Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. (Romans 5: 1,2 & 5)
What do you hope for? Do you hope for a relaxing summer? Do you hope that it doesn't rain this upcoming Memorial Day weekend? Do you hope that this devotion doesn't drone on and on? In general when we hope for something, we want it to happen and think it might happen, but there is still a chance that we will be disappointed, as there is still a chance that it actually won't happen (especially in the case of hoping that this devotion won't drone on and on)!
In Colossians we are promised, "When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory." (Colossians 3:4) On the world's last day, our bodies and souls together will be taken to paradise to experience and share in the glory of the one and only Triune God. Those who "hope in the glory of God" (verse 2)- those who hope for sharing God's glory in heaven, will never be disappointed. God has, and continues to "[pour] our his love into our hearts," and mixed in with this love are all of his promises. When we hope to have a relaxing summer, there's no one promising or guaranteeing that we will have one. When we hope it doesn't rain this weekend, there's no one promising that it won't (even if the weatherman has no chance of rain in the forecast it's not a guarantee- especially in Wisconsin - hey, we could even get snow)! But when we hope in the Lord, when we rejoice and hope in the glory of God, it's a different kind of hope. We have a new definition of hope when we hope in the Lord, because our one and only hope - our Triune God ALWAYS keeps his "very great and precious promises." (2 Peter 1:4) Joshua in his farewell speech had it nailed, "You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the LORD your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed." (Joshua 23:14) Joshua doesn't stutter one bit - there's not even a sliver of doubt in his proclamation. And unlike us who live in the A.D., Joshua lived and died and hoped well before the greatest promise God ever made was fulfilled.
The only reason Joshua had this hope and the only reason we have this hope - this hope that is like no other, is because of the work of our Triune God. Because God the Father loved us enough to design a plan to justify us through faith - because he gave his one and only son, we now have been given peace with him and we can hope and be sure that one day we will have eternal life where we will share in his glory. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16) Because God the Son followed his father's plan and paid the price for our justification, we can hope and be sure we will one day share in his glory. "My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness." (CW#382). Because God the Holy Spirit has poured out his love and worked faith in our hearts, we can hope and be absolutely sure and certain that we will one day share in his glory. "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." (Hebrews 11:1)
Proverbs tells us, "the evil man has no future hope," (Proverbs 24:20a) The future for those who are without God is hopeless. Because of the work that our Triune God has done to justify us and because of the love that our Triune God has poured into our hearts, we are not only not hopeless, but we are also more than simply hopeful. We are full of hope, and this is a different kind of hope than the kind of hope that we normally deal with. This kind of hope that we are filled with, doesn't leave us questioning what the outcome will be. Rather, this kind of hope allows us to positively look forward to the certain realization that we will one day be spending our days in heaven, sharing in the glory of our Triune God. Unlike so many of the things we hope for in this world, this kind of hope will never disappoint. Blessed are they who hope, who hope in the LORD!
Dear Triune God, our one and only hope who has given us a different kind of hope that does not disappoint,
You tell us, "...[Your] eyes are on those who fear [you], on those whose hope is in [your] unfailing love, to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine. We wait in hope for [you]; [You are] our help and our shield. In [you] our hearts rejoice, for we trust in [your] holy name. May your unfailing love rest upon us, O LORD, even as we put our hope in you." (Psalm 33:18-22)
Amen!
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
May 20, 2010
"When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me. And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning. (John 15: 26,27)
When I was in grade school, we would eat our 'lunch box lunches' at our desks. Some days, while we dug into whatever our mothers happened to fill our boxes with, we played a game. I think we called it the telephone game. The kid sitting in the front row would think of a sentence, they would then whisper it in the ear of the person behind them. The process would be repeated until the whispering made its way through a couple rows of desks, or about 7 or 8 kids. The final person to hear the message would recite it out loud. The message usually ended up not even close to the original, which for some reason was highly entertaining for a bunch of grade schoolers.
