No Sign Will Convince You

I noticed an interesting contrast in Scripture the other day, and it got me to thinking about miracles and such. Consider the different reactions that Jesus inspired, first from demons, and then from His own disciples.

Mark 1:23-25

"Now there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit. And he cried out saying, "Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did you come to destroy us? I know who You are--the Holy one of God!"

But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be quiet, and come out of him.""

That demon knew exactly who Jesus was. He named Jesus as the "Holy one of God." By the way, I found an interesting point about that particular title by reading through some commentary about these verses. Apparently that was the same title that is given to the high priest in Exodus 28:36, to be inscribed on a gold plate and worn by him on his forehead. (What an outfit that must have been!)

But let's not get sidetracked...

Don't overlook that Jesus commands the demon to be quiet. He does the exact same thing a few verses later when He is healing a crowd of sick people and casting out "many demons."

Mark 1:34

"Then He healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He did not allow the demons to speak, because they knew Him."

Again, the demons knew and identified Jesus on sight. This happens a third time in Mark 5:6, when Jesus encounters a demon possessed man in the land of Gadarenes.

Mark 5:6

"When he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshiped Him. And he cried out with a loud voice and said, "What have I to do with you, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God that You do not torment me."

Now fast forward to Mark chapter 6. Jesus has been with His disciples for some time by now. They have even witnessed the following miracles firsthand: the healing of multitudes of people from all sorts of diseases, casting out of demons, the calming of the wind and waves at the command of Jesus, a girl brought back to life, and the feeding of thousands of people from five loaves of bread and two fish. One would be tempted to think that these disciples would have figured out that Jesus was, well, God, or something like that, by this point.

But almost immediately after Jesus feeds thousands of people with five loaves and two fish, He sends His disciples away from Him in a boat and stays on shore to pray. Sometime in the middle of the night, Jesus decides to join the disciples in the boat. The wind is blowing hard and the disciples are straining at the oars, trying to row against the wind. Jesus walks out on the water to join them.

But the disciples reacted sort of badly to this sight.

Mark 6:49,50

"And when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed it was a ghost, and cried out; for they all saw Him and were troubled."

But here is the kicker. Remember that the demons knew exactly who Jesus was immediately upon seeing him. He didn't perform any miracles to prove himself to the demons. They just KNEW who He was without question. But the disciples? Here is how they reacted to seeing Jesus walk on the water:

Mark 6:51,52

"And they were greatly amazed in themselves beyond measure, and marveled. For they had not understood about the loaves, because their heart was hardened."

They didn't get it. They didn't understand. They were still in awe and marveling at the power of Jesus, even after He had performed so many miracles right under their noses. You might even say that signs and miracles were insufficient to convince their "hardened hearts."

So let me ask you a question. What kind of miracle are you waiting for? Does Jesus need to show you some kind of sign before you will "know" Him? There is pretty good reason to believe that you still won't believe God, even after He does give you a miracle or a sign, if He chooses to do so.

Consider the story of Lazarus and the rich man found in Luke 16.

Lazarus is a poor, miserable beggar who is ignored by the rich man whose gate he lays at, longing for the crumbs from the rich man's table. Both of them die and go to their respective places. Lazarus, the beggar, goes to "Abraham's bosom." The rich man goes to the "torments in Hades." The rich man begs Abraham to send Lazarus back from the dead to testify to the members of his family who are still alive. But the response that Abraham gives to the rich man is pretty chilling.

Luke 16:29-31

"Abraham said to him, "They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them." And he said, "No, father Abraham, but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent." But he said to him, "If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.""

Did you catch that? Abraham tells the rich man that even if a person were to rise from the dead and warn the family members who were still alive, they would not believe. If they don't believe the prophets and Moses, then even a spirit sent to testify from the grave will be unconvincing.

The truth is that no miracle or sign or even a wonder from heaven will convince a hardened heart. Only God has the power to change a heart. So stop asking for a sign. Ask God to soften your heart instead. Because a hard heart plus a miracle still equals unbelief.

Matthew 16:4

"A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah."

