God does the work!

Yesterday afternoon God answered prayer with another surprise. My 28 year-old Bernini sewing machine has never had a problem but suddenly the lights over the sewing area stopped working. New bulbs didn’t help so I took it to the dealer. They tried. Nothing worked. Finally a clerk said leaving it for service would be very costly because opening it up to find an electrical problem constituted a regular and costly service call. Not only that, they haven’t had parts for that model since 2011. My best bet was to buy an external light to clip on my sewing table.

About to do that, the store’s regular technician came in. He praised my machine, asked what was wrong, fiddled with it, then said it was the light switch. He asked how much money I had, and told me “How about a report on social media?” Then he said, “I have no switches for this, but I’ve learned to hot-wire it.” In a few minutes, he took the machine apart, did something I could not see, put it back together, and the lights went on!

I’ve never hugged a clerk and a technician before, or told them how I’d prayed on the way to the store, but this was such a blessing to me, and a total surprise that cost me only a few words.

Then I got another one this morning, well two of them. When my computer does the unexpected, I’m usually frustrated and even angry. Today, the wireless keyboard just quit. Batteries were okay, but it disconnected from bluetooth and would not reconnect. After more than an hour and using my i-pad to get help, it worked. A test? I often get them after a blessing. Then after this test of my patience, another blessing.

This year’s devotional book has often been frustrating because the author writes as if a Christian’s will is vital before God does anything, and while my decisions are vital and necessary, this writer thinks it is more up to me than up to God to change my life. Today, this reading blessed me so much. I am passing it on as an illustration of this favorite passage:

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. (Philippians 2:12–13)

The reading says…
   The Lord is leading me on, step by step. He has created in me a willingness and ability to consecrate myself to Him, to be His wholly and forever—to be His, not only in some of the special circumstances of my life or in some of the activities of my soul, but to be His myself—to abandon my whole self to Him, with all my powers and all my circumstances, to resign my whole will to Him without any possible reservation.
   He has now taught me that He himself has taken possession of me, and that He is having His own way in me, to make me just what He pleases. “This is His will, even my sanctification” ….therefore, if He has possession of me, it is impossible that He should leave me unsanctified for a single moment. It was only myself who hindered the work; and if I give myself up to Him, the work must be accomplished. I cannot but believe it. An actual transaction has taken place between God and my soul. I have abandoned myself to Him; so He has taken possession of me and—I must believe it—has sanctified me.
   A real work has taken place: on my part, consecration; on the Lord’s part, sanctification. For it is all His work from beginning to end! I say my part because the conscious asking of my soul was to give itself up; but it was God who did it in me. It is not a belief, but a reality in which I am rejoicing. I have abandoned myself to God, and He has taken possession of me. All the rest must follow. He cannot but do His will in me, which is my sanctification.
   Blessed Lord Jesus, what a perfect work was Yours! Oh, show me more and more of its completeness!

PRAY: Jesus, when reading an old book, it often seems written recently, as if this author is still around. Not so, but the ideas are contemporary and have been discouraging and sad. I know that You are the author and finisher of my salvation and to read this today seems an answer to prayer for all those who “Are you so foolish… that they think “Having begun in the Spirit, are now being made perfect by the flesh.” (Galatians 3:3) This thrills my heart once more because You are glorified again and rightly so!

Alive but dead?

Moving many times and living in various parts of North America makes Thanksgiving easier. While there is no perfect place nor any perfect churches, I’m so glad to be where I am and for the privilege of being part of a strong church.

Today’s devotional points me to God’s words to an ancient church, one that was not doing very well. It had a good reputation, but something was seriously wrong . . .

“And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God. Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you. Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels.’” (Revelation 3:1–5)

How can a church that seems good be called ‘dead’? James explains that for faith to be alive and well, it must be producing works or activities or ministry that comes from the grace and power of the Holy Spirit. He said, “For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.” (James 2:26)

That is, a body of believers can claim faith but their lives do not show it. Their ‘faith’ might not be real in that the Lord Jesus Christ has not given them His renewing life. Their ‘faith’ might be immature in that they believe the Gospel but have not made its truths part of their lives. Whatever the reason, this church was not demonstrating faith by works done in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Works do not save, but they are evidence that salvation has occurred. If a person or a church is not keeping short accounts with God concerning their sin, is relying on their own abilities to ‘serve’ God and has not understood or determined to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit, then whatever they do is incomplete in some way and failing to accomplish the will of God. The opposite was said of Paul and Barnabas when they sailed to Antioch “where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work that they had fulfilled.” (Acts 14:26)

I used to think about this problem of deadness in the church with the prideful attitude that I could fix it. I just needed to teach others what they were missing and the church would be alive and well. This is naïve and vain. The church is built and sustained by the Lord. I’ve no idea why all are not perfect churches.

I also have no idea why it is not true in my own life. I want to be a mature, alive, strong Christian who is filled with the Spirit and doing God’s will in effective and powerful ways. My desire does not make it happen. My desire does not help me understand why God is not making it happen. Church building and Christian building is His business and while perfection is His desire and He is all-powerful, I’ve no idea why there are churches and individual Christians that seem alive but are dead, who need to wake up and repent.

