Salvation

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THE KINGDOM OF GOD

I have recently been wondering about the kingdom of God. The many complex teachings on the subject have left me a little confused, but I have often felt that the idea is not really that complicated.  My basic thought is that the kingdom of God is simply the kingdom over which God rules, and if you think about it, that is everywhere, for all time, in both the physical and the spiritual realms.   God created it all, and he is, therefore, sovereign over it all.

When I shared this with my pastor, he recommended the below referenced book by George Eldon Ladd*.  This in-depth analysis of the kingdom of God expanded my thoughts and broadened my perspective.  I will be sharing insights in future posts as I study this book.

For today, I want to share this introductory thought.  I believe the kingdom of God is present right here among us, and Jesus gave us access when he went to the cross. Through his death and resurrection, those who receive him as their savior are then ushered into God’s kingdom.  We, the redeemed, now exist in the eternal kingdom of God.  We still exist in this world but, we are in this world not of this world.  Our eternal life has already begun.

 

*The Gospel of the Kingdom of God, George Eldon Ladd, Martino Publishing 2011

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HOW CAN I REPAY THE LORD?

Psalm 116:8-11 reads:  For you, O Lord, have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before the Lord in the land of the living. 

When I was young I learned about the Lord in Sunday school.  I even went to church.  However, my daily life was on me, and I didn’t think much about the Lord during the week.  Then divorce came into my life.  On my own, I tried to fix the emotional distress of this tragedy.   I floundered in a cavern of unsuccessfulness.  Finally, I came to the end of myself and called on the name of the Lord.  He was right there to help.

Jesus delivered my soul from anguish, my eyes from tears, and he gave me direction for my life.  Jesus gave my life purpose, and I stopped randomly stumbling through life.  Overnight, life completely changed.  I felt alive again as I started my new life walking with him.  In his mercy and grace, Jesus was very good to me.

“How can I repay the Lord for all his goodness to me?” asked the Psalmist in verse 12.  He shared his answer in verses 13 and 14.  “I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord.  I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of his people.”  To me this means I will praise the Lord for the salvation he purchased for me.  And, as I have vowed, I will continue to serve the Lord for the rest of my life.  This I will do in the presence of his people.  Gratitude and faithfulness will be the hallmark of my existence.

If you haven’t found the mercy and grace of Jesus just call on the name of the Lord.  He will answer you.

Repost from August of 2016.

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NOT MY WILL BUT YOUR WILL

Jesus taught us to pray, “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

There are two wills at work here in creation, God’s will and man’s will.  God’s will is that there would be harmony in his creation, that we would love one another.  Man’s will has brought about what we experience daily.  We are subject to man’s will because God gave us free will.  We each one get to choose.  The ultimate goal is that we would, of our own free will, choose God’s will. 

In Matthew 23:37 Jesus says, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.” 

I am in tears as I hear the heart of God in these words.  How much the words, “but you were not willing,” sting my heart.

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ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE

My wife and I recently went to see the movie “The Shack”.  One of the stirring elements of The Shack is that it gives us insight into how God views his world.  Like many we had read through the book twice and were apprehensive about what the movie might do with William P. Young’s beloved novel.  The movie was a refreshing delight.  Directed by Stuart Hazeldine with the screenplay written by John Fusco, the movie omitted very little of the original story.  We both felt that the movie shared the full impact of the book’s message.

Important topics that The Shack explores are why suffering and evil happen in God’s world, and the roll repentance and forgiveness play in dealing with them.  The familiar question, why does God allow such atrocities, can be answered as we delve into what Young was tells us. God allows this because he loves us, all.  There will be a final judgement, but God is patient giving everyone the chance to repent.

From the scriptures the Apostle Peter shares in 2 Peter 3:8-9 an acumen that correlates with this insight:

But do not forget this one thing, dear friends:  With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years is like a day.  The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness.  He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

God’s perspective is always guided by love, his love for all mankind.  He is love!

