Do You Know Him? – John 17:3

“Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.”

I wonder do you know him?

I have heard criticism that people like me make too much of Jesus.  That people like me focus too much on the person of Jesus Christ rather than the teachings of Jesus Christ.

I wonder do you know him?

I have heard arguments that the obsession of people like me, on the person of Jesus, is too exclusive of the beliefs of others.  That people like me should accept Jesus’s teachings on the intellectual bookshelf, amongst the other great moral philosophers of the ages.

I wonder do you know him?

I have heard reasoning that people like me have made too much of the great historical figure that Jesus was.  That people like me have been duped by history’s charlatans into believing that Jesus was something more than a mere mortal.

They don’t know him!

Jesus did not reveal himself to be studied. He revealed himself to be known.  I can study historical figures and learn about their actions, motivations, and philosophy but I will never say that I knew them. Jesus continues to be a topic in many lectures.  His teachings are analyzed in countless books. I can learn everything about Jesus but I will never know him until I actually follow his teaching and believe what he said about himself.

I wonder do you know him?

Faith is the prerequisite to knowing God and Jesus Christ, whom he sent.  God did not reveal himself for intellectual praise.  God revealed himself through his son, Jesus Christ, to demonstrate his mercy and grace by saving a people who believe in him, as he revealed himself.

I wonder do you know him?

God doesn’t save people who are intellectually aware of his historical teachings.  God doesn’t award merit to the strict adherence to rules given in the wilderness.  God saves those who believe in him, love him, know him.  People like me.  

I know him because he saved me. I cannot help making too much of Jesus. The person of Jesus Christ is worthy of too much focus because that is what love does.  God is exclusive.  He always has been exclusive.  He is a jealous God.  He is exclusive to those who receive his free gift.  He is exclusive to people who know him.

I wonder will you know him?

“For the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.” John 16:27

https://ref.ly/Jn17.3 via the Logos Bible Android app.

“PHYSIOGNOMY OF MY CHILDREN” – Feb 24

“The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand.  The sun shall not strike you by day nor the moon by night.”  Psalm 121:5-6

I have been reading Les Misérables by Victor Hugo.  I came upon a line that caused me to pause:

There are no trivial facts in humanity, nor little leaves in vegetation.  It is the physiognomy of the years that the physiognomy of the century is composed.  (Victor Hugo, Les Miserables page 77)

Physiognomy is a wonderful word that I had to look up; it means the general form or appearance; facial expression, especially when regarded as indicative of character or ethnic. There is a great truth in this quote.  The general character of a century is composed of the character of the years.  It is the small things of life that compose the great; there are no small leaves in vegetation. I pray that my children will grow to be individuals of character.  I want them to walk all their days in the Spirit and know deeply the love of God.  I want the physiognomy of their childhood years to compose the physiognomy of their adult life. Childhood forms much of our adult life.  Just like a giant shade tree on a hot summer day, we hope to shade our children from the hurt and regret of a rebellious world.  My wife and I endeavor to spread  a canopy of love over our children.  A canopy composed of thousands of leaves.

http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/461564763

The grand teachable moments are the parent’s white whales.  We long for those moments when we can speak of great truths and profound lessons.  These giant leaves do happen, but I believe they are much more rare than we want to admit.  The more abundant and therefore the greatest composition of a parent’s canopy of love are the small leaves. The small leaves demonstrating the reality of the transforming work of the Spirit in a child of God:

How we speak to our spouse; The control of our anger; The kindness we show to strangers; Daily love of scripture; Devotion to prayer; Generosity to the ungenerous; Speaking truth even when it costs; Obedience to speed limits even when late; All those words of encouragement spoken in love.

