The Mystery of Salvation

Romans 10:9 “…if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”                                    

Ephesians 1:3-5 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,  just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will.”

Ephesians 2:8 “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”                       

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The Mystery of Salvation. At first glance, these scriptures appear at odds with one another. Yet when we consider the work of the Holy Spirit, His deliberate involvement in our lives before we have fully formed or have been fully informed, it makes sense – yet it is still a Divine mystery. John 16 tells us that the Helper, the Holy Spirit, will convict the world of sin and of righteousness, and that when He comes, He will guide those predestined by God into all truth, speaking on the authority of the Father. Through God the Holy Spirit’s work in us as the truth speaker, and the author of the gospel of our salvation, we are sanctified – set apart for God’s use. (2 Peter 1:21; John 17)

By God’s plan, the Holy Spirit convicts our hearts (that is, those who God has predestined for salvation) and makes us ready to receive the gospel of truth, the gospel of our salvation (Romans 1:16). And by His grace implants the seed of faith within us and moves in such a way that we can declare with our mouths, or the better word, confess with our mouths Christ as Savior and Lord, since we are regretting our sinful lives and desire to repent or turn around from that life. Part of the mystery is that with each individual who has been saved, there is a uniqueness in each instance of salvation. We don’t all experience that moment of salvation at the same age, in the same place or circumstance, etc. Salvation does not result from a confirmation or catechism class, or even a baptism, but by God’s will. Otherwise, it is a human intervention or effort -- not God -- doing the saving. And, yet, in His grace and goodness, He allows us to choose or affirm what He has worked in us. He allows us to covenant with Him. In the very best sense, we put ‘skin in the game’, that is, we surrender ourselves to His sovereignty and Lordship over us in our confession. We are allowed to make ourselves a living sacrifice to God, based on the work of the Cross – Christ’s sacrifice that covers us. (Romans 12:1; Ephesians 2:15-17)

The greatest mystery in salvation is that God has chosen us – as the Spirit has Paul write so well at Ephesians 2, we who “were dead in [our] transgressions and sins,  in which [we] used to live when [we] followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.  All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath.” I cannot comprehend that, but accept by faith what He has done in me, what He has done in all of us whom He has called. A great mystery, indeed.

God's Ultimate Blessing

What is the Ultimate Blessing of God? Many within and without Christianity surmise that such a blessing is riches, power, big houses and fleets of vehicles. Others say the ultimate blessing is nonstop good health, food and pleasure. 

A person viewing God’s ultimate blessing in those terms may be disappointed by Jesus’ statements at Matthew 5:1-12. There Jesus shows us that the ultimate blessing is about relationship with God.

In Psalm 24, David expresses his confidence in who God is and the ultimate blessing God imparts: an intimate relationship with Himself, the Most High God, Sovereign over all! That blessing comprises His saving grace, a right standing before Him, and His desire for us to live into His moral will. Ephesians describes that relationship with God as “in Christ;” in Him we are bathed in an outpouring of all spiritual blessings from His hand. (Ephesians 1) From those blessings come provision for all our needs. (Phil 4:19). 

In this ultimate blessing, we are drawn into His spiritual family and made joint heirs with Christ. We come to know God in that ultimate blessing as Father, and the more intimate Abba Father. Do we truly comprehend what God offers us – a blessing beyond anything we can ever imagine? (Ephesians 3:20-21; Colossians 1:9-14; 2:2) Too often, though, we short-shrift God’s blessing, His promised presence in our lives, because we don’t get what we want from Him. Brothers and sisters, God does not promise to satisfy our every fleshly desire and whim; His promise is to be always present with those who love Him, guiding us to His best for our lives. (Psalm 23; 139:1-6, 16-18)

