Blessed Assurance

 Yesterday morning, I woke up with a couple of lines from "Goodness of God" running through my head.  Not surprising since we'll be singing it in our Sunday morning service, so I've been practising it.  The song says, "Your goodness is running after, it's running after me/With my life laid down, I'm surrendered now/I give You everything".  "But," I thought, "that's not really true.  My life is not really completely laid down.  I'm not surrendered in everything."  Almost immediately, a second song came into my mind..."Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!/O what a foretaste of glory divine!/Heir of salvation, purchase of God,/Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood./This is my story, this is my song,/Praising my Savior all the day long..."

I felt as though God was trying to say that I should not focus so much on my shortcomings but rather on what He has done for me.  He purchased me, washed me in His perfect redeeming blood, made me His heir, gave me a new birth so I'm regenerated by His Spirit.  That is my story!

Then it was time to turn to the devotional book I received from our church prayer team leader.  It's called "On Our Knees: 40 Days to Living Boldly in Prayer" by Phil Wickham.  The focus that day was about the thief who was on the cross next to Jesus.  He had no reason to expect anything from Jesus, and yet, he was bold enough to say, "Remember me when You come into Your kingdom."  

Phil Wickham writes, "I've had times in my life when I knew I was making selfish decisions and not putting Jesus first.  It's easy for me to fall into the lie that sometimes I  need to live a few 'good' days before I can get back on track with God.  As if I need to do some work to get into His good graces again.  Even after all this time I still feel as though I have to prove to Him - and myself - that I'm worthy to spend time with Him.  I often believe my prayers have a higher rate of success if I come with a few star stickers stuck to my shirt from good behavior.  Yet at the end of this (thief's) life...facing the grim consequence of his own bad choices, he simply cries out to Jesus ... and Jesus hears him.  Not only does He hear him, but Jesus welcomes him into His eternal family..." 

It seemed the Holy Spirit was reinforcing the truth that I should keep my eyes on Jesus, not myself.

Then my mind leaped to the story of Hosea, who was instructed by God to marry a harlot.  He married Gomer.  When she bore him children, God gave them names revealing His messages to the people.  His first daughter was named Lo-Ruhamah (no mercy) because God said, "I will no longer have mercy on the house of Israel".  Then Gomer had a son, and God said, "Call his name Lo-Ammi (not-my-people) for you are not My people, and I will not be your God."  

She later chose to leave Hosea and became a harlot.  Though Hosea's heart was broken, God commanded him to take his unfaithful wife back into his home and to show her love again.  Out of this experience, Hosea could grasp with keen insight the pain in the heart of God when His people forsook Him and "played the harlot" with idols and foreign gods.

There is new prophecy in chapter 2 of Hosea, where God says, "I will have mercy on her who had not obtained mercy; then I will say to those who were not My people, 'You are My people! and they shall say, 'You are my God!"  This has been fulfilled through Jesus, and His offer of salvation to all people, including us Gentiles. 

This story is referred to in I Peter 2:  "...you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy" (verses 9-10). 

So, all of that was my loving Father reminding me to focus on Him, and all that has been given to me.  I have the blessed assurance that Jesus is mine.  I am an heir of salvation, the purchase of God.  I am born of His Spirit and washed in His blood.  I am a member of the chosen generation, the royal priesthood, a holy nation, one of God's own special people who has received His mercy.  That's my story, and I'm sticking to it!  Therefore I can "proclaim the praises of Him who called me out of darkness into His marvelous light."

And as I focus on His goodness and grace to me, I will more and more be able to lay down my life and my selfishness and surrender everything to my faithful, loving, dependable Father!  "Praising my Savior all the day long."

Transplanted

 On one of the lovely warm days we had last week, I transplanted a couple of plants from my outdoor planters into pots and brought them inside.  There is a Rex begonia with large colourful leaves that at least doubled in size over the summer.  And also a mandevilla with deep red flowers that has continued to stretch out its tendrils and produce gorgeous blooms all summer.  Even while we were away for two weeks in September, with no care and no water, both plants survived and did well.

Yesterday morning, as I was sitting on my couch and deriving some pleasure from looking at these plants looking so vibrant and healthy in my living room, the thought came to me that we are God's "transplants". Colossians 1:13 & 14 tells us "He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins".  In Ephesians 2:1-7, we learn that the place where we once were was "in trespasses and sins".  Then there is that lovely little phrase in verse 4:  "But God".  It says, "But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses made us alive together with Christ" and look where His transplanting took us:  raised up "in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus".

I felt a small degree of pleasure looking at my plants, but have a look at heaven's celebration over each new transplant.  Jesus told His followers that there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.  It doesn't say the angels have the joy, but that there is joy in their presence.  So it's our God, and our Jesus who are celebrating each time someone is transplanted into Their kingdom.

