Vengeance Is Mine?

My Bible journeys with the prophet Jeremiah continue to reveal some critical truths I need for this season of life.  You may wonder, "Mike, why Jeremiah of all books?  Isn't that a little depressing for when we're cooped up at home these days?"  I hear you...but I am ever-so-glad that I'm on this path, and I'm learning some insights for my life that might apply in yours, as well.


A bit of background: Jeremiah was into the priestly line of Aaron in the little town of Anathoth, a few miles north of Jerusalem, where he served God faithfully. Later, God called Jeremiah to give His people a message. “Return your hearts to Me – repent of your wickedness – for judgment is coming!” 

Sadly, the people of Israel and Judah didn’t listen and continued on in rebellion, worshiping idols and following their own evil desires.   As you can imagine, when this humble prophet came to deliver God’s warning, the people didn’t like it! 

It’s not fun when someone points out the sin in your life, and I tend to get a bit defensive! But instead of defensiveness, the people went even further. In Jeremiah 11:18-23 NLT, we read this:  

“Then the LORD told me about the plots my enemies were making against me. I was like a lamb being led to the slaughter. I had no idea that they were planning to kill me! “Let’s destroy this man and all his words,” they said. “Let’s cut him down, so his name will be forgotten forever.”  O LORD of Heaven’s Armies, you make righteous judgments, and you examine the deepest thoughts and secrets. Let me see your vengeance against them, for I have committed my cause to you. This is what the LORD says about the men of Anathoth who wanted me dead. They had said, “We will kill you if you do not stop prophesying in the LORD’s name.”  So this is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says about them: “I will punish them! Their young men will die in battle, and their boys and girls will starve to death.  Not one of these plotters from Anathoth will survive, for I will bring disaster upon them when their time of punishment comes.”   

People in Jeremiah’s own hometown plotted to kill him, to silence the messenger, as if that would silence God! But I notice several truths I can apply to my life here...   

First, have you ever been naïve and fail to see what’s clearly ahead? I think we’ve all been here before! God revealed to a clueless Jeremiah that these men were out to get him. That’s God’s providential hand at work in our lives!  When I trust Him for guidance, He never fails me!   

Second, and this was the big lesson for me... I realize that when someone is out to get me, I tend to want God to “throw the book” at them!  It’s a natural response, and Jeremiah had it, as well. I think to myself, “Vengeance is Yours, Lord... so go get ‘em!” That’s when my heart is revealed, how equally cruel I can be in return.    

Jesus reminds me, “Mike, do not seek evil for evil; do not bear a grudge or resent those who have mistreated you. Do not seek revenge or look for a chance to retaliate.  But forgive... go out of your way to help those who do evil against you. Such an attitude is the only way to ever reach them for the Kingdom of Heaven!" (Matt. 5:38-48).   

Finally, I’m encouraged by God’s response to this desire for vengeance, vs. 23: “For I will bring disaster upon them when their time of punishment comes.” His timing is always perfect, not mine! When I get impatient in waiting for something good to come, I can have confidence that, yes, evil will be judged, but that I’m in this for the long haul – I have a life after this one with Jesus where all things will be made new again! That’s what the cross and resurrection remind us of, as well.   

Are you anxious or irritated that God isn’t moving fast enough? (Especially now as we are all told to stay at home!) Are your plans not coming together as you’d hoped? Maybe you have people who are “out to get you!” In all these things, we can have utmost confidence in God’s timing and purpose. Evil will not prevail. Sickness will not prevail. God will! Be encouraged with that today!   

Lord, help us this morning remember that You are Sovereign and in control of everything, even when it looks like chaos out there! Help me to resist the temptation to lash out at others and instead demonstrate your love. And above all, help me to trust in Your timing and that You will renew all things. Guide me today. I love You, Lord...in Jesus’ name, amen!    

Information Overload?

I woke up this morning with so many questions...probably because I have the all-too-familiar disorder called “information overload.”  If you’re like me, you’ve been bombarded with statistics lately on the worldwide virus out to get us.  And my heart races with the sheer volume.

