Faith Musings: Nothing to Boast About - Part 9

We should be drawing this study to a close this week. I hope you have enjoyed this look at 1 Corinthians 1 and 2. I can only say it was one of those Holy Spirit directed studies that I had not been intending to do. You must understand, what I put on the blog is most often things I am learning and/or struggling with. I hope I can always bring you the same clarity and understanding that the Holy Spirit gives me when revealing truth in His word.

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“10 For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.
11 For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God.
12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God,
13 which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.
14 But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.
15 But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one.
16 For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he will instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ.”

— I Corinthians 2:10-16 (NASB 1995)

Last week we looked specifically at verse 13 diving into the concept that it is the Holy Spirit who teaches us and who gives us God’s wisdom. Paul’s teaching came, not from human wisdom, but from the wisdom taught to him by the Spirit of God. The same is true in our own lives as we grow closer to God and learn to listen to His Spirit with open ears. We looked specifically at 1 John 2:27 which reminds us that when we have His anointing, or the Holy Spirit we have no need of other teaching or wisdom. God’s wisdom is all we need. I also made a note that we must have His discernment to make sure that what we are saying is of the Spirit actually is His Spirit and not the spirit of the world. Remember, the spirit of the world is not for God.

Let’s start looking at verses 14 - 15.

14 - But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.

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I think this verse is pertinent to what is happening in the world as we look around at the violence, hatred, and sin that permeates all cultures. In our own country we have seen a definite uptick in violence as a way to respond to ideas, people, religion and beliefs that are not liked or agreed with. This is the response of the natural man. Our sin nature wants what it wants and it looks at the things of God as ridiculous.

Even as believers we find ourselves regularly battling against this old nature and fighting to turn to Jesus and His truth rather than give in to our baser sin nature. The difference is, we have God’s Spirit gently reminding us how much God loves us, what He did for us and why His wisdom is always better than the world’s.

Why does the natural man think God’s teaching and wisdom is foolish, after all, didn’t God create man in His image? Shouldn’t that give man His wisdom? Unfortunately, this is what Satan tempted Adam and Eve with in the Garden. See Genesis 3. There were two things going on in the Garden. The first, the Serpent, or Satan, was intent on causing God’s beautiful creation to crash and burn. The second, Adam and Eve made a choice to not trust God. If instead of listening to the Serpent they would have ran to God and asked Him what to do, they would not have made that same choice. God’s wisdom, would have given them the understanding to know what Satan was plotting.

Sin is what took away the ability to know and understand God’s wisdom. What God intended to be the norm, a regular, intimate, relationship with Him, became obscured by the veil of sin. It is only by giving our lives to Him in an intentional choice to trust Him, that we receive the Helper and the ability to know God and understand His teaching and wisdom.

“12 Therefore having such a hope, we use great boldness in our speech,
13 and are not like Moses, who used to put a veil over his face so that the sons of Israel would not look intently at the end of what was fading away.
14 But their minds were hardened; for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains unlifted, because it is removed in Christ.
15 But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart;
16 but whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.
17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.”

— 2 Corinthians 3:12-18 (NASB 1995)

What we see in our country right now is the spirit of the natural man fighting against what they see as the foolishness of God, because they can’t understand it. Why does this surprise us? God has always had a better way, but He allowed mankind to make their own choices and He still does, even to the point of violence and persecution.

“5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.”

— John 1:5 (NASB 1995)

15 - But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one.

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Seeing that our Creator is a spiritual being, and when we are in Him we are also spiritual beings, we are able to appraise, or to use a more unfavorable word, judge, all things. (I thought that chicken looked pretty judgmental to me. what do you think? Ha, ha.) What does this mean? In simple language it means that we are able to look at everything around us and discern what is actually happening. For instance, the things that are happening in our country are looked at political and idealogical differences, but one who has the Spirit of God, knows there is a spiritual element to these things. Of course if we speak that, we are seen as even more ridiculous and unaware. What is most concerning to me is the disparity in the church. We know it is okay to have differences of opinion, but when that turns into anger, and anger turns into hate, then as people with God’s Spirit we need to step back and recognize the spiritual side of things.

With regard to the second half of that verse, we are appraised by no one. In other words, people can judge us on the outside. If I commit a crime I will go to court and be sentenced, but only God judges our eternal soul. Only He knows where we are at spiritually. That, to me, is why it is important to get to know people and have dialogue with people. We may find we have a lot more in common than we do differences.

16a - For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he will instruct Him?

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There is not one person on this planet that knows the mind of the Lord to the extent that he is able to instruct Him. God doesn’t have to be teachable. He knows everything. The theological word for this characteristic is omniscient. It is not just knowing things like 2+2=4, or that all matter is made up of atoms, and all the other billions of bytes of data in the world. Omniscience includes an awareness, understanding and insight. God doesn’t just know stuff, He knows us. Isn’t that mind bending? Read through Psalm 139. God knows our thoughts, when we lay down, when we rise, where we go, what we are going to say, and the very condition of our heart. He knows every child ever used in the sex trade. He knows every tumor rooting itself in a human’s body. He knows where your lost cat is. He knows the pain you carry deep beneath your smiling exterior.

To the natural man, this doesn’t make sense. In fact, it may be the case they don’t want it to make sense. Knowing that there is a being who knows your every thought, your every pain, your every dark sin is too much. The crazy part is, He knows all that and still He loves us. He loves you, and He wants you, every single bit…the good, the bad, and the dark ugly.

16b - But we have the mind of Christ.

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Perhaps it is because I have the mind of Christ that as I have been typing this I want to fall to my knees and cry. Not only to shed tears for so many who are hurting, angry, and lost, but for my own wretched soul. He has done it all. He has provided a way when there was no way. He provided a light in the darkness, a path through rocky mountain slopes; food for my peckish soul and water for my dried up heart. He has done it all, and I have nothing to boast about, except in Him.

Faith Musings: Nothing to Boast About - Part 8

I have been doing a series that looks more in depth at the first couple of chapters of 1 Corinthians. You can see each of the previous parts in this series by clicking on the following links: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, and Part 7. Today we are going to dive deeper into the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

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“10 For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.
11 For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God.
12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God,
13 which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.
14 But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.
15 But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one.
16 For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he will instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ.”

— 1 Corinthians 2:10-16 (NASB 1995)

Let’s get a running start at the next few verses.

Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God,

If you read through last week’s post you know that when we receive Christ as our Lord and Savior we do not receive the spirit of the world, which has to do with the mindset of the world, a mindset that is against God and all He wants us to know. We receive the Spirit who is from God, or the Holy Spirit. We are given the Holy Spirit as a help so that we might know the things of God which are freely given to us.

In other words, the Holy Spirit is the one who gives us understanding of God’s mind and ways. He gives us understanding of the Words of God in the Holy Scriptures, and He enables us to have God’s wisdom in all situations.

…which things we also speak…

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Paul was referring to himself and the preaching, teaching and letter writing he was doing for the churches

…not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit…

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Paul, is one of the most famous of the apostles, whose own testimony tells of him persecuting the Christian church with a fervor that included having many believers imprisoned and killed. On the road to Damascus Jesus appeared to him (at the time Saul) in a bright, blinding light and questioned, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” (See Acts 9.) Saul became Paul and became a major contributor to the spread of the Gospel.

This same Paul was not teaching or preaching words that came from his own human wisdom, but words taught to him by the Holy Spirit. While he was alive at the time of many of the disciples, he was not one of the twelve that originally lived and walked with Jesus. His learning was not first hand, but through the work of the Holy Spirit, just as ours is.

I love this, especially when I feel utterly stupid in my Christian faith. Obviously, I know lots of things, just as Paul did, but my book learning is not what drives me to write these posts. I do it as a ministry of the Holy Spirit to encourage anyone in their Christian walk. Believe me, I have had numerous moments where I have been ready to give it all up, but it is then that I get that little prodding in the back of my mind. Even if only one person benefits there is a ripple affect with a single drop of water.

…combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words

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“27 As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him.”

— I John 2:27 (NASB 1995)

I came across this verse in 1 John some months ago and and it keeps coming back around to me. It talks about our anointing which we received from Him and abides in us. This anointing is not something special that only comes to those who are prayed over for the ministry. His anointing is the living, breathing, Holy Spirit inside of us when we accept Christ.

As we see with Paul, and I would say even someone like Charlie Kirk, they did not need a theology degree to speak, preach or teach. They got their words, responses, messages from the Holy Spirit who dwelled inside of them. This verse clearly tells us that we have no need for anyone to teach us because the Holy Spirit teaches us about all things and He is true and not a lie.

Now, do we need to be careful to not take this out of context and start spouting off anything that comes to mind? Yes! But do we need to hide the light of Christ under a bushel because we are not “educated” and might not know what to say? No!! We are meant to be the light of Christ in a dark world, and can be confident engaging people in conversations about Christ because His Holy Spirit lives in us.

I will add to this idea next time as we finish off this chapter.

Have a great week and remember you are anointed by God and have the Holy Spirit in you. Abide in Him and shine His light!

Thought's on the Reality of Living in this Fallen World

Since Charlie Kirk’s murder last week, I have been trying to figure out how to respond. It was only in the last four months that I started to follow Charlie on Facebook, so I certainly did not know him personally, but I liked what he was doing. If a person can get people to think and do it in a way that shows self-control and kindness, that’s awesome. I have seen a number of people talk about Charlie since his death and it sounds like he was one of the good guys: a young man who had a passion, not only for conservative values, but for God and His word. Was he perfect? Of course not, none of us are, but to dedicate your life to connecting and talking with others means something.

When deciding what to write about, I thought it best to honor Charlie by taking us back to God’s Word.

The Roaring Lion

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“8 Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”

— 1 Peter 5:8 (NASB 1995)

While we do have enemies made of flesh and blood, our real enemy is much more crafty than any human being. He was an angelic being, created by God to serve Him, but given a free will Lucifer decided he should be the one making the decisions and tried to take God’s throne. God banished him from heaven along with a large number of angels who followed him. Earth is their dwelling place, and Satan loves to play with God’s most precious creation, humanity. (See Ezekiel 28:13-17, and Isaiah 14:12-14)

As I have said before on this blog, what better plan could an enemy concoct, but that which makes the prey think he doesn’t exist, and that the thing that matters most is their own selfish desires. The problem is, Satan has his fingers heart-deep in so many people’s lives due to his adept skill at manipulating the truth.

Charlie Kirk spoke truth. He spoke ideas and thoughts that aligned with God’s Word, and many lives were changed because he had the bravery and desire to make a difference. Yes, a 22 year old man shot him, but it was the unseen enemy, Satan, who was moving and manipulating behind the scenes. He moves and manipulates every time there is a school shooting, a child is forced into the sex trade, families wonder where their next meal is coming from, bullies try to have the upper hand, church ladies gossip; the list is endless. Look at the darkness in the world and you will realize Satan is at the core of all of it.

