Living life for the "One"

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Luke 7:11-23 

TO CHEW ON: "Jesus answered and said to them, 'Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard: that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them.'" - Luke 7:22

John the Baptist had a lot of time to think in Herod's prison. He probably pondered questions like, if I was doing what God wanted me to do, why am I here? Did I spend my life on the right things? Did I recognize the right person when I pronounced Jesus someone special (Matthew 3:13-14)? Is He who I thought He was?

When John's disciples asked Jesus John's question ("Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?"), Jesus' answer was indirect, as His answers often were: "Go and tell John the things you have seen…" Then He listed the miraculous works He was doing and how the gospel was being preached to the poor.

What was Jesus' message in this?

Surely it was to remind John that God's supernatural favour was on His life. In addition, Jesus' words would remind John, who was no doubt familiar with the prophets, of Old Testament passages that predicted a time God would rescue His people along the exact lines of what Jesus was dong:

"Behold your God … will come and save you!
Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened.
And the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.
Then the lame shall leap like a deer,
And the tongue of the dumb sing" - Isaiah 35:4-6 (See also Isaiah 29:18-19 and Isaiah 61:1).

He was saying, in effect, put the two together—my works and these prophecies. Doesn't it appear that I am that Saviour, that One?

Perhaps John wondered, will He come and save me too? We know that Jesus never did. Instead John was murdered by Herod who, along with his lover Herodias, hated him for his condemnation of their affair (Matthew 14:1-12).

John's story reminds me that God's ways and plans are bigger than any one person. John had his key role to play in God's plan. Though his life was short, in his 30-some years he burned out for God. Though his death was brutal, that wasn't the end for him; he had an eternity ahead.

Similarly our time on earth is brief. Let's use it bearing witness, with our lives and words, to the One who brings health, liberty, and joy, and whose Kingdom is eternal.

PRAYER: Dear God, help me to be content to play my little part in the big story of Your Kingdom. Amen.

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The Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. - Used with permission.

Zarephath Hospitality

TODAY'S SPECIAL: 1 Kings 17:1-24

TO CHEW ON: "So she went away and did according to the word of Elijah; and she and her household ate for many days. The bin of flour was not used up, nor did the jar of oil run dry, according to the word of the Lord which he spoke by Elijah." 1 Kings 17:15-16

God's response to Israel's wicked King Ahab was to whisper a prophetic message of no rain for three years in the ear of a man from Tishbe. That man, Elijah, delivered the message to the idolatrous king and then ran for his life. He eventually skipped the country to Sidon, where God told him he would find a widow to feed him.

Put yourself in the place of that woman. She was gathering fuel for the fire that would cook her last meal when this sight of a man approached her and asked not only for a drink but for food. The audacity! Yet, his promise (using words like "Thus says the Lord") that if she fed him, she would have a never-ending supply of food was attractive. What could it hurt? She took him in.

I am impressed with her hospitality. In our society of panhandlers and people living on the street, can you picture yourself doing the same? Of course there is a level of hospitality -- extending the generosity of our home to those we know -- that is safer. But do we even do that? Do we invite our friends from church, the folks we meet while delivering our kids to school, our neighbours, over for a meal or coffee? Do we even take the time to stop and chat (the first step of hospitality: giving a few minutes of our time, attention and interest)?

The story of Elijah and the widow isn't finished, though. One day her son became ill and died. "Have you come to me to bring my sin to remembrance and to kill my son?" the grief-stricken woman sobbed.

Elijah went to the room where the child was laid out. There he pleaded with God for the child's life -- and the boy revived.

Here we see another thing about hospitality. It boomerangs back on us in blessings, usually greater in number and scope than we ever gave out in the first place. I wonder if that widow ever pondered on the consequences to her and her son if she hadn't taken Elijah in.

Karen Burton Mains in her book Open Heart, Open Home tells of a period of time their home was hounded by problem after problem. That year she experienced firsthand the fruits of the hospitality lifestyle she had advocated and modelled in front of their parishioners. Here is her paraphrase of Matthew 25:31-4.

"For I was weary, and they dusted and cleaned and scrubbed and laundered.


For I was fatherless…and they tilled his soil with me in our helpless womanity, praying over the man-sized gas cultivator and stubbornly willing it to do a week's work in a day.


For I was hungry, and they brought stews of the products of the good earth, and hand-kneaded bread, and apple pies from the fruit of the backyard trees...

and she goes on, ending:

Yea, as they did this all for me, they did it unto Him who sent me."


Open Heart, Open Home: The Hospitable Way to Make Others Feel Welcome & Wanted by Karen Burton Mains p. 120-121 (1976 edition).

PRAYER: Dear God, please grow a hospitable spirit in me. May I be a conduit through which Your blessings can flow to others, and to which Your blessings will flow from others to me. Amen.

