Gospel — Jesus is calling…

And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors. (Isaiah 53:9–12)

The Gospel is simple yet so profound and so different than human thinking that it makes no sense without the Holy Spirit’s gift of faith to understand it and believe it. Think of it; God became a man. How sci-fi that sounds. And that man was sinless, meaning He didn’t do anything according to His own will but always spoke and acted as instructed by His Father in heaven. And His Father in heaven told Him to take our place and die for our sins, which He did, again saying “Not my will but Thine be done.”

We occasionally have a parent who offers to take the punishment or pay the fine for their offspring who has committed a crime, but that is infinitely small compared to what Jesus did that day on a cross just outside Jerusalem. 

This is how Isaiah describes sin:

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)

Consider the population even at this moment and how each person, including Christians, makes decisions  without consulting God. Then multiply that by all the people that ever lived. That is an awful lot of sin. And pain, guilt. And all children are born with this sinful way of life. The entire human race is at odds with our Creator — unless we accept Jesus and His sacrifice as our salvation. 

Further, no one can do the will of the Father without Him. That sin-nature is unable to yield without the power of the Holy Spirit who comes to live in believers. It is as Jesus said:

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. 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 15:1–5)

Yet even as we need Him, He blesses us just as the OT prophet says:

No weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed, and you shall refute every tongue that rises against you in judgment. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord and their vindication from me, declares the Lord.” (Isaiah 54:17)

For this incredible truth, the Lord calls to everyone with this invitation:

“Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:6–9)

Yes, it is simple, but the Gospel is profound and beyond understanding to human thoughts. For this reason…

Lord Jesus, I continue to pray that You will have mercy on all who have not yet heard Your call and given their lives to You. Speak to the hearts of unsaved family and friends, to all men and women who are lost without faith in You. Do a mighty work of redemption before You come again and before it is too late.

Core strength for the soul

On Sunday, our pastor started a new series of sermons entitled “Core Strength.” Even though he challenged us to get with an exercise program to strengthen our physical core, the message was about keeping our spiritual lives strong. Just as physical core strength has a positive effect on our well-being, so does staying strong in our faith.

The first broad category was developing an increasing intimacy with God. This includes the obvious ‘exercises’ of prayer, Bible study, worship and so on, but it also means reflection. If I have my devotions in the morning, but never think about the Lord for the rest of the day, then my core is weak. This is why I spend time with God first thing in the day, but publish His thoughts to me later, around supper time. This encourages meditation. It also encourages me to be practical (not academic, etc.) about the things God says to me. 

This morning I am thinking about intimacy too. How is that defined? Being intimate is about a close personal relationship characterized by warmth and friendship. It often is about privacy and familiarity with shared experiences that create bonding. Intimacy with God includes being in His presence and aware of His presence, sharing our love for one another in transparency, and realizing He is exactly what He says He is. There is no bluffing or covering up who I am also. I can tell God anything and everything because I trust Him, but also because I need to express the burdens and desires of my heart. He listens — and so do I.

In these days of broken promises and the failure of human beings to stick to commitments and fulfil their own dreams never mind meet the expectation of others, my heart is encouraged by the promises of God. Others may fail, but He does what He says He will do. Two examples:

“For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,” says the Lord, who has compassion on you. (Isaiah 54:10)

Considering that, I am drawn closer to Him. He feels compassion for me, and in our interaction I realize how often the emotions I feel are not mine but His. I feel for the messed up world we live in and know that those feelings come from Him. We share the same heartache for this broken world.

On those days when my heart is heavy and I feel dejected and without a sense of purpose or hope (watching the news does this to me), all I need to do is sing a few bars of “Jesus loves me” and peace of heart with joy returns. Yes, the world is in a mess, but that does not change the love of God. It remains forever because God is a forever God.

