When it seems okay to do my own thing…

Piper writes about using excuses to not do what God wanted him to do. First it was writing a lecture instead of making a tough visit. Then it was wanting to play with a new computer program instead of writing the lecture. Some who read what he called his “remaining corruption” would not think any of that was sin, or at least not a big deal. 

I can hear the words, “I’m only human” or some other explanation, yet it is far too easy to miss the implication of ‘doing my own thing’ especially when it seems innocent or reasonable. Taking seriously God's description of sin is a rare thing:

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:6)

The  fact is, whenever I do what I want instead of what God wants, even in ignorance of what God wants, Piper is correct. Those ‘my own way’ things are sin. It does not matter how innocent they look or what puts them on our mind as important. If the activity is not the will of God, or not a result of listening to Him, it is my own way, and the Bible says that is sin, sin that was laid on Christ and for which He died.

Taking His definition seriously can make me seriously distressed. I am guilty of sin that didn’t seem wrong but was and is sin because I’ve walked away from God. Even if I noticed that was what I was doing, how many excuses have I made? How often do I reason it away? Or even blame God in the sense that I didn’t do His will because… with dozens of excuses and some of them related to circumstances that pop up — and who is in control of circumstances? Those excuses actually put blame on God for my selfish actions.

In the realization of the depth and width of sin, only the gospel can keep me from total despair. As Piper writes, what would I do without the incredible assurance that Christ died for me, for all of my sin?

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. (Romans 5:6–9)

This is not to be an excuse to go on doing whatever I want to do. Instead it is the reason for wanting to die to sin and live for Jesus, to walk in the newness of life and not revert back to selfish motivations. Even though this happens, Jesus died that I might be set free from its power and pay close attention to my motivations and who I am trying to please.

PRAY: Jesus, this is one of those days when I feel like doing easy stuff, yet have a challenge in the works. I’d prefer to be lazy today, do my own thing, but this timely message is telling me to put off all that and not let my negativity control my life. Just You, just You. Amen.

A Simple Salvation?

 

What if God had decided in Eden to forgive Adam and put him back into the garden with the same one command and he and Eve just kept breaking it? Or what if God gave His people the Law and never offered any other way to be right with Him? This would mean that to be ‘saved’ all people must totally obey God, and when we didn’t, we had to make all those expensive sacrifices, do those time-consuming purifications, and vow many abstinences. This means  remaining under a yoke we could not bear.

Think about the options. Disobedience could demand “a thousand lambs,” and “rivers of oil” rather than a sincere confession and repentance. Instead, in Christ we are forgiven, cleansed and through faith given a glorious life requiring only that that we believe what He says and live in relationship with Him. 

Faith is about our believing in God's goodness and the reality of His intentions. It is about trusting His Word, relying upon His promises, and gladly receiving and embracing His crucified Son. Faith is also having a sincere respect to all I discover about His will. What can be easier than this? 

Yet even in the days of the apostles, and still to this day, some try to introduce a multitude of legal burdens. Do they envy God's incredible expression of His goodness in the Gospel? Or has He been guilty of treating us too favorably? Faith does not take God for granted or treat this favor lightly; it simply believes what God says.

Even so, faith is not a clear understanding or even a clear knowledge of every revelation. In His kindness, He reveals Himself and only obliges me to believe Him, not fully understand Him.

In the family of God, faith comes in varying degrees, yet it is a simple matter that can happen in the hearts of children, the ignorant, or those older and wiser and well-educated. It is within the ability of all. Not only that, God does not require that we reason Him out, nor that everyone should be a philosopher, a theologian, or an orator, only a believer.  

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. (1 Corinthians 15:3–4)
And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. (John 17:3)

As someone recently said, “It is so simple. It has all been done for us. All we need to do is believe it.” He is right; this is simple. Why do many not believe it? Perhaps they have never heard it? Or more likely, the statement is for sinners only, and without admitting the need to be forgiven and cleansed, God will not impose or force His great gift of faith on anyone who refuses to believe that they need Him.

PRAY: Jesus, You said, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31–32) Abiding simply means to stay there, not drift off into what You don’t say, or stay stuck with my own ideas of self-importance, and think that I don’t need You. I realize the most common reason that people do not have faith is because they see themselves as ‘good enough’ and their sin is not so bad. An honest look in the mirror and I know that I do need You. Thank You for the gift of the Gospel and for not giving me what I deserve. 

