Being the person God created…

In the meantime, when so many thousands of the people had gathered together that they were trampling one another, he began to say to his disciples first, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed on the housetops. (Luke 12:1–3)

Hypocrisy is when a person says one thing but does another. This word is usually attached to morals. Example: A driver honks and screams at cars for changing lanes too fast, then cuts across three lanes without using his signal lights. In broader terms, it is giving rules for how others should live, but breaking those rules in my own life. Jesus says this sort of life eventually is exposed.

Christians are often called hypocrites. We know how God wants us to live, talk, even think, yet we do things, or say things, and even think the opposite. While that sort of problem has an explanation, so does the cure. First the explanation:

But that is not the way you learned Christ!— assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. (Ephesians 4:20–24)

We who have a saving faith in Jesus Christ are given a new nature to live by, and though the old nature is termed ‘dead’ (that means ‘separated from God’ rather than unable to act, talk, and think), we do have a choice, not an excuse. It is simple:

But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. (Romans 13:14)

We need to change our thinking: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:2)

Anyone who uses the accusation of ‘hypocrite’ know the difficulty and challenge of changing how to think or even admit the need to change. This not an excuse, but it is a matter of faith. Do I believe I know better than God? Do I even know what God thinks about concerning what I pray about? I have a friend who says, “Why pray when you can worry?” illustrating how easily it is to be a hypocrite if worry is a person’s habit of life.

Humility pops into this equation too. If I think I am right all the time (pride), listening to God’s view and putting it into practice is not easy. I have to see myself as weak, needy, and often downright stupid. This is not popular in a world that tells us we need to have a positive self-image. God’s ways are not our ways. Pride blocks them.

God, You know every thought I think or whisper and what opposites exist in what I say compared to how I live. You call it how You see it. I’m not to be as the Pharisees, but to be like Jesus, and the only way to do that is to keep my sins acknowledged, confessed, and abandoned, then be filled with Your Spirit and walk that way with no provision for the flesh. You give me what is needed. My choice is to believe You and live like it. 

A common idol

The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, Thus says the Lord God: “Because your heart is proud, and you have said, ‘I am a god, I sit in the seat of the gods, in the heart of the seas,’ yet you are but a man, and no god, though you make your heart like the heart of a god— you are indeed wiser than Daniel; no secret is hidden from you; by your wisdom and your understanding you have made wealth for yourself, and have gathered gold and silver into your treasuries; by your great wisdom in your trade you have increased your wealth, and your heart has become proud in your wealth— therefore thus says the Lord God: Because you make your heart like the heart of a god, therefore, behold, I will bring foreigners upon you, the most ruthless of the nations; and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom and defile your splendor. They shall thrust you down into the pit, and you shall die the death of the slain in the heart of the seas. Will you still say, ‘I am a god,’ in the presence of those who kill you, though you are but a man, and no god, in the hands of those who slay you? You shall die the death of the uncircumcised by the hand of foreigners; for I have spoken, declares the Lord God.” (Ezekiel 28:1–10)

In the past week I’ve heard this wild claim from several people, not in the same words but with the same notion that “I rule” not God. Some speak from a position of political leadership. Others speak as if their knowledge is superior to God's ways. A few speak as if they will rule their own lives because they are wise enough to do so.

We all do it in varying degrees. This is why the Lord says:

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:2)

The Christian life is characterized by new behavior that flows out of a new way of thinking. This is not just doing God's will but thinking His way. However, even Christians can fail to work on this or even fake it — godly on the outside but sinfully motivated at heart:

But that is not the way you learned Christ!— assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil. Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. (Ephesians 4:20–32)

This requires a constant awareness. A friend confessed her struggles with knowing the source of her ideas. “Is it mine? Or is it God’s?” One way I know is if an idea or command comes to mind and part of me does not want to do it, that idea is usually from God. Getting over the notion that I can do whatever I want takes a long time to learn. I am not a god.

Jesus, You show me my weaknesses that include qualities I once thought were strengths. How small I am compared to You, how weak and unable. I’m grateful for those lessons yet sad that it takes me so long to kick that pride out — and even recognize it each time it pops back in.

 

 

Know God’s Will

 

Last Sunday a woman told me the situation in her family. Then she said, “I don’t know what to do.” While I felt her pain, I remembered a sermon from years ago. The pastor outlined the various places in the Bible that plainly state the will of God, mostly to do with faith and obedience, then said if those were true in our lives, we could do whatever we wanted. 

He explained with this verse: “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4) noting that when our hearts are right with Him, God puts His will in our hearts. In other words, His will for me is godliness and that is so important to Him that He might use difficult circumstances to bring me to listen before He uses me or answers my prayers.

He has different ways to make His will known. As Piper points out, God sometimes designs circumstances so that I end up where He wants me — without me realizing it. His example is from Acts 16 where Paul and Silas found themselves in jail, and the result was the salvation of the jailer and his household. His plan went beyond their plans, but since “no plans of His can be thwarted” (Job 42:2), He will do this when necessary.

