temptations and trials

Jun

2012

The Valley of Baca

“How blessed is the man whose strength is in You, in whose heart are the highways to Zion! Passing through the valley of Baca they make it a spring; the early rain also covers it with blessings. They go from strength to strength, every one of them appears before God in Zion.” – (Psa 84:5-7 NASB)

Journal,

I’ve thought it would do well to resend a writing that I provided well over two years ago. It has become one of the highest readings of my blog. It has to do with what the Bible calls, ‘the valley of baca.’ Hope it refreshes your heart.

Have you ever been through the valley of Baca?

Sure you have. Every human has been there The valley of Baca is the valley of weeping. The valley of Baca is part of our journey of life. My wife and I are very familiar with this valley. Forty-three plus years ago we stood by the grave of our nine month old son. We were passing through the valley of weeping. How our hearts filled with sorrow.

But the valley of Baca isn’t simply about tears. Believe it or not the valley of Baca is also the valley of strength. It is in the valley of Baca that a believer finds himself being renewed in the Lord. Betty and I knew that we would see David Lynn again. There was no question in our minds about that. That knowing has become one of the trail markers on our journey of faith.

There is an explanation for this idea of Baca also being the valley of strength The truth of the matter is that…

We are on our way home

No matter what else Psalms 84 may speak to, it also carries its own spiritual significance for our journey of life. And so Psalm 84 begins with,

“How lovely are Your dwelling places, O Lord of hosts! My soul longed and even yearned for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God.” (Vv1,2)

Psalm 84 opens with the longings of the heart. And while the Psalm has in view the earthly Jerusalem and the tabernacle, its deeper spiritual inference is for those who have been born from above. Its deeper spiritual lessons go far beyond an earthly Jerusalem.

To be born again is to be born from above. In this ‘heavenly’ birthing we actually become children of God, or, heaven’s children. In the heart of every born-from-above person, God places the seal of the ‘Holy Spirit’. Paul calls this seal the ‘pledge’ of our inheritance. (Or, ‘the seal of redemption.)

The seal cannot be broken. It is a seal of ownership. It is also a seal that carries with it the very essence of heaven. We can think of it as our ‘going home’ seal. The seal lets us know that we are pilgrims in this life. It is because of the seal we can say with Paul,

“For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For indeed in this house we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven.” (2Co5:1,2)

See the connection. The Psalmist said, “My soul longed and even yearned for the courts of the Lord.”

But in the meantime, we groan. We all have these groaning times in this life. Paul uses the same language as the Psalmist.

The tell-tale sign

The book of Hebrews tells is that this ‘longing‘ is one of the signs of God’s people through the ages. It is applied to the Old Testament saints who longed for Messiah and for a country that was to be their own. It says that Abraham “was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.” (He11:10)

Then it speaks of all the holy ones who were before Christ. Of them it says,

“[They] confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth … But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them.” (Cf. He11:13-16)

When birds preach the gospel

Psalm 84:3,4 continues with,

“The bird also has found a house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young. Even Your altars, O Lord of host, My king and My God. How blessed are those who dwell in Your house! They are ever praising You. Selah.”

The issue here is that heaven’s children are able see the goodness of the Lord in everything. Even the swallow has a lesson to teach us about God. Perhaps she knows much more than we realize. Did not the Lord say,

“Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?” (Matt6:26)

I’ve had a couple of unique experiences that involved birds. One was when we pastored a former church. For a good while each morning when I showered I would hear a bird outside the window. One day I caught a glimpse of her. She was on a limb right outside the shower. Coincidence? Perhaps. But I like to think that she was sent as an encouragement. Yes I know. I’m a dreamer.

Another time was when the Lord spoke to my heart to ‘Expect the unexpected.’ This was when the Lord gave me a miracle healing from cancer. I was sitting on the hill behind Christian Challenge during a time of devotion and meditation. When the Lord spoke to my heart, I glanced up and right above my head on the high line was a beautiful dove. She didn’t move a feather. I looked at her and she looked at me. Coincidence? Not for me.

