What does a Christian do when another Christian is rude to them or does some action that is obviously selfish and thoughtless? When this happens to me, I have options. I can be angry and tell everyone what a jerk that person is. Or I can let their behavior make me bitter and my life becomes selfish too. Or I can retaliate toward that person by being rude to them. Or I could rebuke them in total frustration for being so mean. Or I could talk to God about it and ask Him to rebuke that person and make them apologize. However, I know that none of these options are biblical because they are all about ‘poor me’ and not at all like Jesus.
There are many biblical examples of what to do. When OT Abraham told a king his wife Sarah was his sister and the king took her, God revealed the truth to this king and said:
Now then, return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, so that he will pray for you, and you shall live. But if you do not return her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours.” (Genesis 20:7)
God’s man Abraham, was a prophet. His response to this sin was prayer that the one who sinned against him would not die because of his actions.
Another OT story shows how another prophet responded when the people sinned against God by asking for a king. He called them on their sin but also encouraged them:
Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you, and I will instruct you in the good and the right way. Only fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart. For consider what great things he has done for you. (1 Samuel 12:23–24)
In the story of Job, his ‘friends’ insisted this man sinned when he had not. Finally God said to them: “Therefore take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and offer up a burnt offering for yourselves. And my servant Job shall pray for you, for I will accept his prayer not to deal with you according to your folly. For you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.” (Job 42:8)
This tells me that if others should falsely accuse me or do any other sin against me, I should ask God not to deal with them according to their sin but be merciful, and at the same time speak rightly to God (and others) as well as keeping my own life right before Him.
The NT offers a specific example for those who are ill and includes any sins that the sick may be guilty of — showing that prayer is the response of other Christians:
Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. (James 5:14–16)
The following verses give the basic will of God in how I must react when another sins, against me or in other ways:
My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins. (James 5:19–20)
If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life—to those who commit sins that do not lead to death. There is sin that leads to death; I do not say that one should pray for that. (1 John 5:16)
I’m challenged when God puts on me a burden of discernment concerning others and reveals things that are sinful. He wants me to take this burden before Him and intercede that He would give them life, restoring them to walk in the Spirit and not the flesh. He also makes clear that I’m not to do anything but pay attention to Him until He conveys His mind to me about the one for whom I must intercede.
PRAY: Lord Jesus, I know that You want me to be identified with You and alert to Your view about others. My fleshy view will always be contrary to that. This means You need to see the “travail of Your soul in me” and I need to be so identified with You that I see Your view about people who are caught by sin. Enable me to intercede whole-heartedly so You are honored and others are restored and completely blessed.
A book called “Blame it on the Brain” explains the difference between the old self and the new creation and how doing anything in my own strength, no matter how good it looks, is sin. He explains the need to watch out for ‘self’ being my source and motivation. This OT prophet uses a vivid word picture to say the same thing:
Behold, all you who kindle a fire, who equip yourselves with burning torches! Walk by the light of your fire, and by the torches that you have kindled! This you have from my hand: you shall lie down in torment. (Isaiah 50:11)
This is a solemn warning to those who walk in darkness and yet who try to help themselves out into the light. It is also a warning to those who believe in Christ yet when in trouble, we try to find a way without relying on the Lord. If I try to find answers through other means or the advice of my friends, or any other sources that is a ‘fire of my own kindling’ then God might let me walk in the light of those sparks, but the end will be sorrow and torment.
Not only that, God uses trials to teach me lessons I need, so premature deliverance will block His work of grace in my life. I need to cease meddling with His plans lest I mar His work and know that it is better to walk in the dark with Him than walk alone in the tiny light I create.
Another way to describe my meddling with His plans: I can move the hands of a clock but the time does not change. I can try to mess with God’s will but cannot change it. I can open the bud of a flower, but my impatience only ruins the flower. I need to take my concerns to God and leave all to Him.
For example, I’ve struggled with prayer. The OT describes times of evil when God looked for prayer, but no one was praying:
Truth is lacking, and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey. The Lord saw it, and it displeased him that there was no justice. He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no one to intercede; then his own arm brought him salvation, and his righteousness upheld him. (Isaiah 59:15–16)
I’ve also felt great need as the news of the world and the situations closer to home pressed on my heart, but I had trouble going to prayer about them. For a long time, I tried to ‘kindle my own fire’ with prayer lists. They made me pray out of a sense of duty and my heart felt dry, thus prayer became spotty and often absent.
Then God showed me that worship and intercession go together. The one is impossible without the other. I was trying to pray rightly for the messes around me without first worshipping the One to whom I wanted to work out solutions. Praise reminded me that I am talking to Almighty God. He knows what to do, when to do it, and how to give peace and even joyful expectation to my heart and mind. It also helped me get to the mind of the Lord. Instead of telling him what I wanted or what I thought He should do, I began to pray things that surprised me as the words seemed to come from His heart instead of my head.
A reading this morning describes this progression of what happens when the focus is on Christ and my heart is living or abiding there. It goes like this: 1. “He that abides in Him sins not” 2. He that abides in Him, “the same brings forth much fruit.” 3. He that abides in Him “shall ask what he will and it shall be done unto him.”
PRAY: Oh Jesus, how true. When I quit trying to do anything apart from You, even praying, then life takes a drastic change. The fruit of the Spirit begins to appear, yet in abiding that is not my focus; it is always You, not what I am doing. And the answers to prayer are astonishing and surprisingly unpredictable. Life becomes an adventure. Instead of trying to make myself worthy, or do things ‘properly’ I am seeing You at work and filled with wonder at You.
This year started with the thought that God is enough. I picked a devotional book with that title thinking it would continually affirm the truth that God indeed is enough. However, like many church services and preachers, this book is beginning to tell me what I must do and sound as if God is not enough. Even when on the topic of faith, the onus is on me to believe rather than affirming that God’s grace comes to me by faith and this is not on me — it is His gift.
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 the writer shakes a finger at the reader saying if we don’t receive that gift we cannot be saved, as if salvation is up to the sinner to do something. Yet Jesus says,
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. (John 15:16)
At this, some will even say that I must then be fruitful However, even that is a gift from the Holy Spirit. He produces it; I cannot.
Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 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. (Galatians 5:19–24)
Even that last line telling me to crucify the flesh is His doing:
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)
He died and my old life died with Him. He lives and I live in Him because He gave Himself for me.
At the same time, salvation and the Christian life is not about being passive, just enjoying God at work without any response. Because He lives in me, He will have me busy. One vital activity is that I am supposed to keep short accounts with Him…
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)
Yet it is He who reveals sin to me, motivates confession, forgives it, and cleanses me. Jesus is involved in every action that He wants me to take. The flesh, even in its deadness, will resist and say NO. The world mocks me. The devil tries to stop me. Jesus is behind every YES, from putting the ideas in my head, challenging the flesh, silencing the devil, and making the world’s ideas foolish and sinful. He is enough.
I am to declare the good news to others yet Jesus gives the words, the opportunities, even the motivation to not back away but to do it. Paul said, “For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.“ (Acts 20:27) Yes, some will shrink back and not obey yet even as we do obey, it is God who is making it happen. He is the One who puts the words on our lips and His love for others in our hearts. Without Jesus, none of that happens.
PRAY: Lord, when You are the focus and Your Spirit fills my heart, doing what you say is as natural as breathing. This is what faith looks like — it is living in the total assurance that You take care of everything, from tough times to supplying all my needs. You are enough.
Consecration is about having the obstacles removed that keep God from bestowing God’s full blessings. While the devotional for today say this purging is something we do and describes it as being entirely abandoned to God, that is not entirely true. Our willingness is part of His saving work. Many times I have said to Him, “Lord Jesus, I am totally unable to be all that I should be; You are the Savior — save me from this…” whatever it is where I keep trying but fall short.
The Bible says this:
Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work. (2 Timothy 2:21)
Yet what cleanses us from that which is dishonorable? Is it not this:
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)
To become clean, consecrated, abandoned to the will of God in that entire surrender of the whole being to God—spirit, soul, and body placed under His absolute control, for Him to do with what He pleases, the only way is through keeping short accounts. This involves recognizing my sin and agreeing with God about it. It does not involve “try harder” but confession and repentance.
Repentance isn’t mere acknowledgment. It is responding to the Holy Spirit in such a way that the sin is replaced with righteousness. That is His work. I cannot remove my sin without the enabling of the Holy Spirit. Sometimes this means a number of tests to determine if it is still my desire to keep on doing it. This is like the young missionary who said, “The trouble with a living sacrifice is that it keeps crawling off the altar.” My old nature is dead/separated from God and I need to consider that to be true.
The other thing to consider is that much of sin is the result of believing a lie. Instead of trusting what God says, life’s circumstances often open our ears to that old Liar who whispers, “God does not really want the best for you…” and we fall for it, take matters into our own hands, and sin.
Consecration is having that “Thy will be done” attitude that no matter what, and then resting in the trust that He does love me and even in tough situations, His will is the most blessed thing that can happen, no matter the circumstances.
In discussions with other Christians, some actually say they are afraid to totally trust the will of God. At that, they are obviously not hearing His Word but the words of the enemy who does not want any of us to understand that God’s perfect will means loving-kindnesses, tender mercies, and unspeakable blessings — even if it also means hard times. Think of Jesus: His greatest suffering produced the greatest blessing God could give us.
Yet in the tough times, that whisper from my enemy produces anxiety. He uses hard times to suggest to me that God is not loving because He is messing with my comfort, my Eden. I need to remember how that old snake tells preposterous and bald-faced lies to keep me from trusting in the love of God and His unfailing promises.
PRAY: Satan uses dreams (nightmares), adverse circumstances, nasty people, even my imagination, to get me to think wrongly about You, Lord. Forgive my foolishness of listening to the lies instead of “storing your Word in my heart” and letting it be “a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” — and I pray for those who continually worry because they have forgotten that You love them and that the Liar uses that to keep them from praying.
The Gospel can be confusing to some if it is expressed like this:
“There is such a thing as having one’s soul kept in perfect peace, now and here in this life; and childlike trust in God is the key to its attainment. We cannot earn it; we can do nothing but ask for it and receive it. It is the gift of God in Christ Jesus” then adds this: “God can bestow His gift only on the fully consecrated soul, and it is to be received by faith.”
If the gift cannot be earned, and the Bible says faith is an unearned gift (Ephesians 2:8-9), then how can a person make themselves fully consecrated with the faith to be able to receive it?
Reading the beginning statement and then the ending statement in today’s devotional shows how much we sinners want to take credit for having Jesus in our lives by saying it was our acceptance of the gift that did it, rather than the gift itself that saved us and give us a heart to say yes.
Of course in the realm of ordinary life, if I am offered a gift and say no thanks, it will not be mine. And if I take it, I cannot brag that it was deserved. I must acknowledge a gift is about the generosity of the giver, yet when it comes to the gift of God, how easy to take credit. People say, “I accepted Christ” as if that is the reason we are saved.
In contrast, the Scriptures say that becoming a recipient happens because of the gift, not because we earned it and can brag about it:
For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. (Romans 5:17)
Part of the gift of grace is being made willing to receive the gift. Just as God works in Christians to do His will (Philippians 2:13) He must work in unbelievers because “None is righeous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God…” (Romans 3) No one would say yes if God did not change our thinking and make us willing to respond to His offer and receive the gift. Jesus makes it plain:
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. (John 15:16)
Everything in our salvation is a gift. From beginning to end, God is the giver and we are the receivers; and it is not given to those who do great things or are seeking (none do that), but to those who are called and blessed with the gift of faith, even the gift of seeking.
He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. (John 1:11–13)
Many believe, as do I, that faith in Christ and new life from Christ happen in the same instant and are both gifts of His grace.
The obvious question is then, “Why does God not save everyone?” But that is the wrong question. It should be, “Why does God save anyone?” All sin and fall short. None deserve even the least of His mercies. The great mystery of salvation is that it happens — even to people who will take credit for what Almighty God has done, even those who think they are special or somehow more worthy, even those who know they are not.
I know the importance of receptivity to the will of God and that my efforts to be godly often are motivated by selfish desires to be important or noticed or worthy in some way. It takes a long time to realize that He is not interested in what I do, nor does He reward my self-centered desires or efforts.
