Jesus

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GOD’S INVITATION

(Jeremiah 29:12&13) Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.  You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

The world is inundated with theories, religious ideas, and deceptions concerning God.    From denying God’s existence to religious fanaticism, the topic of a god or gods has been with us since the beginning.  All of us have chosen to be aligned with one or more opinions about God. 

The Bible contains many invitations from God for us to find him.  Is he real, does he care about us, can we really know him?  He makes it clear that if we respond to his invitation, we won’t be disappointed.  We will find the answer to our questions.

Think of seeking God as a great adventure.  He has a kingdom filled with wonderful treasures that can be yours.  Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls.  When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it (see Matthew 13:45&46).”  In this world we seek out many things, but God and his kingdom is the greatest find and worthy of giving up everything else.

As I write this blog post, I do it with full confidence shored up by more than forty years of walking with our loving God.  If you seek him with all your heart, you will find him.  He wants us to come to him; he desires a relationship with all of us. 

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QUESTIONING GOD’S LOVE

(John 3:16) For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

As the principal of a Christian school, I often had the opportunity to meet with parents.  One particular meeting I have never forgotten.  The meeting was with a mother who was distressed over her child, her financial situation, and other family difficulties.  In the course of sharing her trials, she made the statement that she and her son had been discussing whether God still loved them.  I responded to that statement by saying that we could never doubt God’s love because of the cross.  It was apparent right away that my response had impacted her, yet I was equally impacted by these words.   It was as if a third party had intervened and spoken to us.  That is why this meeting among the many others has remained prominent in my memory.

Questioning God’s love for us during times of testing is a very human thing to do.  When times are hard and trials are many, we may feel alone and unloved.  However, the question of whether he loves us was indeed answered by Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross.    Jesus himself said, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13).  God has demonstrated in an undeniable way his love for us.  Even in our darkest hour, this light of truth shines through.  “God loves you” is not just a tired cliché but an eternal truth.

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HUMBLENESS, AN ATTRIBUTE OF GOD

One of my favorite scripture passages is Matthew 11:28-30.  In this passage Jesus refers to himself as “gentle and humble in heart”.  Doesn’t gentle and humble sound safe.  I am drawn to him when I think of him being gentle and humble.  Paul supports Jesus’ statement that he is humble with this declaration in Philippians 2:6-8,

Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking on the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.  And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross!

Jesus not only declared himself humble, but he unequivocally demonstrates his humble nature on the cross.  When you think of God, do you think of him as humble?  That’s not my first thought when I think of God, but he truly is humble.  So, what is humble? In all the definitions of humble, I find that not putting yourself first seems to clarify its meaning.  Jesus did not put himself first.  He put our needs ahead of his.

Adam and Eve were humble because they were created in the image of God.  They lost this attribute as a result of the fall.  They then became self concerned.  At the start of Philippians chapter 2 Paul is exhorting us to return to being humble.  He tells us, (Philippians 2:3-4) “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.  Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.”  He follows this with the scriptural illustration in Philippians 2:6-8 of Christ’s humility.

In our desire to be more like Jesus, humbleness should be near the top of the list.  As I looked at this attribute of God, I had to ask myself, am I gentle and humble in heart?  Am I safe for others? 

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NO GRUMBLING OR ARGUING

(Philippians 2:14-16)  Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may be blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation (see Deuteronomy 32:5).”  Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life…

I’m not a person who likes to argue, but I can sure grumble at times.  Unfortunately, grumbling often causes me to wind up in an argument.   You’d think I’d learn.  As an older man, I find that there’s a lot to grumble about.  Tiredness, pain, and deteriorating senses can open a lot of doors for grumping.

In verses 3 and 4 of Philippians chapter 2, Paul tells us how to avoid succumbing to the temptation to grumble and argue.    “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit.  Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”  Paul then continues by reminding us that Jesus lived out the example of looking to the interests of others.

I find when I get all about myself that the tiredness increases, the pain is more intense, and my diminishing ability to hear and see is depressing.  When I’m looking to others, I’m less tired, the pain is not so obvious, and my sensory deficits become comedy relief.  I’m always amazed how this changing of perspective, seeing things the way Jesus does, produces greater blessing and makes me a nicer person.

In light of what Jesus did for us, and his command to love one another, I find that I have great incentive to take Paul’s admonition seriously.   After all, I am a child of God.  Grumbling and arguing makes me a dark cloud.  I’d rather be a shining star.