And all that data, all the commentators, the government decrees, and the self-defined experts in medicine still cannot answer those questions that arise inside my half-awake brain. 

What is this sickness, really?  What does it look like for me if I get it?  What if I get it?  What will happen to the economy?  Will we have jobs left?  What about my family?  What does the future hold?  Will I actually get a pack of TP when we do run out!

Why am I not trusting You, Lord, more?

As soon as that last question came into my head, I realized I already was sick...sick with worry, sick with fear...but not with a persistent sickness, but a periodic one...one that enters my body from time to time when my thoughts are dwelling elsewhere.  I’ve let the flow of information control my mind rather than the fact that God is in control.  

In my periodic sickness, I then turned to these words.  “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” (Luke 5:31-32 NIV)

Of course!  The Master Physician came for people with my condition, too!  I admit, Lord, I need a doctor right now.  I see that my 20/20 vision has been clouded.  I have missed the most important part of this pandemic: You are still present!  And so I acknowledge the trust I’ve placed in the information and not in You alone.

This Easter season, I’m reminded of another sick man in Scripture – the second criminal crucified next to Jesus.  He realized the sickness of his sin.  He was a sinner in need of the majestic grace found in the Suffering Servant who will always be King.

To the defiant slurs of the other criminal hanging next to them, this sick man realized the truth.  He was being punished justly for his crimes, but Jesus didn’t deserve this same sentence at all.  Turning to Jesus in repentance, he in great openness of heart said: “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”  And the greatest promised that Jesus gives to all who are sick and in need of His healing touch: “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”  (Luke 23:40-43 NIV)

Through all the uncertainty of this life, I can clearly see the Lord’s guarantee to sick people like me when we place our trust in Him!  And that truth this morning humbles me and renews me.  How about for you?

Do you think you are beyond reach of His love and grace in this very moment?  That criminal experienced, in his dire sickness, a complete healing!

What stops you from delighting in the promise of Jesus?  This present pandemic?  What would it look like to live in the light of your assured place in paradise right now?  Will you?

Unlikely Encouragement

There are so many voices we have to listen to these days, and I hope that as your pastor, I might guide you to listen more to the Lord’s voice as the storm rages.

Of all unlikely places to be in a disciple’s quiet time, I find myself in Jeremiah chapter 10 – the words of a prophet on the coming judgment of God’s people for their sin!  That doesn’t sound like an encouraging place to be when you want to have hope for your situation!

But quite the opposite!  Today, I found a message that not only gives me hope but refocuses my attention to where it should be.  I’m going to personalize the text a bit from verses 6-16 and adapt it as a prayer for us today.  Will you pray this along with me?

        “Lord, there is no one like You!  For You are great Your name is full of power!  Who would not fear You, O King of nations?  That title belongs to You alone!  Among all the wise people of the earth and in all the kingdoms of the world, there is no one like You!  You are the only true God, the Living God – You are the everlasting King!

        “You made the earth by Your power and You preserve it by Your wisdom.  You stretched out the heavens by Your understanding.  When You speak, there is thunder in the Heavens!  You cause clouds to rise over the earth.  You send the lightning with the rain and You release the wind from your storehouses.

        “Compared to You, all people are foolish and have no knowledge at all!  They make idols, but the idols will disgrace their makers, for they are frauds.  They have no life or power in them...worthless lies!  And the time is coming when they will all be destroyed.

        “But You, God of Israel, Jacob’s Portion, are no idol!  You are the Creator of everything that exists, including Israel, Your own special possession.  The Lord Almighty is Your name!”

Oh family, what a thrill to sense the magnitude of our God this way!  Notice the truth about Him:

1. He is all-powerful.  There is nothing God cannot handle in Your life – from sickness, financial issues, loss, fear, and doubt – He is able and sovereign!  How will you place Your trust in Him more today?

2.  He created all things and is master over them.  I sense His beauty around me, the evidence of His creative hand crafting each thing with purpose and meaning.  And I rejoice in His creation of each of you – unique and special to Him!

