Author: Christine Wyrtzen

The Best Promise Of All

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The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God.  Psalm 14:2

God sent Jesus to be the Savior of any who want Him.  It may be a Rabbi of a rural town in Israel.  It may be an Imam in Pakistan.  It may be a Chinese government official who, at this very moment, arrests pastors in his village.  And it may be young people who, at this moment, are so infected with the darkness of our age that their spiritual condition appears hopeless.

God’s longing to be the God of all peoples prevails.  My heart must adjust accordingly – humbly – to rejoice in such unbiased love.  And my heart must hope in a God powerful enough to touch the one I consider most unlikely to believe ~ especially in these desperate times when it seems more likely people’s hearts will turn God-ward.  Wherever there is a seeking soul, God’s attention is arrested.  Wherever there is a cry for help, God is aroused to answer.

Is my Gospel inclusive? It is easy to be standoffish with those I don’t understand, with those whose culture is so unlike my own.  I am repelled by their violence, their practices, and shake my head in disbelief when I see their stories portrayed in the media.  They are so far from God and the gap seems insurmountable.  Yet, God is revealing Himself right now to a modern-day Saul, to someone who kills Christians, whose passion is to destroy every vestige of their faith.  He appears to the likes of Saul in visions, and he wakes up exclaiming, “Lord Jesus!”

God’s love is global.  The relevance and need for the Gospel is also global.  If my heart beats like God’s heart, my passion for the nations will be tearful and earnest.

I will align my heart and rejoice over heaven’s stories.  Amen

Nuggets For The Child

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My soul melts away for sorrow; strengthen me according to your word!  Psalm 119:27

God’s agenda for me is to strengthen my faith.  Satan’s agenda is to destroy my faith.  He will do it by using pain and pleasure.  The pleasures tempt me to believe that there is something more desirable than God.  The pain lures me to believe that God is not good nor caring.  I don’t know which catalyst, pain or pleasure, is more dangerous.

David knows that when he is grieving and about to break under the strain of something heartbreaking, his greatest need is a strength that comes from God’s Word.  The hug of a friend may be nice, a good listening ear is valuable, a meal brought in when I’m too sick to make one for my family can be an overwhelming relief, but none will save my soul from melting away in the fires of grief.  What is saving and stabilizing is a word from God.

Come face to face with a pain deep enough and there will be few words from others that dull the throbbing.  That ‘thing’ is all-consuming, bubbling beneath the surface of our smiles.  Unless someone knows us well, they might be fooled by the subtle sighs and far off looks that tell the truth of our great heaviness.

God’s Word comes to us in this helpless childlike state.  We may be older, but when hurting, we feel like children.  God’s children. It is not the wordy discourse on pre-destination that will comfort us when we are in great distress.  It is the Word in bite-sized nuggets that chip away at our fear and penetrates the darkness.  “I know.”  “I care.”  “I will weep with you.”  “Do not fear.”  “Rest in me.”  “Trust my heart.”  “I’m here, now.”

Little nuggets for little children.  With each one, a big hand takes a little one and trust is momentarily restored.  There is radical grace, inexplicable, for the moment.

 I need You. Whisper to me like a child and I will be saved.  Amen

Save

Save

Beyond Ambivalence

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I hate and abhor falsehood, but I love your law.  Psalm 119:163

God is rarely ambivalent.  He loves truth and He hates falsehood.  David spent enough time in the Torah and enough time in worship that God’s appetite rubbed off.  How our culture needs more like him.  There are far too many prominent Christians in the spotlight who, when asked where they stand on current issues, fail to answer the way God would.  Their tolerance makes them palatable to the masses but it erases their saltiness.  They have confused loving people with condoning what people do.  They have abdicated their chance to speak the language of the kingdom in order to draw others onto the narrow pathway that leads to eternal life.

