Surrender…

I once read of two alcoholics who were given faith in Christ and eternal life. They met twenty years later and one said to the other that he had been saved all that time and never once was tempted to drink again. The other man smiled and told him he had been saved all that time also, and never drank again, even though he was tempted every day. The question is: who had the greater victory?

This week, I spoke of a man who walks with a cane and has been pulled back from death several times. He is diabetic, has knee and hip problems, and moves slowly. However, when asked how he is doing, he is joyful and always says, “I’m fine.” We chatted about this and he agreed that there is a secret to joy — God gives it even if the pain is not taken away.

As I spoke of his attitude to others, one person said, “If he would just admit his pain then others would pray that he would be healed.” That statement shocked me. Again, who has the greater victory? The one whose life has no problems and is always comfortable, or the one whose life is filled with trials and they are filled with joy in spite of them?

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (James 1:2–4)

These verses and the Apostle Paul’s stories of his trials convince me that the greater victory is not total comfort or any other human or worldly source of well-being, but the grace of God that gives strength in weakness, and in fact, uses those who are weak as a testimony to His power and love. There are many ‘healthy and happy’ sinners, but a scarcity of Christians who can be joyful in trials.

I’m preaching to myself too. We are moving and that involves de-cluttering, filling boxes, shoving furniture around, and all sorts of work. I cannot pray that God will send a band of angels to do all that for us. However, He is guiding us through the process and giving us surprises each day. We offered several items for sale and those we thought no one would want were the first to go. Changes to the new place have been scheduled for the most convenient days, and business people who could not help us directed us to their competitors who could. Stuff like that. And strength for each day. When I purged some books, the Holy Spirit kept nudging me what to keep and what to pass along to others.

Being and feeling helpless is not my enemy. My enemy is the notion that I have to have everything working the way I want it to along with confidence that ‘I can do this’ but God works far more when I admit that I cannot and rely on Him.

PRAY: Lord, help the person who missed the point of joy in trials to see that yielding to Your will in trials is far more of a miracle than making trials go away. You faced the greatest trial, one that we will never experience, and sweat drops of blood at the prospect. Nevertheless, You said, “Not my will but Thine be done.” May You grant me the same willingness to press on, no matter what You ask me to do.

God with me...

It is told that Billy Graham said if you are in a crowd yet feel lonely, it is God crooking His finger and saying, ‘Come here.’

I was alone for long stretches as a child. That feeling of being alone and the fear of being abandoned stuck with me until one day I read a book offering what to do about such fears. It said to go in a room by myself, consider the fear, and let it take over, all the while trusting God. At first I felt as if I would die because the fear was so intense. Then the presence of the Lord flooded the room. From that day, this fear is no longer an issue. Jesus defeated it.

The Word of God is filled with many statements and promises that affirm that experience. Before  Jesus was born, God said that the very name of His Son declares it: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).” (Matthew 1:23) In that culture, names were considered as a child’s character, so the very essence of who Jesus is described as the wonder of God Himself being with us!

He is with us when we gather to worship and pray: “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” (Matthew 18:20)

Not only that, as I follow Him, He is with me and that will continue into eternity:

If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him. (John 12:26)
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. (John 14:3)

Jesus even prayed for my presence with Him, that I would see what He is like and that the Father loves Him: “Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.” (John 17:24)

Later, He affirmed to His apostle Paul that His presence would protect him: “For I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people.” (Acts 18:10)

This promise has been claimed by many and fulfilled as their lives are threatened. It is also an anchor as I do His will concerning making disciples and teaching them what God has taught me. To that, Jesus adds, “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20)

PRAY: Jesus whether the threats are from the outside, or I am feeling no one cares or understands, or am overwhelmed with tasks or sad news, or anything else, I know that You are with me. Without You, I would easily give in or give up. We are getting ready to move, and at my age fatigue easily discourages me, but Your presence makes such a difference. You are guiding me in ways that ease the physical challenges, and giving me ideas that overcome all uncertainties. That You are with me even in this is so incredible. Your presence makes life not only bearable but possible. I am so thankful, so very thankful.

My sheep hear My voice…

The song and the Lord say, “My sheep hear my voice” and declare that God’s people do not know or follow the voice of strangers. Reflecting on this, my experience makes a distinction between God’s sheep who listen only to Jesus, and the old nature who definitely knows and follows the voice of the world and even the devil. Each time I do a selfish or sinful thing, it is because I am not listening to the Lord, but to those desires of the flesh… which died with Christ and is separated from communion with God, but nevertheless remains with ears to hear lots of junk.

Today’s reading begins with: “When we have heard the call to surrender and have confessed that the Lord is our God and that we will walk in His ways and keep His commandments, He declares us to be His peculiar people and promises to make us holy.”

I believe this is backwards because “I” cannot hear the call of God until God has given me faith to believe and declared me His child. Only then do I become one of His sheep and am able to hear His voice and yield to His desires.

The reading says, "From that moment He takes full possession of us. What can He do but take possession of the soul that surrenders itself to Him? And of course He sanctifies that which is His own. Everything given to God becomes, by that very act, holy and set apart for His use alone.”
Again, this is backwards. I did not and would not be able to give myself to God until He first called me and made me His child.

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)

It has to be in this order for the Bible declares over and over that flesh cannot and will not choose or even seek God.

As it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.” “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.” “Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known.” “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. (Romans 3:10–20)

Two ways are viewed: the power of God to change sinners and the free will of man to choose or reject God. The problem, with the second view is that it exalts “I” and the human will instead of Jesus. It also dismisses biblical teaching that everyone will reject God unless God works in our hearts to change the way we think. He is the Savior. Without Him, no one would believe. In our ‘free will’ we pick our own way, not God’s way. (Isaiah 53:6)

The devotional speaks of the danger of an “I” religion without seeming to realize that ‘free will’ is at the root of it. When Jesus said, “Not my will but thine be done” there was no sin in His will, yet He yielded it to the Father. To be like Jesus, I’m to do the same, but without the mind of Christ, I would never say that because, as the Bible says, I would never seek God.

Why cling to the idea of free will? Such is the power of sin. It leads the human heart to want to be in control, the very opposite of what faith in God entails. He exists and is sovereign. I’m basically unable to do anything apart from His mercy and grace.

