"And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the LORD's commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good? To the LORD your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it. Yet the LORD set his affection on your forefathers and loved them, and he chose you, their descendants, above all the nations, as it is today." (Deuteronomy 10: 12-15)
Have you ever enjoyed a dish at a potluck so much that you just had to learn how to make it? Maybe the particular dish happened to be quite complex - too hard to try and figure out on your own, so you just had to have the recipe. Who do you go to for the recipe? To the one who created the dish of course. We have in our Old Testament Lesson God, who is the One who created and preserves, and to whom belongs "the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it," asking His chosen followers to follow His recipe for life here on this earth.
And His recipe is a good one - one that "[He gives us] today for [our] own good!" The hymn writer nailed it: "What God ordains is always good; His will is just and holy, as he directs my life for me, I follow meek and lowly. My God indeed in ev'ry need knows well how he will shield me, to him I will yield me." (CW 429:1)
How can we not yield ourselves to Him by following this good recipe? How can we not fear, love and serve God with all our soul? How can we not walk in His ways and observe all of His commands and decrees? The recipe is good, but if we're honest, we will confess that we often have a hard time getting the recipe to turn out because we have a contaminated tool to work with - our sinful nature. "I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing." (Romans 7:18-19) Our sinful nature contaminates the whole dish. What will we do? On the day of judgment, God will ask us to present the results of our recipe "For 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; every tongue will confess to God.' So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God." (Romans 14:10-12) For us sinners this is a recipe for disaster - all we will have is a ruined dish to present to the Judge. "What God does in his law demand and none to him can render brings wrath and woe on ev'ry hand for man, the vile offender. Our flesh has not those pure desires the spirit of the law requires, and lost is our condition." (CW 390:2)
Yet, we who are saved - we who the LORD has "set His affection on" - we who the LORD has loved and chosen - we have someone who followed the good recipe for us - and He followed it to a T. Through faith we will have the perfect dish to present to the Judge on that day of judgment, not because we followed the recipe ourselves, but only because Jesus followed the recipe for us and gave us the perfect dish to present.
Praise be to God - by grace and through faith we're good to go! So now what? Should we just ignore what the LORD our God asks of us? "What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!" (Romans 6:15) "What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means!" (Romans 6:1-2) As we celebrate the anniversary of the Reformation this upcoming Sunday and the "sola fides" are flying, let's keep in mind what James says about "fide" without action, "What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? ...faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead." (James 2: 14 & 17) Sola fide doesn't mean that we can show up for church on Sunday morning, check in with God and be reminded of His grace, and then checkout for the rest of the week because we convince ourselves that "we don't have to do anything." When we do nothing, our faith is dead. When we fear, love and serve God with all our soul and when we walk in His ways and observe all of His commands - then our faith is alive as we follow His recipe for our lives. Our motivation to follow the recipe is not to try and make the perfect dish, hoping that God will think it's good enough (cooks and bakers - imagine the kind of pressure associated with following a recipe if your eternal destiny was dependent on how your recipe turned out!) No, we follow the recipe because He has asked us to, and because when we consider everything He has done for us - the fact that God sent His Son Jesus to follow the recipe perfectly and to pay the penalty for all the times that we botched the recipe - we will be glad and we will want to do what He asks us to do. This is how we show love to God - by following his good recipe. "This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome" (1 John 5:3)
Friday, October 29, 2010
Saturday, October 23, 2010
October 21, 2010
"Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. He said: "In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, 'Grant me justice against my adversary.' For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, 'Even though I don't fear God or care about men, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won't eventually wear me out with her coming!'" And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?" (Luke 18: 1-8)
Have you ever heard someone say, "it's not what you know, but who you know that counts?" If you have, then you probably were listening to someone who "got in" to something, not because of their accomplishments or what they knew, but strictly because of who they knew. This phrase is usually married to a positive outcome. Not so in Jesus' parable where He tells us that the "who she knew" - the who the widow knew, was "a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men," and that he was an "unjust judge." We aren't even told "what" the widow knew. We don't know if she had a good case or not, all we know is that she just kept striking out because of the "who" that she was dealing with.
We as Christians could say that "it's what we know about who we know that counts." The writer to the Hebrews offers the following advice about prayer, "Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." (Hebrews 4:16) We know that the One "who we know," our just God, loved us enough to justify us and help us with our greatest need. Unlike the unjust judge, God "cared about men" and while He extends mercy, offers grace, and has love for men that is undeserved, He doesn't simply forget about the times when we have given in to our adversaries and ended up sinning. He doesn't simply forget about the punishment the sinner deserves. He doesn't say, "oh that's OK, you sinned but I'll just look the other way." No, He is a just God. When Jesus prayed at Gethsemane, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will," (Matthew 26:42), The Father's answer was no, you have to go through with this. Because I am a just God, you have to drink the cup and pay for the sins of the world so that the world may be redeemed. We know that "who we know" is a God who demands justice, but who also has justified us.
And because the One "who we know" loved us enough to justify us, when we go to him in prayer, we can be sure that every single time he will see that he answers our prayers according to his justice and according to our needs that He knows even better than we do. In fact, we are told that the One "who we know" has his eyes and ears on those who have been justified and made right, "For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer." (I Peter 3:12) There are numerous passages in Scripture that urge the righteous to "always pray," but the one that is most concise is found in I Thessalonians, where we find the command: "pray continually" (I Thessalonians 5:17). Our continual prayers aren't offered up simply in hopes that we might wear down the One "who we know," so that he will eventually answer us. No, our God's eyes and ears are zeroed in on us waiting for our prayers. He won't put us off, but every time we come to Him he will answer and graciously give us everything according to our needs. "He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? (Romans 8:32)
In the parable, the widow's plea was for justice against her adversaries. Our adversaries in faith are the devil, the world and our sinful flesh. Jesus wants us to "always pray and not give up," in our battle against these adversaries. For the Christian, "it's what we know about who we know that counts," but in the end what also counts is "who knows us." Remember what Jesus said earlier in the Gospel of Luke about what He will say to those who on the day of judgment who claim that they know Him, but who really didn't have faith? He will say, "I don't know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!" (Luke 13:27) Jesus echoes His message from Luke 13, that when the Son of Man comes, only a few will be saved - He echoes that with the question that he tacks on to the end of this parable, "when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?" Through constant prayer to the One who has made us right, and to the One who not only invites, but commands us to pray to Him, we are able to "not give up."
