For the Christian Who’s Worrying

For any Christian who’s currently worrying about his/her life, remember what the Savior said:

And he said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you.

(Luke 12:22-31 ESV)

What an encouraging reminder that God provides all good things!  Now, this isn’t a license for Christians to be lazy.  Paul says, “If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat” (2 Thessalonians 3:10).  But the Christian doesn’t need to be anxious.  God will provide.  Frankly, we have bigger to fish to fry (pun somewhat intended).  The Savior also tells us that man doesn’t live on bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.  So often, sheep, are we focused on the temporal and unfocused on the eternal.  We are so often caught up in the things of this world, that we ignore the things of Christ.  May God teach us to look at the temporal with an eternal lens, and may God help us to consider the things of this world in light of the things of Christ.  Our gracious Father knows what we need.  Let us seek His kingdom instead.

Today’s readings:

• Psalm 19
• Genesis 19
• 1 Chronicles 21:18-22:19
• Luke 12:13-48

Religion That Kills

Jesus was invited by a Pharisee to dine with him, and Jesus didn’t wash before dinner, an extra-biblical ceremony instituted by the Jews.  The Pharisee was “astonished” and challenged Him, and Jesus responded, “Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.  You fools!  Did not he who made the outside make the inside also?  But as alms give those things that are within, and behold, everything is clean for you.  But woe to you Pharisees!  For you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and neglect justice and the love of God.  These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others” (Luke 11:39-42).

Externally, the most religious people in the time of Jesus were the Pharisees.  They were so zealous for the law of God that they created laws on top of God’s law to make sure that they were as strictly obedient as they could be.  For example, God’s law didn’t go into such specifics about tithing mints and herbs, but they did so anyway.  The problem that they had was not that they were too obedient, but that it was all for show.  They prided themselves in being “holy”.  It was all outside; they were rotten inside.

It’s a religion that kills.  God does care about our obedience, but if that obedience is for our own glory, then it’s no obedience at all.  And disobedience deserves God’s wrath.

In a sense, sheep, we are like Pharisees.  We’re hypocritical.  We make sure we pray before meals, but we ignore many who go hungry.  We lift our hands in worship, but also use our hands for sin.  Sheep, “These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.“

In another sense, we’re not like the Pharisees.  If you’re a Christian, you are not like a Pharisee, because you trust in Christ and have been saved by His grace.  It’s only through His obedience, from birth to the cross, that we are saved through faith in Him.  We no longer have a false religion that kills, but a true religion that gives life.

Today’s readings:

• Psalm 18
• Genesis 18:16-33
• 1 Chronicles 21:1-17
• Luke 11:37-12:12

The Lord Gives Victories

As the chronicler writes about King David’s defeating his many enemies, he inserts a crucial sentence.  1 Chronicles 18:13 says, “And the LORD gave victory to David wherever he went.”  The chronicler rightly acknowledged that it was the LORD who granted David victories, a fact that (it’s safe to say) David joyfully and readily confesses today.

In the same way that David really has no room to boast on himself for his military victories, neither do we as Christians fighting a spiritual war have room for boasting on ourselves.  Any time we’d boast on ourselves, here are a few humbling verses to remember:

Jesus says in John 15:5, “apart from me you can do nothing“.

Paul writes in Philippians 2:13, “it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.“

He also writes in 2 Corinthians 10:17, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.“

Don’t be mistaken–these verses aren’t saying, “Let go and let God”.  We are to actively seek to obey Jesus.  We are to make war on our sin.  But when we do obey, when we win those battles, may we remember that it is the LORD who gives us victory wherever we go.

Today’s readings:

• Psalm 17
• Genesis 18:1-15
• 1 Chronicles 18-20
• Luke 11:1-36

What Shall I Do to Inherit Eternal Life?

Luke tells us of a lawyer who put Jesus to the test saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” (Luke 10:25).  

Jesus replied, “What is written in the Law?  How do you read it?” (v26).  

The lawyer correctly responded, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself” (v27).  

Then, Jesus said, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live” (v28).

