Jesus is the Hand in this glove

 

When a person is drafted into military service, they begin that life by being taught how to live it. While some of those principles apply to civilian life, doing them does not make that person a soldier or a marine or whatever part of the military they aspire to become. They must first be enlisted.

This is also true of becoming a Christian. I began that life when God called me to Himself. Then He began to teach me how to live it. Sadly, those principles are often preached to civilians who cannot live like members of God’s family until they are members, because without that calling, they do not have what is needed to be it. All efforts are self-effort and even if those things seem to be the right things, doing them without faith is what the Bible calls sin.

Whatever does not proceed from faith is sin. (Romans 14:23)

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:6)

(Jesus said) Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15:4–5)

In this world, a person can enlist in the army when they hear the call to do so. In the spiritual realm, that call is something like “Uncle Sam wants you” only it is Jesus doing the calling. Many Christians attest to hearing Him call and that it comes to them when they were ready to hear it. Some  might say no to the existence of God, or no to the reality of their sinfulness, or no to all sorts of ideas they have about religion and the church, but when Jesus calls, that invitation is irresistible.

I remember one woman who said she heard the gospel at camp when she went there to pick up her sister. She had no intentions of listening never mind responding, but when she heard Jesus, she  tightly grabbed the chair in front of her to keep herself seated. It didn’t work. She went forward, was filled with faith and saved.

This happened also to Saul who became Paul. He was on a road planning to destroy Christians when Jesus called him and transformed his life. From that time on, he became a mighty soldier of God. While not so dramatic, God did the same in my life. He walked into my living room and revealed such powerful truth to me about Himself that saying no was impossible.

My point is that God never asked me to first give up my old life, to be poor in spirit, to deny self, or anything like that. He just gave me faith to believe that Jesus died for my sin, that Jesus is God in human flesh and wanted me in His kingdom. I knew this was true. The training to live for Him came after that and because He had come to live in me, I had the ability and the desire to do His will.

PRAY: Jesus, You know that we who sin cannot save ourselves nor can we do any of the things You require unless we have You in our lives. Any self-effort is just that — self-effort, and because it is, we “go our own way” instead of the way that You clearly say is the only way: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6) and Paul affirms it: “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) I cannot claim any part of becoming Your child as something I did. You are the Savior and You did it all and are still doing all as You enable me to live as Your soldier and Your child.

Glorify the power of God

 
The ending of today’s devotional reading is the beginning of a little more research. It says: “In the divine order, God’s working depends on our cooperation. During His earthly ministry, Jesus could do no mighty works in at least one city because of the people’s unbelief. It was not that He would not, but that He could not. We often think that God will not, when in reality He cannot because of our unbelief.”

I hesitate to agree because this contradicts a bigger picture. Both OT and NT say that no one seeks God. The Bible is clear that apart from grace and God’s mercy, no one would believe and all would have hard hearts against God and no faith. I see it in my own life every time my old nature tries to rise from the dead and listen to my I-wants instead of doing the will of God.

Yes, my part is trusting God, yet even as my trust wavers, God is faithful to accomplish His purposes, even in answering my prayers. The Bible says He is sovereign and omnipotent. What seems impossible to me is easy for Almighty God.

The devotional writer says my part is trusting God to do His part, but I know that even faith is a gift from Him. Some would call that hyper-Calvinism however I have reached the place in my life where I realize my total helplessness and how much I need Jesus for everything I do, even breathing.

My part is saying yes to the faith God gives. A word search for the phrase “would not” gave 144 hits in the ESV. Some of them pose a puzzle. For instance:

Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.” But Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said… But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let them go. (Exodus 8:19; 10:27)

In most cases, the ‘would nots’ were simple: God told His OT people to do something but they would not obey. Yet verses like this suggest that God did not intervene but used their rebellion for His purposes. Here is another example:

If someone sins against a man, God will mediate for him, but if someone sins against the Lord, who can intercede for him?” But they would not listen to the voice of their father, for it was the will of the Lord to put them to death. (1 Samuel 2:25)

Other verses indicate that it was not God who could not but people who would not and in His grace, He did not force the issue:

For as the loincloth clings to the waist of a man, so I made the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah cling to me, declares the Lord, that they might be for me a people, a name, a praise, and a glory, but they would not listen. (Jeremiah 13:11)

Jesus was able to stop even demons from doing their will, so He had control over their actions:

And demons also came out of many, crying, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ. (Luke 4:41)

Some verses even say that God hardened hearts so that His will would be done:

What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened, as it is written, “God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that would not see and ears that would not hear, down to this very day.” (Romans 11:7–8)

None of the rulers of this age understood this (the secret and hidden wisdom of God), for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. (1 Corinthians 2:8)

Some wonder why God tells us to just trust Him and then tells us to do impossible things. This is leaving out an important truth: we are not called to do the impossible by ourselves. Our power is in Christ who lives in us. Paul understood it. He said: “I can do all things through him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13) and “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.” (1 Corinthians 15:10)

PRAY: Jesus, You are fully God and fully man — a union that I cannot understand. And then You say I am a human with You living in me — another union very difficult to understand, but You are teaching me the self-me part is crucified yet I still live, but it is You who lives in me… sort of like a living hand in a dead glove. The world (and I) see the glove, but everything that it does is because of the hand that moves it. For this, I am in awe and fully realize why You are the One to be glorified.

