What's Ahead

I started reading a book this week from a Christian author pointing out dangerous trends in our nation in recent years. (I won’t name the book as I don’t want to imply endorsement of it.) After a few pages I was feeling pretty discouraged. I stopped to read a couple reviews of the book on a Christian website. One reviewer said the author greatly overstated his case. The other said he didn’t overstate it; if anything he understated it. That wasn’t terribly encouraging either, so I stopped and turned to Scripture. I happen to be reading in Ezekiel currently and picked up in chapter 31, which is a prophecy to Pharaoh and Egypt. God declares through the prophet,

“Whom are you thus like in glory and greatness among the trees of Eden? You shall be brought down with the trees of Eden to the world below. You shall lie among the uncircumcised, with those who are slain by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his multitude, declares the Lord God” (v.18).

Egypt has had a complicated history, but the point is that there are no more pharaohs and Egypt is far from being the world power that it once was. The prophet Daniel said that God “changes times and seasons; He removes kings and sets up kings” (2:21). That is no less true today than it was in Old Testament times. Each person in authority around the world today is there only because God allowed them to get there. That is true in the U.S. and it’s also true in Afghanistan, Myanmar, and North Korea.

It can be incredibly discouraging to see what’s happening around the globe and in our own country. There are truly evil acts that are being perpetrated, and the Church should be a defender of orphans and widows and the oppressed. But we shouldn’t presume that by doing so we can create some kind of utopian society. Scripture is clear that things are not going to get better until Christ returns.

“And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains” (Matt. 24:6-8).

We do need to observant of the signs of the times—not so we can turn things around and “make America great again,” but so we can be a voice of truth, pointing others to the one true God and to salvation through Christ alone by faith alone. I have no doubt that the intolerance and persecution of Christians will increase in every country, including the U.S., over time and perhaps sooner than we think. We need to be prepared by knowing what we believe and why we believe it. But we don’t need to live in fear of national trends, conspiracy theories, and election results. God is still on His throne. Whatever may come, we can trust that He will carry us through—in life and in death.

We don’t know exactly where we are on God’s timeline, but He does, and that should give us great assurance. The Judgment Day will come—whether today, or next year, or next millennium—when God will put an end to all evil and suffering and will call all of mankind before the Throne. On that Day, I want it to be clear that my faith for salvation is in Christ alone, not in any ruler, political party, nation, or system. There is no other source of eternal life.

“For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through Him and for Him… And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, He has now reconciled in His body of flesh by His death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before Him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven” (Col. 1:16, 21-23a).

© 2021 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture are ESV and all images are copyright free from pixabay.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.

Words of Caution

Reading through the one-chapter book of Obadiah recently, I was struck by this verse: “Do not gloat over the day of your brother in the day of his misfortune; do not rejoice over the people of Judah in the day of their ruin; do not boast in the day of distress” (v. 12). Edom was facing judgment for their sin, which included standing by and watching Judah be destroyed and delighting in their downfall.

Though that specific context may seem remote for us, we can all think of examples of people or groups gloating over the downfall of others. New phrases have been coined to describe “cancel culture” and “social media shaming.” Sadly, such behaviors infect the church as well:

• The political opponent said something wrong? “Why would anyone vote for him?”
• The promiscuous celebrity gets a terminal illness? “They had it coming.”
• The liberal denomination fractures? “It serves them right.”
• The pastor you disagreed with has run into trouble at another church? “It’s about time.”

We’re all guilty to one degree or another, because we’re all infected with sin. We may not say or do anything publicly, but we have all had those thoughts of “I know I’m right and they are just plain wrong. They deserve to be brought down a peg.”

Jesus said in Matthew 12:36, “I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak [or type].” Why does it matter? “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil” (12:34b-35). Our words reveal our hearts, and yet many of us don’t realize how dark our hearts can be.

Consider just a few verses from the book of Proverbs:

• “When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent” (10:19).
• “There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing” (12:28).
• “The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the Lord, but gracious words are pure” (15:26).
• “Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body” (16:24).
• “Whoever restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding” (17:27).
• “Do you see a man who is hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him” (29:20).

