“Under these circumstances, after so many thousands of people had gathered together that they were stepping on one another, He began saying to His disciples first of all, ‘Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy’” (Luke 12:1).

That is to say, “Beware of the thing that puffs you up–for that is what leave does.” Or, “Beware of pretending.” Or, “Be warned against being a hypocrite.”

Webster, in his 1828 Dictionary, defines hypocrisy as follows,

“Simulation; a feigning to be what one is not; or dissimulation, a concealment of one’s real character or motives. More generally, hypocrisy is simulation, or the assuming of a false appearance of virtue or religion; a deceitful show of good character, in morals or religion; a counterfeiting of religion.”

Similarly, the definition of a hypocrite is, “One who feigns to be what he is not; one who has the form of godliness without the power, or who assumes an appearance of piety and virtue, when he is destitute of true religion.”

In other words, you pretend to be someone or something that you are far from being, and this intentionally in order to deceive.

Hypocrisy is not, in the words of the apostle Paul, the ‘putting on of the Lord Jesus Christ,’ as in acting contrary to one’s natural self in an attempt to be like Jesus. Instead, it is doing so for show, to make others think you are some sort of saint–when you are not. The bottom line is this, the moral of the story: be yourself, be whom God made you to be. Don’t try to come off as something you aren’t; instead, just be you.

I am not saying ‘let it all hang out’. No, God has called us to be self-controlled, disciplined in speech and actions, but not so as to hide who you are. As Jesus goes on to say in the next verse, “But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known.” In other words, if you are pretending it will eventually come out; your true colors will be made known. Better to be who you are now for all to see, than to be who you are not, whom others will see anyway. You cannot hide forever.

A common complaint by non-Christians or Christians who don’t or won’t attend a church is that it is filled with hypocrites. Meaning, they come off as acting holy on Sunday morning, but hardly so the rest of the week.  If we care at all about how the world views our faith, then we must live that faith seven days a week.  

Hypocrites say things they don’t mean and don’t intend to back up with their actions. They act in ways to be seen and approved by others, but are far from their behavior in the attitude of their hearts. The prophet Isaiah describes such as these,

“Because this people draw near to Me with their words and honor Me with their lip service, but they remove their hearts far from Me, and their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote” (29:13).

Which is why, by the way, Jesus tells us, “An hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:23-24).  That is, in honesty and integrity.  From the heart.  

The Lord Jesus had some pretty strong words for the hypocrites of His day, which I shall not record here. Suffice it to say, He is not pleased with the person who feigns religiosity, nor the one who pretends to be something he is not.

There is a huge difference, however, between a hypocrite and a person who sincerely wants to be like Jesus. After all, that is the goal, is it not–to be like the Lord? Indeed, it is.

The Bible teaches that Christians have two natures–unbelievers have one, a sinful nature; they cannot help but sin, sin has the mastery over them; they are slaves to sin. Christians, however, have two: the old, sinful nature, and the new, Christlike nature. By virtue of having been born again, they are no longer bound to the old; they can live a new life. This comes about by considering themselves dead to sin, and alive to God. Again, we are told by the apostle, “Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, in regards to its lusts” (Romans 13:13). We can do this by virtue of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, who broke the power of sin and gave us eternal life.

There are those who pretend to be what they are not–this is what the Lord warns us about.

On the other hand, Scripture tells us to be who we truly are in Christ.

In my opinion, there is no better advice given us in this regard than the apostle Paul in Romans chapter twelve. There he says, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect” (verse 2).

You may ask, “What does this have to do with hypocrisy?” It has everything to do with it, because here Paul is telling us to be on the outside who we really are on the inside.

This truth is known when you understand that this word, “transformed,” is the same Greek word rendered “transfigured” elsewhere, as when Jesus was transfigured before His three disciples on the mountain. There His true ‘colors’ were revealed; He was shown to be who He really was. He showed up on the outside what He was really like on the inside: the holy, pure, radiant Son of God.

Greek scholar Kenneth Wuest in his translation of this passage brings out this meaning. He renders very 2 of Romans 12 like this,

“And stop assuming an outward expression that does not come from within you and is not representative of what you are in your inner being but is patterned after this age; but change your outward expression to one that comes from within and is representative of your inner being, by the renewing of your mind, resulting in your putting to the test what is the will of God, the good and well-pleasing and complete will, and having found that it meets specifications, place your approval upon it” (italics mine).  

You see, hypocrisy is being on the outside who you are not on the inside; this was the case with Pharisees in Jesus’ day, and is now with many religious folk in our time. Christianity, on the other hand, is being on the outside who you really are on the inside; Paul here is urging this.