Difficult Times will Come

Isn’t it interesting that the lion above and the man below have a similar facial expression?

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“1 But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come.
2 For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy,
3 unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good,
4 treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,
5 holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these.”

— 2 Timothy 3:1-5 (NASB 1995)

Why are we surprised by the responses that many people are leaving on social media in the aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s murder? These verses could not be any more accurate than if a news reporter wrote them this past week: boastful, revilers, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good…lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.

The last sentence in this group of verses tells us to avoid such men/women as these. Charlie Kirk did not avoid them. He met them face to face, and head on he broached the hard topics - racism, abortion, gun violence, and others.

Living According to God’s Word will Bring Persecution

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“12 Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.
13 But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.”

— 2 Timothy 3:12-13 (NASB 1995)

We are told if we desire to live godly in Christ Jesus we will be persecuted. In addition, Jesus said,

“33 These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.””

— John 16:33 (NASB 1995)

In this world we will have tribulation, but Jesus has overcome the world.

Our Purpose through it All

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No matter what is going on in the world around us our identity and purpose does not change. We are made in the image of the almighty God (Genesis 1:26-27), and our purpose is to honor and glorify Him with our abilities, talents and our voices (Colossians 3:23). Charlie Kirk knew this and used the gifts God had given Him to lift up His truth and glorify Him. What is God’s will for us during these difficult times?

“14 We urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone.
15 See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all people.
16 Rejoice always;
17 pray without ceasing;
18 in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
19 Do not quench the Spirit;
20 do not despise prophetic utterances.
21 But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good;
22 abstain from every form of evil.”

— 1 Thessalonians 5:14-22 (NASB 1995)

These principles, are the same today as they were 2000 years ago. Evil has been here since Satan chose to defy His God and Adam and Eve chose to listen to his half-truth whispers. Thankfully our God has not changed. Whether you are angry at the injustice of Charlie’s murder, or you are rejoicing that his voice has been silenced, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8) and no one on this planet can change that.

Do Not Lose Hope

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I felt the aftermath of Charlie’s death as if he had been a close relative, and in a way he was. For those of us who believe, he was our brother in Christ and his wife is our sister in Christ. While I didn’t know him other than through social media clips, Charlie represented truth I believe in and qualities I want to have: love, boldness and joy.

My dear friends, do not lose hope.

“Be strong and let your heart take courage,
All you who hope in the Lord.”

— Psalm 31:23 (NASB 1995)

“My soul, wait in silence for God only,
For my hope is from Him.”

— Psalm 62:5 (NASB 1995)

“Sustain me according to Your word, that I may live; And do not let me be ashamed of my hope.”

— Psalm 119:116 (NASB 1995)

“1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
2 through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.
3 And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance;
4 and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope;
5 and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”

— Romans 5:1-5 (NASB 1995)

Our hope does not disappoint! We know that Charlie is now with Jesus, as are my father, father-in-law, and many, many others who have gone before. They are rejoicing in the presence of their Savior and the troubles of this world are dim compared to His eternal burning love.

Thank you Father for sharing your love with this world through people like Charlie Kirk, and thank you Charlie for being exactly who God wanted you to be.

Faith Musings: Nothing to Boast About - Part 6

We have spent the last few posts looking at 1 Corinthians 2:1-9. Today I would like to start mulling over verses 10-16. We won’t get through all the verses today, but I’ve included the rest of the passage for you to read. I’m also including a fall picture for you to enjoy. I’d like to be driving through there right now! :)

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“10 For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.
11 For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God.
12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God,
13 which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.
14 But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.
15 But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one.
16 For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he will instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ.”

— 1 Corinthians 2:10-16 (NASB 1995)

Let’s start dissecting this passage.

For to us God revealed them…

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First let’s understand that it is God who should be revealing things to us, not some other entity. We live in a world where information is instantaneous. Type into Google any question you have, or anything you want to research and within seconds you have lists of sites where you can learn all sorts of things. We now even have AI ChatGPT to come along side and teach us how and why we should commit suicide. Such tragedies are not of God, and are precisely why we still need God and His revealed truth.

What exactly is God revealing to us? Who are the “them” referred to in this verse? Them is looking back at verse 9. Them refers to: “Things which the eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him.” In other words God reveals His truth to us through His word. How does this happen?

…through His Spirit;

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This revelation comes about through the Holy Spirit. Paul testified of this divine revelation in his own life.

“11 For I would have you know, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man.
12 For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.”

— Galatians 1:11-12 (NASB 1995)

As you may know, the Holy Spirit was given to us to be our companion, helper, revealer of God’s truth, and our very own prayer warrior.

“16 I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever;
17 that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.
18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”

— John 14:16-18 (NASB 1995)

“25 “These things I have spoken to you while abiding with you.
26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you. ”

— John 14:25-26 (NASB 1995)

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The Holy Spirit is vital in our relationship with the Creator. Just as Jesus had a role, that of the Savior of the world, the Holy Spirit has a role in the triune God-head. He is the presence of Jesus in our lives. He is the One who binds us to God the Father. He also dwells in us, daily guiding, and helping us as we battle the flesh, and as we scramble to remember what we have been taught from God’s word. Not only does He help us remember, He also helps us to live it out.

Over the last few years of dealing with illness on the regular and just the normal struggles of an aging body, I have learned over and over that there is very little I do in this relationship with the Holy One, other than bend my knees in humility and prayer. He does everything else. He provides energy when I have none. He helps me to remember my value in God, when I question it over and over again. He establishes me in Christ, in a way that no teaching, exercise, or activity can. He even gives life. (See the examples of Elizabeth and Mary in the Gospel of Luke chapter 1). And as I have taught about before, He prays for us. (See my take on Romans 8:26-27.) It is a fun study to explore the many works and facets of the Holy Spirit throughout Scripture.

…for the Spirit searches all things even the depths of God.

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I don’t know about you, but that makes me want to cry. The fact that this Spirit, who lives inside of me searches all things, even the depths of God makes me realize, there is no thing and no one in this world that knows me better than God. There is no drug, no activity, no teaching, and no internet search that is going to reveal more than the Holy Spirit. He is the conduit through which we have full access to the Kingdom of God the Father.

God forgive me, for not giving the Holy Spirt His due, and God forgive others who limit Him to the mere center of an emotional experience. The Holy Spirit works in perfect synchronization with the Father and the Son to give us complete understanding of His truth, and complete redemption and forgiveness of sins through the blood of Jesus.

Hallelujah! What an awesome God we serve!

Next time we will delve deeper into how His Spirit works in our lives. Have a great, Spirit filled week!

Faith Musings: Nothing to Boast About - Part 5

As we see August come to an end, and September begin, I feel the pull of fall. I have always loved this season. From the changing leaves and the cooling temperatures, to the pumpkin muffins and jack-o-lanterns, fall always gives me a feeling of expectation. I think part of that stems from the fact that fall includes Halloween, Thanksgiving and leads to winter and my favorite time of year, Christmas. Seasonal changes give us many things to think about with regard to our faith walk with Jesus, and I will be pursuing some of those ideas soon, but today, I want to continue our walk through 1 Corinthians 2.

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“1 And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God.
2 For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.
3 I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling,
4 and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,
5 so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.
6 Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away;
7 but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory;
8 the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory;
9 but just as it is written,

“Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard,
And which have not entered the heart of man,
All that God has prepared for those who love Him.””

— 1 Corinthians 2:1-9 (NASB 1995)

Right now we are still looking at verses 1-9. We learned from Chapter 1:18-25 that man’s wisdom and God’s wisdom are two distinct things. The reality is God uses all that is contrary to our wisdom to accomplish His plan from the weak and foolish, to the cross of Christ, His wisdom is contrary to all that our wisdom believes is important. We see Paul reiterating these same ides as Chapter 2 begins and we read, “I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified…”

6 - Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; however, not of this age or of the rulers of this age who are passing away;

Paul, who has made clear that he was weak, and fearful when it came to his ability to speak, and who also made clear that his message was not of his own wisdom and ability, but God’s, now states with confidence he speaks wisdom among the mature.

Who were the mature? People who already knew the gospel, believed it and were living their lives following Jesus. Think of your own situation as a Christ follower. Do you feel like you know more now than when you first came to Him? Have you gained more understanding as you delved into His word? Would you consider yourself more mature than you were several decades ago? I say a resounding yes, but it is because of His work and His wisdom.

Let’s take a closer look at what this wisdom is (verses 6 - 9).

What it isn’t - Not of this age (and that is true just as much today as it was in Paul’s time). Not of the rulers of this age (who come and go, live and die). Not able to be understood without God.

What it is - Of God. A mystery. Hidden. Predestined before the ages. Prepared by God for those who love Him.

One may wonder if it is something God wants us to know and understand, why does He keep it a hidden mystery? Go back to the title of this series - Nothing to Boast About. He did the work. He does the work. He has hidden it, He will reveal it. What then is my part?

To believe.

It seems so very simple, but how often do we doubt? How often do we find ourselves second guessing? How often are we pacing the floor because we don’t see our prayers answered in our time line? How often do we live in the flesh, rather than in His Spirit?

Man’s wisdom says, “You do you! Be all you can be! Pull yourself up by your own bootstraps!”

God’s wisdom says, “Come to Me! Believe! Trust!”

How are you living today? By your own wisdom, or by trust God?

Faith Musings: Nothing to Boast About - Part 4

After a few more busy weeks we are at the end of our summer hiatus and schools are back in session. My spouse, who is a college professor, is back in the classroom next week. I wanted to return to the verses we had been looking at in 1 Corinthians. You can see the first three parts: Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 by clicking on the links.

“1 And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God.
2 For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.
3 I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling,
4 and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,
5 so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.
6 Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away;
7 but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory; 8 the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory;
9 but just as it is written,

“Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard,
And which have not entered the heart of man,
All that God has prepared for those who love Him.””

— 1 Corinthians 2:1-9 (NASB 1995)

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Last time we looked at the first two verses and we emphasized two important points: 1 - Paul determined, and 2 - to know nothing but Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. We looked at the disparity of a social gospel built only on the foundation of love and good works, and the true gospel of Christ’s death and resurrection. Make no mistake we are responsible to love and to do good works, especially to those who are less fortunate (see Matthew 25:31-46), for without the good works we are merely a clanging cymbal or a ringing bell in a symphony of humanity. Part of what makes Christianity different is the example Christ set of loving others, but not just that. The true difference lies in His death on a cross, and His ability to walk out of the grave. This is the power that gives us the ability to love the unlovely, and help the helpless.

Paul continues his letter by reminding them - I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. This was a reference to himself, and not to the people he was with. Paul was not an entertainer. Even though he was learned in the teachings and ways of the Torah and his own people, it is possible he felt “less than” among the intellectuals in Corinth. Orators of that time period were expected to wow the crowd, and this was not Paul’s gift. He simply preached the truth of the gospel. Paul continues this line of thought.