MORE: Hospitality resources

Links to articles for those interested in International Student Ministry (e.g. hosting an international student in your home).

The book I quote above, Open Heart, Open Home by Karen Mains has been republished in 2002 (my copy is dated 1976).

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The Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. - Used with permission.

Jesus—God in action

Christ Healing - Carl Heinrich Bloch

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Psalm 146:1-10

TO CHEW ON: "… the God of Jacob …. Who executes justice for the oppressed,
Who gives food to the hungry.
The Lord gives freedom to the prisoners.
The Lord opens the eyes of the blind;
The Lord raises those who are bowed down;
The Lord loves the righteous." Psalm 146:5, 7-8

Jesus made sure the oppressed got justice.
When the scribes and Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery to Him, he made the self-righteous men aware that none of them was sinless. Then, without condemning the woman, Jesus sent her away, though not before naming her act sin and telling her to sin no more - John 8:3-11.

Jesus gave food to the hungry.
He fed at least two crowds, one of 5,000 (Mark 6:30-44) and another of 4,000 (Mark 8:1-9).

Jesus gave freedom to prisoners.
Numerous times He loosed people from control by demonic spirits—in the synagogue (Mark 1:21-28), in the hills (Mark 5:1-20), giving a man the ability to speak once more (Matthew 9:32-34), and freeing a man's dear son from seizures (Mark 9:14-29).

Jesus opened the eyes of the blind.
He did it for two blind buddies (Matthew 9:27-31); He did it with spit and mud (Mark 8:22-26); and He restored the sight of beggar Bartimaeus (Mark 10:46-52).

Jesus raised those who were bowed down.
He healed a paralyzed man (Mark 2:1-12), and straightened a woman who had been bent over for eighteen years (Luke 13:10-17).

Jesus loved the righteous.
He loved the rich young ruler who had lived an upright life (Mark 10:17-31).

Jesus watched over strangers.
He talked at length to the Samaritan woman about her heart thirst (John 4:5-42).

Jesus relieved the fatherless and widows.
He raised a widow's son from the dead (Luke 7:11-17).

Jesus also turned the way of the wicked upside-down.
He did it twice, cleansing the temple of greedy merchandisers, pouring out the changers' money and overturning tables at the beginning of His ministry (John 2:13-22) and again at the end (Mark 11:15-17).

Though we can interpret  "the God of Jacob" and "the Lord" as the psalmist referring to God the Father, isn't it noteworthy that Jesus, in His ministry, demonstrated all these actions literally?

That's our God in action. For, as He told the disciples: "He who has seen Me has seen the Father" - John 14:9.


PRAYER: Dear Jesus, thank You for the wonderful fulfilments of this prophetic psalm in Your life. I know You don't change. Please help me to trust You to be these things for me and for others in need. Amen.

MORE:  "He Carries All of My Sorrow" - Philip & Brenda Janz

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The Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. - Used with permission.

Channels of the supernatural

Detail from "The Centurion's Faith" - The Bible in Pictures

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Luke 7:1-10

TO CHEW ON: "When Jesus heard these things, He marveled at him, and turned around and said to the crowd that followed Him, 'I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel.'" Luke 7:10

The events of this story play out on two planes.

There is the natural one where a Gentile centurion, concerned about a favourite ill servant asks Jewish leaders to be a go-between and request Jesus heal the man.  These leaders come to Jesus and beg Him for a healing because the sick man's boss is deserving, in that he has built them a synagogue.

On His way to heal the man, Jesus is met by friends the centurion has sent to try to dissuade Him from coming all the way. The centurion has told them to say, "Lord … I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof …. But say the word and my servant will be healed." And then they explain how the centurion understands authority, and particularly Jesus' authority (Luke 7:8).

And so we come to the second plane, the plane of the supernatural. Jesus ignores the fact that a Gentile is asking for help, though properly through Jewish liaisons, and that he might be considered worthy to receive it because he has helped the Jews. Instead, He draws attention to one thing—the man's faith.

Somehow this centurion, with his background of chain-of-command and military authority gets it. He recognizes what the Jews, even the disciples, don't—that Jesus represents and operates under the authority and with the authority of the greatest Authority on earth.

The centurion's servant is healed not because his boss built the synagogue or comes to Jesus through the right people but because he believes and the One in whom he believes extends grace.

There is a lesson for us in this. God still saves us and meets our needs through these channels. It's not who we are, who we know, or what we do but our faith in Him and His grace extended to us.

"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast." Ephesians 2:8,9

PRAYER: Dear God, it's easy for me to think in terms of earning Your favour, something I know I can't do. Please help me to grasp the lesson of this story at a deep level. Amen.

MORE: Grace awakens longing and resentment

"The Gospel of the grace of God awakens an intense longing in human souls and an equally intense resentment, because the revelation which it brings is not palatable. There is a certain pride in man that will give and give, but to come and accept is another thing. I will give myself in consecration, I will do anything, but do not humiliate me to the level of the most hell-deserving sinner and tell me that all I have to do is accept the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ" - Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, November 28th reading.