Well, let’s continue, Psalm 84:5 says,

“How blessed is the man whose strength is in You, in whose heart are the highways to Zion!”

Again we can reflect on Jesus. The highway to heaven’s Zion is the path of Jesus. The Psalmist said in another place that God would make the Messiah’s footsteps “into a way.” (Ps85:13)

So where are the highways to Zion? Are not the highways to Zion in our hearts?

And where is our true strength?

It is in Jesus. The Psalmist said, “How blessed is the man whose strength is in You.” Did you know that most burn out in a believer’s life is a burn out of the flesh. There is no burn out in the Spirit. The Spirit refreshes. But if we are doing our work in the flesh, we will wither with weariness.

Let’s now look at the path that leads us home. After all we live in the nasty now-and-now.The Psalm continues,

“Passing through the valley of Baca they make it a spring; the early rain also covers it with blessings.” (V6)

How many times have we been through the valley of Baca? I’ve been there often. There is no use in me telling you about my “Bacas.” You’ve been there. It is a place of deep sorrow. But it is in the valley of Baca that we come to know the Lord in a even more intimate way. Thus we hear in another place, “Weeping may last for the night, but a shout of joy comes in the morning.” (Ps30:5)

One day the Lord may pull back the veil of our life and allow us to see all the ways He intervened in those moments of deep sorrow. And what may amaze us the most, is when He shows us His intervention in our lives before we came to a conscious knowledge of Him as our Lord and Savior. It is very much like the song which says, “He was there all the time.”

It was 1961. I was in Manila bay with a group of sailors and marines. In tossing a beach ball around, the ball got away, and I began swimming to retrieve it. What I didn’t realize was that the tide was carrying me out. On top of that, every time my fingers touched the ball, it sprang forward. When I finally realized that I couldn’t get the ball, I turned to swim back. But I had been carried far out into the bay. And as hard as I tried, I couldn’t fight the tide. It was pulling me further out. (Manila bay is part of the South China Sea, and is known for its shark activity.)

The short side of this is that I became so exhausted that I began to lose hope. I felt that the sea wanted to drag me down. Then I heard this thumpa, thumpa, thumpa, thumpa. A Philippine fisherman saw my distress and he headed his banka boat straight for me. That non-English speaking fisherman became my savior that day. But to this day I believe the greater Savior was behind the scene. My Baca valley turned to rejoicing.

Every one of them appears before God

The Psalmist continues,

“They go from strength to strength, every one of them appears before God in Zion.” (v7)

Listen to the language. Every one of them! Every one of them! Why does this sound familiar? Jesus said,

“For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.” (Jn6:40)

This is Jesus saying, “Every one of them will appear before God in Zion.”

In another place He says, “Behold, I and the children whom God has given Me!” (He2:13)

It is like Jesus is saying, “Here we are Father. They are all here. I haven’t lost a one of them. I have kept them in Your name. The family is home.”

Salvation is an awesome and wondrous thing. But it only becomes truly awesome when we realize that our salvation is never based on anything we can do. Jesus alone saves us. He saved us. He is saving us. He will save us. He intervenes in our lives constantly. He intervened before we came to know Him. And He is ever-present in our lives afterwards to help us process every struggle.

Is it any wonder that our path goes from strength to strength, from grace to grace, from blessing to blessing, and yes, even from baca to baca.

Lets end our study with the ending prayer of Psalm 84. No need for me to explain prayer. Just listen with your heart:

“O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer; give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah. Behold our shield, O God, and look upon the face of Your anointed. For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand outside. I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God than to dwell in the tents of wickedness. For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord gives grace and glory; no good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, how blessed is the man who trusts in You!” (vv8-12)

What say ye — How are you doing on your way home?

Much love to you from the Martins,

In Christ always,

Buddy

Apr

2012

The Christian’s Life is a Story to be Told

“… having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. … they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them.” (Heb 11:13-16 NASB)

Journal,

In writing to Timothy, Paul instructed him to flee from worldly attractions, especially that of a love for money. He must always pursue those things that have to do with our heavenly life. He then said to Timothy,

“Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” (Cf, 1Tim6:11,12)

Two things stand out. First ‘the’ confession.