PRAY: Lord, it is right to exalt You and to give You glory for anything right that happens in my life. I’m helpless and without spiritual life or fruit without You. I acknowledge You as the Author and Finisher of my faith and of my very life and breath. I need You and Your grace every moment and am grateful that You died for my sin, rose again, and give me Your life, even Your mind and Spirit that I might surrender and live as Your sheep who is able to hear Your voice and do what You say.

God is Merciful… be like Him

 

There is one person I’ve had a problem with being kind or merciful toward. This person annoys me and while I know what is done, I cannot figure out why that behavior is so frustrating. At times it seems as if this person is a fake, insincere or not real, showing only what will impress others. I’m not impressed.

However, God tells me that I am not responding the right way and need to put aside my attitude and do what is best for this other person. One, changing my attitude seems impossible. Two, how can I know what is best for that person if they are not transparent about their own needs?

God had me read the following chapter this morning. I need to read it again:

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 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.
Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. 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.
What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! 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? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. 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. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:1–23)

The italicized portion is my part to obey. Instead of being angry at someone, the Lord wants me to let Him have His way and like a glove with His hand, do whatever He asks of me, whether I feel like it or not. And obedience is from the heart, not a pretense lest I do what most annoys me in that other person: “For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings” (Hosea 6:6) or any obedience that is ritual rather than real.

PRAY: Lord, my attitude must be Your attitude for I know that this other person may never change or please me — but that is Your concern. Mine is to listen and learn from You, and to be filled with Your Spirit so I will know and do whatever You know and do. Enable wisdom and obedience lest I sin against You and anyone else.

Jesus is the Hand in this glove

 

When a person is drafted into military service, they begin that life by being taught how to live it. While some of those principles apply to civilian life, doing them does not make that person a soldier or a marine or whatever part of the military they aspire to become. They must first be enlisted.

This is also true of becoming a Christian. I began that life when God called me to Himself. Then He began to teach me how to live it. Sadly, those principles are often preached to civilians who cannot live like members of God’s family until they are members, because without that calling, they do not have what is needed to be it. All efforts are self-effort and even if those things seem to be the right things, doing them without faith is what the Bible calls sin.

Whatever does not proceed from faith is sin. (Romans 14:23)

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)

(Jesus said) Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15:4–5)

In this world, a person can enlist in the army when they hear the call to do so. In the spiritual realm, that call is something like “Uncle Sam wants you” only it is Jesus doing the calling. Many Christians attest to hearing Him call and that it comes to them when they were ready to hear it. Some  might say no to the existence of God, or no to the reality of their sinfulness, or no to all sorts of ideas they have about religion and the church, but when Jesus calls, that invitation is irresistible.

I remember one woman who said she heard the gospel at camp when she went there to pick up her sister. She had no intentions of listening never mind responding, but when she heard Jesus, she  tightly grabbed the chair in front of her to keep herself seated. It didn’t work. She went forward, was filled with faith and saved.

This happened also to Saul who became Paul. He was on a road planning to destroy Christians when Jesus called him and transformed his life. From that time on, he became a mighty soldier of God. While not so dramatic, God did the same in my life. He walked into my living room and revealed such powerful truth to me about Himself that saying no was impossible.

My point is that God never asked me to first give up my old life, to be poor in spirit, to deny self, or anything like that. He just gave me faith to believe that Jesus died for my sin, that Jesus is God in human flesh and wanted me in His kingdom. I knew this was true. The training to live for Him came after that and because He had come to live in me, I had the ability and the desire to do His will.

PRAY: Jesus, You know that we who sin cannot save ourselves nor can we do any of the things You require unless we have You in our lives. Any self-effort is just that — self-effort, and because it is, we “go our own way” instead of the way that You clearly say is the only way: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6) and Paul affirms it: “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) I cannot claim any part of becoming Your child as something I did. You are the Savior and You did it all and are still doing all as You enable me to live as Your soldier and Your child.

What’s in it for me?

 If honest, most would admit coming to Christ with self-serving motivations. I wanted my pain to cease. Some seek healing and reach out to God. Some have financial problems or other disasters that they realize can be fixed only with divine assistance. Others want conviction of sin to stop, which is the best reason, or at least the one we must eventually come to before our salvation is solidly determined. Fair weather faith will not do that, nor will it endure.

Dealing with sin is the issue. Once a man said to me, “I believe Jesus died for the sins of the world. What is the big deal about that?” I replied, “But what about your sin?” Long pause. “Oh, I see what you mean.” He was okay with faith but didn’t want to make it personal. But personal is what salvation is about. Jesus prayed:

And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. (John 17:3)

He also said: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’" (Matthew 7:21–23)

Salvation and eternal life is about knowing God, not just knowing about Him, because the NT says, “You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!” (James 2:19)

Other passages tell of this relationship and how Jesus comes to live in us by His Spirit and that we are given the mind of Christ. This is intimacy, not mere knowing or being introduced to who He is. Believing in Him goes beyond knowing He exists. Faith is about believing that He died for my sin, was buried, and after three days rose to life. It is about knowing His death was to secure my pardon for sin and to satisfy the wrath of God against all sin. But it is also about the trust that simply knows that all He says and does is true and that His great love and goodness is available for those He came to save.

Yet so often sinners first come to Him for selfish reasons. As today’s devotional reading says the  Prodigal Son is an illustration of this. He was not concerned with his father’s love or longing. He wanted comfort and “more than enough bread.” It was only after seeing his father’s great joy and experiencing such undeserved welcome that his father could say, “It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.” (Luke 15:32)

My experience was like this too. My life was in the ditch and I wanted it to be better. It took me awhile to realize that I had the cart before the horse. God sent Jesus to die for my sin, then to give me all that I need, not usually the other way around.

He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? (Romans 8:32)

Since that day He came into my life, He has taught me not to come to Him first and foremost with my ‘gimme’ list but to enjoy our relationship, praising and thanking Him for all He does. I want to be more like He is, and need grace and strength to obey, yet I’ve had to realize than when I ask and do not receive, it is because I have asked wrongly, to spend it on my selfish desires. God resists my prideful thinking. While grace is not earned or deserved, it is for those who are humble. (James 4:3-6) Hard lessons but being in an intimate relationship with Jesus rather than trying to earn His favor, those lessons are welcome not ignored.