Because of what we know about who we know, and through faith, who also knows us - if the Son of Man returned tonight the answer to His question would be yes - at least in our case. What we know about who we know is that our God is a God of justice who demands justification. We also know that the One who we know, sent His son so that each of us would be justified. When we have faith in this, then the One who we know will also know us. Our "always prayers," to the God who always hears our prayers, should include pleas for justice from our adversaries - the devil, the world and our sinful flesh - that we may be on the winning side in our battles with them here on earth, and that in the end, because of what Jesus has won for us, that we will also win the war against them. So that "when the Son of Man comes, [he will] find faith on the earth," let Him find faith in action in our hearts and expressed on our lips in prayer.
Have you ever heard someone say, "it's not what you know, but who you know that counts?" If you have, then you probably were listening to someone who "got in" to something, not because of their accomplishments or what they knew, but strictly because of who they knew. This phrase is usually married to a positive outcome. Not so in Jesus' parable where He tells us that the "who she knew" - the who the widow knew, was "a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men," and that he was an "unjust judge." We aren't even told "what" the widow knew. We don't know if she had a good case or not, all we know is that she just kept striking out because of the "who" that she was dealing with.
We as Christians could say that "it's what we know about who we know that counts." The writer to the Hebrews offers the following advice about prayer, "Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." (Hebrews 4:16) We know that the One "who we know," our just God, loved us enough to justify us and help us with our greatest need. Unlike the unjust judge, God "cared about men" and while He extends mercy, offers grace, and has love for men that is undeserved, He doesn't simply forget about the times when we have given in to our adversaries and ended up sinning. He doesn't simply forget about the punishment the sinner deserves. He doesn't say, "oh that's OK, you sinned but I'll just look the other way." No, He is a just God. When Jesus prayed at Gethsemane, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will," (Matthew 26:42), The Father's answer was no, you have to go through with this. Because I am a just God, you have to drink the cup and pay for the sins of the world so that the world may be redeemed. We know that "who we know" is a God who demands justice, but who also has justified us.
And because the One "who we know" loved us enough to justify us, when we go to him in prayer, we can be sure that every single time he will see that he answers our prayers according to his justice and according to our needs that He knows even better than we do. In fact, we are told that the One "who we know" has his eyes and ears on those who have been justified and made right, "For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer." (I Peter 3:12) There are numerous passages in Scripture that urge the righteous to "always pray," but the one that is most concise is found in I Thessalonians, where we find the command: "pray continually" (I Thessalonians 5:17). Our continual prayers aren't offered up simply in hopes that we might wear down the One "who we know," so that he will eventually answer us. No, our God's eyes and ears are zeroed in on us waiting for our prayers. He won't put us off, but every time we come to Him he will answer and graciously give us everything according to our needs. "He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? (Romans 8:32)
In the parable, the widow's plea was for justice against her adversaries. Our adversaries in faith are the devil, the world and our sinful flesh. Jesus wants us to "always pray and not give up," in our battle against these adversaries. For the Christian, "it's what we know about who we know that counts," but in the end what also counts is "who knows us." Remember what Jesus said earlier in the Gospel of Luke about what He will say to those who on the day of judgment who claim that they know Him, but who really didn't have faith? He will say, "I don't know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!" (Luke 13:27) Jesus echoes His message from Luke 13, that when the Son of Man comes, only a few will be saved - He echoes that with the question that he tacks on to the end of this parable, "when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?" Through constant prayer to the One who has made us right, and to the One who not only invites, but commands us to pray to Him, we are able to "not give up."
Because of what we know about who we know, and through faith, who also knows us - if the Son of Man returned tonight the answer to His question would be yes - at least in our case. What we know about who we know is that our God is a God of justice who demands justification. We also know that the One who we know, sent His son so that each of us would be justified. When we have faith in this, then the One who we know will also know us. Our "always prayers," to the God who always hears our prayers, should include pleas for justice from our adversaries - the devil, the world and our sinful flesh - that we may be on the winning side in our battles with them here on earth, and that in the end, because of what Jesus has won for us, that we will also win the war against them. So that "when the Son of Man comes, [he will] find faith on the earth," let Him find faith in action in our hearts and expressed on our lips in prayer.
Saturday, October 16, 2010
October 14, 2010
"Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him." (2 Timothy 2: 11-12)
I've had my fair share of job interviews over the course of the past 10 years. And I don't know that I have ever been asked it in an actual interview, but one of the questions that inevitably shows up on all the "employment expert's" job interview question lists is this: "Where do you see yourself in 5 years?" The answer I have always had prepared had something to do with seeing myself in a position where I was continually challenged while having the opportunity to grow and learn, blah, blah, blah. The answer that co-existed in my head with the rehearsed answer is that I'm going to be in the exact place doing the exact thing that best serves my God's ultimate purposes. "[God] determined the times set for [men] and the exact places where they should live." "For in him we live and move and have our being." (Acts 17:26 and 28). While we all have plans and ideas, we don't really know exactly where we are going to be or exactly what we are going to be doing 5 years from now. "Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails." (Proverbs 19:21) An easier question to answer - a question that is answered in the verses from our Epistle Lesson for this Sunday that we are looking at is this: "where do you see yourself in a hundred and five years from now?" The Psalmist tells us that, "the length of our days is seventy years— or eighty, if we have the strength," (Psalm 90:10), and then what? When our strength is up and we take our final breath - then the infinite possibilities that we had in our temporal future, suddenly are drastically limited to only two possibilities for our eternal future. We either spend our eternity in heaven living with and reigning with God, or we spend our eternity in hell wishing we were in heaven living with and reigning with the only true God - period. Because we "died with him," and because by the grace of God and because of His mercy - our faith "endures," in a hundred and five years from now, we can can be sure that we will "live with him" and "we will also reign with him."
Paul explains what he means by "dying with Him" in the book of Romans - and it has to do with baptism, "don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him." (Romans 6:3-5, 8) We "died with him" when we were baptized which united us with Jesus and His death. Everything that Jesus won by his death is now ours - including the opportunity to live with Him forever!
