A Responsibility to You; An Act of Faithfulness for Me

Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. – 1 Corinthians 4:2 NIV

Whatever the activity in which you engage, do it with all your ability, because there is no work, no planning, no learning, and no wisdom in the next world where you’re going. – Ecclesiastes 9:10 ISV

Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. – Romans 12:11 NIV

In the months leading up to April 1, 2020, the countdown was on. After faithfully writing or procuring a fresh devotional post every single day for ten years, I thought we would scale back to six days per week or even five days a week. A series of notices were included at the bottom of four devotionals. “100 Days of Christianity 201.” Then, “75 Days of Christianity 201.” Followed by “50 Days…” well, you get the idea; and then 25. You would be forgiven if you thought I was ending C201.

And then something happened.

The world shut down due to… well, you know what it was due to.

Suddenly I had a lot more time on my hands. And I figured, so did readers. So I simply ignored the countdown we had done, and kept posting every day.

It’s now three years later, and I feel driven by the same sentiment. Because the world has never fully returned to what it was before, it seemed like a good idea to just keep going. But slowly, there was a realization dawning that I needed to be doing this, even if, as we posted two days ago, absolutely no one was reading it. (The subscriber list and daily stats do indicate otherwise.)

Sometimes I will check in my browser history to compare the time I first opened a new page draft to the time I completed the writing or editing of a single post. It’s usually between 40 minutes and an hour. That’s an hour spent thinking about the things of God, His word, theological and doctrinal matters, examining the spiritual reflections of others.

I don’t know that there is some other way I could commit that amount of time otherwise. This is the particular discipline that I need to keep focused.

Some of you know that another ministry venture which occupies my week is owning a Christian resource store (or shop for my British readers.) One day not long ago I looked around the inventory in our remaining store, which is well over $100,000 Canadian. I mentally added to that the amount of fresh inventory that is added every year, and factored in that we once had three stores, and then thought of the thousands of dollars that have been spent on rent in those locations.

And then it was as if God spoke to me.

‘Maybe this is what it took to get you to be the person you are today.’

In other words, all those thousands of dollars spent on Christian books, Bibles and other items was a necessary step in keeping me busy about Kingdom work, when I could have been occupied doing and thinking about other things. This is what it took, not unlike that sitting here composing and curating devotionals is also what it has taken for me to become who I am to be.

With the bookstore, and the various other ministry ventures Ruth and I have been involved with doing through local churches, and independently, another new thought entered my head in the last three years: the word missionary.

I had never thought that we moved to a small town from Toronto specifically to be missionaries, but as I tried on the word for size, it seemed to fit. Missionaries… and maybe this is what it took…

There is a saying and although the wording varies slightly depending on what you’re reading, it’s usually something like ‘Play with the cards you’ve been dealt.’ We tend to use this phrase where someone is facing a tremendous challenge, a physical handicap, a broken relationship, a chronic health issue, the loss of job, etc. In other words we tend to associate the phrase with coping with the negative factors that can creep into our lives.

But there’s another side to this.

In serving the Lord, it might mean taking the circumstances we’re in and the opportunities that lay before us, and then simply running with those realities and doing so, as the “The Preacher” of Ecclesiastes reminded us above, “with all our might.”

It might mean taking the ministry — to a community, to our friends, to our work associates, to our family — that has been entrusted to us, or stewarded to us, and being faithful with it, as Paul reminded the Corinthians in another verse above.

Or as he told the Romans (also above), it means never giving up (CEV), never lacking enthusiasm (AMP), never decreasing our devotion (GWT, ISV) in serving.

…So as we complete year 13 here at C201, I find myself where I was three years ago: released from the constraints of providing a daily devotional, but not — at this writing anyway — free to walk away from what it does to me to be writing here each day.

So right now it’s business as usual, but if I miss a day, know that we more than surpassed our ten year goal.

Thank you for reading and subscribing. Thanks to my wife Ruth and son Aaron for being available for consultation. Thanks to all the writers whose material we use, and especially to Clarke Dixon for his weekly contribution. Finally, thanks to BibleHub.com for being my go-to search provider for Biblical texts.

 

 

 

Growing in Jesus, Evolving in Faith

by Clarke Dixon

What does growing as a Christian look like?

We may think that we growth happens just by adding, so, for example, just add enough Bible knowledge and you will have a mature Christian. But is it as simple as that?

We can think of a child growing between grades one, two, three and so on. Just keep adding knowledge each year to what was learned last year and you have a growing child. Maybe so, but there is another kind of growth happening at the same time. That same child is growing taller, and heavier, and “brainier.” Growth is much more organic than simply adding knowledge as the child has an evolving body and mind. Likewise, when we speak of maturing in Christ, it is something more organic.

Maturing is not just about addition, it is also about loss. Our boys will never be knee high to a daisy again. I mourn that. But I also celebrate the men they have become. Actual growth requires alteration, even loss and the destruction of what once was. When a seed grows into a plant, the seed is destroyed.

We can think of heart growth. We can think of growing in the fruit of the Spirit, for example. Growing in love may require the destruction of hatred, apathy, or inactivity. Growing in generosity may require the destruction of selfishness. Growing in gentleness may require the destruction of tendencies toward violence. True growth requires vulnerability, a capacity to be altered, a willingness to change, to evolve. Change, evolution, not by chance, but intention, is part and parcel of growing in Christ.

Evolution is not just a process that happens in our hearts. Sometimes we need to change our minds. Growth in our Christian thinking is not always accomplished in adding new knowledge to old, but replacing old knowledge with new. Just as with heart growth, we can talk of an evolving faith which, in our current series, brings us to our next “cultural statement” from Open Table Communities:

A Culture that Celebrates an Evolving Faith
We nurture questions, doubts and uncertainty because of where they lead us. We celebrate the movement of learning, un-learning and re-learning that takes place in all of life and specifically a life of faith.

Open Table Communities

Questions, doubts, and uncertainties can be a great catalyst for change, for growth. A change of heart, of growing in love, for example, is made possible when we question if we are really all that loving. A change of mind can happen when we are uncertain about what we think. Indeed certainty can stunt our growth terribly.

A church which “gets Jesus” will nurture questions, doubts and uncertainties because they lead us to maturity in our faith. Learning, un-learning and re-learning is part and parcel of what we call discipleship. If we are not questioning, doubting, and allowing uncertainty, then we are not growing in our faith, we are merely taking on someone else’s.

When we have an evolving faith we are in good company. We see evidence of evolving faith in the Bible.