PRAY: Jesus, every day, all day, I need to be alert to any motivation that seeks personal gain. You know how I resist the difficult tasks, or those that tire me out and how I would rather be comfortable than making sacrifices. For me, routine is easier than surprises, yet the days are replete with unexpected challenges. For all this, I need You. I cannot be obedient without You granting grace and reminding me to say NO to those fleshy and selfish desires. Thank You for being here, for never leaving or forsaking me, even when I forget You.

Ignore the old — go with the new

 
I keep preaching it — mostly to myself. Always and everywhere, put off the old nature which my daily devotional reading calls the “I” religion, and put on the new nature that is marked by the life of Christ, not that it hangs in a closet and I must go get it, but that I already have it and foolishly live at times as if I didn’t.

Because I have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set my mind on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For I have died, and my life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is my life appears, then I also will appear with him in glory. Put to death therefore what is earthly in you…. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these I too once walked, when I was living in them. But now I must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk…. seeing that I have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. (Colossians 3:1–10, personalized)

That new nature is already mine and it is now possible to walk in its fullness:

Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. (Colossians 3:12–15)

This passage goes on to tell me to “let the Word of Christ dwell in me richly” and is parallel to Ephesians 5 which says, “Be filled with the Spirit” who brings the same results. If I’m to be what God wants me to be, these two things are necessary: filled with the Word and filled with the Spirit, and both require me to kick out all “I” stuff, including any efforts to appear pious.

I remember thoughts during worship service where I wondered if it would look better if I raised my hands. Or did people notice that I knew the words without looking at them on the screen. Or notice that I was the only one smiling. All “I” religion stuff. Put it off.

The odd thing is that Holy Spirit stuff cannot be cataloged in the same way. If I do it, it drops into that old “I” religion because any Holy Spirit stuff is not about me. It is about others and about Jesus. Yes, focusing on Jesus brings peace and joy, love for others, and the other fruit of the Spirit, but it is not given the same attention. I might notice it, but it will not let me say anything about it except “Thank You” or think more than simply marveling at the wonder of who God is and His amazing grace.

We are experiencing answers to prayers, even experiencing prayers that fill me with wonder that such thoughts are in my heart because I’m so often focused on me and my needs. God is incredible.

PRAY: Jesus, I could think today about fatigue, the to-do list that looms like a giant mountain to climb, our varied needs, but You keep filling my mind with the way You have changed the life of a young woman who was so far from You and now praising You and wanting to serve on the worship team at our church. And You have prompted me to pray for her and for another person who badly needs physical healing and salvation. Today, spiritual armor is needed because it is part of what I’m to put on instead of wearing those sinful and dead robes that are only about me.

Being filled with the Spirit…

 

Being filled with the Spirit of God is not the same as having a dual personality, yet it is like that. Those who experience this often say and do things that they remember yet forget, that they wonder “where did that come from?” Yet they know it was the Spirit and not themselves.

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)

This verse sort of describes it but not entirely. It is more like:

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. (1 Corinthians 13:4–7)

And even this isn’t quite it because the love of God is not focused on me and is without self-evaluation. He puts the focus on others, so thinking I am patient and kind is a self-evaluation that ruins it.
Consider also the idea of master. In the original language, this word is sometimes translated  “master” as in the owner of something, but sometimes translated “Lord” when it refers to Jesus. Why the difference? Jesus put it this way:

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. (John 15:15)

Sometimes Jesus referred to Himself as “master,” at least in my ESV translation.

Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. (John 15:20)

You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. (John 13:13)

Yet the idea of “master” contrasts with the idea of friends, implying another kind of relationship. This contrast shows up in the story of the prodigal. The straying son returned and was treated with a loving embrace and a party. However, the older son who had lived under the father’s felt badly used, and he said:

Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him! (Luke 15:28–30)

This person slipped from being a partner with his father to the attitude of a misused slave. This story and the above references point to the difference in attitude that comes when I am controlled by the Holy Spirit or when I am walking according to my old sinful nature called the flesh. One is a friend of Jesus more occupied with love for others than having my way.

In contrast, the flesh is about living for me, my way and my wants, doing things out of obligation rather than love, resenting the blessing of God on others, and feeling like God is simply too bossy. To have a Lord and Master is not the same thing as being mastered. To know the love of God pushes thoughts of self into oblivion and brings love for Him and for others out of my heart.

PRAY: Jesus, this is good counsel for me today. I do have plans, but also hear Your voice concerning the needs of others. I want to obey You, but not with the sense of obligation but because I love You. For that, I know my need to be filled with Your Spirit for otherwise my sinful self will take over and will certainly ruin everything. I confess to You that I belong to You and have been called Your friend. Fill me today that I may act like one, and be more concerned with others rather than being selfish and wanting to do my own thing.

Ruckus or a Rest?

 

Every now and then things happen that require either acceptance or a fight. Because God is sovereign and controls all things, and uses them for my good, I can rest no matter what those things might be.

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. (Romans 8:28–29)

This teaching was one of the first things God put into my heart and mind. It works well with my mother’s mantra. She often said, “We must need it or we wouldn’t be getting it.” While she said it most often about the weather, this trust in God for every circumstance held even when she suffered from Alzheimers and faced all sorts of changes and challenges. She had this amazing attitude of acceptance rather than fighting life, and that attitude fits well with being conformed to the image of Jesus Christ.

I’ve said I want to be like my mom when I grow up. Now, into my later years, I’m still learning. One area is with new situations, or with many decisions to be made. Our recent decision to move into another place that is more suited to our needs is giving me reasons to repeat mom’s mantra.

Jesus gave an invitation that also fits with this idea and reason for accepting life as it comes. He 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)

I’ve learned that this passage uses two words about burdens. The first is the heavy load of a shipment that requires muscle or equipment to move it. However, the “burden” that Jesus said He would give us is merely the paper invoice that is attached to the shipment! In other words, His yoke is nothing compared to the weight that most people try to carry. He does not want me to take on the heavy loads, only those that are in His will for me.

The Bible also talks about rest. It is typified in Sabbath rest, one day in seven to stop working and take it easy, but it points to the same type of rest that Jesus talked about, the rest of not laboring with the full load but trusting Him and coming to Him for only what He wants for me. This is also implied in the words, “I must need it…” for what He gives is needful that I might be like Him. What I might take on in my own strength does not do that for me. Instead, it makes me tired, worn out, grumpy, and hard to get along with.
In other words, my load is the work of the flesh, and taking His load is walking in the Spirit. One is a fight and also a disobedience. The other is acceptance, trust, and full obedience.

Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience, again he appoints a certain day, “Today,” saying through David so long afterward, in the words already quoted, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.” For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on. So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. 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 4:6–13)

PRAY: Jesus, I am so aware of the difference between being heavy laden and taking on the yoke with You that You give. I cannot manage daily life, never mind moving to another home, without Your grace and strength. All that I try on my own makes me irritable and anxious. Trusting You fills me with peace and joy. Thank You for my mother — and thank you for being who You are, the giver of good things that I might become more like You.

Delight in God and He gives good desires…

These days are full. We just bought a house. We like the one we’ve lived in but at our age, we decided to move while we can, not when we have to. The house is one of 66 bungalows, all different, surrounding a 3-4 level retirement facility so when we cannot manage our lives, we just move across the street.

The new home needs a few changes, mostly flooring from carpet to no carpet, and better lighting. Yesterday we spent the day searching our options for other things and came home tired. Then we got a call from someone who challenged our way of doing things. He thought we were not doing enough research, but was not aware that our ‘research’ was done on our knees.

Earlier we put a deposit on another place and God made it clear: “Do not buy that house!” However, this one was given His direction from start to finish. Flooring, and other choices came easy after prayer and understanding His will on all matters. For that reason, the challenge to our ‘research’ was somewhat of a test. Will we trust God, or do we need to spend hundreds of hours on the Internet?

Today’s devotional led me to these verses and blesses my heart. If we are trusting God, does it matter what the surveys, reports, consumer comments, etc. say?

Praise the Lord! Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in his commandments! (Psalm 112:1)
I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.” (Psalm 40:8)
Your testimonies are my delight; they are my counselors. (Psalm 119:24)
For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, (Romans 7:22)
Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. (Psalm 1:1–2)

While our ‘advisor’ might scoff or think we are being lazy, the Word of God is clear; He wants us to seek His will, not out of desperation, or any other reason than we trust Him and delight in discovering that His will is never the wrong thing. No matter where He leads us, His love is behind all that He does on our behalf.

Not only that, we can see His leading. The first sales person told us enough that we knew what not to buy. The second one revealed that a big sale was coming up and we could get better prices in a couple weeks. It was that way with the next ones we talked to until we found the best prices and choices for our needs. We could sense God’s leading in each case and know quite well that God’s name is not spelled Google.

I’ve not told our ‘advice giver’ how we do research, but hope for the opportunity. While stress in making decisions does happen, once the will of God is known, that stress is replaced with great delight and a sense of His love and safe-keeping.

PRAY: Jesus, my prayer today is the same as the psalmist who wrote: “Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.” (Psalm 25:4–5) I’m so thankful for You and truly do delight in Your will.

Patient in trials — for God’s glory!

 
A quote from yesterday sticks with me today. When Jesus told His disciples to pray “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” He revealed a most remarkable thing: His will done here gives us heaven on earth. It gave me a deeper longing to experience the will of God!

I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.” (Psalm 40:8)

When Jesus told His disciples that He had food to eat that they did not know about, they were thinking physical food, but Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work." (John 4:34)

Physical food is not only necessary for life but also enjoyable to eat and makes me feel satisfied. Oh, I can overdo it, eat too much, or eat the wrong things, or consume something that makes me feel ill, but generally food is a delightful part of life. (I’m thinking the chicken wings at the Mossleigh restaurant and the Lobster Bisque we had last Thursday, and countless recipes discovered and created in my own kitchen.)

And Jesus said that His food was to do God’s will! How incredible a description for something that a lot of people think of as sacrifice and a duty, even a giving up of enjoyment. This is the difference between “I must” and “I’d love to” — a delight in doing whatever my beloved Lord asks of me, not because of the perks of it, but because it is the heart of God expressed through me, the Hand in this glove, the reason I’m here.

Yesterday was stressful and lovely both. Stressed because my devotions were interrupted at least six times. The phone rang often. Someone dropped in. I needed a file from a government website and it locked me out several times. After three hours of trying, making calls, and waiting, the person online could not help, transferred me to another person, and I went through the process of proving my identity at least three times after their site kept shutting me out — three times in the same three ways for the same person on the other line! It was no fun at all.

But in the middle of the day, there was a lovely prayer time with two friends. Also, God gave me answers to moving issues that seemed to have no answers. An appointment that would add more stress was postponed, and my hubby did the supper dishes. This made the frustrations feel less stressful, but I still wondered what is the will of God in them? One thing comes to mind:

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (James 1:2–4)

I didn’t meet the stressful stuff with joy and steadfastness. I could excuse this with “I didn’t get enough sleep” or some other reasoning, but that isn’t the honest answer. My failure was more about wanting the day to be easy and my will to be done. God essentially let me know that His will includes interruptions (Jesus had lots of them) and other negatives — such as being misunderstood, no one listening,  the frustration of betrayal, and the weight of bearing the sins of the world, including mine. Yet it was His “food” to do the will of God, and He did it so the “world may know that He loves the Father.” (John 14:31)

PRAY: Jesus, You show me that putting up with the trials of life is not just about me learning steadfast patience. Doing Your will could have a far-reaching effect on those around me, so they can see Your love in action, even have a taste of heaven. Forgive me for my impatience of yesterday and grant me the ability to at least be patient with the stresses of life, or better yet, downright joyful — knowing that You can use this for Your glory.

Thy Will be Done

I remember the first time I looked up the meaning of my name and discovered “Elsie means being consecrated to God.” Since then, other meanings come up but that one stuck because it filled me with wonder and delight.

The word “consecration” means to make or declare sacred, and sacred means holy, devoted to God, worthy of awe and respect. This is a lofty description and much more than anyone could ever deserve, so it makes me wonder why some people resist being consecrated to God?

Today’s reading says that some have a different definition of that word. One person said, “It means that all that is bright and pleasant in your life will be taken out of it and that every hard and sad thing you can conceive of will come into it. It means that you will have to do impossible things and that your ease and comfort will be gone forever.”

