You Can't Bother God.

 

I am one of the least qualified people in the world to write about prayer. I’m not a Bible scholar or a great prayer warrior. I’m just me, an ordinary person. But because of the discussions between myself and my sister and because I keep coming across podcasts on prayer, I felt compelled to share a few thoughts.

When I was first a Christian, at age 19, I used to beg God for things. I felt fearful and out of control of certain people and things in my life, so I begged, which did not lead to peace of mind.

I realized later that Jesus didn’t pray that way. When he was distressed and frightened about dying on a cross and having the world’s sins on his heart, he asked God that if it was possible to please take it away. But he ended his prayers with, “Nevertheless, not my will, but your will be done.”

So, I quit begging and ended my prayers in the same way Jesus did. I had also learned, through trial and error, that God’s way was always the best way.  Because of the disastrous consequences of trying to answer my own prayers by my own ideas and efforts, I gave everything to him to decide. I thought I was done with begging.

Then last week, my sister had a chance to perhaps live in a motel instead of her van. She told me how much better she felt physically because she slept well. I told her I would pray for her to be able to move into the motel.

As soon as I started praying, I could feel my emotions rise with desperation for her. I wanted so much for her to get out of homelessness. Her life wasn’t horrible, she was staying in campgrounds, which were free because she is a war veteran, but still, I knew how cramped she was in that van.

I stopped myself from begging, but the thought came into my mind, “How can I twist God’s arm to let her be able to live in that motel?” Hmm, I was pretty horrified to hear my mind thinking that. I told my sister later and we had a good laugh. She wasn’t able to stay there. They couldn’t let people stay more than three weeks. My sister is fine with that. She trusts God.

The next day, I listened to Tim Keller speak about prayer. He believed since Jesus gave parables about people who “bothered” others, then we should not feel bad about bothering God about what we need or want. The first parable was about a man who needed bread for visitors who had come to his house unexpectedly. He didn’t have enough food, so he went to his friend’s house at midnight knocking on the door. He woke the friend up who responded, “Don’t bother me. We are all in bed!” But the man wouldn’t give up and kept knocking until his friend got up and gave him food.

The second parable was about a widow who had been cheated out of her money. She kept going back to the same judge over and over to get justice. The judge didn’t care about the widow but he finally said to himself, “This woman is going to wear me out. I might as well give her what she wants.”

Jesus said the parables meant not to give up when you are praying. You can bring your concerns to him over and over again. You can’t bother God.

I do have some prayers I pray every single day. Those are the prayers for my family and other people. I know these prayers make a difference. I know God looks after these people because I ask.

There is a way to pray I’ve learned lately that I really like. I listen to audio Bible and as she reads the verses, I pray along. If the Bible says, “Praise the Lord,” I pray it. If it says, “Obey God,” I say, “Help me to obey you.” If it says, “The Lord is a shield around me, he is my glory and the lifter of my head.” I repeat the verse. It’s an easy and lovely way to pray, using God’s own words.

The last thing I will share is I often pray the Lord’s Prayer. Because it starts with, “Our Father… I pray it for me and my family.

 

 

 

Do You Trust People?

 

Statue de Jésus assis au milieu de deux enfants, en Virginie

https://pixabay.com/fr/users/ariyandhamma-5933786/

“Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man.”  John 2:23-25

Jesus knew better than to trust in man because he knew what their hearts were like. We don’t, and some or most of us tend towards trust. We go to friends and family members for comfort and understanding, and many times we are treated coldly, told of our faults and misunderstood. Sometimes our search for comfort cuts deeper than the scars we already have, leaving us devastated.

We must not let this treatment lead us into despair. We must realize how people are wired. They are not wired to be our therapist. They are not strong enough for us to lean on. They are not wise like Solomon. They are just human beings encumbered by their past, their hang-ups and prejudices.

Lately, I’ve felt really sad and discouraged, mainly because of my fibromyalgia. I’ve been quite sick and weak and I am tired of feeling sick and weak. I’ve been ill for almost 30 years. I’m tired of my mental illness, which I’ve had for the same amount of time. I’m tired of my loneliness, and feelings of inadequacy.