Each of these acts flourishes like thousands of small leaves shading the childhood of our children while they are under our care.  There are no little leaves in the life of a Christian.  Every fruit of the Spirit harvested from my life and the life of my wife contributes to the canopy over our lives together in Christ.  That canopy shades our children’s hearts from being hardened by a parching world.  It is a great work of the Spirit. Doubtless, there are grand leaves of teachable moments in our canopy but they certainly are outnumbered by all the little evidences of a man and woman in love with their Savior. I know that the salvation of my children is not within my hands. Yet, I have faith that nothing is too hard for God; even the conversion of my children.  We live and pray expectantly.  The Lord our keeper shades the life of my wife and I.  We have faith that His shade upon our lives will create the perfect environment for Him to draw our children to Himself. There are no little acts in the life of a Christian.  There are always little eyes watching.

It is the trivial acts of daily life that composes the physiognomy of my life.

It is the physiognomy of an individual life that the physiognomy of a family is composed.

It is the physiognomy of a family that the physiognomy of a church is composed.

It is the physiognomy of the church that the physiognomy of a generation is composed.

There are no trivial acts in a Christian’s life, nor little leaves of the Spirit’s fruit.

PRAYER: Lord, thank you from my children.  Father, I pray that you will draw them to yourself.  Open their eyes to the magnificence of who you are.  Give them ears to hear the call of their Shepherd.  Create in them a clean heart that comes only from being a new creation in Christ, your Son and the redeemer of their souls.  Help me be the parent that they need.  Help me to show them what it means to walk in the Spirit.  Let the shade of your grace keep me; may that same grace flow through my life to shade them as they grow in you.  I pray this in the precious name of your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen

ASCENDING THE IMPOSSIBLE – May 1

“Jesus answered him, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the Kingdom of God.’” John 3:3

I just returned from another business trip to Mount Rainer National Park. Unlike my last trip (Knowing Greatness without Sight), the skies were clear and I was able to behold clearly the mountain. I gazed upon the heights of the mountains with a yearning eye.

The clarity of the skies promised an unimpeded view to anyone at the pinnacle of such a mountain. I so wanted to see that view. Yet, I knew that neither I nor anyone else would behold the view on that day. The snow is still too deep and the trails too treacherous to ascend Mount Rainer. Therefore, the prize of the glorious view from its pinnacle was not beheld by any mortal man on that clear day.

There is another site that is even more unattainable than the wintry panorama of Mount Rainer’s peak. No man can ascend to God’s presence and behold the Kingdom of God. For this site, Jesus told us that we must be born again.

How does one ascend to a peak that has no trail?
How does one scale a summit whose base cannot be found?
How does the flesh accomplish that which is born of the Spirit?

It is impossible. It is impossible for man to find access or even to see the Kingdom of God from the pinnacle of any human accomplishment. No one can ascend to heaven.

No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. (John 4:13-15)

This is the glorious good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The ascent to heaven, access to the Kingdom of God, is now possible – not by any work of the flesh but by the work of the Spirit.

We can stand at the pinnacle of the mountain of God and see His Kingdom. We can enter into His rest and eternal life. It is an ascent that we cannot make but was accomplished for us. The prize of this summit is a gift given to all how believe in the Son of Man, Jesus Christ.

Praise be to God who has made the impossible possible. May we marvel at the miraculous heavenly things of God Almighty!

PRAYER: Father, thank you for making a way to your holy presence. Thank you for making the ascent to your Kingdom for us.  Thank you for the work the Spirit that I might be born of the Spirit.  Forgive me for my lack of marvel at the gift of eternal life that you have given me.  You are great and greatly to be praised.  I pray this in the precious name of your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen

THE AGNOSTIC WILL NEVER BE AN IRONMAN – April 13

“But he said to him, “A man once gave a great banquet and invited many.  And at the time for the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’” Luke 14:16-20

 

As the calendar on my computer screen rolled down into the month of April, I noticed a deadline for a decision I have been avoiding. I placed this reminder on my calendar when the leaves were beginning to turn in the previous year. The number of days ahead comforted my indecision.

