But We Will Boast in the Name of the Lord

On a summer morning more than eight years ago, I sat with my Bible in a friend’s living room. My husband and I were taking my son to his university orientation and we had spent the night with friends. Worry and fear woke me early and I found a quiet place for prayer and time in God’s Word. I worried about this new phase in the life of my family. What if the university refused to accept the home school transcripts I had prepared? What if they refused to grant my son his promised scholarships or even his diploma after four years of study due to his lack of an official public high school diploma? What if my son’s home school experience did not adequately prepare him for the rigors of university? The “what if’s” flooded my mind and led me to the Lord.

In the quiet of the living room, I prayed and then opened my Bible to the next reading, Psalm 20. Today I know that Psalm well, but on that morning, even though I had probably read it before, its thoughts were new to me. They gave me fresh hope. They gave me courage to face this giant called university after a homeschooling experience. They reminded me that the victory belonged to the Lord. Some boast in chariots, and some in horses; but we will boast in the name of the Lord, our God. They have fallen; but we have risen and stand upright. Our boast was in the Lord and I knew that we would rise and stand upright, not because my son had a public high school education and diploma, but because our trust was in the Lord. We had prepared for the battle, but the final victory belonged to the Lord and that gave me the faith to go forward with confidence.

I have prayed this prayer from Psalm 20 for my children many times since that morning eight years ago. As they have gone forward on their own journeys, as they have faced challenges and obstacles, as they have struggled with conflicts and battles, I have prayed – May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble! May He send you help from the sanctuary, and support from Zion! May He grant you your heart’s desire, and fulfill all your counsel! May the Lord fulfill all your petitions. I have entrusted my children to His loving care. I have rested the full weight of my confidence in Him. I have depended on Him alone to deliver them in their time of need.

And He has been more than faithful. He has heard in the time of trouble. He has protected and sent help. He has strengthened and given them their heart’s desire. He has answered and made their plans succeed. I have sung the psalmist’s song of praise on many occasions – We will sing for joy over your victory, and in the name of our God we will set up our banners. Now I know that the Lord saves His anointed; He will answer from His holy heaven. He will answer in the day we call. As Lawrence O. Richards states, “When God can surely do all this for us, we would be foolish not to trust Him.” May we continue to put our full confidence and trust in the One who lifts us to stand upright.    

What is a Staunch Christian?

Not long ago, Why I Converted to Islam appeared on the internet. The article, written by a female journalist, explains the author’s conversion to Islam. Her story began in Malaysia where she went for a student exchange program. Her curiosity into Islam began with the pretty South-East Asian Muslim girls with colorful hijabs and clothes. Later, as she researched for an article on Muslim women’s rights, she found her mind suddenly bursting with knowledge about Islam and the fact that women had many rights in Islam. The first time she stepped into a mosque she experienced an immediate sense of calm and peace. Over a year later, she converted to Islam.

I do not question the author’s experiences in Malaysia. I am sure that the Muslim girls were beautiful and that they seemed to have many rights in their Muslim faith. I can understand that she somehow found a calm and peace when she entered a mosque. However, I do wonder at some of the claims that she makes in her story.  She writes that her life as a staunch Christian was a focal point of her faith journey. She also shares that her love for Jesus actually led her to Islam and that she read her Bible inside out. Because I am a Christian who loves Jesus and has read the Bible extensively, I question these claims.      

By definition, a staunch Christian is a devoted follower of Christ, one who has fully accepted Jesus’ claims of Himself. A Christian is one who steadfastly loves the Lord Jesus Christ and believes that the Bible is a book that declares Him on every page. In John 14 Jesus told His disciples, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but by Me.” In the same encounter He told them, “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also. Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me?” A true Christian fully accepts these truths and believes that the Lord Jesus is God and that He is to be worshipped as God. Christianity cannot be the focal point of a religion that denies the deity of Christ nor can love for Jesus lead one to acceptance of a faith that refers to Him as a prophet who is not to be worshipped as God.

As I consider the claims of this author and the definition of a staunch Christian who loves Jesus, I wonder how many miss the truth of what it means to be a devoted follower of Christ. I wonder how many enter our churches, maybe even every Sunday, and miss the true meaning of why we worship the Lord Jesus as we do. I wonder how many mistakenly see themselves as staunch Christians only to be led to another religion that denies the claims of Christ. I wonder how many love a Jesus that they do not really know or how many read God’s Word without really understanding the truths they encounter in its pages. I pray that God’s Word would be clearly spoken in our churches and by those who believe. I pray that hearts would be open to the truths that are read or heard and that Christianity would teach us to love and understand God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ more fully so that we might worship Him as we ought. As Christians, we do learn compassion, mercy, and love, but most importantly we grow to know Him more fully because He is the focal point of Christianity.       

Abundant Life

In this life we have two ways before us. Some would choose to believe that a middle ground exists between the two extremes, but Jesus makes it clear in Matthew 7 that our choice is between two ways only. One way is broad and leads to destruction. The other is narrow and leads to life. In Psalm 1 the Psalmist illustrates these two ways. He compares and contrasts the lifestyle choices of the ungodly man with those of the righteous man. C.H. Spurgeon tells us that the desire of the Psalmist was to teach us the way to blessedness and to warn us of the sure destruction of sinners. It is, therefore, an important Psalm on which to meditate.                          

The ungodly man walks according to the counsel of the wicked, according to the advice of those who live in sin, of those who do not seek God, but rather challenge Him. He is first influenced by their ways, but then becomes committed as he accepts their choices and stands with them in the path of sinners. He falls further when he fully identifies with them and finally sits among them in the seat of scoffers. As Jeremiah 17:5 says, he trusts in mankind and makes flesh his strength. He turns away from the Lord.

His godless lifestyle will result in his destruction. Before the Lord, his life will be completely worthless, like chaff that is driven away by the wind. He will not stand in the judgment to receive a crown of reward. Because his choice in life was to sit in the seat of scoffers, he will not be invited to seat among God’s people in the assembly of the righteous. He will not be known by God, nor will his way be known. Instead, he will perish and his way with him.

In contrast, the lifestyle of the righteous man is built on the foundation of God’s Word. The righteous man delights and finds pleasure in the Word of God. Indeed, he meditates on it day and night. It is his desire to ponder and speak God’s Words throughout his day. When he falls, he will not be hurled headlong, because the Lord is the One who holds his hand (Psalm 37:24). As Jeremiah 17:7 states, he puts his trust in the Lord and therefore he need not be anxious in the year of drought. He is blessed by God with a spiritual and emotional joy and contentment that will not be taken away.

The righteous man receives this joy and contentment because he has chosen to live a God-centered life. He will be like a tree planted by streams of water, a tree that extends its roots and drinks in the living Word of God. He will yield his fruit in season and his leaves will be full and green. He will be prosperous in all that he does, not because he is so very capable, but because he trusts in the Lord and His promises. He will be known by God because he has lived his life to know God and to walk in His ways. The righteous man illustrates for us the abundant life worth living, the life that leads to blessedness.