Laughing, Weeping, Blushing

"Therefore encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called 'Today', lest any one of you become hardened by the deceitfulness of sin..."

Recently, I heard a pastor on the radio make the assertion that humans are the only creatures on the earth who can laugh, who can weep, and who have the ability to blush. As it is that we are creatures and not animals, laughing, weeping, and blushing are reflections of our creature-hood.  For the Christian, these emotional responses should reflect the inner joy, compassion, and purity of the holy One who saved us.

First, our laughter... you can tell much about a person by what he/she thinks is funny.  One's sense of humor is a telling spiritual barometer of an individual's values.  When we laugh at sexually suggestive situation comedies, our soul's enemy is pleased, for he has an inroad of compromise established.  When we think it's funny for people to be hurt in "reality shows", we're well on the way to a calloused heart.  And, with Ephesians 5:4 in mind, we who name the Name of the Christ should never cause others to laugh at the coarse and crude by telling such kinds of stories ourselves.  Matthew 12:36,37 should produce shock & awe.

As for weeping..."Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep." (Romans 12:15)  Men, in general, can find it more of a challenge to express emotion than women...yet our Savior, the perfect Man, is our Model in His weeping compassionately, manfully (John 11:35, 36).
Too, there are often tears which accompany grief over one's past (Luke 7:37,38).  Tearful repentance as a result of the Holy Spirit's work of brokenness has the winsomeness of godly sorrow that is precious in our Lord's sight. 

"Were they ashamed when they committed abomination?  No!  They were not ashamed;  Nor did they know how to blush.  Therefore they shall fall among those who fall;  At the time I punish them, They shall be cast down," says the LORD."  (Jeremiah 6:15  NKJV)  Loss of personal holiness, and with it the loss of shame and modesty, caused the people to fall into brazen rebellion and idolatry.  Mistaking the LORD's longsuffering for approval, they continued in their disobedience until His patience reached its limit.  Confronted with the depths of their depravity, they could no longer blush, so habitual was their practiced sin.

Such a needed word of warning!  Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall...

Timing is Everything

"Did I Myself not choose you, the twelve, and yet one of you is a devil?" (John 6:70)

And being deeply grieved, they each one began to say to Him, "Surely not I, Lord?" (Matthew 26:22)

"Now he (Judas Iscariot) said this, not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief, and as he had the money box, he used to pilfer what was put into it."  (John 12:6)


Judas Iscariot has always been an enigma.  Had he infiltrated the group as a spy, whether representing himself or some group which wanted to betray and assassinate Jesus, that would be one thing... had he slipped into the inner circle by "conning" the Master, ingratiating himself with the Lord through feigned teachability, that perhaps we could deal with.  But no.  Judas moved freely among the twelve, and was eventually even entrusted with the money box of the group, solely on the same basis as the others: a personal summons by the Savior Himself. Neither the occasion nor the circumstances is given to us in Scripture, but there must have been a moment when the Lord sought Judas out, called him to follow, and he found acceptance with the group.  Such acceptance, in fact, that when the Master sadly declares that one among them will betray Him, each asks who it might be, rather than knowing instinctively, "Oh, it must be Judas Iscariot... who else would it be?"  Nothing in the Master's demeanor nor attitude toward Judas gave His disciples any hint as to the identity of the betrayor...
Was it the Father's will that Judas be included?  Yes.  Did the Lord Jesus know all along that Judas was a devil... that he would betray Him?  Yes, there has never been a moment in time or eternity when the Lord Jesus has been deceived.  So then, the Lord Jesus knew all along that Judas was pilfering the money box?  Of course.  Then why didn't He expose him instantly?  Timing is everything. 
He not only did what the Father had for Him to accomplish in the years He walked among men, but when He was to do each task, as well.  And restraint was every bit as much a part of His will as activity. 


Ever been betrayed?  Trusted someone with your friendship, your secret, or special information (having been given their assurance of confidentiality), only to have it revealed?  Depending on what's at stake, the damage can be devastating.  In the shock of those moments when we're deciding how to respond, may the Holy Spirit bring the Lord Jesus to mind... His yieldedness, His willingness to entrust Himself to the Father completely.   

Atheism Makes Perfect Sense

ATHEISM

The belief that there was nothing

and nothing happened to nothing

and then nothing magically

exploded for no reason, creating

everything... and then a bunch

of everything magically re-arranged

itself for no reason whatsoever

into self-replicating bits, which then

turned into dinosaurs.

