Perceptions affect responses . . .

Where I live, some people perceive that our government policies benefit them. Others see those ideas are robbing people blind. In a book I just read, the wife of a man loved him because he was kind toward her. Others thought he was only after her money. A person I know strongly expresses anger against the way Covid was dealt with while others praise the way the powers that be tried to protect us. How we perceive what is happening around us determines how we talk and live in it. The same is true of spiritual resources; our perception affects how we live.

(May) the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory . . . give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might . . .  (Ephesians 1:17–19)

Because perceptions can be so opposite, the NT tells us to pray that God will enlighten or reveal to us the perception that is according to who He is and what He is doing in our lives. This is vital because those who do not know Christ have varying ideas of the Gospel. A young woman who was a member of a cult told me that we are saved by doing good works. I had her read Ephesians 2:8-9 aloud to me, then asked her what it said. She said, ‘We are saved by doing good works.’ Her perception was so strong that the plain denial of her belief was invisible to her eyes.

Ephesians 1 gives a long description of the magnificent wonder of our inheritance in Christ, then Paul prays that we will know the riches of its glory. He knew how blind we can be to the things of God, even after reading his description. Profound and wonderful spiritual truth requires supernatural help to understand.

Divine enlightenment is needed because our perception of what the Bible says will affect how we live. A friend told me, “I know the gospel; we are saved by grace, yet something in me says I must do things a certain way. I am fearful that I cannot please God.” She was raised in a Christian home but with many rules, and that distorted her understanding of grace. Instead of having that amazing peace of knowing full salvation, she struggles with being ‘good enough’ even when she knows her error.

Those with the perception of grace described in the NT are less likely to give in to temptation, more likely to trust God for all their needs, and are confident of His unconditional love. This perception enables godly living, fearless trust, and freedom to love others without demanding anything in return.

Jesus, I realize how deeply I need to know, understand, meditate and remember all that You are and have done and will do. The way I live is directly related to what I truly believe and accept, not to mere knowledge but to that deeper knowing that comes through faith, that assurance of truth that changes lives. This is about Your rich and glorious inheritance, but it is also about the privileges of being Your child right now. I live in a complex world filled with strong opinions and arguments about what is good and bad, best and better. I need to know and deeply believe what You say, and deep belief is tied to obedience . . . the more I do what You say, the stronger my assurance is because the blessings of obedience back it up.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places . . . . (Ephesians 1:3)

So live like it!

His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence . . . . (2 Peter 1:3)

So live like it!

MORE EXAMPLES: Read 2 Corinthians 11–12 and notice the trials Paul faced and how God responded. Also notice how God responded to his request to remove an unnamed “thorn in the flesh” and how Paul lived with that answer. Think of things in my life that God has delivered me from and consider the weaknesses that are still part of my journey. What are my perceptions about those weaknesses and how do I live because of those perceptions? (Examples: God and government, God and suffering, God and persecution . . . .)

 

 

Real faith or an imitation?

 READ Matthew 21-24  

I’m an idea person. Sometimes I really want the idea to happen and become convinced that it will. This can be real but often is imitation faith. Faith is just knowing something will happen. It isn’t based on wants or wishes but on the revealed will of God. One example:

Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying, “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’ ” (Matthew 21:1–6)

The disciples did as Jesus directed them. Of course the donkey and colt were where Jesus said they would be. How did He know that? A few verses later, Jesus emphasized that what happens is known by God prior to the event:

But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant, and they said to him, “Do you hear what these are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes; have you never read, “ ‘Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise’?” (Matthew 21:15–16)

Knowing all things is an attribute of God. He is eternal, not bound to time. He knows past, present and future all as NOW. This omniscience quality shows up in Jesus, the man who is God, and it is tied to faith.

In the morning, as he was returning to the city, he became hungry. And seeing a fig tree by the wayside, he went to it and found nothing on it but only leaves. And he said to it, “May no fruit ever come from you again!” And the fig tree withered at once. When the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither at once?” And Jesus answered them, “Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen. (Matthew 21:18–21)

According to Jesus, God can also give the same kind of certainty to His people through His Word when it is received by faith. Jesus showed this in many ways. He knew from Scripture that the kingdom of God would be taken from Israel and given to people who would “produce its fruits” (Matthew 21:41–45). He knew that the religious leaders of His day would not last when that happened. (Matthew 23:13–36).

Jesus also knew what would be going on in the world at the time of His return even though He did not know the day or the hour. Why not? It was because He had laid aside omniscience to be like us — totally dependent on the Holy Spirit to reveal things to Him by faith. (see Philippians 2:6–8)

He also knew that false christs and false teachers would come and lead people astray and that before He came back, certain events would happen. This understanding came to Him by revelation through faith and He passed on some of this to His followers and to us. (Matthew 24:7–31) Yet He affirmed:

But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. (Matthew 24:36–39)

And that is the bottom line of faith. I don’t know all that Jesus knows, but I do know He promised to return at an hour most people would not expect and I “must be ready” — by listening to what He says, doing what He asks, and dropping all my ideas of what should happen because I want it to happen. The future belongs to Him and is not given to me unless it comes from Him and coincides with His Word and His promises.