Monthly Archives: August 2014

Where is your confidence?

 

Confidence is not based on having everything you need to take care of yourself. Confidence is based on the truth that our great God is faithful!

 

Would you best be described as confident or shy? Perhaps we all carry some of both characteristics depending on the setting. Sometimes we might take confidence in our natural abilities. In other times we might rely on what we have learned from teachers, books, or experiences. We might try to take confidence in our finances, our families, or our friends. But which of these give us confidence to approach Almighty God? By what means do we have the right to enter His presence?

 

Jesus said, “I am the way” (John 14:6). He is the living way God opened for us to come directly to Him. He is the way for hearts to be cleansed and to be filled with the confidence and assurance that faith brings.

 

Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.” (Hebrews 10:19-22)

 

How do we respond to such a profound and gracious gift? With a half-hearted, luke-warm heart that occasionally offers perfunctory sacrifices when it is convenient? No. Recognizing the supreme value of such a gift would reduce the most ardent of believers to fall face down in worship and to devote their lives humbly and completely to their God, holding ever so firmly to the faith that draws them closer to Him.

 

“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” (Hebrews 10:23-25)

 

What hope do you profess? Is it a hope that you can hold to unswervingly? Hope in our own efforts and smarts and hope in everything of this world disappoints. But there is a hope that we can hold unswervingly to. It is hope offered by the one who promised and is faithful, the one who never ever abandons you. It is the hope that brings a ‘new and living way’ to live beyond yourself, to encourage others and spur them also on toward love and good deeds.

 

In the depths of your despair, in the darkness of your pain and sorrow, in the confusion of your anxiety, cling unswervingly to the hope that God your Father offers to His children. Accept the way Jesus offers into the presence of God right now.  And hold on to the confidence that is based on the truth that God is faithful.

 

 

Living sacrifice

 

 

The concept of sacrifice is common to all religions of the world. Some make offerings of food before lifeless images and altars. Others strive to live by higher personal standards that might bid them well in the next life. Still others lend themselves to an endless list of good-deed-doing in vain attempt to shift the balance between the good and the bad they have done.  Even apologies serve as a form of sacrifice. It appears to be a universal truth that man needs to make amends for wrongs. Despite the claim of the 1970 movie “Love Story,” apparently, love means you ALWAYS need to say you’re sorry.

 

In Old Testament times, sacrifices were commonly made through the offering of animals. Only the high priests were allowed to enter the inner room of the tabernacle to bring the blood sacrifice for himself and the sins of the people, even those committed in ignorance. (Hebrews 9:7)  The Holy Spirit had not yet been revealed, leaving the people to try to clear their consciences before God by bringing gifts and sacrifices of food and drink and ceremonial behaviors.   (v 9-10)

 

We all can understand the need to clear our consciences before God, but no sacrifice was sufficient. A perfect sacrifice, which we could never offer, was required. Christ, the perfect sacrifice, had to become the mediator of the new covenant for us. (v 15) And unlike the sacrifices of old which had to be made over and over, Jesus made one perfect sacrifice for us.  “Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.” (v 27-28)

 

Today we make sacrifices of money, time, self-denial, and service. But they are not what God most desires. Speaking of His Father God, Jesus said, “Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them”—though they were offered in accordance with the law. Then he said, “Here I am, I have come to do your will.” (Hebrews 10:8-9) 

 

And how do we best accomplish His will? What kind of sacrifice would demonstrate our desire to do His will? “I will sacrifice a thank offering and call upon the name of the Lord.” (Psalm 116:17, )  “Let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise – the fruit of lips that openly profess his name.” (Hebrews 13:15) THIS is the sacrifice that God most desires and that satisfies both Him and us: a LIVING sacrifice of thankful and praising hearts. Certainly, the motives of a thankful and praising heart yields its will to good works, self-denial, and the service of others. But these are the outcomes of true sacrifice, not the sacrifice itself.

 

How many times can you discover today to offer God your thanks and your praise? Be a living sacrifice of thanks and praise!

What agreement are you living under?

 

Under law, God requires. Under grace, He provides.

Driving down the interstate highway, especially (ahem) when I am going the speed limit, there are always plenty of folk who want to go faster. When we get our driver’s licenses we enter into a covenant, an agreement, to obey the laws of the road. The expectation of the law is clearly posted about the maximum speed limit but the law does not bring us to keep our agreement. We easily break the covenant when it suits us.

