Remember Lot’s wife

In Luke 17:32, Jesus speaks about total commitment, about faith that endures no matter what. From the same account, Matthew writes in detail what Jesus was asking for. Both passages go beyond the ‘nice life’ many Christians speak of.

Jesus’ words seem to describe what is happening today. All over the world, but particularly in the Middle East, believers are being persecuted and dying because they name Jesus as Savior and Lord. And Jesus calls them as He called His disciples to great endurance.

As I read the following long passage, I thought of my petty complaints, desire for comfort and convenience, and how little I’ve suffered because I believe in Jesus. Should the city we are in right now suddenly declare Christianity illegal and punishable by death, would I endure to the end? Can I pass the tests? Or would I wind up a pillar of salt?

“Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.  Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles. When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next, for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.“A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household.“So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.  What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” (Matthew 10:16-39)

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Jesus, this is more than a poke in the ribs. It is a deep challenge to deeper faith. Many of Your people are living the reality of what You described so many years ago. They are forced to flee their homes, or are arrested, or even killed because they have a faith that endures. I’m not going to ask You to test me like that, but I am asking that You increase my faith and help me to be less concerned about my own life and more concerned to trust You with everything, big or small. Teach and enable me to glorify You.

Failure is not the end…

Faith is easy when God answers prayer, when life is going as I hoped, when I can see His purposes being fulfilled. Yet if my life is to be like the life of Christ, I will experience failure.

Consider that Jesus’ brothers did not believe and mocked Him. Remember those times when He did no miracles because faith was absent. Don’t forget that in the end, the crowd that had cried Hosanna turned against Him and cried, “Crucify Him, crucify Him.” Then all the disciples left him and fled (Matthew 26:56). He was lied about in the judgment hall then mocked as the soldiers stripped Him of His clothes. Innocent and voluntarily helpless, He suffered the worst death known to man, and was buried in a borrowed tomb.

By human standards, the life of Christ was a misadventure and a failure. Isn’t much of our lives like that? Any success, and least measured by human standards, is a rare exception rather than the rule of life. We might hear about magnificent projects and brilliant hopes, but in the big picture, almost all fall into eventual ruin. Individuals who “succeed” eventually grow old and unable to perform. Business ventures encounter downturns and changes, mergers and crashes. Failure is inevitable.

I once read a book with the catchy title, “Failure, the Back Door to Success.” It was about learning from mistakes, but also defined success more like a spiritual discipline and failure as a test of faith. This makes me remember those times of enthusiasm in my heart that disappeared when I failed. Did my faith desert me too? When something goes wrong instead of right, do I feel like God has left me alone? Am I discouraged and ready to quit?

Today’s devotional writer suggests that when “failure” happens, I am appropriating half of Christ’s experience, that sense of failure, but not appropriating the other and more essential half, the persistence of faith. Because Christ lives in my, I have the power to defy failure, a power that can do this because this power is from God and is not my own.

Again, the life of Christ seemed a stunning failure, but it was followed by the most stunning victory that the universe has ever seen. What happened at the Cross is the example of all examples. Whatever God plans cannot fail. His proposals are firm, eternal, guaranteed. Regardless of any opposition, the things that are godly, honest, lovely, pure, and truthful have a vitality that cannot be destroyed or subdued.

What looks like failure in the life of a person of faith is only a triumph deferred. The energy and time spent in prayer and Christian service may not yield immediate fruits but whatever seed is sown is never lost. God promises to use it, and He keeps His promises. All may appear lost as it did at the Cross, but Good Friday was not the end…

For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it. (Isaiah 55:10–11)

I think about seeds sown in lives that seem hard and barren at the moment. God says that seed will sprout and grow. I may not live to see it, even die with my life seeming to have been a failure, but the work done in faith cannot perish. The work of Jesus Christ has transformed millions of lives and changed the world. His work brought the kingdom of God into this dark place and left us with this great promise,

For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world — our faith. (1 John 5:4)

I’m encouraged by this Word. Success is more about trusting God than it is about results or answers to prayer. Those who determine to put their faith in Him and do whatever He asks, are successful people. Our reward is going to be incredible, far surpassing anything we could ever expect or imagine.

It is Finished

Hoping for a quick victory, I now realize that the battle has just begun. We are praying for someone whose life has fallen apart and seeing some progress. Because of unexpected yet welcome events, it appeared that God was at work and this person was open and ready for change in his spiritual life. However, any evidence of that was missing yesterday. 

I get discouraged easily when I cannot see progress. I come to the Lord thinking that my prayers have been in vain and nothing is working as I’d hoped. However, God reminds me again that I’m to walk by faith, not by sight. He also reminds me to keep my eyes on Jesus. From His life, I learn much. He is not only my example of how I need to live, but also my example of how I need to think. 