…and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power…

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How often do we pine for the notoriety and visibility of being someone important? I grew up in an era where every young person wanted a guitar or a set of drums so they could become the next great rock and roll sensation; myself included. Now we live in a world saturated with images, and videos of people being “important” in what they say, how they dress, what they do, how they identify, and all of it being based on how many views, thumbs up or hits they get on their social media posts. We have people like Taylor Swift who started out by sharing her music on YouTube and now she is “…a cultural icon of the 21st century. She is the highest-grossing live music artist, the wealthiest female musician, and one of the best selling music- artists of all time.” (Wikipedia) How many will long to follow in her footsteps, but will never make it past the borders of the small town they grew up in?         

We now hear speakers in seminars, podcasts and talk shows discussing the art of persuasion. Being able to persuade seems to be important enough that it must be taught and discussed like ancient history or English grammar. Why are we so anxious to persuade? Because we want, not just recognition, but community in our ideologies and thoughts. We want people to agree with us, and join us in turning others to our side and our way of thinking.

Paul recognized the work of the Spirit was beyond a seminar on the art of persuasion. It was a supernatural affair. Any effect he had as an apostle he attributes to the work of the Holy Spirit. People coming to Jesus when he spoke were a demonstration of Spirit and the power. What power? God’s power?

“but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.””

— Acts 1:8 (NASB 1995)

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Do a quick walk through of the book of Acts and you will see numerous places where the Holy Spirit moved, and saved, and worked. His power filled the disciples and helped the fledgling churches to grow into a world wide movement that today still holds the power of God.

Once again we are reminded that we have nothing to boast about when Paul says, “so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.” God intended from the beginning that the foolish things would overcome the wise and the weak would overcome the strong.

Until next time, keep walking in His strength and in His Spirit!

Faith Musings: Nothing to Boast About - Part 3

This second chapter of 1 Corinthians seems a perfect continuation of the verses we looked at previously in Faith Musings: Nothing to Boast About - Part 1, and Nothing to Boast About - Part 2.

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“1 And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God.
2 For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.
3 I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling,
4 and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,
5 so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.
6 Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away;
7 but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory;
8 the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory;
9 but just as it is written,

“Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard,
And which have not entered the heart of man,
All that God has prepared for those who love Him.””

— I Corinthians 2:1-9 (NASB 1995)

Paul continues his discourse on the wisdom of God versus the foolishness of man by stating that when he came to the church at Corinth he did not preach by his own ability, but by the ability God gave him.

“And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God.”

If anyone could have boasted in his own abilities it was Paul. Born a Hebrew, he was raised in the prosperous city of Tarsus, a center for trade on the Mediterranean coast, a city which also housed a well known school.

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“4 although I myself might have confidence even in the flesh. If anyone else has a mind to put confidence in the flesh, I far more:
5 circumcised the eighth day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the Law, a Pharisee;
6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless.”

— Philippians 3:4-6 (NASB 1995)

“6 But perceiving that one group were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, Paul began crying out in the Council, “Brethren, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees; I am on trial for the hope and resurrection of the dead!””

— Acts 23:6 (NASB 1995)

Paul referred to his upbringing not to boast in his abilities, but to appeal to the audience he was talking to. He always made clear that his abilities to teach and preach were from God .

For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.

This stands out to me for two reasons. First, Paul determined. This word does not give us a feeling of being wishy washy. It shows us the apostle was firmly resolved. It is convicting to me, because when I ask myself what am I firmly resolved or determined about, I realize in this chaotic world we are living in I have become more uncertain, unsure and even doubtful about many things, even my relationship with Christ. Yes, there are things I am sure of: my salvation, the Bible, God’s good character and so on. Perhaps, like Paul I need to focus on the main thing.

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Second, what was Paul determined to know? Nothing…except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. Why is this so important? Isn’t it more important to preach and teach love? After all Christ loves us and desires that we all be in heaven with Him. This is where I am beginning to see disparity in the church. If we do not preach the reason Christ came, and had to be crucified, all the love in the world will not fix all that is wrong with it. Christ came because we are sinners. Not one of us is good enough to earn our way into heaven, no matter how much love we show. And the truth is, if I only preach the love of God, then I do not really love. We have to talk about the darkness, the disobedience, and the distance between us and Him.

Remember these verses? Jesus said of Himself:

“6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”

— John 14:6 (NASB 1995)

“5 I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.
6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned.”

— John 15:5-6 (NASB 1995)

“23 He who hates Me hates My Father also.
24 If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would not have sin; but now they have both seen and hated Me and My Father as well.
25 But they have done this to fulfill the word that is written in their Law, ‘They hated Me without a cause.’”

— John 15:23-25 (NASB 1995)

“18 “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem; and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn Him to death,”

— Matthew 20:18 (NASB 1995)

“31 And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.”

— Mark 8:31 (NASB 1995)

These are just a few of many verses in the Gospels where Christ talks about His purpose, which was to be obedient to the Father, and die on a cross for sinful humanity.

Does the Bible talk about God’s love? Of course it does. One of the most famous verses many of us memorized as youngsters in church follows:

“16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

— John 3:16 (NASB 1995)

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However, even this verse talks about God’s love in the context of our need, and our sin. Why would we perish if we were perfect? Why would we need God if love was the answer to all our problems? Love is the answer, but it is God’s love; God’s pure, perfect, and holy love.

I would like to let these first two verses of this second chapter of 1 Corinthians sink in for the next week. Do you think we need to be more determined like Paul? If so, what are we to be determined about? I’d love to hear your thoughts, so leave a comment or two below.

Until next week, have a great weekend!

Faith Musings: Nothing to Boast About - Part 2

Last week I started a short series revolving around a number of verses in I Corinthians 1. In the first part we looked at verses 18-25. This week I want to continue by directing our thoughts to verses 26-31.

“26 For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble;
27 but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong,
28 and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are,
29 so that no man may boast before God.
30 But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption,
31 so that, just as it is written, “Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.””

— I Corinthians 1:26-31 (NASB 1995)

Let’s work our way through these verses by statements.

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For consider your calling…

Paul wants the recipients of this letter to think about their calling. Why is this important? I think we need to remember when, and how God called each of us into a personal relationship with His Son Jesus Christ. I was raised in a Bible teaching church by believing parents, but it was at age 12 that I stepped into the promised land. I recognized my sin, my inability to live life without Jesus, and gave my life to Him. God called me, not like some through a lightening bolt, but more a continuous soft whisper. Everyone’s calling is different. What was yours like? It is good to remember where we came from and what God called us out of.

This is also a challenge to those who have been called to remember, “according to the flesh” there were, “not many wise…not many mighty…not many noble….” In other words we weren’t all that. Ever since the fall of man in the Garden of Eden we have been fighting a battle against the truth. The truth of God says we are nothing without Him. The truth of God says all our righteous works are as filthy rags. The truth of God says that man’s wisdom will never rise above the wisdom of God. In fact, as we look at the next few verses we are struck, once again, it is all about Him.

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But God has chosen…

Did you get that? God has chosen. It wasn’t our abilities, or beauty, or wisdom, or might, or power that God chose. Indeed, He is a beautiful study in contrasts. The almighty God chose the foolish things, the weak things, the base things, the despised, and the things that are not. Why did He do this? He could have chosen the best of the best; the bright and beautiful; the pure and holy; the pretty and clean; the popular and well liked, but He chose everything that was not in order to nullify the things that are. He chose the foolish to shame the wise. He chose the weak to shame the strong. He chose the things that were not shiny and perfect - SO THAT - no man may boast before God.

“8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

— Ephesians 2:8-9 (NASB 1995)

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But by His doing…

Here’s the good news…You are in Christ Jesus! Of course, you had to make the choice to believe who God is, who God says we are and who Jesus is, but it has always been God working behind the scenes wooing, drawing, orchestrating, working, sometimes tripping you up and other times washing over you with His lavish love and undeserved mercy. It has always, is always and always will be an act of God that we come to embrace His boundless grace.

In addition, the beautiful perk to this astounding gift is Jesus becomes to us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption; all of which come from God through His Son. We do not have to worry if we are not wise. We cannot sanctify or redeem ourselves. We cannot make ourselves righteous. All of these things come to us freely when we receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior.

Why?

So That….

“Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

Faith Musings: Nothing to Boast About - Part 1

I want to apologize for the inconsistent status of my blog right now. Life is, as it has so often been in the last decade, relentless. Just trying to live each day has become something closer to survival and I often have to stop myself from saying, “If I can just make it to 5:00, or if I can get to Friday…” Many of you are living this life as well, so I know you get it.

It seems somewhat appropriate that the thoughts coming to my heart and spirit today for this blog post are a bit of a continuation of my post from last week on The Plague of Individuality. I was searching the Scriptures wondering what to write about and this passage came across my line of sight.

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“18 For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
19 For it is written,

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
And the cleverness of the clever I will set aside.”

20 Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?
21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.
22 For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom;
23 but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness,
24 but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.”

— I Corinthians 1:18-25 (NASB 1995)

I want to focus on these verses and what follows for the next few weeks. From these eight verses we can see that God’s wisdom and man’s wisdom are vastly different. What man deems as wisdom, God deems as foolishness. What God sees as wise, the world sees as ludicrous. Let’s take a closer look.

The Cross - Foolishness or Power?

Verse 18 says “…the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” Paul used the phrase, “the word of the cross” in reference to the preaching and teaching of the gospel: the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. It is in the cross, and its purpose that we only experience the true power and might of God.

The world sees the cross of Christ as a crutch; as something offensive and undesirable, just as the Jews of Jesus’ time did. They could not believe Jesus was the chosen One of God, nor could they believe He was the Son of God as He had claimed, because that would mean everything they had built to control and govern their people would come crashing down around them. Jesus was supposed to be a victorious king; a man of noble birth. He certainly wasn’t suppose to be the son of a carpenter and die a horrible death on a few pieces of splintered wood.

As Christ followers it is in this “foolishness” of the cross we find our greatest power. Jesus and the sacrifice of His own life on that cross has given us the ability to not only have life in Him, but to have abundant life here on this earth, even amidst the struggles and relentlessness of the fleshly grind. The cross and the blood that flowed is what gives us hope. The cross is the reminder that we are not our own, but bought with a price. The cross deletes all our boldest attempts to have peace with God, because we can’t. Only the cross could do this!

…For it is written…

I cannot say enough how important the written word of God is to the believer’s faith walk. It is with increasing numbers that people, including our children, have walked away from the faith because they have chosen to disbelieve the authority and validity of the written word. Books like Josh McDowell’s Evidence That Demands a Verdict, and Lee Strobel’s The Case for Christ, are just two of the many books that explore the claims surrounding the inspiration, writing and collection of the word of God as it is laid out in our Bibles.

However, the true test of the validity of scripture is the Word itself. It baffles me how a person can read a news article, take it as God’s honest truth, with little validation, but the Bible which has been around for centuries is constantly doubted and touted as having all sorts of inconsistencies, etc. Jesus himself attested to the validity of God’s word in His high priestly prayer.