On those days when I feel alone, even as if everyone is against me (this is a lie from Satan, but the emotions are very real), I think about my standing before God. He loves me, but not only that, He protects me. He is my pitch-hitter, my hiding place, my defender. He promises to protect me:

“No weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed, and you shall refute every tongue that rises against you in judgment. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord and their vindication from me, declares the Lord.” (Isaiah 54:17)

This is intimacy too. Only those who deeply care will go to bat for someone else. I am a sinner and even though I’ve been redeemed, I do not deserve the loyal protection Jesus gives me. Yet because He is my Savior and Friend, I can count on Him whenever I feel life has ganged up on me.

^^^^^^^

Jesus, You know how I can wallow in self-pity, or worry, or tension. I probably do it because it keeps my focus on me. That is not intimacy. On days like these, I must keep my eyes and thoughts on You. Developing my upper abs will be a good reminder that core strength is more than abs; it is realizing that You are my rock, my solid place. I can depend on You, no matter what comes along. Bless Your great Name!

Motivated from the inside out…

Sometimes, when things in life become too confusing, or unbearable, or out of control, I try to imagine a clearer vision, an easier solution, or at least something I can control. This doesn’t work very well. For one thing, my imagination does not even come close to God’s solutions. For this, Paul wrote…

Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen. (Ephesians 3:20–21, KJV)

God’s view of life is not the same as mine. Where I see chaos and difficulty, He has a plan that is “exceedingly abundantly above” what I can ask for or even imagine. He knows which challenges to place before me that will draw out faith and strengthen my resolve to serve Him. My problem is that if these challenges are producing doubt and disobedience, then what do I do?

Today’s devotional points to the same verse as yesterday. It reminds me of a fundamental truth about being a Christian. My life is not about following rules or doing certain things, but about the motivations behind who I am and what I do. This motivation is not about me or about outside influences. It is about the One who saved and preserves me for Himself, the One who is closer than a brother…

Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? (1 Corinthians 3:16)

I tend to have a fairly black and white approach to most things. As far as being a Christian is concerned, it seems there are no grey areas. That is, if the Spirit of God is not in control, then the flesh is. I am either filled with Him or filled with myself, standing for Christ or tipped over and useless.

Lately I’m rethinking this. I’ve had so many ups and downs that I often don’t know which way is current. I’ve had several things happen that could be seen as God at work or Satan trying to ruin my walk with Christ. When I ponder the reason for this season of mishmash, it seems related to being immersed in theological studies. The lectures and readings are so amazingly good that my spiritual enemy does not want me to learn and grow, so he is hitting me with all sorts of goop.

But there are other complications. I’ve had old habits  flare up that I assumed were conquered. The spiritual weapons used in the past seem powerless in the present. Not only that, my motivations keep changing. At times, I’ve wondered about my sanity, or is this some sort of dementia? At the same time, I’ve experienced deeper and richer Bible study, amazing messages from the pulpit, and richer and more transparent fellowship with other Christians than ever before. This is like riding a roller coaster, or being in a blender.

The author of the devotional reading says that Christians need strong motives for action and for resistance to temptation. We need them to counter the damaging rule of the flesh from within, and to oppose all that slams into us to crush our wills and fortitude from without.

Certainly, God gives basic truths that are clear and proven weapons. Jesus is my Savior and He WILL save me. With all temptation, God provides a way of escape (1 Corinthians 10:13) even as I struggle to find it. No weapon formed against me shall prosper because my righteousness is from Him (Isaiah 54:17), praise God. A thousand promises are given, plus the example of Jesus using Scripture to fend off the tantalizing offers from His enemy and mine. I have all I need to win this battle.

The devotional writer says that there is no better source for Christian motivation than today’s verse. It appeals to the “sanctity, responsibility, powers, and capabilities” implied in the inward presence of the eternal Spirit of God, the great gift of His new covenant, sent to me by Jesus Christ.

Apart from the Spirit, I have no resource in “moments of moral surprise” or depression, or when a felt sense of isolation threatens to take out my heart. Apart from the Spirit, I cannot respond when called upon to be daring, or to obey a difficult request. As the devotional writer suggests, these words be emblazoned on the walls of that inner temple of my heart. It is here inside my heart that I need Him for acquiring a clear vision, a firm grasp of truth and even more, the ability to make use of what He so freely gives me.