Instead, He works in me that I might realize that His goal is that I become like Jesus, totally surrendered to Him. He bears all my burdens, takes care of all my needs. He wants obedience for my sake — because sin only ruins, never nurtures or is good for me. One day, when I see Jesus face to face, I will be like Him. In the meantime, I’m not to rob Him of His glory by claiming, “Look what I did.”
PRAY: Lord, if I have a receptive attitude, it is because of You. If I am trusting You and wanting to live for You, it is because of You. If You were not in my life, I know what I would be thinking and doing. All good gifts are from You and for my good, to change me into what gives You glory and gives me joy and peace. Your salvation is both mystery and incredible blessing — and totally none of my doing. Thank You.
The last few months, when time permits and inclination hits, I’m decluttering or purging areas of our home and lifestyle. When first starting this, I had practical motivations. For instance, all our family photos were in a jumble of albums or in boxes. They are now sorted in containers labeled with the name of who will want them. This saves my children a mountain of work when I’m gone.
Not only that, it makes me feel pounds lighter and deeply joyful. Just cleaning out the kitchen refrigerator has the same effect. So also does the Christian discipline of keeping short accounts with God.
To put this another way, I’m considering what is true about the Christian experience that has no comparison in any other realm — just this: When I yield/give up/purge all my rights and wants, then I feel lighter/am joyful. In other words, when I lose, I win.
This means than an entire surrender to the Lord and perfect trust in Him results in victory over sin and inward rest of soul — characterized by releasing our burdens to the Lord and letting him manage our lives instead of trying to do it ourselves. This is like purging the house; it gives the same sense of lightness and joy, only much deeper.
Many Christians do not realize that our biggest burden is just that — me, my way, and trying to do it myself. What headaches come because I try to solve all my problems, reach all my goals, do everything and anything in my own strength. In laying off my burdens, the first one the Lord wants me to get rid of is that old nature, that self with all its temptations, temperament, all circumstances, contrary feelings, and all my inward and outward experiences that focus on what I want or try to do. When these are yielded into the care of God, and left there, I experience the same freedom and release as decluttering a messy cupboard.
I once told a younger Christian that I prayed for parking places in crowded areas. He mocked me saying that God give me brains and I could find a place to park without bothering Him with trivia. This fellow didn’t understand that the freedom of trusting the Lord in little things makes it much easier to put faith in Him for all things.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones. (Proverbs 3:5–8)
In years of reading Scripture, I’ve noted the importance of the word ALL. It is used two times in these verses and tells me that praying for a parking place is included in what I should trust the Lord for. He sometimes whispers things like “turn left here” when my old nature could not see the empty spot that would open up right where I needed it and just when I turned. He knows what I don’t know.
Most of us think we know how to do things, particularly the habitual. Who prays about what to cook for supper or for energy to wash dishes when they have done it for more than sixty years? Read again that instruction from God. It says “in ALL my ways” — meaning everything I do. For me, it is not practice that makes perfect but learning to ask and acknowledge God before doing anything. I’m not there 100% but have learned enough that this is the way to have refreshed bones!
PRAY: Jesus, the answers to prayer this week have both astonished and humbled me. I’ve prayed for a changed attitude in someone whose phone calls I dreaded, and am now being blessed by the those calls. I’ve prayed for a cult member who now honors Christ and shocks me with the differences that are obvious in his words and actions. I’ve asked You to lift the discouragement in a teen and bless him; he is now joyful AND being baptized this Sunday. Prayer goes up daily for our big family reunion plan and the family is helping and being blessed in renewed relationships months before the event will happen, an event that was Your idea in the first place. Forgive my resistance to the role You handed me for this huge event. You did say all my heart and all my ways. Again, I’m a slow learner, yet You are quick to bless, relentless in Your quest to change me and wrestle with me until ALL truly is given into Your care. Wow, You are a wonderful God!
The ending of today’s devotional reading is the beginning of a little more research. It says: “In the divine order, God’s working depends on our cooperation. During His earthly ministry, Jesus could do no mighty works in at least one city because of the people’s unbelief. It was not that He would not, but that He could not. We often think that God will not, when in reality He cannot because of our unbelief.”
I hesitate to agree because this contradicts a bigger picture. Both OT and NT say that no one seeks God. The Bible is clear that apart from grace and God’s mercy, no one would believe and all would have hard hearts against God and no faith. I see it in my own life every time my old nature tries to rise from the dead and listen to my I-wants instead of doing the will of God.
Yes, my part is trusting God, yet even as my trust wavers, God is faithful to accomplish His purposes, even in answering my prayers. The Bible says He is sovereign and omnipotent. What seems impossible to me is easy for Almighty God.
The devotional writer says my part is trusting God to do His part, but I know that even faith is a gift from Him. Some would call that hyper-Calvinism however I have reached the place in my life where I realize my total helplessness and how much I need Jesus for everything I do, even breathing.
My part is saying yes to the faith God gives. A word search for the phrase “would not” gave 144 hits in the ESV. Some of them pose a puzzle. For instance:
Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.” But Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said… But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let them go. (Exodus 8:19; 10:27)
In most cases, the ‘would nots’ were simple: God told His OT people to do something but they would not obey. Yet verses like this suggest that God did not intervene but used their rebellion for His purposes. Here is another example:
If someone sins against a man, God will mediate for him, but if someone sins against the Lord, who can intercede for him?” But they would not listen to the voice of their father, for it was the will of the Lord to put them to death. (1 Samuel 2:25)
Other verses indicate that it was not God who could not but people who would not and in His grace, He did not force the issue:
For as the loincloth clings to the waist of a man, so I made the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah cling to me, declares the Lord, that they might be for me a people, a name, a praise, and a glory, but they would not listen. (Jeremiah 13:11)
Jesus was able to stop even demons from doing their will, so He had control over their actions:
And demons also came out of many, crying, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ. (Luke 4:41)
Some verses even say that God hardened hearts so that His will would be done:
What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened, as it is written, “God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that would not see and ears that would not hear, down to this very day.” (Romans 11:7–8)
None of the rulers of this age understood this (the secret and hidden wisdom of God), for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. (1 Corinthians 2:8)
Some wonder why God tells us to just trust Him and then tells us to do impossible things. This is leaving out an important truth: we are not called to do the impossible by ourselves. Our power is in Christ who lives in us. Paul understood it. He said: “I can do all things through him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13) and “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.” (1 Corinthians 15:10)
PRAY: Jesus, You are fully God and fully man — a union that I cannot understand. And then You say I am a human with You living in me — another union very difficult to understand, but You are teaching me the self-me part is crucified yet I still live, but it is You who lives in me… sort of like a living hand in a dead glove. The world (and I) see the glove, but everything that it does is because of the hand that moves it. For this, I am in awe and fully realize why You are the One to be glorified.
