Loving them all…

The dad in a family that has become our family became a Christian in a country that does not tolerate Christians. His family beat him, nearly killed him. He fled to another country and lived there for a decade. He and his wife were able to work and bore three children before realizing they had to move again. Now in Canada, they enjoy the freedom of being able to worship Jesus without threat.

This persecution still happens in many places in the world. Jesus predicted it to the degree that even fathers would give their children up to death and children their parents:

And brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death. (Mark 13:12)

Being a child of God does not guarantee health, wealth, and a comfortable life. Not every family escapes it as our friends did. In today’s devotional, Piper uses the words of Jesus about children to point to my responsibility toward the children of God:

Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me. (Mark 9:37)

For me, the point isn’t that I’m to give particular care to youngsters who know God, but to His children of any age who believe in Him. I have favorites, but there are a few in His family that irk me for various reasons, or I don’t enjoy being around them for various reasons. God is using this devotional to speak to my sinful attitude.

Piper says: “The question is not whether caring for children is easy and safe, or whether they are responsive and thankful, or whether caring is depleting. The question is whether Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”

In other words, I need to do what He says, and I cannot use any excuse such as ‘this is too hard’ because the Bible is clear. Not only did Jesus want loving attitudes toward little ones, but also adults, for we all are His children. Besides that, Jesus is still available to enable such love. The Bible says these truths for my situation:

I can do all things through him who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13)
“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)
For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:14–19)
I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 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. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. (1 Timothy 1:12–16)

PRAY: Loving others is always about being filled with Your Spirit, never about them being lovable. Certainly You do not find me lovable. Love is who You are and that should be who I am, in Christ. The love of Christ goes beyond knowledge and beyond reasons. I appreciate the depth of fellowship with many and am not thrilled about the lack of that with others, but You died for all — meaning my old nature died with You and You have given me the Holy Spirit to enable me to love Your children — all of them and all ages.

God is my Helper

 

In fellowship with others, we discussed the difference between walking in the Spirit and walking in the flesh. As Piper says, we are prone to think of ourselves as serving God, but that is not gospel truth. We are not serving Him — but He is serving us. He makes us able to do His will because apart from Him, we can do nothing. (John 15:4-5)

We met a woman this week who came to us as a persecuted Christian. She had been put in prison for her faith and was raising her daughters alone, in a very dangerous country. Her husband worked in another one, making enough to support them and other family members. When asked how she survived all that, her face glowed as she told us of God’s care and faithfulness. He gave His peace to her in it all and met her needs. She was so certain of God’s goodness that she did not give in to fear or doubt.

Today’s reading says “God loves to show his tireless power and wisdom and goodness by working for people who trust him.” The NT says of Him:

For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45)

This reveals what God is like. He gave Himself for us when He was on the earth, and He keeps on doing the same; meeting needs physically, emotionally, spiritually, and in every way.
This is what the Apostle Paul said about Him:

For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience—by word and deed, (Romans 15:18)
But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth. (2 Timothy 4:17)
I can do all things through him who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13)

Jesus meets me in my needs, these days mostly for strength (I’ve had too many birthdays) and for ideas. His eagerness to do that is astonishing.

For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him.” (2 Chronicles 16:9)
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. (Psalm 23:6)

The word ‘follow’ in Psalm 23 is literally “to pursue” so He is not just tagging behind to see if I need help but taking the initiative — as expressed by Jeremiah:

I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me. I will rejoice in doing them good, and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness, with all my heart and all my soul. (Jeremiah 32:40–41)

PRAY: Lord, this week I’ve noticed how You put helpful ideas and actions into the hearts of others who blessed me by doing what You wanted me to experience. I sit here and weep because of Your thoughtful goodness. So often You are way ahead of me for You do things that I didn’t realize were needed — until You did them. Thank You for such incredible care and faithfulness. “Behold, God is my helper; the Lord is the upholder of my life.” (Psalm 54:4)

Having nothing yet possessing everything

Part of the spiritual gift of teaching is a strong desire to collect information so as to have it to pass along to others. While this means being good at trivial pursuit games and sharing household hints, its main purpose is knowing the will of God and the Word of God so well that cross-referencing and making connections is easy.

The downside or fleshy side of this inclination is collecting useless stuff. I noticed that last month. Some people collect spoons, or mugs, stamps, Avon containers, salt shakers, and all sorts of things that are displayed but without purpose. Today’s devotional points out that some “strive to get possession of certain experiences, some seek after ecstatic feelings, some try to make themselves rich in theological views and dogmas, some store up a long list of works done and results achieved, some seek to acquire illuminations or to accumulate gifts and graces” as if they will enhance their reputation with others and with God.

Paul wrote about events in his life and included his thoughts on collection/possession of stuff:

We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything. (2 Corinthians 6:8–10)

Having nothing yet possessing everything seems like a contradiction. However, at this stage of my walk with Him, I’m beginning to understand. Having nothing means being emptying myself of all that I have, meaning my ideas, skills, wants, burdens, everything — so that I depend on Him for everything. That is, what I have has no value to me and can be released, set aside, useless to me and unable to fulfill any of my needs and certainly useless when it comes to help others or meeting their needs. Instead, He will supply. Paul means having nothing apart from God and relying on Him means I have everything.

