Forgive us our sins as we forgive the sins of others

and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. (Matthew 6:12 ESV)

and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation." (Luke 11:4 ESV)

For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. (Matthew 6:14, 15 ESV)



What does it mean when we pray “forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors?”


Let us think thru the possible answers to this question.

1. The one who prays serves as a model for God

Those who understand the verse this way would interpret it as “forgive us our debts (sins), like we have forgiven our debtors.” Or “forgive us our debts in the same manner as he or she has forgiven others.”

In this case the one who prays is a model for God and God should forgive in the same way that the one who prays does or has done.

This seems like a very unlikely interpretation for the verse since the normal pattern is that divine forgiveness serves as a model for human forgiveness instead of human forgiveness serving as a model for divine forgiveness. (Eph 4:32; Col 3:13). While some parables do illustrate divine forgiveness within untypical and outlandish human situations it does not seem that the purpose of this instruction is to make God acts of forgiveness depend upon our acts of forgiveness or that God needs us to model this behavior for Him (Matthew 18:23-35; Luke 15:11-32).


2. The one who prays as claims God’s forgiveness on the basis of their having forgiven others.

Those who understand the verse in this manner would interpret it as “forgive us our debts since we have forgiven others. “ Divine forgiveness is laid claim to on the basis of one’s having forgiven other people.

Those who take this position would feel that the parallel passage found in Luke 11:4 where the it seems to read “for also we ourselves forgive.”

However, the Greek word here rarely if ever means “since” and therefore this interpretation seems forced. In addition, this would make forgiveness from God one of merit instead of grace which seems at odds with the whole message of the New Testament.



3. The one who prays asks for divine forgiveness on the condition that he or she is willing to forgive others.

This would seem at a simple level to fit the immediate commentary by Jesus found in Matthew 6:14-15 and in the parable of the unforgiving servant found in Matthew 18:23-30.

This is also supported by both Martin Luther’s views and those of the Catholic Church.

“God has promised us assurance that everything is forgiven and pardoned, yet on the condition that we also forgive our neighbor....If you do not forgive, do not think that God forgives you. But if you forgive, you have the comfort and assurance that you are forgiven in heaven. Not on account of your forgiving, for God does it altogether freely....But he has set up this condition for our strengthening and assurance as a sign along with the promise which is in agreement with this petition, Luke 6:37, .Forgive, and you will be forgiven.. Therefore Christ repeats it immediately after the Lord’s Prayer in Matt. 6:14, saying, .If you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father also will forgive you,”. (Martin Luther’s Larger Catechism)

“Our petition [in the Lord’s Prayer] will not be heard unless we have first met a strict requirement....This outpouring of mercy cannot penetrate our hearts as long as we have not forgiven those who have trespassed against us....In refusing to forgive our brothers and sisters, our hearts are closed and their hardness makes them impervious to the Father’s merciful love; but in confessing our sins, our hearts are opened to his grace “. (The Catechism of the Catholic Church (New Hope, KY: Urbi et Orbi, 1994) 681-682)

The idea here is that our forgiveness of others would not merit God’s forgiveness but would be a pre-condition of receiving the free gift of forgiveness from God. The presupposition would be that one who is coming in humble confession and repentance of their sins has also let go of condemnation towards other sinners. If one is still standing in self righteous judgment of others then how can one expect God to give grace and mercy to them? Such an attitude of self righteous condemnation is opposed to the attitude of “Lord, be merciful to me a sinner” which is needed to be forgiven. (Luke 18:13-14). Bitterness towards the sins of others blocks the exercise of faith and acceptance of grace needed to experience God’s forgiveness. There is no merit in forgiving others and yet without such an attitude one does not have faith.

Some commentators believe that Jesus the Messiah’s teaching here was part of a Jewish concept that human readiness to forgive was an attitude that had to be in a person before God would forgive their sins. We see this tradition reflected in Sirach 28:2 which reads “Forgive your neighbor of the wrong, and then your sins will be forgiven when you ask it.”

At one level this interpretation is plausible and could be regarded as correct as long as the attitude of forgiveness was seen as part of the gift of faith given by the Holy Spirit and if it is kept entirely free of earning forgiveness by merit. The problem however is if anyone could claim to completely fulfilled this requirement. It could be argued than no human being has ever forgiven another person perfectly. If God’s forgiveness only comes to us when we forgive others then how can any of us know for sure we have been forgiven by God? The grace of forgiveness like faith itself is never perfectly experienced in this life. So while this interpretation is possible it leaves us with a significant spiritual problem.




4. To the degree we experience the grace of forgiving others we can have assurance that our sins have been forgiven by God.

The traditional reformed (Calvinistic) perspective has been that to the degree we are able to forgive others we can have the assurance that our sins have been forgiven by others. Since our willingness of forgive others is a core fruit of true faith then to the degree it is in existence to that degree we can know we have believed the gospel and have been given the grace of forgiveness. This is seen in the Westminster larger catechism.
Question 194: What do we pray for in the fifth petition?
Answer: In the fifth petition (which is, Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors), acknowledging, that we and all others are guilty both of original and actual sin, and thereby become debtors to the justice of God; and that neither we, nor any other creature, can make the least satisfaction for that debt: we pray for ourselves and others, that God of his free grace would, through the obedience and satisfaction of Christ, apprehended and applied by faith, acquit us both from the guilt and punishment of sin, accept us in his Beloved; continue his favor and grace to us, pardon our daily failings, and fill us with peace and joy, in giving us daily more and more assurance of forgiveness; which we are the rather emboldened to ask, and encouraged to expect, when we have this testimony in ourselves, that we from the heart forgive others their offenses.
This answer seems to address and answer the spiritual problem raised by the earlier view. So instead of forgiveness being dependent on our ability to forgive only our assurance of our forgiveness is impacted. This interpretation allows us to deal with the imperfection of our ability to forgive without it becoming impossible for us to experience God’s forgiveness.
5. Seeing this as a community prayer that was designed to be a liturgical part of corporate worship which aims at teaching the importance of forgiveness in the new community of the kingdom of God.
The Lord ’s Prayer is not just a model prayer but intended by Messiah Jesus to be recited whenever His disciples gather for worship. It is clear from Luke 11:2 that the disciples are actually say this prayer. The Didache 8:3 which reflects the practice of the first century church instructs the believers to recite the prayer word for word three times a day. In the act of praying those who pray are reminded of their duty to forgive in order to live by faith in the gospel.
This approach would focus on the fact that this prayer was given as part of a worshipping community of disciples. Theologian Joachim Jermias, suggest that this clause could be understood “as we also herewith forgive our debtors” which is based on how this could have been expressed originally in the Aramaic. This would support the idea that this was a “performantive utterance” which was done in the midst of corporate worship. Those who took place in the literacy of the church formally declared amnesty on those who had sinned against them as part of their affirmation of God’s grace and forgiveness found in the kingdom of Christ. If one sees the parables of Jesus and such teaching such as Matthew 6:14 as rhetorical exhortations instead of dogmatic statements about God. God cannot be restricted or made dependent on human actions. But one can hear this as pastoral advice which would say:
“You want to be forgiven by God? Well how do you expect to be forgiven when you stand in self righteous and bitter condemnation of others? Ask God to grant you a forgiving spirit and recognize your own sins. Humble yourself and let go of your bitterness! Stop being such a Pharisee and recognize your own need of God’s grace.”
Now it is recognized by the community that they have not yet fully followed any of the commands of Jesus the Messiah. Part of the confession of sins is the imperfection of the disciples. But repentance is about direction not perfection. Therefore, in the praying of this prayer the community both confesses their need of divine grace and also the need to give grace to others.
From this perspective it would be wrong to understand the fifth petition of the Lord’s prayer as a dogmatic statement about God’s attributes which makes God’s power to forgive dependent upon the piety of the one praying or to see it as a precondition that a soul must attain in order to experience divine forgiveness. Instead, the prayer, as part of the framework of worship for the disciples of Jesus the Messiah is one that is crying out for renewed relationships. To ask for forgiveness from God and know that in the Messiah Jesus this forgiveness has been given, only then reminds the disciple of the duty of the forgiven to forgive.
It is interesting that the church father, John Chrysostom , says concerning this:
“Since He might indeed, even without this (us forgiving others), forgive thee all thine offenses; but He wills thee hereby also to receive a benefit; affording thee on all sides innumerable occasions of gentleness and love to man, casting out what is brutish in thee, and quenching wrath, and in all ways cementing thee to him who is thine own member. “
This church father seems to teach that God can forgive us our sins even when we fall short of perfect forgiveness of others but that this prayer calls us to “cement” our relationship with one another in grace and mercy. This would support the idea that our human forgiveness is but a reflection of God’s great forgiveness of us in the death and resurrection of our Messiah Jesus.
Conclusion
The traditional reformed view and the idea that this was a “performance utterance” aimed at reminding the Christian community that God’s grace was to make them a people of grace both seem to provide understandings that keep us from making these verses teach forgiveness by merit or taking from imperfect disciples any hope of knowing God’s forgiving grace. We need to remember that only by focusing on God’s grace and mercy in Messiah Jesus can we hope to reflect this in our human relationships.

Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. (Ephesians 4:32 ESV)

http://www.voskrese.info/spl/matthom19.html

http://www2.luthersem.edu/word&world/Archives/16-3_Forgiveness/16-3_Hultgren.pdf

God the great evangelist

Isaiah 55:1-9
1 Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you that have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. 2 Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. 3 Incline your ear, and come to me; listen, so that you may live. I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David. 4 See, I made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander for the peoples. 5 See, you shall call nations that you do not know, and nations that do not know you shall run to you, because of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has glorified you.
6 Seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near; 7 let the wicked forsake their way, and the unrighteous their thoughts; let them return to the Lord, that he may have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. 8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Many of us have gone to church services where people have been invited to come forward to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Appeals have been made and the evangelist has called out to people to come forward to be embraced by God and receive salvation. Some of us came to faith in such moments of invitation and appeal.
Here we see an invitation that comes from God himself. Yahweh is the evangelist calling out to us. He says:
Come, Come, Come
Listen, Listen
Delight, Incline
See, See
Seek, forsake, Return
Twelve imperative commands are here. Twelve heartfelt appeals out of the heart of God are here given. A cry from Yahweh to Israel to complete their destination as God’s chosen people by responding to His call in faith. This is a call to trust in God’s mercy and repent. It is an appeal to be reconciled to Yahweh.
The promises are clear. God is inviting us to a free spiritual feast. We will find mercy, pardon, steadfast love, covenant, and the nations converted to a son of David. In God’s love and promises to David, He will now bring hope and salvation to all of His people. He warns us to try to buy the kingdom with our own righteousness or from the idols of the nations is insanity. Only in the covenant of grace do we have hope.
God knows that the way of grace is not something that is the way of our broken humanity. The hardest concept for us to accept is that we have failed so badly morally that we need pardon. We are suspicious of mercy and feel more at home relating to God based on justice alone. Yahweh’s choice of grace is both what gives us hope and what most confuses us about Him. Yet, He asks us to trust in His goodness and not refuse His appeal. He hungers and thirst for our salvation more than we do.
So what will we do in response to this intense and passionate appeal? How will our hearts respond? Are we ready to accept God’s invitation to feast with Him?
Christological - Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30 ESV)

Moral-Seek the Lord and forsake wickedness

Eternal - And the angel said to me, "Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb." And he said to me, "These are the true words of God." (Revelation 19:9 ESV)


Prayer: Lord let me listen and respond to your love.


Contemplation: God is seeking me.

Action: Focus on God’s love for you and see it as greater than your love for God.

Will Israel Be Rejected?

I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! For I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. (Romans 11:1 ESV)

God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel? (Romans 11:2 ESV)

"Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life." (Romans 11:3 ESV)

But what is God's reply to him? "I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal." (Romans 11:4 ESV)

So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace. (Romans 11:5 ESV)

But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace. (Romans 11:6 ESV)

What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened, (Romans 11:7 ESV)

as it is written, "God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that would not see and ears that would not hear, down to this very day." (Romans 11:8 ESV)

And David says, "Let their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution for them; (Romans 11:9 ESV)

let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see, and bend their backs forever." (Romans 11:10 ESV)


Literal - The question is if God has rejected all the Jews? Has all Israel been lost? The answer Paul shouts out here is “NO!” such an idea must never be considered. Paul makes three points in response to this question in this section of Romans to prove his answer to this question.
(1) That God had saved him, a Jew, and therefore the gospel of Messiah Jesus cannot mean that God had cast off all Jews Rom 11:1;
(2) That now, as in former times of great turning away from God, God had chosen a remnant of Jews to believe Rom 11:2-5;
(3) That it was predicted in the Hebrew Bible that a part of Israel should be hardened Rom 11:6-10;
So has God utterly and for all time rejected the Jews? No for even now there are some who believe in Messiah Jesus and are saved. So anyone that would say that the gospel of Messiah Jesus declares God to have abandoned all Jews and His promises to Israel simply is not telling the truth. Israel has turned away from God by their rejection of the Messiah. This is a great spiritual apostasy and rebellion. But it is not final. God is not done working with the nation of Israel.

Now both Jew and Gentile need to accept the Messiah Jesus to be declared righteous before God.
“For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.” (Romans 3:22-25)

If a Jewish person fails to have faith in Messiah Jesus then they will be justly condemned for their sins and be lost. There will be no second chance after death. If a Gentile person failed to have faith in Messiah Jesus then they will be justly condemned for their sins and be lost. There will be no second chance after death.
Not that it would matter if there was a “second chance” for the people in hell do not have repentant hearts and continue to be in rebellion against God for all eternity. It is appointed for every human being, both Jew and Gentile that they will die and after that death they will face a final moral judgment for their lives. The only hope anyone has of being forgiven and declared righteous at that judgment is if they have been given the righteousness of Messiah Jesus as a gift and His death has been put to their account to pay for their sins. Only those who believe in Messiah Jesus have hope of pardon.
When the gospel of Messiah Jesus came only a small number of Jews believed in Messiah Jesus in the first century. For the most part their rejection of the gospel was profound, violent, and absolute. Yet, this was not the first time that Israel had rejected God’s plans, killed her prophets, or rebelled against God’s kingdom.
Their rebellion could never stop God’s plan to bring the Messiah into the world through them. God would keep all His promises that He gave to Abraham. Not all physical Israel are members of the “true Israel”. But of some chosen Jews, God has always had thoughts of love before the world was created, to be in eternal fellowship with them. These elect and chosen ones will never be rejected or lost. These are the ones that God has circumcised their hearts and have been called into a faith relationship with Him.
“But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.” (Romans 2:29 ESV)

As evidence that this is true and nothing new Paul tells the story of Elijah. The discouraged prophet complains about the nation of Israel in that day and says:
"I have been very jealous for the LORD, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away." (1 Kings 19:10 ESV)

Elijah believes that only he has remained faithful to God. He believes that “all Israel is lost”. But God tells him that he has kept 7000 faithful. God has preserved a small group and kept them from this general rebellion and apostasy that has captured Israel. God will fulfill his promises to Abraham and use his offspring to bring Messiah into the world.

God will always create a believing remnant among the Jews and never allow faith to totally die among Israel. This group is chosen by grace alone and not because they are better than anyone else. Only because God has given to them unconditional favor do they believe and are saved.


Now Paul begins to meditate on the Hebrew Bible and comes to the conclusion that the vast majority of Jewish people rejecting Messiah Jesus was all part of God’s preordained plan.

For the LORD has poured out upon you a spirit of deep sleep, and has closed your eyes (the prophets), and covered your heads (the seers). (Isaiah 29:10 ESV)

But to this day the LORD has not given you a heart to understand or eyes to see or ears to hear. (Deuteronomy 29:4 ESV)

And he said, "Go, and say to this people: "'Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.' Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed." (Isaiah 6:9,10 ESV)

Let their own table before them become a snare; and when they are at peace, let it become a trap. Let their eyes be darkened, so that they cannot see, and make their loins tremble continually. (Psalms 69:23 ESV)

Now it is important for us to see how God has hardened and blinded Israel. If we see this in the wrong way our perspective of God will be radically perverted.

One view is that Israel is made up of good people who are seeking God and His will. Then God blinds and hardens these good people and damns them for their hardness and blindness. This would make God a spiritual monster.

The other view is that Israel is a rebellious people. As Messiah Jesus will teach:

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not! See, your house is left to you desolate. (Matthew 23:37-38 ESV)

God blinds and hardens people who are already committed to not honoring Him as God and are not thankful for what God has done for them.

For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. (Romans 1:21 ESV)

Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. (Romans 1:24-25 ESV)



The way God blinds and hardens people is that God simply allows them to do what they desire to do. God stops resisting their rebellion and lets them go. God blinds and hardens people by letting them freely do what they desire to do which is to do evil. God rewards all who seeks Him (Hebrews 11:6) with revelation but punishes those who reject Him by letting them experience the consequences of their rebellion.

God is therefore just and fair in “hardening” and “blinding” people by releasing them to their unbelieving and immoral desires.

In summary, Paul makes three points in response to the question “Has the gospel of Messiah Jesus caused all Israel to be lost?”.
(1) That God had saved him, a Jew, and therefore the gospel of Messiah Jesus cannot mean that God had cast off all Jews Rom 11:1;
(2) That now, as in former times of great turning away from God, God had chosen a remnant of Jews to believe Rom 11:2-5;
(3) That it was predicted in the Hebrew Bible that a part of Israel should be hardened Rom 11:6-10;

In this response God hopes to show that the gospel of Messiah Jesus presents God as faithful, good, and just in His relationship to Israel and the Jews.

Moral: Do not harden your heart!


Eternal: All God has elected will be saved.

Prayer: Lord, help me grow in my understanding of your ways.

Contemplation: The Lord is our salvation!

Action: What can I do to actively seek God, depend on His mercy in Christ Jesus, and abandon my sense of self rightouesness?

God gives!

Deuteronomy 26:1-11
1 When you have come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess, and you possess it, and settle in it, 2 you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest from the land that the Lord your God is giving you, and you shall put it in a basket and go to the place that the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his name. 3 You shall go to the priest who is in office at that time, and say to him, "Today I declare to the Lord your God that I have come into the land that the Lord swore to our ancestors to give us." 4 When the priest takes the basket from your hand and sets it down before the altar of the Lord your God, 5 you shall make this response before the Lord your God: "A wandering Aramean was my ancestor; he went down into Egypt and lived there as an alien, few in number, and there he became a great nation, mighty and populous. 6 When the Egyptians treated us harshly and afflicted us, by giving hard labor to us, 7 we cried to the Lord, the God of our ancestors; the Lord heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression. 8 The Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with a terrifying display of power, and with signs and wonders; 9 and he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. 10 So now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground that you, O Lord, have given me." You shall set it down before the Lord your God and bow down before the Lord your God. 11 Then you, together with the Levites and the aliens who reside among you, shall celebrate with all the bounty that the Lord your God has given to you and to your house.
Literal - This passage has to do with giving. It tells a faithful member of Israel what to do when they have a harvest in the land. They are to take the fact that they have a harvest as a reason to worship and celebrate. To have profit without worship is pride.
As the faithful member of God’s people comes with their offering the focus is on what God has given to them. The focus of this passage is on giving. Seven times the word is used in this section. Six times the giver is God. God gives to the whole community the land and at the same time gives very personally and directly to the individual believer as well. We are to see that God is giving to all of His people and also giving to us directly. The seventh use of the word give contrast the good gifts of God with the gifts of Egypt. Egypt gave to Israel hard labor, affliction, and harshness. Egypt represents the unbelieving world system and the slavery of unbelief. We have been delivered from this into God’s good gifts.
We see here the use of prescribed liturgical words. Each individual who was a faithful child of the covenant would come and say
"A wandering Aramean was my ancestor; he went down into Egypt and lived there as an alien, few in number, and there he became a great nation, mighty and populous. 6 When the Egyptians treated us harshly and afflicted us, by giving hard labor to us, 7 we cried to the Lord, the God of our ancestors; the Lord heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression. 8 The Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with a terrifying display of power, and with signs and wonders; 9 and he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. 10 So now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground that you, O Lord, have given me."
It was by these orthodox words which recited the gospel of God’s saving grace to Israel that the context was set for rejoicing, offering, and worship. God is not against the use of liturgical practices but only against them becoming empty of true faith and love. He wants us to meditate upon the truth and respond to the truth.
At the end of this section God’s wonderful giving had led the faithful member of God’s covenant to give. He now shares his food with the ministers of the Lord and the poor. God’s kingdom is manifested on the earth as there is a celebration before the Lord in joy. God’s people give generously when they see God as being generous to them. When people see God as a great giver of grace then they will be great givers to others and God’s work.
Christological - For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23 ESV)