 

And so it has always been, right? God entered into a covenant with His people. His laws, actually intended to make us aware of our utter dependence on Him, are continually broken. In fact, it seems the human heart is quite unable and unwilling to keep them.

 

And so God, in His mercy, gave us a way out, a new covenant. “Jesus has become the guarantor of a better covenant.” (Hebrews 7:22). Knowing that we would not and could not faithfully keep His commands, He gave us a new covenant of grace to draw us closer to Him. “For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another.” (Hebrews 8:7)  “By calling this covenant “new,” He has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear.” (Hebrews 8:13)

 

Many in the Catholic and Anglican traditions are accustomed to going to a priest as an intermediary between them and God. Others set up rules and lists of accomplishments and deeds as their intermediary to appease God. But who better to put ALL our trust in besides Jesus who lives forever, the exact representation of God Himself, to intercede for us in our trials and weaknesses? (V 23-24) Who else could meet our deepest needs other than the One who is “holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens” – the One who is perfect forever”? ( V26-28)

 

If you have ever told a lie, taken God’s name in vain, put other things and feelings before Him, dishonored your parents, envied others or their belongings, you know how futile it is to depend on your own ability to always keep the law. Good deeds have their place when they are an outpouring of a faithful and grateful heart. But by themselves, they accomplish nothing of lasting value; and they certainly, by themselves, do not bring us closer to God.

 

When you look inside your heart and consider your inner motivations, which covenant are you living under? Are you living under the old covenant which demands perfect compliance with the law and an endless list of good deeds to ‘make up’ for your transgressions? Or are you living freely and victoriously under the new covenant of grace?

 

Under law, God requires; under grace, God provides. Which do you prefer?

Choose the new covenant today and enjoy the full life Jesus desires for you.

 

 

Moving toward maturity

 

Hebrews 6:1 “Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity…”

 

Parents delight in newborn babies in all their innocence and fresh opportunities before them.  We celebrate a young person’s graduation milestone, recognizing their transition toward adulthood. We plant gardens and trees in the expectation and hope for what they will produce. While we sometimes wish we could pause time and remain in that special beginning moment, who would really want things to remain that way forever? A child who never moves on to forge his or her own life, a garden that doesn’t grow and produce food, flowers that never mature to bloom, a tree that produces no shade or fruit?

 

So it is in our lives, that we should continue to mature in the ways of life, the caring for others, and our mission which reaches way beyond ourselves. Paul encourages us to ‘move beyond the elementary teachings of Christ and be taken to maturity.’ Have you ever noticed that it is often easier to learn an elementary principle than how to consistently apply that toward a worthwhile outcome? Have you observed this in your own spiritual life, that you have learned the basics about Jesus but fail to find victory over life’s struggles? So it was also in Paul’s day. His students had learned facts about the Christian life but not how to apply the gospel toward living a mature life. (Hebrews 5:12).

 

Isn’t that true in our lives too? Just as rain falls on the land and produces both weeds and fruit (and veggies!) so God’s truth and grace falls freely on us so that we can mature in faith, experience victory over life’s trials, and bear fruit for His kingdom. Mature believers press on toward producing beneficial fruit while those who feel trapped by life’s circumstances produce weeds that choke out life.

 

But wait; there is hope! Paul says (Heb. 6:9), “Beloved, we are convinced of better things concerning you.” Yes, we may have lived a careless, undisciplined, unfocused life up until now. We may have let circumstances govern too many of our responses. But it is not too late! Keep the hope (v11) that by God’s daily outpouring of compassion we will not be consumed by this world, but will find our way to move on toward a mature, purposeful life that counts for all time. This hope anchors us and holds our lives firm and secure in the midst of life’s most terrifying storms (v19).

 

Let us press on toward maturity. It is indeed granted by God’s provident grace (v3) but it does not occur at all without our intentional efforts to draw close to Him throughout each day.

 

 

Sacrificed for you

 

As we GIVE we find that sacrifice brings forth the BLESSINGS of heaven; and in the end, we learn it was no sacrifice at all. – Spencer Kimball

 

“During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek.” Hebrews 5:7-10

 

We understand a baseball batter might bunt a ball, sacrificing his chance to get on base in order to let another player advance a base. Or a chess player who sacrifices his most valuable queen in order to win the game. We understand a parent’s sacrifice to eat less or live on less, in order to feed and support a child. We understand, though remain in awe of, a soldier’s sacrifice in order to save their platoon and to preserve freedom for unknown others. But when it comes to the sacrifice Jesus offered, I wonder if we can really comprehend the full price He paid.