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The Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. - Used with permission.

Rejoicing fields and clapping trees

"Let the field be joyful and all that is in it" - Psalm 96:12

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Psalm 96:1-13

TO CHEW ON: "Let the field be joyful and all that is in it.
Then all the trees of the woods will rejoice before the Lord" - Psalm 96:12

I have a photo-blog and in it I try to join two of my favorite things: my love of nature with my admiration of the Creator. I have been on the lookout for quotes and Bible verses that will direct the attention of my readers to God the creator of earth's beauty. When I saw the verse above, I immediately matched it to the photo of 'rejoicing' tulips that I happened to catch when the light seemed to illuminate them from within.

The Bible shows nature giving praise in many places and for various reasons.

• The vastness of sky and earth inspire the writer of 1 Chronicles to exclaim "The Lord reigns" - 1 Chronicles 16:31.

• The praise bounty of field and flock direct the psalmist's attention to God in Psalm 65:13 and 96:12 (our focus verse).

• The sound from rivers and trees—like applause perhaps—inspires the writers of Psalm 98:8; 96:12 and Isaiah 55:12.

• In another place the psalmist refers to "everything that moves" in the heavens, earth, and seas as praising God - Psalm 69:34.

• Praise also comes from the sun, moon and stars - Psalm 148:3.

• The creation of humankind and God's dealings with us are more reason for nature to erupt in song and shouts - Isaiah 55:12 and Luke 19:40.

• Nature also praises because of the people of the covenant and God's plan of redemption through their race - Isaiah 44:23; 49:13.

Do we see God in nature and view all of creation as offering praise to God in this biblical way? Or have we been indoctrinated with the theories of our day to the extent that we view the created world as more of a natural / scientific / evolutionary phenomenon than a work of our creator God?

Let's let these ancient poets and seers once again direct our attention Godward as they interpret the heavenly bodies and the earth with all its land and sea life as the handiwork and praise vessels of the God who also formed us and loves us.

PRAYER: Dear God, Your ingenuity and creativity is beyond my comprehension. Help me to view nature as Your work and join in its praise to You. Amen.

MORE: "Trees of the Field" sung by the Gaithers

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The Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. - Used with permission.

Faith showdown

TODAY'S SPECIAL: 1 Kings 18:20-46

TO CHEW ON: "And Elijah came to all the people and said, 'How long will you falter between two opinions? If the Lord is God follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.' But the people answered him not a word." 1 Kings 18:21

After three long years of rain, Elijah was determined to make its return as dramatic an event as he could. He challenged the 400 prophets of Baal to a prayer duel on Mount Carmel. The citizens came in droves to observe. Before they got started Elijah threw out the challenge: whichever god would answer the prepared sacrifice by sending fire would be the one worthy of worship.

We know the story—how the Baal prophets carried on all day, beseeching, dancing, even cutting themselves. All for nothing. And then, how Elijah made the task even harder by dousing his offering with water. (He had his nerve—or maybe it was his faith in action— using 12 pots of such precious stuff in this way!)

We can learn a lot from Elijah about faith and prayer as we watch him.

1. All or nothing: Elijah made the stakes clear. Either God would answer and prove Himself real or He wouldn't and show Himself a sham (1 Kings 18: 21, 24). There was no third option. Elijah gave himself no way to save face should God not answer.

2. God's representative: Elijah made sure the people knew Who was behind the last three years of misery and that he had been a mere spokesman for God. He told them the purpose behind the exercise: to turn them back to God (1 Kings 18: 36-37). Thus when God did send fire, the people worshiped Him, not Elijah (1 Kings 18: 38-39).

3. Finish the job: Elijah completed the unsavoury task of destroying the Baal prophets (1 Kings 18:40).

4. Unwavering faith: Elijah's faith was so certain, he spoke to Ahab as if the rain could start falling any moment even though there wasn't a cloud in the sky (1 Kings 18:41).

5. Humble prayer: Elijah "bowed down on the ground and put his face between his knees" (1 Kings 18:42).

6. Persistent prayer: Do you suppose Elijah felt a niggle of doubt when God didn't answer after his first prayer, then his second, his third… We don't know how much time passed between when Elijah started praying and the clouds appeared (1 Kings 18:43-44). Perhaps several hours. At least enough for Ahab to have a decent picnic.

7. Supernatural ending: As if the whole fire-throwing, rain-sending demonstration wasn't spectacular enough, God gave Elijah strength at the end of this grueling day to outrun Ahab's horses. He beat the king to the Jezreel gate.

One thing seems clear from all this: Elijah had a mighty tight and intimate relationship with God to enable him to act with such confidence. It brings to mind the verse: "…the people who know their God shall be strong and carry out great exploits" Daniel 11:32.

