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Although there seems to be less media coverage about it this time, Harold Camping is again predicting the end of the world. His last prediction was that the world would end on May 21, 2011. Now he predicts that it will end on October 21, 2011--today. What I said then still applies, so I am sharing it with you again.

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Have you heard? Harold Camping has predicted that tomorrow, May 21, 2011, is judgement day, and that at 6:00 p.m. God will destroy the world. Aside from the fact that there is no Biblical support for the fact that the world will be destroyed at the moment of Jesus’ second coming, let’s focus on whether or not it will happen at all rather than how. The Bible tells us that only the Heavenly Father, not Jesus, not the angels, no one but the Heavenly Father, knows the appointed time. (Matthew 24:36, Matthew 24:42, Matthew 24:50, Matthew 25:13, Mark 13:32, Acts 1:7)

Further, 1 Thessalonians 5:1 tells us that we don’t need to know. In Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians (I Thessalonians 5:1-11), he recognizes what they already know and then goes on to tell them, and us, what we need to focus on instead. He states that he doesn’t need to write about the ‘when’, because they are already aware of the fact that it will be unexpected, like a thief in the night. Paul says that it will come upon them when everyone is talking about peace and security, so the mere fact that Camping is predicting it, makes it very unlikely that it will happen tomorrow.

Paul instructs us to act as children of the light—to encourage each other, build each other up, and to act as though Jesus might return at any moment, because of course He might. We need to protect our hearts by putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and protect our minds by putting on the helmet of hope. Our hope for salvation is not a matter of wishful thinking, but a matter of confident expectation if we have accepted the gift of Christ’s sacrifice for us and have made Him Lord of our lives.

I think what bothers me more than anything about Camping’s prediction is that he says, “There is hope for anyone who humbly cries, who begs, and beseeches God that maybe they, too, might become saved.” This is close to the truth, but it has some flaws, and that is just what Satan does. He’s a master of deception. II Corinthians 11:14-15 tells us that Satan disguises himself as an angel of light and his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Whether Camping is intentionally misleading people, or whether he is just deceived himself is not for me to judge, but the truth is that the gift of salvation is available to anyone who asks. (John 1:12, John 3:17-18, John 20:31, Acts 2:21, Acts 10:43) Camping quotes Romans 6:23, but only the first part, that the wages of sin is death. He neglects the second part that assures us that the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Christ died so that we could live forever. If we have accepted that, we have no need to fear.

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In my last post, I discussed Paul’s teaching that we are justified by faith and faith alone. James 2:14-26 is often seen as a contradiction of Paul, but what James said was not directed at Paul, and for that matter what Paul said had not been directed at James. Paul was speaking to a group of people who felt that they could earn their righteousness by obeying the law to the letter, and often to the point of neglecting mercy and compassion. James was speaking to his brothers and sisters—those who already claimed to have a faith in God but were not showing it in their actions.

James is not saying that we need to have both faith and works in order to earn salvation. If that were the case, we would be claiming that Christ is not our only saviour, but that we are saviours for ourselves. This is not supported in the rest of scripture at all, and it is not what James is teaching either. Faith in Christ is all we need for salvation, but true faith is more than just saying so; it is more than just intellectual agreement. That is an essential first step, but it is not the last step. True faith naturally results in obedience to Christ, and in the character of Christ being displayed through us. Good works are the only way that other people will be able to see our faith.

If we were to go to court to claim our innocence in some matter, we would be judged on our actions; that is how the jury would decide if what we said is true. The same principle applies to our faith. Our actions are the evidence that shows the world that our faith is real. Good works are the fruit of the tree that has faith as its root. You are known by the fruit that you bear. (Matthew 12:33)

It is a case of what motivates us. Are we doing what we believe is right, as Paul’s audience was, because we are trying to earn gold stars, or are we doing what we believe God wants us to do because we love Him and want to serve Him? Ephesians 2:8-10 ties it all together for us. We are saved by faith, but we were designed to do good works.

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In Romans 5:1-11 Paul discusses the benefits of being justified by faith. Years ago, I memorized Romans 5:1-2 in the New International Version: Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.

First of all, we are justified by faith. I once heard someone define the term justified as “just [as] if I’d” never sinned. Through faith, and only by faith, we are worthy to share in the benefits that Paul describes here. They are gifts given through the grace of God to those who believe. The NET Bible translates “justified” as “declared righteous”. We don’t start out righteous, but we don’t have to clean ourselves up before we can be accepted by God. All we have to do is have faith, believe. (Romans 4:3-5)

The term peace here does not simply mean a contented feeling, but a state of peace. It is not the peace of God, but peace with God. We are not on opposing sides. We can join God’s team, and the only way to get on the team is if we are justified by faith. And this is only possible because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Jesus acts as a mediator for us to reconcile us to God. As soon as we make the decision, we are at peace with God. So, our faith plus Jesus gets us access to God’s grace. We no longer have to worry about God’s wrath because He is surrounding us with His grace, His undeserved favour. It was grace that allowed us to be justified by faith in the first place.

