Complete salvation…

Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise. But just as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so also it is now. But what does the Scripture say? “Cast out the slave woman and her son, for the son of the slave woman shall not inherit with the son of the free woman.” So, brothers, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman. For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love. (Galatians 4:28–5:6)

Paul’s illustration comes from OT history, a story that is current today. The offspring of the slave woman are still persecuting the offspring of Abraham, the man who is called the father of faith. They are not members of the same family as those who have the faith of Abraham.

Faith removes the yoke of “I must do it myself” that carries the load of keeping all the laws in order to be right with God. Jesus Christ removes that yoke and sets me free by doing it for me. Being “in Christ” means this is how God sees me — sinless because I am hidden in His Son by faith because He loves me.

In the NT, many verses speak of what faith working through love looks like, but no one can take credit for that; it is the work of Christ who works in us like a hand in a glove. This is why Paul could say God's strength is perfected in weakness (gloves are useless without the hand) and that he was the chief of sinners, yet his life was one of amazing obedience.

These verses build me up. I know that without Him, I cannot do anything that warrants approval. Obviously not circumcision, but even the love He speaks of and demonstrates is beyond me. Everything I do apart from faith is not only useless, it is also sin. (Romans 14:23) The NT also says:

But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. (Galatians 3:22)

Yes, I still sin, yet the wonder of faith in Christ, He also promises:

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)

Therefore, God's salvation is utterly amazing and total. He takes care of every possible issue or argument that anyone might give or use as an excuse to say NO to the invitation of Jesus Christ to put their faith in Him.

Lord, doubts come. It is easier to walk by sight and give up hope when prayers go unanswered or even are not prayed. We humans want what we want right now. But You love us and take care of us and use even trials to transform our lives that we are more like You. Jesus, You are so easy to love with all my heart! Thank You for such a total salvation!

Keep Praying

As they (the disciples) passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots. And Peter remembered and said to him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.” And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.” (Mark 11:20–25)

In a prayer time with others, we agreed that it often easier to walk by sight than by faith when it comes to praying. Each of us had long-term prayers that had not yet been answered. Sometimes God uses that kind of waiting to build our faith and patience. Sometimes He uses it to show us something we need to confess, like lack of forgiveness. But sometimes He is answering the prayer and does not show us the answer.

I heard the amazing story of a missionary in Africa who had been threatened by the natives who opposed him. However, they didn’t show up on the day they told him he would die. Much later, those natives became Christians and he asked them why they had not come when they said they would. He was told that they did come but the missionary and his co-workers were surrounded by a number of large “giants” and they fled in fear.

Much later, he was on furlough in his home church and told this story. Someone in the church asked the date that happened, then dug out the church records to discover that there had been a prayer meeting that day — attended by the same number of people as the number of giants his enemies had seen!

What can be said to that? Do I have any idea what God is doing because of prayer? Because of my prayers? 

There are two lessons in the words of Jesus. One is to keep praying without doubt in my heart. He hears and I cannot always see or even predict the outcome. 

The other is to keep short accounts. If I have any attitude or action in my life that is contrary to the will of God, He is going to deal with that first, not my prayer request. In other words, unconfessed sin means no answer or delayed answers to my prayers. Keep my life clean and who knows — God may turn my words into giants.

Lord Jesus, this story motivates me, not just to pray about the problems and needs that I can see, but for Your people at work in the world that I cannot see, anything or anyone that You put on my heart. Nothing is too hard for You and no problem or evil is unsolvable or impossible to deal with. You don’t need to show me what You are doing. Just keep building my faith so I trust that You are hearing and doing what needs to be done!

 
 

Importance of Short Accounts

And many people came together in Jerusalem to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread in the second month, a very great assembly. They set to work and removed the altars that were in Jerusalem, and all the altars for burning incense they took away and threw into the brook Kidron. And they slaughtered the Passover lamb on the fourteenth day of the second month. And the priests and the Levites were ashamed, so that they consecrated themselves and brought burnt offerings into the house of the Lord. They took their accustomed posts according to the Law of Moses the man of God. The priests threw the blood that they received from the hand of the Levites. For there were many in the assembly who had not consecrated themselves. Therefore the Levites had to slaughter the Passover lamb for everyone who was not clean, to consecrate it to the Lord. For a majority of the people, many of them from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, yet they ate the Passover otherwise than as prescribed. For Hezekiah had prayed for them, saying, “May the good Lord pardon everyone who sets his heart to seek God, the Lord, the God of his fathers, even though not according to the sanctuary’s rules of cleanness.” And the Lord heard Hezekiah and healed the people. And the people of Israel who were present at Jerusalem kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with great gladness, and the Levites and the priests praised the Lord day by day, singing with all their might to the Lord. And Hezekiah spoke encouragingly to all the Levites who showed good skill in the service of the Lord. So they ate the food of the festival for seven days, sacrificing peace offerings and giving thanks to the Lord, the God of their fathers. (2 Chronicles 30:13–22)