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LEAVING THE MISERY AND FINDING NEW LIFE

(Psalm 116: 1-9)  I love the Lord because he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy.  Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live.  The cords of death entangled me, the anguish of the grave came over me; I was overcome by distress and sorrow.  Then I called on the name of the Lord: “Lord, save me!”  The Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion.  The Lord protects the unwary; when I was brought low, He saved me.  Return to your rest, my soul, for the Lord has been good to you.  For you, Lord, have delivered me from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before the Lord in the land of the living.

Anyone who has received Jesus, and the work he did for us on the cross, is familiar with the process that these verses convey.  It begins when we come to the end of ourselves and cry out to the Lord.  And, often to our amazement, he answers us.  Thus begins the new life we didn’t even know existed.

This new life affords us rest for our souls, and we begin to recognize God’s goodness.  We see his provision in our lives, his protection, and his peace and comfort.  We begin to rely on him which is what he wants for us.  A loving relationship begins to develop between us and our creator.  The new life has its trials and troubles, but we never again have to face them alone.  The new life runs amazingly better than the old life, and the real advantage is that it lasts forever.

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RECONCILIATION

[The restoration of friendship and fellowship after estrangement]

(Luke 15:6&7) “…..Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says. ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’  I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.”

A couple of days ago, I was sitting with my wife in the afternoon watching a Hallmark movie.  The story was about a young lady who had obsessively followed after her career forsaking her high school best friend and high school boy friend.  Years after high school, she returned to her home town.  As the story progressed, she came to recognize her failures regarding her friends. Through repentance and apologies her high school friends forgave her.  So the story ended with the restoration of friendship and fellowship after a period of estrangement.

Why am I sharing my reaction to this story?  At the end of the story, I was quite emotional.  Sometimes this is attributed to me being a male over fifty; however, the emotions were real even though I was watching actors in a movie.  It seems to me that humans love to see an act of reconciliation.  I certainly do.  I experience joy and gladness when people overcome their differences and are reunited.

Take for example the feelings you experience when you lead someone in a sinners prayer.  The few times I have had the opportunity to lead someone to the Lord, I experienced joy, gladness, and even elation when they received Jesus.  I was sharing in a person’s reconciliation with their creator.  An amazing and wonderful event was taking place.

Our scripture from Luke is part of Jesus’ parable about the Lost Sheep. He points out that in heaven there is an emotional, joyful response to a person’s reconciliation with the Father.  God loves his children, and for each of us isn’t it wonderful to know that on our day of salvation all heaven rejoiced at our reconciliation.

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PAUL’S PRAYER FOR THE COLOSSIANS

(Colossians 1:9-14)  For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you.  We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light.

Paul wrote this prayer for the Colossians to encourage them as a new and growing church.  His prayer is powerful, and it covers important parts of what it means to be a Christian.  In it he covers a comprehensive list for spiritual growth to facilitate the development of a Christian’s relationship to God our Father.

I’ve been involved with church leadership for many years.  Enthusiastic leaders have a tendency to focus on what they are going to do for God rather than seeking God’s will for their ministry.  Paul wisely defines the proper order by continually asking God to fill the Colossians with the knowledge of his will.  He follows with clarifying how this is accomplished, “Through all wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives.”  The Holy Spirit will lead them into knowing God’s will.  By doing this they will be enabled to, “Live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way.”  Paul then lists the ways they will please the Lord.

Knowing God’s directions will cause them to bear fruit in every good work.  Jesus reminded his disciples “apart from me you can do nothing” (see John 15:5).  They will also, “grow in the knowledge of God, and be strengthened with all power according to his glorious might.”  This will lead them to have great endurance and patience.  As they pursue this growth in the Lord and see his hand in their lives, they will be moved to give joyful thanks to the Father.

What an abundant prayer beneficial for all of God’s people.  I pray this prayer for my church leaders, but I also pray it for every one of my brothers and sisters in the Lord.  The Apostle Paul, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, has provided great words of wisdom for the followers of Jesus Christ in all his letters.  I love to share his words.  For those of you who read this blog, it is from my heart that I share this prayer with you.

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GOD’S HEART FOR EVERYONE

(1 Timothy 2:3-6 NLT)  This is good and pleases God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth.  For, there is one God and one mediator who can reconcile God and humanity – the man Christ Jesus.  He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone.

God wants everyone to be saved – everyone to have the freedom Christ Jesus purchased for them.  Everyone is an all-inclusive term.  All of humanity has been covered. This is God’s heart for everyone.  We have an open invitation to turn to our creator and to enter his loving embrace as he welcomes us into his eternal kingdom.  Mankind has been given a choice, shall we continue to walk blindly into our future or turn to God?