This all brings us to the hope of the glory of God. Hope, as it is used in the New Testament, is not defined as wishful thinking but as expectation. We expect to see the glory of God; we are looking forward to seeing the glory of God—to see God as He truly is. We know that we will see God clearly in eternity, but we can also see glimpses of God’s glory now if we keep our spiritual eyes open. (Titus 2:11-13, I Corinthians 13:12)

Sometimes we can get discouraged by all the things that we have to face in life, and maybe we sometimes think that God is punishing us. He’s not. It’s true that we may have to face the consequences of our unwise choices, but this is not punishment, because, if we are justified by faith, we are no longer under God’s wrath. If we dwell on the promises of these two verses, perhaps our hope will be renewed. What we are going through today is small in the light of eternity. Even still, God is on our side.

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Published on 2 Comments on Psalm 86:11-13 Regrets, I’ve had a few.

Sometimes we do things we regret. That was certainly the case for David before he wrote Psalm 86. In II Samuel 11 we read about David’s regrets…mistakes…sins—adultery, deception and conspiracy to murder. That’s a lot to feel bad about. So, when in Psalm 86:11 David prays that the Lord would teach him how to live, it is an earnest prayer. He wants to be wholeheartedly committed to God. The King James Version uses the term “unite my heart”. In the New International Version, David prays for an “undivided heart”. He realizes that if his heart isn’t entirely focused on God, he will go down the wrong path, but he also sees that he needs God’s help to do it. He knows that what is impossible for humans is possible for God. (Luke 18:27)

His vow, in Psalm 86:12, to praise God forevermore, is also sincere. His reason is shown in Psalm 86:13. David knows that what he has done is deserving of death, but God in His great mercy has forgiven him. God is deserving of our praise simply because He is God, but His love and mercy toward David provided so much more motivation. David vowed not only to praise God, but to do it with enthusiasm, and to do it forever.

It is likely that most of the people reading this have not sinned to the same degree that David did in the case of Bathsheba and Uriah. But even the most noble among us are dependent on God’s grace to save us. We cannot save ourselves. (Ephesians 2:4-9) God wants us all to be completely devoted to Him. He wants us to ask for His help to live the way we should. He is ready and willing to give it, along with His grace, mercy, love and forgiveness. He has provided His Word so that we can learn more about His ways, but it takes commitment. We need to choose each day to put Him first, to praise Him and to give Him the glory.

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Because of the challenging circumstances in my life right now which make it difficult for me to spend time at my computer, I am going to be sharing some of my earlier posts with you over the next little while. The first one, appropriately, looks at changing plans. I hope it will encourage you.

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Sometimes things don’t go according to plan. For that matter, it might be more accurate to say that usually things don’t go according to plan. Our plans anyway. That was certainly the case for Joseph, whose story is told in Genesis 37-50. Let me give you the condensed version in case you are not familiar with the story.

Joseph was his father Jacob’s favourite son which made his brothers jealous. When he was a teenager Joseph had a dream that was interpreted to mean that one day his brothers would bow down to him. This didn’t endear him to his brothers, who then conspired to kill him. One brother opposed the killing, but was willing to leave him stranded in a well, with the intention of coming back to rescue him later. In the meantime the other brothers came up with a different plan—to sell him as a slave. Joseph was taken to Egypt where he worked for Potiphar, the captain of Pharaoh’s guard. Potiphar’s wife took a liking to Joseph and made a pass at him. When Joseph refused her, she accused him of trying to rape her. Joseph was thrown into prison where some time later he interpreted the dreams of two other prisoners. Eventually one of them remembered him to Pharaoh--when Pharaoh needed a dream interpreted. The interpretation of Pharaoh’s dream led to Joseph being put in charge of storing food for the famine that was to come, which saved the lives of many people including Joseph’s brothers who in desperation came to Egypt in search of food. Joseph chose to forgive his brothers, but when their father died the brothers feared that Joseph would seek revenge. Joseph’s answer to them is Genesis 50:20: What you meant for evil, God meant for good.