There are other problems I have and I sometimes feel a great need for comfort from someone. But the ones I love so much are going through hard times too, and as I have learned about marriage these years, I cannot expect from people what I feel I need so desperately. I told the Lord, “I know I can only receive true comfort and strength from you. You always come through for me, every time. Help me to stop trying to find this great comfort anywhere else but in your arms.”

Expectations of others is a poison. It can turn your heart from them and they wouldn’t even know why. They are not here to fulfill my needs. They are not here to read my mind and try to make me feel good. My family has had a lot of pain and it’s hard to help each other when we are all so damaged. We are also a happy family. We laugh all the time, but there is in all of us an undercurrent of darkness or a sort of flatness since we lost my two grandsons. It is described in the Bible as having lost the light in one’s eyes.

When Job lost all ten of his children, three of his friends came to console him, but they only made him feel worse. They told him God would not let something like this happen to a man who was a believer. They told him he must have sinned.

Job said, “I have heard many things like these; miserable comforters are you all.

Is there no end to your long-winded speeches?

What provokes you to continue testifying?

I could also speak like you

if you were in my place;

I could heap up words against you

and shake my head at you.

But I would encourage you with my mouth,

and the consolation of my lips would bring relief.”   Job 16:1-5

 

When David was in trouble with King Saul, and his friends turned against him, he wrote,

“For it is not an enemy who insults me;

that I could endure.

It is not a foe who rises against me;

from him I could hide.

But it is you, a man like myself,

my companion and close friend.

We shared sweet fellowship together;

we walked with the crowd into the house of God.”

Psalm 55:12-14

 

These things are very painful and as believers in God we have to deal with these experiences with the love of Jesus. He loved his disciples even when they continually misunderstood him and then deserted him. He didn’t give up on them. He did rebuke them but also forgave them and wanted them to keep following him. He is our perfect example. He will take us by our right hand and lead us forward on the everlasting path to himself.

 

 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”  Matthew 5:3,4

 

“He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, then we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.”  2 Corinthians 1:4         

 

“But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus, and not only by his coming but also by the comfort with which he was comforted by you, as he told us of your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced still more.”  2 Corinthians 7:6,7

 

“Though You have shown me many troubles and misfortunes,

You will revive me once again.

Even from the depths of the earth

You will bring me back up.

You will increase my honor

and comfort me once again.”   Psalm 71:20,21

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Language of God.

 

Many years ago, I was reading through the Psalms and came upon the verses below. The part I have underlined bothered me. It said God’s people would never be left to the power of evil people and be condemned. I knew this wasn’t true. There are history books and the Bible itself that tell us how Jews and Christians have been persecuted, condemned and killed all through time.

Psalm 37:32-34

Though the wicked lie in wait for the righteous,

and seek to slay them,

the LORD will not leave them in their power

or let them be condemned under judgment.

Wait for the LORD and keep His way,

and He will raise you up to inherit the land.

When the wicked are cut off,

you will see it.

 

I told God my misgivings and it came into my mind that this promise was made for the far future, when the judgement of God comes upon the world. At that time, we will not be condemned and not only that God will raise us up from our graves or from the earth to inherit our own land.

 

I thought about all the promises I’d read in the Bible and it all became clear to me why Jesus said things like, “Whatever you ask for in my name, you shall receive it.” Because I knew that didn’t happen in a literal sense. If it did, we would all be millionaires.

 

God and Jesus speak in a Spiritual sense. They speak to us about the deep things of life through poetry and the use of similes, metaphors, personification and hyperbole. Jesus’ disciples had a very hard time understanding what Jesus was trying to convey. This is just one example from the Bible:

 

“When the disciples reached the other side of the lake, they had forgotten to bring any bread. Jesus said to them, “Watch and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” And they began discussing it among themselves, saying, “We brought no bread.” But Jesus, aware of this, said, “O you of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive? Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? How is it that you fail to understand that I did not speak about bread? Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” Then they understood that he did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.   Matthew 16:5-12

 

The rulers of the church of that time didn’t understand a lot of what Jesus was teaching, but they did know that their influence of the people was waning while Jesus’ influence was gaining and they hated him for that.

