Author Archives: Stephen Rodgers

Age of Opportunity: Chapter 4 – Moment-by-Moment Pursuit of God

by Josh Liu

O LORD, you have searched me and known me!
You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from afar.
You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways. (Psalm 139:1-3)

It is an amazing truth that we may be known by God. That is, God is personally active in the life of a person and intimately relates to His elect children. Yet how often is it the case that we forget God. On a scale of 1-10 (1 being nonexistent, 10 being constant), how would you evaluate your consciousness of God throughout your day, from the moment you wake up to the moment you go to sleep? You are never at a moment where you can be truly self-sufficient or independent of God; to seek independence from God is sin. Adam and Eve incurred the curses of God by rejecting dependence on God’s words (Gen. 3:1-19); sinners under the wrath of God, refusing to honor God as God or give thanks to Him, are abandoned to their wickedness and depravity (Rom. 1:18-32). God ought to so saturate your life that to “remove” God from your life would leave nothing behind.

This is the theme of chapter four, “What Is a Family? A Job Description,” in Paul David Tripp’s Age of Opportunity. The present article seeks to summarize this chapter. This book is one resource the youth staff has been reviewing to complement our study on biblical parenting. The youth ministry seeks to partner with parents in the discipleship of their (youth-age) children, which requires understanding what God requires of parents revealed in His Word. In chapter three, Tripp proposed that the family is God’s primary learning community, with parents as the primary educators (Tripp, 41). He goes on in chapter four to describe principles that guide parents in teaching “God’s truth in everyday life” (p. 53). He identifies three foundational themes to every human situation for parents to remember: 1) family is a theological community, 2) family is a sociological community, 3) family is a redemptive community.

Family Is a Theological Community

Tripp posits that “the ultimate fact of family life is the fact that God exists and that we are his creatures” (Tripp, 54). Thus, the parents’ goal is to “root our children’s identity in the existence and glory of God” (Tripp, 54). Life finds true meaning in God.

Why think, work, obey, love, study, discuss, serve, or give? Why? Why? All of life blows into a chaotic mass of meaningless choices unless it is rooted in the one fact that makes every other fact make sense–GOD. (Tripp. 55)

This teaching by parents of a moment-by-moment consciousness of God is founded on Deuteronomy 6:20-25. To do this, parents should remember:

  1. That every moment is God’s moment. “There is never a moment where God is absent, or inactive” (Tripp, 56). Teens (or sinners in general) do not naturally live in God’s moment, but rather are wholly self-focused, focused on the horizontal and present.
  2. There is always a higher agenda. The greater purpose of every situation of life is God’s purpose, not personal desires or happiness.
  3. Their (the teens’) story in God’s story. The Bible has often been mishandled as some sort of glorified encyclopedia with verses organized topically. Scripture is the unified revelation of God’s story in redeeming His people. To teach God’s truth to children “means that every day, in every way possible, to embed the story of your teenager in the larger story of God” (Tripp, 59).
  4. To exhort their children to trust and obey God. People tend “to do things that are God’s job and they forget to do the things that he has called them to do” (Tripp, 61).

Family Is a Sociological Community

Family involves relationships, which will provide opportunities for conflict and sin (cf. James 4:1-2). Thus, Tripp writes,

The family will teach and model what it means to love your neighbor as yourself or it will violate that standard at every point and teach a self-centered individualism. Powerful messages about the nature of relationships will be taught in they way Mom and Dad talk to one another, serve one another, make decisions, and deal with their differences. It is impossible for a family to escape teaching and modeling some functional philosophy of relationship for its children. (Tripp, 63)

For example, you have heard of stories of siblings in a heated argument. In the midst of the yelling, the sister picks up a phone call from a friend and her tone and demeanor completely transforms to a sweet gentle voice. “The family is the context where the teenager’s true heart toward relationships is consistently exposed” (Tripp, 65).

