Reminders . . .

We moved many times during the years our children grew up. Wherever we were, I wrote letters to my mother telling her about our new home. To my delight, she kept all those letters. I can read them and be reminded of our colorful past.

The New Testament book of Acts is something like that. It was written by Luke to Theophilus and tells about God’s next move after Jesus rose from the dead.

In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” (Acts 1:1–5)

After the Holy Spirit came upon them, those early believers boldly told the good news that Jesus came, died and rose again, according to the plan of God.

“Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. (Acts 2:22–24)

In other words, His death was not an upset in God’s plan. It was the culmination of years of preparation. The world could not live according to the spiritual laws God gave them. They needed a Savior to be forgiven and the Holy Spirit to have the power to live as God intended.

Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. (Acts 2:37–41)

Faith in Christ worked. Those who responded to this good news were changed. Instead of selfishness and sin, their lives were characterized by new attitudes and behaviors.

And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. (Acts 2:42–47)

The Book of Acts tells about changed lives and the growth of the church. While some mocked and dismissed these early Christians as fools, many received the good news they shared. As the NT says, many were added daily and the Body of Christ became a powerful element of change and new life. Even with its warts and wrinkles, it still is today.

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Lord, thank You. Yesterday someone singled me out and put me down for just being me. Downcast, I asked for Your answer on this and You remind me that I am part of something much bigger, a body of people who are often put down simply for loving You and expressing that love. You also remind me that sin has great power to be thoughtless, unkind and even very cruel. I need to continually rely on You so I don’t fall into it with retaliation or any other actions that reflect a lack of faith, and so I can be merciful and kind to those who do fail.

Organizational Skills

My computer opens with a ‘lock screen’ which can be personalized. For February, my picture was hands folded in prayer with a short New Testament verse: “Pray without ceasing” to prompt me to do just that. For March, I’m considering a change, either “Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established” (Proverbs 16:3) or “The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.” (Proverbs 16:9)

They both say essentially the same thing, yet also relate to the prayer reminder. I ought to talk to God continually regarding my plans for the day. I ought to be in His will and to have His help and blessing on all that I do.

Today’s devotional is a salvation message. Tozer describes how spiritual life is the root of moral practice, and moral practice brings change in community organization. To make this personal, my relationship with God affects how I live and how I organize my life. The last part is a surprise and yet not really. I’ve noticed that messiness in my home almost always reflects messiness in my soul. The more scattered my mind, the more scattered my stuff. The closer I am to God, the clearer and cleaner my desk.

This must begin with a strong spiritual life. A relationship with God must be single-minded — no other gods. I need to be fully aware of what I have in Christ, no wavering into thinking ‘I must do it myself’ because everything I am and do rests on His saving work. Also, I must be filled with the Holy Spirit for anything valuable to flow out of me. I get this from these verses:

And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)

Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. (John 5:24)

Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. (John 7:38–39)

Then, because Jesus lives in me my moral life is changing. Temptations may come, but His holiness affects how I respond. I’m not wrapped up in feeding or satisfying my own desires. This is as Tozer says —the life of Christ changes how I live. It also affects daily decisions, from how I interact with others to what occupies my mind and time.

The third area is organization. This is the one that concerns me right now. Too much of my space is marked by the traits of that old nature. Instead, I want it to reflect the grace of God and the simplicity of the Gospel. Christianity is a supernatural belief with “the indwelling of the living God in human life.” How can I reflect that in the way I organize my home and my life? How can I be more like God in the simple things, like hospitality, answering the phone, sending texts and email, even in meal preparation, home furnishings, and the organization of my stuff? How can I be more like Him in the organization of my day?

As my ‘lock screen’ has been reminding me, I need to pray without ceasing. However, I also need to commit everything to Him so that all those plans will be established and will glorify Him.

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Lord, this will seem an odd request, but I’m asking it anyway. Help me know and do Your will in the matter of organizing my days and my home. Fill me with Your Spirit so what I do and how I do it is as creative and refreshing as You are. I want to glorify You in all I do, even when most of it will not be seen by anyone else but You.

Theological adventures?

Deuteronomy 2:1–3:29; 2 Corinthians 1:12–16; Psalm 31:10–24

Many of the people, events, and institutions in the Old Testament are models or pre-representations of people, events, and institutions in the New Testament. The study of this is called typology, but it gained a bad reputation from people whose imagination exceeded good scholarship.

For instance, some say that Abraham taking Isaac up on a mountain foreshadows Christ in some way. That may be true, but the wood that they carried does not represent the Cross Jesus carried, nor is Isaac a type of Christ (Isaac lived, Christ died). If there is a type in the story, it is the ram that did die as a sacrifice in Isaac’s place.

I can understand the wild and crazy ideas that have come out of typology though. Look at it this way; if you are thinking about buying a red car, you will soon start seeing red cars everywhere. If a Bible student is thinking about Jesus and the NT stories, pretty soon everything that student reads in the OT will remind him of something in the NT. Being reminded of Jesus is a good thing, but that does not make the red car parked in Abraham’s tent the same as the red car that carried Herod into Jerusalem. They just happened to be both the same color.

