No Regrets?

Sometimes we hear people say, "I have no regrets."

Knowing the sinful state of man, that's really hard to believe. Maybe they've deadened their consciences enough that they can rationalize all the sinful choices that they have made. Or maybe they've become so arrogant that they don't mind that they've hurt others or even themselves through their sinful actions.

It doesn't seem possible that we can live a life of "no regrets."

Take Joseph's brothers for example. Almost 20 years after they had sold Joseph to the slave traders, they stand before him, wanting to by food. Joseph knew who they were, but they were not yet aware that this was their brother.

Joseph drilled them and placed heavy demands on their purchase of grain. The brothers say among themselves, "It's because of what we did to our brother that we are being treated this way."

Twenty years of guilt. Twenty years of regret. Twenty years of keeping a secret. Twenty years of lies.

It doesn't appear that they ever confessed and repented to God, to their father or to their brother.

The regret was there.

And think of Paul, "...Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am foremost" (1 Tim 1:15).

Paul's life before the Damascus road experience was a life of sin. He was a murderer. He brought innocent people before the courts to have them executed.

Did he forget that? No. He reminds the readers of that life often throughout his letters.

But look at the next verse: "But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display His perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in Him for eternal life" (v 16).

Paul's memories of his past life did not disappear at the moment of salvation. Instead, they served as a reminder of God's mercy and patience. He could remember the past to remind him of God's mercy.

And that served "as an example to those who were to believe in Him for eternal life."

Think of someone arguing with Paul that their sinful life was to great for God to forgive. Paul could say, "Listen to my story."

No regrets? No way! Your past may be filled with sinful choices. And while we don't glory in those choices we can see that God has displayed His mercy in our lives by remembering the change that He has made.

Ultimate Satisfaction

Psalm 17 is a prayer for deliverance and protection from enemies.

David begins by asking God to look at his virtuous life (v 1-5). Then he cries out for deliverance from his enemies. He calls to God because he knows that God will protect him (v 6-10). The evil person has set a trap and is ready to attack (v 11-13).

David's description of the wicked in verse 14 causes David to explode in his own hope in verse 15.

The wicked have their portion, their blessing, in this life. They will be satisfied with children and leave their wealth to them.

Bud David's hope was beyond the grave.

"As for me, I shall behold Your face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with Your likeness" (v 15).

God will satisfy the wicked by pouring out His blessings of children and wealth on them. They will be satisfied with these earthly treasures.

But the child of God will find his satisfaction after death in the presence of God.

He will look upon the face of God.

He will be satisfied with seeing God.

David is not saying that there is anything wrong with the blessings of children or wealth.

But he is directing our attention to true satisfaction.

Living in the presence of God for all eternity.

Gazing upon His face.

That will be satisfaction.

The blessings of this earth will not compare to that.

That is the hope of satisfaction that the child of God can anticipate.

I Didn't Want to Go to Church Today

I didn't want to go to church today.

Really.

I couldn't get myself out of bed. And it wasn't because I was sick.

And I didn't have anything else to do.

I just didn't want to go.

Sundays are the longest day of the week. Church is the loneliest place to be.

Everyone is so busy. So wrapped up in the program. Wrapped up in their family and friends.

If you're not part of the program and you're there by yourself, why bother?

Everyone talks about love, accountability and the church family.

No one talks to me and I go home to leftovers warmed up in the microwave for lunch by myself.

Maybe no one would notice if I stopped coming.

Maybe there's a friendlier church somewhere else.

I really didn't want to go to church today.

But I went anyway.

The morning message was about the Wise Men coming to worship Jesus. "If you came to church for any other reason, you're here for the wrong reason."

Bam! Right between the eyes!

As I looked through my excuses for not wanting to come to church, they had nothing to do with worshiping Jesus and everything to do about me.

Then I was reminded of a lesson I'd learned earlier in the week, and blogged about, too. "We live by faith and not by sight."

I was building my theology of the church based on my experiences, not on the truths of God's Word.

Bam! Right between the eyes - again!

That didn't make being at church any less lonely. And I still ate microwaved leftovers alone.

But God pointed out the sinful thinking in my heart, gently reminding me that it's all about Him and not about me.

Okay. Maybe it wasn't so gentle.

God isn't Fair!

God isn't fair!

Have you heard someone say that before?

Or maybe one of these:

How can a loving God allow that young father to die?

Doesn't God see that my marriage is miserable?

Why doesn't God do something about my rebellious child?

Why won't God just take these temptations away?

We've probably all asked those questions at some time. And maybe someone reading this is asking one of those questions right now.

While asking the question is not wrong, our response to the question reveals our understanding of God.

How can a loving God allow that young father to die? The father dies, so God must not be loving.

Doesn't God see that my marriage is miserable? It doesn't appear that God is doing anything about it, so He must not see what's happening.

Why doesn't God do something about my rebellious child? The child is still rebellious, so God must not be able to do anything about it.

Why won't God just take these temptations away? The temptations are constantly there, so it must not matter to God, or He can't do anything about it.

Do you see a common train of thought in the conclusions that are drawn?

In each of those examples, we are developing our theology, our understanding of God, based on our experiences.

God didn't do...so He must be...

And we can do the same in the opposite direction:

God answered my prayers, so He must be a caring God.

