“His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.
For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (II Peter 1:13-18, ESV)
The above scripture has to be one of the most exciting in the entire Bible. Just think of it, God has invited us to become partakers of the divine nature. That means He wants us to become like Him. When we feel small and insignificant, we need to remember that God loves us so much that He invites us to be with Him forever with a nature like His. In another place, God speaks through the apostle Paul to tell us that “God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved-- and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 2:4-7, ESV) This means that in Christ, we are sitting next to God in the heavenly places. This has to excite us. No other religion, no other god offers the kind of rewards that our God offers us. And I’ll bet you thought that being a Christian was just about being forgiven and that one day we get to go to heaven. Of course, those are the promises, too. But if you think that the Christian life is one of dreariness and hardship, holding on for dear life and then, if we are lucky, a trip to heaven, you need to rethink what God is calling you to be. Holy. Godly. Divine. Sitting next to Him. Not only in the future, right now!
In the second letter of Peter, the writer starts off with a list of “adds.” Isn’t it interesting, though, that he doesn’t go straight to the knowledge part? Before you become that Bible scholar that you think you should be, you need to hang out in the virtue area. We live in an age that is anything but virtuous. Those of us living in democratic countries have watched as what used to be called privileges have now become rights; we have seen law with virtue replaced with scorn for the law and nothing resembling real virtue. No longer is the criminal on trial, but the law is on trial. No lawyer has met a law that he didn’t despise and no criminal that he didn’t believe he could get off the hook with a bargain here or a deal there. Justice? The word is unknown to most victims of crime.
When you read the book of Isaiah in the Old Testament, much of it appears like a court trial. God has brought suit against His people. He tells them in the 58th chapter that while they are going through all of the motions of religion, the fasting, the praying, the bowing, they are really practicing deceit before God. They think that by all of their religiosity they will be heard. But what does God say? “Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?” (Isaiah 58: 6-7, ESV) Virtue. Godliness. Holiness. Humility. Kindness. When we work toward being a virtuous person, God sees it. He gives us everything concerned with life and godliness. And the result? In Isaiah, He said He would hear their prayers. “Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer. . .” (Isaiah 58:9, ESV) I hear people say, “I prayed and prayed and nothing happened.” Really? Could it possibly be that you are asking for yourself and not practicing the things that God calls the virtues? Are you tired of being a Christian because you spend your time trying to be religious rather than living to be like Jesus?
More on this next time. If we really want to be walking as people covered in the blood of Jesus, “incarnadine,” we need to remember that we have been called to die to self and live to Christ. Only then will others bask in the glow of the wonderful, powerful blood of Jesus.
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The Nagasaki Martyrs, 17th Century Japan
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Mustard Seed Faith
He said to them, "Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you." (Mat 17:20, ESV)
When considering faith, most people compare their own faith with the faith of others, whether Biblical characters or godly people they have read about or even someone they know. Often we hear people say, “She must have had a strong faith to continue like that, even when things were so terribly bad,” or, “I just don’t know how he did it. I would have given up long ago. Where did he get his faith?”
For the Christian, the “where” is really the “who.” The man whose son was demon-possessed had faith, but that faith was not in Jesus’s disciples as much as it was in Jesus himself. Even then, he had his doubts. When Jesus challenged his faith, the man acknowledged his doubts and asked for a greater faith. Only by focusing our lives on the Christ of the pages of the New Testament and not on the Christ of Hollywood or of the popular media can we expect to have a stronger faith. Once the father realized his faith must be in the Teacher who stood before him, he realized the weakness of his own faith, but desperately wanted to believe. Jesus has a way of evoking faith if a person will truly look at Jesus as God Incarnate, God in the flesh.
Animals and children have a sense of trust that puts many adults to shame. I grew up on a small farm and my family raised geese, goats, cows, pigs, chickens, sheep and had a horse for a time, as well as a pet skunk. All of the animals had one thing in common - they trusted us to give them their food and water and to take care of them when they became sick. The family cow was with us for ten years, until I went off to college. We had a well that supplied our water and the pump was a windmill, very eco-friendly. When the wind blew, the windmill would turn, pulling the water up from 137 feet below the surface of the earth, cool and delicious, even on the hottest of days. Then the pump would continue to push this refreshing liquid several hundred feet up the incline of the hillside we lived on, to fill a large wooden reservoir that could hold 500 gallons. Usually the wind blew daily over those dry, dusty hills, filling the tank with water until it overflowed, watering the desert-like hillside and giving life to trees that had been planted by the birds of the air, including a palm tree. On occasion, though, someone would forget to turn off a tap somewhere, draining the tank and leaving the family and the animals without water. And sometimes the wind would not refill that tank for several days. Once we went without for ten long days. In that event, we would pull a trailer with a 60 gallon tank to a neighbor’s house where we could fill the small tank and take it home for drinking water and water for the animals.