Imagine if we were to play the telephone game, but instead of playing it with 7 or 8 people, we would play it with 100 people. Instead of finishing up the game in a minute or two, imagine stretching the game out for 2000+ years. Instead of using just one short message, we would use all the stories contained in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Then, to make it really interesting, each time we whisper the message into the next person's ear - we would translate it into another language! The professional definition of a generation is approximately 20 years, so since the day that Jesus ascended into heaven, there have been roughly 100 generations and 2000 years. Linguists estimate that there are actually over 5,000 different languages spoken in the world today and there are about 200 different languages that have at least a million native speakers. How close to the original message would the end result be if left in the hands, or more accurately the mouths and the ears, of humans alone? The result would probably not be good, and if the outcome was not good then it for sure would be nothing to laugh about.
This past Sunday I was reminded in a sermon that I heard from the pulpit, that now that Jesus has ascended - 'we are the plan.' Before he went up into heaven, Jesus told his disciples to "...go and make disciples of all nations..." (Matthew 28:19a) Hanging out in front of the command to go, is the silent and understood pronoun 'you.' The 'you' were those first disciples, those eyewitnesses, who were the one and only people who were to testify about Jesus. Now we, who are Jesus' present day disciples, are the one and only people who are to testify about Jesus. But thankfully for us, when Jesus went up into heaven, he didn't leave us to ourselves to play the telephone game with the precious gospel. Jesus sent the Counselor. The Spirit has given and preserved the gift of the Word, and this is good for us because his words "are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name" (John 20:31) Jesus sent the Spirit of truth to make sure the truth of the life giving Gospel was preserved from generation 1 through generation 100 and beyond!
Because of the Holy Spirit, we can be sure that the Word is more than just words, in I Thessalonians we find "...our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction." (I Thessalonians 1:5) Sure, those gospel writers who were with Jesus could have penned fairly accurate accounts of what they witnessed. But on their own, how would they have known what was important enough to make the cut in the editing process? In the final words from the gospel of John we are told that, "Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written." (John 21:5) Thankfully Jesus sent the Spirit of truth to counsel the gospel writers on the content and to to breath life (2 Timothy 3:16a) and truth into the words.
We have the Spirit's testimony today - we have the Bible. And yet we often either take the power of the Bible for granted, or we simply don't take it at all. You have heard the cliche' about Bibles gathering dust, have you ever heard of a TV remote control gathering dust? How often do we reach for a TV remote control, or a video game controller, or a computer mouse each day? Compare that with how often we reach for a Bible. As we celebrate Pentecost this upcoming Sunday, we should send up a prayer thanking the Spirit for his work in his gift of the Bible - we would also do well to send up a prayer asking for help to better appreciate, respect and utilize the Word.
Living in 2010, we are NOT eyewitnesses of Jesus' life on this earth, but because of the way the Counselor works and because of the gift of the Word, we are also not 100 times or 2000 years removed from Jesus and the truth. In I Corinthians we learn: "We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. (I Corinthians 2:12) Only because of the work of the Spirit do we understand what God has freely given us. And for those of us who do understand - we "also must testify," (verse 27) so that those who don't understand might, with the help of the Spirit, come to an understanding. Praise be to God the Holy Spirit, that Spirit of truth, that we are able to testify -that we are able to 'whisper into the ear' of the person next to us who has not yet heard, the pure ungarbled Gospel in perfect truth!
Dear Jesus,
Thanks for sending the Spirit of truth to those 1st century Christians who were responsible for putting on paper all that we know about your life - especially the part about you coming into this world to live a perfect life in our place and paying for our sins by your death on the cross. Help us to appreciate more and more the awesome gift we have in the pages of Scripture. Thanks to the Holy Spirit we are able to crack open the pages of the Bible anytime we want and be comforted by your promises. We have heard the Spirit testify and now we, along with the help of the Spirit, are the ones who need to testify so that others also may come to know your love. Send the Counselor to us today, to motivate us to get out there and get testifying! Amen!
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
May 13, 2010
Our Second Lesson for this upcoming Sunday comes from the final verses of the final book of the Bible. We'll look at two select verses:
"The Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let him who hears say, "Come!" Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life. He who testifies to these things says, "Yes, I am coming soon." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus." (Revelation 22: 17 & 20)
If you were to ask a dog trainer: what is the single most important thing a young puppy should know? The answer you will likely hear is a one word answer - 'come.' A puppy needs to be able to respond appropriately when they hear their master calling 'come.' Someday it just might save their life. So it is with us, as the single most important thing in the world for us humans is to hear the Holy Spirit when he calls, 'come;' because someday it will save our life - our eternal life.