Family Is a Redemptive Community

Finally, Tripp describes the family as the context of in-depth, constant modeling of the gospel. “Because of sin, the family is a place of unfulfilled promises, broken dreams, and disappointed expectations” (Tripp, 65). The revealing of sin opens opportunities for revealing the need of Christ. Tripp encourages parents to model the gospel by confessing their own specific sins and failures to their children, and communicating their own need of Christ. Tripp shares a powerful experience with his daughter who, one night, broke down before him, telling him that she

“can’t do it, I can’t do what you are asking me. It’s just impossible…When you tell me to give [my brothers] something of mine, I do, but I hate it and I am mad at you for asking me and mad at them for taking it! I don’t want to share, I hate it! It’s impossible to enjoy!…She began to realize that in her own strength, by the exercise of her own will, she could not obey God. In her room that night, she began to cry out for Christ. (Tripp, 67)

Parents need to remember that empowering work of God in those who put their faith in Him (cf. 2 Cor. 12:9; Phil. 4:13). Tripp also encourages parents to not distance themselves from their children’s sins and failures, but to identify with them (Tripp, 69). He reminds parents that they cannot shelter their children from this fallen world, but to redeem it by bringing in the gospel.

The parent can teach God’s truth everyday, in the mundane moments of life, by remembering that the family is a theological, sociological, and redemptive community. Ultimately to remember God and point their children to God in every moment. The parents’ job is not to raise “successful,” wealthy, well-liked, independent children. Rather, their job is to glorify God by bringing their children up in the instruction of the Lord. These are helpful reminders and principles as Lumos youth ministry seeks to support families through the ministry of prayer and God’s Word.

To encourage you to pursue moment-by-moment God awareness, consider the following reflections:

  1. When you worry about food or clothing, remember God’s gracious provisions (cf. Matt. 6:25).
  2. When you see a bird, may you be reminded of God’s sovereignty and care for you (cf. Matt. 6:26).
  3. When you’re stuck in line or in traffic, or are running late, remember God’s plans (cf. Prov. 16:9; James 4:13-15).
  4. When you have to work, remember God’s joy in faithfulness (cf. Matt. 25:21b; Eph. 6:5).
  5. When you suffer, remember the privilege of sharing in Christ’s sufferings (cf. Phil. 1:29; 1 Peter 4:13)
  6. When you see the stars, remember God’s omnipotence and omniscience over creation (cf. Ps. 147:4).
  7. When you experience illness, remember God’s strength and promise of eternal glory (cf. 2 Cor. 12:9; Rev. 21:4).
  8. When you handle money or valuables, may you remember the surpassing treasure of Christ who ransomed you with His precious blood (cf. Phil. 3:8; 1 Peter 1:18-19).
  9. When you wake up in the morning or age, remember God’s grace of life, mercies, and coming judgment (cf. Lam. 3:22-24; Ecc. 11:9).

The list goes on. May Scripture–God–saturate your every moment.

And His Hands Were Steady Until The Going Down Of The Sun

by Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Exodus 17:12

So mighty was the prayer of Moses, that all depended upon it. The petitions of Moses discomfited the enemy more than the fighting of Joshua. Yet both were needed. No, in the soul’s conflict, force and fervour, decision and devotion, valour and vehemence, must join their forces, and all will be well. You must wrestle with your sin, but the major part of the wrestling must be done alone in private with God. Prayer, like Moses’, holds up the token of the covenant before the Lord. The rod was the emblem of God’s working with Moses, the symbol of God’s government in Israel. Learn, O pleading saint, to hold up the promise and the oath of God before Him. The Lord cannot deny His own declarations. Hold up the rod of promise, and have what you will.

Moses grew weary, and then his friends assisted him. When at any time your prayer flags, let faith support one hand, and let holy hope uplift the other, and prayer seating itself upon the stone of Israel, the rock of our salvation, will persevere and prevail. Beware of faintness in devotion; if Moses felt it, who can escape? It is far easier to fight with sin in public, than to pray against it in private. It is remarked that Joshua never grew weary in the fighting, but Moses did grow weary in the praying; the more spiritual an exercise, the more difficult it is for flesh and blood to maintain it. Let us cry, then, for special strength, and may the Spirit of God, who helpeth our infirmities, as He allowed help to Moses, enable us like him to continue with our hands steady ‘until the going down of the sun;’ till the evening of life is over; till we shall come to the rising of a better sun in the land where prayer is swallowed up in praise.