The necessity might include dealing with our sin. I’m reading Jeremiah and how God put His people in exile because they were not obedient. Their shepherds were lying to His sheep and leading them astray. He said: Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!” declares the LORD. . . . “You have scattered my flock and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for your evil deeds…” and this is what He did. His will was not what they wanted meaning comfort and their own way. God also said He would send a Redeemer, but after that promise He warned them:

Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, filling you with vain hopes. They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord. They say continually to those who despise the word of the Lord, ‘It shall be well with you’; and to everyone who stubbornly follows his own heart, they say, ‘No disaster shall come upon you.’ ” For who among them has stood in the council of the Lord to see and to hear his word, or who has paid attention to his word and listened? Behold, the storm of the Lord! Wrath has gone forth, a whirling tempest; it will burst upon the head of the wicked. The anger of the Lord will not turn back until he has executed and accomplished the intents of his heart. In the latter days you will understand it clearly. (Jeremiah 23:16–20)

Clearly God's priority is our holiness and obedience. If I listen to us and do what He says, other instructions become clear. None of this happens if I’m walking in the flesh. To hear Him, I need to be humble, filled with the Holy Spirit, and continually in His Word. 

God did not write His will about every detail in my life. Do I go to a seminar or stay home? Do I visit this person or that one? Do I purchase this needed item or not? For all this, I need godly discernment. I’ve learned that my decisions are not totally reliable. I’ve also learned that He will give me the right choice if I listen. He shapes my mind and inclines my heart to whatever will bring Him the most glory.

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:2)

Sometimes He simply speaks to me. It may be a simple thing, like what turn to take when driving somewhere, or what book to take home when browsing in a store or the library, or how much to give when a needy person tells me their story. Very often my husband or I share a thought and the other one says, “I was just thinking the same thing.” While Piper says this is the least common way of God's leading in the NT, it is common in our household. 

I can rest in God's goodness whatever method He uses to reveal His will. Some will seem like a mystery, yet God is good — always. His will is always against the desires of my old nature. This is easier to discern because of that conflict. At times it will be a decision involving two things that both seem good. Yet the best way to know what He wants means keeping sins confessed, talking to Him with an open heart, and being willing to do whatever He says.

PRAY: I’m so thankful Lord that You desire my good along with Your glory and can make those two things work together. You continually put me in awe with Your love and great wisdom. Today is going to be another day of seeing Your will worked out to do both. I’m happy to let You go first.

Improv in God's planning?

 

In the quilting world, improv techniques are becoming more popular. This means no plan, making it up as you go but keeping good design principles in mind. It is not only popular but also fun, even relaxing.

In the back of my mind is a chart that shows the process God might take a person through from being a sinner who is ignorant both of God and their sin to a redeemed saint who hates sin and loves God. The things God reveals and brings into a life differ as the changes happen and as the person responds, or does not respond. But the goal is the same, both for salvation and for judgment. 

I am the Lord. I have spoken; it shall come to pass; I will do it. I will not go back; I will not spare; I will not relent; according to your ways and your deeds you will be judged, declares the Lord God.” (Ezekiel 24:14)

As in yesterday’s post, I realize that God’s repenting is not like ours. This is based on the fact that He is God and sinless. “For this the earth shall mourn, and the heavens above be dark; for I have spoken; I have purposed; I have not relented, nor will I turn back.” (Jeremiah 4:28)

This is perplexing in places. In one verse He says He is not a man that He should repent, but in the same Bible book, He also says that He repented for making Saul a king. How can both be true? Piper writes that there is a sense in which God does repent, and there is a sense in which he does not. Those verses in the latter category are usually intended to show us how His regret or repentance is not like ours. 

For one thing, He is not surprised by unexpected turns of events like I am. He knows the future. Nor does He sin and need to repent and turn from sin like I do. Piper explains that the turn of events (which he himself has ordered—Ephesians 1:11) make a different attitude more fitting now than would have been the case earlier. God’s mind “changes,” not because it responds to unforeseen circumstances, but because He has ordained that His mind fits with the way He himself orders the changing events of the world.

When I was lost in sin, God’s Word says that I was headed for destruction. However, the Lord worked in my heart so that destiny changed at the moment Christ came into my heart. His plan for me then called for a different way to deal with me, not as a lost sinner, but as a redeemed member of His forever family. As He works to change me into the image of His Son, His methods change. Now I am more confident in His love and goodness and He is showing me glimpses of what He is doing, a privilege I did not have in this degree as a new Christian. God did not change, but as He changes me, He changes His methods to suit the growth He is producing. The word ‘regret’ does not fit this because God never regrets the grace He shows to sinners. He only regrets that far too many do not experience it. 

PRAY: Lord, because You never change and Your goodness is relentless, I can change. Your will is the reason, Your goodness leads me to repentance, and because of Calvary and the gift of new life, I am not what I used to be. If You had not changed me, the outcome would not have changed either. Your grace and the way You “relent” is a wonder, a surprise, and a delight for which I am so thankful. 

Weapons for war…

 

As I read through the OT, I can see the parallels between the nation of Israel’s history and the history of God’s people since Jesus came. They were taken from bondage in Egypt and after wandering in the wilderness were delivered to the promised land. There they fought enemies and after that fell into a mixture of obedience and sin.

Our salvation still involves faith and obedience after deliverance from the bondage of sin. We also wander and fight our enemies (sin and Satan’s lies) and then, as Israel did, fall into a mixture of obedience and sin. This is described in Romans 7.