Some will point to this passage and say, “See?  We aren’t saved by grace alone through faith alone.  We must love God with everything in order to be saved.”  The problem with this is, “Who does that?”  Who loves God with all his heart, soul, strength, and mind?  Who loves his neighbor as himself?  “Well,” they might reply.  “Jesus is talking about trying to live that way.  He knows our hearts, and if He sees us doing everything we can do, He’ll do the rest.”  Is that what Jesus is saying here?  It seems pretty cut-and-dry: if you want to inherit eternal life, you have to love God with absolutely every ounce of your being and you have to love your neighbor as yourself.

This is a problem for you and me.   Jesus was putting this man to the test, who was trying to put Him to the test, and the lawyer came up short.  But he’s not alone in that.  If that is the standard for eternal life, every single one of us falls short.

Praise God that there is someone who loved the Lord His God with all His heart, soul, strength, and mind–none other than Jesus Himself.  And because He deserved eternal life by virtue of His perfect life, He was a worthy sacrifice.  Because of His faithfulness, the Father could justly transfer our sins onto Him and His righteousness onto all who would believe in Him.

You need Him.  If you haven’t yet trusted in Jesus, realize that you fall extremely short of God’s standard, and you are worthy of His wrath.  But because of His great love, the perfect Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for sinners like you and me.  Repent of your sins and believe in Him, and you will be saved.

If you are a Christian already, then, sheep, by His grace, let us continually strive to love the Lord our God with all our hearts and with all our souls and with all our strength and with all our minds, and to love our neighbors as ourselves–not to inherit eternal life, but because we are inheritors of eternal life and joy in Christ.

Today’s readings:

• Psalm 16
• Genesis 17
• 1 Chronicles 17
• Luke 10:25-42

A Song of Thanks

After the ark of the covenant was brought to Jerusalem, by the grace of God, David appointed a song of thanks to be sung.  This is an excerpt:

Sing to the LORD, all the earth!
Tell of his salvation from day to day.
Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous works among all the peoples!
For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised,
and he is to be feared above all gods.
For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols,
but the LORD made the heavens.
Splendor and majesty are before him;
strength and joy are in his place.

Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples,
ascribe to the LORD glory and strength!
Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;
bring an offering and come before him!
Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness;
tremble before him, all the earth;
yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved.
Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice,
and let them say among the nations, “The LORD reigns!”
Let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
let the field exult, and everything in it!
Then shall the trees of the forest sing for joy
before the LORD, for he comes to judge the earth.
Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
for his steadfast love endures forever!

(1 Chronicles 16:23-34 ESV)

Just…AMEN!

Today’s readings:
Psalm 15
Genesis 16
1 Chronicles 16:4-43
Luke 9:51-10:24

What Does it Mean to Take Up Your Cross and Follow Jesus?

After Peter confessed that Jesus is “the Christ of God” (Luke 9:20), Jesus foretold His death and resurrection, saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised” (v22).  Jesus was talking about His crucifixion.

And then, He said, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.  For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it” (v23-24).  So, what it means to take up one’s cross is to follow in the Savior’s footsteps in His suffering.

These days, the cross is venerated, and rightly so; it is the wood upon which our Savior died for our sins.  But, when Jesus was speaking to His disciples of the cross, the cross symbolized one thing: crucifixion.  And crucifixion was a shameful, horrific death, a subject not spoken about in polite company.  Consider that and reread Jesus’s call for His disciple to “take up his cross daily“.

Now, Jesus wasn’t saying that every one of His disciples needed to be crucified in order to be His disciples (though some were).  But anyone who would be His disciple would need to be willing to face that fate for His sake.  Sometimes, when someone speaks of a difficult challenge, like financial difficulty or family troubles, they might say things like, “Well, this is my cross to carry.”  Carrying your cross is not hardship or suffering in general.  Carrying your cross is total devotion to the Savior.  It’s not about suffering, per se, but it’s a total surrender of one’s whole life, which could include being persecuted and murdered for His namesake.

Granted, no Christian does this perfectly, but all of us who have been saved by grace through faith in Jesus are called to this life of total devotion to the Savior.  But this is not burdensome.  This is not a chore.  His yoke is easy, and His burden is light.  Following Jesus is the most delightful, joyful, abundant life that a person could have, even if it is a life of persecution and suffering.  Christianity is hard, but it is rewarding, both in this life and for all eternity.  Whoever loses his life for Jesus will save it.