That said, I had one of those non-typology thoughts today. Take this with a grain of salt . . . Moses has the people at the edge of the promised land. God tells him about the enemies before them. He says, “ . . . Rise up, set out on your journey and go over the Valley of the Arnon. Behold, I have given into your hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land. Begin to take possession, and contend with him in battle. This day I will begin to put the dread and fear of you on the peoples who are under the whole heaven, who shall hear the report of you and shall tremble and be in anguish because of you.” (Deuteronomy 2:23–25)

God then said this to Moses, “And I commanded Joshua at that time, ‘Your eyes have seen all that the Lord your God has done to these two kings. So will the Lord do to all the kingdoms into which you are crossing. You shall not fear them, for it is the Lord your God who fights for you’ . . . (now Moses), Go up to the top of Pisgah and lift up your eyes westward and northward and southward and eastward, and look at it with your eyes, for you shall not go over this Jordan. But charge Joshua, and encourage and strengthen him, for he shall go over at the head of this people, and he shall put them in possession of the land that you shall see.’” (Deuteronomy 3: 21–22, 27–28)

Moses could not go in. Instead, Joshua would take over. Now these are my thoughts. Moses represents to my mind the Law of God. He led the people out of bondage in Egypt, and then was allowed to lead them through the wilderness and to the edge of new life. But he was not allowed to bring them into their new life. Joshua would do that.

When God led me out of my old life and brought me to new life in the kingdom of God, I was to live by grace, not by law. Law could not take me in or keep me there. Like the people in the OT were led by Joshua, I also had a new leader. His name? Joshua — which in Greek means “Jesus.”

This is not proper typology, but it still makes me smile. Some might say, “Good sermon, wrong text.”

It delights me that these lovely thoughts also connect in a small way with the other two readings. The NT one says, “For our boast is this, the testimony of our conscience, that we behaved in the world with simplicity and godly sincerity, not by earthly wisdom but by the grace of God, and supremely so toward you.” (2 Corinthians 1:12)

If I lived by Law and actually kept it, I could boast. But I do not and cannot. Instead, I live by grace. I can still boast like Paul did in that verse, but not in me. Joshua led me to freedom and Joshua keeps me there. My boast is in the grace of God.

Because of Jesus, I also can say with the psalmist, “Love God, all you saints; God takes care of all who stay close to him, But he pays back in full those arrogant enough to go it alone. Be brave. Be strong. Don’t give up. Expect God to get here soon.” (Psalm 31:23–24)

My seminary professors might slap my wrist over this, but I could claim a new category, not typology, but something like symbol + reminder = Praise for Jesus. I’m sure there are many acceptable words for that!

Overcoming daily distractions

Today’s devotional reading outlines how the daily stuff of life has “separating power” meaning that today’s events and duties can blind me to the greater realities that God has revealed to me. This is evident in how quickly morning devotional truths are swallowed up by my to-do list, callers, email, interruptions and responsibilities. Even before lunch, I may strain to remember words of the Lord pondered only a few hours earlier, words like these:

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38–39)

Notice the mention here of “things present” which ties to the idea of the separating power of daily life. First, the events of today are immediate, keeping my mind, eyes and energy busy with their demands. The devotional says to take a moment to say or sing “Jesus loves me…” but that needs to be a habit. A missionary from North Africa, who discipled my sister years ago, said that learning to meditate on the Word of God would take a lifetime. 

Secondly, things present are often difficult to understand. Distance helps me with the events of yesterday, last week, last month, and past years. As the author of today’s devotional says, understanding our past, its trials, its disappointments, and its illnesses are difficult in their actual moment. This difficulty of seeing the love of God in the darkness of present trials gives them separating power. How important to know that God loves me when life takes a leap into darkness!

Third, and for me the biggest challenge, is the distraction of things present. “Life isn’t a little bundle of big things: it’s a big bundle of little things.” I want to pray but walk past something that needs to be put in another place. Instead of focusing on prayer, I’m distracted and do that little chore. In the process, other distractions consume minutes, even hours. Instead of peace, joy, self-control and serenity marking my day, the sense of God’s love begins to slip through my grasp.

Jesus did it right. He never doubted the love of God, not in Gethsemane, nor those days when demands were so great that there was no leisure to even eat. He mastered that separating power of things present, and He did it for us, for me.

Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world. (John 16:32–33)

In Him, I also have the assurance of God’s eternal presence and the promise of peace in a troubled world. As that missionary said, it does take a lifetime to appropriate the victories of Christ and learn to live with that assurance firmly fixed in my heart. 

Yet God is faithful with His reminders, sometimes even surprising me. My bathroom has tiles that look like sand on a beach. After reading the devotional and its verses, I went there and noticed one of the tiles has a tiny shape nestled in its “tide line” — the shape of a heart. Did He put it there? Maybe. Nonetheless, every time I see it, it will remind me that “Jesus loves me” rather than letting that important reality be bumped out of mind by daily life.