Our words can reveal if we are wise or foolish, loving or vengeful, humble or arrogant. Social media has made it far too easy for us to speak without thinking—jumping on the bandwagon of whoever we agree with and degrading those who disagree, regardless of what that may say to the watching world. Are we being lights in a dark world, or are we adding to the darkness by cutting down anyone who doesn’t agree with us on everything? People may stop listening long before we ever talk about Jesus if all they see in our lives is judgmentalism and condemnation. “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?” (Matthew 7:1-3).

“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth” (1 Cor. 13:4-6).

© 2021 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture are ESV and all images are copyright free from pixabay.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.

It happens all too frequently—a well-known Christian author and speaker is revealed to have serious issues with integrity, pride, and sexual sin. It’s not a new narrative. King David, the “man after God’s own heart,” is remembered for conquering Goliath but falling for Bathsheba. King Solomon, the “wisest man,” is known for his hundreds of wives and concubines. If they can’t get it right, who can? (And if Christian leaders have this much trouble, I hate to think what non-Christian leaders are doing behind closed doors.)

Back in 2015 Christianity Today published an article with the somewhat tongue-in-cheek title “Pastor Exposed as Faithful to Wife of 17 Years.” Thousands of faithful pastors and leaders rarely make the headlines. It only takes one bad choice to ruin a reputation. Our culture of celebrity Christianity is a problem. Although many people rise to prominence for the good things they have said and done, few can stand up to the long-term public scrutiny of every word and action. And when they fail, it blackens the reputation of the whole Church.

Similar things happened in Ezekiel’s day and God spoke His judgment against them—

“Ah, shepherds of Israel, who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep? You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep. The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the injured you have not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought… Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will require My sheep at their hand and put a stop to their feeding the sheep. No longer shall the shepherds feed themselves” (Ezek. 34:2-4, 10).

The day will come when all of us will face the judgment of God. Pastors also will have to give an account for how they shepherd the flock (Heb. 13:17), whether their flock is twenty souls or many thousands. Some may be surprised to see much of their work destroyed by the fire of judgment. “If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire” (1 Cor. 3:15).

October is Pastor Appreciation Month. By all means, go ahead and give them gifts and words of encouragement, but perhaps the most important thing we need to do for our pastors is to pray for them all year round. Pray for God to protect them from the temptations of pride, self-sufficiency, envy, lust, etc. Pray for them to be filled with God’s wisdom in all their decisions and for wise counselors to surround them. Pray for all the aspects of their ministry—sermon preparation, preaching, teaching, counseling, etc. As someone shared on Facebook, don’t put your pastor on a pedestal, but lift him up in prayer.

“For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world” (1 John 2:16).

“Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a clear conscience, desiring to act honorably in all things” (Heb. 13:18).

 

© 2020 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture are ESV and all images are copyright free from pixabay.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.

Judgment Call

After the hurricane passed through this area I was talking with someone who commented, “God sure is unhappy with our country, isn’t He?” Since it wasn’t a person I know well, I didn’t want to get into a theological debate, but it did make me wonder about their beliefs. It is true that God has used natural disasters to bring judgment on people: the flood and the ten plagues are the first events that come to mind. Later the prophet Hosea told Israel:

“Because they have transgressed My covenant and rebelled against my law… For they sow the wind, and they reap the whirlwind. The standing grain has no heads; it shall yield no flour…” (8:1, 7 ESV).

Israel received physical consequences for their sin on multiple occasions and they were also rescued from other nations through a variety of manmade and natural events. However, I think there are some problems with applying that kind of logic to every natural disaster that comes along, even if the insurance companies do label them as “acts of God.”

1) Following the flood God said, “I establish My covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth… This [rainbow] is a sign of the covenant that I have established between Me and all flesh that is on the earth” (Genesis 9:11, 17). Some may argue that this refers only a global flood, not smaller floods. In any case, that flood was a unique occurrence of God’s judgment that will not be repeated.

