Revelation Or Reason?

“Do not judge according to appearance, but judge the righteous judgment [in conformity to the character and will of God]” (John 7:24)

We are not to assess or judge merely by what our eyes see. To do so, is to judge according to knowledge. We must not judge according to knowledge, but according to knowing. Knowing is knowledge with understanding. Knowledge is outer and of the flesh…knowing is inner and of the Spirit. Knowledge uses reason and comes to its own conclusions… knowing waits upon the Lord. 

The Lord did not give us the faculty of reason to guide us— we mustn’t be guided by our own reason. The Lord gave us the faculty of reason so that we may make sense of what He reveals to us. As a people of the Lord, we must be led by revelation, not reason. 

Lord, please help us to remember this when we try to understand this world and when we deal with others…particularly those we are tempted to judge. Help us to put our trust in Your sovereignty over all circumstances. Even Your sovereignty over the human heart and the motives deep within that we cannot perceive. 

You perceive and You are Lord and that is enough. 

(Prov 16:9) A man’s heart plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.

(Prov 19:21) Many plans are in a man's heart, but the purpose of the LORD will prevail.

(Jer 10:22,23) Listen! The sound of a report is coming—a great commotion from the land to the north. The cities of Judah will be made a desolation, a den of dragons. I know, O LORD, that a man’s way is not his own; no one who walks directs his own steps.

(1 Sam 16:7) …The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.

As It Is In Heaven

“Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” 

I prayed this yesterday, and then began to contemplate what this would actually look like. I think we often pray things we don’t take the time to fully comprehend. So, I confessed to the Lord that I wasn’t really certain what “Your will on earth as it is in heaven,” would actually look like, because I’ve never been to heaven. And this is what He shared with me: 

1. In heaven, things are not done for any personal benefit, things are done because they are the right thing to do. There is no selfish motive in heaven. (Rom 12:3; Phil 2:3,4)

2. There is no aggression in heaven. The boldness and zeal with which many preach on earth, is really just a well-disguised spirit of aggression, with impatience, anger, and condescension lurking in the shadows. (Rom 10:2-4; Eph 4:2; 2 Tim 2:24-26)

3. There is no mocking or sarcasm in heaven. There are humor, joy, and delight, but none of them are at the expense of someone else. (Prov 3:34; Matt 5:33; Eph 4:29, 5:4)

4. Most importantly, there is no profit in heaven, there is only just compensation. Everyone is justly compensated, but there is no exploitation in heaven. No profit is made by any creature from another creature’s labor. The Lord shared much with me on this topic, but I will leave it at that for now. (Prov 11:1, 16:11; Deut 25:4; 1 John 2:16; Luke 12:15; Heb 13:5) 

These are hard words, to be sure, but may we allow His sword to prune each of us where needed. “Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

Wrestling With Reasoning

She knows she’s only supposed to eat at the table. 

I walked into the kitchen and saw my youngest daughter eating on the couch. I said, “You know you’re only supposed to eat at the table.” And she replied, “I know Momma, but this bag is like my table.” She knows what the rules are, but she reasoned within herself why it was okay to break them. In her mind, she wasn’t really breaking the rules, she was just reinterpreting them based on her own desires. And we often do that very same thing with God. 

We know what the rules are, but we reinterpret them to appease our conscience, rather than allow our flesh to be crucified by submitting to the wisdom and will of God. I am able to describe this human tendency with such accuracy, because I have been guilty of it myself. I have intimate knowledge of “reasoning away” my sin— of justifying my desires by pursuing a God of my own perceptions, rather than facing the reality of the God Who is. 

I once heard someone say, “God isn’t necessarily saving us from hell, He’s saving us from Himself.” And when I heard that, I remember marveling at how true it is. The writer of Hebrews reminds us that “there is no creature hidden from Him, but all things are uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him Who is our reckoning” (Heb 4:13). And beloved, our reckoning “is a consuming fire” (Heb 12:29). 

The truth is, there is no wiggle-room with God— just an immovable wall of fire that we must all pass through, for better or for worse. 

(Deut 4:23,24) Be careful that you do not forget the covenant of the LORD your God that He made with you; do not make an idol for yourselves in the form of anything He has forbidden you. For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.

