Stay out of the shadows …

Today’s devotional begins with: “Sometimes a great mystery is made out of the life hid with Christ in God as though it is a strange mystical thing that ordinary people cannot understand.” It goes on to describes this abundant life as liberty vs. bondage, as servants vs. sons, yet some experiences this week show me that there is another element that makes it a mystery. Those who are Spirit-filled get it, but those who walk in the flesh are mystified.

This showed up when I shared about the tulips. The full story: we live in a small condo complex where the board wants all units to look the same. One of 15 has a door wreath. While I’d like to paint my door orange (big no-no) I went looking for a wreath. Those in the store were cheap silk flowers, ugly, but the store had nice stuff and I soon noticed I was covetous, and also realized that my motive for getting a wreath was not right either. So I walked out of the store empty-handed.

At home, I did a computer search and found only one door hanging that I liked. It was pink tulips cascading out of a basket, but it was $258 so I shut my computer off and confessed my vengeful attitude, and the covetousness, and then prayed, “Lord, if You want me to have pink tulips, then You will have to supply them. Forgive me for being so foolish.”

That was a Monday. Tuesday morning, our doorbell rang. It was a neighbor who said they had a gift for me. He handed me a vase filled with a dozen pink tulips, real ones. I was flabbergasted.

Later, when telling others this story, the Christians that seem filled with the Spirit chuckled with delight at a God who can hug and rebuke us at the same time. They understood my delight at this hug, and the surprise of what He did. However, there were a few who struggle with worry and other things. Instead of being delighted, they were puzzled as if wondering why the neighbor gave me flowers or why God would ‘reward’ my confession by answering my prayer. They didn’t get it.

This mystery of resting in Christ is available to those who are actively relying on the Lord, yet hidden to those who are filled with worry, doubt, and self-centered ideas. That mode of living cannot see truth because it is hidden by the world’s way of thinking, or by the I-wants of the old nature, or by the lies of the devil. While not totally in the dark, walking in the flesh produces many shadows.

The devotional writer ends with this: “I sometimes think Christians look on our Lord as someone appointed to keep them out of their possessions, rather than to bring them in to them. They little know how such an implication grieves and dishonors Christ. (Yet) when they do recognize it, the spirit of bondage becomes impossible to them.” That is, once we see it, we can see the contrast and forget what our darkness was like.

That is the wonder of trusting God. It is described in verses like these:

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6–7)

You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. (Isaiah 26:3)

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. (John 14:27)

Pink tulips make no sense to someone who thinks God punishes their sin and will withhold His blessings if they are not behaving properly. Sometimes that happens because His children are not yet perfect in behavior, but when we confess He forgives and cleanses — and He never stops loving us and wanting us to know the wonder of His love.

PRAY: What can I say? You died on a cross to prove Your love for all humanity. That great sacrifice is enough, more than enough, but then You add the warm touch of no fear, perfect peace, and occasionally, pink tulips.

 

Shut the door on doubts…

Occasionally I pray this from the Bible, always expecting an answer yet dreading it:

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)

One way God answers is by dreams. In them, I’m doing something that shocks me and makes me feel shame when I wake up. If I question God about it, He usually replies with something like, “Would you rather find out your sinfulness in real life?”

I had a dream like that last night. It repeats in various forms and this time I woke up doubting that God would ever purify my selfishness to the point that this dream would never again happen. However, today’s devotional took a bull’s eye shot at that notion. It was about the selfishness of doubting, saying that to some people doubting God is a luxury, a ‘poor me’ attitude that is just as hard to give up as any self-centered indulgence.

The author says, “Do not your doubts come trooping to your door like a company of sympathizing friends who appreciate your hard case and have come to console you? Is it no luxury to sit down with them, entertain them, listen to their arguments, and join in with their condolences? Wouldn’t it be real self-denial to turn from them and refuse to hear a word they have to say? Try it and see.”

This author gives the example of brooding over someone’s unkindness that produces that ‘poor me, how I have suffered’ focus that turns love for God into a ‘God has forsaken me, does not love me, and I am too sinful for Him to care for and transform.’ All that self-pity is actually easier to live with than the sinfulness He exposes and the obedience He is asking for!

This brings to mind the faith of Abraham when he was commanded by God to slay his son, the one through whom God's promise depended on. How could God bless this patriarch as the father of nations if his son was dead? But not a shred of self-pity in this man. He took his boy up a mountain and laid him on an altar. Only then did God intervene and provide a substitute sacrifice.