That is to say, Christians are sons and daughters of the living God. They have the Spirit of God inhabiting them. They are righteous in the sight of God. Their new nature–theirs by reason of the new birth (being born again)–does not and cannot sin. Paul is saying, “This be the case, then act like it! Be the royalty that you are! Don’t cave to the old nature, you don’t have to do that any longer. Be who you really are!” And then he tells us how this can come about: this kind of transformation comes about by learning to think differently.

I shall not go into mind renewal at this time. Suffice it to say, we are warned by the Lord about having or demonstrating a form of godliness without the power to accompany it. About pretending to be religious. Against being something we are not. Against appearances only. On the other hand, and to sum up, we are encouraged to be who we really are on the inside, outside, to whatever degree of maturity we have attained to, without faking a maturity we have not attained to. God is quite happy for us to be as we are, while we allow Him to make us what we are not. That is the point.

“As for me, I shall behold Your face in righteousness; I will be satisfied with Your likeness when I awake” (Psalms 17:15).

If ever there were a reason for believing, for walking in the light, for making every effort to do what pleases God, it would be this: beholding the very face of God, being made in the very likeness of God.

This is the future of all God’s believing children.

It is by faith, and by faith alone, that a man is made righteous, and this in a threefold manner. But first, allow me to describe as best I can this happy state that Christians find themselves in.

Righteousness, or as some translations put it, being right with God, is that condition in the sight of God where you appear to God as though you had never sinned. It is like the Garden of Eden all over again. Sin was out there, yes; but you are not a participant in it, it has not yet tainted you, separated you from God. You are utterly and absolutely innocent, pure, unadulterated, and holy. If you wish to see a picture of original righteousness, look at Adam and Eve; they were naked and unashamed.

Believers in Jesus Christ are to God as though they had never sinned; no, not once.

We know from Scripture that Jesus Christ never sinned; He was always and completely obedient; never once did He cave to temptation. He was utterly without sin. Righteousness is that act of God whereby that holy state of Jesus Christ is conferred upon the believer. There is this transfer, if you will, from what Jesus Christ deserved by reason of the life he lived, to us who do not deserve it because of our sin. The victory over sin that Jesus won is by God credited to our account. The gold medal which was hung about His neck is taken from Him and hung on ours. We get the credit for what He did. This is righteousness.

It is written that He, Jesus, became sin so that we might become His righteousness. The point is, as He was–and is, so are we in this world (cf. 1 John 4:17).

Imagine never having sinned. That is righteousness. Think of Jesus Christ; holy, innocent, just; that is how God sees us. He, Jesus, is our righteousness (Jeremiah 23:6).

It is written in Scripture that God calls those things that be not as though they were (cf. Romans 4:17). So it is with righteousness.

A man is made righteous in three ways, or three steps if you will.

First, he is declared righteous. When a person puts his or her faith in Jesus Christ, God the Father declares that person righteous. They may be the worst sinner in the world, but God declares them innocent; He credits their account (ie., the account of their lives) with the righteousness of Jesus.

Then, there is this ongoing action where God, by His Holy Spirit, actually makes that person righteous. In real time, mind you; not just legally speaking. No, the person who is not at all righteous but is declared by God to be so, actually becomes that righteousness. God made Jesus, who knew no sin, to become sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Corinthians 5:21). So you see, there is this becoming that follows the declaring.

A person faithful to God and to Jesus Christ, as he proceeds through life in faith, actually becomes, in a progressive way, like the One in whom he believes.

Yet not one of us experiences the fullness of that righteousness until that day on which we come face to face with the Living God. Then, and only then, will we be fully fully righteous, experientially so. “I shall behold Your face in righteousness; I will be satisfied with Your likeness when I awake.” That is to say, when I awake from the sleep of death.

There comes a day, on which all those who have believed will realize the final outcome of their faith: they will behold the face of God in absolute holiness and purity. They will be as righteous as the Son of God Himself. And, as such, they will be completely like Jesus in body, soul, and spirit.

John tells us about this in his first letter. He writes, “Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure” (1 John 3:2-3).

We will be like Him. Imagine that! This is something worth believing for, waiting for. This is reason enough to be living a holy life right now, constantly ridding ourselves of the things that defile us, of things that displease the Lord.

One day, perhaps soon, we who believe will see the face of God. When we do, we will be just like Him: righteous, completely and utterly so. This is what awaits us. In the meantime, we have the privilege of living as if it were true right now–because it is. This is the righteousness of God.

If you know anything about leprosy, you know it is highly contagious.  I understand that in Bible times if you got near a leper they would have to yell out, “Unclean! Unclean!”  And you would definitely stay away from that person.  

 It’s beginning to feel like that with just about every one I encounter.  And it feels like they’re thinking the same about me.  One of us may be infected with the coronavirus–and we might not even know it! 

