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“We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints” (Col 1:3-4).

At a recent local pastors’ prayer gathering (which I have been blessed to be a part of for over ten years), a fellow pastor challenged us all from Colossians 1:3-4 to be thankful for our flocks.

Now, you might not think such a challenge would (or should) be needed in a group of conservative, Bible-loving pastors. But it was and it is. We pastors are mere flesh-and-blood. We fall into the same traps, sometimes, or just getting our daily “to do” lists done.

There’s always the next sermon. The next counseling session. The next visit. The next email to write. The next event to promote. The next planning meeting. The next phone call or text to make. The next conflict to resolve. The next worship gathering to plan.

And if pastors are not careful to guard our hearts, it can become no more than a routine job which robs us of our gratitude. And no gratitude = no joy. And often, no gratitude = no love.

Perish the thought! Nothing worse can hardly be conceived than a loveless, joyless, thankless pastor. Woe be to the flock under his care!

So, during this week of Thanksgiving, may I just pause, and thank and praise God for the dear Church family that I have the immense joy and privilege and duty to shepherd in the faith?

I thank God for Corydon Baptist Church. Every. Single. Member. And every single child of a member. I know them each by name (3 John 15). I pray for them regularly, and call to mind their sweet faces. Even the member who may be causing some grief at the moment, I am so thankful for; because I know but for the grace of God, I am also quite capable of causing others grief.

I thank God for the genuine sense of family among us at CBC. All churches talk about being a family. And no doubt many are, by God’s grace. But we seem to have been given a special grace at CBC, to actually live as family. Day by day. It thrills my heart as a pastor to see our members loving and living and serving Christ as true brothers and sisters, who stick by one another through thick and thin. Who ask forgiveness and grant it. Who overlook offenses in love. Who hold one another accountable to pursue holiness. Who pray, laugh, cry, and feast together. CBC is a family. Thank God.

I thank God for the love of the Word here at CBC. The attention given to the absolutely authoritative, sufficient Word of God is evident among us every Sunday. As you recite the Word. Listen to the Word. Sing the Word. Pray the Word. Read the Word. Train your children to sit under the Word. And then you meet together during the week to study and discuss the Word together. Many of you read the Word systematically together throughout the year. You counsel the Word to one another. You memorize the Word together. I thank God for a church full of true disciples who abide in the Word of Christ (John 8:31).

I thank God for a missionary heart at CBC. O dear flock, surely you see it too? Holy Spirit God has been and is giving us the very heart of Jesus for the lost world. A missionary heart! It is evident in your giving. In your praying. In your going. In your sending. And we’ve not yet begun to give, pray, go and send. The best is yet to come! CBC understands, by grace, that Jesus will have the prize for which He died – an inheritance of nations (Psalm 2). And we are eager and excited to play a part in the work of God to save a people for Himself from every tribe, tongue, people and nation. Haven’t we seen just how awesome it is to know and serve a God who can do abundantly, exceedingly above all we ask or think? We must thank and praise our God!

I thank God for a flock that stands firm for God’s truth in the face of a growing cultural storm. Throughout the COVID debacle, this church proved fearless. We feared the Lord, and put our trust in Him. And now, as so-called churches buy into worldly philosophies such as Critical Race Theory and Marxism, we stand uncompromisingly upon the truth that in Christ, there is no Jew or Greek. As our culture (and false churches) embrace the abomination of homosexuality and gender madness, our membership stands unapologetically on the truth of Holy Scripture. As our world (and many churches) are swept away by feminism and misogynism, CBC holds the line handed down to us by the saints of old. And we do so lovingly, truthfully, gracefully. We seek to pick no fights. We simply, humbly, believe the whole counsel of God as revealed to us in the Bible. We believe God knows best. Period. Thank God.

