Let me begin by saying that I know not everyone will agree with what I will discuss today, and that’s okay. While it is my firm belief, I will give grace to you if you disagree with me, and I hope you will give grace to me as well. In fact, someone who I know very well and someone I greatly respect does not agree with the thrust of this post; but to me, it is important enough to put it out there for people to hear and discuss if they are so inclined.
Somehow, many have convinced themselves that anything bad comes from the devil while anything good comes from God. While I can get on board with the strict interpretation of this, what some often really mean is that what we see as bad comes from the devil, and what we see as good comes from God.
The problem with this is that we don’t always do a good job of knowing what “good” is and what “bad” is. We define good and bad as to the effect a circumstance has upon us. If we don’t like it, it’s bad. If it makes us happy, it’s good.
If a circumstance brings us pain or displeasure, we think it must be evil, and therefore, it must be from the devil. I know it’s hard to work with someone in pain who is asking themselves, “Why is God doing this to me? Why is He letting me suffer like this?” Our initial reaction is to assure them that it is not God who is bringing the suffering.
We know we live in a fallen world where the consequences of sin brought curses into the earth. Good people suffer unjustly. Life is not always fair. Job and Ecclesiastes attempt to tackle these tough issues. Sometimes we just don’t have answers when someone we love is suffering.
And so, we try to explain the unexplainable. We do it out of compassion. We do it because we hurt with them, and we want to help ease the hurt. In doing that, we can sometimes make overgeneralizations like, “This isn’t from God. God only gives good. This pain you are experiencing is from the devil.”
But these are oversimplistic explanations that don’t always convey the truth. And if we are not careful, we can inadvertently make an accusation against God just like the friends of Job did. The truth is, we don’t always know why someone is suffering, and it may not be fair. Unless we are God, all we can do is make conjectures. But conjectures, though well-meaning, may not give the comfort we are trying to provide.
The truth is, sometimes we have to endure things we do not like because God has, indeed, set them in our path. Without a prophet to tell us an act is from God, we may never know, but we see in Scripture that God will sometimes discipline those whom He loves, and,
“For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” (Hebrews 12:11 ESV).
Now, not all pain or suffering we endure is because of the Lord’s chastisement. In fact, I suspect that most of the suffering we endure is just because life is not always fair and that time and chance happen to us all (Ecclesiastes 9:11-12). But my point is that we must be careful when we paint broad strokes, like saying everything that is bad is from the devil and everything good is from God.
This is true, but our definitions of what is bad and what is good may not be accurate. Sometimes, what looks bad is actually good. There was a time in my life when I was careening away from God. Had I continued on that trajectory, I am sure I would not have been with Jesus in Heaven for eternity. But there were things that happened to me that were extremely painful and caused me to hit rock bottom spiritually. In my defeated and miserable state, I was left with the choice of either coming back to God wholeheartedly or walking away from Him for good.
Let me tell you, I was suffering. Things were so bad, I had even contemplated ending my life, at least in my mind. But had those things never happened to me and forced me to turn everything over to Jesus, I would have lost my soul. I am convinced of that.
So I look at those dark years as a blessing. As painful as they were, they were the things that brought me back to the Lord. They taught me allegiance and trust, faith and grace. To me, those bad things I faced were the best thing a loving God could have done for me. The consequences of living a “good” life and losing my soul would have been far worse.
As much as I hated what I went through- for over ten long years- I would go through it all again if it would lead me to where I am now. But saying that, I still don’t believe that most sorrows we face are for our discipline. I really think much of it is because bad things happen to good people because we live in an imperfect world.
But when bad things happen to us, even though God may not be the direct cause, those trials can be the palette He uses to paint a beautiful picture when things look bleak, when we are in pain, or when we don’t understand why things are happening to us.
Joseph knew this well. He went from being the favored son to being cast into a pit, sold into slavery, put into prison, and forgotten for two whole years. His youth was taken from him, as was his family. He grew up in a strange land among strange people. Every time he did what God wanted him to do, something bad happened to him.