Yet, the mill of time has ground those days away, the leaves are budding anew, and I remain as indecisive as the day I typed my reminder. I have often picked up this decision in the intervening months, examined it from various perspectives and left it on the calendar. Time remained, so I cherished my indecision.

April’s sunshine, fair weather and dwindling time have forced me into a corner – will I register for the Boise Ironman 70.3 or not.

I have clearly made more of this decision than it merits, but my list of excuses has been extensive:

I am not sure I have enough time to get into half-marathon shape.
I am not sure I want to get into half-marathon shape.
I am not sure my knees can take the training.
I am not sure I want to spend the money.
I am not sure I want to spend the time.
I am not sure I want to suffer – especially through that run.

All of these concerns have caused me to delay a decision until my deadline. The delay comes from the unanswerable nature of the concerns, manifested as excuses. I have no idea what competing in an Ironman 70.3 will feel like. It is unknowable until one commits to competing.

What I do know is that competing in an Ironman has been a goal since I started doing triathlons.  I also know that I will never finish a race if I remain agnostic to competing.

I realized that I have been largely agnostic to the Boise Ironman. I acknowledge that it exists, but based on the unknowable aspects of the race I had remained uncommitted. I was awaiting answers that would come only after I had committed to accomplishing the goal that I have set for myself – completing an Ironman race.

I was awakened from my agnostic indecision by Jesus’ parable of the great banquet and the excuse makers. I have known many of these excuse makers. They cloak themselves in the philosophical coverings of the agnostic. They believe that there is a divine being, an ultimate cause, a mysterious entity behind everything …They believe there is a God. However, they will not commit to any religion or specific belief because they want to know more.

They cherish their intellectual indecision as they claim to be seeking answers to their questions. However, I have met few who are really seeking with any urgency. They pick up the consideration of God periodically and examine the questions from different perspectives but always place it back on the shelf of indecision. They rarely actually examine the information given to them to help in their decision.

They are comforted by the perception of time. There are no deadlines that force a decision. There is no countdown to consequences. Therefore, the months and years slip past as the excuses of indecision mount.

They fail to acknowledge that indecision is a decision. It is like my indecision to compete. If I do not decide to enter the Boise Ironman, then I am guaranteed to never finish the race. Those who believe there is a God, but live in indecisive unbelief, are guaranteed to never complete that race that leads to eternal life.

We have been given all that we need to know to make a decision.  The Apostle Luke wrote the Gospel of Luke so that we could have certainty in what we have been taught:

Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught. (Luke 1:1-4)

The Apostle John wrote the Gospel of John so that we would believe:

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (John 20:30-31)

The answers to the nagging questions about the nature of God will only be revealed after the commitment to believe. Understanding comes through faith, not before it.

So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome. For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith. (Romans 1:17)

Those cloaked in agnostic indecision should not rest comfortable due to the seemingly endless number of days ahead. No one knows the number of days they have. You have all that you need to make a decision. Read the Gospel of John. Read the Gospel of Luke. They were written so that you would have what you need to make a decision.

Decide to believe or not believe but just stop the excuses of indecision.

The mill of time is grinding away your remaining days – you know not how many you have left.

PRAYER: Father, I pray for all those who read the words written so that they may believe  that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing they may have life in His name. Lord, I ask that you remove all the questions of unbelief that they have used to remain indecisive. Draw them to yourself. Give them the gift of faith and reveal yourself to them. I pray that the power of the Gospel will flow over them for salvation as them come to a belief in you.  I pray this in the precious name of your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen

P.S. – I did register for the Boise Ironman.

Related Post:
“COST OF AN IRONMAN” – Nov 2
“2014 Resolutions” – Dec 29

QUOTE (George Herbert) – April 3

Having been tenant long to a rich lord,
Not thriving, I resolvèd to be bold,
And make a suit unto him, to afford
A new small-rented lease, and cancel th’ old.

In heaven at his manor I him sought;
They told me there that he was lately gone
About some land, which he had dearly bought
Long since on earth, to take possessiòn.

