Call on the Lord and be saved

I was reading Pslam 18 today and one sentence by the author David caught my eye.

He writes: “I call to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies."

This statement jarred by heart and mind in a couple of ways. First, I think it is extremely important to point out that David doesn’t say that if he calls upon the Lord, he will be or might be or hope to be “saved from my enemies.” He says “I am,” which infers an instantaneous action.

Secondly, and this is for those who are suffering, I think we need to define what enemies David is talking about. Throughout the Psalms, there are verses that talk about the Lord saving his people from their enemies who are seeking to destroy them.

Is he talking about enemies in a literal sense? Yes. In 1^st and 2^nd Samuel, you find several examples of David’s enemies. One involves his own soldiers talking about stoning him over their great distress.

But he also is talking about it in a figurative sense, such as Psalm 22 in which David describes strong bulls and roaring lions surrounding him.

I think these are the same enemies we often face – demonic forces that attempt to infiltrate our lives, diminish the sovereignty of God and poke holes in His story the way Satan did to Adam and Eve.

That, I believe, is why David says “I am” in Psalm 18. He is talking about the unseen enemies that God immediately halts when he did and when we do call to the Lord -- who is worthy of praise.

The worldly enemies may still come, sometimes because it is a consequence of our sin (going to jail for committing a crime) and sometimes because of God’s plan.

In closing, I think the best way to illustrate this is the story of husband and wife missionary team, Martin and Gracia Burnham.

A decade ago, they heeded God’s call to take the gospel to the people in the Philippines and were taken captive and held by rebel soldiers for a little more than one year.

And when the country’s military division went in to rescue the hostages, Martin was caught in the crossfire and died. Gracia was shot in the leg and survived.

Throughout their ordeal, they were able to somewhat document the time they were held. And much of what I’ve read reflects a faith in Jesus that also reflects the Psalmist’s statement.

They were not were saved from their literal enemies, but they had confidence that the Lord had already saved them from the spiritual enemies that could have put their faith in question with statements like, “If God is for you, why are these people against you?” Or, “Would a God of love put you through this?”

Martin, sensing the end of their captivity was near (by death or by rescue), told his wife that they needed to go out faithfully. “Let’s serve him all the way with gladness,” he said.

He could say that because they had called upon the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and they could say, “We are saved from our enemies.”

When faith is all you have

During the Christmas holiday, my wife and I have delivered the news to our families that another grandchild is coming.

The reception was subdued enthusiasm, which, in all fairness, was ours too.

We weren’t planning for a third child. We have our hands full with our 5-year-old son and 22-month-old daughter. And I know people say there is never a good time financially to have children, but this is really not a good time financially for us to have another child.

To be brutally honest, the pill failed us and now we are probably staring the most difficult challenge of our lives in the face: Do we trust God with our finances?

We would have said yes before we found out about No. 3. But this exciting news made both us take a step back and evaluate how deeply we were trusting in the Lord in this area of our lives.

Money is one of those things that Christians have the most difficulty in letting the Lord have control over. I can’t blame them. We work hard to provide for our families, and we get pressured into making sure we have enough stuff, the right cars and the right vacations. So, we tend to flinch when God calls us to give more to our local church or another ministry that is serving people.

Not long before we found out about the pregnancy (on Black Friday of all days), I toured a space in downtown Huntington with some other members of our church that will soon become our new home. During that tour, it was mentioned by our elders that to meet the vision of taking the next step for our church, giving would have to increase.

I immediately felt convicted that we have not been giving in proportion to what God is providing, despite the bills we are paying. I felt like we needed to double our usual monthly gift. And I still feel that way.

What I’m saying through all this is that it’s gonna take faith in our Lord and savior Jesus Christ for us to confidently navigate these next seven months and beyond.

And, to be honest, we’re excited about it. After the initial shock wore off, we realized that first and foremost, God wanted us to be pregnant or the pill would have worked like it has in the past.

Secondly, God must have an awesome plan for us 2012. He knows that our current finances can’t support another baby, so we’re excited to see how He’s going to provide for us.

Thankfully, scripture is full of verses to fuel our faith. Just read a few of them and see if God’s words don’t lift you up:

My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken. (Psalm 62:1-2)

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and do not forget all his benefits—who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's. (Psalm 103:2-5)

The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them. (Psalm 145: 18-19)

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

Your father knows what you need before you ask him. So do not worry, saying 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Today's trouble is enough for today. (Matthew 6:8b, 31-34)

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)

Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. (Philippians 4:6-8)

Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have; for he has said, 'I will never leave you or forsake you.' So we can say with confidence, 'The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?' (Hebrews 13: 5-6)

If any of you is lacking in wisdom, ask God, who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be given you. But ask in faith, never doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. (James 1:5-6)

God knows what we need, according to Matthew 6, and we are to ask in faith, without doubt, according to James 1.

We’re placing our hope in the Lord. In the book “Manna,” the author talks about learning to live on God’s daily bread one day at a time, having the kind of faith that does not question whether God will provide tomorrow. We must rely on Him and His daily provision and not put our hope in storing up wealth that can disappear in an instant.

So, please pray for us, that we will walk by faith and not by sight on this journey that is ahead of us. And I will pray for you, who are reading, that your faith might be strengthened through our example.

There’s always grace

I was listening to a sermon by Steven Furtick, who leads Elevation Church in Charlotte, N.C.

And he made a very important point that I think sometimes can get overlooked, especially when we are going through difficult times in our lives.

Furtick says that while God’s plan for our lives might include seasons of heartache, sickness or struggles, his love and grace continue.

When life seems like a constant struggle and you aren’t sure where God’s blessings are, remember the grace and forgiveness he has extended to you through his son, Jesus.