This passage brings a few thoughts. First, although Hezekiah prayed that God would pardon those not in right relationship with Him, their forgiveness was based on the blood of the Passover Lamb. Before that could happen, confession and repentance was vital. This is also true for those who follow Jesus.

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. My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. (1 John 1:8–2:1)

God sent His Son that I might have constant fellowship with Him. Sin is the only way that fellowship takes a turn. Instead of blessing me with continual direction and filling me with the Spirit, He speaks to me about my own life and what needs to change. We experience this “fellowship” as trials, yet often miss their purpose. One is to drive me into greater trust and teach me patience, yet often those trials are showing me where I have been trying to run my own life — which is sin (See Isaiah 53:6) and that needs to be acknowledged (confessed) and turned from to restore the fullness of what that fellowship should be. 

Without keeping short accounts, life can be so filled with challenges that my focus easily turns to fixing or overcoming the problems rather than seeking God’s will. In other words, I turn it into a DIY project rather than confessing my sin and repenting.

No, there is no lamb-slaughtering involved, just returning to the One who already died for me. Forgiveness is secured, but confession and repentance are part of walking with Him and not letting that sin nature act as if it still alive and important.

Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. (Colossians 2:6–7)

One other thought: we tend to focus on the importance of confession and repentance at special times such as Lent or during the Lord’s Supper or Communion, yet this should be done whenever the fruit of the Spirit goes missing. If I am not filled with love, peace, joy and the other evidences of Him ruling my life, then I need to find and deal with sin of some sort.

Jesus, walking in the light is just that — knowing what You give me and want for me, knowing the next step, being thankful, caring about Your will and Your world. Thank You that keeping short accounts is the key to spiritual growth and dealing with the trials that expose my need for You to forgive and cleanse my sin.

Do not neglect to confess and repent…

Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the assembly of Israel and spread out his hands. . . . Then he knelt on his knees in the presence of all the assembly of Israel, and spread out his hands toward heaven, and said, “O Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like you, in heaven or on earth, keeping covenant and showing steadfast love to your servants who walk before you with all their heart, who have kept with your servant David my father what you declared to him. You spoke with your mouth, and with your hand have fulfilled it this day. Now therefore, O Lord, God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father what you have promised him, saying, ‘You shall not lack a man to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only your sons pay close attention to their way, to walk in my law as you have walked before me.’ Now therefore, O Lord, God of Israel, let your word be confirmed, which you have spoken to your servant David. “But will God indeed dwell with man on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you, how much less this house that I have built! Yet have regard to the prayer of your servant and to his plea, O Lord my God, listening to the cry and to the prayer that your servant prays before you, that your eyes may be open day and night toward this house, the place where you have promised to set your name, that you may listen to the prayer that your servant offers toward this place. And listen to the pleas of your servant and of your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. And listen from heaven your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive. (2 Chronicles 6:12–21)

While not printed here, the rest of Solomon’s prayer is mostly asking God to remember His covenant with David and the promises He made to those who sin. When that happens and “if they repent with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity to which they were carried captive, and pray toward their land, which you gave to their fathers, the city that you have chosen and the house that I have built for your name, then hear from heaven your dwelling place their prayer and their pleas, and maintain their cause and forgive your people who have sinned against you. Now, O my God, let your eyes be open and your ears attentive to the prayer of this place.”

Sometimes Christians fail to realize the importance of keeping short accounts with God. One reason is that, “We are already forgiven so there is no reason to ask for forgiveness.” However, the NT says:

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 1:7–10)

The opposite of walking in light is living in darkness, a word that describes being oblivious to where I am and what I am doing. Unless I read the Word of God and hear the Holy Spirit showing me what is wrong with me, I will remain in darkness. However, the plan of God is to transform me into the likeness of His Son. I must pay attention. I must read and realize His conviction and agree with it (confession). Not only is forgiveness applied, but also cleansing. Without this, that sin remains and is repeated. Sadly, no confession is making God a liar and revealing that His Word, even if I read it, has not worked the changes that it is well-able to do.

