Faithful

www.bible.com/1713/heb.10.23.csb

Though we often use the word “faithful” in religious contexts, there is another context that is used almost as often. That is marriage. More to the point, the antonym of this word is often used in the marriage context, “unfaithful”. And that word can bring some folks to immediate depression and anxiety, so I apologize if that word has negative connotations for you.

Recently I spoke to an individual who was truly suffering because of unfaithfulness. Though this person had never formally committed to any of the relationships, this person noted that every one ended in unfaithfulness. And this fact destroying this person. It’s one thing when boyfriends and girlfriends step out on you because there are no formal commitments. That is frowned upon nevertheless because there is an expectation that a person will be “faithful” as long as they are dating until they break off dating or break up. That is acceptable. But it is unacceptable for a person to go and date another person while they are still dating the first person. That kind of individual gets a reputation. But it can be devastating for the first relationship because there is an assumption of faithfulness.

It gets worse in marriage. And the consequences become even more drastic. In marriage, there is a formal commitment made in front of witnesses. This formal commitment the couple to monogamy, and no others will be allowed in the implied sexual relationship between the two of them. “Unfaithful” is what we call it when that covenant agreement is broken. The consequences then also include separation, divorce, destruction of assets, and children, as well as broken family relationships. It is more widespread and more far-reaching, but obviously, I don’t have to tell some of you that. You’ve lived it.

But it is in this marriage context that we find meaning for “faithful”. I hope you have all been witness to marriage relationships, if not your own, where both husband and wife have been together for decades. It is a good picture of faithfulness because we see that it was not all good. Sometimes faithfulness is hard, even impossible, if not for the bonds of marriage keeping them together. We faithfulness is forged and well-earned, not without effort. Faithfulness sis oftentimes the more difficult path, and one less traveled.

So it is with God. With God, our journey with Him is forged into stronger bonds of trust. As we encounter increasingly difficult terrain, we find our faith tested, and His faithfulness to us returned in answer to our prayers. We find God more faithful, more devoted, more true, but not without effort. We find that the answers to our questions are immediate, but they do come in time. We find the One who promised is faithful and will continue to be faithful, even when it looks like He is not. God never forgets you.

Heavenly Father, today there will be times where it seems You have forgotten me. There will be times I will feels at the end of rope pulled by a sailboat in the dark. I will not see You, just the rope, and I will be forced to trust the rope without seeing the boat to pull me in. There are sometimes Lord when I doubt You are really there, whether You are really listening. But it is at those times I need to still the storm, because it is not all around me, but it is in my soul. And I pray Lord help today to still the storm in me, so that I can clearly see the path before me. Thank You Lord for being faithful. In Your Name I pray, Amen.

Blanket Statement

www.bible.com/1713/col.3.17.csb

Ever wondered about the exceptions to the rules? If you’ve read the Bible, you know it covers many topics about life, ethics, and morality. It speaks volumes about what kind of behavior that God expects of us. But what about the areas it doesn’t address, modern issues that seem to fall through the cracks? The Bible existed long before cell phones, internet, even the telegraph. What does the Bible say about these modern technologies, especially about how we ought to use them? How does the Bible address social media concerns about how we spend our time there?

For example, the Bible says nothing about blogging. You can look it up. You will not find the word “blogging” in the Bible. And yet here we are, enjoying another blog about the Bible and faith in Jesus. How is this even biblical?

While the Bible does cover aspects of life specifically, like marriage and divorce, there are areas that it does not specifically address, thus the blanket statement above. “Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus.” No I don’t know about you, but that does speak to me. That tells me that whatever activity I find myself participating in, it must agree with the Name, and of course, the nature of the One Who has that Name. So whether it is blogging, social media, or anything else, it must agree with the revealed nature of the One for Whom I am called.

So how can I know what Jesus wants from my blogging? A couple verses come to mind. One comes from Ephesians 4, “speak the truth in love.” Another verse says that as Christians we ought always to build one another up. This blog is an attempt to do both. Because blogging is communicating by the written word, anything the New Testament (and Old) has to say about your words applies. Sorry social media, but that means you too. As Christians we ought to stand out in the social sphere, speaking the truth in love and speaking words of encouragement. It ought to be fairly easy to pick out those who believe in Jesus. Can I get a witness?

That said, anything else you find yourself do, though it may not be specifically covered by the Scriptures, is covered by statements like the above. All of our behavior, from whatever century, is to stand out because the One Who calls us is holy.

