Do You Deserve to be Happy?

Does anyone deserve to be happy? Some people believe certain individuals deserve happiness, based on their merit or how much unhappiness they have experienced. I recently watched a young-romance movie, and I saw some of the movie's fans post about how they believed the movie's main heroine deserved to be happy. One of these fans wrote, "This girl was so strong I really admire her, she deserves the whole world." Another fan wrote, "She deserves to live the rest of her life happy." Putting aside the fictional element behind these comments, this does raise a question: Does anyone deserve to be happy? What do people deserve?

There are many opinions on this question, but opinions don't matter when faced with the truth. The truth about whether people deserve to be happy (as well as the truth on similar questions) can be found in the Bible. This book is the word of God (2 Timothy 3:16), and all the words God speaks are always true (Psalm 119:160). It may sound illogical for me to seemingly write "the Bible is true, because the Bible says it is," but I'm saying the Bible is true because it proves itself to be true (the word for something that proves itself is "axiomatic"). Several individuals have demonstrated that the Bible is self-affirming, and you can see some of their videos here, there and here. Based on this premise that the Bible is true (for all of time), then what does the Bible say about what people deserve?

When we talk about people getting what they deserve, we are talking about people being treated fairly (receiving what they earned). Do you get mad when you see people not get what they seemingly deserve? God is the same. He is crushed when He sees people not being treated fairly (Proverbs 11:1), and He desires to right that wrong. Paul, one of God's friends and followers, once wrote that when someone unfairly harmed him God would not let that unfairness stand, (2 Timothy 4:14). God does not let go those who harm others or unfairly cause distress. He has promised He will repay every wrong anyone does (Romans 12:19), and God is not slow in keeping His promises (2 Peter 3:9).

You know, God's promise to repay wrong includes you and I. We have all wronged others (Romans 3:23), and God will repay for what has been done without prejudice (Colossians 3:25). Paul wrote about those who do what is wrong in his letter to the Romans in chapter 2 from verses 1 to 3:

You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. Now we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. So when you, a mere human being, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment?

God does not like it when people are hurt or wronged, but He
loves it when His friends and followers "carry each
other's burdens" (Galatians 6:2) and show love to
their neighbor (Mark 12:31).

Tragically,  the Bible does not mince words, when it says what anyone deserves for the wrong they have done. In the true words of the Bible it is clearly written that all of us lived "gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath," (Ephesians 2:3). All people on earth deserve for God to be angry with them. You and I and everyone who lived had a heart that wanted to do bad things and make God angry (Matthew 15:19), and there is no good reason to want to anger God. God is the most loving person to ever exist (1 John 4:16). The God who created every human (and everything) is a loving and kind creator, but all of us have decided to not listen to Him, disrespect Him and refuse to love Him (Isaiah 53:6). All our ignorance, disrespect and even hatred of the God of love deserves only one thing; His righteous anger. Why should those with whom God is angry deserve any happiness?

"If God’s so powerful and so good, how come bad stuff happens?" I’m not going to answer the question until you ask it correctly... Ask me this: "How on earth can a holy and righteous God know what I did and thought and said yesterday and not kill me in my sleep last night?"...Until you ask the question that way, you believe that there are some individuals who, in and of themselves, deserve something other than the wrath of Almighty God.

- Voddie Baucham

If God is rightly mad at us, then we certainly don't deserve to be happy. Considering this, though, if God is the one who created all life and sustains it (Colossians 1:17), and He controls how our lives turn out (Proverbs 21:1-2), then how come God allows anyone to be happy? It is because God is merciful and gracious, giving to His creation what it does not deserve. No one with whom God is angry should deserve anything good from Him, yet God "causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous," (Matthew 5:45). He allows everyone to experience His common-grace (defined as the universal and undeserved goodness of God toward those who disrespect and wrong Him). No one deserves to be happy, but God, full of mercy, grace and love, lets His creation experience happiness.

Some people think if they find "the one" then they will be
happy, but the only "one" who can truly make anyone
happy is their first love, (1 John 4:19), the God who
put in their heart His desire to be with them
for eternity (Ecclesiastes 3:11).

