“Before” and “After”

When Paul was converted from ‘Saul the persecutor’ to ‘Paul the Christian’ and later an apostle, he came to Jerusalem and attempted to join the disciples. But they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple. (Acts 9:26)

That would be about the same response the church would have if someone like Hitler declared he had converted to Christianity. Not one would believe him. He would need to demonstrate a changed life for a long time. Maybe this is why Paul later wrote these words to the Christians in Ephesus . . .

“I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift.” (Ephesians 4:1–7)

There are people who claim they are converted to faith in Christ, but they have not actually done so. They were once proud, harsh, impatient, unloving and divisive — and nothing has changed. This does not mean that new Christians are instantly godly people, but there will be a change that increases as time goes by. If change does not happen, others are wise in questioning the reality of their faith.

Faith can be misunderstood. Some think it merely means believing in God. However, James 2:19 says that even demons believe. This is not saving faith.

Others trust God in a temporary way. A problem comes up or their lives are threatened, so they turn to God in desperate prayer. Those prayers may receive answers, but because their faith concerned a temporary situation, as soon as the situation is not longer a threat, that faith also disappears. It is not saving faith either.

Another version of faith shows up when people say, “Sure, I believe in Jesus, that He lived and died and rose from the dead,” but their faith is at arm’s length. These things happened, but not for them or their sin. This is an impersonal faith, based on facts but not on the love and mercy of God behind those facts, nor on the need for them because of personal sin and guilt.

Others put faith in their church attendance, their donations to the church, that they were baptized, and many other things, but the faith that saves is more about the Object of what is believed than it is about the declaration.

Faith is also life-changing. Paul was feared because he had persecuted Christians, but as soon as they realized he no longer hated them but loved them, he was welcomed into their fellowship. He became a great leader and man of God. In other words, faith comes with a ‘before and after’ picture that verifies that it really does exist because it is placed in the only One who can transform lives.

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Jesus, You died and rose from the dead so that my sin could be atoned for, and so I could put my faith in You and be transformed from a life of going my own way to a life of following You. While I often stumble and fall backwards, You patiently bear with me, showering grace and blessing as gifts of Your great love. Thank you for granting me faith to believe and for blessing me with a new life that demonstrates the reality and power what it means to believe in You.

Family

Not only did our daughter surprise me by flying up here for my birthday, our two sons came also. We had a grand time with lots of laughter, sharing and thanksgiving. They pooled their resources and bought me a significant gift. I feel as if dropped into another world. Nice.

Another surprise is today’s devotional. It is about ministering to your children and starts off with a verse about the father of faith, Abraham . . .

“For I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring to Abraham what he has promised him.” (Genesis 18:19)

I did not become a Christian as a child nor was my father a man of faith until he was very old. Teaching my kids about the Lord was spotty and I’ve regrets that I didn’t know what to do or how to do it. These verses, again from today’s devotional reading, are a comfort to me . . .

“Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep. Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.” (Psalm 127:1–5)

This weekend, I feel rewarded. Our kids do not often talk about God so we are not total assured of where they stand, but these verses make it clear that God is in charge and that parents often err in trying to push their children into a profession of faith before their hearts are renewed by the grace of God.

Jesus Christ is the Savior and calls people to Himself when He will. I cannot, not can I decide the proper time for that. I have known for years that it is far better to wait on God to do His work of grace than insist it should happen when I want it to happen.

My family and others that I pray for know the gospel. My role is to pray for them and seek God’s grace for them. Of course I am to be an example of faith and how to live by faith, but also to be transparent. No one can see Jesus through a hypocrite or in someone that puts on a façade of spirituality. I must be real.

Jesus, we wait on You to build into the lives of those we love the most and those we pray for every day. We know that You are in charge of them and of us and we can count on Your will to be done — in Your time and in the ways that You alone know are best. Thank You for the love and laughter we enjoy as a family and for Your goodness in our lives. We bless You from the bottom of our hearts.

The Greatest Gift

Today’s devotional is about God’s greatest gift. This topic suits my mood for today is my birthday. Not only is this one a significant milestone, but I’ve already received a significant gift from my family. Last night, my husband went out to a Bible study. About an hour later, the doorbell rang. I was thinking it would be one of our neighbors coming to talk to Bob, but when I opened the door, there was my hubby with my gift — our daughter flew up from Texas and was standing there smiling a most wonderful “Happy Birthday.”

It was one of those laugh/cry moments that comes from an unexpected joy. Her birthday is three days from now and we have always celebrated together, but this year it seemed certain that would not happen. I spent the rest of the evening hugging and pinching her to make sure she is really here.

God’s gift is incredibly amazing, even topping this one and all others. It comes from Jesus who says, “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.” (John 10:28)

Eternal life is the gift of God by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. It is free, as all gifts are.

Before He gave it to me, I had no idea that such a gift was available, even though I wondered what would happen to me after death. When He surprised me with this gift, He began the process of enlightening my heart so I would know “what is the hope to which he has called (me), what are the riches of His glorious inheritance in (me), and what is the immeasurable greatness of His power toward all those who believe according to the working of his great might.” (Ephesians 1:18-19)

This is the same power that God worked in Christ when He raised him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand, a place that I share with Him positionally now and experientially after death.