Today’s readings:
Psalm 14
Genesis 15
1 Chronicles 15:1-16:3
Luke 9:1-50

Proclaiming Throughout the Whole City How Much Jesus Had Done for Him

Luke tells us of a man who had many demons in him–not like alcoholism or anything like that, real live demons.  These demons, we see in Luke 8 were terrified of Jesus, and Jesus commanded them to leave the man.  The people of the city were terrified by God’s power, and so they asked Him to leave.  

Before He left, we read in Luke 8:38-39, “The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with Him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, ‘Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.’  And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done for him.“

Sheep, we understand this tension, don’t we?  We have been saved by Jesus and we now love Him supremely above all things.  And we long to be with Him in heaven.  Yet, right now, we are here.  And we are commanded to remain in this temporary home and declare how much God has done for us.  May we be like this man, who “went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done for him.“

Surely, what Jesus did for this man was great.  He rid him of Legion, the many demons that had possessed him.  But what Jesus would later do for all of His people was even greater.  He would take on their sins on the cross and receive the punishment that they deserved.  He took on God’s wrath, so that whoever believes in Him would have God’s favor.  If you are a believer in Jesus today, this reality is true for you now and will be forever.  Will you go away, proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus has done for you?  Lord, give us the courage and the passion to do so.

Today’s readings:

• Psalm 13
• Genesis 14
• 1 Chronicles 14
• Luke 8:22-56

Faith Is Thicker Than Blood

Luke 8:19-21 says, “Then [Jesus’s] mother and His brothers came to Him, but they could not reach Him because of the crowd.  And He was told, ‘Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see you.’  But He answered them, ‘My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.’“

This doesn’t mean, of course, that Jesus was disowning His mother and siblings here.  We see His love for Mary even on the cross, making sure that she would be taken care of after He had gone.  But what Jesus is showing us here is that the most important thing in the world is not family.  God is supreme even over our familial relationships.  And the family in Christ is higher than the biological family.  Jesus will later say in Luke 14:26, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.”  Again, we know that this is hyperbolic, because we are commanded to honor our parents.  But this is a comparison.  Our love for God should be so intense that any other kind of love looks like hatred by comparison.

We have a tendency to idolize family.  We take what is beautiful, and we pervert it.  Once, I shared the concept of loving God more than family with someone who professed to believe in Jesus, and he said that he would not do it.  His family would always come first.

What this clearly reveals is a total lack of knowing God–not knowing about God, but knowing God, having a relationship with Him.  Someone who knows God (and more importantly is known by God) has no problem saying that God is supreme over all things.  A person who loses everything and everyone but has God is still joyous, because God’s grace is sufficient for him.

This kind of supremacy extends to the family of Christ.  Our faith family should be more important to the Christian than the biological family.  Our loyalty and our allegiance should be to them over our unbelieving biological family members.  This goes against the grain of what many think to be self-evident truths.

We should certainly love our unbelieving family members, but we have to remember that at this moment, they are enemies of God.  They hate God, whether they realize it or not.  And we need our spiritual brothers and sisters along side us, praying with us, praying for us sharpening us, doing battle with us.  Consider your spiritual brothers and sisters in Christ.  Do you treat them like family, as you should?  Are they higher in familial priority to you than your own blood relatives?  They are your Father’s children, and your Savior’s brothers and sisters and coheirs.  May they be precious to us in our hearts and minds and lives.

Today’s readings:

• Psalm 12
• Genesis 13:2-18
• 1 Chronicles 13
• Luke 8:4-21

How God’s Love for Righteousness is a Problem for Humans

People who make the claim that God loves all people unconditionally are going to have to distort verses like Psalm 11:5, “His soul hates the wicked“.  Similarly, Psalm 5:5 sings to God, “You hate all evildoers“.  This whole idea that God hates all sin but loves all sinners is foreign to Scripture.

And verse 7 of Psalm 11 might initially give somebody comfort.  In contrast to God’s hatred of the wicked, we read that, “the LORD is righteous; He loves righteous deeds; the upright shall behold His face.”  We like to think that we fall in that category instead.  I’m not wicked!  I’m not an evildoer.  I do righteous deeds!  I’m upright, so I shall behold His face!

