When someone opposes my ideas or attacks me for no reason, my normal response is to defend myself or my position. But when I do that, I miss out on something very important; I miss seeing God at work on my behalf.
This is one reason why the Psalms are favorite reading. They are filled with declarations of how God comes to the aid of His people. For instance, when the Philistines captured David, he wrote about their mistreatment and his struggles. They twisted his words and stirred up strife, yet David said that whenever he was afraid, he trusted in God.
You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book? Then my enemies will turn back in the day when I call. This I know, that God is for me. (Psalm 56:8–9)
For him, the bottom line was that God was for him, not against him. This reality was secure for David, but many grapple with it. Does God really care? Has God forgotten me? Where is God when I need Him?
The struggle began in Eden. Before sin entered the human heart, God told Adam and Eve they could eat whatever they wanted except the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden. Satan, disguised as a talking snake, suggested to Eve that God really didn’t say that. He also insinuated that God didn’t want the best for her or He would not forbid this fruit.
This lie is the Liar’s best weapon: God does not want the best for you. He whispers it in the ear of anyone who is distressed, in trouble, feels guilty, or simply needs help. He uses it successfully in the lives of Christians and pagans, believers and atheists. He suggests that God does not care and because of our tendency to want to do our own thing anyway, we all fall for it.
Perhaps this is why the Bible repeats so often the fact that God is for us and that He loves us. His love is displayed over and over, culminating in the gift of Jesus Christ who came because “God so loved the world.” Jesus died because “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” and He rose from the dead because death could not hold this sinless lover for more than three days.
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died — more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 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 8:31–39)
When I feel unloved, and who doesn’t at times, I need to remember as David remembered and as Paul affirmed, that God loves me, is for me — and nothing can separate me from that love.
But, and this is an important caveat, if I decide that I need to defend myself, He will let me try that. However, in my self-reliance, I will fall short and worse, I will miss seeing how He will come to my aid and enable me to be “more than a conqueror.”
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Father God, there are days when it seems that no one cares about me or about anyone else. I need to remember Your love on those days, but even when others support and encourage me, Your love is my ultimate strong foundation. You keep me lifted up when I am down, and keep me in humble dependence when I am up. Thank You for the incredible reality that You are for me, now and always.
The Christian faith uses some long words. One of them is sanctification. While it sounds complex, the meaning is fairly simple. It means “set apart.” In most cases, this is about being set apart by God or for God, and to be used for His holy purposes.
The vessels in the Old Testament temple were sanctified. They were not allowed in common use. That place of worship was also sanctified or set apart in the hearts of the people. It was a place of worship, not a place to buy T-shirts or casually visit with friends.
In the New Testament, sanctification becomes personal. Instead of objects and places, we who believe in Him are set apart. For this, Jesus prayed toward the end of His life here:
They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I sanctify myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth. (John 17:16–19)
These verses indicate that truth is the sanctifying agent. That is, the more I am exposed to the Word of God, the more this “set apart” condition will happen to me. Of course, I’m not worried that Jesus’ prayer will be unanswered. The process of sanctification is already happening.
This long word is an important part of Christian living. While truth from the Word of God is used, all of God is involved in the process. The following verses show how sanctification is also about all of me, about all Christians everywhere, and about what it produces in each of us who are sanctified.
Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thessalonians 5:23)
To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 1:2–3)
(To those who are elect . . .) according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood: May grace and peace be multiplied to you. (1 Peter 1:2)
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Oh Lord God, how incredible is Your grace that desires to make me holy and blameless, totally devoted to You in my entire being. Thank You for including me in the vast number of those who call upon Your name. Thank You that this calling and sanctification produce obedience, but also grace and peace, even multiplied grace and peace in my heart. You made me a “lover of words” so that I enjoy word puzzles, word meanings, reading and study. Yet even more exciting is that this word makes me also a lover of God! Because of sanctification, I deeply enjoy You and the unveiling mystery of Who You are and what You are doing.
While that isn’t entirely all there is to being a parent, when I take an honest look at my life, I can see how God uses the joys and trials of raising kids to show me where I need to become more mature as a Christian.
The Bible is filled with admonition about how to raise children. It also gives some bad examples and a few good ones. However, God Himself is the best example of what parents need to be like as we wrestle with the task of teaching and caring for our families. He loves us with an everlasting love, a love that is unconditional and never quits. That is first and foremost, but a challenge when they make choices we do not agree with. Yet I need also to love my children as He loves His.
He cares for His family too. One verse says, “I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread” (Psalm 37:25). While it is important to teach them good stewardship and skills that enable them to eventually take care of themselves, parents should never neglect the physical needs of their children because God doesn’t.