In the three parables of Luke 15, there is always joy when the lost is found.  The shepherd leaves his 99 sheep to go look for the one lonely, lost, frightened sheep, and "when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing."  The woman loses her valuable silver coin and searches through her whole house, but when she finds it, "she calls her friends and neighbours together, saying, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost!'"  And when the lost prodigal son comes home, his father, in his great joy, throws a big party to celebrate.

In fact, Jesus endured all that He went through because He was aware of the joy He saw coming as a result (Hebrews 12:2).   

There is joy at the time of our transplanting, but God continues to enjoy us as He looks at us decorating His kingdom.  Psalm 149:4 tells us "the LORD takes pleasure in His people" and Psalm 35:27 says, "Let the LORD be magnified, who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant".  (That's the "shalom" kind of prosperity, also translated as "well-being", "welfare" and "peace".)

Be aware, as you go about your day and as you settle down to sleep, that God has joy and delight because of you!  Know that you are His transplant, securely set into His kingdom!

Party Dress

 Karl is sort of an extra grandpa to a sweet, smiley little girl named Brynlee.  When we were in Michigan this spring, I was wandering around a Cracker Barrel and came across the cutest little dress that called out, "Buy me for Brynlee."  So I did, and we gave it to her for her 2nd birthday in June.  It was a big hit.  She wears it every chance she gets, stands in front of the mirror and turns this way and that way, and swishes the skirt around, and apparently loves it above everything else she owns.  She calls it her party dress.

God popped a little parable into my head about my "party dress".  He has given me some pretty exalted clothing.  Look at Isaiah 61.  In verse 4 we see part of our Saviour's mandate:  "to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness, that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD that He may be glorified."  And this is verse 10:  "I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridgroom decks himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels."   Imagine yourself wearing garments of praise and salvation, and the robe of righteousness.  Can you see it?  Look into the mirror and turn this way and that, admiring how God has adorned you.

After years of hearing messages about these gifts of heavenly clothing, after years even of teaching this to young adult Sunday school classes and Bible studies, why do I still keep my eyes on my personal faults and flaws and failings?  Why do I not revel in the clothing that God has provided for me?

In the prodigal son parable, the younger son spurns his father's love and care and provision, and demands his share of the inheritance, basically saying, "I can't wait until you're dead" to his father, and then foolishly blows all of that wealth with wild and wasteful living.  Finding himself in desperate straits, he decides to return home where he plans to earn what he needs by his own labours and efforts.  He plans to abase himself before his father and beg for this mercy, that he be allowed to serve for his keep.

The father will have none of it.  He doesn't even let the son finish his rehearsed speech before he is calling for the best robe, a ring and sandals.  He is making it clear to all that this is not a servant.  This is his son, and he wants to have him dressed with these indications of honour.

I can imagine that this son spent the rest of his life living an honourable life, not wanting to bring any further shame to the father who refused to condemn and punish him, but who showed him such love and grace.

In the natural, when we are wearing our very best clothes, we try not to get them dirty.  We don't go out and start making mud pies.

In the same way, when we recognize that we are clothed in garments of salvation and praise, and robes of righteousness, when we focus on how beautifully God has arrayed us, we naturally try not to make a mess.  As we focus on the fact that our pure and perfect, high and holy, righteous heavenly Father has washed us completely clean and covered us with these exquisite garments so that He looks at us and sees us blameless, righteous, and holy, we will not desire ugly, sinful ways of living.

Let's look into the mirror of His Word, and see what He says about us, and then not turn away and forget what was reflected there (James 1:24).  Let's keep our eyes on what Jesus accomplished for us at the cross instead of constantly looking at how we have messed up.  Then we will more effortlessly walk in that pure life we have been called to.  Keep your "party dress" in focus.

Hearing right

 I was reading Mark 5 today where we find the story of the woman who was bleeding for 12 whole years, with no recourse, no solution to her problem, even though she spent all of her money for medical advice.  It happened that "she heard about Jesus".  Do you wonder what she heard?  

Here's how Joseph Prince surmises it went:  "She had heard many wonderful stories of the carpenter from the little town of Nazareth.  How He walked all over Galilee teaching about a God whom He affectionately referred to as His 'Father'.  How He taught about the love of this Father-God.  How miracles were performed by His hands.  How He healed all who came to Him...Eyewitness accounts of meetings with this Man were told and retold in vivid detail:  how His eyes and voice carried such warmth, tenderness, and humility that even the despised tax collectors, unclean lepers, disdained criminals, and scorned prostitutes - in fact, all who usually hid in the shadows - would venture out to follow Him wherever He went...whatever she had heard about this Jesus imparted an audacious sense of Bible hope and confidence in her.  And this imbued her with a boldness and tenacity to risk everything just to touch the hem of His garment..." (The Power of Right Believing, pp 283, 286).

