Absolute Goodness

 

“We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.”

-Romans 8:28

 

We, who have responded to God’s call on our hearts and have believed in Jesus and have the promised hope of our future resurrection, know that God makes all things work together for good. That “good” is not what we know in and from this world. It is pure, undiluted goodness that comes from the character of God. 

 

We Christians know, because we have God’s gracious promise of salvation and resurrection, that God makes all things work together for the absolute good of His children, who He calls to Himself for His good and grand purpose—the purpose of salvation, telling others about the gospel of His love, and discipling them.

 

God’s goodness does not hinge upon what we do. Goodness, by definition, comes from God’s character. God is absolutely good and does only good. When people believe in Jesus for salvation, they receive God’s goodness expressing His love through salvation, which is redemption from the stain and guilt of their sin. Nothing in the world is good except what He has redeemed for Himself. 

 

God’s calling to us (His creation) is all about His plan and love. We are sinful people who are stuck in the mire of a fallen world. Without God’s calling us, we would be blind and deaf to Him. We would be without hope now and for eternity. Our hearts, minds, and spirits would despair and languish. We cannot and did not give ourselves ultimate hope because we cannot see beyond this day and moment what actually will be. But God can and does. 

 

So because we know God only does good and only His absolute purpose prevails, we can understand, know, trust, and hope with absolute certainty that as we daily walk with Him on this earth, He makes all things work together toward that good for His children, those who love Him and are called for His purpose of salvation and eternity with Him. We can know the truth of what Paul wrote further in Romans 8.

 

35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written:

 

“For your sake we face death all day long;

    we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

 

37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:35-39, CSB)

 

Nothing stops God’s goodness or good plan.  Once you believe in Jesus, you are permanently part of His goodness and good plan. You are called His, not Satan’s. What’s your part in this plan as God’s called people? Have faith. Have hope. Grow in your faith. Tell other people about Jesus and God’s love. Help them grow closer to God and more like Christ.

 

Don’t lose hope. God works all things together for His purpose for the good of those who love Him and are called His. 

 

Are you called God’s child? What keeps you from His goodness and love?

Absolute Trust

“Still I am certain to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.”

— Psalms 27:13

 

Do you firmly trust you will see God’s goodness in heaven? That’s what David alluded to in verse thirteen. Yes, he had faith God would protect and keep him alive. David also firmly believed he’d experience God’s goodness by His keeping him from hell. David alluded to his belief in God’s promises that he would see God in heaven.

 

Do you have faith like David? Do you know for certain—with absolute trust—that you will be there? 

 

Sins (wrongdoings) keep people from being good enough to enter heaven and God’s presence. Jesus, God’s holy Son, who has never sinned, died a sinner’s death and was separated three days from His Father until His resurrection. He did this so whoever believes in Him will have their sins wiped away from their name and that they will be righteous (John 3:16). Only when a person believes in Jesus and is made righteous by Him can that person enter heaven to live with God forever. 

 

Do you have faith like David? Will you see God’s goodness in the land of the living—eternal life with God?

Trust

 

The first chapter of Mark quickly introduces the readers to Jesus as the Son of God. John the Baptist baptized Jesus and God proclaimed from heaven that Jesus is His Son. At once, Jesus began teaching, healing, and casting out demons with power and authority. People in Capernaum started clamoring to be near Him to watch what He would do. The religious leaders began taking notice of Jesus. They started listening and examining Him to teach, heal, and cast out demons.

Mark's second chapter continues to show Jesus' teaching and doing miraculous things. No one has ever done what Jesus did, except as God empowered him or her being as a prophet or priest. From Mark 2, Jesus told the people He is the Son of Man. The time was right for people to know about Jesus and the plan of salvation.

Jesus’ activities up through Mark 2:12 were generally positive. People expressed amazement at what He did and glorified God. From Mark 2:13, Jesus received “push-back” from the religious leaders. They challenged Him—His power, authority, and teaching. The stories Mark records in 2:13-3:6 generally show Jesus' meeting with negative interactions. The Pharisees and Herodians challenge Jesus. The Pharisees wanted to restore the kingdom of David. The Herodians wanted to restore a Herod to the throne in Judea. These two factions determined to work jointly to kill Jesus. Even though Pharisees and Herodians were political opposites, each faction worked with the other only to persecute Jesus.