Dear God, I pray that today I will better illustrating my faith by my actions, in everything I do. May I give glory to You in all things? In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

For Mothers

www.bible.com/1713/pro.31.31.csb

Is there a good Mother’s Day text? I mean, there are probably many women who are mothers in the Bible that would make for a good tale on a Mother’s Day Sunday, but Mother’s Day per se did not exist in the time of the Bible, largely because women were not considered as important as men in the culture of Israel thousands of years ago. It’s not that they were unimportant, because a woman’s essential function in those days was to produce offspring. But if she couldn’t do that, it was a rare man that still appreciated her (namely Elkanah of 1 Samuel 1 and Zechariah of Luke 1).

But that kind of the point of Mother’s Day, isn’t it? Only the women who have produced (and raised) children get special mention today. That America still celebrates this day ought to be a mystery, as our collective lust for abortion continues unabated. How is it that we are nation that both celebrates women who birth and raise children, but still demand that a woman be allowed to kill her own child before it’s born? I see a conflict of priorities here. Why do we continue one and allow, even condone the other?

There are many women who will be left out today. Because they have never had children (and want them) or had children who were lost. This day brings them special pain. While many celebrate, many others mourn. Some mourn the loss of their own mothers, or mothers they never knew. Everyone has a mother, this this day speaks and hits different people in different ways. While you may be reading this and noting how thankful you are that you are not like those other people, as Christians we need to be sensitive to all.

Under Christianity, motherhood is no necessity to blessing. Christ saves all where they are, without regard to father, to mother, to children or parents. Christ saves you because He loves YOU. Any sins you have committed have been washed away in the blood of Christ. And that my friend is the reason I have to keep going. It doesn’t matter what I have done, Christ has still forgiven me. I can’t get that anywhere else.

Father God, You have made us all to be Your children. May we continue today to serve and honor You. If we have had the privilege of a mother, may we remember her in prayer Nd the woman in our lives that brought us life and chose to, despite the pain and effort. Thank You Lord for the the blessing of pregnancy and love found in families. Thank You for Your marvelous plan to make us and and allow us to find You and worship You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen!

Dejection, Turmoil and Hope

www.bible.com/1713/psa.42.11.csb

Your daily struggle is different from mine. This Corona has touched you differently than myself. I consider myself fortunate that I’ve been able to continue working through the shutdown, albeit on a limited basis. My wife has not been affected near as much I have, and we are doing ok. Had we both been forced to stay home and be furloughed, I don’t know that we would have made it. Like many others we would have tried to pay for things on credit, hoping for the stimulus check or Big Brother to help us.

I know it feels right now that faith and trust in God seems like some “pie in the sky” kind of thing, a false hope. Why bother with faith when I have real problems to deal with? If I have trouble feeding my family or paying my rent, what good is religion going to do me? That is a very good question. So let me ask you a follow-up question.

How do you decide what’s important during a shutdown? Is it any better to pay for rent and utilities with that government stimulus check than for a new TV or that new glittery thing you’ve has your eyes on? What is better to spend your money on? Your answer is inherently religious. Because in reality, money has no morals. TV’s and glitter, rent and utilities have no moral compunction. But you bring it with you. Buying a new TV will bring immediate happiness and will last for as long as you have power and a place to put it. If you value immediate happiness, then you will buy the new thing. However, if instead you value longer-term goals, like having a place to live, or food to eat or power and light, then you are applying value to long-term happiness. You are making a value judgment. Values come from somewhere. Where do they come from? Your world-view, and your world-view is shaped by your religion.

You may say, “I have no religion.” That may be formally true, but all of us have a value system that is based on what we see our role in the universe. If you see yourself as nothing, shaped by blobs of goo, then you apply no morality or value to anything, because all things are meaningless. You are going to buy that TV because they makes you happy. You may apply yourself to that blob theory, but see value in making others happy, like your landlord, or your spouse and children. If you see value in others and legitimate entities living beside you in this meaningless universe, then, despite the worthlessness of all things, you still value companionship and well-being between individuals, and will pay the rent and the utilities. But all decision inherently possess a judgment of some kind based on a set of ideals (and experience from prior judgment) that in some form or fashion is your religion.

Religion is only that formal relationship and ritual you have developed (whether alone or in concert with others) to rectify your position in the universe. Your values and judgments come from that religion. You can be a complete atheist and still have religion, because religion is how you’ve have decided the issues of the universe and how you will interact with them. Questions like, “Who am I?” and “Where did I come from?” and “Who is the final authority in my life?” give us the answers that decide what kind of religion we have, and the values we hold.

