Unalterable Faithfulness

The greatest challenge many of us face in the circumstances of life is to calmly rest in the reality of our God’s faithfulness. We intellectually believe His faithfulness is an intrinsic aspect of who He is and we confess that belief in all sincerity and without hesitation. Then the test comes. Life suddenly turns upside down on us and we find ourselves scrambling to reverse this change of circumstances as if we’ve forgotten God even exists and cares.

But He does. When Joseph’s brothers sold Him into slavery, God was there. When Israel stood at the edge of the Red Sea and Moses cried out in fear, God was there. When the three Hebrew children were thrown into the fiery furnace, God was there. When Lazarus died and Martha fumed, God was there. When Paul was imprisoned in isolation, God was there. When Jesus breathed His last breath and the hopes of His disciples vanished, God was there.

Joseph became Prime Minister. Israel became a great people in a great land. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego walked out and a great King saw God’s power. Lazarus was raised up and the testimony of Jesus spread like wildfire. Paul wrote most of His NT epistles from prison. Jesus took away our sin upon His death and three days later rose from the grave, giving us New Life.

When things seem dismal, our God is there, working out His eternal plan in our lives! He is faithful in every situation you and I will ever face. When we are afraid, He is our courage. When we are upset, He is our peace. When our faith is shaky, His faith is strong. Even if we are faithless, He is faithful still. When we are confused, He is in control. When we don’t understand, He does.

At Mount Sinai, the people kept their distance when they looked ahead into the darkness, but Moses walked into the cloud of darkness, “where God was” (Exodus 20:21. Don’t be afraid of the darkness because it is there that you will feel your Father’s embrace and hear His gentle reassurance, “It’s okay. I am with you and I have everything under control.” Even when it doesn’t look or feel like it, things will all work out because every detail of your life is under the supervision of Pure Love.

Compassionate Gentleness

As I was sitting in my chair this morning, I was watching the birds in our feeders outside. We have five feeders and enjoy watching the cardinals, finches, house wrens, redheaded woodpeckers, robins, sparrows, hummingbirds and even the occasional bluebird.

I had opened the sliding doors to feel the outside breeze. Suddenly something startled the birds and they all took off at the same time. One small sparrow made the mistake of flying right through the door into my house. As soon as he came through the door, he turned left and hit the window next to the door. He backed off again and tried to go through it a second time.

Immediately I stood from my chair and moved toward him to help him. I raise my arms and tried to steer him back to the door, but he simply backed up and pounded himself into the window again, this time even harder.

I knew that the only way I could help this small bird was to cup him in my hands, go outside and release him. The hard thing for him was that he obviously didn't realize my hands reaching for him were intended to help. I scared him and he hit the window again and again, escaping my grasp.

"Oh no!" I said aloud. "It's okay. I'm just trying to help." He kept right on frantically jumping around slamming his body into the window. Finally, I was able to cup my hands over him and gently pick him up. His small body trembled as I gently held him and walked outside.

When I reached the middle of the patio, I opened my hands and he flew as far up and away as he could go. I came back inside to clean up the feathers around the window.

Sometimes we are all like that little bird. Something in life causes us to instantly react to a situation and we take a wrong turn. It doesn't take long to realize that we wish we had made another choice and now we desperately want out of the environment we've gotten ourselves into. The problem is that we don't know the way out, so we start flailing around, trying to do any and everything we can to escape our scary situation we've entered. In the process, we sometimes hurt ourselves.

In this never-seen-before environment, everything scares us. What we don't know is that our Loving God sees what we've gotten ourselves into and He is moved with compassion to help us. But we're not wired to relax and receive help. In a desperate attempt to deliver ourselves we sometimes make matters worse.

I felt sincere compassion for that little bird. I had no intentions of doing anything other than rescue and free him. That's exactly the heart of our Father toward us. If we could only learn that and truly believe it, we would "bang our heads" a lot less often.

