Category: blessings

Jealous?

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“For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.”

Deut. 4:25, NKJV

There is a distinct difference between sinful jealousy and godly jealousy.

Sinful jealousy is comprised of the desire to possess something that doesn’t belong to you. It is the inclination of ownership to a thing (or person) that you don’t actually have– someone else does. “I want this so much.” is often heard or thought. It has a lot to do with personal desire. We can be jealous of another person, or what the other possesses. A girl, a guy, a boat, a car, a house. The list goes on. Jealousy works well with other sins, like pride, lust, covetousness, or stealing (theft). The sins overlap. Lust for someone is often a jealous attitude that reveals discontent with one’s own. It isn’t happy, and in effect tells God that He has withheld something good. (It really shows itself when someone is promoted or recognized instead of me.)

However the jealousy of God has is completely different.

“But Joshua said to the people, “You cannot serve the Lord, for He is a holy God. He is a jealous God.”

Joshua 24:19

“God exhibits holy jealousy because our love and adoration rightfully belong to Him; He is jealous with a holy jealousy when we love and worship false gods in idolatry. His kind of jealousy is not sinful because we belong to Him and He created our hearts to belong to Him as well.”

GotQuestions.org

God is jealous about you. He passionately in love with you. There is such attraction that He sent Jesus Christ to die as your substitute on the cross. We were ransomed, and then given new lives through this blood of Jesus. Is it any wonder that God gets ‘miffed’ when we choose the dark and the false over Him?

“Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously”?

James 4:5

The prophets would often speak about the marriage covenant between a husband and a wife. Clearly they intended for Israel to see themselves as ‘connected’ to the Lord in a deep and intimate relationship. He wanted them to be faithful to this covenant. He became jealous when Israel repeatedly broke that agreement. He is jealous of all rivals and idols that replace Him.

“I will betroth you to Me forever; Yes, I will betroth you to Me In righteousness and justice, In lovingkindness and mercy;”

Hosea 2:19

God’s jealousy is nothing like man’s. The Bible teaches us of the inherent goodness of God. This means that He cannot do anything contrary to His nature. Human jealousy is found everywhere, and at its best is morally neutral; and at its worst is evil and sin. God’s own jealousy is always an element of His love.

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“But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.”

Romans 13:14, ESV

Some verses are like this. When the Holy Spirit touches it, it will expand and broaden out into a theological treatise. It is remarkably potent as verses go. We certainly do well examining it closer. Just maybe it will leak good things on us.

“But put on the Lord Jesus Christ,” entails becoming someone else. More precisely, it has to do with becoming Jesus to the watching world. We are to so absorb him that our identity changes. Paul tells us that this is a deliberate act of our will; a decisive decision to clothe ourselves with Jesus.

This goes beyond what we consider to be the Christian faith. In some of our churches we seldom hear this message being taught. It seems radical and we don’t understand the ‘mechanism’ by which we do it. It reminds me of Nicodemus struggling with becoming “born again” (John 3:1-14). Sometimes spiritual truths defy human reasoning.

“And make no provision for the flesh,” is the second part of this principle. Both have to be working to complete the idea. If we ‘put on,’ but continue to provide for our flesh, the verse simply will not work. It’s a ‘binary’ action that requires activation of both at the same time.

The Greek word Paul uses for “provision’‘ is real nifty. It means “to consider in advance; to plan for or supply ahead of time; to think beforehand.” This zeroes in on our exceptional ‘talent’ in giving in to sin. We somehow gravitate to our particular favorite sins. There is a ‘magnetic pull’ toward dark things.

This binary only works if these two truths come together. We must ‘put on’ Christ, and then ‘put off’ our evil deeds. I believe that these two things constitute the intentions of the Holy Spirit for our growth. Dear saint, what are you wearing?

“Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.”

Colossians 3:9-10

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Fine Dining

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“Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.”

Psalm 23:5

The six verses of Psalm 23 are truly ‘lightning in a bottle.’ What they contain can’t be found anywhere else. This psalm exists to encourage the faltering and fearing.