Obviously this shows a faulty understanding of God and His will, which is usually the root of any  misconception about Christian teaching. How is it that we can so misunderstand and misjudge our Lord, whose will can be nothing but goodness and love, since He himself is these and these only? Only because that old and sinful nature, plus the lies of the enemy are at play. This could be due to 1) not being in the Word of God, or not believing what we read, or 2) not recognizing or confessing our selfishness. How many times have I gone my own way only to find out how flawed it is!

When Jesus was asked how to pray, He began with:

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6:9–10)

Praying for God’s will to be done is asking Him to make earth like heaven — and that is going to be a forever loss of ease and comfort? No one would want to go to heaven if they thought it was like that.
Furthermore, the Bible says: “This is the will of God, your sanctification…. (1 Thessalonians 4:3) Sanctification also means much the same as consecration. Either word refers to something God did when Christ came into my life:

And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption. (1 Corinthians 1:30)

It is also what Christ did so that I might be sanctified (or set apart) for Him: “And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.” (John 17:19)

How terribly sad that God’s people listen to that old nature or to Satan and become convinced of what is not true. How important to read and believe the truth about God and realize He is a joy-giver and not a joy-robber.

PRAY: Jesus, help me today to speak the truth in love and to be totally aware of and set free from any false ideas about You or Your will for my life and the lives of those I talk with.

No Greater Privilege

 

Going to bed with a need on my heart can make sleep elusive. I prayed, but the need nagged. Yet in the morning, the prayer was answered. God keeps surprising me with such things. Prayer is a tremendous privilege.

This morning, I did some reading on this topic and am so blessed with what God showed me. One commentator pointed out how the history of Israel was one of failure to trust and obey God as His ‘sons’ ought. Then when Jesus was baptized, God says: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased” (Luke 3:22) and this author adds that heaven must have sighed with relief for finally here is a true Son who can (and will) perfectly trust, obey, and please His Father. He adds that to Jesus alone belonged the full privilege of prayer and access for only He could say with confidence to God, “I know that you always hear me” (John 11:41–42).

Then this: when we believe in Jesus Christ we are united to him and what is true of Jesus is true of us. We also have His perfect and secure access to the Father and when we pray in Jesus’ name, we do so with supreme confidence and yet humble dependence on His unmerited grace.

Now prayer means I can go into the presence of God without any mere hopes, fears, aspirations or my own thoughts. I am going to have communion with the living God! In Him, I can abandon being self-centered, always wanting something, but realize the greatness, glory and privilege of prayer — the everlasting God is listening to me! I am praying in the name of Jesus and letting my requests be made known to God, and doing this with confidence and assurance because all that is Christ’s is also mine…

And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him. (1 John 5:14–15)

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:16)

A great need today is Christian intercession for a lost world and a church that needs revival. This was always a need. In the OT, God “saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no one to intercede” (Isaiah 59:16). With great needs and the privilege of prayer so wonderful, why so little attention to the throne of grace? One writer suggests it is how we view God. Isaiah 51:13 says, He is the One who "stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth" and Isaiah 64:3-5 adds, “When you did awesome things that we did not look for, you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence. From of old no one has heard or perceived by the ear, no eye has seen a God besides you, who acts for those who wait for him. You meet him who joyfully works righteousness, those who remember you in your ways….”

How can I more often take advantage of this awesome privilege of prayer. I set times to pray. I mean well. I forget. Or my mind wanders. Or I read off a list of I-wants. I know He cares about everything yet I can be self-centered, or worse as I sometimes tell Him what to do — as if I know the better than He does. Such impertinence!

For many, prayer is an escape from obedience. I’m thankful that weakness and need motivate me, and a desire to be so reliant on Him that I must obey, and that He will fill me with the Holy Spirit and give me all that is needed. I want Him to work in me, “both to will and to do of his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13) and not quench or grieve Him by being lazy and disobedient. I want Him to “work in me that which pleases Him, through Jesus Christ.”

PRAY: My heart knows that prayer is not a means to tap into Your generous grace for what I want, but to know You better, to share my heart and hear Your heart, and to be filled with awe as well as getting answers for the perplexities that are all around me. I want others to be reconciled to You, healing for the broken, and so much more to happen that brings our needy world to their knees before Your throne of grace. Prayer is a huge topic, but even more, a huge privilege. Forgive me for neglecting it far too often and enrich my desire and obedience to draw near to You.

God’s ways are higher than mine

 

During our group Bible study we were asked in which ways we were limited in our Christian lives by our past. The assumption was that our past contained sins and mistakes that we were not proud of. This is illustrated in Jesus’ parable of the prodigal. He asked for his inheritance and took off on his own:

And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything. “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.” ’ (Luke 15:14–19)

But when he arrived home, his father was overjoyed and threw a party to celebrate. No scolding, no questions even, illustrating that the past is not the measure of our acceptance by our heavenly Father. There is a great deal of joy in heaven over one sinner who repents. God forgives and puts our sin as far as the east from the west.

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (Romans 8:1)

On the other hand, some come to God with many assets. Paul was one of them, and this was his testimony about his past:

Though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death... (Philippians 3:4–10)

His past could be a hindrance if he let himself be proud of it and lord over others because of it. For some, a ‘good’ life, wise choices, wealth, high IQ and any number of other ‘successes’ are easily relied on by the flesh and like Paul, Christians with that kind of past have to learn to be joyful in weakness and rely fully on Jesus, not their old nature with its resources.

Today’s devotional reading points out that our strength lies in our helplessness. If I am helpless to do anything myself, Jesus can use me as He pleases. My past and whatever it includes, shame or pride or both, will not get in the way or delay obedience. The NT suggests the struggles of Paul to learn this may have been longer and more difficult than for those who were less endowed.

For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. (1 Corinthians 1:25–29)

Humility comes easier to weak and lowly people for they have little to boast about in themselves. This suggests that pride in myself and what I can do may be a greater impediment than a shameful past.

PRAY: Jesus, You know that shame and pride both can ruin my walk with You. I’m so glad that You forgave all my sin, including the sin of thinking my way is better than Your way. Keep me in Your will that I may boast only in You.

Hearing His Voice

 

One television show has a character who speaks with enthusiasm but his voice is so garbled that most viewers cannot understand a word. The show’s main characters do, and oddly enough, close captioning gets most of it, but even without knowing what he is saying, his gestures and emotions Sometimes give clues.