Becoming mature as a Christian does not happen instantly. Salvation, forgiveness, justification adoption into His family and many aspects of the Christian experience happens in a blink of an eye but the goal to be transformed into the image or reflection of Jesus Christ does not happen overnight. Like a mighty sculpture, there is much to be chipped away that is not like Jesus.
Today’s devotional likens it to the growth of a baby or the maturing of an apple. Both are what they should be from beginning to end, yet the baby cannot do what a grown person can do. Nor can the beginning of an apple mean it is fit to put in a pie.
Babies and apples, like Christians, cannot make themselves grow. We do have a part to play — that is, I need to be willing and cooperate with the Holy Spirit who feeds and nurtures me through the Word of God and fellowship with other Christians. Growth is enhanced through obedience as well, just as a child who runs and plays becomes stronger. If the assignments from God increase in difficulty, this is like graduating to the gym, working harder and increasing in wisdom as well as in understanding the perfection of God’s will.
Yet I know that age and experience must not underestimate the power of the world, the flesh, and the enemy to tip me over in my desire and effort to be mature.
Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. (1 John 3:2–3)
The goal is reached only as Jesus appears to me and I see Him as He is. Until then, I cannot see Him clearly, even at my age and with years of experience living as His child:
When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. (1 Corinthians 13:11–12)
When that day comes, all that is not like Jesus will be gone, but more and more I realize how much of me is not like Jesus. As the Spirit works, the Bible tells me that my understanding of what that means have often been off base. I once thought that maturity meant things like always knowing the answers to perplexities, always praising God publicly, praying with great fervor, being a leader of others, etc. but the Lord keeps reminding me of this passage:
O Lord, my heart is not lifted up; my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me. But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me. (Psalm 131:1–2)
Doing good works is not as lofty as I once thought. It is simple, like being “submissive to rulers and authorities” (Titus 3:1) or raising children, or showing hospitality, or washing the feet of God’s people, or caring for the afflicted (1 Timothy 5:9–10).
The focus is not what I do, but the purity of heart in which it is done. That means none of it is for personal glory, or to pat myself on the back, or to draw attention to me, or feed my ego in any way. Jesus did not come to earth for any of that. He came to save the lost, even to die so we could live. No self-gratification but only to obey the Father and He endured “for the joy set before Him” when He would be seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
His works were perfect in every stage of the occurrence, but not complete until He declared as He died, “It is finished.” Even on my death bed, I will never be able to make the same claim unless I am perfectly mature. By an act of faith, I can put myself into the hands of the Lord, and then, by a continuous exercise of faith, keep myself there, even be made “fit for every good work” yet that total purity of Christlikeness will not be mine until I see Him face to face.
PRAY: Lord, this is why I long to see You. I know that it is in seeing You I will be perfected, and all that me-stuff will no longer be my worst enemy. Such a wonderful hope. Thank You.
Yesterday was amazing, like one of those vacation days when the weather is perfect and the scenery and activities match it. After some treatment, we experienced a day with all aches and pains gone and God gave us a hint to how they are part of His plan. Our trials by pain became a reason to change some travel plans — and by doing that, we can be helpful to someone later, at least it seemed that way yesterday, but today is a different story.
The pain and trial returned. My husband’s day of relief is over and both of us are suffering as before. I feel heavy and look to Jesus to help me function as daily responsibilities cannot always be ignored. At the same time, I cannot ignore God’s Word nor the significance of today’s devotional reading. To put it into my words, it reminds me that being transformed into the image of Christ is about both faith and obedience. It is surrender and trust on my part, putting myself (and my family) into His hands. He is the potter and we are the clay. My part includes dealing with sinful, selfishness:
Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work. So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth… (2 Timothy 2:21–25)
God does the shaping like a potter shapes clay. A lump of clay could never grow into a beautiful vessel if it stayed in the clay pit, but when it is put in the hands of a skillful potter it grows rapidly under his fashioning into the vessel he intends it to be. And in the same way the soul, abandoned to the working of the heavenly Potter, is made into a vessel of honor, sanctified and fit for the Master’s use. I need to cooperate with my Master — first by trusting Him and second by expecting Him to do His work.
The obedience is made easier when I can see some progress, yet discouragement and impatience are not the progress He is looking for. As today’s devotional says, if I have taken the step of faith by which I have put myself absolutely into His hands, I must now expect Him to begin to work. And here is the rub: His way of accomplishing that which I have entrusted to Him may be different from my way. In particular, I may not see what He is doing, but He knows best and I must be satisfied.
Last night I went to sleep expecting the trial of pain to be over now that we could see a (possible) purpose for it. I was happy about that, but the pain returned this morning. Why? I’ve no idea. Is this a test of my trust — that it is truly trust in Him that His will is best? Or was I just glad that it made sense, at least for a day?
PRAY: Lord, I feel a bit like Jacob when he wrestled with You. I want to know the what, why, when of things and You want me to simply trust You, no matter what, why, and when, meaning all the time, no matter what, and believing that the why is because You want the best — that I be like You — even when in the trials. You are waiting for a genuine “Not my will but thine be done.” And I am so slow to learn.
Our part is to trust, and God’s part is to work. His work is to deliver us from the power of sin and make us perfect in every good work to do His will. How does He do that? Like a SciFi movie where I just sit here and He zaps me? No, not like that, yet partly:
And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. (2 Corinthians 3:18)
This means being before Him, hiding nothing and gazing into His glory. When I see Jesus with the eyes of faith and withholding nothing, His Spirit changes me. This is His indescribable saving power.