I thank God for a church full of the generations. Our elderly saints are so sweet. So faithful to Jesus and His Bride. So willing to serve in whatever ways they are able. So prayerful. We have a church full of godly grandparents! And we have a church full of young families. Fighting by the sanctifying grace of God for pure marriages. Gospel-centered homes. Raising godly offspring. Women so diligently pouring themselves in managing their households and nurturing their children. Men so faithfully working hard to protect and provide and teach and lead their households. Single men and women guarding their hearts and serving the Lord so well. Children learning to obey their parents in the Lord, and to love and respect their elders. Surely you join me in thanking God for blessing us generationally in Christ our Lord!

I thank God for a church that loves me and my family so well. Your love is unmerited. It is all of grace. I have seen you caring for my wife and children. I have seen young men honor and protect my daughters. I have a palpable sense of your weekly prayers for me and my family. God guards and delivers and blesses and uses us for His glory, through your faithful intercession. You have served us in some many ways. We could not ask for more. Michele, Keileigh, Ethan, Meaghan and I thank God for you all.

Most of all, I give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, for qualifying us all to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins (Col 1:12-14).

O dear Corydon Baptist Church, give thanks to the Lord; for He is good, and His love endures forever!

Don Wilson McWhorter

June 16, 1946 – Sept 13, 2017

I’m kind of homesick for a country
Where I’ve never been before.
No sad goodbyes will there be spoken
For time won’t matter anymore 

I’m looking now across the river
Where my faith is gonna end in sight.
There’s just a few more days to labor
And then I’ll take my heavenly flight

Beulah Land, I’m longing for you
And, some day, on thee I’ll stand
Where my home shall be eternal
Beulah Land, sweet Beulah Land.

I have never dreamed to write an additional stanza to any beloved hymn, much less this dandy written by Squire Parsons. But, shortly after the Lord called my hero home, I was compelled to write my own stanza to this sweet song. I found myself singing Beulah Land so often after Dad’s homegoing. And I still sing it when I call to my heart and mind so many sweet memories of Dad.

But I seemed to want something more than the two stanzas Brother Parsons so graciously gifted to the Church of Jesus Christ. So, with nothing but respect for Brother Parsons, I offer this additional stanza:

Sweet home of God, and all His chosen
Where Jesus’ face shall be our Light.
The Gospel calls us to that city
Where our sin no more we’ll fight!  

Beulah Land, I’m longing for you
And, some day, on thee I’ll stand
Where my home shall be eternal
Beulah Land, sweet Beulah Land.

“Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt 11:28).

Labor Day in America! 

A Holiday where we celebrate the fruits of our labors . . . by not laboring. 

Genuis! 

But I have grave concerns over the condition of the good ole’ traditional American work ethic. How can there be so many jobs right now and so few laborers? Did the government COVID handouts really do this much damage to our national psyche? Is the soul of our Nation truly now to work as little as possible and look to the government to give us everything? Well, I hope not.     

The idea of hard work has permeated this great country since its founding. For hundreds of years, people have come to America because, “If you work hard, you can make it here. And, you can make it quite comfortably.” Well, I hope so, even as I watch that dream die before my eyes at the hands of Marxist policies now being embraced by more of my countrymen than I ever thought possible. But maybe, just maybe, even that wrong can be righted by good ole-fashioned blood, sweat and tears (and voters recovering their American roots and sanity).  

But there’s one arena where our ceaseless drive to work hard must cease. 

Some two thousand years ago, Jesus stood before a crowd of hard-working, Law-abiding Jews. These Jews had for hundreds of years been sold a bill of goods by their rabbis. They had been told that law-works, or outward conformity to God’s legal commands, could and would get and keep them in good stead with Almighty God. It was this very works-righteousness salvation that Jesus demolished in the Sermon on the Mount. Therein, He reminded those crowds that God looks not just at outward conformity, but also to inward propensity. 

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks upon a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:27-28). 

The remedy was to build your life upon the Rock who is Jesus, the Righteous Law-fulfiller (Matt 5:17). To hear and heed His word. This is the only hope of enduring the torrential flood of God’s judgment that awaits all unredeemed sinners (Matt 7:24-27). 