The disciples had an evolving faith. They did not know anything about Jesus when called by Jesus. Three years later and they were still quite in the dark. It took the resurrection of Jesus for them to really clue in. Their faith evolved.

Peter had an evolving faith. He likely believed what every other Jew believed before meeting Jesus. Then he came to believe Jesus was the Messiah. Then he came to believe that Jesus was risen, and more than the Messiah, the Lord. Then because of a vision from the Lord and a visit from some people he questioned his whole Jewish understanding of how things are. Peter’s faith evolved.

Paul had an evolving faith. He went from being certain that he was serving God by persecuting Christians, to serving Jesus. At some point he had to have a massive amount of doubt to overcome his huge amount of certainty. It is no accident that blindness was part of his story, as if he had to come to a point of admitting, “I’m not seeing clearly.” Once Paul made that huge shift in thinking he had it all figured out, right? Well no, he spent some time in the desert, likely thinking it all through, rethinking everything in light of the fact that Jesus is risen. But after that he had it all figured out, right? Well no, years later Paul said,

…we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.

1 Corinthians 13:12 (NLT)

Paul had an evolving faith, and he knew there was yet room for growth, for further change in his thinking.

Looking at the entire scope of the Bible, God’s people as a whole have had an evolving faith. What was said about God and humanity in the earliest events recorded in the Bible are not nearly as filled out as what is said in the later events recorded in the Bible. Note the words of Jesus,

But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, but they didn’t see it. And they longed to hear what you hear, but they didn’t hear it.

Matthew 13:16-17 (NLT)

Moses, David, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and many other heroes of the faith did not know what we now know. God has had great patience with humanity, revealing himself over time, and supremely through Jesus. Do we have patience with the humans around us, and with ourselves, when there is yet room for growth?

Do we celebrate an evolving faith? Do we allow people, and ourselves, the space to grow, to have an evolving faith?

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Clarke Dixon is a pastor in Cobourg, Ontario and appears here most Thursdays. The sermon on which this is based here, and is also available for a limited time at this podcast.

The Bible: Reading it and Writing It

^{NIV Deut:1118} Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. ¹⁹ Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. ²⁰ Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates, ²¹ so that your days and the days of your children may be many in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors, as many as the days that the heavens are above the earth.

^NIV.Gal.6.11 See what large letters I use as I write to you with my own hand!

The picture above is of a scripture passage my oldest son chose to write out by hand eleven years ago and post on his bedroom wall.  It’s remarkable for two reasons, the first being that a few years before this his struggle with cursive writing would never have produced anything so legible, the second being the love that he has for the Word of God, evidenced by the time he spends in scripture each day.

Writing out Bible passages by hand has become somewhat archaic in a world of word processing.  But it’s just one of a number of subtle changes taking place in terms of our relationship with the printed word:

• Many of us leave our Bibles at home on Sundays, finding it more convenient to use Bibles provided at weekend services
• Many choose to use Bible apps on their smart phones instead of following from a print text
• Many have their devotional and Bible study time driving to work using a an audio devotional downloaded, or a podcast
  
• Scripture memorization has become less commonplace in our children’s and youth ministry programs
• People like myself often ‘absorb’ scripture throughout the day through online articles and blogs but don’t directly read anything at source
• Our worship music is ‘vertical’ which can derive from psalms and similar passages, but is therefore less reliant on the ‘Scripture in Song’ type of choruses that were based more directly on scripture
• The giving out of tracts has died as a practice; many of these began with scripture and contained several Bible passages
• The reading of Christian books has diminished in a screen-saturated world.
• Scripture plaques, often seen in the living rooms and kitchens of homes have been deemed inadequate in a world of interior decorating and replaced by “inspirational” wall art with single word admonitions like “dream,” “believe,” “hope,” etc.
• Where once people would add a scripture verse by hand to a greeting card, today — if we send cards at all — we purchase Christian cards with a verse already included

Combine all these, and the handwriting my son did might seem rather quaint. But I’ll bet that taking the time to do this means he knows this passage well.

Of course, more than writing scripture on the doorframes and gates of our houses, God desires for us to write his words on our heart. But how we do this if we don’t know the passages and precepts in the first place? God is revealed to us first and foremost in scripture; this is the primary revelation of God in our times.

So here’s the challenge.  Take a passage and write it out by hand today. Start with a short one, such as Titus 3: 3-8 or you might consider Colossians 1: 9-14 or the Galatians passage above, or a passage of your choosing.  (Those are just two of the first I did myself, so I’m not asking you to do anything I haven’t done.) Today my recommendation would include Philippians 2:5-11.

In 2019, before leaving for a one week intensive course on the book of Galatians, I copied the entire book from N.T. Wright’s Kingdom New Testament (since it was he who was teaching the course.) That took much longer than I expected. I now have a better understanding of what the scribes did. Consider doing this one of the epistles, or even hand-copying one of the gospels.

And then, having copied them on to paper, allow the words to be written on your heart.

Making a Spiritual Checklist, and Checking it Twice

We’re breaking the six-month rule to share an extra devotion with you from our online friends Stephen and Brooksyne Weber who faithfully write devotions at DailyEncouragement.net from their beautiful home in Mount Joy, Pennsylvania where, alongside editing and preparing weekday devotions like this one, they are in full time workplace chaplaincy ministry.

Click the header below to read this where it originated and you might find yourself clicking “previous message” or “next message” to read more!

Taking Spiritual Inventory

Message summary: Taking spiritual inventory enables us to examine ourselves so that we can correct ourselves on a regular basis to make certain we bring glory to God in the manner in which we live our lives.

“But let a man examine himself” (1 Corinthians 11:28a). “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?” (2 Corinthians 13:5).

Randy is an inventory control specialist we see at a company that is a wholesale distributor of car wash supplies. The other day I was inquiring about his job and he told me, “I just love inventory”. Now in this day with so much laxness in regard to a solid work ethic his enthusiastic assessment of his job is heartening.

An inventory control specialist tracks inventory and stock changes. Responsibilities include overseeing inventory control, managing deliveries, inspecting inventory, maintaining inventory records, and ordering products. For a well run business it is an essential and very important job. But it’s a good thing that God made people with different gifts and interests because I can’t see myself saying, “I just love inventory”!

But Randy’s comment also prompted me to consider the vital importance of taking personal inventory of our own lives. That’s not something we necessarily enjoy, but it is beneficial since it shines the light on what really matters and that which we need to lay aside and the sin that might easily entangles that keeps us from running with endurance the race that is set before us. (See Hebrews 12)

In taking personal inventory we must reflect inwardly and take stock of our lives. Personal inventory can apply to our health, finances, family, goals and many other areas of life. But today let us consider a spiritual inventory, a self examination of the most important aspect of who we are.