As we live into God’s ultimate blessing, are we not filled with the desire to praise Him with our words and behavior, to be His living gospel, to not embarrass Him? We are His children, Christ’s siblings! Should we not pray and listen to Him, obey His Word? Jesus declares that obedience to God’s will and Word is the essence of worship. (John 14:15, 23-24) We are embraced in that relationship by the full Godhead, and there is nothing or no one – not even ourselves – that can separate us from that love. (John 10:28-29; Romans 8:35, 38-39) Are we living into God’s blessing? Do we understand that an intimate relationship with God and to glorify Him and enjoy Him forever is His greatest desire for us? Everything else flows from there. (Habakkuk 3:17-19; Philippians 4:4-7)

By contrast, the psalmist clearly admonishes in Psalm 24 that those who reject the LORD as Sovereign, and pursue a lifestyle contrary to His moral law, cannot enjoy that ultimate blessing of intimacy with Him. Let us never spurn God’s ultimate blessing, but continually seek His presence and learn His will! (Hebrews 6:1-6; Isaiah 44:22; 55:7; Psalm 32; Ephesians1:17-19)

Patient Waiting

Living our Faith

Ours is an ‘instant everything’ culture, where patient waiting is a challenge even for Christians. Psalm 130 and Mark 5 intentionally offer us a stark contrast. 

Stepping into those readings, we first witness the incessant striving of the people – the psalmist cries out to God repeatedly from the depths of his soul; the synagogue leader and the woman with the chronic illness have both been praying for what seems like an eternity for healing. Then we note that the psalmist has learned to wait for the LORD, the Sovereign God, the Living God, in whose hands is all of time. He finds deepening trust and hope in God’s word of promise, and profound grace, mercy and forgiveness. The synagogue leader Jairus in the Mark passage has by career and heredity known of God, prayed to God the regular prayers of his people, however, in this season his prayer life changes. His relationship with Yahweh in this time of waiting on His mercy has grown more personal because of his daughter’s illness (do you think Psalm 130 was a continual prayer for him?). The woman in the Mark passage has endured a devastating illness that her culture and the law exacerbates so that she is forced to live in the shadows, to abandon meaningful relationships, and is bankrupted by medical bills. She awaits God’s healing, doing all the law allows, crying out to Yahweh incessantly for twelve lonely, painful years. God answers both of their prayers in an unexpected, personal way in Jesus. 

At the beginning of Mark 5, Jesus’ healing of a demoniac initiates a groundswell of proclaiming of the Gospel throughout the region by those who witnessed the miraculous healing  – the telling of the good news of God coming to His people. Jairus and the woman hear about what Jesus has done and believe He is the answer God has sent in response to their pleadings. For Jairus his seeking Jesus could mean a loss of job and reputation, but he knows doing nothing could cost him more. His faith pushes him to boldly go to Jesus and fall at his feet, seeking mercy and redemption. The woman knowing that her willful violation of the law could cost her her life, nevertheless walks stealthily in faith for just a touch from Jesus. And look how Jesus uniquely answers each one! 

Can't you feel the woman’s fear, then divine joy, as Jesus restores her publicly, Jesus who has seen and known her true value to the Father and by grace and in mercy forgives and redeems her life? Can't you feel Jairus’ complex emotions as he hears his daughter has died, but is immediately reassured by the same Jesus who redeemed the woman known throughout the community as a lost cause? Can't you feel your heart pound as you walk into his house where his dear child is laid out in death until that same Jesus calls her back to life right before your eyes? 

Had both Jairus and the woman not waited in faith, would they have experienced these outcomes? As the psalmist explains, their waiting was purposeful. The waiting on the God of all Creation, the anticipation that He would act based on His word, was an opportunity for each of them to grow in faith and trust. They could see with eyes of faith God’s answer was certain in Christ, and found not just physical restoration, but a divine revelation of God himself and an eternal blessing. What blessings have we missed because of impatience? What if we see waiting as an opportunity to trust our Sovereign God, to let Him use our seasons of waiting to uniquely act in our lives to push our faith forward?

How Precious is Our Faith

The season of gift-giving is once again here. We will be givers and receivers of gifts that may or may not have much value, or, which may have been pricey. Yet, how dear, how precious will any of those gifts be even six months from now?