Salvation, forgiveness of sins, a right standing with a Holy God, is all of grace. It is by grace through faith in Jesus alone. 

“We also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified” (Galatians 2:16).

“For grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). 

When Jesus commanded all those who labored and were heavy laden to come to Him for rest, He was not referring to physical tiredness due to a long, hot day in the olive orchards. No! This is the invitation to trust in the work of Christ for salvation; and to cease striving after it by your own wit, will, wisdom and works. This is justification by faith in Jesus alone. 

The Greek has an active participle. So, more literally, it is “All those who are toiling / laboring.” This is further described by a perfect, passive participle – “having been wearied” or “being wearied under burden.” Do you see it? Trying to earn your way into God’s graces is the most soul-deep, wearisome, exhausting endeavor that anyone ever undertakes. Why?

Because it is the quintessential definition of impossible. 

Jesus echoes the Psalmist here: “Be still (or cease striving) and know that I am God” (Ps 46:10). 

The rest Jesus promises is spiritual. Soul-rest. The Greek verb can mean both “revive” and “quiet / give rest.” Indeed. Those who are tired of trying to earn God’s favor, who are trying to deceive themselves into thinking they’re not that bad, that they’re not sinners through-and-through, will by faith alone in Jesus alone be brought to life. Revived. To a life of everlasting rest. A quiet peace in the all-sufficient Person and work of Jesus Christ. 

“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom 5:1).

“For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18). 

“Take My yoke upon you, and learn of 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 11:29-30).     

So, this Labor Day, why not stop laboring? Why not come to Jesus? 

And rest. 

Truly rest. 

On page 204 of my copy of The Valley of Vision, this Puritan Prayer is recorded, titled “Year’s End.”

Thou art good when thou givest, when thou takest away, when the sun shines upon me, when night gathers over me.

Thou hast loved me before the foundation of the world, and in love didst redeem my soul; Thou dost love me still, in spite of my hard heart, ingratitude, distrust.

Thy goodness has been with me during another year, leading me through a twisting wilderness, in retreat helping me to advance, when beaten back making sure headway.

Thy goodness will be with me in the year ahead; I hoist sail and draw up anchor, With thee as the blessed Pilot of my future as of my past.

I bless thee that thou hast veiled my eyes to the waters ahead.

If thou hast appointed storms of tribulation, thou will be with me in them; If I have to pass through tempests of persecution and temptation, I shall not drown; If I am to die, I shall see thy face the sooner; If a painful end is to be my lot, grant me grace that my faith fail not; If I am to be cast aside from the service I love, I can make no stipulation; Only glorify thyself in me whether in comfort or trial, as a chosen vessel meet always for thy use.

And all of God’s people in Christ said, “Amen.” 

Without a doubt, Thanksgiving is my favorite American Holiday, followed closely by St. Patrick’s Day (mostly just because I am Irish and love corned beef and cabbage).  

Black Friday notwithstanding, Thanksgiving still retains a modicum of purity.  The name of the holiday says it all . . . 

Thanks. Giving. Giving thanks.  

Granted, in our pluralistic and even atheistic American hodge-podge culture, it could be anyone’s guess to whom we should give thanks.  But, even a deaf, dumb, and blind student of our national history has to acknowledge the hand of Providence, as our Founders so often put it.  

Almighty God’s goodness to us in America has been unmerited and unprecedented in modern history.  Even on our worst day, we have many reasons to thank God.  Though it is in vogue among cultural elites and network media moguls to hate on America, this Marine Corps Captain is having none of it.  I have seen many other parts of the world.  I have witnessed people living in conditions worse than our pets.  I have seen what socialism and communism and atheistic Marxism produce.  As my youngest daughter would say, “It’s a no for me.”  

But even far above and beyond the rich blessings of living in America, we Christians ought never to cease praising and thanking our God for His kindnesses upon us in Christ our Lord.  Just a few generations prior to the American Revolution, my ancestors worshiped false druid deities.  And yet, here I am, a Baptist Pastor with a wife and children and church who love Jesus, confess Him as Lord and King, and delight in sharing His gospel with others.  All of grace!  O, for a thousand tongues to sing, our Great Redeemer’s praise!  