But this one fact also makes me pause.  If that’s the case, what about viruses?  For me, I found a secret, as John Piper says, “Knowing that the same sovereignty that could stop the coronavirus and doesn’t, is the very sovereignty that sustains the soul in it. Indeed, more than sustains — sweetens with hope that, for those who trust him, his purposes are kind, even in death.” 

I am not disappointed in what God allows.  I want to find ways of magnifying Him through it.  Will that be your response today?  To pray this: “Lord, may I see You and serve You in Your purposes!”

3.  Wisdom and knowledge and truth come only from God.  This is how, to me, He is Almighty – not just in His power but in His depth – a vastness to Him that I cannot comprehend!  But in His grace, He reveals Himself to me through Jesus and daily by His Spirit indwelling me.  Will you thank Him for illuminating Scripture for you and guiding your steps?

I hope you might be comforted in a BIG God today – larger than your own concept of Him – and then be moved to worship Him right now!  Will you continue Jeremiah’s prayer?  “Lord, there is no one like You!”

Much love in Him,

Pastor Mike

When I Know I'm Weak

Some seasons in life can seem, well... "off," don't they?  It's not that anything is going wrong necessarily, but life feels labored.  I know these times.  I know them in my flesh - it is weak.  And so, I wonder why...what makes me this way?

I woke up after five and a half hours of sleep from a horrible dream.  Mind you, in a pastor's mind, it indeed was horrible.  At a special service at church, I preached far too long, got lost several times in my notes while trying to cut the material on the fly, and then realized I'd printed the wrong notes!  I left the platform in disgrace, returning to my office defeated, near tears.  Yup, that's a terror to anyone who does public speaking!

I arose, scratching my noggin, and headed for 3 items...my Bible, my notebook, and a hot cup of coffee.  All three in hand, I sat and opened God's Word, praying to find Him in my semi-awake funk.  It was there, saddled next to my bookmark, where I left off from our previous time together... His encouragement for me.

"But what if we seek to be made right with God through faith in Christ and then find out that we are still sinners?" (Gal. 2:17a NLT)  That was it!  I was drawn immediately to why I was "off."  Plain and simple, I am a sinner still.  Oh, yes...the Bible doesn't call me that anymore after coming to Christ.  I know I'm a "saint," according to the New Testament.

But here, I found the reason behind my feeling.  Mine was the sin of omission.  I looked down at my prayer journal and found four days had elapsed since I spent time with my Savior.  I had missed our intimacy together for far too long, and was deflated and defeated.  I try to keep our times together regularly, but I missed it lately.  Laziness, other activities, whatever.  And I began to sense guilt.  I had missed what He wanted to say to me.

Did He use my dream to somehow awaken me to that fact?  I cannot say for sure.  But I do know He spoke as clear as day to me in His Word.  I could almost hear His voice through the Apostle Paul whispering in my ear His truth:  "For when I tried to keep the law, I realized I could never earn God's appro

val.  So I died to the law so that I might live for God.  I have been crucified with Christ.  I myself no longer live, but Christ lives in me." (Gal: 219-20a NLT)

And then came the encouragement: "So I live my life in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." (Gal. 2:20b NLT, emphasis mine)  He loves me!  He knows I can never please Him by trying, only by being crucified to self with Him, Him in me!  

I sensed so much relief today!  I understood in my mind the truth, and that led to my guilt departing as my heart ran toward Him!  Oh, I am filled with joy this morning, and my coffee cup isn't even drained fully!  I am eager to start this adventure of life anew with Him!  I am blessed to know He lives with me, and that my only response is to trust Him!

This week, I gave a friend some counsel that I will be wise to heed myself this morning during our special church service: "I have found the further I am from hearing Him, the more I need to worship."  Yeah, that's for me!  And I pray it is for you.

Do you sense something "off" in your life?  Is there a weakness in your flesh?  Why don't you run to worship Him, even when you don't feel like it?  Trust in the Son of God who loves you and gave Himself for you!  Lift your hands toward heaven and rest in His amazing power and presence!  Amen and amen!