I straight returned, and knowing his great birth,
Sought him accordingly in great resorts;
In cities, theaters, gardens, parks, and courts;
At length I heard a ragged noise and mirth
Of thieves and murderers; there I him espied,
Who straight, Your suit is granted, said, and died.
~ George Herbert, Redemption

In honor of George Herbert, a poet and Anglican priest, who was born on this day in 1593.

Resources:
April 3 – Today in Christian History
Redemption by George Herbert
George Herbert Biography
When the Suitor of Our Souls Pays for the Feast: “Redemption” by George Herbert

 

Related articles

• George Herbert: “Having been tenant long to a rich Lord”
• Redemption Song
• Of thieves and murderers; there I him espied !

JOY IN SALVATION – Mar. 19

“Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven – for she loved much.  But he who is forgiven little loves little.”  Luke 7:47

We have all seen reactions of the unexpected.

RMHK-Michael / Foter / CC BY-NC-SA

The joy of the one who expected to stay seated when the awarder calls their name;

The exhilaration when an unachievable goal is achieved;

The shocked speechlessness at the generosity of a gift;

The tearful gratitude when the defenseless is defended.

The daily grind of my days may have ephemeral hints of these diffused emotions, but not as frequent as I think that it should.

More often, my days begin and end in the structure of muted routine.

The morning of another day commences with the structure of a Bible reading plan – a little Old Testament, a little New, bashed with some Psalms and garnished with contemplation.

The day is lived managing the cares and troubles allotted.

Evening ushers the day to closure with some reading and prayer – mostly focused upon the day previous and the one to come.

FredBaby13 / Foter / CC BY-NC-SA

The faithful practice of the Christian faith can lead us into an attitude of the entitlement and wonderless-ness.  We can become accustomed to our salvation.  We expect our name to be called.  We can be so familiar with the bridge that spans the unachievable gap that we bounce and play on it.  Our words run on with academic “isms” in abstruse explanations of the marvelous gift freely given.  We walk confidently in the obligated defense of covenant.

I wonder whose attitude my daily existence most often reflects?

Simon the Pharisee – who did not wash Christ’s feet, never gave Him a kiss, and neglected to anoint his head.

The sinful woman of the city – who washed Christ’s feet with tears of gratitude, soiled her hair to dry His feet, and willingly gave expensive oil to anoint His head.

The reality of this comparison is displeasing .

I have a need that is greater than a desire for fresh revelation.
I require nutrition of something greater than a fresh telling of old truths.
I have a want that comes from a well deeper than spiritual discipline.
I have an essential necessity for remembrance.

Followers of Christ need to remember.  We should frequently remind ourselves of who we were.  We must regularly preach the gospel to our own soul.  We must daily acknowledge the unsanctified reality of our hearts.  We must practice marveling at the perfection of Christ in contrast to our imperfection.  We are not good.  We are not worthy.  All that we have to offer are filthy rags.

We need to live in the joy of our salvation so that we will live in the gratitude of the sinful woman of the city.

Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have broken rejoice.  Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.  Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.  Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me.  Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.  Psalm 51:8-12

May we be a people who remember what has been done for us and take ecstatic joy in His salvation of our souls.

PRAYER: Father, restore to me the joy of your salvation.  Uphold me with a willing spirit.  Open my eyes to the wonder of what you have given me.  Forgive me for living ungratefully and entitled.  Renew a right spirit within me.  Help me to remember the beauty of the gospel.  Revive my dry attitude that has come with familiarity.  You have been so good to me.  You have blessed me with so much.  I was lost in my sin, worthy of your condemnation, and yet you saved me while I was still in rebellion against you.  Your love to me is abounding.  Your mercy is without boundaries.  Your grace is beyond comprehension.  Thank you – with all my heart and soul.  I pray this in the precious name of your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen

Related articles

• Restoring the Joy of our Salvation (Psalm 51:12)
• Do You Have Joy?
• Psalm 51: 10-12
• Romans 1 – God of Salvation