2) The United States is not, and has never been, God’s chosen nation. Isaac blessed Jacob (Israel) by saying, “Let the peoples serve you, and nations bow down to you… Cursed be everyone who curses you, and blessed be everyone who blessed you” (Gen. 27:29). The “chosen nation” label applied only to Israel. Therefore we cannot interpret the events that happen here under the same principles by which the nation of Israel was cursed or blessed for their corporate actions.

3) In Job 1 and 2 we learn that it was only after God gave Satan permission to test Job that several disasters occurred. God Himself said of Job, “There is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil” (1:8), so obviously the events that followed were not a sign of judgment. When Job’s three friends tried to say it was God’s judgment on Job, they were the ones rebuked: “My anger burns against you and against your two friends, for you have not spoken of Me what is right as My servant Job has” (42:7).

4) All of creation was impacted by sin as a result of the fall. “Cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life” (Gen. 3:17b). We shouldn’t expect to be spared from every natural disaster just because our faith is strong and we pray for protection. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons” (Romans 8:22-23).

Having said all that, God certainly can and does use all kinds of circumstances to awaken people to the brevity of life and their need for salvation. Psalm 33 has some great reminders:

“By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of His mouth all their host. He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap; He puts the deeps in storehouses. Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him!” (6-8).

“The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; He frustrates the plans of the peoples” (10).

“Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, on those who hope in His steadfast love, that He may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine. Our soul waits for the Lord; He is our help and our shield” (18-20).

So was Hurricane Florence part of God’s judgment on the United States? I don’t think so. But it should remind us that there is coming a day of final judgment when there will be no more chances to repent and believe. May that motivate us to pray for unbelievers, share the gospel, and endeavor to glorify God in life and in death.

© 2018 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated all images are copyright free from pixabay.com.

Me Me Me

I read this the other day and found it to be quite true:

“To most people the greatest persons in the universe are themselves. Their lives are made up of endless variations on the word ‘me.’ What do people think of ME? How will thing affect ME? Will this make ME happy? Do people value ME as they should? …Have we not all, in our own experience, discovered that every endeavor that has ME as its center has no profit in it? You have set your heart, perhaps, on procuring something for the benefit or pleasure of your own great big ME, but when you have secured it, this ungrateful ME has refused to be satisfied and has turned away in weariness and disgust from what it has cost you so much to procure. Or you have labored to have the claims of this ME recognized by those around you and have reared with great pains and effort a high pinnacle on which you have seated yourself to be admired by all beholders. And right at the critical moment, the pinnacle has tottered over, and your glorious ME has fallen into the dust, and contempt instead of honor, has become its portion. Never, under any circumstances has it in the end paid you to try and exalt your great exacting ME, for always, sooner or later, it has all proved to be nothing but ‘vanity and vexation of spirit’ (Eccl. 2:11)” (God Is Enough, Hannah Whitall Smith, 132-133).

ME is an exacting taskmaster, never pleased for more than a few seconds. If your employer treated you the same way, would you not soon quit? Why try to please someone who just sneers and knocks you down every time? Why subject yourself to repeated frustration? And yet we do. “Maybe this time I’ll get everything just right and can enjoy success.” On the other hand:

“Jesus challenges us to forgive everyone we know and even those we don’t know and to be very careful not to forget even one against whom we harbor ill will. Right now someone exists who has disappointed and offended us, someone with whom we are continually displeased and with whom we are more impatient, irritated, unforgiving, and spiteful than we would dare be with anyone else. That person is ourselves. We are so often fed up with ourselves. We’re sick of our own mediocrity, revolted by our own inconsistency, bored by our own monotony. We would never judge any other of God’s children with the savage self-condemnation with which we crush ourselves. We must be patient, gentle, and compassionate with ourselves in the same way we try to love our neighbor” (The Signature of Jesus, Brennan Manning, 174).