The heart of a ‘broken’ Christian can find solace and comfort in each verse; the peace given truly lights our darkness like nothing else. Yet verse five is my favorite. The Father is revealed as the “hostess with the mostess.” 

A waiting table is set for us. I assume it is full of wonderful things– things that are delicious and delightful. It looks inviting. And we are His guests.

“In the presence of mine enemies,” tells me that I’m not dining alone. The word for ‘presence’ is literally ‘in the face of.‘ Satan is so aware of our blessings. Also note: the enemies are plural. This motley bunch have become witnesses of God’s grace and mercy on a sinner. I am a man who feasts while they can only watch.

To be ‘anointed with oil’ evokes the Shepherd’s care for His sheep. The oil would not only be medicinal, but also defining. It would define ‘ownership.’ Only His sheep would receive this tender care. And again, the enemies see this.

“My cup runneth over,” is the ultimate blessing. We find ourselves being given the best metaphor of an overflowing life. I once picked apples and used a five gallon bucket; I had so many apples the bucket wouldn’t hold them all. That’s the way the Kingdom of God works. We’re always blessed with a ‘super-abundance.’ And all is grace.

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Being Still in a Restless Age–by Jonathan Coe

“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.”

1 John 4:18

As I write this my heart goes out to everyone who is struggling to find serenity in an age filled with restlessness. Been there done that. You feel the pressure on all sides. There’s too much month and not enough money. Your marriage is showing signs of fraying around the edges. You have a sullen teenager who doesn’t relate to the biblical Christianity that you have embraced. You have plenty to do but not enough time to do it. Debt seems to be piling up and the house may soon be underwater. Your job feels unsatisfying and your boss plays a big role in that. New health problems have emerged that you didn’t have in the days of your youth. In short, life hasn’t turned out like you thought it would and inner stillness and peace seem elusive.

In speaking from my heart, I just want to begin by saying that God loves you much, much more than you know. You may want inner stillness but he wants to give you that peace infinitely more than you want it.

Imagine yourself as his anxious child. He will not forbid the children to come to him. You can crawl up onto his lap and tell him all your problems. Do you see his loving eyes as you’re talking to him? Ask the Holy Spirit to show you Christ’s loving eyes, because if you can see those eyes, it will help you with fear and anxiety, because perfect love casts out all fear according to John the apostle (I John 4:18).

If you can’t do this, then think about someone you know who really loves you without any strings attached. Doesn’t God love you at least twice as much as this person? Of course he does and infinitely beyond that. This is the God whose lap you’re sitting on.

Please know that in all your prayers, there’s no guarantee that God will change your circumstances. The struggling business you run may not survive. The unhealthy marriage may not get better and the child with leukemia may not get healed despite your prayers and fasting. God may not change your circumstances, but he will give you the grace to triumph during your time of affliction. He will you give you a supernatural peace that transcends understanding. You will know it didn’t come from you, but, instead, its origin is divine. Guard your heart against offense because many Christians become offended at God when he doesn’t change their circumstances.

If your prayer life is almost non–existent, I don’t write this to condemn you. However, if you want inner stillness and serenity, some kind of quiet time with God is a must. Prayer is the context by which we give God our anxiety and he gives us his peace.

This is where we cast all our cares on him because he cares for us. It’s a salutary exchange that we can’t live without. The Holy Spirit is a gentle teacher and will lead you into a robust prayer life. Start small and don’t despise small beginnings. 5–10 minutes is okay to begin with for awhile and then add to it as God’s grace increases in your life. If you try to pray for an hour right off the bat, you’re liable to burn out. God is patient with you so be patient with yourself.

ybic,

Jonathan

Letters from Fawn CreekIf you liked this post by Jonathan, you may also like his book, Letters from Fawn Creek, that is now out on Amazon and also can be purchased at this link:

https://www.tatepublishing.com/bookstore/book.php?w=9781628542035