 

I have noticed that whenever a person asked Jesus what he meant, he always answered and explained. He did this for the disciples and this has been true for me when I have had questions about spiritual things. The Lord always brings the answer to my mind. I know it is him because it is usually something I wouldn’t have thought of. My sister says the same thing. She brings a problem to God and says, “You could do A. B. or C.” She told me he almost always does D. Something that surprises her. We laugh a lot about how God answers our prayers.

 

The Book of Revelation uses personification throughout. Symbols, imagery and poetry abound. Even though the title of the book means, “to reveal,” scholars disagree on what the book means. There are probably hundreds of interpretations and I won’t go into that. However, there is one part of Revelation most people have heard of and that is the number 666.

“And the second beast performed great signs to cause even fire from heaven to come down to earth in the presence of the people. Because of the signs it was given to perform on behalf of the first beast, it deceived those who dwell on the earth, telling them to make an image to the beast that had been wounded by the sword and yet had lived. The second beast was permitted to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that the image could speak and cause all who refused to worship it to be killed.”

The Mark of the Beast

“And the second beast required all people small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark—the name of the beast or the number of its name.”

“Here is a call for wisdom: Let the one who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and that number is 666.” Revelation 13:11-18

I believe all scholars agree that the number 7 in the Bible signifies perfection. God gave us 7 days, the Sabbath was made for us to worship God on the 7^th day. In the book of Deuteronomy and Leviticus the number 7 was referred to over and over.

“Then Moses took the anointing oil and anointed the tabernacle and all that was in it, and consecrated them. And he sprinkled some of it on the altar seven times, and anointed the altar and all its utensils and the basin and its stand, to consecrate them.” Leviticus 8:10,11

Jesus referred to the number 7 when talking about forgiveness: “Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother who sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not just seven times, but seventy-seven times!”

In saying this, Jesus was telling us to always forgive. He told us that if someone sinned against us 7 times in one day and asked for forgiveness, we must forgive them.

666

So, most have concluded that the number 7 symbolizes spiritual perfection. In the case of the number 666, it is close to perfection, but it is off by one number three times. In my opinion, this means it is an entity which is close to spiritual perfection but is not. It looks spiritually perfect, but it is not. The Bible text tells us it deceives the people of the world and will try to force people to worship it or they will be killed. This entity will not allow people to buy or sell unless they worship the way they want. Most scholars see this as the time near the end of this world.

“And a third angel followed them, calling out in a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and its image, and receives its mark on his forehead or on his hand, he too will drink the wine of God’s anger, poured undiluted into the cup of His wrath. And he will be tormented in fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment rises forever and ever. Day and night there is no rest for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name.”  Revelation 14:9-11 (There is no spiritual rest for these people at the end. They have accepted a lie because they liked the spirit of that lie.)

 

When I started writing, I had no plans to write about 666 or the end of the world. But sometimes this is the way it goes, and it seems God wants me to write about it.

 

One last thing. There are about 500 verses in the Bible that describe death as a sleep or being in the grave. Jesus himself said death was a sleep. There is no hell to go down to. There is no eternal punishment. God says, “All the wicked I will destroy.” Period. Destroy does not mean keeping people alive in a place to torture.

 

There are a few verses that people believe says there is a hell like the one I described. They are wrong. Personally, I could never worship a God who could invent such a thing. The verse above which says, “…the smoke of their torment arises forever,” is symbolic. The smoke lasts forever, which symbolizes their sin, and the result of their sin will never, ever be forgotten so that no one in the universe will desire to sin again. We will remember what rebellion against the Lord of the Universe brings: heartache, destruction, pain, vile evil and death.

We Don't Want You Here.

 

                                                               Painting by Guercino

Yesterday, I listened to a podcast where a woman in her forties spoke about what happened to her when she was young. She was a Christian with two small children when her husband left her for another woman. She went to church after her divorce and signed up for a Bible Study group at her pastor’s house.

When she arrived, her pastor opened the door and was not inviting at all. He looked at her like he didn’t want her there. She went into a room and men and women were sitting in chairs. She found out, to her chagrin, that it was a Bible Study on marriage. She sat down near some women and they stood up and moved away from her. She sat near some men and they did the same thing. No one spoke a word to her. When people were sharing their stories, they did not let her take a turn to talk. She said, “I think I will leave now.” No one said anything. She sat in her car and cried.