She was one of those outcasts who had to stay out of sight.  Her condition labeled her as "unclean" and no one was to touch her or anything that she touched.  But what she heard inspired her to believe that she could actually receive healing.  It gave her the courage to press through a throng, which would not have been at all easy for a frail, depleted woman.  It made her disregard the laws that threatened her with stoning for being in contact with all these "clean" people.  How convinced she had to have been!

The end result was that when she just touched the hem of His garment, she knew instantly that she was healed, that "the fountain of her blood was dried up".  What a glorious, exulting feeling! 

But, oh, no!  Jesus had stopped and turned and asked, "Who touched Me?"  Surely, He wouldn't chastise her for her boldness, her audacity in thinking that a miserable, wretched little nobody like her would dare to reach out like that and assume that even she could receive healing, would He?  Surely, she wouldn't have to be exposed for breaking the Old Testament laws and now be in danger of reprisal from the religious leaders, would she?

She, "fearing and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth".  In a society where women were of no value, Jesus responded to her by warmly referring to her as "daughter".  No rejection, no criticism, no displeasure.  He assured her "your faith has made you well.  Go in peace and be healed of your affliction."

Can you imagine the waves of relief, joy, gratitude that swept through her, the tears of humble thankfulness, the words of love and praise that spilled out of her?

The question I want to ask is, what have you heard about Jesus?  Is He some distant figure out of the past who has no significance in your life today?  Or do you recognize that He is the "same yesterday, today and forever"?  Still the same accepting, loving, caring, compassionate Saviour, still the same mighty healer and miracle worker?  That He has promised never, ever to leave or desert or forsake us?  That He sweeps us all in with the term "daughter" or "son"?

We come to the Father in the name of Jesus.  Jesus made it clear that He and His Father are One.  Come boldly to the throne of grace to obtain mercy and grace to help in every time of need (Hebrews 4:16).  Come and ask Him for the little details and also the big, bold, daring dreams in your life.  Go ahead and ask because He's waiting for you.  He loves when we depend on Him.  If sinful earthly parents know how to give good to their children, "how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!" (Matthew 7:11).

Open your ears to hear.  And receive bold, confident faith and hope.

My Will or His?

 Karl's former pastor at Stonewall New Life Church has been doing a series on the first chapters of Genesis, and we have been watching his messages on YouTube.  Recently, he focused on the first verse of chapter 3, "Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made..." Where did this serpent come from?

Pastor Rusty pointed out that the very first sin actually happened before Adam's, when one angel became discontented with his position and decided to choose his own will over God's.  

Read what is said about angels... "Bless the LORD, you His angels, who excel in strength, who do His word, heeding the voice of His word.  Bless the LORD, you ministers of His, who do His pleasure" (Psalm 103:20,21).  The writer of Hebrews says this about angels, "Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?" (1:14).  Angels are spirits created to praise God and do His will, which includes serving the heirs of God's salvation.  That's us!

But this is what is said about this one particular angel, named Lucifer, in Ezekiel 28:  "You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.  You were in Eden, the garden of God.  Every precious stone was your covering...You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you...You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, til iniquity was found in you" (28:12b,13a,14a,15).

But Lucifer, the "seal of perfection", the "anointed cherub", got tired of being subject to God and decided to rebel and do his own thing.  He has a series of "I will" declarations in which he states his intention to change his position from a servant of God's to lord:  he said in his heart "I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest side of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High" (Isaiah 14:13,14).

As a result, he was "fallen from heaven" and "cast down to the ground" (Isaiah 14:120, Ezekiel 28:17).    Jesus said, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven" (Luke 10:18).  A host of angels joined in his rebellion, one third of them, according to Revelation 12:4 and 9, and are now demons, doing his bidding here on earth.

Adam and Eve similarly sinned when they rejected a commandment of God's, and decided to follow their own will.  

In Revelation 12:9, Lucifer is now called the devil which means accuser and deceiver, and Satan which means adversary.  He has made it his business to cause all of us to serve our own wills and not God's.  We are born with this sin nature.  You can see in even very young children that they want their own way.  Satan's weapons are "wiles, schemes, strategies and deceits" (Ephesians 6:11 in various translations).    Notice 2 Corinthians 11:3:  "...as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ."  The battleground is in our minds.  His aim is to "steal, kill and destroy" (John 10:10). 

Satan even tempted Jesus to do His own thing.  Jesus declared a number of times that He did nothing of His own will, but only what the Father told Him to do (John 5:19 and 30, for example.)  Why would it have been so wrong for Jesus to "command these stones to be made bread" when He was hungry after 40 days of fasting?  For at least two reasons:  His Father hadn't told Him to, and it would have meant He would be obeying the devil.

What was Jesus' response to the temptations of Satan?  "It is written, it is written, it is written."

