Category: Blessed Hope

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New Year, Same God

Dear sister,

If you’re anything like me, your email box and social media news feed and snail mail box are all full of missives proclaiming messages like “New Year, new you!” and recommended lists of resolutions to make this time around. But let’s not concentrate on who you can be or will be. Let’s concentrate on who you ARE; and more importantly, since you are in Christ, who He is.

If you read through the Bible each year you’ve likely spent the past few days in the book of Hebrews. If you haven’t read it recently, I encourage you to do so because it’s a wonderful reminder as we head toward a new year—a summary of God’s faithfulness to His people. The writer begins by telling us who Jesus is—much greater than the angels, the Son of God who will sit at His right hand. “Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.” (Hebrews 2:1)

Next the writer quotes Psalm 8 (What is man that You are mindful of him?) and talks about how we are one with Christ: “For He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why He is not ashamed to call them brothers.” (2:11) And this is not an earthly sibling who drives you crazy; this Brother shares your pain. “Therefore He had to be made like His brothers in every respect, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For because He Himself has suffered when tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted.” (2:17)

And in this New Year theme where we are likely reminded yet again how we fall short in keeping the resolutions we made so boldly in years past, we are told how Jesus is faithful (3:2) and exhorted “For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.” (3:14)

“Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things—things that belong to salvation. For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for His name in serving the saints, as you still do. And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” (6:9-12)

We fall short, but He does not. In all this talk about the person and character and works of Jesus, remember who you are. He calls us brothers (Hebrews 2:11), adopted sons (Ephesians 1:5), and his beloved bride (Isaiah 54:5). A few pages further on, in Revelation, we see the wedding feast of the Lamb. His Bride, messy and sinful and imperfect as she is, has made herself ready. But when the Book of Life is to be read, who is worthy to open it? Only Jesus, who redeemed us. (Revelation 5:9,12)

In 2017 it likely won’t matter whether you keep 30 resolutions or zero. But your faithfulness in knowing and proclaiming Him does matter. Rest in His finished work and remember He has already accomplished everything you need.

My prayer for you this New Year is “Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by Him without spot or blemish, and at peace. And count the patience of our Lord as salvation… You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.” (2 Peter 3:14-15, 17-18)

Love,

Sarah

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It Is Well With My Soul

sailing-bc-1450561Dear sister,

You may already be familiar with the story of the hymn It Is Well With My Soul.

Horatio Spafford’s two-year-old son died, and shortly thereafter the 1871 Great Chicago Fire ruined him financially (he was a successful lawyer and had invested in property in the area that was damaged by the fire). His business interests took another hit in the economic downturn in 1873, when he had planned to travel to Europe with his family. In a last-minute change of plan, he sent his family ahead while he remained behind to deal with zoning problems having to do with the fire. While crossing the Atlantic, their ship sank quickly after a collision with another vessel, and all four of their daughters died. Spafford’s wife Anna survived and sent him a telegram that simply said, “Saved alone.” Shortly afterward, as Spafford traveled to meet his grieving wife, he wrote these words as his ship passed near where his daughters had died.

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul.
It is well with my soul,
It is well, it is well with my soul.

Deeply moving words, to be sure. But I feel too often we stop there with this hymn. We share it with each other as encouragement to hang on, trust God, keep the faith, ‘learn in every situation to be content’ (Philippians 4:11). Without the Holy Spirit mourning with us, that is sometimes too much willpower to bear.

The next verse tells the source of our hope, Jesus:

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ hath regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.
It is well with my soul,
It is well, it is well with my soul.

And the next verse gives the gospel again, with a breathless aside about the glory of its truth:

My sin—oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!—
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
It is well with my soul,
It is well, it is well with my soul.

Lord willing, I will turn 30 next month, and people keep asking me how I feel about it and whether I’m okay with it and assuring me how young that still is, as if I didn’t already know! Scripture is clear that aging is an honor, that grey hair is a crown; that getting older is something to be sought after. And every birthday—like every day we awaken with God’s mercies new every morning—brings us closer to Jesus’ return in glory, when there will be no more sorrow or crying, when the former things will pass away and God will wipe away all tears.