My wife and I have a new puppy that is just about to turn ten weeks old.  She is delightful and fluffy, and she keeps us entertained with her antics.   Her name is Pearl, and she is what they call a golden doodle, a mix of golden retriever and standard poodle. In the two weeks she has been with us, we have fallen quite in love with this little creature.  Of course, she is a puppy.  Training, cleaning up messes and loud noises in the middle of the night are challenges we face with this lovely addition to our daily lives.  When I say training, I refer to her training us as well as us training her.

The other evening, while my wife was gone to a women’s meeting, Pearl and I were lounging on the back patio.  I was reading and she was chewing.  She came over to me for some pets, and I decided to bring her up to my lap.  To my surprise, she jumped out of my lap onto the concrete floor and landed awkwardly banging her head.  I was very concerned that she might be seriously hurt, but she was okay. 

Since I was in the groove of studying for what to write this week, it dawned on me that this incident had parallels to what I was planning to write about.  God’s desire is for us to come to him, and receive his peace and comfort, but often we go our own way.  We jump right out of his arms and wind up hurting ourselves.  Pearl looked up at me from her fall with an accusatory look, like it was my fault that she got hurt jumping out of my lap.  It’s amazing how often we look back and blame God for our self-imposed hurts.

God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, has offered us the opportunity to put our trust in him and walk in his way.  Everyone has this offer before them.  Should we receive his gift and stay in the comfort of his lap, or should we jump off and go our own way?  It’s our choice.

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BEING HONEST WITH GOD

(1 John 1:8-10)If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.  If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.

Being truthful before God should be the easiest communication of all.  As I wrote about last week, God knows every detail of what happens on the earth.  So we can’t hide anything from God, for he already knows the truth about what we have done.  But when we go before him, he wants to hear the truth from us.  The above scripture points out the results of truthfulness before God.  “He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins.”   And then he will, “purify us from all unrighteousness.”

God is faithful, just, and he loves his children.  Our Easter celebration was for celebrating what he was willing to do to make our forgiveness possible.  His only begotten son was crucified on the cross to pay the price for our sins showing God’s love for us.  Now the door is opened for our return to fellowship with God our father.  Not only are our sins forgiven, but Jesus rose from the dead – demonstrating the eternal life that he bought for us. 

Our relationship with God is safe.  We can trust him with our deepest secrets.  He is merciful, forgiving, and kind.  His love for us is undeniable.  Can we be honest with God?  No one else deserves our honesty more. 

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THE MIND OF GOD     

(Romans 11:33&34) Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!  How unsearchable his judgements, and his paths beyond tracing out!  “Who has known the mind of the Lord?  Or who has been his counselor?”

At times I read a familiar scripture, and I have this thought, “Nothing is hidden from God.”  For instance: (Matthew 10:29&30) Jesus says, “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?  Yet not one of them will fall to the ground without the Father’s knowledge.  And even the very hairs on your head are all numbered.”  The depth of God’s awareness of what happens on the earth is staggering.  The mind of God is incomprehensible.

In Matthew 17:24-27 we read:

“After Jesus and his disciples arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two drachma temple tax came to Peter and asked,” Doesn’t you teacher pay the temple tax?”

“Yes he does,” he replied.

When Peter came into the house, Jesus was the first to speak.  “What do you think, Simon?” he asked.  “From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes –from their own children or from others?”

“From others,” Peter answered.

“Then the children are exempt,” Jesus said to him.  “But so that we may not cause offense, go to the lake and throw out your line.  Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin.  Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.”  How did Jesus know what the tax collector said to Peter, and how did he know that there was a coin in the mouth of the first fish Peter would catch? 

Another of these “how did Jesus know” scriptures is when Jesus said to the disciples there is a donkey colt that has not been ridden tied to a post in a nearby town (see Matthew 21:1-3). 

There are many accounts in the Gospels of what Jesus did, and what he knew. These accounts assure us that he is God, but he also revealed to us that no detail of what happens on the earth is unknown to God.  If you think about it, there is great comfort in this revelation, because there is no need for us to hide anything from God.  He already knows.  There is also great comfort in knowing he loves us, and through the sacrifice of Jesus, our sins are forgiven and forgotten.  So our relationship with God is secure in knowing that his mind far surpasses our understanding, and his thoughts are greater than anything we can imagine.