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to know You better. I want to be a person to whom You entrust "exploits." Amen.

MORE: Twila Paris sings "Days of Elijah"

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The Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. - Used with permission.

God's covert operators

TODAY'S SPECIAL: 1 Kings 18:1-19

TO CHEW ON: "And Ahab had called Obadiah, who was in charge of his house. (Now Obadiah feared the Lord greatly. For so it was, while Jezebel massacred the prophets of the Lord, that Obadiah had taken one hundred prophets, and hidden them, fifty to a cave, and had fed them with bread and water.)" 1 Kings 18:3-4

Here's an interesting scenario. Ahab marries Jezebel, a Sidonian princess. Fanatical in following the religion of her homeland—Baal worship—she commands the massacre of all Israel's prophets of God.

But one of Ahab's chief servants (the one in charge of his house) is a dedicated servant of Yahweh. He secretly hides 100 of those prophets from Jezebel. Tucked away in a couple of caves, he makes sure that these God-followers get bread and water for the duration of the famine.

This way of operating is not untypical. Some other instances of God placing His person in the top echelons of government are Joseph, Esther, and Nehemiah. In each case the person stays loyal to God and wields unusual power and influence for good.

God still works in this way. Right now in Canada our Prime Minister is a born-again Christian. The mayor of my city is too, as is the city manager of Surrey (the second-largest city in BC). I know there are many others. I think of these folks are covert operators, undercover agents for the Kingdom. They are working on the side of all that is good for the benefit of all of us.

We're told to pray for our leaders in any case (1 Timothy 2:1-2).  How much more should we do this for those leaders who are also part of the "household of faith" (Galatians 6:9-10)?

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for putting people who love and fear You in positions of power in my country and city. I pray for the ones I know ______ (name them) today. When I am critical of government, please remind me to pray for leaders instead of complaining. Amen.

MORE: William Wilberforce

William Wilberforce (1759-1833) is another example of a person of faith in a position of influence. He worked tirelessly for the abolition of slavery and saw his dream come true just weeks before he died. The Abolition Project website describes how he got involved in politics and why he decided to stay there after his conversion:

"He enrolled at Cambridge University and became friends with William Pitt. At the age of 21, Wilberforce was elected to Parliament.  He was well suited to politics as he was an extremely eloquent speaker and very witty. In 1783, he met James Ramsay and, for the first time, discussed slavery. Around 1884-6, he underwent a gradual but 'intense religious conversion' whilst traveling with a friend. He considered leaving Parliament but his friend and mentor, John Newton, advised him against this, so, instead, he decided to serve God in public life."

 Read the entire article.

Amazing Grace  is a 2007 movie about Wilberforce's life. It's excellent. If you haven't seen it, you might want to rent or buy it.

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The Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. - Used with permission.

Big prayers—old and new 2

Cutaway rendering of Solomon's Temple - Artist unknown

TODAY'S SPECIAL: 1 Kings 8:37-53

TO CHEW ON: "Then hear in heaven Your dwelling place, and forgive and act and give to everyone according to all his ways, whose heart You know (for You alone know the hearts of all the sons of men)." 1 Kings 8:39

Solomon continues to bring to God his requests for the temple in his prayer of dedication. In our reading today he prays:

• For the personal revival of the Israelites, and that their focus on God and His temple will help them recognize the plague of their own hearts and return to God  - 1 Kings 8:37-40.

• That foreigners coming to pray toward the temple will come to know and fear God - 1 Kings 8:41-43.

• That God will "maintain the cause" of the Israelites going to battle as a result of their prayers - 1 Kings 8:44-45.

• That when the Israelites are defeated (because of their sin) and taken into captivity, they will turn from sin and God will, even in their exile, "maintain their cause" - 1 Kings 8:46-49.

Again we can adapt Solomon's prayers to our own.

As noted yesterday, we can recognize and confess our sin ("the plague of our own hearts") and pray for personal revival.

We can pray for the foreigners in our lands. The nations of the world with all their faiths have come to us. They are often our neighbours and colleagues, the parents of our kids' friends. We can reach out to them in friendship, invite them to church and pray for their salvation.

We can pray for our own battles. As Christians find themselves increasingly at odds with society—because the Bible's standards clash with the shifting sands of our country's laws—we may ourselves become exiles of a sort, scorned by our peers and even put in prison for our beliefs.

We can pray for our own prodigals, and the general lukewarmness in the church: "… Your people who have sinned against You and all their transgressions which they have transgressed against You" - 1 Kings 8:50.

When we find ourselves burdened with all that that we face, instead of fretting and worrying we can, like Solomon, lay our requests before God, dedicating ourselves to His purposes. For we are each a mini-temple—people through whom God wants to share Himself with the world (1 Corinthians 3:16-17; 6:19-20).

