remembering and reaching

this morning i've been swimming in psalm 143, written by david.  while the enemy is pursuing his soul, crushing his life to the ground, making him sit in darkness like those long dead (v. 3) he cries out to God, saying...

"i remember the days of old; i meditate on all that you have done; i ponder the work of your hands.  i stretch out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land."

currently, i'm not aware of being pursued, crushed, or in left in darkness.  honestly, i feel like i'm in a "land of plenty / streams of abundance / sun shining down on me / world's all as it should be" time of life.  but i know that i can never forget to remember all that God has done - not just in my life, but his wonderful works throughout history.  i can never forget to stretch out my hands to him, to reach for him and express my dependence on him.  even in these "good times" i need to practice the discipline of remembering God's faithfulness and reaching for his sustenance.

resting in righteousness

here is another excerpt from “a gospel primer for christians: learning to see the glories of God’s love” by milton vincent. another one of the many reasons to rehearse the gospel daily…

“the gospel encourages me to rest in my righteous standing with God, a standing which Christ Himself has accomplished and always maintains for me.[A] i never have to do a moment’s labor to gain or maintain my justified status before God![B] freed from the burden of such a task, i now can put my energies into enjoying God, pursuing holiness, and ministering God’s amazing grace to others. the gospel also reminds me that my righteous standing with God always holds firm regardless of my performance, because my standing is based solely on the work of Jesus and not mine.[C] on my worst days of sin and failure, the gospel encourages me with God’s unrelenting grace toward me.[D] on my best days of victory and usefulness, the gospel keeps me relating to God solely on the basis of Jesus’ righteousness and not mine.”

[A] - romans 5: “(1) therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, (2) through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we exult in hope of the glory of God.” I john 2: “(1)…and if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; (2) and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins…”

[B] - romans 4:5 “but to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness,” hebrews 4:3 “for we who have believed enter that rest…” matthew 11:28 “come to me all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.”

[C] - romans 5: “(18) so then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men. (19)…through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous.”

[D] - romans 5: “(20)…where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, (21) so that, as sin reigned in death, even so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (6:1) what shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace might increase?” 1 john 2: “(1)… and if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. (2) and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins…”

continual spiral reinforcement

I was encouraged by a quote in this month's edition of Christianity Today. It's by David F. Ford and Daniel W. Hardy, from Living in Praise: Worshiping and Knowing God. Read it at least three times to help it sink in...

"Faith in God is an experience that lives and grows by praise. There is continual spiral reinforcement: praising God helps us appreciate what one is praising God for."

did adam and eve go to heaven?

earlier this week, lakeland's staff received an email from one of the families in our congregation. their 7 year-old child had asked an intriguing question, and they were seeking pastoral advice on how to best answer. i though it was great question, and wanted to share it here. the family gladly gave me their permission, but I've kept them anonymous. here's the question their child asked... "did adam and eve go to heaven?"

jim donald was first to respond...

I believe no one knows for sure; but there is good ground for presuming that Adam & Eve went to heaven. While they were banished from the Garden and kept from eating from the Tree of Life, God did provide skins for them (a gracious gesture, I think) and the knowledge about God was obviously passed on to their offspring. I don't read as much into the "skins" thing as some have. Adam and Eve had a wonderful relationship with God before the Fall; and I cannot imagine them not wanting that restored, nor God not allowing for their repentance and full restoration via the (anticipated) blood of Christ.

Genesis 3:21 - The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. 22 And the LORD God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” 23 So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. 24 After he drove them out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.

i responded second...

Pastor Jim has some good thoughts. I agree with him, and also had some additional thoughts. (this is a really good question, by the way.)  Like I said before, we know that Abraham is counted righteous by God (saved) because of his faith in God's promise. Hebrews 11 tells us of him and many others from the Old Testament before Christ. Also, Romans 4 tells us that it was Abraham's faith in the promise of God. 4:21-22 "...and being fully assured that what He had promised, He was able also to perform. Therefore also it was reckoned to him as righteousness." Read
Galatians 3 for more insight into Abraham's salvation by faith.

In addition to what Pastor Jim said, I think that we can assume (and 'assume' is the key word here, but nevertheless I do think it's safe in this case) that Adam and Eve believed God's promises as well, resulting in their salvation. I take this from Genesis 3:15 when God, in the middle of laying out the consequences (curse) for their sin, gives a wonderful promise of hope, often referred to as the proto-gospel. "And I will put enmity between you [serpent] and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he [the woman's seed] shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel." Here is God's wonderful promise that He will not leave mankind in their sin, but make a way to redeem them (save them). How could Adam and Eve know what that redemption would eventually look like? Well, we know now because of our place in history. We can look back and see how God's story of redemption has unfolded, and the fulfillment of God's promise of redemption through Jesus. But in their limited scope of knowledge, all they could do is hang on to the promise that God made. And that promise would come through a seed (or offspring, descendant).

Eve makes two statements that I think give us reason to assume that she believed God's promise to bring deliverance through her seed. First, when she gave birth to Cain she said, "I have gotten a manchild with the help of the LORD." (Gen.4:1) I think this is more than general thanksgiving for a son. Second, after Abel is killed and she gives birth to Seth she said, "God has appointed me another offspring in place of Abel; for Cain killed him." (Gen 4:25) Both phrases "gotten a manchild with the help of the LORD" and "God has appointed me another offspring" seem to echo God's promise of the woman's seed crushing the head of the serpent, indicating that Eve continued to hope in and believe God's promise. Also, we know Jesus came from the line of Seth (Luke 3:38) Perhaps this last statement is irrelevant in the question of Adam and Eve's salvation, but it nonetheless proves God's faithfulness to keep His promise.

Another thought I had was that this is not just about finding a good answer for your child's wonderful question, but yet another opportunity for you to point to the gospel and to define what saving faith is. The entire Bible, both Old and New Testaments, show us that putting our faith and trust in the promise of God brings salvation, and that great promise we have from our faithful God is that he has sent to us Jesus Christ to redeem us from our sin. And that salvation is found in Christ, and in Him alone.

at the present time, jim and i were the only ones to respond. i said that our children's ministry director, judy crockett, would probably be very helpful in putting all this into an answer that would be appropriate and accessible for an inquisitive young child.  how cool that a 7 year-old is asking these kind of questions!