Judge Not Part Two

(For first part of Judge Not, see the post below)

For all of the things that Matthew 7:1, "Judge not, that you be not judged," doesn't mean, there are surely some things that it does mean.

And the context in which it should be understood is stated in the verses immediately following.

Matthew 7:2-3

"For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?"

So what does that mean anyway? Well, I touched on the meaning of the plank/speck comparison in my last post. And basically, it means that you should only approach others about their sin with a great awareness of, and conviction over, your OWN sin. In other words, there is no room for self-righteous condemnation. We all have sin. We all fall short. And only when you take on the mindset of a "fellow-sinner" do you have the right framework for humbly and gently correcting your brother.

Not only is this likely to be a more effective approach anyway, but there is a strong caution given to us against approaching our brother and his speck in any other manner. Jesus says that we will be judged using the same criteria we use to judge others. In one sense, we are condemning ourselves if we don't use mercy and humility in our dealings with others.

This concept is stated again in Romans 2:1

"Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things."

In other words, use caution when you gear up to judge someone. You are probably guilty of the same thing. And by standing in judgment of another, you are condemning yourself. Because in order to declare him guilty, you have to first knowingly consent to the fact that his actions are a violation of some kind. And like I just said, chances are you have that same sin, in one form or another, lurking about in your own closet. Kind of like, "anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law." You incriminate yourself when you apply the law to others. Because you've just proved that you are aware of the law. And you are therefore without excuse when it comes to your own defense.

But, if you want mercy and compassion applied to you, apply them to those you judge. If you use mercy, you will be given mercy. If you harshly condemn, you will be harshly condemned.

As a side note here, let me add that these cautions are given to each of us as individual brothers and sisters. The church is given very specific instructions for dealing with its members who are in sin. I'm not talking about those things here. I'm only talking about our dealings, as individuals, with individuals.

And lest you think that somehow I am giving the green light to blatant sinners, and a yellow light to righteous standards, think again. Just because we are cautioned about the way we apply judgment does not mean that we are to relax our standards as Christians. Part of the reason that we don't have to judge our neighbor is because God has already done it. God has given us His law. And God's law has already explicitly condemned sin in all of its shapes, forms and fashions. It is not up to us to decide what is a sin and what isn't. The law of God has taken plenty of care of that, thank you very much. You either accept it or you reject it.

Just because some people want to make the law do handstands and backflips in order to justify their fleshly desires, doesn't change the fact that they will stand condemned before the law. Their tricksy reasoning and human wisdom will be meaningless before the Judge of all the universe. He has access to the thoughts of their hearts and minds. We don't. And that is why ultimate judgment can only be left up to Him.

In the meantime, practice mercy and compassion. And mourn over your sin alongside the sins of others. In doing so, you will be equipped to help your brother out when a speck appears in his eye. Otherwise, beware of your measuring stick being turned around and held up against you.

But What If...

As a Christian, have you ever had one of those moments when the thought hits you like a ton of bricks, "What if all of this is not true? What if it's just made up?"

I haven't been hit by that particular ton of bricks lately, but it has happened before. And it's likely to happen again. Fortunately, it doesn't take too much effort for me to resolve the issue. Pretty much, I just look at the nearest tree. Or, baring the availability of a tree, I glance up at the sky. And Psalm 19 immediately comes to mind.

Psalm 19: 1-4

The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork.
Day unto day utters speech, And night unto night reveals knowledge.
There is no speech nor language Where their voice is not heard.
Their line has gone out through all the earth, And their words to the end of the world.

What the Psalmist is saying, in much prettier words than I could come up with, is that the very existance of creation makes the existance of a Creator obvious. And every single person, of every single language, in every single location in the entire world, knows it. Even those who might exist at the ends of the world, far away from the written language of Scripture or the organized nature of church, are aware that God exists. In fact, the sky, and the arch of the sky (that would be the firmament) not only speak to the existance of God, but they declare His glory. (Chill bumps!) Every single day, and every single night, creation "speaks" and "reveals" knowledge; specific knowledge: knowledge of God's existance and glory. (Chill bumps again!)

