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There are some people who think that God is love, and that He cares for everyone. Others think that God is a big meanie, living up in the heavens, ready to destroy us if we do anything wrong. The truth encompasses both.

Nahum 1:1-8 recounts Nahum’s prophecy against the city of Nineveh, declaring that it would be destroyed. The chapter starts out by telling us that God is zealous and angry, and He is going to pour out His rage on His enemies. Some translations use the term jealous which is a character of God that some find hard to understand. God is jealous in a way that a parent would be for a child: protective of His children and His authority.

In the midst of this passage is Nahum 1:7 which tells us that God is good and will protect those who take refuge in Him. Because God is good and just, He cannot withstand evil forever, but He is merciful. He will protect His own, those who choose to repent, but He will judge those who choose to remain His enemies. God does not have a bad temper, a short fuse as it were; He is slow to anger. (Nahum 1:3, Exodus 34:6, Psalm 145:8, Joel 2:13) He is not willing that any should perish. (II Peter 3:9) He is omniscient and knows right from wrong, and He would like us all to do the right thing, but He gives us a choice. And for those of us who choose to repent, God’s goodness is the best news of all. He will protect those who put their trust in Him. That is why Nineveh had to be destroyed, because God was protecting the people of Judah from the Assyrians. The people of Judah had to endure the trial for a time, but God was on their side. He is on our side too, and the trials that we face will be only for a time. Nahum predicted both judgement and hope. Which you receive depends on your response to God.

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I was having a conversation with my husband the other day, and I said, “The opposite of love isn’t hate; it is the absence of love. It is indifference.” He pondered that for a moment, and then did what every good techie does: he googled it. It turns out that, even though I was processing that thought for the first time, others had said it before, most famously holocaust survivor and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Elie Wiesel.

So, how do we know whether we are truly being loving or not? It’s not about feelings; it’s about conscious decisions. It is a choice. I John 5:2-4 tells us that we know we are loving others when we love God and keep His commandments. His commandments as summarized by Jesus are to love God and love others. (Matthew 22:37-40) Jesus also said that obeying his commandments is a natural progression of love for Him. (John 14:15) Later in the Gospel of John we read that if we obey Christ’s commandments, we will remain in Him just as He has obeyed His Father’s commandments and remains in His Father. (John 15:10) One assists the other: If we love God we will obey His commandments, and if we obey His commandments His love will remain in us.

These days, we use the term “love” quite loosely. I love chocolate. I love blue skies. I love my husband. These are examples that represent emotions and expressions of enjoyment. The kind of love discussed in these verses is unconditional, from the Greek word agape. A good summary of what that means and how it can be demonstrated practically is found in The Love Chapter (I Corinthians 13, particularly I Corinthians 13:4-7 ), but in general it means that we choose to love. Our love is not based on what we can get out of it, or even what we can give (and then feel good about). It is about loving others because God commands it, whether we particularly like them or not. That is something that is not easily done even if we really want to. It is only possible if we let the love of our Heavenly Father flow through us.

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Published on 1 Comment on Psalm 13 From Complaint to Praise

I’m a bit of an idealist, so I don’t like it when things go wrong, especially when bad things happen to people who don’t deserve it.  It’s one thing to deal with the consequences when you’ve made a mistake, but if you didn’t do anything wrong, it just seems so unfair.  Either way though, it is good to be able to call on God to rescue you.

Do you ever wonder if God really hears you when you pray?  Sometimes we feel like the pain, frustration and struggles will go on forever.  He says that He has a good plan for you (Jeremiah 29:11), but do you ever want to negotiate with Him?  Tell Him your side of the story?  Give Him your ideas for the plan?  I think that the Psalmist David must have felt that way when he wrote Psalm 13.  In the first two verses he asked “How long?” four times.  He felt ignored, anxious and threatened by his enemy.  We don’t know for sure, but he may have been running for his life at this point.  David didn’t end his psalm the same way he started it though.  He moved from complaint (Psalm 13:1-2) to prayer (Psalm 13:3-4) to praise (Psalm 13:5-6).