God also teaches His children truths for life. He shows us how to live well, and how to be godly people. As we learn from Him, we are to pass this along to our children.
Give ear, O my people, to my teaching; incline your ears to the words of my mouth! I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings from of old, things that we have heard and known, that our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the LORD, and his might, and the wonders that he has done. (Psalm 78:1–4)
Yet as I read this, I must add that sometimes children grow up and as they begin living their own lives, their interest in spiritual things begins to fade. Instead of focusing on God and His wonders, they are busy with life and the cares of this world.
For parents who care about the eternal destiny of their children, this lack of interest is a concern. We want them to know “the glorious deeds of the Lord.” Their disinterest is also a trial for us. It does two things: it reveals character and then, if we cooperate, it can also build character.
To have unbelieving adult children brings out the measure of faith in a parent’s heart. We ask such questions as, “Is God able to bring them back?” Even if we believe that, we wonder if He will do it, and how long will it take, or what will He put them through before their hearts are changed?
In this we also learn to let go. We cannot order our children how to live once they are adults, but we also cannot tell God what to do when we pray for them. We have to let go of our manipulations and any desire to have our own way. We need to put them in God’s capable hands and leave them there. This is for all Christians with concerns for others, children or not, but God certainly can use children as character builders.
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Father, I’ve lots on my heart about this matter. You have taught me much about trusting You. I’m also glad that You are a model for parents, a perfect parent Yourself. While I cannot imitate Your skills, by grace I can display Your amazing patience and unconditional love to some degree. While I cannot mold or shape the lives of my kids now that they are grown, I’m thankful that nothing is impossible for You. I’m also thankful that I can talk to You about these things, even though most of the time it seems that it is me, not them, who needs to grow up!
(Clip art credit)
God spoke to me through a dream last night. This does not happen often, nor do I take it lightly.
In my dream, I was teaching a ladies Bible class, but the men in our church came in, which confused me because the Bible has something to say about women teaching men. As I fumbled with what to do, the men were trying to help the women be godly. Then I woke up with something so clearly in my mind that I grabbed a pen and paper. After reading it to my husband, he told me to give him a copy.
This dream reminded me that in the beginning, there was no sin. The man and women were united and in harmony in the garden of Eden. Then sin entered and with it the curse of conflict. God told the woman, “. . . Your desire shall be for (or against) your husband, and he shall rule over you” (Genesis 3:16). The words of this verse are translated the next chapter to show that it basically means that sin results in both wanting to be the boss, with the man taking an autocratic ruling position that she resists. In short, sin produces selfishness and a me-first attitude in both men and women.
Think how this plays out in much of the Old Testament. Unless the men obeyed God, women were treated like property. This is most seen in the pagan world, but it happened in the Jewish patriarchal system also. Sin makes people try to rule over one another. Both genders want their way.
New Testament tells how Jesus came to reverse the curse of sin. He died for it, taking our punishment, but also lived to show us a better way. To live that better way, we must yield our lives to Him and be filled with the Holy Spirit.
Ephesians 5 tells how this plays out in the marriage relationship. It tells us that we must, “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.” Then it says we should, “not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit. . . .”
Being filled with the Spirit manifests itself in several ways, including, “submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.” Our worshipful attitude toward Jesus combined with a Spirit-filled walk wipes out that conflict. Instead of trying to boss one another, we want to meet the needs of others. Again, this cannot be done apart from walking in the Spirit. The old nature wants only its own way.
In that regard, no person can be partly in the Spirit and partly in the flesh at any given moment. We tip over constantly and should be confessing our sins regularly. The best we can hope for is spiritual growth and being Spirit-filled more often than we are filled with our own I-wants. This includes that desire to be the boss in our marriages.
If the ideal of being Spirit-filled happens, then it shows up in many ways, including our marriage relationships. I have shortened and paraphrased from Ephesians 5:15-33 the following . . .
Husbands will love their wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. They will set them apart and desire them to be the best that they can be (without spot or wrinkle or any such thing so they are holy and without blemish), loving them as their own bodies . . . just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body.
In other words, the husband relates to his wife as Christ relates to His church, making the marriage relationship a picture or depiction of that larger relationship. “‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.” (Ephesians 5:31-32)
Jesus left heaven to unite Himself with us and care for us. The husband is to care for his wife like Christ cares for the church. This is the ideal. But what about the wife?
Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.
Women don’t like this S word, but we need to think of this in the big picture. When the church follows Christ as it should, that combo is an unstoppable force in the world. Lives are changed. Cultures, societies, even entire nations are transformed. This unit is incredibly powerful. However, just like the man, women also need to be filled with the Holy Spirit to do this. Otherwise, both of us want to lord it over the other and mess up what could be astonishing.