“WORSE THAN A SCAB-PICKER” – Mar. 2

“For no one who has a blemish, shall draw near, a man blind or lame, or one who has a mutilated face or a limb too long, or a man who has an injured foot or an injured hand, or a hunchback or a dwarf or a man with a defect in his sight or an itching disease or scabs or crushed testicles.”  Leviticus 21:18-20

caribb / Foter / CC BY-NC-ND

My last business trip involved an airplane ride to Sacramento, California.  I was acutely aware of all the engineering involved in the optimizing of economy class passenger seating.  I am not a particularly tall person but I am at the limit of the “design passenger” used to arrange seats on airliners.  My knees just fit within the space allotted.  However, I often feel as if my fellow traveling companion in front of me is in my lap when he reclines his seat.

caribb / Foter / CC BY-NC-ND

This was particularly awkward on my last flight.  The passenger ahead of me was a business man judging from his attire.  He had a nice business suit and leather briefcase.  He was attentively groomed with hair cut close enough to reveal his scalp.

His scalp became of particular interest to me about half way through our flight.  I became aware of a habitual hand motion to the back of his head.  Through the flight, he continued to reach to the back of his head with a scratch, pick, pinch and rub ritual.  Due to his short haircut, I could easily observe the source of his discomfort.

He had two massive zits at the base of his neck, just inside the hairline.  It was apparent that these twin mountains of acne had been bothering this polished business man for sometime since they both had thick scabs.  However, my traveling mate had no intention of allowing his sores to heal properly.

I squirmed in the limited confines of my seat each time I watched his hand reach back.  A couple picks around the edges and then would come the pinch and my real concerns.  With each pinch, I cursed the airplane designers for placing me in the splash zone of this man’s clogged pores.  Obviously, the scenario that I was experiencing was not accounted for in their calculation because if either of those inflamed cannons burst, my flight was going to get really bad.

Fortunately, the flight mercifully ended without fluids erupting into the air or onto me.  The scab-picker stood from his seat and straightened his suit while he retrieved his briefcase from the overhead compartment.  He gave a pleasant glance in my direction, completely oblivious to the duress he had caused me.

He had no idea how gross he was.

I completely understand God’s prohibition of scab-pickers from the priesthood.

For no one who has a blemish, shall draw near, a man blind or lame, … or a man with a defect in his sight or an itching disease or scabs or crushed testicles.  (Leviticus 21:18-20)

I don’t know anything about the man who sat in front of me but I did find the blemishes on the back of his head and his chosen remedy very unclean.  I can understand why God would not want him to approach His altar.

However, I realized that I was equally disqualified by the very same passage.  Thankfully, my testicles are fine but my sight is not so good.  I have the blemish of nearsightedness.  While I might be able to argue that my blemish is not as bad as scab-picker’s blemish, I have to concede that at least his blemish will heal if he were to leave it alone. My eyesight is only going to get worse with age.  Therefore, I am forever disqualified from coming before God in my physical condition.

That is a rather shocking revelation.  God does not accept blemished people and it does not matter whether they were born with the blemish or if it was their own fault.  We live in a blemished world so I think it is difficult to understand God’s insistence upon perfection.  I don’t think any of us understand how blemished we really are in comparison to God.  Scab-picker did not know how blemished he was.  I had never really thought of nearsightedness as a disqualifying blemish.  Yet, the standards of God’s law are so exacting that no one is qualified to stand before the altar of God on their own merit.

Herein lays the good news of the Gospel.  Christ came to fulfill the standard for us.  He is the propitiation for our sins. (1 John 2:2)  Christ is the sacrifice to God that takes away the enmity of our blemishes (sins) that stand between us and God.

We should never deny our blemishes because the glory of the Gospel comes from the reality that in Christ we are new creations, pure and blameless.