The biggest difference is that our eternal salvation is assured by the keeping power of God. He will accomplish all that He promised and eventually we will see Jesus face to face. However, while here on earth, the people of God are in a war against sin. The world, the flesh, and the Devil try to tempt us to sin and not live to the glory of God. Piper offers weapons that help us win those battles.

Consider the flesh as dead and unable to dominate. 

So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. (Romans 6:11–14)

Realize that sin is my enemy. It wants to destroy me.

For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” (Romans 8:13–15)

Instead, rebel against all anti-God ideas, lies and manipulations. My weapon is God’s Word and using it often.

Assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. (Ephesians 4:21–24)

Do not plan anything that puts me in danger of temptation.

But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified. (1 Corinthians 9:27)

Watch my thoughts. 

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:2)

Be involved with other like-minded Christians who encourage one another to live for Christ and not for self, who love Jesus and not the world, and who are aware of Satan’s devices. 

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. (Hebrews 10:24–25)

Persist in choosing godliness.
Beware of “duty” vs. Spirit-filled obedience. That means being filled with the Spirit and listening to Him rather than “works of law” or all other pressures. None of the above can be done without Him. That means feeling helpless and being glad of it.

But he said to me, “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. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:9–10)

Be patient. It takes time to learn how to recognize the flesh, realize lies, see the world’s ideas — and to learn how to live by His power.

PRAY: Lord, getting through this life with a strong and confident faith is Your work, yet You ask me to cooperate with You, not ignore Your voice reminding me to read the Bible, pray, spend time with You and Your people, and do those things that You whisper to me, in faith and trusting You to use me to glorify You. I’d rather have had all those lessons much more quickly, yet in the process have realized that Your way is absolutely the best way to live. Thank You!

Subtle Doubts

The Bible speaks much of God's people having zeal or great enthusiasm to serve Him. New Christians often show the same attitude. So do I, but not always. Yesterday we heard an enthusiastic message, yet all I wanted to do afterwards was sleep. 

Today, I could sleep all day. My health has a thumbs up. I’ve the blood pressure of a teenager, no problems with eyes, ears, teeth, bone density, etc. but my zeal for life, even ordinary things, lags at times. Is this a spiritual problem? Or too many birthdays?

A bit of research lists a host of reasons such as worldly-mindedness, spiritual complacency, neglecting spiritual disciplines, unrepentant sin, a lack of understanding of God's truth, focusing on temporary gratifications, trying to please others, and overwork. In its list of twenty-two possibles, a few poked at me. . . .  

While I’ve sometimes relied on others to build my self-worth, an excessive workload often deplete my energy and enthusiasm. Sometimes I ask for help or prayer support and others tell me how strong I seem and assume that I don’t need encouragement. I can be emotionally drained at the state of the world, pray much about the needs I see, yet feel the fatigue of spiritual battle. A big drain is prayer without seeing tangible results. I can also focus on the challenges and difficulties rather than on God's power. At that, zeal begins to fade.

Interestingly, at least one OT prophet saw this problem as God withholding His blessing: 

Look down from heaven and see, from your holy and beautiful habitation. Where are your zeal and your might? The stirring of your inner parts and your compassion are held back from me. For you are our Father, though Abraham does not know us, and Israel does not acknowledge us; you, O Lord, are our Father, our Redeemer from of old is your name. O Lord, why do you make us wander from your ways and harden our heart, so that we fear you not? Return for the sake of your servants, the tribes of your heritage. Your holy people held possession for a little while; our adversaries have trampled down your sanctuary. We have become like those over whom you have never ruled, like those who are not called by your name. (Isaiah 63:15–19)

The NT says this about blaming God for a lackluster faith:

Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. (James 1:13–17)

And in the letters to the churches, God also says His people are to repent from whatever was lacking and do as He was telling them to do. Am I hearing but not doing? Is being too tired to do anything a challenge? or an excuse? Discernment needed…

For at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. (Ephesians 5:8–10)
 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:2)

After writing this, I received a positive and edifying email and it helped restore my emotions. God heard me whining.

PRAY: Jesus, sometimes my problem is trying to do more than You ask of me. The needs are great and although I trust You to be Lord of all, I sometimes tackle Your to-do list instead of waiting for Your instruction. Yesterday You reminded me how small actions create large results. Today this lack of zeal and that email tell me to “be still” and trust You to answer my prayers and take care of all my needs. Forgive my impatient discouragement that reflects a simple lack of trust that You will do what is best for me.

Living orderly…

A language can be confusing to those learning it. Mandarin Chinese has about 420 syllables without tones, and 1300 syllables with tones, some of them being homonyms for more than 100 characters, each with different meaning. A homophone is a word that sounds the same as another word but has a different meaning and/or spelling. “Flower” and “flour” are homophones because they are pronounced the same but you certainly can't bake a cake using daffodils.

Consider the English word ‘order’ and its several meanings. Put the room in order. Order breakfast in the restaurant. Order the child to stop jumping on the bed. Arrange the spices in alphabetical order.