But God took the tragedy of his life and painted a beautiful picture. His time with Potiphar and the jailer taught him how the nation of Egypt worked, and for over two years, he lived in the place where the king’s prisoners were held. Perhaps he met a string of people who taught him the inner workings of the Egyptian government and prepared him for the work God was about to give him. The Bible does tell us that God gave him favor in the eyes of the people and that the Lord was with him.
When Joseph looked back on the tragedy of his life, this was his assessment when he was reunited with his brothers:
“His brothers also came and fell down before him and said, “Behold, we are your servants.”
But Joseph said to them, “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God?
As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.
So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones.” Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.” (Genesis 50:18-21 ESV).
Joseph still had to endure slavery, imprisonment, and false accusations, but he saw that God was with him every step of the way. Where we might ask, “Why is God making me go through this? What have I done to deserve this?” Joseph learned to endure and looked back on the goodness that God worked in his life.
You don’t know how much I wish I could tell you that everything we think of as good comes from God, and everything we think of as bad comes from the devil, but I can’t. The truth is, I wouldn’t trust myself to accurately know what good is and what bad is as we’re living through it.
The best I can offer is this: God always knows what we are going through. And just like Jesus wept when He saw his friends’ sorrow because of Lazarus’ death, so He weeps when He witnesses the pain we go through. And while He may not take the pain away, He will never make us walk through the pain alone.
And one day, if we let Him walk the painful road with us, we can look back and see that He was with us every step of the way. We may not have all the answers we are looking for. Job never got answers for his suffering either. But every trial we go through can lead to a stronger, richer relationship with our God where our faith is strengthened, and we find comfort in a way that those in the world never can find comfort.
Sometimes, what looks bad is actually good.
I wish more people in our nation took this verse to heart. God is a God of goodness and justice. It angers Him when we pervert His justice.
“You shall not fall in with the many to do evil, nor shall you bear witness in a lawsuit, siding with the many, so as to pervert justice,” (Exodus 23:2 ESV).
I am in Matthew in my daily Bible reading. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus repeatedly says, “You have heard that it was said... But I tell you...”
Here is the King, who will soon be exalted into Heaven to take His promised seat on the throne at His Father’s right hand. As He begins His ministry, He teaches people what His kingdom subjects will be like.
What Jesus teaches are the things we need to know to be citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven. It shows us how we live as people who are in allegiance to Him, our King. It prepares us for the life we will have when He returns to bring us home to heaven.
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John set up Kingdom living. What we do here on earth helps prepare us for our life to come.
The person who can turn the other cheek develops the citizenship they will have in Heaven. The person who goes with someone two miles prepares for the citizenship they will have in Heaven.
The people got that. They knew this Prophet was someone different.
“And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching,
for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.” (Matthew 7:28-29 ESV).
Jesus is preparing us for the best life we can have on earth, but even more, He is preparing us for our life with Him that is yet to be.
God’s grace in action... In my daily Bible reading in Matthew 13, Jesus tells the parable of the weeds. An enemy had sown weeds among the wheat.
His servants come and ask if they should gather the weeds. It is in His response that we see the marvelous grace of Jesus:
“But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them.
Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, “Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.”‘“ (Matthew 13:29-30 ESV).
In verse 39, when Jesus explains the parable, He says that the reapers are the angels. When Jesus told them to let the weeds and the wheat grow together, it wasn’t because the reapers were unable to tell the difference between wheat and weeds, but He said it to protect the wheat.
Jesus knows that there will be times when we look like weeds. There will be times when we sin, and we would be the prime target for reapers if they were on the lookout for weeds.
But the grace of Jesus lets us grow because He knows the Father is still working in us. The Spirit is still transforming us. The power of the Gospel has the ability to transform weeds into wheat.