There is a reason why God allows anyone to experience happiness, and that is because He wants to lead people to a way that will let them be free from His anger (Romans 2:4). God is not quick to repay us for the wrong we have done (Psalm 103:8), and He gives us the time-length of our whole lives to avoid and never face His incoming righteous anger (Hebrews 9:27). The simple thing anyone alive can do, in order to not receive the anger they deserve, is to turn away from the unjust and unkind desires of their heart (this "turning away" is known as "repenting"). If anyone admits they are deserving of God's anger and repents, then God will keep them away from His anger (Isaiah 45:22, 1 John 1:9). When someone does this, then God takes away their heart that does what angers Him and gives them a beautiful new heart that can love Him and love others (Ezekiel 36:26). No one deserves this, but God gives this opportunity freely. God loves everyone in the world, and He has made a way for them to be free from what they by nature deserve and too instead experience eternal happiness (John 3:16).

You are, You are the answer

The hope and the end to the searching

You are, You are the portrait of grace

You're the One steady thing

In a world that aches

In a world that breaks

- Britt Nicole

Sources

• The Bible (New International Version)
• Young-Romance Movie's Ending: Comments Section
• Ligonier Ministries: Common Grace
• Voddie Baucham: The Supremacy of Christ and Truth in a Postmodern World
• Britt Nicole: World that Breaks

1 Chronicles 2:1-2 (Names of The People of Israel)

1 Chronicles 2:1-2

These were the sons of Israel: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Dan, Joseph, Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad and Asher.

If you are an avid Bible reader, chances are you have encountered something in your Bible that you just did not want to read. You saw it coming up on the page, and you wrestled with skimming over it or skipping it entirely. You may even have been reading out loud with gusto, until you suddenly tensed up knowing soon your tongue would have to perform unfathomable feats of verbal gymnastics. You said to yourself, "I'm going to read the whole chapter," but you hadn't counted on this; something so...boring. I am of course talking about those monotonous sections of Scripture, the bane of most Bible Studies: A long list of hard to pronounce names.

It can be bothersome having one's Bible reading come to a seemig halt, because you now have to read a list of dozens (even hundreds) of old Hebrew and Greek names. Most of the names in these lists don't have grand stories associated with them. The majority of people in these lists seem to be unextraordinary. (Anyone know who Ziph was or his father Jehallelel?) It can be incredibly boring having to read through lists like these in the Bible, and that can make it seem like it would be better for us to just skip or skim over these sections. This, however, would not be best for us, as the existence of these lists informs us about the nature of God and His Word.

First off, it is not a problem if what one reads in the Bible is boring, because we, as believers, should not read the Bible to be entertained. I doubt the scribes of Chronicles considered the first nine chapters of their book riveting, or Moses thought the early chapters of Numbers were enthralling. God, however, did not choose people to write a captivating and well reviewed novel. He chose the prophets and all kinds of people to write down His words, whatever they may be. In fact, what God spoke through the Bible is the best thing anyone could ever read, because God's "way is perfect: The Lord’s word is flawless," (Psalm 18:30). There's no good reason to skip-over any section of a perfect book; a book that is "useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness," (2 Timothy 3:16). If you set out to read a whole chapter of Scripture, and in the midst of your reading choose to ignore or glance over parts of it, then you have chosen to not listen to all of God's perfect words that He penned for your benefit. If indeed God's chosen followers listen to His voice (John 10:27), then why would they want to avoid anything He has spoken for them?

Yes, some things written in the Bible can be considered boring, but
a believer should study as much of Scripture as possible, so they can
"present [themselves] to God as one approved," (2 Timothy 2:15).

In addition to this, it is an honor to have one's name mentioned in the Bible. This is so much so that God "blotting out" someone's name can be considered a curse (Psalm 109:13), but God remembering someone's name can be a beautiful gift (Luke 23:42). Do you feel good when you see your name attached with something beneficial or noble? (Such as when every member of a local sports team is mentioned in a newspaper, or when someone posts on social media thanking everyone who spent time with them over the weeked) How do you imagine one of the people living in a nearly destroyed Israel must have felt, when they read their name or a loved ones name in the holy words of God, and only because they had returned to their nearly destroyed city? (Ezra 2) Were the descendants of Levi glad to know their hard work in the Lord's house as God's chosen first-born was honored, by having their names recorded for all time? (Numbers 3:11-13) Anyone who does something worthy of recognition, whether it is serving as a king (1 Kings 11:41) or simply delivering a letter (Romans 16:1), loves when due recognition is given. God honors His follower's work for His name-sake, by remembering their name.