Christians are people who have been perpetually unsatisfied with the answers they’ve come up with themselves or that others have given them. For Christians, they look to the only authoritative book they know, and from their glean their answers to not only the questions above but about all the others questions worth asking. As a Christian, I find the Bible to be the best book for answering these questions, even though it comes from the tribal experience of one family on earth. Though it speaks directly to Israel, it speaks to all of us. God was not concerned only for Israel, but for every human being made in His image, which is all of them. God loves all of us. And this is the reason I make the decision I do, and why through all the turmoil and despair, I still have hope. I need this hope, because it makes the turmoil and despair bearable.

One line from the Princess Bride always haunts me. “Life is pain. And anyone that tells you different is selling something.” That is a succinct philosophy of life. I might suggest that Christianity is telling you different. Not that life isn’t painful, because it is, but that life is more than pain. Life is love. Life is peace. Life is turmoil. Life is despair, but life is also hope.

Heavenly Father, I pray today for my brothers and sisters around the world who are reading these words. I pray for their hope today. I pray that despite their life and their turmoil, You will grant them hope. I pray these things in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Hard-Hearted

www.bible.com/1713/ezk.36.26.csb

I will also sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will place My Spirit within you and cause you to follow My statutes and carefully observe My ordinances.
(Eze 36:25-27)

We are dirty. We are stubborn. And we are lawless. We have no good thing in us since we were corrupted by sin. And yet, God was not done with us. When He could have cast us aside and abandoned us, He didn’t. Some might say he couldn’t, but then they would wrong. God could. God doesn’t need us. And I’m certain there are times that God positively does not like us.

No one cared enough about you to do even one of these things out of compassion for you. But you were thrown out into the open field because you were despised on the day you were born. “I passed by you and saw you lying in your blood, and I said to you as you lay in your blood: Live! Yes, I said to you as you lay in your blood: Live!
(Eze 16:5-6)

Your fame spread among the nations because of your beauty, for it was perfect through My splendor, which I had bestowed on you.” This is the declaration of the Lord GOD.
(Eze 16:14)

Once we were nothing. We had been corrupted and made putrid by the rot of our own sin among our bones and in our heart. Our heart had solidified to stone, because we stopped caring. That is a hard place to be. God should have abandoned us, left us at the side of the road, but he didn’t.

But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love that He had for us, made us alive with the Messiah even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace!
(Eph 2:4-5)

And now, suddenly as the sunrise, death is shuffled off like scales, and God calls us to life. By faith we are saved through grace. By faith we pursue and receive baptism so that we may receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, the gift of life everlasting because we have been regenerated by the Spirit. No more subject to sin, to corruption, to rot. We are alive!

Why? Because God did not WANT to leave us in sin. He CHOSE to bring us life because THAT is what God is like.

Be grateful today that we have a God who chooses us, not because He has to, but because He wants to.

Thank You God for my life. Thank You for a beating heart of flesh, that cares, that loves and responds to You in worship! Great is our God! Praise His Name! In that Name we pray, Amen!

I Can Do All Things . . .

I found this promotional item on my Facebook feed yesterday, and I knew immediately I had to have it. It features a mug with the statement, “I can do all things through a verse taken out of context.” I didn’t question it. I immediately went to the website and bought one. It will be here in a few days and I cannot wait. I already have plans to feature it prominently whenever I do a video because it speaks to the core of my teaching philosophy. In popular Christian culture, it is so easy to take a verse out of context and make it say something contrary to the Word, and that is one of my all-time pet peeves.

So I share this with you today if you too are disgusted by such things. God bless You and may you have a wonderful day!

https://www.reformedsage.com/products/all-things-mug

 

Directed to Heaven

www.bible.com/1713/1th.5.16-18.csb

What would a lifetime of practice in these attitudes engender? If you took to rejoicing at every opportunity, keeping in prayer, and giving thanks at all times, what kind of person would you be?

I can’t stand those who take these verse, especially “praying constantly” and make them into Law. Christianity has never been about Law, but about Grace. We do not live in Christ by keeping rules. That was the error of the Jews, and to some extent still is. There is not a list of rules on this earth that will get you into heaven. Why? Because no one can keep them. If you were to say that a person must pray constantly to get into heaven, well, you’ve already been condemned, because you took the time to read this. Were you praying as you read this? No? Well, guess what, you just committed a sin and need to repent. Yet that is the mentality of many who read this and many of passages. They want to turn it into laws so that they can stand over someone else and accuse them. That sounds like Satan’s work (the Accuser of our brethren) to me.