That was my Grandad McWhorter’s favorite hymn.  It was originally written by Charles Wesley in 1739, as an 18-stanza commemoration of the first anniversary of his conversion and new birth in Christ.  The original title was “For the Anniversary Day of One’s Conversion.”     

It would do us all some good, yea, even refresh our very souls, to sing this hymn as we gather ‘round the festive table this Thanksgiving.

O for a thousand tongues to sing my great Redeemer’s praise,
The glories of my God and King, the triumphs of His grace!

My gracious Master and my God, assist me to proclaim,
To spread through all the earth abroad the honors of Thy name.

Jesus, the name that calms my fears, that bids my sorrows cease; 
‘Tis music in the sinner’s ears; ‘Tis life and health and peace.

He breaks the power of canceled sin, He sets the prisoner free; 
His blood can make the foulest clean, His blood availed for me.

 

The song by Alan Jackson, “Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning?” says it well.  It did feel like everything in the world was on pause, on that day twenty years ago. 

9/11. 

Much like my grandparents who never forgot where they were and what they were doing when news of the bombing of Pearl Harbor was published, so those of us who were of a reasonable age on September 11^th, 2001 will never forget.  We cannot erase the images from our minds.    

On that day, 2,996 divine image bearers had their lives snuffed out. Gone. In a moment. Launched into eternity to meet their Creator God.  Our hearts still break for those grieving the irreplaceable loss of a husband, dad, wife, mom, sister, brother, friend, co-worker, peer, fellow church member, or child.  Unspeakable trauma was foisted upon us as a nation.  I honestly still get queasy if I dwell on it too long (and I generally have a pretty strong gut).  May the Lord comfort us as we remember and mourn. 

This particular 9/11, twenty years later, feels especially gloomy.  Our Nation has experienced unprecedented government responses to a very precedented virus.  To see “The Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave” locked up, shut down, masked up, forced to take a shot, shut up, canceled, divided, hateful, rioting, looting, cussing, suspicious and cowering has been traumatic on us all.  To add insult to injury, hurricanes, wild fires, earthquakes and drought seem to plague us non-stop.  And then there’s the thought of Americans left behind in Afghanistan.  Queasy. Again. 

I, like most of you, can rant on these things for hours, from various angles (political, theological, emotional, sociological).  But now is not the time. Not today.  Not now.  It is a time to weep.  To reflect. To cry. To pray. To return to our God.  Through repentance of sin. By faith in Jesus Christ.  Who endured more wrath and trauma, as He hung on the cross in our place, than we could ever imagine. 

The Lord Jesus is our only hope, America.  Christ Jesus is the only hope, World. 

And we Christians, who by the sovereign saving grace of God have this living hope, are going to have to stand while the world shakes and calmly, boldly say to the shaken:

“What God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that His Christ would suffer, He thus fulfilled. Repent, therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets long ago” (Acts 3:18-21).

In a sermon now infamous among many of us Southern Baptists, the then President of the SBC, J.D. Greear, stated that “God whispers about sexual sin.”  Pastor Greear said he was quoting Jen Wilkin.  And of course, the now President of the SBC, Ed Litton, parroted Greear (without citing his source, but that’s a story for another day). 

It is not my intent to call into question the salvation of any of the above named.  In fact, I have learned from the ministries of Greear, Wilkin, and Litton, even if I find myself sometimes disagreeing with them. Rather, I simply want to explore this notion of God “whispering” about sexual sin.  So, let’s take a sampling of God’s whispering:

After a lengthy lists of forbidden sexual relations, Leviticus 18:29 says,

“For everyone who does any of these abominations shall be cut off from among their people.”

“If a man is found lying with another man’s wife, both of them shall die . . . If there is a betrothed virgin, and a man meets her in the city and lies with her, then you shall bring them both out to the gate of the city and you shall stone them to death” (Deut 22:22-23). 

