We Are Supplied for Life

At times it is easy to approach the Christian life as if God has done His part in saving me from sin, but now it is up to me to do my best not to sin again.  That is why it is so easy to fall back into a life that is dominated by the law, because we believe that the main problem in our lives is sin.  In order to keep from sinning we erect all these little laws to keep us on the straight and narrow.  Doesn't that sound familiar.

I know this will be a radical statement, but I believe that it is absolutely true: Sin is not the biggest obstacle in our lives!  In never has been.  Sin is but the consequence of the biggest obstacle we have to experience true life.  That obstacle is a lack of faith in God.  We don't trust God to do the right thing, to provide for our needs, or to lead us on the path of life.  Since we don't trust God we end up doing our own thing, doing what seems right to us in the moment, or going along with the flow of the world and in the process we turn our backs on God and cut ourselves off from the very source of life that we need.

The true and abundant life that Jesus promises us begins and ends with our faith in God.  We need to trust God to provide what we need for life.  Gary Carpenter in What the Bible Says about the Heart wrote, "However, God has supplied us with all we need to keep our hearts healthy, to keep the deadening effects of sin at bay, and to help us grow strong for eternal life" (p. 110).

God hasn't saved us and then set us out on our own with the command to try harder and do better.  No, he has rescued us from the clutches of Satan, sin, and death and He has set our feet on paths of righteousness.  He wants us to succeed and to have life and so God provides what we need along the way.  Peter wrote:

 His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. (2 Peter 1:3-4; ESV)

God has promised to provide what we need for life!  We need to trust Him in this. So the question is how do we do this?  How do we learn to trust God more?

Let me offer two steps that will help us get started.  First, we need to spend time with other Christians.  The writer of Hebrews wrote:

 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.  And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works,  not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. (Hebrews 10:23-25; ESV)

How do we hold on to the hope of life?  We meet together and encourage one another.  A huge tragedy that existes in many church families today is that there is little spiritual encouragement.  We don't know how to talk to one another about what God is doing in our lives and we become uncomfortable when some one explains how they have experienced God at work.  In the process we miss out on the great reminder that God is at work in our lives and in the world around us.

The second step is that we need to focus on God's kingdom.  In Colossians 3:1-4 the apostle Paul wrote:

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. (ESV)

Our focus should be taken off the things of this world: wealth, success, politics, entertainment, possessions, and power.  Our focus should be on God and His Kingdom.  What is God's desire for the world?  How can I use my resource and talents for God's mission?  Who can I encourage with God's truth?  What can I get rid of that is standing in the way of living the life God created me to live? We need to examine our lives and determine if our hearts and minds are set on the things of this world and on godly things.

The Christian life is more than trying our best to live a godly life.  It is about learning to trust God more and more as He guides us along the path of righteousness.  We cannot create life on our own, we need to trust God to give us the life we need each day.

Daily Thought: Forsaking God's Kingdom

"In the interest of effectively accomplishing what it thought was an immediate and discernable good thing, the church often forsook its kingdom-of-God call.  As a result, it frequently justified doing tremendously evil things.  The moment worldly effectiveness replaces faithfulness as the motive for an individual's or institution's behavior, they are no longer acting on behalf of the kingdom of God but are participating in the  kingdom of the world.  The so-called good end will always be used to justify  the evil means for those thinking with a kingdom-of-the-world mindset, and in doing this, the church succumbed to the very temptation Jesus resisted." ~ Gregory Boyd, The Myth of a Christian Nation, p. 80

Out of Our Control

“If we are going to seize our divine moments, we must accept the reality that we have no control over many things. We have no control over when we die or how we die. We must instead take responsibility for what we do have control over—how we choose to live.” ~ Erwin McManus; Seizing Your Divine Moment

Life is so unpredictable. There are so many things which are out of our control. We cannot choose another person’s path. We cannot stop the drunk from getting behind the wheel of a car. We cannot heal every disease and keep our loved ones from dying. We can cast our votes, but our candidates still may not get elected. We can do nothing to prevent hurricanes and tornados from causing destruction. We have so little control over our lives.

There is not one of us who has not been affected by circumstance beyond our control. We acknowledge our lives have been changed because of something which was beyond our power and strength. Good and bad will come into our lives and much of the time we will have very little say on its arrival.

What we do have control over is how we respond to these situations. The real test of character comes when something we have no control over happens. At those times our character will be proved to be good or bad.

