Willing?

 

READ John 5-8

How can anyone sum up who Jesus is and what He has done? He is incredible. I dazzled by Him and zeroing in on one truth is near impossible.

I noted today how He repeats the Gospel at every opportunity, telling people how to have eternal life. When His listeners go back to the human standard of earning it by doing good works, Jesus says: “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” (John 6:29) How can it be that simple? They want more and ask, “Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ ” (John 6:30–31)

And Jesus replies, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

They wanted that bread, but He directed them back to faith in Him and added their helplessness. They could not come to Him without divine help: “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.” (John 6:32–37)

He also told them: “For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” (John 6:38–40)

He was not telling them to keep the Law, nor to follow the rules of their religion. He was not telling them to merely trust Him but that they needed the Father to make faith happen.

In other words, their salvation and eternal life was of God, not their own doing. The rest of the NT repeats this clearly:

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Ephesians 2:8–9)

No one wants to be told they are unable to do something. A child wants to try, and when they spill the batter, or miss the nail, some have a tantrum rather than hand the task to a parent. Such is the heart of sinners; “I will do this myself.”

Jesus’ words and life fly in the face of that determination. The proud Pharisees and other religious leaders hated Him because of it and because of His identity claims. The crowds loved His ability to feed them, but when He told them they must feed ON Him and live like He did, doing all that the Father asked, they turned away.

As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever”  . . . . When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?”  . . . . 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 6:57–66)

Jesus totally relied on His Father. “I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me.” (John 5:30) He wanted us to do the same.

“My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me. If anyone’s will is to do God’s will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority. The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood.” (John 7:16–18)

I hear this: totally rely on Jesus for every thought, word, action. Seek His will in all plans and decisions. Do not act without His direction or His Spirit giving me the ability. No wonder His hearers found this more than they could handle. Yet as Jesus said, if anyone is willing . . .

Dear Father, only You can grant faith and make me more like Jesus. You are faithful and will do it. With profound gratitude and assurance, I pray in Jesus’ holy name. Amen.

 

Unable to do it myself!

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is so contrary to human thinking that even after a person believes in Him and experiences salvation by faith, much of life is spent fighting that inclination to try and do it ourselves!

This is better understood alongside of the biblical definition of sin. It is found in several places. I’m thinking of two; one from the Old Testament and one from the New:

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

But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin. (Romans 14:23)

Sin is doing things my way rather than trusting God’s way. It is ignoring God, leaving Him out. We use the word “secular” without thinking of the implications. It means “no religious or spiritual basis” and “without God”. Even Christians sometimes describe their job as secular work or their hobbies as secular. To leave God out and do anything my way is “not of faith” and therefore sin. This is a can be a rude awakening for anyone who tends toward independent self-sufficiency.

The Christians at Galatia are a biblical example. They started well. They believed that Jesus died for their sin, was buried and rose from the dead; that He forgave their sin and gave them new life. They received the Holy Spirit and began living by faith. However, false teaching appealed to sinful pride and they began trying to live the Christian life without relying on Jesus Christ for every bit of it!

O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith— just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”? Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. (Galatians 3:1–9)

I’ve not done an historical study of this church or what happened after Paul presented the truth to them this way. However, I know how it affects me. I remember battling my old habit of yelling at my children when they misbehaved. It didn’t work and I tried to stop. My efforts were useless, but God taught me to trust Him with that issue and one day I noticed that I was not doing that any longer.

I remember having our phone for our home, my husband’s business, and the forward for our church while we were without a pastor. I never knew who would be calling for what, and God taught me to pray for wisdom as I picked it up. Some lessons are learned through repetition, others through great trials.

Other things come to mind, too many to list here yet all of them so unnecessary if I had not had such an independent “I can do it myself” attitude. Others might more easily say “I cannot” and trust God for their needs, but not me. My learning curve is often very steep.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Lord Jesus, You have been so patient with me and taught me so many valuable lessons about trust. You forgive my sin and let me see the blessings of putting my faith in You, salvation being the first and most important, but also trusting You when I sit, stand, walk and live this life. Today, may I trust You for all things, particularly as we interact with those who grieve as we attend a funeral for my cousin’s husband.

Today’s thankful list . . .

God’s amazing patience, but also His persistence!

A safe journey to the funeral.

Safety on the road in the six-hour drive home, two of it through incredible scenery and four of it through intense thunderstorms.

Hazard lights when visibility is almost nil.

Hearing God speak in unexpected places.

Hugs and smiles.

Fast food when needed.

Caramel pecan ice cream

A warm home, a full frig and a comfortable bed.