God’s plans are not thwarted by the deeds of humans. Because our perspective is so limited, it is difficult for us to really understand how things can possibly work out for good when we are in the midst of terrible situations. I’m sure there must have been times when Joseph wondered why all these horrible things were happening to him, but he trusted God. That is significant in itself since Joseph didn’t have the benefit of written scripture to encourage him. Yet he must have had a good relationship with God, because scripture now tells us that the Lord was with Joseph, and Joseph continued to do the right things despite being physically harmed, sold into slavery and falsely accused and imprisoned.

Thankfully we get to see the end of Joseph’s story, and see that things worked out for the best. Joseph saved not only his own family members, but also many Egyptians and whatever foreigners came to Egypt in search of food. And because the Israelites were saved in Egypt, they went on to become a great nation. Through the Israelites, Jesus came into the world, and brought salvation for all. So Joseph saved more lives than he could have at that time imagined. Joseph surely knew the promise that God had made to Abraham (Genesis 15:13-16), and he trusted God to fulfill it.

You may be in a struggle right now that you can’t see the end of. You don’t know what will come of it, but God does. He already knows what the ending will be. I hope that you are able to look back at previous struggles and see how they worked out, and maybe that will give you some encouragement to keep going, and to keep doing what is right in God’s eyes. (Galatians 6:9) God has a good plan for your life. (Jeremiah 29:11) Trust Him to fulfill it.

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Today is Thanksgiving Day in Canada. I will be spending it with family, and probably eating far too much of a meal that I don't have to cook. I have so much to be thankful for, and I pray that you will all be similarly blessed.

To honour the occasion I am sharing with you Linus' Thanksgiving Prayer.

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In my last post (October 5, 2011) I discussed the dangers listed in Psalm 91, and the fact that God will protect us from those things. I suggested various ways to interpret what that protection really means. Perhaps today’s verse can help to provide the answer.

I John 4:18 tells us that perfect love casts out fear. We may be faced with all the arrows and hardships described in Psalm 91, we many even be faced with death, but if we have the perfect love of God in us, we need not fear. If we have accepted His gift of salvation, then we can have the confidence that nothing in this world can overcome us, for nothing can separate us from God’s perfect love. (Romans 8:35-39) If we focus on eternity, the hardships that we go through on this earth will not hold the same significance. Yes, we will still have trials and troubles, the Bible warns us of this (John 16:33), but they are only temporary.

We are told in I John 4:18 that fear has to do with punishment. If we have accepted Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf, then there will be no eternal punishment for us. We have already been forgiven and redeemed. Romans 8:1 tells us that there is therefore—because He paid the price—now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. If we are in Christ, we are joint heirs with Him, (Romans 8:17) and we have a blessed eternity to look forward to. And while we are on this earth, we are still in God’s love, and we have the Holy Spirit to guide us. Yes, there will be times of concern, but He is right there going through each trial with us. He understands every single thing that we must face. (Hebrews 4:14-15) And when the time comes, we will reach glory with the price for our sins already paid in full by our Saviour. There is absolutely no reason to fear.

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Published on 1 Comment on Psalm 91 Under His Wings

A few days ago, a friend shared a photo on Facebook that I thought represented Psalm 91:4 beautifully. I shared it on the Memos From God Facebook page. I particularly like that verse in the New International Version: He will cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you will find refuge. In my Bible a feather marks that page.

Psalm 91 is one of the most reassuring chapters in the Bible. First of all, it tells us that God who is sovereign, almighty and trustworthy will rescue us and protect us. The words are figurative and symbolic, but surely that is their message. It goes on to tell us of all the kinds of dangers from which we will be protected, and assures us that He will be there for us to save us. That all sounds excellent, but is it true? The Bible also tells us that we are guaranteed to face trouble, (John 16:33) and this Psalm doesn’t tell us that we won’t see those dangers, only that they won’t overtake us. But how do you explain the fact that faithful Christians suffer—disease, tragic circumstances, financial ruin—and sometimes die at a very young age? Where is the truth of Psalm 91 then?

Two particular circumstances come to mind—the death of several friends at too young an age, and the fact that Albert Chretien is still missing in the Nevada wilderness after seven months. How can we say that those people are protected from all the dangers in the world? Perhaps the sense of being protected as described in these verses is not the same as avoiding trying circumstances altogether. Perhaps all the trying circumstances we go through have a purpose, something to teach us. Perhaps it means that we will be rescued from them in the life to come. Perhaps we need to dwell in the shelter of the Most High, rather than just visit occasionally, in order to experience this refuge. Perhaps we just can’t imagine how awful life could possibly be without God’s protection, a protection that we actually experience without fully realizing it. John Calvin has said, “When we look back on our life from the perspective of eternity, we are going to see that the power of Satan was so great, that the weakness of our flesh was feeble, and that the hostility of the world was so strong, that every day of our lives—if God had not intervened—we would never have made it through a day.”