“But let a man examine himself.” Today’s first Scripture verse is in the context of partaking of Communion at the Lord’s Table. Before one eats and drinks of the emblems representing the broken Body and shed blood of Christ he is instructed to “examine himself”. Of utmost importance in this personal spiritual exam is the answer to these foundational questions:

* “Do I have saving faith in Christ?” (Romans 10:8,9).
* “Do I have unconfessed sin in my heart?” (1 John 1:9).

“Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves.” In the second text Paul uses two words (“examine” and “test”) to emphasize his point. “Examine” is the Greek “peirazo” which conveys the sense “to scrutinize”. “Test” (“prove” KJV) is the Greek “dokimazo” which has the sense of discernment.  It implies the expectation of approval and is thus a very positive function. We need to regularly (I believe daily) examine and test our spiritual walk. Let’s confess sin, express faith, and practice obedience daily.

This vitally important exam asks this question, “to see whether you are in the faith”. Then there’s a sobering follow-up question, “Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?”

In his article “The Place Of Self-examination” Bible teacher S. Lewis Johnson comments concerning this verse:

“There are literally millions of professing Christians who need to pay attention to this statement of the apostle. They have entered into a shallow commitment to Christianity, they’ve joined the church, they’ve been baptized or they’ve done other things that might make them think that they are genuine believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. They’ve been encouraged to think that, by men who’ve not been careful to point out that, there is more to becoming a Christian than subscribing to a statement. They don’t hate sin. They don’t love holiness. They do not pray. They do not study the word of God. They do not walk humbly with God. These individuals, so many of them stand in the same danger in which the Corinthians stood. And the apostle’s words, “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith, examine yourselves,” are valid words that each of us should ponder.”

Taking spiritual inventory enables us to examine ourselves so that we can correct ourselves on a regular basis to make certain we bring glory to God in the manner in which we live our lives.

Colossians 1:10-12 provides a list of examination items for our consideration. We will phrase them as personal questions:

* Am I living in a manner worthy of the Lord?
* Am I pleasing Him in all respects?
* Am I bearing fruit in every good work?
* Am I increasing in the knowledge of God?
* Am I being strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might?
* Am I attaining steadfastness and patience?
* Am I joyously giving thanks to the Father?

Daily prayer: Father, I ask myself, “Am I living in a manner worthy of Your name? Do I seek to please You rather than myself? Does the fruit of my labor reflect the Spirit of Christ living within my heart? Do I have a zeal for the things of Christ and a desire to know Him better, to reflect His character every day in my life? Am I steady or do I sputter in my Christian influence?” Father, in all these things I want to be more like Christ, consistent in the ways that bring glory to Your name and growth in my spiritual nature. I want my spiritual walk to be the most important pursuit of my life as I journey here below so that I may influence as many as possible to live for Jesus, for it is in His name that I pray. Amen.

Be encouraged today, (Hebrews 3:13)

Lessons from Peter

Another new source for you! The blog By Leaps and Bounds  is an outreach of Arise Ministries, which is based in West Virginia. The author of today’s thoughts is Dave Snyder, a retired Church of God pastor who now serves in prison ministry.

Faith, Failure, and Good Sense

And when he had sent the multitude away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone. But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary. And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased (Matthew 14:23-32).

The Christian life is a journey. It is like a marathon and is so different from a sprint. Always, it is a walk of faith.

Sometimes along this journey, we fail. Anything from failing to pray to struggling with sin hinders us and feels like it will defeat us.

During these times of failure, good sense has to kick in. We remember that we cannot and do not have to do this alone. Then we call out to the One who desires to help us.

Faith, failure, and good sense are all necessary components of the Christian walk. Let us briefly examine each one.

Faith is the key ingredient to the Christian life. Without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). We must have faith to do three important things.

Look at the call given to Peter and Andrew.

And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. And he said unto them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” And they straightway left their nets, and followed him” (Matthew 4:18-20).

These men left their nets to follow Jesus — without knowing where that path would lead them. It takes faith to simply answer the call to follow Jesus.

Obviously, if we are going to follow Jesus, we must have faith to believe He is who He says he is. Jesus asked the disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” Peter answered with an emphatic statement of faith, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” There is so much power in declaring to our Savior, “You are the Son of God.”

Finally, it takes faith to leave our comfortable place. Peter was a man used to the sea- including times of turbulence. Surely, he had encountered stormy seas previously. It would seem to be more comfortable in the ship than out of the ship. When he stepped out onto the water, he left what comfort there was at the time. So it is with us. Faith requires stepping out of the ship to experience the greatness of God.

Down through the years, I have heard people criticize Peter for failing to complete his walk on the water. However, his failure is a reflection of the failure we all experience during our lives. Like Peter, we look at the storm around us and take our eyes off of Jesus. Hebrews 12:2 says, “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith…” When we become distracted by all that surrounds us, failure is inevitable. This is when good sense has to come to the forefront.

When Peter began to sink, he did the most sensible thing he could have done. He cried out to Jesus — the One who had the power to save him. The Psalmist was so correct when he wrote, “This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.” We should be so glad that our Lord hears us above all the noise that is around us. One other use of good sense is repentance.

When our actions deny that we know the Lord, repentance is in order. After denying Jesus three times, Peter remembered that Jesus warned him of this great failure. He had boasted that he would never fail in this way; now his heart was broken. Again, good sense was exercised. Peter went out and wept bitter tears of repentance. There are times when we must do likewise.

Matthew 14:23-32 definitely links faith, failure, and good sense together. It takes faith to step out in the first place. Once we step out, our human frailties get in the way and failure shows itself. This is when good sense tells us to cry out to the Lord who can help us. Good sense also tells us to make things right so our journey of faith can continue.

Andrew Murray on the Names of the Holy Spirit

But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.
 – John 14:26 NLT

“But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.
 – John 16:7 NASB

When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.
 – John 16:13 ESV

 

Ten years ago at this time I was slowly working my way through a classic; Andrew Murray’s book With Christ in the School of Prayer. For the two chapters, he was been looking at the passage that begins, “If his son asks for bread will he give him a stone?” This is paralleled in Matthew and Luke; and says that if corrupted and sinful parents like ourselves still give good things to their children, how much more will God give…to those who ask.

The Matthew section ends, “How much more will your Father give good things…”   But in Luke the ending is different; “How much more will you Father give the Holy Spirit.” Murray feels that the highest of the “good things” is “the Holy Spirit.”