I’m glad Jesus is not like that. He says,

Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live….Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice…. (John 5:25-28)

…. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out…. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.… My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. (John 10:3-27)

Do we need to learn it? Or do we just know it? Today’s reading says that we learn to hear it through Scripture, providential circumstances, and through a divine inner conviction, and the more we obey, the clearer His voice becomes.

Jesus did not say that. He says we just know it. In my experience, the problem is not lack of knowing but lack of listening. I can think of countless examples of ‘just knowing’ I was supposed to do something. Sadly, I also have many examples of ‘just knowing’ but not listening, either because I didn’t want to do it or I wanted something other than what Jesus was telling me. My lack of obedience did not dull my hearing, but it did and still does hinder my spiritual growth.

The voice of a stranger could refer to Satan with his lies or to false teachers with their persuasions. It could also refer to my flesh or old nature with its I-wants and pride that assumes I have a better plan. I’ve also had times when that voice was a whisper and my way simply shouted so loud that I didn’t want to hear God. Those are the times that I learned lessons the hard way — by making foolish decisions and doing the wrong thing, only to realize later that God knows best.

A good point from the reading is to make sure His voice is His voice before I move ahead. Sometimes my thoughts sound good but they are not His thoughts. He says:

For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:9)

This is why Bible reading and careful study are so important. Not only do Christians make errors by not reading, but by assumptions. For instance, no verses say there were three wise men, not a big deal yet a mistake due to lack of research.

PRAY: Lord, I’m glad that You speak into my life. Today, I have clear direction from You regarding today’s to-do items and the importance of diligence in them. I also hear You when talking with friends about their prayer requests and later as You remind me to pray. I’m prone to make lists of things so I will not forget, yet Your voice reminds me and keeps me on track because I am prone to forgetting to look at my lists! Not only that, You often surprise me with Your words of peace and comfort when I get in a dither or am over-tired. Thank You so much for talking to me and with me, for making Your thoughts known, and for directing my words and actions too.

Flesh vs. Spirit

 
I cannot describe the spiritual battles that others face, only my own. Today’s devotional is about the author’s battle with consecration. She writes about finding herself too weak and full of  imperfection and sin to dare dedicating herself to the Lord, but if she looks at Christ, all those thoughts vanish and she is left with a great desire to live for Him.

I know that battle, yet in my description I make a distinction between the flesh and the Spirit. Christ lives in me, but that old sinful nature clings to me like the ancient practice of putting the body of a murdered victim unto the back of the one who killed that person. What a stench, what a horror, but it does make vivid the reality of this war between God’s Spirit and my former nature. It is dead to God but still wants to rule my life. The NT is filled with instructions to help me recognize the difference and to live accordingly.

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. (Galatians 5:16–17)

Sanctification is the work of God who changes my heart and desires, yet that sin nature resists doing God’s will because it is contrary to the nature of sin. However, God says:

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 5:24–26)

This is just one difference: the old nature is conceited, envious, and apt to spats with others. The Holy Spirit is not like that…

For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. (Galatians 5:13)

The devotional writer speaks of choosing to live for Jesus, and by looking to Him to make all fleshy thoughts vanish, then adds “I know it is His will that I should live like that, and that He is able to keep me from falling. And so all I can do is trust Him.”

It is no secret that the enemy wants God’s people to follow the dictates of that dead thing that seems strapped on our back. He uses various schemes to appeal to us. For me, it is a disguised pride that insists my own ideas are okay. For the devotional writer, it is doubt that God accepts her sacrifice of herself. Again, that could be rooted in that prideful idea that we need to be ‘good enough’ to serve God. If that notion governs me, then I will never serve Him because I will never be ‘good enough’ — which is a denial of the very basic truth of the gospel; we are not accepted or used by God based on our worth or abilities. Obedience is not about being able but about trusting Him and doing what He says, relying on His enabling and His Spirit. Still, it is a battle.

PRAY: Lord, so often the enemy whispers that I cannot do whatever it is that You ask me to do. I know that this statement is partly true but mostly a lie. In You and because of You, I can do all things. This is a trust issue, not an ability test. I have just over three weeks to do what seems impossible, but know it is Your will to get with it and just obey You, “for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through You who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:11–13) Thank You for this timely reminder that my life is in Your hands!

God is in Everything

A couple of days ago, I found the above quote and it comes to mind often. Yesterday involved a lot of driving and time with someone who does not speak much English. However, meeting another friend who is fluent in her language was a delight for the three of us. I had no idea what they talked about, but the joy on their faces was a God-thing.

Arriving home and finding God in decisions we were making and giving us ideas through others who ‘happened’ to know this or that was more of that God-thing. Seeing Him in little things makes a difference in personal choices, and the way we think about life.

Today’s reading says, “Nothing but seeing God in everything will make us loving and patient with those who annoy and trouble us. They will be to us then only the instruments for accomplishing His tender and wise purposes toward us, and we will even find ourselves inwardly thanking them for the blessings they bring.”

While the reading goes on to link this idea as a deterrent to sin and complaining, I’m not sure that happens for everyone. Some may think that His presence means He is sternly watching all actions so they better behave rather than make Him scowl. Instead, seeing Him in all things ought to help us  realize His goodness and care. For me, it makes a difference in how I view life's extremes.

All things includes good and not so good. The flesh loves to take some credit for the good as if we made it happen or made right choices. The flesh also complains when things are not so comfortable and can even rail against it, totally forgetting that God is sovereign and has a loving and good reason for allowing any trials. Seeing Him in both extremes and everything in between produces praise and thanksgiving. It helps me to look for that good in trials and makes life a delightful adventure rather than a series of ups and downs.

Today’s reading also says I can believe God is faithful and wants good for me, not because I feel it or see it but because He says He is. This means faith enables the ability to see Him because faith is rewarded that way as my relationship with Him is deepened. He enables me to ‘just know’ that good things are happening, even before seeing or experiencing the results from trials. The Bible says that my faith forms the direction of my life. I know that doubt can prevent me from seeing His goodness, and doubt can be an inlet for all sorts of negativity, but faith enables the Holy Spirit to flood life with His fruit and when I’m filled with the Spirit, it is easy to see God in everything.

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)

The flesh is the source of pride, conceit, being annoyed with others or jealous of them. The Spirit is the source of what I really want: love, joy and all of the above. And the Spirit makes God visible to my heart.