Moral - The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. (2 Corinthians 9:6-8 ESV)


Eternal - And they sang a new song, saying, "Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth." (Revelation 5:9-10 ESV)


Prayer: Lord, help me to see the greatness of your gifts to me.


Contemplation: You are the good Father who gives good gifts.


Action: Count your many blessing name them one by one. Look at the glass half full today. Acknowledge all that God has given you today and open your heart to taking joy in it.

In Defense of God in light of Haiti

If the Christian God exists then how do you explain the suffering and death in Haiti?
A meditation by Dr. Norman R, Wise
The suffering and death in Haiti due to the earth quake of 2010 are very great. The devastation of the earthquake is equal in many ways to an atomic bomb being dropped on that nation. The pain of the children and families of Haiti has touched the heart of humanity and opened up a sea of aid to this impoverished nation. Is there any way to reconcile this event with the existence of the Christian God?
Haiti of course is just being used as an illustration of the problem of suffering and evil. That problem could be sent forth in the following manner.
1. The Christian God is omnipotent, omniscient, and morally perfect.
2. If God is omnipotent, then God has the power to eliminate all evil.
3. If God is omniscient, then God knows when evil exists.
4. If God is morally perfect, then God has the desire to eliminate all evil.
5. Evil exists.
6. If evil exists and God exists, then either God doesn't have the power to eliminate all evil, or doesn't know when evil exists, or doesn't have the desire to eliminate all evil.
7. Therefore, the Christian God doesn't exist if evil exists.
This argument however has been answered by Dr. Alvin Plantiga and other philosophers by pointing out that the elimination of some evil might produce a greater evil or prevent a greater good from occurring. If this reality is allowed then this argument against the existence of a Christian God fails to prove its point.
The argument in response would be:
1. The Christian God is omnipotent, omniscient, and morally perfect.
2. If God is omnipotent, then God has the power to eliminate all evil that would not lead to a worst evil or a greater good but would not prevent any evil when doing so would lead to a greater evil or the elimination of a greater good.
3. If God is omniscient, then God knows when evil exists and what evil is necessary to allow for the purpose of avoiding a greater evil or attaining a greater good.
4. If God is morally perfect, then God has the desire to eliminate all evil that is not necessary to lead to the prevention of a greater evil or a greater good.
5. Evil exists.
6. If evil exists and God exists, then the evil that exists does so in order to prevent a greater evil or establish a greater good.
7. Therefore, it is logically possible that the Christian God could exist.
There is no way to prove absolutely that the evil that occurs in our world does not avoid some greater evil or prevent some greater good. A claim to have such knowledge would seem to require omniscience. Without such proof then the logical argument against the existence of the Christian God fails to prove its point.
Now these logical arguments seem far removed from the suffering, pain, and death in Haiti. While logically valid it is very hard to feel they address the main issues that we face when confronted with such massive suffering. It just seems to us that the “Christian God” if He exists should prevent such catastrophes from happening.
Some people describe the Christian view of God as God is the Father of humanity and we are His innocent children. If this is the case then why would a good Father allow His children to suffer as human beings suffer on this planet? Either God is an abusive parent, a crippled and powerless Dad, or perhaps we are orphans abandoned to die. But, if this is the Christian story then it is hard to see how we can view God as competent and of good character.
However, no orthodox Christian would agree with this summary of their story about the world. Since it is the existence of the Christian God in particular that is being challenged by the events in Haiti then it would be important for us to know the characteristics of this deity and see if catastrophes like Haiti argue against the existence of the God taught by Christianity. If according to Christians the relationship of God to the world is more complicated than these simple approaches would suggest; then this could help us see how people can rationally believe in the existence of the Christian God in a world filled with suffering, pain, and death as illustrated by Haiti.
The Christian world view can be summarized as having four key concepts. These key concepts are wise creation, moral fall, just judgment, and merciful redemption. These four concepts find their focus point in the idea of the “Kingdom of God”. The purpose of creation is to establish this Kingdom which can only be established through the historical process of creation, fall, judgment, and redemption. It is through these four concepts focused on the “Kingdom of God” that Christians historically have developed their paradigm of reality.
Wise Creation
The Christian God is the creator of the world and is the source of its order and design (Genesis 1:1; John 1:1-6). The Christian God is one of morality who due to His omniscience understands the eternal and unchanging logic of good and evil and has chosen the good. All of these realities exist within the Christian God who is eternal and outside of time.
The Christian God created humanity for the purpose of reflecting the nature of the Eternal in time and forming a community of peace. Part of this reflection was that humanity was to choose good over evil even as God has eternally chosen the good over evil. We were to be like God by being dedicated to righteousness even as God is dedicated to righteousness. As we lived in a righteous community we would be God’s kingdom come to earth.
Moral Fall
However, in every possible world that could be conceived by an all knowing God when humanity is given the greater good of having free will they always use it to rebel against God as their king and choose to follow evil instead (Romans 1:18 -32). All human beings have wandered from the path of righteousness and fell short of reflecting the glory of God into creation. Humanity is a moral failure in every possible world.
The only way to eliminate this evil would be to eliminate the good of having beings made in God’s image and able to experience free moral will. Since the purpose of creation was the establishment of “The Kingdom of God” and this kingdom could only exist if human beings made in God’s image existed; it became necessary to allow this moral evil if the end was ever to be achieved. God could have made a perfect zoo lacking creatures of free choice but the positive good of the Kingdom of God would have been lost.
Righteous Judgment (mixed with mercy)
The result of this rebellion against God was that the judgment of suffering and death was passed on humanity due to their moral rebellion. The order of creation became mixed with chaos. Moral transgression acted as a physical and spiritual cancer in God’s creation bringing with it disorder, disease, and death. However, in mercy God restrained the full effects of evil and allowed human beings to live in a “stay of execution” in which they might repent of their rebellion and return to God.
God also choose to suffer the rebellion and sin of humanity as He patiently waited for them to find repentance. Their evil caused God’s holy soul pain and sadness. Yet, God loved His enemies and was merciful to those who had rebelled against Him. Instead of the world being turned over to the full chaos which should have resulted from moral rebellion against God, the earth normally provides for the needs and even the pleasures of humanity (Matthew 5:44-48). The vast majority of human beings are blessed by this common grace and mercy of God every day that provides their needs through creation even as they rebel against God.
From a Christian point of view human beings are not God’s children. We are the sworn enemies of God and His Kingdom. We are the terrorist of the universe against the Kingdom of peace. The suffering, pain, and evil in this world are physical signs of that rebellion. The suffering in the universe is not worst because God patiently waits for us to repent of this rebellion and has mercy on us even in our rebellion. God would be justified morally in releasing the ten plagues of Egypt on every square foot of the planet every day due to our moral rebellion. Catastrophes are not surprising from the Christian point of view. What is surprising is how few catastrophes we suffer as rebels against God’s kingdom.
Merciful Redemption
From a Christian perspective the current world is not paradise but could be seen as place for a purging process that seeks to rid humanity of their moral rebellion. In this life there is some pleasure and some pain. The pleasure when rightly experienced reminds us of paradise and the pain reminds us that we have lost paradise due to our moral failure.
The purpose of this historical process is that we will eventually as humans evolve into those who will choose righteousness and avoid evil. This process requires forgiveness of our rebellion and conversion into consistent citizens of God’s kingdom. Only those who are citizens of God’s kingdom are God’s adopted children. This process includes the death of Jesus the Messiah on the cross for our moral rebellion and His resurrection as proof that the demands of justice have been satisfied. God choose this path of pain and suffering not just for humanity but for Himself as well. The cost of attaining the kingdom would be the necessary pain and suffering of history.