“17 Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.”

— John 17:17 (NASB 1995)

The Wisdom of the Wise, or of God.

What follows, “For it is written…” is a reference to Isaiah 29:14. The main message of this Old Testament chapter had to do with the warning God was giving Jerusalem for pretending to follow His ways and His laws, but not really meaning it in their hearts. Matthew Henry’s Commentary says it rather well:

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“Here, I. The prophet stands amazed at the stupidity of the greatest part of the Jewish nation. They had Levites, who taught the good knowledge of the Lord and had encouragement from Hezekiah in doing so, 2 Chron. 30:22. They had prophets, who brought them messages immediately from God, and signified to them what were the causes and what would be the effects of God’s displeasure against them. Now, one would think, surely this great nation, that has all the advantages of divine revelation, is a wise and understanding people, Deut. 4:6. But, alas! it was quite otherwise, Isa. 29:9. The prophet addresses himself to the sober thinking part of them, calling upon them to be affected with the general carelessness of their neighbours.”

— Matthew Henry's Commentary

What follows is God’s discipline of His people by taking away their ability to be wise or clever. Does this seem at all familiar? “Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?”

The rest of this passage reminds us that it is through God’s wisdom, not man’s, that He is found. In other words, we can read all the books, listen to all the podcasts, watch all the YouTube How To’s, follow all the health, spirituality, exercise and mental well being gurus and still never find our way to God. The Jews asked for signs, which they rejected, because they could not believe Jesus was the long awaited Messiah. The Greeks searched for wisdom, but when it came in the form of the gospel of Jesus Christ it was just foolishness.

The wisdom of God is Christ crucified. This is our power. This is our wisdom.

Because -

The foolishness of God is wiser than men,

And -

The weakness of God is stronger than men.

All we need to do is put our trust in Him. End of story.

Word for the Year: Trust - Its Connection to Belief

I decided to take my word for this year and approach it in a little different way than I did the word wait, last year. I would like to look at the word trust in the context of how it relates to other words and ideas. For instance, in order for a child to trust their parent they must feel safe. Safety is a key component in understanding how and why we trust or don’t trust.

I would like to start with the connection trust has to the idea of belief. In 2022 my word for the year was believe. You can see that post here. In order to trust we must also believe. One might even say that belief has to come before trust can be invested.

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Take, for example, the idea of gravity. Gravity has been here since God created the world, but it was Sir Isaac Newton that came to understand how gravity worked and who developed the Law of Universal Gravitation. Gravity is a reality, whether I believe it or not. However, because I trust the Law of Universal Gravitation I am completely confident to walk outside and not fear falling off the earth into the vastness of space. Belief allows me to act.

“5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart
And do not lean on your own understanding.
6 In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He will make your paths straight.”

— Proverbs 3:5-6 (NASB 1995)

In order to trust the Lord with all our hearts we must believe in Him. How can we possibly trust an entity we know nothing about? How can we trust a being we haven’t met? In order to truly know God I must believe in Him. Not in a superficial way, but in a life changing commitment. I must move from merely knowing about Him to knowing Him in an intimate way.

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The way we grow in our relationship with God is by digging deep into His word, the Bible. The Bible is His story. It is also a collection of historical accounts starting with the creation of our world, the entrance of sin into that world, the growth and history of the nation of Israel, the succession of the kings of that nation, and the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus.

As we learn and grow the trifecta of the divine Creator works together to reveal and open our minds to a deep and intimate understanding of His word. Not only do we realize the reality of the historical accounts, we also dive deep into the processes God uses to turn us towards Him and away from our sinful habits and ideals. We come face to face with the reality that He alone is worthy of our trust, and we are but dust blown whichever way the wind might go.

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“And those who know Your name will put their trust in You, For You, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You.”

— Psalm 90:10 (NASB 1995)

The above verse begins with, “And those who know Your name will put their trust in You…” We have to know His name, His character and His work in order to put our trust in Him. The psalmist goes on to give us a reason, He has not forsaken those who seek Him.

Let’s think about this for a few moments. I am pretty sure all of us have felt forsaken at some point in our lives, whether it be by our family or our friends. We may have also felt forsaken by God. However, He is always with us. He alone is true to His word.

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“For the king trusts in the Lord, And through the lovingkindness of the Most High he will not be shaken.”

— Psalm 21:17 (NASB 1995)

“In You our fathers trusted; They trusted and You delivered them.”

— Psalm 22:4 (NASB 1995)

“To You they cried out and were delivered; In You they trusted and were not disappointed.”

— Psalm 22:5 (NASB 1995)

“The Lord is my strength and my shield; My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart exults, And with my song I shall thank Him.”

— Psalm 28:7 (NASB 1995)

“Many are the sorrows of the wicked, But he who trusts in the Lord, lovingkindness shall surround him.”

— Psalm 32:10 (NASB 1995)

“For our heart rejoices in Him, Because we trust in His holy name.”

— Psalm 33:21 (NASB 1995)

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There are many more verses that talk about our trust in God. I love the last one…our heart rejoices in Him, because we trust in His holy name. Perhaps we don’t experience joy, because we do not trust, and we do not trust because we do not believe, and we do not believe because we do not know. In order to truly know Him we must be in His word listening for His voice.

I hope, if you are reading this, you made a choice to commit your life to God, to believe in Him, in doing so you have taken the first step to being able to trust Him.

Faith Inspiration - Oswald Chambers - Our Great Capacity for God - Part 4: Sin's Effect on Our Capacity for God

Now that we have looked at sin’s beginnings, and the truth laid out in God’s Word about sin we need to talk about how sin affects our capacity to know and believe God. Obviously, sin is all around us. We are human and frequently fail to resist temptation, or find ourselves giving in to the sin nature in the form of anger, envy, gossip, or even over indulgence. Does the occasional sin keep us from this great capacity that Oswald was talking about?

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The first thing we have to acknowledge as truth is that we have sin in us as long as we walk in the flesh. While we obtain salvation and are fully redeemed when we believe in Jesus we don’t automatically stop sinning. Won’t it be nice one day when sin no longer appeals to us: the lure of things that only momentarily satisfy, and the pull of wrong thinking? The key is to not allow sin to reign in us. Look at the following Scriptures.

“5 This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.
6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth;
7 but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.
8 If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.
9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.”

— 1 John 1:5-10 (NASB 1995)

“1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase?
2 May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?
3 Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?
4 Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection,
6 knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin;
7 for he who has died is freed from sin.”

— Romans 6:1-7 (NASB 1995)

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If we have given our lives to Jesus sin no longer has ownership over us. We are no longer slaves to sin. That being said, it is a daily choice to live a sinless life. In fact, sometimes it is an hour by hour or even a moment by moment choice. As we saw above in 1 John 1:9 we have a pathway to deal with our sins. When we fall, we confess, and Jesus who is faithful and just will forgive us. What a blessing.

Sin affects our capacity to know and understand God in the following ways:

1 - It keeps us in the dark. Look back at 1 John 1 again. Sin, when regularly allowed to have sway in our lives puts a veil over our ability to know God’s truth and dig deeper into His layers. We will find ourselves stumbling in the dark because we are not making use of the light He has given us.

2 - It prevents us from having full fellowship with God. It is in this intimate fellowship that we really begin to understand this Almighty Being who created us and loves us. When we walk in the light and we keep short accounts of our sin by confessing to Jesus, we start to engage in a relationship that is so much more than just believing words written in a book. It becomes vital, essential and real.

3 - It warps our thinking. We will look at this more in the future, but for now we know that our old self was crucified with him, in order that our body of sin might by done away. In order to live a victorious life we must bring our thinking into line with the truth we find in His word. In addition, we must allow the Holy Spirit to have sway in our thinking so that we are living according to Him rather than our flesh.

Next month we will begin our descent into the depths of wrong thinking and how that affects our great capacity for God.

As always thank you for following along as we journey deeper into the layers that are God!

Faith Inspiration - Oswald Chambers - Our Great Capacity for God - Part 3: The Truth About Sin

I think most of us would agree that we are living in dark times. Yes, the light of God is still present, but if we believe God’s Word we know hard times are coming and the darkness will reach all across the world. The cause of this darkness revolves around the existence of sin in the world and the desire of Satan to destroy. There will come a time when God will pull His protective hand away from this world and Satan and his evil will reign, but only for a time.

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The world, since the fall, has been guilty of propagating the lies of Satan. Today the word “sin” is no longer politically correct. Children no longer learn about sin and its ramifications. Now parents are raising their children with the “benefits” of learning, not only academic, but psychological. We tell our children to embrace their emotions and teach them to “work through” those feelings and thoughts, hopefully with the end result of becoming a mature adult who embraces all people and treats everyone with kindness and respect.

I do not downplay what these parents are doing, but even with all the proper training, a child can still experience influences that will change his/her thinking and behavior that a parent has no control over. What does the Bible say about sin?

“9 “The heart is more deceitful than all else
And is desperately sick;
Who can understand it?”

— Jeremiah 17:9 (NASB 1995)

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The Bible tells us the heart is deceitful, and desperately sick. Those are pretty harsh words. It doesn’t say that only the hearts of bad people are deceitful, it is referring to all of our hearts. A heart, even a kind one, can be turned to stone by the difficult circumstances of life. Jeremiah even asks, “Who can understand it?” The Bible and its author reminds us why the heart is deceitful and sick, and we can follow the trail back to Genesis.

We know what happened there, as we reviewed a few weeks ago Sin’s Beginning. Sin entered into the world at that point and has been the bane of man’s existence ever since. Mankind turned away from the omnipotent, loving God and turned inward in an attempt to fill the hole that sin left behind. Murder, lust, envy, stealing, lying, cheating, adultery, the list is long, are all an attempt to fill that which only God can fill.

God’s Word is clear on sin. Let’s take a look.

“18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,
19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them.
20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.
21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
22 Professing to be wise, they became fools,
23 and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.”

— Romans 1:18-23 (NASB 1995)

Image by Darpan Joshi from Pixabay

In the account of Adam and Eve’s sin we see these words fulfilled, “…their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools…” Satan is a master of deception, and we buy into it allowing our foolish hearts to be darkened. The darker we become in our understanding of God and His truth, the more foolish we become

“10 As it is written, “There is none righteous, not even one;
11 There is none who understands,
There is none who seeks for God;
12 All have turned aside, together they have become useless;
There is none who does good,
There is not even one.”
13 “Their throat is an open grave,
With their tongues they keep deceiving,”
“The poison of asps is under their lips”;
14 “Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness”;
15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood,
16 Destruction and misery are in their paths,
17 And the path of peace they have not known.”
18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.””

— Romans 3:10 -18 (NASB 1995)

These words are not popular. We want to believe we are good by our own merit. We also want to believe that we can work our way to God, or whatever afterlife image we believe. We don’t want to be accountable to someone else, particularly a being we are trying to run away from. However, that does not delete the reality of who God is, what sin is and what God has done for us through His son, Jesus Christ.

