This new life

Yesterday was filled with both encouragement and challenges. We heard the testimony of a man who was severely burned as a child. He shared how he overcame a deeply scarred sense of worth through faith in a God who unconditionally loves him. He challenged us to examine those things that keep us from knowing the love of God, the inner attitudes about ourselves that keep us from becoming all that God desires us to be. 

He also shared his escape from the way he had shut down to protect his emotions. He found freedom does not happen by bravado or bluffing but by allowing himself to be vulnerable. In that brokenness, he discovered the depths of God’s love and a new acceptance of himself. He married, has a family, and has also been blessed with a doctorate and a stellar career. 

His childhood horror led to new laws concerning fire retardant in tents, a ban on firecrackers, the development of a burn unit in a major hospital, and the salvation of his mother and himself. It also took the life of his sister and her friend, and nearly that of his little brother, yet he never said a word about whoever caused this event, only the good that God brought out of it. His attitude of acceptance and forgiveness was also a challenge to our self-protective tendency to fight or hold bitterness in the negatives of life.

Later in the day, I was challenged by an author. His book is about God’s greatness, but one chapter strikes hard at the apathy of those Christians who have all their worldly wants and wishes. I felt accused. At first, I raised my defenses at what seemed an unfair judgment of motivations. Why not show his readers how to be faithful to God, no matter their life situation or the length of their list of assets? 

Apathy toward God is sin, but the Bible does not condemn abundance. Jesus even promised His followers an abundant life. The problems come when we are not content with what He gives us and are constantly seek bigger, better and more of what the world has to offer, ignoring or forgetting God. 

As I thought about these things, I was again challenged about the way I think. Just as I’m to have a biblical self-view (regardless of my scars), I’m also to have a biblical view about the stuff in my life. The book basically said God will not bless anyone who has assets, but I don’t agree. The Bible says He is more concerned about how I use my assets and that I have a godly attitude toward them. Christians are not to think about life like everyone else, nor be involved in life the same way.

Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.” Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God. (2 Corinthians 6:14–7:1)

Unbelievers are often focused on bigger, better, more — and doing whatever they can to get ahead. Some will break the law, if not the law of the land, then the laws of God. The Word of God challenges me to walk away from any union with sinful and self-centered thinking. I’m not to be like those who do not know Christ or have the power of the Holy Spirit in their lives. 

Jesus lives in me. The Bible says that I am the temple of the living God. If I think or act as if He does not defiles His temple and the holiness He bestows on all who believe in Jesus. 

God also made me His child. To carry on as if nothing happened in my life would be a denial of all that God has done and is doing. Instead, I am to avoid thinking and acting like I once did, and have nothing to do with that darkness. What I did in unbelief is outside of my new life in Jesus Christ and should be kept there. 

This brings yesterday’s challenges together. Living as a Christian involves thinking about myself as God thinks about me. Yes, I am a sinner and marred, but I’ve also been saved by grace through faith. God has blessed me even though I’ve done nothing to earn or deserve it. When I slip, His mercy, grace and the blood of Christ cover my sin. When holiness shines in my life, it is because He lives in me. This good life is all about Jesus, not about assets and certainly not about bigger, better and more. 

Of course, Jesus shines through more clearly when I keep away from any defilement that would hide or prevent that. But sin isn’t just about possessions or poverty even though both can be fraught with temptation to forget God.

Actually, my challenges are seldom about externals and more about the selfishness of my heart. In any or every situation, the world, the flesh, and the devil appeal to that old sinful nature to do the opposite of what God says and commands. But God invites me and enables me to stay close to Him rather than be lost in apathy and live my life as if I did not know Him.

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)

People never change?

Jacob and his brother had a serious falling out, so serious that Esau was determined to kill Jacob and Jacob knew it. After years of separation, they were about to meet again…

And Jacob lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, Esau was coming, and four hundred men with him. So he divided the children among Leah and Rachel and the two female servants. And he put the servants with their children in front, then Leah with her children, and Rachel and Joseph last of all. He himself went on before them, bowing himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother. (Genesis 33:1–3)

Today’s devotional focuses on the first sentence in this passage and tells me not to go looking for trouble. If I do that, I’m apt to find it. Instead, I should look higher — to God who helps me in all my troubles. While this is always a good idea, the devotional author takes this line out of context and fails to mention what happened next.