He then has a paragraph where he lists the various gifts of the Holy Spirit.   He was writing in an era before bullet points — lapsing into point form or numbered lists wasn’t done in prose back then — but I want to spell these out for us today.   There aren’t cross-references, but you’ll recognize many of these:

• The Spirit of grace — to reveal and impart all of grace there is in Jesus
• The Spirit of faith — teaching us to begin and go on and increase in continuously believing
• The Spirit of adoption and assurance — who witnesses that we are God’s children and inspires us to confidently say, ‘Abba, Father.’
• The Spirit of truth — to lead into all truth, to make each word of God ours in both principle and action
• The Spirit of prayer — through whom we speak with the Father; prayer that must be heard
• The Spirit of judgment and refining — to search the heart and convict of sin
• The Spirit of holiness — manifesting and communicating the Father’s holy presence within us
• The Spirit of power — through whom we are strong enough to speak boldly and work effectively in the Father’s service
• The Spirit of glory — the promise of our inheritance, the preparation and foretaste of the glory to come.

Murray states, “In the variety of gifts which the Spirit has to give out, He meets every need of the believer.  …The child of God needs only one thing to really live as a child:  To be filled with this Spirit.”

With Christ in the School of Prayer by Andrew Murray (various publishers); taken from lessons 6 and 7; some sentences mildly paraphrased to reflect modern grammar and vocabulary.

Endurance Produces Sanctification

Today we’re introducing a new writer. April who writes at Redeemed in Grace. She describers herself as “a stay-at-home mom in Alabama, raising a son with Autism- this has been such a joy and a challenge. It’s what I like to call the unexpected things in life, an upside down blessing.” Send her some encouragement by clicking the title below and reading this at her site instead of reading it here.

Deeper Love

“Adversity is not intended to diminish our hope in God. Adversity is intended to heighten our hope in Him. We are brought to remember that God is all we have, and that He is enough.”                                                                                       -Devotional Psalter (Psalm 71)

This year has been like watching a train wreck in slow motion. Powerless to stop it, we just have to witness the carnage. I can’t imagine going through this without Christ as my anchor. For those who don’t know how the Story ends these must be terribly upsetting times. But in the drama of 2020, God is still here actively at work. This is the truth believers can lean hard into. Even as external circumstances spin out of control or feelings betray us here is what you and I can stand firm in:

Faith is not a feeling. It is holding fast to what is true even when feelings don’t align. Even when it’s not popular (and the Gospel isn’t) or you feel alone in your Biblical convictions. This doesn’t make Truth void.

 

After God used Elijah in the showdown against 450 false prophets of Baal and 400 false prophets of Asherah, Elijah fled to the desert. He said he’d had enough and wanted to die. He was burned out physically and spiritually. He felt alone in worshipping the One True God. Then the Lord ministers to Elijah providing sleep, food and then His Presence. As if this weren’t enough, what our Father says next must have bolstered Elijah’s spirits even more as God tells him that 7,000 people have not bowed the knee to Baal. The Lord had preserved a remnant. Elijah was not alone like he thought.

Satan would love nothing more than for you and I to believe his lies and become discouraged, thinking we are alone in our allegiance to God. He’s not very creative, but the same routine can still be effective. God’s Word says, “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.” -1 Peter 5:8-9

One of my favorite quotes is from Corrie Ten Boom, who experienced life in a concentration camp during World War II. Her family attempted to hide Jews in their home from the Nazis. They were eventually caught and arrested. She still found a reason to hope in God while enduring cruel treatment remembering, “There is no pit so deep, that God’s love is not deeper still.” Corrie had an understanding of God’s Sovereignty even as wickedness seemed victorious. Like her, we are not alone in our belief that God Almighty is on His Throne. His will, His timing, His justice are perfect. And He loves His sons and daughters.

Anything we endure in this life is for our sanctification. It is for God’s glory and our eternal good. The Scriptures confirm His love is steadfast, sacrificial, unconditional and perfect toward His children. Our Father demonstrated His great love for us by giving up His own innocent Son. Jesus willingly paid my guilt, taking the consequences I deserved on Himself.

The most beautiful action in human history climaxed on the cross that day. Remember the depth of His love for you when you feel forsaken. God’s Word will be your comfort when you feel unloved, unseen, or friendless. His love abounds. Stay faithful. Stand firm in God’s Word. Jesus is the pearl of great price, a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

Grace upon grace,

April

Grow deeper: 1 Kings 18-19; 2 Timothy

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■ Bonus item: here’s a short beautiful poem April wrote, Go to God.

When Following Christ, Intellectual Depth is not Spiritual Depth

People who read a blog with a title like Christianity 201 often crave spiritual depth. They should have recent to expect to receive just that.

• A teacher who presents historical background we’ve never heard.
• A preacher who exhorts his audience to strive for higher levels of commitment.
• An academic who connects the dots from text “A” to text “B” and both of them to text “C.”
• An author whose preferred style means that every page is heavy with deep truths.
• A blogger who mines the classic Christian writers and shines new light on those lost works.

And I am in favor of all five of those.

But what is true depth? What does it mean to say he (or she) is a “deep Christian?” Does it mean academic honors, or research ability, or literary giftedness, or a visionary spirit, or having your doctrine correct?

I don’t think so. Otherwise spiritual achievement would be reserved for intellectuals. That’s actually what many Christian websites communicate. People read them and say, “Yes, I could be that spiritual, but only if I were smarter.” In other words, they regard depth as something that’s out of their league.

The name of this blog, Christianity 201, implies that kind of depth. And often, I must confess, I default to writers and articles which stimulate the spiritual intellect.

But talk to someone who has walked for decades with God, and you’ll see something else at work. Yes, there is a love for his word, the scriptures. But there is also, simply put, a love for Him.

Again, Spiritual depth isn’t depth of understanding, or depth of communicating truths, rather, it’s about depth of relationship with God; or depth of intimacy with Jesus. You see a person and say, “That person really knows God.” Or conversely, “That person is truly known of God.” Or better, “That person really loves God.”

