The value of the Old Testament

Focusing on the New Testament seems easier than trying to figure out Christian principles from the Old Testament. However, I remind myself that the first Christians did not have anything but the OT, at least until Paul’s letters and the others were written and circulated and eventually accepted by the church as God’s Word.

Nonetheless, reading and studying the OT is important. The Apostle Paul said so:

“For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” (Romans 15:4)

I’m both instructed and encouraged knowing how God led and supported His people before Christ came. He leads and supports me too, enabling me to trust Him more.

While the NT clarifies I am be saved by keeping the Law of God, it does say the Law reveals sin and points to my need for a Redeemer. When I read OT passages, God shows me where I fall short and need to confess sin and rely on Christ in a deeper way. One example is from the Psalms:

“Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord! Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart, who also do no wrong, but walk in his ways! You have commanded your precepts to be kept diligently. Oh that my ways may be steadfast in keeping your statutes! Then I shall not be put to shame, having my eyes fixed on all your commandments. I will praise you with an upright heart, when I learn your righteous rules. I will keep your statutes; do not utterly forsake me! How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word. With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments! I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. Blessed are you, O Lord; teach me your statutes! With my lips I declare all the rules of your mouth. In the way of your testimonies I delight as much as in all riches. I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways. I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word. Deal bountifully with your servant, that I may live and keep your word. Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law. I am a sojourner on the earth; hide not your commandments from me! My soul is consumed with longing for your rules at all times. You rebuke the insolent, accursed ones, who wander from your commandments. Take away from me scorn and contempt, for I have kept your testimonies. Even though princes sit plotting against me, your servant will meditate on your statutes. Your testimonies are my delight; they are my counselors.” (Psalm 119:1–24)

Right away, I can confess that my walk is not without flaws, yet this also reminds me that Christ is my righteousness. In God’s sight, I am in Christ and accepted because of Jesus. At the same time, I realize that when my fleshy nature resists the power of the Holy Spirit, I will not live as the person I am in Him. To do so, I need to obey God, be steadfast, fixed on His righteousness and guarding my way so that my life is pure.

Also, I need to seek Him with my whole heart, memorize His Word and meditate on it. I also need to declare it to others. Not only will His Word bless them, telling others what God has said I must do holds me accountable to live as He says.

As the psalmist says, I am dependent on God. He opens my eyes to His wonders and gives my heart a longing to obey Him. He helps me realize the value of His commands. It is by His grace that I delight to do His will. Because of Jesus, I resist any hindrances or temptations to do otherwise.

^^^^^^^^

Lord, truly Your Word is a delight. When I read about Your faithfulness, I am encouraged. The stories of Your people in the OT show me I am not alone in the struggle against sin. Your great faithfulness and power are also revealed. You showed incredible patience and mercy for people just like me, who stumble and fumble and make mistakes. We fall short, but You have provided a Lamb, a Substitute who paid my debt. Thank You for the Bible, for all of it, and for using it to give me hope and assurance.

Diligence starts small

Faith is practical because faith is not just for the big challenges of life. I am to do my chores trusting God and filled with His Spirit. The same truth goes for answering the telephone (even talking to telemarketers), buying groceries, making a quilt, visiting with other Christians and with those who are not, and whatever else I am doing.

“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 10:31)

Chambers says it this way: There are times when there is no illumination and no thrill, but just the daily round, the common task. Routine is God’s way of saving us between our times of inspiration. Do not expect God always to give you His thrilling minutes, but learn to live in the domain of drudgery by the power of God.

How does this happen? For me, and I suspect every Christian, it is in the practice of spiritual disciplines. I cannot produce the grace of God in my heart, nor can I push a button and make Him fill me with His Spirit, but I can put myself in places where these are more likely. (Even doing that takes His grace, otherwise I would not!)

Spiritual disciplines are defined several ways. This list shows that they are all-inclusive: purity, marriage, parenting, friendship, mind, devotion, prayer, worship, integrity, tongue, work, perseverance, church, leadership, giving, witness, and ministry . . . (from R. Kent Hughes, Disciplines of a Godly Man).

Whatever terms are used, spiritual discipline means welcoming the life of Christ into everything that I do. It is about thinking, talking, and living by faith and in the power of the One who saves me. Peter said that in Christ we are given all we need to do that, therefore . . .  

“For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins.” (2 Peter 1:5–9)

Note, this does not say that the person who lacks these qualities is not saved, but that he is nearsighted and forgetful. I can remind and minister to that person, but also am to make every effort to do the adding in my own life. Again, I cannot make myself godly or do this alone, but I have inherited the Divine nature, and through the power of God, I can form habits, give diligence, concentrate.

Jesus spoke about those being faithful in “little” also being faithful in “much.” This means starting small. If I cannot keep my bathroom clean, who is going to trust me with an entire house? If I cannot be loyal to one friend, how can I be loyal to many?

Starting small is easier than trying to start at the top. It will not happen that way. As Chambers says, the common stuff of ordinary life exhibits the marvel of the grace of God . . .  and the great hindrance in spiritual life is that we will look for big things to do. “Jesus took a towel …, and began to wash the disciples’ feet.”