God loves righteousness, and He hates wickedness.  He loves those who are righteous, and He hates those who are evil.  This is not good for us humans.  There is no one who, on their own, is upright.  There is no one who, on their own, does truly righteous deeds.  Here’s a sampling of the human condition:

Jeremiah 17:9, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?“

Psalm 51:5, “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.“

Ephesians 2:1-3, “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.“

Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God“.

Genesis 6:5, “The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.“

Romans 8:7, “For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.“

Isaiah 64:6, “We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.“

Romans 3:10-11, “As it is written: ‘None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God.’“

So, you see, this is a problem for us.  If God hates evildoers and loves the righteous, and we all do evil and none of us are righteous, then God rightfully should hate all of us.

Praise God that that isn’t the end of the story.  What happened on the cross was this: “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21).  Jesus took on the sins of His people and put them on Himself.  And God took the righteousness of Jesus and put it on His people.  And so, now, God looks at His people not in their sinfulness, but in the righteousness of Jesus. 

As a follower of Christ, I am “found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith” (Philippians 3:9).  God no longer looks at me as an evildoer, but as someone who is “upright“, not because of my own merit, but because of His Son’s.

Today’s readings:

• Psalm 11
• Genesis 12-13:1
• 1 Chronicles 12
• Luke 7:36-8:3

Jesus Didn’t Do Miracles for the Sake of Doing Miracles

Many people like certain aspects of the Jesus story.  Thomas Jefferson was a fan of the morality of Jesus, but literally removed everything supernatural about Him from his Bible.  On the other hand, many like the miracles, and they point to Jesus as a great hero of social justice.  He miraculously fed thousands with only a few fish and loaves of bread.  He went around healing the sick and advocating for the poor.  All these things Jesus did and more, but He didn’t do miracles just for the sake of doing miracles.

After the Sermon on the Plain, Jesus went to Capernaum.  A centurion had a servant who was sick and almost dead, and so he sent for Jesus to heal him.  As Jesus came close to the house, messengers went to Him saying that the centurion felt unworthy to have Him come under his roof, and instead, he trusted in Jesus’s word, knowing that if Jesus willed, his servant would be healed.  Jesus marveled at the centurion’s faith, giving us a taste of the reality that salvation wasn’t for Jews alone, but for Gentiles also.  And by the time the messengers got back to the centurion, the servant was healed.

Then, in the town of Nain, there was a dead man being carried out of the city for burial.  Jesus saw the man’s mourning mother, had compassion on her, and said to the dead man, “Young man, I say to you arise” (Luke 7:14b).  And the dead man came back to life.

Luke then immediately cuts to John the Baptist in prison, now doubting that Jesus was the Messiah.  John sent his messengers to Jesus to ask Him whether or not He was the One.  Jesus’s response was evidence: “And He answered them, ‘Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them‘” (Luke 7:22).  And that was enough.

So, we see that Jesus didn’t do miracles just for the sake of doing miracles.  And He didn’t do miracles only to show compassion on others; certainly that was part of it.  But the main reason He did the works of His Father was to show that He indeed was the Messiah they had been looking for.  And the Messiah wasn’t here to simply do acts of social justice.  He came to make the spiritually blind see, to make the spiritually lame walk, to make the spiritually leprous cleansed, to make the spiritually deaf hear, to make the spiritually dead rise, and to preach this good news to the spiritually poor.  This was Christ’s mission.

This is the Jesus that Thomas Jefferson doesn’t like.  This is the Jesus that those who claim that He was nothing more than a prophet and good teacher don’t like.  This is the Jesus who says, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).  This is the Jesus who says, “whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 10:33).  This is the Jesus who is fully God and fully man, who was sent by His Father to live a perfect life and to die on the cross, after having His Father’s wrath on sins poured out onto Him, who rose from the grave, that “whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

Don’t patronize the Lord and claim to appreciate Him as something less than He truly is.  It’s true, He is a good moral teacher.  It’s true, He is a prophet.  It’s true, He is a miracle worker.  But He is also God, Lord, Savior, and King.

Today’s readings:

• Psalm 10
• Genesis 11
• 1 Chronicles 11
• Luke 7:1-35