And what happens in the mind, manifests itself in the life, and can be observed in one’s character. I think to be that person, who is regarded as a “deep spiritual thinker” you want to be doing a different set of things:

1. Try to live your life by the highest ethical standard, in ways both visible and invisible. Start today by going through your e-mail and finding personal letters from people that you never answered. Or phone calls you never returned. Or a bill you’ve never yet paid. Or a situation where you’ve never sought forgiveness, or forgiven the other. I believe strongly that much of our standing before God consists in doing right things. That includes sins of omission. Then this becomes a natural lifestyle. “Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.” (James 4: 17 NASB)
2. Aim for excellence. I am so very tired of people whose work for the kingdom of God is “just enough to get by.” In the years I’ve been doing this, I’ve seen people spend hours supposedly studying the great works of Christian literature, but then their blog post about them is full of careless spelling errors. They are renowned as a true worshiper of God, but their guitar is never properly tuned. “‘If a man dedicates his house as something holy to the Lord, the priest will judge its quality as good or bad. Whatever value the priest then sets, so it will remain.” (Leviticus 27: 14 NIV) That’s an interesting chapter to study; also consider, “If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work.” (I Cor 3: 12-13 NIV)
3. Humility. Some of the most spiritual people I know do not believe that they are. Again, the Christian internet tends to have its own “stars” and many of these people really believe the stuff about themselves that’s online. But again, truly ‘deep’ Christians never see themselves as such. They are aware of their personal shortcomings. Sometimes Paul found it necessary, by way of introduction, to provide his listeners with his spiritual pedigree, or spiritual resumé. But then he goes on; “But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.” (Phil 3: 8-9 ESV).

So let’s summarize this in a prayer:

Lord show me if I’ve directly or indirectly missed the mark of your highest (and deepest) calling through sins I’ve committed and sins of omission. Also, help me to my best Lord, that’s for sure, but help me to aim for the best. Don’t let me offer up anything either to you or for you that has less value than I am capable of giving. Finally, in whatever spiritual community or faith family I find myself, don’t let me start to believe my own press. When others say something good about me, let me know when to give You the credit, and when to correct their impression.

Conclusion:

We need to live our Christian lives not out of deep reasoning, or deep understanding of the things of God; rather, we need to live out of a deep conviction that comes from walking closely with God.

Not in Valleys, Not on Mountaintops: Formation in the Middle

… Therefore we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, yet our inner self is being renewed day by day. For our light and temporary affliction is producing for us an eternal glory that far outweighs our troubles. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.… I Cor 4:16-18 Berean Study Bible

A year ago our sister blog linked to the writing of Phylicia Masonheimer. I decided this week to look back and she what she was writing more recently and came across a piece I thought would be useful to readers here. Click the header below to read this on her site and then from there, look around at other articles.

Ten Years with God

Ten years passed in a blink and I almost missed it.

I didn’t realize it was a turning of the page, a gentle leaning into a new decade, until an Instagram post stopped me mid-scroll. Ten years. In 2010, I was turning twenty years old, just returned home from residential college and a stint in New Mexico, unsure what the future held. I was particularly annoyed at my lack of romantic prospects. The ripe old age of twenty was pressing heavy on my mind.

I believed God was taking me somewhere, but my twentieth year seemed like a regression. I went away; I came back. I had a boyfriend; I had one no longer. I didn’t even know what job to take next, so I worked two, back in my childhood bedroom like a baby bird kerplunked back in its nest. It was a new season, but it felt so much like the old one.

It was mornings at one job and evenings at the other.

It was letters to old friends and awkward attempts at making new ones.

It was tiny raises and job transitions, wearing scrubs instead of heels and sorting medical files in the office basement.

It was phone call interviews on my lunch break.

It was the catch-and-release of an almost romance.

And then it was over. A little less than two years later, I moved away again. The season ended, with all of the hard and good it held, over before I had fully embraced it.

That’s how seasons tend to go. We fight them for so long, wishing they were different, thinking it will be better when they’re over – then they are. We stand there between what was and what is about to be, unsure how to make the most of waning things. There’s a frantic urgency to fully live now that the end is in sight. But what if we did it in the middle?

Ten years with God have taught me that the middle is what He’s most interested in. I am sure He loves the mountaintop moments, but we are formed in the valleys. We are formed in the dirt, made from dust and getting rather dusty in the making. I think there’s significance in the richness of valley soil, too, because fields don’t grow on mountaintops. Harvests aren’t taken from rocks and crags.

No, it’s in the valleys we are planted and grown and harvested. It’s in the middle seasons of commute, long winters, singleness, on-call hours, and schoolwork that God does His shaping work. In the seasons that feel old and rote, the jobs that are uninspiring, the singleness that seems perpetual God invites us to stop waiting around for the ending and start living from the middle.

Those two years of “not my plan” tumbled into everything for which I’d hoped. I met a man. We married. I finished my degree. We made a home, I became a writer, we had two beautiful babies, we moved to a farm in Michigan. But those were the mountaintop moments. Those were the grace everyone else could see, the monuments built on months of slowly trusting, days of “long obedience” with no particular end in sight.

Ten years with God took me from a light and momentary existence to considering hardship a “light momentary affliction” (2 Cor. 4:17).

Loss of friends, jobs, money, and health were as much a part of my ten years with God as were His blessings, and in both I have learned that strong faith lives from the middle. The more I know Christ, the more I understand deliverance; the more I understand that the presence of the Deliverer is sufficient while we wait.

Ten years with God took me from wondering if He was good because I didn’t have what I wanted… to knowing He is good whether I get what I want or not.

In 2010, at the end of a prayer journal, I wrote:

Everyone lives for something… I’ve been living for my dreams, plans, and pursuits. But no more. I place You on the throne of my life… You are the guide of my journey…That which I do not have, I do not seek… my heart is lost to You.

I asked for what I didn’t understand. I committed to what I couldn’t handle. The grace of God carries us forward in that kind of weakness, and how grateful we should be for it! I didn’t know what ten years would hold, or how hard-won those sweet blessings would be. But I have seen the goodness of God in the land of the living (Psalm 27:13). I have seen the goodness of God in middle places, in the valleys and the dirtiness of an average day.

And I can say, after ten more years with God, “How abundant are the good things that you have stored up for those who fear you, that you bestow in the sight of all, on those who take refuge in you.” (Psalm 31:19)

 

Ways We Can Interface with God

One of the devotional sources we’ve used before took us to one we haven’t: Teens in Christ. Not surprisingly, this devotional piece borrowed some terminology from the world of technology to look at the discipleship process in a rather different but refreshing way.  (If you have teens, consider getting them to follow this particular website.)

Spiritual Interface

An interface is regarded as the common area between two spheres of influence: practices shared by two disciplines with a common goal of interconnection between spiritual realms. Communication between God and His subsidiaries enables sometimes incompatible elements to coordinate effectively together through prayer. To be in an interface is to communicate directly, in this case with our Creator. Processors, software, hardware, and routers are all terms we use with computers, whereas spirituality, Bible study, prayer, and meditation of scriptures are terms we use in processing our mind to interface with the likeness of God. Where computers have to be maintained, repaired, and recovered, our minds have to go through a similar process of regeneration so we can communicate with God.