As Easter Week approaches, see the movie, kneel at the cross, and take some time to bask in his love.  Writing this has stirred me to remember how deeply God loves us, how he is no stranger to suffering himself, and how much he has given for our redemption.

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WE ARE ALL WINNERS

The idea of winners and losers comes about because we humans operate in pride and self-preservation.  Pride and self-preservation put us at odds with each other.  Whether it’s a friendly game or an all-out war, we oppose our fellows.  The end result is a selection of winners and losers.  There is only one force that moves us beyond the pride and self-preservation mode.  That force produces all winners.

Now ask yourself, what would motivate me to lay down my pride and self-preservation?  What would get me to the place where I didn’t care about what I had to do or about what others thought?  What would cause me to give my life away?  Wouldn’t you agree that the answer is love?  I would throw myself in front of a bus to save my wife, or my children, or my grandchildren.  I believe I would even do the same for my students.  Why, because I love them.

Guess where we find the greatest demonstration of giving up your pride and laying down your life for others.  Yes, Jesus on the cross is the answer. When the one through whom all things were created humbled himself and gave up his life, everybody became winners.  Everyone is offered eternal life.  He saved us all because he loves us.

The challenge of the cross is before us.  Will we surrender our pride and lay down our lives for others?  Will we choose to love?  Will we help others to know the good news that they are winners?

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WHAT SINS?

The other evening I was driving home from work feeling tired but happy.  The next thing you know, I began thinking about a past sin – one that brings me deep regret.  My good mood was being dashed.  Suddenly, I remembered that this sin has been forgiven and forgotten by God.  It is in the past, and I’ve surrendered it at the foot of the cross.  I have been set free by the blood of Jesus.  Dwelling on past iniquities produces nothing good.

Others might want to condemn me for past sins, but God doesn’t.  He forgave me.  I am reminded of what King David said in Psalm 51:4 “Against you, you only, have I sinned…”  Ultimately, though my sins have injured others, my sins are against my Father who is ruler of heaven and earth.  With love, he overcame the sentence of death that I earned by sinning.  He gave his one and only Son to pay for my sins.  This has been done.  Jesus said, “It is finished” (John 19:30).

So why am I still haunted by sins that God has forgiven?  I seem to hold on to my guilt.  Perhaps my self-depended nature won’t let me forgive myself.  Maybe those sins that I think I’ve surrender at the foot of the cross weren’t really surrendered.  A touch of eternal reality might be needed here.  Psalm 103:11-12 reminds, For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

Since God has forgiven and forgotten my sins, and he has set me free from the law of sin and death, the appropriate response would be to discontinue wallowing in them.  What good is freedom if I keep returning to the bondage from which I’ve been freed?

So I exclaim, “What sins?”

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THE GREATEST FORCE

Love is the greatest force in the universe.  The Bible tells us that God, the creator, is love (1 John 4:16).   The world and all that is in it was created in love.  It was love demonstrated by Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross that brought us salvation.  The redemption of mankind was accomplished by His great act of love.  In love then there is sacrifice.  As Jesus exhibited, love requires the laying down of personal wants and desires for others, or maybe just redirecting our personal wants and desires to others.  Jesus told us in Matthew 22:37-39, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.”

We obviously have the right to use love, and we are commanded to use it.  First we are to love our God, and second to love our neighbor.  Our neighbor being anyone we encounter.

We have access to the greatest power in the universe!  How amazing is that?  Why aren’t we using this great power?  Oh, it requires sacrificing our own wants and desires.  Bingo!  The whole world could be changed by this great force that we have access to, but it requires sacrifice.

Taking a broader look, I find that there is little use of this greatest force in our world.   I’m not seeing a wide use of love.  Knowing that God is love, we can say there’s a lot of ungodliness being exhibited.  For those who like to blame this on God, perhaps a look in the mirror might clear their perspective.  I’m looking in the mirror, and I find much room for improvement.