Rather (and this is why I quoted this trio of verses, rather than just the one) these verses indicate an attitude of our life. God would not tell us to do something that we cannot do. I for one know that I cannot pray constantly. I don’t have that kind of focus, and my mind is fairly healthy. What about those who have short-term memory loss, or dementia, or a host of other mental ailments? Can they pray constantly? And would God condemn them because they can’t?

When we read these verses together, they sound more like this: As often as you can, rejoice, pray and give thanks. Always have an attitude where your life is characterized by them. It’s like when we say, “I could eat chocolate all the time.” First, we know that’s not a good idea, and second, it’s just not possible. But it does convey the idea that as often as it is appropriate and available, I would like to eat chocolate. When Paul writes these words, He is not laying down a new commandment, but an attitude of Christian worship and holiness. Always be in this mind, always be aware of your presence before the Lord. Those practicing such will find themselves in good standing with God, especially when their mind and body fail them.

Today is the National Day of Prayer. Because gatherings are banned, may I ask that you make some time today to be in physical and spiritual prayer. But do not think that you should only pray today. Today may be a mountain peak of prayer, but we don’t always climb the peaks. Sometimes we trudge through the valleys. Enjoy time with God.

Heavenly Lord, what a great privilege we have today to be in Your presence. You have made us and adopted us into Your amazing family of believers. I come before You today as one in awe. I don’t deserve to be in Your Presence. I find it difficult to believe that One such as Yourself would love one such as me. But Your word makes it clear. You love me, and can’t stand an eternity spent without me in it. I have never felt such love, and I need that. Father, let that love flow through me today to others. Help me to share that peace and privilege with those who don’t know it today. Thank You God in Jesus. Amen.

MISSION IMPOSSIBLE

www.bible.com/1713/mat.19.26.csb

Let me add some valuable context and clarification for this verse. If there has been any drawbacks to verifying the Bible, it is this: allowing for single verses to be quoted without any context narrowing and defining their meaning. In context, Jesus is talking to His disciples about the “rich young ruler” who had just turned away, “because he had much riches”, though he had expressed a desire to follow Jesus’ instructions about gaining eternal life. Jesus responded to him by saying that though he had followed the Law, he would also need to seek his possessions and follow Jesus. The man was grieved, “because he had much possessions.”

The disciples are aghast, wondering how anyone could possibly be saved? Remember that for them, a man with much riches was obviously blessed by God. Riches meant spiritual blessing. So in their minds, this man was a saint. Jesus corrects their thinking with what is a New Testament concept, that physically riches are not a sign of spiritual wealth. So for the disciples, they are thinking that if such a man can’t get into heaven, no one can. Jesus corrects them by saying, (Matt 19:23-24) “it will be hard for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of Heaven! … it is easier to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter into the Kingdom of God.”

So what is Jesus saying here? Are riches wrong? No, Jesus isn’t condemning riches, but what happens when a person becomes wealthy. If it is impossible to please God without faith, then you must have faith to get into the Kingdom of Heaven. Faith in God can be clouded or obscured when you put your faith in your possessions. When you see your possessions as more important than following Jesus, which this young man did. He had put his security and hope in his possessions. He felt that without his possessions, he was nothing, and worthless. What we discover is that a life that is based and founded in Jesus is far better than holding riches and wealth. Would God give us riches to bless us? Certainly, but we also remember that any riches we receive are not our own, but given to us to manage for the Kingdom. The reason God gives us riches is to use them for His glory. That is why it is hard for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, because he is afraid of losing his wealth for the sake of the Kingdom.

So what does Jesus mean by this enigmatic “with God all things are possible”? He means it is possible for the rich man to be saved. As far as the man himself is concerned, he cannot save himself. That is impossible. But for God, it is possible to save him, because God can do this act of salvation (through the death, burial, and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ). The disciples were thinking that it was great blessing (signified by the man’s wealth) that was a sure guarantee of salvation. Jesus corrected them by saying it was not man’s effort (obvious by the man’s ability in business to create wealth) but God’s effort that saves. Within context, that is the meaning of this passage.

I might also use this passage to give hope to the hopeless. To someone who believes they are hopelessly lost. They may see themselves as lost with no hope of redemption, to which I might say, “for man this is impossible, but all things are possible with God.” A man cannot save himself. But God can save him. There is no sin so great committed by an unbeliever that God cannot save him. And that is saying a lot. But let that be hope for you as well. There is nothing you have done in your limited mortality that God is not so offended that He can’t love you any more.