My selfishness in this dream is about being willing to sacrifice everything I want and serve the Lord alone. No other gods, no idols, no ‘I wants’ that go against what He wants. I know the importance of obedience. The OT puts it this way:

“If you are not careful to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that you may fear this glorious and awesome name, the Lord your God, then the Lord will bring on you and your offspring extraordinary afflictions, afflictions severe and lasting, and sicknesses grievous and lasting. And he will bring upon you again all the diseases of Egypt, of which you were afraid, and they shall cling to you. Every sickness also and every affliction that is not recorded in the book of this law, the Lord will bring upon you, until you are destroyed. Whereas you were as numerous as the stars of heaven, you shall be left few in number, because you did not obey the voice of the Lord your God. And as the Lord took delight in doing you good and multiplying you, so the Lord will take delight in bringing ruin upon you and destroying you… but the Lord will give you there a trembling heart and failing eyes and a languishing soul. Your life shall hang in doubt before you… (Deuteronomy 28:58–67)

In contrast, the NT considers the obedience of Christ as being the offering to God that His people have never been able to make. In other words, my sins and selfishness are covered by the sacrifice of Christ and my response is to be like His…

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. (Romans 12:1)
And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. (Ephesians 5:2)
Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. (Hebrews 13:15)

Walk in love, worshiping and praising God, obeying as He gives the will and the ability to do so. Stop that ‘poor me’ which can be an excuse to not say no to something that He shows me as a sinful attitude. Of course I cannot rid myself of it, but I can confess it rather than make excuses for it.

PRAY: Jesus, the flesh is always trying to rise from the dead. Again, I need Your saving power to not only put the old nature in its grave, but also replace it with love for others and praise to You.

Dealing with Sin

 Sin starts in the mind, at least that is my experience. I think something selfish or untoward about others. I might start verbalizing my thoughts, depending on that inner drive to get some attention or make my complaint (or boasting or whatever) known. I also might act on it, like avoid the person that upsets me, or be snippy with other people, or tell tales that are ought not to be told.

Most of the time I’m quickly aware of what I’m doing and want to make it right. Not always, but if joy is gone, I know that I’ve a need to confess. Here is where today’s devotional offers good advice. The verses about confession are clear:

If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. (1 John 1:6–10)

Even though I have known and made much of verse 9 being vital to spiritual growth, getting to it has a couple of detours. One is being surprised that I thought or did the selfish thing and am suddenly discouraged and want to give up thinking I will never able to conquer that thing, whatever it is. Usually a repeat.

The other problem is calling it an infirmity that is simply part of life and refusing to be candid and above-board about it. This is a reflection of Satan’s words: “Oh, it really isn’t so bad.”

Either of these two excuses is fatal to any real growth and progress in the life of holiness. The only way is to face the sad fact at once, call the thing by its right name, and discover, if possible, the reason and the remedy.

Rarely is the reason an infirmity. God promises to supply all my needs. I’m not physically infirm (blind, deaf, crippled, etc.) nor are we suffering poverty, difficulties with family or neighbors or in our church. I’m not lonely, afraid, depressed, nor struggling with anything more than a lot of ambition and less energy and time to take care of the necessities of being a wife, mom, gran, homemaker, etc. I am also thankful for God’s goodness and yet I still can be overcome with selfishness.

This says much about the latent power of that old dead nature. It does keep trying to rise again, yet Jesus declares it dead to Him and me alive to God. Such a war, yet that Word of God promises victory, if not now, certainly eventually.

Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. (1 John 3:2–3)

Again, life with Christ requires total honesty with Him and with myself. Sin is only a momentarily disturbance as long as I deal with it honestly. Today’s devotional reminds me that any failure, sudden or otherwise, is no reason for being discouraged and giving up all as lost. The integrity of what I believe is not touched by my failures. Because of Christ, this is my walk, not my state before God. The highway of holiness is not a place but a way. Sanctification is not a thing to be picked up at a certain stage of our experience and forever after possessed; it is a life to be lived day by day and hour by hour. I may for a moment turn aside from a path, but the path is not obliterated by my wandering and can be instantly regained. Such is the grace of God.

PRAY: Salvation is complete and assured. Not because of my performance but because of Your shed blood, Your grace and forgiveness. Jesus, You are the reason I live and my hope. Even when I stumble, You pick me up, dust me off, hear my prayers, and give me deep joy. For this, I love You and eagerly look to You, even when flat on my face. Thank You so much for all that You are and do.

Forgiveness — a vital reality

 

A younger person once said to me, “It must be a lot easier to be a Christian as you get older.” I nearly laughed out loud. MacArthur has a good answer to that comment:  “As you mature in Christ, the frequency of your sinning decreases, but your sensitivity to it increases. That doesn’t mean you are more easily tempted, but that you are more aware of the subtleties of sin and how it dishonors God.”

More aware, more concerned, more feeling helpless partly because of age, but mostly because I feel helpless without total dependence on the Lord. Saying no to sin is only part of it; saying yes to God adds another challenge.

