Wrestling With God

Genesis 32:24-31

"Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day. Now when He saw that He did not prevail against him, He touched the socket of his hip; and the socket of Jacob's hip was out of joint as He wrestled with him. And He said, "Let Me go, for the day breaks."

But he said, "I will not let You go unless You bless me!"

So He said to him, "What is your name?" He said, "Jacob."

And He said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed."

Then Jacob asked, saying, "Tell me Your name, I pray."

And He said, "Why is it that you ask about My name?" And He blessed him there.

So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: "For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved." Just as he crossed over Penuel the sun rose on him, and he limped on his hip."

Have you ever wondered about this part of Jacob's story? I know that I spent several years being aware of it, but not really understanding its significance, or even what it really meant. I used to chalk it up as one of those strange Old Testament stories that just seemed plain confusing.

I don't feel that way anymore, but I only saw the meaning of this encounter between Jacob and the Angel after I went through something similar in my spiritual life. Don't get me wrong. I never have seen an angel, and I don't expect to in this lifetime. And that naturally precludes my wrestling with an angel in the flesh. But I have wrestled with God. In fact, I spent most of my young life and early adulthood doing exactly that.

You see, I have had the privilege of being raised in a Christian home. In fact, my parents were Christian missionaries in a foreign country for most of my childhood. And when we did return to America, I was brought up in a wonderful, Biblically solid church.

Jacob, likewise, was brought up by parents, who, however flawed, believed in and worshiped the one true God, Jehovah. Yet for all of his life up until this wrestling match with the Angel, Jacob was a striver and a schemer who relied on his own cunning and trickery to get ahead. His very name, Jacob, means trickster. And his name proved to be an accurate appraisal of Jacob's character. We see it in his dealings with his father Isaac and his brother Esau, and again in his dealings with his father-in-law, Laban.

Then here, in this climatic episode, Jacob and God have it out. They literally wrestle together in full body-to-body contact. Interestingly, it is God that initiates this struggle. And it is not an easy match, Jacob does not willingly concede to his opponent. In fact, Jacob struggles so hard and for such a long period of time, that the Angel reaches out and touches (strikes) the hip of Jacob, putting it out of joint.

If Jacob had any doubt that he was wrestling with God, at this point you would have to assume he realizes that this is no ordinary man he is fighting with. So does he give up the fight, realizing that his opponent is God? Nope. We read that "the socket of Jacob's hip was out of joint as He wrestled with him."

I hate to admit, but I can relate to that. I've had a few experiences that, in retrospect, I would characterize as God "touching" my hip. In other words, things have happened to me that should have caused me to submit. I should have given up and given in to the Lord. But, in my stubborn resistance and pride, I didn't. I stupidly kept up the struggle: "I want to be in charge, I want to have my way, I want to be right, I don't want to submit to anyone, even God."

So the wrestling continues, until the Angel brings it to a close by announcing, "Let Me go, for the day breaks."

It is at this point that a change occurs in Jacob. All of his life up to this point, he has relied on himself, his smarts, his cunning, his trickery and strength to get what he wants and needs. Now, after wrestling with God, and continuing to wrestle even after he has been disabled, he finally submits, and pleads, "I will not let You go unless You bless me!"

It might seem like a simple statement at first, but loaded into it is the implication that Jacob recognizes and admits that the Angel (God) is the one with the power to bless, and that Jacob's power lies in seeking God's blessing. It is a paradigm shift, as our popular culture likes to say. The rules have changed. Jacob has admitted he cannot prevail, He has recognized God's ability to bless, and he has pleaded with God to give him blessing. In prayer and supplication his strength now lies, and that is exactly where our power lies as well.

Then, what I think is the best part of the story takes place. The Angel asks Jacob his name. Now clearly God is perfectly aware of what Jacob's name is. I always assume that when God asks a person to speak something out loud that God obviously already knows, it must be for the benefit of the speaker, and not for the benefit of God. I think that is the case here. Jacob admits, out loud, that he is Jacob, the trickster, the striver.