The Kingdom of God
It is clear that Jesus the Messiah, the founder of Christianity did not see any conflict with a world of suffering and the existence of God.
As Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the close of the age?" And Jesus answered them, "See that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and they will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains. "Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. (Matthew 24:3-14 ESV)

A world without pain, suffering, false teaching, wars, famines, earthquakes, and persecution would prove that the Christian God does not exist. Jesus the Messiah who founded Christianity clearly believed that the world would suffer such things and had to experience them before the final peaceful kingdom of God could be established. Christianity teaches that what one should expect in the current state of the world under God’s judgment for moral failure is famines and earthquakes to occur. When they do occur, Christians understand that this is normal due to the current rejection of God’s kingdom by human kind. Such suffering is sad but expected. It does not surprise a person thinking from a Christian world view or seem inconsistent with their philosophy of life. Christians believe that this suffering will end when humanity makes peace with God and His kingdom.
We have rebelled against the law of the kingdom of God which is to love one another
The Christian God has delegated to humanity the proper stewardship of this planet and to show love for each other. Part of humanity being made in the image of God is they were given the responsibility to rule this planet (Gen 1:28-30). The Christian God would be there to help, support, provide inner strength and wisdom in response to prayer, and teach wisdom; but not micromanage.
God would establish the laws of nature that humanity could learn and use to increase their effectiveness in being stewards of this planet. These laws would be God’s normal and predictable way of bringing order to the physical world. God would and could at times directly intervene; but these would be rare occasions. Most of God’s work would be done very subtlety and through people. Human beings were entrusted with this part of the Cosmos and expected to bring God’s kingdom to earth.
God is restraining moral evil in humanity so that we will not be as depraved as we could be if left to ourselves. God is intervening in an active way in history, by keeping humanity from practicing self destruction, anarchy, and social chaos. This intervention is done without taking from humanity their ability to make moral choices or to suffer consequences due to those choices.
So when we look at the suffering of the world we need to ask how much of it could have been prevented if human beings had loved their neighbors as themselves and been good stewards of the resources of the planet. Rather than judging God; it would seem better to judge ourselves. If the world community had made it a top priority to make sure the infrastructure of Haiti was stronger, the people fed, an economy established, a just government developed and proper housing provided then much of the suffering of this earthquake would have been avoided. What does Haiti tell us about our moral failure as humanity? A Christian view of the Haiti would focus not on God’s failure but on humanities moral failure in this catastrophe.
Now that we have a better understanding of the Christian view of the world we can understand that it has always justified the existence of evil by looking at the historical process as a necessary evil in order to bring about the greater good of God’s eternal kingdom. God could not just create out of nothing instantly this kingdom because this kingdom had in it characteristics that required a process in order to mature and bear fruit. Only by going through this painful historical process could God create what God wanted, which was a greater good.
If one was to eliminate all the suffering and pain in this world which is caused by a lack of human beings loving each other, it would be fair to say that a very significant part of suffering and pain would end. Catastrophes are rare compared with human exploitation, selfishness, greed, abuse, wars, and violence. All of this evil is here because human beings are given the freedom to operate as moral agents. We can choose to love our neighbor or not to love our neighbor.
This evil could only be eliminated if the greater good of having people being able to make moral choices was eliminated. Only by eliminating our freedom could God eliminate this evil which would be a greater evil than allowing it. If humanity was not given free moral choice we could never progressively evolve into being consistently righteous. This would make the establishment of the kingdom of God which is the purpose of creation impossible. A greater good would be lost.
Also we must see that the elimination of all pain and suffering would also eliminate the opportunity to grow in our trust in God, to do good and show compassion to those in need. James the brother of Jesus the Messiah writes:
“My friends; maintain a positive outlook, even if you have a lot of trouble and suffer catastrophes. You know that you learn to endure by having your faith in God tested. But you must learn to endure everything, so that you will be completely mature and not lacking in anything. If any of you need wisdom about suffering trouble and catastrophe, you should ask God, and it will be given to you. God is generous and won't correct you for asking. “(James 1:2-5)

Again, the Christian world view expects life to have trouble, suffering, and catastrophes. It would teach people not to expect a world without such problems until the final kingdom of God is established and the moral rebellion of humanity ends. It also acknowledges that our normal reaction to such events is to doubt God’s wisdom, goodness, or existence. Such events challenge us to keep a positive outlook trusting in God to work all things together for good.


In such times of trouble we will have the opportunity to show love to the hurting, clothe the naked, and feed the hunger. Human beings would not be as compassionate if there were no times of trouble, suffering and catastrophe. This would be another good lost if all suffering and evil were eliminated. Not allowing any villains would also keep anyone from being a hero.

The book of Job, one of the most ancient expressions of faith, makes clear that the anguish of soul and the need of understanding in the midst of suffering are not new. There appears from this book to be at least six sources of anguish in our lives. Five of these are outside of our control. These five are when other human beings hurt us and abuse us, when disasters occur such as hurricanes and earthquakes, when we lose economic security, loss of our health and physical well being, and the loss of loved ones in death.

The last part of our anguish we do control. That is the psychological impact of the other five sources of suffering. We will decide to interpret illness, poverty, catastrophe, suffering, and abuse into a “story” or “grand narrative” and out of this we will gain either comfort or more pain. Faith in God working all things together for good is seen as a healthy psychological approach to such times of anguish. Such a belief allows our anxiety to drop, our hope to survive, and depression to be abated. Faith that a greater good is coming from our pain helps us have less stress and anguish of soul about our pain.

One of the elements that impacts a Christian view towards suffering is that physical death is not seen as an end. Physical death is significant, but the soul of the person survives their death and then that soul lives on forever after being judged for what was done in this life. So death is not annihilation but transition into another aspect of existence.

Children who die and whose souls would be innocent of sins have nothing to fear at God’s just judgment. Christians depend on God to treat each soul with at least justice and for many with extreme mercy. Temporal catastrophes are seen as less significant because human souls are eternal. No human being ever ceases to exist due to a temporal catastrophe. Therefore, while suffering in this life is seen as significant and steps should be taken to eliminate it whenever we can to aid others, Christians do not see it as the ultimate evil. The lack of a righteous character in human beings is a greater evil than a hurricane, flood, or earthquake. Our greatest crisis is moral not physical.

Foundational to Christian thought is that God has permitted suffering and evil in order to attain a greater good. There is purpose, potential, and power in all pain. There is no pointless pain. This faith is tested during times of catastrophe but is the basis of gaining wisdom about such difficult and painful events.

We will face such painful events. That is without a doubt. But it does matter if we face them with faith or in unbelief.

The suffering in Haiti is just from a Christian point of view, because it is believed that every square inch of our planet should suffer catastrophe daily due to our moral rebellion. Christians know that they will not normally be made exempt from the general suffering which all humanity may experience due to this rebellion. They are forgiven and been adopted as God’s children but have been called as Christ was called to share in the suffering of a rebellious planet. Their role is to show how to trust God in the midst of the darkness of pain, suffering, and death. They are to be a light to the rest of the world to demonstrate how to love God and others in the midst of catastrophes, suffering, and death.


How does this apply to Haiti?

So what good could come out of the earthquake in Haiti? Christians would first say that only God can really tell us the answer to this question. God alone is wise enough and all knowing enough to really be able to tell us how each event fits into this grand plan of establishing the kingdom of God on earth.

We can however speculate. The suffering has already led millions around the world to demonstrate more compassion than they were doing before the earthquake. For all we know 100 years from now the history of Haiti may record the earthquake of 2010 as the catalyst that ended poverty in Haiti, helped establish a just and stable government, and brought about a golden era in Haitian history. Those who are now suffering will not have suffered in vain.

God’s main concern is the development of our character and our love for justice. As the prophet Micah summarized.

The LORD God has told us what is right and what he demands: "See that justice is done, let mercy be your first concern, and humbly have a relationship with your God." (Micah 6:8)

The pain, death, and suffering of this earthquake may become leveraged by God’s providential work in history to bless the Haitian people from this point forward. It has created an event that calls upon us to act in mercy towards the Haitian people and to seek to establish justice in their nation. At the very least the earthquake has created the emotional leverage and potential for such a golden age for Haiti.

If this opportunity for good is lost it will be due to the immorality of humanity. Sometimes, God provides us an opportunity for good through a catastrophe and we fail this moral test. This is the greater catastrophe. This however is not a failure on God’s part but on our part. Every catastrophe is telling us to repent, to love our neighbor, and to seek God.

This is the main idea that Jesus the Messiah taught concerning catastrophes. He said;

“About this same time Jesus was told that Pilate had given orders for some people from Galilee to be killed while they were offering sacrifices. Jesus replied: Do you think that these people were worse sinners than everyone else in Galilee just because of what happened to them? Not at all! But you can be sure that if you don't turn back to God, every one of you will also be killed. What about those eighteen people who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them? Do you think they were worse than everyone else in Jerusalem? Not at all! But you can be sure that if you don't turn back to God, every one of you will also die.” (Luke 13:1-5 CEV)

Catastrophes are not to teach us that those who suffer catastrophes are worst sinners than those who do not suffer catastrophes. No instead it is remind us that we should suffer the same fate and except for the mercy of God would have suffered the same catastrophe. It is appointed for every human being to suffer death and then face the just moral judgment of God to give an account for their lives. We should be focusing on our own personal need to repent and make peace with God and not be judging others. We should demonstrate this repentance by showing love to others and especially those in need in Haiti. This should be our response to the catastrophe in Haiti. This would be a part of the greater good that could come about through the suffering in Haiti.

Why does the problem of suffering and evil not destroy faith in a good God?

It is clear that times of great suffering, death, and catastrophes challenge our faith in a good God. It is normal for people to have moments of great doubt and anguish in the midst of suffering. The Bible itself records songs of “lament” part of which is struggling with the problem of evil and pain (see the book of Job, Psalm 73). Why do some people see the problem of evil and pain as a “faith killer” that justifies their lack of faith in any “good God” while other people reconcile their faith in a good God with the existence of suffering and evil?

There are many reasons for this but let us list a few of them since this may help us understand this whole question from another perspective. First we must recognize that the problem of suffering and evil is not some new threat to faith. It is not as if there was some scientific experiment done that discovered the “problem of evil” and now modern people for the first time are aware of its existence. No, ancient poems that were being sung at 2000 BC had as their main theme the problem of suffering and evil. So if this problem was going to be a faith killer for the majority of human beings then it would have happened long ago.

Yet, faith in a good God has continued to endure despite the presence of suffering and evil in the world. C.S. Lewis comments that in light of the suffering in this world it is hard to even imagine how the idea of a good God evolved without supernatural revelation, yet it has persisted even in the darkest times of suffering. It seems clear from the history of humanity that catastrophes, suffering, and death will never destroy faith in a good God.