There is a gift that children of God receive that will grow greater in value throughout all eternity - that is the gift of faith. Yes, faith in God and His promises is a gift that the world cannot receive, but which is granted to those who are called by God. Note how God conveys this in Ephesians chapter 2. After describing in the opening verses our pitiful state, and what it means to be spiritually dead, He contrasts that death with spiritual life in Christ. In verse eight, we read: "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not of your own doing [we didn't develop faith on our own and suddenly recognized God]; it is the gift of God-- (NRSV)". In the letter to the Hebrews we are reminded that "Jesus [is] the author and finisher of our faith... (chapter 12,, vs. 2a-NKJV)". God gives us faith so that we can please Him in our worship, for without the faith that God gives, our worship is in vain. (see Hebrews 11:6). God gives us faith so that we can acquire peace with Him through forgiveness of our condemnation of sin. (Romans 5:1)

God intends that we be good stewards of the gift of faith through nurturing it, and growing up into Christ. (see Colossians 2:6-7; Philippians 2:12-17; 2 Timothy 3:14-17; Jude 1:20-21) When we truly understand faith as a gift of God - a grace unique to those who have been called by Him, when we know and comprehend in the deepest part of our souls what it took for this gift to be purchased for us, perhaps, in all graciousness of God, we may fully understand this gift's value, its wrappings and presentation. Read in God's word through Peter in his second letter, at chapter 1, beginning at verse 1, "Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ: 2) Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, 3) as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, 4) by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 5) But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, 6) to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, 7) to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. 8) For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9) For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. 10) Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; 11) for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." (NKJV)

When we consider the grace through faith that God has given us at such great cost, in such unperishable and beautiful wrappings, we will be able to sing with all conviction the words in the favorite hymn, Amazing Grace, "Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me...how precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed...tis grace that brought safe thus far, and grace will lead me home." Let us each ask ourselves honestly, "how precious is my faith, my undeserved gift from God?"

From the Handbook for Successful Living

Dear Friends,

                           Psalm 119:9-16 

I read today a devotion that cited the passage above, and wanted to take the thought and share with the group here.

When my children were growing up, like any other children they liked testing their limits, aka ‘exploring’ to a little child. The whole sensory thing – touching, seeing, tasting, hearing, etc. – is a vital part of a young child’s growth. However, as a parent, I knew that there were things that the children should not experience – things that could prove harmful (even back then there was a movement to give children free rein of their lives – to be ‘free range children,’ which I did not subscribe to!). Harmful things like going under the sink where cleaning products were kept. Touching the stove or fiddling with the knobs. Playing too close to the stairs. And for loving parents the list goes on. I recall only once when I had to truly demonstrate to my children the consequences of a hot stove, which lesson proved beneficial because they never fiddled with a stove again until they were old enough to safely cook – that is another story! I placed physical barriers to certain areas of our home – like guardrails – that were designed as warnings and security tools to keep the children from danger and the very unpleasant consequences of fiddling with things that could damage them. As a parent, being the ‘police’ was exhausting, was not fun, nor was it always a popular thing to do; however, because I love my children, I knew I had to do those things to ensure their safety and protect their lives.

Why, then, do we sometimes expect God to be any different from a loving parent, or would even want Him to be? After all, He is the one who created the capacity for parenthood, and provided the template and instructions. As a loving Parent, He’s not just a provider. Our Father Who Art in Heaven knows all things about us – He can see from the beginning to end and beyond in our lives. He knows every millisecond about us. He knows our needs better than our own human parents. He knows what will make a mess of our lives, what decisions will have never-ending consequences, what impact the things we see and hear will have on us, what impact the people we hang around will have on us, and even knows the number of hairs on our head that we will ever have in this life. (see also Psalm 103:8-19; Psalm 121:8 in conjunction with Deuteronomy 6:24-25 and Jeremiah 29:11-13; Isaiah 55:6-11; Matthew 10:29-31) He has given us the Handbook for Successful Living for this life and beyond. This Handbook, God’s Word the Bible, sets forth guardrails for our success and protection, and like toddlers, we sometimes try to get over them, stamp our feet in defiance, or have a tantrum because we think those guardrails are preventing us from enjoying something good or fun, or popular. When we ignore those guardrails, those protections and guides that God Who Knows All Things has put in place for us – His children – we get into trouble; unfortunately, some of the consequences can last a lifetime, or result in irreparable harm or even death. (compare Galatians 6:7-10)