The point of all of this is: the animals never worried about where the water came from, nor whether or not there was any water to be had. Their trust was fully in those responsible for caring for them - us.
And that’s the way it should be with our faith walk with God. We should never question or worry about where He will get the things that we need. He has always taken care of us and always will. Once we have a trust like that of a small child for his mother or an animal for its owner, we will really begin to be those who learn how to live our lives “incarnadine,” bathed in the blood of Jesus so that those around us will be filled with a sense of the presence of Jesus. A spirit-filled life is a life of strong faith. Jesus was able to do everything well because He knew who He was and He knew who His Father was. When we know those things, we will see our faith soar. We will learn to wait on the Lord and see His great and wonderful way of caring for us and others. We will truly learn what the scripture means when it says, “Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:28-31, ESV) Let's look for people who are interested in learning to fly.
When considering faith, most people compare their own faith with the faith of others, whether Biblical characters or godly people they have read about or even someone they know. Often we hear people say, “She must have had a strong faith to continue like that, even when things were so terribly bad,” or, “I just don’t know how he did it. I would have given up long ago. Where did he get his faith?”
For the Christian, the “where” is really the “who.” The man whose son was demon-possessed had faith, but that faith was not in Jesus’s disciples as much as it was in Jesus himself. Even then, he had his doubts. When Jesus challenged his faith, the man acknowledged his doubts and asked for a greater faith. Only by focusing our lives on the Christ of the pages of the New Testament and not on the Christ of Hollywood or of the popular media can we expect to have a stronger faith. Once the father realized his faith must be in the Teacher who stood before him, he realized the weakness of his own faith, but desperately wanted to believe. Jesus has a way of evoking faith if a person will truly look at Jesus as God Incarnate, God in the flesh.
Animals and children have a sense of trust that puts many adults to shame. I grew up on a small farm and my family raised geese, goats, cows, pigs, chickens, sheep and had a horse for a time, as well as a pet skunk. All of the animals had one thing in common - they trusted us to give them their food and water and to take care of them when they became sick. The family cow was with us for ten years, until I went off to college. We had a well that supplied our water and the pump was a windmill, very eco-friendly. When the wind blew, the windmill would turn, pulling the water up from 137 feet below the surface of the earth, cool and delicious, even on the hottest of days. Then the pump would continue to push this refreshing liquid several hundred feet up the incline of the hillside we lived on, to fill a large wooden reservoir that could hold 500 gallons. Usually the wind blew daily over those dry, dusty hills, filling the tank with water until it overflowed, watering the desert-like hillside and giving life to trees that had been planted by the birds of the air, including a palm tree. On occasion, though, someone would forget to turn off a tap somewhere, draining the tank and leaving the family and the animals without water. And sometimes the wind would not refill that tank for several days. Once we went without for ten long days. In that event, we would pull a trailer with a 60 gallon tank to a neighbor’s house where we could fill the small tank and take it home for drinking water and water for the animals.
The point of all of this is: the animals never worried about where the water came from, nor whether or not there was any water to be had. Their trust was fully in those responsible for caring for them - us.
And that’s the way it should be with our faith walk with God. We should never question or worry about where He will get the things that we need. He has always taken care of us and always will. Once we have a trust like that of a small child for his mother or an animal for its owner, we will really begin to be those who learn how to live our lives “incarnadine,” bathed in the blood of Jesus so that those around us will be filled with a sense of the presence of Jesus. A spirit-filled life is a life of strong faith. Jesus was able to do everything well because He knew who He was and He knew who His Father was. When we know those things, we will see our faith soar. We will learn to wait on the Lord and see His great and wonderful way of caring for us and others. We will truly learn what the scripture means when it says, “Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:28-31, ESV) Let's look for people who are interested in learning to fly.
Monday, September 3, 2007
Lord, Give Me Faith
One of the biggest problems for anyone coming to Christ is the problem of faith. How do I get it? What is it really like? What can I expect to happen in my life if I have faith? Is it a matter of how much faith I have or is it a matter of the quality of my faith? Remember the man who came to Jesus to ask why the disciples couldn’t cast out the demon that left the man’s son mute? He asked Jesus if He could do anything to help. Jesus replied, "If you can! All things are possible for one who believes." (Mark 9:23, ESV) The man in desperation cried out and said, "I believe; help my unbelief!" (Mark 9:24, ESV) I think that is the feeling of most of us in life. I believe. Lord, help the part of me that has trouble believing! How is it possible to have a stronger faith, a deeper faith, a faith that cannot be shaken, no matter what may come in life?