Indeed, God knows the names of all His followers from generation to generation. He is known as "the God who sees,” and everyone who belongs to Him can say, "I have now seen the One who sees me," (Genesis 16:13). This was true for the people of Israel, as it is for God's church today. Paul wrote that all who follow the commands of the Lord will receive peace and mercy from God as "the Israel of God," (Galatians 6:16). All who have put their faith in Christ have been "grafted into" the lineage of Israel (Romans 11:24). Know this, the names of all the people of the Israel of God are written down in a sacred book, a book God Himself keeps. This book is known as the Book of Life, and in it is a list of names of all those whom God has declared holy, righteous and redeemed (Psalm 69:28, 1 Corinthians 1:30). Every name in this book will be acknowledged by Jesus Christ before His Father and all of His angels (Revelation 3:5). How beautiful it will be, for those whose name is spoken in the reading of the longest list of difficult to pronounce names ever written (and every name will be pronounced perfectly).

The God who knows your name longs to write it down, so you may
be in His presence forever, for "He is patient with you, not wanting
anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance," (2 Peter 3:9).

Sources

• The Bible (New International Version)
• OpenBibleInfo: The Book of Life

What Makes Something a Sin?

Everyone wants to do what is right and avoid doing what is wrong, even if it's only in their own eyes. People often disagree on what is right and what is wrong, but more often they disagree about why they think something is right or wrong. If everyone agreed on what makes something right or wrong, then they may be able to agree more on whether something is good or bad. People would hear less questions from friends and acquaintances like, "If it's not harming anyone, why is it bad?" "If no one finds out what was done, then is it really wrong?" or "If it's for a good cause, then aren't the bad means justified?" What if we all knew what makes something bad, or as the Bible calls it, sin?

Trying to figure out what makes something a sin or not is not a new question. People have been doing bad things and sinning for nearly as long as there have been people on earth. Way back at the time of the creation of the world, the first two humans God created sinned, and they tried to answer why they did what they did (Genesis 3:12-13). When God, Himself, confronted them, He said they had done wrong, because they disobeyed Him (Genesis 3:11). As time progressed, more and more people on earth sinned and disobeyed God. Even God's own chosen nation of Israel "did evil in the eyes of the Lord; they forgot the Lord their God," (Judges 3:7). The Isrealites, though, did not believe what they were doing was wrong, because "in those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit," (Judges 17:6). God's view of goodness and sin does not always match what people believe, but who should get the last word on the matter?

Some think determining right and wrong is as easy as picking the "angel"
or the "devil," but the devil "masquerades as an  angel," (2 Corinthians 11:14),
a human's nature is devilish; doing what God hates (Ephesians 2:4)
and anyone who does not know God and the truth has a "conscience
that has been seared as with a hot iron," (1 Timothy 4:2).

Perhaps the question should instead be: Who had the first word on the matter of good and evil? Certainly someone who knows what makes an action good or evil would more than likely be the first person to ever talk about such things. In the Bible God often speaks about sin and doing wrong and directly compares it to doing something foolish. The opposite of foolishness is wisdom. Whoever spoke first about wisdom would most likely know the most about it, as well as goodness. Even more so would be the person who created wisdom themselves. In Proverbs, the biggest book of wisdom in the Bible, it is written about wisdom in chapter 8 from verses 22 to 23 and 30:

The Lord brought me forth as the first of His works,

    before His deeds of old;

I was formed long ages ago,

    at the very beginning, when the world came to be.

    Then I was constantly at His side.

I was filled with delight day after day,

    rejoicing always in His presence

Wisdom, which is to say goodness, existed before any part of creation, and it has always been at God's side. God has the first word on wisdom, and so He should also have the last. Though humans can justify anything they do in their own minds, humans do not get the final verdict on whether what they have done is right or wrong. For it is written, "All a person’s ways seem pure to them, but motives are weighed by the Lord," (Proverbs 16:2). Something is not right or wrong because of anything any human says, but only because of what God says, and how He judges it. God should know better than anyone what makes something good or just, because He, Himself, is good (Luke 18:19) and He is just (Psalm 89:14).

It is the Lord who determines what is right and wise, and He has given us the ways of wisdom and goodness so that everyone who keeps His ways will be blessed (Proverbs 8:32). Goodness is a wonderful thing, "but those who fail to find [wisdom] harm themselves; all who hate [what is right] love death,” (Proverbs 8:36). Do not love death, but instead love God, and in so loving Him obey Him and do what is right (John 14:15).

"And God spoke all these words:" (Exodus 20:1).

Source

• The Bible (New International Version)

2 Peter 1:3 (Everything We Need through Knowledge of God)

2 Peter 1:3

His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness.