Dear God, may I come before you humble of heart and soul. The things I have done I am certain have offended you and caused anger in you. Yet Father I have no where else to turn. Though I be the greatest sinner of all men, to You alone can I turn for my redemption. I cannot ask this lightly or flippantly, because my sin has been against You. And when I read Your book and hear Your words, I know I am dust. When I see myself through Your eyes, I know my worth and my sin. Lord I repent of my sins. I can do not other. I have offended the King of Heaven, to whom else can I go? Lord I pray for your forgiveness, not because of my righteousness, but because of the righteousness of the Son of God, who confessed His love for me by shedding His blood on the cross. May I claim that forgiveness for my own and receive undeserved righteousness in place of my wickedness? May He lay His blood upon me and cleanse me from my sin? My Savior and my God? I pray these things in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Waiting

www.bible.com/1713/psa.130.5.csb

Have you ever waiting for something, something that you didn’t want to wait for, but had no choice but to wait? Earlier this year, my wife and I had planned a special trip to North Carolina to spend our 25th wedding anniversary. We had planned this back in November, when things were still “normal.” As the date for our trip moved closer, my anticipation was growing. I didn’t want to wait, but because of time and schedules, had no choice. And then the Corona Virus hit. From January to February, I was still hopeful, despite the fact that things began to close. I was still hopeful that at least we could stay in our rented accommodations. But by March, it all can to halt. Even our Governor forbade anyone from leaving the state. Our guest accommodations were canceled by the company, for the protection of their employees. We were stuck. I was angry. I had waited for so long, only to have everything cancelled. But that is 2020 for you.

As the quarantine is beginning to wind down, we have now rescheduled our trip for October, and surprisingly enough, this one promises to be even better than the one we missed. So now we wait, again. October can’t get here fast enough, but I will wait this time, cautiously. Because even though we make plans, it is God who sees them through. So I will wait with patience, knowing there is plenty of life to live between now and then.

I will wait upon the Lord, for as I continue to learn, His timing is the best. The Lord knows how to give good gifts to His children. He knows what you want, not just what you need. He also has a way of moving pieces behind the scenes so that when He does put you into play, you are in the right place at the right time to accomplish His purposes. Those that wait upon the Lord will renew their strength. They will also find their hope assured by His word, for the Lord keeps His promises.

Heavenly Father, I know I don’t bring much to the table. My abilities are feeble and weak. But with You, little is much. Your power is made perfect in weakness. And in You I have nothing to fear. Thank You for teaching me patience, for the rewards far outweigh the wait. Thank You Lord. In Jesus’s Name, Amen.

No Greater Temptation

www.bible.com/1713/1co.10.13.csb

Though this passage is often quoted and applied out of context (“God won’t give you any more than you can handle”), it seems that this passage includes something that most overlook, the escape clause. That’s right. Temptations have an escape clause, if you are willing to look for it.

As Christians we have the option to avoid temptation. I say its an option, because we don’t have to sin. We have been saved from sin. We are not subject to sin. And when we do sin, it is a great victory for Satan. Consider that as a Christian, you are saved from sin and its eternal consequences. Your heart is cleansed, but our flesh is still very much with us. Our old habits are still instilled in our brains. It will take time to unlearn them. But God is gracious, and familiar with our frailties. Don’t let that become your excuse. “I’m only human.”

So what is our greatest temptation? It’s our “get out of jail free” card. We may now sin, and not die for eternity in Hell. As Christians, Jesus died for our sins, past, present, and future. Sins we have yet to commit have already been forgiven. Paul saw this early, saying in Romans 6 that some Christians will say, “let us continue to sin so that grace may abound.” His reminder? Since we have become Christians, we are dead to sin, because we have been crucified, and buried, with Christ. Our greatest temptation is that we can now sin and not have consequences. That is a lie, because sin always has consequences. While we may not suffer eternal consequences, there are temporal we cannot avoid. You will be jailed for murder. Your family will suffer if you watch porn. If you are still selfish, you will find yourself violating commandments to “love one another.” And the ultimate danger of all of this is that you will lose your salvation. The longer you stay away from the grace of the Lord Jesus, the harder it will be to come back. And God will not force you to go into heaven.

My prayer for you and for myself this morning is that we will not give in to this greatest temptation, and that we will find our way of escape through His grace.