It gets worse.  There are plans underway for things to return to some semblance of normal–if you can call it that.  These include everyone wearing masks.  Apple and Google are cooperating together to build an app that monitors people with the virus.  There is talk of planes and drones doing surveillance.  I’ve read of people of maybe having to wear badges identifying them as having been exposed or being immune.  And on and on.  Seems we are entering a day worse that described in the book 1984.  Everyone will be divided, suspicious of one another.  

While I understand the threat–I think I do, I’m trying to, it just doesn’t seem right. Especially for Christians.  I mean, Jesus ministered directly to lepers.  He didn’t flinch or shrink back.  Too, we’re supposed to be believing we are protected from these things (Psalm 91).  Not that we should be flaunting the law or placing others in jeopardy, but come on now, not everyone is a leper! Not everyone has the virus! In fact, very few people do–a fraction of a percentage point (.29%) of the total Michigan population.  Yet we are all treating each other as if we all had the plague!  

In lieu of acting this way, while taking precautions for sure, let’s view everyone we meet with a gracious, welcoming attitude.  They don’t have the virus–chances are, they don’t! You can be 99.7% sure they don’t. So let’s get on with life, loving one another as we should.  Not everyone is a leper.  

“The Lord is exalted, for He dwells on high; He has filled Zion with justice and righteousness.  And He will be the stability of your times, a wealth of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is his treasure” (Isaiah 33:5-6).  

There are indeed unstable times; not one of us knows what is going to happen or when.  There is much talk about returning to normal, but no one really knows what that will look like.  People are more or less locked in their homes, businesses closed, and jobs are no longer.  While government seeks to smooth over all this with stimulus money and an increase in unemployment compensation, it is but a bandaid; the real pain will come at another time, and then it will be worse.  

In all this, however, there is a safe place from the rumblings of a fallen world, one ready to collapse at any moment.  There is a rock on which to stand, a tower to which we can run.  There is One who is outside it all, and who beckons all of us to come to Him.  It is the Lord, the one exalted, who dwells on high, “He,” it says, “will be the stability of your times, a wealth of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge.”  

How so?

One truth about God is that He does not change.  While everything around us changes, where uncertainty is now the norm, the Lord is a constant; He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.  He is good, He is sovereign, and He has our best interests at heart.  And yes, in His wisdom He allows things to happen that He could easily prevent by His power–which is all the more reason to trust His judgment.  He is good, He loves us unconditionally, and He will see us through every storm if we will but let Him.  

His is a wealth of salvation.  That is to say, there is plenty of it; there is no want of saving grace with Him.  To the Lord belong deliverances from death.  The very name Jesus, the English version of the Hebrew name Joshua (Yehoshua), means “the Lord to save,” or “the Lord our Savior.”  Not only does He save us from our sin and its consequences, but He saves us from the evil things that confront us, that challenge us, that attack us.  By nature God is a Savior.  If a person calls upon Him, He will save that person.  

His is a wealth of wisdom.  The apostle Paul writes, “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor? Or who has first given to Him that it might be paid back to him again? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen” (Romans 11:33-36).  The Psalmist declares, “O Lord, how many are Your works! In wisdom You have made them all” (104:24).  Compared with God’s wisdom, the wisdom of men is foolishness (1 Corinthians 1:20); that is how great the wisdom of God is.  

His is a wealth of knowledge.  God knows everything, absolutely everything.  There is not one thing He doesn’t know.  In fact, everything man knows, God has revealed it to him (Psalm 94:10).  Man thinks he is so smart–think of all that man has accomplished, the things he has made, the inventions, the technology…..God gave him to know these things.  God’s knowledge is so vast and deep that He knows not only the name of every star in the universe, but the thoughts and intentions of every person on planet earth.  Want to know something?  Go to God.  

The fear of the Lord is his treasure.  In other words, God has a treasure chest filled with the best, and the key to that treasure chest is the fear of the Lord.  The fear of the Lord unlocks all of the above–God’s salvation, God’s wisdom, and God’s knowledge.  If you don’t believe me, read the Proverbs.  Read the Psalms.  There are untold blessings for the person who fears (or, reverences) the Lord.  

This can also be taken to mean that the person whose stability is the Lord, his treasure is the fear of the Lord.   I understand this well, as I fear the Lord and I am enjoying all the manifold benefits of doing so.  The fear of the Lord is a treasure to me.  

Like everyone else in most places of the world today, there is uncertainty as to the future with me and my family too.  But I know who holds the future, and when I feel afraid I trust in the Lord.  When I am anxious I pray.  When I wonder what will happen to me, I look to the One who loves me and has promised me a bright future.  When the ground underneath me trembles and shifts like sand beneath my feet, I run to the Rock of my salvation.  I call upon the Lord.  He is my stability in unstable times.  He is my stability all the time.  

“Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:41-42).