Angels, the reapers, are not omniscient. They do not know beyond what they see or what they are told. But for the grace of God, we would all be rooted up by the reapers, for all have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. We are all filthy rags. We are all weeds until the power of God transforms us.
But Jesus tells the reapers to let the weeds and the wheat grow together until harvest time. It is during this time of longsuffering that Jesus stays the hands of the reapers, giving us time to grow into wheat until harvest.
What marvelous grace that the Son of Man has in staying the hands of the reapers when all of us weeds deserve to be gathered up and cast into the fire.
Jesus doesn’t expect our perfection. He expects our loyalty and our allegiance.
Being loyal to Him means that when we stumble, we get back up and continue to walk with Him. John says,
“If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:8-9 ESV).
Being allegiant to Him means that we will not look elsewhere for the things we need, but we come to Him and Him alone for all our needs.
Being loyal and allegiant is what faith is all about. Faith is far more than a feeling or mental exercise. It’s trust so deep that we pursue nothing other than our King in all things.
When our life comes to an end, we should never worry and ask ourselves, “Did I do enough to get into Heaven?”
None of us can answer that question, “Yes.”
But we can ask ourselves, “Did I live a life full of faith to my King?”
We can answer, “Yes” to that question because faith is not based on our perfect living. It is based on our loyalty and allegiance to Him, and our absolute trust that He will be faithful to His promises.
This is the only way we can have confidence in our salvation. Our faith, not our perfection, is why we can rest peacefully in the knowledge of our salvation.
I am in Matthew, finishing the book in my daily Bible reading. If I say I am finishing it, you know what’s coming. I always steel myself for what is coming.
Knowing that this trip to Jerusalem is the last one Jesus will ever make as He marches to the cross, we see a change in His earnestness. Gone are the days when He silences people and warns them not to tell others about what He has done for them.
He now openly and forcefully pronounces woes on the spiritual leaders of the Jews. He condemns their faithlessness and their poor stewardship as shepherds of His people. God has visited His people and is passing judgment.
In doing so, He leaves one choice: Accept Him as the promised Messiah and King or reject Him as they have rejected all the prophets God has sent them.
His hour was at hand. He was ready to fulfill His charge given by His Father. He was ready to become the sacrifice needed to save His image bearers and reconcile us to the Father.
In doing so, He would conquer death, the powers of the evil ones, and those who stand against Him, and set the stage for the central climax of the Gospel message- His ascension to Heaven to be seated on the throne at His Father’s right hand.
Reading the last seven chapters of Matthew is hard to do as we witness the cruelty His creation commits against Him, but the ascension is coming, and redemption’s story will be finished.
The only event of the Gospel message left to be fulfilled is the return of the King in power, glory, and honor to finally destroy death, the last enemy, once and for all and to bring us home to live with Him forever.
But before witnessing His victory and enthronement, I have to make it through the last seven chapters of Matthew first.
So, my brother-in-law, Tom Pledger, met with me yesterday and has agreed to help me get the last 35 to 40 pounds off. After losing 125 pounds, I have been at a plateau for a little over a year now. Then Tom asked about my motivation.
I told him that when Ryder was born, my motivation to lose the 125 pounds I did was so that I would be alive to see him graduate high school.
I have achieved that goal. But my motivation for this last 40 pounds, however, is so that I can enjoy the time with him as he marches toward high school graduation. I want to be active in all the things that he is interested in.
Now comes the grit. I would appreciate any prayers you can say for me as I take on this new challenge.
Sometimes life gets in the way. My apologies, but this week, there will be no 𝐓𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐓𝐨𝐧𝐲 post. These posts usually take extra reading and studying from me to put together. Many have been marinating for some time before posting.
My routine has been disrupted for the last few days, and today just slipped up on me. But this represents life for us all, right? We do what we do, always keeping God at the center of our lives and thoughts.