But, just because we were baptized into life doesn't mean that we can't lose our opportunity for "life with Him" for eternity. The concept of "once saved, always saved" is one of the devil's lies. It stands to reason that it is likely that at one time Judas Iscariot had faith and was being saved, and yet just because he was once saved, in the end it appears his faith didn't endure, and he was lost to an eternity of "life without parole," and "life without Jesus." Judas let his sinful nature get the best of him. Our own sinful nature isn't completely dead until we shed it completely when we physically die. When we are baptized into Jesus' death, we would do well to remember to daily drown our Old Adam, because it will try to daily emerge and take over. Paul tells us in Galatians what to do with our sinful nature - we are to crucify it. "Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires." (Galatians 5:24) We need to endure by daily tapping into the power of Jesus and His power to daily drown and to daily crucify our sinful nature before it gets out of control. Thankfully, God allows us to daily start out fresh. "Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:22-23) We would also do well to daily pray like the Psalmist, "Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me." (Psalm 51:10) God, in His mercy answers David's prayer for every Christian every day with the ultimate result Jesus promised: "he who stands firm to the end will be saved." (Mark 13:13b) When we stand firm and endure and are steadfast, we will not only be saved, but we will also reign with Him. The Holy Spirit through the pen of John writes, "Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life." (Revelations 2:10) When we are enduring, being faithful, and standing firm we "we will also reign with him."
Where do you see yourself five years from now? We probably all have an idea of where we think we might be, but none of us knows for sure. We have more than just an idea and we can be absolutely sure and certain where we will be a hundred and five years from now. Because of what our Savior has done for us and what our Preserver continues to do for us on a daily basis which allows us to endure - we can count on living and reigning with God a hundred and five years from now right on through eternity. "If we died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him" May the "ifs" in the "trustworthy saying" turn into "becauses" for all of us. Amen!
I've had my fair share of job interviews over the course of the past 10 years. And I don't know that I have ever been asked it in an actual interview, but one of the questions that inevitably shows up on all the "employment expert's" job interview question lists is this: "Where do you see yourself in 5 years?" The answer I have always had prepared had something to do with seeing myself in a position where I was continually challenged while having the opportunity to grow and learn, blah, blah, blah. The answer that co-existed in my head with the rehearsed answer is that I'm going to be in the exact place doing the exact thing that best serves my God's ultimate purposes. "[God] determined the times set for [men] and the exact places where they should live." "For in him we live and move and have our being." (Acts 17:26 and 28). While we all have plans and ideas, we don't really know exactly where we are going to be or exactly what we are going to be doing 5 years from now. "Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails." (Proverbs 19:21) An easier question to answer - a question that is answered in the verses from our Epistle Lesson for this Sunday that we are looking at is this: "where do you see yourself in a hundred and five years from now?" The Psalmist tells us that, "the length of our days is seventy years— or eighty, if we have the strength," (Psalm 90:10), and then what? When our strength is up and we take our final breath - then the infinite possibilities that we had in our temporal future, suddenly are drastically limited to only two possibilities for our eternal future. We either spend our eternity in heaven living with and reigning with God, or we spend our eternity in hell wishing we were in heaven living with and reigning with the only true God - period. Because we "died with him," and because by the grace of God and because of His mercy - our faith "endures," in a hundred and five years from now, we can can be sure that we will "live with him" and "we will also reign with him."
Paul explains what he means by "dying with Him" in the book of Romans - and it has to do with baptism, "don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him." (Romans 6:3-5, 8) We "died with him" when we were baptized which united us with Jesus and His death. Everything that Jesus won by his death is now ours - including the opportunity to live with Him forever!
But, just because we were baptized into life doesn't mean that we can't lose our opportunity for "life with Him" for eternity. The concept of "once saved, always saved" is one of the devil's lies. It stands to reason that it is likely that at one time Judas Iscariot had faith and was being saved, and yet just because he was once saved, in the end it appears his faith didn't endure, and he was lost to an eternity of "life without parole," and "life without Jesus." Judas let his sinful nature get the best of him. Our own sinful nature isn't completely dead until we shed it completely when we physically die. When we are baptized into Jesus' death, we would do well to remember to daily drown our Old Adam, because it will try to daily emerge and take over. Paul tells us in Galatians what to do with our sinful nature - we are to crucify it. "Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires." (Galatians 5:24) We need to endure by daily tapping into the power of Jesus and His power to daily drown and to daily crucify our sinful nature before it gets out of control. Thankfully, God allows us to daily start out fresh. "Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:22-23) We would also do well to daily pray like the Psalmist, "Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me." (Psalm 51:10) God, in His mercy answers David's prayer for every Christian every day with the ultimate result Jesus promised: "he who stands firm to the end will be saved." (Mark 13:13b) When we stand firm and endure and are steadfast, we will not only be saved, but we will also reign with Him. The Holy Spirit through the pen of John writes, "Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life." (Revelations 2:10) When we are enduring, being faithful, and standing firm we "we will also reign with him."
Where do you see yourself five years from now? We probably all have an idea of where we think we might be, but none of us knows for sure. We have more than just an idea and we can be absolutely sure and certain where we will be a hundred and five years from now. Because of what our Savior has done for us and what our Preserver continues to do for us on a daily basis which allows us to endure - we can count on living and reigning with God a hundred and five years from now right on through eternity. "If we died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him" May the "ifs" in the "trustworthy saying" turn into "becauses" for all of us. Amen!
Friday, October 8, 2010
October 7, 2010
"For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline." (2 Timothy 1:7)
What does a spirit of timidity look like? When it comes to living our faith, a spirit of timidity usually doesn't look like anything - and that's the problem. I imagine you have probably noticed that in these "Choir Devotions," that the "Word of God" is always bold - the Bible passages are always in bold print. This is done to attract special attention to them because the words of the inspired writers of the Word of God are more than just words: "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) The opposite of timidity is boldness. When it comes to matters of living our faith, when we act on the spirit of boldness that God has given us, then we ourselves are bolded, so that when others look at us we attract special attention, not to ourselves, but through ourselves to our God and to his power and to his love that he has revealed to us in his Word.