This word came to mind when reading my ‘verse for the day’ even though it is not in the passage:

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. (2 Peter 1:5–8)

It seems that Peter wrote this with a progression in mind, so my first task was looking up verses that talk about doing things in an orderly way. Two came to mind without looking:
For God is not a God of confusion but of peace. . . . But all things should be done decently and in order. (1 Corinthians 14:33; 40)

Another is at the beginning of Luke’s gospel: "It seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus." (Luke 1:3) Dr. Luke wanted the story told in an orderly way, perhaps because many stories are told by those who ramble around with the details.

Peter was the same. Acts 11:4 says he “began and explained it to them in order.” This shows up in the verses above. It also fits with Paul’s words to two churches:

For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ. (Colossians 2:5)
I say this for your own benefit, not to lay any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and to secure your undivided devotion to the Lord. (1 Corinthians 7:35)

This implies that order on Peter’s words in his 2nd letter has helpful instruction. It says “supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge” so considering the admonitions in other NT verses, this sounds like a sequence. Faith comes first, so this is for those who are trusting God. No one can have true virtue without faith. Any goodness we have must be given to us by Him through faith in Christ. The NT says, “All fall short of the glory of God” and the OT verifies this by saying: “We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment…” (Isaiah 64:6)

The first result of faith then is a change from sinful living to obedient goodness. Faith brings a new nature, a work of God that enables our motivation from the Holy Spirit instead of our sinful selves. Without faith, any ‘goodness’ is self-produced and falls short.

Then add knowledge. Most new Christians have little understanding of what is going on. I remember a friend saying, “It takes a moment to be saved, and a lifetime to figure out what happened.” Therefore, we need to add knowledge, even just to understand what God has done.
This knowledge is always from the Word of God. It can come through preaching, teaching, godly advice, etc. but must conform to what God says. More than once God tells me to gain knowledge of Him:

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:2) 
. . . . put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. (Colossians 3:10)

The passage goes on, but each step is continuous. That is, virtue continues to be established, as does knowledge, self-control and so on. But if I hang on to any vice, knowledge and all other growth is hindered, even ceases, until the Lord changes my stubborn self-rule.

PRAY: This passage has much to say, to think about. Lord, You know where I am and what I need in this orderly living. Speak. Show me whatever I need to see and to obey to become more like You.

Think!

The news along with other observations of human behavior seem to reveal that the practice of thinking is being abandoned. Much of what is called ‘news’ contains speculation rather than facts. Pundits debate the future in sports, politics, and other areas. Not only that, logic is often missing. How many times does someone say, “What were they thinking?” A rhetorical question for the obvious — “Nothing!” 

AI is tempting. No one has to think when technology will do it for them. Cause and effect are less of an issue with a population that continually blames others for the results of their own bad choices. We say “You make me angry” to others, relinquishing our ability to control our own emotions. Logic is replaced by opinion and thinking through many issues is given to search engines or not bothered with at all.

Today, Piper points to a NT challenge: 

Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything. (2 Timothy 2:7)

Yesterday I was thinking how hard it is to listen to the Lord when I am praying. I know He knows my thoughts, and His will is often in my heart. The Bible does say: “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 2:16)

But then there is that old mind, the way of thinking that comes from the flesh, the selfish and sinful old nature that Jesus replaced. He is at work to renew my mind so that I understand His will:

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:2)

This does not say I will be able to understand all things (like medical terms, engineering, the game of Cricket, or if crabs have eyebrows) but He will let me in on His will. This comes with grace yet requires something from me:

Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. But that is not the way you learned Christ!— assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. (Ephesians 4:17–24)

Putting off the old self requires the ability to recognize the old self. It requires humility and thinking, not assuming all I do is fine with God. I need to feed the new nature by reading God’s will in His Word, not only to grow but also to survive the battle against those sins that keep me thinking only about myself and what I want… 

So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. (1 Peter 2:1–3)

The Bible says that knowledge puffs up. Jesus told of the prideful Pharisee who considered himself better than the humble publican, but was not thinking biblically. That kind of thinking is summed up even in the OT:

“Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be eaten by the sword; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” (Isaiah 1:18–20)

PRAY: This is a big topic for those who don’t think deeply, or don’t reason together with God. It is a challenge to grasp the reality of redemption for sinners by grace through faith yet You have given us a great gift — a new mind, Your mind. Being willing to use it, and being obedient to what You say, is the challenge when You tell me to think and to rely on Your understanding. I have a book called, “How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci” yet You tell me I can think with Your mind. Jesus, increase my ability to think as You think. Oh my, what a wonder that this is even possible!

There is value in forgetting

 

The wife of a family member described his dementia: “He clearly remembers seventy years ago but cannot remember five minutes ago.” Of course this results in communication problems and frustration for both of them.

I just read a long description of how God brings “dry bones” to life again. This prophetic vision is recorded in Ezekiel and has various interpretations. After the assurance of new life, the prophet describes God’s hatred of sin and the judgment it merits. The writer says “we almost cringe at the thought of our own faults and the memory of our failings. But then we read God’s summary, in the last paragraph. There, nestled in verses that express the compassion God will show when judgment is past”…

They shall forget their shame and all the treachery they have practiced against me, when they dwell securely in their land with none to make them afraid. (Ezekiel 39:26)

This author goes on to say: “What a wonderful promise! Yes, we’re weak. We stumble, and sometimes fall. And then what a burden of shame and guilt we bear. But God promises that when we see Him, when we truly ‘know that I am the LORD’ and no shred of memory of our sins will remain to mar our joy.”

