Being like Jesus means . . .

God’s plan is most humbling; He wants to transform me into the image of His Son. The more I understand of who Jesus is and what Jesus is like, the farther I see myself from that goal. However, that is a divine goal and the work of God. He will do it, but only the Holy Spirit can accomplish what is totally impossible for me.

He has taught me an important basic: I cannot run away from His plan . . .

For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, “In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.” But you were unwilling, and you said, “No! We will flee upon horses”; therefore you shall flee away; and, “We will ride upon swift steeds”; therefore your pursuers shall be swift. (Isaiah 30:15–16)

I’ve tried the ‘swift steeds’ of my own efforts, mostly because I’m in a hurry for things to happen, but God is not in a rush. He teaches me that His timing is perfect and usually a surprise. Instead of fretting about the apparent slowness of God, I’m to let quietness and trust be my strength.

Tozer says that too much religious activity without inactivity and getting alone with God will result in failure. God wants me to wait on Him until I am fully charged with His Spirit. When that happens, my activity will amount to something because He has prepared me for it.

Thinking about God’s side of this plan, He is incredibly patient with me. He does not push or nag. Instead, He watches and protects me as I ride off on my horse, letting me find out the folly of my own efforts. His methods are much different from mine. I set a goal and a deadline and rush to get there ‘on time’ but stress myself out in the process.

If I am going to be like God, I need that same patience and ability to wait for others, to realize that the timing I want is usually much sooner than the timing of God. Learning to wait is a spiritual discipline that only comes through spending time alone with God in ceased activity. Part of this is keeping a regular quiet time and practicing the rest of a sabbath day each week. Another major factor is faith, faith that God is in control and I can trust Him, both to make things happen and to do it at the right time.

Tozer says, “You do not need to seek Him here or there, He is no further off than the door of your heart. There He stands lingering, waiting for whoever is ready to open and let Him in. You do not need to call to Him in the distance. He is waiting much more impatiently than you, for you to open to Him. He is longing for you a thousand times more urgently than you are for Him. It is instantaneous: the opening and the entering.”

This is another side of God. He is totally ready for my proper response to Him. When I finally quit running around, He is there. When I finally quit trying to make things happen, He is there. This means that if I am going to be like Him, my attitude of wanting something to happen can increase, but along with it, so does my readiness.

For example, I want a certain person to give her messed-up life to Christ. He alone can rescue her from her pain and anxiety. She acknowledges God but has some ‘swift horses’ that keep carrying her away from Him. The attitude of God is patience. Mine tends to be ‘give up — this is never going to happen’ and I have other things to pray about and do. However, to be like God, I need to be ready to do as He wants, even ready to be the answer to my own prayers — at all times and with instant obedience.

^^^^^^^^

Jesus, You walk close beside me at all times, even when I am running the other direction or acting like a jerk. You have incredible patience and never lose sight of Your goal. If my goal is the same as Yours, then I ought to have that same ‘be there’ grace and not lose sight or give up. This is a high calling, for which I need Your power and goodness to enable a Christlike response.

Note: I’d like to pay tribute to Billy Graham and praise God for the mighty way He used this man to build His kingdom. I never met this man but will miss him as will many others. Thank You Lord for giving Dr. Graham to this world and for speaking through him to reach the hearts of millions who are now Your children and my brothers and sisters in Christ.

God’s Plans for my life

Yesterday we toured Tuscany and enjoyed its beauty. However, heavy traffic, narrow roads, and fearless drivers began annoying us. Also, nearly everything is closed Mondays so discovering restaurants for lunch and dinner took a long time. By the time we got back to our small and not very comfortable flat, we were both grouchy.

This morning at 8:45, my hubby went down to pay for parking, which is free all night to 8:00 am, and found a ticket on the car. As we ate breakfast, I noted a few brochures for travelers on a bookshelf. One of them said that the residents of this city are noted for complaining. At that, we wondered if their attitude is contagious!

Both of us are using Fortner’s devotional guide where we read:

“Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.” (Hebrews 13:20-21)

I was caught by the phrase: “equip you with everything good that you may do his will” but the rest of Fortner’s thoughts did not speak to my heart. Instead, the online Bible I’m reading did. It had a link to an article called, “How to Know with Certainty the Plans God Has for You.”  

This article reminded me of the prophet Jeremiah whose world seemed to be falling apart. All looked hopeless but God gave a promise that immediately brightened his spirits -- and mine:

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11)

Of course I want to know His plans. Because He is sovereign, our present situation is part of them. Not only that, He promises to use all things for my good — to transform me into the likeness of His Son. My confidence in that is always restored by reading His Word and in prayer.

