A Wonder of a Counselor

You’ve no doubt heard the adage, “It’s lonely at the top.” The heads of state, and of armies, and of corporations know that the higher up you go on the “ladder” of success, the more difficult and unpopular the decisions that have to be made. The pay may be better but the hours are long and the headaches and heartaches are much more frequent – and friends can be few and far between. This is when the help of honest, trustworthy advisers is indispensable. To succeed, every leader must listen to and value counsel from others who share the load and have insight into what others are thinking and going through.

King Solomon, as wise as he was, knew the importance of surrounding himself with honest, trustworthy advisers. Listen to his words from the Proverbs:

            “For lack of guidance a nation falls, but many advisers make victory sure.” (11:14)

            “Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.” (15:22)

            “For waging war you need guidance, and for victory many advisers.”  (24:6)

The only exception to this in all of history was Jesus. True He kept Himself to a small band of followers. He appointed 12 of them to a special task and designated them as apostles (Luke 6:13). And from those He selected 3 as a special inner circle of companionship (Peter, James, and John). But notice; He didn’t seek their counsel or advice on matters. He taught them; He trained them; He commissioned and sent them out to teach. They in turn sought His counsel, and asked Him questions, and required His instruction and advice.

The same goes for His disciples even today. His instruction is our authority. His commission is our purpose. His example is our model of thinking and behavior. We go to Him in prayer for counsel. We need His advice on how to appropriately approach life situations. We need His constant guidance in order to succeed in life.

This is what God through the prophet Isaiah meant when describing the character of Messiah:

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6)

The phrase “Wonderful Counselor” could be translated, “Wonder-Counselor” or “A Wonder of a Counselor”; so wise and awesome are His thoughts and ways. They are a wonder to behold, think through, and their application to life is so perfect. He needs no counsel. In fact, all those seeking truth and advice are invited to come to Him for an endless supply of guidance that far exceeds human comprehension and imagination (Matthew 11:28-30; Ephesians 3:20).

Isn’t it awesome (wonderful) that the children of God have direct access to such a marvelous Counselor? And He’s living right inside of us! Everything you need for life and godliness, just for the asking. Take advantage of this glorious blessing and seek and live within His advice. The more you do, the better you will know His true nature and the more you will trust Him to control your life. Your fears and stresses will be farther away, and the way to Heaven will be clearer.

So take His wonderful advice; “Seek the LORD while He may be found; call on Him while He is near” (Isaiah 55:6). He desperately desires to advise and counsel you in the right paths. For they lead back to Him where He wants you to be.

Doug

Jesus the Light of Men

            God’s Word is unique in all collections of literature.  When understood in its proper context, it contains 66 books (written by 40+ authors over a time span of about 3500 years) which all contribute to accomplish one goal.  God’s main intent throughout Scripture is to solve man’s sin problem.  The Old [first] Covenant was preparing the world for the arrival of God’s solution (Jesus).  The Gospels describe God’s solution which was sealed with Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection.  The rest of the New (recent) Covenant encourages believers to take advantage of the blessing of salvation available through His blood and to live holy lives as we await His return.

            I know this sounds simplistic.  And that’s exactly how God intended it to be.  He made it easy so that we could understand it and follow it and be able to live with Him forever (see Deuteronomy 30:11-14; Romans 10:6-13).  We make things difficult, or complicated, or complex, or bewildering when we try to make God and His Word suit our wants and interpretations, traditions and ideas.  Unfortunately our faulty, human theologies often get in the way of truth and turn our study of God’s self-revelation into a trivial academic exercise that is impossible for any human to follow; this has been one of Satan’s most successful schemes.

            Jesus came to earth to expose Satan’s lies and to verify God’s truth. The Apostle John in his gospel and letters uses the concept of light and darkness to teach this. As light dispels darkness so Jesus, the light of men (John 1:4) unmasks Satan’s distortions and unravels our false human philosophies. As light energizes the cells of all living things so Jesus, the light of men emboldens His disciples to live in true holiness and righteousness – not according to faulty human feelings and ideologies. And as light brings comfort by enabling all to see their path through life clearly so Jesus, the light of men removes the guilt and shame of sin and shows us the clear path to the Father. All of this information is clearly mapped out in His Word and is freely available for all.