We have heard the Spirit's invitation to come and now we are to invite those who haven't yet heard the invitation to come - those who are still thirsty. Those who haven't heard the Spirit's invitation are thirsty and dehydrated to the point of fainting under the elements of sin. They are thirsty and they can't seem to find anything to quench their thirst. They reach for various beverages mixed by themselves, the devil or the world, but all leave them thirstier. What they are really thirsty for is forgiveness and peace. That forgiveness and peace is found in "the free gift of the water of life." (verse 17). Because Jesus 'drank the cup' (Matthew 26:42) and paid for it, our drink from the water of life is free. This water of life quenches our thirst for good by offering a refreshing new perspective on life in this world, and then it ultimately gives us the gift of eternal life!
CW#336 "Come unto Me, Ye Weary" puts it nicely.
(verse 3)
"Come unto me, ye fainting, And I will give you life."
O cheering voice of Jesus, Which comes to aid our strife!
The foe is stern and eager; The fight is fierce and long;
But thou has made us mighty And stronger than the strong.
The fight is fierce and long. While we live in this "post-ascension age" and wait for Jesus to return, we will likely have our share of strife, but Jesus hasn't turned his back on us. Heaven is not in a 'dead spot,' we can call Jesus up anytime we want - Jesus also invites us to come: "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28) When we go to him with our earthly problems, Jesus will listen to our prayers and if it his will, he will ease those burdens. But even more important than rest from our earthly issues, is the rest from the burden of sin - eternal rest that Jesus guarantees for all who come to him.
CW#336 "Come unto Me, Ye Weary" (verse 1)
"Come unto me, ye weary, And I will give your rest."
O blessed voice of Jesus, Which comes to hearts oppressed!
It tells of benediction, Of pardon, grace and peace,
Of joy that has no ending, Of love that cannot cease.
I am ashamed to admit that on more than one occasion when I have been busy working on something and one of my daughters has called for me from the other room, I have responded by calling back, "I'm coming." And then I proceed to not only finish up what I am working on, but sometimes I even selfishly start more work before I actually go to them. When we call, "Amen. Come, Lord Jesus," and Jesus answers in his Word, "I am coming soon," (verse 20) it's NOT because he is selfishly working on something and is too busy to deal with us. Jesus doesn't throw out that phrase as a stall tactic. Everything Jesus is doing right now in heaven, he is doing for us - things like interceding for us, answering our prayers and preparing our room in heaven. When the time comes on God's calendar (Acts 1:7), when the preparations are complete, Jesus tells us, "I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am." (John 14:3b) There's nothing more awesome for us to look forward to, than to be with Jesus forever - the joy that has no ending, and so we can't help but saying and praying "Amen. Come, Lord Jesus." (verse 20)
"Come unto Me, Ye Weary" doesn't have a verse 5, so I tried my hand at one, using these verses from Revelation as the basis:
Now we say come Lord Jesus! And while we wait for You,
We share Your love with others, That others may come too.
The Holy Spirit's calling, Eternal life is free.
We hear Him, come Lord Jesus, That we may go with Thee. Amen!
Because God the Holy Spirit has called us to come and because God the Son has come into this world to pay our way, to quench our thirst and to give us the free gift of life; we are now right with God the Father, and we are now ready to come and spend eternity singing praises at the throne of our Triune God. In the meantime we should be calling the thirsty to come and hear the Spirit's invitation to come, and in the meantime if we get weary we can come to Jesus and he will give us rest. But for those who have heard the Spirit's call to come, Jesus' return can't come soon enough! Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. Amen!
"The Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let him who hears say, "Come!" Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life. He who testifies to these things says, "Yes, I am coming soon." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus." (Revelation 22: 17 & 20)
If you were to ask a dog trainer: what is the single most important thing a young puppy should know? The answer you will likely hear is a one word answer - 'come.' A puppy needs to be able to respond appropriately when they hear their master calling 'come.' Someday it just might save their life. So it is with us, as the single most important thing in the world for us humans is to hear the Holy Spirit when he calls, 'come;' because someday it will save our life - our eternal life.