Solomon started well but later decided to rule parts of his life. He did not confess his sinful desires and was stuck with them. This happened to a wise man — so who is exempt?

Jesus, keep me alert. I don’t like seeing my sinful errors, but cannot confess what is keeping me in the dark without You shedding light on those selfish ideas and stubborn insistence on my own way. Humility is always blessed. Don’t give up in helping me see what I need to confess before You.

 

Know God’s Will

 

Last Sunday a woman told me the situation in her family. Then she said, “I don’t know what to do.” While I felt her pain, I remembered a sermon from years ago. The pastor outlined the various places in the Bible that plainly state the will of God, mostly to do with faith and obedience, then said if those were true in our lives, we could do whatever we wanted. 

He explained with this verse: “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4) noting that when our hearts are right with Him, God puts His will in our hearts. In other words, His will for me is godliness and that is so important to Him that He might use difficult circumstances to bring me to listen before He uses me or answers my prayers.

He has different ways to make His will known. As Piper points out, God sometimes designs circumstances so that I end up where He wants me — without me realizing it. His example is from Acts 16 where Paul and Silas found themselves in jail, and the result was the salvation of the jailer and his household. His plan went beyond their plans, but since “no plans of His can be thwarted” (Job 42:2), He will do this when necessary.

The necessity might include dealing with our sin. I’m reading Jeremiah and how God put His people in exile because they were not obedient. Their shepherds were lying to His sheep and leading them astray. He said: Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!” declares the LORD. . . . “You have scattered my flock and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for your evil deeds…” and this is what He did. His will was not what they wanted meaning comfort and their own way. God also said He would send a Redeemer, but after that promise He warned them:

Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, filling you with vain hopes. They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord. They say continually to those who despise the word of the Lord, ‘It shall be well with you’; and to everyone who stubbornly follows his own heart, they say, ‘No disaster shall come upon you.’ ” For who among them has stood in the council of the Lord to see and to hear his word, or who has paid attention to his word and listened? Behold, the storm of the Lord! Wrath has gone forth, a whirling tempest; it will burst upon the head of the wicked. The anger of the Lord will not turn back until he has executed and accomplished the intents of his heart. In the latter days you will understand it clearly. (Jeremiah 23:16–20)

Clearly God's priority is our holiness and obedience. If I listen to us and do what He says, other instructions become clear. None of this happens if I’m walking in the flesh. To hear Him, I need to be humble, filled with the Holy Spirit, and continually in His Word. 

God did not write His will about every detail in my life. Do I go to a seminar or stay home? Do I visit this person or that one? Do I purchase this needed item or not? For all this, I need godly discernment. I’ve learned that my decisions are not totally reliable. I’ve also learned that He will give me the right choice if I listen. He shapes my mind and inclines my heart to whatever will bring Him the most glory.

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)

Sometimes He simply speaks to me. It may be a simple thing, like what turn to take when driving somewhere, or what book to take home when browsing in a store or the library, or how much to give when a needy person tells me their story. Very often my husband or I share a thought and the other one says, “I was just thinking the same thing.” While Piper says this is the least common way of God's leading in the NT, it is common in our household. 

I can rest in God's goodness whatever method He uses to reveal His will. Some will seem like a mystery, yet God is good — always. His will is always against the desires of my old nature. This is easier to discern because of that conflict. At times it will be a decision involving two things that both seem good. Yet the best way to know what He wants means keeping sins confessed, talking to Him with an open heart, and being willing to do whatever He says.

PRAY: I’m so thankful Lord that You desire my good along with Your glory and can make those two things work together. You continually put me in awe with Your love and great wisdom. Today is going to be another day of seeing Your will worked out to do both. I’m happy to let You go first.

Sometimes God wants me to go first…

Where I live, spending time with widows is relatively easy. Not so concerning orphans. For instance, the local children’s hospital has rules about visitors. If a child has no family or no family visits (it happens), I could not visit those children without special vetting and permission. Orphans are protected by laws to keep the public from seeking time with them. This is, of course, protection from predators, but it also keeps me for obeying all of this verse:

Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. (James 1:27)

Piper points to an OT verse that speaks about caring for those who are unable to care for themselves:

Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him. (Isaiah 30:18)

While this is not as specific as James about those to whom God shows mercy, it is clear that He does it to show His glory. I can transfer that to the description in James and rightly assume that caring for needy people exalts the Lord. Piper puts it this way: “One mark of great, self-sufficient poise is the willingness to get down low with the weak.”