I can say, with all the authority of the Bible, that those people were not acting like Jesus. They either hadn’t read the Bible or they didn’t care what the Bible said. They were not acting like Christians.

The woman joined another church. She offered to teach the little children. A woman said to her, “Have you repented?” She answered, “Repented of what?” The lady said, “Repented of your divorce.” She answered, “I have nothing to repent of, my husband left me and is with another woman.” Still, that church thought she should repent. I think their reasoning was that she could not have been a good wife or her husband would never have left her.

I know there are churches, like the Baptist Church, who elevate marriage above the teachings of Jesus. They want their women to be submissive and give their husbands sex on demand. It is the woman’s fault if a man isn’t happy in a marriage. Unbelievable, wicked and cruel beliefs.

I’ve got to give kudos to this woman for going to another church where she found love and acceptance. I gave up going to church many years ago since most of the members did not think or act like Jesus.

There are multiple stories in the Gospels of Jesus relating with women of all kinds, good or bad. The fact he ate with prostitutes was charged against him by the church leaders of that day. In the Bible, the longest conversation he had was with a woman who had five husbands and when Jesus met her, she was living with a man.

Jesus did not hold this against her, in fact as far as we know, she was the first person he told that he was the Messiah, the Savior of the world. She then ran and told the people of her city who then went to Jesus to ask him questions. Jesus stayed there two days and the people believed in him.

When Jesus saved a woman’s life who had been caught in adultery, he said, “I do not condemn you, go and sin no more.” Of course he doesn’t want us to sin, for sin always hurts people. But he doesn’t hold those bad things we have done against us. Not ever. And when we follow Jesus, we will not want to hurt people and we will ask him to help us. We want to be like Jesus who always knew what to say to each person in order to encourage and strengthen them and draw them to the Father who welcomes them into his family.

Do our works save us for eternal life? Jesus plainly said no. “This is the work of God, that you believe on him whom God has sent.” The gift of God is eternal life. It is a gift, not earned. We shouldn’t be discouraged when we sin because we are weak humans and will always have some sin in our lives until Jesus returns to take us to heaven. Pau says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  Romans 6:23

“The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: that if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with your heart you believe and are justified, and with your mouth you confess and are saved." Romans 10:8-10

"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For in Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful man, as an offering for sin. He thus condemned sin in the flesh, so that the righteous standard of the law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit."   Romans 8:1-4

"I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh; for I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do. Instead, I keep on doing the evil I do not want to do. And if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.

So, this is the principle I have discovered: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law. But I see another law at work in my body, warring against the law of my mind and holding me captive to the law of sin that dwells within me.

What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God, through Jesus Christ our Lord!

So then, with my mind I serve the law of God, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin."  Romans 7:18-25

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Do I Have to?

 

We human beings don’t like being told what to do. From the age of 2 to the time of a one’s death, we want to make our own decisions, make our own way in the world. I remember when I was in my early 40s, my husband and I recycled cardboard and bottles. Then the city passed a law to force all of us to recycle. To my shame I thought, “Well, since they are forcing me to do it, now I don’t want to.”

All through our childhood, we were forced to do many things we didn’t want to do. I did not want to go to school. I was afraid of everyone there. I did not want to go to bed so early. I didn’t want to miss some shows on TV. I did not want to go to church. It was excruciatingly boring and there was no air conditioning. We lived in Southern California. We had fans with Jesus’ picture on them, but it didn’t help much.

When I was a teen, I couldn’t go to dances. The church said it was dangerous because you hold each other. I couldn’t date until I was 16. I wanted to date at 15. I STILL had to go to school after years of agony, so I took some sleeping pills. Not enough. I got my wish for one year. I had a government teacher in my home and got straight A’s. But the next year, they sent me back to school again. After acting in crazy ways, my parents sent me to live with relatives in Canada. No more school, thank you God.

Those relatives had rules though, and I wanted no rules. I wanted to be with my boyfriend, drink and have sex. So yeah, I got pregnant and the two families berated me until I married him. But to tell the truth, I ended up being glad because I loved my baby daughter and my husband too. We had a second daughter, but our marriage ended in divorce, which was horribly painful.

So to summarize, I would say from my experience with my daughters and other people in my family no one wants to be told what to do. In general, the controversy over masks, vaccines, guns, and sexual identity, no one in the world wants to be ordered around by anyone, even if it is good for you.