Rom 1:20

"For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse" (emphasis mine)

Here in Romans, the Bible gets even more specific. Not only does creation declare that God exists, but now we see that the "things that are made" understand what is being said.

So why do some persist in disbelieving? Paul goes on in the next verse of Romans to give us an explanation.

Rom 1:21

"because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened."

Foolish, darkened hearts. That's the simple answer. The complicated answer involves a lot more than foolish, darkened hearts. But, I'm content to let Paul's words stand as he wrote them, because, although simple, they are vividly true.

It seems to me that I always have these flashes of doubt when I am riding around in my car, thinking. It makes me wonder where people went to do their serious thinking before cars were invented. For a walk maybe, or sitting in a rocking chair? Perhaps while staring into the leaping flames of a fire? It doesn't matter, I suppose. I do my serious thinking while driving to the grocery store. Which is probably a good thing. Because, while I am gripping the steering wheel of my car, another verse comes to mind and shuts down the argument completely.

2 Peter 3:10,11

"But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness," (emphasis mine)

I think that my car falls into the catagory of the "works" that are in the earth. And according to 2 Peter, my car is going to melt, or better yet, dissolve. That kind of puts things in perspective. Truth of God? Lasts forever. Steering wheel of my car? Melting like cheese on a hot burger.

And so, my friends, I can drive on with a light heart. It is real. All of it.

More on Jonah

All that thinking about Jonah last week has borne some interesting fruit. I did a Google search and read through some sermons about Jonah. One sermon described in detail why Jonah was so unhappy about being sent to Nineveh.

Nineveh was an Assyrian city, and the Assyrians were famous for their extreme cruelty. I haven't done any firsthand research of the Assyrians, I am basing this on various sermons I have read, but apparently the Assyrians commonly tortured their enemies, and ruthlessly slaughtered them. Their tactics included skinning people alive and them impaling them on stakes, to be left to die. They also frequently forced their prisoners to witness their own children being burned to death before they were themselves killed. Sounds like a pretty rough group.

So you can begin to imagine why Jonah was more willing to run in the opposite direction than to go and convince the Ninevites to repent. I'd be pretty terrified too. Being skinned alive and impaled on a stake doesn't sound like an inviting prospect.

As I was driving around the other day I spent some time thinking about those Assyrians. Their reputed cruelty struck home with me. I have written before about how I have a hard time dealing with the reality of hell and eternal damnation. Believe me, I know all of the correct theology about this topic. I know that all men in their natural state deserve eternal damnation, and that God is gracious to forgive and accept any of us. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. There is none who is righteous, none. All men seek only evil continually in their hearts, from the time of birth.

But even knowing all of that, my human logic screams out that HELL IS NOT FAIR!!!!

My problem is that I don't really think that most people are all that bad. Yes, I know the truth. But I don't always really truly believe it. Or at least, I struggle with believing it. The time and generation that I have been born into is mostly made up of good seeming people. I don't have a whole lot of first hand experience with obviously evil people. Sure, I hear about them on the news, I read about them in the paper. But mostly, the people that I come into personal contact with seem pretty nice.

So sometimes I struggle with believing that all men are evil in their hearts. This is where all that thinking about Jonah and the Ninevites comes in to play. God has proved very faithful and patient with me in my struggle with doubt. He always seems to supply a gentle reminder when I need one. It was the Ninevites this time.

I just couldn't stop thinking about their cruelty. It literally made my stomach upset to think about what they did to their prisoners and enemies. The thought of me being skinned alive is pretty repulsive. But my psyche can handle that. What I can't handle is the thought of watching my children being burned to death. The evil and horror of someone deliberately doing that makes me want to vomit.

And as I was thinking about it and feeling sick, I felt like the Holy Spirit was reminding me...that is the evil that lurks in the hearts of men. And despite all of our civilization, refinement and gentility today, we could become the Assyrians tomorrow. Just ask the Germans. Or better yet, ask the Jews.