This is true in Haiti today. If the earthquake was going to kill faith in a good God any where it would seem that it should kill faith in the Haitian people. But with every church building in ruins we find congregations gathering to worship God, seek comfort for their losses, pray for strength to endure, ask God hard questions about “why” this occurred, express anger at God in the hope of finding answers to their pain and finding encouragement in hearing the Bible. So faith in a good God is not dependent upon not experiencing bad events.

Some people when they suffer catastrophe do lose faith but other people would claim that their faith actually grew. People of faith will go through a dark night of the soul and struggle with doubts because of pain, suffering, and death but in the end reconcile their trust in a good God with the painful events they have experienced. The strongest faith will actually be experienced at times by people who have suffered the most.

The reason for this is that people believe in a good God for many different reasons. If a person believes that God has responded to their needs at some critical points in their life with psychological or physical help then they view the current suffering from a perspective of trust in God. People that have personal experiences and even what they would call relationships with God believe in God for a host of rational and emotional reasons. All of their faith is not in one basket. One disappointment does not lead to them abandoning God.

Their faith was not born in a problem free world. They did not live in paradise when they first came to faith in God. They came to faith in God knowing they lived in a world of suffering and evil. Some experience of suffering or evil may have actually motivated them to seek God. As the saying goes there are no atheists in fox holes.


Now if a person does not believe in God, has been disappointed with God, or is angry with God then they perceive human suffering and evil as justification for their negative assessment of God. If a person’s experiences with God and religion have been disappointing, frustrating, abusive, and hurtful then arguments from the problem of evil fit well within the life story that they have created which either denies God’s existence or looks upon God s lacking both character and competence. Some people would say they do not know if God exists but if God does exist they hate Him.

Dr. Julie Juola Exline of Case Western Reserve University has done research on people experiencing anger towards God. It is normal for people of faith to get angry with God over pain, suffering, and catastrophe. It is customary for part of the prayers of people who believe to be “Why?” and “How long”. Prayer is often not “tame” but rather pointed and even challenging. She found about 63% of people admit to times when they became angry at God. She also found some atheism to be “emotional atheism” which really reflected people who were angry at God and expressed that anger as a profession of atheism. For an emotional atheist saying they did not believe in God was their way of executing justice or revenge on God for His failure of them or others.

Believers in God normally could process their anger and “forgive God” over time for what they perceived as a failure on His part or come to reconcile themselves to trusting God again after some event disappointed them. Emotional atheists had a harder time ever letting go of their anger and this led many times to intense feelings of bitterness and anxiety. The problem of suffering and evil as related to God is one of significance to the psychological health of human beings.

These questions and the psychological struggle they produce for human beings are not new. They have been around as long as human beings have been around. There is no reason to think that people will abandon their faith in a good God simply because evil, catastrophe, and suffering exist. Faith in a good God has always existed with people knowing evil and suffering existed as well.

Conclusion:

What would a logical defense of the existence of the Christian God look like? Here is a basic outline.

1. God is omnipotent, omniscient, and wholly good.

2. God’s purpose in creation was to form the redemptive Kingdom of God through history.

3. Humanity freely authored evil into this world as part of that purpose.

4. Humanity’s evil; is what has brought into reality, all abnormal suffering .

5. God has not yet eliminated every evil because to do so would make the creation of the Kingdom of God impossible and thus eliminate a greater good. One of the good things that is gained from God delaying the Day of Judgment is that this gives humanity more time to repent and increases the population of the Kingdom of God. If God eliminated evil prematurely from history, it would abort or diminish His plan to establish the Kingdom and make all the suffering of history unjustified.

6. Jesus came as God incarnate and suffered the agony of the hell fire for His people. God has suffered infinitely more than all His creatures put together because of evil. This demonstrates both God’s commitment to establishing the peaceful kingdom of righteousness and His deep loving compassion towards those who have rebelled against Him. It requires this demonstration of Gods’ love to win the moral loyalty of humanity so that they will consistently choose righteousness over evil. This allows humanity to be citizens of the kingdom of God and freely not fall into sin. Only in redemptive love can the heart of human beings be won to produce consistent righteousness, thus the need of the history of salvation in order to produce the kingdom.

7. God uses suffering for kingdom purposes and therefore no suffering is without some kingdom purpose. There is no pain without a kingdom purpose. This includes the suffering now in Haiti due to the earthquake.

8. When Jesus returns justice, mercy, and righteousness will fully manifest themselves. All evil will be eliminated from God’s kingdom and all unjust suffering will stop.

9. Therefore, God exists; He is all powerful, all knowing, and infinite in goodness. Evil exists at the present time due to God’s kingdom purpose and good long-suffering nature, and God will eliminate all evil from His kingdom once His purpose has been accomplished.

10. God’s allowing pain and evil to exist in creation has produced the greater good of the redemptive Kingdom of God. Only because God allowed pain and evil did the greater good of God’s kingdom come into existence. Therefore, God is all powerful and all good even though evil and suffering exist.

It is my belief that this is a logical and biblical answer which demonstrates that the existence of the Christian God is consistent with the existence of evil and pain.

A parable

Once upon a time there was a husband and wife. The wife became pregnant one day after making love with her husband. Now the wife understood the nature and process of pregnancy but her husband did not have any knowledge of pregnancy or babies at all.

The husband begins to worry about his wife. She is sick every morning and is gaining weight. Her husband tells her he hopes she will get well soon. She explains that she will be sick for nine months. She outlines how she will get heavier and more uncomfortable. She even warns him that she may die at the end of this process. The husband asks her if there is any way to stop this illness. The wife says there is but she does not want to end the process because the pain and risk of pregnancy is worth the birth of their baby. The husband never having seen a baby has a hard time understanding what could be worth all that his wife is suffering. He has real doubts about the wisdom of pregnancy but is assured by his wife that if the baby is born then he will be satisfied that all of this difficult and painful process is worth it.

After nine months the woman gives birth to a child. The father watches as the new life is born. In that moment he sees the value of all the suffering and affirms that this process was worth the pain. Seeing the baby made the process of painful pregnancy justified.
From a Christian point of view the cosmos has become pregnant with God’s “Kingdom Child” and the process of giving birth to this Kingdom has put the cosmos in a sick and unstable state. However, this process is necessary for the Kingdom must be born out of great tribulation. This has always been the faith of the Christian church.

“They strengthened the believers and encouraged them to remain true to the faith. "We must pass through many troubles to enter the Kingdom of God," they taught. “ (Acts 14:22 GNB)

Therefore, it does not seem we can make the existence of suffering inconsistent with the Christian view of God since suffering plays such a significant part of the Christian view of the reality. Christianity has always presupposed that it was only my passing through many troubles that the Kingdom of God could be achieved. Because of this the existence of evil and suffering is perfectly compatible with a Christian view of the world.


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God's Purpose For Our Lives

Jeremiah 1:4-10
4 Now the word of the Lord came to me saying, 5 "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations." 6 Then I said, "Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy." 7 But the Lord said to me, "Do not say, "I am only a boy'; for you shall go to all to whom I send you, and you shall speak whatever I command you. 8 Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord." 9 Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth; and the Lord said to me, "Now I have put my words in your mouth. 10 See, today I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to pull down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant."
This history of Jeremiah’s call to his office formed a part of his first address to the people. He claimed to act by an external authority, and to speak not his own words but those of Yahweh the creator of the universe and the redeemer of Israel (see Jer_15:13; Jer_20:7, Jer_20:14-18). It was the WORD of deity that was in Jeremiah’s mouth and not just his own perspective. He was a minister of the WORD.
God tells Jeremiah what the Almighty One has been doing in Jeremiah’s life.
1. Yahweh knew Jeremiah before his body was formed in the womb.
2. Before Jeremiah was born Yahweh had set him apart to be a prophet to the nations
At this point the prophet interrupts God. Jeremiah does not know anything about before he was formed in his mother’s womb. He does not know anything about a destiny given to him before he was born. He does know who he is in the here and now. Jeremiah is sure Yahweh has chosen the wrong man.
"Sovereign LORD, I don't know how to speak; I am too young."

