Verse of the...Month

'These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.' —John 16:33

Great song, huh? I thought it was strikingly honest, sadly dissimilar to what’s commonly confessed within church building walls.

Sometimes every one of us feels like we’ll never be healed


Sometimes every one of us aches like we’ll never be saved


Sometimes

It almost feels dirty to admit, but it’s true: there are times when the teeth of despair sink in to a depth where we wonder, where victory or healing or even salvation comes into question. Why? Because we too often look at life through a tainted lens. And because the world holds that much sway over our hearts.

But Jesus overcame the world, right? That’s what the verse says. Read it again. Slowly. We can have peace in Jesus, though the world puts us through the ringer.

Two thoughts surface. One, Jesus is clear: ‘In the world you have tribulation.’ Not that we may encounter it. Not even that there’s a strong chance we’ll meet it some night in a dark alley. We WILL have tribulation. No doubt about it. And in case there’s any ambiguity, note the synonyms: misfortune, trials, suffering, pain, ordeals, distress, difficulty, trouble, problems, hardship, even misery. Yuck. Ouch. But this is one of our many flaws—we approach life thinking we could elude it; we may outmaneuver it. Instead, we should expect it, we should wait for it, brace for it, know it’s just around the corner. And we should ready our response. We should ready a God-exalting response.

Jesus thinks that means ‘taking heart,’ or ‘taking courage.’ Basically, He exhorts us to put our trust in Him, in the face of all else. And this is the second thought. Jesus has overcome the world. He has defeated death, and if He’s done that, mere tribulation loses its ferocity, does it not? Peace, then, and rest for weary souls beaten down by worldly blows, is found in Christ alone. But here’s the key to the whole ‘taking heart (courage)’ endeavor: Jesus. If we’re not taking heart in HIM, we’ll find no courage. Our prayer, then, morphs from:

‘Jesus, take this or that away from me; help me escape these trials, please make them go away.’

To:

‘Jesus, be near to me. Draw me near to You. Be with me through this storm. As the wind picks up and the rain beats down, cover me, my Refuge, my Strength, my Deliverer.’

There’s a difference. With the first there’s a good chance the hardship will remain and peace (and proper, God-honoring perspective) will be far off. With the second, there’s a good chance the hardship will remain and Peace we will know, and know intimately.

The David Crowder song refers to the love of God as a sea without a shore. It’s that vast. That deep. Check out the bridge:

And risk the ocean, there’s only grace


Let’s risk the ocean, there’s only grace


Let’s risk the ocean, there’s only grace


Let’s risk the ocean, there’s only grace

Take courage when life deals you injustice, hardship, pain. Take to the ocean. And find the One who overcame every last thing the world could throw your way.


Grace to you, to both expect and endure calamity, by anchoring your soul in Him alone,

Voice of another

Verse of the...Year?

12 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
--Hebrews 4:12-13



The Truth of God is both dagger and scalpel—it penetrates to our core, judging our thoughts and the attitudes of our heart, but also, by God’s grace, it slices away with surgical precision the calluses so prone to grow within.

I was driving home from work the other day and saw on someone’s bumper a sticker that said ‘Coexist.’ It wasn’t the first time that particular bumper sticker stuck out to me. Nor was it the first time it sparked a string of thoughts in my head—namely, What does that really mean? What’s the message it’s sending? I believe it’s saying we ought to accept the views of every religion, that we should embrace their differences, stark as they may be. It’s the theme of our day, right? You believe what you will, and base your attitudes and behaviors on whatever standard you see fit; and I’ll do the same. And we’ll all be brothers and sisters in one great big family of relativism. The problem is, that flies in the face of the nature of truth (Truth). If A equals B, and B does not equal C, then A cannot equal C, no matter how badly we want it to. God is Truth, and as such, He’s perfectly non-contradictory. He created the universe in an orderly fashion, with cohesive governing laws. And He paved the road to salvation with a ‘One Way’ sign --> Jesus.

The Gospel of John declares that God sent Jesus into the world not to condemn it, but to save it through Him. Then, just 6 chapters later, Jesus says, in apparent incongruity, ‘For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who ‘see’ will become blind.’ (John 9:39). Which is it? Did He come to save the world or judge it? The answer is both. And make no mistake, there is absolutely no contradiction.

The divisive nature of truth, of the person of Jesus, is becoming more and more recognizable as I read Scripture. Jesus came to save, but in doing so the necessary judgment of truth came with Him. His message was clear: Follow His way, the way that leads to life, and turn away from God-defaming, self-destructing sin. Wherever He went, whatever He said caused people to love Him or want to kill Him; there were few, in any, He left indifferent.

Pray that God gives you sight to see this beautiful reality. The world was a ball of confusion prior to the entrance of Light. But the Light broke into darkness, exposing the true motives of men’s hearts. Jesus came to save those who would accept His gift of faith in His blood, but in doing so He indirectly judged those who replied, ‘No thanks.’

So, back to the bumper. ‘Coexist’? No way. The embracing of truth (Truth) doesn’t allow it. Loving my unbelieving neighbor as myself? Now I can get on board with that.

Grace to you, to see and savor Truth,

Voice of another