Philippians 4:6 tells us not to be anxious about anything, but with thankful hearts to present all of our requests to God.  This is what David did.  He asked the Lord to answer him, to revive him, and to save him, not only so that he would be saved, but so would the reputation of God’s name.

What caused David to turn from despair to praise?  Hope in God’s unfailing love and mercy.  David had faith that God was still God and would keep His covenant with him.  We must do the same when we face trials that have gone on so long that we think they will go on forever.  When we have lost our joy and our hope, we must cling to our faith.  We must remember that God is God and more importantly that we are not.  Even when we don’t understand what He is doing, we must believe that He does.  We know that He understands every trial that we go through (Hebrews 4:14-16), that He will not give us more trials than we are able to bear (I Corinthians 10:13) and that He longs to give good gifts to His children (Matthew 7:11).  Think back on how God has brought you through trials before.  He will again.

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I think that John 12:8 is sometimes misinterpreted and used as an excuse not to help the poor.  This, however, is not in keeping with the rest of scripture.  John 12:1-7 tells the story of Mary pouring very expensive perfume on Jesus’ feet.  Judas who would later betray Jesus asked why this perfume wasn’t sold and the money given to the poor.  Verse 8 is Jesus’ answer to Judas:  You will always have the poor; you won’t always have Me.  Jesus would have seen Judas’ insincerity and ulterior motive, just as John evidently did.  His response needs to be taken in light of the context.  We know that Jesus cared about the poor.  His answer to a young man who wanted to know what more he could do besides keeping all the commandments was to give to the poor.  (Matthew 19:21)

Was this use of perfume a waste as Judas suggested?  Again, Jesus could see Mary’s heart.  He knew that she was honouring Him by anointing Him in this way.  She did what she knew how to do.  She knew that He would not be with them much longer so she gave what she had of value and worshipped her Lord with it.   Worshipping the Lord and giving to the poor are not mutually exclusive; we should do both. (Luke 10:27)

I heard an interview recently with Arloa Sutter, Executive Director of Breakthrough Urban Ministries www.breakthrough.org and author of The Invisible. She believes that Jesus may have been quoting from Deuteronomy 15.  In Deuteronomy 15:4-5, we read that the Lord would bless the people if they would only obey His commandments—the ones referred to in Deuteronomy 15:1-3 regarding the cancellation of debts every seven years.  In Deuteronomy 15:11 the Israelites were commanded to make sure that they opened their hand to the poor and needy in the land.  We must do the same, but not grudgingly, and not only in view of the blessing we will receive, for the Lord loves a cheerful giver.  (II Corinthians 9:7)

Did Jesus mean to say that we don’t need to help the poor?  Certainly not.  Arloa Sutter said, “Jesus might be saying love them extravagantly.  I’m not going to always be here, but the poor you’ll always have.  So love them, because when you love them you’re loving me, and do it with extravagance.  Don’t hold back.”  Now that Jesus is not on Earth in the flesh, the way we honour Him includes what we do for others.  Whatever you do for the least of these, He said, you do for me.  (Matthew 25:34-40)

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Published on 1 Comment on Matthew 7:6 Pearls Before Swine

Matthew 7:1-5 is the passage, probably familiar to many, that tells us not to judge lest we be judged. Whatever standard we use to judge others will be used to judge us as well. Christ gives the example of trying to remove a speck of dust from your brother’s eye while you have a plank in your own. Then we get to verse 6 which talks about dogs and pigs. In Jesus’ time, both of these were considered unclean and undesirable.

Many commentaries will tell you that Matthew 7:6 means that we should not present the gospel to anyone who refuses to listen. This view has support from other passages in the Bible, such as Proverbs 23:9 which tells us not to bother trying to talk sense to fools, and Matthew 10:14 which advised the disciples to shake the dust from their feet when they left a town where they weren’t welcome. When a Canaanite woman asked Jesus to heal her daughter (Matthew 15:21-28), Jesus told her that it was not right to throw the children’s bread to the dogs.