Deuteronomy 22:25-27 prescribes the death penalty for rape.  Only the rapist is to be executed.  We might remind ourselves that when we view pornography today, we are often gratifying our lusts by watching rapes.  Not all, but much of the pornography industry is fueled by sex trafficking.

“For the lips of a forbidden woman drip honey . . . but in the end she is bitter as wormwood . . . her feet go down to death . . . keep your way far from her and do not go near the door of her house . . . for a man’s ways are before the eyes of the Lord” (Proverbs 5).

“Can a man carry fire next to his chest and not get burned?” (Proverbs 6:27, speaking of adultery).

“For this reason, God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error . . . Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them, but give approval to those who practice them” (Romans 1:26-27, 32).  

 “But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality” (1 Corinthians 5:11). 

“Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived, neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality . . . will inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians 6:9-10). 

“Walk in the Spirit and you will not gratify the lusts of the flesh . . . Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality" (Galatians 5:16, 19).

“But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints” (Ephesians 5:3).   

“For this is the will of God, your holiness, that you abstain from sexual immorality” (1 Thessalonians 4:3).

“Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city (heaven) by the gates. Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood” (Revelation 22:14-15). 

If this is how God whispers, I would not want to be around when He shouted! 

Every sincere Christian I know would say he or she believes these verses.  Yet, I so often find myself as a Pastor counseling a brother or sister who has either had their pornography addiction exposed, or who has relapsed after patting himself on the back for a few “clean” months.  What is wrong with us, beloved?  Why don’t we hate this sin like God does?  Why doesn’t bile rise in our throats each time we even think about clicking that link or tapping that phone screen?  Why is Jesus not beautiful enough to us to prevent us from chasing other lovers?  Why is Christ not important enough to us to filter all our devices, get a flip phone, cancel our internet service, throw our i-pads away, and rend our hearts? 

Why do we so easily excuse away a few minutes of pornography?  Would we proudly say, “I only fornicate a few times a year?”  Or, “I only commit adultery once a year.”  As if this is the evidence we would present of a vibrant, mature, growing-in-love walk with the Risen, Glorified Christ who bled out on a cross for our disgusting lusts and all their accompanying excuses!  God help us.       

We had better stop scrolling down and start reading the Scroll of God.

“Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry” (2 Timothy 4:11).  

The last year has taught us all so much about the value of relationships.  Severed from one another for months, we were all forced to take stock.  Examine what really matters.  Consider those we love.  Think long and hard about how we define a relationship.  Of what is of most value in relationships.  

We learned to pine with the elder Apostle, “I hope to come to you and talk face to face, so that our joy may be complete” (2 John 12).   

Zoom burn-out set in for me somewhere about Week 1.  

And I have never been on Facebook, and have no future plans to hop onto it.

So I was, and am, so pleased to be a part of Corydon Baptist Church.  This Church lives as family.  We began gathering back in person about as early as any congregation I know (late May of 2020).  By late summer, our gatherings were bustling with hugs, rambunctious kids, handshakes and high-fives.  

The pastors here learned, to our great delight, that trying to keep you saints apart was like trying to lasso the moon.  Not going to happen!  Inspired by you, we stepped out on faith to honor God’s way of doing church, while making reasonable provisions for those wanting or needing more health precautions.  At each step, and with each decision, the members of CBC have shown themselves patient, loving, and oh so eager to stay deeply invested in one another’s lives.  All to the glory of God in the Gospel of Christ!  

But I want to urge all of us now, one year later, to take stock again.  Are there relationships that have been strained among us during this bizarre, trying year?  Have we said things, or posted opinions, that may have hurt our fellow followers of Christ?  Either intentionally or unintentionally?  Is there a Mark that you need to forgive?  Offer a second chance?  Ask forgiveness of?    

