Patience

     This is my amateur sketch of I-75 whenever I am in a hurry (or am tired of driving). It always seems like there are three options: drive the speed limit in the granny lane, drive 5-10mph over the limit in the middle lanes, or drive like its the Autobahn in the fast lane. How fast do I usually want to drive? Between 75 and 80mph. Not on the menu. And I have to admit, it gets on my nerves sometimes. I want to drive the way I want, how fast I want, uninterrupted. On the road, my patience often fails. Sure, most of the time I slow down let people merge ahead of me. I give people space when I'm passing them. I use my signals. That's considerate, right? Yeah, but honestly, it's easy to do those things when I've got plenty of time on my hands. How often do I drive considerately and patiently when I am in a hurry to get somewhere? Do I go out of my way to let people merge then? Do I use signals? Do I try to avoid cutting people off? Not always. Impatience gets the best of me.

     That's not all, though. There are plenty of situations (standing in lines, sitting in class, shopping, listening to someone who loves to talk, trying to get your internet/computer/car to start working again, waiting at the DMV) where my patience is seriously tried. How do I act? Sometimes, pretty grumpy and impatient. It's not something I'm proud of and lately, I've felt really convicted of that. Patience is something I should strive for. It's a fruit of the spirit, and an important practice of a Christ-follower.

     And, it's a constant practice of the Lord. What? Yeah. Let's look at two verses. The first is in the second letter of Peter:

"And remember, our Lord's patience gives people time to be saved." - 2 Peter 3:15 (NLT)

"Bear in mind that our Lord's patience means salvation" - 2 Peter 3:15 (NIV)

     In this particular context, Peter is talking about the return of Christ. He addresses the impatience and doubt surrounding the second coming, stating that God's timing is perfect and is patient for the lost. Although God is unhappy and angry by how His people reject him, betray him, and sin against Him, He is patient with us all so that we may have time to repent and be saved. Isn't that crazy? What's also crazy is that we (myself included) sometimes find ourselves a little impatient and ready for His return. Or maybe that is just me. Either way, such impatience neglects and even insults the loving name of our LORD. He has every right at any minute to claim His people and destroy all those who are without faith. He has every right because everything on this earth, including earth, is His alone. And He sits in Heaven and watches every day as His creation is abused and His name is defiled and many of His people are lost and living in sin. He watches, patiently and lovingly. He prolongs His return and His righteous judgement because He wants you and I to be saved by His grace and spend eternity with Him. He says so in the 30th chapter of Isaiah, where our second verse will be:

"Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; therefore He will rise to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for Him!" - Isaiah 30:18 (NIV)

     Here, God is speaking through Isaiah to His people who, desperate for an ally in battle, chose to trust in Egypt's help instead of His strength. They did everything to defend themselves except pray for the protection of the LORD. They rejected the name of the LORD and went to Egypt for help - the same people who enslaved them and worship idols and reject God the Father. And after showing His people of their mistake, adds that he waits to show them grace, and exalts himself to show them compassion. He uses His great patience and mercy to give His people a way to come back to Him. He could have destroyed the entire nation for what they did, yet He chose instead to be patient.
     I love the magnificent illustration these verses paint concerning God. The fact that He is patient with us even though we really don't deserve it is incredibly gracious. And even more gracious is the fact that His patience means salvation. Because the LORD chooses to be patient, people are saved. What if you knew that being more patient everyday could lead to opportunities for people to be saved by God's grace? What if instead of rushing to get from A to B, we shared and loved? Just something to think about. I know I need to work on it.

in His grip,
Zack

No One Is Too Lost Or Too Far

I love the book of Isaiah. It's definitely one of my favorite books of the bible, if not my favorite. I just love the way God spoke through Isaiah. I learn so much from his prophecies. The other day I stumbled upon this verse, and it blew me away.

"For the Sovereign Lord,
     who brings back the outcasts of Israel, says:
'I will bring others, too,
     besides my people Israel.' "
-Isaiah 56:8

Maybe I just get excited really easily, but this verse really makes me happy and gives me hope. Hope for people close to me that I fear will never come to see the Father, as well as for those who live in obscure places of the world that have never heard the name of Christ.

Someone I know was once deeply confused and consumed by doubt because she found it hard for a loving and just God to send people who have never heard of Christ to Hell. She even started to look into religions that suggested that multiple saviors arouse in different parts of the world so that everyone would hear the good news. She had so many questions and regrettably, I had very few answers at the time.

She must have found them eventually, because she was baptized this past December.

But that's not the point (even though it's a wonderful and happy occasion, really). I soon dug through the Bible for an answer, because I really wanted to help (and I became curious for the answer myself). Ironically, I stumbled upon the answer in one of the appendixes of my study bible. The timeline. And here is what I find. And I promise I'll come back to that first verse.

You see, before we were given the gift of the Spirit, we had to listen to people that God chose as His prophet. And the lineage of the Spirit can be traced all the way back to when God banished man (and woman) from Eden. And we notice that yes, God sends His messages to the same area. But I don't believe this is because He is selective. I believe that it is because it is the original kingdom of God, where all man came from. The reason we have so many areas of the world that have not heard God's word can be found in the very first pages of the Bible:

"So Cain went out from the LORD's presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden."
-Genesis 4:16

Some people, throughout history, chose to be like Cain and leave the Kingdom without bringing the word of God with them. It is really sad that places exist where the LORD is completely unknown, but it is not the fault of God. It is the fault of man. The more I think about it, the only way for God to be clear in His teachings and messages was for Him to be consistent in the area that He sent them. If His Word showed up in random places of the world in random bits and pieces, it would be a close to impossible puzzle to solve. God wasn't being selective, He was being consistent, reliable, and clear. Just as a perfect truth and Love should be.

Isaiah relieves us and blesses us with just how perfect His love is, in that there is hope yet for everyone. For God says that he will bring back the outcasts of Israel. Not only that, but He will bring others, too.

Isn't God amazing?

- Zack