That is not to say that we should avoid talking to anyone who doesn’t believe as we do, or who questions what we believe, for Christ certainly did not set that example. The Bereans were commended for their questioning (Acts 17:10-11), because it showed that they were eager to understand.

Other commentaries suggest that this verse continues the teaching on judgement. Judgement in the first five verses of the chapter is about criticism or condemnation, something that we have no authority to do. That is God’s job. The judgement referred to in verse six is equivalent to discernment. We must not badger or enrage someone who has heard what we have to say but refuses to agree with us, and it requires discernment to determine whether people fit into that category or are questioners like the Bereans.

My pastor has a different point of view. He would explain to you that if you have withheld food from animals, even domesticated ones, long enough, they will turn on you. If you throw pearls to hungry pigs, even though they are seen as valuable to you, they would be of no use to the pigs. Therefore, my pastor would argue, you need to provide unbelievers with that which is helpful to them. Consider what the recipient needs rather than what makes you look noble. Getting back to the Canaanite woman in Matthew 15:27-28, we see that she was commended for her faith when she answered Jesus saying that even the dogs are allowed to eat the crumbs that fall from the table.

So what are we to do? Exercise discernment, and if you need some, ask God for it. (James 1:5) Be willing to speak to anyone until you know that they don’t want to have anything to do with you. Try to be helpful to those you encounter. Don’t spout doctrine in “Christianese”, but answer their questions as clearly and honestly as you can.

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Second chances.  Mulligans.  Do-overs.  Don’t we all appreciate another opportunity to get things right?  When Adam bit into that apple, and sin entered the world, we were sentenced to live in a world outside of God’s favour. (Genesis 3:17-19)  Thankfully through Christ we have a second chance. (John 3:16)

II Corinthians 5:16-17 tells us that when we accept Christ we become a new creation.  That doesn’t mean that we suddenly become perfect; it means that we have a new position as children of God.  We still have to work on all the old issues in our lives, but God is a god of second chances.  He forgives us for the things that we haven’t got right yet, and He is working on us, helping us to become more like Christ.

Verse 17 is a general view of what verse 16 tells us more specifically.  Just as we have become a new creation, when we are in Christ we no longer see people according to their human qualities—race, gender, nationality, etc.  Now we see them as we are, a person for whom Christ gave His life.  God gives us the grace to see that person with spiritual eyes.

Before Paul met Christ (and his name was still Saul), he judged Christ on what he had heard about Him.  He saw Christ as a contradiction of all the religious laws that he followed so strictly.  Then Paul met Christ on the road to Damascus, (Acts 9:1-22) and his views changed.  He began to see Christ, and subsequently humans, whether Jews or Gentiles, differently.

The world judges you based on your past.  God judges you based on your future.  The world judges you based on what you have done.  God judges you based on what you can, and what He knows you will, become.  Let’s do our best to see others through God’s eyes.

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Do you believe in miracles?  Do you think that Christ still performs miracles today?  In Matthew 8-9, we read the accounts of several of Christ’s miracles.  Matthew 9:23-26 tells us of the raising of the synagogue ruler’s daughter.

When Jesus arrived at the ruler’s house, there were already mourners wailing and lamenting.  It was customary to hire mourners for this purpose to help express the grief of the family.  The fact that they were already there meant that they had no doubt that the girl was dead.  When Jesus said that she was only sleeping, they mocked Him.  These people knew Christ, knew His character and had already witnessed other miracles He had done.  Surely, if He said that the child was asleep, they should consider it a possibility.  Yet, they were so certain of her death, they thought His statement was ridiculous.  Christ, however, had a different perspective on the matter.  He knew that He was going to wake the girl up.