If we're honest with ourselves, we will confess that sometimes sin causes us to have more of a spirit of timidity than a spirit of boldness when it comes to wearing and sharing our faith? It's easy to be bold on Sunday morning when we are with fellow believers, but what about on Monday morning when we are with those who we might feel embarrassed to boldly share our faith with, because we are worried about what they might say to us, or we are worried about what they might say behind our backs later on? Or what about Tuesday morning when we are with those who think that faith is outright foolishness? "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." (I Corinthians 1:18) The message of the cross doesn't make sense to the unbeliever, and the Christian who displays a Spirit of timidity doesn't help with the unbeliever's perception of a foolish, senseless gospel. There's nothing that confuses the watching world more than when one of us fails to be bold in our faith - when we just blend in with all the other characters and act as though we have no reason to be bold. The Christian author Brennan Manning put it this way, "The single greatest cause of atheism in the world today is Christians, who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, then walk out the door, and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.” This quote might not be entirely true, but it does give us something to think about. A spirit of timidity in a Christian doesn't leave those around them simply unaffected by the positive- it actually affects them and infects them with more of the negative.
So, how can we shed our timidity and boost our spirit of boldness? By digging into that very same message that the unbeliever thinks is foolish, because for us it's the power of God - it's the power that inspires and equips us with a "spirit of power." Later on in 2 Timothy, Paul writes, "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." (2 Timothy 3:16-17) When we are strengthened by the power of the Word, we are equipped for every good work and we can shed our timidity and say with boldness, "I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes" (Romans 1:16) Now that's the spirit!
God didn't choose us and give us faith for us to be timid in living and sharing that faith. God equips us with all the necessary tools and inspiration to live our faith boldly. When we operate with the spirit of boldness that God has given us, and that lives within us, then we ourselves will be bold among the other characters - bold and attracting attention. We will stand out and what makes us tick will stand out. Our prayer should be that those watching see through us to the God that motivates our very spirit, so that He will be bolded.
May His spirit live within me,
As I seek the lost to win,
And may they forget the channel,
Seeing only Him. (CW:467 )
What does a spirit of timidity look like? When it comes to living our faith, a spirit of timidity usually doesn't look like anything - and that's the problem. I imagine you have probably noticed that in these "Choir Devotions," that the "Word of God" is always bold - the Bible passages are always in bold print. This is done to attract special attention to them because the words of the inspired writers of the Word of God are more than just words: "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) The opposite of timidity is boldness. When it comes to matters of living our faith, when we act on the spirit of boldness that God has given us, then we ourselves are bolded, so that when others look at us we attract special attention, not to ourselves, but through ourselves to our God and to his power and to his love that he has revealed to us in his Word.
If we're honest with ourselves, we will confess that sometimes sin causes us to have more of a spirit of timidity than a spirit of boldness when it comes to wearing and sharing our faith? It's easy to be bold on Sunday morning when we are with fellow believers, but what about on Monday morning when we are with those who we might feel embarrassed to boldly share our faith with, because we are worried about what they might say to us, or we are worried about what they might say behind our backs later on? Or what about Tuesday morning when we are with those who think that faith is outright foolishness? "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." (I Corinthians 1:18) The message of the cross doesn't make sense to the unbeliever, and the Christian who displays a Spirit of timidity doesn't help with the unbeliever's perception of a foolish, senseless gospel. There's nothing that confuses the watching world more than when one of us fails to be bold in our faith - when we just blend in with all the other characters and act as though we have no reason to be bold. The Christian author Brennan Manning put it this way, "The single greatest cause of atheism in the world today is Christians, who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, then walk out the door, and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.” This quote might not be entirely true, but it does give us something to think about. A spirit of timidity in a Christian doesn't leave those around them simply unaffected by the positive- it actually affects them and infects them with more of the negative.
So, how can we shed our timidity and boost our spirit of boldness? By digging into that very same message that the unbeliever thinks is foolish, because for us it's the power of God - it's the power that inspires and equips us with a "spirit of power." Later on in 2 Timothy, Paul writes, "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." (2 Timothy 3:16-17) When we are strengthened by the power of the Word, we are equipped for every good work and we can shed our timidity and say with boldness, "I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes" (Romans 1:16) Now that's the spirit!
God didn't choose us and give us faith for us to be timid in living and sharing that faith. God equips us with all the necessary tools and inspiration to live our faith boldly. When we operate with the spirit of boldness that God has given us, and that lives within us, then we ourselves will be bold among the other characters - bold and attracting attention. We will stand out and what makes us tick will stand out. Our prayer should be that those watching see through us to the God that motivates our very spirit, so that He will be bolded.
May His spirit live within me,
As I seek the lost to win,
And may they forget the channel,
Seeing only Him. (CW:467 )
Friday, October 1, 2010
September 30, 2010
"Woe to you who are complacent in Zion, and to you who feel secure on Mount Samaria, you notable men of the foremost nation, to whom the people of Israel come! You put off the evil day and bring near a reign of terror. You lie on beds inlaid with ivory and lounge on your couches. You dine on choice lambs and fattened calves. You strum away on your harps like David and improvise on musical instruments. You drink wine by the bowlful and use the finest lotions, but you do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph. Therefore you will be among the first to go into exile; your feasting and lounging will end." (Amos 6:1, 3-7)
Joseph P. Kennedy fathered not only the 35th President of the United States of America, but he also fathered the phrase, "when the going gets tough, the tough get going." When the going gets tough for a Christian however, they don't need to get tough, they just need to get going to the Lord. The Lord told the apostle Paul that "[God's] power is made perfect in weakness," and that "[God's] grace is sufficient for [him]," (2 Corinthians 12:9). It often takes a tough situation to revitalize the spiritual life of a Christian - to get them to remember the words from the song Jesus Loves Me, "[we are] weak but He is strong."
But what about when the going gets easy, then what happens?