Jeremiah knows that he is not a skilled speaker. He is not experienced. He is not worthy to be a prophet. He does not have charisma. Who will listen to him? Yahweh can surely find a better spokesman.
The Sovereign Lord answers Jeremiah. No, do not look at your powers. Do not focus on your abilities. Your qualifications are that I am the one who is sending you and it will my WORDS in your mouth. You do not have to be a great speaker you only need to repeat what you are told. God knows that the culture will not respond well to what He has to say. Yahweh promises that He will preserve Jeremiah when the people respond with anger to the WORD.
Then Yahweh actually puts the DIVINE WORD into the mouth of the prophet. He is given the gift of the WORD of God that now is incarnate in his mouth. His mouth has become the mouth of God. Jeremiah because he is God’s prophet now has authority because he speaks for God. The authority is not in Jeremiah but in the WORD of God which has become a part of Jeremiah.
This WORD OF God will have a positive and negative impact. The judgments of God in history will uproot and destroy the agricultural economics of that day and the great cities like Jerusalem will be pull downed and overthrown. Humanities rebellion and the apostasy of God’s people will bring the just curse of God crashing down upon the world. Yet, out of the rumble the promise of God still speaks. A New Jerusalem will be built and a fruitful garden planted. The kingdom of God will come. The curse will pass away and the merciful promise will be fulfilled. The WORD OF GOD brings death and life, curse and blessing, destruction and restoration.
Today we also have the WORD of God. We proclaim both LAW and GOSPEL. The LAW brings just warnings of condemnation due to our moral rebellion and imperfection. The LAW gives us understanding of the flow of history and the principles that rule all of life. The LAW is good and spiritual but comes to us as a messenger of death because we are neither good nor spiritual. With only the LAW we would be in despair. But, as the LAW takes from us all hope in ourselves the GOSPEL gives us hope in the love of GOD found in Messiah Jesus. The GOSPEL is Yahweh’s promise to forgive and restore sinners out of condemnation and into a perfectly restored relationship. The GOSPEL is full of grace at a price we can never understand in MESSIAH’S suffering for our sins. So just like Jeremiah our message both destroys and restores.
This passage also tells us that God has a plan for every Christian which we have no choice but fulfill. Our choices are that either Yahweh has a few people like Jeremiah that “he knows” and ‘sets apart” before their birth or that this is what Yahweh has done for all of HIS people. Based on Ephesians 1:4 and Romans 8:29 it is clear Yahweh is choosing and foreknowing all of HIS children and not just the prophets. Jeremiah’s destiny is not in doubt because GOD has had it in HIS mind forever. Every Christian has been given a part in GOD’S drama and we must all play our roles. Each of us have a positive contribution to make and our success is not based on us but on GOD being with us and working in us. This perspective, if it becomes part of our life story which we repeat to ourselves in our self talk can give us great confidence, a sense of significance, and even peace in the midst of our struggles, tears, and fears.
Christocentric - Jesus the Messiah is the incarnate WORD OF GOD and is the promise of Yahweh in the flesh. (John 1:1-18)
Moral – Our authority to do our ministry is because GOD has given us our ministry. The power to do our ministry is GOD’s power in us. It is wrong to look to ourselves and either refuse ministry because of our weakness or to think we are strong enough to do it without GOD’s abundant help.
Eternal - In eternity we will fully live in the GOSPEL and be able to live the essence of the LAW. We will become the incarnation of the fulfillment of the WORD OF GOD.
Prayer: Lord, thank you for giving us GOSPEL in the midst of our sins. LORD, thank you for choosing us to be your people with a purpose.
Contemplation: You have not chosen me but I have chosen you.
Action: What part of God’s LAW do I need to hear, understand, and share? What part of the GOSPEL do I need to hear, understand, and share? With whom? Remind myself that I am a chosen child of God living a life designed for GOD’s GLORY!
“The purpose of your life is far greater than your own personal fulfillment, your peace of mind, or even your happiness. It's far greater than your family, your career, or even your wildest dreams and ambitions. If you want to know why you were placed on this planet, you must begin with God. You were born by his purpose and for his purpose.” – The Purpose Driven Life by Pastor Rick Warren P.17

The power of positive thinking and the danger of negative thinking.

He who has so little knowledge of human nature as to seek happiness by changing anything but his own disposition will waste his life in fruitless efforts. ~Samuel Johnson
Every growing ministry is dominated predominately by positive thinking. When negative thinking grows in a ministry then the positive passion and power of that ministry fades and it begins to diminish. It is important therefore that we promote positive thinking in the ministry and resist the temptation to be negative. Only when there is more positive thinking than negative thinking will our ministry be healthy and growing.
What is realistic positive thinking?
Look at the best side of a situation while acknowledging problems
Believing that God can change me and others
Believe in God answering prayer in a positive way
Having hope in what God will do with in the future
Supporting positive comments and encouraging faith in others
Avoiding griping, complaining, and murmuring
Find true encouraging things to say about myself and others
Confess my sins with the confidence that God forgives me my sins in Christ Jesus
Pray for the pastor, leaders, and the other people in the church while praising God
As led by the Holy Spirit try new or challenging things hopeful that God will use them
Get better as I reflect about the past, identify mistakes, and gain wisdom from it
Encourage new, creative, and inventive ideas and see them as possible
Try to see new things from new perspectives. Seek to grow as a Christian and person.
Take prayerful and thoughtful risks
Be encouraged by those who are looking for the “up side” of a disaster
Believe that God is working all things together for good
Praise attempts to fix a dysfunctional situation
Be open to changing my point of view to see things more from God’s perspective
Believe I am realistic not optimistic
What is negative thinking?
I look at the worst side of a situation and make that the focus.
I lack the belief that I could change or others could change
I lose hope in the future being better
I take the opposing view in any positive conversation
I never make upbeat or uplifting comments about myself or others
I turn conversations into griping, complaining, or murmuring sessions
I spread rumors and gossip about leaders and suspect them of evil without proof
I complain about the pastor, the leaders, and other people in the church, and even God
I try nothing new or challenging because I feel that I will fail.
I get bitter over how people treat me.
I put down new, creative, and inventive ideas as impossible without being willing to brain storm.
I limit my vision of what God could be doing in my life.
I take no risks.
I am cynical towards those who are looking for an “up” side of a tragedy, failure, or disaster.
I ridicule those who say “all things are working together for good.”
I ridicule attempts to fix dysfunctional situations.
I tell people I am realistic not pessimistic.
No one is totally positive or negative. These tendencies will go up and down in each of us as individuals and as a ministry as a whole. Where the majority of the people and the weight of the emotional energy is positive then growth will normally occur.
People are attracted to positive organizations and repelled by negative ones. We should strive therefore to be realistically positive in all we do if we want the ministry to grow. It is by promoting such an attitude that we will enjoy the ministry that God has given to us and attach other people to it as well.

Doing Church Well - Part four

Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. (Romans 12:10 ESV)

We must love one another as we really are and not as we would ideally like others to be. We must honor each other in our imperfect state and not in some ideal state in which we have no faults. We are called to love and honor real broken people and not some "ideal" Christians who do not exist in the real world.

The love we are to have for other Christians is unconditional. It is not based on their performance. The honor we are to give them is also unconditional. It is not based on their performance. Only unconditional love and honor last since everyone we love and honor is a sinner. Because those we love and honor sin we will eventually find fault with them if we look for it. If our love and honor is conditional upon their performance then we will find reason not to love and honor them.

This is entirely different than the way the unbelieving world system operates. Love and honor are earned by good performance. Here in the kingdom of Christ they are given as a gift to all who call upon the name of the Lord Messiah Jesus. Doing Church well means that we strive to feel love and honor for every Christian seeing in them God's image and God's child. We see in them the body of Christ and the temple of the Holy Spirit. We embrace them as God's child and our spiritual sibling. This is all done as a gift even as we have been accepted by God in Messiah Jesus as a gift.

Only a focus on grace can allow us to do church well.

Did Haiti Make A Pact With The Devil?

Did Haiti make a pact with the devil and was this the reason they have suffered.
"They were under the heel of the French, you know Napoleon the third and whatever. And they got together and swore a pact to the devil. They said 'We will serve you if you will get us free from the prince.' True story. And so the devil said, 'Ok it’s a deal.' And they kicked the French out. The Haitians revolted and got something themselves free. But ever since they have been cursed by one thing after another,”
Rev. Pat Robertson
I. Did the Haitian people make a pact with the devil?
Bois Caïman (Haitian Creole: Bwa Kayiman) is the site of the Vodou ceremony presided over by Dutty Boukman on August 14, 1791. The stated purpose of the ritual was to attempt to overthrow French rule, which was based on slave labor. This occurred during the French Revolution and not during the rule of Napoleon the Third (20 April 1808 – 9 January 1873) so Dr. Pat Robertson’s story is not a true story.
According to the official "History of Haiti and the Haitian Revolution", in 1791 the following events occurred:
A man named Boukman, another houngan (male priest of the voodoo religion), organized on August 14, 1791, a meeting with the slaves in the mountains of the North. This meeting took the form of a Voodoo ceremony in the Bois Caiman in the northern mountains of the island. It was raining and the sky was raging with clouds; the slaves then started confessing their resentment of their condition. A woman started dancing languorously in the crowd, taken by the spirits of the loas. With a knife in her hand, she cut the throat of a pig and distributed the blood to all the participants of the meeting who swore to kill all the whites on the island. On August 22, 1791, the blacks of the North entered into a rebellion, killing all the whites they met and setting the plantations of the colony on fire. However, the French quickly captured the leader of the slaves, Boukman, and beheaded him, bringing the rebellion under control.
It is widely accepted as the starting point for the Haitian Revolution. The ceremony was first documented in 1814 by Antoine Dalmas in his book History of the Saint-Domingue Revolution.
This was a pagan ceremony and was based on the beliefs common in Africa. It was not a “pact with the devil” since it was not done from the framework of the Christian faith. Like most pagans there was a religious ceremony which sought for magical strength and victory over their enemies by making as sacrifice. This had more to do with the idea that the “spirit of the warrior” which was in the ceremony would come into those who drank the blood. Christianity unfortunately was identified with slavery and oppression.
II. Is it right to think that people who suffer disasters are worst sinners than those who do not suffer such disasters?
There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. (Luke 13:1 ESV)

And he answered them, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? (Luke 13:2 ESV)

No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. (Luke 13:3 ESV)

Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? (Luke 13:4 ESV)

No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish." (Luke 13:5 ESV)
III. Does God judge us for what our ancestors did?
The word of the LORD came to me: (Ezekiel 18:1 ESV)

"What do you mean by repeating this proverb concerning the land of Israel, 'The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge'? (Ezekiel 18:2 ESV)

As I live, declares the Lord GOD, this proverb shall no more be used by you in Israel. (Ezekiel 18:3 ESV)

IV. Christian Response to Dr. Pat Robertson’s comments

Dr. Robert Jeffress of the First Baptist Church of Dallas said, "It is absolute arrogance to try to interpret any of God's actions as a judgment against this person or that person. … Our duty as Christians is to try to help these people pray for these people and to help them."

Franklin Graham, the evangelist son of Billy Graham and president of the Christian relief organization Samaritan's Purse, said he also disagrees with Robertson's assessment.

Graham's group is working in Haiti to provide humanitarian relief and, Graham said, he plans to go to the country in the coming days. "He must have misspoken," Graham said of Robertson. "But we need to get on the path of helping people right now. God loves the people of Haiti. He hasn't turned his back on Haiti."