Before performing this miracle, Christ sent all the mourners and onlookers away.  Only her parents, and a few disciples remained with Him to witness her resurrection.  This meant that believing that the girl was raised from death would become a matter of faith for everyone who did not witness it, and perhaps even for those who did.  Had she really been just sleeping?

I don’t know about you, but I like to have things explained and know the details of how things work.  In this case, like many others, Christ didn’t allow the details to all be known.  He left some things a mystery, and that is still often the case today.  Either we can’t understand the explanation, or there is some possible explanation other than a miracle from God.  Those who choose not to believe in God can find another way to rationalize what has happened, but those who do believe must often exercise their faith to do so.  Jesus said, “Blessed are the people who have not seen and yet have believed.”  (John 20:29)

Since Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8), we know that He can still perform miracles.  He is able to meet every need, but He cares more about your salvation than your comfort.  He wants you to rely on Him.  (Matthew 11:28)  Seek Him first, and He will take care of the rest.  (Matthew 6:33)

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I have come to realize that a major theme in James 1 is humility. James 1:12 tells us that we will be rewarded if we endure the testing that we face. What must we do to endure testing? We need to let go of our pride and our feelings of entitlement. How do you react when you face trials? I have to admit that I usually try to avoid them. I think it is quite common for people to pity themselves and want to escape the unpleasant circumstances that they are in. But the Bible tells us that we face testing to humble us, to strengthen us and to bring good to us. (Deuteronomy 8:16, James 1:2-4) A wise pastor once suggested that instead of lamenting our trials that we ask God what He wants us to learn from them. Candy Hemphill Christmas, founder of The Bridge Ministry has said that she has learned something about God—“that if you ask Him a question, He will answer. Now, you’re going to have to get ready for the answer, but He will answer. It might not be what you want to hear, but He will answer.” Are we willing to submit to God’s answer, to His plan? That takes humility.

I think it is natural for people to think that trials are a punishment from God. Job’s friends did, and so did Job’s wife. Job, on the other hand, asked why we should expect good things from God and not accept the bad. (Job 2:7-10). When God answered Job, (Job 40:1-14) He reminded him that there is a God, and Job isn’t Him. Neither are we. We need to trust God and His love for us. We need to trust what He tells us in Jeremiah 29:11, that His plan for our future is a good one. The trials that we face along the way are stepping stones to that good future. God is more interested in our character than He is in our accomplishments or wealth, and He can bring good from everything that happens to us. (Romans 8:28)

I wonder what would happen if we thanked God for our trials and looked for the lessons in them rather than complaining about our lot in life. Let’s try to focus on making the best of the present instead of wishing for something better in the future. Let’s see how we can help other people instead of throwing ourselves a pity party. Let’s trust God to bring good out of every circumstance in our lives.

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Do you ever feel like God doesn’t answer your prayers? I do. Particularly lately, I feel like He is ignoring my requests for pain relief. Ephesians 3:20-21 tells us that He is able to do so much more than we could ask or imagine. So, if that’s the case, why doesn’t He heal me? Perhaps because He is doing something beyond my imagination. Perhaps He has a better plan in mind. I can’t conceive what that might be, but isn’t that what this verse is all about?

In Ephesians 3:14-19, Paul makes some pretty bold requests—essentially that we would have the power and knowledge of Christ within us, and in fact have Christ Himself within us. Yet, Paul believed not only that God was able to accomplish this, but that He was (and since it is in the present tense, still is) able far beyond Paul’s (or our) expectations. Even though Paul seems to be asking a lot, he is in fact not asking too much. We cannot ask too much of God, because whatever we think to ask is well within His power. That does not mean that we will always get things just the way we ask for them. God has purposes beyond what we could imagine as well, and we know that His purposes for us are good. (Romans 8:28, Matthew 7:11) God wants to give us good gifts, but He also wants us to be humble, and to bring Him the glory. He wants our requests to be made according to His will. (John 15:7, John 14:13-14)

