Happy Easter!

The greatest event in history was the coming of Jesus Christ into the world to live and to die for mankind. We celebrate this event tomorrow, yet many Christians celebrate it every day, every time we sin and are forgiven, every time our hearts and lives worship God.

I’m reading a book that approaches the basic beliefs of Christianity from the perspective of rationale. He is a believer, but he wants readers to realize that the things we believe must be accepted by faith because none of it makes any sense at all.

I suppose, as does this author, that the faith of some who read this book might be shaken. If their faith is based on any form of reasoning, this man’s statements and arguments would dash it on the rocks. For me, reading it has convinced me more than ever that I’m saved by grace through faith and owe everything I believe in to the illuminating power of the Holy Spirit.

Then he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts. (Zechariah 4:6)

The power of God is not about strong-arming or convincing with strong debate. It comes to the human heart softly, and brings wonder, like a new-born child. Those who have been illuminated this way cannot explain it; we just know that what God has shown us is totally true. To the spiritual mind, it even makes sense, so much so that abandoning all rational arguments is not a big deal.

That said and considered, my prayer life has been drastically affected. I once prayed for those in spiritual darkness with different requests than I do now. I often interrupted my own prayers with great sounding rhetoric designed to persuade them to believe. To me, believing in Jesus made sense. There were no other options.

Lately, the Spirit’s illuminating work has opened my mind to the way those unsaved folks think. No longer do I have rational arguments or persuasive speeches. When it comes to convincing them, I am stumped. I know they need to hear the Gospel but that alone is no guarantee. Many of them who hear it are incredulous, or filled with disgust, or laugh at the insanity which Christians believe. Only the illuminating power of the Holy Spirit can take the good news of history’s greatest event and make it relevant to the life of someone who needs to hear it.

Now, when I pray I am asking for that to happen. I’m asking for ‘rhema’ which is the ‘word’ of God spoken to the human heart at a point of need in such a way that it gives answers; it gives life. Persuasion does not work. Lofty arguments do not work. Not by might or power — that does not work either. Only the power of the Holy Spirit can make sense of what seems like nonsense and only the Holy Spirit knows when a human heart will be receptive and ready to hear it.

^^^^^^^^^^

Risen Lord Jesus, send Your Spirit to the darkest corners of this dark world, to places and people who need the Light of the world to bring them out of darkness and sin, to release them from the lies of the enemy who uses even human reasoning to keep people in bondage. Show sinners that they are sinners, and that You have accomplished all they need to be set free from sin’s tyranny. To do it, You had to pay the price for sin and overcame death to prove that You alone are the Giver of forgiveness and eternal life.

The power of God’s Good Friday love

After more than thirty moves and attending many different churches of several differing denominations, I’ve made a few observations. One is that vibrant growing churches have one thing in common; they magnify the Lord rather than focus on the responsibilities of His people. This has nothing to do with denomination, preaching style or organizational practices. When God is exalted, people come.

The second thing I’ve noticed is that there is great unity and harmony when people prioritize loving one another. Not only is this love powerful, it is a choice — and a mark of true faith in God. It shows that I know God and He knows me . . .

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. (1 John 4:7–12)

Tozer says that this love is the antidote to the troubles that could come. When a local church is being and doing what we ought to, the enemy does not like it and will try to stir up problems. Satan wants to ruin our testimony and our work, but if we “pour in copious amounts of love” it serves as a lubricant that reduces friction to a minimum. Then the Body of Christ will work smoothly and without injury to its members.

The question is; where does this love come from? The answer is that God’s love flows from our hearts through the power of the Holy Spirit. This love unites believers to Christ and binds us to each other.

As a quilt maker, I think of how this loving unity is illustrated by a well-made quilt. The patches and parts differ in size, color, tone and texture, but because of the stitches, they are bound together in a unity of design and an intricacy that is often amazing. Not only that, each part has a common goal — to be a thing of beauty that flows from and shows the heart of the one who crafted it.

So it is with the Body of Christ. We reflect the Designer and are to reflect of His great love. Without it, the world cannot see what He is like. Jesus made this amazing statement:

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34–35)

From this, I conclude that the world has every right to say I am not a Christian if I don’t love other Christians! This sacrificial, godly love is the mark of genuine faith.

^^^^^^^

Oh Jesus, we call today “Good Friday” — a day commemorating the worst that humanity could do and the best that God could do. The Father sent You to die for our sin. We rejected and brutally murdered You, at the time not realizing that this must happen so we could be forgiven and given new life. This is love, not that we have loved God but that He loved us and sent You to be the propitiation for our sins. Because God loved me like that, my love for others should be like that — sacrificial and without reservation or conditions. Oh for grace to be more like You.  

What God wants to give me —

When my children were small, the middle one, a girl, often stirred up her brothers against each other. She smiled sweetly when I scolded the boys as if she had no part in it. I’d say to the boys things like, “Get along with each other” without realizing there was often another party in their childish battles. Not only that, I had a naïve belief that merely telling them would fix the problem.

This is something like the “don’t worry, be happy” line that is also naïve. Those who say it totally disregard the context or situation of the other person. Someone who is in despair because of severe losses wants more than a platitude. Those ill or struggling with clinical depression need more than a chirpy “get over it.” While I’d like a one-liner to ‘fix’ those who hurt or are in trouble, I know that does not work.

For example, Job had lost everything. He didn’t know that he was the target for a test. Satan had challenged God’s gift of faith saying it only worked in the good times. Job was a man of faith who had a large family and was wealthy. God allowed Satan to attack him as proof that faith sustains, even when times are tough.

However, three of Job’s ‘friends’ figured that Job must be guilty of something and was being punished. He must have resisted God in some way, otherwise all his troubles would not have happened. They gave him all sorts of advice without knowing his context or the spiritual background. One of them offered this one-liner:

“Agree with God, and be at peace; thereby good will come to you.” (Job 22:21)

The odd part of this statement is that it is true. That is, if a person is resisting God the only way to gain peace of mind and experience God’s goodness is through reconciliation. As we often quip, there is no rest for the wicked. Dealing with sin and that human tendency to resist God makes a huge difference in any person’s life.

Tozer says Satan’s master blow was tempting us to sin so our God-awareness would be destroyed. However, the main work of Christ in redemption was to reconcile us back to knowing God. He adds that the Holy Spirit makes that knowledge and awareness more acute as He sanctifies us. He added that, “All other steps in grace lead up to this.”

I often pray for all sorts of things, but my prayer life began with agreeing with God. Each time I bow my head, I know that I must deal with any cantankerous attitude. This is important, yet the warriors of prayer (including Tozer) say that there is one all-embracing prayer that is vital — to ask God to give me Himself. These two requests/requirements teach me that the greatest blessing and fullest peace come when I can look into God’s face and know there is nothing between my soul and Him. This is reconciliation, but also a great gift of God’s presence.

^^^^^^^^^^

Jesus, thank You for Your work of redemption and for making possible peace with God. I praise You and the Holy Spirit for giving me the grace to agree with You, to be at peace, and to know that You are right beside me, even in trials as well as the good times. There is nothing greater than sweet fellowship with You.