IV. The faith of Haiti

Religions:
Roman Catholic 80%, Protestant 16% (Baptist 10%, Pentecostal 4%, Adventist 1%, other 1%), none 1%, other 3% note: roughly half of the population practices voodoo
The Struggle of Haiti
Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere with 80% of the population living under the poverty line and 54% in abject poverty. Two-thirds of all Haitians depend on the agricultural sector, mainly small-scale subsistence farming, and remain vulnerable to damage from frequent natural disasters, exacerbated by the country's widespread deforestation. While the economy has recovered in recent years, registering positive growth since 2005, four tropical storms in 2008 severely damaged the transportation infrastructure and agricultural sector. US economic engagement under the Haitian Hemispheric Opportunity through Partnership Encouragement (HOPE) Act, passed in December 2006, has boosted apparel exports and investment by providing tariff-free access to the US. HOPE II, passed in October 2008, has further improved the export environment for the apparel sector by extending preferences to 2018; the apparel sector accounts for two-thirds of Haitian exports and nearly one-tenth of GDP. Remittances are the primary source of foreign exchange, equaling nearly a quarter of GDP and more than twice the earnings from exports. Haiti suffers from high inflation, a lack of investment because of insecurity and limited infrastructure, and a severe trade deficit. In 2005, Haiti paid its arrears to the World Bank, paving the way for reengagement with the Bank. Haiti is expected to receive debt forgiveness for about $525 million of its debt through the Highly-Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) initiative by mid-2009. The government relies on formal international economic assistance for fiscal sustainability. (CIA Factbook)




V. Responding to the need by sending funds to Samaritan Purse

The first Samaritan’s Purse cargo plane arrived in Haiti Wednesday with emergency relief supplies for victims of the massive earthquake that rocked the country on Tuesday. The initial shipment included shelter material, hygiene kits, and water purification kits, as well as members of our disaster response team.

Our team is comprised of veterans of many disaster responses, but even they were shocked by what they encountered when they arrived.

“The streets are full of people that have no home to go back to,” said Dr. David Gettle, medical advisor. “They’re running out of food, fuel, and water. The situation is desperate and tense, and there is tremendous suffering.”

Three more flights with personnel and critically needed relief supplies landed Friday. Staff arriving included our team leader, two water engineers, and eight medical personnel to join Dr. Gettle.

Samaritan’s Purse deployed a disaster response team just hours after one of the strongest earthquakes to hit the Caribbean in decades to help with water, shelter, medical care, and other emergency needs.

“The damage is staggering in a nation where three out of four people live on less than $2 a day,” Samaritan's Purse President Franklin Graham said. “The people of Haiti need our help like never before.”

We are partnering with HCJB Global, a medical ministry out of Ecuador that will be sending six doctors to join our medical advisor. The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association is deploying chaplains from its Rapid Response Team to help our team meet spiritual needs.


http://www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php/articles/responding_to_haiti_earthquake/#

Doing Church Well - Part Three

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13:34,35 ESV)

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The hard thing about doing church is that it is a group activity. From the time of the desert monks it was seen by many people that it was easier to at least feel holy if you did not have to interact with other people. It is easy to love human kind and not be able to stand people.

It is in that dynamic fellowship of different personalities, cultures, genders, philosophies, options, tastes, outlooks, and experiences that we are tested to have healthy, caring, compassionate, honest, encouraging, and challenging relationships. This is what makes up the fellowship of the church. A group of diverse strangers striving to live as the family of Messiah Jesus.

The only thing we have in common is our Messiah Jesus. That connection to Him is suppose to be enough to allow us to connect to each other in caring, compassionate, gentle, and healthy ways so that we can help, encourage, and nurture each other towards becoming more like Messiah Jesus and doing His will on earth together. Being "in Messiah Jesus" is to make us united and one.

Any reading of the New Testament points out how hard this was. The Jews did not respect the Gentiles. The Gentiles could hate the Jews. Women were seen as inferior to men in the Roman empire and women could want to disrespect men in the new freedom offered in Christ. Rich Christians could fear that the poor Christians were trying to take advantage of their relationship with Christ and the poor Christians could judge the rich Christians as lacking in compassion when they did not respond to their needs.

The Apostles themselves struggled to find a practical answer on how to overcome the culture wars between Jew and Gentile in the church (see Acts 15). At the very least many of the followers of James and Paul saw the two men having different solutions to the "Gentile problem." Paul will have friends and co-workers such as Hymeneus and Alexander (1Ti_1:19, 1Ti_1:20) and Demas (2Ti_4:10) who will have their faith ship wrecked. Peter and Paul will have conflict as well because Peter will act in a hypocritical manner. (Gal 2).

Christians in the New Testament struggled with still practicing sexual sins, gossip, self righteous judgement, taking each other to court, splitting up into cliques, forming personality cults, bringing pagan ideas into the church, forsaking sound doctrine, getting involved in strange views of prophecy, misuse of spiritual gifts, rebellion against leadership, and leaders abusing those who followed. These problems which are all recorded in the New Testament we see continue after the age of the Apostles and repeated all during church history. The continued moral brokenness of Christians manifest itself in the practical fellowship of believers making it hard to show love for each other.

The Messiah Jesus actually makes success in loving each other the mark by which the unbelieving world is suppose to be able to tell if people are disciples of the Messiah. When the world sees sacrificial love within a fellowship of people who claim to follow Messiah Jesus then they can know they have found the "real"thing. Messiah Jesus makes real love the way people can know the genuine disciples from those who only claim discipleship. This raises loving each other to the top priority for the church.

But how to practically do that when each of us is so broken and has so much baggage is a hard problem to solve. Many Christians do not know how to have healthy human relationships in any aspect of their lives and so there is little likelihood they will succeed in "loving" Christians at church where they have less connection to than their family and friends. So the failure of the church to be a community of love is easier to understand than when it succeeds.

Now, by the grace of God the church has shown Christ like love to each other. The New Testament believers took care of widows and orphans, made sure that no poor Christian went without food and shelter, overcame the cultural differences between Jew and Gentile with wisdom, and gathered together in a communion of truth and good works (Acts 2:41-47). This would lead to the ancient world commenting on the early church "We are amazed at how they love one another." Therefore, at a practical level, with all the imperfections, the early church did demonstrate substantial love that was recognized by the world. We must always remember to look at the glass half empty and half full when we strive to understand the church. Never perfection only direction.

In my life I have seen Christians love each other in profound ways. I have seen people sacrifice time, money, and life to help others. I have seen the body of
Christ demonstrate real and amazing love towards others and myself. Such times fill my heart with joy even now.

However, it seems that over long periods of time it is hard for Christians to remain in a fellowship or church without this love breaking down. Social politics, personalities, failed dreams, desire for power and control, different opinions, cliques, gossip, judging each other, lack of respect, poor communication, unresolved conflicts, envy, competition, and desire to dominate; all begin to surface more and more, eventually breaking up friendships and fellowships; sometimes in some very ugly ways. It seems hard to establish long term healthy and committed relationships in the body of Christ.

It is hard to do church well. What can we do? We must become aware of how hard it is to really practice love. We need to look for ways we can increase in our love for each other. How are my actions hurting other Christians? In what way am I falling short of loving others as Messiah Jesus loved me? How can we maintain and increase unity with each other? How can we show respect for leaders? How can we give encouragement to followers? How can we do the church well and really love one another? That is one of the greatest challenges of our lives.

Doing Church Well - Part Two

And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. (Matthew 16:18 ESV)
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The Messiah Jesus is building His Church. The Church is the building project of our Lord Messiah Jesus. It is built upon the confession that Jesus is the Messiah and Son of God which the Apostle Peter has just proclaimed.

It will be the Apostle Peter's preaching of this gospel which will smash the the gates of hell which kept the Jews from believing and thousands will come pouring into the Church through his words. The Jews, the Samaritans, and the Gentiles all will have the Apostle Peter and his message about Messiah Jesus smash the spiritual walls which have kept them in darkness. The paganism of Rome will fall after 300 years and the message of Messiah Jesus will rule supreme over the old empire. The gates of hell will not prevail against the message of the Church. That message is the gospel of Messiah Jesus.

To do the church well the gospel must be the foundation of the Church. When we lose the gospel we lose the heart and power of God. Without the gospel we cannot build the church.

Doing Church Well - Part One

I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. (Ephesians 4:1-3 ESV)

It is not easy to do church well. In 1972 part of the dream of the "Jesus Movement" was to try to do church much better than we saw it being done. We were a reforming movement wanting the church to become more real and relevant. We were also young, naive, and proud. It never occurred to us that others before us had tried to do church well but had found it a hard thing to do. There have been people in the history of the church who have prayed more than we pray, studied more than we studied, and loved more than we loved; that failed to be able to do church very well.

To do church well is a very hard thing to do in the practicality of this fallen world and with the attacks of the world, flesh, and devil aimed above all else to keep the church divided, weak, naked, and blind (Revelation 3:17-18). Only by God's grace will we in some small measure to the church well. We must understand here especially that it will be direction and not perfection. If we demand perfection we will become condemning of the real church as we compare it to an "ideal" church that only exists in our minds.

Part of doing church well is avoiding unnecessary division. From the very beginning this has been hard for the Church to do (1 Corinthians 1:11ff). Christians easily divide over personalities and form parties. The politics of the Church can easily become as ugly as the politics of the government (James 4:1-10).

The church is to be the community of the King Messiah. It is a "beta test" example of the kingdom on earth that is to demonstrate the manifold wisdom of God before the watching angels. Some division is necessary due to people departing from a critical aspect of the revealed gospel truth or living lawless lifestyles (1 Corinthians 11:19). However, even in this division the church is called to speak the truth in love and avoid self righteousness (Galatians 6:1). The hope is that out of loving conflict those in error will be restored and unity maintained. Our aim should always be redemptive.

Another problem is when groups or cliques form in the body who see themselves as "the righteous ones" and who stand in judgment of the rest of the body (Galatians 5:20). One can tell that this has occurred when gossip, criticism, and complaining become the main focus of "fellowship" between believers (Exodus 16:2; Mark 14:4).