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

“21 But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,
22 even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction;
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ”

— Romans 3:21-23 (NASB 1995)

We all fall short. End of story. We cannot measure up to the glory of this enduring, eternal, perfect God. We are exactly what the text says, sinners. We all stand condemned due to the original sin.

“8 So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men.
19 For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous.
20 The Law came in so that the transgression would increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more,
21 so that, as sin reigned in death, even so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

— Romans 5:18-21 (NASB 1995)

“23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

— Romans 6:23 (NASB 1995)

Image by Christopher Keough from Pixabay

I wonder if this is how we appear to God before being washed in the blood of Jesus…?

At this point we may be feeling rather hopeless. If we are all sinners, and the wages of sin is death, are we not all condemned to die? Read on.

“9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;
10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.
11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.”
12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him;
13 for “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.””

— Romans 10:9-13 (NASB 1995)

There are two things from this last passage that I want to point out. The first is the if - then truth. If we confess with our mouths, Jesus as Lord, and believe in our hearts that God raised Him from the dead, (then) we will be saved. The confession is essential. It is a statement that we are placing ourselves under the Lordship of Jesus. There are many who call themselves “Christian”, but they have not confessed the Lordship of Christ.

Belief is the the next ingredient in this first if - then truth. We have to believe what happened over 2000 years ago in Jerusalem. Jesus died on a cross and then three days later God raised Him from the dead. There are many doctrinal points we can quibble over, (though I prefer to just believe what the Scriptures say), but if we do not believe He died and rose again we cannot call ourselves Christians.

The second thing I wanted to point out from this passage is the Scriptural truth stated, “Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.” I have heard people say they are disappointed in God, because He let them down in one way or another. We can be disappointed in people, circumstances, life, but there is no reason to be disappointed in God. He loves us without reservation, He knows us like no other, and only He is completely trustworthy.

Next month we will look at how sin keeps us from realizing our great capacity for God.

Book Review - The Deep-Rooted Marriage by Dan B. Allender, PhD and Steve Call, PhD

(This book review is being done in exchange for a free copy of the book. No money was exchanged for this review. All opinions are my own.)

My husband, Mark and I have been married for 37.5 years. The fact that we have been together for more years than we were on our own is rather mind boggling. We came into our marriage, both with certain expectations and our own share of unrealistic ideas about what a Christian marriage should look like. Over the course of those three-plus decades we have read many books on marriage. Thankfully we both were open to the idea of reading books to try to find a path through our unique personalities and our differences of opinion. All of these books were helpful in a variety of ways, but it seemed we still struggled with the same issues time and time again.

The Deep-Rooted Marriage is the first book I have read that has actually left me feeling hopeful rather than overwhelmed. (Mark and I will be reading the book together at a future time, but I needed to get through it for this book review, so you will be hearing my thoughts on it without those of my spouse.)

Dan Allender received a Master of Divinity from Westminster Theological Seminary, and a PhD in Counseling Psychology from Michigan State University. He is a “pioneer of a unique and innovative approach to trauma and abuse therapy.” He also helped found the Seattle School of Theology and Psychology, and The Allender Center. Steve Call received an MA in Theology from Fuller Seminary, an MS in Marriage and Family Therapy, as well as a PhD in Clinical Psychology from Seattle Pacific University. He and his wife, Lisa are the founders of The Reconnect Institute.

Dan and Steve worked hard to author a book that speaks to the heart. This is not a book of lists. It does not give you boxes to check off, nor does it speak to identify our personality differences or our varied love languages. While those things can be helpful on the road to understanding our significant others better, they honestly do not get to the core of who we are.

“Every marriage is a story of two people formed by different worlds joining together to create a universe that has never existed before. Your marriage is unique in all its goodness and in all that needs redemption….Understanding the past allows us to make sense of what’s not working in the present. If we don’t explore our earlier stories, we won’t grasp how our histories of brokenness and beauty are playing out now. And we’ll be bound to repeat them in one form or another.” (p. xi - A Note from Dan - The Deep Rooted Marriage.)

Throughout the book Dan and Steve, along with their wives Becky and Lisa, use examples from their own marriages, and from couples they have counseled, to shed light on the mysteries of marital relationships as they are affected by our upbringing, and the trauma that so many of us bring across the threshold. They also write with hope and positivity making the reader willing to open up and trust the ideas and techniques being put forth.

The book is divided into three parts: Part 1 - Getting Clear-eyed About Who You Are - addresses marital beginnings; things that end up disconnecting us like loneliness, contempt, feeling stuck and a lack of delight; and digs into the unresolved trauma that many of us bring into a marriage.

“You and your partner’s failure of each other is incredibly complex, tangled up with your deeply held ways of being in the world and the relational patterns you each developed in response to trauma throughout your lives.” (p. 35 - The Deep Rooted Marriage.)

Part 2 - Disrupting Divisive Patterns and Changing the Atmosphere - discusses how to create a safe environment in the marriage when we have long used coping mechanisms to get by: things like fragmenting, numbing, isolating as well as anxiety and flight, anger and fight, and avoidance and freezing or fawning. This part also goes more deeply into the areas of shame and contempt which I found very eye opening and compelling.

“No marriage can thrive if contempt is a frequent theme. It is the number one killer of intimacy and hope, functioning like a deadly gas filling the air and poisoning the relationship. As we settle into patterns of resentment, we don’t realize the danger we are tolerating.” (p. 107 - The Deep Rooted Marriage.)

Part 3 - Generating Goodness Between You and Beyond You - speaks to the necessary work of reconnecting, repairing and restoring our marriages through things like validation, inviting our spouses into our experience, engaging in the differences and really trying to understand each other.

“Repair in your marriage will defy logic and reasoning. It will feel both astounding and risky, especially as you give your partner access to hurts. But you are meant to be seen and known, to be honored and cared for, and you can choose to invite the deepest experiences of these things into your marriage. There will always be conflicts and ruptures for you to navigate, but as you grow stronger together over time, the duration of your disconnection will lessen and you’ll find ways to cultivate intimacy amid tension.” (p. 165 - The Deep Rooted Marriage.)

The Deep Rooted Marriage is written from the vantage point of having experience and understanding of not only marital relationships, and clinical psychology and counseling, but from having a faith base. Dan and Steve both believe in the redemptive work of Jesus Christ as being an important influence in our relationships.

I highly recommend this book for any couple, from those just thinking about getting married, to those who have been married for decades, but want to have a deeper understanding of their partner and the place of Christ’s redemptive work in the relationship.

You can also purchase a companion guide to this book, which offers additional insights, questions and exercises for you and your significant other to work through the ideas put forth in the book. At the back of the companion guide is a QR code giving you access to free chapter summary videos for the guide.

“Marriage is not merely getting along or learning to compromise; it reveals who you are and invites you to who you can become. It offers a space for you to experience what you are made for—honor, delight, and tastes of heaven.” (Back cover - The Deep Rooted Companion Guide).

Faith Inspiration - Oswald Chambers - Our Great Capacity for God - Part 2: Sin's Beginning

Last month we started a deeper dive into this quote from Oswald Chamber’s My Utmost for His Highest.

“We are designed with a great capacity for God, but sin, our own individuality, and wrong thinking keep us from getting to Him. God delivers us from sin——we have to deliver ourselves from our individuality. This means offering our natural life to God and sacrificing it to Him, so He may transform it into spiritual life through our obedience...We must see to it that we aid and assist God, and not stand against Him...we must discipline ourselves. God will not bring our ‘arguments...and every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ’ (2 Corinthians 10:5)——we have to do it.””

— My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers - November 18

I discussed what it might mean for us to have a great capacity for God. You can see that post here. This week we are going to start looking at the three things keeping us from experiencing this great capacity for God. The first of these deterrents is sin. Let’s do a quick Biblical review of sin’s origins.

Image by Petra Ohmer from Pixabay

Once again, we are taken to the beginning. In the book of Genesis we see the story of the creation of the world, including all that is living from plants and animals, to fish and humans. We see that God placed Adam, the first man, and his wife, Eve in a beautiful garden called Eden. He gave them everything they needed and they could eat from any tree in the garden but one, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

“15 Then the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it.
16 The Lord God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely;
17 but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.””

— Genesis 2:15-17 (NASB 1995)

Image by NoName_13 from Pixabay

All we need to do is read the following chapter to see that Adam and Eve chose to do exactly what God told them not to do and from that tree they ate. Of course, they were manipulated by God’s enemy, Satan, who was disguised as a beautiful serpent.

“1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?”
2 The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat;
3 but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’”
4 The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die!
5 For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
6 When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.
7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings.”

— Genesis 3:1-7 (NASB 1995)

Image by NoName_13 from Pixabay

We need to look at this passage and really understand how easily one wrong thought, one wrong choice led to the downfall of humanity. Let’s look at Satan’s tactics (and yes I have covered this before, but it is important), and look at Adam and Eve’s responses.

1 - Satan went to Eve first. We are not told where Adam was, but the serpent started with Eve. I don’t know why he approached her first. Perhaps he knew she was more easily persuaded by his charm and beauty.

2 - Satan immediately manipulates God’s words. He asks Eve, Did God say you couldn’t eat from the trees in the garden? I am assuming he already knew exactly what God had told the couple. He knew they could eat from all the trees except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

3 - Eve misquotes God. We can see in chapter 2 God told them if they ate of the tree they would surely die. He said nothing about them touching it. Eve adds the idea of physical touch also leading to death, as though that would seem more dramatic.

4 - Once again, Satan manipulates. “You surely will not die!” While we know it was not an immediate physical death, we also know eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil did lead to both an eventual physical and spiritual death; just a little detail the serpent left out.

Image by Alex Yomare from Pixabay

5 - Satan turns the screw tighter. “For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God knowing good and evil.” Satan offered, not only the possibility of being like God, but he caused Eve to question whether God was trustworthy. Can’t you hear her thinking, “If God really loves us, why didn’t He tell us this from the start? Why is He withholding it from us?”

6 - Eve looked and desired. Instead of turning away from Satan and looking for Adam to seek his input, she looked at the tree and saw it was desirable for food, and a delight to look at. You can see the wheels spinning in her mind. She saw that it was beautiful, then she desired it, then she remembered what Satan had just told her, it would make her wise…so she took and ate.

7 - Eve took her husband down with her. We can’t say Eve did this with any bad intentions. She may have just been very excited and perhaps the fruit tasted divine and she wanted to share it with her beloved. Whatever her reasons for including her husband in this defiance of God’s command it lead to the fall of humanity from the grace of their loving Creator.

Image by Nika Akin from Pixabay

8 - Adam and Eve immediately experience shame and want to hide. The serpent was absolutely right about one thing, their eyes would be open and they would know good and evil. It would be interesting to hear their conversation as they suddenly came to the realization they were naked and as they sought to find leaves to cover themselves.

The reason I covered this in detail is to show you the progression that all sin takes and has taken from the very beginning.

