The Omnipotence of His Silence

by Michael McKinley

Christ in his passion was mocked on several occasions and each time the mockery occupied a unique place in his experience. First he was mocked by Israel, next he was mocked by the pagan world, then by a descendant of Edom, a false brother, and finally by all these together. He was mocked by the Sanhedrin, by Pilate’s soldiers, by Herod and then by them all as they stood before the cross….

In the midst of this gruesome abuse our Lord stood unflinchingly, leaving himself at the mercy of his enemies, he who by a word could have destroyed them. But he maintained the omnipotence of his silence…. In his bearing in the midst of vile abuse, the Saviour left us an example that we should follow in his steps. We cannot be faithful to Christ in this world and avoid reproach and contempt, and in this our bearing should correspond in some measure to that of the master when he was so defamed.

— Frederick S. Leahy, The Cross He Bore (pp. 58-59)

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This article has been reposted from www.9Marks.org. This article on the 9Marks’ website may be accessed here.

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What to Do if You Get Nothing Out of Reading the Bible

by Steve Fuller

Getting Nothing

Let’s say you are reading God’s Word, but getting nothing out of it.  Maybe it’s not meaning anything to you, or you are just not feeling it.  What can you do?

I’ve been there, and I’m pretty sure every believer has.  So you are not alone.

But what’s even more encouraging is that the author of Psalm 119 has also been there, and he tells us what God can do about it.

Open My Eyes

That’s what he prays in Psalm 119:18 –

Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.

The fact that he prays this means that he is not beholding wondrous things from God’s Law.  Which means that when he reads God’s Word, he’s not seeing anything wonderful.  He’s getting nothing out of it.

So what does he do?  He asks God to open his eyes.

What Kind Of Eyes?

He can’t be talking about the eyes in our heads, because those are always open when we read.

So he is saying we have another set of eyes, which are sometimes closed so we can’t see wondrous things in God’s Word.  And when they are closed, we can’t open them ourselves; we need to pray and have God open them.

So what kind of eyes is he talking about?  I found a clue in Ephesians 1:17-18 –

[I pray that God] may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you …

Paul prays that God will enlighten the eyes of our hearts.  This means we have two sets of eyes — eyes in our heads, eyes in our hearts.

What’s the difference?  The eyes in your head SEE the truth, and the eyes in your heart FEEL the truth.

Seeing, But Not Feeling

So when we open the Bible, the eyes of our heads can see the truth about Jesus — that Jesus died on the Cross, for example.

But too often we can see the truth about Jesus, but not feel the beauty, glory, and wonder of that truth.

So we can read that Jesus died on the Cross, but instead of feeling –

  • wonder at a God who would die for sinful people
  • sorrow for my sin which deserved such punishment
  • joy that my sins have been paid for
  • love for Jesus who would do this for me

– I can feel nothing more than – Jesus died on the Cross.  OK.  I believe that.  I understand that.

Why Does That Happen?

The problem is that  sin grows like a cataract over the eyes of our hearts, clouding our ability to feel the truth of Jesus (I think I originally heard this from John Piper).

But when you first trust Christ, he supernaturally cuts the cataract of sin away from your eyes, and for the first time you not only see but also feel the truth of Jesus Christ — and love him and desire him more than anything.  Remember that day?

So if that’s what happens when we are saved, why does Paul ask God to enlighten the eyes of believers?  And why does the psalmist ask God to open his own eyes?

It’s because, even though we have been saved, we still have indwelling sin.  And this sin will keep trying to grow up over the eyes of our hearts so we won’t feel the truth of Jesus.

How can we tell if that’s happening?  It’s because when we read the Bible we see the truth, but feel nothing.

That’s why Paul prays that God will enlighten the eyes of believers, and why the psalmist prays that God will open his own eyes.  It’s because sin is constantly trying to cloud the eyes of our hearts, and because when we pray and ask God to open our eyes, he will.

Good News

This was wonderful news when I first heard it.  Because much of my Bible-reading had been dull and lifeless.

But the problem was that I didn’t understand that I had two sets of eyes.  I didn’t know that sin was clouding the eyes of my heart so I could not feel the wonder of what I was reading.  And I did not realize that if I prayed, God would cut away that sin and open those eyes so I could feel.