But Esau ran to meet him and embraced him and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept. (Genesis 33:4)

After this tearful reunion and after Jacob introduced his family to his brother, they parted again, but Jacob had experienced the power of God to change lives, not just his own but the attitude of his brother.

I must admit that I get miffed when Christians say, “People never change.” Duh. The Bible is filled with stories of transformations. God is in the business of making all things new as He regenerates sinners and sanctifies those He loves.

One more example of this is the prodigal son that Jesus described. He took his inheritance, left home and fell into a degenerate life. Then “he came to himself” and started talking to himself, “How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger!”

And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ (Luke 15:20–21)

The young man changed. So do all who decide they are sick of their sin and respond to the salvation call to follow Jesus Christ. How can anyone say that people do not change?

Granted, Jacob was a little slower than most. He was a stubborn, self-sufficient person (whom I can relate to) but God had God made him this promise…

Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed. Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you. (Genesis 28:14–15)

Even with that promise, when Jacob looked up and saw Esau coming he prepared for the worst. It almost seems like he did not connect the promise with real life. He had to see the change in Esau, but even then he may not have interpreted the promise God keeping him from harm from his brother.

Maybe that is the problem with others who think people never change. They forget the promises of God. But before I go on a rant about their failure to believe, I must admit that I am also guilty. I have several people on my prayer list that seem unchanged. Their failure to be different makes me doubt that God is hearing my prayers. Duh.

Perhaps the problem is where I am looking. In my pride and self-centeredness, I (and others) tend to put eyes on that “old self with its practices” instead of remembering God’s promises. We could notice and be thankful for evidence of Him at work instead of seeing the same old, same old. 

Besides that, if it takes me forty years to learn just a few lessons, how can I expect instant transformations? While these do happen (not everyone is as slow and stubborn as I am), all of us need a lifetime to learn how to put on “that new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.” (Colossians 3:9–10) 

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Lord, Your promises to hear and answer prayer have not changed. Why should I give up on those I pray for and whose lives yet show no evidence of change? Why should I be like Jacob who met Esau filled with fear instead of the confidence that comes from believing what You promised? Why cannot I be more like the father who watched and waited for his son to change and come home? Lord, sometimes I believe. Forgive my unbelief.

Do my part…

Imagine an army with more generals than foot soldiers, or a battleship with more admirals than sailors. Imagine a nation with more presidents than voters, or a business with more CEOs than “human resources.” Wars may not be won. The ship will be stuck in the harbor. Industry might grind to a halt. 

Leaders are important, but the rank and file gets the bathrooms cleaned and the trash taken out. Without ordinary people doing ordinary jobs, nothing much happens. True, some leaders know how to sweep the floor and type a letter, yet as soon as they do tasks like that, some think they have stepped from the leader role, even though those willing to do so are often said to be humble people.

Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. (1 Peter 5:5–7)

Last Sunday, our pastor challenged us with another man’s sermon. He played a video from this year’s Global Leadership Summit. The speaker challenged the rank and file to become more deeply involved with Christ’s work of building His church. He asked us to offer ourselves and all that we have to that great endeavor because the church is God’s evidence on earth of His grace and mercy.

We were given a prayer sheet as a sample. As I hold it in front of me and daily offer myself in whatever role God has for me, I realize the vital importance of ordinary people in the work of God. We do have many incredible leaders. Our own pastor is a godly, prayerful man who cares greatly for his church and community. He has a passion for people and it shows in all that he does. What if every rank and file were like that? 

What if the foot soldiers in the army of God did all that their leaders commanded? What if the spiritual battles that threaten the church were fought by every person on board? What if all citizens of the kingdom of God put the business of the kingdom before every other endeavor and interest in their lives? What if each person in the church got behind their CEOs (instead of criticizing them)?

My role might be cleaning toilets and taking out the trash, but if I function as God intends, I will do those jobs joyfully and with my very best effort. Humility isn’t just for those in prominent roles; it if for the rest of us who too often want to start at the top in whatever place we are put. 

Humility is about obedience and serving others, but it is also about leaving my worries at the feet of God. He cares about my reputation and status more than I do. He wants me to use all my skills to the very best of my ability but He also wants me to put His kingdom and His righteousness first. Humility is not about demeaning myself or putting myself down; it is about putting others above me. Humility considers the needs of others and does not think about itself at all. As Peter says, the way to be humble is to put all my concerns about “self” into the mighty hands of God — because He cares for me.