Character is an extension of our faith in God. When something bad happens in our lives and we don’t really trust in God we will seek to medicate our pain with drugs, alcohol, or sex. We will choose to do the wrong thing because we want the pain to go away, even if it is only for an instant.

When something bad happens and we respond in love to those around us, in prayer, praise, and service we allow God to work through that circumstance to strength who we are. Our character is developed as we live by faith through the circumstances of life. Part of faith, then, is choosing to obey God even when every instinct inside of you tells you to do the opposite. That is what we have control over.

“So then, since Christ suffered physical pain, you must arm yourselves with the same attitude he had, and be ready to suffer, too. For if you are willing to suffer for Christ, you have decided to stop sinning. And you won’t spend the rest of your life chasing after evil desires, but you will be anxious to do the will of God” (1 Peter 4:1, 2; NLT).

Peter writes that it is our decision to stop sinning and chasing after the desires of this world. We can make that choice. Why is that possible? Because Jesus has already suffered for us and in our gratitude we become anxious to do His will; even if it means suffering ourselves because of that decision.

We need to stop worrying about the things in life we cannot control. Instead, it is time that we focused on the area we do have control over, our actions. Let’s choose to do the right thing.

Daily Thought: A Done Deal

"The same is true of our walk with God.  Can you be more saved than you were on the first day of your salvation?  No.  But can a person grow in salvation? Absolutely.  It, like marriage, is a done deal and a daily development." ~ Max Lucado, He Chose the Nails, p. 107

Daily Thought: We are not Our Problems

"We are not our problems. We are not our wounds. We are not our sins. We are persons of radical worth and unrevealed beauty. If we face ourselves fully, we will be broken by what we see, by the selfishness and fear and rage and lust that cover our spiritual beauty like tarnish on silver. But the silver is there. Something brilliant and intact gleams through the stain of our brokenness.

"Labeling each other makes the shine of silver hard to see. It directs attention to the tarnish. Labels encourage us to believe that our problems define us. Of course our problems are never pretty. So we either use them to manipulate people into taking care of us or we hide who we mistakenly think we are." ~ Larry Crabb, The Safest Place on Earth, p. 34

Daily Thought: The Benefit of Temptation

“In this life it is impossible to escape the assault of temptation; but one thing is sure—temptations are not sent to us to make us fall; they are sent to strengthen the nerve and the sinew of our minds and hearts and souls. They are not meant for our ruin, but for our good. They are meant to be tests from which we emerge better warriors and athletes of God.” ~ William Barclay, Daily Study Bible Series: The Gospel of Mark, p. 21

Daily Thought: God is at Work

"But I would count on this: God is always working to make His children aware of a dream that remains alive beneath the rubble of every shattered dream, a new dream that when realized will release a new song, sung with tears, till God wipes them away and we sing with nothing but joy in our hearts." ~ Larry Crabb, Shattered Dreams, p. 82

Words of Life

{John 6:66-69; ESV}

After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. So Jesus said to the Twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.”

Jesus has just finished giving the people a hard teaching. He told them that He was the bread from Heaven, and if they hoped to be part of God’s Kingdom and live forever they had to eat of His body. This was a teaching that the people did not understand, and they left grumbling. They had pursued Jesus with the hope of making Him king, and now they left His presence confused.

I think we can learn a very important lesson from the verses leading up to John 6:66. Here is the lesson we need to remember: we should never be afraid to tell people the truth.

 In terms of contemporary evaluation Jesus has just preached His worst sermon. He started with thousands of followers, and ends up with just a handful. This sermon drove off thousands of people, and Jesus let them go. By doing this Jesus demonstrates to us that faith is more important than numbers. We often get this the other way around. In our churches we will sacrifice faith for a large attendance. I have been part of church families where you have to walk on egg shells when certain people are around because they might get mad and leave the church.  The result is that the rest of the people are left unchallenged by the truth. Sometimes the best thing that can happen to a church is for the right people to leave.

As we begin to look at John 6:66-69, we notice that Jesus seems to invite His twelve disciples to leave as well. I would suggest that this question Jesus offers is an opportunity for the Twelve to evaluate why they are following Jesus. Why should they continue to follow this man who made such outrageous claims about Himself?

I think life often throws at us circumstances which provide us with opportunities to do the same thing. It could be when your husband/wife is diagnosed with cancer or when you have been unemployed for 6 months and a new job is still now where in sight. I would bet that you have had more than one crisis of belief that has forced you to examine your faith. I know I have.