IQ and education are not enough…

 

 One of my siblings said, “I’m so thankful that our Mother taught us that the Bible is the Word of God.” The odd part of that statement is that this person belongs to a cult that changes the words in the Bible so that it says what they want it to believe.

Today’s devotional from John Piper is about God giving us minds to think, that He made the rules of logic and is the standard of true and false, good and bad, beautiful and ugly. Piper says that ignoring Him is to be profoundly undereducated, which is true, yet without the Spirit of God and His power to open our minds, we would all be blind to the truths it contains. I listen to my sibling and realize God is at work and I rejoice, because up until recently, he read it but didn’t get any of it.

I’m aware that anything I know about God and from His Word is in my mind because the Holy Spirit has enlightened me. It has very little to do with my ability to read or my IQ. I also realize that God requires me to obey what I know and gives the ability to do that. I am warned not to disobey by Scriptures such as this:

For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. . . . And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. (Romans 1:21; 28)
Brothers, do not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature. (1 Corinthians 14:20)
The heart of him who has understanding seeks knowledge, but the mouths of fools feed on folly. (Proverbs 15:14)
Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything. (2 Timothy 2:7)

Learning how to meditate takes time. Few children are thoughtful. So are many of us older people. ADHD does not help. For years, I’d read profound truths in the Word of God and forgot what I read soon after. Now I pray about what God says, and yet by the end of the day may not remember those verses. Thinking about them is really important, but not easy for me.

However, the power of the Holy Spirit to drive truth home to the heart is vital. Years ago, a young cult member was in our home. I asked her how she could be saved. She said, “By doing good works.” I handed her my Bible and had her read this aloud:

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Ephesians 2:8–9)

Then I repeated, “How does the Bible say we are saved?” She replied, “It says we are saved by good works.” 

From that time, I understand the meaning of spiritual blindness. Without the enlightenment of the Spirit, she could not comprehend what she had read. While I am to share the gospel with others, the Spirit must also be at work or their minds and hearts will not hear it.

It is the same for me. I’m reading the first part of 1 Chronicles and this is the Word of God, but I’m not hearing from Him — those genealogies are just words. 

PRAY: Jesus, not only do I depend on You for my redemption, I need You for everything including the ability to understand what You are saying. Yes, careful reading is important, but without Your grace, it is impossible to grasp the truth that sets me free. This is a big reason why I worship You and depend on You. I’m so thankful that You talk to me and know how to remind me of what You said.

Why God put me here…

The devotional book I’m reading is divided by a reading plan that is not dated. In other words, it takes me through 120 chapters from the time started until the end of the year. Some days are one chapter, but some chapters are divided into three days. The reading for today is three sentences at the end of a chapter, not very helpful yet it has a line that prompts two thoughts. The line is:  “It doesn’t matter what happens to me if I can just live to the glory of his grace.”

Of course Piper makes that line the application for his readers. However, it made me think again of John MacArthur. His final sermon began with an outline of what he was experiencing; three heart surgeries and one on his lungs. Then he said almost the same thing as this line from Piper’s devotional. John was a humble man, and a fine example of living to the glory of God. He had his flaws, but his life shoots holes in any excuse that living for God's glory is impossible.

At the same time, I cannot say that this is a fine goal for a prominent preacher but not for an ordinary wife, mother, homemaker, etc. God did not save me so I could hide behind an apron.

No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. These things I command you, so that you will love one another. (John 15:15–17)

These words of Jesus are packed with the reasons I am here, not behind a pulpit or in any position of prominence, but to bear fruit. What kind of fruit is He talking about?

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. (Galatians 5:22–26)

These attitudes are action words. Love may be a noun in Greek but it is a verb in practice. In my role as a wife, it is about the way I interact with the man I married. Loving him means wanting the best for Him (God’s will) and doing things that are helpful, edifying, and encouraging. 

Just in case anyone thinks love is an easy task that does not require being filled with the Spirit and bearing the fruit He supplies, the NT says this:

Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. (Ephesians 5:22–24)

Some Christians believe this submission is a cultural thing and not for today, or that it makes a doormat out of a wife. However, doing it follows the model of Jesus who came here in humble obedience and did all that His Father asked for the eternal good of a sinful world. I am saved because Jesus submitted. I cannot use that excuse to have the final say in my home or even consider myself better, smarter, etc. than anyone else. Love is not about competition. And love is just one ‘fruit’ that I was chosen and saved to bear in the task of living for God's glory. The others, joy etc. also are impossible apart from the grace of God. 