(Is 66:14-16) …the hand of the LORD will be revealed to His servants, but His wrath will be shown to His enemies. For behold, the LORD will come with fire—His chariots are like a whirlwind—to execute His anger with fury and His rebuke with flames of fire. For by fire and by His sword, the LORD will execute judgment on all flesh, and many will be slain by the LORD.

(Is 10:17,18) The Light of Israel will become a fire, their Holy One a flame; in a single day it will burn and consume his thorns and his briers. The splendor of its forests and orchards, both soul and body, it will completely destroy, as a sickness consumes a man.

Drawn By The Father

“Momma, I’m going to pray.”

My seven year-old daughter came into the kitchen with her Bible tucked under her arm and announced she was going outside to pray. She walked over to grab a paper towel and said, “I’ve got my Bible and some paper towels, do I need anything else?” I said, “Nope, that’s it.” She’s seen me walk out to that barn a hundred times, so she was copying what she always sees me do. Because children copy their parents. 

I’ve made so many mistakes in my life. I’ve gotten so many things wrong. I’ve wandered from God and I’ve been found by Him, I’ve been punished by Him and I’ve been blessed by Him. He was faithful when I was not, He was sufficient when I had nothing to give. God saved me despite myself and I’m not sure where that fits into all our theologies about salvation, but there it is.

Right now, my seven year-old daughter is outside in the barn all by herself and she’s praying. Not because I told her to go out there, but because God called her. She’s out there praying seven year-old prayers to an infinite God. I don’t think she even knows why I take paper towels out there with me. And I don’t think I’ll ever have to tell her either, because God will show her Himself, just like He showed me. The Spirit of God will teach my daughter of Himself, and when He meets with her and she weeps…

…she’ll be ready…paper towels in hand. 

(John 6:44,45) No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the Prophets: ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from Him comes to Me..”

(John 6:37,39,40) Everyone the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will never drive away…And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that I shall lose none of those He has given Me, but raise them up at the last day. For it is My Father’s will that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.

(John 6:64,65) “However, there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray Him.) Then Jesus said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to Me unless the Father has granted it to him.”

Times For Tools, And Tools For Times

As we progress through the school year, my grading becomes more and more stringent. 

I begin the year with boundaries buffeted by grace, but as we near the close of the school year, I expect my students to have grown, improved, and matured. If I continue at the end of the year by giving grace the same way I did at the beginning of the year, most of my students would continue in certain lazy habits and wanton neglect. To be a good teacher, one must know when to give a student grace to learn from their mistakes, and when to allow the discomfort of unmitigated accountability. 

To teach a child accountability, there must be a certain balance between grace and reproof. Too much reproof, and the child is discouraged from even trying. Too much grace, and the child never learns to self-motivate. It is a very delicate balance, indeed. A teacher must understand that you do not use a hammer to squeeze a ripened grape. Nor do you use a scalpel to break through rock. There are times for tools, and tools for times. 

We see these same concepts in God’s dealings with mankind. He is building us into something, He is raising us unto maturity. He is not all grace all the time, nor is He all wrath and judgment all the time. True, these characteristics are all-the-time present within Him, but He uses each according to His omniscient purpose, in a perfect, delicate balance of grace and reproof. 

Because there are times for tools, and tools for times. 

(John 1:14,16,17) The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth…Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

(Rom 11:20-22) They were broken off because of unbelief, but you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but be afraid. For if God did not spare the natural branches, He will certainly not spare you either. Take notice, therefore, of the kindness and severity of God: severity to those who fell, but kindness to you, if you continue in His kindness. Otherwise you also will be cut off.

(Hab 3:2) O LORD, I have heard the report of You; I stand in awe, O LORD, of Your deeds. Revive them in these years; make them known in these years. In Your wrath, remember mercy!

(Luke 13:5-9) …”unless you repent, you too will all perish.” Then he told this parable:…”..’for the past three years I have come to search for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Therefore cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’ ‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine. But if not, you can cut it down.’ ”

Grace On The Journey

Elijah ran away from God and toward God at the same time. 

Most people understand the account at 1 Kings 19 as Elijah running away from Jezebel, but that’s not really accurate. Any time we run away from our calling in fear and doubt, regardless of the circumstances that cause it or whatever face may be the impetus for it, we are running away from God. I’ve always marveled that God let Elijah run away. Not only that, but He also sent an angel to bring him food for the journey. Like, “Here ya go buddy, knock yourself out. I’ll be waiting for you when you get here.” 

