The Pastor’s Pen

Lincoln writes to encourage and build up God’s people with God’s Word.

Lessons from Nineveh

By / The Pastor's Pen / 3 minutes of reading

The ancient city of Nineveh provides both wonderful and frightening lessons for us. Historically and culturally, the Assyrian culture of the Ninevites was godless, brutal, and fiercely courageous in conquering their enemies. Yet, God sent fearful Jonah, warning the Ninevites of imminent judgement; forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” And the people of Nineveh believed God (Jonah 3:4-5). The King issued a decree; Let everyone turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands (Jonah 3:8). Predictably, the Lord responded with forgiveness, and  judgemental disaster was cancelled. We praise God for such wonderful grace.

Moving forward about 100 years, Nineveh has a new King, and a new generation of citizens had grown, reinstating the former idol worship and butcherous ways, ignoring the God of heaven. One person’s evil beliefs had influenced the nation back to the darkness of life without the Lord (Nahum 1:11). In God’s patient grace, He sends the prophet Nahum to once again warn Nineveh of the consequences. Nahum 1:2-3 reads, the LORD takes vengeance on his adversaries and keeps wrath for his enemies. The LORD is slow to anger and great in power, and the LORD will by no means clear the guilty.

Nineveh had previously embraced amazing grace, yet the new generation thought they knew better. Turning away from the God of mercy, they convinced themselves that they could live independent of Yahweh with no consequences. How wrong they were! Again, the Lord sends a reminder of His justice, but more than that, it was a reminder of His grace which was still available to them. Forgiveness was just a repentant prayer away. Nahum 1:7, The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him. Even if the whole nation failed to turn back to the Lord as they did 100 years earlier, forgiveness and refuge was still available to individuals.

Sadly, the new generation of Ninevites learned the bitter lessons of ignored grace. Thinking Nahum’s warning was nonsense, they were lulled into a false sense of safety by the window of time and grace between warning and judgement. Just a few years later Babylon conquered Nineveh fulfilling God’s warning.

The lessons from Nahum and Nineveh are many. Above all else we see God’s character. God is good (1:7). God is jealous (1:2). God is powerful (1:3). God is provident (1:4). God is sovereign (1:2–5). God is wrathful (1:2–3, 6). At a human level, we see the foolishness of ignoring God’s warnings. We see the blinding and seductive effects of listening to false counsel that leads away from God (1:11). We see that every generation is responsible for their own belief or disbelief in the God of heaven (Deuteronomy 24:16).

The contrast between Nineveh in Jonah’s time, and Nineveh in Nahum’s time raises our appreciation for those who repent and turn to the Lord. It is wonderful to be amongst  people who change their thinking and behaviour towards God. We should never downplay the beauty of a repentant sinner. Nor should we write people off just because they struggle or stumble in their faith life. The Lord is the God of many opportunities, of many gracious invitations to come for forgiveness and cleansing.

Just as Jonah and Nahum were faithful ambassadors of God, may we be faithful ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us… (2 Corinthians 5:20). May the goodness and grace of Jesus Christ be seen and heard through us.

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Discouragement

By / The Pastor's Pen / 3 minutes of reading

Every Christian faces discouragement of various kinds at different times. And although discouragement is an internal process, it is often triggered by external experiences. Therefore, how we respond to discouragement is important, as our response impacts both ourselves and others. The apostle Paul speaks of this in 2 Corinthians 4:16-18. So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

Paul, better than most, understood that struggles and opposition are an inescapable part of Christian life. Therefore, a Christ-centred attitude was needed so he could rightly process discouraging events, then watch blessings grow out of them.

For the believer in Jesus Christ, there are corresponding realities playing out in our lives. On one hand, we may feel the afflictions of physical life increasing as we serve the Lord, or as we age. We  also must cope with persistent forms of external resistance from the enemy. On the other hand, we should be equipped to experience inner spiritual refreshment that strengthens our faith, sharpens our focus, increases our determination, and energises our capacity for worship.

Now, I realise not all Christians think of life’s difficulties this way. However, I suggest Paul is explaining that our perspective of discouragement is what makes the difference. First, Paul told himself that he would not lose heart. For him, discouragement was not given permanent authority over his life. We see this as he uses words like; “not crushed,” “not driven to despair,” not destroyed,” etc (2Co 4:8-9). In effect, Paul told himself that difficulties were expected, temporary, and not authoritative. Plus, he used his energies to strengthen his resolve to persevere for Christ instead of focusing on his suffering.