^^^^^^^^^^^

Jesus, even in this perplexity, You call me to trust You. I’m to walk by faith, not by what I see and not by what I think should be happening. You are the Sovereign God who is like the manager of a grand performance; You know what is happening on center stage, but You also know what is happening back behind the wings.

Jesus knows what He is doing

When Jesus came into my life, I’d not invited Him, at least not in words like the sinner’s prayer or anything audible. I was not reading the Bible at the time, although I’d developed a habit of doing that. In fact, I was reading a book about incarnation. In it was a Scripture verse (used out of context), and as I read that verse, Jesus simply appeared.

Today I read again the story of a man named Zacchaeus who was “seeking to see who Jesus was” and because he was short, he climbed a tree for a better view. He knew Jesus was going to pass that way.

“And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, ‘Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.’ So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all grumbled, ‘He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.’ And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, ‘Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.’” (Luke 19:5–10)

It seems that there is a span of time between when Jesus invited Himself to Zacchaeus’ home and when this man indicated his life had changed, but I understand why this is not mentioned. As one of my neighbors told me, salvation happens in a split second. When Jesus walks in, everything changes.

My neighbor, after saying how quickly it happens, added, “Then you will spend the rest of your life trying to figure out what happened!” This is true, not only for me but for others who believe.

As I read these daily devotions by a man named Donald Fortner, it has become clear that even the best of minds cannot figure it out. The Bible contains many statements about the process of salvation that seem to oppose each other and in our human weaknesses, the best we can do is accept that all are true. Even though this does make sense, we are convinced that God does not lie, and by faith we know we can believe things like God is sovereign, yet we are held accountable for our choices. He is in charge of my life and the source of all goodness, yet I am responsible to submit to Him.

The Second Coming is another debated issue. Even though Jesus said no one knows the day or the hour, this event is constantly under scrutiny. Many try to figure out and make predictions when He will show up. If no one knows, speculation seems a huge waste of time and energy.

Many theologians and average Bible readers will choose one side of these opposing issues and try to reason why the other side cannot be correct. Others decide not to do this or get into arguments about it. I’ve tried both reasoning and debating and realize their futility. God knows and that is enough.

Not only that, Zacchaeus has a lesson for me. He didn’t speculate why Jesus ‘must’ come to his house — he simply came down off his perch and ‘received Him joyfully’ — following through with repentance from his sin and obedience to the will of God. To me, this is what God wants from me. I don’t need to know why or how Jesus decided to call me from my perch. He just did — and I am glad.

^^^^^^^^

Jesus, You are my Savior and Lord of all. I don’t need to know what made You come to my living room that day more than forty-five years ago. I just know that You came and that I joyfully received You. The best part is that You have changed my life, are dealing with my sin — and given me the faith to believe that You know what You are doing!

Speak up or shut up?

Tuesday evening in a parking lot, a woman told me that her adult children were not interested in God or going to church. They wanted nothing to do with any sort of religion. This was causing her great heartache and suffering. She was tearful, but also convinced that it was time to shut up and let God do His work in their hearts.

I understand her feelings and her conclusion. If our family members are saying NO to God, then my arguments and preaching is more likely to harden heats than soften them. The Holy Spirit needs to do His work.

Some would disagree and say that you must keep telling them about Jesus and what He has done. They might tell this woman that she should be bold not fearful, and press on, urging them to repent. They might cite passages such as this one:

“For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me.” (2 Timothy 1:7–12)

Timothy was young and timid in his role as pastor. Paul told him that this fear was not from God. Rather, God gives His servants power, love, and self-control. Power is “the ability to influence reality in a supernatural manner.” From experience, Christians learn that we either have it or we don’t. God can use our words to change lives, but we cannot assume it, particularly when our hearts are determined to have our way. Usually this power shows up when we do not expect it, not when we desperately want it!

The word for love in this verse is “a strong, non-sexual affection and regard for a person and their good as understood by God’s moral character; especially characterized by a willing forfeiture of rights or privileges in another person’s behalf.” While that often describes the heart of a concerned mother, it also describes a willingness to give up our ‘right’ to pressure our kids into living the way we want them to live. Love is sacrificial, but not manipulative.

Self-control is a fruit of the Spirit, but the term in this verse is not the kind of control required to keep quiet when I want to talk. The word is about being given wisdom to know what God wants me to do. Self is always eager to do what I want to do, like persuade and convince someone to believe, but arguments and human logic are not the ways of God.

As the devotional reading for today says, salvation is of the Lord. Human merit has nothing to do with it, nor does human persuasion. If God chooses us in Christ, redeems us in Christ, regenerates us and calls us in Christ, He must also be the one who convinces us to follow His leading and yield to His grace. Humanly, our sinful nature will say NO to God because sin wants to go its own way, do its own thing. Unless God changes our hearts, we will not — and cannot — say YES to Him, no matter how much someone else may want us to.

^^^^^^^^

Jesus, the devotional also says there is no doctrine more practical than this. I whole-heartedly agree. Grace and the failure of human effort to save or change lives, including my own, strips away my pride. Yet grace gives me a solid place to stand. You accomplished my salvation. You granted me the faith to believe. I did not earn or deserve it and nothing I do will destroy it. Instead, I can exalt and honor You. You are my Savior, and because I can trust You with my eternal destiny, I can trust You with the eternal destiny of others. Unless You give me a clear assignment to do something, their lives are entirely in Your wise and loving hands.