Grace, faith, and new life

What came first, the chicken or the egg?

I used to think that was a silly question because the Bible says God created the birds and therefore they came first — with an ability to make eggs and more birds. Now I understand this question probes our belief systems. It challenges the theory of evolution. It also challenges the idea that there is no Creator.

A similar question pops to mind concerning salvation. What comes first, new life so a person can say YES to God, or saying YES and then receiving new life?

Both propositions are supported by Jesus’ statement, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him . . . .” (John 6:44) That is, no one can come to Jesus because even the religious people of Jesus’ day refused to come. He said to them:

“You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.” (John 5:39–40)

However, God lovingly persists. He orchestrates circumstances so a rebelling sinful person is ready to cry ‘uncle’ and let God have His way. As today’s devotional writing says, He changes the sinner’s nature making him or her perfectly willing to receive Christ as Lord and Savior.

The devotional writer also says that by nature we humans have neither the will nor the ability to come to Christ for salvation. If God the Holy Spirit does not effectually call us to Christ, we never will come because we cannot do it.

This sounds more like the first proposition, that God changes hearts and with a changed heart, yielding to Christ is not only possible, but it is easy and natural, even irresistible. I came to Christ because He came to me — in my mind there was no other option, just as Jesus said:

“All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.” (John 6:37)

Pastor and author John Piper believes that both new life and saying YES to God happen at the same instant. God brings us to the place where our hearts have stopped resisting Him, then gives us the new nature we need for that last step that takes us from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of His dear Son.

I’m observing this in the life of a friend. Her view of God is changing as her need for His love and forgiveness increases. She has not said YES yet, but she wants to. When she is ready, she will come to Jesus and He will receive her as His own.

Today’s Word from the Lord invites me to consider Jesus, first as the light shining in a dark place, but also continually as the Sent One who is permanently in my life to intercede for me . . .

“Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession . . . .” (Hebrews 3:1)

^^^^^^^^

Jesus, what a delight to consider You, the Author and the Completer of my faith. You allowed those life-changing circumstances that would draw me closer, preparing me to want You. Also, You waited for the right moment to open my eyes to the reality of Your love and grace. Like many, I thought that I was choosing You, but now realize that it was You who called me, changed me, and enabled me to come to You so that You could share Your life, Your eternal life, with me.

Life is full of voices

A former neighbor told us about one night being ready to go to bed and God distinctly told her to go to the house of one of her friends. This friend lived with her daughter and both of them had no sense of smell. Our neighbor argued with God, then finally got dressed and went to her friend’s house. As soon as the door was opened to her knock, she realized her friend’s house was full of gas, normally odorless but equipped with an additive so it can easily be smelled. She got her friends outside and called the fire department. Later she said, “What if I had not listened?”

This incident illustrates how Paul was compelled to preach the gospel . . .  

For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! (1 Corinthians 9:16)

He had to do it. He may have resisted like our neighbor, but he did it with a great sense of compulsion. This is a good way to describe a calling.

One writer said if you cannot ‘not write’ then this is the thing you must do. I’m not sure about this statement, for such determination might not be a ‘calling’ but an obsession. Instead, God’s call is about deep motivation that comes from a heart to obey. An obsession has other motivations, such as ‘I must do this or I have no worth’ or ‘I must do this to impress my girl friend’ and so on.

Yet as Chambers says, all Christians must be wary of plugging our ears to the call of God. In this verse, the call was about preaching, but whatever God asks us to do, we need to recognize and obey Him with that same sense of knowing this is from God and is important, even a necessity.

Having that dedication to the Lord’s commands is what it means to be a servant of Jesus Christ. He does not say anything like, “Would you mind doing this for Me?” Instead, He simply tells me what to do. I can refuse, but the “woe to me” part is also part of this obedience. I don’t want that sense of failure nor the grief that goes with ignoring God. His command might seem difficult, inconvenient, even senseless, but ‘woe’ of grieving the Holy Spirit and myself is far worse than whatever obedience might cost me.

When Jesus broke bread, He said “This is my body broken for you . . . .” Later on, Paul calls Christians the Body of Christ. We are broken for Him, poured out like wine to please Him. He writes that he was “separated unto the gospel” meaning that he heard the call of God, and in hearing it, he entered into that sense of ‘I must do this’ meaning ‘I must do whatever He says.’

Paul responded to the voice of God whole-heartedly. It may take more time and training for others, and certainly has taken many years for me. Yet the goal of God is to push back all other ambitions, quenching all my desires, leaving only one: to serve the Lord, listening for His voice and obeying Him.

Chambers says, “Woe be to the soul who tries to put his foot in any other direction when once that call has come to him.” I understand that woe. I know the threats of competition to His call. Life is full of voices, but only One is important; only One is necessary.

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This afternoon the respirator specialists took Bob off the oxygen and tested him without it – a quick walk up and down the halls. Then they took his blood oxygen and it was normal. We are delighted! The doctor said earlier that once he can breathe on his own and the blood oxygen stays up there, he can go home. It will take 8-10 weeks for his lungs to clear, and perhaps a few weeks for his cough to go away, but at home he will be able to sleep as long as he wants to. Joy!

He had H1N1, viral pneumonia, bacterial pneumonia, and a few other viruses all at the same time, on top of CLL with a weakened immune system. This has been a long two weeks. Good Lord, we are grateful for Your grace, mercy and the power of healing.