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for Solomon's wide-ranging prayer. Help me to take my concerns to You instead of worrying and trying to bear them myself. Amen.

MORE: "Toward this place"

Several times in this prayer, Solomon refers to the Israelites praying "toward this place." It seems they actually bowed or knelt facing Jerusalem when they prayed. Barnes' Notes on the Bible give this brief explanation of the custom:

"The choice of Jerusalem as the place seems to have been made by special revelation to David. See Psalm 78:68; Psalm 132:13; and compare 1 Chronicles 22:1.
Toward this place …. Wherever they were, the Jews always worshiped toward the temple" - Barnes' Notes on the Bible, 1 Kings 8:29

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The Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. - Used with permission.

The mysterious work of conviction

TODAY'S SPECIAL: John 16:1-15

TO CHEW ON: "And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness and of judgment." John 16:8

"The work of God is hidden and silent; what we do is something distinct and tangible. Conversion and faith, prayer and obedience are conscious acts of which we can give a clear account; while the spiritual quickening and strengthening that comes from above are secret and beyond the reach of human sight." Andrew Murray - Abide In Christ

I never tire of listening to the story of my husband's conversion.

He was working in Toronto for a trust company at the time and loved two things: his work and his time off. He spent the latter with friends at the bar.

Though he had grown up in a Christian home and gone to church as long as his parents could force him to, he had long since left all that behind. However, they continued to send him stuff like new translations of the Bible and Christian books. And they continued to pray even though it didn't look as if their prodigal was any closer to coming to the Lord than he had been for years. Things were happening though, and on various fronts.

It was during this time that Anita Bryant  came to Toronto. Her presence at People's Church led to demonstrations against her and the brouhaha gave my husband pause as he realized he was on the side of the controversial speaker, even though he didn't know why.

His bar life began to satisfy him less and less. He watched as his married friends spent their evenings drinking with the guys and wondered why they weren't at home with their wives and families. He realized that if he married, he wanted his wife to be someone with whom he could build a lasting relationship, preferably a Christian. But what Christian woman would want to marry him?

He started watching Christian programs on TV. In fact, before stumbling into bed after coming home liquored up late Saturday night/early Sunday morning, he'd set his alarm to wake him in time to watch People's Church.

Finally one holiday he decided that instead of going to Montreal, he'd stay home (where he had a pool and bar buddies) and read one of the books his dad had recently sent him. It was while reading that book (Born Again by Chuck Colson) that he took the final step and surrendered his life to Jesus.

His story bears out the truth of Jesus' words about the work of the Holy Spirit. While his parents and others prayed, the Holy Spirit was busy convicting him and drawing him, though, as Andrew Murray points out, it was a hidden work.

Are you praying for a loved one but getting discouraged because you see no evident change, no progress toward God? Stay the course. The Holy Spirit is still in the business of convicting. Though that process is often hidden with no exterior signs that much is going on, in the fullness of time it will come out.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for the convicting work of Holy Spirit. Help me to trust that You are working in the spiritual lives of people I'm praying for even when I don't see outward evidence. Amen.

MORE: A sense of particular sin

"When I get into the presence of God, I do not realize that I am a sinner in an indefinite sense; I realize the concentration of sin in a particular feature of my life .... This is always the sign that a man or woman is in the presence of God. There is never any vague sense of sin, but the concentration of sin in some personal particular. God begins by convicting us of the one thing fixed on in the mind that is prompted by His Spirit; if we will yield to His conviction on that point, He will lead us down to the great disposition of sin underneath" - Oswald Chambers, My Utmost For His Highest, July 3 reading. 

 

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The Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. - Used with permission.

The offense and the gift

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Romans 5:6-21

TO CHEW ON: "But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by one man's offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man Jesus Christ, abounded to many." Romans 5:15

In a rich part of today's reading Paul draws an analogy between Adam's offense —a deliberate choice to disobey God in Eden—and Christ's free gift—our salvation through His death for us.

These two things are similar in that both acts affected and continue to affect all of mankind. But they are also different:

1. They are moral opposites - Romans 5:15-16.

• Adam's act is called an "offense." A margin note in my Bible gives synonyms: "trespass or false step." It was sin,  a deliberate act which missed the mark.

• Christ's act is called a "free gift" and described as "grace." 

2. Their results are different - Romans 5:17-18.

• Adam's sin resulted in death—condemnation.

• Accepting the gift results in receiving God's lavish graces of justification, righteousness, and the ability to "reign as kings in life" (Amplified), i.e. victory - Romans 5:17-18.

3. They spring from different attitudes - Romans 5:19.

• Adam's act was one of disobedience ("… failing to hear, heedlessness and carelessness" - Amplified).

• Christ's  gift came from His obedience  resulting in "the many ... constituted righteous—made acceptable to God; brought into right standing with Him" - Romans 5:19 Amplified.