We can either keep trying to perfect ourselves and build ourselves up despite constant failure, or we can accept God’s love and forgiveness and trust Him to do what only He can do. I find it interesting that the Apostle Paul’s list of the works of the flesh (Galatians 5:19-21) all have self at the center: “sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies and things like these” (ESV). But it could reasonably be argued that the Fruit of the Spirit (vv. 22-23) is all focused on God and others: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” If we attempt to produce that fruit while focusing on self, it will be imitation fruit at best, quick to fall to the ground. Even self-control has to come from the work of the Spirit, not from self-effort. Only when we stop trying to grow our own fruit can the Spirit grow His Fruit in us. When we take our eyes off ourselves and our accomplishments and failures, then we can watch and see what God will do.

It’s time to dethrone ME and recognize that God is the King of kings and Lord of lords, and He is making all things new.

“Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?” (Galatians 3:2-3).

  

© 2018 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated all images are copyright free from pixabay.com.

Waiting with a Purpose

This week in our House to House group’s sermon discussion 2 Peter 3:9 was brought up, “The Lord is not slow to fulfill His promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (ESV). I have to admit that this verse bothers me a bit. Maybe it’s my accountant brain, but statistically this statement doesn’t make sense. The world population is expected in increase by an estimated 35% by 2050; however, the population growth of Muslims is so much faster that their total numbers will nearly equal the number of Christians by that time. (See Wikipedia article.) So even though there will be more people “reaching repentance,” there will be even more who are lost.

Another difficulty I have with the verse is that it makes God sound a little wishy-washy, as if He’s trying to decide exactly when to put an end to things but is hoping to get a few more converts first. Obviously that doesn’t square with the rest of Scripture and the problem is our English translation. The Greek word translated wishing actually has the connotation “to will deliberately, have a purpose, be minded” (Strongs 1014). It is not merely wishing for something to happen, but working out the purposes already determined.

This verse from 2 Peter can’t be taken out of the greater context of Scripture. In speaking of the last days, Jesus said, “For then there will be great tribulation… And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short” (Matthew 24:21-22). By His mercy God will not let the fallen creation drag on indefinitely. There is a day of judgment that has already been determined by God, and none of us know when that day will be. He will bring everything to an end in His perfect timing.

Recently I was looking at a church website for some other denomination (I’ve forgotten what it was) that implied that they had historically had a strong emphasis on the Second Coming of Christ but had found that to be an inadequate message to motivate believers. I can certainly see how this can happen. If Christ is returning this week, then why bother with developing leaders or creating denominational structures? (And as a fifth generation Advent Christian, I can say that William Miller and his early followers made some significant mistakes!) But the fact is that Jesus’ soon return, whether it’s next week or next millennium, should be motivation to do whatever is necessary to bring as many people to Christ as possible in the time allowed.

God has been graciously waiting until His purposes are fulfilled, but each passing day brings us closer to the end of time. Are our goals aligned with His purposes? Are we living in accordance with those purposes?

“But the Day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar… Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the Day of God…” (2 Peter 3:10-12).

© 2017 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated all images are copyright free from pixabay.com. 

The Real Heaven

It occurred to me recently how incredible it is that we live in a society that is relatively moral and self-controlled. Having witnessed firsthand the rebellion that leads some people to do stupid things (in this case, a reckless driver endangering pedestrians), it’s actually amazing that the vast majority of people are usually law-abiding citizens. I think that’s why it is so often hard to convince people that “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23 ESV). People who are outwardly “good people” don’t want to be told they are sinners. People wonder how God could send “good people” to hell when they can come up with a long list of things that they think justify their entrance to heaven. We can all think of people who “deserve” hell far more than the average moral person.

The irony is that many of the same people who think they deserve heaven would be appalled to think that they’d spend eternity praising God and growing in knowledge of Him. If you aren’t interested in a relationship with God in this life, why would you want to spend eternity with Him? The church has not always done a very good job of explaining what eternal life is all about. We’ve adopted images of heaven that have more in common with Islam than with the Bible. (See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heaven.) We don’t even know how to deal with stories of near death experiences or how they relate to the real afterlife as described in Scripture. Scot McKnight writes, “It seems to me in the flourishing of these [near death experiences], many Christians will want once again to take a whole new look at what the Bible says about heaven. What they will find, in almost all cases, is a view of heaven that is quite unlike what is experienced in the [near death experiences].”