This process begins with DBS&P, or daily Bible study and prayer. Through the process of Bible study we learn what God wants us to do so we become obedient to His Word. Reading alone will not create the change we need to prepare ourselves for the future. We have to do exactly as the Bible instructs us to do so we can begin to have a spiritual interface with God. We are trapped halfway between heaven and hell, and we exist as half animal, half spiritual beings so it is up to us to decide what direction we want to take. If we choose to act animalistic, we go to hell, and if we choose to act spiritual and seek out the face of God, we go to heaven. It is our choice and no one is making us go either way.

If it were this simplistic it would be easy to decide; unfortunately, there are influences all around us and inside of us that draw us away from God. We are a spirit being that lives in a body in a physical world so here we are again trapped halfway in between. We are spiritual, but we cannot see the spiritual world. We cannot see the spirit beings coming and going in our life, influencing us in ever-wrong directions. They can hear our thoughts, mingle with our mind, and influence us to do wrong. If this is not enough, we have our own fallen condition that was handed down to us from our ancestors. It is no wonder the world is the way it is because we are bombarded by the lusts of the flesh, the lusts of the eye, and the pride of life.

We are placed in this circumstance for a reason. We have been given a free will to choose any direction we want as long as we understand that all choices have circumstances. God has created us the closest being there is to His own personality. He is not looking for robots. He is looking for family. He created Himself so He doesn’t have anyone like us so He devised a plan for us to have the opportunity to be like Him.

Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure (1 John 3:1-3 NKJV).

However, with God, holy perfection is a given, and He is unable to lie or sin in anyway so for us to be able to reach His level of existence we have to be regenerated from our animalistic, hell-bound, half-spiritual, half-physical being to a son or daughter of God. In the beginning, He created us to be like a lot closer to Him, but with the fall of Adam sin came into our world. Lucifer, Satan, the Devil, a fallen angel, manipulated the good things God created and corrupted them into evil. Satan and his cohorts gave us knowledge that we were not ready to have, and some knowledge like war, witchcraft, and sorcery we never needed to know.

Growth is the key to life, and growth begins when we believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. That through His crucifixion, burial, and resurrection He has paid the price for our sins and enabled us to have a personal relationship with Him. He did what we could not do for ourselves because only one sin will separate us from God forever. Christ paid a tremendous price for us. He, being part of the godhead, virtually separated Himself from Himself when he was crucified on the cross. We may never know the pain he bore as He absorbed all of our sins.

The first step to spiritual interfacing is asking Jesus Christ to come into our life. We do this by saying this simple prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father,

I accept Jesus Christ as my sin-bearer, and I trust God to forgive my sin because Jesus Christ died in my place; I accept Him as my risen Savior who ever lives to make intercession for me, and I trust Him to keep me from day to day. I accept Him as my Lord and King, to whom I surrender the absolute control of my thoughts and my life. In Jesus Christ’s name I pray. Amen

If you have any questions you can reach me at alan@kidsnchrist.com.

He Saw Their Affliction

Again, we’re paying a return visit to the website Before the Cross. The writer today is Mike Mobley. Click the title below to read at source.

God Sees You And Hears You

Sometimes when we are going through a difficult trial in life we are tempted to believe God isn’t with us. Maybe He just really isn’t good? Maybe He is blind to what is really going on in our lives? Maybe He really doesn’t care? Maybe He doesn’t understand just how hard things are for us?

This is incredibly challenging for those of us who follow Christ and this is exactly where faith comes in.

Everything in us wants to be delivered out of the trials we find ourselves in.

• We don’t want to lose a family member.
• We don’t want to have to stay in our jobs that we don’t like.
• We don’t want to have to deal with relational conflicts around us.
• We don’t want to have to handle money problems.
• We don’t want to have physical or mental health issues.

I was recently reading through Exodus and noticed something for the first time when reading over Exodus 4. I’ve read through this countless times and I love when God always shows me something new in Scripture.

The Israelites were enslaved in Egypt for over 400 years…..400 years! Imagine going through a trial that lasted 400 years. You, your children, their children, and so on…all suffered under the same trial. To the point that if you were living in this time period, you would believe that is all that existed. You would believe you were intended to be a slave. Imagine how hard to it would be to have hope that God would deliver you when you know it hasn’t happened in over 400 years?!

So long story short, as Moses and Aaron are going along and telling the people what God wanted them to say as He was preparing to deliver them out of captivity, I stumbled upon this:

“And the people believed; and when they heard that the LORD had visited the people of Israel and that He had seen their affliction, they bowed their heads and worshiped.” – Exodus 4:31

Noticed the people’s reaction. They bowed their heads and worshiped. Why? Because God had seen them. Because God had heard them. The reality hit them that this same God, creator of the heavens and the earth, had heard their cries and seen their tears.

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We have some extra space today, and I thought I would include just a few sentences of a well-known article by John Ortberg (it might have originally been called, “Don’t Waste a Crisis”) which David Jeremiah quoted earlier in the month. I was able to obtain this on a site called Blog Church.

“I once was part of a survey on spiritual formation. Thousands of people were asked when they grew most spiritually, and what contributed to their growth. The response was humbling—at least for someone who works at a church.

The number one contributor to spiritual growth was not transformational teaching. It was not being in a small group. It was not reading deep books. It was not energetic worship experiences. It was not finding meaningful ways to serve.

It was suffering.

People said they grew more during seasons of loss, pain, and crisis than they did at any other time. I immediately realized that, as a church, we had not even put anybody in charge of pain distribution! So now we are figuring out how to create more pain per attender for maximum spiritual growth.

Actually, the wonderful and terrible thing about crisis is that it’s the one resource we do not have to fund or staff or program. It just comes. However, pain does not automatically produce spiritual growth. Ghettos and barrios and abusive homes and trauma wards may produce scarred souls; they can cripple more human spirits than they strengthen…”

Truth, Time, Talent, Treasure

In this case, moreover, it is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy.
 – I Cor. 4:2 NASB

Once again we’ve returned to Lightsource, but this time with an older devotional (Aug., 2018) which was used to introduce a one hour sermon on video by Dr. David Jeremiah. Clicking the link in the header below allows to read both the content posted here, plus watch the video.