Are you in a menacing and fearful situation today. Here's what to do: Relax. Stop frantically trying to free yourself. You can hurt yourself and others doing that. "Be still and know that I am God" is your best approach right now. The Hands that are reaching out to you aren't going to hurt you. Your God is in control. He feels compassion for you. He will gently pick you up and set you free. Trust Him. Don't be scared. Yield yourself and your situation to Him.

There is absolutely nothing in me that could imagine hurting that little bird. The Compassionate Gentleness of your God is infinitely greater than that I showed to a small sparrow this morning. Trust Him. Yield yourself into His hands. It's gonna be alright. He promises.

Authentic Peace

Early on in my adult life I struggled with what it means to experience the peace of God in very hard situations. I thought the answer was all about saying the right things. When Melanie and I would face financial struggles, I would repeatedly recite verses about God being my Provider and insist I knew that when the time came that the money needed to be there, it would be there. Again and again, the time would come that I believed was the deadline and the money would not be there. It made no sense to me. Hadn't I stood on the promises of the Word? If my faith hadn't been enough, it certainly wasn't because I hadn't sincerely tried to muster up all the faith I could, to best of my ability.

Sometimes I would feel nervous about the outcome of a particular situation even though I was standing on the promises and boldly confessing in a way that would make any name-it-and-claim-it Christian proud. I saw the presence of nervousness or even anxiety about my situation as evidence that my faith needed to be stronger. I thought if I had real faith, I wouldn't have those negative feelings.

Through the years, after many disappointing experiences in having my faith not work and critically questioning myself about what I had done wrong, the Holy Spirit (the One Jesus promised would guide us into truth) began to show me that while I had been sincere, I had it all wrong.

Faith isn't a currency that we spend with God to get what we want or think we need. Nor does faith make something happen that we want to happen. Faith is the simply recognition of the loving care that our Father has for us in any and every situation.

Faith isn't in an outcome. It is confidence in a Person. I was sincere about "standing on the promises" but my understanding was wrongheaded. The Bible says that in Jesus Christ, the promises of God are "yes!" In other words, it is Jesus who is the fulfillment of every promise the Father has made to us. We don't stand on the promises. Instead we sit (rest) in the the One who is the fulfillment of all those promises. My faith isn't supposed to work. It's His faith that works! Paul said that, "the life I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me" (Gal 2:20, KJV, emphasis added).

We aren't waiting for something to occur that doesn't exist. We are watching in anticipation to see what our Loving Father has already accomplished on our behalf. Faith simply sees Him and recognizes the reality that it's all worked out in eternity before it actually comes out in time.

Peace isn't the absence of nervousness. Paul told the Corinthians that he had been with them "in weakness and fear, and in much trembling." But he went there anyway, knowing that God had said He had many people in that city for Paul to yet meet. Paul felt fearful but knew that feelings aren't the thermometer of faith. So he acted bravely in the face of fearful feelings. It's sort of like what they say about courage not being the absence of fearful feelings, but rather a boldness to act courageously despite those feelings.

We can enjoy peace by knowing (not necessarily feeling) that our God has everything already resolved to His own honor and for our own good. If you are trying to work up faith for a certain outcome, you're going to often be disappointed and confused. If you rest in the faith of Jesus Christ, who is the One in whom you live and move and exist, you'll move through troubling situations much easier. "For He Himself is our peace" (Ephesians 2:14). God isn't worried about the situations we face, so neither should we be.

Authentic peace doesn't mean we have to chant mantras about faith. It doesn't mean we feel sure that things will turn out the way we want. What it does mean is that we rest in Him and know that however things turn out, it will be for our good and His glory.

God never eats antacids. He never bites His fingernails. He never has a nervous stomach. He has written a story - a beautiful story of your life. Whatever happens along the journey, He is in it with us and promises to see us safely through until we get home. When we get there, nobody will complain or ask why about anything. There we will see His loving protection and celebrate how good He was acting toward us, even in our hardest times.

Peace.

Absurd Forgiveness

When Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden, he wrongly assumed His God would be angry but instead God came looking for Him to take His regular evening walk.