I suppose most of us could insert our name in place of Martha’s–we are “worried and bothered about so many things.”  This is especially true these days, when both the present and the future are uncertain.  But I think it describes life for a lot of us, even in good times.  

In contrast, the Lord points to a person who is not caught up in such things; He tells of a woman who has “chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”  And what might that be?  We back up to the beginning of the story; there we read,

“Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. She had a sister called Mary, who was seated at the Lord’s feet, listening to His word” (38-39).  

The good part we learn, the one thing necessary, is sitting at the Lord’s feet, listening to His word.  

That is to say, of all the things we have to do–even our work, the things we are responsible for, those duties that are ours alone, there is one thing that tops them all, that is more important than them all, and that is being with God with our ears, eyes, and heart open to what He has to say.  

What does that look like in our time?  We do not have the physical Jesus here to sit beneath. We do not have Him here in the flesh in order to actually hear Him speak.  Ah, but we do have Him here–not physically, but here nonetheless, by His word and His Spirit.  

I say it looks like spending time with God in a set-apart-way, all of your other things shut out for a while, reading the words of Scripture and listening to Him speak.  It looks like asking Him questions, telling Him your needs and wants, and most of all it is just adoring Him.  

I note that the Lord says it is necessary, this one thing.  This one need far outweighs anything else.  Not one soul among us has a need greater than this one, to sit at the Lord’s feet like Mary did.  

I note also that it is a choice we make.  Jesus said, “Mary has chosen the good part.”  Mary could have been helping Martha, who “was distracted with all her preparations” and upset because Mary was not helping her (see verse 40).  So it is for us; we can be busy with serving the Lord and neglect this vital relationship with God.  It is a choice.  We chose to carve out time for God, to push off our responsibilities for a while, to listen to God.  

And then I see this is something that can never be taken away from us.  Everything else can and will go at some point.  Right now people are losing their jobs; owners are losing their businesses.  There is the possibility, a real one, that we may even lose our country.  But the one thing you will never lose are those investments of time and attention that you give to God.  A rich man is he who is rich in God.  What he has in God will continue on into eternity; it can never be taken away.  

Sometimes I wonder if I am neglecting my responsibilities.  I work fewer hours than maybe I should, and perhaps I should be exercising more.  And there are things about the home that need my attention.  And then I wonder what good am I to others if I am holed up here in my study.  On the other hand, I have chosen the good part which shall never be taken from me.  I have chosen instead to spend time with God, reading the Bible, writing in my journal, and offering up my prayers.  I do not know if I could go on with life if weren’t for this; what I have here is my sustenance, it is life to me.  It is my life.  

There is still time for the other things, at least those that are really needful.  In fact, like tithing, when you give your 10% and God takes that 90% and grows it exponentially, the time you spend with God tends to multiply the balance of time you have the rest of the day.  You get more done is less time because God blesses it.  

Each of us have the same amount of time each day; we get to choose how we spend it.  If, like Mary in Luke’s gospel, we choose to sit at the Lord’s feet and listen to His word, we will have chosen the best part, the one thing that is really necessary, the one thing that we can never lose no matter what is going on around us.  

“For the LORD will rise up as at Mount Perazim, He will be stirred up as in the valley of Gibeon, to do His task, His unusual task, and to work His work, His extraordinary work” (Isaiah 28:21).

That is, literally, His “task is strange,” His “work is alien.”

I learned along time ago, from the late Bible teacher Derek Prince no less, that judgment to God is “strange,” is “alien.” That is to say, it is not His nature to judge; by nature He is merciful, kind, and compassionate. But Judge He is, judge He must, and judge He does.

I have always been intrigued by what follows the verse above, as if a completely separate portion of Scripture; today, however, I find it to be completely joined to God’s judgments. Here is the passage, starting in verse 23 and ending at verse 29:

“Give ear and hear my voice,

Listen and hear my words.

Does the farmer plow continually to plant seed?

Does he continually turn and harrow the ground?

Does he not level its surface

And sow dill and scatter cummin

And plant wheat in rows,

Barley in its place and rye within its area?

For his God instructs and teaches him properly.

For dill is not threshed with a threshing sledge,

Nor is the cartwheel driven over cummin;

But dill is beaten out with a rod, and cummin with a club.

Grain for bread is crushed,

Indeed, he does not continue to thresh it forever.

Because the wheel of his cart and his horses eventually damage it,

He does not thresh it longer.

This also comes from the LORD of hosts,

Who has made His counsel wonderful and His wisdom great.”