With all gifts, I did not earn it, deserve it, work for it or even expect it. Besides that, there is nothing in my heart or behavior which can cause God to take away the gift of eternal life (Isaiah 54:10). Because of His nature, God cannot reverse or grab back this gift that was so freely bestowed . . . “For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.” (Romans 11:29)

Our daughter will return to her home on Sunday, but the gift of eternal life must, of necessity, be eternal. I’m flying high today but by Monday, I might want to sleep all week! Yet God’s gift will not come to an end. I cannot lose it and perish.

Jesus, my life is eternal, because it is life in union with You. I cannot possibly perish unless You also perish, and your life is indestructible, a life that has already conquered death. Birthdays come and go, but because of You, I am eternally secure.

Pleasing God

The question today is, “How can I please God?” If I could ask a dozen people, I might get a dozen answers.

Some would say God is pleased when people live an upright, moral life. However, God says we all fall short. Trying to please anyone whose standards are so high that no one can reach them is a futile and frustrating task. God has high standards, but He knew we would never reach them. His plan was not to drive me toward perfectionism, but to show me that I cannot get there.

“Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law. But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.” (Galatians 3:21–22)

Trying to please God by obeying His law misses the point of the law.

Others might say God is pleased when I separate myself from this sinful world, but Paul said to do that, I would have to leave this world! (1 Corinthians 5:9-10). There is a sense that I’m not to associate with sinners or participate in what they are doing, but anyone can do that — without dealing with their own sin. Sin comes from the heart, not from hanging around sinful people. When questioned about eating certain foods, Jesus said . . .

"It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person . . . . what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person . . . .” (Matthew 15:11–20)

Pleasing God is far less complicated than trying to remember and keep a mass of rules or trying to avoid all things sinful. The Bible says the place to start is simply believing Him . . .

“And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6)

But is that simple? I can easily believe that Jesus died to save me from my sin, but does that belief have any effect on how I live? The tests of faith are outlined in 1 John and all of them relate to practice more than proclamation . . .

“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. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin.” (1 John 3:1–5)

Faith believes that God is in the process of transforming my life AND because I believe Him, I desire to cooperate with what He is doing. To fight the transformation process is a declaration that denies faith and does not please God.

Faith believes that God loves me and therefore I must return that love and demonstrate it by my actions toward others . . .

“By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth . . . . And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us. (1 John 3:16–24)

People of faith love God and show it by loving people. Faith and love go together; as do love and action. No one is pleased with a declaration of love that does absolutely nothing to show it. God is pleased by faith that is visible. As someone once said, “Share the Gospel (the message of faith) with everyone, and when necessary use words.”

Lord Jesus, You ask me to trust You with all of life, and as Scripture says, this is the way to please You. I’m still learning, yet how pleased I would be if I put a smile on Your face today.

God’s love is different than mine

God tells me to love Him and love others, yet love can be difficult to define. A liberal might think it means to tolerate, even encourage others to do their own thing. Ultra-conservatives would call that antinomianism, the idea that grace frees people from moral laws. They might swing to other way to a legalistic view that loving God means obeying every command to the letter of the law.

The answer is not somewhere in the middle. Love is defined in the gospel, not the law. The law shows me my sin by pointing to a perfect righteousness that I cannot perform. Instead, Jesus Christ lived a sinless life which God imputed to me in redemption. That means that in Christ, God made me perfectly righteous. He applied the blood of Christ to my heart and set me completely free from the law.

To do that, He died for me. My death could not satisfy the infinite justice of law without being an eternal death under God’s wrath against sin, but Christ died as my Substitute and satisfied the justice of God. As far as God’s law is concerned, I am dead and it has no claim upon me. I died in Christ and now live under no condemnation.

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit” (Romans 8:1–4) “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.” (Romans 10:4)

As today’s devotional reading says, it is as foolish to try to obey the law for myself as it would be for me to try to atone for my own sins.

God still tells me to love Him and love others. However, it is folly to try to love others apart from the Spirit of God and the life of Jesus Christ that is in me. He is the One who loves God perfectly and loves others perfectly. I cannot do it apart from Him.

However, I can see how to love by looking at Jesus Christ. He is my example. One way, and there are many, is like this . . .

. . . Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him . . . . When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you . . . . If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.” (John 13:1–17)

Jesus then said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35)

This love is not just a feeling toward others, nor is it merely the action of doing good to them. It is an issue from the heart of Jesus Christ, a love that is beyond how I feel or what I can do. It willingly serves the needs of even enemies (Judas was there), not to impress or to manipulate, but because love lives in me and if I am to be like Jesus, I must release it in whatever expression God puts on my heart.

Jesus, these days some think love is a do-good, feel-good emotion, but Your love goes far beyond that. It led You to a bloody and horrifying death because You put the needs of others above Your very life. Because of You, I understand much more about love and the power of love. Loving others is more than courtesy, more than hugs or generosity or any sentiment; love is yielding my entire being to You so that You can express Your love for humanity through me. Love is being Your servant who will say, “Not my will but thine be done” and then follow through with action.