The last 12 months have been so often hi-jacked by Satan to divide us.  Gather or stay at home? Livestream or pre-recorded?  Zoom or Google Groups?  Masks or no masks?  Distanced or close?  One gathering or multiple gatherings?  Children’s ministry or not?  Vaccinate or not?  Conspiracy or not?  

Any church that survives all this potential relational strain and divisiveness with gospel unity intact ought to cry out with exceedingly great joy, “Glory to God in the highest!”  Indeed – Corydon Baptist Church – we sing and shout, “Hallelujah!  Let everything that has breath, praise the Lord!”  

But I urge you yet again, assess your relationships in the church.  Pray Psalm 139:23-24.  Go back and review your online posts and activities.  Ask God to help you find any source of unnecessary hurt or division, and grant you the courage to go seek reconciliation.  Search your hearts for judgmental attitudes towards brothers or sisters who have made different decisions than you.  Thought differently than you in non-essential matters.  Ask God for a Holy Spirit cleansing of unrighteous judgmentalism.  Truth is, none of us has responded to the various challenges of the last year with perfect righteousness or perfect consistency.  We have all played the hypocrite at least once, if not a few times.  So may we be reminded, as we see every member of CBC re-gathering on Sundays in the weeks ahead, that our only hope is Christ.  Always has been. Always will be.       

Our unity must not be surface level.  And the pandemic has certainly exposed a metric ton of shallow unity among churches, denominations, and among those labeling themselves evangelicals.  The sundry reasons we split with people or churches are varied.  But the grace of God in Christ, poured out on us richly, is greater.  The blood of Jesus makes the vilest sinner clean, and can reconcile and restore even relationships that seem doomed.  We don’t know the details of why and how John Mark and the Apostle Paul reconciled.  But praise God, we know they did!  Paul gave the young brother another chance. Thought better of his harsh view of Mark’s departure during Missionary Journey #1 (see Acts 15:36-41).  Time is so often a minister of God’s heart-softening grace.  No doubt Mark also had some fessin’ up to do too.  Soul-searching.  Asking forgiveness.  Recommitting to the King and His cause.  

The end result was beautiful. Powerful. A picture of Christ “making peace by the blood of His cross” (Colossians 1:20).  May God keep painting this scene across our own lives. Our own churches. Our own relationships. Redemptive Relationships that reflect the Redeemer.  

“Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity” (Psalm 133:1). 

COVID-19 has done some serious damage to New York City.  And it has done some serious damage in many other states and cities across the nation and world.  Whatever our politics or religious beliefs, or lack thereof, we must all at least be willing to admit a sense of sadness at tens of thousands of deaths (unless you are pro-abortion, which would be the height of hypocrisy, but I digress).

I keep reminding myself that extra health safety measures would be more meaningful to me if it were my grandmother or child fighting for life on a ventilator.  May we, as Christians, be given the compassion of our Lord. We dare not forget He touched lepers, gave sight to the blind, and was emotionally moved by crowds of unbelievers who needed a shepherd.  Before we say too much on social media about our conspiracy theories and vent our frustrations at government overreach (and there's a ton of it at every level right now), let's seek to reflect the love of Jesus.  A wise brother in our church once shared with me these guiding questions to social media posting:

1. Is it necessary?
2. Is it kind / loving?
3. Is it true?

Well, the online world would be a better place, huh?

With these questions in view, I want to urge my few readers to consider humility.  That's right. Humility.  Are you being humbled by what is happening around you?  I surely am.  And I confess I need even more humility.  I have been praying to God that He would keep humbling me.

And I long to see our nation and her leaders humbled, too.  Granted, I pray it doesn't take tens of thousands more deaths to achieve, but nevertheless, I pray with Christ, "Thy will be done."

On Resurrection Sunday, Governor Cuomo demonstrated a sickening lack of humility.  Cuomo's state is literally unraveling at the seams and digging mass graves like we would expect to see only in Iran or North Korea.  Yet, he still made sure to say this: “The number is down because we brought the number down,” he told the press. “God did not do that. Faith did not do that. Destiny did not do that. A lot of pain and suffering did that…That’s how it works. It’s math. And if you don’t continue to do that, you’re going to see that number go back up. And that will be a tragedy if that number goes back up.”