The Angel answers, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed." God has changed who Jacob is! The name Israel is translated "Prince with God" or, alternately, "One who has power with God." Jacob is no longer the trickster, he has been remade as the prince. Interestingly, throughout the rest of his life, Jacob is referred to sometimes as Jacob, and sometimes as Israel. I think, that just like us, Jacob continued to struggle with his "old" nature even after this experience.

God doesn't typically go around changing our names nowadays. However, God does indeed change who we are. He changes our character. Each of us is allowed to change from being a self-reliant creature to one who has "power with God." But an important aspect of this "power" is submission.

I spent so many years of my life giving lip-service to God. It was only after I fully submitted, gave up the wrestling match, and recognized God as the one with power and authority that I started to experience Christianity in a life changing way. Don't suppose for one moment that I think I have done anything special by "giving up." God was practicing condescension when He engaged Jacob in a wrestling match. God could have just reached down from His throne and struck Jacob dead. But in His infinite mercy, He allowed a struggle for dominion to take place. I don't think there was ever any doubt that God would prevail. But I suppose that Jacob's human nature needed to fight it out before he surrendered. I know that I needed to, and I think most of us are similar in that regard. But we can't ever forget that God is merciful in even allowing us the struggle.

Finally, there are two more details about this story that I love. After the wrestling, after the submission and the change in character, Jacob sets about to go on his way. In verse 31 we read, "Just as he crossed over Penuel, the sun rose on him, and he limped on his hip." Notice that the night is over, day, light, power, have broken forth over Jacob. There are so many references to God as light in the Bible that I think the symbolism in this verse screams out for recognition. Jacob has come to the light, he has submitted to God as Adonai, Lord and Master. But don't overlook the fact that Jacob is now limping.

Jacob, the formerly self-reliant one, has a critical injury that he will carry with him for the rest of his life. It brings to mind this verse from 2 Corinthians,

2 Corinthians 12:9

"And He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness."

Jacob's newfound weakness is exactly why God's strength will be made perfect. That is the way God wants it. When we are weak, His power is evident. When we are broken and humble, God's grace is fully sufficient for us. Some of us just have to wrestle it out with God before we get to the point of weakness and submission. But, in the end, that is where our power lies. It's one of the great mysteries of the Christian faith--strength in weakness.

It's Not About How Great We Are

Ezekiel 36:22-23

"Therefore say to the house of Israel, 'Thus says the Lord God: "I do not do this for your sake, O house of Israel, but for My holy name's sake, which you have profaned among the nations wherever you went. And I will sanctify My great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst; and the nations shall know that I am the LORD," says the Lord God."


Has anyone else noticed how self focused modern Christianity seems to be? I keep hearing about how wonderful I am and how God desires me so much. Certainly God does love me, just as He loves all of His children. But its not because I'm so great. If God's love depended on me being great and desirable, I think I'd be in pretty big trouble.

Because the truth is that apart from God's sanctifying work in my life, there's nothing all that desirable about me personally. Why does this matter? Well,I think we see ourselves as much too important in the grand scheme of things. Yes, I know, nobody likes to be told that they aren't important. But that's not what I am saying at all. What I'm saying is that we find ourselves too important.

The truth is that God is the one who is important, not us. He is the one who has glory, not us. He is the one that is worth pursuing,not me. He is all-knowing, perfect, righteous, beautiful, wise and holy. Me? nope, none of the above.


And it struck home to me last week as I read the verses from Ezekiel at the top of this post. In the first part of chapter 36, God has given Ezekiel a prophecy about how He is going to bless Israel once again. Remember that Ezekiel's contemporaries are living in Babylonian exile. They are experiencing firsthand the punishment brought about by their great sins.

And after God has told Ezekiel that He will restore Israel and bless them, He goes on to tell them that they have done nothing to deserve it. In fact, wherever they have gone, they have profaned the name of God. And because they have behaved so wretchedly, they need to understand that God is not about to extend His blessing to them because they have eared it. They have done the contrary. It is for God's own sake, and for His name's sake that He will bless Israel.