 

For some of you, the idea of a high priest who represents the people before God, is a foreign concept. But that is how it was in Old Testament days. Jesus is described as the ultimate high priest who represents us before God. He sacrificed who He was in order to pay the price for our rebelliousness and sin. He is able to deal with us when we are tempted because He himself was tempted. He relates to our pain when we find ourselves in some desert experience because He was led into the desert. During His days on earth He prayed for us to His Heavenly father, who heard Him.

 

We are called to follow in His steps, to live in a humble and sacrificial manner that denies self, honors God, and serves others. Do you know of any other way to respond to such a gift as Jesus gave us? Let’s step up to the call to live sacrificially so others can know this great Jesus.

 

“Every high priest is selected from among the people and is appointed to represent the people in matters related to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray, since he himself is subject to weakness. This is why he has to offer sacrifices for his own sins, as well as for the sins of the people. And no one takes this honor on himself, but he receives it when called by God, just as Aaron was.” Hebrews 5:1-4

 

 

Enter into God’s rest

 

 

“There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience.” Hebrews 4:9-11

 

I think perhaps most everyone is familiar with the idea of the Sabbath, a day set aside to rest from our work and to enjoy God. The idea of the Sabbath-rest has been taken literally for thousands of years. Jesus scolded some of the pharisees for their legalistic ways, acting holy but refusing to help or heal someone on the Sabbath, because they considered it ‘work.’

 

But the true emphasis, according to God’s own Word, is not simply resting by sitting back and taking in a ballgame on TV. The Focus is on entering God’s rest. It is about entering and enjoying His presence. Think of a friend who has taken a break from work and invites you to enter his rest. What do you do? Go over to his house and drag him to some work project? No, you rest with Him. You enjoy each other’s company.

 

The Sabbath-rest is not just for one special day each week. God asks us to enter His rest each day. And not just to take a break from our chores and vocation. But to rest from our constant striving…striving toward self-centered goals, for seeking to please Him more by our works than by our worship, striving to be accepted when he says, “Child, you are mine; I love you already.”

 

Stop striving and enter into God’s rest as often as you want and need each day, not just on Sunday. Rest for a moment or for a season. Let your work reflect who you already are, In Christ, and who He is in you. Enjoy Him more today!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What are you building today?

 

 

Buying what we could afford, Marcia and I have added on to most of our houses to meet the needs of our growing family. Working together, we saved a lot of money (that we didn’t have anyway) and board by board, wall by wall, planned and constructed improved dwellings. Likely, you too have been involved in some sort of construction project, building either a dwelling, your career, your family, or planning for your goals and ambitions.

 

The purpose of all of these, you think, is to serve you and your family. But how many times have these plans and ‘construction’ projects taken a life of their own? Instead of you planning them, it turns out that they tend to control you and lead you down a path distanced from where you intended?

 

“For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything.” Hebrews 3:4

 

I know there have been times I have been so intent on my plans to build my life with my own strategies that I have forgotten to consult God about them. You too? Tied up with planning, even in trying to be a good steward, it’s easy to forget to turn the development plans over to the one who knows best how to build our lives.  Sure, we are responsible for our lives, but the one who has the best design for us is in fact, the builder of everything.

 

How much are you trying to control in the name of responsibility, prudence, or stewardship and what building plans do you need to turn over to the chief architect of your life? Is it your pursuit of financial independence, the chase after ‘bigger and better’, or controlling relationships, and the tendency to believe lies that undermine and eat away at everything you build? When you look at your faith, is it built on the hopes that good works will save you or on the firm foundation that Jesus laid for you, paid in full by His grace and mercy?

 

Every day, we find ourselves building our lives and our faith. What are you building today? Make sure to have quality materials and the design that is intentionally created to bring peace, love, joy, and the honor that comes to every good builder.

 

 

Pay attention

 

 

Does the 1932 iconic photo of the RCA Building (Rockefeller Center) construction workers casually sitting atop a beam some 69 stories above the city cause you any anxiety? Whether or not it was taken as a publicity stunt, it makes me nervous just to look at them on their dangerous perch. I want to shout, “Pay attention! Be careful so you don’t fall.”

 

Actually, that is a message for you and me today. Though few of us are likely to pose for a photo atop a dangling construction beam, we remain each day a step away from believing lies that cause us to fall from our most cherished beliefs and positions.