No, it is not easier, but my relationship with Jesus is deeper with more knowledge of Him, richer understanding of His ways and His love for me, greater consistency in prayer and a deeper desire to drop all worldly things to serve Him, even in the helplessness that I feel. There is also a richer understanding of forgiveness; I stand in need of it more often, not because I sin more often, but am more deeply aware of it when I do.

Jesus teaches us to ask Him: “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” (Matthew 6:12) Forgiveness goes to me and from me. Because Jesus died for me, I am forgiven. Because Jesus died for all, I can forgive as He does.

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. (1 John 1:8–10)

This is not about salvation but an identifier: it tells how to distinguish believers from unbelievers: believers confess their sins; unbelievers don’t. No rationalization. No excuses. No fudging, hedging, or blame-shifting. The sense of grieving the Spirit of God is too great. I want to please Him, not make Him sad. I want my joy back too, for it flies away when I’m aware of my sin. Jesus calls it a debt because I’ve violated God’s holiness and said no to Him in some way. I own Him better than that. This isn’t about losing my salvation, but if I do not repent, God will chasten me.

My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives. It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. (Hebrews 12:5–8)

Here I must repeat what I consider the most important verse in the NT for continued joy in the Lord, growth to be like Jesus, and the key to a powerful Christian life: “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)

Lord Jesus, You live inside me. When I sin, I could hide that reality and my focus then changes from You to ‘poor me’ — so the need to confess sin is vital. It is a matter of letting You be seen, of glorifying You. Besides that, I can do nothing of value unless I’m abiding in You. That is impossible if I’m harboring sin. All that said, forgiveness is incredible. It makes deep relationships possible, with You and also with others. Convict me quickly for sinful attitudes, words and actions. May I always be quick to confess them to You.

CONSIDER: Psalm 38 describes David’s physical and emotional ramifications because of his sin. Do I feel like that? If not, that lack is also something to confess as it indicates a lax attitude toward the holiness of God.

 

 

No unconfessed sin, no doubt

 

Faith not only believes God exists, but also that He rewards those who seek Him. This means faith is a huge part of answered prayer. This means that when I pray, I’m asking God to do what I cannot do without doubt that He can and will help me.

Take the reverse of that. If my prayers go unanswered, it could be that I am praying without faith and could even be trusting myself (or someone else) to do what I want done. This is a problem because “going my own way” is the essence of sin, and God does not listen to the prayers of those who harbor sin. I might think I’m praying because this is something I cannot do, but I also might be praying because I think my goodness is worthy of an answer. Note the contrasts in these prayers:

I prayed to the Lord my God and made confession, saying, “O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, we have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly and rebelled, turning aside from your commandments and rules. (Daniel 9:4–5)

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 18:10–14)

Daniel and the tax collector both saw themselves as woeful sinners and God heard them. The ‘good’ guy lost out. His faith was in himself. This ‘faith in me’ can lurk behind any claim to these promises:

Therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. (Mark 11:24)

Jesus said,  “. . . truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matthew 17:20)

I’m thinking of what could happen if I had no unbelief in my life and no trust in my own resources. What if I relied on God one hundred percent. Would I go to doctors or borrow money? Would He change lives all over the world because I prayed in faith?

Charles Allen, in All Things Are Possible Through Prayer, writes, “We believe in prayer. Then why don’t we pray? The real reason is, we have nothing to pray for. We have everything we want without praying. The supreme tragedy of most people is that they want so little, and they are satisfied with almost nothing.”

Abraham is called the founder of faith. God told him,  “I have made you the father of many nations” and Paul referred to him when speaking of faith in God “who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.” (Romans 4:17) What could that mean in my prayer life? Or if I were not so blessed as to be satisfied. I often call myself, ‘God’s spoiled brat.’ What if all my blessings were gone? Would I panic? Or pray?

Doubt shows up in wavering. James wrote about asking for wisdom: “But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.” (James 1:6) Doubt is recognized by thoughts like, ‘God cannot . . . .’ or ‘I’m not worthy’ as if that had anything to do with it.

Instead, both Daniel and the tax-collector approached God with an attitude of confession and self-denial. Daniel’s years of faithful service in Babylon didn’t enter his mind. He thought only for mercy for himself and his people. It follows that prayer is “drawing near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience . . . .” (Hebrews 10:22)

Jesus, the privilege of talking with You, and asking You to hear and respond to my requests is rooted in grace and Your sacrifice. Prayers are not answered when offered in presumption or self-righteousness or even doubt because they do not honor You and You alone. Besides, You have already given Your life for me. Everything I can ask for is nothing compared to that. May I honor You when I pray. May I always be aware of my sinfulness and Your forgiveness. May I also pray with confidence that You hear and answer every prayer that conforms to Your will without any hint of doubt or selfishness.

MORE: Memorize Psalm 117 and put my focus on His faithfulness as I pray.