That opens the door to far more than two groups of needy people. It even puts me in that category because God gets personal by using “you” to describe those He wants to be gracious toward. He is talking about those who wait for Him. Needy people do that, also people who are humble and realize that God is eager to help. It is not about those who take matters into their own hands. Instead, I am to wait on the Lord. However, the point is that God exalts Himself by showing mercy.

Since mercy is taking pity on and showing compassion to those who do not deserve it, this covers the entire human race. Salvation is a mercy because our sin means sinners should be punished, yet to be merciful is to be like God.

This gets personal. It tells me that if I am not merciful with those who are weak, I’m not being like the Lord. In the Bible, “weak” can describe those who are feeble, sick; morally weak; or those lacking in knowledge or faith. I know several who fall into each of those definitions. The feeble and sick are easiest to be merciful toward, but I get annoyed with those who seem dim about God and dim in their faith. I get  the same reaction in my heart when Christians disobey.

In other words, my ability to be merciful has great flaws. I do better when I remember how much mercy God has shown me, but pride and self-righteousness often jump in instead of treating others  in humility and with His compassion.

Maybe this is why God illustrates with widows and orphans. It is much more likely to feel tender-hearted to them than to others who are weak as a result of their own choosing or because they fail to seek the truths of God that will strengthen them. Yet I’m faced this morning with a similar challenge. Will I be strengthened in my faith and walk with God by being merciful to those whose sins and spiritual neglect usually annoy me? To do this, I must first do this:

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)

PRAY: Lord, I’m acutely aware of the people who disregard Your principles and choose to do life their way, even when their Bible is open in front of them. I pray that You will change their hearts but You have not done so, indicating that it is my heart that You first wish to change. Piper’s line of being willing to get down low with the weak points to my bad attitude of not being willing to put up with others who are unwittingly feeding their old nature and as a result fail to glorify You. This does not mean that I endorse what they do, but that I should have mercy on them and bless them, releasing them to experience Your grace in their hearts because You have worked forgiveness in mine.

Keeping short accounts with God…

 

A few weeks ago, a Christian friend said she didn’t need to confess sin as that had been done when she was saved. God had already forgiven all her sin, past, present, and future. She was startled at the teaching of keeping short accounts with God as the NT says:

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 1:7–10)

This passage is not in past tense. God knows that if I sin, the guilt of it can cripple me as it puts my focus on failure and defeats future efforts. That is not the only reason for short accounts. Sin spoils fellowship with God and often with one another. When I am being selfish, no one wants to talk to me, and God does not use me until I clear it up with Him in confession and repentance.

That said, today’s reading speaks of a failure to grasp the “much more” of Scripture that tells me God wants to do things in my life that are above and beyond my imagination. The remedy given is to have more faith, to abandon forever our “much less” of unbelief, to accept as true God’s declaration of “much more,” and to claim at once the promised victory. It adds, “According to our faith it must and will be to us.”

But what can ruin faith more than sin and unconfessed sin? Sin comes when I put myself in the driver’s seat and run my own life according to my own ideas. They might seem good or be very selfish, but either way, I’m turning from the will of God and stopped trusting Him. Is God going to fill me with His Spirit and bless me with a fruitful life while I am like that? Of course not. It is only the promise of 1 John 1:9 that gives me forgiveness and a clean heart, and with that, He will fill me with His Spirit and direct my thoughts and actions according to His will. Otherwise, I’ve come up against a wall, a roadblock, and cannot advance. Sin separates. It cannot be ignored.

For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. (Romans 5:17)

The free gift of Christ’s righteousness is not going to show up in my life when I’ve turned from it to run my own life. Just as Jesus said that I cannot serve both God and money, I also cannot serve both God and myself. My work, attitudes, even worship, is something He pours in. In myself, I can do nothing and if sin blocks His blessings, I cannot deny it and carry on as if I’m okay.

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. (John 15:4)

Abiding is about continuing or staying in harmony with the Lord. Sin messes with that and renders me useless in serving Him. I cannot serve Him and at the same time serve myself. Such sin, even the attitude of ‘me, myself, and I’ must be confessed, forgiven, and cleansed to get me back into abiding and living for Him.

PRAY: Lord, You are continually making me more sensitive to Your rebuke and correction. When I  neglect continual confession and become more and more self-centered, I know that I’ve lost touch with You and that Your focus for me changes. Instead of hearing my prayers for others who have needs, You concentrate on convicting and changing my attitude — my dire need. Thank You for loving me so much that You do not ignore any of my sinfulness, and will do whatever it takes to help me acknowledge it and bring it to the foot of the cross. You want me to be bold and guilt-free, knowing Your love and relying on You for all things.

