Praising the One who earns it…

We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing. Therefore we ourselves boast about you in the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions that you are enduring. . . .  when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed. To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Thessalonians 1:3–12)

A few weeks ago a friend praised another Christian and I responded that God is amazing for doing that work in her life. My words were ignored, maybe unexpected, but at the time I was frustrated with people getting credit for what God has done.

When I read the first part of this passage, it surprised me that Paul was boasting about the Christians in Thessalonica, yet as it goes on, he made certain that his readers knew their godly lives gave glory to the Lord Jesus Christ. They would not be steadfast in their faith apart from Him.

Praising people was bothering me because of being aware how I  like having my ego stroked. This not what being a strong Christian is about. Those who received this letter were praised because of the power of God. So was the woman I heard being praised. She has endured much, things that would make the average person likely flee or fall apart. However, she herself knows that her survival is due to Jesus Christ, not her own resources, and she would be the first to say so. 

Actually, I’ve no idea what goes on in the hearts of others when they are given the praise that Jesus deserves. I just know that my focus is diverted from adoring Him and being thankful to the strong sense of pride seeping in, and soon I will have sinful ideas about my own goodness. 
Jesus also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: 

“Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 18:9–14)

It is easier to be a Pharisee than to be humble. Could it be that people would rather associate with those who impress them with their lives than those who admit their sinfulness? Perhaps. Other passages come to mind. 

For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. (Romans 12:3)

My spiritual is life is not helped by being told that I am amazing. Praising Jesus builds my faith. Besides…

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. (2 Corinthians 12:7)

Not only that, hanging around people that impress me misses out on helping those who need encouragement, or even learning that exalting Jesus is the way to do it. Jesus even said, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God.” (Luke 16:15)

Jesus, I know what praise for me does to my fleshy heart. Others argue that making people feel good about themselves and about their walk with You is edifying. Perhaps there are times when I need that sort of encouragement, yet when it points to me instead of You, it can feed the flesh and do nothing to build my faith. Help me convey Your greatness to built others up and not shoot them in the foot.

My efforts vs. God’s enabling

 
In our small group Bible study, my focus is often on the flesh vs. spirit issue but received as if I’m saying we don’t do anything — all of our obedience is God’s doing. But I’ve not made clear that there are two “we’s” in the discussion. The flesh is dead and useless. To obey God, I must be walking in the Spirit, not the flesh which is my old nature. The problem is that I have not been clarifying which “we” is helpless and which is able to obey.

Another confusion is that many Christians do not recognize when the flesh is at work (even though it is dead to God) or what being filled with the Spirit is like. Many do not want to examine their motivations but it seems vital to me that I know why I do what I am doing.

Today’s reading begins with a question about pursuing faith. Since it is a gift from God, do i try to increase it? As with anything else He grants, I cannot make it happen without faith or by my human efforts, but God is eager to enable me to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” so that He is glorified “both now and to the day of eternity.” (2 Peter 3:18) Certainly faith is a gift from God.

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)
For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. (Romans 12:3)
For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake… (Philippians 1:29)

Other verses show that faith is granted to us by a revelation to our hearts. That is, He makes it possible for me to believe. This is also a gift as Jesus told Peter: “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 16:17) Otherwise, flesh remains in darkness. We need the gift of new life and the light from God which He shines “in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” (2 Corinthians 4:6)

Even though faith is a gift, the Bible says it needs to grow so I am trusting Him all the time. What is true for salvation — “faith comes from hearing through the word of Christ” — is also true after that new life comes. Being in the Word, spending time with Jesus and with His Body, and obeying Him are important, yet also must be activities of the new nature. The flesh can go through the motions but is not the way to build faith or express it. If I do anything, even what seems like ‘good works’ I am not honoring God nor producing fruit without His enabling.

So faith is about walking in the Spirit, not the flesh, and about glorifying God and not doing things to make the old nature feel good or be praiseworthy. I now see when I talk about being useless, I need to better clarify that all that talk is about the old me — and my flesh needs to be ignored. The new nature listens to God and obeys. This means that I need to be able to discern which is which. The old nature wants to rule things and can imitate or fake godliness and render my actions useless to serve or honor God.

PRAY: Jesus, Thank You for clarifying how to better explain when I make comments about passages like John 15:1-5 or 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 and how ‘I’ am useless yet I can do all things through Christ. Most Christians tend to be unaware of the flesh-spirit conflict because they have not recognized the differences or do not want to admit how the flesh messes with their faith. You want me to be clear about my battles so all of us are better at walking in Your Spirit and enable to do so by Your amazing grace.