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)
This also means being before Him, yet in a different way. It is reading His Word and as I do, it changes the way I think. It shows me my sin and as I confess it…
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)
And with forgiveness and cleansing, my old way of thinking moves out allowing God’s way of thinking to move in, to change me, for it is how a person thinks that determines their personality and actions.
Can I transform myself? Rhetorical question. Of course not. How many times do I set myself with a resolution to start a new habit, or quit doing something that annoys even me, never mind those around me? How many times do I want to be more like Jesus only to find my motivations are self-centered and not at all like His? Of course I cannot do it myself. This is why I need Jesus.
By experience and by the words of God, I’m totally convinced that becoming like Him, being transformed into a Christlike person, is not possible without Christ who has come into my life to do just that, and will do it for all who put themselves totally in His hands and trust Him without reserve.
Obviously the part of a believer is trust and Jesus does the work entrusted to Him, yet even trust is beyond my ability…
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)
Faith is a gift. It is in my heart, in Christ who lives there, but the world’s skepticism and the devil’s lies, and the old nature with its desire to rule so often gang up on faith and pound it into the ground, leaving me without its focus or its power.
Reviving faith? It comes again by hearing about Jesus, reading about Him, being with other Christians who talk about His goodness, and running to Him with confession when my heart is not right.
PRAY: Lord, these days are filled with details for which I am responsible and that take so much time, added to concerns for my husband whose injury has no cure but time and may never heal, and yet to list them puts my focus on the problems. In order for the joy of the Lord to be my strength (Nehemiah 8:10), that focus needs to be on You. Yet the way my scattered mind works, I’m feeling much stress trying to deal with doing that and also taking care of the needs before me. You are my Savior and Lord — I put all of this in Your hands and ask You to sort it out and save me from all that threatens that faith and the indescribable inner joy that You have given me.
One professor in seminary stated that Christians need to verbalize what they believe because in saying it, it becomes a deeper reality in our lives. This is much like these NT words:
If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. (Romans 10:9–10)
These two things go together — believing in my heart and saying it with my mouth. For me, believing it in my heart and writing it on paper has much the same effect. I’m more visual than verbal and remember written truths far better than hearing the same truths. For that reason, I take sermon notes and write what I hear from God during my devotions and Bible studies.
Today, the topic is sanctification. The devotional author says it has two sides to it. I would not term it that way. It is more like the union between faith and verbalizing what I believe; both are necessary. That is, God sanctifies me and that sanctification is completed by obedience. I need to do what He puts in my heart or the sanctifying process is not complete. However, according to NT verses like this, both parts require the work of God:
Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. (Philippians 2:12–13)
I need to do my part in being sanctified (the word means to be set apart for God) yet it is God who works in me so I want to do His will.
Nevertheless, when God works, my part is not about being “zapped” but cooperating with what He puts in my heart. I see that in these verses…
…For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. (Romans 6:19–22)
In my new life, I have all I need to be set apart from sin, death, and this world — to serve Him. I know I cannot do godly actions without His enabling. My part includes listening to Him.
Abstain from every form of evil. Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it. Brothers, pray for us. (1 Thessalonians 5:22–25)
My part shown here is to say NO to evil and pray for other Christians to do the same. Jesus is faithful to set me apart for Himself and I need to cooperate..
So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood. Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured. (Hebrews 13:12–13)
Jesus suffered that I could be set apart for Him. My part is to go to Him and rely on Him even if it means I may suffer too.
For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. (1 Thessalonians 4:3–6)
My part in this is obvious. Being set apart for God means I don’t mess around with this or any other kind of sin. Instead, I need to be thankful that I and other Christians belong to Him and can let that show up in godly living. We know that sin has consequences, even forgiven sin.
But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. (2 Thessalonians 2:13)
PRAY: Oh Lord, because of You, I am in Christ Jesus and cannot boast about anything, not even my obedience because Jesus is my wisdom, as well as my righteousness and sanctification and redemption (1 Corinthians 1:30). I am so grateful for this incredible salvation and that You have set me apart from the world, my old nature, and the devil’s deceit and adopted me to be Your child and to serve You.
Yesterday was difficult, mostly because my mind kept going to the worst case scenario. Pain makes positive thinking almost a mockery. And “what if” questions are not conducive to joy. I could not seem to focus on the goodness of God that motivates His actions in our lives. All I could think of was my husband’s injury and pain and my own struggle with a knee that might hurt one step and not the next. It was a day when I didn’t want to do anything at all, just fasting from life. I got up this morning determined to drop that numbing attitude and let God replace it with His joy.
Today’s devotional is about an OT passage of rebuke to God’s people who were fasting for the wrong reasons. They asked God why He was not noticing their actions and He responded:
Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure, and oppress all your workers. Behold, you fast only to quarrel and to fight and to hit with a wicked fist. Fasting like yours this day will not make your voice to be heard on high. Is such the fast that I choose, a day for a person to humble himself? Is it to bow down his head like a reed, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? Will you call this a fast, and a day acceptable to the Lord? “Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh? Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’ If you take away the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, if you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday. And the Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail. And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to dwell in. If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight and the holy day of the Lord honorable; if you honor it, not going your own ways, or seeking your own pleasure, or talking idly; then you shall take delight in the Lord, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken. (Isaiah 58:3–14)
The reading also rebuked my attitude — which I deserved. It said that God is not pleased with the miseries of self-examination. He calls on me as He did on them, to forget my own problems and to go to work to lessen the miseries of others. Service for others is of infinitely greater value to the Lord than the longest seasons of self-examination and self-abasement. That being true, He certainly does not value self-pity and a lack of hope either.
I’m thinking of the psalms. Even those of lament that begin with “poor me” usually end on high notes. For example:
Give ear to my words, O Lord; consider my groaning… For you bless the righteous, O Lord; you cover him with favor as with a shield. (Psalm 5:1-12)
Why, O Lord, do you stand far away? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?… O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted; you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more. (Psalm 10:1-17;18)
How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?… I will sing to the Lord, because he has dealt bountifully with me. (Psalm 13:1-6)
My nature is pessimistic, seeing the worst first. Jesus was aware of evil too, but it was not His focus. I need to be more like Him.
