In God’s Care…

 

Today’s devotional reading gave me a vivid picture of God’s care. It said that His relationship to me is like that of mother holding me close when danger is near. My clinging to her does not make me any safer for my safety is in my mother holding me.

It is the same with God. His many precious promises are true and fulfilled in my life. Believing Him does not make them more true; they are true because of who He is, not because of my emotions or thoughts that I could be in trouble. Everything depends on Him being able to keep His promises. I can doubt them, or be fearful of what might happen, but that does not change the plan of God for me.

Even before he was saved, my husband would not allow our children to ‘what if’ or imagine the possibility of disaster or other events that may or may not happen. He insisted they deal with ‘now’ and even as a believer, he resists the ideas of those who ‘what if’ concerning the activities of God. For both of us, we trust Him and even with life’s challenges, we love Him and His surprises.

Last night I was overwhelmed with de-cluttering and downsizing. It is one thing to create two piles, but quite another to find people who will take the discard pile that is not worthy of tossing in the garbage. I have many books, unread and yet I cannot use all of them. So I asked God and He directed me to contact a person who runs a small library. She responded and said she would not only take all of them, but treat them as treasures. Load off my stressed emotions.

Anytime I began thinking God is not taking care of me, He often shows up with a surprise. It could be small, like the care of my books, but can also be huge, like the weather changes for the better, and every other detail of our July family reunion. Whatever is too much for me, God is always enough.

Because of this truth, Jacob could be generous and offer his brother a gift saying, “Please accept my blessing that is brought to you, because God has dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough.” (Genesis 33:11)

Because of this, the OT craftsmen building the sanctuary could say, “The people bring much more than enough for doing the work that the Lord has commanded us to do.” (Exodus 36:5)

The OT speaks of God’s care in material things including food. The NT adds everything else and verifies that God is enough:

Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, (2 Corinthians 3:5)
And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. (2 Corinthians 9:8)
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. (2 Corinthians 12:9)

Learning His total care in the small things means willing to be weak and needy in all things, even glad about it. Otherwise I might miss the grace and the glory of His keeping power. As today’s reading says, Jesus and the peace He gives is a garrison for my heart and mind.

PRAY: So much to be thankful for, even in disasters as well as the little surprises, the things that make me laugh, that our family in the Carolina’s are safe, and that You hear our prayers for those whose lives have been devastated. Help me cling to You in gratitude rather than in fear or worry. Jesus, You are enough.

Even the closing words are important!

When I write a letter or an email, it typically closes with “Blessings” and my name. Paul goes farther. He gives a blessing, but also three appeals to the church in Thessalonica . . .

Brothers, pray for us. Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss. I put you under oath before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. (1 Thessalonians 5:25–28)

Prayer is his priority. He could not survive in ministry without it. While he comes across as a spiritual strong man, he needed the power of God to do the work of God. To the church at Ephesus, he described the spiritual armor needed to be successful against our spiritual enemy then tells them the victory is in . . .

praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak. (Ephesians 6:18–20)

He, a mighty leader, needed their prayers for words and for boldness as he preached the gospel. How much more do the rest of us need prayer support in whatever God assigns to us! The reason is simple; we cannot do it (no matter what ‘it’ is) in our own strength. We need the power of God.

Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, (2 Corinthians 3:5)

Paul also talks about greeting one another. In that culture, the men greeted the men with a kiss on the cheek as did the women. This kiss was to be holy, not passionate or fleshly. I know only one woman and her daughter who do this today. Others go for the acceptable alternatives in our Western culture — either a hug, a touch on the arm or back, or a handshake. The form of greeting is not important but the doing of it is. Few Christians ignore this, but when it happens, I sometimes feel unimportant, even invisible. Satan tries to use those feelings to lead me into a pity-party rather than being focused on the Lord and on loving others.

Paul’s third exhortation at the end of this letter is that it be read to everyone. The normal usage of the Greek word for “read” (anagnōsthēnai) implies that it should be read aloud. A missionary says that in illiterate cultures and even for most who can read, hearing the Word of God is important. “Faith comes by hearing” (Romans 10:17) as often suggested in the New Testament.

Not only that, Paul’s words are strong. He put his readers under oath expressed by the words ‘enorkizō hymas’ also meaning ‘I charge you’ — normally used with the idea that failure to do so would bring punishment or discipline. In other words, Paul was stressing that reading this letter was very important to God and to us. I’m so thankful that God’s Word is read aloud in our church and that I or my computer can do that for me at home.

The letter ends with how it began. Paul says, “Grace to you and peace” in 1 Thessalonians 1:1 and ends with, “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.” (1 Thessalonians 5:28)

In every letter, Paul refers to God’s grace in the benedictions. Grace is given through our Lord Jesus Christ and in Him, we are blessed. Sometimes I forget important truths. This letter ending helps me remember that God wants me to know and experience the grace that He has given me.

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Lord Jesus, forgive me for the many times I’ve scanned through the brief benedictions in Paul’s letters — Your letters to me — without considering that You have not finished speaking. This one is rich in telling me what is important to You and what ought to be more important to me. I’m also reminded that You pray for me, You greet me in many ways with Your presence, You speak to me through these letters written by Paul and inspired by Your Holy Spirit and all that I have and believe is because of Your great grace. Again, I worship and thank You for such undeserved goodness and blessing.

The gift of a transformed life . . .

My hubby has a job that normally requires a degree. However, he is one of those people that started young, came up through the ranks, and learned in the school of experience. He illustrates a quote that I read last night from an unknown source that said, “God does not call the equipped. He equips the called.”

While this is true in the sense that every Christian must learn to serve in the power of God and not in their own abilities or because of their prior training and experiences, our background shapes us. God uses the issues of life, after salvation and before, to fit His plans for His people. Paul is a tremendous example!

Paul was born into a family of Pharisees, members of a Jewish group that were strict about piety and Mosaic law (Acts 23:6). This gave him a firm understanding of both that law and the extensions added to it that were supposed to help the Jews maintain their identity and purity. As righteous as the Pharisees tried to be, this man eventually realized that Jesus was right in saying:  

They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. (Matthew 23:4)

When Jesus Christ encountered and transformed this religious man, he realized that everything in his background may have given him claim to think he was approved by God but it did not. Salvation was not by his credentials or good works; it is totally a gift from God . . .

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)

Of all people who might boast about being good enough to please God, the most religious are often the most apt to think that way. Paul was most religious. He had a great deal he could boast about yet he said . . .

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 (Philippians 3:4–8)

His background did not give him access to God, but his testimony gave him access to people, even people who were like he had been — righteous and blameless as zealous, pious Jews. Paul knew this had no value and because of his previous religiosity, he could tell others who were religious the good news . . .

Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, (2 Corinthians 3:5)

But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it — the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. (Romans 3:21–24)

This week I told someone I was stubborn. She said, “Not you . . .” which reminded me of a story my sister told me. She confessed a sin to a group of women and they responded the same way . . . “not you” and she said, “They would not let me confess.” I’ve often wondered what Paul’s readers say when they read his words: “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.” (1 Timothy 1:15)

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Lord Jesus, Paul was an incredible example of how to live the Christian life, yet he always reminds me that salvation is never by our goodness. We are all in the same boat — sinners who need saving. We cannot make it by our goodness no matter how good we might be — just as no one can swim to Hawaii no matter how strong a swimmer they might be! Your standard of righteousness is far greater than our efforts, even far greater than we can imagine or define. Yet I thank You for Paul. In him You show me and the world that You can save anyone, including a man who once hated Your people and who professed to be justified in that hatred.