I think we can say the same is true in each of our individual lives. We haven't done anything to deserve God's grace and favor. We've all gone around profaning the name of God since we were born. But He is going to bless us anyway. Not because of us, but because of Him.

At first glance this might not seem like good news. Especially to a people like us, who believe that there is worth in earning things. But if you think about it a while, I hope you will agree with me, that this is the best news we could ever get. Its not about us at all. Its about God. We might fail, but God never will. We might be unworthy, but God is going to redeem us anyway. And even though we never have and never will deserve anything good from God, we're going to get things from God that are great. Why?

Because His name is at stake. That's why.

Feed My Sheep

I came across some verses in Ezekiel a few days ago that have been running through my mind ever since.

Ezekiel 33:31-32

"So they come to you as people do, they sit before you as My people, and they hear your words, but they do not do them; for with their mouth they show much love, but their hearts pursue their own gain. Indeed you are to them as a very lovely song of one who has a pleasant voice and can play well on an instrument; for they hear your words, but they do not do them."

The "you" in these verses is Ezekiel himself, and God is addressing Ezekiel directly. God is condemning the Israelites (they are in captivity in Babylon) who come and listen to Ezekiel, and at times even seek him out, as a source of entertainment and amusement. The people seem to be paying attention, and a few verses earlier, we are told that they make Ezekiel and his prophesies a subject of frequent conversation. But after they have been entertained by him, they go their way and do their own thing. They are unaffected by the message he shares with them. And this is a message that comes straight from God, bear in mind.

I will admit, if I had lived as a contemporary of Ezekiel, I would probably have been pretty entertained by him too. God made Ezekiel do some pretty strange things, as a way of "acting out" the judgments and prophecies that were given through him. I'm sure his friends and neighbors thought he was a bit "off." That is, until everything he revealed to them came true.

But back to our verses. When I first read them, I thought, "Ooh, good post material here. It looks like things haven't changed much in all these thousands of years! People still go to church to be entertained by "a very lovely song of one who has a pleasant voice and can play well on an instrument."" And I'm not even talking about church service music, I'm talking about the message from the pulpit. There are plenty of modern day church attenders who go to church, listen to the nice sermon, walk out the door, and completely revert to a self-motivated lifestyle.

And I stayed in that train of thought for a couple of days. I even started thinking though the great points I would make in my post. And then, of course, I was convicted of a recurring problem I have.

I can be kind of self-righteous. If you know me, you might be surprised by this confession. I TRY not to be self-righteous in my interactions with other people. And I've come a long way in this area. I am convicted of self-righteous thinking pretty quickly nowadays. Sometimes, immediately. But still, it keeps popping that nasty little head up in my thought patterns.

After thinking about our "entertained" churchgoers for a day or two, I looked at the verses again, and a new thought occurred to me. God specifically calls these Ezekiel-listeners, "My people." Ouch. Do I really think that I am supposed to be self-righteously comparing myself to God's people? No. And then, I remembered who it was they were gathering to listen to: Ezekiel, God's chosen mouthpiece, His chosen watchman, His chosen prophet. The people weren't gathering to listen to some nice sounding, empty messaged smooth talker. This man was the real thing, a man of God, speaking God-breathed truth.

I realized that I was making an unfair comparison. Sure, you can find plenty of churches today that have sweet sounding preachers who have very little gospel truth in their sermons. And I betcha they've got a big audience showing up every Sunday to be filled with a bunch of nice sounding emptiness. But, as I have realized again and again, there are also wonderful, Bible teaching churches out there who are filled with genuine Christians, and some of them are simply immature. They believe God, they attend church, they live a "clean" lifestyle, but their hearts are unaffected by God's Word to the point of real change. I used to be one of them.

And believe me, when that attitude changed in me, it wasn't because of anything I did. God shook me so hard that I had to stop and pay attention to Him. I didn't have a choice. Well, I suppose that technically I did, but in reality, the shaking was so severe that it would have been almost impossible for me to ignore Him.