What I do know is this: God knows better than I do. Isaiah 55:8-9 tells us that His ways are not like our ways. Just as the sky is higher than the earth, so His deeds and plans are higher than ours. And His grace is sufficient. (II Corinthians 12:9) Whatever trials we have to go through, He will give us the strength to endure them. What we need to do is trust Him, and be devoted and loyal to Him. (Psalm 91:14) He will take care of the rest.

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Update:
Al Chretien has not yet been found, and I would like to ask for extra prayer right now as hunters begin to enter the area for deer hunting season. This is Al's best chance of being found before winter returns.

Rita Chretien has now shared her story publicly. You can see the report here.

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Do you ever take a really close look at yourself, at your character? Can you be honest in your assessment, or does pride get in the way? Are you doing the things that you know are right? One of my husband’s favourite quotations comes from Anatole France: “It is human nature to think wisely and act in an absurd fashion.” You know the right thing to do, the wise thing to do, but you don’t always do it. Maybe you get distracted or redirected, or you do things without thinking at all. Or maybe, for whatever reason, you give in to the temptation of doing what you know is wrong.

The Apostle Paul faced this same struggle. In Romans 7:18-19 he tells us that he wants to do good, but he doesn’t. He does the very thing that he doesn’t want to do. There was a constant battle within him, and there is a constant battle within us, between doing what will please God and doing what will please Satan. Satan is always trying to win our hearts, and is always presenting us with opportunities to mess up. Each time we take him up on it, he wins a small victory. But we can’t blame it all on Satan; we always have a choice. And more importantly, we have the power to overcome the temptation. What is the answer? It is not in the removal of temptations, because they will be with us for all of our lives. The answer is in allowing the Holy Spirit to work through us. This option is only possible because of the redeeming sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Because He conquered sin, He fulfilled the righteous requirements of God, which allows us to be forgiven for all the bad choices that we make. We make a one-time decision to accept Christ’s gift of salvation, but we need to choose daily, sometimes hourly, to accept, to invite, the power of the Holy Spirit into our lives to fight the temptations that we face and to help us to make the right choices.

This is something that cannot be done without humility. Do you think you have it all together? Are you not willing to admit your weakness against temptation? Is your pride telling you that you don’t have a problem? If you were to be honest with yourself, you would see that we all struggle with this issue. (Genesis 6:5, Romans 3:23) The good news is that God delights in forgiving and healing the hurts of those who will humbly ask for help. (II Chronicles 7:14) Don’t let pride get in your way.

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Today is International Blasphemy Rights Day. Blasphemy is the act of speaking irreverently about God or sacred things. In centuries past, it was a very serious crime, and it still is today in some countries. International Blasphemy Rights Day was introduced in 2009 by the Center for Inquiry based in Amherst, New York. As far as I can determine, it exists and is international only because they said so. The reason they give for establishing this day is to support free speech and the right to criticize or satirize religion. One would think from the name of their organization, that the purpose for criticism would be to determine the truth, but on the front page of their website today, Ronald Lindsay, the president and CEO of the Center for Inquiry says that if you aren’t sure how to commemorate the day, “just state that there is no god”. That doesn’t sound like inquiry to me. What if there really is a god?

In Acts 17:10-11 Paul and Silas left Thessalonica and went to Berea to preach the good news about Jesus Christ. Whereas many of the Thessalonians had incited trouble and riotous behaviour among the crowds, the Bereans were commended for being open-minded. In some versions, open-minded is translated as receptive, fair-minded, noble-minded or of noble character. They eagerly received the message, but that does not mean that they were naïve or simple-minded. They were open to learning and to admitting that there might be something that they didn’t already know. They didn’t just accept it at face value though. They searched the scriptures to see if what Paul and Silas were saying really was true. At that time, the scriptures consisted of what we now know as the Old Testament; the New Testament didn’t exist yet. Paul and Silas taught from the Old Testament to show the people that the scriptures pointed to Jesus. Since the Jews had been waiting for a Messiah, their two choices were to believe that the Messiah could be Jesus, or to believe that it couldn’t be. The Bereans believed that it could be, but they studied the scriptures to confirm if it was true.

God has nothing against inquiring minds. He is not afraid of our questions. By all means seek the truth. In order to do that, however, you need to be open to the possibility that you do not already fully understand all the answers. If you were open to that, I would suggest that you pray for God to reveal Himself to you as you continue on your quest. God promises that you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart. (Deuteronomy 4:29, Jeremiah 29:13)