One of my personal battles is in the early-ish hours of the morning when I wake up and feel that my Saviour is inviting me to get up and join Him for some "us-time".  But my will says, "I want to sleep some more."  Sometimes I get up, and sometimes I don't.  It gets ugly now, to think that I am yielding to Satan's influence when I choose my own way,

We do face a true battle constantly, whether to obey God or ourselves.

But there is victory for us.  Pastor Rusty preached that we should be "aware and alert, but not afraid."  What recourse do we have when we are tempted?  The one weapon in the list of God's armour that is available for every one of us (Ephesians 6:10-18), is the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.  We too can resist Satan, using Scripture, especially Scripture that has become real and alive to us personally.

Jesus defeated our enemy: "Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in (the cross)" (Colossians 2:15).  He calls us more than conquerors (Romans 8:37).  When He said He saw Satan fall from heaven like lightning, He also told His followers, "Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy..." (Luke 10:19).  We have God's armour (Ephesians 6:10-18).  We have the Holy Spirit within.  When we invited Jesus to come live in our hearts, He moved in with all of His power and wisdom, and all of His other attributes.  We overcome because the One who lives in us is greater than the deceiver (1 John 4:4).  It is so empowering for us to focus on these truths.

James 4:7 says, "Resist the devil and he will flee from you."  This follows right after the first part of the verse:  "submit to God".  That's where the "I will" has to bow to His will.  While Satan's desire is to steal the truth from you so he can then kill and destroy, Jesus said He came so we could have and enjoy life, to the full until it overflows (John 10:10 Amplified version).  

Let's choose to submit to God and to do His will, using His word as our weapon.  Then we can enjoy His abundant life.

Free to Sin, or Free from Sin?

The teachings on God's grace, that He loves us no matter what, that we are no longer under the Law as taught in the Old Testament, can cause one to ask, "Then I can just go ahead and sin, and I will just be forgiven, right?"  Some sneeringly call this truth "hyper-grace".  They claim it provides a "licence to sin".  

Apparently, Paul was accused of teaching exactly this:  "...why not say, 'Let us do evil that good may come?' - as we are slanderously reported and as some affirm that we say" (Romans 3:8).  He returns to this subject several times.  As in Romans 6:1: "What shall we say then?  Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?  Certainly not!  How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?"  

Paul was very clear about not being under the Law, but he was also very aware of the power of sin to enslave.  He wrote, "All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful (or profitable).  All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any...all things are lawful for me, but not all things edify" (1 Corinthians 9:6:12 and 10:23), and "What then?  Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace?  Certainly not!  Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?" (Romans 6:15,16). 

Somewhere I heard a saying that goes something like this:  "Sin will take you farther than you wanted to go, keep you longer than you wanted to stay, and cost you more than you wanted to pay."  

Our little "Days of Praise" devotional from the Institute for Creation Research had a meditation on Samson several weeks ago.  I will quote some of that reading:  "Many Christians have fallen into sin through some Delilah, but probably many more have fallen into sin through pride, or covetousness, or compromise, or apathy."  It goes on to say that, firstly "sin blinds".  Apparently, Samson was blind to the possibility of his supernatural strength ever leaving him, and in the end the Philistines "put out his eyes" (Judges 16:21) and then he was also physically blind.  Secondly, "sin binds.  It may not be with chains, as with Samson, but unconfessed sin quickly enslaves its practitioners."  And, finally, "sin grinds.  Instead of the promised freedom from restraint, a sinful life soon becomes a 'grind', tedious and tasteless."  These three conditions are ever so clear in drug or alcohol or pornography addictions, but it is also true of our less apparent disobediences.  In the last paragraph of this meditation, we read,  "Samson did return to God again before his death, but he was still blind, and bound and grinding.  God forgives, but the effects of sin are not easily removed.  How much better it would be never to yield to the temptation at all."

It needs to be noted, though, that one of the purposes of grace, besides bringing salvation, is to teach us "that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works" (Titus 2:11-14).  Denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, living righteously, zealous for good works...how desirable!

Our "One Year Book of Psalms" deals with a psalm or part of a psalm every day, and most days a "notable quotable" is included.  Today's was "Sin finds its master in grace.  The big thing can be buried in the bigger thing.  And divine grace is the only bigger thing (bigger than sin) that can ever be found".  Being under law, and having fear of retribution and punishment as the only deterrent for sin can only go so far in restraining sin.  In fact, Paul states that "I would not have known sin except through the law...But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire.  For apart from the law sin was dead" (Romans 7:7,8).  And there are other similar references.

So it is the power of grace that teaches us to live in grateful obedience to the dear Lord who bought for us our salvation, our redemption and our freedom.  That includes freedom from the power of sin, quite the opposite of providing a licence to sin.  Grace is the one "bigger thing" that can consistently overcome the draw of temptation.

We can never focus too much on grace.