We have heard the Spirit's invitation to come and now we are to invite those who haven't yet heard the invitation to come - those who are still thirsty. Those who haven't heard the Spirit's invitation are thirsty and dehydrated to the point of fainting under the elements of sin. They are thirsty and they can't seem to find anything to quench their thirst. They reach for various beverages mixed by themselves, the devil or the world, but all leave them thirstier. What they are really thirsty for is forgiveness and peace. That forgiveness and peace is found in "the free gift of the water of life." (verse 17). Because Jesus 'drank the cup' (Matthew 26:42) and paid for it, our drink from the water of life is free. This water of life quenches our thirst for good by offering a refreshing new perspective on life in this world, and then it ultimately gives us the gift of eternal life!
CW#336 "Come unto Me, Ye Weary" puts it nicely.
(verse 3)
"Come unto me, ye fainting, And I will give you life."
O cheering voice of Jesus, Which comes to aid our strife!
The foe is stern and eager; The fight is fierce and long;
But thou has made us mighty And stronger than the strong.
The fight is fierce and long. While we live in this "post-ascension age" and wait for Jesus to return, we will likely have our share of strife, but Jesus hasn't turned his back on us. Heaven is not in a 'dead spot,' we can call Jesus up anytime we want - Jesus also invites us to come: "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28) When we go to him with our earthly problems, Jesus will listen to our prayers and if it his will, he will ease those burdens. But even more important than rest from our earthly issues, is the rest from the burden of sin - eternal rest that Jesus guarantees for all who come to him.
CW#336 "Come unto Me, Ye Weary" (verse 1)
"Come unto me, ye weary, And I will give your rest."
O blessed voice of Jesus, Which comes to hearts oppressed!
It tells of benediction, Of pardon, grace and peace,
Of joy that has no ending, Of love that cannot cease.
I am ashamed to admit that on more than one occasion when I have been busy working on something and one of my daughters has called for me from the other room, I have responded by calling back, "I'm coming." And then I proceed to not only finish up what I am working on, but sometimes I even selfishly start more work before I actually go to them. When we call, "Amen. Come, Lord Jesus," and Jesus answers in his Word, "I am coming soon," (verse 20) it's NOT because he is selfishly working on something and is too busy to deal with us. Jesus doesn't throw out that phrase as a stall tactic. Everything Jesus is doing right now in heaven, he is doing for us - things like interceding for us, answering our prayers and preparing our room in heaven. When the time comes on God's calendar (Acts 1:7), when the preparations are complete, Jesus tells us, "I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am." (John 14:3b) There's nothing more awesome for us to look forward to, than to be with Jesus forever - the joy that has no ending, and so we can't help but saying and praying "Amen. Come, Lord Jesus." (verse 20)
"Come unto Me, Ye Weary" doesn't have a verse 5, so I tried my hand at one, using these verses from Revelation as the basis:
Now we say come Lord Jesus! And while we wait for You,
We share Your love with others, That others may come too.
The Holy Spirit's calling, Eternal life is free.
We hear Him, come Lord Jesus, That we may go with Thee. Amen!
Because God the Holy Spirit has called us to come and because God the Son has come into this world to pay our way, to quench our thirst and to give us the free gift of life; we are now right with God the Father, and we are now ready to come and spend eternity singing praises at the throne of our Triune God. In the meantime we should be calling the thirsty to come and hear the Spirit's invitation to come, and in the meantime if we get weary we can come to Jesus and he will give us rest. But for those who have heard the Spirit's call to come, Jesus' return can't come soon enough! Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. Amen!
Thursday, May 6, 2010
May 6, 2010
Our First Lesson for this upcoming Sunday comes from Acts 14, where we find the Apostles Paul and Barnabas in Lystra, speaking to the people. Paul looked directly at a man in the crowd whose feet were crippled from birth - the man had never walked. Paul saw that this man had faith to be healed and he told the guy to stand up. The man miraculously jumped up and began to walk. When the crowds saw this, they thought that their Greek gods had come down to them in human form, they thought that Paul and Barnabas were Zeus and Hermes in human form. The people in the crowds responded by wanting to sacrifice to them. When Paul and Barnabas realized what the people were doing and who the people thought they were, they were not happy and rushed in to clear things up. Here's what Paul said to them: "Men, why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them." (Acts 14:15)
Have you ever heard the theory that who you are is really just a product of every person you have met in your life and every situation you have encountered? This is one of the arguments that the psychologists use when they are trying to argue the nurture side of the 'nature vs. nurture' argument. The other side of the coin is the nature side of the argument which says that you are who you are because of what you inherited from your parents. It shouldn't be surprising that when the people of Lystra saw Paul perform a miracle that they immediately thought he was one of their gods. After all, they had 2 out of 2 strikes against them. By nature they were sinful and in opposition of the one true God, and by nurture their society taught them to put their trust in a false god - in the Greek gods.