There is so much to be had from these verses. Years ago–I can recall it vividly, I took it as practical wisdom for marketing and managing my company’s projects. I reasoned that if God instructs the farmer, He can teach me how to run a painting business. However, although it stands by itself as a wonderful illustration about how God involves Himself in the work of men, I find that in context it is a fleshing out of the words found beforehand. It describes how God works through His judgments. You can see, if you look at it this way, God’s wisdom and wonderful counsel. You can also see His love at work through painful discipline. Think of the father, about to spank his child, saying, “This is going to hurt me more than it will you.”

I was greatly helped by reading the commentators, all of whom seemed to agree. I first turned to Matthew Henry who, I think, is less ‘theological’ than the rest; his writings seem more like meditations than they do word studies or scholarly dissertations. Yet they are filled with insight. Here is what he writes,

“The Lord, who has given men this wisdom, is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in his working. As the occasion requires, He threatens, corrects, spares, shows mercy, or executes vengeance. Afflictions are God’s threshing instruments, to loosen us from the world, to part between us and our chaff, and to prepare us for use. God will proportion them to our strength; they shall be no heavier than there is need. When His end is answered, the trials and sufferings of His people shall cease; His wheat shall be gathered into the garner, but the chaff shall be burned with unquenchable fire.”

You see, what God does He has to do even though He doesn’t want to do it. But He has an end in mind; He is after producing something in His people. Suffering has its place; it is “after you have suffered for awhile…..” (1 Peter 5:10).

Expostiors’ explains it this way,

“God’s purposes require him to act differently at different seasons, perhaps sparing Jerusalem in 701 B.C. and destroying it in 586 B.C. Once again, the variety of God’s ways with people is being underlined. Plowing, sowing, threshing, and grinding are all means to this end. So God has his purposes in history, and through a sequence of events he brings them to pass. God’s power and wisdom, united in his nature, bring forth a pattern of events in the story of the human race. The agricultural processes here suggest pain, implying that it is possible to find oneself on the wrong side of God’s purposes in history and so to experience his judgment.”

A. R. Faussett writes,

“God adapts His measures to the varying exigencies of the several cases: now mercy, now judgments; now punishing sooner, now later (an answer to the scoff that His judgments, being put off so long, would never come at all); His object being not to destroy His people any more than the farmer’s object in threshing is to destroy his crop; this vindicates God’s ‘strange work’ in punishing His people.”

So are the will and ways of God; He does what He needs to do in order to bring about His designs for men and nations. We on the receiving end should take heed and trust in the goodness of God, as while He leads us through the valley of the shadow of death, He prepares a table for us in the presence of our enemies. His goodness and lovingkindness always chases after us. That is the nature of God and the reason for His judgments.

I have said it over and over–I shall say it again: God’s judgments are redemptive. I reason that absent God’s dealings with men, they would not in the goodness of their hearts turn to Him. Keep in mind that there is “none good, no, not one.” We are a fallen race, a condemned one. But for the grace of God, no person would come out this reconciled to God. If it weren’t for the consequences of sin, which send men reeling, they would not ponder God. The whole human race is under judgment–save those who have believed in the Son of God (see John 3).

And, if it weren’t for difficulty and trouble, who among we who have believed would grow? This is a different matter, though it is related.

I think some reading (if ever anyone reads what I spend hours writing) would wonder why I seem to focus so much on the negative, on judgment. Do I? Am I not speaking of God’s goodness, His love, His tender mercies? Again, read Hebrews 12 and Revelation 3. He treats people according to their need. Whatever we require to return us to God and for Him to produce the sons and daughters He desires, He does for us. This is no less than the love of God in action.

“Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near” (Isaiah 55:6).

If ever there was a time to seek God, it is now.  I am of the persuasion that a man ought always seek the Lord; I have made it a daily effort.  But for all people everywhere, I believe this is a word from God; it is time to seek the Lord.  He is making Himself available, He is near to America right now.  Let us not miss the opportunity.  

It has been said that when the opportunity of a lifetime presents itself, you must respond during the lifetime of the opportunity (Graham Cooke).  That is to say, an opportunity is not forever.  The word is, “while He may be found.”  It is, “while He is near.”  In other words, a time comes when He may not be found, when He is not near.  

The whole of the nation is shut down, with people in most states forced to stay at home due to the coronavirus scare.  Most have time on their hands they have never had.  Perhaps we should ask ourselves why–why is this happening to us?  I say that whether this (the virus) be of God, the devil, or is a purely natural thing (like a cold or the ‘regular’ flu), it is a time designated by God to take stock of our lives (2 Corinthians 13:5), to consider our ways (Haggai 1:7), and to seek the Lord (Hosea 10:12).  I think you will agree with me, that right now it is not ‘business as usual.’  

I say “designated by God.”  There is not a doubt in my mind that what we are experiencing, not only here in the U.S., but worldwide, is a clarion call to return to the Lord our God.  It is a time to wake up, just as the apostle wrote,

“Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light” (Romans 13:11-12).