MAKES PERFECT SENSE.

This isn't original with me, and I'm sure others have seen it on the internet, yet I had not come across it until recently. The evolutionary perspective is so pervasive, it has permeated the very pores of our public educational system... moving, for many, far beyond a theory, to an absolute fact. In truth, it is seldom even defended anymore, it is so assumed.  
Yet for the one who takes God seriously, whose life He has changed unmistakably, the above "explanation" for the universe is pitiful in its absurdity, and the sarcasm is well taken.  God has established His throne in the heavens, and His sovereignty rules over all.  As surely as He came the first time, the Lord Jesus is coming in great power a second time, His sovereign kingdom to establish, His reign to be seen, to vindicate the truth throughout the earth: God is not mocked.    

Isaiah 41:10,13

" 'Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.' 'For I am the LORD your God, who upholds your right hand, Who says to you, 'Do not fear, I will help you.' "

In tones very similar to the encouragement He gave Joshua upon entering the promised land, the LORD here assures Israel of His presence, power, and help. Like Israel and Joshua, we too feel outnumbered and overwhelmed at times. Yet, His Holy Spirit within us promises sustained strength regardless of opposition.

The LORD God speaks here to two ongoing temptations (both in Israel's relationship to the nations around her, and to our interaction with the world and its system): fear and idolatry. Israel was not to be intimidated, nor was she to look to any of their idols for "help."
How needed a word is this for us as believers--- may the Lord strengthen our resolve to neither fear our world, nor be too fond of it, either.

Luke 4:16--30

"And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read. And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book, and found the place where it was written, 'THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE DOWNTRODDEN, TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD.' And He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant, and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed upon Him. And He began to say to them, 'Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.' And all were speaking well of Him, and wondering at the gracious words which were falling from His lips; and they were saying, 'Is this not Joseph's son?' And He said to them, 'No doubt you will quote this proverb to Me, 'Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we heard was done at Capernaum, do here in your home town as well.' And He said, 'Truly I say to you in truth, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut up for three years and six months, when a great famine came over all the land; and yet Elijah was sent to none of them, but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.' And all in the synagogue were filled with rage as they heard these things; and they rose up and cast Him out of the city, and led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city had been built, in order to throw Him down the cliff. But passing through their midst, He went His way."

As the young Rabbi stood to read from the Tanakh that day in the packed synagogue, word had already spread like wildfire, relating the healings and other signs He had performed in the surrounding towns. Even before He came through the gates, He had known what the reception would be (and the reasons why...): He had not attended the usual school(s) for rabbis...consequently, the Sadduccees and Pharisees among the people would not accept His teaching as authoritative; in a society that venerated age, He was but 30, and, for some that would be a stumblingblock; for others, the fact that they knew his family, were familiar with His upbringing, and had seen no miracles in Nazareth such as the ones they were hearing about being performed in Capernaum and elsewhere, caused them to doubt His messianic claims. Yet, underlying it all that day, He knew His Father's will to be done, even down to the exact portion of Scripture He should read. No more, no less.
Why were all eyes riveted upon Him? Why did He sit? For one thing, the passage pointedly predicts the ministry of the Messiah...and for another thing, being seated was the posture of authority for a teacher.
Thus, the astonishment became shock, then gradually anger at the nerve of such an upstart rogue of a Rabbi, who would dare declare that the passage had been fulfilled in their hearing (!)


Yet His audacity was not done. Not enough that He claims to be the Anointed One... now He cites an episode in the experience of each of Israel's most revered prophets, Elijah and Elisha, to demonstrate God's sovereignty, in general, and how He expressed it toward Gentiles, in particular.
Their response of rage is revealing: the world hates the truth that God is sovereign, for it is a humbling acknowledgement that pride refuses. Pride, too, was at the core of their hatred of the Gentiles...and the thought that God could possibly open the way of salvation to any other than the Jews was simply beyond them.
As they rushed upon the Lord Jesus, it was miraculous that He simply walked away from the precipice of the cliff, through the incensed mob, and on His way. Displayed in the power of the Spirit, His sovereignty was clearly demonstrated, and the crowd dispersed.

The Gospel Message

I came across an intriguing emphasis in the following simple statement of the Gospel message by John Samson, that seemed worth pondering... "The message of the Gospel is this: All who place their trust in Christ as Savior and Lord are therefore saved by God, from God, for God."