I thought of the memories of dementia, usually good experiences and shared without complaint. But I also wonder if some of them are coming to mind because they involve sin that was neglected to confess and God is giving His people a second chance to clear the slate and have those sins cleared out of memory. Those who read these posts know how much I value this verse to spiritual growth and well-being:

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

I’ve noted that dementia involves the frustration of being unable to do things that once were easy. Many who suffer from memory loss are angry and often lash out blaming others for their problems instead of taking personal responsibility for their own behavior. One author writes about how the Holy Spirit, indwelling dementia sufferers who are Christian or not, is able to speak to their sin and enable change, It’s encouraging to realize that even with severe memory loss, our lives can change. 

Could it be that those who only remembering the past are experiencing a gracious gift from the Lord? Would this help them deal with sinful attitudes that were pushed aside or excused in the busyness of life? Do those memories come back for the purpose of confession and repentance? I’ve never heard this before, and my memory loss is mostly mild inattention. If this theory amounts to nothing, one lesson from the dry bones story is that forgiven still means forgotten! Even now I can put my past behind me, and live in joy. I can also not worry about memory loss for the Lord is still the Lord.

PRAY: Jesus, perhaps those who struggle with onsetting forgetfulness are receiving a taste of eternity. There You will put even the old memories into the ‘forgotten’ category. However, You will not leave our minds blank and unable. You already have given us the joy of focusing on You in worship and adoration. You also tell us to “not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind” and with that mind we will be able to discern Your good and acceptable and perfect will. (Romans 12:2) By the power of the Holy Spirit, may all who struggle with memory loss rejoice that it could merely be a foretaste of this great blessing to come.

His school of higher learning…

A childhood illness kept me out of public school and away from other children for most of grades one to seven. Later, I realized how much I did not learn from being with my peers, particularly the people skills that are learned by experience. I didn’t know what to say or do in many normal situations. I felt the awkwardness of having a blank mind or no opinion rather than knowing what my peers learned from growing up in a social setting. 

When I became a Christian in my late twenties, this lack became an acute reality. However, it was not totally negative. Instead, God used it to His advantage. I did not have many worldly ideas to unlearn. I also felt like a servant coming to Him eager to learn how to live.

Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maidservant to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the Lord our God, till he has mercy upon us. (Psalm 123:2)

Many other verses became a comfort to me and an encouragement when I felt stupid or not like other people, verses like these:

Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. (Psalm 25:4)
I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you. (Psalm 32:8)
I am your servant; give me understanding, that I may know your testimonies! (Psalm 119:125)
So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. (Psalm 90:12)
Put false ways far from me and graciously teach me your law! (Psalm 119:29)

The image of having an empty platter for Him to fill became particularly strong. Many times I’ve felt like that, particularly after seeing other Christians who seemed to know very easily what to do and say, even in awkward situations. 

Struggling to be more like that, I realized two things: one is that this is not about learning it in school but about relying on the Holy Spirit. And secondly, even when feeling blank about many things, I have a great deal of pride and can be stubborn about having ‘my way’ instead of obeying God. Doing and saying the ‘right’ thing involves being humble and lowly, teachable and willing to listen to and obey the Spirit. This is not learned in grade school either.

My part involves spiritual disciplines such as Bible reading, study, and prayer, being alone with God, asking for His wisdom and trusting what He says. It helps to pray His Word, and learn of Him. Obedience is an intentional choice, but it can be stalled by unforgiveness, failure to confess my sins, and failure to be accountable to others. 

While I might have learned many things from my peers in class and on the playground, I would not have learned obedience from a changed heart. That involves lessons that come only from the Lord because He is the only one who can make the changes. This is certainly why this verse has always part of my learning experience:

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

PRAY: Lord, would being in school as a child made learning about You easier? I don’t think so. It might have given me more worldly notions that require ‘mind renewal’ (Romans 12:2) and deepened my stubborn pride, but I can’t know that. I just know that You governed my life from birth to this day, and You know what still needs to be done to transform me into the image of Your Son (Romans 8:28-29). For all that You do as my Savior and Teacher, I am deeply thankful even though I realize how far I am from that goal.

Purpose of Life. . .

Several pages in Stephen Charnock’s book, “The Existence and Attributes of God” put me in tears this morning. He describes all the ways that even God’s people not only doubt the power of God, but also deny it. He gives examples from the OT then points to the opposite in many passages from both OT and NT. His point is that the Lord is omnipotent and totally worthy of being called Almighty God, yet so many live as if God is powerless.

Charnock also says that the fact that God is able to do whatever His will desires to do cannot  absolve me from obedience. As He showed me yesterday, He serves us and enables us to live godly lives. Some will say they are serving God as if God requires help, but that is a denial of His power; Almighty God does not need anyone or anything. He simply uses us and the power of the Holy Spirit enables us. One analogy is that He is the hand and we are the glove. As Jesus said:

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 15:4–5)

Jesus also said, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. These things I command you, so that you will love one another.” (John 15:16–17) So what is the fruit?

From His words, I get the impression that fruit is related to what God puts on my heart and in my prayer list. This begs the question: what motivates me? It must be God, but before I can have godly motivation, I must drop all worldly motivation. . . .  