When Abraham sent his wife, Sarah, into Pharaoh’s tent to protect his own life by allowing her to have sex with another man, God told Pharaoh that he was on dangerous
ground and that he’d better get her out of there right now. The next words out of God’s mouth to Abraham were to reassure him of the covenant He had made with him. Not a word about his sin.

When Elisha was depressed and afraid and angry and prayed to die, God sent an angel to feed him so that he might regain his strength. No shame or blame.

When Peter denied Jesus, our Lord made sure when he arose to mention Peter by name and said to make sure he knew Jesus was alive. No reference to what Peter had done.

These were giants in the Bible – giants who made horrific choices. In each instance, the love of God swallows up their sins and foolishness in one great gush of grace. It's absurd. What have you done that causes you to think God may be disappointed or perturbed toward you? Whatever it is, you need to set it aside because that's what He has done. As absurd as it sounds, God isn't interested in what you've done in the past. He lives with you in the now and wants you to live in this moment of grace and accept His forgiveness.

Jesus showed us our Father’s heart when He had the Father of the prodigal son throw him a party when he returned home without so much as a mention of what the boy had done. That’s your God.

Refuse to accept His acceptance and you’ll lock yourself inside a prison of your own making. Accept His acceptance and you’ll run in the joyful freedom only known by those who know their sins never appear on God’s radar – never.

You’ve messed up? Welcome to the world of great children of God. It happened. So put it aside now. Don’t insult the finished work of Jesus on the cross by insisting on trying to share in dealing with it through your own gnawing guilt and spiritually suicidal self-consciousness. You are forgiven. You are free. You are one with the One who keeps no record of wrongs and promises to never remember them again.

So dance. Run. Laugh. Play. Celebrate. That’s what the Father, Son and Spirit are doing and He asks you to join in right now.

Unfathomable Love

How do we handle it when life seems to make no sense?

I think about Job, who said, “The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away; blessed be the name of the Lord!”

"Job, how can you say that? Don’t you see that cemetery?"
"Yes," he'd say, "but I also see that my Redeemer liveth and in the last day shall stand upon the earth."

I see Paul in prison.
"Paul, how can you write, 'Rejoice in the Lord always' in such circumstances?"
"Because I can see through that cell window and I know in Whom I have believed and I am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I've committed unto Him until that day!"

I see Silas with Paul in prison, singing praises at midnight.
"Silas, don't you see those chains you're wearing?"
"Yes, I do" he answers as he shakes them to the beat of the song. "But I also see beyond those stars out there and I see a throne and Somebody is seated on it. He has it all under His control!"

What do you see today?

When you find drugs under the front seat of your teenager’s car?
When your stack of bills is deeper than your stash of cash?
When your doctor says “there’s nothing else I can do"?
When your sit alone at night knowing your mate is with somebody else?
When your teen age daughter says, “I’m pregnant"?
When you've buried your child?

What do you do? You look up! There is a throne in heaven at this moment and there is a omnipotent King on it . . . and He loves you! HE LOVES YOU!

The language of man isn’t big enough to describe His love. The letters of the alphabet can’t begin to describe the love of our King – but they try....oh, how they try!

1. The antecedent of His love is His own goodness – not yours.
2. The basis of His love is His deity – He is God and His love isn’t like that of a man. It is otherworldly, being neither motivated nor perpetuated by external reason.
3. The cause of His love is His own sovereign choice. “You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you,” reverberate throughout the hidden corridors of eternity.
4. The depths of His love is a cross where He endured hell so He could take you to heaven.
5. The expression of His love is intimate.
6. The faithfulness of His love is infinite.
7. The greatness of His love is immeasurable.
8. The happiness of His love is unbridled.
9. The impact of His love is eternal.
10. The jealousy of His love is consuming.
11. The knowledge of His love is enough.
12. The limit of His love is without end.
13. The magnitude of His love is without limits.
14. The nature of His love is gentle.
15. The omnipotence of His love is without equal.
16. The patience of His love is superhuman.
17. The quality of His love is untarnished.
18. The relentlessness of His love will conquer you.
19. The sweetness of His love will comfort you.
20. The triumph of His love will calm you.
21. The uniqueness of His love will seduce you.
22. The voice of His love will call you by name.
23. The wonder of His love will captivate you.
24. The x-stravagance of His love will amaze you.
25. The yardstick of His love stretches into eternity in both directions.
26. The zenith of His love will bring you home, at last – where you will look deeply into your eyes and gently say, “How do I love you, Let me count the ways. . .”