After the shaking, which was no fun at all by the way, major change took place in my heart, and thus in my life.

Now I want to share something with you that is kind of personal. There are some verses in John 21 that the Holy Spirit will often quicken in my heart. In fact, these verses are the main tool that God uses to convict me of self-righteousness when it pops up. And I call this personal, because this is the personal application that I have taken from them.

In John 21:15-17, Jesus asks Peter three times if he loves Him. And every time Jesus asks, Peter answers with a yes. And all three times, Jesus says in essence "Feed My sheep." In other words, if what you say is true, if you really do love me, then you must feed My sheep as a result of that love.

I can't tell you how many times my heart has had this "conversation" with God. It goes something like this: Hadassah sees error in other people, Hadassah starts to feel self-righteous, the Holy Spirit hammers Hadassah's heart with the question: do you love Me?, Hadassah says, yes, or course You know I love You!, the Holy Spirit hammers Hadassah with the command: feed My sheep.

Self-righteousness is of no nutritional value to God's sheep. They will starve to death if that is all I have to feed them. And, hey, I don't think that I am Peter or anything like that. But I have an overwhelming urge to take people by the hand and lead them where God has led me. And I believe that God has given me this desire to feed His sheep. By the way, implicit in this motivation is the requirement to feed myself, a fellow sheep, from God's Word.

John 21:17

"He said to him a third time, "Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me?" Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, "Do you love me?"

And he said to Him, "Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You."

Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep."

But Rejoice?

1 Peter 4:12-13

"Beloved, do not think it strange concerning this fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you, but rejoice that you partake of Christ's sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy." (Italics mine)

I've been thinking about the problem of pain lately. Maybe it would be more correct to say the confusion of pain, rather than the problem of it. It seems that every few weeks or so, I am made aware of something that is simply devastating.

Inevitably, when these stories of suffering are related, there is some confusion involved. "Why is this happening?" "What have I done to deserve this?" "Why didn't God answer my fervent prayers in this matter?" "What could I have done to keep this from happening?"

Honestly, I think that this great confusion over pain is a relatively modern phenomenon. We happen to live in a day and age where we are often insulated from the brutal realities of life. I'm thinking mostly of modern Americans, but anyone who lives in a developed part of the world probably qualifies here. We have enough to eat, we live in safe and comfortable structures, we have access to medicine which treats a wide variety of common ailments. Most of our babies survive to adulthood. Most of us expect to reach a ripe old age, after living a healthy and fruitful life.

But even with all of the comforts of our modern society, there are disasters and problems that no technology can prevent. Children are killed in accidents, or born with physical and mental problems. Some children are never born at all. Young people die suddenly or are swept away by incurable diseases before their time. Parents die. Husbands die. People are paralyzed or disfigured. It happens every day to people all around us.

But somehow we have managed to make those things rare enough that they still shock and confuse us. I suspect that in many generations past, difficulty of life was the norm. It didn't confuse people like it does today.

And to compound our confusion, there seems to be a great deal of misinformation in the Christian community about how to deal with suffering and tragedy. I don't know where the idea originated, or when it first began to take root, but we seem to have convinced ourselves that Christians are supposed to be happy and joyful all the time, no matter what is happening to them.

Huh?

If that is true, then why is the Bible full of great men and women of God who poured out pain and anguish and despair and even anger in the pages of Scripture? Has anyone read Psalms lately? David had some very unhappy things to say to God. Off the top of my head I can think of complaints/pain/despair/anger being poured out by: Moses, Elijah, David, Hezekiah, Jeremiah, Hannah and Ezekiel. They weren't walking around with some strange idea that if you knew God your whole life should be a rosy picture show. They lived in reality. And so do we.

I did a little experiment, because I was curious. I tried to look up every time the word "rejoice" occurred in the New Testament. (You should not consider this an exhaustive commentary on rejoicing, this is just a casual observation.) Because I thought, surely there must be some really strong verses that give us reason to think we are supposed to be happy all the time.