Governor, God Almighty disagrees with your brazen assessment:

I am the LORD, and there is no other. I form light and create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity. I am the LORD who does all these things (Isaiah 45:6-7).

What will it take to bring America to its knees?  To repentance?  To humility before God?

As much as I appreciate so much of what President Trump has done and is doing, his recent statements have made me nervous.  Pompous talk of us coming out stronger, beating this thing soon, and even his claim of "absolute power" all belie the National calls to prayer he has issued.  I realize the secular motto of leadership is "never let them see you sweat" but maybe we should fall back on our National Motto, "In God We Trust."

I wonder what impact it would have upon our nation to see President Trump, Vice-President Pence, members of Congress and the Senate, all on their knees crying out to Almighty God for mercy?  Confessing national sins and pleading the blood of Jesus over them?  Acknowledging the sovereign rule and reign of God alone?  What will it take to make them stop talking about prayer, and actually start praying?  In broken humility, on their knees, interceding for our nation.  Such a scene was normal for the first 100 years of our Nation's history.  I long to see it.  Few things matter more than humility in this crisis.

God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6).

One of the great Kings of Judah, Uzziah, died as a leper simply because of pride.  All his accolades went to his head.  The economy boomed during Uzziah's reign.  Other nations paid taxes / tariffs to Uzziah's government.  But a prideful abuse of power ensured he spent his last years as an exiled King, unable to interact with his citizens due to his leprosy (see 2 Chronicles 26).

O, I can hear some readers saying, "But that was the Old Testament.  We live under the New Covenant of grace in Christ."  Yes, and amen!  But God is still God.  That is to say, He is sovereign.  Prideful King Herod was struck dead instantly by God and then eaten by worms.  And yes, that happened after Jesus' resurrection and ascension - definitely New Testament (see Acts 12:20-24).

So I ask again, what will it take to humble us?  The consistent refrain of the Book of Revelation even with all its plagues that wipe out 1/3 of the earth's population, is "They did not repent and give God glory" (Rev 16:9, for example).  This refrain seems to me to characterize far too many of the citizens of America and her leaders.  Jesus said tragedies should elicit one simple response from us: "Repent or you will all likewise perish" (Luke 13:3).

But let's bring this right into our own living rooms, dear Christians.  After all, it's easy to point fingers at pride in someone else's life.  So, as we scratch at the pride speck in our leaders' eyes, I wonder if we have noticed the pride log protruding from our own eyes?  God help us if we followers of Jesus are not yet humbled in this crisis!  Here are a few questions to help us self-assess, and approach God for the grace of Cross-centered, Christ-exalting humility:

1. Have you fasted at all since the COVID-19 outbreak?  As we keep buying luxury items at Wal-Mart while wearing masks and standing 6 feet apart, Christians in Pakistan are refused food at local government distribution points (mosques).  Add starvation to a pandemic and now you've got real suffering.  Can we not fast and seek God's mercy at least upon those hurting far more than we are?
2. Have you prayed, really prayed, daily for government leaders, regardless of their political party?
3. Have you truly been trusting only God to bring this to an end?  Not Presidents, or Popes, or Doctors, or Vaccines.  Just God.
4. Are you secretly believing America will just get back to normal next month, and be none the worse by this time next year?

For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from Him. He only is my Rock and my Salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken (Psalm 62:5-6).

Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for you know not what a day might bring (Proverbs 27:1).

I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions (1 Timothy 2:1-2).

To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and power forever and ever (Revelation 5:13).

Come, let us return to the Lord! For He has torn us, that He may heal us; He has struck us down, and He will bind us up (Hosea 6:1).

O God our Father, fill us with Your Spirit and humble us, for the sake of Christ, amen.  

 

Well, I slept through yet another New Year.