How does someone know, if they have everything they need? Consider someone who is packing-up to go on a long trip. How does someone packing for that trip truly know when they have packed everything they will need? Suppose they head out with enough food to last three days, because that's how long their trip would be, but then they were delayed and ran out of food. Now, they're hungry, even though they thought they had all they would need. Just as it's nearly impossible for someone to know if they have everything they need for a trip, Christians might have a hard time knowing if they have everything they need to run the race marked out for them (Hebrews 12:1). How can Christ's followers know they truly have everything they need for their trip from earth to heaven?

The apostle Peter wrote a letter to some early Christians struggling with similar questions. He opened his letter with this assurance, "[God's] divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness," (2 Peter 1:3). Peter is proclaiming that a Christian has everything they will need in order to live a life for God. Of course, one can wonder how it is that God can give His followers everything they will need to live for Him, and even then how His followers can receive all they need.

Peter says that it is by God's divine power that God can give His followers what they need. God knows exactly what His people need, even before they ask Him for it, (Matthew 6:8), because God is omniscient, He is all-knowing (Psalm 139:1-6). God has the power to do whatever He pleases, (Psalm 115:3), because He is omnipotent, He is all-powerful (Genesis 1:1). God also will not withhold what His followers need, (Matthew 7:11), because God is omnibenevolent, He is all-loving (1 John 4:16). It is for all these reasons that Jesus can proclaim what He says in Matthew chapter 6 from verses 31 to 33:

So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

So, God can give a Christian everything they need by His power and because of His nature (He is all-knowing, powerful and loving). Yet, how does a Christian receive all of their needs from God?

Peter says a Christian receives all they need to live a Godly life through knowledge of God. A Christian's knowledge of God is a key to their living a Godly life. Paul prayed for Christians that God would "fill [them] with the knowledge of His will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that [they] may live a life worthy of the Lord and please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God," (Collosians 1:9-10). It is by one's knowledge of God that someone is able to have faith, and it is by faith that someone is saved (Ephesians 2:8). One does not need to know everything about God in order to follow Him, for no one can truly understand the mind of God (Isaiah 40:13). One needs only knowledge simple enough for a child to understand to have a place in the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 18:3). If anyone has simple knowledge of God's love for them (John 3:16), then they have a faith that saves (Acts 13:39), and through this knowledge they have been given everything they will need to live a life worthy of God, pleasing to Him in every way.

All who follow Christ have everything they need, to best live for His glory. There's no need to double check, cross-off a list or scour one's house for anything else. A Christian's bags are already packed, by their loving Father, with no need to add or take-away. Christ's followers can run the race (1 Corinthians 9:24), fight the good fight (1 Timothy 6:12), and carry the burden (Matthew 11:29-30) all the way to end, without ever turning back. They need not worry how they will do these things, for they can be confident that God "who began a good work in [them] will carry it on to completion," (Philippians 1:6). It is for this reason Peter writes this urgence in 2 Peter chapter 1 from verses 5 to 9:

Make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.

Sources

• The Bible (New International Version)
• Bible Hub: Knowledge
• Knowing Jesus: Saving Faith

Can You Lose the Holy Spirit?

The Holy Spirit is one of God's most precious gifts. He freely gives His Spirit to those who follow Him, but is it possible for God to take this gift back? Is it possible for a Christian to do something that causes them to lose the Holy Spirit (either in part or in whole)? Can anyone who has received the Holy Spirit lose this gift?

When believers think about the Holy Spirit, it's common to think of Him as something from the Bible in the New Testament, but the Holy Spirit appears several times in the Old Testament. One moment is at the anointing of Israel's first king, Saul. When Saul was anointed king, the prophet Samuel told him, "The Spirit of the Lord will come powerfully upon you... you will be changed into a different person," (1 Samuel 10:6). So, the Spirit of the Lord (the Holy Spirit) remained steadfastly with Saul throughout his kingship, until one day when Saul gravely disobeyed God. Saul's disobedience was so great "the Spirit of the Lord had departed from Saul," (1 Samuel 16:14). From this section of Scripture, we can see that in the times of the Old Testament it is possible for God to give His Holy Spirit and to remove it Himself, as an action against disobedience.

Later on in the Old Testament, though, we come across the next king of Israel, David. As with Saul, David was anointed king by Samuel, "and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David," (1 Samuel 16:13). So, during David's reign as king, the Holy Spirit was with him. One day, though, like Saul, David committed a horrible act of disobedience against God. Confronted with his guilt and sin, David cried out what is written in Psalm 51 from verses 10 to 12:

Create in me a pure heart, O God,

    and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Do not cast me from Your presence

    or take Your Holy Spirit from me.