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Getting to Know Pastor Mark

by Pastor Patrick Cho

Last month, Lighthouse Bible Church San Jose installed Mark Chin as their new senior pastor. We were super excited to celebrate together that momentous occasion for their church family. Mark, Julie, and their two boys, Athan and Joshua, have been getting acclimated to their new city and surroundings, so I thought this would be a good occasion for us to get to know Mark and his family a little better as well.

Tell me a little bit about your family.

Julie was born at the KP [Kaiser Permanente] in West LA where I worked as a per diem physician throughout seminary and recently. She’s a Korean American gal who grew up in Cerritos and went to UCI. She was a 5th grade school teacher. She loves music and loves to sing. Athan Jeremiah was named after Athanasius, the Bishop of Alexandria and the prophet Jeremiah. Athan’s the performer and party person in the family. Joshua Cephas was named after . . . well, kind of obvious right. He’s the stealth bomber in the Chin family.

Stealth bomber?

He’s quiet, flies under the radar, but delivers a major impact.

How did you and Julie first meet?

A friend tried to set me up with one of Julie’s best friends. [Note: You’ll have to talk to Mark and Julie to get the rest of that story.]

How and when did you become a Christian?

My mom laid the foundation by reading us (my brother and me) Bible stories every night from a children’s Bible and singing Gospel songs with us. Some of my earliest and best memories are hanging out with my brother on my parents’ bed while my mom played, sang, and read Bible stories to us. This went a long way to establish a simple understanding of who God is, who Jesus Christ is, and what sin is. The need for a saving relationship with Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins was pressed upon me at the Christian elementary school I went to in Toronto. Then one evening, I was compelled to get out of bed and approach my mom to ask what I needed to do to be saved and have a relationship with Jesus Christ. My mom shepherded me along the path of pursuing forgiveness for my sins from our Lord and Savior and of surrendering my life to His will and His Word.

Where did you study?

I studied at a variety of different places. I did my undergraduate at the University of Western Ontario in Canada. I did my MD at the University of Ottawa Canada. I did my family practice residency at the University of Toronto in Canada. I did my seminary training at The Master’s Seminary in Sun Valley, CA.

When did you know you wanted to become a pastor?

I suspect there were inklings part way through medical school while reading through the Sermon on the Mount in my dorm room.

Can you tell us a little bit about the rest of your family?

My grandfather emigrated from the south of China to Toronto, Canada in the early 1900’s. We suspect he was cheap labor for some aspect of the CP rail projects and then later established himself in the stereotypical Chinese laundry business. He then brought my father out of China in the 50’s when the Communist Party took over China. My dad was among the earliest Asian civil/structural engineers in Canada. My mom, half-English and half-Chinese, was adopted by a Christian family who were very British. She was a public health nurse. So my brother and I grew up in a very mixed cultural home, with a heavy emphasis on church, which became our primary community growing up.

What is your favorite food?

Ice cream. Chocolate.

What is your favorite pastime or hobby?

Reading – go figure. I used to love boogie boarding and skiing – but getting to surf and snow is a little more challenging these days.

Is there any passage of Scripture that has stayed with you or has been particularly helpful to you over the years?

The Sermon on the Mount still crushes me. John 15, 1 Peter, and the book of Jeremiah are very special to me.

Who have been some of the most influential people in your life?

My family, my buddy Ben Dosti, a Christian med school prof, Wayne Mack, John MacArthur, and Jim Pile and John Street – two pastors I served under at Grace Community Church.

What are some things you would like to accomplish before you die?

How long have I got? I just want to finish well – as a faithful servant of Christ, a faithful husband and father. I would love to preach/teach through most of the Bible.

How do you feel about joining the Lighthouse Bible Church family?

Thrilled to be part of a church that is so anchored to Christ and committed to living His Word in every aspect of its ministry!