How we feel about our local church is based on the stories we tell about our local church. If those stories are positive and optimistic we feel good about our local church and love it. If our stories are sarcastic, judgmental, condemning, and cynical then we feel angry, depressed, disillusioned, and pessimistic.

In the same congregation there will be people who feel both of these things at the same time. The circumstances of the people in the congregation will be largely the same but their experience will be vastly different. One person will leave a worship service filled with faith, hope, and love; feeling really blessed by the worship; while the other person will complain about the music, how people are dressed, and the failure of the sermon to motivate or teach. Objectively both people experienced the same events but the impact was very different.

To maintain unity we must be able to see the glass half full even as we work to raise the level of the water. We need to look for "God events" in our congregation and catch God at work. We need to be ready to confess our sins and forgive the sins of others. Guided by the "judgement of charity" we should strive to grant the benefit of the doubt to everyone else and presuppose the best possible intentions for the hurtful actions or words. We need to be slow to judge others and resist every temptation to gossip. Gossip kills trust and healthy fellowship.

Will you pray that God can teach us all to do church well. A healthy church is one of the main reasons why people believe in Jesus the Messiah. Unhealthy churches become a temptation to blaspheme God and reject the gospel. We have been called by God to demonstrate His manifold wisdom before a watching world and even the angels. Yet, a study of church history makes clear that to actually have a healthy church is hard. Let us pray that God will show us a way to do church better and represent his sanity, stability, and spirituality on the earth.

How can we do church well?

As one studies church history is become clear that it is not easy to do church well. Paul says that the manifold wisdom of God will be seen by the powers of the heavens in the Church (Eph 3:10). It is clear that God's intention is for us to demonstrate His love, grace, and holiness. We are to be the body of Messiah and live the gospel before the nations. Yet, we are so easily distracted and deceived.

We normally can stand in judgment of other Christians and of various movements in church history. Yet, we rarely judge ourselves or our short comings. Self righteousness runs deep in our veins and it is hard to understand that some who prayed harder than we have prayed and studied harder than we have studied, failed to do church well. So how great is the danger that in our generation we might fail to do church well. Are we failing even now?

The beginning of insight is humility. My brothers and sisters for 2000 years have struggled to do church well. How easy is would be for me to fail to do church well. Satan, the world, and the flesh have as their highest priority to shatter the witness and testimony of the church. They are much more interested in corrupting the Church than running Washington. They want us not to reflect God's wisdom but to be foolish.

Lord, have pity on your people. We need revival of true spirituality and reformation to align ourselves with your WORD. We need a transformation of head and heart. We need to know how to relate to one another in holy love. Teach us to do church well.

Praise in Pain

Jeremiah 31:7-14
7 For thus says the Lord: Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob, and raise shouts for the chief of the nations; proclaim, give praise, and say, "Save, O Lord, your people, the remnant of Israel." 8 See, I am going to bring them from the land of the north, and gather them from the farthest parts of the earth, among them the blind and the lame, those with child and those in labor, together; a great company, they shall return here. 9 With weeping they shall come, and with consolations I will lead them back, I will let them walk by brooks of water, in a straight path in which they shall not stumble; for I have become a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn.

10 Hear the word of the Lord, O nations, and declare it in the coastlands far away; say, "He who scattered Israel will gather him, and will keep him as a shepherd a flock." 11 For the Lord has ransomed Jacob, and has redeemed him from hands too strong for him. 12 They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion, and they shall be radiant over the goodness of the Lord, over the grain, the wine, and the oil, and over the young of the flock and the herd; their life shall become like a watered garden, and they shall never languish again. 13 Then shall the young women rejoice in the dance, and the young men and the old shall be merry. I will turn their mourning into joy, I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow. 14 I will give the priests their fill of fatness, and my people shall be satisfied with my bounty, says the Lord.
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God's people had radically sinned. They had worshipped idols. They had oppressed the poor. They had neglected the widow and orphan. They had become sexually perverse. They had honored the LORD with their lips but not loved the LORD with their hearts. They had acted like spiritual whores. They had ignored and persecuted the prophets who warned them.
God radically responded to their sin. God allowed the Babylonians to smash their defenses. The LORD did nothing as their towns burned, children died, women were raped, and all their wealth was stolen. They were enslaved and taken out of their land to serve the Babylonians in exile. No nation or people had ever recovered from such a deportation. Nothing was left. Israel and Judah were dead.
Now God says to the exiles. I want you to sing, shout, and give Praise to ME! I want you to have a prayer meeting and ask the LORD to save the remnant of Israel. I want you to stop rebelling against God. God is saying to them; “Stop being angry with ME over what happened and accept your guilt.” Be angry at the sin that brought judgment. But come now, praise the LORD for saving the people from idolatry and oppressive relationships. Ask now to be saved.
God is radically going to save them. Now that judgment has come. Now that repentance has been experienced they will be saved. God is going to bring from Babylon and all the places where they have wandered the remnant home. They will come home not because they are the strongest. No, God will save the weakest of the weak. The handicapped and pregnant women will be returned despite their physical weakness. He shall gather a great company of the broken and return them to the land. Against all odds and all history they will be restored. Israel will not die but be resurrected.
God's people will radically repent. They will weep real tears over their sins. They will plead for mercy and recognize they deserve only judgment. They will be humble and submissive.
God will radically be with them. He will personally lead them in their journey. Because God is their father and they are His children they will not be lost. The LORD is the shepherd of Israel and will gather what has been scattered.
God has paid for Jacob's salvation and bought Israel back from the power of world, the flesh, and the devil. God's people's resurrection has a price. That price will be the blood and suffering of the Messiah Jesus. Even the return from exile as part of God's redemptive plan was only possible because Messiah Jesus had died for His people. Mercy to be just must have atonement.
God's people will be radically joyful. As they see the answer to their prayers for salvation their weeping will turn to wild adoration over the goodness of the LORD. Young woman and men will dance. The darkness of judgment will give way to the light of restoration. The people of God will feast upon a vision and experience of God's goodness and be satisfied.
The faith of the Bible is a radical faith. We might wish that it was less radical. That sin would not bring such radical consequences. That we could stay in a safer and more moderate relationship with God. Yet, the LORD, pushes the issues. The LORD demands holiness and punishes sin. The LORD will save us from this sin regardless of the cost to Himself or to us. We will not be lost to the power of darkness. He will give us life.
Now the only people who could find the joy offered here are the ones who adopted God's story over the events that had occurred and accepted the promises of restoration as true. The people who are being asked to praise are the ones who have seen death, destruction, rape, and torture before their very eyes. They have experienced events that normally produce post traumatic shock. Their hearts have been ripped out of them as they have seen loved ones suffer and die. They have lost every physical possession and all their wealth. In the midst of this they are to praise and sing.
This is only possible if they accept God's story about these events. Any other story will lead to bitterness, complaint, doubt, anger, and despair. Only accepting the good news of God' grace can place them in a position to be restored.
In the 2008 movie "Defiance" directed by Edward Zwick and based on a true story a group of Jewish brothers resist the Nazis and endeavor to build a village in the middle of the woods to provide protection for about 1000 Jewish exiles from the Nazi extermination. The movie demonstrated the horror and pain of the persecution of the Jews by the Nazis. In that movie the Rabbi is filled with despair as they face yet death after death and loss after loss. He then prays this prayer.
"Merciful God, we commit our friends - Ben Zion and Krensky - to You. We have no more prayers, no more tears; we have run out of blood. Choose another people. We have paid for each of Your commandments; we have covered every stone and field with ashes. Sanctify another land. Choose another people. Teach them the deeds and the prophesies. Grant us but one more blessing: take back the gift of our holiness. Amen."
Here the Rabbi has assumed the innocence of Israel. God is unfair in allowing such suffering from the Rabbi's point of view. There is no hope in restoration. There is no reliance upon promise.
We can understand this prayer by the Rabbi. It is very close to how we pray when we feel under the pressure of struggles and affliction in our own lives. It is more honest than we normally will admit. But we can relate to the prayer. The price of being God's people is just too high. We must remember the amount of pain that brought about such prayer. This prayer we can understand better than praise.
Yet, God wants us to believe His story in the middle of experiencing exile, loss, persecution for righteousness, and struggle. God wants us to feast upon His goodness and know joy in the midst of our tears. The LORD wants us to live as though all things are working for good and trust His promises of restoration. We are His children and nothing will separate us from His love which is found in Messiah Jesus. We can weep but not despair. We can know sorrow but not shut our hearts to hope. We are called to believe in the midst of our suffering.
The restoration of Israel from exile in Babylon occurred. Nothing in all history was ever seen like that. Israel again is scattered by the Romans during a series of wars and the temple is destroyed in 70 AD. No people so dispersed over centuries ever returned. Yet in 1967, nearly 1900 years later, Jerusalem is restored to Israel. God's promises and prophecies are kept. Remember what Messiah Jesus taught.
"They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive among all nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled." (Luke 21:24 ESV)

God is at work in the midst of the brokenness of history. We must pray for peace among Palestinians and Jews. We must seek just resolutions in these conflicts. Yet, in the midst of all of this complicated and difficult political process we must see God at work keeping His Word.

Such global faithfulness of God should cause us to believe that in the middle of our daily lives God is also being faithful. The LORD has promised us that one day a new heaven and a new earth will come in which righteousness will dwell. The rebellion of the world, the lust of the flesh, and the temptations of the devil will end. We will see our Lord Messiah Jesus face to face, and feast upon the goodness of the LORD forever. This vision of total restoration is to comfort our hearts and give us strength in the midst of our current struggles.

Sing praise to the Lord and shout for joy! LORD, save your church from our apostasy and apathy. Give to us reformation and revival. For your glory and for our good. Amen.