Self-Denial

 

The word for today is YIELD. A simple search in the English Bible gives only nine references using almost as many different Greek words. Most of them mean to produce something, or give off something which is what the word used here means:

And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. (Matthew 27:50)

The only one that speaks of consecration to God in the sense of giving all of me into His care is expressed in a negative sense in relation to false teachers:

… to them we did not yield in submission even for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you. (Galatians 2:5)

A better term is SELF-DENIAL It means to deny myself by repudiating any gratification of self-centered desires and values that are outside of God's will and will not glorify Him. One writer describes it as getting out of the driver’s seat so that God is in that place, denying self any right to master my life. 

Jesus said it this way: “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” (Matthew 16:24) This “cross” is not about hardships as many use the term, but about dying to our old way of life.

We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. (Romans 6:6)

And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. (Galatians 5:24)

These verses make it clear that this is about considering “self’ being separated from God in a state called spiritual death, the state of anyone who is not “alive” through faith in Christ. However…

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)

Because this is true, I can live accordingly. Being able to deny sin and selfishness affirms that I believe the above verse. It is a faith issue. If I think I have rights and my way is okay, then I am not believing God, at least not for everyday life. Yet God’s Word affirms that those who believe in Christ for eternal life only will learn otherwise:

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)

As God teaches me to deny self, He also teaches me to identify self. I want good things, but good may not be best. It is His will to which I must yield, not my own, no matter how good my desires might seem. Jesus did say, “Not my will but thine be done.” For that reason, the goal is to… “put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires” (Romans 13:14) and to “present my body as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is my spiritual worship, and to not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of my mind, that by testing I may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:1–2, personalized)

PRAY: Lord, in the busyness and duties of this day, remind me often that Your will means abundant life and the very best for me. Help me think that way when the challenges come. They always do, and You are always here to guide me into self-denial and being wholly yielded to Your will. Amen.

Loving what is right . . .

Watching or reading mysteries usually gives me pleasure because justice is done in the end. Yet lately, the crimes committed are beginning to bother me so much that the good feeling of seeing the criminals caught and stopped isn’t satisfying. I don’t want to read or watch some of those fiction stories as much. I’ve stopped watching most of the news also. While keeping up with what is going on fuels my prayers, it also stresses my heart.

Today’s devotional is about Jesus being a lover of righteousness. It begins with these verses:

But of the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.” (Hebrews 1:8–9)

Righteousness is not a concept common in real life, never mind how much fiction writers can make it happen. This morning’s newspaper featured several events that made my stomach churn. One of them was the death of a person being arrested by several policemen who seemed to be abusive. Another is the violence in Gaza and Israel. Another is reports of shady dealings involved elected government officials.

While the Bible tells Christians to pray for people in leadership, this becomes increasingly difficult when corruption happens and what the Bible calls good is ridiculed by those who choose what God forbids as being the best way to live.

The devotional writer says that the King of kings, Jesus Christ, is the only leader who has a perfectly right attitude toward righteousness. I cannot help but think, “And look what happened to Him” as the leaders in His day crucified Him — and as God planned His death so that sinners like me could live. The righteousness of Christ, the sinless One, was not rewarded, at least not then. Everyone, including His disciples, turned away as He died.

Yet He rose from the dead and now rules from an eternal throne as God and King. His story is not a plot found in fiction. It has elements of the most amazing mystery of all: the sinless One took the penalty for those who are guilty that we might be forgiven and be transformed to be like Him and live forever.

Jesus lived a righteous life and loves righteousness. Yet His story tells me that righteousness is not just about how I should live, but suggests a sacrifice, even a death, that others might live. This morning I read:

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)

And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. (Galatians 5:24)

But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. (Galatians 6:14)

We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. (Romans 6:6)

The protagonist in fiction might give time, energy, and resources to find the culprit and bring justice to the crime, yet that detective or whoever it is does not give their life to make it happen. True righteousness is living in faith and obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ. This goes beyond making the world a better place to live. It could lead to persecution and death in a physical sense, but certainly means a death to all that my old life may have desired. This is not a movie or a novel but a reality: those who want to live a righteous life must first belong to Jesus and die to self.

That means saying NO to much more than the sin most people consider the biggies. Instead, it means saying NO to self, and recognizing that righteousness is hearing and obeying Jesus, even saying “Not my will but thine be done” — which is the example He sets for what it means to love righteousness.

This also means hating lawlessness and all that is wrong. This is a black and white concept:

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. (1 John 2:15–16)

PRAY: Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. (Psalm 139:23–24)

PONDER: Psalm 119 and ask if I can say the same things as the psalmist about loving the law and the righteousness of God.

 

 

Tackling today’s to-do list . . .

Leviticus 4; Psalms 1–2; Proverbs 19; Colossians 2

These days, advice on how to live comes in from many directions. CNN tells the latest news, sometimes the latest fads and cures and if they don’t make it there, they will certainly be posted on social media. I feel inundated with instructions about wearing masks, not wearing masks, what I can do or not, never mind my own set of habits for living.

Today God offers me two main thoughts about all this information. First, He tells me this:

“Blessed is the (one) who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.” (Psalm 1:1–2)

While many people think that Christianity is about living by a code or a list of rules, that is not so. The Bible is clear (at least to me) that I am to walk according to the leading of God’s Holy Spirit. That means knowing what His Word says and knowing how to listen to that still, small voice that says, “This is the way; walk in it.”

I’m warned about human ideas and rules too. They might look good or make me look good, but they have no value:

See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily . . . Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ . . . . If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations— “Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch” (referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to human precepts and teachings? These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh. (Colossians 2:8-9; 16-17; 20–23)

These warnings about legalism, mysticism and asceticism are associated with physical self-denial. But remember, Eve was told to not eat from the tree, but Satan added that she could not even touch it. I need to watch out where such advice might come from. Also, my devotional guide says asceticism arises out of guilt and reminds me that Christ has taken away all human guilt by His death.

And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. (Colossians 2:13–14)

I am not obligated to obey human rules. The world can live by the world’s rules but I am to live by the power of the Spirit united with Christ. I have died to sin: “For we know that our old self was crucified with Him so that the body of sin might be rendered powerless” (Romans 6:6).

This is the biggest reason I need to be alerted to doing things by habit, by the power of me. While I might seem capable, Jesus said, “Apart from me, you can do nothing” (John 15) certainly meaning nothing that is edifying for me or fruitful for others and for eternity.

Therefore He is instructing me again to pray, to seek His guidance and power before I do ANYTHING on that to-do list. He says, “Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand” (Proverbs 19:21). I know this is true, but the habit of life is not praying, just doing and at that end of the day wondering if anything I did had any value.

APPLY: I need the Spirit’s constant reminders to “pray without ceasing” and a constant sense of need so I will seek His will for everything. For this, I also need Him to do it for He is the vine, my source of life and I am a mere branch. This mere branch needs assurance because I am sometimes disconnected. Yet He affirms that when I forget and go ahead in my own strength, the blood of Christ has already covered my failures:

“ . . . If anyone sins unintentionally in any of the LORD’s commandments about things not to be done and does any one of them . . . and the priest shall make atonement for him for the sin which he has committed, and he shall be forgiven.” (Leviticus 4:2; 35)