So now, almost every time I read God’s Word, I start by praying Psalm 119:18 – Open my eyes that I may behold wondrous things from your law.

It’s also important to meaningfully confess sin, and to read God’s Word carefully, prayerfully, and thoughtfully.

Since doing this my Bible-reading has been transformed.  Some days are better than others.  But by God’s mercy I do regularly see, and feel, wondrous things from God’s Word.

Call The Surgeon

When you read God’s Word and feel nothing, it’s because cataracts of sin are blinding you.

But God is a perfectly skilled eye-surgeon who specializes in cutting away these cataracts.

So when you are reading and feel nothing, don’t give up; don’t close the Bible; don’t keep reading just so you can say you did it; and don’t be discouraged.

Instead, understand that the surgeon is ready to go to work.

And call upon the surgeon.

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This article has been reposted from the Living by Faith Blog.  The original article may be accessed here.

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Eyes to See?

by Laurie Aker

We can become so accustomed to our sin patterns and unaware of a hardening heart that instead of turning to thirst more after God, we wander away from God and fill ourselves with empty or even harmful things. Tired, angry, frightened, or hurting we might shut down, put up walls, and hide. If we are to thirst after God and His righteousness, we must identify, confess, and turn from our unrighteous ways that cause us to run from God instead of to God. What unrighteous ways? Do you think more highly of yourself than others? Perhaps we think our children are more well-behaved, better dressed, more clever, or smarter than other people’s children. Are we lovers of money, seekers of security, or accumulators of wealth? Do you feel uncomfortable around those whose hearts seem fully abandoned to God? Have you become an empty pre- tender, well-schooled in the externals, having the outward appearance of loving God, but really denying His power? Do you seek gratification in temporal things? Are you discontent, high-minded, or blinded with pride? Do you keep your word? Do you love ease and pleasure more than loving God? Do you struggle with self-control, always longing for more and never truly satisfied? Are you gluttonous? Lazy? Stubborn or will- ful? Do you want position, power, or prestige—and at times willing to do anything to get it?

Does anything on this list describe you? No doubt it does, for we are all sinners, none of us is exempt. The apostle Paul quoted David when he wrote his letter to the Romans that no one is righteous: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one. Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive. The venom of asps is under their lips. Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes” (Rom. 3:10-18).

This may sound like a grim verdict for us, and it is. But God made a way where there was no way for those who would look to His Son for salvation and believe. When we look to Christ and confess our sin, we can and will be washed, cleansed, and purified from all unrighteousness. Jesus cried out to the crowd and to us, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water’” (Jn. 7:37-38). Have you come to this well? Do you come to this well daily? Do you stand right under the waterfall of His grace? Let it pour over you and in you and drink deeply by faith through grace. The Lord longs for us to come to Him, to desire His character and His righteousness above all and to live a life with one focus, one purpose, one God, one Spirit, all so that we will know—truly know—and experience Him and overflow with Him.

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Most people are able to see other people’s sins and weaknesses more clearly than their own. Although we may have a better radar for the shortcomings of others, we all see with clouded vision. It’s key for us to ask the Lord to give us eyes to see our own sin. And it’s equally important to ask Him to help us see our sin through the eyes of Christ and help us look at it honestly and bravely so that we can see it for what it truly is, confess it, and turn from it, remembering “we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:14-16). It’s a comfort to know we have not been left alone to deal with the condition of our hearts. We have no power in ourselves to overcome sin, but God has provided a way. When we surrender our lives to Christ, He gives us the power to overcome that sin by the Holy Spirit and by His grace. So let us leave our old ways, our human thinking, our youthful passions, our agendas, and our desires. Let us hum- ble ourselves, submit to God, and draw near to  Him, saying with our all,“Lord, your will be done.” It is not for us to direct our own steps. If we are going to enter into a deep, abiding love relationship with our heav- enly Father through the Lord Jesus Christ, and if we are going to remain in love with Him as we lay ourselves at His feet, we must acknowledge that He is God and that He is our God. Let us look to Jesus to give us a bro- ken, contrite, and teachable heart. Let us ask Him to help us draw near to God and confess any sin He reveals in our lives, and let us trust in Him and His power to help us turn from our old ways and walk in His ways.

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This blog post is an excerpt from the Thistlebend Discipleship Study Falling in Love Again with Your Lord available here.

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