At the outset he wisely acknowledges that the Good News of salvation involves faith in Jesus as Lord as well as Savior. The Master said, "You call Me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am." (John 13:13) With the authority of lordship He declared, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand" (John 10:27, 28). Only God can give eternal life. Only as sovereign Lord could Jesus do so.

As Jonah 2:9 says, "Salvation is from the LORD." In eternity past, the LORD God the Father set His heart upon a multitude no man can number, from every tribe and nation, according to His good pleasure, for whom His Son would lay down His life as an atonement. It is these whom the Lord Jesus terms His sheep in the John 10 passage previously quoted. In verse 30 of that passage, the Lord Jesus stated, "I and the Father are one." Although some have tried to use it as a text for disproving the doctrine of the Trinity, that simply won't do. Rather, the Lord Jesus is emphasizing the united purpose and action between Himself and His Father in protecting and preserving the "sheep." All for whom the Lord Jesus died will be saved in the end. It is a certainty, for it was divinely-ordained from all eternity, divinely accomplished on the cross and by the resurrection, and divinely applied individually by the blessed Holy Spirit in His sovereign timing. Thus, every believer's salvation is initiated by the Father, accomplished by the Son, and applied by the Spirit.

    Notice, too, that the one who is saved through trust in the Lord Jesus Christ is not only saved by God, but from God. The popular assumption of the world, encouraged by the "God- loves-you-and-has-a-wonderful-plan-for-your-life" teaching, is that God accepts and loves everyone on the planet equally, regardless.  It plays well with the presumption that humanity is basically good (even if flawed) and deserving of heaven...and God is love, after all.  
Trouble is, "There is none righteous, not even one; There is none who understands, There is none who seeks for God; All have turned aside, Together they have become useless; There is none who does good, There is not even one." (Romans 3:10--12)  The Bible plainly teaches that it is a terrible thing to experience the wrath of the living God... for, "those who do not know God and...who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus...will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power" (II Thessalonians 1:8,9).  Their final destination is described in Revelation 20:14,15  "Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire.  This is the second death, the lake of fire.  And if anyone's name was not found in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire."  There, the weeping, the wailing, the gnashing of teeth never cease, nor do the thirsting, the regrets, the remorse, and the tormented memories, forever and ever.  Thus, regardless of public opinion, political correctness, or wishful thinking, life is short, hell is real, and eternity is forever.

Finally, the Gospel message speaks of the salvation in the Lord Jesus being for God.  Here, as in so many other ways, the plan of man's redemption is far-too-often presented as a sales pitch..."here's what's in it for YOU!!"  Promises of peace, prosperity, pie-in-the-sky-bye-n'-bye, overshadow the Lord Jesus' call to discipleship-for-life, self-denial, and cross-bearing (Luke 9:23).  Some protest: "Oh, but that kind of thing is for later...get 'em saved first...then share the "deeper" stuff like lordship truth."  Yet, observe the Master in His calling of men to Himself, and there is continual presenting His lordship in no uncertain terms.  
So, too, should our sharing of His Gospel message be unashamedly centered upon His sovereign Lordship, as well as saving grace, so that God may be glorified as He alone is worthy.

"I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do." (John 17:4)

As it is that the Lord Jesus never wasted a thing, whether time, words, energy, or movement, there is a precision in the atonement as well. It was the magnum opus, the great work, which the Father had given Him to do... coming to this sin-cursed earth to reveal the only living and true God (v.3), and die in the place of those whom the Father had given Him (vss. 2, 9) in eternity past.  This two-pronged purpose was why He came, why He preached, why He taught, why He performed His attesting signs, and why He submitted to the terrible tortures of crucifixion.  And His agony was, of course, much more than physical. What He suffered spiritually, as the God-Man, was an exact equivalent of what His people would have suffered in an eternity in hell.

How can we possibly begin to thank You, blessed Savior, beloved Lord, for Your willingness to leave the triune bliss of heaven and come to walk among sinful humanity...?  We cannot fathom such perfect submission, such humble obedience, that You would lay down Your sinless life for the likes of us... actually becoming sin Who had never known the slightest hint of sin... all done that we might become the righteousness of God in You.  
Take such thoughts, blessed Holy Spirit, and use them to deepen our love for the Master, that we would walk in a manner worthy of His calling.  We, too, at the end, want to be able to say, "I accomplished the work You gave me to do."  In the Lord Jesus' Name, Amen.