We are citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven. Life isn’t about living a checklist of events handed to us by someone else. It’s about diving into the Word, taking in the teachings of Jesus, and wrestling with them as we struggle to figure out how to apply them to our lives.
The growth that we experience is not primarily in keeping a list of rules that someone else tells us we must keep; rather, it’s about us listening to Jesus and then challenging ourselves on how to become better citizens in His kingdom.
That’s why we should not get tripped up when our routines are disrupted. Routines are good in that they help us establish the values and priorities we want to live. They are not so good if we have them to make someone else happy.
So, my 𝐓𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐓𝐨𝐧𝐲 routine is one I cherish because it motivates me to dive into the Word and dig deeper for me. Each post is written primarily for me, not anyone else. I share my thoughts only to, perhaps, give encouragement to others who are also seeking to serve the Lord and may find some nugget buried in the writings I create.
While I get disappointed when my routines are disrupted, I do not equate my routines with faithfulness. I only share this because I think this might be a burden for many without them ever realizing it.
It’s okay when our good routines are disrupted. It’s not the perfect keeping of routines that makes us pleasing to God. Routines are simply a tool to help us accomplish significant things like embodying the life of a kingdom citizen we want to be.
If those routines get disrupted, that’s ok. Routines are not the ends to the means. They are tools. The sum total of being a citizen of the kingdom of heaven isn’t about our routines. It’s about what those routines are designed to help us become.
So, I will shake off the disappointment that I let life sneak up on me with this week’s 𝐓𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐓𝐨𝐧𝐲. Why am I sharing this today? It’s not to excuse anything but to help encourage us all to keep life in perspective. Kingdom living is a lifestyle of living the values of Jesus, not performing a checklist of behaviors we superimpose upon ourselves.
Perhaps this doesn’t resonate with you, and that’s fine. But for those who struggle with always living a perfect, kingdom-filled life and falling short of our own expectations, perhaps these words can give a little comfort.
In the end, like all the posts I share, this is written primarily for me, not you. I just expose myself and share what I am wrestling with in case it can help someone who is also wrestling with something similar.
Wow! Who can deny that the Kingdom of Jesus differs from the kingdoms of men?
“Rejoice” and a “glad heart” never lifts a hand against another person.
Not only does King Jesus care how we treat others,
He cares what we THINK about others.
“Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles,
lest the LORD see it and be displeased, and turn away his anger from him.” (Proverbs 24:17-18 ESV).
I just finished the book of Leviticus, and all I could think is how fortunate we are to live under the Law of Grace and not under the Law of the Old Testament.
Grace is a good word for the law we are under. God could have given us a litany of laws and commandments. But having written His law upon our hearts, we get to wrestle with what it means to be a citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven.
In some sense, it would be much easier to be given a list of do’s and don’ts as we read in Leviticus, but when we have to wrestle with Kingdom living, we can draw closer to God.
Love neighbor- we will be judged on that, but no one can tell us how to do that. We wrestle with that and grow as we do.
Love God- How I show God love has many similarities to how you will, but there are many things I will do to show my love to God that differs from how you do. We grow closer to God as we show our love to God.
When we are forced to seek the Kingdom of God and His righteousness first, we train ourselves to make decisions through the filter of Kingdom living. Instead of justifying ourselves because we keep a list of Levitical commandments, we constantly ask ourselves, “How can I grow closer to my God?”
We grow, mature, and gain wisdom when we constantly wrestle with these questions. We take on the responsibility of being faithful members of Jesus’ Kingdom. And Jesus is there to lift us when we fall, and the Father is committed to transforming us into the image of His dear Son.
We have moved from being servants to sons and daughters of God. Kingdom living offers both the benefits of sonship and its responsibilities.
How wonderful to be a citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven!
Somewhere in our walk with God we move from wanting to serve Him in order to go to Heaven for an eternity,
To wanting to go to Heaven so we can serve Him for an eternity.
I am in the book of Numbers in my daily Bible reading. As I read through the census in the book, where every name was recorded, I noticed something I hadn’t considered before.