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. (1 John 2:15–17)

This covers all personal desires and anything that makes me look good, feel good, and gain glory. Remember the way Jesus criticized the Pharisees for praying and parading to look good before others? Worldliness is about personal I-wants, not the will of God. I’m noticing that many cannot discern the difference. However, God gives a remedy. . . .  

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:2)

The NT tells me to put on the new self and that old self is dead (separated from God) and useless. This is a faith issue for it does not seem dead in the sense of no longer a problem, but very much alive and trying to run things ‘my way’ rather than the way of Jesus.

So the fruit of the Spirit is not about me, my wants, what makes me feel good, etc. apart from what the Spirit gives — which usually feels good, but as soon as the fruit is my goal, I’ve turned my heart from glorifying Jesus to doing what I want — so I will feel good. Obeying Jesus isn’t about glorying in what He gives, but about glorifying Him.

For this, a very mature apostle wrote that he was not there yet, “But Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you.” (Philippians 3:13–15)

PRAY: Lord, my enemies are the world, the flesh, and the devil with all three wanting to keep me involved in sinful living rather than being like You and glorifying You. Salvation is freedom from that sin-filled stuff to obey You in whatever You tell me to do. This is why I’m here — to bear that fruit. It’s not about me. You must increase, but I must decrease.

Understanding is only part of it. . . .

 

For about seventeen years, I read the Bible every day without understanding anything in it. Then came that day when Jesus entered my life. It was not a request on my part; He surprised me. After that day, after realizing who Jesus is and why He came, I began to understand what I was reading.

Today’s devotional says it is good to read the Bible regularly, learn the facts of Bible history, memorize as much of the Bible as you can and study the blessed doctrines of the Bible, then adds that it is possible to do all this yet gain no spiritual benefit. The author says this benefit comes only to the degree that we understand it. The author adds that this understanding can only be gained by the instruction of the Holy Spirit.

For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ. (1 Corinthians 2:11–16)

Various lists tell how the mind of Christ affects a believer’s life. For instance, any love for worldly things will change. Instead of the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life, the mind of Christ calls me to “not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of my mind” for this will help me discern the will of God and what is “good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:2)

Another list says His mind creates a humble, submissive, and obedient faith. The list of spiritual fruit point to new attitudes that include love for others, peace in my heart, joy, and more (Galatians 5:22-23).

Included in that ‘love for others’ is a new desire to seek their salvation by sharing with them His love in action and words that explain the good news of the gospel.

Another example of what will change: New knowledge of who Jesus is and what He has done, submission to His lordship expressed in obedience, trusting Him alone and not my own works, or goodness, or my efforts, along with a deepening rejection of sin and not wanting to run my own life.

As the book of James says, this thinking is more than new attitudes. It creates new actions such as caring for the needs of widows, orphans, the poor, and not being a respecter of persons but treating all with the same loving care.

For this reason, I’m convinced that I cannot limit the changes in my life to attitude only or even understanding. While actions flow from the heart, if they are not there, I have to look in the mirror (God’s Word) and not forget what I see, but do something about it.

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing. If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. (James 1:22–27)

PRAY: Lord, I’ve known for a long time that thinking and saying what I know is good, but doing it is vital. It is often easier to keep my mouth shut when I want to speak, or keep my mental focus on You rather than worldly or selfish stuff, than it is to simply do what You say. May Your mind rule my actions as well as all other parts of my life.

Weakness is my strong point?

 

Today’s reading begins with: “One of the laws of life is that all plants must yield fruit after their own kind. I must be content, therefore, to be the type of plant and bear the type of fruit the divine Husbandman pleases. We do not always like to be what God has made us to be.”

This speaks of spiritual gifts and the list in Romans 12 where Christians are told to act on who they are. The NT sometimes relates this to body parts too. Not everyone has the same gifts nor bears the same spiritual fruit, we are to recognize what God wants from us and realize that while all Christians can bear fruit using every gift, the dominant one or two shape our ministry and even our personality.

Years ago when teaching a class on spiritual gifts, one of the women in the class was obviously an encourager, sometimes called the mouth of the Body. This gift points to the positive and to possibilities to help others move forward in their faith and ministry. However, she decided she was a prophetic discerner, a gift that discerns the will of God, who sees things in black and white terms, and who prays much. This decision meant that she wound up being fruitless in both areas.

The reading for today warns against trying to be something we are not. While the Holy Spirit can enable a sympathetic ear at a funeral or in a hospital room, I know my main gift is not compassion. I do want folks to feel good, but am more focused on helping them think right, to have their minds renewed so their comfort and sense of well-being is rooted in faith and God’s Word rather than in sympathy and hugs.

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:2)

These and other verses about who God is and His grace and power to transform our thinking are a focus for me and fuel my desire to move other Christians into thinking God’s way instead of the world’s way. I know that when they do, the contentment they seek will be there and it will help them through great trials.

The thing about fruit-bearing and using spiritual gifts is knowing that divine strength will be made perfect in human weakness — but who likes to feel weak? Paul didn’t. He had a problem and wanted the Lord to fix it, but finally learned why he felt so needy…

So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “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. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:7–10)

The reading says that this law of spiritual life means our part is to supply the weakness, whereas God’s part is to supply the strength. He does this in an almost mysterious way so that I feel my weakness but others see His strength. If a berry bush could talk, it might tell how bearing fruit makes it feel tired — but all we see are the delicious berries!