The man with the son that Jesus cured believed in One God. Every good Jewish person could quote what Moses had written in Deuteronomy, “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.” (Deuteronomy 6:4, ESV) For New Testament Christians, to believe that God is One and that God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit seems pretty common. Even when we meet a severe crisis in life, most of us are still able to say that we believe in God and that His will, His purpose for our lives, will be done. We can look back at some pretty rough places in life and see where God has helped us, has given us the strength to go on, even done some pretty remarkable things in our lives.
But what about the long periods of silence, when it seems God isn’t listening to my prayers, when the problem that I am faced with just doesn’t resolve itself, when even year after agonizing year, I just seem stuck in a rut. No solutions, no miracles, no quick response. In the story above, I wonder how long the father had watched helplessly as his son suffered from the demon, the demon who made his son mute, who threw him in the fire or the water, trying to kill the boy? Surely that father prayed and asked God for deliverance for his son. When we read the pages of the Old Testament, we find men and women who prayed for long periods of time before they heard an answer from God. Think of Hannah who prayed long and hard for a son, who suffered the abuse of ridicule because she couldn’t have a child, and who was even accused of being drunk when she went up to the house of the Lord and continued to pray. “Hannah was speaking in her heart; only her lips moved, and her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli took her to be a drunken woman.”(I Samuel 1:13, ESV) We are even told that Hannah wept bitterly because of her plight.
Or what about the times when we just know that God has given us a great victory, especially when we have helped others, only to be followed by personal hardship. Elijah was just such a person. After praying that it wouldn’t rain on the earth and seeing God withhold rain for three years, after a great victory over the prophets of Baal, after praying and waiting on the Lord and seeing God send rain again, even after being filled with God’s spirit and outrunning Ahab, who was riding in a chariot, Elijah heard that Jezebel wanted him dead, so he ran away and wanted to die. He gave up. God had to show Elijah that He doesn’t always operate in the spectacular. Much of the time God is in the whisper of a breeze, gently urging us on, knowing that we will come through with a stronger faith than we had before, and then be able to serve Him again. (I Kings 19:1-14)
Next post I would like to take this subject a bit further, to look into some aspects of faith that can help us to grow in Christ, to have a faith that really can’t be shaken. Once we establish the importance of such a faith, we can then look at some things that are to be added to that faith.
The man with the son that Jesus cured believed in One God. Every good Jewish person could quote what Moses had written in Deuteronomy, “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.” (Deuteronomy 6:4, ESV) For New Testament Christians, to believe that God is One and that God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit seems pretty common. Even when we meet a severe crisis in life, most of us are still able to say that we believe in God and that His will, His purpose for our lives, will be done. We can look back at some pretty rough places in life and see where God has helped us, has given us the strength to go on, even done some pretty remarkable things in our lives.
But what about the long periods of silence, when it seems God isn’t listening to my prayers, when the problem that I am faced with just doesn’t resolve itself, when even year after agonizing year, I just seem stuck in a rut. No solutions, no miracles, no quick response. In the story above, I wonder how long the father had watched helplessly as his son suffered from the demon, the demon who made his son mute, who threw him in the fire or the water, trying to kill the boy? Surely that father prayed and asked God for deliverance for his son. When we read the pages of the Old Testament, we find men and women who prayed for long periods of time before they heard an answer from God. Think of Hannah who prayed long and hard for a son, who suffered the abuse of ridicule because she couldn’t have a child, and who was even accused of being drunk when she went up to the house of the Lord and continued to pray. “Hannah was speaking in her heart; only her lips moved, and her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli took her to be a drunken woman.”(I Samuel 1:13, ESV) We are even told that Hannah wept bitterly because of her plight.
Or what about the times when we just know that God has given us a great victory, especially when we have helped others, only to be followed by personal hardship. Elijah was just such a person. After praying that it wouldn’t rain on the earth and seeing God withhold rain for three years, after a great victory over the prophets of Baal, after praying and waiting on the Lord and seeing God send rain again, even after being filled with God’s spirit and outrunning Ahab, who was riding in a chariot, Elijah heard that Jezebel wanted him dead, so he ran away and wanted to die. He gave up. God had to show Elijah that He doesn’t always operate in the spectacular. Much of the time God is in the whisper of a breeze, gently urging us on, knowing that we will come through with a stronger faith than we had before, and then be able to serve Him again. (I Kings 19:1-14)
Next post I would like to take this subject a bit further, to look into some aspects of faith that can help us to grow in Christ, to have a faith that really can’t be shaken. Once we establish the importance of such a faith, we can then look at some things that are to be added to that faith.
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