You are His child and His children can never be beyond the reach of His love.
Jonah proved you can outrun our King’s love.
Lot bears witness you can’t out-sin His love.
Jacob laughs, “You can’t outsmart that King’s love.”
Enoch walked out on the world saying, “You can’t outlive His love.”

And Jesus came to say, “You can’t outdo my Father’s love! Come to Me. I AM MY FATHER’S LOVE!”

Do you want to see your Father’s love? Look at Jesus.
His Love is in the Song you get on your mind and can’t stop singing.
His Love is in the Melody in great music, the Beauty in great art and the Plot in great literature.
His Love is in the absolute Joy of a new marriage and the Abiding Comfort of an old one.
His Love is in the Anticipation of a kiss and the Thrill of marital intimacy.
His Love is in the Laugher in a joke, the Flavor in a gourmet meal.
His Love is the Shelter in the storm and the Rainbow afterward.

All the superlatives in the world bow in humble submission before Him...
He is the kindest – the greatest – the wisest – the dearest – the bestest – the mostest – the lovingest — Do you see what I mean? Human words turn stupid and start stumbling toward failure when they try to describe our Triune God's Love!

"Wonderful grace of Jesus
Greater than all my sin,
How shall my tongue describe it?
Where shall my praise begin?

Purchasing peace and heaven,
For all eternity,
The wonderful grace of Jesus
Reaches Me!"

He loves you. That's what's real. Hold onto that.


(This post may be reproduced if accompanied by proper acknowledgments that say "copyright, Steve McVey,2011. Used by permission." The post may be linked to other FB accounts without permission if its source is cited. This is content of a yet unpublished book.)

Ridiculous Grace

The grace of God stands in a category all by itself. There’s nothing to compare with it because there’s nothing else like it in time or eternity. Grace is expression of the complete goodness of Pure Love toward those who have done nothing and never can do anything to deserve it or reciprocate for it. Either grace is a unilateral act or it’s not grace. The minute we think we owe anything for it, we have insulted both the gift and the giver. Those who spend their lives “trying to pay Him back for all He has done for me” will spend a lifetime unwittingly insulting the One they most want to please.

Religion is the greatest enemy of grace because it exists in a culture where the currency of survival is performance. Religion nurtures a detestable fetish in its carnal craving to “pay the price, breakthrough, storm the gates” and other such nonsense that excites the flesh in ways that arouse demonic lust that climaxes in the smug afterglow of a satisfied Pharisee.

Grace throws parties for returning prodigals without saying a word about their sins. Grace pays everybody the same regardless of what time of day they began to work. Grace restores dignity to whores that everybody else wants to stone. Grace hugs the diseased leper (or AIDS patient) that nobody else wants to touch. Grace looks past a person’s behavior and sees the person for who they are in the eyes of God.

Grace is irrational to the thinker. It is unfair to the judge. Grace is foolishness to the achiever. It is a waste to the selfish. Grace is a mistake to the disciplinarian. It is shame to the religionist.

But it is a stream of water to the thirsty. It’s freedom to the imprisoned. It is life to the dead. Grace is rest to the tired. It is another chance to the failed. It is hope to the despondent. It is a way out for the lost and a way in for those who can see the Door.

Grace. It’s not a theological premise. It’s not a doctrine. It’s not a philosophy. It’s not something to be balanced with anything else. It’s not even the most important thing. It’s The One Thing – The Only Thing. It’s a Person – a Person who has held you in His heart before the first molecule existed and One who will never let you go.