Restore to me the joy of Your salvation

    and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

God honored David's cry of repentance, and God never took away His Holy Spirit. From this section of Scripture, we can see that disobedience can lead to God taking away His Holy Spirit, but this is not always the case.

So, how come Saul was abandoned for his sins, but David remained in the Holy Spirit's presence? When Saul was caught in his sin, he asked that he be forgiven, but he did not ask God to forgive his sins. He only asked for Samuel to forgive him (1 Samuel 15:24-25). No one can forgive our sins, except God, (Isaiah 43:25). David, knowing this, confessed his sins, saying to God, "Against You, You only, have I sinned and done what is evil in Your sight," (Psalm 51:4). Because David asked God and not any man for forgiveness, the Lord forgave him, for it is written, "If we confess our sins, [God] is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness," (1 John 1:9). It is because God can maintain the righteousness of all those who follow Him that those who follow Him can keep the Holy Spirit.

God described David as a man who was after God's heart (Acts 13:22).

This maintaining of righteousness is not something that was readily available in the times of the Old Testament, but it is available to all who live today. Jesus came to earth to make it so, as it is written, "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life," (John 3:16).  All who follow God today can remain righteous in God's sight, because all of the sin of God's followers was paid for on the cross of Jesus Christ. It is written, "'He himself bore our sins' in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; 'by His wounds you have been healed,'" (1 Peter 2:24). We, who believe in God and what He has done, have been healed from our sins, and so "in Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace," (Ephesians 1:7). 

It is written that those who have been redeemed by God are His children, (John 1:12). God's children belong to Him, and "if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ," (Romans 8:9). This means everyone who belongs to Christ has received the Holy Spirit.

So, it's not possible for someone who has received salvation through the cross of Jesus to lose the Holy Spirit, but is it possible for a believer to lose some of the Holy Spirit? Is it possible for someone to dwindle in some way and so have less of the Holy Spirit?

In answering this question, let's look at what the Holy Spirit is: The Holy Spirit is not a "what," but a "who." The Holy Spirit is not an "essence" or a "force," but a person with whom believers can have a relationship. This relationship with the Holy Spirit is just like a believer's relationship with the Lord and with Jesus, because, like those two, the Holy Spirit is God. For someone to say that they have lost some of the Holy Spirit, but not all of Him, would be the same as if someone said they lost some of a friend. A person can either have a relationship with someone or not have one (and things are never "complicated" with God). If someone has a relationship with a close friend who loves them for all of time, then that person will never lose their relationship with their friend; no matter how they feel about the relationship or their friend. It is written, "A friend loves at all times," (Proverbs 17:17), and God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, is the friend of all who believe in Him (John 15:15). Believers can never lose their relationship with God, because nothing "will be able to separate us from the love of God," (Romans 8:39).

Oftentimes you might hear somebody praying, or you might even be praying this, "God, I pray that you would give me more of Your Spirit." ... God has already given you His precious Holy Spirit. The Bible says that our bodies are a temple of the Holy Spirit, and that the Spirit of God dwells within us. So, to pray and ask God to give us more of His Spirit, that's not gonna happen, because God does not give Himself to us in pieces.

- Allen Parr

Though it is better for us to think of the Holy Spirit as a person
in much the same way Jesus Christ is, the Holy Spirit is often
depicted as a dove, because that is how He came upon Jesus,
when Jesus was baptized (Matthew 3:16).

Everyone who is a child of God has been baptized by God and has received the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:13), and there is only one baptism by which all believers become God's children (Ephesians 4:5). This is not a baptism on earth, but a supernatural one that comes from God Himself (1 Peter 3:21). Everyone who has received the Holy Spirit, has received the Holy Spirit in full and He will never leave them nor forsake them; just as God will never do so (Deuteronomy 31:6). If anyone has received God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit, then they are newly restored righteous children of God, for "the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!" and the old will never come back, (2 Corinthians 5:17). Those who believe in Christ today can never lose the Holy Spirit.

Sources

• The Bible (New International Version)
• Sight & Sound Theatres: Psalm 51 (Inspired by)
• Got Questions: How Do we Receive the Holy Spirit
• Everyday Servant: 15 Bible Verses-Jesus Paid it All
• THE BEAT: 5 Things Christians Need to STOP Praying For
• WWUTT: Do you have to be Baptized to be Saved