Please know that when I speak about these things, I’m not talking from a viewpoint of a Pollyanna or as someone just repeating what I have heard. I have seen the ‘back alleys’, and I know the consequences of going against God’s successful way – and please believe me when I say, as the Galatians universal warning above states, the resulting consequences of going against God is no respecter of persons. That is, yes – if you choose to not follow God’s provisions for a successful life, you will have consequences. There are no Teflon people or exceptions to the Galatians rule – none! And I repeat – there are no exceptions. Not even for ‘smart’ persons, church-going persons, or really nice persons. God illustrates that over and over again in His Word as a warning for us. Even His most devoted servant and child David – the same David who believed God and slew the giant, proved that rule to be true: when David chose a course of behavior that rebelled against God’s successful guide for his life – i.e., he ignored, did not find applicable to him – God’s successful guide for sex, David suffered irreparable and devastating damage affecting his family, and his kingdom that he never fully recovered from. Even though God forgave David of his rebellion, David still had to face the very sad consequences of his bad choices; the universal rule did not skip over him. So please, take God’s provisions at Psalm 119 above (and the other scriptures) as His expression of His love for you, instead of something depriving us of fun, or denying us of something that we think feels good, looks good, and that we cannot do without.

 

Oh, what a sad day it is when a person looks back on his or her life and knows that rebelling against God resulted in a life-long difficulty – one that God had wished for us to avoid, and one that grieved Him because He knew the pain and complications we would face. The God Who Sees All Things knew the path our choice would take us – one that caused us great heartache and difficulty. But what rejoicing to know that God forgives us through the blood of Christ, and that because He is the All Powerful God He can use the painful consequence of our bad choice and thoughts, when you and I have repented, to bring about something good! (compare Romans 8:28-39) [Because the Bible is written for each of us, one way to ‘get it’ is by adding our name in place of the first-person pronoun or where the text is being directed generically to a person or persons.]  

May “all these blessings come upon you and overtake you if you obey the Lord your God…”; “the Lord bless you, and keep you; the Lord make His face shine on you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up His countenance on you, and give you peace.” (Deuteronomy 28:2; Numbers 6:24-26) – hugs. ms jo

 

Living Trophies

When I was in my early 30s, my friend and I signed up for a tae kwon do class. Little did we know how much we would enjoy it, and also be extremely challenged by it, and grow in confidence and in skills we did not realize we had. As the only two females in the class, we made every effort to keep up with the guys and were successful. Plus, we were two of the oldest members, which presented its own challenges. Yet, despite these and other ‘handicaps’, we worked very hard to accomplish our goals of reaching the black belt level. Part of the opportunities along the way included entering tournaments where we competed in forms and sparring contests. I am pleased to say that most times we took home trophies and medals – testaments to our hard, focused training and discipline.

In an excerpt from our dear brother Oswald Chambers’ My Utmost for His Highest, regarding the cross in prayer, he notes that the true meaning of the ‘cross’ – what it truly represents – is  ‘complete, entire, absolute identification with the Lord Jesus Christ— and there is nothing in which this identification is more real to us than in prayer.’ He goes on to relate that ‘our spiritual irritation [with what we sense as unanswered prayer] shows our refusal to identify ourselves truly with our Lord in prayer. We are not here to prove that God answers prayer, but to be living trophies of God’s grace.’ [emphasis added]

We who are saved through the blood of Jesus on the cross, and in whom the Holy Spirit dwells, are beholden to God to yield ourselves fully, to allow Jesus’ life to be lived through us, to be walking Gospels (Romans 16:25; 1 Corinthians 9:23). To be truly united to and in union with Christ – being in Christ – is living yielded (a life-long disciplined journey), focusing on the cross and He who placed Christ on it (Hebrews 12:1-2), joining in prayer with Christ to the Father (John 16:26-27), growing in an intimate relationship with God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit (Galatians2:20), learning how to identify His voice and promptings. 