I can imagine the church where leaders and workers join arm in arm to build the kingdom of God. I can see all of us putting ourselves at the disposal of Jesus Christ whose plan it is to build His church, a church that the gates of hell cannot overcome. Now the task is doing my part to make that vision a reality.

Increasing Joy

When I discovered the “wildlife preserve” within a few hundred yards of our new home, I was excited to explore the trail that winds around and through it. As I started to walk, I was smiling. My delight increased as I went on. By the time I was back at the beginning, I didn’t want to go home. 

Today’s devotional verse describes the same increasing of pleasure as I walk with Jesus, only instead of enjoying trees and singing birds, my source of joy is the One who created these things!

You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. (Psalm 16:11)

Those on the path of life (meaning eternal life) live in the presence of a joy-giving God. While I am responsible to stay on that path, God promises increasing and deeper joy as I go on my journey. As John Piper says in his book, The Pleasures of God, God is a happy God. Simply being around happy people is contagious; imagine being around this happy God, walking through life at His side, feeling His joy and experiencing His peace, even His laughter!

The path covers all of life’s experiences. Some of them are pleasant; some of them are difficult. Yet in all, God is with me and remains joy-giving, no matter what I experience. He knows the end of the trail and when I reach it, I will not want to go back. He knows what delights lie ahead and I can sense His anticipation, His eagerness to give me all that He has for me.

Someday my joy will be complete, without any sorrow or pain to threaten or suppress it. For now, I look forward to this greater joy when “that higher world shall be reached, and the shadows of time have passed away forever” because then I will be standing at His right hand, fully in His presence — where there are pleasures forevermore.

Alone with Jesus

Those who have ADD struggle with distractions. Even when I sit for dinner or watch a show on television, my mind is thinking of other things to do. When I eat, I want to read a book. When I watch TV, I often do crossword puzzles, hand sewing, or even read at the same time. 

This penchant to be easily distracted becomes a bigger problem when I pray. I’ve found that praying aloud is helpful. So is walking while I pray, but I have to be careful where I walk. If it is in my home or on my treadmill, distractions are all around me. If I walk outside, praying aloud could be misinterpreted by others on the walking trail, never mind the distractions of traffic and scenery.

Yet there is nothing like focused prayer, prayer that puts me face to face with Jesus. Sometimes I imagine myself entering a room where God sits behind a desk like a CEO and I am reporting in. Sometimes I put myself on a park bench with Him beside me. If I’m on the treadmill, I close my eyes. All of these things help keep distractions from pulling at my attention.

John’s gospel relates a time when the religious people of Jesus’ day brought a woman to him. They accused her of being caught “in the act of adultery” and said that the law demanded she be stoned to death. Their question for Jesus was a trick. Would He show compassion on this woman and break the law, or would He agree that she should die? Either way, their intent was to ruin His credibility. At first, Jesus didn’t say anything. Instead, He stooped and wrote on the ground with His finger.

And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. (John 8:7–9)

Finally, this woman was in that special place that only sinners know; she was alone with Jesus. Her accusers left. The man who was with her in her sin was not there. Those who wanted Jesus to look bad were gone. She was with the only One who could do anything about her situation. 

I’m imagining how she felt. Her sin was fresh in her mind. What would Jesus do about it? Her shame was no doubt devastating, yet He had already rescued her from those who heaped scorn on her. What would He do next? I can imagine her head bowed in humility. There was no boldness in her eyes. She may have felt a glimmer of hope, but at this point was extremely uncertain. Finally, Jesus stood up and said to her,

“Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.” (John 8:10–11)

This is what it is like to be alone with Jesus. Jesus deals with my accusers, most often led by the devil who is the “accuser of the brethren” and who wants me distracted by guilt, either real or false. Alone with Jesus, all reminders of my sin are out of sight. They have been forgiven by this One who refuses to condemn me, who instead died for those sins, taking my punishment and condemnation on Himself. 

Being alone with Jesus means opportunity to hear Him give me direct orders too. He buffets His high standards with the “no condemnation” but sticks to what He wants from my life --- that I should sin no more.

Those who cannot or will not fight all distractions so they can be alone with Jesus are likely just as fearful as this woman must have been. However, in that short space of time alone with Him, she discovered the wonder of His grace in the only place it can be found.