 

What kinds of lies have you believed that have robbed you of joy, peace, and confidence?  We tend to view ourselves and others through the hazy filter of present circumstances, impressions, hearsay, and partial information. Our noisy soul tells us how miserable we are, how many times we have failed, and how hopeless things are. In reality, there is more than our present circumstances: there is the spiritual reality of who we really are, redeemed already by the Son of God, if indeed our full trust is in Him.  God sees us as righteous, forgiven, holy, His children. Yet, we continue to believe lies about our identity. We might think we are controlled by sin but Paul says we ought to reckon ourselves dead to it. That is, believe that it doesn’t control us. If God says we are not under condemnation, we ought to believe it.

 

The cleverest of lies,  we are tempted to believe we live two lives, a sacred one where we worship on Sunday, pray occasionally during the week, and a secular one where we earn a living, whisk away time with our hobbies, and live mostly for ourselves. It’s time we pay attention lest we drift from the truth that we have just one life to live while on this earth; and we are called to live (all of) it set aside for God.  We are spiritual beings with a temporary earthly body, not physical beings with some spiritual aspect.

 

What lies are you believing these days that have caused you to drift from what you know to be truth? Today’s the day to renounce those lies and the control they attempt to have on you. Keep your eyes and mind guarded by God’s Word and promises, lest you find yourself drifting away.

 

“We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.” Hebrews 2:1

 

 

Much better than angels

 

 

What do you think about angels? Do they exist? Do they interact with people? How important are they? The Bible says they do exist and lists a number of times that angels do in fact speak to people. The fact that angels are God-created speaks to their value. Beyond that Hollywood has generated many fantasies about angels earning their wings, getting second chances in heaven and so much other confusion about the true identity and purpose of angels. I’ve known people who reject Jesus but collect angel nick knacks  and some who even worship angels. How do angels ‘rank’ in the Bible? Let’s look:

 

God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high; having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they. Hebrews 1:1-4

 

Of course, this person who is ‘much better than the angels’ is Jesus. True, God has spoken through His angels in the past and also, at least once, through a donkey.  And yes, He could still speak to us through such extravagant ways and circumstances. But primarily, He speaks to us through His Son, Jesus, the heir of all things and to whom all authority has been given, on earth and in heaven (Matthew 28:18). We might be tempted, especially at Christmas time, to think that Jesus first appeared on the scene as a baby in Bethlehem. But God’s Word reminds us here and in John 1 that Jesus has always been. Our world was made through Him. He was, He is, and He will always be, the beginning and the end (Revelation 22:13).   Some people say they believe in God but not Jesus. (Fair enough; everyone is welcome to their own beliefs.) But God’s Word, tested through the ages, says that Jesus is “the exact representation” of God. His nature is the same as God’s. His motives are the same as God’s. In fact, it follows that if you want to know God, you want to know Jesus.

 

 

We needn’t disregard the importance of angels in God’s grand plans. But let’s keep our focus on the supremacy of Him who is “much better than the angels,” the One who offers us real hope for today!

 

 

Choose news you need to hear

 

Your choices make you.

John Stossel recently wrote about the tendency of the media to highlight the news that develops quickly rather than that which grows slowly:  “A car crash that kills a family is terrible news. But gradual improvements in driver behavior, car and road safety, and attitudes about drunk driving should be even bigger news. Driving remains one of the riskiest things we do, but far fewer people die now.”

 

I wonder if we too are prone to viewing sudden news as more notable than that which takes time to develop. For example, the news of respected person that falls off a moral cliff is quick to stir up all kinds of conversation. But the gradual, steadfast efforts of a tired mother or a faithful dad go unnoticed. Our son or daughter wins a race or some achievement and the accolades are poured on. But do their efforts to stand strong in a tough world reign just as noteworthy?

 

And how would you report the news of your own efforts to be faithful? I’m guessing you are quick to judge your infrequent momentary failures while forgetting how many times you have said ‘no’ to tempting ways.

 

Life is a journey that is marked by thousands of seemingly small decisions, tens of thousands of choices to do and think about right things. We make hundreds of choices every day, perhaps without even knowing. Even though it may seem of little consequence at the time, these moments of victory define your life more than any ‘newsworthy’ lifetime achievements; more than your wealth, your career, or your fame. Celebrate the good news in your life!

 

“Who, then, are those who fear the Lord? He will instruct them in the ways they should choose.” Psalm 25:12