Our Mighty God: What We Need for Christmas…Part 3

December 10, 2022February 22, 2023Todd R Leave a comment

According to James Boice (see first post in the series), if you asked people to honestly describe their needs, they might describe one as: “We…have wills, and because we have wills, we want to achieve something. We want our lives to make a difference. To do that we need power.”[1] This is a second need of us all, according to James Boice. In Isaiah 9:6, Jesus, the Christ of Christmas, is described as our Mighty God, who Boice says “will empower us for life’s tasks” – those tasks He points us to in His wisdom.

The word Mighty probably calls to mind miraculous events, military victory, or superhero-like powers. But ultimately, His greatest objectives for us – to love Him and to love our neighbor – are what He uses His might to accomplish. When our Wonderful Counselor (see last post in series) gives wisdom to make a choice in life, He actually wants us to act on that choice because He knows how it will turn out – for our ultimate good – but what if we don’t agree with the choice, or don’t have the willpower to make it?

God, unlike Lucy in the Peanuts comics, will not tell us to kick the football, then pull it away at the last second, leaving us on our back. To those who trust Him, He will provide the ability to make a loving difference in the world. As Mighty God, He puts His own resources and power behind His recommended wisdom to produce the desired effect of loving, godly living.

Put another way: “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence,” as written in 2 Peter 1:3. He does not empower us to do just anything, or to do whatever we decide; He will empower us to “life and godliness.” In wisdom, He knows this is what is ultimately worthwhile, and His power creates a new desire and a new influence in us, molding our wills that want to make a difference but may not know how. His power also works in others to provide what we need, or works to put in our path someone who needs us.

The gift of Jesus as Mighty God meets one of our deepest needs:
“To achieve something worthwhile! Jesus is the Mighty God who enables us to do that. We accomplish worthwhile things through his power.” (Boice)

Do you want to achieve worthwhile things this Christmas and in 2023? Our Mighty God wants to enable us to love Him and love others. Seek the wisdom of Christ and become empowered by Him to love as you have never loved before.

This is the second gift of Christ in Christmas.

The next post in the series is here.

[1] From “May 10.” James Montgomery Boice and Marion Clark. Come to the Waters: Daily Bible Devotions for Spiritual Refreshment. (2017).

Let Not Your Hearts Be Troubled

December 9, 2022December 8, 2022Todd R 2 Comments

Chapter 14 of John’s gospel begins with Jesus saying to His closest disciples “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.” Near the end of the chapter, Jesus says “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” In between, He gives His followers many words of encouragement because they needed it. Why?

Leading up to this, Jesus had just told them “Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me,”[1] predicting Judas would soon turn Him over to be killed. Since He knew He would be raised again and ascend to heaven, He had to tell them: “Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You will seek me, and just as I said to the Jews, so now I also say to you, ‘Where I am going you cannot come.’”[2] Then, in front of all the others, He told Peter, who had just offered to die for Jesus, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times.”[3]

In quick succession, this small group of 12 disciples were told that 2 of them would soon be unfaithful, and that their leader would soon be leaving them. They must have felt devastated and troubled in their hearts. Had they given up so much for Jesus, only for it to fall apart? Likewise, when we’re bombarded with bad news in quick succession, our heart may tell us to be troubled, but “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9)

Instead of listening to our gut feeling or our instincts, the only one in whom there is no deceit – Jesus – says to trust Him. He says: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”

If you’re troubled with something today, bring it to Him and ask Him for His peace. It can overcome anything.

^{Sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean. I took this from a beach in Florida.}

[1] John 13:21
[2] John 13:33
[3] John 13:38b

Politics Didn’t Keep King David Up at Night

December 7, 2022Todd R 2 Comments

In the United States, we just had midterm elections, those falling between the presidential elections that happen every 4 years. The end result of government divided between Democrats and Republicans likely has many wishing their preferred side had more power. This post is a slightly edited version of one from this April, when anxiety about these elections began to heat up. While in Psalm 2, God declares “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill,” where He laughs at the kings and rulers of the world who stand against Him, that declaration may be harder to take when events don’t appear to go our way. Psalm 3, “A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son,” follows, and I don’t think it’s an accident because it records God’s king at the time, David, lamenting about being chased from power by his own son. The story may provide comfort when things don’t look to be going God’s way here on earth.

^{Photo by Element5 Digital on Unsplash}

Absalom’s Rebellion
The story of King David in the Bible is a very condensed version of his life but does not shy away from David’s serious failures and flaws. The story of his adulterous relationship with Bathsheba is not swept under the rug, and eventually, Absalom’s rebellion against his father David was justified in his mind by those flaws. Absalom harbored resentment for years after David’s lack of punishment for Absalom’s brother Amnon, who raped his sister Tamar. One can imagine Absalom thinking about his father: “You’re the king of Israel, so why didn’t you protect Tamar, or at least punish Amnon? If my sister and I don’t get justice, you don’t deserve to be king!”

David, on the other hand, was quite aware of the limits of being king. In Psalm 131:1, David wrote:

“O LORD, my heart is not lifted up;
my eyes are not raised too high;
I do not occupy myself with things
too great and too marvelous for me.”