            Commit to changing yourself in order to fit God’s ideal (as expressed in His Word).  Everything needed for life and godliness is found in the Scriptures (2 Peter1:3-4).  So . . .

            1. Make your study of it a daily part of your life. 

            2. Listen to God and follow what He says. 

            3. Help others strive for the same. 

            4. Rid your life of the false theologies you’ve come to believe and rely on. 

            5. Make sure your thoughts and desires are based solely on Him.

            And then live. It really is just that easy.

Doug

The Author of Life

            Life is the most precious gift from God.  In fact, God created us to live forever.  But our sin ruined God’s plan and we lost our life (Gen. 3:22-24).  We became separated from God (Eph. 2:12) making our lives meaningless, worthless and hopeless.  Somehow we had to overcome our sins and be rid of them so that we could live again.  But how?  Someone had to live a sinless life and be willing to die in order to pay the price.  But who was perfect enough?  And since we’ve ruined our ability to do this, who would agree to do it for us?

            According to the Apostle John, Jesus of Nazareth, who was actually God Himself (John 1:1-3), was willing and able to defeat sin for us and restore the life we had lost (see Rev. 5:1-5).  Therefore this life that we so desperately need can only be found in Jesus (John 1:4).  Look at 1 John 4:9: “God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.”  And 5:11-12: “God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who has not the Son of God has not life.”  See also 5:39-40 where Jesus tells the Jews that they were looking in the wrong place for life.  It wasn’t in their Scriptures.  It was in Him!  John even tells us that his purpose for writing his gospel was so that we might “believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name” (20:31).

            Jesus Himself said that his reason for coming to this world was to provide life to those who believe in him and to make a way for us to return to the Father (John 3:16; 14:6).  My favorite verse concerning Jesus and life is John 10:10 where He says that the purpose for his arrival was so that we may have life and have it abundantly.  In other words, if we take advantage of the salvation he has made available to us, he can provide us with a bountiful life that is to be enjoyed now and on into eternity in Heaven.

            Our life is worth something.  It is worth a great deal to God.  He went to a lot of trouble to save it from certain death.  What He desires is for you to do whatever is necessary to get into Jesus as soon as possible and get rid of the sin that is killing your soul.  He created your life with meaning and purpose.  Help Him fulfill that goal in your life by living for Him from now on.

 

Doug

God’s Powerful Word

     More than 200 years ago, a revival was launched in our country called the Restoration Movement.  The men and women who were involved in this endeavor had one goal and one purpose firmly in mind; to preach Christ and to use only the Bible in order to do so.  Their motto was, “Where the Bible speaks, we will speak and where it is silent, we will be silent.”  They no doubt realized the power of the word of God.  They believed, like the apostle Paul, that it had the power of dynamite to “blow away” sin (Romans 1:16).  God brought them great success because of their willingness to follow only His Word; spoken and written (the Bible) and its human embodiment (Jesus Christ – John 1:1-3).

            For some reason, the Bible doesn’t seem to have the same effect on people today.  I often wonder why.  It says the same things that it did back then.  It still offers the same plan of salvation.  The examples of the people of faith have not changed.  Its principles of godly living are all the same.  Jesus the living, breathing Word of God is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). So what has made the difference?  Well, if the problem isn’t with the Bible, then it must lie with those who are using it without the proper amount of faith in it.

            The writer of Hebrews was trying to encourage the Christians of his day to consider the importance of remaining faithful to God and his Word (written – the Bible, and living – Jesus).  He used the example of their ancestors who wandered and died in the wilderness without receiving the promise from God because of their lack of faith in His Word.  He reminds them of the power of God’s Word which he describes as a double-edged sword; it can divide between the soul and the spirit, the joints and the marrow and can even determine what our thoughts and intentions are!  Wow!  Nothing escapes the notice of God or the judgments of His word.  Everything in creation is naked before God’s Word (Hebrews 4:12-13)!  This impresses upon all readers the importance of listening to and obeying God’s true revelation.  For just as God promises rewards, His word also threatens punishment for unfaithfulness.