Today’s devotional reading is based on a short verse from His prayer shortly before the crucifixion. As He talks to God about eternal matters and His desire for the future, He says,

I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. (John 17:4)

Jesus actually had not yet died for the sins of the world. How could He say that He had finished the work His Father sent Him to do when He still had one major act of obedience ahead of Him? 

The person who wrote the devotional says it is because Jesus knew that when His will was yielded, the battle was as good as over. In the shadows of Gethsemane, Jesus battled the cup of suffering and death. That battle ended when He said, “Not my will but thine be done.” As soon as He willed to die, He already triumphed over death. The cup is “easy for the lips to drain it when once the heart has accepted it” because “the real battlefield is in the silence of the spirit.” Because He conquered that battle, it was over and Jesus had finished what God sent Him to do. 

In the same way, prayer is my battle. Having God’s assurance of answered prayer is very powerful. It ought to be the same as declaring, “It is finished” even though the answer is not yet in sight. This is almost too profound for me, yet I can see that the Lord wants me to cling to this, not to what my eyes can see. He has given assurance and expects His word and promise to be my confidence, enough to say it is finished.

I can see that this confidence is no different from faith in eternal salvation. I have eternal life as a gift from God. I am completely assured of heaven, yet cannot see anything of it with my eyes. What is my assurance based on? Is it not the promises of God and faith in Him to keep His promises? 

In the same way, He promises to answer prayer. Do I have to see the answer before I believe what He says? Unfortunately, I’ve thought that way and too easily abandoned prayer because the answer didn’t come as quickly as I’d hoped. Now I can see that because of the faithfulness of the One who promised, I can consider this as good as done and pray with the assurance that “it is finished.” 

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Lord, I need to confess my doubts. So often, my faith wavers under delay and lack of visual evidence. That has never happened regarding my eternal destiny, so why should my faith jump all over the place when it comes to assurance about other things that You clearly promise? Forgive my quickness to doubt You in these things that You have once given me faith to believe. Increase my faith and may my heart be like Your heart, realizing that once You determine what needs to be done, You will not only see it through to the end, but even now consider that it is already accomplished.

Trusting God with bad news

Hearing bad news in the lives of others makes me feel somewhat uncomfortable talking about the good things going on in my own life. And at times, their bad news is like a warning that anything can happen to anyone. Will I be next?

This past week I was made aware that a friend’s daughter had a stroke that left her paralyzed. A cousin also had a stroke that put him into a full-time care facility. The newspaper is filled with sad stories, but these two are closer to home.

When things like this happen, I can dwell on the “what if’s” of life and become anxious. Life is not predictable. However, today’s devotional has something to say about how to respond to life’s unexpected nature. It begins with this verse.

The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD. (Proverbs 16:33)

In those days, the people of God sometimes used the equivalent of dice to make decisions. They knew that God could make the die go whatever way He wanted so they trusted Him when they cast their lots. Spurgeon asks, if the simple casting of a lot is guided by God, how much more the events of our entire life? Then he reminds me of another reality about God.

Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows. (Luke 12:6–7)

If God cares about sparrows, even about the number of hairs I have, then surely He cares for me. I need to focus on who God is, rather than having fearful thoughts about the future. This is important for several reasons. When I am anxious about anything, I cannot pray with faith. When the troubles of this world occupy my mind, serving Jesus is pushed to the side. When I worry about what might next happen to me or my loved ones, my mind is filled with myself, not the Spirit of God. Instead of abiding in Christ, I am tied up in myself.

Jesus said, “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33) and not to be anxious about tomorrow. He is in charge. When I think otherwise and fret about it, I am meddling with Christ’s business, and neglecting my own. My place is not to fix or provide or arrange, but to obey. As Spurgeon says, it is wise to attend to the obeying and let Christ manage the providing.

If I get my eyes off circumstances and worries about possible circumstances, then I can see the great provision of God more clearly. I can see His heart of mercy, His inscrutable wisdom. He never makes mistakes, no matter my anxieties or even my opinion.

Most of all, God has always dealt graciously with me. Because He remembers even sparrows, will He will never forget even the least of His children. I can cast all my burdens on Him for He has promised to never suffer the righteous to be moved.

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Lord, this season when joy is proclaimed and the good news of the birth of Jesus Christ is celebrated, there are sad events and news that is not so good. Yet You are still God. Every trial I have ever experienced has worked good in my life because You know what You are doing. While I do not understand the trials that others experience, I need to have the same confidence in You — for them. You control the roll of the die. How much more is Your hand involved in each event of life, working out Your plan to draw each one of us closer to You. If I can help others, I will, but worry is no help. Move me from being anxious or self-centered about anything and grant me the grace to trust You with all my heart — no matter what is happening.

God knows my needs

My mother often said, “We must need it or we would not be getting it.” She usually meant the weather, but this sticks with me as a good attitude toward life, even toward the way God speaks to me.

