Sovereignly redemptive !
The same deed, same act can be both evil and/or holy at the same time depending on the motives of those involved. Peter said (Acts 3:15) to the religious leaders, you have killed the King of glory. Jesus said (John 10:17-18) no one takes My life from Me, I have power to lay it down and to take it again. The religious leaders were definitely guilty of murder because their motive was to kill Jesus and get rid of Him forever. As a man thinks in his heart (Proverbs 23:7) that is exactly what he is. But for God’s holy motive and purpose – the self-righteous religious leaders, ambitious Pilate and the cruel Roman soldiers were the tools in the hand of the Sovereign God for His (John 19:11) pre-ordained plan (Acts 2:23) and in accordance with His foreknowledge. A Cross was prepared to be the altar for God’s sacrificial Lamb. The Cross is the message and the eternal symbol of God’s incredible holy love. The cruel brutal mocking, spitting, punching, thorns, beating, hammering, pounded-in nails, crucifixion and utter abandonment were the outpouring of God’s holy hatred for sin. The sin which Adam brought into the world and that meant spiritual death for every human being born into this world. Each one of us is born physically alive but spiritually dead, totally alienated from God and the Life of God.
The Resurrection of Jesus from the dead proves He conquered (John 11:25-26) death. He will destroy death (1 Corinthians 15:54-56) which is the last enemy and (Isaiah 25:8) abolish death forever. In His glorious victory Jesus made available eternal Life, the very Life of God to every sinner who will trust in His shed Blood for the cleansing of their sin, believe and receive from Him eternal salvation. God does not send evil wickedness but in His holy Sovereignty He allows it and then He uses it for His holy purpose at the perfect time.
The Lord allowed (Genesis 37:28) the cruelty of Joseph’s brothers to get Joseph (Genesis 41:40) into the palace. God allowed (Exodus 3:7) Pharaoh to enslave and mistreat the Israelites and He let Pharaoh live in order to demonstrate before him and all Egypt (Exodus 6:1, Exodus 6:9-16) the almighty power and glory of the Lord. This is still true to-day in this dark, troubled, evil world which has lost its way. The Lord (Proverbs 16:4-5) has made everything to accommodate itself and contribute to its own role within God’s purpose. Even the wicked are fitted, by their own choices, for their role in the day of calamity. The proud and arrogant are contributing to their own end of punishment at God’s appointed time. These 2 verses depict the limited free will of humans and the limitless Sovereign control of Almighty God. We can see the vital significance of motive which makes everything we do either evil or holy.
Just say I gave a very large donation to a worthy cause, a donation which would benefit desperately needy people. But I made sure everyone knew about it because I wanted attention, publicity, credit and praise. Even though people were helped, my giving was sinful and evil because my motive was rooted in pride. My giving was evil but the way it was used by others was holy. It is a sin (John 12:43) to seek approval from people rather than from God. My sinful act did help people and this is how God can use what is evil in me for a holy work in His purpose for the good of others.
Many Christians get sick not because they have sinned but as a result of living in this fallen world. Do you ever wonder why God heals some Christians and not others, why a person who is obediently serving the Lord sometimes dies and often shockingly? I think I have discovered the reason. That departed saint has (Psalms 71:18, Acts 13:36) fulfilled God’s will and purpose for his generation, so his earth visa has expired and he must go (Ephesians 2:19, Philippians 3:20) to where he has eternal citizenship. The Christians who are healed have not yet finished their (Ephesians 2:10) already-prepared good works on earth. As long as his earth visa is valid, an obedient Christian will be healed. The Christians who are not sick, as long as the Lord continues to make daily withdrawals from our lifespan bank account, it includes all that we have not yet completely fulfilled God’s purpose and reason for putting us on the earth. This is a serious responsibility in the wise stewardship of our time.
We know (Jeremiah 1:5) that God’s plan for each one of us existed before we were formed in the wombs of our mothers. But there is another situation where healing is possible and available to certain Christians, but sadly not all will receive it. I received greater insight from (Gideon Levatam) in this regard. We know that (2 Chronicles 7:14) refers to the healing of the land by God’s response to genuine turning away from sin and turning to the Lord. I believe this principle holds true for a sinning Christian who will turn from his sin and with his whole heart turn back to the Lord. If a Christian persists in continual deliberate sin the Lord will punish him with a sickness and he will be (1 Corinthians 5:5) delivered to Satan for the destruction of his bodily health. If he despises (Hebrews 12:5) the chastening of the Lord and continues to flagrantly disobey, God will remove him from the earth and (1 Corinthians 11:30) he will die. But if he comes to his right mind and truly repents, he is to call for the Elders (James 5:13-15) and they will pray over him in the Name of the Lord and anoint him with oil. He must sincerely confess his sin, truly repent and turn away from his sin entirely. The prayer of faith offered by the righteous Elders will be effective and God will grant him complete healing and total forgiveness. Then he will spend his remaining healthy years in serving Lord and in close fellowship with Him.
I think of God as transcendent, unreachable, unknowable and at the same time He is imminent, always near, dear and exceedingly precious. I base this on (Isaiah 57:15) God dwells in the high and holy place in eternity and at the same time with those who have a humble spirit and a contrite heart. This sounds like a contradiction because transcendence and imminence seem to be in opposition to each other. Only God can take an apparent contradiction and make it not a contradiction but an eternal truth and there is compelling beauty in the mystery. But still, don’t I need a bridge to bring these 2 opposite facts together? Yes – yes – yes! There is a Bridge, our Mediator (1 Timothy 2:5) the MAN Christ Jesus. Jesus makes harmony out of opposites and eternity will be filled with praises and gratitude to Jesus.
Dr. Charles Stanley produced a wonderful book of his beautiful photography and has aptly titled it – Landscapes of His Grace. But also I have seen many landscapes of God’s grace in the Bible and in history in the transformed lives of countless individuals who experienced the marvels of God’s grace. Even in my own apartment I see daily the landscapes of God’s grace in the wonder of His creation and the lovingkindness of His protection, provision and enabling. Although I was often unaware and although I am never deserving, yet my whole life is a broad landscape of God’s amazing grace.
We need regular examinations and heart checkups and a diagnosis to see if we have (Matthew 24:12) a cold heart or (Hebrews 3:15) a hard heart or (Proverbs 16:5) a proud arrogant heart or (1 Kings 11:3) a turned away distracted heart or (Revelation 3:16) a lukewarm heart. If we suffer from any of these maladies, we must get a set appointment with the Great Physician and ask Him to do a transplant operation within us. The Holy Spirit will assist in the surgery and if we surrender ourselves completely to His transforming procedure, He will remove our sick hearts and implant within us (Matthew 5:8) a heart that is pure, a heart that is (Luke 24 :32) burning with love for Jesus. The Lord cuts out the evil and puts in the holy. (Oswald Chambers) “We need to learn the secret of the burning heart which is abiding in Jesus.” In this our day there is nothing we need more than a pure and burning heart of love for Jesus.
I learned from Joab (1 Chronicles 19:13) a wonderful prayer for the desperately grim situations all over the world, “May the Lord do what is good in His sight.
At 4:30 a.m. this morning the Holy Spirit impressed me deeply with this truth - - the Lord is the Omnipotent God of persistent love, He is the Omniscient God of exceeding kindness, He is the Omnipresent God of unfailing faithfulness - - and He is our God. Each one of us is to be (2 Corinthians 3:3) a letter from Christ Jesus to our particular world. Always aware that our power, ability and sufficiency (2 Corinthians 3:5) are of God Who indwells us.