Put off the dead stuff…

Imagine having a billion dollar bank account, getting statements each month, but not believing it, so you are working hard to keep afloat financially. If that seems silly, imagine having faith in Christ and being dead to sin, reading what God says and still not sure this is true, particularly each time you disobey God. In both cases, inner thoughts do not line up with facts like this:

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)

Key to both issues is what I am listening to? Is it the statements regarding my wealth? Is it the Word of God stating my status? Or am I looking at something else? The above passage asks, “If you have been raised with Christ” — a question puts those who hear it into a dilemma. How do I measure the answer?

I remember one man who claimed to be sinless. He said that salvation was death to sin and since he was saved, he no longer sinned. Anyone who knew him knew otherwise, but this man measured his answer by what he wanted to be true, and that desire blinded him to reality:

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. (1 John 1:8)

If I have money in the bank and yet insist I am poor and do not rely on that money, I would be like a person who claims to be saved, but is not relying on the Lord Jesus Christ to redeem him. I might be trying hard to redeem myself, or like the man I knew, denying I needed further work and denying there is any sin left to fight. What is true?

Today’s devotional talks about reckoning or considering. The Bible says that because of faith in God’s Word, I have died and my life is hidden with Christ in God. But it also speaks of earthly things in me, things to put off and not rely on or be involved in. I have to live according to what God says, not according to what I think or want.

The error comes by supposing “to live I must first die” or lose my life and find my life hid with God. However, the Bible says I am already dead. I don’t need to die, but to realize what I already am dead to that old life because of what Jesus has done. Reckoning is thinking the truth, not making it happen. When I think the truth, it shows up in the way I live, not the other way around. In other words, I don’t have to make a large income and deposit it in my account because that account is already full, established, there for me to live. Not ignore as if I didn’t have it and had to work hard to get it.

Putting off the old way is realizing the old way is a lie and no longer alive. Instead, I am not spiritual poor but very rich in the resources of my Redeemer!

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)

Losing the old life is key to discovering the new, but key to losing the old life is realizing and believing it is already lost, dead to God and useless. What I have in Christ is life and truth and reality, not a charge to go get it.

PRAY: Feelings, sinful behavior, any kind of selfishness can mess with truth, and Jesus, that is a big reason You tell me to shed that stuff and live in the joy You give. It happens by loving You and loving others and reckoning truth about me — truth that You proclaim and even put in writing for me to read and rejoice — to believe and obey. Sometimes this is difficult to explain, yet knowing the truth sets me free from that deceptive and useless self-effort.

 

The process of becoming God’s child…

When I make a quilt, the steps are in order: select pattern and fabric, cut as required, sew pieces as the pattern says, make a ‘sandwich’ with backing, batting and the finished quilt top, sew the layers together, finish with a bound edge or facing, then label and find a home for it. 

The process of becoming a Christian follows certain steps also. Their order: first believe there is a God and that He is there for me…

And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. (Hebrews 11:6)

Second, believe what He says about Himself. Many false gods and ideas exist so check out His Word. It says much more than I can grasp, but the essentials are there: He loves me and wants me to know Him through faith.

Next, believe what He says about my condition. For many, this is the most difficult part… “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23) and “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” (1 John 1:8) God also says, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way” … even going our own way, no matter how good it looks, God calls it sin. (Isaiah 53:6)

Without these steps of acknowledging God and admitting my need, the process stops at that point. I cannot make a quilt with chunks and bits, but need to move forward. In salvation, moving forward means realizing and admitting that I fall short.

However, these first steps do not mean anyone can now become a Christian and start doing Christian things. Jesus says what is next and considered carefully:

Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” So they said to him, “Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ ” Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.” Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” (John 6:28–40)

I cannot do “good works” without participating in the life of Christ. He will give me that life when my faith and hope is in Him, not in what I have done or want to do. The rest of the NT is clear that good works identify me as a Christian but they do not make me one. Only Christ can give forgiveness and eternal life, and both are in Him. He is my righteousness and my Savior.

Like quilting, after that “sandwich” is made and sewn together by the power of God and the internal dwelling of the Holy Spirit, only then can Jesus be fully realized and enjoyed. He gives me new life and changes everything.

PRAY: Lord, as I make quilts, I’m thinking of You and how You took me through the process of knowing Your existence, realizing Your goodness, seeing that I do not measure up to what You created me to be, and remembering that glorious moment when You gave me Your life and the faith to wholly trust You. While all this is ‘old hat’ in a way, reviewing redemption is a good idea. You remind me of what You rescued me from (a scrap bin) and that You are making my life like Your life; lovely and useful, like a quilt. May I always remember to confess both my sin and Your amazing goodness. This is Your power to make my life is a warm blessing to those around me, just like Your life is a total blessing to me.

Eternal means eternal, forever, always…

When my husband became a Christian, a godly man explained to him how he would now live as a believer. He put a cup on the table right side up and said that God wants us to be filled with His Spirit so He fills us. However, if we sin, we tip over and like this full cup, we are not able to hold that fullness of the Spirit. How true. The Holy Spirit does not cause, initiate or tolerate sin.

Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. (James 1:13–15)

Then this man explained that the way to become upright again is to confess our sin and ask God to fill us. He tipped the cup back up, then added, “You will go through life like this” and tipped it, stood it upright, tipped it, and kept repeating those actions. He said, “As you mature and become more like Jesus, you will learn to quickly be aware of sin and quickly confess it, and stay upright longer.” In other words, eternal life has its ups and downs, but it is still eternal, forever, life always with Jesus.

This illustration has changed lives. It is true to Scripture and to experience. It is impossible to avoid temptation; everyone experiences it. Learning to recognize it and say no to it is vital. Yet it is also important to learn how to get back in our spiritual groove. Otherwise growth is hindered, even stops. God is faithful to convict and teach His children.

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)

Like a hand in a glove, the mind of Christ works in my heart to want His will and function accordingly. He saved me from sin’s penalty and enables me to learn the way to be saved from sin’s power.

I once attended a church where a man said he no longer sinned. He claimed that to sin was a disgrace to God’s saving power. But the Bible says, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” (1 John 1:8) Another person in that congregation told me that she believed in Jesus, but if she decided she didn’t want eternal life with Him, she could back out of being saved. Even as a new Christian, I wondered how eternal life could be lost if it was eternal.

Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. (John 5:24)

For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” (John 6:40)

I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. (John 10:28)

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23)

That life is in Christ who promised to never leave us. How can we lose it if we did nothing to gain it? Those who presume they are saved because they did the ‘right’ thing also presume they can lose it if they do the wrong things. So sad. The loss when we sin is fellowship and the ability to walk in the Spirit, but that is restored as soon as sin is confessed and turned away from.

PRAY: Jesus, I’m so joyful that You are my Savior. Yes, You want obedience, but not that it saves or keeps me, but because Your will is good for me. It also glorifies You when this limp and useless glove allows Your hand to move it. If I’m trying to do anything without You, that work is totally useless. I might boast of my goodness or in the temporary results, but none of what I do when tipped over is good for me in the long run, and brings no glory to You. Besides all that, You keep Your promises and know how to work in me to desire Your will and do what You ask. I’m so glad that You saved me, are saving me, and eternal life lasts for eternity!

Waiting for what happens next . . .

 

 

READ Isaiah 29–32

If I were an animal, it would be a black and white zebra, no shades of gray. This is how I see Scripture and see life. The Bible says: “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” (1 John 1:8) It also says, “So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.” (James 4:17) Sin/black. Righteous of Christ/white.

Looking at the world from this perspective means I must work at it to see goodness. Jesus did say there is none good but God! My view is not popular (most people think humans are basically good). The biblical prophets were not popular either. I’m reading Isaiah and can identify with his words of doom for the wickedness in his world. I can also identify with the way he inserts positive promises from God that counter His judgments against sin. Not wanting to have a ‘black’ day, I’m trying to focus on these positives, even though some of them announce how the Lord will deal with evil. For instance, He speaks against the foes of His people:

But the multitude of your foreign foes shall be like small dust, and the multitude of the ruthless like passing chaff. And in an instant, suddenly, you will be visited by the Lord of hosts with thunder and with earthquake and great noise, with whirlwind and tempest, and the flame of a devouring fire. And the multitude of all the nations that fight against Ariel (His city), all that fight against her and her stronghold and distress her, shall be like a dream, a vision of the night. As when a hungry man dreams, and behold, he is eating, and awakes with his hunger not satisfied, or as when a thirsty man dreams, and behold, he is drinking, and awakes faint, with his thirst not quenched, so shall the multitude of all the nations be that fight against Mount Zion. (Isaiah 29:5–8)

He also speaks against the sin of those who are His people:

For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, “In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.” But you were unwilling, and you said, “No! We will flee upon horses”; therefore you shall flee away; and “We will ride upon swift steeds”; therefore your pursuers shall be swift. A thousand shall flee at the threat of one; at the threat of five you shall flee, till you are left like a flagstaff on the top of a mountain, like a signal on a hill. Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him. (Isaiah 30:15–18)

He makes promises for their future saying they “shall weep no more” and He will hear and answer their cries. Even though He will send adversity and affliction, He will not hide but give them direction saying, “This is the way, walk in it.” They will get rid of their idols and He will bless their work, their animals and make them prosperous when He “binds up the brokenness of his people, and heals the wounds inflicted by his blow.” (Isaiah 30:19–26)

God also warns them not to go back to their old life, or rely on any other power but Him. (Isaiah 31:1) He will send them “a king (who) will reign in righteousness” and other godly leaders, each like “a hiding place from the wind, a shelter from the storm, like streams of water in a dry place, like the shade of a great rock in a weary land.” They will see, hear, understand, even “speak distinctly” and “the fool will no more be called noble, nor the scoundrel said to be honorable.” (Isaiah 32:1–5) These days, when good is called evil and evil is called good, this promise is precious!

In describing the mess back then, He says the Spirit will be “poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, and the fruitful field is deemed a forest” and “justice will dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness abide in the fruitful field. And the effect of righteousness will be peace, and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever. My people will abide in a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places.” (Isaiah 32:14–18)

My thinking is usually ‘now’ rather than ‘future’ so these promises tend to make me ask “What about today?” and God says to me that this is the kind of God He is, a God who is gracious, compassionate, and just. He will make things right because He is righteous. My part is to trust Him, walk in His ways, and rejoice in Him as I wait to see what happens next.