Numbers is far more than a book of numbers. Every number has a name. Each person in the census had their name recorded.
Even today, we sometimes feel like a number, don’t we? But even in a sea of millions, God knows us by name. We are not just a number to God.
Numbers shows us that God can see us in the corporate, but we don’t get lost as individuals. If He knows the names of the trillions of stars He made, how much more does He know the names of His image bearers for whom He sacrificed His life?
“He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names.” (Psalm 147:4 ESV).
I am in the book of Numbers, specifically where the Israelites complain about the manna God had provided them. We know the story, don’t we? They complain, and God’s anger burns against them.
“Now the rabble that was among them had a strong craving. And the people of Israel also wept again and said, “Oh that we had meat to eat!
We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic.
But now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at.” (Numbers 11:4-6 ESV).
So God sends quail for a month until it comes out of their nose. As they are chewing the meat, God’s anger burns against them.
“While the meat was yet between their teeth, before it was consumed, the anger of the LORD was kindled against the people, and the LORD struck down the people with a very great plague.” (Numbers 11:33 ESV).
How many sermons have we heard about this? Most of us live in a land of milk and honey. I wonder how often I have complained to God about what I don’t have while the meat is still between my teeth? How often do I complain about the fish and leeks I don’t have while eating the manna God has provided me?
Grumbling against God is nothing new, and neither is how God views our grumbling.
As children of God and citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven, let us always thank God for His blessing and not have a spirit of grumbling against His good blessings for us.
I am in Numbers in my daily Bible reading. You remember the story of Balaam, the prophet of God who King Balak employed to curse the people of God.
However, the Lord sternly warned Balaam not to curse Israel but to bless them instead.
What Balak does next is what we often do. Instead of being content with God’s message to us, we keep searching, trying to find the answers we want.
Just as it was with King Balak, sometimes we are not content to let God’s word conform us. We keep searching, trying to find a way to mold it after what we want it to say.
But in the end, God’s Word will stand and our word will wither away before Him.
I must always ask myself as I search for knowledge, am I searching for God’s will or am I searching God’s Word in order to support what I already want?
I suspect that many people who approach God do so as Balak did. They search to justify what they want rather than to understand His will for us.
May we always be people who seek God for truth and not seek to use God to justify our own will.
“And Balak’s anger was kindled against Balaam, and he struck his hands together. And Balak said to Balaam, “I called you to curse my enemies, and behold, you have blessed them these three times.
Therefore now flee to your own place. I said, ‘I will certainly honor you,’ but the LORD has held you back from honor.” (Numbers 24:10-11 ESV).
As I read through the stories where God was with Israel as they conquered the land of Canaan, a simple truth is manifested.
When God was with the people, they were invincible.
When He wasn’t with them, they were not.
As the world grows increasingly hostile to God, this is a truth we need to remember and believe for ourselves.
Let us not focus on the many who are against us, but let us focus on the One Who is with us.
“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31 ESV).
God calls us servants.
Then Jesus calls us friends.
Then He calls us brothers.
Then God calls us sons.
If it is God’s grace that makes us His servants, what does it say about His love for us that he makes us His friends, His brothers, and His sons?
In the past, people were ignorant of God.
But today, people know who God is.
Many atheists can tell you what the Gospel story is.
Many people who will never give their allegiance to Jesus can tell you who He is.
The Gospel has been preached over the whole world, yet people everywhere still reject God.
We live in an age of willing ignorance and rebellion against God.
How long God’s longsuffering will extend is anyone’s guess, but it will come to an end.
Paul says,
“and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.” (2 Thessalonians 2:10 ESV).
And Peter says,
“They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” (2 Peter 3:4 ESV).
Would you say we live in an age where the wicked refuse to love the Truth and scoff at Jesus’ promised return?
May we all love the Truth and ready ourselves for our King’s return.