Expecting comfort?

 

We just returned from a very short ‘mission’ trip. It had one high moment and the rest of it was uncomfortable, puzzling, and a stress on our comprehension. We knew our assignment was seed-planting and soon realized the ground was hard as cement. God made it clear that the only thing that softens it would be loving encouragement. A rebuke or even advice would only pound it harder.

Piper’s reading for today parallels our experience in telling how he felt when he encountered the challenges of obeying God. His assignments are not necessarily cushy and comfortable. He reviews John 20, Jesus with His disciples after the resurrection. They had all deserted Him and were not worthy to be called His brothers, but He called them that, said “Peace to you” and then said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” (John 20:21)

Piper was moved by this in that these disciples had been hiding in fear, deserved to be rebuked, and “were just like me.” I can relate. On my assignment, He asked me to love the unlovable and I felt fearful and wanted to hide. However, He gave me incredible and unexpected (never mind undeserved) joy, the kind of joy that makes me fearless.

Piper then thought of Paul’s experience as a missionary for Jesus. This man described it:

… as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love; by truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything. (2 Corinthians 6:4–10)

Who thinks missionary work is a glamorous life? Paul said, “as having nothing yet possessing all things.” And Jesus said,

Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. (Mark 10:29–30)

Comfortable Christian living is a false teaching in one sense. If I am willing to leave all to follow Jesus and to share the gospel, then I can expect opposition, even though the gain is incredible:

For all things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, and you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s. (1 Corinthians 3:21–23)

PRAY: Jesus, because I have You, life gives me everything needed, even joy in the mess of it. What can ruin that? Only my own sin can rob me of it. You also say: “Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy! He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.” (Psalm 126:5–6) We did sow the seeds. I may not see the harvest until I ‘come home’ but Your joy is already blessing my heart. For that, the struggles and discomfort fade and my prayers are filled with confidence. You always keep Your promises.

Do it, even if in tears

 “Bethink thee of something that thou oughtest to do, and go to do it, if it be but the sweeping of a room, or the preparing of a meal, or a visit to a friend. Heed not thy feelings: Do thy work.” - George MacDonald

May those who sow in tears reap with shouts of joy! He that goes forth weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him. (Psalm 126:5-6)

This fits today. I have spiritual seeds to sow. The tears are not as literal now as two days ago, but the task is still before me. I am not certain the soil is ready for the seeds. Jesus told of various attitudes of receptivity and I rather suspect the soil that is on my heart will be hard, definitely rocky and even determined to reject whatever I say, even if it was something much less vital, like a story about a new bakery or an old pet cat.

Some people are immune to ideas contrary to their own because the idea contradicts their values and makes them feel criticized, as if being told they are not acceptable as is.

Piper simplifies this lesson by saying “When there are simple, straightforward jobs to be done, and you are full of sadness and the tears are flowing easily, go ahead and do the jobs with tears. Be realistic. Say to your tears: ‘Tears, I feel you. You make me want to quit life, but there is a field to be sown (dishes to be washed, a car to be fixed, a sermon to be written). I know you will wet my face several times today, but I have work to do and you will just have to go with me. I intend to take the bag of seeds and sow. If you come along, then you will just have to wet the rows.’”

I wish my seed-sowing was a mere task like washing dishes or fixing a car or even writing this, but it more involved. The tears came when seeing a need and the Lord used them to prompt in me fervent prayer. I am hearing Him say to “sow in tears” and not allow those tears to stop me from trusting His power to use what I say to produce a harvest.

PRAY: Jesus, You promised. I trust You. It seems impossible to see a harvest in this, yet You are clear about nothing being too hard for You. Tears or joy, I cannot imagine how You plan to bring any good out of this. Just help me be obedient and filled with faith that the simple work of my sowing will bring sheaves of harvest, and all tears will be turned to joy.

Walking the Talk

 

For three days God speaks to me about His supply being for each day, not the next day or next week, but “new every morning” so that I only carry the weight of each day. So what do I do? I spent much of the last two days stewing about a project that I must begin today. No ideas or thoughts of how to do it. Totally in the dark, until this morning.

Grace for the day. Hello. It is bad enough to worry about anything, but to totally ignore the answer to my worries as if the great thoughts God spelled out had nothing to do with them… really? I am totally red in the face. Today’s verses are like a kick in the pants:

God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. (1 Corinthians 1:9)
He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it. (1 Thessalonians 5:24)

Confession is agreeing with God. Confession is admitting guilt. Today, confession feels like a big apology, a DUH in large letters. But the most amazing thing is that before sitting down with my Bible and devotional book, the good Lord flooded my mind with all the ideas I need for the project that must begin today! Is that grace and mercy? I feel His boot, but it is also a big hug.

The Lord does give what I need one day at a time. Instead of trusting Him, instead of ‘walking the talk’ I totally ignored what He said and even prayed for answers, but He gave them when needed, just like His way of doing things.

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:22–23)

I’ve twenty minutes to get from this chair to a meeting room. I’d also worried about that, but He woke me up and got me going in time for that too, another new mercy. What can I say? God is good, even to foolish and forgetful people like me.

PRAY: Thank You, Jesus. Fill me up that I might never talk without walking too. Just knowing something is not complete until I also live out what You tell me.


 

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!

Sin is a barricade to joy

Today we have the Scriptures to inform us of God’s work in our lives. However, the first Christians did not have the New Testament or at least only bits. But they did know the commands of God. Jesus said to them:

“If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” (John 15:10–11)

Their source of joy was the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit could freely produce that ‘fruit’ in them as they walked in obedience. Their confidence in God included confidence in answered prayer. These ingredients combined to give them a powerful awareness of truth and the need to continue in their obedience.

Tozer says that the problem today with some Christians who are not joyful is that they are ignoring the Holy Spirit. I would not put it that way. In my understanding and experience, lack of joy goes hand in hand with lack of obedience. Imagine a water hose with sand in it. The flow is stopped or diminished until that sand can be expelled from within. It may require an extra force from the water, but when it happens, it gushes through the hose as it is intended.

Joy is like that. It is there from God but impeded by disobedience. However, as soon as I get out of His way by dealing with the sand, the Spirit is able to flow producing joy and the fruit that only He can produce.

The early Christians had that same power from within. Tozer calls it the ‘inner witness’ in which the Spirit kept them informed of God’s will and God’s pleasure. As they believed, He continued to work and this ‘inner witness’ became their guide.

When the canon of Scripture was agreed upon and the full Bible came into being, this need for an ‘inner witness’ did not stop. I still need to obey the Spirit. Scripture helps me know that what I hear on the inside coincides with His will, but the same certainty is from the Spirit who says ‘Amen’ to what I am reading.

“Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son. And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.” (1 John 5:10–15)

Here is our confidence, not just in the reading but in the believing and obeying, in the asking and receiving. My assurance is diminished when I am disobedient, not because my salvation is slipping away but because my sin has blocked the flow of God’s Spirit who gives me that confidence, that inner testimony, and along with it that divine joy.

^^^^^^^^^

Jesus, Your joy is both a privilege and a blessing. It is the assurance that I’ve nothing coming between me and You. I know that sin happens but also know that if it blocks the flow of Your grace, it can be removed by confession and cleansing. Through the Spirit, my salvation is made known to me and through the overwhelming joy that You give, may others also see the reality of my faith because You are making it visible on my face and in my life.