C.S. Lewis wrote:

“God, who has made us, knows what we are and that our happiness lies in Him. Yet we will not seek it in Him as long as He leaves us any other resort where it can even plausibly be looked for. While what we call ‘our own life’ remains agreeable we will not surrender it to Him. What then can God do in our interests but make ‘our own life’ less agreeable to us, and take away the plausible sources of false happiness?” (The Problem of Pain, 96–97)

Many people want eternal happiness on their own terms, apart from any relation to the God who created us. They want to edit Romans 8:21-23 to say “the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain freedom,” and conveniently ignore the fact that it is the “children of God” who “wait eagerly for adoption as sons.” Only those who know God as Father want the kind of life that He offers. Some preachers try to convert people by saying in essence, “Do you want to avoid hell and go to heaven? Then just believe in Jesus.” What they leave out is a biblical description of eternity as children of God who love and glorify Him.

“But according to His promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells” (2 Peter 3:13). Many who long for what they call heaven are completely uninterested in the dwelling place of righteousness. They’d rather have a place of free license to do whatever they want. People want the promises of Revelation 21:4: “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away;” but they don’t care about the presence of God described in 21:3: “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God.” We can’t one without the other.

The older I get and the more I see the brokenness of this world, the more I long for the Second Coming of Christ, not just so the brokenness will be fixed and the earth made new, but so I can enjoy the presence of the One I’ve come to know and love. I’m coming to understand what John Piper calls the “superior pleasure” of knowing God, or as Thomas Chalmers called it, “The expulsive power of a new affection.” One day the true desires of our hearts will be revealed and either fulfilled in Christ or destroyed in judgment.

“‘Surely I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!” (Rev. 22:20).

© 2017 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise noted all images are from pixabay.com. 

The Truth Hurts

I read a few interesting passages this week:

• Jude 4 (ESV) – “For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.”
• 1 John 4:1 – “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have done out into the world.”
• 2 Corinthians 11:13 – “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.”

As I read these verses, I realized that I had previously assumed that the deceivers mentioned were people who knew they were propagating lies and were intentionally leading others astray. But given what I see happening in the church today, I believe there are many who genuinely believe they are correct and don’t realize the error they’ve fallen into. And it’s not always clearly delineated as in the past, such as with cults like Jehovah’s Witness, Mormons, Jim Jones, etc. Instead they are people who outwardly appear to be evangelical Christians, but they are interpreting Scripture in ways that are wrong and will lead many astray (for example Jen Hatmaker, Glennon Doyle Melton, and the like). They do not see the truth of the Word, no matter how much they study it, and they don’t even realize they have exchanged the truth of God for a lie.

I have come to the point of questioning the salvation of many who claim to be Christians. Yes, God’s mercy is great, but it is limited. Some people will find that they are saved “only as through fire” (1 Cor. 3:15). Many others will hear “Depart from Me, I never knew you” (Matt. 7:23). I am alarmed by the direction of our “Christian” culture in which moral relativism is commonplace. Truth is being redefined and the Bible reinterpreted by anyone who is uncomfortable with its message. There is no longer any fear of God’s judgment or eternal damnation. Many seem to be more afraid of offending unbelievers than they are of offending God.

Michael Yaconelli wrote in Dangerous Wonder (110-111):

“I am beginning to wonder if we modern followers of Christ are capable of being terrified of God. No fear of God. No fear of Jesus. No fear of the Holy Spirit. As a result, we have ended up with a feel-good gospel that attracts thousands… but transforms no one… The nice, nonthreatening God needs to be replaced by the God whose very presence smashes our egos into dust, burns our sin into ashes, and strips us naked to reveal the real person within…”

This leads me to pray for a couple specific things: 1) That those who have been deceived and are deceiving others will be led by God to understand and accept the Truth and repudiate their own lies (such as happened with Rosaria Butterfield); and 2) That believers will be strengthened to proclaim the Truth no matter what the consequences may be from society or from other so-called Christians. One day God’s elect will be rewarded and all others will see the error of their ways.

Psalm 25:5 – “Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; for You I wait all the day long.”

James 3:1 – “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.”

© 2016 Dawn Rutan.