PRAY: Jesus, no wonder these things are called the fruit of the Spirit — no way can I live like that without Your grace, input, and power. Pastor John and others prove it can be done, and You are the ultimate example. I bow my head at the many times my ‘fruit’ was shriveled, or not ripe,  or not there, or just rotten, instead of being genuine and produced from abiding in You. Fill me today and always remind me why I am here.

Our loss, his gain…

Late last night the news came that Pastor John MacArthur had graduated and is now with Jesus. Actually, he has been with Jesus most of his life. Here he will be missed. 

We were members of his church for a short time. My hubby was saved at another church in 1980, and realized it was not the right place for us. I and our three children were listening to John on the radio before they went to school each day and the youngest (grade 4) piped up and suggested we go to Grace Community Church. It was a bit of a drive for us, but I’ll not forget the first time we attended and heard John speak.

I’d read of how to live as a Christian but not experienced examples until we heard the preaching and met the people at Grace. People saved seats in the front rows by putting their Bibles on them, unheard of in most churches. I was so mesmerized by John’s messages that it took me a month to remember what he looked like. He was a humble man, studied the Word many hours a day, and an incredible ‘preaching machine’ when up front. My husband and all we met there were thoroughly grounded in their faith because of John’s teaching, and very involved in obeying the Lord. I’m certain the Internet is already full of stories that tell how this man glorified God and changed their lives. 

My verse for today reminds me of John’s firm defense of the gospel and is a truth firmly embedded in my heart:

No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. (John 6:44)

Salvation is not something we do. It is not a matter of ‘choosing’ to following Christ, but of being chosen. So many claim “when I decided to become a Christian” yet the Bible does not make this a human choice. John pointed that out and repeated what Jesus said:

No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. These things I command you, so that you will love one another. (John 15:15–17)

MacArthur stood firmly on that truth. When the choice is ours, many think that we can also choose to stop believing. However, when God’s calling is spoken of like this, and the rest of the NT is carefully read, true believers experience a changed life, a new life, a life in which Jesus is Lord and we are His forever children. We do not control our salvation; Jesus does. John focused on our Savior’s lordship.

One summer we moved from California and Grace church. During that move, we attended two other churches that were growing in size and filled with people who were like the folks at Grace. These three were different denominations yet all very fruitful and alive in Christ. I noted the one thing they had in common: all three had pastors that focused on God and God's glory, not so much on what we should be doing. No finger-shaking, thou shalt’s or thou shalt not’s — instead, all pointed to the wonder of God and the Gospel. 

One of the reasons I write “Practical Faith” is because of the reality that God loves me and wants my life to honor Him, not just on Sunday or in ‘spiritual’ matters, but in everything. I watched a man and his church do that and am thankful to God for giving us a short time with them, but long enough to permanently bless our lives.

PRAY: Jesus, I am glad John is at rest with You. He is missed already, but because of Your blessing in His life, countless others have also been blessed. Thank You. Thank You. Thank You.

An opportunity from the Lord?

 

Sometimes an opportunity presents itself and I feel as if I’ve stepped into a shopping mall to choose whatever I want. This time a friend offered me a top-line sewing machine that she isn’t using. It is almost new and has enough bells and whistles to make my head spin. The issue is making a choice. My ADHD loves diversion from normal and this is it. My creative side looks at the hundreds of new possibilities and imagines how this machine would enhance the speed and beauty of making quilts for needy people. The practical side thinks of the learning curve and wants to stay simple. 

So I am praying. The verse for today is a repeat from last week. Is this His answer to this opportunity? “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8)

He never changes. I am to be like Him, changed to be like Him. That speaks of stability, but not necessarily standstill. The process of being transformed is not boring or always the same. That is, He might change me with a sermon, a line in a song, thoughts in a book, the words of a friend, circumstances, even a vivid dream. Jesus Christ is always at work and when I pay attention, I can see Him in every situation. Sometimes people do things that call for a Christ-like response. Sometimes my mind is challenged to think like Jesus, to choose words that He wants said, to do things that are out of my comfort zone.

In this case, it isn’t about money. I can afford the machine. It is about time. If I am going to have it, it will mean being more thoughtful about how I waste time doing things that are ‘busy work’ yet not important. I will need to pray more, and wisely use not just that machine but my time and energy. This might seem simple for some people, but for those with easily scattered minds, it means more reliance on Jesus than ever.