The final verse fixes our eyes heavenward, to Jesus’ return:

And Lord, haste the day when the faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.
It is well with my soul,
It is well, it is well with my soul.

Your sister,

Sarah

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Hope for the Battle

HighlandsDear sister, lately I feel like battling sin will be the death of me. And Lord willing, it will be. The death of my self apart from Christ; the death of my wretched, depraved sin nature; the death of the old darkness to make room for His light. The truth is, we have already been made alive in Christ.

“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:1-9, emphasis mine.)

Are we left to battle sin alone? No! We have been given the Holy Spirit, one of the Persons of the Trinity, to indwell us! To fight with us. To pray for us (Romans 8:26). What’s more, Jesus was made man; He not only died for us, He lived for us—“For we do not have a High Priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:15-16)

And how do we battle? With the fruit of the spirit. With the full armor of God, with which He equips us. “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.” (Ephesians 6:11-18a)

Press on, sister. Take courage, dear heart. He has given us an army to fight beside, and He has already won the victory. But the armor of God cannot be set aside or taken off. Polish it while it’s on. Be ever ready.

And in the depths of this battle, what are we pressing toward? Our Abba Father, the Holy One.

“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us,” Paul encourages us in Romans 8:18. He goes on to talk about the whole creation groaning with us in pain, awaiting redemption. For we were created to be redeemed, for God’s glory. Someday we will see His face and dwell with Him forever, where there will be no sin and no sorrow. What riches. What consolation. What hope!

I love the way R.C. Sproul and Jeff Lippencott expressed the hope of heaven in their Highland Hymn.

Above the mists of Highland hills,
E’en far above the clear blue skies
The end of pain and earthly ills
When we shall see His eyes.

Refrain:
Lutes will sing, pipers play
When we see Him face to face
On that day.

His face now hidden from our sight,
Concealed from ev’ry hidden gaze;
In hearts made pure from sinful flight
Is the bliss that will amaze.

(Refrain)

We know not yet what we will be
In heaven’s final blessed state;
But know we now that we shall see
Our Lord at heaven’s gate.

The beatific glory view
That now our souls still long to see
Will make us all at once anew,
And like Him forever be.

(Refrain)

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Overwhelmed to Overflowing

Dear sister,

I had to take a deep breath before typing this because I really don’t like admitting struggles: Sometimes singleness is really, really hard.

Maybe, sister, your life is really hard right now too. You’re lonely, you’re longing for a baby, someone close just died, you’re desperately praying for someone’s salvation, perhaps all your kids came down with a stomach flu at the same time and you’re just not quite sure how you’re going to survive the next few hours, much less a whole day.

These are the times that haunt us—these breathless, painful, deep, dark times where you can actually feel physical weight bringing you down. Sometimes they’re brief and you can see light at the end of the tunnel. Sometimes you are pretty sure this is the cross God is asking you to bear for the rest of your time on earth.

First, have courage, dear heart! God tells us not to fear. But He doesn’t tell us to be strong. In fact, He says His strength is made perfect in our weakness. Paul wrote, “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” (2 Corinthians 12:9). What we do with our weakness shows Who we’re made of.

But in our weakened state we may be prone to turning our eyes from the One who provides strength. When we search for it in ourselves we start to question and want the things God has not provided. As John Calvin said, our hearts are idol factories. Always wanting to fill God’s place with other things.

This is, of course, literally the oldest sin known to man. God gave Adam and Eve paradise, fulfilled their every need, and yet told them not to eat of one tree. “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.” (Genesis 3:6)

It is worth making the distinction that it is not sinful to desire things God has called good. The Lord said it was not good for man to be alone (Genesis 2:18), and that children are a blessing from Him (Psalm 127:3), for example. It is godly to desire them. It is, however, sinful to be discontent when our holy desires are not met; when we’re coveting what others have. Let us learn from Paul, who wrote from a Roman prison “I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:12-13)

When the Israelites begged Moses for things he looked at them in disbelief. He and Aaron reminded them over and over again what God had done for them—He protected them from plagues, brought them out of slavery, brought them across the Red Sea. And throughout the Old Testament this is a recurring theme—paragraphs listing what God had done for Israel, over and over, and yet they said it was not enough.