Having grown up in legalism, I was used to a regular diet of dogmatism.  A church or Christian organization defined themselves by what they were ‘against’ rather than what they were ‘for’.  They had a poor track record when it came to loving people.  Perhaps some of our ambivalence on critical issues is an over-correction to legalistic Christianity.  In our collective responses to rigidity and gracelessness, we have made opposite choices that are equally as detrimental to the advancement of the kingdom.  The cure for any of us who fail to speak clearly about what we love and what we hate, whether it is rooted in fear or poor theology, is time with Jesus and time to immerse ourselves in His Word.  Christian education, in the context of relationship, cures ambivalence.

Today, I follow Jesus who ate with sinners, put his arm around the broken and repentant but, simultaneously, spoke clearly about righteousness and unrighteousness.  His speech was so clear that his audience saw no ambivalence.  They left everything to follow Him or they picked up stones to murder Him.  If others fail to react to me in the same way, my speech is diluted and I have a ways to go to look like, and sound like, my Savior.

Sharpen the sword of my mouth with the sword of the Word.  Clearer speech, compelling speech, in the remainder of my life.  Amen

The People Of God And Politics

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By the waters of Babylon, there we sat down and wept, when we remembered Zion. On the willows there we hung up our lyres.  For there our captors required of us songs, and our tormentors, mirth, saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”  How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land?  Psalm 137:1-4

Not all Psalms were written by David.  This one was written by a Jewish exile living in Babylon.  Having seen his homeland destroyed and having been taken as a captive into the foreign culture of the Babylonian Empire, he struggled to find his voice and get his spiritual bearings. 

His new homeland was corrupt and excessive.  The people of God stuck out like sore thumbs.  They were invited to sing their simple songs of faith to the taunts of the crowd, not unlike the Jews who were made to perform in the camps for the military tyrants who despised them. 

In another year, our song will be rendered just as peculiar against the backdrop of the next presidential election. I’m holding my breath for what will come, but that is a carnal and short-sighted response.  God is encouraging each of us to breathe, to breathe in the oxygen of His Holy Spirit.  Grace will enable us to stand and sing the songs of the exiles. The lyrics will reflect our allegiance to the King of Kings, His kingdom, and its culture of holiness. 

Though we are made to feel like outsiders, and though we bear the brunt of society’s scorn, our voices must not be silenced.  The noise of evil must not prevail over the praises of God’s people. It’s not time to close the piano lid or retire the pen of the poet. Never has the music of faith been more important, and never are songs sweeter than when saints raise their joyful voices with tear-stained faces. 

Let my hope sing. Amen

Guided Into The Unknown

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But you will not go out in haste, nor will you go as fugitives; for the LORD will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard.  Isaiah 52:12

You know the feeling of being blindsided, don’t you?  It is to be caught unaware, to be provoked from an unexpected position.  Your adrenalin surges and there’s hardly time to collect your thoughts. 

God promises that we need never suffer the mindset of someone who went out in haste.  If you’ve ever left your house in a hurry, you know that you ended up not having what you needed.  Had there been deliberate planning, provisions would have been at your fingertips. Today, you and I are not fugitives on the run, scavenging to get our needs met.  We stop to breathe in the Spirit.  We look toward heaven and ask God to still our wildly beating hearts.  We ask Him to clothe us with the mind of Christ.  We look to His Word to illumine our next steps, to jump off the page with precise application.  If fragile emotionally, financially, and in any other way, Christ is gathering us from behind and keeping us together as His protected bride.  We are on course and are living for such a time as this.  

Oh, it’s possible to turn elsewhere for advice. King Saul, when under pressure, didn’t consult God and turned to a medium for guidance.  It was careless, sinful, and brought about his death. This is the time for each of us to press into the God of the Ages for instruction.  Isaiah also said, “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way.  Walk in it.”’ 

Never have I been safer and more loved, Jesus.  Amen

While I Wait In Moab

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Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us.  This is the Lord; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.  Isaiah 25:9

From its very beginning, the land of Moab was cursed.  Moab was born to Lot, and his daughter; incest was the foundation of their history.  As the nation grew stronger, it became increasingly evil.  They practiced sorcery, open adultery, incest, and prostitution.  They even threw any unwanted children into the fire.  When Moab is spoken of metaphorically in scripture, it refers to any place where evil reigns and God is dishonored. 

