church. It should also give hope to parents whose children started out well but may have since wandered from their childlike faith.

All of that came to mind when I spotted in our readings today several familiar Bible verses learned as a child that I will never forget. At first they seemed so out of context with some of the violence surrounding them, but upon second thought I saw them as hinge points. When we put our faith in the God of peace, when He is the foundation of our lives, we are safe from the chaos and confusion experienced by those who reject God.

Listen and be encouraged by these familiar words: You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord, is the Rock eternal (26:3,4);  So 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” (28:16); Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever (13:8).

To these familiar words that shaped the direction of my life before I fully understood them, I would add this blessing memorized later in life: May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen (13:20,21).

July 15 - Shaken, Not Stirred

 Read today’s texts first: Isaiah 22-24; Hebrews 12

MAXIMize YOUR DAY

The earth-shaking Day of the Lord will leave many,
with no foundation of faith, quaking in their boots!

The alignment in our readings today is earth-shaking, literally! We’ve seen how accurate biblical prophecy is, particularly as it relates to the first appearance of the Messiah on planet Earth. To students of God’s Word, there should be no doubt that Jesus will come again. Many missed or misunderstood His first coming, but no one will miss the second. Unfortunately, while everyone will believe He is Lord in that moment, it will be too late to receive Him as Saviour.

Some struggle with the wrath of God we read about so often in the Old Testament. I must admit I do too. I much prefer to focus on the tender, merciful, compassionate ministry of Jesus we read about in the gospels. But we must always remember God is both merciful and just. Those who reject His gracious gift of salvation will face His judgment. The wrath Jesus endured for us on Golgotha will be poured out on the rest of the world. The world they love and trust in will be shaken to its core.

Compare these passages: The floodgates of the heavens are opened, the foundations of the earth shake. The earth is broken up, the earth is split asunder, the earth is thoroughly shaken. The earth reels like a drunkard, it sways like a hut in the wind; so heavy upon it is the guilt of its rebellion that it falls - never to rise again (24:18b-20).  See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven? At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens” (12:25-26).

The Day of The Lord will be terrifying to those who have no foundation, but Hebrews 12 ends with this promise to those of us who are part of His Kingdom: Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire (28). That is my prayer today!