Empty and Filled

Forty plus years ago, God called my husband to Himself. He responded to the gospel at the end of a sermon in a legalist church. Soon after, he decided we should go to another church and there he attended a class called, “Fundamentals of the Faith.” This was helpful. One of the elders in that church also offered instruction concerning his walk with the Lord.

He illustrated his point with an upright glass, saying that God would fill our lives with the Holy Spirit as long as that glass was empty of sin. However, if we disobey God, the glass would ‘tip over’ and no longer be ruled by the Lord’s fullness. This man tipped the glass. Then he said the next thing to be done was confessing the sin and repenting. The glass was again turned up, empty and filled by God’s Spirit. He added as he repeated the tipping and upright motions, “You can expect this, yet as you keep doing your part, you will stay upright longer” indicating that being filled and controlled by the Holy Spirit depended on keeping short accounts with God concerning sin.

Both of us learned another truth, this time illustrated by pruning a tree. God begins with the obvious sin, the ‘dead big branches’ and it seems like an axe. Then He switches to the not so obvious and uses a pruning knife, eventually working to the sins that most people do not notice and cutting the useless twigs out with a scalpel. Both these illustrations are NT principles. A few verses:

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, (Ephesians 5:15–18)
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. (1 John 1:8–9)
  “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. (John 15:1–2)

Being filled with the Spirit is not a matter of choice, but a matter of being emptied of anything else that would rule my life. Simple I-wants, being occupied with worldly matters, having my own agenda, rejecting the known will of God to do my own thing, even if it is not considered sinful. These reflect an attitude of not trusting God to run my life.

Today my body is tired and the to-do list is long. I’ve a meeting at 1:00 and a group Bible study this evening. Right now, I’d rather go back to bed and forget both things, never mind the chore list. Yet I need to listen to Jesus. He said, “Not my will but Thine be done” and under far greater pressure to tip over than my paltry excuses.

PRAY: Jesus, years ago You made us aware that there would be days like this. I can think of many excuses to stay home, if not just the depth of the snow and the icy roads. But out of love for Your Father and for a sin-filled world, You stayed at the place You were called to stay, and then suffered for me. Doing what You want me to do today is nada compared to that. I am such a whiner. Forgive me. Truly I need the fullness of Your Spirit, even if, and especially when I do not feel like moving forward into doing what You ask, even when those tasks will no doubt be totally enjoyable. I cannot will You to fill me, only confess that I’m up to here with a bad attitude and confess it so You can clean out my cup and set me upright and ready to move with You.

 

God is in Everything

A couple of days ago, I found the above quote and it comes to mind often. Yesterday involved a lot of driving and time with someone who does not speak much English. However, meeting another friend who is fluent in her language was a delight for the three of us. I had no idea what they talked about, but the joy on their faces was a God-thing.

Arriving home and finding God in decisions we were making and giving us ideas through others who ‘happened’ to know this or that was more of that God-thing. Seeing Him in little things makes a difference in personal choices, and the way we think about life.

Today’s reading says, “Nothing but seeing God in everything will make us loving and patient with those who annoy and trouble us. They will be to us then only the instruments for accomplishing His tender and wise purposes toward us, and we will even find ourselves inwardly thanking them for the blessings they bring.”

While the reading goes on to link this idea as a deterrent to sin and complaining, I’m not sure that happens for everyone. Some may think that His presence means He is sternly watching all actions so they better behave rather than make Him scowl. Instead, seeing Him in all things ought to help us  realize His goodness and care. For me, it makes a difference in how I view life's extremes.

All things includes good and not so good. The flesh loves to take some credit for the good as if we made it happen or made right choices. The flesh also complains when things are not so comfortable and can even rail against it, totally forgetting that God is sovereign and has a loving and good reason for allowing any trials. Seeing Him in both extremes and everything in between produces praise and thanksgiving. It helps me to look for that good in trials and makes life a delightful adventure rather than a series of ups and downs.