1 - Satan finds us when we are alone and vulnerable. When do the temptations come in our lives? It is always when we are struggling and discouraged, and most often when we feel no one has our back. Sin will creep in when we feel alone, sad, angry, discouraged, overwhelmed, anxious, and not enough.

2 - Satan will manipulate God’s words. How often have you heard people say, “If God is good, why is this bad thing happening?” Or, “God must not really love me, or I wouldn’t be struggling.” Or, “Where was God when this terrible thing happened?” Satan takes the truth about our God: that He is good, that He loves us, or that is with us always, and turns it on its head. “God didn’t really say….”

Image by Fathromi Ramdlon from Pixabay

3 - Satan doesn’t just manipulate God’s words, he manipulates our circumstances and the voices we hear around us to reinforce the lies he has begun to feed us. God isn’t really loving if He condemns people to hell. God isn’t really good, just look at all the terrible things going on in the world. There is no such place as hell, we will all be in heaven one day. When we die we become our spirit animals and play happily in the clouds. I am sure you can list other thoughts and ideas you have heard.

If we do not know God’s word well, or we begin to question God’s love and authority, we will begin to question the authenticity of the Bible. I know many who were raised in the the church who grew up under the teaching of God’s word who now are questioning that it was actually inspired by God, and that the men who wrote it were just interjecting their own opinions and thoughts. It is not too far a leap to give up on the truth of the Word all together when going down that path.

4 - We no longer talk about sin. The word sin is no longer politically correct, or woke. This is exactly where our enemy wants us to be. Sin has gone into hiding, covering itself with the beauty of the world’s philosophies that everyone is okay and no one is bad.

Next month we will delve deeper into what the Bible says about sin, this obstacle that keeps us from our great capacity for God. I hope you will join me.

Let me know your thoughts by leaving me a comment. I appreciate all of your feedback.

Mulling It Over: Romans 8:35-36

This month we are going to look at Romans 8:35-36. Last time we looked at two questions that needed to be answered. Here we find one more question written in two ways, that begs a response.

“35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

36 Just as it is written,

’For Your sake we are being put to death all day long;
We were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.’””

— Romans 8:35-36 (NASB 1995)

As we learned in the last installment we are God’s elect, and as such there is no one who can bring a charge against us. Only God has the right to judge, because he is the only one who can do it with purity and without prejudice.

We also learned that while the world condemns, for those who are in Christ Jesus there is no condemnation. He is the one who died, who was raised from the dead, who sits at God’s right hand and who intercedes for us.

Image by Alexa from Pixabay

With this knowledge we are now faced with the most important questions of all: Who will separate us from Christ? Will tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril or sword? This list Paul gives is meant to be inclusive of whatever trial or tribulation a Christian might find themselves in. Many of us have never known persecution, famine, nakedness, peril or sword, but that doesn’t mean we never will. The world is becoming more under the influence of our shadowed enemy and he regularly does all that he can to make us feel separated from our precious Savior’s love and care. However, that is all he can do.

These questions are followed by a description from Psalm 44:22. What does this mean, and why does it follow these questions? Our knowledge and understanding of the Old Testament remind us that as God’s people we will suffer. Christ, Himself, said, “…in this world you will have tribulation, but take heart I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

The phrase, “For Your sake we are being put to death all day long…” was part of a Maskil written by the Sons of Korah. A Maskil was a contemplative, didactic (meant to teach), and skillful psalm. In other words it was not written off the cuff, or in response to a difficulty being experienced. Many of David’s psalms are wholehearted emotional songs both of praise and thanksgiving or of discouragement and despair. This psalm was thought through and had the purpose of teaching us, not only about God, but about our struggle to find Him when we are suffering.

Let’s look a little more closely at this psalm.

“O God, we have heard with our ears,
Our fathers have told us
The work that You did in their days,
In the days of old.”

— Psalm 44:1 (NASB 1995)

Image by Robin Higgins from Pixabay

As the psalm begins the author(s) remember what they have learned from their forefathers. They understand how God moved and was involved in the lives of His people.

“4 You are my King, O God;
Command victories for Jacob.
5 Through You we will push back our adversaries;
Through Your name we will trample down those who rise up against us.
6 For I will not trust in my bow,
Nor will my sword save me.
7 But You have saved us from our adversaries,
And You have put to shame those who hate us.
8 In God we have boasted all day long,
And we will give thanks to Your name forever. Selah.”

— Psalm 44:4-8 (NASB 1995)

Image by Christine Engelhardt from Pixabay

They recognize God as King. They know that it is not their own efforts that will save them, but God will give them the victory. However, in the next set of phrases we see that this same God who had given them victories and fought for them, allowed them to be brought low.

“9 Yet You have rejected us and brought us to dishonor,
And do not go out with our armies.
10 You cause us to turn back from the adversary;
And those who hate us have taken spoil for themselves.
11 You give us as sheep to be eaten
And have scattered us among the nations.”

— Psalm 44:9-11 (NASB 1995)

Image by M W from Pixabay

The psalmist is left questioning. He even goes on to suggest the unwritten question: Why?

“17 All this has come upon us, but we have not forgotten You,
And we have not dealt falsely with Your covenant.
18 Our heart has not turned back,
And our steps have not deviated from Your way,
19 Yet You have crushed us in a place of jackals
And covered us with the shadow of death.”

— Psalm 44:17-19 (NASB 1995)

Image by nadia Clarence from Pixabay

The author allows himself to question to the very end of the psalm, but he also makes that statement in verst 22. He knows it is for God’s purpose that God is silent. He knows it is for God’s glory that we suffer.

“20 If we had forgotten the name of our God
Or extended our hands to a strange god,
21 Would not God find this out?
For He knows the secrets of the heart.
22 But for Your sake we are killed all day long;
We are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.
23 Arouse Yourself, why do You sleep, O Lord?
Awake, do not reject us forever.
24 Why do You hide Your face
And forget our affliction and our oppression?
25 For our soul has sunk down into the dust;
Our body cleaves to the earth.
26 Rise up, be our help,
And redeem us for the sake of Your lovingkindness.”

— Psalm 44:20-26 (NASB 1995)

Image by Ara_a from Pixabay

I think it is important to end this post focusing on the very last phrase of the psalm, “….redeem us for the sake of Your lovingkindness.” For those of us who have been studying the Word, and maturing in our Christian walk we have wrestled with the very same thoughts that the author of this psalm did. “Why did you leave us? Where did you go? Why have you let us be cast down? We have been faithful, but still we suffer?”

We can certainly look at our own circumstances or those of the people around us that we love and care about and see the suffering. But, we can always appeal to His lovingkindness. God does not have to save us, or rescue us or give us comfort, but He does. Our struggles and feelings will come and go, but when we place our focus on Him and remain in Him (John 15), He will always be found faithful.

Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ, no matter how we feel; no matter how far away we might think He is, He is always with us.

“9 Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. ”

— John 15:9 (NASB 1995)

A Year of Waiting - Anticipate - Part 1: Waiting for the Wrong Things

The year is quickly drawing to a close and it is time for me to finish up my monthly series on my word for the year - Wait. This month I am going to focus these last few Faith posts on the word Anticipate. As we look forward to Christmas, the word anticipate seems apropos for the season. We are anticipating the holidays, the family gatherings, the cookie baking and the gift giving, but we wouldn’t celebrate if over two thousand years ago the birth of Christ was not anticipated.

The coming of the Messiah was prophesied in the Old Testament hundreds of years before Jesus Christ was born to a virgin in a pauper’s stable in Bethlehem. See this article on the Jews for Jesus website showing 40 Old Testament prophesies and their New Testament fulfillment. These are a few of the most famous surrounding Christ’s birth:

Image by PBernfeld from Pixabay

Born to a virgin.

Prophecy:

“14 Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.”

— Isaiah 7:14 (NASB 1995)

Fulfillment:

“31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus.
32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David;
33 and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.”
34 Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?”
35 The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.”

— Luke 1:31-35 (NASB 1995)

“23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which translated means, “God with us.”
24 And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife,
25 but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus.”

— Matthew 1:23-27 (NASB 1995)

Image by G.C. from Pixabay

Born in Bethlehem.

Prophecy:

“2 “But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
Too little to be among the clans of Judah,
From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel.
His goings forth are from long ago,
From the days of eternity.””

— Micah 5:2 (NASB 1995)

Fulfillment:

“1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying,
2 “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.”
3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
4 Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written by the prophet:

6 ‘And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah,
Are by no means least among the leaders of Judah;
For out of you shall come forth a Ruler
Who will shepherd My people Israel.’”— Matthew 2:1-6 (NASB 1995)

Image by GERVASIO RUIZ from Pixabay

Descendant of David

Prophecy:

“12 When your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom.
13 He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
14 I will be a father to him and he will be a son to Me; when he commits iniquity, I will correct him with the rod of men and the strokes of the sons of men,
15 but My lovingkindness shall not depart from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you.
16 Your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever.”’””

— 2 Samuel 7:12-16 (NASB 1995)

Fulfillment:

“32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David;
33 and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.””

— Luke 1:32-33 (NASB 1995)

“1 The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham:”

— Matthew 1:1 (NASB 1995)

Image by Pexels from Pixabay

Called out of Egypt.

Prophecy:

“When Israel was a youth I loved him,
And out of Egypt I called My son.”

— Hosea 11:1 (NASB 1995)

Fulfillment:

“13 Now when they had gone, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up! Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to destroy Him.”
14 So Joseph got up and took the Child and His mother while it was still night, and left for Egypt.
15 He remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called My Son.””

— Matthew 2:13-15 (NASB 1995)

I wanted to share these with you, not only as a reminder of what Christmas is truly about, but a reminder of who and what we are anticipating. The people of Israel were knowledgeable of the Old Testament scriptures. They memorized multiple portions and read and reread the commandments, the laws and the prophecies. However, knowing all this did not make them any more in tune when the true Messiah actually was born and dwelt among them. I believe that was because they were waiting for the wrong thing.

Many of the Jews at Jesus’ time were looking for a Messiah who would overthrow the oppressive Roman empire and lead them into a new kingdom with their Messiah as king. We have been studying the book of John in my Saturday morning Bible study and I have the distinct impression that the religious leaders would have preferred a puppet king that they could control. Jesus was far from the Messiah they were looking for.

“37 But though He had performed so many signs before them, yet they were not believing in Him.
38 This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet which he spoke: “Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”
39 For this reason they could not believe, for Isaiah said again,
40 “He has blinded their eyes and He hardened their heart, so that they would not see with their eyes and perceive with their heart, and be converted and I heal them.”
41 These things Isaiah said because he saw His glory, and he spoke of Him.
42 Nevertheless many even of the rulers believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they were not confessing Him, for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue;
43 for they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God.”