Like the people in Lystra, many people living in our country today have the same 2 strikes against them. By nature we are all sinful. Psalm 51:5 tells us "Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me." By nurture many, who aren't "religious," follow a false god that is maybe more subtle than the Greek gods, but will leave them no less damned. Our country has an environment and a culture that teaches and champions putting yourself in the #1 position. What kind of power can you gain for yourself? How much money can you gain for yourself? What have you done for yourself today? When you boil it down, many unbelievers in our country are really making themselves their god, which is without question a clear violation of the First Commandment.
The outcome will not be good for those who follow their own nature and for those who follow the world's nurturing. The outcome will not be good for those who don't exclusively follow the living God. In Deuteronomy we are told to "Fear the LORD your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name. Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you; for the LORD your God, who is among you, is a jealous God and his anger will burn against you, and he will destroy you from the face of the land." (Deuteronomy 6: 13-5). Maybe the unbeliever won't be destroyed now, but the day is coming when - as Paul tells us "...we will all stand before God's judgment seat. It is written: " 'As surely as I live,' says the Lord, 'every knee will bow before me; and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.' (Romans 14:10b-11 & Philippians 2:11)
Back to our story... Paul is telling the crowd at Lystra who was about to sacrifice to him - stop! Barnabas and I have the same nature as you. We too are only human. We too are sinful. But, here's how we are different - we have the good news, and now we are trying to bring that good news to you. "Turn from these worthless things to the living God" Paul was telling them, as he put it in his letter to the Romans, " Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed..." (Romans 12:2a) Don't follow the nurturing of your world any longer- be transformed by the good news.
Making ourselves our #1 priority is worthless. Making the living triune God (Father Son & Holy Spirit) anything BUT our #1 priority is worthless. If all the other gods (small g) that we can have are worthless - as worthless as Monopoly money, then the Living God is priceless - more priceless than all the wealth in this world. In fact - our Living God created the world, which includes all the wealth in the world.
Recently the company that I work for was sold. Unfortunately many of my co-workers are now my 'former co-workers,' as entire departments and the jobs that go with them have been moved to an office in Plano, Texas. So far my department is staying put, and with it my job, but a couple of the guys I work with were talking about what they might do if we are eventually shown the door. They brought me into the conversation and asked me what I would do. To attempt to lighten the mood, this is how I responded: "Oh, I'm actually independently wealthy. I just do this for fun." We all chuckled. But you know what? In a way, we as Christians are independently wealthy. Our wealth is independent of how much stuff we have accumulated or how nice our stuff is. Our wealth is independent of how many zeros are behind the numbers in our bank accounts. Our wealth is independent of any worldly situation we find ourselves in. Our wealth is independent of any other standard of wealth that the world has - which in the end are all worthless. Our wealth is in the good news that Paul and Barnabas were trying to share with those in Lystra.
The Psalm writer David tells us in Psalm 144: "Deliver me and rescue me from the hands of foreigners whose mouths are full of lies, whose right hands are deceitful. Then our sons in their youth will be like well-nurtured plants, and our daughters will be like pillars carved to adorn a palace." (Psalm 144: 11-12) This is the good news that Paul and Barnabas were attempting to share, this is the good news that we will want to share. God did send his son Jesus to deliver and rescue us from the nurturing of the world with all its lies and deceit, so that we can now be His children who are like "well-nurtured plants," growing in the Lord. We are by nature poor sinful creatures, but praise be to God that we are now also independently wealthy, as we are now being nurtured by the living God!
Dear God,
Help remind us that putting anything but you in our #1 position is worthless. Help us to turn from all that is worthless to you who are priceless. Please continue to nurture us, so that when we stand before the final judgment seat we can be declared innocent because of what Jesus has done for us. We really are independently wealthy! Give us an extra dose of ambition to get out there, like the apostles Paul and Barnabas, and share the wealth! Amen!