God restored my marriage, so He must be a gracious God.

We might think that the positive direction is better, because we end up understanding God.

But actually, it's just as wrong.

God is caring and gracious, no matter what He does. Even if He doesn't answer my prayers the way I want.

God is also omnipotent, omniscient, loving, sovereign and holy - even if we don't experience that.

Our understanding of God has to come from His revelation of Himself to us in His Word. If it comes from any experience, the risk is that it's bad theology.

We are called to "walk by faith, not by sight" (2 Cor 5:7).

We can not interpret our lives based on our experiences.

Nor can we understand God, build our theology, based on our experiences.

Experiences are just that - experiences. Things that happen.

God doesn't change based on our experiences. Nor can our experiences be used as a tool for understanding God.

The only way to know God is through His Word. We have to live by faith, trusting in the promises and revelation of God's character found in His Word.

Regardless of the circumstances of the day.

And that is a great comfort!

What if God were like everyone imagined Him to be at a particular time?

What if God acted the way I thought He should act in every situation?

What kind of a God would that be?

Not the sovereign, holy, omnipotent, omniscient, loving, caring and wise God of the Bible.

Setting Goals

The world's definition of success is fame and fortune. Make a lot of money. Have a lot of friends. Do something important and meaningful. Make some good memories.

While there is nothing inherently sinful in any of those activities, if that is all we've got in life, we'll be disappointed and empty.

We'll never have enough money. Our friends will forget us. Our memory will fade. The fun will fizzle.

At the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gives us a list of activities and qualities which will bring satisfaction (Matthew 5:2-12).

The poor in spirit will gain heaven.

The mourners will be comforted.

The meek will inherit the earth.

Those who passionately strive after righteousness will find it.

The merciful will receive mercy.

The pure in heart will see God.

The peacemaker will be called a son of God.

Those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake will receive the heavenly kingdom.

Those who are persecuted for the sake of Christ will receive a heavenly reward.

That list of blessings is much greater than more stuff or more friends.

They are eternal rewards which cannot be taken away.

They are rewards which will satisfy.

They give us motivation to head the right direction.

Set goals for the New Year. But to be sure that your goals will satisfy, fit them under these goals.

You'll be blessed if you do.

God promised and He always keeps His word.

What keeps us from doing right?

When the magi from the east came to Jerusalem, it stirred up the entire city. Herod, the king, was troubled with the news of a king being born.

Since this king was called "King of the Jews," Herod called for the professionals, the scribes and priests, for help. These men were the religious scholars, who knew the Old Testament and who were waiting for the Messiah to come.

They told him that the birthplace of the king of the Jews would be Bethlehem (Matt 2:4-6).

But there is no record of these men going to Bethlehem to find out if it were true. They didn't go to see if the prophecy was being fulfilled. They didn't go to to verify the rumors that the wise men had been circulating through the city.

They didn't go.

Why?

Maybe they were afraid of Herod. He was not known to be a gentle ruler and his throne was being challenged. They were more concerned about their lives and positions than knowing the truth, so they did what they could to stay on his good side.

Maybe it was because of arrogance. Why would God reveal this news to astrologers and not to us, His chosen people? Surely, it can't be the truth, or He would have told us first!

Maybe it was because of spiritual blindness. This was just the first of many rejections and refusals of the truth, prophesied by Isaiah.

Maybe it was all of these.

And we can be guilty of all three, too.

Fear of man.

Spiritual arrogance.

Blindness to the truth.

All three will keep us from worshiping God. All three will keep us from obedience. All three will keep us from the truth.

At times, we're not much better than the scribes and priests.

Why Work?

"Then the LORD god took the man and put him in the garden to tend and keep it" (Gen 2:15).

Why didn't God make the Garden so that it didn't need any tending or keeping?

Why not make angels the gardeners, servants of man?

Why did God give man work to do?

Was it just to keep him out of trouble? "Idle hands are the devil's playthings!"

That didn't work.

God gave man work because he was created in the image of God.  He was created to work. He was created with the ability and the desire to work and to be creative.

While we may enjoy a vacation or a day off, even in those times we have a desire to accomplish something. Ask someone who has been bedridden for an extended period.

"I wish I could get up and do something!"

God has created us with the desire to be creative, to work, to accomplish - just like Himself.

So God put man in the Garden and gave him work to do. And that was before the Fall brought about death and the struggle for life.

Adam was placed in a garden that didn't need to be weeded, that had plenty of water and that produced more than he and his wife could eat.

And he didn't have any neighbors to share those bushels of zucchini and tomatoes.

God put Adam in the garden with his desire to create and to work.

Do you get it? God gave Adam the desire to create and to work AND He gave him the means to meet those desires.

God's love and grace does the same for us.

He gives us a desire to be loved and meets that need by giving us His love (Jn 3:16; Rom 5:8).

He gives us a desire to know and to be known and meets that need by knowing us (Psa 139:1-6) and by revealing Himself to us (Rom 1:18).

Every desire that He gives us, He meets much greater than any job, person or event could ever do (Ps 37:4).

Yet we waste so much time and energy trying to meet those desires away from God.

Just like Adam did in Genesis 3.

True joy and satisfaction, the meeting of all our desires, can only be found in God. Anything else is empty.