The Spirit pops a phrase into my mind about numbering my days. This passage is more than relevant for I am already past eighty:

The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away. Who considers the power of your anger, and your wrath according to the fear of you? So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. Return, O Lord! How long? Have pity on your servants! Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, and for as many years as we have seen evil. Let your work be shown to your servants, and your glorious power to their children. Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands! (Psalm 90:10–17)

Those last lines are saying to me that Jesus can use this opportunity to show His power to me and to my children, granting not only favor but establishing my work? I looked up the idea of being established and am amazed again by what God is saying about His favor. The word is used to express the action of being determined, firmly rooted, and spiritually and emotionally strong. It is about being well-grounded, filled with the hope of what is to come, and implored to encourage others. It also expresses a certainty or firm decision, like being determined as when Jesus “determined to journey to Jerusalem” (Luke 9:51).

I can see that this is not about having a new machine as much as it is about having the right attitude towards moving forward with the burdens on my heart, doing what I can for others, and being open to greater challenges. The woman who offered it is also a Christian and she wants my skills shared with others (many Christians and some who are not there yet) in this complex where we live, and using this machine well could be part of that. It is an opportunity to be more like Jesus.

Another writer tells me to step outside my comfort zone by doing things I’ve never done before. Obedience-based actions will shape my character and deepen my faith as God  increasingly forges me into the image of the radical Jesus found in the pages of Scripture.

PRAY: Again Lord, You surprise me. I know now why You have put this in my path. It isn’t about using the thing but about being like You in the process. You are giving me a greater open door to “let Your work be shown to Your servants” — not my work but the work of You in me. This is a bit scary, but my heart knows what You want from me. Again, I am amazed — and blessed.

Living orderly…

A language can be confusing to those learning it. Mandarin Chinese has about 420 syllables without tones, and 1300 syllables with tones, some of them being homonyms for more than 100 characters, each with different meaning. A homophone is a word that sounds the same as another word but has a different meaning and/or spelling. “Flower” and “flour” are homophones because they are pronounced the same but you certainly can't bake a cake using daffodils.

Consider the English word ‘order’ and its several meanings. Put the room in order. Order breakfast in the restaurant. Order the child to stop jumping on the bed. Arrange the spices in alphabetical order.

This word came to mind when reading my ‘verse for the day’ even though it is not in the passage:

For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 1:5–8)

It seems that Peter wrote this with a progression in mind, so my first task was looking up verses that talk about doing things in an orderly way. Two came to mind without looking:
For God is not a God of confusion but of peace. . . . But all things should be done decently and in order. (1 Corinthians 14:33; 40)

Another is at the beginning of Luke’s gospel: "It seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus." (Luke 1:3) Dr. Luke wanted the story told in an orderly way, perhaps because many stories are told by those who ramble around with the details.

Peter was the same. Acts 11:4 says he “began and explained it to them in order.” This shows up in the verses above. It also fits with Paul’s words to two churches:

For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ. (Colossians 2:5)
I say this for your own benefit, not to lay any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and to secure your undivided devotion to the Lord. (1 Corinthians 7:35)

This implies that order on Peter’s words in his 2nd letter has helpful instruction. It says “supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge” so considering the admonitions in other NT verses, this sounds like a sequence. Faith comes first, so this is for those who are trusting God. No one can have true virtue without faith. Any goodness we have must be given to us by Him through faith in Christ. The NT says, “All fall short of the glory of God” and the OT verifies this by saying: “We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment…” (Isaiah 64:6)

The first result of faith then is a change from sinful living to obedient goodness. Faith brings a new nature, a work of God that enables our motivation from the Holy Spirit instead of our sinful selves. Without faith, any ‘goodness’ is self-produced and falls short.

Then add knowledge. Most new Christians have little understanding of what is going on. I remember a friend saying, “It takes a moment to be saved, and a lifetime to figure out what happened.” Therefore, we need to add knowledge, even just to understand what God has done.
This knowledge is always from the Word of God. It can come through preaching, teaching, godly advice, etc. but must conform to what God says. More than once God tells me to gain knowledge of Him:

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:2) 
. . . . put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. (Colossians 3:10)

The passage goes on, but each step is continuous. That is, virtue continues to be established, as does knowledge, self-control and so on. But if I hang on to any vice, knowledge and all other growth is hindered, even ceases, until the Lord changes my stubborn self-rule.

PRAY: This passage has much to say, to think about. Lord, You know where I am and what I need in this orderly living. Speak. Show me whatever I need to see and to obey to become more like You.