…for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.  Do all things without grumbling and questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world…  (Philippians 2:13-15)

It is in Christ and Christ alone where we will be without blemishes.  It is only when we are blemish- free that we can enter our rest in the presence of the Lord.

Therefore, I don’t want to feel good about my blemishes.
I don’t want to be convinced that my blemishes can be overcome by thinking positively.
I refuse to live like my blemishes are irrelevant to God’s love.

My blemishes remind me of my need for a Savior.  My blemishes draw me close to my Lord, Jesus Christ because without him I am without hope.  I leave my blemishes at His feet, emerge, cleansed in His blood, and live in the joy and hope of a new life founded in Christ and Christ alone.

To God alone be all glory.

PRAYER: Father, thank you for making me pure and blameless.  Thank you for cleansing me of all my blemishes.  Thank you for sending your Son, Jesus Christ to be my propitiation.  Thank you for making a way for me to come before your altar.  I praise and glorify your name for all that you have done for me.  I pray this in the precious name of your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.

“THE GREAT AUDITOR” – Oct 30

“Search me, O God, and know my heart!  Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!”  Psalm 139:23-24

Mikko Luntiala / Foter.com / CC BY

The current gray days signal not only the coming of winter but the impending end of the fiscal year.  The corporate books for the year 2013 will soon be officially closed and final tax burdens calculated.  Corporate financial statements will be prepared and sent to our accountant.  He will filter those numbers through the various sieves of the tax code, which will inevitably retain more money than I consider reasonable; a gray day indeed.

401(K) 2013 / Foter.com / CC BY-SA

The complexity of the tax code forces businesses to hire professional accountants to guide them through the morass of regulations.  Millions are annually spent on tax accountants for the sole purpose of avoiding the monster of the taxation wilderness – the IRS.  Paying taxes is bad enough but no one wants to incur notice of the government’s intention to audit; a gray day indeed.

DonkeyHotey / Foter.com / CC BY

The IRS is generally the most feared government agency in the United States.  They are feared because they can cast anyone into a financial abyss based on the authority of their field audit, while most are overwhelmed by regulations they don’t understand.

As a result, the IRS probably does not have corporations lining up, requesting to be audited.  I don’t think anyone has sent them a message saying, “Search me, O IRS, and know my financials!  Try me and know my deductions!  And see if there be any grievous way in my financial statements, and lead me in the way of a penalty!”

I am an honest business person.  There is nothing in our corporate financials that worries me but I still don’t relish the idea (cost and time) of being audited.  However, imagine someone engaged in the cat and mouse game of tax evasion.  Imagine their fear of being audited.   They know that their tax forms have lies and deception.  People have gone to prison for tax evasion; an audit for them would be a gray day indeed.

However, the IRS would not be feared if we all had the assurance that our accounts were completely in accordance to the IRS standards.

The majority of world religions and many professing Christians fear God like the IRS.  They are just hoping to squeak past the final audit in the sky.  Concern has to arise regarding some of the more shaky deductions associated with the justifying of unseemly actions.  Uncertainty is the norm when gambling that the assets of good works might actually net eternal life when balanced against the liabilities of sin.

God as the Great Auditor should be feared more than the IRS.

Most are about as willing to welcome God in to do a spiritual audit as they are  the IRS.  Most do not seek God to search their lives and know their heart.  They know what He will find. So, they live in fear of receiving the ultimate penalty.

Therefore, they have no assurance of their eternal destination until the final auditing of the Great Auditor; a gray life indeed.

The Bible is very clear that God the Father is the Great Auditor.  However, He is so much more than a final judge.

Alex E. Proimos / Foter.com / CC BY-NC

He is the Great Physician also.  Jesus Christ came into this world for the sick.

But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.  Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.  (Matthew 9:12-13)

He did not come to show us how to increase the spiritual assets of our works and decrease the liabilities of sin in the hope of obtaining a profitable balance to squeak past the Great Auditor.