Adding is difficult because it can be done only by faith. I may never see what God does with the tiniest detail in which I obey, but must trust that all the omnipotent power of the grace of God is behind it. If I believe that God is in all of my life and circumstances, then when I obey I am unleashing His amazing grace into the world, whether I can see the results or not.

Everyone knows the nearsighted and forgetful Christians. Do those who are not adding and not increasing realize how much they are missing? Do they realize how much the world is missing because of their neglect?

“Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.” (2 Peter 1:10)

Jesus is here for me. Because of Him, it is possible to be diligent!

Some days are like dark tunnels . . .

By now, if anyone is following using the same devotional booklet, they will realize my thoughts about spiritual danger are not the same at the author who wrote that guide. He talks today about New Age teaching, but my battle is seldom with the ideas of false teachers or the doctrines of cults.

Right now, my spiritual enemy is not flesh and blood but principalities and powers, the rulers of darkness referred to in Ephesians 6. That old liar attacks me often with two main notions: ‘God does not love me’ and ‘I must take charge of my own life.’

One line from Isaiah (admittedly out of context) describes this spiritual warfare. It says, “Truth is lacking, and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey.” (Isaiah 59:15) It seems to me that my spiritual enemies are bent on keeping me down with lies, and the more determined I am to live for Christ, the more determined they are to destroy my confidence in God.

An additional danger is losing focus: taking my eyes off the things of the Lord and considering what I want right now. The Lord says good things about present realities, things like, “May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” (Colossians 1:11–14)

But sometimes I feel weak, impatient, depressed, unworthy, in the dark and that my sins will never go away. For this, God sometimes reminds me of the present truth and restores my joy. However, today He is reminding me of His promises for the future, that I live “in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began.” (Titus 1:2)

That future grace is my hope, my confidence that “this too shall pass.” Yet some days I feel as if hope for the future is not what I need for right now. I want something tangible and real to put my heart back on track. I want a blessing that pulls me above the disappointments and discouragements of today.

God can give that ‘right now’ blessing, but not always. Today is one of those days where He just says to me that I need to remember the good He has already done, and look forward to the good things that are promised — and sit tight in hope . . .   

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. (Titus 2:11–14)

Today is a day to be self-controlled, upright, godly and waiting, trusting Him even while I don’t feel like I have anything good going for me.  

“So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain . . .” (Hebrews 6:17–19)

Today is a day to focus on the unchangeable character of His plan, the guarantee of His promises, the fact that He never lies, and that a sure hope is set before me. This is God talking. Rather than putting my confidence in everything going the way I want it right now, He wants future grace to be the anchor of my soul.

Yesterday, today, and tomorrow

On this last day of 2013, I’m thinking of the past year and the coming year, but my usual pattern is to think about the current day. I want to forget the past and would like to predict the future, but reality says I can do neither. Even the challenges of each day are often overwhelming.
 

Yet this is what I love about the Lord; He has the ability to get inside my head and heart and speak to whatever is happening in there. Today’s devotional reading is about those thoughts about the past, the future, and about right now. It uses this passage to speak to my heart . . .  

The Lord has bared his holy arm before the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God. Depart, depart, go out from there; touch no unclean thing; go out from the midst of her; purify yourselves, you who bear the vessels of the Lord. For you shall not go out in haste, and you shall not go in flight, for the Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard. (Isaiah 52:10–12)

God guards the past. As I try to look ahead to new beginnings suggested by a turnover on the calendar, I also think about all my sins and mistakes of the past year. Those memories mar my joy, yet God says they are important memories. He allows them so I do not have a shallow security for today or my future.

God also uses my failures to teach me to pray about everything and to be on the alert regarding temptation and specific weaknesses. Without the stumbling and bumbling, I would still need to learn those lessons, but thankfully, some of them are behind me. Even though some of those hurdles were tipped over by my big feet, I’m glad to be moving forward and glad that I’ve learned to jump higher.

The Lord will go before me. God is my security for the future. He knows my weaknesses and will watch over me. He knows what to allow and what to keep away. He watches so that my life will grow in likeness to Christ and all that happens to me will be toward that end. The past affirms that He will be here for me no matter what, and that all things have purpose for His glory and my good.

I will not go out with haste. The devotional reading suggests that as I go forth into the coming year, it should not be with impulsive thoughtlessness or impetuous delight that remembers nothing, but with the patient and steadfast assurance of knowing that my God will go before me. My yesterdays present irreparable things. I have lost opportunities which will never return, but the Lord still promises to use all things for my good, that I might become more like Jesus. He can transform destructive anxiety about failures into constructive thoughtfulness for the future. He will help me leave the irreparable past in His hands. He invites me, and all who love Him, to trust Him as we step into the future.

I cannot undo past mistakes, or control the future, or even make sense of most of today, but my sovereign God is willing and able to take charge of all that as He goes before me, guarding the past, planning the future, and guiding each step of the way.