In the New King James Version of the New Testament, the word "rejoice" occurs in 42 verses. And in almost every one of them, this rejoicing has to do with rejoicing because of who we are in Christ or what awaits us in the end. The verse at the top of this post is a great example. Peter specifically says, don't be surprised when terrible things happen to you, yes, rejoice that you are able to share in the suffering of Christ, and when His glory is fully revealed, then you will be filled with exceeding joy.

He doesn't tell them to walk around with a serene smile and pretend like nothing bad is happening to them. That would just be weird. Instead, they should remember that there is joy to come, and rejoice in what is to come. No matter what happens in this life, fiery trials and all, then end is decided. And the end is full of exceeding joy. Take comfort in that, rejoice in that!

Please don't divorce yourself from the ability to "weep with those who weep." And never, never accuse someone of not being a "good Christian" because they experience a normal range of human emotion. God created us to feel things, and He knows when we do feel them. We aren't supposed to suppress our natural reactions to disaster and think that this somehow makes us Christ-like. Jesus wept! More than once! Isaiah calls Jesus "a man of sorrow and acquainted with grief!" Hebrews 5:15 tells us that Christ can "sympathize with our weaknesses." He knows. He understands. And He wants us to bring it to him in all of its fullness. That is the only way it can be healed. A doctor can't prescribe a cure for the patient who refuses to come to him. (I'm not suggesting that we are supposed to stay in our deep grief or despair. But why do some people think we can't even experience grief and despair at all?)

I could go on and on about our cultural failings when it comes to grieving. We don't even wear black anymore when someone close to us has died. But lets not make the mistake of applying our culture's mistakes to the church body. Let's give each other room to feel pain, because life is just painful sometimes.

A Thought

To tide you over until my next real post:

Sin is a lot like laundry. If you don't deal with it, it piles up. And it gets to stinking. And then, when you do look, you have 18 loads to wash instead of just a basket of whites.

Its much better to deal with sin and laundry on a regular basis. Like, daily. Can you tell I've been sick and let my house get out of control?

I'm feeling better, by the way.

Jas 5:16

"Confess faults to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous one avails much."

The Big Deal

I haven't been ignoring this blog all week. I've just been sick. Still am. It's terribly annoying. I've hardly been able to string two thoughts together, which makes articulating a meaningful post rather difficult. So this is going to be brief.

I've been reading through Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations and now I'm in Ezekiel. All four books deal primarily with Israel's great sin and coming destruction. But do you know what their big sin was? It is mentioned time and time again, so much so that you could easily start to skip over it when you read. You know, like you skip over the stuff you already know, in an effort to get to the interesting part of an article? Well, this great sin might not be what you think. There was plenty of sin being committed by Israel. The rich were oppressing the poor. Innocent people were being slain unjustly. Child sacrifice had become common. Foreign alliances were the norm. The Sabbath was being ignored. The list goes on and on. But the sin that God blames over and over for the judgment that He would no longer withhold was this: God's people were worshiping other gods.

And that was the greatest offense of all. More vile than sexual promiscuity, murder, child sacrifice or any kind of ritual impurity. God was getting cheated of His due. He deserved all of the glory and honor and worship from His chosen people. And they were throwing it away on images made of stone and wood. And that, dear reader, is why He brought down massive judgment on them.

I wanted to point it out because I think that we tend to focus too much on the things we "do" that are wrong: stealing, lying, cheating, gossiping, bad attitudes, sexual sins. But you can refrain from every single one of those and be committing sin every day of your life, simply by worshiping things other than God. Or to put it in common language, to place anything in your life above God.

I'm betting that you don't have a secret closet full of wooden idols that you bow down and pray to. But I'm also betting that you do have a life full of distractions and ambitions that don't involve giving God His due: all your heart, mind, soul and strength. This requirement, of utmost importance, is found in the Old Testament and the New.