PRAY: Jesus, I sometimes desire to take Your part and try to be strong. But I know that life in You does not work that way lest. I wind up being discouraged and fruitless. Human and worldly thinking assumes strength to be effective and that I must be confident and filled with courage, not weak and helpless. But the Word of God says that my weakness is my greatest strength. This is an important lesson. Keep me in Your classroom!

God’s Part Needed

 

Our part is to trust, and God’s part is to work. His work is to deliver us from the power of sin and make us perfect in every good work to do His will. How does He do that? Like a SciFi movie where I just sit here and He zaps me? No, not like that, yet partly:

And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. (2 Corinthians 3:18)

This means being before Him, hiding nothing and gazing into His glory. When I see Jesus with the eyes of faith and withholding nothing, His Spirit changes me. This is His indescribable saving power.

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:2)

This also means being before Him, yet in a different way. It is reading His Word and as I do, it changes the way I think. It shows me my sin and as I confess it…

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

And with forgiveness and cleansing, my old way of thinking moves out allowing God’s way of thinking to move in, to change me, for it is how a person thinks that determines their personality and actions.

Can I transform myself? Rhetorical question. Of course not. How many times do I set myself with a resolution to start a new habit, or quit doing something that annoys even me, never mind those around me? How many times do I want to be more like Jesus only to find my motivations are self-centered and not at all like His? Of course I cannot do it myself. This is why I need Jesus.

By experience and by the words of God, I’m totally convinced that becoming like Him, being transformed into a Christlike person, is not possible without Christ who has come into my life to do just that, and will do it for all who put themselves totally in His hands and trust Him without reserve.

Obviously the part of a believer is trust and Jesus does the work entrusted to Him, yet even trust is beyond my ability…

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Ephesians 2:8–9)

Faith is a gift. It is in my heart, in Christ who lives there, but the world’s skepticism and the devil’s lies, and the old nature with its desire to rule so often gang up on faith and pound it into the ground, leaving me without its focus or its power.
Reviving faith? It comes again by hearing about Jesus, reading about Him, being with other Christians who talk about His goodness, and running to Him with confession when my heart is not right.

PRAY: Lord, these days are filled with details for which I am responsible and that take so much time, added to concerns for my husband whose injury has no cure but time and may never heal, and yet to list them puts my focus on the problems. In order for the joy of the Lord to be my strength (Nehemiah 8:10), that focus needs to be on You. Yet the way my scattered mind works, I’m feeling much stress trying to deal with doing that and also taking care of the needs before me. You are my Savior and Lord — I put all of this in Your hands and ask You to sort it out and save me from all that threatens that faith and the indescribable inner joy that You have given me.

When faith is attacked…

 

Faith follows facts and emotions are the caboose. If emotions pull the train of my spiritual life, then God often feels so far away that He cannot possibly know or understand my needs and pays no attention to my pleas. I say ‘often’ because His presence and actions and answers to prayer can often be so spectacular that I wonder why I even doubted Him. Of course it is better to let facts pull the train of life.

This is why the illustration of the train says faith fuels the facts. It is not merely the presence of facts, or that I read and know what God says about Himself. This is about believing them, knowing that God exists, hears my cries and is who He says He is. What if faith falters? What do I do when my assurance is attacked? How do I keep faith focused and trusting rather than letting emotions or anything else distract me and start thinking, ‘Is this really true’?

The answer is always Jesus. While some say He never existed, even the most skeptic of historians have ceased to do that and no longer question that He was an historical person. A figment of someone’s imagination does not change lives for thousand of people over thousands of years. A book of fiction claiming to be the true Word of God does not last on the best seller list if the author and central character is a fraud.

Even those who do not agree or commit themselves to Jesus Christ acknowledge that His message and life have power. Someone recently told us of a podcaster who is not a Christian hosted a professing atheist on his podcast. Both agreed that all countries in the world were far better off when their population was mostly Christian. This speaks to the power of the gospel and the reality of the One that died and rose again. Facts pulling faith.

When my feelings waver and God seems to be fiction, I think about Jesus. He said things so contrary to how we humans think and did things that startled, challenged, and changed the religious ideas of even the most religious. His ability to control the weather, illness, even to change water into wine, makes Him unique. He is human yet He is God? There is no other explanation for Jesus.

My emotions cannot turn God into a puppet pulled by the strings of what I think and feel. He is not controlled by me — and if He was, then I would be God. That thought is so absurd, but I’m not laughing. I know who and what I would be like if that were true. The world would look like my desk does most of the time — total chaos. And if that isn’t enough, this generation has largely said NO to God and Jesus Christ and many are doing whatever humans want to do — and we have total chaos. It seems God is saying, “You want to live without facts pulling your train, then this is what happens.”

My emotions and the selfish desires of many are capable of making a mess of things, but that does not negate the existence and sovereignty of God. Only He has the audacity to claim this:

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. (Romans 8:28–29)

All things? Even chaos? He is doing exactly that — using the chaos to draw millions to trust Him, right down to my own life being changed by the stuff that makes me feel helpless. Even the results of trusting myself show me how little I know about being my own god. This God and His facts are worthy to be at the front of my life.