In 2 Samuel the prophet Nathan goes to rebuke David after he has slept with Bathsheba and had Uriah killed. “Nathan said to David, ‘You are the man! Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, “I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul. And I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your arms and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah. And if this were too little, I would add to you as much more.”’” (2 Samuel 12:7-8, emphasis mine)

In similar fashion, “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:32) God has created us. He sustains us. He provides the air in our lungs and those lungs to breathe it with. He has given us food for our bellies, sleep for our minds, water for our bodies, and shelter from the elements. He sent His Son to do what we are unable to do: live a perfect life and bear His wrath. He who knew no sin BECAME SIN FOR US that we might dwell with Him forever, washed clean by the blood of Jesus.

And yet, sister, we dare to complain.

But even in this, God shows His amazing love for us. He delights in His children. He rejoices over us with singing (Zephaniah 3:17), He collects all our tears in a bottle (Psalm 56:8), He restores our souls (Psalm 23:3).

Rejoice with me, sister, that even when it feels like our desires will crush us under their weight, “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And He who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, in order that He might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom He predestined he also called, and those whom He called he also justified, and those whom He justified He also glorified.” (Romans 8:26-30)

What breathtaking, deep, wondrous grace is this, O my soul! Drink deeply, sister, and be satisfied.

Love,

Sarah

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Hope in Tragedy

shame-1251333-1280x960Elisabeth Elliot wrote, “Heaven is not here, it’s There. If we were given all we wanted here, our hearts would settle for this world rather than the next.” Elisabeth, whose firm grip on God’s promises was always a supreme encouragement to me, went to the full presence of the Lord a year ago this week after a decade-long battle with dementia. She left behind her faithful third husband Lars Gren whom she married in 1977 after losing her second husband Addison Leitch to cancer in 1973 and her first husband Jim Elliot to cannibals on the mission field in 1956.

Do we remember, sisters, that this world is not our home? Just last week here in Orlando we had singer Christina Grimmie (outspoken about her Christian faith) shot point-blank during an autograph session, 49 people killed and 53 wounded in the deadliest mass shooting in American history at Pulse nightclub downtown, and a two-year-old boy killed by an alligator as he waded in a lagoon at Disney while his father desperately tried to free him from the gator’s jaws. I’ve seen incredible hatred, judgement, and politicizing all these events as people—politicians, celebrities, and civilians alike—provide commentary on television and social media.

Sin is ugly, and it has ugly consequences. We’re all familiar with Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death.” That’s easy to remember when we see tragedy every time we turn around. But the rest of the verse contains the breathtaking truth: “But the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Do we give thanks for that with every breath, sister? Do we speak about it every chance we get? C.S. Lewis said in The Weight of Glory, “There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations—these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub and exploit – immortal horrors or everlasting splendors.”

We hear a lot these days that Christians should stop hating. And you know what? They’re right. When the Pharisee lawyer asked Jesus in Matthew 22:36 “Which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus answered (vv 37-40) “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

How can we love our neighbors? In practical ways: donate money, time, or blood; bring food in crisis and water when it’s hot out; care for children; provide for widows and orphans; be a shoulder to cry on, and so much more. But how can we best love our neighbors? By sharing the good news of Jesus Christ.

“…the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by His blood, to be received by faith.” (Romans 3:22-25)

In these hard times, just as in all times since time began, we are not promised tomorrow. But if we repent of our sin and have faith in the work Jesus accomplished on the cross facing the fullness of God’s wrath for our sin, regardless of what happens we know where we are bound. Because we are in Christ, our eternal life has already begun, though we “now see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.” (1 Corinthians 13:12)

And when we are before the face of God, “He will wipe away every tear from [our] eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:4)

Our ultimate hope can be in no stronger foundation than Jesus Christ our Lord. Cling to Him, sister, now and forevermore.

In His love,

Sarah