Isaiah put it this way,

“Let the wicked forsake his way

And the unrighteous man his thoughts;

And let him return to the Lord,

And He will have compassion on him,

And to our God,

For He will abundantly pardon” (55:7).

This is what it means to seek the Lord:  we turn from our wicked ways, we forsake our unrighteous thoughts, we turn to God for forgiveness.  

What?  Our wicked ways?  Our unrighteous thoughts?  

The late Jim Russell put it right when he pointed out that all sin is wicked in the sight of a holy God–not just the things that most consider wicked.  In his book Awakening the Giant, he admitted to a host of what he called subtle sins, a lengthly list that he, a godly man, was guilty of.  What I mean to say is that we all have things to forsake, even the best among us.  If this time is anything, it is a time to turn from these things–personally and as a nation–and turn to God.

This is especially true for Christians:

“If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14).

Notice it reads, “If My people”–Christians.  

The Lord puts it in perspective for us, saying, 

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.

For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

so are my ways higher than your ways

and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9).

If we Christians think otherwise, that these words do not pertain to us, that we are exempt, we must think again.  For the apostle John writes,

“If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.  If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us” (1 John 1:8, 10).

However, the good news is that, 

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

That is to say, if we will tell God the sins we are aware of, He will take care of those we are not aware of.  

Therefore, these things being so, let us turn to God–all of us, seeking Him out.  May His thoughts replace ours, and His ways become ours.  This is the reason for the season we are in; this is the will of God for the here and now.  We have a precious opportunity afforded us; let us not squander it.  

“The eternal God is a dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms” (Deuteronomy 33:27).

These words, spoken by Moses in a prayer at the end of his life, are seen also in a Psalm attributed to him, Psalm 90. There he writes, “Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations” (verse 1). Well, not quite, as Israel was in and out of their relations with God; many times and in various ways they were very far from Him. Yet, still, God was always there as a refuge for them, a place to come to, a place to live.

The idea of dwelling in God perpetually strikes me this morning. It means that we have made the Lord our home. Not so much a place from which we go out and come in, but a place we live whether we go out or come in. We are always there.

In some respects this is true for all men, though only in a general sense, and in no wise a conscious one. For it is written, “In Him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17). All really do live in God, even those with rebellious hearts. But this is not the sense of Moses’ words. The man who lives in God has made a choice, that wherever he is and whatever he does, he dwells in God. The Lord God is a home from which he never departs. He is, as it were (as is so relevant right now), self-quarantined. He has decided, not because of some disease, nor even for an escape from danger (though these are both valid and biblical reasons), but because this is a most wonderful place, this shelter of the Most High, this shadow of the Almighty.

Yes, God is our refuge; He is our safe place, our fortress. He is our shield from the terrors of the night, and the arrows that fly by day; from the “pestilence that stalks in darkness,” and the “destruction that lays waste at noon.“ But He is so much more than that! I think it pleases God that we choose to live in Him for the sake of living in Him, not just to save our necks. He is, after all, our exceeding joy; and in His presence is fullness of joy. These are the best reasons to dwell in Him.

If we move on from Psalm 90 to Psalm 91, we see a correlation between dwelling in God and loving God, because, really, this is what I am talking about.

In verse 9 we read, “For you have made the Lord, my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place”–and then it goes on to tell of the safety we will enjoy as a result. “No evil will befall you, nor will any plague come near your tent.” But then in verse 14 it continues, “Because he has loved Me…..” You see that the idea of dwelling in God is all about loving God; that is the focus. All the other things derive from this: We love the Lord.

“Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him;

I will set him securely on high, because he has known My name.

He will call upon Me, and I will answer him;

I will be with him in trouble;

I will rescue him and honor him.

With a long life I will satisfy him

And let him see My salvation.”

We are not ‘using’ God to protect our skin–and don’t get me wrong, He is our protector, and we do need to protection. And run to Him I shall! Hide behind Him I will! But stay there. Stay there, for there is more to Him than that.

To dwell indicates a sense of permanence, and that is the point. You are not paying God a visit, then heading out to do your thing. No, as in our opening verse, “You have been our dwelling place for all generations.” Permanently. Forever.

My thinking takes me to another place, John 15, where Jesus says, “Abide in Me.” Webster makes a distinction between dwelling and abiding. He puts the one as more permanent, and the other as more temporary. I am certain that is not the sense in which Christ employs the term. If that were the case given the context, then He being the vine and we the branches, if we were to leave off of abiding, then we would whither up and be fuel for the fire. No, to abide in Jesus is to do so at all times and forever; that is the objective, that is the plan. So the two, Moses’ words and Jesus’ words, they are the same.

It is worth considering the outcomes, as both are very much desirable. As with Moses, there is protection, deliverance, and long life. With the Lord Jesus, there is fruitfulness, answered prayer, and the love of God. Who would not want these?