Second, he viewed the circumstances of life within an eternal frame, and through an eternal lens. This effectively shrunk the severity of his struggles within his thinking to being light momentary affliction. This also amplified the differential of earthly suffering with an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison. It is healthy to keep this difference of the earthly to the heavenly realms in our thinking. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known (1 Corinthians 13:12). The difference between now and then, between earth and heaven, is unimaginably huge!

Paul gave attention to spiritual heavenly realities, knowing they are not tangible or physically visible at present. He recognised the limited nature of our earthly struggles when compared to  heavenly realities which are both unseen and  eternal. Knowing that his time on earth would come to an end, as it does for us all, Paul constructed an inner framework of thinking that lived towards his eternal heavenly destination. Heaven represented far more than  the absence of pain or of rewards; it was the place of God’s ultimate glory. He knew the correlation between suffering now and his future capacity to praise and glorify God in the next life. Having this eternal heavenly filter through which he viewed and evaluated his life, Paul was strengthened to persevere with genuine joy while serving the Lord and the church. 

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Transforming our mind

By / The Pastor's Pen / 3 minutes of reading

Following Paul’s instruction to intentionally glorify God through our conduct as part of our spiritual worship (Romans 12:1), he now addresses another aspect of life that requires continuous attention. Romans 12:2, Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

The need for Paul’s strong instruction is even more valid today than when he wrote it in the first century. That’s because we are daily bombarded with the world’s way of thinking, and it does not include God. With the integration of technology into almost all aspects of life, the default source of information, values, and ways of thinking, is influenced loudly by the many voices of the media and the internet.

Included in presenting our bodies as living sacrifices, is the intentional and ongoing adjustment of how we think. That is, how we reason through the issues and beliefs of life. Obviously, these are  processed in our minds. Therefore, we need to guard our minds against the many worldly and deceptive thoughts which could influence us away from God’s truths. With this in Paul’s thinking, he wrote to the Colossian church, see to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ (Colossians 2:8).

Paul realised the connection between our mind and our behaviour. And just as God honouring behaviour is necessary for spiritual worship, so is God-centered thinking and beliefs. Again, this is a progressive part of Christian living which the Holy Spirit uses God’s Word for. This explains why Jesus prayed for his disciples, sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth (John 17:17). The Holy Spirit inspired Word of God is the primary tool that He has provided us with in this critical exercise. The Bible filters spiritual misinformation out.

The spiritual health of our mind is directly related to our agreement with, and obedience to God’s Word. There is no other way provided by God. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17). God’s Word represents a comprehensive toolbox for understanding, personal spiritual growth, usefulness in serving God, and helping others.

All these benefits are never dumped upon us in one hit. No, the Lord patiently releases them into our lives as we synchronize our thoughts, our heart affections, our behaviour, and our speech with the truth of His Word and with the character of Jesus Christ. The transformation is progressive and long-term. Along the way, there’s bound to be failures on our part, as our fleshly desires are lured into thinking as the world thinks. However, the Lord faithfully restores us back as His Spirit convicts us, as loving believers exhort us, and as we experience the foolishness of attempting to adopt worldly thinking. Sometimes the Lord graciously disciplines us (Hebrews 12:5-10) as motivation to realign our lives with His Word and will. He’s willing to do this when needed for our good, that we may share his holiness (Hebrews 12:10), which is a compassionate expression of His devoted love for us.

May we follow Paul’s wise guidance by inviting the Lord to forge within our hearts a Christ-centered determination, transforming our minds for His glory and our blessing.

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Living Sacrifices

By / The Pastor's Pen / 3 minutes of reading

The apostle Paul concludes Romans chapter 11 by reminding us that from Him (God) and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever (Rom 11:36). God deserves our recognition and worship in everything. He is worthy! And it is the believer’s privilege to voluntarily direct glory to Him in every way possible.

Romans 12:1 then begins with the word “therefore,” which connects glorifying God with the following specific components of what that is to look like in our lives. Paul writes, I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

The Lord’s mercy is the only foundation available to mankind on which we can do anything that would be acceptable. There is no self-righteousness here. Humility is the place from where we offer our bodies as a living sacrifice. You see, the death of Jesus Christ on the cross was the final sacrifice demanding death that God required, believers are set free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death (Rom 8:2). Instead of repeatedly sacrificing animals to God, as under the old covenant, God now desires each of us to continually offer a single living human life, which is ourselves, as glorifying to Him (cf. Hebrews 13:15).

Similarly, just as the old covenant required animals without defect or disease to be offered, so God now desires holy lives of Christians, that are not dominated by sin. So, by faith, we are to present our lives with 2 levels of holiness. First, we present our lives with the righteousness of Jesus Christ having been credited to us (cf. Romans 3:22). Again, by God’s mercy, we are now acceptable to God because of Jesus.