            Christians today can only be successful if they know how to use His Word (Bible & Jesus) in their own lives.  Those who have made a difference for God’s kingdom have done so by relying on the power of the Word rather than on what they have been taught, or on what someone else has told them.  Their faith in God and His Word was personal.  They were Bible students, imitators of Christ.  You can do the same.

Doug

Obsessions

“I [just] want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.”                                                                                            Philippians 3:10-11

There are a lot of things people obsess over; looks, relationships, the latest electronic gadget, hobbies, recreation activities, sports, money, job performance, cars, the list is endless. This is nothing new. The Bible is full of examples of people’s obsessions: King Solomon wrote about his obsession with finding peace, meaning, and happiness in life (see Ecclesiastes). A rich man in Jesus’ story obsessed over the storage of his windfall harvest (Luke 12:18).

Many of these obsessions ended up being detrimental, because those involved were caught up in obsessing over temporary things of this life that were designed to be used as tools to get through daily chores. When the person obsessed over getting, or displaying, or hoarding these earthly things, they ended up losing the important things in life – the very things they thought they were being good stewards of (supporting their families, building healthy relationships, saving up for future needs, personal fulfillment, etc.).

But obsessing is not always considered a bad thing. In His famous sermon, Jesus instructed His disciples not to obsess over the wrong things (food, clothing, shelter for example) because God knows our needs and is working on our behalf to supply them – when needed (Matthew 6:25-32). Yet He does instruct us to obsess over the right things: God and His righteousness and His kingdom (Matthew 6:33-34). Through Jeremiah, God entreats His people to obsess over knowing Him; His true nature and attributes (9:23-24). God’s people are commanded to obsess over learning, practicing, and teaching His principles (Deuteronomy 6). And through Micah, we’re charged to obsess over acting justly and to loving mercy and to walking humbly with God (6:8).

My favorite passage on obsessing over good things was written by the Apostle Paul – from a prison cell no less. He wasn’t obsessed with his unjust treatment, or the horrible conditions of prison life, or even with demanding that God tell him why he had to suffer as he did. No, he says that he really had just one obsession in life. All he wanted was to know (through personal, intimate experience) two things (Philippians 3:10):

(1) Christ. He was obsessed with understanding, comprehending, and imitating God’s version of love (agape); a love that caused Jesus to obsess over seeking and saving “chief” sinners such as he used to be.

(2) The power [dynamite] of Jesus’ resurrection. He was obsessed with His ultimate reward of being in Christ – renewed life; an endless life free from the obstacles, troubles, frustrations, and annoyances this life is full of.

I get the impression from Paul’s words that he couldn’t wait for his turn to go on this awesome ride of resurrection. He knew that God would empower him to get through the rest of his physical life come what may. But, in the back of his mind, you can tell he was obsessed with moving on and being with God free from the troubles and frustrations caused by sin.

As we embark on a new year, let’s commit to being obsessed with knowing Christ and the power of His resurrection the same way Paul was. Let’s work at being less distracted with this life and more obsessed with being like Christ (Hebrews 12:2); let’s strive to undo the distortions Satan has tricked us into believing and understanding His truth more clearly every day; let’s endeavor to use the strength of God’s Spirit to overcome the discouragements and disappointments that come from not having what we feel entitled to and building our courage to imitate Christ in the remaining days we’ve been graciously given (Romans 12:1-2).

Remember: there are many around us every day that are searching. There are many who need to see and hear about the hope that is within us. There are many who desire to know what we can help them to understand about God and their being with Him forever. So let’s use this next year to obsess over knowing Christ and the power of His resurrection so we can help them complete the journey that their souls are obsessed with.

Doug