Whenever we dig into a warning by one of the Old Testament prophets and attempt to apply it to our lives today, we must remember exactly who the prophet's audience was. Amos's audience here, the nation of Israel, was a nation of the world, but they were also God's chosen nation - his chosen people of the Old Testament. Today, in New Testament times, there is not a single world nation that makes up God's chosen people, rather those from every nation who belong to God are part of the New Testament nation of God's chosen people. "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. (I Peter 2:9) We who are a part of the "holy nation" that live here in America in the 21st century also happen to be living in a world nation where the going has gotten easy. The Israelites that Amos was warning here had an easy going existence and yet if we were to look back to the way that people in America lived, say a generation or two before our current generation, we would likely find a lifestyle that was even more easy going than that of the Israelites of Amos's time. Now compare how we as Americans live today with how those from a generation past lived - those who had to walk five miles to school, in a foot of snow, uphill both ways. Lifestyles are only getting more and more cushy and comfy - the going is easy indeed. The warning here from Amos is that when the going gets easy, we who are a "people belonging to God" shouldn't allow the luxuries of the easy-going lifestyle to consume us.
"Woe to you who are complacent in Zion" The definition of complacent is: "contented to a fault; self-satisfied and unconcerned." When the going gets easy, are the comforts of the luxuries in our lives causing us to become content to a fault - content to the point where our luxuries are getting in the way of being concerned with God's commands? "You lie on beds inlaid with ivory and lounge on your couches," We as Americans lie on "sleep-number" beds and lounge around on wrap-around sectionals - we even have "easy" chairs. Do we ever find that we are so content lounging around on our couches that we become unconcerned with making the effort to attend a Bible study? "You dine on choice lambs and fattened calves." We as Americans have buffet restaurants where there are not only 6 or 7 ore more different meat choices, but also what seems like hundreds of different side dishes. Do we ever find that it's the third time this week that we are eating out at a restaurant and it has been forever since we have thought about the needs of those around us who are hungry and truly needy in other ways? "You strum away on your harps like David and improvise on musical instruments." We as Americans have ipods and video games and home entertainment systems. Do we ever find that we have a hard time finding time to get into God's Word and at the same time we have 3 or 4 television programs every night that we are hooked on, that we just can't miss? "You drink wine by the bowlful and use the finest lotions." We as Americans have wine racks filled with wine bottles and stores in shopping malls dedicated exclusively to fine lotions. Do we ever find ourselves clouding our minds with alcohol when we could be spending that time either meditating on or sharing God's Word? Do we ever spend more money in a month on "health and beauty aids" and trips to the salon than we set aside for the Lord's work? Jesus tells us to "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." (Matthew 22:37-40) Are we so concerned with pleasing ourselves with the luxuries in our easy-going lifestyle that we are content to a fault - oblivious to the point where our contentedness is at the expense of loving others and loving God?
"Go to Calneh and look at it; go from there to great Hamath, and then go down to Gath in Philistia. Are they better off than your two kingdoms? Is their land larger than yours?" Things change, and cities and nations that had it easy one day, suddenly have it easy no more. Some think the day is coming soon - someday people will likely be talking about the "once great nation of America." When the going gets easy, remember that this can change. The obvious example would be Job. Job had it all one day and then God took it all away from him, but whether the going got tough or the going got easy, Job's focus was not on himself, but on the glory of the LORD. Job had it right when he said, "The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised." (Job 1:21) Paul also experienced both sides of that coin, he writes, "I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want." (Phillipans 4:12) The secret of being content, especially when the going gets easy, doesn't lie in what we have or don't have, but in who we have and who has us. We have a Savior - Jesus Christ and we are his. This is the Christian's true source of contentment, "But godliness with contentment is great gain." (I Timothy 6:6)
When the going gets easy, it's easy to let the "easy" get the best of us. There's not a whole lot of Gospel in this passage form Amos - he gets to that later in his book, (take time to read through Amos and you will find a few choice Gospel morsels), but we know the rest of the story. The prophet's predictions were right - Israel was exiled, but there was a remnant who returned, and from that remnant came our Savior who left the luxuries of heaven - luxuries that would make our luxuries look third rate - to take care of all the times when we put ourselves and our own selfish desires ahead of loving others and ahead of loving God himself. God loved us enough to create a plan of Salvation and Jesus loved us enough to follow the plan. What more motivation do we need to listen carefully to the warning of Amos and to follow the advice Paul offered his letter to the Corinthians? "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God" (I Corinthians 10:12)
Joseph P. Kennedy fathered not only the 35th President of the United States of America, but he also fathered the phrase, "when the going gets tough, the tough get going." When the going gets tough for a Christian however, they don't need to get tough, they just need to get going to the Lord. The Lord told the apostle Paul that "[God's] power is made perfect in weakness," and that "[God's] grace is sufficient for [him]," (2 Corinthians 12:9). It often takes a tough situation to revitalize the spiritual life of a Christian - to get them to remember the words from the song Jesus Loves Me, "[we are] weak but He is strong."
But what about when the going gets easy, then what happens?
Whenever we dig into a warning by one of the Old Testament prophets and attempt to apply it to our lives today, we must remember exactly who the prophet's audience was. Amos's audience here, the nation of Israel, was a nation of the world, but they were also God's chosen nation - his chosen people of the Old Testament. Today, in New Testament times, there is not a single world nation that makes up God's chosen people, rather those from every nation who belong to God are part of the New Testament nation of God's chosen people. "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. (I Peter 2:9) We who are a part of the "holy nation" that live here in America in the 21st century also happen to be living in a world nation where the going has gotten easy. The Israelites that Amos was warning here had an easy going existence and yet if we were to look back to the way that people in America lived, say a generation or two before our current generation, we would likely find a lifestyle that was even more easy going than that of the Israelites of Amos's time. Now compare how we as Americans live today with how those from a generation past lived - those who had to walk five miles to school, in a foot of snow, uphill both ways. Lifestyles are only getting more and more cushy and comfy - the going is easy indeed. The warning here from Amos is that when the going gets easy, we who are a "people belonging to God" shouldn't allow the luxuries of the easy-going lifestyle to consume us.