And, because we’re sinners until the day we die, we are always in need of his grace. So, everyday, we can boldly go to the cross of Jesus and ask for forgiveness in his name.

In Romans 4:7-8, Paul tells us when our lawless deeds are forgiven, we are truly blessed. In verse 8 he says, “Blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.”

On those days when life seems hard and I’m not sure what God is doing, when the dark clouds will clear, I have to remember that I’m still being blessed.

I think that’s why Christians in third-world countries are such a model for faith. For they truly have nothing, yet they rejoice daily in knowing they are forgiven through Jesus.

A couple years ago, I was listening to an interview with Dan Haseltine, the lead singer for Christian rock band Jars of Clay. They head up a ministry called Blood: Water Mission, which he founded in 2002 after a trip to Africa. He said the two things they need is clean blood and clean water. They have worked to raise money and support to build wells throughout continent.

In his interview, he was asked what they tell the people there about Jesus. And he said they don’t have to tell them anything. Their faith, Haseltine said, is an inspiration to them.

Pastor and author John Piper said being a Christian in the U.S. is probably the hardest place to live because we have so much stuff we don’t recognize the blessings God has given us.

When we lose our jobs, our homes, our stuff, we cry out to God, asking him what he’s doing. Maybe he just wants to remind us of the true blessing of forgiveness that are fresh and new and already paid for by the blood of Jesus.

Stop and thank him today for his endless grace that will flow freely to his people forever.

Good enough?

In the news business, there are a few things that drive me nuts: horribly-written press releases, getting a “no comment” and friends and family members of a criminal who swear he or she was a good person.

Even if I wasn’t a Christian, I’d go nuts over this because the argument is, even though so and so was caught stealing or busted selling drugs; or, like the recent case in Huntington, a man with a slew of drinking and driving citations who drove while intoxicated and without a license in a vehicle that was illegally registered, crossed the center line and slammed into a vehicle. Not only did he die, but a 14-year-old in the other vehicle did as well.

His family’s response: he was a good person.

Recently, our church asked some questions to some students at Marshall about heaven and hell: if they believe in it and how to get there.

Most answers were chalked up to somehow doing more good than bad.

If that’s true, that means we’re somehow dependent upon our own abilities to do more good than bad or to avoid doing bad in some way.

That also means there must be some value to good and bad deeds. If you love your family, how much is that worth? Because Jesus reports in the gospels that even sinners and tax collectors love their own families.

Let’s just say you are charitable with your money. How much weight does that carry on God’s scale? What is a lie worth? Is it worse than murder?

Paul writes in Romans that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” and “the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus.”

What we find extensively in scripture is that God hates sin, all sin. He doesn’t somehow favor the man who only looked at pornography over the man who actually committed adultery.

Both have sinned against Him.

If you put your good deeds up against God’s glory, the scale will never tip in your favor. But, when you put your trust in Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins, the grace extended to you is eternal and satisfies the perfect standard of God.

A letter of hope

I haven’t blogged in a few weeks, mostly because I haven’t felt God inspire me to write about anything in particular.

However, the Lord moved on my heart this week.

I was listening to a sports radio show, and the host was talking about seeing firsthand the ‘rock star’ lifestyle that athletes live. He alluded that although he doesn’t condone extra-marital affairs and having children with multiple women, that’s just the way it is.

“If you think your favorite athlete wouldn’t do that, you’re kidding yourself,” he said.

The segment really resonated with the book I’m currently reading, “The Resolution for Men,” written by the directors of the latest Sherwood Baptist movie “Courageous.”

I’m only in the third chapter, but the directors, who also are pastors, authors, husbands and fathers, make a direct correlation of fatherless children (whether by divorce, abandonment or mom not knowing who the dad is) to teenage suicide, drug abuse, not finishing high school and going to prison.

They weren’t just making it up, either. They were citing respected research.

I wrote about this topic more than a month ago after seeing “Courageous,” so I won’t write the same message about the need to stop being a good enough father and striving to be a godly father.

But I will say that early on in the book they point out that there is a group of men – some single, some married, some fathers, some grandfathers – who recognize that God is calling them to lead their wives and children in a manner that glorifies Him.

Before you even open the first page of the book, the authors warn the reader that the book is not for the faint of heart and meant for men who will resolve to follow God’s call to be men of Biblical integrity.

After taking a deep breath and saying a short prayer, I turned to the first page of chapter one. At that moment, I was resolving to put good enough aside and go for more.

And as I read that first chapter, I felt encouraged that there are men, strong men, who are leading their homes; who are instilling Biblical values in their children; who are serving in their churches and communities; who are living for the Jesus not just at home but also at their workplaces.

A couple verses from Proverbs really stick out about the qualities of these men.

“The man of integrity walks securely, but he who takes crooked paths will be found out,” from 10:9; and “A discerning man keeps wisdom in view, but a fool’s eyes wander to the ends of the earth,” from 17:24.

These also are the type of men described in Deuteronomy 6:6-9, which says “These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates.”

These also are the type of men that other men should look to as earthly examples. I am extremely thankful for the men in my life who I can look at and see integrity, leadership and the love of Jesus and scripture.

There also are men in my life who aren’t fulfilling their role as God has called them. Most of these men are good men: they are faithful to their wives and love their children. But they don’t realize that being a Biblical leader means being a faithful follower of Christ.

As I grow in faith and continue to surround myself with men of God, I feel a weight on my heart to lovingly approach those men in my life who haven’t seen Jesus for what He is: the savior who was born some 2,000 years ago, having left heaven; lived a perfect life; was crucified; died on the cross to bear the sins of all mankind; and was raised from the dead by our Father in heaven.

All who believe in this truth for the forgiveness of their sins will have eternal life and it will radically change the rest of the days, weeks, months or years you have on earth.

I pray that it also radically changes the way they see the role God has given them as a man.