PRAY: Lord, use these trials to bring out Your attitude of putting others first, of being merciful even when in pain with grace like, “Father forgive them” on Your lips. I can put my spouse’s needs before my own, yet there are thousands, perhaps millions in far more dire need of prayer and Your goodness than we are. Instead of being numb with anxiety, fill me with concern to do whatever I can for others, praying for Your guidance and wisdom and keeping my mind on your promise to use all things for good in their lives as well as mine.
Those who believe that God is only interested in making us healthy and wealthy would not like the thoughts expressed in today’s devotional. It begins with, “Troubles come because of God’s faithfulness, not, as so many seem to think, because of His unfaithfulness.”
The author goes on to explain using the story of Lazarus (John 11). When their brother died, both Martha and Mary thought their trouble came because the Lord had failed to be there when he was in need. Martha said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you” and Mary said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
Jesus spoke to Martha saying, “Your brother will rise again” and asked her if she believed that those who trusted Him would never die. He said nothing to Mary who was weeping but asked where Lazarus was buried and then wept with her. After that, He went to the tomb.
Before all this, his disciples thought Jesus would go to Lazarus when he was sick, but the text says, “Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.” He deliberately waited until this man died, then went, telling His disciples, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him” speaking of his death, not sleep. He told them, “Lazarus has died, and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”
His absence had not been a mistake or an oversight. He planned not to be there; and His absence was for a purpose. He would do something greater than healing!
For me, this is timely but painful. My hubby has learned that his injury could take months to heal, and many like this never heal. The thought of him being in pain for a long time does not raise a question that God does not love him, but it does fill me with questions about His will for us. Does love mean this happened and He has a better plan and is saying, “I am glad for your sakes that I was not there”?
The devotional writer says, “Love can never be glad of anything that hurts its loved ones, unless there is to come out of the hurt some infinitely greater blessing.”
PRAY: Lord, it is difficult to think that this sorrow has a hidden blessing, particularly using this story to illustrate it, for I realize for some that perfect healing only comes to those who have been raised and are in eternity. Like my grandfather who was blind — and now can see. This week has been one of deep emotions, not frustration like Martha but more of the sadness of Mary. I know that You are feeling what I feel and yet You are not finished with us. As the devotional says, no matter how unlikely it seems, beyond every sorrow there is a blessing — and we do not want to miss it by supposing that you do not love us.
Caregivers need to also take care of themselves. Otherwise there is no energy or even no attitude to take care of someone else. I learned this when my parents lived with us for a year. I found a senior’s daycare where they could go five days a week. They enjoyed their outings and the visits they had with like-minded others. And I enjoyed the break from meeting their daily needs.
My wounded hubby is not as demanding, yet the anxiety I have about him means taking a break from thinking about his situation and his pain. I’m reading a Baldacci mystery, absorbing and being engaged in a complex plot is an escape. So is the 1000-piece puzzle on our dining room table, definitely the most difficult one so far. This puts my mind in ‘blank’ mode, almost. This morning I was praying, drinking tea, and talking to Jesus about our needs while putting pieces mostly in the wrong places.
Today’s devotional says there are always two attitudes of mind toward anything between which we may choose. One is on the flesh side of things; the other is on the spiritual, spoke of often in the NT:
So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. (Romans 6:11)
Paul goes on to explain the importance of making that choice:
Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. (Romans 6:13–14)
I tried that during puzzle solving. I know this is a form of mental escape and also that this is not something Jesus did. If He was tired, He slept. If He was pressured, He withdrew and prayed. Making the right choice and thinking the facts in these verses helped my attitude from sliding into a “poor me” and pulled it back to presenting myself to the Lord — to do whatever He required of me rather than trying to escape.
The devotion suggested to take no interest at all in the old nature and its desires. I need to say my self-centered choices and that old nature is dead, foreign and not of interest. Deny it and its demands. But does that negate self-care? Likely not, for the Bible also says:
Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:28–31)
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28–30)
God’s rest is not a mystery or a puzzle to be solved. It is an answer to prayer, a restoration for those who wait on Him, drawing closer and choosing His way rather than the way of the flesh.
His rest is a bit of a mystery though. When I come to Him and pray about everything…
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6–7)
…His peace does not make sense when life is not offering much peace, but when waiting on Him, and coming to Him, and praying about all things with a thankful heart, and doing His will by choice rather than trying my own efforts — His peace goes beyond making sense; it is just there no matter what might be happening.
PRAY: Lord Jesus, how persistent is my old nature to try and solve things. Forgive me AGAIN for being so self-ruled rather than yielded to You. I know these things and know that You and Your will are what this terribly slow-learner needs. Thank You for your amazing patience, and for Your remarkable peace that defies my rational mind as it sets it to rest.
As I watch my hubby struggling to move in any direction without severe pain, God is making me more aware of the need to be disciplined, not so much about moving my body but about not letting it dictate to me what I can and cannot do.
A few weeks ago, it was my turn. After few days in the hospital, God turned my focus by showing me how easily I can let the desire for personal comfort be an ambition. Had Jesus done that, there would be no salvation or the opportunity to be united to Him. He would never have gone to the cross if He put His comfort above obedience.
For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. (Hebrews 2:10)
It works the same in our perfecting. We suffer and in that suffering we learn to let God have His way with us. He could use it to comfort us for another reason…
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. (2 Corinthians 1:3–6)
This is how I learn empathy. If I am never sick, then I cannot understand the struggles of sick people, never mind feel their pain or comfort them.
But there is another lesson. God wants me to be perfected by suffering, meaning that I will seek the filling of the Holy Spirit and be bearing His fruit, including joy — rather than whining and feeling sorry for myself. I’m sure this is what Paul had in mind when he wrote:
But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified. (1 Corinthians 9:27)
My hubby knows that God is using this pain in his life. Both of us see how the Lord has used pain in the life of our friend B.T. He is joyful all the time, no matter what is going on in his body. He is a delight to be around because God has perfected his spiritual walk with suffering.
Most people complain, run to the doctor or pills or booze, to get it fixed rather than seek the will of God. How badly we need that “Not my will but thine be done” attitude that Jesus had.
As for me, taking care of him involves loving patience and help with what he is unable to do because of the pain. He will heal and yet the larger thing is that through this, God has a great purpose.