How to dwell in God? I think it is a conscious choice. As the title of Bother Lawrence’s book indicates, we practice the presence of God. That is, if we live and move and have our being in God, we seek to intentionally live that way. We make it our aim to be spiritually minded (Romans 8:6); to set our minds on things above (Colossians 3:2). We see ourselves as being in God. We turn what is mundane into acts of worship (Colossians 3:23). We commune with God in His word and through prayer. We live a life of love. We obey Christ.

“The eternal God is a dwelling place.” Let Him be yours, be mine. That is His will for us. One day, through faith in Christ, we shall live with Him forever. “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places, and I go to prepare a place for you.” In the here and now, He wants to be this for each of us; and there, in Him, we get to enjoy all the benefits. But best of all, we get to enjoy the Lord Himself.

Instead of watching what we have become accustomed to–the series Heartland and, I am embarrassed to say, The Andy Griffin Show, we watched Bethel worship videos on YouTube last night.  Much more edifying I must say.  And we worshipped with them.  

The first such song we viewed was Our Father, a hugely inspiring partial rendering of what we call The Lord’s Prayer.  We are all familiar with it, believer and unbeliever alike; in the prayer we pray, “Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”  Truly, there couldn’t be a better thing to ask of God right now. But do we understand what it is we are praying?

Among all the kingdoms of the world–or, in our day we would call them nations–there are those in charge, be they presidents or party heads or dictators, and, in some countries, still there are kings.  And there are laws, just or unjust, enforced or not enforced.  These, those who rule and the laws by which they rule, constitute the governance of a particular nation.  

And these, we all know, have their pluses and minuses.  We here in America (though some are becoming quite deceived into thinking otherwise) enjoy mostly pluses.  In other countries however it is not so.  Witness Syria.  Or Iran.  Or communist China or North Korea.  Yet in all nations everywhere, whether good or bad, what is the norm is always subject to change.  It could be a revolution, a change of party, or a law negatively affecting the masses.  

Or, it could be a pandemic.  

Which is why we ought pray for God’s kingdom to come.  Why?  I will tell you why.  

First, because the God of the Bible is a benevolent God.  Reading from front to back the predominant characteristic of this God is that He is good.  We learn that He is compassionate, forgiving, patient, and full of love and kindness.  The New Testament reveals Him as Love (“God is love”).  Both Testaments tell us that He is a Father.  Hence, the opening address of our prayer, “Our Father.”  

Scripture informs us that He does not change.  He is not fickle, double-minded, indecisive.  There is no darkness in Him, no ulterior motives; He doesn’t lie, cheat, or steal.  He is, in summary, completely and unequivocally good.  What better ruler would one want?  

This God has a kingdom.  We learn in the Bible that there are really but two kingdoms among all those on the world scene.  These two are invisible, and all people or nations fall into one or the other.  There is God’s kingdom, and there is the kingdom of Satan.   That said, there is even more or a reason to want the former.  

God’s kingdom, like all other kingdoms, has laws.  Really, it has but one; it is called the Royal Law.  This Royal Law has two components:  Love God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength; and love your neighbor as yourself.  The whole of the Bible, if boiled down, would be summarized by these two.  

There are other aspects of God’s kingdom that make it more desirable than all others.  When we pray, “Your kingdom come, Your will be done,” do we know what we are saying?  We are asking God that whatever characterizes heaven come here, come now.  

Let me tell you just a few things that belong to heaven that anyone would want on this earthly plane.  

Freedom.  

The Bible says that whoever sins is a slave to sin.  Well, there is no sin in heaven.  So it is, when God’s kingdom comes into a person’s life, sin dissipates.  In fact, this is why Jesus Christ was sent by God, not only to inaugurate His kingdom, but to take care of the sin issue.  So it is that the person who prays for, and receives the kingdom of God, is absolved of his sin.  He is free.  

Health.  

This is a critical component for we all, not only because we face an unexpected disease for which there are no cures just yet, but because most of us will face health issues at some point in our lifetime.  Well, there is no sickness in heaven.  None.  

To get a glimpse of God’s will in this regard we need not look further than Jesus Christ.  Of Him it is written that He took our infirmities and carried away our diseases.  “By His scourging we are healed.”  Luke tells us in the book of Acts that Jesus “went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil.”  When asked by a leper if Jesus were willing to heal him, Jesus replied, “I am willing.”  

God’s kingdom is one of healing and health.  O let it come, God!  Let it come!

Prosperity.  

Many will argue against Christians preaching prosperity, and I get that.  But any open-minded seeker of truth will see that the Bible over and over promises our financial well-being.  Truth is, there is no want in heaven.  Heaven is the most luxurious place in all time and eternity.  Heaven is not lacking in one thing.  