I’ve been wondering if that is why many people balk at the idea of God telling them what to do. Perhaps it is the main reason they don’t want to accept him, walk with him or pray to him. It’s our pride in ourselves and our independence we don’t want to lose.

I have found, through trial and error, that God’s way is always best for me. I was dating a man, the first since my divorce, he wanted to marry me and I wanted to marry him. I had been so achingly lonely before I met him. He seemed very nice and he liked my girls. One night, I asked God if it was okay if I married him. I heard God speak to me, which was a surprise, he said, “What agreement has God with Satan?” That verse is in the Bible. Did I listen to God? No, I didn’t. I kept dating him until something awful happened.

One night I was sleeping at his place, and when we were having sex, he started to hurt me. I begged him to stop, but he wouldn’t. The next day when we were with my girls, he looked at my oldest daughter and said, “She’s going to be a real looker.” I saw how he looked at her and knew that he was a pervert. I was horrified and broke off with him. I told God I was never going to look for a boyfriend or husband again. If he wanted me to be with someone, he would have to send him to me.

That’s how it worked out that two weeks later, I met my second husband, who was a believer in God and he still is. He had way more faith in God than I ever did and still does. We went through hard times, but I’m very glad I married him.

I said to someone once, “God isn’t asking a lot from us. The Ten Commandments are not that hard! The first four are about worshipping God as creator of the universe. The last six are: “Be respectful to your parents, don’t murder, don’t lie, don’t steal, don’t sleep around on your partner, don’t be envious of what others have.

Are those things you want to do? Do you want to murder etc.? Of course, we are all tempted to do some or all of these things. That’s where the first four commandments come in. If we worship God and tell him we want to do good things, then he will put that in our hearts and his goodness covers us. The temptations won’t be so overwhelming. Still, some of us have sins that come into our minds a lot, some of us give in to sins a lot. But God says, “Though a righteous man falls down seven times, he will rise up. The wicked man falls down once.” God lifts us up time and again as we stumble through this life on this sinful, dark planet. He knows what we face for he has lived here himself. He was also tempted to do wrong – he just never did.

I have a temptation that comes to me a few times a month, but I say to God, “Lord, I don’t want to think about that.” And then I don’t. He has shown me to just think about something else the moment the temptation comes. Not that I am perfect, far from it, but as Paul says, “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize of God’s heavenly calling in Christ Jesus.”

Philippians 3:12-14

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?  As it is written:

“For Your sake we face death all day long;

we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor principalities, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:35-39

Jesus said, “What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? If anyone is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in His Father’s glory with the holy angels.”

Mark 8:36-38

 

 

Habakkuk Asks God Questions.

 

I just finished listening to a sermon by Tim Keller on the book of Habakkuk chapter 1. He spoke this in 2009, after the 2008 crash of Wall Street. Many people lost their jobs at this time. It had become a hard time for almost everyone. As I was listening, I thought it could be a sermon preached for today.

The people of Israel had become wicked. They were even doing more evil than the countries that surrounded them. God had sent them many prophets, but they would not listen to them.

Habakkuk was a prophet of God at this time and his book opens with him asking God,

“O LORD, how long shall I cry for help,
and you will not hear?
Or cry to you “Violence!”
and you will not save?
Why do you make me see iniquity,
and why do you idly look at wrong?
Destruction and violence are before me;
strife and contention arise.
So the law is paralyzed,
and justice never goes forth.
For the wicked surround the righteous;
so justice goes forth perverted.”

I would say destruction, violence, strife and contention is the order of the day in our world and in our own country. Americans have become two sets of people who argue continually and some become violent and kill. There are record mass shootings, the rule of law is threatened and of course when you think about justice, it is sorely missing.

Habakkuk wanted to know why God wasn’t doing anything to stop it. Where was he? God answered him by telling him the Babylonians would be coming to take the country of Israel by war. Their goal was to rule the known world, which they did.

Habakkuk didn’t like to hear that and asked if they would all be destroyed. He said, “Are we like fish to be caught and killed?” He decided to wait and watch for God’s answer.