PRAY: Jesus, trusting You and the truth about You is the best way to live, and keeping feelings in their place means that instead of fear, hatred, and other emotions influencing how I live, You give me a deep joy that continually rises to the surface and lovingly pushes faith to follow those facts along with an overwhelming joy that overcomes my selfish ideas and feelings and gives me a deep desire to live as Your facts tell me to live…

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:2)

Muscle building means …

 

My hubby says golf is a muscle memory game. Other sports are described that way, but yesterday’s sermon came close to using the same terminology. Our pastor described faith in three ways: what we tell others we believe, what we tell ourselves we believe, and how our beliefs show up in the way we live. He said some say they believe (public belief), or  think what they believe (private belief) but true faith is belief in action (core belief).

I’m not sure about these terms, but I get what he was saying. There are people who trust Jesus and their lives show it, and that is core belief that the Bible describes. Faith is not merely knowing and agreeing that something is true or real. Even the demons believe in that sense, but their ‘faith’ does not affect their response to God. Our pastor pointed out that our lives reveal what we trust.

And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? (Mark 8:34–36)

Jesus describes faith as submission to the will of God. My devotional author is convinced that all our struggles to do that would disappear if we could see clearly that His will is good. We struggle and struggle in vain to submit to a will that we do not believe to be good, but when we see that it is good, we submit to it with delight. I get that. If I really believe God is good and His will is perfect, I want it to be accomplished.

Christians sometimes say that faith needs to move from the head to the heart. This is moving from thinking it verbally to really believing but it would be more accurate to say faith needs to move from the head (or heart) to the muscles! It helps to realize how God makes this happen and then cooperate  with the process.

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:2)

According to the Bible, it happens by mind renewal (a new way of thinking that is contrary to worldly thinking) and by testing that way of thinking — or simply trying it out, another way of saying ‘find out what God says, then obey what He says’ and then I will know that God’s will is good, acceptable, and perfect.

Trying it involves choosing. I heard God say ‘Do the right thing’ all day Saturday and Sunday and each time it involved two options. I’ve done enough Bible study to know which of the two was right and that the other choice was ‘my way’ instead of God’s. While understanding the best choice is not always the case, this time it made it easier to choose the will of God.

If the choice is sin or obedience, that one is easy to discern too, but if the choice is between good and best, then it often more difficult. Knowing the Word of God is a big help.

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)

God, who knows all things and knows me better than I know myself, is able to use His Word to reveal my intentions. He did that Friday night in a discussion of jealousy and I realized this truth:  when I feel threatened by what someone else has or can do, that emotion is jealousy. It can be good if it is protective of my marriage, or my relationship with God, but sinful if it involves feeling threatened by someone who has more or does better than I do and I want what they have or can do.

PRAY: Lord, You persist in these lessons about trusting You and I am glad. You want me to have a soft heart when options appear, not harden my heart against Your will. You want me to do the right thing and confess any areas where I always go my own way. You also want me to listen for Your voice because You do speak and I cannot hide from You or even try to hide. You love me no matter what, and Your will is perfect. Why resist it? How wise to pay attention and do what You say, wanting Your will to be done in my life, no matter what it is!

Sufficient — no matter the problem . . .

Today’s devotional focuses on the first half of one verse: “The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul” (Psalm 19:7). MacArthur’s comments remind me of an old saying: “He who controls the definitions controls the argument.” This begs the question, what is the soul? 

Chinese Christian martyr Watchman Nee defined it as the intellect, emotions and will or volitional ability of human beings. Without Christ, our souls are dead to God yet still rule all of what we do. This is about self-rule and self-rule is God’s definition of 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)

This is why the soul needs reviving or restoring. Sin keeps us from living as God intended, but the Word of God exposes that problem and corrects it. However, the soul resists. My thinking, emotions, and desires fear change at the very least, and digging in my heels can even go so far as to pretend to be ‘religious’ but still run my own life.

As MacArthur says, people doubt the power of Scripture in dealing with the deeper aspects of the human heart and mind. They say it might help “spiritual” problems but is inadequate for complex psychological issues. However, the best psychology can do is to modify external behavior. It cannot transform the root of it: errors in thinking, emotional reactions related to those thoughts, and the choices people make. Most are determined to have their own way, to look out for ourselves. Only the Word of God can change us at that deep level.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead . . .. since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God . . . . (1 Peter 1:3; 23)

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness. (2 Timothy 3:16)

This is why the psalmist can call the law of the Lord “perfect” for there is nothing in it which would lead us into error or sin. It teaches me how to think:

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:2)

 . . . and it gives me welcome emotions including peace and joy, as well as the ability to choose love for God and others rather than to serve myself. This restoration of soul changes everything. It solves the problems that are created when God is ignored and I’m left to my own self-centered devices.

PRAY: Lord God, keep me focused on Your counsel regarding every situation I face today. I’m not feeling well so tempted to throw a pity-party and forget my attention to You and others. Make my choices pleasing to You.

PONDER: Read 2 Corinthians 9:8 and consider what all grace and all sufficiency and all things and at all times means and includes — as well as the results of having such amazing grace poured out on me!