Four Essential Beliefs About God (Part 2)

Yesterday and today marks our fifth time with Eric Wright, a retired pastor and missionary who lives not too far from us. Eric is the author of about a dozen books in different genres, including inspirational, doctrinal and  fiction. His website is at Country Inspiration. We’ve taken what was a longer article and split it up, over yesterday and today. To read these on his site as one continuous article, click the header which immediately follows.

Celebrating the Attributes of God – Essential Beliefs

THE MERCY OF GOD

David Onley, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, Canada from 2007 to 2014, died recently. At age 3 he contracted polio and throughout his life struggled with accessibility challenges, a cause he promoted. His obituary states that the life he and his wife Ruth Ann built together for their family was a testament to their faith in God and love for one another in spite of all challenges. It was appropriate that he, as a Christian, championed the cause of those often forgotten. Christians have been and should always be at the forefront of those showing compassion and mercy.

In our meditations on the goodness of God, we note that throughout the Scriptures, God spoke of his compassion for orphans, widows, and all those who were poor or oppressed. “This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor’” (Zechariah 7:9,10).

God’s mercy is his goodness and love, his pity and compassion expressed to those who are in misery or distress irrespective of what they deserve. The fall in the Garden of Eden introduced chaos into the world and especially into human society. As a result, many fall victim to the consequences of those who act contrary to the ten principles (ten commandments) that define human flourishing. We need but look around us in the world to see the catastrophic effects of evil on people without number.

From the very initiation of the church, Christians have been at the forefront of demonstrating mercy. Read the Gospels and note how Christ demonstrated mercy. Read Acts 6 and note the distribution of food to widows in the early church. Read of Paul’s collection for the relief of the famine-afflicted in Palestine. It has continued thus through the ages from the care of plague victims, the founding of hospitals, the teaching of literacy, the establishment of schools, colleges and universities, the founding of the hospice movement, rescue missions in our cities, and other examples too numerous to mention.

The Western Church gets a lot of flack, and there are many causes for concern. But it isn’t condemned when it shows mercy. Lord, help us to be merciful. “Blessed are the merciful for they will be shown mercy” (Matthew 5:7).

THE LONG SUFFERING OF GOD

Good parents look back over their child-rearing years and wonder why they didn’t have more patience with the minor faults of their children. Sure, they wanted them to grow up perfect. But in most cases, they now view them with pride. They turned out well.

We may look back over the way our heavenly Father has been patient with us. Haven’t we often disappointed him? Haven’t we often made the same mistakes, committed the same sins again and again? God shows his love for us in being longsuffering.

Longsuffering is a facet of God’s goodness in which he shows patience and forbearance with the continued disobedience of his creatures. The whole of Old Testament history testifies to God’s goodness moving him to delay judgement on rebellious Israel. In spite of repeated warnings from prophets his people were slow to repent.

When Moses came down from the mountain with the tablets of the ten commandments, he saw Israel dancing around a golden image and committing immorality. In anger, Moses threw down the tablets. God felt great wrath towards them but relented of the judgement he was going to rain down them. Instead he had Moses prepare two new tablets. The LORD came down in a cloud proclaiming “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin” (Exodus 34:6,7). And so Moses prayed; “Although this is a stiff-necked people, forgive our wickedness and our sin” (vs.8).

Paul urges us not to be stubborn and judgmental towards others thinking we are so much better than them. “Do you think you will escape God’s judgement? Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you towards repentance?” (Romans 2:3,4) Peter writes, “Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation” (2 Peter 3:15). Without God’s forbearance, we would have no hope of being saved from our sins.

Let us celebrate God’s longsuffering and forbearance. And if we have unconfessed sins let us hasten to the mercy seat in confession and repentance. I’ll continue this series on God’s attributes in subsequent posts.

Christ’s Sufferings Were for the Benefit of Others

A year ago we introduced you to Esau Moraes, a Brazilian currently who has served with Youth With A Mission. He writes in Portuguese and then produces an English translation of each devotional. Click the header which follows to see where this first appeared, and if you have friends who speak Portuguese, tell them about his website.