During the past few days, my devotional readings are encouraging me to believe God. Has God made a promise? Then believe He will keep it. Has God said something will happen? Then believe it will happen.

Today’s verses are in the same vein. Paul is writing about Abraham in Romans 4:20-22. “He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. And therefore ‘it was accounted to him for righteousness.’”

Abraham was about a hundred years old, his wife about ninety. Many years prior, God had promised them a son. Sarah remained barren all that time, yet Abraham “did not waver” and was “fully convinced.” If God said it would happen, Abraham believed it would happen.

In his old age, Abraham never stopped trusting God. His body seemed useless and his common sense told him that neither he nor Sarah were physically able to bear children, yet faith was stronger than normal reasoning. Reasoning considers human experience and human power whereas faith considers God and how He has already proven what He can do.

Abraham’s faith determined that trusting God, no matter what, was the right thing to do. He could not see or imagine this promised child but the promise was good enough because God made it.

Moses is another example. Hebrews 11:24-26 describe his faith. “By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.”

Moses could have been a great leader in Egypt and enjoyed tremendous power, prestige and wealth. Instead he decided to walk with God. He walked out of that place into a wilderness where he was powerless apart from God, disrespected and rebelled against by his people, and only owned what he could carry on his back. By faith he knew that this was the right choice, and even though he never entered the land promised to God’s people, God had a far greater reward waiting in glory for this faithful man. For him, the promise was good enough.

We heard a sermon last week that weighed faith against what we see with our eyes, or value with our senses. Faith often seems unreasonable and may even seem ridiculous. We considered human ideas of doing things and how faith might fly in the face of all that makes sense, yet if God says it, we can believe it, not because our minds can figure it out, but because God is faithful and true to what He says.

I don’t know if anything major is coming up in my life that is going to require faith ‘no matter what,’ but even if life stays much as it is (there is no such thing as normal), trusting God is the right thing to do. I keep hearing this over and over, and I must need it or I would not be getting it.

Holding On

It was just a television show, fiction, but fiction that happens. A man was abducting little boys. If they didn’t fight back, he kept them until they were too old, twelve or so, then abducted another young one. Sickening. If the child did fight back, he killed him and buried him in the woods.

What makes a person like that tick? I can’t imagine. How long was he like that? I don’t know. One thing for certain, he was beyond hope and he knew it. When the authorities closed in and he knew he was going to be captured, he immediately took his own life.

Most shows like that don’t stick in my memory beyond the next day, but this one did. I’ve been thinking about people who are beyond hope, and that particular plot supplied a visual of a sad reality in the spiritual realm.

That evening, a verse in Luke 22 popped out as part of this reality. The chief priests and scribes, Jesus’ biggest critics, arrested Him and took Him before their council. They said, “If You are the Christ, tell us.” “But Jesus said to them, ‘If I tell you, you will by no means believe.’”

I’ve been praying that Jesus would tell some people who He is. I know that no one can believe in Him or understand who He is unless He reveals Himself to them, so I’ve prayed that He would simply tell them. In my mind, and by my experience, once His true identity is known, believing and salvation follows.

But His response shocks me, even though I know it is true. Some people, no matter how much they know about Jesus, will still refuse Him. The Jewish leaders of His day had an attitude of, “We will not let this man rule over us.” It didn’t matter that He’d clearly demonstrated Himself to be God in human flesh, the same God that they professed to serve. They were running their own religion and for them, it didn’t matter what Jesus revealed or what God wanted.

This morning another passage describes the same attitude. It is a warning from Hebrews 6 and says, “It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.”

God could reveal it all. He could enlighten the darkest mind so that it knows about the gift of eternal life. A person can share in the revelations given by the Holy Spirit, understand the Word of God, even realize that once their sins are forgiven, they will participate in a future glory. Yet it is possible for a person to go right to the edge of the kingdom, stick their foot in the door, then decide that they don’t want it.

This verse describes people who are so close they can taste it. They have even repented of their sins, but without the new life of Christ that God gives to those who believe, they have no power to stick with it. They fall away, not just because they didn’t get both feet and their hearts inside the door, but because the only thing that can keep anyone from falling away is the power of God. For some reason, these ‘apostates’ don’t have it.

The verse in Luke says Jesus will not reveal Himself to those who won’t believe. I’m thinking this Hebrew passage says He will not give genuine faith to those who will mop the floor with it. God knows the human heart.

At the same time, I wonder how this reconciles with the reality that without genuine faith, sin will ensure that we cannot do anything but mock and reject the Son of God. Why does God give some that faith, but others not?

Someday I might understand everything about His incredible gift of salvation and why some miss out, even knowing all they can know about the gift. It makes no sense to me that a person would refuse it and toss it away.

Right now, I’m just glad that when He put the gift in my hands, He also gave me, and keeps on giving me, whatever I need to hang on to it.