PRAY: Jesus, I’m seeing so many of Your children who haven’t realized their battle with sin requires faith but also confession of doubt and fleshy living as being a huge part of redemption. Forgive the pride and send light into those who so badly need to see, not only this reality but the reality of You in all things. Keep me here. I love to see You in all things — and You making sense of the ups and downs of life.

When Jesus changes lives…

 

The Lord taught me much at our family reunion that last weekend in July. As I reflect, it was not just for family that we were entirely blessed. He blessed me by letting me experience what it was like to be filled with His Spirit and feel entirely free to do or say whatever came to mind — and whatever came to mind was always praise and honor to Him. Complete freedom. I never once worried what others might think or that I might look like some sort of nitwit. Later, I was told by someone who wasn’t even there that I made a lot of people happy. That was Jesus at work and when the weekend was over, the joy remained. I felt like I’d just experienced a taste of heaven. Indescribable joy and worship.

That lesson reinforced what I’d known but never experienced in such measure. When God is in charge, there is no thought of self, no concerns about being rejected or sneered at, nothing negative, just great love and care for others to the point that self is totally out of the picture.

I didn’t make this happen. Being aware of God at work, I often felt like a bystander or an audience. He made clear what it means to be totally consecrated to Him. I didn’t even get tired, at least not until hours after on the way home. This was an amazing event for our family, but also for me.

Today’s reading is a description of how God made consecration to Him a reality for the person who wrote it. The writer used words like more light, no provision for the flesh, giving up all of self, having her will slain, and resting nowhere but in God. I don’t know what happened that revealed this to her, but it is definitely a NT norm:

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. (Colossians 3:1–10)

Looking back at many learning experiences, it seems that once God does an amazing thing in my life, without me even asking or thinking about it, I’m never the same afterward. One time one of our children took off with a friend in the middle of the night. They soon decided that was foolish and came home, but before that, the parents of the other child were numb with fear. However, my husband and I were oddly calm. We knew it was God giving us peace that was beyond comprehension. It made no sense to be calm, but we were a stabilizer for those other two people and not surprised when the two children walked in the door. This experience of God taking over made a huge difference. Since we learned He could do it, we now seek it when life throws us a giant-sized curve.

In the same way, I’ve learned what the Spirit of God can do for me in being responsible for a big event, just as the author learned what consecration is like when God makes it happen. It is His gift to show us the glory of putting self to death and putting on the new self.

Yesterday, a few of us were asked to do something scary. Experiencing God’s grace in other scary things takes the fear away for saying yes to this request. I’m trusting God to give what is needed to do the task, and also trusting Him for the others who claimed they are too inadequate for the task. May they discover that God knows we are not adequate; no one can do it without Him and feeling helpless is far better than having fleshy confidence. As John 15 says, without Him we can do nothing.

PRAY: Jesus, without You, I am as limp and useless as a glove without a hand. You give what is needed when it is needed. Forgive me for the times I try to do things in my own strength. Help my friends realize their need for Your power and boldness, and to recognize the difference between that and mere human confidence. Thank You Jesus.

God reveals His will — pay attention!

A friend soon faces surgery to fix a detached retina in his right eye. He had the same problem years ago in the left one. Why? I haven’t a clue. Another friend takes care of her husband as his mind changes daily due to dementia. What is God’s purpose in this? I haven’t a clue. Many families struggle as one or more children (or grandchildren) are prodigals running away from them and from God. Why? I’ve no idea why this is happening either, but I do know one thing:

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. (Romans 8:28–29)

God uses all things, even trials, to transform my life. The Bible even says this about my trials:

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (James 1:2–4)

A difficulty or trial happens for at least two reasons. God may reveal great faith. When my husband fell in March, he sat dazed on a nearby bench and prayed that he didn’t know the why of this fall, but he accepted it as part of God’s plan for his life. One significant “good” thing is that he does not complain about his pain. He has a stress fracture and the pain goes away only when he is flat on his back, but he continues to take care of his responsibilities without moaning. This trial has resulted in steadfast trust in the Lord.

Trials can also expose sinfulness. Every time I have computer problems, my patience disappears. I am not only annoyed and frustrated, but lack peace and joy indicating the flesh is running things rather than the Holy Spirit. I also realize that this trial is exposing my sinful desire to be in control of things rather than trusting God and patiently dealing with that minor issue of life.

Today’s reading says that the story of Job is enacted in the lives of Christians. It says, “Mysterious providences darken and attempt to ruin the lives of those who have seemed too good to need such discipline. Even to ourselves come afflictions that we cannot understand, and Satan seems so busy in the matter that it is hard to trace the hand of the Lord in it at all. But His hand is in it nevertheless, and He overrules everything. No trial comes except by His permission and for some wise and loving purpose which perhaps only eternity will disclose.”

While most of us can identify with the puzzle of a trial and how easily we complain, I must not forget the rest of Job's story. Eventually God spoke to Job and this man realized that all his complaining and moaning about not knowing the reason for the trial was not an expression of his faith. In his troubles, he was to firmly hang on to the faith that he did have, expressed now and then, but not consistent. He did say:

But he knows the way that I take; when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold. (Job 23:10)

But he also complained that he didn’t know the why of it and God was not telling him. Then, at the end of the story, this man realized that he was not being true to his faith, and he confessed it saying:

I know that you can do all things and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted….  Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. ‘Hear, and I will speak; I will question you, and you make it known to me.’ I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” (Job 42:2–6)

God did not bring that trial on Job to punish him for sins committed. Instead, He used it to show him that faith wins. In this trial and his encounter with God, Job needed to realize this and stick to it. He also needed to confess his failure to do that. In other words, Job was not kept in the dark about why he went through such a severe trial. At the end of his story, God showed Job his attitude so he could confess his doubts, repent, and be restored.

PRAY: Jesus, I know that Your treatment of me is only a mystery for a time, a test to reveal my reactions. Will I trust You? Or will my sin nature fly into action? Do I honor You in the trial? Or do I stop trusting and take a nosedive? If You are revealing sin, You always reveal it to me so I can repent and become more like You. I may not know the reasons for the trials of others, but by grace, You show me  the ‘why’ of my experiences — even if it is just the need to pay closer attention to Your revealed will.

God knows me — He just wants me to agree with Him

While God tells us not to have personal bias toward others, it happens. My particular bias is toward those who are transparent, honest about their situation, emotions, desires, and opinions. They never leave me guessing about anything concerning them.