Hit the sack about 11 p.m.  TV off.  Spent the last hours of 2019 reading the last few chapters of Revelation with my family.  Answered questions as best I could regarding all the wild symbolism of that Blessed Book of the Bible.  Reminded ourselves of the main thing - Jesus wins!  He reigns forever and ever and those who have been saved by His grace will reign with Him and enjoy Him forever.  And His enemies will be judged forever.

So we must soldier on.  So we must carry His name to neighbors and nations.  So we must not lose heart.

New Year's is a time for Resolutions.  At least in our culture.  But it's also a time for Reflection and Refocusing.

I have reflected this week on 2019.  Although the Lord gave me so many unmerited blessings, the big theme of this past year for me has been pain.

Debbie Downer.  I know.  That's me!  But stick with me.

Pain is real.  Hurt hurts.  Sin has wrecked this world and trashed our hearts.  I attended 6 funerals in 2019.  Preached four of them.  Stood over the dead bodies of three beloved saints whom I had the immense privilege to pastor.  I loved them fiercely, and wish I could have, would have, shepherded them more faithfully and more effectively.  But by God's grace I did my best, and now I miss them horribly.  The congregation of CBC misses Daryl, Jay, and Martha.  Holes in our hearts now.

I also preached the funeral for my wife's step mom.  We miss her sorely.

Members in our church have had to bury their grandchildren and young siblings this year.  So much pain.

Hurts and breaks in relationships have also marked my 2019.  Friends lost.  Sometimes despite efforts at restoration.  My own sins and shortcomings highlighted.  Reasons for the losses, however, ultimately not known.  Perhaps never will be understood.  At least not in this life.  My family and I have hurt deeply, and we know our former friends have also hurt.  We are sorry for it all.  We minimize none of this pain.  We grieve not just for ourselves, but for others too.

Preaching through Hosea this past Fall has been just what Doctor Jesus ordered.  I cannot begin to tell you the impact Hosea 6:1 has had upon me as I reflect on 2019.

Come let us return to the Lord!  For He has torn us, that He might heal us; He has wounded us, and He will bind up our wounds.

Truth is, 2019 has simply made me long ever-more deeply for the return of Christ Jesus.  God has refocused me on eternity.  Given a gospel-driven ache to my soul for all things to be made new.  Fixed my eyes on Jesus, the Author and Finisher of faith.  Reminded me of the light momentary afflictions that will, some grand day, produce an eternal weight of glory!

While I aim by God's sanctifying Spirit to strive for more holiness, more peace, more restoration in 2020, the pain of 2019 prods me not to live for this world.  Not to expect my best life now.  To know sin is not yet eradicated in my heart, nor in the hearts of those around me.

Pain is merited by me.  By you.  By everyone.  Except Jesus.

Unspeakably, Christ came as "a man of sorrows acquainted with grief" and was "pierced for our transgressions." And in Christ Jesus our Lord, all things are reconciled and restored (Col 1:20).  Jesus even redeems our pain.  "By His wounds we are healed."  And yes, He even redeems it sometimes in the here and now, but one day perfectly in the new heaven and earth.  Singer / songwriter Laura Story has so aptly called us to account in this matter:

 'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
And what if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You're near

What if my greatest disappointments or the aching of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can't satisfy
And what if trials of this life-
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are Your mercies in disguise

Well, amen!  "Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life" (Psalm 123).  Pain will not get the final word.  Jesus is too great a Savior to allow it.  And Jesus is so great He turns hurt into healing, gangrene into glory.  O, that in 2020 I might have the vision to see it.

As I refocus now for the New Year ahead, I pray with Susanna Wesley:

Help me, O Lord, to make a true use of all disappointments and calamities in this life, in such wise that they may unite my heart more closely with Thee.  Cause them to separate my affections from worldly things and inspire my soul with more vigour in the pursuit of true happiness.

Amen.  Happy New Year!

P.S.  As I write this, I battle the pain of shingles.  "Even so, Lord Jesus, come quickly!"