"Woe to you who are complacent in Zion" The definition of complacent is: "contented to a fault; self-satisfied and unconcerned." When the going gets easy, are the comforts of the luxuries in our lives causing us to become content to a fault - content to the point where our luxuries are getting in the way of being concerned with God's commands? "You lie on beds inlaid with ivory and lounge on your couches," We as Americans lie on "sleep-number" beds and lounge around on wrap-around sectionals - we even have "easy" chairs. Do we ever find that we are so content lounging around on our couches that we become unconcerned with making the effort to attend a Bible study? "You dine on choice lambs and fattened calves." We as Americans have buffet restaurants where there are not only 6 or 7 ore more different meat choices, but also what seems like hundreds of different side dishes. Do we ever find that it's the third time this week that we are eating out at a restaurant and it has been forever since we have thought about the needs of those around us who are hungry and truly needy in other ways? "You strum away on your harps like David and improvise on musical instruments." We as Americans have ipods and video games and home entertainment systems. Do we ever find that we have a hard time finding time to get into God's Word and at the same time we have 3 or 4 television programs every night that we are hooked on, that we just can't miss? "You drink wine by the bowlful and use the finest lotions." We as Americans have wine racks filled with wine bottles and stores in shopping malls dedicated exclusively to fine lotions. Do we ever find ourselves clouding our minds with alcohol when we could be spending that time either meditating on or sharing God's Word? Do we ever spend more money in a month on "health and beauty aids" and trips to the salon than we set aside for the Lord's work? Jesus tells us to "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." (Matthew 22:37-40) Are we so concerned with pleasing ourselves with the luxuries in our easy-going lifestyle that we are content to a fault - oblivious to the point where our contentedness is at the expense of loving others and loving God?
"Go to Calneh and look at it; go from there to great Hamath, and then go down to Gath in Philistia. Are they better off than your two kingdoms? Is their land larger than yours?" Things change, and cities and nations that had it easy one day, suddenly have it easy no more. Some think the day is coming soon - someday people will likely be talking about the "once great nation of America." When the going gets easy, remember that this can change. The obvious example would be Job. Job had it all one day and then God took it all away from him, but whether the going got tough or the going got easy, Job's focus was not on himself, but on the glory of the LORD. Job had it right when he said, "The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised." (Job 1:21) Paul also experienced both sides of that coin, he writes, "I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want." (Phillipans 4:12) The secret of being content, especially when the going gets easy, doesn't lie in what we have or don't have, but in who we have and who has us. We have a Savior - Jesus Christ and we are his. This is the Christian's true source of contentment, "But godliness with contentment is great gain." (I Timothy 6:6)
When the going gets easy, it's easy to let the "easy" get the best of us. There's not a whole lot of Gospel in this passage form Amos - he gets to that later in his book, (take time to read through Amos and you will find a few choice Gospel morsels), but we know the rest of the story. The prophet's predictions were right - Israel was exiled, but there was a remnant who returned, and from that remnant came our Savior who left the luxuries of heaven - luxuries that would make our luxuries look third rate - to take care of all the times when we put ourselves and our own selfish desires ahead of loving others and ahead of loving God himself. God loved us enough to create a plan of Salvation and Jesus loved us enough to follow the plan. What more motivation do we need to listen carefully to the warning of Amos and to follow the advice Paul offered his letter to the Corinthians? "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God" (I Corinthians 10:12)
Friday, September 24, 2010
September 23, 2010
"I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone" (I Timothy 2:1)
How many people do you encounter everyday? I suppose it depends on the day, but being a part of the society we all live in, you will likely encounter hundreds of people everyday. You probably won't say anything to most of them, and you may not even know most of their names, but living in this corner of the world means living in and amongst people. Even when you don't leave your home, people and their stories come to your doorstep in the form of a newspaper, people are beamed into your living rooms through your television sets, people are put in front of you on your desktop when you surf the internet or check your email. Now, another question: How many people do you pray for everyday?
The NIV heading over the second chapter of Paul's first inspired letter of encouragement to his friend Timothy states: "Instructions on Worship." Certainly we can apply this passage to our worship practices - and our synod does. Christian Worship contains "Prayers of the Church" that include prayers not only for our church, but also for everyone else in our nation and the world. But, we can also take a look at this passage on a personal level and consider just who everyone is that we are urged to personally pray for. If you're anything like me, then if you pray for yourself, your close-family, and maybe for someone who has asked you to pray for them - if you get all these prayers in before you doze off or before you are interrupted by something else - then (sadly) you might consider it to be a good prayer day. But you would have a hard time categorizing this kind of prayer day as a day you prayed for "everyone." Everyone is kind of an overwhelming term. Only God knows the exact number, but there are nearly 7 billion people living in the world today - so there are 7 billion individuals included in everyone! To make it more manageable, maybe we should start with the "everyones" who we come in contact with on our daily paths.
We are encouraged in Thessalonians to "pray continually" (I Thessalonians 5:17) Consider praying continually by praying your way through your day - by praying for those you encounter. If you turn on the radio in the morning - pray for the radio personalities. If you read about someone in the morning newspaper - pray for them - pray for the writer of the article too! If you see your next door neighbor on your way to work - pray for them. If you see a jogger or a dog-walker - pray for them. If you see a crossing guard escorting kids across the street - pray for them. If you are in line with someone at the grocery store - pray for them - pray for the checker or the bagger too! Pray for your co-workers. Pray for the people you talk with on the telephone - even if they are telemarketers! If you are stopped at a red stoplight and there is a family in a vehicle in front of you - pray for them. If you are in a waiting room - pray for the others who are waiting. If you are watching a television program - pray for the actors or the reality show host. These people that you encounter everyday can be your personal "everyones" who we are urged to pray for. "I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone" (I Timothy 2:1)
Now that we have identified and targeted who our "everyones" will be, our next question might be - what should we say in our prayers for them? There are a countless worthwhile things to pray for on behalf of others, but if we want to prioritize, then our prayers will be focused on their greatest dilemma (whether they know it or not) - the fact that they are a part of all the nations who will be gathered on the Last Day and they will either be put on Jesus' right or Jesus' left - and without faith in Jesus they will be in trouble. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. (Matthew 25:32-33) When we encounter one of our "everyones," we are not able to tell if they are on a path that will lead to Jesus' right or Jesus' left - we are not able to know if their heart is a heart that trusts God, or not. Only God can look at and judge their hearts - we are only able to look at their outward appearance. "Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." (I Samuel 16:7) So as we construct our prayer for those we encounter, we have to take into account the only 2 kinds of people there are in the world - those whose hearts trust in the LORD and those whose hearts do not trust in the LORD. Maybe we can use a variation of the following prayer as we encounter and pray for our "everyones." This prayer suggestion comes with the following caveat - I am in no way a prayer expert, so this is in no way an expert prayer suggestion. Not to worry, God the Holy Spirit will take our imperfect prayers and step in to help. "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express." (Romans 8:26).