Did you know that the early Christians were called, ‘the people of the great confession.’ This is because new covenant salvation is based on the Lordship of Jesus Christ. And a confession made from the heart about Jesus as Lord is what introduces us to the kingdom of God’s beloved son. Listen to the background:

“Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven.” (Mat10:2)

“And I say to you, everyone who confesses Me before men, the Son of Man will confess him also before the angels of God.” (Luke 12:8)

“For not knowing about God’s righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God … for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.” (Cf. Rom10:1-11)

The second thing that stands out in what Paul said to Timothy, has to do with the fight of faith.

There are things we must always remember. First of all we are not of this world. We are pilgrims on a journey. But we must also learn to fix our eyes on Jesus. He is the author and the finisher of our faith.

So, let’s talk about ‘a story to be told.’

The best place to begin is with…

The struggle of temptation

Satan’s primary battle plan against believers is to disquiet their walk with the Lord. He does this by searching for something in our life that he can give a temptation against.

Satan knows well how to stir our earthly passions with worldly allurements. His attacks are generally towards the mind, but he also uses our senses. (This is why we have to train our own senses to discern good and evil. Cf. Heb5:14)

For a temptation to work it has to be something that is quite alluring to our senses and to our thought life. Otherwise it would not be a temptation.

James says it this way:

“Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am being tempted by God’; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone [with evil.]. But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed [baited] by his own lusts [desires].” (James 1:13,14)

— The Bible language for temptation carries two thoughts, either a solicitation to evil, or a testing from the Lord with a purpose of strengthened the believer’s faith and trust in the Lord. This was the case of Abraham;

“By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was offering up his own begotten son.” (Heb 11:17. Relates to Gen22)

The Solicitation to Evil

A temptation from the enemy is quite real and can be overpowering, especially when the temptation is towards something that we want. The point is that Satan is using something of our own want to bait us. This is why Jesus said to the disciples,

“Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; for the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Mat26:41)

And here you have the key. The flesh is weak. This means that most temptations will center on our own human nature and as an attraction to our fleshly life. The issue is that we do not lose our humanity when we become true believers. It means that a new source of strength and power is now invested in our inner man.

Is this what Biblical prosperity is about?

Keep in mind that a temptation from the enemy is very subtle. This is the reason God’s people need to be cautious when it comes to many earth-centered teachings that abound today. A great many prosperity teachings are earthly focused, worldly-minded, and yet are well wrapped in Bible language.

Does this mean that God is against prosperity? Quite the contrary. David had this to say:

“Let them shout for joy and rejoice, who favor my vindication; and let them say continually, ‘The Lord be magnified, who delights in the prosperity of His servant.’” (Ps35:27)

The word David uses for prosperity is the Hebrew term ‘shalom.’ Shalom speaks of peace and well-being. Whereas Satan’s prosperity message will always have a worldly attachment to it, Biblical prosperity is the outflow heart in a covenant relationship with the Lord.

Listen to these promises:

“Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart.” (Ps37:3,4)

— I would encourage every believer to meditate on all of Psalm 37. It explains God’s philosophy of life. Philosophy means a love of wisdom.

Thus we have this from the Lord:

“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matt6:33)

Seeking God’s kingdom was a Hebrew way of saying, ‘Seek the direct rule of God in your life.’ Seeking His righteousness speaks of seeking His way of doing things.

God’s Provision for the Believer

A temptation by its very nature should alert a believer that he is under attack. The enemy is checking to see how far he can get with attracting the believer into an area of failure.

Wow, this sounds like we have a great need of defense. We do and God has provided all that we need for our defense against the enemy. Here is one in particular:

“No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide a way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.” (1Co10:13)

Paul’s point is that the Lord will never stop providing means and ways for you to overcome Satan’s attempts to draw you away from the Lord Himself. The Lord never stops overseeing our life in this world.