The author of the article points to the context of Jeremiah 29, a warning to pay no heed to false voices. Were we hearing the whining that happens in this city? Since hardly anyone speaks English, I cannot say for sure, but I do know that complaining is NOT the will of God. I need to shut out, shut off, turn away all negativity that enters my mind and instead be thankful. We have many good things going for us!

Jeremiah heard that God’s plans were for the future. This indicates the need for forward thinking. Dwelling on the past never gives a lasting sense of hope. The author said, “When you face challenges, you’ll want to quit or change directions. But if you’ve been spending time listening to God, challenges don’t necessarily mean that you need to throw in the towel. In fact, it could very well be the challenges themselves that prepare you for God’s purpose in your life.”

He is right. Like Paul who sang in jail, we can be a witness for Christ in a place of grumbling. Will anyone ask why we are so cheerful? Maybe not, but God certainly deserves our praises. We can do this for Him, and for each other. We can also look for opportunities to shine the light of Christ and ask Him to keep transforming us through our situation because He said, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:13)

God fulfilled all the promises He’d made to His people from Genesis 3:15 to the exile into Babylon (and their later return). He told them of a Savior, a promised One, a Messiah. He came, died for our sin, and rose again to give us new life. All of that happened. His plans for me will happen too. One day, I will be like Jesus.

^^^^^^^^^^

My dear Lord and Savior, all of Your plans for me center on You and what You did at the Cross. You are at the heart of those plans to prosper me. This isn’t about the stuff that happens, but what I do about it when it happens. You want me to respond as You would; that is Your plan for me. No matter what, I can be Your ambassador in this place, even if others grumble. Reset my heart to cooperate with You — that Your grace will bless those around me.

Look at the big picture . . .

Numbers 14:1–45

John 19:17–42

Psalm 14:1–15:5

It is easy to grumble. I’ve not had a cold for ten years – until now. Surely that is worth some whining. I’m on my last course and feel burned out. Moan. A family member is not well. Sigh. Another one belongs to a cult and has been in it for fifty years. The list could go on. However, someone has suggested that complaining is one of the worst sins. Basically, it is saying to God that He has no power and doesn’t know what He is doing.

The people of God were standing at the edge of blessing, but refused to enter the promised land. The entire congregation cried and wept, and all of them grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The whole congregation whined,  “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! Why is the Lord bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become a prey. Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?” And they said to one another, “Let us choose a leader and go back to Egypt.” (Numbers 14:1–4)

This sounds like today’s grumblers who didn’t like yesterdays politicians, but they want them back because they don’t trust the new ones they voted in a few months ago. These are people who are never satisfied.

On the other hand, Joshua and Caleb, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes and said to all the congregation of the people of Israel, “The land, which we passed through to spy it out, is an exceedingly good land. If the Lord delights in us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land that flows with milk and honey. Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not fear the people of the land, for they are bread for us. Their protection is removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them.”

At that, the entire congregation wanted to stone them, but the glory of the Lord appeared at the tent of meeting to all the people of Israel. And the Lord said to Moses, “How long will this people despise me? And how long will they not believe in me, in spite of all the signs that I have done among them? I will strike them with the pestilence and disinherit them, and I will make of you a nation greater and mightier than they.” (Numbers 14:6–12)

This is the part where the greatness of Moses comes out. He says to God, “Now if you kill this people as one man, then the nations who have heard your fame will say, ‘It is because the Lord was not able to bring this people into the land that he swore to give to them that he has killed them in the wilderness.’ And now, please let the power of the Lord be great as you have promised, saying, ‘The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but he will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and the fourth generation.’ Please pardon the iniquity of this people, according to the greatness of your steadfast love, just as you have forgiven this people, from Egypt until now.” (Numbers 14:15–19)

God was pleased with Moses’ request, but declared that the grumblers would not reach the land He promised them, except Caleb and Joshua. He said, “But your little ones, who you said would become a prey, I will bring in, and they shall know the land that you have rejected. But as for you, your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness. And your children shall be shepherds in the wilderness forty years and shall suffer for your faithlessness, until the last of your dead bodies lies in the wilderness.” (Numbers 14:28–33)

Then all those Moses sent to spy out the land and came back to make the entire congregation grumble against him by bringing up a bad report about the land— all these died by a plague. Only Joshua and Caleb remained alive. (Numbers 14:36–38)

I’m a detail person, but have learned this big picture: the overall plan of God can be stated as “Creation, Fall, Redemption.” As I read the Bible through each year, I’m starting to see this bigger picture rather than being caught up in the details. In the above OT reading, God had rescued His people from slavery, certainly a picture of our salvation from sin. Then, instead of being excited about new life in a new land, they wanted to go back to slavery.