[For this devotional in Portuguese, click here.]

Stand Firm!

Longsuffering.

According to the dictionary, it is the virtue of firmly supporting setbacks for the benefit of others. Patience and resignation with which the difficulties of life are endured.

The Bible narrates, in Luke 23, the painful process of condemnation and crucifixion of Jesus. He was falsely accused, ridiculed, mocked, punished, surrendered to the will of men, insulted, and finally executed.

It is impressive, however, the longsuffering with which Christ endured all these sufferings. Being innocent, he patiently went through each stage with firmness for the benefit of others. And who were these others? You and I!

I wonder where Jesus got the strength to endure such adversity. I find the answer in the very words of the crucified Christ.

When they came to the place called Skull, there they crucified him with the criminals, one on his right hand and the other on his left. Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. (Luke 23:33,34)

In the hour of agony, Jesus cried out to the Father to forgive His executors. And the same He did in His last breath on the cross, when He no longer had human strength.

Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit”. When he had said this, he expired. (Luke 23:46)

Until the last moment, we see Christ turning to the Father. What, then, will be our response to the setbacks and difficulties of life?

I invite you today to look to the example of Jesus and cry out to the Father to love and forgive those who have hurt you; to overcome the challenges in your marriage; to pursue that job that seems to require more than you are able to do.

In the midst of hardship, stand firm! Exercise longsuffering, which is also part of the fruit of the spirit. And, remember, you don’t have to do it alone. You have a Father ready to hear your cry, you just need to call Him!

God Keeps On Putting Up With Us

Indiana Sovereign Grace Pastor Mark Altrogge at the blog, The Blazing Center published this last week under the title, God’s Astounding, Jaw-Dropping, Eye-Popping Patience. (Click the link to read at source.)

How patient and long suffering is our God! How amazingly loving he is.

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Psalm 106 is a litany of how God’s people spit in his face again and again, yet when things sour they come back to God, and he forgives and blesses them again and again.  It’s a broken record of their failures and God’s patience.

As soon as Israel comes out of Egypt, they start their slur campaign accusing God of wanting to kill them and they “rebelled by the sea,” yet “he saved them for his name’s sake,” (7) and God carves a path for them through the waters yet sweeps the Egyptians away.

Israel suffers a huge case of God amnesia- “they soon forgot his works” (13). How do you forget God splitting the Red Sea?  They continue their belly aching, are jealous of Moses, and party at the golden calf.  ”They forgot God, their Savior, who had done great things in Egypt” (21).  If I were God I’d have said, “That’s it.  I’m done with you, have a good life – without me!”  Yet God spared them when Moses prayed for them.

They go on to despise the promised land (ever have someone be ungrateful for a gift you’ve given them?), don’t believe God’s promise (ever had someone call you a liar?), worship Baal and eat sacrifices offered to the dead.  God sends a plague but as soon as Phineas intervenes in prayer he relents yet again.

Do they learn anything?  When they finally enter the promised land instead of destroying the peoples as God had commanded they mix with them, serve their gods and even sacrifice their sons and daughters to demons.  As a grandfather and dad, I can’t imagine hurting one of my kids or grandkids, yet Israel murdered theirs for demons.

Verse 43 sums it up: “Many times he delivered them, but they were rebellious in their purposes and were brought low through their iniquity.”

Then comes the most amazing verses: “Nevertheless, he looked upon their distress, when he heard their cry. For their sake he remember his covenant, and relented according to the abundance of his steadfast love” (44-45).

What?  After all their bad mouthing him, dancing with demons, ingratitude and self-absorption, God relents?  God, are you a masochist?  Do you like rejection?  How much love do you have?  An abundance.

How patient God is with me! How great is his long suffering toward me! Now if he was so forbearing with Israel, even forgiving them when they sacrificed their sons and daughters to demons, how much more will he be patient with us who have received his Son and been washed by his sacrifice.

And if God is so patient with us, should we not be patient with the failures of others?. Let’s remember God’s steadfast love when others sin against us or when they’re slow to change.