The Precious Blood Of Christ

by Charles Haddon Spurgeon

From 1 Peter 1:19

Standing at the foot of the cross, we see hands, and feet, and side, all distilling crimson streams of precious blood.

  • It is ‘precious’ because of its redeeming and atoning efficacy. By it the sins of Christ’s people are atoned for; they are redeemed from under the law; they are reconciled to God, made one with Him.
  • Christ’s blood is also ‘precious’ in its cleansing power; it ‘cleanseth from all sin.’ ‘Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.’ Through Jesus’ blood there is not a spot left upon any believer, no wrinkle nor any such thing remains. O precious blood, which makes us clean, removing the stains of abundant iniquity, and permitting us to stand accepted in the Beloved, notwithstanding the many ways in which we have rebelled against our God.
  • The blood of Christ is likewise ‘precious’ in its preserving power. We are safe from the destroying angel under the sprinkled blood. Remember it is God’s seeing the blood which is the true reason for our being spared. Here is comfort for us when the eye of faith is dim, for God’s eye is still the same.
  • The blood of Christ is ‘precious’ also in its sanctifying influence. The same blood which justifies by taking away sin, does in its after-action, quicken the new nature and lead it onward to subdue sin and to follow out the commands of God. There is no motive for holiness so great as that which streams from the veins of Jesus.
  • And ‘precious,’ unspeakably precious, is this blood, because it has an overcoming power. It is written, ‘They overcame through the blood of the Lamb.’ How could they do otherwise? He who fights with the precious blood of Jesus, fights with a weapon which cannot know defeat.

The blood of Jesus! sin dies at its presence, death ceases to be death: heaven’s gates are opened. The blood of Jesus! we shall march on, conquering and to conquer, so long as we can trust its power!

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Marriage Check Up: Session 1

by Pastor Patrick Cho & John Mark Wendler

For Grace Life this year, we are going through a helpful study to evaluate our marriages to see what areas are in need of some fine tuning (. . . or major overhaul!). In order to facilitate this discussion, we are walking through Wayne Mack’s book, Preparing for Marriage God’s Way. This is the book we normally use in our premarital counseling, but I have found it to be helpful as a tool to check up on marriages as well, post-wedding. For each session, both husband and wife are asked to do the homework independent of their spouse. They are then to get together to talk through their answers as a couple. (Since the book is intended to be a premarital counseling help, obviously, some of the questions need to be reinterpreted to fit a post-wedding relationship.) All the couples get together, then, at Grace Life to walk through the lesson together.

Each week, I am also asking one of our Grace Life members to write a brief response to the lesson. This week, John Mark Wendler offered his thoughts:

What was the title/topic of this week’s Grace Life discussion?

The first session of our study covered the basis for a successful marriage.

What were some of the highlights from the study or a general overview of what the study covered?

It is always helpful to hear from a group of people who have thoughtfully answered questions like, “What thoughts does the word marriage bring to you?” and “What are biblical reasons for marriage?” A highlight of tonight’s session was having to think critically about what my thinking on marriage is affected by, and if I am looking to God’s wisdom in Scripture for help in my own marriage.

What were some of the primary or significant Bible passages from the study?

  • 1 Corinthians 8:9-13 was brought up in relation to public displays of affection.
  • Ephesians 5:25 talking about the sacrificial love that Christ has for the church, so much so that he gave himself up, and how we in the same way are to love our wives.
  • Genesis 1-2 speaking to the foundations for marriage.
  • Philippians 2:3-4 talking about considering others as more important than yourself. Again instruction that holds a very high place in a successful marriage.

What lessons did you find particularly challenging from the study? Why?

Instruction was given to avoid giving advice to others exclusively or solely from my own experience with dating. This is always a helpful reminder to me, as personal experience is something easily shared, I understand that even anything I’ve done that might be considered wise, pales in comparison to the wisdom of God, found in the Bible. Psalm 25:5 says, “Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.”

Were there any helpful responses from the group discussion that you did not originally consider? What were they? Why were they helpful?

