Seeing God results in changed lives…

 

Understanding God requires revelations of Himself both in details and in a broad perspective of His nature and attributes. I’m a detail person, yet He reveals general truths that open my eyes to how He works in this world. Today, He points to how He created order and that there is a hierarchy or levels in that order in which each serves that which is above them.

For instance, humans were made over animals, and God is over humans and thus we were created to serve Him. BUT sin messed up that order. The Bible reveals many examples with this the most plain:

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. . . .  “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” (Romans 3:10–18)

As Jesus said, even those who call Him Lord struggle with obedience: “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?” (Luke 6:46) We pray, “Thine is the kingdom” yet so often act as if it is ours. Again, sin messes up the order of the greater Being honored and served by the lesser beings. This is a big picture…

Who would not fear you, O King of the nations? For this is your due; for among all the wise ones of the nations and in all their kingdoms there is none like you. (Jeremiah 10:7)
For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen. (Romans 11:36)

God is the final cause, the One to who I owe my existence. All my actions and thoughts ought to be addressed to His glory. My whole being ought to be consecrated to His honor, yet I deserve no reward but the honor of having been subservient to the will of my Creator.

Yet God also is too gracious a Sovereign to neglect those who are mindful of his glory. The Bible says, “I promised that your house and the house of your father should go in and out before me forever,’ but now the Lord declares: ‘Far be it from me, for those who honor me I will honor, and those who despise me shall be lightly esteemed.’ ”  (1 Samuel 2:30)

The only thing that prevents anyone from honoring God as He created us to do is sin. Sin is defined as: “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way…” and the rest of the verse reveals what God did about it: “and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:6)

Because of sin, all turn from God to do our own thing and to deserve His wrath, but instead of destruction He sent Jesus. . . . and some said YES to Him: 

Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. (Acts 2:36–41)

From the history of this event, I see the power of God to bring me and many others into His kingdom and under His sovereign order. You: God — me: servant.

All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you. For kingship belongs to the Lord, and he rules over the nations. (Psalm 22:27–28)

PRAY: Jesus, I now can call You my Teacher and Lord. You have washed away my sin and I now see that this servant is not greater than You, my Master, nor am I not greater than the one who sent You, or even equal. You have shown me these things, and as You promised, I have been blessed in both the knowing and the doing. You are always and forever my Lord and my God. 

Why me?

One question that has no answer is this: Why does God save some and not others? There are debates. The Armenians insist it is up to us, that we must make the choice to believe, but there is much in Scripture that says we do not make that choice without the work of the Holy Spirit in us. For instance, Jesus said:

No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. (John 6:44)

Since all have sinned and fall short, why does God save some and punish others? This is such a conundrum that some decide there is no hell because God can save everyone and God loves the world — so all will be saved. But that is not biblical either.

This is where faith comes in. Faith is trusting God even when we cannot figure out or see what He is doing. He reveals Himself as sovereign and good. Believing that can be a challenge if I use my eyes to built my faith. That is mostly a no-no.

When it comes to punishment, I know what God would do if I got what I deserved, but He also put that punishment on His Son so I am no longer condemned. Yet God has every right to condemn. He has dominion over all and when anyone refuses to obey the law that He has the right to make, those laws would be meaningless without justice. He has provided a substitute to take it for me, but if I refuse that offer, who then would experience the judgment I deserve? No one but me.

 The human heart expects consequences. Sometimes I can be deluded and think my foolish choices will turn out good, but that is folly. Some might delight in ‘getting away with it’ but eventually face the results of making light of the laws of God. The final consequence is standing before His throne and facing His judgment on our lives. Because I know Jesus and know that He died for my sin, I’m not anxious about what He will determine, but there are millions who do not fit that category. And it seems because God did not draw them or choose them. 

This makes no sense to me. Why me? I’ve done nothing to earn or deserve God's mercy. Yet God says this: 

As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means! For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills. You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?” But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory — (Romans 9:12–23)

God is God. He has every right to do as He pleases, and I have no right to find fault, resist His will, or even try to figure out what He is doing unless He reveals it to me. And He has not given reasons for loving Jacob and not Esau, or loving me and not that other person. 

The horrified try to figure out why Abram took Issac up the mountain, but the Bible says he did it because he trusted God to restore his life. Yet even with his deep faith, Abe didn’t guess what would happen. God stopped the sacrifice by offering a substitute. Faith is about trusting God, not knowing for certain why or what or having reasons that make sense.

My conclusion? God picks some but not others according to reasons He has not revealed and I’m to trust Him anyway, even if I don’t understand the why of it.

PRAY: And that is my faith today. Lord, if You surprise me with goodness for no reason I can see, I trust You. If You send hard things for no reason I can see, that might shake me up but it should not. You are God and You do not change. You are always wise and good, Enable me to trust You all the time and no matter what. Amen.

We Sin -- God Saves

 

The Hebrew verbs translated ‘save’ are used 491 times in the OT. The Greek word for ‘save’ is used 106 times. Volumes are written describing what this action of God means to us as humans in physical and spiritual peril. I’m certain my devotions today will yield insights, yet not come close to the riches of God’s power to SAVE.

Some of those OT words describe people rescuing people. The majority are about God rescuing His people from their enemies but only a few speak of spiritual deliverance. The latter especially focuses on God delivering His people from bondage in Egypt:

Exodus 3:7–8. Then the Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey . . . .” 

This deliverance is like His deliverance from sin described in the NT. It is complete (no going back) and unmerited. They were rescued by God’s choice and His faithfulness to the promises made to the patriarchs, not because the people were worthy or holy. Spiritual saving is God’s doing, both then and now.

However, because they were stubbornly unrepentant, God also delivered His OT people into exile with no one to rescue or save them until He did that for them as well:

Ezekiel 34:12. As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness.

Isaiah also promised a deliverer of all people as it became increasingly obvious no one could save themselves. When Jesus came, He declared Himself as that One who would save:

Luke 4:18–21. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

Luke 19:10. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

The word for save in the NT also has application for rescuing, healing and well-being, yet mostly denotes salvation from the penalty and power of sin.

For this, forgiveness is only part of what it means to be saved. God does that and much more; He changes those who believe in Jesus Christ so that our attitude toward sin changes. As the Bible says, we struggle against it, relying on the power of the Holy Spirit to resist it even though we are no longer condemned for it. Jesus took that condemnation on Himself while we were still sinners. Even now, He prays for our deliverance. Hebrews 7:25 is a blessed assurance: “Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.”

The Bible is clear that I am saved by grace using a verb tense that emphasizes a past action that has an ongoing effect. The culmination is ultimate salvation from the presence of sin on judgment day when that battle is over, even though my win was declared that moment when saving faith and a changed life occurred. In other words, being saved involves a past event, a present experience, and a future hope, all accomplished by Jesus Christ.

GAZE INTO HIS GLORY. The past event of putting my faith in Christ is vital in fighting the lies of Satan who accuses me of all sorts of things usually based on failures in my present struggles with sin. The present experience is always the same — keep putting my faith in Christ. He says that my good works (or lack of them) is not the issue; I am saved by grace through faith, yet my obedience proves it. Vital also is gazing at the future. Every now and then God grants a deeper understanding of what eternal life will be like and this boosts my hope and present joy. Living for Christ may not make me popular and is sometimes very difficult yet the alternative is unthinkable. Praise God for His power to save!