While God does not have to guess, it seems to me that He wants me to be transparent as well. As the psalmist declared, He knows anyway…

O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. (Psalm 139:1–4)

However, the essence of confessing sin is being honest with God, telling Him what I have done and how my attitudes and thinking have been sinful. Since sin resists this and my old nature wants to look good regardless of what I am really like, sin’s tendency is to excuse it, or fake it, to try and portray to others what I think will impress them rather than being honest.

Honesty can be blunt and even unkind. This is why the NT clearly says,

Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. (Ephesians 4:15–16)

Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. (Ephesians 4:25)

Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. (Ephesians 4:29)

Today’s reading points to this desire of God and how He used painful circumstances in the life of Job to accomplish it. First, it was God who was in control even though Satan did the work:

And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.” So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord…. And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand; only spare his life.” (Job 1:12 & 2:6)

Job lost everything, including his children. He was struck with sores and in pain. He complained yet at times revealed his faith in God. Finally, God spoke and showed this man how much he did not know, and Job said:

“I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. ‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’ Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. ‘Hear, and I will speak; I will question you, and you make it known to me.’ I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” (Job 42:1–6)

Then the Lord spoke to those who had accused Job that he was in this situation because of sin: “My anger burns against you and against your two friends, for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.” (Job 42:7)

What did God mean? That all Job’s complaints were right? Or that his confession was right? Or was it that Job continually expressed what his heart was telling him, and finally he realized that he didn’t know everything about God?

The reading makes the point that when life is horrid, like Job’s life, God has purpose in it, and that purpose might be to show me what my heart is really like and how much I need the grace of God. Otherwise, my top priority is me — when I need to “despise myself and repent” of being entirely self-centered before God.

PRAY: Jesus, a recent temptation in which I didn’t do that well is still bugging me, and this reading makes me realize that confessing my attitude is not enough. Like Job, I need to despise that old dead selfishness and turn from it with all my heart. You want my love for You to be total, covering all areas of life, not just those that others can see. You want total transparency from me I can hide some things but “O God, you know my folly; the wrongs I have done are not hidden from you.” (Psalm 69:5)

 

Thankful for ALL things?

Yesterday’s thoughts are still with me this morning. God tells me to follow Him like one of His children should, then gives a list of what this means in ordinary life…

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not become partners with them; for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. (Ephesians 5:1–21)

This passage starts with therefore because the previous passage is about what God has done for me, including forgiveness of my sin. He has given me the ability to turn from sinful things and names many of them, then tells me to be filled with His Spirit which often includes a song in my heart and that I will be thankful for everything.

Reading that again makes me realize that if I am not thankful then I am not filled with Him but full of my sinful self, that old nature that wants what I want and quickly forgets that only God knows what I really need. And like bad news from my doctor and the resulting painful cure, I need to be thankful for whatever He uses to fix my broken and stubborn attitudes and behaviors.

In changing to more accurate imitation of God, starting small seems the best idea. Instead of griping when I sew a wrong seam, or my computer acts contrary to my wishes, or I burn my toast, I can find reason to be thankful for a good sewing machine and the ability to rip out an errant seam, thankful for a computer that saves me hours of time and give access to many resources, and the fact that there is more bread in the pantry to try again.

PRAY: Jesus, I so easily complain about such little things, yet if I cannot be thankful for the least of them, I will never be able to see Your goodness in the ALL things, including painful experiences and sad events. Fill me with Your Spirit for I need You to be thankful, but also enable me to have an eternal perspective that looks for ways to be like You even while I’m here living in time and in this very messy world. Open my eyes to see You — in everything, no matter what!

Give thanks in everything

 

It is easy enough to give thanks for whatever gives me joy. I could fill this page with examples and have answered prayer near the top of the list. But what about those things that are frustrating — like a computer problem, or no sign of spiritual growth in those I’m praying for, or a hot day filled with smoke from a wildfire? And even as I write this, I’m thinking that today might be another test. Last week God tested me about grumbling over the little things. Will this week be a test of giving thanks in everything?

And we urge you, brethren, to recognize those who labor among you, and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. Be at peace among yourselves. Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all. See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies. Test all things; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil. (1 Thessalonians 5:12–22)

This passage about being thankful is a package. The command from God is given more description by the words around it. That is, be thankful and esteem those over me in the Lord and who admonish me. Yesterday’s sermon was admonishment. I didn’t like some of it. I’m more motivated by the wonder of God than a call to do this or that as part of my response. Here, Jesus is telling me to be thankful — even though I have been thinking otherwise.

Instead of having a negative attitude toward that sermon, I’m supposed to warn the unruly. Mmmm. Do I even know any who are unruly? I ought to look in the mirror for the answer to that!

I’m also to comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, and be patient with all. This certainly suggests to be thankful that God entrusts me to do that, even though it often comes across as a rebuke, more like “if you are so strong, then take care of those who are not, with patience and with thanksgiving that you are in that place.” This makes me think that when I suppose I am stronger than others, such vanity actually puts me in a lower place. Thanksgiving is designed to level the field, not draw me into a spirit of judging others. If God shows me anyone who is genuinely struggling, then I’m to humbly care for them, not think I am better than they are. Rebuke.

The next line about not being evil is strong, yet evil can be subtle, like boasting or responding to someone sharing a problem with, “I’ve never had that problem” making them feel even more alone. Evil is not always an unjust and wicked act. People can make me feel useless and unloved with a thoughtless remark indicating I can do the same to them. Being thankful cures that subtle way of harming another person.

What is good for everyone if not hearing a thankful heart expressing the goodness of God? The joy of the Lord comes out, not joy that circumstances are the best ever, but joy that Jesus is the best ever. It puts my focus on Him and His goodness, and in being thankful for Him, the focus of others is shifted too.

The Holy Spirit tells me what I should say — I just need to listen and say it. All prophecies are expressed as a done deal. How thankful I should be that God will do what He says, and how evil it is to think that His will is going to be anything but good. Again, the right attitude is a blessing, to God, to me, and to anyone who hears me being thankful.

PRAY: Jesus, You give many reasons that I should give thanks, and even on those days when all seems contrary, I can be thankful that You are in this mess with me and giving me joy anyway. I’m so thankful that You do what You do — and with a great deal of patience to teach me to just be thankful in everything as this is certainly Your will for me.