I am here to tell you that poverty is not a quality of God’s kingdom.  It is not the will of God that you be poor.  Yes, there are Christians who are; there are believers who struggle financially.  But that doesn’t mean it is the will of God.  In fact, we learn from the apostle Paul that Jesus became poor that we might become rich (cf., 1 Corinthians 8:9).  He goes on to say in chapter 9 that “you will be made rich in every way.”  Yes, some will say this means spiritual riches, and that is certainly true.  But the entire context of these two chapters is monetary.  Test me on it.  

Reconciliation.

The whole purpose of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is to reconcile lost humanity to God.  The kingdom of God is characterized by a healthy relationship with God.  Out from this are healthy human relationships.  Who doesn’t want this?  To be loved, appreciated, respected, deemed important?  Everyone!  When we pray God’s kingdom come and His will be done, this is what we are praying for. I say, bring it on O God!

Restoration.  

I will close with this.  If you do not believe the world is tarnished then you are blind to what is all around you.  Not only are there diseases such as the one we are facing presently, but the world is full of violence, death, destruction, perversion, broken lives–the list goes on and on.  God’s kingdom and God’s will is all about restoring people and things to what He intended them to be from the start. “He restores my soul” (Psalm 23).  Ultimately, the Bible teaches that at some point in the future, sooner now than when it was written, God is going to restore the whole thing.  He is going to make all things new.  What began in perfection will one day be restored to perfection.  When we pray for God’s kingdom to come, we are asking God for this process to begin.  

Peace.

Oh, there is one more!  I would be remiss if I did not include this element of the kingdom of God–especially at a time when most Americans need it most. 

It is written that “of the increase of His government and of peace there will be no end” (Isaiah 9).  Too, of Jesus it is said that He is the “Prince of peace.”  Peace, then, is both characteristic of the King and His kingdom.  It is not of the sort the world gives (John 14:27); the world’s peace more or less means an absence of conflict, or an inner peace of mind and heart that comes illegitimately, like as through alcohol or drugs or illegal spiritual practices abominable to God.  

The peace that best describes kingdom peace is first of all peace with God.  Subsequently, it is that state in which you can be in the middle of the worst storm and fall fast asleep.  It is akin to being in the eye of a hurricane; all else is whirling around you with destructive force, but you are cool, calm, and collected.  

Kingdom peace is that kind from above; it is supernatural and there is nothing like it apart from Jesus Christ.  

There is so much more!  Who in their right mind though doesn’t want such things?  Which is why we need to pray this prayer.  

I know, I know; many–millions, billions–do not want anyone ruling over them, and especially God.  And even more so the God of the Bible, Jesus Christ.  All the more reason to pray!  As long as there are rebels who do not wish Jesus to rule over them, there will continue to be disease, war, tyranny, and death.  So it is we pray: “Your kingdom come quickly, God! Your will be done!”

“For this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe” (1 Thessalonians 2:13).

I believe it was the first book I ever read that was distinctly Christian, Andrew Murray’s The New Life.  It was in this little book that I first read these words from the apostle Paul.  The lesson?  God’s word works in you if you will but believe it.

I do not know how I knew it, but somehow I knew that in becoming a Christian it meant that you took the Bible as the word of God.  The whole thing, including the things you don’t understand, as well as those parts you don’t necessarily agree with.  From cover to cover, it is God’s word to mankind.  

What is encouraging is the truth that, while in no wise could I ever keep it all myself, the word is at work in me producing the very thing it says.  There are two other passages the tell us the same thing; one is from the prophet Isaiah, the other from St. Paul again.  

Here is what the Lord said through the prophet:

“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven,

And do not return there without watering the earth

And making it bear and sprout,

And furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater;

So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth;

It will not return to Me empty,

Without accomplishing what I desire,

And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:10-11).

The word, you see, has power in and of itself to produce what it says.  Like the seed sown in fertile soil, it produces its fruit thirty, sixty, and an hundredfold (see Parable of the Sower).  The soil is a receptive heart, one ready not only to receive the word of God, but to believe it.  

And then Paul says this,

“Work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:12-13).  

How is it that God does this?  By His word and His Spirit.  

To state another truth:  words have power, all words have power.  In words are the powers of life and death.  So it is that God’s words have the power of life–if we will but believe them.  

If a man wants to change, if he wants to become more like Christ, here is the key:  take in the word of God, believe it and hold it dear to your heart.  Do not doubt what God says; instead, know that what you hear, read, and believe will make you like that.  It will do its thing in you if you let it; it cannot help but produce what it says if it has your consent.  Which is why my friend and elder Duane Feldpausch always says, “All we have is our ‘Yes.’”  So we say to the Lord and His word, “Yes, Lord, I believe.”