He came to heal people from sin.  He completed that work in all who have been born again in Christ.  For those in Christ, we have been completely healed from the condemnation of our sin.  We have been completely justified by the work of the Great Physician.  Our eternal hope rests assured in the work of Christ, our healer.  I wrote about how we can know that assurance in ETERNITY CONFIDENCE INDICATOR.  Those who have been healed by the Great Physician do not have to fear the Great Auditor; our accounts are completely in accordance to God’s standards because they are basis on the work of Christ, whose righteousness has been credited to us.

However, sin still dwells within me.  I look at my life and I know that  in many areas I fail to live up to the commandments of God.  While my eternal hope is secure, I still need the Great Physician to continue to work in my life, transforming me more and more into the unblemished image of His son.  We call that sanctification.

As with any physician, we need God to examine us.  We need him to search for all the sin buried deep in our heart as an oncologist would search for hidden cancer.  Nothing good comes from ignoring symptoms of cancerous growth.  A physician has to be allowed to search for the cause of all those abnormalities.

The Spirit of God is that physician.  This is the life of a follower of Christ; yielding to the Great Physician.

We live healed from the terminal condition of sin. There is no reason to fear the judgement of God.
We live in continuing need of the Great Physician.  May we live daily in submission to His examination of our hearts, allowing Him to reveal to us anything that is grievous and then removing it.

That is a bright life, indeed.

PRAYER: Lord, thank you for not saving me to a gray life of uncertain works.  Thank you for showing me mercy and grace by healing me from the terminal condition of my sin.  O Lord, search me and know my heart!  Try me and know my thoughts!  See if there are any grievous ways in me!  Father, examine me completely and show me those areas where sin lingers.  Cleanse me of all my unrighteousness. May I glorify you in all that I do.  I pray this in the precious name of your Son,  Jesus Christ.   Amen.

“DENYING THE EVIDENCE” – April 30

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.  For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.” Romans 1:18-19

I like to read apologetics blogs.  However, there is a rather mixed bag in the blog-o-sphere.  There are probably more blogs of atheist apologists than there are for Christian apologists.  I recently saw one particularly condescending post from an individual who had found the key to unraveling the Christian religion.  He advocated focusing on what he called the incoherent arguments hide in the backyard of redemption.

One of these incoherent arguments was described as culpability for a sin nature that is neither requested nor avoidable. I thought that this statement encapsulates many of the arguments of secular atheists against Christ.  It is a misunderstanding of Christian doctrine sharpened into a spear.

I am again reminded of how important it is for followers of Christ to know what they believe.  We must know what the Bible actually teaches us so that we can prevent others from twisting it into something different.  This person’s twisting is a misrepresentation of the implications between a deprave nature and actual sin.  No person has ever faced the judgment of God due to a depraved nature.  People face the wrath of God due to their sin.

The culpability for the atheist and all people is the suppression of the truth that is evident by walking out our back doors and experiencing life.  The atheist, in particular, denies what their own eyes can know about God.  All one has to do is look at this incredible creation to see the divine nature and eternal power of God.

Atheism (Photo credit: atheism)

Man’s culpability comes from being able to know that there is a God but then refusing to honor him or give thanks to Him.  That is the sin for which people are culpable.  The atheist is most culpable since they typically not only fail to honor God but they actually dishonor their Creator by overtly denying that He exists.

Reading the writings of atheists breaks my heart because they so vividly reveal the fallen nature of this world.  The aggressive and egotistical nature of many of these writings is evidence to how they have become “futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.”  (Romans 1:21)  I am reminded of how broken this world truly is and in need of redemption.

May our hearts break for the lost.  Let us not fall into their carefully laid traps that are really mere pits of futile and debased thinking.  Let us pray that God will open their eyes and acknowledge Him and His Son as their Savior .

PRAYER: Father, I pray for my atheist friends.  I know that their sin is great as is my own.  Father, I pray that you will tear down their intellectual walls that resist the message of this universe.  The message that you are God.  Lord, I ask that you draw them back from their futile and debased thinking.  I ask that you will soften their hearts and open their eyes to see your Son and to see their need for a Savior.  I pray this in the precious name of your Son, Jesus Christ.   Amen.