I get Elijah. I know what it’s like to think that I’m running away from God, when really, He’s just using all my crummy circumstances to drive me into His arms. I know what it’s like to seek God for answers, but ask Him all the wrong questions and feel angry and frustrated at His intolerable silence. I know what it’s like to say, “It is enough! Lord take my life…” and I know what it’s like for the Lord to answer all my shouting simply with, “What are you doing here?” (1 Kings 19:4,9). 

Someone asked me the other day, “Why can’t I let God in?” And for two days I contemplated this question because I didn’t have an answer for them. As I wept in prayer this morning, I asked God again, “What is the answer?” And He finally said, “I didn’t give you an answer because it’s the wrong question.” He said the right question is, Why do we run? What is it we don’t want to face? And that answer will be different for each one of us. But there is one thing that we can all remember…

…God gave Elijah grace and provision, even while he was running from Him.

(1 Kings 19:4-7) He sat down under a broom tree and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, LORD,” he said. “Take my life”…Suddenly an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.”…The angel of the LORD came back a second time and touched him and said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.”

(Is 41:9,10) I brought you from the ends of the earth and called you from its farthest corners. I said, “You are My servant.” I have chosen and not rejected you. Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will surely help you; I will uphold you with My right hand of righteousness.

(Neh 9:15) In their hunger You gave them bread from heaven; in their thirst You brought them water from the rock. You told them to go in and possess the land which You had sworn to give them.

Give Us A Tree

Jesus used seeds in His illustration of the kingdom, because we cannot give someone a full-grown tree.

There is so much about Christ that I have grown in knowledge and understanding about, but all of that started with a seed. I was given a seed, and as I continued on with the Lord, that seed was watered, and then the tender shoots were watered, then the growing plant was pruned, then the roots were deepened by drought and the trunk was strengthened by turmoil. Because no matter how large and sprawling oak trees may become, they all begin as a seed. 

I cannot give someone a tree who must begin as a seed, because a seed cannot comprehend the full extent of what it will become. Giving them a tree would make no sense to them because a seed is encased in the hull of its own limited perceptions. It must become what it was meant to become through experience. A seed must live through its stages of growth to reach the extent of what it was meant to be. Then once that seed matures into a full grown tree, it is able to bear seeds— seeds that will grow into other trees, one stage of growth at a time. 

 

At the time just prior to Christ’s return, when everything begins to come together, when people begin to realize what is happening, when people begin to comprehend that the Lord is revealing and manifesting Himself through His own people, they will ask those people for trees, but they cannot be given trees, they can only be given seeds. The virgins at Matthew Chapter 25 don’t refuse to give the oil asked of them because they are selfish, they refuse to give it because they can’t. 

They cannot give trees, they can only give seeds. Because trees must be grown. 

(Matt 13:24-36) Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was asleep, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and slipped away. When the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the weeds also appeared…”

(Mark 4:26-29) Jesus also said, “The kingdom of God is like a man who scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the earth produces a crop—first the stalk, then the head, then grain that ripens within. And as soon as the grain is ripe, he swings the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

(John 12:23-25) And Jesus answered them, saying, "The hour has come that Son of Man should be glorified. Truly, truly, I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a seed; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life will lose it, but whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.”

(Is 61:1-3) The Spirit of the Lord GOD is on Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor…to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of our God’s vengeance, to comfort those who mourn… in Zion—to give them a crown of beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and a garment of praise for a spirit of despair. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.

(Rom 8:18,19) I consider that our present sufferings are not comparable to the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the revelation of the sons of God.

(Col 1:27) To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

(Gal 1:15,16) But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by His grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, my immediate response was not to consult any human being.

(Eph 5:15-17) Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.

(Matt 26:8-10) And the foolish said to the wise, “Give us of your oil, for our lamps are going out.” “No,” said the wise ones…”go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.” But while [the foolish] were on their way to buy it, the bridegroom arrived. Those who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet, and the door was shut.

(Rev 2:5,7) Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place… He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who overcomes, I will grant the right to eat from the tree of life in the Paradise of God.