Deuteronomy 6:4

"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one! You shall love the LORD you God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength."

Matthew 22:37-38

"Jesus said to him, 'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the first and great commandment."

Israel was failing miserably. I know that I have as well.

Jeremiah 2:32

"Can a virgin forget her ornaments
Or a bride her attire?
Yet My people have forgotten Me days without number."

There is hope, though, there always is. God didn't make a total end of His people. He preserved a remnant to bring back and reestablish. He makes a very similar offer to us, even if we have been chasing after other gods.

Jeremiah 3:1

"They say, 'If a man divorces his wife,
And she goes from him
And becomes another man's,
May he return to her again?'
Would not the land be greatly polluted?
But you have played the harlot with many lovers;
Yet return to Me, says the LORD."

God says, "Yet return to Me" no matter how thin we have spread our charms, no matter how many lovers we have chased apart from Him. A man cannot return to a wife he has divorced, but God will allow us to return to Him. No matter what.

Happy Birthday to ME!

Y'all, this post is totally self indulgent. But it's my birthday today, and I just wanted to brag about it a little bit. And I wanted to brag about my husband, who gave me a very nice gift, which I wasn't expecting at all.

In honor of my birthday, I think we should all spend some time reflecting on these verses:

Psalm 71:6

"By You I have been upheld from birth;
You are He who took me out of my mother's womb.
My praise shall be continually of You."

Psalm 22:9-10

"But You are He who took Me out of the womb;
You made Me trust while on My mother's breasts.
I was cast upon You from birth.
From My mother's womb
You have been My God."

(OK, did you notice all of the capital letters there? This whole Psalm is a peek forward to the birth and suffering of Christ.)

And finally:

Psalm 139:13-16

"For You formed my inward parts;
You covered me in my mother's womb.
I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well.
My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.
And in Your book they all were written,
The days fashioned for me,
When as yet were none of them."

Like Honey in Sweetness

Ezekiel 3:1-3

"Moreover He said to me, 'Son of man, eat what you find; eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.' So I opened my mouth, and He caused me to eat that scroll.

And He said to me, 'Son of man, feed your belly, and fill your stomach with this scroll that I give you.' So I ate, and it was in my mouth like honey in sweetness."

I think that the account of Ezekiel's call to become a prophet is my favorite. He goes into such great detail about what he saw and heard and felt when he was first admitted into the heavenly courts and given his commission as God's prophet. You should really take the time to read chapters 1 through 3 of Ezekiel sometime. The angels with wheels covered in eyes is one of my favorite wild details.

But it is the part about eating the scroll that grabbed me the most. Ezekiel was shown a scroll and literally commanded to eat it. The scroll is God's Word. And Ezekiel is told to "eat," "feed your belly," and "fill your stomach" with it.

When Ezekiel obeys by opening up his mouth, it is God that causes him to eat the scroll. Be sure to take note that Ezekiel doesn't do this eating alone. God actually plays the most significant role. Ezekiel had to participate, by actually opening up his mouth, but in this account it is God that actually causes the eating to take place.

There is so much obvious symbolism in this for you and me. We are certainly not prophets in the same way that Ezekiel was. But we should be "eating" God's Word on a regular basis. When we eat something, it is more than just a casual interaction. We are taking something, and putting it in to ourselves. By the process of eating, the thing that we have consumed literally goes into us and becomes part of who we are. That is exactly how God's Word should affect us. It should literally change us by changing who and what we are.

I'm afraid that too many of us are walking around starving, because we have not fed our bellies and filled our stomaches with God's Word. There is just no substitute for actually opening the Bible and consuming it.

To take the analogy a bit further, how can a person expect to grow if he or she does not eat? Our bodies require food, which is digested and converted into energy, which is then used by our bodies as fuel for growth and activity. In the same way, as a Christian, we require filling with God's Word for our own health and growth. We, who live here in America, have absolutely no excuses for avoiding a regular feast upon the life-giving Word of God. Bibles are everywhere.