Romans 3:10-18

"As it is written:

"There is no one who is righteous, not even one;
there is no one who understands,
no one who seeks God.
All have turned away,
they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good,
not even one."
"Their throats are open graves;
their tongues practice deceit."
"The poison of vipers is on their lips."
"Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness."
"Their feet are swift to shed blood;
ruin and misery mark their ways,
and the way of peace they do not know."
"There is no fear of God before their eyes."

Father, forgive me for setting up my human understanding as the measure of truth. Thank you for all the times you forgive my accusations against You. Lead me in the way everlasting, and remind me that your ways are above my ways, that you are the only truth, the only righteousness, the only salvation, the only goodness that exists. Keep me in the circle of obedience, and give me the gift of faith. Amen.

Don't Tell My Heart...

...my achy breaky heart. OK, I'm really sorry about that. I really am very sorry for reminding you of that horrible line from that horrible song. If you have no idea what I am referring to, then consider yourself blessed.

But I was thinking about "the heart" earlier this week and that song popped into my head. And in a weird way, the sentiment of the chorus of that song could almost describe the very thing I was thinking about. Bear with me and allow me to quote some of the rest of that song. It's been a really long time since I heard it, so don't hold me to a word for word recitation.

Don't tell my heart, my achy breaky heart,
I just don't think he'd understand.
Cause if you tell my heart, my achy breaky heart,
he might blow up and kill this man.

I promise I won't quote that song anymore for the rest of this post! But the general idea of it, that our heart a) doesn't understand things and b) can kill us, or lead us to death, are very serious issues and worth exploring.

I have got what I consider to be a profound and palpable faith. What I mean is that it is the real deal, not just something I toy with, and that you can (at least I hope) see real evidence of it in my day to day life. We did a program at my church about 5 years ago that was designed to pinpoint what our individual spiritual gifts were. My two strongest were faith and discernment. I have no idea what the results of that program would be if I went though it today. I am light years ahead of where I was then as far as my spiritual maturity goes. But I think it was actually pretty accurate in detecting faith as a spiritual gift of mine.

But despite that, I still struggle with some areas of doubt. There are certain issues that constantly come up in my mind and I have to struggle through them every single time. They don't just quietly go away on their own. My faith is ultimately victorious, but still, a struggle is involved. As my spiritual maturity has increased, these doubts and accusations against God have become much rarer, but they still pop up from time to time. When they do pop up, I am able to overcome them, but it takes a conscious effort to do so.

The issue of hell and eternal damnation is the biggest of these doubts. I am not ashamed to admit that, although I acknowledge the reality of hell to be very real, I have a very hard time coming to terms with it. I know exactly what the root of this problem is. I (and I believe, much of humanity) have a very skewed understanding of God's holiness versus man's depravity. Both of those are big issues, and I'm not going to attempt to cover either of them right now.

Rather, I am going to share with you the verses that allow me to be at peace with the issue of hell. You might not struggle with the exact same issue I do, but I am willing to bet most of us have something that causes us to doubt. Something that we have a hard time coming to terms with. I hope that ultimately all of my doubts, which stated bluntly could be called accusations against God, will be completely wiped away. But until then, these are the verses that I call to mind whenever my doubts start worming their way into my mind.

Proverbs 3:5-6

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths."

Psalm 46:10

"Be still and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!"

Job 11:7-9

"Can you search out the deep things of God?
Can you find out the limits of the Almighty?
They are higher than heaven--what can you do?
Deeper than Sheol--what can you know?
Their measure is longer than the earth
And broader than the sea."

Genesis 15:6

"And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness."

Exodus 33:19

"I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion."

Exodus 34: 6-7

"And the LORD passed before him and proclaimed, "The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin,"


When those reminders are not enough, and my heart continues to doubt; when I am tempted to lean on my own understanding, and look at reality from my human perspective, instead of leaving things to God and His higher judgement, then I call to mind these two final verses.

Jeremiah 17:9

"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked"

Mark 9:24

"Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, "Lord, I believe; help thou my unbelief."


It is the verse from Jeremiah that usually does the trick. I am reminded that my heart, in other words my emotional human understanding, is deceitful. And oh yes, left to its own devices is indeed desperately wicked.

Once I remind myself of that, I am able to rest in God's sovereignty in all areas of life and eternity.