Even while writing as divinely selected king of Israel, David knew many things were “too great and too marvelous” even for him. Instead, David focused his heart on the God-given task before him, which did not include achieving perfection in this world. That task belonged elsewhere. Later, Psalm 131 was included in the Psalms (or Songs) of Ascent[1], which served as a liturgy for pilgrims traveling to Jerusalem for the three annual festivals. In those Psalms are reminders of God’s provision for things the world can’t provide, including salvation for our souls and a way to perfect righteousness. The pilgrims did not go to Jerusalem to worship the earthly king, but to encounter God, and including Psalm 131 in that liturgy would always be a reminder that our worldly aims should always be rooted in humility.

When Absalom raised several hundred supporters and entered Jerusalem to violently overthrow his father David, “a messenger came to David, saying, ‘The hearts of the men of Israel have gone after Absalom.’ Then David said to all his servants who were with him at Jerusalem, ‘Arise, and let us flee, or else there will be no escape for us from Absalom. Go quickly, lest he overtake us quickly and bring down ruin on us and strike the city with the edge of the sword.’” (2 Samuel 15:13-14)

David’s Response
After surrendering the throne and fleeing, David wrote Psalm 3, “A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son,” which says in full:

“O LORD, how many are my foes!
            Many are rising against me;
many are saying of my soul,
            “There is no salvation for him in God.” Selah
But you, O LORD, are a shield about me,
            my glory, and the lifter of my head.
I cried aloud to the LORD,
            and he answered me from his holy hill. Selah
I lay down and slept;
            I woke again, for the LORD sustained me.
I will not be afraid of many thousands of people
            who have set themselves against me all around.
Arise, O LORD!
            Save me, O my God!
For you strike all my enemies on the cheek;
            you break the teeth of the wicked.
Salvation belongs to the LORD;
            your blessing be on your people! Selah”

Knowing the background of this Psalm and its placement after Psalm 2 make it far more interesting. David had suffered a massive political defeat, being humiliated and tossed out of Jerusalem by his own son. Instead of despairing, he turned to God for his salvation because he knew even the king of Israel could not save the people. He was only a temporary and provincial authority. Even though God had promised David the throne, God was able to save David, and Israel, without David on the throne. With the murderous and vengeful Absalom on the throne, was God defeated? No, instead we have this Psalm as a reminder of God’s presence and provision of salvation in spite of whatever situation we find ourselves in.

David, having cultivated over years an awareness of his own limitations as king of Israel, and the limitless power of God, “lay down and slept,” then “woke again, for the LORD sustained me.” Surrounded by foes and removed from his throne, David slept soundly! In contrast, Absalom broods upon every imperfection, plotting ways to force justice as he sees it on others, even if he must dishonor God. You could say he is driven by a belief in a government that can solve all of our problems and shouldn’t rest until it does.

Conclusion
Jesus was not our midterm ballots, but flawed candidates of many types were. Some more like David, and some more like Absalom. A lesson from Psalm 3 is that we should be able to sleep at night in good conscience because no matter what the world looks like, God says “I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill” (Psalm 2:6) even when king David was on the run for his life.

The success of God’s plan does not rely on our political success. “Salvation belongs to the LORD” and He deserves our vote every time.

[1] I’m currently writing about those Psalms in a series, which began here.

We Will Not Live in Tents Forever

December 5, 2022Todd R 2 Comments

The apostle Paul was likely one of the finest Old Testament scholars of his day, and sometimes draws on existing imagery to make a point. One example might be Proverbs 14:11-12, where the second verse is more widely known than the first, but not unrelated:

“The house of the wicked will be destroyed,
but the tent of the upright will flourish.
There is a way that seems right to a man,
but its end is the way to death.”

Physically, it seems obvious that a house is far more durable than a tent, but these Proverbs tell us not to judge by appearances. Looks and reputation may suggest otherwise, but it is righteousness that determines eternal destiny, specifically acceptance of Jesus’ righteousness.

In 2 Corinthians 5:1-3, Paul gives an example of why we should focus not on what “seems right”, but instead focus on the unseen things that matter for eternity, drawing on the tent image:

“For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked.”

Paul, defending his apostleship to the Corinthians amidst his suffering while other false apostles lived in ease, knew that an upright tent was better than a wicked house in God’s eyes, and therefore being less comfortable was entirely worth it, since there was an eternal reward waiting in heaven.

Commenting on 2 Corinthians 5, Warren Wiersbe notes that “Heaven was not simply a destination for Paul: it was a motivation. Like the heroes of faith in Hebrews 11, he looked for the heavenly city and governed his life by eternal values.”[1]

When frustrated by your earthly limitations, or frustrated by discomfort in this world, know that we will not live in these tents forever. For His faithful, God is preparing an eternal dwelling for us. While it “seems right to a man” to think a house is better than a tent, every tent and house in this world is temporary. Hebrews 1:12 says of all creation, the earth and all the heavens, that:

“like a robe you will roll them up,
like a garment they will be changed.
But you are the same,
and your years will have no end.”

Do we long for our new, eternal heavenly dwelling? Does this longing motivate us to live for God? Let us keep Driving Toward Morning today!

[1] Wiersbe, Warren. Be Encouraged (2 Corinthians) (1994). P. 69.

Driving Toward the Morning Sun

What "Not Yet" Means for "Now"

Author Todd R

Our Mighty God: What We Need for Christmas…Part 3

Let Not Your Hearts Be Troubled

Politics Didn’t Keep King David Up at Night

We Will Not Live in Tents Forever