A prayer suggestion for the "everyones" that we encounter:
Dear God, you want all men to be saved. If this is a person who is being saved, then strengthen and preserve their faith. If this is a person who is still lost, then please put them in a situation where they will run into your Word, that the Holy Spirit might plant saving faith in their hearts. Amen.
Could all the effort put into praying for the "everyones" we encounter really be worth it, or are we just wasting our time? In James we learn that "The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." (James 5:16) There is a little plaque (I think it's a plaque - it might just be a little card) that sits by the entrance to the office at my church that always catches my eye on the way in - it reads, "prayer changes things." Wouldn't it be awesome when we are in heaven one day to meet one of the "everyones" in our life, and to realize that our prayer for them changed things for them - that one of our prayers put a detour in their path - a detour that ran them right into the Word and to the Holy Spirit and the saving faith that he creates? Let's take the time and make the effort to follow Paul's urging and begin praying for everyone by starting with the "everyones" we encounter on our daily paths.
How many people do you encounter everyday? I suppose it depends on the day, but being a part of the society we all live in, you will likely encounter hundreds of people everyday. You probably won't say anything to most of them, and you may not even know most of their names, but living in this corner of the world means living in and amongst people. Even when you don't leave your home, people and their stories come to your doorstep in the form of a newspaper, people are beamed into your living rooms through your television sets, people are put in front of you on your desktop when you surf the internet or check your email. Now, another question: How many people do you pray for everyday?
The NIV heading over the second chapter of Paul's first inspired letter of encouragement to his friend Timothy states: "Instructions on Worship." Certainly we can apply this passage to our worship practices - and our synod does. Christian Worship contains "Prayers of the Church" that include prayers not only for our church, but also for everyone else in our nation and the world. But, we can also take a look at this passage on a personal level and consider just who everyone is that we are urged to personally pray for. If you're anything like me, then if you pray for yourself, your close-family, and maybe for someone who has asked you to pray for them - if you get all these prayers in before you doze off or before you are interrupted by something else - then (sadly) you might consider it to be a good prayer day. But you would have a hard time categorizing this kind of prayer day as a day you prayed for "everyone." Everyone is kind of an overwhelming term. Only God knows the exact number, but there are nearly 7 billion people living in the world today - so there are 7 billion individuals included in everyone! To make it more manageable, maybe we should start with the "everyones" who we come in contact with on our daily paths.
We are encouraged in Thessalonians to "pray continually" (I Thessalonians 5:17) Consider praying continually by praying your way through your day - by praying for those you encounter. If you turn on the radio in the morning - pray for the radio personalities. If you read about someone in the morning newspaper - pray for them - pray for the writer of the article too! If you see your next door neighbor on your way to work - pray for them. If you see a jogger or a dog-walker - pray for them. If you see a crossing guard escorting kids across the street - pray for them. If you are in line with someone at the grocery store - pray for them - pray for the checker or the bagger too! Pray for your co-workers. Pray for the people you talk with on the telephone - even if they are telemarketers! If you are stopped at a red stoplight and there is a family in a vehicle in front of you - pray for them. If you are in a waiting room - pray for the others who are waiting. If you are watching a television program - pray for the actors or the reality show host. These people that you encounter everyday can be your personal "everyones" who we are urged to pray for. "I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone" (I Timothy 2:1)
Now that we have identified and targeted who our "everyones" will be, our next question might be - what should we say in our prayers for them? There are a countless worthwhile things to pray for on behalf of others, but if we want to prioritize, then our prayers will be focused on their greatest dilemma (whether they know it or not) - the fact that they are a part of all the nations who will be gathered on the Last Day and they will either be put on Jesus' right or Jesus' left - and without faith in Jesus they will be in trouble. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. (Matthew 25:32-33) When we encounter one of our "everyones," we are not able to tell if they are on a path that will lead to Jesus' right or Jesus' left - we are not able to know if their heart is a heart that trusts God, or not. Only God can look at and judge their hearts - we are only able to look at their outward appearance. "Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." (I Samuel 16:7) So as we construct our prayer for those we encounter, we have to take into account the only 2 kinds of people there are in the world - those whose hearts trust in the LORD and those whose hearts do not trust in the LORD. Maybe we can use a variation of the following prayer as we encounter and pray for our "everyones." This prayer suggestion comes with the following caveat - I am in no way a prayer expert, so this is in no way an expert prayer suggestion. Not to worry, God the Holy Spirit will take our imperfect prayers and step in to help. "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express." (Romans 8:26).
A prayer suggestion for the "everyones" that we encounter:
Dear God, you want all men to be saved. If this is a person who is being saved, then strengthen and preserve their faith. If this is a person who is still lost, then please put them in a situation where they will run into your Word, that the Holy Spirit might plant saving faith in their hearts. Amen.
Could all the effort put into praying for the "everyones" we encounter really be worth it, or are we just wasting our time? In James we learn that "The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." (James 5:16) There is a little plaque (I think it's a plaque - it might just be a little card) that sits by the entrance to the office at my church that always catches my eye on the way in - it reads, "prayer changes things." Wouldn't it be awesome when we are in heaven one day to meet one of the "everyones" in our life, and to realize that our prayer for them changed things for them - that one of our prayers put a detour in their path - a detour that ran them right into the Word and to the Holy Spirit and the saving faith that he creates? Let's take the time and make the effort to follow Paul's urging and begin praying for everyone by starting with the "everyones" we encounter on our daily paths.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
September 16, 2010
"I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents." (Luke 15:10)
If you have any "German Lutheran reserve" in you - like I do - then you may not be prone to expressing emotion and you may not do a whole lot of outward rejoicing. According to my trusty dictionary, the definition of rejoicing is, "the expression of joy or gladness." If we had to come up with an example of the last time that we actually really outwardly rejoiced about something worldly-related, I imagine we might have to go back to some major milestone in our life. Maybe it was the news from the doctor that the cancer is now in remission, maybe it was a new job opportunity after a long spell of unemployment or "un-happy" employment, - - - or maybe it was the day when our child or grandchild or niece or nephew was born. If you have ever been in a labor and delivery room when the newborn takes in their very first breath and lets out their very first cry, then you will know what a sweet sound that is. That cry signals to those in the room that the baby is alive and breathing - and that cry is usually followed by outward rejoicing by the others in the room. There is a "birth sound" that trumps this sound in terms of sweetness. Jesus once told the Pharisee Nicodemus that, "no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again" (John 3:3). Jesus also said, "Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit." (John 3:6) When the Holy Spirit first breathes life into a soul, and that person is "born again," the angels in heaven rejoice and cry out in excitement. "I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents." (Luke 15:10) What a sweet sound that must be!