The beginning of Ephesians 3:20 talks about the power that is working within us. If we allow Christ to work through us, and in us, we will be much more effective. God’s desire is to make us more like Jesus, and in order to accomplish this, we need to do things His way. I know that it isn’t easy to give up control, but if we give it to God, life can be so much better than we imagine. God’s grace and mercy and love and power will never run out. They are infinite, not limited by our finite minds. His goodness to us will not change; we just need to be willing to accept it, and to allow Him to have the praise and the glory. God sees the end from the beginning and we can trust that He has our best interests at heart.

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Today marks seven months since Al Chretien walked away from his van, stranded in northeastern Nevada, to search for help. Summer has come and gone, and he has still not been found. Friends and family have not given up hope, and are requesting your help to do whatever is possible before winter sets in again. Please read the following letter from Hannah Hyland, and do what you can. If you are close to the area, please consider volunteering. If you live too far away to make that possible, please consider speaking to media outlets in your area. And pray. We can all pray.
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Dear Friends,

Thank you to the thousands of people around the world who prayed for Al and Rita Chretien this past spring as they were lost in the Nevada wilderness on their drive from Canada to a conference in Las Vegas. We are thrilled and grateful for God’s mercy for Rita’s rescue after 49 days alone in the desert.

But NOW we are re-opening the search for Al, her husband, who has never been found. Al never returned to Rita and their stuck vehicle after going to find help. Rita and their children and grandchildren have not given up hope to find their beloved husband, father and Grampa. Neither have their other family members and many friends.

Read about the story here.

Watch the story here on Lorna Dueck’s TV Show “Context”.

A CALL ALERT CONCERNING AL AND RITA CHRETIEN
So Thankful for Rita's return. Now urgent to Re-Launch Search for Al!

NOW IN OCTOBER/NOVEMBER -- BEFORE NASTY WEATHER SETS IN, we are asking that a concentrated effort be made to search again for Al Chretien.

What can you do?

1. Contact your local media and encourage them to spread the word about Rita’s rescue and the renewed search for Al.

2. Please Facebook and Twitter the story, and encourage your friends to pass it on.

3. Spread the word to a large network of family, church and community members throughout Canada and the U.S.

4. Contact the Governors of Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, and Utah and request their help to re-open a search for Al at this crucial window of opportunity.

5. Praise the Nevada Sheriff and Search Parties for their tireless hours looking for them in the spring… and encourage them to continue the search for Al at elkosheriff@elkocountynv.net

*6. Pray that the Elko County Sheriff will request that available, trained Rescue Dog Teams be sent to search, especially this weekend, Oct.22 and 23.

7. Spread the word that ALL cabins/sheltered areas where Al could have taken refuge be searched.

8. Pray that the many Outfitters and Hunters currently in the area could be contacted and asked to watch for signs of Al's clothing/back pack and hard contents (e.g. GPS, cell phone, charger, Letterman knife, flashlight) that have never been found.

9. Pray for the making and effectiveness of waterproof signs to be posted in the area where Al and Rita were last together. Thanks to a friend who has offered to pick them up in a near-by town of Boise and deliver them to the area.

10. Help distribute SEARCH-ALERT notices.

11. If Al is still alive somewhere, please pray that God will be very close and comfort him until we can find him.

Rita and her family have not given up hope and they are so grateful that we care. Please join with us to hope, pray, spread the word, and help in other practical ways. Please pass this on.......

With prayers and gratitude,
Hannah Hyland,

Rita’s friend and neighbour in Penticton, B.C.

For ideas or more info, contact hkhyland@gmail.com
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Update:
On September 29, 2012, Albert Chretien's body was found by elk hunters, 11 kilometres from where the van had been stranded. He had been going in the right direction to find help, but the terrain was steep and wooded, and the snow was up to ten feet deep at the time. His body was found intact with identification still in his pocket.