Jesus lived by this principle. First He emptied Himself by being in the form of god but “did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped but made himself the form of a servant… and humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death.” He had nothing, but lived in the power of the Holy Spirit. Of this, He said: “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.” (Mark 10:27) He applied this to knowing what we need to know: “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” (John 14:26) This means I can put information into my head but don’t need to dote on my ‘collection’ for it is the Holy Spirit who brings it out when it is needed.

Paul emptied himself and said of it: “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 3:8) He knew that loss was a gain for he also wrote: “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13) and pointed to this attitude with lines like:

All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be dominated by anything. (1 Corinthians 6:12)

So let no one boast in men. For all things are yours, (1 Corinthians 3:21)

He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? (Romans 8:32)

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)

The Apostle Peter had the same attitude. When encountering a cripple beggar, He said, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” (Acts 3:6) He later wrote: “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)

Not only does God want me to rely on Him but also remember that His supply may come through His family, not collections or any of my means or devices. He says, “All who believed were together and had all things in common.” (Acts 2:44) Being interdependent is one more way to empty myself.


PRAY: Jesus, You know how independent I can be. I can handle most things, and I do rely on You for much of that, yet tend not to rely on others very much (except my dear hubby) but this idea of having nothing yet possessing everything includes a willingness to be served as well as to serve. You graciously accept the offerings of Your people. I need to be more like You.

God, You want me to do what?

 

It is so easy to rely on what I see, to walk by sight. Most people do. They read a story in social media and believe it, passing it on to others. The news on television shows the aftermath of a storm and because that one scene is devastated, we so easily assume that the entire city is in shambles.

Some children know that “everybody is going” will gain them permission to go too, so we easily rely on hearing too, things like rumors and gossip, stories told by others, a verbal news report, even the claims made by politicians and many posts in social media. Try to imagine what went through the mind of Joshua when God told him what to do with Jericho.

The Israelites refused to enter the Promised Land. Forty years they wandered in the wilderness. That unbelieving generation had perished and Joshua was given the task of leading a new generation into the land God promised them. The first obstacle was Jericho—a well-fortified city that was near the mouth of the Jordan River.

In those days, some city walls were wide enough at the top to allow two chariots to run side by side. Jericho’s walls could have been like that because of its location near enemy borders. This city also had a well-trained army. For the people of God, overpowering this city was an impossible challenge. They were fewer in number and untrained in warfare.

Imagine how they felt when God asked them to march around that fortified city once a day for six days, then on the seventh day, march again with the priests blowing their horns and at their final blast, the people shouting. This seemed ridiculous, not only to them but to us who read the story.

However, as the NT says, “By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days.” (Hebrews 11:30) From this story, the devotional writer affirms that faith is the key to spiritual conquest. What seems impossible, what looks and sounds impossible for us, is easy for God. In this event, He reveals His power and His people demonstrated their faith and humility.

I can imagine a bit of how they felt. At times, I’ve expressed faith in a particular thing and received looks of “really?” with raised eyebrows, or a look of pity for ‘this poor fool’ as if I am out of my mind to think God is going to do what I trust Him to do.

The Hebrew people were called upon to do something so odd, far from any typical military strategy. Yet the story reports what happened on the seventh day, after marching around the city seven times, with the priests blowing their rams’ horns, the priests gave one final blast, the people all shouted out loud, and the walls of the city collapsed. Faith reduced a formidable obstacle to a crumbled ruin and . . .

As soon as the people heard the sound of the trumpet, the people shouted a great shout, and the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they captured the city. Then they devoted all in the city to destruction, both men and women, young and old, oxen, sheep, and donkeys, with the edge of the sword. (Joshua 6:20–21)

I remember a time when God gave me ‘odd’ directions. Our son was being bullied at school. He was popular with the girls but the two other boys in his class were angry and threatened him. God told me what to do and I instructed him to “invite them to come and fight at our home, in the garage, with boxing gloves.” He replied, “But mom . . .” and I added that we were to offer them milk and cookies before going to the garage. He smiled in understanding. Those two boys soon became his friends.

Since then, confidence in the power and love of God keeps growing. Formidable walls come down. Satan’s strategies turn into victories for God’s glory as He teaches me to trust Him, no matter what others say, no matter what life looks like, no matter how thick the barriers. God is enough.

PRAY: Jesus, right now I’ve some responsibilities in front of me that are not enemies but still make me feel inadequate and unable to overcome. I need to remember Joshua and listen to what You say, not be intimidated by what I see on that to-do list. Your advice to him is also for me:

This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. (Joshua 1:8)

PONDER: Think about the power of God and the reality that He never lets me down. He gives me great challenges at times, but also wants me to know that “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13)