Second, we offer our lives as living people who have been and continue to be transformed as new creations in Christ. Now, God understands that we are inconsistent and faulty in this. So, the Holy Spirit perseveres in us, to make us more and more like him (Jesus) as we are changed into his glorious image (2 Corinthians 3:18 NLT). God’s mercy activates the ongoing process in which our hearts and behavior are being developed and matured to become more like Jesus Christ, which is acceptable and pleasing to God. We call this lifelong process “sanctification,” growing more and more, little by little, to be more holy as Jesus is holy.

God’s mercy means that the Holy Spirit has committed to this lifelong process, and just as He patiently works at it, so should we as our spiritual worship. This is why we persevere with determination; it’s part of our worship. This is why we invest great effort into our Christian living, so we may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God (Colossians 1:10). In fact, this is love for God: to keep His commands. And His commands are not burdensome (1 John 5:3). You see, Jesus is our ultimate perfection which makes us acceptable to God in the heavenlies. But here on earth, it’s our Holy Spirit energised sanctification that forms a significant and pleasing part of our worship to God.

May we live every day, with lifestyles of spiritual worship, pleasing and glorifying to God as evidence of being in Christ.

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Hosea – betrayed yet faithful

By / The Pastor's Pen / 3 minutes of reading

The Old Testament prophet Hosea, written around 755 to 710 B.C. may not make for calm bedtime reading, but His life was significant for all the right reasons. Hosea’s ministry extended about forty-five years, covering the reigns of seven kings in Israel and four kings in Judah. He was a contemporary of both Isaiah and Micah.

During Hosea’s era in Israel’s history, the nation experienced political stability and material prosperity. It was a golden age that brought with it the greatest challenge possible, although not considered to be a problem by most people.

Hosea’s prophetic ministry began towards the end of the reign of King Jeroboam II. Humanly speaking the nation was doing well, but with material blessing came spiritual apostacy and moral decay. Following King Jeroboam’s death, society declined into chaos and disorder, which ultimately led to them being overthrown and exiled by Assyria.

Hosea, therefore, became one of the few mouthpieces for the God of Israel during some of the most chaotic times. His messages for the nation warned of coming judgement if they refused to turn away from their sin and live according to the covenant relationship Yahweh had established with them.

The thing that often stands out to us, is God’s instruction for Hosea to marry a prostitute as a picture of the nation’s unfaithfulness to the Lord. But more than that, Hosea’s peculiar marriage vividly pictured Yahweh’s faithfulness to His unfaithful covenant people. Israel had failed miserably, but their God would not fail them. Throughout the book of Hosea, we repeatedly hear the words of a heartbroken God over the people of His determined love (cf. Romans 11:1-2).

No doubt Hosea came under considerable criticism for obeying the Lord’s strange instruction; “Go and marry a prostitute, so that some of her children will be conceived in prostitution. This will illustrate how Israel has acted like a prostitute by turning against the LORD and worshiping other gods” (Hosea 1:2 NLT). Well, just as the Lord predicted, Hosea’s wife Gomer, was unfaithful, and refused to abandon her promiscuous lifestyle. Gomer perfectly depicted Israel’s unwillingness to abandon idolatry.

Things got really messed up with Gomer, and she eventually found herself trapped in slavery at a slave auction. Following the Lord’s instructions, Hosea bought her back for fifteen pieces of silver and five bushels of barley and a measure of wine (Hosea 3:2). What a horrendous yet gracious thing for a husband to do, to buy his own unfaithful wife out of slavery.

You see, because Hosea’s marriage was divinely appointed to illustrate the broken relationship between Yahweh and Israel, mercy had to be put on display through Hosea. So, the Lord told Hosea,  “Go and love your wife again, even though she commits adultery with another lover. This will illustrate that the LORD still loves Israel, even though the people have turned to other gods and love to worship them” (Hosea 3:1 NLT).

Despite all the complexities in Hosea having to pay to be reconciled to His wife, He was faithful to Gomer. But more importantly, He was faithful to God, which pictured God’s faithfulness to Israel.

This perfectly pictures the Lord Jesus Christ and His love for us! The apostle Paul explains in Colossians 1:22 NIV, He (God) has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in His sight, without blemish and free from accusation. Jesus bought us out of sin’s idolatry and slavery through His death and resurrection. May the life of Hosea enrich our love for our heavenly Father and the salvation He provides through the Lord Jesus Christ.

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