“ASHAMED OR PATIENT” – April 29

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, ‘The righteous shall live by faith.’ ” Romans 1:16-17

I sit across his desk as I have done a thousand times.  For nearly 2 decades, my colleague and I have sat in these exact positions – working through business strategies, personnel conflicts, project staffing, client losses, and client awards; through times of determining bonuses and times of layoffs.

He is a man who I trust and care about. 

Once again as I sit in this familiar chair, the echoes of my prayers ring in my ears.  We prattle on about the renewing of the company healthcare benefits.  We dissect the advice of attorneys.  We wonder what it all means for the future of our little company.  We cover the mundane and the visionary but it is just Novocain to what I really want to talk about.

The topic that is of most importance in my heart never seems to have a place.  I have prayed for my friend since the day that I first met him.  I have had periods where through neglect he has slipped from my prayer time but he has been one of my most consistent prayers next to my family.

I know that as my faith has become more evident, our friendship has become more business.  I have felt the resistance to anything spiritual.

My friend’s preference is to keep his spiritual life on the basis of knowledge.  He cringes at the hard sell.  I have seen him harden every time a salesman has pushed for an immediate decision.  He is the type of man who takes a month to buy a sofa and a full day to finalize the purchase of a car.  Like all of his decisions, he wants to examine the presentations of the divine and determine truth through the logic of his own trusted mind.

I know this as I listen for any indication of an openness to discuss faith in our conversations.  It is an easy thing for an introverted man of self-control to prevent any such openings.  Therefore, I prayerfully wait for the appropriate time.

I wait and wonder if an opening will ever come.  Do I wait for God to create an opening?  Do I kick a crack open?  Do I lay the awkward question of salvation on the table and let the chips fall as they may?  I wonder if my hesitancy is unduly influenced by thoughts of myself; am I hesitant because I don’t want to be embarrassed?  Am I hesitant from a compassion that doesn’t want to see more walls erected to the truth of the gospel?

I know that the gospel has power.

I know that the Spirit draws and softens heart.

I know that salvation is not based on the perfect handling of the truths of Christ.

I know that my friend needs to believe upon the name of Jesus Christ because it is his only hope for it is the power of God for salvation.

I say that I care about him.  Do I care enough to be rejected?

I say I trust him.  Do I trust him enough to allow me to be heard?

I do not know the right answer. 

What I do know is that our God is gracious and merciful and that He wants all to come to His Son.  He wants my friend to be freed from his slavery to sin and rebellion against the one true God.  What I also know is that I am supposed to live in an unashamed and gentle manner.

For me, this means that I need to be intentional about living only one life.  I have a tendency to filter my conversations so that they won’t be offensive, awkward, or weird.  That usually means avoiding religion and politics.  The reality is that a gospel-oriented worldview will be weird and offensive to those who are lost.  I need to forget myself more completely and be the new creation that I am in Christ in gentleness and compassion.

I need to live an unfiltered life and acknowledge my Lord where I see Him regardless of who I am with; not to offend but to glorify God.  When I am walking in the Spirit, in an unashamed manner, without thoughts for myself, then the Spirit will give my words value beyond my thoughts for the precise moments that He has ordained.  God will faithfully use those who forget themselves and proclaim His good news.

May He bless the words given to my friend and draw him to Himself.

PRAYER: Father, I pray for my friend.  Draw him to yourself.  Soften his heart to hear the good news of Jesus Christ.  Lord, satisfy all the questions of his mind and give him the gift of faith.  Father, give me the boldness as you need from me.  Keep me from stepping out in my strength due to my impatience.  May the gentleness and compassion of your Spirit be evident in the words I speak with him.  Lord, I know that all things are possible for you; save my friend.   I pray this in the precious name of your Son, Jesus Christ.   Amen.