It was helpful when one of the members took the 30,000 foot view of dating in the context of our discussion about giving advice to individuals who are dating or who want to date. This helped me, knowing that the guidance we are given in Scripture is applicable across cultures and time periods. By focusing on the, why, of what we do, particularly in the big areas of life, like choosing someone to spend the rest of your life with, it helps to focus on what that means for my own future, as I strive to serve my spouse for the glory of God. Knowing that the specifics can be arbitrary, the ultimate focus must be on pleasing our Lord and Savior.

Lift Them Up For Ever

by Charles Haddon Spurgeon

From Psalm 28:9

God’s people need lifting up. They are very heavy by nature. They have no wings, or, if they have, they are like the dove of old which lay among the pots; and they need divine grace to make them mount on wings covered with silver, and with feathers of yellow gold. By nature sparks fly upward, but the sinful souls of men fall downward. O Lord, ‘lift them up for ever!’ David himself said, ‘Unto Thee, O God, do I lift up my soul,’ and he here feels the necessity that other men’s souls should be lifted up as well as his own. When you ask this blessing for yourself, forget not to seek it for others also. There are three ways in which God’s people require to be lifted up.

  1. They require to be elevated in character. Lift them up, O Lord; do not suffer Thy people to be like the world’s people! The world lieth in the wicked one; lift them out of it! The world’s people are looking after silver and gold, seeking their own pleasures, and the gratification of their lusts; but, Lord, lift Thy people up above all this; keep them from being ‘muck-rakers,’ as John Bunyan calls the man who was always scraping after gold! Set thou their hearts upon their risen Lord and the heavenly heritage!
  2. Moreover, believers need to be prospered in conflict. In the battle, if they seem to fall, O Lord, be pleased to give them the victory. If the foot of the foe be upon their necks for a moment, help them to grasp the sword of the Spirit, and eventually to win the battle. Lord, lift up Thy children’s spirits in the day of conflict; let them not sit in the dust, mourning for ever. Suffer not the adversary to vex them sore, and make them fret; but if they have been, like Hannah, persecuted, let them sing of the mercy of a delivering God.
  3. We may also ask our Lord to lift them up at the last! Lift them up by taking them home, lift their bodies from the tomb, and raise their souls to Thine eternal kingdom in glory.

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Single Life Ministry Update

by Elder Johnny Kim

With summer behind us, the Single Life ministry had been gearing up for the new term which started in October. Since the Single Life year typically follows the academic year, in some sense, it feels as though we too are heading back to school. With that mentality, we find ourselves thinking ahead, anticipating what we might learn and experience in the upcoming year, determined to do our best to make it profitable and fruitful. Whether it’s through the Wednesday night Bible studies, the fellowship with like-minded brothers and sisters, or through the accountability we receive in small groups, opportunities abound for us to grow spiritually within the Single Life ministry. However, to borrow more from the analogy to school, unfortunately we can sometimes find ourselves fired up at the beginning of the year, resolved to make the most of those opportunities for the sake of our spiritual growth only to find that after a month or so, that fire of determination has fizzled out. We put our lives on cruise control and coast for the rest of the year without making much headway or progress, but doing enough just to “get by”. If we could be given the ability to take a snapshot of our spiritual state at the beginning of the year and at the end, one might even be hard pressed to see any difference.

As we look forward to this upcoming year in Single Life, it’s a good time to be reminded that the Christian life in general is meant to be a life of ongoing sanctification. In Philippians 3:13-14, Paul likens our Christian life to a race and like those who run in a race, we are to be constantly moving forward, pressing on and striving towards greater Christ-likeness in our lives. Those who run in a race, be it the 100 meter dash or a marathon, don’t stop to rest or to lie down and take a break in the middle of it, or worse, start going in the opposite direction. In the same way, Christian sanctification means that we are continually seeking to be more like Christ. To anyone observing a race, it’s clear the direction that the runners are headed. To anyone observing a Christian life, it should be just as clear that it’s a life headed in the direction of holiness.