Today’s reading also says I can believe God is faithful and wants good for me, not because I feel it or see it but because He says He is. This means faith enables the ability to see Him because faith is rewarded that way as my relationship with Him is deepened. He enables me to ‘just know’ that good things are happening, even before seeing or experiencing the results from trials. The Bible says that my faith forms the direction of my life. I know that doubt can prevent me from seeing His goodness, and doubt can be an inlet for all sorts of negativity, but faith enables the Holy Spirit to flood life with His fruit and when I’m filled with the Spirit, it is easy to see God in everything.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. (Galatians 5:22–26)

The flesh is the source of pride, conceit, being annoyed with others or jealous of them. The Spirit is the source of what I really want: love, joy and all of the above. And the Spirit makes God visible to my heart.

PRAY: Jesus, I’m seeing so many of Your children who haven’t realized their battle with sin requires faith but also confession of doubt and fleshy living as being a huge part of redemption. Forgive the pride and send light into those who so badly need to see, not only this reality but the reality of You in all things. Keep me here. I love to see You in all things — and You making sense of the ups and downs of life.

Do not shrug off God’s words…

Today’s reading was another one of those ‘if you don’t believe then you wander on the wilderness and cannot enter God’s promised blessing’ messages. It made me think: “If I don’t believe what?”

I believe Jesus is the Savior sent by God to take care of the problem of sin. Once my faith in Christ was true, then my eternal life was true. But what if I don’t believe I am sinning? What if that unbelief is impeding my growth, or putting me in the dark about many things, or causing doubt of all sorts? This is what happens with many who don’t know Jesus as their Savior, yet could it be a big hindrance to Christians also?

Oswald Chambers says, “When Jesus brings a thing home by His word, don’t shirk it. If you do, you will become a religious humbug. Watch the things you shrug your shoulders over, and you will know why you do not go on spiritually.”

What does the Bible say about such a situation? It calls it disobedience and sin. What do I do with that? Certainly not shrug my shoulders…

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)

 Certainly a huge part of not moving forward is failure to see or to admit sin. If I am stuck there, how can I grow more? Sin is a barrier to communication with God and honesty with others as well. As Chambers adds, the golden rule for understanding spiritually is not intellect, but obedience….If things are dark to me, then there is something I will not do. Intellectual darkness comes through ignorance; spiritual darkness comes because of something I do not intend to obey. There is only one way to get past that and back into the light. Confession of sin is one of those things I must obey.

John Henry Jowett, said to be one of the greatest preachers in the English-speaking world, says this: “The ability of God is beyond our prayers, beyond our largest prayers! I have been thinking of some of the petitions that have entered into my supplication innumerable times. What have I asked for? I have asked for a cupful, and the ocean remains! I have asked for a sunbeam, and the sun abides! My best asking falls immeasurably short of my Father’s giving: it is beyond that we can ask.”

Forgiveness and cleansing sounds simple but it is one of the greatest answers to prayer — as long as I can keep on asking it, every time I sin, fall short, or disagree with God and want to do my now thing, even if my own thing seems okay. Who do I think I am to figure I know better than God? That alone is a huge sinful barrier to becoming like Jesus.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones. (Proverbs 3:5–8)

PRAY: Jesus, You have been doing things in my life that are so incredible that I want to tell everyone to trust You, to know that Your abilities go farther than our most hopeful prayers. I’ve not always known this, but You keep informing my heart of the goodness of Your heart. It is a fearful thing to consider that my ideas are better than Yours and even more fearful to shrug my shoulders instead of confessing my foolishness.

How to be discerning

Discernment is often the topic of discussion in the small group that I pray with and we agree how easily it eludes us. We sing on Sunday, “I am no longer a slave to fear; I am a child of God” and get fearfully worried about something on Monday. What happened to make that confident faith run off somewhere and leave us in bondage to fear?

One of my readings today offers a likely suggestion — somewhere between the song and the door opening to anxiety was a command that we knew we should obey but did not.

If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. (John 13:17)

This short remark made by Jesus suggests that knowing and doing are more than connected. If said in the negative, if I know something and do not do it, I lose a blessing. While Jesus does not describe what that blessing is, the devotional writer offers this: When you know you should do a thing, and do it, immediately you know more. That is, obedience produces discernment. If my spiritual life takes a dive and my ability to discern what God is saying to me, it could be that it goes back to a point where there was something I knew I should do, but I did not do it. At the time, it may have seemed not very important but as soon as the opportunity passed, so also did my perception and discernment.

When that happens, at the next time of crisis, I could be spiritually distracted instead of spiritually aware and therefore miss another opportunity to know and do what God wants.