— John 12:37-43 (NASB 1995)

We see in the above passage that unbelief was prophesied about Jesus’ ministry, and it was not just the unbelief of choice, but in many instances a situation where God “blinded their eyes” and “hardened their heart”. This is not an easy thing. We don’t like to hear that our loving God would purposefully keep people from getting into heaven, but many commentaries reveal that this hardening and blinding was already in process by the individuals’ unrelenting disbelief. Disbelief almost always turns a soft heart into unmovable stone. This truth makes me more grateful that our Lord has always kept a remnant of the Jewish people who believe He is the true Messiah, and that those of us who are Gentile were brought into the family of God just as much His sons and daughters as those who were from the lineage of Abraham.

All of this causes me to pause and ask the question, this Christmas what am I anticipating? What am I waiting for? Am I looking for a God who will get me out of a jam; who will get rid of the oppressive people in my life; make life comfortable for me? Or am I awaiting and anticipating a God who will bring me from the edge of the abyss to the deepest most profound peace a person could ever know?

Next week we will take a closer look at this idea of anticipation and how it leads us to hope. Until then have a great week.

Mulling It Over: Romans 8:31-32 - What Shall We Say?

We are looking once again at Romans 8. I have been going through different chapters of the book of Romans in the New Testament on my own in recent months. I have started the practice of writing out several verses at a time, word for word as they are written in my English Standard Version of the Bible. After I write the verses out, I ask the question what do these verses tell me about God. It has been a wonderful practice to not only hand write, and yes I am doing it in cursive, but also to dwell on who God is and what He has done for us that has given us the ability to come into His presence as one of His children.

Image by Amanda Truscott from Pixabay

I have not written out Romans 8 as of yet, but it has been eye opening to go through this chapter over the last year and a half with all of you who read this little blog. Today we take a closer look at a few very familiar verses that I am sure many of you can quote.

“31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?
32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? ”

— Romans 8:31-32 (NASB 1995)

Let’s do our usual and look at these verses a phrase at a time.

What then shall we say to these things? This question is a referring back to the previous verses. Verses 1 - 25 remind us of our deliverance from bondage, and the awaiting transformation to glory. Verses 26 - 30 remind us of our position in Him. What can we possibly say to all of that? Can we condemn God, saying He is a malevolent being who does not care for us; that he has not provided a way for us to have peace with Him; that He cares not for our well being? How could we say such untruths when it is clear that He provided the way, and He gives us all we need, and even in our weakest moments His own Spirit is praying for us; interceding according to the Father’s will.

If God is for us, who is against us? I can hear the voices accusing, “If God is really for us then why are there all these problems? Why is our world is such a state of chaos? Why is there so much hate? Why is there so much pain?”

I do not want to throw out pat answers or give a couple of other verses to support this idea and send you on your way. This is tough. Once again, however, I must remind all of us of our Savior’s very own words.

“33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

— John 16:33 (ESV)

Once again, we have to refer back to Genesis 3 when the serpent, Satan, tempted Eve. He didn’t just tempt her flesh, he tempted her ability to trust in her Creator. Isn’t that true of the world ever since? Why did Adam and Eve sin? Because they did not believe that God really loved them and wanted the best for them. They believed, with the help of Satan’s manipulation of God’s words, that they would be better off making their own choices and decisions.

Image by Briam Cute from Pixabay

We still live in that shadow of mistrust. We begin to doubt God’s Word, we stop going to church, we start reading and listening to philosophies and voices that tear apart Christian thoughts and beliefs, and we start focusing on what is going to make us happy. We become rights based. No matter how much faith we put in our founding fathers, the reality is they were fallen men, and only God and His truth can be fully trusted. The only true rights we have are those given to us by the Creator of life. Without Him we are nothing.

Why do we have trouble, problems, struggles and trials; because sin entered a perfect world, but the beautiful thing is God provided a way. It doesn’t require my work, my money, my time, my identity it only requires my faith. It isn’t just faith in a verse here or there, but in the whole inspired Word of God. When we start throwing scripture out the window we tear down the foundation He laid for our redemption, justification and glorification. We open the door to racism, fascism, humanism and communism. We make up justifications for our behaviors saying like Madonna sang, “I was born this way.” We descend into mind numbing chaos revolving around a continuous search for peace, identity and value.

But God….

It is God who is for us. It is God who created this little blue and green gem we live on. It is God who gave us the law as a foreshadow of a more perfect way, and then gave us His son Jesus Christ who died on a cross for our sin so that we might be made right with the Father.

Image by Pexels from Pixabay

“15 For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” ”

— Romans 8:15 (NASB 1995)

It is God who imprinted His very own image on us and no matter how hard we try to run from that imprint we are distinctly God’s because of that image. God is not against us. He is the only one who is truly, purely for us, because He loves us and recognizes each one of us as His handiwork.

He who did not spare His own son, but delivered Him over for us all… This needs little explanation. God sent Jesus as a baby to Mary. He was born, and lived a human life for approximately 33 years. The last three of those years he ministered and taught His disciples doing miracles and teaching about His Father and the Kingdom of God. Most of the Jews in His time did not believe what he said, even accusing him of having a demon (see John 8:48). Eventually, it was His own people, the Jews, who condemned Him to death via Pilate. He died an agonizing death on a cross, but it was what He did after that made all the difference. If Jesus hadn’t risen from the dead, we would still be slaves to sin. It was God’s power displayed in this act of resurrection that gives us the ability to leave the world of shadow and emerge into His light.

…how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? So what does this mean? We know the triune God isn’t Santa Clause. We don’t just ask Him for anything we want like He is our very own Genie in a Bottle. When you grow in your relationship with Christ you come to realize He provides everything you need: peace, love, joy, strength, rest, hope, thanksgiving…these are not physical things, but He is also providing our physical needs as well. Things like jobs to buy food and pay our bills; family and friends to provide a space of security and joy; a home to live in, blankets on our beds…the list is pretty much endless. He will always come through and give you exactly what you need when you need it. I have found, the more I rely on Him for every single thing, the more He provides when I haven’t even asked.

Image by Pete Linforth from Pixabay

““For every beast of the forest is Mine, The cattle on a thousand hills.”

— Psalm 50:10 (NASB 1995)

I hope these verses were a pertinent reminder of how very secure you are in Christ, and I hope that helps you to walk with peace, joy and confidence in Him.

Have a great weekend!

Creative Christianity: The Widow's Quest - Part 4

(The following story is based on the parable in Luke 18:1-8. It is a fictional account with allegorical aspects. This is a fictional world with characters and events created by me.)

Connie, Rocky, and their little band of pups continued along through the manufacturing district until they entered another area of residences. This neighborhood looked a little better off than the area she had found Rocky, and substantially better than the Rift, but it still looked worn and weary. Connie wondered if that was how she looked?

She knew they needed to get something to eat, but toting along a pack of pups probably wasn’t going to let them in to very many places.

“I think we need to find a place to rest for a little while.” Connie spoke out loud.

“And get something to eat. I’m starving, and I think Isabella is too.” Rocky looked behind them.

Image by Lenka Novotná from Pixabay

“Isabella?” Connie looked to where the mother pup was following at some distance. She looked ready to drop. The two puppies who were walking still seemed to have plenty of spunk.

Rocky nodded. “Yeah, that was my baby sister’s name.”

Connie’s heart hurt. The boy had been through so much loss. She had too. She decided they weren’t going to lose Isabella. She stopped walking so the the pup could catch up, and as they waited she noticed a young woman pushing a stroller down a side street.

She handed Rocky her side bag with the two sleeping pups and said, “Stay right here. I am going to see if we can get some help.”

She jogged towards the woman. Trying to not look threatening, she slowed to a walk and smiled while still a few yards off.

Image by Patou Ricard from Pixabay

“Hello,” she began.

“I don’t got any money, so don’t try to sell me anything,” the woman clipped.

Connie could see as she got closer, while the woman was younger, she looked tired, and not particularly clean. She quickly attempted to put her at ease.

“Oh, I am not a sales person. I was just wondering if you might help me, you see I am new to the area, and my nephew and I have been walking for a while and wondered if there was a park nearby where we could rest for a bit.” She felt bad lying about Rocky, and she also didn’t mention getting food. She didn’t want the woman to think she had money.

“You got that dog’s papers?” The woman jutted her chin out towards where Rocky, Isabella and the two puppies waited.

Connie tried to think fast. “Well, I would gladly get her papers, but as I said I am new to the area and we actually just found her today. I felt so bad for her and her little pups.”

The woman drew closer, and Connie could see a little boy in the stroller, probably about two. “Do you think I could show them pups to my boy? He just loves animals, and they are such a rarity around here, since they all need to be papered. We can’t afford the fees, let alone the food to feed one.”

Connie relaxed a little. “I understand. Everything is so expensive. A pet is a big commitment. I am Connie, by the way.”

The woman finally smiled. “I’m Maribelle, and this is my boy Adam.”

Connie bent down. “It is very nice to meet you and your momma, Adam. If you don’t mind walking over, the mother pup is very tired. She needs food, but I wasn’t sure where to go.'“

She and Maribelle started walking and the young woman said, “If you need food there is an old church on the corner of Rawls and Jones. They serve lunch and dinner. You just have to sit and listen to the pastor talk about his religion.”

Connie took that information and filed it away. When they reached Rocky and the dogs, Maribelle picked up one of the puppies and showed him to her son. The boy laughed and wiggled in his seat with joy.

Maribelle stood up and asked, “You a steamer? I see your bag there.”

“Well, I uh…yes, I am.”

“If you and your family want to come to my house, I’ll give you food in exchange for work on our water heater. It stopped working a few weeks back. Sure would be nice to have hot water again.”

Constance looked at Rocky who nodded enthusiastically. She knew she was taking a chance. She had long ago stopped trusting people and knew this could be a trap. Desperate people did desperate things. She knew that fact well from living in the Rift. She looked at the young mother and her little boy and thought something about them felt right.

She nodded. “That would be nice, and I will take a look at your water heater.”

Image by Andreas Lischka from Pixabay

Maribelle smiled brightly. “Wonderful! Adam, did you hear that we are going to have company and you can play longer with the puppies.”

Adam clapped his hands and said, “…upppies!!”

They all laughed. Connie picked up her bag of tools, where the two smaller pups were just starting to wake up. She pulled each one out. Rocky took one, and Maribelle, much to Adam’s delight put the other one in the stroller with him. They made their way to Maribelle’s home.

Connie found herself marveling at feelings that rose inside her; feelings she hadn’t had for a very long time. Gratitude, joy and hope. Still, the Rift part of her wondered how long it would last. How long before she was, once again, disappointed, let down, and hurt? How long?

A Year of Waiting - Tarry

The word tarry as defined in Webster’s Online Dictionary means: to delay or be tardy in action or doing; to linger in expectation; wait; to abide or stay in or at a place; stay, or sojourn. Tarry is an older word used in the first few senses in the 14th century. Ask yourself, how often do I use the word tarry today? We don’t usually say, “I tarried at the train station.” “I’m going to tarry at the seashore.” “I’m sure to tarry in line at the concert.” It sounds rather archaic.