What have we done with Christ's gift? Have we accepted it? Are we living in the truth and power of it, resisting Satan's attempts to make us feel we have to do more and thus put ourselves in the chains of having to earn/pay for our salvation? What is the attitude of our lives? Are we disobedient—deaf, heedless, careless? Or is your life, is mine characterized by yearly, monthly, weekly, daily, moment-by-moment 'Yes's to Jesus?

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, thank You for Your free gift! Please help me to begin to understand its implications for my life—and to live those out in habitual obedience. Amen.

MORE: "My Heart is Filled with Thankfulness"  - Keith and Kristyn Getty

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The Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. - Used with permission.

Grace

TODAY'S SPECIAL:  Romans 4:16-5:5

TO CHEW ON: "… our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand…" Romans 5:2

There is much theological meat in this part of Romans. But instead of taking a wide-angle view, today I want to focus on one little word: grace.

My dictionary devotes an inch and a half to grace definitions. Here are the theological ones: 1] The unmerited but freely given love and favour of God toward man. 2] The divine influence operating in man to regenerate, sanctify or strengthen him. 3] The state or condition of being pleasing and acceptable to God. 4] Any divinely inspired spiritual virtue or excellence."

Keeping these definitions in mind, let's probe what Paul is saying here about grace. As I read it, he declares that Jesus' death has made possible mankind's reconciliation with God. Through faith in Jesus this grace is our basis of assurance in this life ("this grace in which we stand") and hope of glory, in this life and the next ("and rejoice in hope of the glory of God").

I like how the J. B. Phillips New Testament paraphrases it:

"Since then it is by faith that we are justified, let us grasp the fact that we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have confidently entered into this new relationship of grace, and here we take our stand in happy certainty of the glorious things he has for us in the future" - Romans 5:1,2 - J. B. Phillips.

A sidebar article in my Bible points out how freeing is the result as we obey God, not to get His favor, but because we already have His favor. The writer goes on:

"Within His unconditional acceptance given us because of what Christ has done, we are freed from the need to monitor our behavior and loosed into the joy of knowing His friendship …. Grace underscores the generosity of God's love, highlighting the truth that God does not coerce change by threatening us, but instead he conquers by lavishing His love upon us" Steven Fry "The Grace of God," New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1556 (emphasis added).

What a great way of looking at obedience and living the Christian life!

An understanding of His love-lavishing ways can also give a new angle to our prayers for and relationships with the unsaved. Maybe we can be the feet and hands of His grace to them.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for Your unmerited favor to me in sending Jesus to take the penalty I deserved. Help me to grasp the truth of Your grace at a deep level, to live in it and to extend it to others. Amen.

MORE:  Food for thought

"Grace is indeed needed to turn a man into a saint, and he who doubts it does not know what a saint or a man is." Pascal

"Be faithful in the little practices of love which will build in you the life of holiness and make you Christlike." Mother Teresa

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The Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. - Used with permission.

God's ledger and faith

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Romans 4:1-15

TO CHEW ON: "Now to Him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt. But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness." Romans 4:4-5

Paul is here trying to convince the Christians at Rome (his readers) that the gospel is really a matter of faith not works. He does it by using Abraham (their genetic and faith father) as an example. Quoting Genesis 15:6 ("Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him as righteousness") he pictures God as a paymaster who keeps accounts.

["Accounted" = "logidzomai" which means numerically to count, compute, calculate, sum up. Metaphorically to consider, reckon, reason, deem evaluate, value. Logidzomai finalizes thought, judges matters, draws logical conclusions, decides outcomes, and puts every action into a debit or credit position - New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1554]

Paul says it was Abraham's belief that was accounted (reckoned, computed) to him for righteousness. If it had been his works (keeping the law) God would have owed him. But that's not what "accounted" in Genesis implies. Rather, it says that Abraham's righteous standing came purely because God extended grace, calculating him righteous on the basis of his faith. It was a deposit made, not on the basis of anything Abraham did but solely on the basis of his faith.

That's why circumcision (the physical sign of God's covenant, complied with in obedience to Moses' law) wasn't/isn't the determining factor (vs. 9-12). And it's also why Paul says later (much to the consternation of those who trust in their standing as Abraham's offspring) that Abraham is "the father of all those who believe, though they are uncircumcised, that righteousness might be imputed to them also" (vs. 11b). In other words, Abraham is the faith father of believing Gentiles too.

What does this have to do with you and me? Everything if we're at any level trying to earn our way into God's favour. Oh, it's easy to give head assent to the fact that salvation is a gift we don't deserve and can't earn. But how easily, too, the barter ethic that says there must be something we can or should do to earn God's favour takes over, at least in our hearts.