This writer goes on to say that many Christians in that place make another mistake. Instead of confessing their disobedience, they work up occasions of self-sacrifice that God has not called for. This is easier than doing what God says…

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. 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 12:1–2)

As the OT says, “To obey is better than sacrifice.” Obedience leads me forward. Sacrifice hinders progress, even halts spiritual growth. As that writer says, do not go back to what I once was when God wants me to be something I have never been. “If you will do …, you shall know.…”  Obedience is key to discernment.

The song and my heart knows that I am a child of God. Satan knows that if he can get me to act as if I am not, then my ability to know and grow is halted. Knowing who I am is based on what Christ has done. Acting as who I am is a huge part of that. I am not called to forgive others in order to induce Christ to forgive me; I am to forgive others because i know that He has already forgiven me. I am not commanded to be a follower of Jesus in order to become God’s child because I know I am already His child.

Every day brings challenges to rob me of the victory that comes from doing what I know. Satan never retires from trying to delude me and mess up my discernment and growth. Even disobeying what seems like a small request will do it. I need to put my faith in God in all situations to keep from being caught in my enemy’s lies. God can turn defeat into victory whenever I really trust Him and do what He asks.

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)

PRAY: Jesus, You are the Savior and my faith AND obedience depend on Your grace and power, yet when both are given a big YES from my heart, You chase off the devil and You bless me — always with wonderful surprises and certainly with an abundant life. Again, You are so amazing!

Grace vs. try harder…

True story. It happened before Christ came into my life. My first husband, now deceased, worked near home. We had two small children so supper was at a regular time, but occasionally he and his business partner would go for drinks without telling me. When he got home, his supper was cold and I was hot. One day a radio program said that when people do something wrong and get punished, they feel better because that is what they expected. The suggestion was ‘no punishment’ and then they must face up to their guilt.

I never thought of it as being manipulation so tried it. The next time he was late for supper, I warmed his meal and acted as if he was on time. He was puzzled, but he never was late for supper again.

Today’s devotional is about a Christian’s reaction when we fail. It says that discouragement is never a remedy. Just as a child who is learning to walk might lie down in despair when he has fallen, so a believer who is learning to walk by faith might give up in despair when he has fallen into sin. The author adds, “The only thing to do in both cases is to get right up and try again.”

God never says, “Lie down and be discouraged” yet this is often the temptation. Some might feel it is presumptuous and even impertinent to go at once to the Lord after having sinned against Him. It seems as if we ought to suffer the consequences of sin first for a little while and endure our accusing conscience. We might struggle to believe that the Lord can quickly receive us back into loving fellowship even though He says:

This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 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. (1 John 1:5–9)

This links to the profound truth illustrated by the advice on that old radio show. Grace that God forgives has a far greater effect on repetitive sin than punishment! When I know that He forgives me, I am less liable to do it again. However, when I try to ‘punish myself’ with feeling bad and calling myself an idiot, that has little effect. Not only that, the idea of ‘trying again’ does not work either. If I could succeed that way, I would not need Jesus.

Furthermore, I can see a parallel between those self-directed accusations and my pride. The deeper my pride, the more I tend to punish myself when I fail to be godly in some way. Sin always happens when I listen to such things as “try harder” or “you can do better” or “you are too smart to make mistakes” — blah, blah, blah. Yet when conscious of being helpless and having no power without Jesus, failure is less of a surprise and more of a motivation to rely on Him.

Not only that, the answer is never “get up and try again” but “get on your knees and confess — be forgiven and cleansed.” Regret and self-centered ‘poor dumb and foolish me’ does absolutely nothing.  Jesus is my Savior because I cannot save myself. Far more important to realize…

For I have died, and my life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is my life appears, then I also will appear with Him in glory. (Colossians 3:3–4)

PRAY: I’m thankful for the lessons in living and walking with You, Jesus. Keeping short accounts means a great boost to spiritual growth. I am not only forgiven but recognize that when I confess sin, You do amazing things to wipe clean my sinful desires. Your love and grace to keep me in fellowship with You is far more effective than my disgust with myself or any motivation to get up and try harder.

 

Confess, be filled, accept His will

When my husband was saved, we had a discussion with one of the elders in the large church we attended. He had a cup in front of him and used it to illustrate the Christian life. He held the cup upright and said that when we confessed our sin for salvation and for each sin after being saved, God would fill us with the Holy Spirit. The cup remained upright.

Then he said that each time we disobeyed God, the cup tipped over — or in other words, we were filled with ourselves and the Holy Spirit was no longer in control. He said that we needed to deal with that sin so we could be upright and again filled with God’s Spirit.