It doesn’t make sense to me, but God understands. He says, “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds, there is none who does good. The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.” (Psalm 14:1–3)

In the big picture, they were just starting out in the chapter called redemption. History had a long way to go before arriving at the pivot point, the Cross of Jesus Christ. He was put there illegally, suffered incredibly, but by the plan of God, secured salvation and forgiveness for all willing to receive it.

But before that awful day ended, the Roman soldiers came to make sure those crucified were dead. “But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water. He who saw it has borne witness—his testimony is true, and he knows that he is telling the truth—that you also may believe. For these things took place that the Scripture might be fulfilled: ‘Not one of his bones will be broken.’ And again another Scripture says, ‘They will look on him whom they have pierced.’” (John 19:33–37)

Reading the Bible with the God’s big picture in mind helps make sense of it. It also helps me see that new life is not terrifying, but exciting, and small bumps along the way are just that, small bumps, and not cause for complaining. I’m thankful that Jesus walked that way before me and stays with me as I stumble along behind Him. When I listen carefully, I hear Him say that I’ve nothing to whine about.

All things for my good

Jesus is perfection from eternity past and forever. He never sins, loves us perfectly and sacrificially, and always keeps His promises. If anyone asks me, “If you could be someone else, who would it be?” no other person sets a higher ideal that the Lord. 
 

I cannot be Jesus, but by the incredible grace of God, it is possible to be like Him. In fact, this is my destiny. The following verses say so, and have been my favorite verses since I became a Christian. These verses also describe the way that it happens.

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. (Romans 8:28–29)

God, in His great wisdom and power, can use anything to shape His children into the image of His son. Think of a sculptor who has a large block of marble and wants to carve a horse. As one has said, “I just remove everything that does not look like a horse.”

This is what the Lord does in the lives of His people. First He puts His Son inside us. Like that chunk of marble, we bear a hidden treasure. Then, as if that were not amazing enough, throughout life He uses every instrument available to chip away all that does not look like Jesus. This is a slow process, but in the end when I step into eternity, all that stone will be gone.

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. (1 John 3:2)

For me, seeing Jesus is also an amazing hope in itself. What an incredible event to look forward to and long for with all my heart. He is my Savior, my best friend, my redeemer and defender. He guides and leads me, through good times and bad. Yet if seeing His face is not amazing enough, He promises in these verses also that I will be like Him. 

This is not something I can make happen. He does the transformation. Some of it is through the events of life that chip away at all the parts that do not look like Him. Some of it is being with Him, spending time near Him. In our humanness, we tend to take on characteristics of those with whom we spend time and are close. It is even more that way concerning time with Jesus. 

While I cannot shape myself into His image, I have some responsibility in the process. I’m not to hold on to that outer stony stuff that is my old sinful nature. The next verse says, “And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.” (1 John 3:3) This means that I let go of sin and self as He applies the tools of life. Holocaust survivor Corrie Ten Boom once said, “I’ve learned not to hold on to anything too tightly because it hurts when He pries my fingers loose.”

Letting God do the carving and shaping is much easier when I focus on His purpose in doing this. I can cooperate with Him by asking what is there about Jesus that needs to be visible in my life. What does God want from me that I can only do by faith in the One who lives in me? Certainly each of those “all things” comes with a challenge to trust and obey God. When I do that, the chunks yield and fall away much easier.

Today’s “all things” include saying goodbye to our daughter. We put her on an airplane last night with a visa in her hand. She spent a year getting it so she can marry her fiancé and live in another country. She has never lived more than an hour from us. Now we must take a flight ourselves to see her. I’m looking at her photo and already miss her, feeling a bit empty and more than a bit teary-eyed.

How does Jesus respond to this? Not by feeling sorry for Himself or whining that she is so far away. He who lives in me will continue to pray for her. As I do that in His image, He by His own grace will continue to answer our prayers, showing her His overwhelming love and power. All this is because He can use all things for the good plans that He has for His people.

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. (Jeremiah 29:11)

---

Jesus, You are so precious. Trusting in You is a blessing. Even though the “all things” of life can be difficult, challenging, or bitter-sweet like today, yet You have the good of Your people in Your plans. You want the very best for us. That very best is to be without all my hang-ups and selfishness — and instead, be like You.