That is why Peter’s words ring through the centuries. The reason we remain faithful to Jesus is because we have discovered that He alone has the words of life. We have come to know that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and it is through Him that we have hope for life.

One of the thoughts that I had which helped me through my last crisis of belief 3 years ago was: Jesus brings meaning and understanding to life. In other words, it wasn’t about evidences and arguments, but it was the difference that Jesus had already made in my life that reminded me that faith in Jesus was worth holding on to. Isn’t that what Peter was saying? What they had already heard, seen, and experienced validated their faith in Jesus. They realized that only Jesus had the words of life that they needed. I pray that we all come to that same realization.

Daily Thought: Obedience Matters

"Obedience to God is not a minor matter.  Obedience is our very life, with God!  It should again be remembered that 'partial obedience' is really disobedience with God! This is true for every person.  God plays no favorites and makes no exceptions!...Today, too many are convinced that all God is looking for in their belief of Him is a verbal statement of faith! This is not true and never has been true.  God said to Abraham that He knew He believed Him, and feared Him, because he 'obeyed My voice' and did what God commanded, offered up his only son, the son he loved." ~ Henry Blackaby, Created to be God's Friend, p. 176

Citizens of God's Kingdom

{Ephesians 2:19-22; ESV}

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

The apostle Paul, in Ephesians 2:11-18, reminds his readers of their previous reality. They were excluded from God’s Kingdom, and therefore they had no hope. Yet, something happened to change their status. That something was Christ Jesus who broke down the wall (verse 14). Through Jesus they were given hope and they were reconciled to God.

Stop for a moment and remember what your former life looked like. Even those of us who have grown up in a Christian family can remember the time when we realized that we were outside of God’s Kingdom. I vividly remember the night when I realized that I couldn’t rely on the faith of my family and that I had to have my own faith. That was a scary night, but fortunately I knew the One I had to turn to in order to find forgiveness and hope.

That is what served as an introduction to what the apostle Paul wrote in verses 19-22 of Ephesians 2. What Paul wants us to understand is that we are part of a great sacred community: The Kingdom of God.

Before, while we were in our sin, we were outsiders, we didn’t belong to God’s Kingdom, but now we do. We were citizens of the world, and foreigners in the Kingdom of God, but now our citizenship has changed. The world is no longer our home, we are pilgrims in this land, because our citizenship is now in Heaven.

I want to point out two implications that come with being citizens of God’s Kingdom. The first implication is that we are not alone.  I am not the only citizen of the Kingdom, and though it might feel like I am all alone at times, that is just a feeling and not reality. In this Kingdom reside all the faithful who lived under the Old Covenant as well as all of the faithful who follow Christ Jesus. The writer of Hebrews writes of a “great cloud of witnesses” (Hebrews 12:1). It encourages me to think about all the people who have lived faithful lives, because it reminds me that I am not the only one to experience the struggles of faith.

The second implication I would like to point out is that there are certain expectations for a citizen of God’s Kingdom. One of the things that have horrified us, as U.S. citizens, has been the accusation of brutal and inhumane conduct by our military personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan. We have an expectations that our military would conduct themselves in a better manner.

There are expectations for living the God has placed on the citizens of His Kingdom. One of those expectations is that we are to be servants. We need to help those people who are in need and in the process bring God's love and hope into their lives. A second expectation is that we live moral lives. The moral standard that we live by needs to be better than the rest of the world. People need to recognize that there is a difference in the way we live and the way the world lives.

What a word of hope we find in this passage. We are part of God’s Kingdom! You and I need to allow this reality to shape the way we live. Why? We are representatives, ambassadors, of God’s Kingdom, and is essential that we to play the part.

Daily Thought: Our Role in a World of Hate

"In a world full of hate and suspicion, what a distinctive role the Christian can play.  This is the only way in which the spread of alienation is arrested and the nearness of Christ's love is brought even nearer to so many who are lonely.  All the hatred that is demonstrated in our world has resulted from a world that know no Appreciative love toward the very author of life." ~ Ravi Zacharias, Cries of the Heart, p. 179

Daily Thought: Belonging to a Community of Faith

"Through baptism we are drenched in God, enveloped in God's presence, and brought through death to life.  The water grave is a perfect expression of this reality.  It is both personal and communal.  It declares our individual need for forgiveness and new life, and it binds us to a new community of faith." ~ Erwin McManus, An Unstoppable Force, p. 169