Have you ever heard the theory that who you are is really just a product of every person you have met in your life and every situation you have encountered? This is one of the arguments that the psychologists use when they are trying to argue the nurture side of the 'nature vs. nurture' argument. The other side of the coin is the nature side of the argument which says that you are who you are because of what you inherited from your parents. It shouldn't be surprising that when the people of Lystra saw Paul perform a miracle that they immediately thought he was one of their gods. After all, they had 2 out of 2 strikes against them. By nature they were sinful and in opposition of the one true God, and by nurture their society taught them to put their trust in a false god - in the Greek gods.
Like the people in Lystra, many people living in our country today have the same 2 strikes against them. By nature we are all sinful. Psalm 51:5 tells us "Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me." By nurture many, who aren't "religious," follow a false god that is maybe more subtle than the Greek gods, but will leave them no less damned. Our country has an environment and a culture that teaches and champions putting yourself in the #1 position. What kind of power can you gain for yourself? How much money can you gain for yourself? What have you done for yourself today? When you boil it down, many unbelievers in our country are really making themselves their god, which is without question a clear violation of the First Commandment.
The outcome will not be good for those who follow their own nature and for those who follow the world's nurturing. The outcome will not be good for those who don't exclusively follow the living God. In Deuteronomy we are told to "Fear the LORD your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name. Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you; for the LORD your God, who is among you, is a jealous God and his anger will burn against you, and he will destroy you from the face of the land." (Deuteronomy 6: 13-5). Maybe the unbeliever won't be destroyed now, but the day is coming when - as Paul tells us "...we will all stand before God's judgment seat. It is written: " 'As surely as I live,' says the Lord, 'every knee will bow before me; and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.' (Romans 14:10b-11 & Philippians 2:11)
Back to our story... Paul is telling the crowd at Lystra who was about to sacrifice to him - stop! Barnabas and I have the same nature as you. We too are only human. We too are sinful. But, here's how we are different - we have the good news, and now we are trying to bring that good news to you. "Turn from these worthless things to the living God" Paul was telling them, as he put it in his letter to the Romans, " Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed..." (Romans 12:2a) Don't follow the nurturing of your world any longer- be transformed by the good news.
Making ourselves our #1 priority is worthless. Making the living triune God (Father Son & Holy Spirit) anything BUT our #1 priority is worthless. If all the other gods (small g) that we can have are worthless - as worthless as Monopoly money, then the Living God is priceless - more priceless than all the wealth in this world. In fact - our Living God created the world, which includes all the wealth in the world.
Recently the company that I work for was sold. Unfortunately many of my co-workers are now my 'former co-workers,' as entire departments and the jobs that go with them have been moved to an office in Plano, Texas. So far my department is staying put, and with it my job, but a couple of the guys I work with were talking about what they might do if we are eventually shown the door. They brought me into the conversation and asked me what I would do. To attempt to lighten the mood, this is how I responded: "Oh, I'm actually independently wealthy. I just do this for fun." We all chuckled. But you know what? In a way, we as Christians are independently wealthy. Our wealth is independent of how much stuff we have accumulated or how nice our stuff is. Our wealth is independent of how many zeros are behind the numbers in our bank accounts. Our wealth is independent of any worldly situation we find ourselves in. Our wealth is independent of any other standard of wealth that the world has - which in the end are all worthless. Our wealth is in the good news that Paul and Barnabas were trying to share with those in Lystra.
The Psalm writer David tells us in Psalm 144: "Deliver me and rescue me from the hands of foreigners whose mouths are full of lies, whose right hands are deceitful. Then our sons in their youth will be like well-nurtured plants, and our daughters will be like pillars carved to adorn a palace." (Psalm 144: 11-12) This is the good news that Paul and Barnabas were attempting to share, this is the good news that we will want to share. God did send his son Jesus to deliver and rescue us from the nurturing of the world with all its lies and deceit, so that we can now be His children who are like "well-nurtured plants," growing in the Lord. We are by nature poor sinful creatures, but praise be to God that we are now also independently wealthy, as we are now being nurtured by the living God!
Dear God,
Help remind us that putting anything but you in our #1 position is worthless. Help us to turn from all that is worthless to you who are priceless. Please continue to nurture us, so that when we stand before the final judgment seat we can be declared innocent because of what Jesus has done for us. We really are independently wealthy! Give us an extra dose of ambition to get out there, like the apostles Paul and Barnabas, and share the wealth! Amen!
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