4 Priorities for Living: How to Glorify God with Our Days & Talents

The word “steward” has gone misunderstood, especially in a biblical sense. Commonly the term refers to flight attendants or volunteers helping us find our way in a museum. We are aware of stewards, but we may not be living out the term properly as Christians.

Perhaps you encountered a stewardess who served you on your flight to that latest mission trip overseas. Maybe you went to a baseball game or theater and a steward helped you to find your seats. These are people who are helping to manage something that is not their own. So what does this mean biblically?

A proper way of defining stewardship for a christian should begin with acknowledging that God is the owner of everything. We are stewards of the things we have in this world, not owners. All that we have is from God, our money, our possessions, our family, and notably our time and talents.

In school, children are taught how to manage their money efficiently. Books have been published teaching readers how to manage their finances in a biblical manner. But it is less-likely that you will find a class about managing our days and talents to bless others. Unless of course you open the teachings of scripture. Below we have outlined four priorities of stewardship spoken from David Jeremiah.

Teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom. – Psalm 90:12

The Priorities of Stewardship

Be a steward of truth…

God has entrusted to us as followers of Christ to be managers of the Truth that is the Gospel, among believers and non-believers alike. “On the contrary, we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please people but God, who tests our hearts.” 1 Thessalonians 2:4

Be a steward of time…

This may be the most important aspect of stewardship. Time is more valuable than money, gold, or possessions. Time cannot be replaced like money or things. The Lord expects us to make the most of our time and will reward that. “Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.” Ephesians 5:15-16

Be a steward of talent…

You might be thinking you have no talent. But it isn’t true. God has made you from His image and useful to the body of Christ by word or by strength. “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.” 1 Peter 4:10-11

Be a steward of treasure…
David Jeremiah says that, “Giving will never work if it’s random.” We should plan to set some money aside on the first day of the week. Which in our time, we know as each Sunday. Believe that God will allow you to prosper. “On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with your income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made.” 1 Corinthians 16:2

 

Judging Others

by Russell Young

The Lord cautioned, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others you will be judged, and with the same measure you use, it will be measured to you.” (Mt 7:1−2) Similar sentiments have been presented elsewhere. (Rom 2:1, 14:4) In this passage “judge” means to distinguish as to condemn in some sense, to call into question or to think negatively about another.

Judging others may be more prevalent in our lives that we would like to admit. Condemning thoughts that are not so frequently voiced are judgments concerning another and the Lord will judge the thoughts of the heart as well as the spoken word. “This will take place on the day when God will judge men’s secrets through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares.” (Rom 2:16) Every person has “planks in his or her eyes” and needs to work out their own salvation with fear and trembling (Phil 2:12); careful attention needs to be given to one’s own issues. The Lord desires for his brothers to have hearts like his own, committed to care and concern for others.

The first problem with judging is an attitude of pride and superiority concerning the issue at hand. That is, those who judge condemn the other for not reaching their standard. Christ is the standard and his conviction in the believer’s life is to address their righteous requirements. The second problem is that all believers are a work in progress. It is the Lord who is making his brothers the product that he would have them be. (Eph 2:10) He is conforming those who will dwell with him into his own likeness. (Rom 8:29) To accomplish this transformation he works individually in the lives of his own concerning specific issues that according to his determination need to be addressed. While he is changing a practice in one person’s life, he may be working on a different one in another’s, however in the end the obedient will have fully achieved God’s righteous requirements (Rom 8:4) and they will have been made offerings suitable for his kingdom. (Rom 15:16)

To judge another is to judge the Lord himself, to contest his wisdom. That is, in effect the person judging is saying that the other’s inappropriate behavior is the one that the Lord should be addressing. He knows the heart and the need of each of his own better than they even know their own hearts and needs. Rather than being focussed on the issues of the other, it would be more glorifying to praise God for the spiritual progress that is seen being made in the lives of others and to pray that the Lord will forgive them when a sin is seen being committed. (1 Jn 5:16) The admonition of Paul is to “build up” one another (Rom 15:2; 1 Thess 5:11) and everyone needs encouragement.

Paul wrote, “Who are you to judge someone else ’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.” (Rom 14:4) Every believer is a servant of Christ. He or she was purchased by him and has been redeemed for his good pleasure and service. Judgment comes from a hard heart and the Lord has made it clear that the same manner and measure used to judge others will be applied to those who practice judging.

Paul presented some words that seem to contradict the Lord’s teaching. He wrote, “What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside?” (1 Cor 5:12) Paul is presenting this teaching as their spiritual leader and he is expanding on his teaching concerning associating with those who are living apart from truth while claiming to be brothers. For the preservation of the integrity of the Lord’s teachings and of the church body those who are deliberately defying truth need to be confronted so that their influence is not felt and so that correction can take place, and this does require personal judgment and wisdom. Even in this, caution needs to be taken and the one defying the Lord needs to be admonished by those who are humble and spiritually mature and those exercising this responsibility need to appreciate that they too will be judged with the same measure.

Motivation of the heart is important, and it is according to a person’s motivation in relation to the other that he or she will be judged. (1 Cor 4:5) The Lord is building a righteous kingdom and believers are to assist in that process as they attend to their own needs and humbly appreciate that others are on the same journey and need assistance in their walk, free from judgment and condemnation. Prayer for those in need should never be neglected. It is easier to judge than to assist.

All believers living on this earth are on a similar journey. They are leaving the place of defilement and disobedience, with evil hearts and minds, to become conformed to the likeness of the Son of God attaining his heart of holiness and love.

“You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.” (Rom 2:1) Pray for and encourage the weak and needy. Perhaps they are praying for you on another issue.

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Russell Young’s column appears here on alternate Tuesdays. His book, Eternal Salvation: “I’m Okay, You’re Okay” Really? is available in print and eBook in the U.S. through Westbow Publishing, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble; in Canada through Chapters/Indigo.

To read all of Russell’s contributions here at C201, click this link. There is also an extended article at this link.

The First Month of Your Year

by Russell Young

A new year! The first day of the year is often considered as a new beginning. Reflection is given to the things in life that could be improved by change or by greater commitment. The LORD spoke of a new year to the Israelites. On the day they were redeemed (2 Sam 7:23; 1 Chr 17:21) from bondage in Egypt the LORD said, “This month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year.” (Ex 12:2) They had been given a new beginning with great promise. The LORD was to lead them through his servant Moses into a new life and into the Land of Promise, a land flowing with “milk and honey”.

Gentiles who have committed themselves to God through faith have been offered a similar promise and a similar hope. Although believers have not been set free from earthly kings, they do enjoy the hope of an eternal city and the presence of their God.