The answer is interesting, because God tells him to get pen and paper and write down what he says. He tells Habakkuk what he is saying is going to happen in the far future and the end of time. I know God’s answer is a lot to read, but it is also vitally important if a person wants to know what the Lord’s will is for people. He wants people to have love, justice and generosity, but what he describes of the world is the opposite of that.

God is saying that at times he must put an end to evil, in Habakkuk’s time and in ours. It’s because there is too much evil and too many people are being harmed. At the end of time, I think it will be a necessity because the world is dying from global warming. He will come to rescue those who believe in him.

I’m just going to copy and paste Chapter 2 of Habbakuk.

Then the LORD said to me,

“Write my answer plainly on tablets,

so that a runner can carry the correct message to others.

This vision is for a future time.

It describes the end, and it will be fulfilled.

If it seems slow in coming, wait patiently,

for it will surely take place.

It will not be delayed.

 “Look at the proud!

They trust in themselves, and their lives are crooked.

But the righteous will live by their faithfulness to God.

Wealth is treacherous,

and the arrogant are never at rest.

They open their mouths as wide as the grave,

and like death, they are never satisfied.

In their greed they have gathered up many nations

and swallowed many peoples.

 “But soon their captives will taunt them.

They will mock them, saying,

‘What sorrow awaits you thieves!

Now you will get what you deserve!

You’ve become rich by extortion,

but how much longer can this go on?’

Suddenly, your debtors will take action.

They will turn on you and take all you have,

while you stand trembling and helpless.

Because you have plundered many nations,

now all the survivors will plunder you.

You committed murder throughout the countryside

and filled the towns with violence.

 “What sorrow awaits you who build big houses

with money gained dishonestly!

You believe your wealth will buy security,

putting your family’s nest beyond the reach of danger.

But by the murders you committed,

you have shamed your name and forfeited your lives.

The very stones in the walls cry out against you,

and the beams in the ceilings echo the complaint.

 “What sorrow awaits you who build cities

with money gained through murder and corruption!

Has not the LORD of Heaven’s Armies promised

that the wealth of nations will turn to ashes?

They work so hard,

but all in vain!

For as the waters fill the sea,

the earth will be filled with an awareness

of the glory of the LORD.

 “What sorrow awaits you who make your neighbors drunk!

You force your cup on them

so you can gloat over their shameful nakedness.

But soon it will be your turn to be disgraced.

Come, drink and be exposed!

Drink from the cup of the LORD’s judgment,

and all your glory will be turned to shame.

You cut down the forests of Lebanon.

Now you will be cut down.

You destroyed the wild animals,

so now their terror will be yours.

You committed murder throughout the countryside

and filled the towns with violence.

     “What good is an idol carved by man,

or a cast image that deceives you?

How foolish to trust in your own creation—

a god that can’t even talk!

What sorrow awaits you who say to wooden idols,

‘Wake up and save us!’

To speechless stone images you say,

‘Rise up and teach us!’

Can an idol tell you what to do?

They may be overlaid with gold and silver,

but they are lifeless inside.

       But the LORD is in his holy Temple.

Let all the earth be silent before him.”

 

At the end of his book in Chapter 3, Habakkuk accepts all that God has said. He finishes with a paragraph filled with faith:

 

“Even though the fig trees have no blossoms,

and there are no grapes on the vines;

even though the olive crop fails,

and the fields lie empty and barren;

even though the flocks die in the fields,

and the cattle barns are empty,

yet I will rejoice in the LORD!

I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!

The Sovereign LORD is my strength!

He makes me as surefooted as a deer,

able to tread upon the heights.”

 

If the time of the end of the world happens while we are here, this is the attitude we must have if we want to be saved from this world of sin. We see the sin in the news every day. Everyone must choose who they want to follow, God or Man. Do we want the things of this world which will ultimately be destroyed? Do we want to do anything we can to have wealth, status and power? These are the people who ignore or use the poor for their own ends. These are the people who start wars in order to make money. These are the people who fight against the poor to have a living wage. They buy up land, apartment buildings and houses and then ask exorbitant prices so they increase the homeless population. Do you want to align with such people? This is what the Lord is asking all of us. He has left that choice to us, he cannot force anyone to turn to him and with his strength, become a good person.

 

If you would like to listen to Tim Keller’s sermon, you can find it here.

Why Does God Do Nothing? - Gospel in Life