I’m not the center of my world…

After writing yesterday’s devotional thoughts about glorifying God instead of ME, my emotions went from joy to sadness, but at first the reason was not apparent. Later, it became obvious that I really would like to glorify me. The train image of facts < faith < feelings came to mind and I thought about the facts of what Jesus has done, then realized this was just ME trying to bring back the joy. I could hear the Lord asking — was having His joy more important than having Him? The day seemed long and I went to bed thinking if this was what He wanted for me, then I had to accept it. But did I want to? Not much.

This morning’s reading puts forward another thought that I must agree with. It begins with this word from Jesus:

And in his teaching he said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and like greetings in the marketplaces and have the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, who devour widows’ houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.” (Mark 12:38–40)

The devotional writer points out how some people think they are humble and lowly in heart when they say bitter and disparaging things about themselves. This is not true. Most do not realize that the giant ME is as much exalted and puffed up by self-blame as by self-praise. I agree. That old nature is so greedy for attention that if it cannot be praised, it would rather be criticized than not noticed at all.

This means thinking bad things about myself is almost as good as thinking good of myself because saying, “I am so bad” gets ME thinking that I am humble. I’ve known this truth, even taught others how the flesh will take negative attention as well as positive just as long as the attention is on ME. Both extremes are sinful and hold a definition of humility that is not biblical.

Yesterday, my thoughts about glorifying the Lord were biblically correct, but that was not humility for I found myself thinking it was good of me to take that stand. As the devotional writer says, “what can be more delicious to self-love than to hear itself applauded for seeming to be humble?”

So I’m not really what I should be. The truly meek and lowly heart does not want to talk about ME at all, either for good or evil. The power of Christ is there and to be glorified from the heart, not mere lip service because it is the right thing to do. No wonder the Holy Spirit let me experience His grief at my correct but insincere words. He says:

For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. (Romans 12:3)

C. S. Lewis adds that true humility does not think highly or lowly of self, but does not think about self at all. My focus for the family reunion needs to be on those who attend, not on what I need to do to make this a great event, etc. I also need to remember Jesus in the garden saying, “Not my will but thine be done.” And remember what Paul wrote about the Lord’s humility:

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. (Philippians 2:3–8)

PRAY: Jesus, You live in me and the only way I can get my mind off ME is to think with Your mind and not my old nature. Apart from You, I can do nothing (true) but in You, all things are possible. Have Your way in my heart, no matter how impossible it might seem.

 

Amazing grace . . .

 

A friend told us that her son was not interested in salvation because he did not want to be in heaven with “those religious leaders who abused children.” While this revealed his sense of justice, it also shows he thinks some sins are worse than others (like his own sin of rejecting God’s grace) and negates the power of God to forgive and change lives of those who repent.

For July, MacArthur writes about the wonders of being united to Christ, of having access in prayer to God and to receive His blessings, our role as His children, our spiritual security, and much more. All these are reason for boundless joy and heartfelt thanksgiving. He begins with this:

As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” and “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do. But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. (1 Peter 2:4–10)

God has a different value system than the world. For instance, people value those who are healthy, wealthy, wise, popular, have a big house, and on goes the list of things that do not last and have no advantage in impressing Almighty God. That value system rejects Christianity, but God considers His people as chosen and precious. I need to remember His thoughts about me:

For consider your calling . . . not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 1:26–31)

It is easy to measure myself against others and have a pity party. They have a nicer house or greater skills,  are better cooks or gardeners, make more spectacular quilts, or their writing attracts more readers. However, the NT reminds me that this is foolish. Paul said:

Not that we dare to classify or compare ourselves with some of those who are commending themselves. But when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding. But we will not boast beyond limits, but will boast only with regard to the area of influence God assigned to us, to reach even to you. (2 Corinthians 10:12–13)

This means sticking to thinking of myself as God thinks of me, without comparing myself to others. Paul also said, “For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.” (Romans 12:3)

Worm theology has some Christians eating dirt and feeling as if they are no good at all. Others boast in all their accomplishments and how hard they strive to please God. Either way, the focus is on self rather than Christ. But when I consider what He has done for me, there is balance: the humility of being totally unworthy and useless yet being chosen and precious in the sight of God, holy, acceptable through Christ, a part of His family. He gives me status as part of a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a recipient of His mercy and the label that I am His child, no matter what I think of myself.

PRAY: What can I say to You, Lord? Your mercy and grace are overwhelming. The world’s list of what is important is a joke compared to all that You have done and keep doing in my life. I’ve heard many complaints about all sorts of things and realize that just being able to draw the next breath is a gracious gift from You. Enable me to always count your blessings and be thankful every day.

PONDER: Read Ephesians 1:3-14 and 1 Peter 1:3–9, thanking God for His mercy.