A new calendar year can provide opportunity for those redeemed by the blood of the Lamb to reflect on the progress of their own spiritual journey. We might do well to remember that although 600,000 men plus all the women and children left Egypt, only Caleb and Joshua made it into that promised land. All had begun their journey with hope but after forty years of testing most died in the wilderness. “Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands.” (Deut 8:2) Following redemption comes testing!

Contrary to the teaching of some, not all the redeemed will find a presence in God’s eternal kingdom. Perhaps the new year is a good time to reflect on the Lord’s admonition: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” (Mt 7:21 Italics added) God’s righteous requirements (Rom 8:4) must be met through obedience to the Holy Spirit.

The journey of the committed, of believers, is not easy and is not without testing (1 Thess 2:4) and trials. (Mt 24:9) Like Caleb and Joshua, the person who would enter the Promised Land must be found authentic when confronted with faith challenges (Mt 10:22) and must pursue a walk of obedience. (Heb 5:9) Satan would tempt believers to coast along the road of life and to appease their own desires and interests. As Satan said to Eve, “Did God really say…?” (Gen 3:1) and like Eve many will be led astray. He will tempt those in the Lord to trust that the fruit of the world is desirable and to be enjoyed without cost. Confessors have been admonished concerning the need to die to self (2 Cor 4:11; Col 3:5; Lk 9:24) and to live for Christ, however.

Satan would encourage people to pursue their own worldly desires, comforts, and carnal pleasures and this world has bought into his deceptions; however, the goal of believers is to be much different. It is to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind.” (Lk 10:27) (Such a statement should be taken as a requirement, and not accepted as an exaggerated proclamation.) Losing a few pounds might make a person feel better and the pursuit of other carnal interests might result in gaining compliments, approval and pleasure, but they will not further the believer in his or her journey to the kingdom of God. Time passes quickly and with it opportunity to prove repentance (Acts 26:20) and to reveal to God the confessor’s conformity to the likeness of Christ. (Rom 8:29)

The new year gives opportunity to honestly examine the nature of the confessor’s love for God. It may even stir the heart and mind to examine that which God truly requires of his people so that they will not suffer his condemnation as “evil-doers” and be commanded to depart from him because he had never known them (Mt 7:23)—known for certain their faith commitment. There are many false teachings prevalent in the Christian community. Each person will enjoy or suffer the consequences of their own spiritual convictions and practices. “Did God really say…?” Believers need to be certain of what God did say because there are a variety of “truths” being presented, even though there is only one truth.

Does your Biblical understanding satisfy the following questions: Do you know and understand the New Covenant? Do you appreciate that you will face the judgment seat of Christ for things done in the flesh, whether good or bad? Do you appreciate the consequences of a negative judgment? Is your love for God complete or have you been pretending and perhaps playing church? Are you producing fruit in your own life and for the kingdom? To what extent have you been making use of the gift(s) given you at your confession of faith?

A new year is beginning, and it offers opportunity for reflection and introspection. God told the Israelites that the Passover was the beginning of the year for them, perhaps it should be considered as an opportunity to honestly reflect on your spiritual journey and the progress being made. Believers are to be conformed to the likeness of Christ (Rom 8:29) and are expected to walk as he did. (1 Jn 2:6) The confessor’s redemption gives new hope with both promises and requirements, but these can be lost. Use this occasion to set your path straight and make your hope secure by following the Lord’s call upon your life. (Jn 10:27; Rom 8:4, 14; Gal 5:18, 6:7─8)

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Russell Young’s column appears here on alternate Tuesdays. His book, Eternal Salvation: “I’m Okay, You’re Okay” Really? is available in print and eBook in the U.S. through Westbow Publishing, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble; in Canada through Chapters/Indigo.

To read all of Russell’s contributions here at C201, click this link. There is also a feature-length article at this link.

 

Starting Another Chapter

^{Col 4: 5 KJV}Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time.

^{Eph 516 KJV}Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

The KJV uses the term “redeeming the time” in these two verses.   The second verse appears in the NASB as,

making the most of your time, because the days are evil.

The other verse appears in the NASB as

Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity.

The question I ask myself is this:  Did I make the most of my time and my opportunities in 2018?   And then:  Will I endeavor to make the most of my time and my opportunities in 2019?

While some current Christian writers emphasize the importance of rest, others talk about the “stewardship of our time.”   Time management is considered enough in scripture that it is not a stretch to say that scripture introduces a “doctrine of time usage.”

But like everything else in scripture, there is a place for balance in doctrine.   Think of a pendulum swinging back and forth.   Only when it stops swinging does it find the place of balance in the middle. There are two aspects to the Bible’s teaching on time management; time stewardship.

There is a time for action — The one who knows to do something right and doesn’t do it; that’s a sin.   But there’s a time for rest — Be still and know that He is God.

Time management by Biblical standards involves more than a simple “resting” or “action” theory.   It requires skill and wisdom to find the balance.

So more questions:   Did I learn to rest in God in 2018?   Will I learn more about resting in God in 2019?

Nobody said this was easy.

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Each of us is about to write another chapter of our lives. The turning of the pages of the calendar may be more significant to some people than it is to others, but the start of a new year is always a time to both look back and look forward. For that reason, I think Steve Green’s song is such a great way to end 2018.

This isn’t my all-time favorite song, or style, but when Steve Green or anyone else is taking their lyrics directly from scripture it creates something bigger than the song itself. When they were much younger I asked my kids if they can tell when, in the middle of devotional book we’re reading, the paragraph moves into a Bible quotation, and they both understood exactly where I was going with this question. There’s something about the power of God’s word that is so easily identified; it stands out from what the devotional writer is saying as though it was underlined, in bold face type, in giant print, or printed in bright orange.

The song’s key verse source is Philippians 1:6, but I’ll give you the verses that precede and follow for full context:

^{Phil 1:5(NIV)} because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, ⁶ being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

⁷ It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart and, whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me.

I don’t what you or I are facing in 2019, but we are each, in God’s eyes, a work in progress. And he doesn’t abandon his projects.

All God’s best for the new year.

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Mission Statement: Christianity 201 is a melting-pot of devotional and Bible study content from across the widest range of the Christian blogosphere. An individual article may be posted even if some or all readers might not agree with other things posted at the same blog, and two posts may follow on consecutive days by authors with very different doctrinal perspectives. The Kingdom of God is so much bigger than the small portion of it we can see from our personal vantage point, and one of the purposes of C201 is to allow readers a ‘macro’ view of the many ministries and individual voices available for reading.