A footnote commentary on this passage sums it up so well:

"Many human attitudes such as love, joy, patience, courage and mercy can be somewhat worked up by our own effort. But faith occurs when we cease trying to do something by our own efforts and trust someone else to do it for us. Faith is the one attitude that is exactly the opposite of trusting ourselves. Apparently this is why God decided that faith should be the attitude of heart by which we obtain salvation" - Wayne Grudem, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1555.

PRAYER: Dear God, help me to live in the truth of my helplessness to save myself by anything I do. Thank You for the free gift of salvation that I get by simple faith. Amen.


MORE: "My Heart is Filled with Thankfulness" by Keith and Kristyn Getty

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The Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. - Used with permission.

Weak instruments in God's hands

Watoto Children's Choir - January 2013 (Photo ©V. Nesdoly)

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Psalm 8:1-9

TO CHEW ON: "Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants
You have ordained strength
Because of Your enemies
That You may silence the enemy and the avenger." Psalm 8:2

I wonder what experience in David's life prompted the profound statement "Out of the mouths of babes and nursing infants You have ordained strength." Perhaps one of his toddlers joined him in song while he was playing his harp, or sang the accompaniment of an instrument improvised out of twigs and yarn?

David draws our attention to something God does quite a lot in the Bible—use weak instruments and people to get things done:

• He empowered Moses' rod - Exodus 4:2

• He had Gideon trim his army to a mere 300 men and take into battle with them only trumpets, flares and pitchers - Judges 7:16-22.

• Samson killed 1000 Philistines with the jawbone of a donkey - Judges 15:15.

• Saul, Israel's first king, came from the smallest family of the smallest tribe of Benjamin - 1 Samuel 9:21.

• Jonathan witnessed to God's ability to get victory "by many or by few" - 1 Samuel 14:6.

• David used five stones to go against Goliath - 1 Samuel 17:40.

• God preserved His prophet with the widow's handful of flour and a little oil - 1 Kings 17:12.

• Paul reminds us:

 "But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are  that no flesh should glory in His presence" - 1 Corinthians 1:27-28.

So if you and I feel small, insignificant, weak, we may be just the improbable vessels God will use to accomplish what He wants done in His kingdom.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for using weak, unlikely instruments and people to do Your work. Thank you for reminding me of that through the praises of children. Help me to remember that Your presence in me is the secret of success in everything I do. Amen.

MORE: Watoto Children's Choir - "I Am Not Forgotten"

The Watoto choir made up of orphans from Uganda shows how God uses the praise of children. (Read the Watoto story.)

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The Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. - Used with permission.

Lessons from confusion

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Genesis 11:1-9

TO CHEW ON: "'Come, let us go down and confuse their language that they may not understand one another's speech.' So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they ceased building the city." Genesis 11:7,8

This story of Babel and the confusion of languages is only the first time in the Bible God uses confusion to achieve His purposes. Join me on a short trip through scripture to track some of the other times confusion is mentioned (I used an NASB concordance so the actual words 'confuse, confused, and confusion occur in that translation, but maybe not in others).

God often used confusion to defeat Israel's enemies

• The Egyptians became confused by the rising Red Sea when they followed the Israelites into the desert to take them back into slavery - Exodus 14:24.

• God promised to bring confusion on the people of Canaan and thus make them an easy prey for the Israelites when they were to conquer -  Exodus 23:27;  Deuteronomy 7:23.

• The presence of the Ark of the Covenant often brought confusion among enemy ranks especially the Philistines - 1 Samuel 5:9,11; 14:20.

• David prays for this type of confusion on his enemies - Psalm 55:9; 144:6.

However, God also warned the Israelites that if they forsook His laws and disobeyed, they too would be vulnerable to confusion:  "… the Lord will send upon you curses and confusion, and rebuke in all you undertake to do until you are destroyed." - Deuteronomy 28:20, also, Isaiah 22:5; 59:4.

Confusion sometimes comes as a result of bad leaders - Isaiah 3:12; 9:16, Esther 3:15.

Being under the influence of wine can cause confusion - Isaiah 28:7.

In the New Testament Paul's aggressive evangelism sometimes resulted in the confusion of his offended listeners—even riots. But in almost every case he turned the riot into an opportunity to preach - Acts 16:20; 19:29,32; 21:31, 22:1-22.

Finally, Paul reminds us that God is not the God of confusion, but the God of peace - 1 Corinthians 14:33

How can we apply this study of confusion to our lives? I can think of three ways:

1. We need to avoid things that will cause us to become confused like living in sin and disobedience, and being mastered by substances, e.g. wine, drugs etc. God's peace in our hearts can be an umpire and guard - Philippians 4:7. 

2. We should pray for clear-sightedness for our rulers as they often determine the tone of the city, region and country under them.