And if we will be obedient to "open our mouths," God will certainly "cause us to eat." He has given us a helper, the Holy Spirit, by whose assistance we are changed, we are filled, we are fed and nourished.

I've saved the best detail for last. In verse 3, Ezekiel says "So I ate, and it was in my mouth like honey in sweetness." There was nothing unpleasant about this experience. In Ezekiel's day they didn't know about triple chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting. But they did know about honey, the purest and richest sweetness of their day. And it was this delightful sweetness that Ezekiel compares eating God's Word with. You can see this same comparison of God's Word to honey-like sweetness in Revelation 10:9, Psalm 19:10 and Psalm 119:103.

As an interesting side note, did you know that honey has antibiotic properties? It is an ancient form of medicine for healing and preventing infection. Need I draw this one out, or do you see my point?

So, girls, if you are feeling a bit hungry in your spiritual life, reach for something decadent and delicious. Open up a package of God-breathed truth and gorge yourself. You should even try to gain some weight. No diets are recommended at all. Let's get fat together.

Psalm 63:5

"My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness,
And my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips."

Lamentations (Updated, Yes, Again)

I can only bear to do one post about the book of Lamentations. So here it is. But, just so you know, reading this post has the potential to ruin your day.

Lamentations is a short book, only 5 chapters long, which details the grief, anguish, indignities and horrors that the people in Jerusalem experienced while their city was under siege and then eventually destroyed. There are parts of it that are so horrible that they are hard to even read, much less think about.

Before the city was totally destroyed, the Babylonian army put it under siege for several months. This came at the same time as a famine, and the people who were trapped inside the city literally starved to death. There are verses that describe death by the sword as a fortunate fate compared to this slow starvation that the Israelites are experiencing. As a mother myself, the verses that talk about women literally eating their own children are really too much to bear.

Lamentations 4:10

"The hands of the compassionate women
Have cooked their own children;
They became food for them
In the destruction of the daughter of my people."

As horrid as that is, God warned the Israelites that this would happen. In Deuteronomy 28:57 God specifically lists this very thing as part of the curses He would bring down on Israel if they disobeyed Him. But we all know that Israel didn't pay any attention. Even with such wretched threats clearly laid out, the children of God disregarded His commands and did whatever they wanted.

Part of me just thinks, "What is wrong with these people? Its not like God hasn't explicitly told them what to do and not do! And not only that, but He keeps sending them prophets who warn that disaster is coming if they continue to disobey!"

Then I think about my own life. And the culture that I live in. And I stop casting stones at these people who lived thousands of years ago, but were still humans just like we are. Sigh.

I guess if you want to take a lesson from all of this destruction and heartache, it should be this: Sin is horrible. It causes terrible things to happen. The cost of it is always higher than we think it will be. And the cost of sin is very very real, for us, just as for those who came before us. No matter what small consequences we may face in this lifetime, for those who do not call upon Jesus Christ as their Savior, the full cost will be extracted after death.

I will say one surprising thing about the book of Lamentations. It contains at least one bright little gem gleaming from amidst the pain and death. There are a few verses about halfway through the book that must have served as the inspiration for one of my favorite hymns. I just never knew that these verses, so filled with hope and mercy, were to be found right here, in the middle of weeping and lament.

Lamentations 3:22-24

"Through the LORD's mercies we are not consumed,
Because His compassions fail not.
They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness.
'The LORD is my portion,' says my soul.
'Therefore I hope in Him!'"

Great is Your faithfulness, O God our Father
There is no shadow of turning with thee.
Thou changest not, thy compassions, they fail not,
As thou hast been thou forever will be.

Great is Your faithfulness
Great is Your faithfulness
Morning by morning new mercies I see
All I have needed thy hand has provided
Great is Your faithfulness
Lord unto me.


**OK, I can't stand to leave this post as is. After you've read the verses about mothers cooking and eating their babies, you are probably so horrified that you don't even know what to think. "Who is this God?" you might be thinking. "Can this possibly be the same God who we call Abba, Father?"