PRAY: Lord Jesus, give my hubby what he needs to trust You in this trial. I thank You that he can laugh even in pain and seek Your face and Your will for him. Grant him the ability to surrender to You and wait on You for the blessings to come. And give me what I need to encourage and care for him.
Today’s devotional offers a good illustration of what it means to be dead to my old life and living in the new. When I was a child, I loved to make little rooms in the forest beside our house, ride horses, play with our dogs, and play all day. I did not like housework, especially dusting and was not interested in cooking. But when I became an adult woman, my feelings were reversed and I enjoyed the things I once avoided and could not be bothered with the things I once loved.
In other words, I “took up the cross” to my childish play and no longer wanted to do those things. I became delighted in the pursuits of maturity and left behind the pleasures of childhood. While this is not a perfect illustration (I still love horses and hate dusting), it does illustrate what it means to take up the cross and die to my old life and live the new life.
Some Christians look at the Christian life as a child might view the adult life — thinking it means giving up the things they love and to do the things they hate. They call this “taking up the cross” and actually think God enjoys their grudging service. However, this idea totally misses what Jesus meant when He said:
If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. (Matthew 16:24)
When God saved me, I entered His family as a babe in Christ. As the Bible says, I needed to grow up through realizing the goodness of God. He is not a mean taskmaster:
Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. (1 Peter 2:2–3)
Perhaps the problem with those who think that doing the will of God is “grudging service” that gives up everything they enjoy is that they have not spent enough time in the Word of God (pure spiritual milk) to taste His incredible goodness. Or it could be that they are clinging to the ‘playtime’ of their former life, preferring to stay in control of what they want to do instead of submitting to the good will of God. This submission is a choice — to turn from that worldly way of thinking and allowing God to transform my mind. In that process, I learn that His will is good, more than acceptable, even perfect.
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 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 12:1–2)
As the devotional says, and as He is teaching me, if my affections are set on the will of God, I will love it. If I love it, then how can it seem a great burden? This means saying what David said and what Jesus repeated:
I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.” (Psalm 40:8)
Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. (John 4:34)
God wants me set on His will and delighting in it. This is possible as my new life in Christ changed my heart. I now recognize that I am dead to anything that is contrary to Jesus. This is my cross — that recognition that I am dead to the world and alive only in Christ. How heavy that cross can be is determined by how mature I am in Christ.
PRAY: Today’s ‘cross’ is being dead to my plans that I can do God’s will in taking care of my husband. His pain is severe and he cannot do small things, like pick up a dropped pencil or reach something at the other end of the sofa. I’m dead to my I-wants on my to-do list and alive to the will of God that urges me to pick up or reach or do whatever is needed for my hubby. Because of You, loving Your will (and loving my husband) makes that cross a great deal lighter!
Today’s devotional begins with this: “There is a subtle enjoyment in torturing the outward self if the inner self-life may be fed thereby.” It goes on to say that that old nature of a Christian likes to share in the glory and cannot bear to be counted as dead or ignored. All religions based on rules and do-it-yourself principles give followers the opportunity to be exalted. “Look what I did” is a common goal in even those who follow Christ. How many of us will credit ourselves (I follow Christ) rather than glory in God who changed our lives?
Legalism permeates the Body of Christ. We have our ‘rules’ even though many of them are unspoken because obedience to a rule is opportunity to pat myself on the back. In contrast, life in the Spirit is action that is seldom premeditated. It is doing the will of God and looking at what we have done with wonder (where did that come from?) rather than taking credit for it.
This is a serious matter. The NT says:
For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. (Romans 8:6–8)
Living legalistically by rules is useless. It does not accomplish the will of God nor give inner peace. It may produce a deep sense of inferiority, or feed the ego and fuel boasting, but that ‘pleasure’ does not last nor does living this way fill the empty place in our hearts. God gives His children the desire to serve Him, but doing it by rules cannot please Him. It should not please me either.
Being “in the flesh” is about living by the self-centered old nature of the life lived without Christ. It is being governed by the I-wants and gives little attention to what God wants. It is doing life without Him or the new power He gives. It is living to please me and impress others. The flesh can seem pious and full of goodness, but the inner man (mind, will, emotions) run the show, not the Spirit of God.
Being ‘dead to sin’ requires having the Spirit of Christ living in me. This is not an event that I can control or make happen.
Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. (Romans 6:3–11)
I need to read that often. Death to sin is my reality. Alive to God is my reality. Anything else is an illusion. I died with Christ and need to consider this is so, like Paul wrote:
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)
It’s important to know the difference. The flesh can make itself look good, sound good, even do good, but how can I know for sure when that dead thing is flopping around? My flesh resists being exposed for what it is, but God will let me know:
For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account. (Hebrews 4:12–13)
Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting! (Psalm 139:23–24)
PRAY: Lord God, You show me that my old nature with its desire for self-glory motivates me far too often instead of wanting to glorify You. I confess these as sin, and am thankful You forgive and cleanse (1 John 1:9) As the psalmist says, lead me in the way everlasting, that the life You gave me will glorify You.
Life’s experiences can become life’s habits. My adult children speak of an inner desire that wants to move to another place — something they grew up doing. I’ve moved more than thirty times and this same urge hits me now and then. Usually I solve it by moving furniture or purging unused stuff so that my space seems like a new space.
However, what to do when that inner desire persists? When moving is not practical and yet the yen for it remains, almost creating a sorrow of discontent? To that question, God gives a simple answer. It started with a small story of a man who stood on a high peak in the mountains watching a storm below him. Then an eagle soared up through the clouds towards the sun. The rain’s water glistened on its wings in the sunlight. The man realized that if the storm had not raged, that eagle would have remained in the valley and he would miss seeing the beauty of its escape into the heights. He also thought how the sorrows of life cause us to rise towards God.
After years of not moving, I must have thought that I had given up the yen to move, yet it hit this past few weeks, but been thwarted over and over. My space needs no changes except to declutter, but that is not helping remove the habit of a life of constant change. Even though the song says, “He will break every fetter,” I feel a slave to this restlessness. Yet God’s Word warns me that yielding to Jesus will break every form of slavery.
Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? (Romans 6:16)
It also tells me again that I have died to sin and must live for Jesus, not my desires, but His:
Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. (Matthew 16:24)
The only use of the cross in Scripture is about being put to death, not to keep alive. When Jesus told His disciples that they could not be His disciples unless they took up the cross, He could not have meant that they were to find it hard to do His will. He was expressing that they must be made partakers of His death and resurrection as the old nature was crucified with Him. They must now live in the resurrection life of the Holy Spirit.
I do not crucify self by accepting my lot in life and being miserable with it. A painful self-sacrifice is not “taking up the cross” but is instead counting the stuff of the flesh and my old nature as utterly worthless and fit only for death.
We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. (Romans 6:6)
Then the Bible gives me this:
Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. (Philippians 4:11)
But godliness with contentment is great gain, (1 Timothy 6:6)
But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. (1 Timothy 6:8)
Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5)
Being content is what God wants from me. He may offer a move, but not because of my desire. It has to be His will. If that never happens, I must be content with whatever He does.
PRAY: Lord, my time with You this morning was interrupted with a phone call. After a stressful day, I am so thankful that my hubby was not seriously hurt when hitting some ice and taking a hard fall. Prayer time with others also was a blessing because we recognized Your presence and care for us. I slept a long time this afternoon, another thank You. All of this makes full yielding to Your will much easier. The cross is not always heavy — because You are with me and help me deny my I-wants and instead be content and thankful.
In “Streams in the Desert” the author tells of a deep trial in which God revealed to her the why of the agony she experienced. An old oak log in her fireplace began to ‘sing’ releasing noises that was trapped in its knotty hardened growth. She realized that those sweet sounds would not have been released if the log had not been in the fire.
This was the Lord’s way of showing her that His sweet music was like the songs of praise that flow out of hearts that are purified by trials, something like the singing of Paul and Silas in prison (Acts 16) but even more — like Jesus who died on the Cross and out of that great pain brought forth the sweetest music of all time, the song of forgiveness and eternal life.
This story speaks to me of two things. One is that my trials are to produce the music of Jesus, His very goodness comes forth when my hard heart is totally yielded to Him in that fire.
It also speaks to me of the yielding. That log had no choice. It was in the fire and it could burn without a sound, but it yielded a song. I can be the opposite — silently enduring, making no music. Or I can deny myself and let the trial be my cross, my place of dying to self where music can come forth.
Today’s devotion says that trusting Jesus is both simple and very difficult. The old nature continually resists. When Jesus said to take up my cross, He was not talking about the challenge of obedience being a difficult cross, but the challenge of death to self and being willing to obey, even dying for Jesus.
Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? (Matthew 16:24–26)
Some have assumed that “taking up the cross” means doing the will of God and the challenge of obedience is the ‘cross’ but that is not the main idea. While obedience means giving up what I want to do, the heavy burden is not in obeying God but dying to sin. That old nature resists death rather than welcomes it. As for obedience, Jesus said:
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28–30)
He never indicated that taking up His cross is about serving Him. Instead, it is about leaving me, myself, and I out of it. Doing His will is a delight and the abundant life. Denying myself is a battle and all about death.
And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. (Matthew 10:38–39)
We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. (Romans 6:6–11)
This is where I always need to remember that facts pull the train and faith follows facts, not feelings. The old nature bases its desires on what feels good or what I think will feel good. The new person in Christ bases its desires on the will of God and considers the old nature a bothersome noise and a slave to sin. But that slave is dead.
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)
PRAY: Lord, that old nature already died on the cross in You. I need to take up that cross and quit trying to retain anything of that old life. This is a wonder and a joy. May I stop fighting to keep a dead thing alive, always remembering I was crucified with You, but also that “if I endure, I will also reign with You” (2 Timothy 2:12) — and not only that, You are my endurance!
Last night, every prayer request involved situations over which none of us have any control or ability or even ideas about what to do. They involved broken relationships, lack of opportunities, and others making poor or even dangerous decisions. Today’s devotional is about letting go of our possessions, yet this and those prayer requests require the same attitude — total trust in God.
Broken relationships prompted: “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.” (Malachi 4:5–6) God is able to turn hearts even in these days of split families and feuds between people and nations. While I am responsible to live at peace with those in my life, there is nothing I can do that will change the wars in the world or bring peace between fathers and children. Surely we need to trust the Lord God to change things.
Lack of opportunities can involve everything from wanting a job, wanting a new car, to wanting a husband. Waiting on the Lord does not mean sitting and waiting for the phone to ring, yet in human searching for changes or new things, the doors can be repeatedly closed. My best efforts do not automatically mean success. Writers can send book proposals to dozens of editors. Skilled workers can submit resumes to dozens of employers. People can belong to several match-making groups yet still be disappointed. God must be trusted to open doors.
Paul and Silas were in jail — praying, singing and worshiping God. They did not look for a way to escape yet…
Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bonds were unfastened. (Acts 16:26)
Even then, the opportunity was not for escape but to lead the jailer and his household to faith in Jesus Christ. We have an Almighty God who can open literal doors as well as doors of opportunities to do His will.
As for decision making, He says:
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. (James 1:5–8)
This is an incredible promise even though it comes with a caveat; I must ask in faith that God will answer. Why do I need to be certain? Because God’s answers are often not what I expect. What if I wanted wisdom for buying a new car and He told me not to buy a car at all? What if I wanted wisdom for other choices and His choice was not on my list? This happens, and I must not let my I-wants clash with His wisdom because, as these verses say, my I-wants will mess with my faith. When they are strong, I tend to assume they come from God and make me think He will do whatever I want. Again, this calls for prayer but also a plea to be yielded to the will of God and to whatever He knows is best for me. And this is how I can pray for others — for wisdom and faith, both from God and given by His goodness.
PRAY: Lord, each day is filled with choices, never mind prayer needs that I cannot begin to do anything about, even pray specifically for because I don’t know what You want done in many situations. Surely I need wisdom in prayer as well as in taking action. Grant this to me today for all decisions, including what I need to do and what I need to avoid. May Your will be done in my life and in the lives of the people in my heart and in my prayers. And as I prayed yesterday, guide me in what to give away and what You want me to hold unto.