I’m thinking of the negatives now. What is the church like when its people think they are better leaders who know more than Jesus Christ knows? If it were not so serious, it would be laughable. Yet I, as a wife, have often thought that I know more about what to do than my husband. When this is my attitude, I am in the flesh, disobedient — and not filled with the Holy Spirit.
So what do we mere mortals do with failure on one side or the other? What if the wife will not cooperate with a husband’s leadership? For him, the question must be: How does the Lord Jesus Christ deal with a rebellious church? Patience? Love? Gentleness? Intercession? If an iron fist is on the list, is it a last resort? How can a husband still be like Jesus toward a resisting and bossy wife?
And what if the husband is not acting like Jesus Christ at all, but either passive and refusing to lead, or lording it over his wife in tyrannical fashion? Scripture says much about that scenario. I will try to put 1 Peter 2-3 in a nutshell: if he won’t lead or his leadership is dubious, she must determine to be like Jesus, no matter what her spouse does or does not do.
(Jesus) committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. (1 Peter 2:22–23)
If hubby tips over, I must remain upright, trusting God, and I know from experience that no woman can trust God like that unless she is filled with the Holy Spirit.
One woman told me, “I will follow him as soon as he starts acting like Jesus Christ.” Another says, “I will submit as long as I think he is right.” Both have an I-will-rule attitude.
One man said, “I will be passive and not pay any attention to her until she does what I want her to do.” Another says, “This woman will do what I say because I am the head of this home.” Both have an I-will-rule attitude.
We know that sin makes us want to rule over each other. But if we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we will be united to obey our Father and become a powerful instrument to change our world. Sadly, far too often our sinful attitudes make us powerless to obey God. We fail to be salt and light in our world, a world that needs salt and light. We also fail to remember that the battleground is out there, and should never be in our homes and marriages.
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Lord, this is so simple. Either the sinful nature rules, or You do. May You keep me alert to the times that I tip over and stop listening to You. Help me respect my husband — for from him I can learn more about what it means to follow You.
People ask why God created evil. He didn’t. Just as darkness is the absence of light, so evil is the absence of God. Take away His goodness and there is evil. The implication is that even though I’d like to coast along in my Christian life, I know that if stop doing good, there is no neutral.
Spurgeon discusses these opposites in today’s reading. He sees this contrast right from the beginning in creation where God said,
“Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. (Genesis 1:3–4)
Spurgeon brings out how this light/dark contrast affects people. Actually, every Christian knows them. We are well aware that if we had remained in our natural, fleshy state, we were subject to one extreme. It takes some time to realize it, but without the light of Jesus Christ, all is darkness.
Then, when Christ who is the Light of the world came into our lives, darkness had to leave, yet it does not go willingly. This becomes our major spiritual battle. Paul describes this conflict and struggle . . .
So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. (Romans 7:21–23)
For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. (Galatians 5:17)
The Lord divided the light from the darkness. Had He not done that, my darkness and sin would remain and I would be largely ignorant of it. Only light can expose what I need to see. Yet when the Lord sends Light, conflict begins. Darkness resists light, even though it cannot overcome it. The Bible is clear that this conflict will never stop until I am “altogether light in the Lord.”
This struggle happens in my inner person, but there is also a struggle against another kind of darkness. That is, as soon as Jesus gave me light about my sinful spiritual condition and His saving power, this light also came into conflict with all worldly thinking and choices. No longer can I smugly offer an outward form of worship, or do “good deeds” without faith and abiding in Jesus. Nothing short of full light, full intimacy and full direction from Him will illumine the darkness in me and around me. The more light He gives, the more that the activities of society appear frivolous and in the dark. As I follow that light, I also am in contrast to the world.
This light also changed my affections toward people. I am drawn to others who know the Light, who know Jesus. The Bible even says that this love for other Christians is evidence of passing from darkness and death to light and life. Spurgeon points to Jesus who went “without the camp, bearing his reproach” and reminds me that God also bids me to come away from ungodly things and darkness. Just as Jesus is holy, harmless, undefiled and separate from sinners, so am I to be a nonconformist to the world and shun sin.
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Lord, I cannot do this without You, not inwardly or outwardly. So many times I crash and burn, yet You promise to forgive and cleanse me. When life is confusing, You promise to shed light on my confusion. When darkness threatens the light that I have, You give greater light that I might overcome the darkness. You do this that I might be free from sin; You are my Savior. And in the saving, You make known that Your salvation is greater than anything that comes against it, even greater than the foolishness in my heart that persists in resisting You. Thank You for being my Light and my salvation, the only One who can deliver me from sin and lead me to victory.