"One sinner" needs to not only repent, but also be found. "One sinner" can repent until they are blue in the face, and even if it was possible for them to never commit another sin again, they would still be lost because they couldn't pay for the sin they had already committed. Jesus had a solution for this predicament. "Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. "The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!" (Mark 1:14-15) Jesus tells us to repent AND believe the good news - the good news is that Jesus "came to seek and to save what was lost." (Luke 19:10) Jesus came "to give his life as a ransom for many." (Matthew 20:28) Jesus' whole purpose in coming to this earth was to redeem. When just one sinner repents and believes this is great cause for rejoicing as Jesus' purpose is being accomplished. In a sermon that I just heard this past Sunday, I was reminded that we as Christians who are "fighting the good fight," are not an "Army of One" - we don't have to battle alone - we have our fellow Christians as allies. But in a way we are an army under one. Because through one, sin entered the world and we all became lost; and through "the One" sin was taken away and we were found. "For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ." (Romans 5:17) When even one sinner, who was lost, repents and is found by "the One" - Jesus Christ - then "there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God."
Because "the One" has given you the gift of righteousness, when you were found and when you first believed, the angels in the presence of God rejoiced for you - personally! If we reach heaven before the Last Day, we will be able to hear that sweet sound, and even join the angels in the rejoicing over sinners who repent. But we don't have to, and we shouldn't, wait until we get to heaven to join the angels in rejoicing. The Psalms are filled with encouragement to rejoice NOW - the verse from the book of Psalms regarding rejoicing that is probably most often quoted is from Psalm 118 - "This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." (Psalm 118:24) Paul tells us (and then he tells us again) to, "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!" (Philippians 4:4) For us who have that "German Lutheran reserve" in us, when it comes to rejoicing, we should consider getting past that. We shouldn't just rejoice to ourselves - we need to rejoice out loud. We need to rejoice loud enough so that those who are still lost recognize us and ask us what we are so glad about. And then when recognized and interrogated, we must, "always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have," (I Peter 3:15) so that one of the lost who hears your rejoicing and hears your answer as to why you are rejoicing, might be birthed by the Spirit, be found, repent and believe. Let's pray for the motivation to rejoice out loud - let's keep the angels busy rejoicing over sinners who repent.
If you have any "German Lutheran reserve" in you - like I do - then you may not be prone to expressing emotion and you may not do a whole lot of outward rejoicing. According to my trusty dictionary, the definition of rejoicing is, "the expression of joy or gladness." If we had to come up with an example of the last time that we actually really outwardly rejoiced about something worldly-related, I imagine we might have to go back to some major milestone in our life. Maybe it was the news from the doctor that the cancer is now in remission, maybe it was a new job opportunity after a long spell of unemployment or "un-happy" employment, - - - or maybe it was the day when our child or grandchild or niece or nephew was born. If you have ever been in a labor and delivery room when the newborn takes in their very first breath and lets out their very first cry, then you will know what a sweet sound that is. That cry signals to those in the room that the baby is alive and breathing - and that cry is usually followed by outward rejoicing by the others in the room. There is a "birth sound" that trumps this sound in terms of sweetness. Jesus once told the Pharisee Nicodemus that, "no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again" (John 3:3). Jesus also said, "Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit." (John 3:6) When the Holy Spirit first breathes life into a soul, and that person is "born again," the angels in heaven rejoice and cry out in excitement. "I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents." (Luke 15:10) What a sweet sound that must be!
"One sinner" needs to not only repent, but also be found. "One sinner" can repent until they are blue in the face, and even if it was possible for them to never commit another sin again, they would still be lost because they couldn't pay for the sin they had already committed. Jesus had a solution for this predicament. "Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. "The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!" (Mark 1:14-15) Jesus tells us to repent AND believe the good news - the good news is that Jesus "came to seek and to save what was lost." (Luke 19:10) Jesus came "to give his life as a ransom for many." (Matthew 20:28) Jesus' whole purpose in coming to this earth was to redeem. When just one sinner repents and believes this is great cause for rejoicing as Jesus' purpose is being accomplished. In a sermon that I just heard this past Sunday, I was reminded that we as Christians who are "fighting the good fight," are not an "Army of One" - we don't have to battle alone - we have our fellow Christians as allies. But in a way we are an army under one. Because through one, sin entered the world and we all became lost; and through "the One" sin was taken away and we were found. "For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ." (Romans 5:17) When even one sinner, who was lost, repents and is found by "the One" - Jesus Christ - then "there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God."
Because "the One" has given you the gift of righteousness, when you were found and when you first believed, the angels in the presence of God rejoiced for you - personally! If we reach heaven before the Last Day, we will be able to hear that sweet sound, and even join the angels in the rejoicing over sinners who repent. But we don't have to, and we shouldn't, wait until we get to heaven to join the angels in rejoicing. The Psalms are filled with encouragement to rejoice NOW - the verse from the book of Psalms regarding rejoicing that is probably most often quoted is from Psalm 118 - "This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." (Psalm 118:24) Paul tells us (and then he tells us again) to, "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!" (Philippians 4:4) For us who have that "German Lutheran reserve" in us, when it comes to rejoicing, we should consider getting past that. We shouldn't just rejoice to ourselves - we need to rejoice out loud. We need to rejoice loud enough so that those who are still lost recognize us and ask us what we are so glad about. And then when recognized and interrogated, we must, "always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have," (I Peter 3:15) so that one of the lost who hears your rejoicing and hears your answer as to why you are rejoicing, might be birthed by the Spirit, be found, repent and believe. Let's pray for the motivation to rejoice out loud - let's keep the angels busy rejoicing over sinners who repent.
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