Now let’s talk about…

The Realness of Life

Christians who struggle the most are those who live compromised lives; sort of one foot in the world and one foot in the kingdom. (As if such a thing were possible.)

Jesus came to give us life! To enjoy true life we have to become single-focused. Double-mindedness is the number one cause of spiritual instability in a believer’s life. No more double-mindedness.

James said,

“But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” (Jas 1:5-8 NASB)

Jesus adds to this in saying,

“The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.” (Mat 6:22-24 NASB)

Where Jesus said the ‘eye is bad,’ this was a Hebraisms for ‘an evil eye,’ that is, an eye fixed on greed. You cannot be worldly and spiritual at the same time. When our eyes become fixed on worldly pursuits, the result will always a dark spot in our lives. We are called to live as children of the light.

Jesus said,

“I am the light of the world. He who follows Me will not walk in the darkness but will have the Light of life.” (John 8:12)

The point is that all true blessings come from our walk with Jesus. These are directed blessings. And this is why David said,

“The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake … Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” (Cf. Psalm 23)

— Lovingkindness is a covenant expression that speaks of God’s very character, that is, His faithfulness to those in covenant relationship with Him. It speaks a reality that God’s love and kindness are eternal. Paul drew on this word when he said, Nothing would ever be able to separate is from the love of God that is found in Christ Jesus. —

Now for a closer look at…

The Path of Separation

We are instructed by the apostles to see our life in this present world as a pilgrimage. Where the world lives in a cycle of birth to death, believers are to live as a people of destiny. We must never lose this focus.

This means in part that every trial allowed by God that we face will always have one goal in mind. The purpose of the God-allowed or directed trial is to keep us moving on the highway of sanctification (separation to God) and in the keeping power of God’s love.

We need to understand that we have been forever sanctified to Jesus through the blood of the eternal covenant. (This is a once-for-all eternal sanctification. To sanctify means to make holy. It speaks of anything that solely belongs to God.)

The path of sanctification has to do with learning to live in our separation to the Lord.

The path of our separation to God is going to have its struggles and temptations. But its greater spiritual feeling of the heart will be found in the joy of learning to live a separated life. Why is this? It is because someone greater is walking with us every step of the way. His presence in our lives is a constant reminder that we belong to Him.

Jesus adds to this:

“These things I have spoken to you so that My joy have be in you, and that your joy may be made full.” (John 15:11)

“Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full.” (John 16:24)

The joyful heart is a hallmark of our walk with the Lord. We know Him. We love Him. He is our joy of life.

There is one more thing we need to understand about ‘The Christian’s Life is a Story to be Told.’ It has to do with what Jesus meant on the cross, when He said…

It Is Finished!

When Jesus said, ‘it is finished’, this was the cry of victory! Everything else about God’s great salvation plan would be played out fully in the death, the burial, the resurrection, and the ascension of Jesus Christ.

The work was over. From that moment on, every person who calls upon and confesses Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, is given eternal salvation. Eternal salvation means that you are eternally saved.

This is why the apostle stated two absolute truth with regards to the finished work of the cross. First was the truth that no power in heaven or on earth would ever be able to separate the believer from God’s love.

Paul explains this absolute truth in Romans 8. Listen carefully:

“Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.” (Rom 8:1-2) — In the Greek this is an emphatic statement. It is saying that there is not now, nor can there ever be a damnatory sentence against anyone who is in Christ Jesus, regardless of our personal failures. The reason for this is that Jesus took the total of our life with Him to the cross. In turn He gave us His life and His standing with heaven.

“For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom 8:38-39)

The second absolute truth of the finished work of the cross ties in with the first truth and relates to our heavenly placement in Christ. Our salvation was so completed at the cross, that when Jesus ascended to the right hand of the Father, He took us with Him.

Listen very carefully to how the apostle explains our being raised up with Christ.

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, 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 ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” (Eph 2:4-10)

Every believer has been made an heir of the finished work of the cross.

And so, the Christian has a story to be told.

While you think about these things, let this song minister to your heart: “Open Our Eyes, Lord.”