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GRACE

Grace – unmerited divine assistance given to man

This is a dictionary definition of grace.  I like this definition because of the word unmerited.  Grace is a gift of God that we did not merit.  Out of his love for us he gave us life giving assistance when we were dead in our sins.  I believe that grace is poorly understood by Christians because we are always talking about what we are doing for God, but our testimony should be about what God has done and is doing for us.  Our good works are inspired by the grace he has given us.

This passage from Ephesians 2:1-9 provides insight for us:

            As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you 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 sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts.  Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.  But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions – it is by grace you have been saved.  And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.  For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.

I stop before sharing the last verse of this section because we need to stop.  The explanation of our salvation is finished.

 

Then we read about what happens in response to this salvation by grace.

            For we are God’s workmanship, created in Chris Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

 

Now that our salvation is finished, God has works for us to do.  We don’t have to come up with these works.  He has already prepared them for us.  In humble gratitude, we seek his direction for what to do.  Remember: “…it is by grace you have been saved.”  “Have been” indicates that it has already happened, and it is ongoing.  Relax and enjoy the unmerited assistance that God has given you.

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GOD’S SOLUTION

Humans are at war all over the earth.  There is no peace on earth.  They kill each other and rob from each other.  Evil abounds!  The author of Psalm 82 laments the injustice on the earth.  He calls for God to intervene. We often hear cries for God to do something.  Why does he allow all this evil?

On the other hand there many acts of love and caring on the earth.  People sacrifice for the benefit of others.  They give their money and time to the needy.  Some have even given their lives for others.  Kindness and compassion do exist in the midst of daily life.

I recall that in the beginning we were created in the image of God himself.  Therefore, we are like God, beings of love.  I also remember that we chose to rebel against God and bring sin into the world.  Thus we have the by-polar existence of great goodness and great evil.  What can be done?

God in his infinite wisdom chose not to fix the symptoms but the cause.  His solution began with an infant born in a stable.  From this humble beginning, He brought about redemption from sin for all humans.  Yet, as in the beginning, He didn’t take away our right to choose.  He did give us the opportunity to be a part of the solution rather than part of the problem.  We can choose to repent of our sinful life and accept Jesus as our savior or continue in the pursuit of evil. 

 Yes, peace on earth is a possibility, but it is held in the hands of each person who lives on the earth.  We can elect to return to God or remain in our sins.  Evil or good, we get to choose.  God has heard our cries, and He has intervened for us.

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TIS THE SEASON

Christmas is my favorite holiday.  I love the spirit of joy and giving that permeates our lives.  Bonnie and I start the season with our traditional selection of Christmas movies.  Here in the Central Valley of California we don’t have a white Christmas, but we always watch the movie.  It delights our hearts to see a “White Christmas” in Vermont.  We are always exhilarated when Jim Bailey recognizes that he has a wonderful life, and we are warmed by the miracle that happens on 34th street.  Even old Ebenezer Scrooge finally succumbs to the spirit of Christmas.

At our house decorating starts the weekend after Thanksgiving.  The tree goes up, and merriment appears all over the house.  In our sitting room the town of Bedford Falls appears.  In every corner there are angels, candles and lots of holly.  The outside also gets a trimming of lights and a special entryway setting that invites our guests to enjoy Christmas with us.

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are always spent with our family.  Our children and their children are at the center of our hearts.  There is no greater way to celebrate than sharing love and good food with those most precious to us.  Gifts are exchanged, and the twinkle in the young ones eyes imprints deep joy in our hearts.

Each year, our church family is invited to our home for an evening of gingerbread house building.  We share soup and bread and a fun filled evening that results in many variations on the traditional gingerbread house.  Our home is filled with laughter and joy throughout the evening.  What a wonderful experience of celebration with our friends.

At the top of our outside entry decorations I have placed a sign.  It reads: “Emmanuel, God with us.”  The sign is a reminder that we are celebrating God’s advent, the arrival of the promised messiah.  All the celebration, laughter, and joy that fill our hearts are in response to the God designed intervention He arranged for us because He loves us.  He redeemed us and set us free from the reign of sin and death.  The Apostle John records it this way:

“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.  For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him (John 3:16-17).