As a nation, we are residing in Moab.  We are waiting for the Lord’s salvation when He destroys all their fortresses.  While we wait, we have great hope in the promises of a God who preserves his people until the day of deliverance.

‘Living in Moab’ can also describe the personal existence of many of God’s children.  Maybe you are one of them.  Moab may represent your home.  You co-exist with unbelievers who are resistant to the very idea of Christ Jesus. They sin boldly without the slightest wince.

The land of Moab can characterize a nation, a home, a business, and even a church.  Every living entity has a beginning, a righteous or unrighteous inception.  Many try to invoke God’s blessing on their Titanic.  They are painting and redecorating their sinking ship, and prayers for a blessing is an affront to a holy God. 

If you dwell with Moabites and God has not delivered you out of their hand, be joyful in Hope, yet humble.  Pray for their salvation.  One of them could be a ‘Ruth’.  And when there is blatant sin, ask God for the strength to speak the words of Jesus. He modeled ministry against the backdrop of Jewish religiosity and the Roman Empire.      

Don’t let me wimp out and shut down.  As I wait for Your salvation, I want to be Your prophet.  In Jesus’ name, Amen

Live In The Not Yet

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I depend on God alone; I put my hope in him. He alone protects and saves me; he is my defender, and I shall never be defeated. My salvation and honor depend on God; he is my strong protector; he is my shelter.  Psalm 62:5

In WWII, Japan surrendered to American forces and yet the news of the surrender took weeks and months to reach isolated Japanese garrisons.  Soldiers continued to fight.  Men continued to die.  Those who were ignorant of Japan’s surrender were caught in the ‘not yet’.

I have often been confused by the promises of God.  He is my healer.  Does that mean that I will never know a sick period?  He is my deliverer.  Does that mean that I will never know a season of oppression?  He is the God who avenges.  Does that mean that He will settle all scores on the heels of wrongdoing?  He is my strength.  Does that mean that I will never languish in seasons of weakness?  He is my shield.  Does that mean that I will never be wounded by fiery arrows?  He is my comfort.  Does that mean that I will never feel alone or forsaken?  I can get tripped up when I’m in a prolonged ‘not yet’ period.

Solomon said it another way in his well-known discourse. 

“There is an appointed time for everything.  A time to give birth and a time to die; a time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted.  A time to kill and a time to heal; a time to tear down and a time to build up.”  Ecclesiastes 3

Without listening to God, I cannot guess which season I am in.  I can easily become an agent that works against God’s purposes.  I’ll try to preserve what God is dismantling.  I’ll try to bring something to a close when it’s ready to be launched into a new fruitfulness. I’ll comfort when I should exhort.  The Christian life is a faith walk and we live against the backdrop of human need and impaired spiritual vision.  

Lord, you strengthen the fiber of my faith in the ‘not yet.’  I ‘know that I know’ that You will fulfill every promise when the time is right. Amen

Which Teacher Would You Want?

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I will never forget your precepts, for by them you have given me life.  Psalm 119:93

If you could choose one of the following two teachers, who would it be?  The topic they’ve been given to cover is ~ THE COMFORTING WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.

#1. The first teacher does a word study on ‘comfort.  He cross references well and takes you to many passages and stories where God creatively comforted His children.  It’s obvious he has a grasp of the topic and is out to share information with those who will listen.  The handouts he provides are extensive.

#2. The second teacher speaks briefly about the text.  He, too, defines ‘comfort’ and references some related passages.  Then, thoughtfully, he begins to reminisce and speak of a time when he was in desperate need of comfort and companionship.  It was not to be found.  He was alone in a world of family and friends and wondered how he could make it one more day in his sense of isolation.  He pressed into God and experienced the comforting work of the Spirit firsthand.

The first teacher works hard at his faith but it’s mostly cerebral.  Like a graduating senior who tries to remember calculus formulas so he can ace his freshman math course in college, this bible scholar files away biblical facts.  He approaches the bible like a textbook to be mastered.  His knowledge of God is based mostly on what he has read, not on what he has experienced.