Image by Thomas from Pixabay

When it comes to this word journey I have been on for the year 2024, I like the way tarry opens up other doors and windows to this idea of waiting. As I have noted previously, waiting can be a complete drag, and most of us would not sign up for an adventure in waiting, but our lives are full of lines, traffic jams, delays, and prospects of a future that require we wait.

When I hear the word tarry, I do not think of a long term situation. However, if we look at the King James Version of scripture, which uses a synonym, sojourn we see that the span of time could be quite lengthy.

“Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years.”

— Exodus 12:40 (KJV)

Still we get the sense that it was not intended to be forever. When God speaks of a long term living situation He often uses the word dwell, or abide. We took a closer look at the word abide in February. You can see that post here.

“1 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
For brothers to dwell together in unity!
2 It is like the precious oil upon the head,
Coming down upon the beard,
Even Aaron’s beard,
Coming down upon the edge of his robes.
3 It is like the dew of Hermon
Coming down upon the mountains of Zion;
For there the Lord commanded the blessing—life forever.”

— Psalm 133 (NASB 1995)

Psalm 133 has a tone I would associate with a long term living situation. God intended that we dwell together in unity in a place where we experience the blessing of life forever. In this psalm it is a reference to Zion, which we can also look at as eternity with God. With the state many of our current churches are in it can be hard to imagine being able to dwell with those same brothers or sisters together forever in unity. Ha, ha. However, God said it will be true. We won’t just be tarrying, but putting down roots and dwelling.

Image by Filip Loczek from Pixabay

Since we already looked at the idea of abide, I wanted to spend some time thinking about what it means to tarry with God. I have learned, it is essential that we tarry with God as much as we can, especially when our lives are pulling us in so many directions. You might feel on any given day, “I don’t have time to abide. I am too busy.” However, if we don’t find the time, God will give us the time, and that is not always preferable as it usually comes with some sort of difficulty. God is not mean hearted, He loves you purely with everlasting love, and He knows exactly what you need, and that is directly linked to the time you spend with Him.

Let me give you a personal example. I was really struggling for several weeks this past month. I was exhausted, discouraged and my heart felt so heavy. Grief was a blanket I was regularly wrapping up in. Grief over my mom being in a nursing home and not being able to be there to help with her care. Grief over my children who have walked away from the truth of the scripture and the love of Jesus. Grief over the state of our country and the fear of the looming downward spiral. Grief over relationships. Grief over loved ones with cancer and other illnesses. Grief over other people’s kids who were struggling with addictions and various other issues. Grief over my own health. The list goes on.

Image by Tern70 from Pixabay

I am learning the importance of acknowledging these feelings and allowing myself to feel them. They are real, after all, and are felt on the deepest levels. However, we all know we can’t live in those dark places. We always need to return to the light, otherwise the darkness will become an all too comfortable place to abide and dwell.

I felt God pulling me. Whispering to me, “Amy, come to Me. Spend time with Me. Only I can meet every need and help you bear every burden.” I know this to be true, but as you know our flesh wars against us every chance it gets. Finally, one sunny afternoon, I took my Bible and my prayer journal out on the patio and began a search through the scriptures. I was looking for Psalm 34:18

“The Lord is near to the brokenhearted And saves those who are crushed in spirit.”

— Psalm 34:18 (NASB 1995)

I knew it was in the psalms, but I couldn’t remember where, so I just started leafing through. God brought me two different passages.

“8 Depart from me, all you who do iniquity,
For the Lord has heard the voice of my weeping.
9 The Lord has heard my supplication,
The Lord receives my prayer.”

— Psalm 6:8-9 (NASB 1995)

Image by wal_172619 from Pixabay

“1 “I love You, O Lord, my strength.”
2 The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge;
My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
3 I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,
And I am saved from my enemies.”

— Psalm 18:1-3 (NASB 1995)

Image by Enrique from Pixabay

When we tarry with God we can find peace and joy, even in the midst of our grief and pain. When we tarry we spend time, even just a small amount of time, doing the following:

1 - Remembering God’s character - He hears our weeping, our supplication and He receives our prayers. Don’t you love that? God isn’t ashamed of our emotions. He wants us to come and ask. He is our Abba, Father and He loves us. He wants to hear our prayers. He doesn’t just hear them, He receives them. He takes them on as His own. Remember The Bee Keeper? If you don’t, buzz on over to that post for a refresher.

2 - Acknowledging His abilities - He is our strength. He is our rock, our fortress, and our deliverer. He is our shield. He is our salvation. He is our stronghold. He is our refuge. All of these things are His abilities, and He gives them to us without reserve. He can protect, give strength, and get us through anything that comes our way.

“7 Then the earth shook and quaked;
And the foundations of the mountains were trembling
And were shaken, because He was angry.
8 Smoke went up out of His nostrils,
And fire from His mouth devoured;
Coals were kindled by it.
9 He bowed the heavens also, and came down
With thick darkness under His feet.
10 He rode upon a cherub and flew;
And He sped upon the wings of the wind.
11 He made darkness His hiding place, His canopy around Him,
Darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies.
12 From the brightness before Him passed His thick clouds,
Hailstones and coals of fire.
13 The Lord also thundered in the heavens,
And the Most High uttered His voice,
Hailstones and coals of fire.
14 He sent out His arrows, and scattered them,
And lightning flashes in abundance, and routed them.
15 Then the channels of water appeared,
And the foundations of the world were laid bare
At Your rebuke, O Lord,
At the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.”

— Psalm 18:7-15 (NASB 1995)

Image by Jean Louis Tosque from Pixabay

3 - Renewing our understanding of Him - I have read Psalm 18 numerous times, but the Scripture, being that it is living and active, spoke to me anew. The above verses floored me. He is not just a gentle and loving God; He is a powerful, mighty force able to move mountains with a thought. He has, can and will display holy anger when the time is right for His wrath and will to be accomplished. It sets my heart to quaking, but also fills me with hope. He will have the final word, and all that is dark, and ugly, and painful will be burned away in His purest, most holy light.

“16 He sent from on high, He took me;
He drew me out of many waters.
17 He delivered me from my strong enemy,
And from those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me.
18 They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
But the Lord was my stay.
19 He brought me forth also into a broad place;
He rescued me, because He delighted in me.”

— Psalm 18:16-19 (NASB 1995)

Image by Dimitris Vetsikas from Pixabay

“49 Therefore I will give thanks to You among the nations, O Lord,
And I will sing praises to Your name.”

— Psalm 18:49 (NASB 1995)

4 - Thanking Him for all He has done - If you can only tarry for a few minutes, I think this is the best bench to sit on. Gratitude is known to change hearts, minds, health, and perspective. When we sit for a few minutes on God’s goodness and provision to us it gives us the ability to keep going because we come away with hope. With God there is always hope.

Take it from me, if you are struggling with grief, pain, bitterness or other unresolved feelings and situations it certainly is helpful to talk it out with a trusted friend or counselor, but also don’t forget to tarry for a little while with Jesus. He makes all the difference.

Mulling it Over - Romans 8:29

We are working our way through Romans chapter 8. I know I have taken a long time to get through this passage, but it has been worth the plodding pace. There is so much in this chapter to chew on, so like our friend the cow, we will continue to ruminate on this a few verses at a time until we are done.

Image by Heiko Stein from Pixabay

Today’s verse is one that has been included in what I like to call the predestination/freewill debate. I am no theologian, but I am a believer in a powerful and mysterious God, who can be beyond my human comprehension. In fact, I prefer it that way. He is beyond our complete comprehension and understanding. He gives us enough information to know His unchanging character, His complete and boundless love, His merciful forgiveness, and His long suffering patience. I do not need to know every single thing about Him, or completely understand his ways.

“8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord.
9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways
And My thoughts than your thoughts.”

— Isaiah 55:8-9 (NASB 1995)

I have always believed that the most important aspect of the Scriptures are the Gospels of Jesus Christ. The Old Testament is pointing forward to the necessity of a Savior, and the New Testament is the fulfillment of the prophecies and the subsequent start of the church. I most definitely agree that all of Scripture is the inspired Word of God and all of it is important and we can learn from it, thus the reason I am spending so much time on these different passages, even the pieces that may not be easily explainable.

“29 For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; ”

— Romans 8:29 (NASB 1995)

Let’s dive in to this verse phrase by phrase.

For those whom He foreknew…

Image by Michal Jarmoluk from Pixabay

It is no stretch of the imagination to understand that God is all knowing. We could read all the books in the world and still not have a fraction of the knowledge He has. That doesn’t mean He just knows everything about the universe and how it all stays in place and was put together, but he knows you and I.

I have been doing a personal study on Psalm 139, a passage I have long loved. I shared some thoughts on the first three verses on a Faith Inspiration post recently. (Click on the link to go directly to that post.) From that psalm we learn how much God knows us, and it isn’t just current knowledge, it is from the foundation of the world. To say “those whom He foreknew” makes perfect sense. He knew each and everyone of us from the beginning of time.

He also predestined…

Image by Ryan McGuire from Pixabay

This is where, for some people, things get sticky. There are basically two theological points of view that underly the predestination/freewill debate: Calvinism and Arminianism. I am choosing to not go into details on those two points of view. A good comparison of Biblical texts that are controversial between the two can be seen here. You can also look up each and see what their basic points are if you are not familiar with them.

However, let me make clear, God is the one who gives us knowledge and understanding. It is important to search things out ourselves and ask for God’s wisdom and direction when looking at different passages. I think things are pretty clear when it comes to sin, Christ’s role in atoning for our sin, and our need to believe in the work of Christ on the cross and His resurrection to have eternal life. Also, if a person leans one way or the other, does not mean they are not saved.

Remember, God is God. He is almighty. He is beyond our finite minds to understand. There is most certainly a way for Him to predestine something, and also give us freewill to choose. The key is to not get hung up on it.

…to become conformed to the image of His son…

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

I think the important point here is what follows the word predestined. What did God predestine us to do? To become conformed to the image of His son. Isn’t this what God wants for everyone? He wants all of us to accept His son as our savior, and be conformed to His likeness. He wants all of us to look like Jesus. Christ left us the Holy Spirit to make this possible.

You might be thinking, there is no way I can be perfect, but God knows that. The fact that we are still in our flesh means we will continue to struggle until the day He takes us home, but we do have the power and strength through Him to become more and more like Jesus.

…so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren…

Image by Victoria from Pixabay

Jesus is not only our savior, but our brother. We become His brothers and sisters when we believe in Him and call God our Father. When Christ died for us and rose again He became the firstborn among all of us who believe, meaning we will all, like Him have eternal life and rise from the dead by the power and might of the Father above. Indeed, there will be many brothers and sisters because of our belief in the finished work of Christ, not what we believe about predestination or freewill.

Next month we will look into verse 30 and learn more about the process God uses to draw us to Himself, make us His own even though we are sinners and bring us to future glory.

I hope you will join me then.