This week, I’ve been praying about a few of those to-do items. Some might say not to bother God with such details, yet how else can I know what to do? My emotions go up and down — meaning some days I want to toss everything, and some days I’m glad to keep it all.
Besides that, who knows what the future holds? Because I cannot see that far, my intellect cannot make reliable decisions either. I’ve file folders of good information. Will it need it? Or toss the paper and find it on the Internet? Will I need any of those books for teaching a future class? Or can someone else make better use of them? In God’s plan, who should possess these possessions? Me or someone who needs them more than I?
My prayer isn’t exactly like this one, but this is a good model to follow:
Make me to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long. (Psalm 25:4–5)
As I pray, I ask God to draw my interest to those pursuits that will be of value in my spiritual life and that will benefit others. I’m starting to notice that some things I once thought were important no longer hold any appeal. Is this God’s way of helping me cross those things off my list?
I’m aware that feelings are not as reliable as a “note on the night table” — for obvious reasons. For two weeks, God has been nudging me to invite a woman to join me in a Bible study. I knew this was from Him, but felt a bit cowardly to actually ask her. Now that I did ask, I realize that had I gone by those feelings, I’d have disobeyed God.
Yet God does not leave notes on the night table either. As His child, I need to know the difference between the prompting of the Holy Spirit and the desires of my own heart. Two verses give me some help and assurance.
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. (John 10:27)
Because I belong to Jesus, I am able to recognize His voice and follow Him. “I just know” is seldom a good answer by itself though. The Deceiver, Satan, tries to imitate the Holy Spirit as much as possible, only he lies. I need another reality as is described in this verse:
For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)
The Bible reveals my motives and helps me know what is from God and what is not. As the Lord teaches me and leads me, I can compare what I am discerning as a nudge from the Holy Spirit with the black and white truth from His Word. That means reading the Bible and knowing what it says. It also means waiting on Him all day long, as the psalmist says. If I am tuned in, the Lord will show me what to do with that to-do list.
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As my loving heavenly Father, You do not put a blindfold on me and let me stumble through life trying to find Your will in a hit or miss fashion. Instead, You want me to know Your ways, but You also want me to want that for myself. Instead of dumping commands on me, You look at the desires of my heart before You reveal to me the desires of Your heart.
You also teach me that sometimes I cannot understand what to give up or give away until I am willing to do either, or even keep something when it makes no sense to do so. However, You have shown me that if I am willing to be led, You will lead and teach me. This is not only for the big decisions of life, but also all those small ones that tend to get on my list and then make me wonder if they should be there.
Every now and then certain temptations roar at me. Escape seems impossible, even though God promises escape. Today’s struggle came like a roaring lion and in myself, I have no power to resist. In confusion and desperation, I reach for my armor. My defense is the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. I know that a fitting word from the Lord Jesus tames all lions. Today is no exception.
Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. (Matthew 7:13–14)
Oswald Chambers says it well. “If we are going to live as disciples of Jesus, we have to remember that all noble things are difficult.” I’ve known that. Rarely do good things happen easily. From raising children to painting a masterpiece, the best requires great effort. So it is with resisting sin.
As Chambers also says, the Christian life is gloriously difficult, but the difficulty of it is not intended to make me cave in and give up but rise up and overcome. I appreciate the salvation of Jesus Christ and the grace of God. “I can do all things through Him who gives me strength.”
Salvation is free. Then God works in me “to will and to do His good pleasure” . . . yet I must “work out” that salvation in practical living. He tells me how to live and I must obey what He tells me. As I do, my spiritual muscles become stronger. Those things that I caved in on early in my walk with Jesus are no longer the same threat.
Except today. To overcome this roaring lion, God reminds me that the practice of obedience will give me victory. Winning this battle depends on remembering those lessons of the past. I know the results of giving in to that “roaring lion” who wants to devour me. I also know the blessing of resisting Satan’s lies. I cannot do it alone, but if I “yield to God” then I can “resist Satan.”
The yielding comes first. Sometimes it means simply saying no to whatever is tempting me. Sometimes it means running to God “for grace to help in time of need.” Today I ran, and today He reminds me that all noble things are difficult. That is a fancy way of saying, “Get your act together. Did you think this would be easy?”
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God, I thank You that you do give me difficult things to do and difficult challenges to my obedience. Your salvation is a joyful blessing, but as Chambers says, it is also a heroic and holy thing. You test me for all I am worth. Jesus is bringing many “sons into glory,” and You will not shield me from the requirements of being like Jesus. Your grace intends to give me a strong family likeness to Jesus Christ, not let me remain a selfish sissy. You have shown me that I need a tremendous amount of discipline to live a noble life, even within the walls of my own home. Thank You.