Well, yes it is exactly the same God. And I don't mean for this postscript to negate anything I said earlier about the consequences of sin. But, just so you don't walk around feeling sick for the rest of the day, read these verses, which also come from Lamentations.

Lamentations 3:31-33

"For the Lord will not cast off forever.
Though He causes grief,
Yet He will show compassion
According to the multitude of His mercies.
For He does not afflict willingly,
Nor grieve the children of man.

I should probably have made this a separate post, but since I'm not going to, here are three points to consider, very quickly:

1. God does not afflict willingly. The Israelites were many many generations into horrid sin and disgusting practices by the time God brought down this judgment on them.

2. God did bring about the famine and the siege. But He didn't make those women resort to cannibalism. They did that abomination on their own.

3. He had their ultimate good in mind even during this very painful time. He was purging His children of their sin, so that they could eventually be healed, restored, and blessed by Him again. He still does exactly this in our lives today. And I don't think it has gotten any easier.

They Shall Never Perish

John 10: 27-29

"My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand."

Have you ever wondered if it is possible to lose your salvation?

I've avoided posting on this topic in the past, because, well, some people might consider it controversial. But I've changed my mind for two reasons. First Scripture speaks clearly about it, and on those grounds it should not be considered controversial at all, but rather obviously settled and decided. And second, it is a timely topic for a dear friend of mine whose family is suffering from a sudden loss.

This verse is the quintessential text that removes all doubt about whether it is possible to lose genuine salvation. I'll cut to the chase: it absolutely cannot happen. No ifs, ands, or buts about it.

(The big theological term for this, by the way, is "perseverance of the saints.")

Our key phrase is this, "neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand." It is reiterated almost immediately as "no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand."

What that means for us is that there is no thing, no person, no power at all that can take away the property of Jesus Christ. That property is the sheep. Those sheep are Christians, all of the Christians that have ever lived or will ever live. For every Christian, the following three things will take place: they will hear the voice of the Shepherd, He will know them, and they will follow Him.

Once this has happened, it is a done deal. The very power and authority of God are the criteria by which we can be certain of it. We can see that in the words, "My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all." God is greater than all. The word "all" in this verse even includes the sheep themselves. That means that even if they wanted to, the sheep could never remove themselves from the hand of the Father. He is the one whose authority and power are at stake. And we've already established that His power and authority trump anything, anything else.

Albert Barnes, whose commentaries I regularly read, said it much better than I ever could:

"It would be impossible for any language to teach more explicitly that the saints will persevere."

(Now you see why I gave you the big terminology, 'cause that's the language that the commentaries usually use.)


So what does all of this mean for us, or for our loved ones? Well, first let me say that not everyone who calls themselves a Christian actually is one. But in the case of a genuine conversion, a genuine calling, there is nothing that can undo what has been done. Even if the person goes on to fall into a terrible pit of sin, or experiences a great rebellion against God, it doesn't matter. If they are one of God's sheep, those offenses are totally forgiven.

The point of this post is not to lay out what means we have for determining if a conversion is genuine. That is a topic for another time.

The point today is that if the conversion was genuine, it is for all of eternity. If you need a few more verses to convince you, take a moment to read through these.

John 6:37

"All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out."

John 6:39-40

"This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day."

Isaiah 43:13

"Indeed before the day was, I am He;
And there is no one who can deliver out of My hand;
I work, and who will reverse it?"

This is a serious issue, my dear reader. Imagine living in terror of losing your salvation. Imagine what it would be like to seriously believe that it could somehow all be taken away, and you could end up in Hell because you managed to "mess it up" somehow. Do you really think that God is so arbitrary with His sheep?

Well, I'll tell ya, if it was up to our ability to stick by God's side, the situation would not be nearly so secure. But the beautiful thing is that none of it depends on our ability to stick with God. All of it depends of His promises to stick with us. And He is in the business of keeping His promises.

Isaiah 43:1

"Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name;
You are Mine."