The second teacher is not so much aware that he is a student as much as he is a disciple of one he loves dearly.  Life’s experiences brought him to the end of himself and his great need of a Savior ushered him into a relationship with Jesus. As he told the story, you were unaware of time and the weight of his words fell on your heart.

How much easier to remember God’s precepts when they have been woven into the cement of our experiences.  When the Word has been life-saving, it is not soon forgotten.

 Help me teach others through the storylines of my life.  Amen

Crafting a Letter

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How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!  Psalm 119:103

Oh, the exquisite beauty of the scriptures.  They enlarge my spirit, they redeem my soul, and they bring healing to my body.  They minister to every part of me as a woman.  Without them, I just mark time and fall into a routine that has little eternal meaning.  But with them, I’m walk into the expanse of Eden’s restoration.

Have you ever labored over a letter?  I have.  I keep a neat stash of beautiful note cards in the drawer of my desk.  None of them have a commercial sentiment on the inside because I believe that personal thoughts are so much more effective.   When I take one out, write something and then send it, that person may never know the time that went into the creation of just those few paragraphs.  No matter what I write, I experience a kind of travail over what is conceived on paper.  If the recipient could know the thoughts and prayers behind the card, would they cherish the words more?  Probably so.  Yet, I’m realistic enough to know that some cards will eventually get tossed after several readings.  If my words were handled carelessly, it was out of ignorance.

Charles Spurgeon said, “Scriptures are the writings of the living God: each letter was penned with an Almighty finger; each word in it dropped from the everlasting lips, each sentence was dictated by the Holy Spirit.”  Would I handle the Word of God differently today if I knew He labored over each word from the beginning of time?  What if I could have perceived His heart beating fast, pen in hand, asking “How should I reveal myself to her?  What words of love will she understand?  What words of warning will prevent her from going astray to  face unnecessary pain?  What promises will she hang onto?” 

If only I could comprehend that each word has been carefully chosen, inspired by a foreknowledge of each saint who would read them.  They are for all of us, yet just for me as well.  That is the miracle of them.  Whatever word you need today, the Holy Spirit will lead you to it and it will be the word that brings life and sweetness.  Hold it.  Tremble with wonder.  Breathe deeply of its fragrance.

Today, I will not handle Your words casually.  Let them drip into my soul until I taste their sweetness.  In Jesus’ name, Amen

The Longings Behind Hope

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My soul longs for your salvation; I hope in your word.  Psalm 119:81

I’m guessing that each of us is waiting for something to be resolved that is painfully unresolved.  While it hangs in the balance, there is continual longing.

Someone is waiting to get well.  Someone else is waiting for a job or anxious to go back to work.  An anxious mom is waiting for inner peace.  A harassed spouse is waiting for intervention.  Someone very ill is waiting for a definitive diagnosis.  Someone is waiting for deliverance out of crushing circumstances.  Someone else is waiting for the ability to face the future after the death of a loved one.   All are waiting for the fulfillment of God’s promises.

I can never know if the salvation I seek is of the immediate kind, the kind that will come in the next twelve months, or is of a distant kind.  The prophets waited on a word and it stretched their eyes to distant horizons.  Abraham believed but he never got to see “the Word become flesh.”  Yet, the hope of it sustained him.

All my hope lies in God.   The knowledge of salvation, now or in the future, sustains and comforts me.  I do know this ~ I will live to see His Word fulfilled.  My hope is well placed because His promises are solid.  In whatever ways my faith is stretched, in whatever ways salvation waits on some distant horizon, God will give me grace to wait.  He will fill my heart with the Word of promise and with the hope that comes every word He speaks.  I don’t need to see it come true today to know joy.  I just need to know and believe the One who says that it will come true.

Creation groans for the revealing of the sons of God.  In the waiting, His Word continues to pulsate in my spirit with the kisses of promise.

Your Word simmers beneath the surface of my heart. Ever warm, I feel its comfort. Ever powerful, I feel its hope.  Amen