When we strive to do so, when our wills submit to God’s will for us (Luke 22:42; Philippians 2:5-8), we become living trophies of grace that God can use to show the world His love, His offer of forgiveness through the acceptance of the sacrifice of Christ for us, His holiness, all of which reflect His Grace and mercy. As living trophies, we are God's handiwork, His evidence of His salvific work in us, and His visible prize to a world that is in desperate need of God. (compare 1 Corinthians 9:24; Philippians 3:14; 2 Corinthians 3:1-3) 

The trophies and rewards I won during my years in martial arts are packed away somewhere or hanging out of the way - I'd need to give locating most of them a lot of thought. I don't wear them or display them as part of my day-in day-out attire - unless I tell someone I am a black belt it is a secret. As living trophies of an Almighty God, our presence and interaction with others speaks in volumes,  As Paul wrote the Corinthians (recorded in the second letter, chapter 3), let this be true of our trophy ministry: "You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men; being manifested that you are a letter of Christ, cared for by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts."

We are compelled, then, to ask ourselves, do others see us as God’s trophies of grace? Take it to the Lord in prayer!

What's Wrong?

A woman arrives in the emergency room of the hospital in pain and distress. "What's wrong?" asks the technician or nurse on duty. "Pain - head - severe" are all that the woman can say in response. Immediately she's taken into the examination room and given a barrage of tests, various pain medications, etc. Hours later, she is still in acute pain in her head, neck, and elsewhere. The medical staff had been able to treat some of the symptoms, but could not identify the underlying problem. I continually ask blessings for medical staff who have such dilemmas day in and day out. Their hearts want to help, but often they have to work in the 'dark' to address what is really wrong.

So, what's wrong with us? What is wrong generally with all of us - whether in a medical emergency or not - is a problem that cannot be alleviated by intravenous chemical treatments or other less/more invasive procedures. We are in the 'dark' as we try to treat the problem in our own knowledge and efforts. What is wrong with us is our sin nature - the defective DNA, for lack of a better term, passed onto humanity by our first parents Adam and Eve. Their decision to live their lives independent of God's rule cast their offspring into a condition that they could not deliver themselves from. Every human ever born - save for one - inherited this condition that doesn't just cause physical problems, but also affects how our emotions work, impairs our psyches, has even brought disruption and imbalance to the rest of creation. How else can you explain the devastations of natural disasters that increasingly worsen? How else can you explain the devastations of man's inhumanity to his fellow man - holocausts and reigns of terror, mass destruction, indescribable depravity? There is no other causative but sin.

Sin - rebellion against God and His laws and principles - has supernatural implications. That is, there is more to it than meets the eye; more than an 'act'. It is ingrained, insinuated, pressed into our nature and natural bodies and cannot be excised out; our bodies are imperfect and subject to disease, psychoses, and other problems. Inexplicable things. We are born in sin and even our hearts are opposed to God from birth. God sees the condition as spiritual death - a separation between us and Him. Living in a spiritual darkness. Spiritually dead people cannot receive God naturally. There is nothing we can do in and of ourselves to cross that chasm. No religious professional can rectify the condition nor can anything a religious professional does - regardless of the religion - make it possible to become spiritually alive in God's sight. Nothing. So, what can be done?

What can be done has been done. Since it is God's law and sovereignty in question by Adam and Eve's rejection and hence the subsequent dilemma we are in, it would have to be God's act of resolution to the problem that must take place. (John 3:16-18; 1 John 4:8-10; 1 Corinthians 15:2-4; Galatians 1:4; Ephesians 2:1-10) Only God can fix what's wrong with us. And we must respond to his question, "what's wrong?" with the admission that what is truly wrong with us is our rejection of His Son - the only means through which we can truly be healed.