The Single Life ministry is for those who desire to run the Christian race together. It’s a ministry devoted to the sanctification of singles and for those who desire to become more like Christ in every aspect of life (2 Corinthians 3:18). With each passing week, with every message preached, and with every small group accountability meeting, we should find ourselves that much closer to walking like Christ, talking like Christ, and loving like Christ. And as we worship together as one body, we are to constantly encourage one another and exhort one another toward that end. Throughout this year, my hope is that the singles would gain a greater understanding of God and who He is, a deeper desire and hunger for His Word, and a greater love for Christ and more joy in obeying Him. And at the end of this Single Life year, my hope is that we could somehow look back to the image of our spiritual lives now and see a difference that would be unmistakably clear and unmistakably positive.

For all of us who are Christian, regardless of whether we’re in Single Life or not, sanctification is going to be a lifelong process (Proverbs 20:9). And as long as we are sinners and as long as God is holy, we will face a constant struggle to conform our lives to the standard in His Word. It is a process that doesn’t let up, nor should it ever slow down even as we get older. So then, for all those who seek to be sanctified, the question we need to ask ourselves at the end of each day is simple: “Does my life look more like Christ’s today than it did yesterday?”

Signs of Spiritual Maturity #17: Lonely, Not Lonely

by Elder Peter Lim

As far back as I can remember, I’ve never been a needy person. That is, I never really felt like I needed other people to live a happy life. This was especially true when I first learned computer programming in 8th grade and felt like I would never run out of projects to work on. As I started to grow more spiritually mature, I wanted to read many books, particularly theological books. But I felt like I never had enough time for all of them. I started working with wood and started to acquire tools for my workshop. Again, I never run out of ideas for projects to work on. Sometimes I miss my shop because of my busyness so I just open it up, take a deep breath of the smell of wood and close it back up because I have other priorities. Ever since I was in the Boy Scouts, I love to go fishing. But alas, I don’t have much time for this. I have so many hobbies and no time to do them. How could I ever be lonely? To cap it off, I want to spend all my time with my wife and kids so how could I ever feel lonely? I found that through discussions with others and somewhat by my own experience, that people feel lonely in various common situations.

Soon After Graduation from High School

Whether someone had a dynamic social life during HS or an awkward adolescence, many people are looking for a new social life as college begins. Some even look forward to going out of town for college in search of creating a new life for themselves. They try out new groups and experiences to find satisfaction and community. For many who grew up in the church, they go searching for Christian groups to see whether their faith can withstand what they perceive to be logical arguments from other world views. It is helpful when they find a church where they are fed from the solid food of God’s Word. When this happens along with a community of strong believers, it’s the best of both worlds. But for those who don’t find both, it can become a very lonely place. It can seem like everyone else is enjoying a renewed vigor in their faith but that God has abandoned them. It’s easy to become bitter, resentful, and lonely.

Soon After Graduation from College

There’s only been one time in my whole life that I can remember feeling lonely. It happened a few months after graduating from college and I had moved back home with my parents. It was nearing Christmas time and there was a Christmas Concert at Grace Community Church that I was interested in going to. I didn’t feel like going alone so I started going through a mental list of people that I could ask to go with. It turned out that they were busy, didn’t want to go, or not in town. It hit me all of a sudden that I didn’t have any friends who were available to go with me. It was the only time in my life that I ever shed tears over the feeling of loneliness. People who get lonely soon after graduation are oftentimes those who had a busy social life during college. They had taken advantage of the many occasions to enjoy the convenience of college life, enjoying YOLO moments and spending many hours just hanging out. When removed from this environment, they find that life isn’t as fun and even start questioning whether those relationships were even real. They realize what older people meant whenever they talked about college life not being the real world.