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)

A new Christian discovers the joyous wonder of what it means to be forgiven and clean. We realize the power of the Lord Jesus and become amazed at His ability to give us victory. We are  delighted that “in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” (Romans 8:37)

However, the illustration with the cup didn’t end there. The elder tipped it then set it upright several times, and said, “You have to realize that this is the Christian life and how God works to deal with the sin that He has saved you from.”

Today’s devotional writer points out that Christians tend to feel that a life of inward rest and outward victory is their inalienable birthright. We remember that initial joy that made us certain of victory but it isn’t long before our experience becomes one of few and fleeting victories and our defeats are many and disastrous.

I remember when my early visions of triumph grew dim and I began to match that overturned cup. My faith seemed to be an never-ending cycle of failure and victory, one hour sinning and the next repenting. I soon thought 1 John 1:9 had to be the most important verse in the Bible regarding Christian growth and victory over sin.

Then I started to think that this experience was more like being a soldier. Enlisting makes me one but in name only. Life would be the bootcamp where I learned to live like what I already was.

I had to learn this reality: Jesus came to save me now, in this life, from the power and dominion of sin and to make me more than a conqueror through His power. The Bible declares it in the purpose of His death and says it everywhere. Not one hint is given that this deliverance is limited and partial, nor that we have to be satisfied with continually being tipped over.

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. (Romans 8:1–8)

The solution is keeping short accounts, not accepting that tipped-over condition as the norm. I’m to set my mind on Him and consider the old me dead to sin and alive to God.

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)

PRAY: Lord, it is harder to set my mind on the truth of what You have done in me when my body is plagued with weakness and feels yucky. Help me keep short accounts and take care of myself without letting this recovery time fill me with fleshy self-pity. Of course I want the joy of the Holy Spirit but I will accept whatever You want for me.

Bondage of Hypocrisy

 

Years ago, we hosted a youth group in our home and taught them about Jesus. Four teens from one family told me that when their father was on the phone, they could tell who was on the other end by the way he talked — someone from the church or one of his buddies. His hypocrisy confused them and made following Jesus difficult.

MacArthur’s devotional tells of New Zealand shepherds who use specially trained, castrated male sheep to lead other sheep from holding areas into the slaughtering room. They are called “Judas sheep” showing how we associate Judas with deception and death. Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss and became the epitome of hypocrisy.

Hypocrites are pretenders. They seem interested in noble things, like following Jesus Christ, and demonstrate an outward allegiance to Him. Judas did that, and even to the last, not like others who followed for a time and then deserted Him after He exposed their hypocrisy:

“But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.) And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.” After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. (John 6:64–66)

Judas appeared to by holy. At the last supper, Jesus said one of them would betray Him but no one guessed it would be Judas, even though he was more concerned with the money bag than anything else and eventually sold Jesus to line his own pockets.

This man did not truly believe. When Jesus was arrested, he had remorse, yet instead of seeking forgiveness, he hung himself rather than admitting his shameful betrayal. His life is a warning, not just to those who fake faith, but to Christians. We can have this notion that appearances are more important than transparency. However, many others can see through this sham. I know how important it is to keep short accounts with God and guard my heart.

Yesterday, someone said to me that their biggest concern for the church was ignorance of Scripture. My first thought was:

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. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account. (Hebrews 4:12–13)

That middle phrase, “discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” is a vital reason for being a student of the Word. It exposes my motivations and shows me when I’m trying to run my own life . . . which is the essence of sin. Like the five-year-old who said to me, “But I’ve never murdered anyone” we tend to make extremes the sin, extremes that we do not do, but the Bible exposes all sorts of stuff that we might not otherwise realize is an affront to the holiness of God.

We watched an Agatha Christie movie last night and most of the characters were horridly gossiping yet saying how others were horrible gossips. It was as if they never looked in a mirror. It wasn’t amusing and a reminder to me how pointing my finger at someone else means the other fingers are pointing back at me.

PRAY: Lord God, purify my love for You and protect me from any lack of integrity for it would put that label of hypocrisy on my life too. I cannot say others are selfish when I am selfish, or others are thoughtless when I am preoccupied with me, myself, and I. Keep my eyes and concentration on You and grant me to always want to read Your Word, desiring it like a babe desires milk and realizing I cannot live by bread alone also. Guard my heart from being led astray by subtle temptations of personal gain rather than desiring that You be glorified.

THINK: Read John 12:1–8. How did Mary demonstrate her love for Christ? What objection did Judas raise? What was his motive? How did he try to make himself look good?