3. God's presence (e.g. the Ark in the Old Testament, Paul's witness in the New) brought about confusion in enemy ranks—something God used and can use  to prove He is real, and  to defeat Satan. We can ask for wisdom about how to use such confusion to spread the gospel message of peace.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for being a God of peace and order. Help me to be alert to confusion in my life as a symptom that things aren't right. May I be open to Your insights as to how to make them right. Amen.

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The Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. - Used with permission.

All-night prayer

Jesus praying - Artist unknown

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Luke 6:1-16

TO CHEW ON: "Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve whom He also named apostles." Luke 6:12-13

Two interesting facts about Jesus stand out from today's reading:

1. He had unusual insight into people.

Of His interaction with the scribes and Pharisees we read "But He knew their thoughts…" vs. 8. However Jesus was truly human with a human's limitations of mind. In his Systematic Theology Wayne Grudem speaks of Jesus' human mind:

"The fact that Jesus 'increased in wisdom' (Luke 2:52) says that he went through a learning process just as all other children do …. This ordinary learning process was part of the genuine humanity of Christ. We also see that Jesus had a human mind like ours when he speaks of the day on which he will return to earth: 'But of that day or that hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son but only the Father' Mark 13:32" - Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology, p. 533.

2. He felt the need to pray, and prayed all night, before He chose the twelve disciples.

I wonder what He prayed about. No doubt He prayed about who He should pick. Did His insight help to guide His decisions? Perhaps He prayed for them. Luke mentions specifically that He picked Judas "who also became a traitor." Did Jesus have insight to the extent of knowing or intuiting who would betray Him at this early time in His ministry? He certainly knew later.

This passage underlines the importance of prayer for us too, especially before making pivotal, potentially live-altering decisions. If Jesus, with His insight, felt the need to pray all night at such a time, how much more do we need the direction, assurance, conviction, and power such times with God yield.


PRAYER: Dear God, how foolish I am  as I so often try to do life on my own. Help me to follow Jesus' example and bathe my decisions in prayer, recognizing how dependent I am on You. Amen.

MORE: "Cover Me" by Bebo Norman

Cover Me lyrics

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The Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. - Used with permission.

Another Lord's Prayer

Jesus prays with His disciples - by Alexandre Bida

TODAY'S SPECIAL: John 17:1-26

TO CHEW ON: "Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven and said: 'Father the hour has come. Glorify Your Son that Your Son also may glorify You.'" John 17:1.

Someone has suggested that John 17, our passage today, should be called the Lord's Prayer more than Matthew 6:9-13. If the contents of a person's prayer are an indication of their preoccupations, we can tell a lot about the things Jesus was interested in, that were at the very heart of His thoughts, by these verses.

His prayer contained a three main requests:

1. He prayed that He would be glorified (John 17:1-5).
But, we ask, isn't that self-serving? And then we realize who is making the request, and of whom. He is the God the Son, praying to God the Father who is the sum-total of all that is right, true, beautiful, glorious, excellent... Where else should glory go if not to Him?

2. He prayed that the apostles would be sanctified (John 17:6-19).
In His prayer, Jesus gives us a glimpse of how special and unique these men were as gifts to Him from God the Father (John 17:6-7). He prayed that God would keep them, and specifically, keep them from the "evil one" (John 17:11-12;14-15). He asked that they experience His joy (John 17:13). And He requested that they be sanctified or set apart to take the Gospel — good news about Him and salvation — to the world (John 17:17-19).

[Sanctified: hagiadzo: to hallow, set apart, dedicate, consecrate, separate, sanctify, make holy. Hagiadzo as a state of holiness is opposite of koinon, common or unclean. In the OT, things, places and ceremonies were hagiadzo. In the NT the word describes a manifestation of life, produced by the indwelling Holy Spirit - New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1463.]

3. He prayed the the church would be unified (John 17:20-26).
We are included in this prayer as those "who will believe in Me through their word" - vs. 20. Jesus' great desire is that we experience and demonstrate unity. Our unity will be a sign to the world so they believe God sent Jesus (vs. 21). And this unity will eventually flower into His followers joining Him to "be with Me where I am..." (vs. 24).

I ask myself, am I working toward Jesus' prayer being answered? Are you? Is furthering His glory a priority in our lives? Though we are not the apostles, we too are hand-picked by God to fulfill a purpose on earth. Look:

"For we are God's own handiwork, His workmanship, recreated in Christ Jesus, born anew that we may do those good works which God predestined, planned before hand for us, taking paths which He prepared ahead of time — living the good life which He pre-arranged and made ready for us to live" - Ephesians 2:10 AMP.

Do we set ourselves apart for such a God-appointed destiny? And are we working toward unity? Or are we standoffish from other Christians, choosing to focus on our differences rather than the core Gospel truths that unite us?

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, thank You for this prayer, straight from Your heart. Help me to answer it in my life today. Amen.

MORE: Interview with Satan about unity in the church‬

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The Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. - Used with permission.