Lonely in a Crowd

It would seem improbable that anyone could feel lonely in an environment where there are many others who are enjoying Christian fellowship, but it’s possible to feel lonely in the midst of a crowd. This often happens when it feels like everyone else is enjoying a closeness that is not available to oneself. They may have thoughts such as ” Would it make any difference in anyone’s life if I were to cease to exist?” These feelings can occur whether others are experiencing a genuine fellowship or even a shallow one. For the moment, even a shallow relationship is desired but doesn’t seem available. Cynical feelings of shallowness in all relationships can jade one’s attitude. Even married people can feel lonely when their spouse is busy with work or things other than oneself, even when those other things are admittedly good and profitable things to do.

Celibate for Life

Perhaps nothing causes as much loneliness as the feeling that this loneliness will continue to be a reality for the rest of their life. When strong desires to get married go unfulfilled and there’s not even a prospect of a future with a special someone, it’s difficult to be content. It’s nearly impossible to imagine a future where loneliness will be bearable.

The Mature Response

It is not a sign of a mature Christian who is struggling with feelings of loneliness to simply stop feeling lonely, as if that is possible. This kind of advice is never helpful. The best examples from the Bible are when those who struggle with these feelings discipline their minds and hearts to be satisfied with God alone. When they hear God’s Word and switch their perspective to see Gods perspective, that’s when they are able to give praise to God and take their eyes off of their own feelings of loneliness. They focus on the character of God, that He makes a home for the lonely. (Ps. 68:6) David often felt alone during his distresses. (Ps. 25:16, 102:7) Job felt alone when the words of advice coming from his “friends” and even his wife were unhelpful. (Job 2:9, 19:14, ) But when they heard from God, they were instantly convicted and were able to focus on God. Their situations didn’t change right away but they were able to trust in God for their satisfaction and for their future. The mature but lonely Christian will shift his focus toward God and His character rather than his own situation.

A good church will also help minister to lonely people by providing opportunities and exhorting people to reach out to those who may be struggling with various issues, including loneliness. A mature Christian understands that in the church, the Body of Christ, every member is essential to the well being of the whole. Someone who has not been seen in a while should be pursued but the lonely, mature Christian won’t wait for that to happen. He will reach out and join small groups where people will keep each other accountable. If others are not helpful, they are not to blame. The mature Christian will understand that others have their weaknesses too so he will continue to reach out and not give up. A practical suggestion to those who are lonely is to focus on serving others who are also feeling lonely. Perhaps you can be a blessing in someone else’s life. So there is a responsibility of the members of the church to look for opportunities to serve those who are suffering in loneliness and there is responsibility on the part of the lonely but mature Christian to seek help. We are all in this together. We don’t need to hide behind a facade that everything is wonderful for a Christian but that we continue to strive to move forward because we trust in God and His goodness even during difficult circumstances. (Prov. 3:5-6) The more we focus on Him, our loneliness will turn into not being lonely.

My God, My God, Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me?

by Charles Haddon Spurgeon

From Psalm 22:1

We here behold the Saviour in the depth of His sorrows. No other place so well shows the griefs of Christ as Calvary, and no other moment at Calvary is so full of agony as that in which His cry rends the air-‘My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?’ At this moment physical weakness was united with acute mental torture from the shame and ignominy through which He had to pass; and to make His grief culminate with emphasis, He suffered spiritual agony surpassing all expression, resulting from the departure of His Father’s presence. This was the black midnight of His horror; then it was that He descended the abyss of suffering. No man can enter into the full meaning of these words. Some of us think at times that we could cry, ‘My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?’ There are seasons when the brightness of our Father’s smile is eclipsed by clouds and darkness; but let us remember that God never does really forsake us. It is only a seeming forsaking with us, but in Christ’s case it was a real forsaking. We grieve at a little withdrawal of our Father’s love; but the real turning away of God’s face from His Son, who shall calculate how deep the agony which it caused Him?

In our case, our cry is often dictated by unbelief: in His case, it was the utterance of a dreadful fact, for God had really turned away from Him for a season. O thou poor, distressed soul, who once lived in the sunshine of God’s face, but art now in darkness, remember that He has not really forsaken thee. God in the clouds is as much our God as when He shines forth in all the lustre of His grace; but since even the thought that He has forsaken us gives us agony, what must the woe of the Saviour have been when He exclaimed, ‘My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?’

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