With the start of Mark chapter two, Mark used a teaching form called a chiastic structure. A chiastic structure serves to lead readers and hearers to understand the lesson by developing in a way that people understand the purpose of the writer. In the Bible, a chiasm can occur within a verse, paragraph, chapter, or book. Each repetition develops the point. Mark used a chiastic structure in Mark 2:1-3:6. The structure for this passage of verses is as follows.

A.   Healing the paralytic (2:1-12)            

B.    Calling the tax collector and eating with tax collectors and sinners

C.    Question about fasting

B’. Jesus’ defense of the disciples for a Sabbath harvest

A’. Healing the man’s withered hand. 

Parts A and A’ deal with Jesus’ healing people. Sections B, C, and B’ tell about Jesus’ teaching on eating. In A, the religious leaders did not outwardly challenge Jesus. Jesus knew what was in their hearts. He showed and taught He has authority even to forgive sins. (Note: the Jews supposed a person was sick because he or she sinned. That sickness was God’s judgment on the person for his or her sin.) With A’, the religious leaders spoke out and Jesus challenged them on their idea of the Law’s purpose. He used healing people to teach in this instance, too. In B, C, and B’, Jesus dealt with religious leaders challenging Him about disobeying the Law. They judged Him because of with whom He ate, when they ate, and why they ate. In each part of this chiasm, Jesus confronted the religious leaders on their interpretation of the Law and God’s intent of it. Jesus shows His authority is greater than that of the Jewish authorities. Mark 2:1-12 shows who Jesus is and His purpose by using one encounter recorded in twelve verses. These twelve verses retell Him healing and teaching with power and authority and His opposition and vindication. These verses tell who Jesus is, the Son of Man, just as He stated in Mark 2:10 and Daniel foretold in Daniel 7:13-14.

Gathered

¹When Jesus came back to Capernaum a few days later, it was heard that He was at home. ²And many were gathered together, so that there was no longer space, not even near the door; and He was speaking the word to them. (Mark 2:1-2 [NASB])

Remember, near the end of Mark chapter one, Jesus told Simon, Andrew, James, and John, when they found Him praying early in the morning in a quiet place, that He must go to other places in Galilee to preach and cast out demons (Mark 1:38). In chapter two, Mark records Jesus returned home to Capernaum. Capernaum was Jesus’ second home. He considered Simon and Andrew like family.

After Jesus cast out the demons after preaching in the synagogue in Capernaum, people flocked to Him. Jesus captivated them with His power and authority in His teaching, healing, and casting out demons. They wanted to witness Him do more. Some may have considered Him to be more than a magician or an outstanding teacher. No matter why people followed Him in droves, returning home to Capernaum showed how large of a crowd sought to observe and listen to Him. Mark wrote, “And many were gathered together, so that there was no longer space, not even near the door; and He was speaking the word to them” (NASB).

Jesus returned home to Capernaum. A vast crowd of people waited for Jesus to talk. No room in the house or near the door remained. People peeked in the window. They climbed onto the roof to listen to Jesus. Jesus came back to Capernaum. He did what He told the four men He had to do. Jesus preached the word. He taught about the Father and His words. Jesus speaking the word was a key part of His purpose. It was central to His ministry on earth. It became central to the Church’s ministry (Acts 6:4, 8:4, & 17:11, Galatians 6:6, & Colossians 4:3). Jesus drawing a crowd to Himself enabled many people to hear Him teach. Though the crowds and work wearied Him, the message the prophets foretold unfolded before their eyes.

Into the midst of this enormous crowd, four men carried their paralyzed friend. What might these men have concluded as they considered how large a crowd sought Jesus at home? What did they want from Jesus? Why did they suppose He could help their paralyzed friend? What would they do since they could not get near enough to Jesus for Him to look at their friend? God is omnipresent, everywhere present at the same time. He can spot you wherever you are, even at the back of a crowd.

Forgiven

³And some people came, bringing to Him (Jesus) a man who was paralyzed, carried by four men. ⁴And when they were unable to get to Him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above Him; and after digging an opening, they let down the pallet on which the paralyzed man was lying. ⁵And Jesus, seeing their faith, said the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” (Mark 2:3-5 [NASB])

Mark told of the resolve the men had and what they desperately did to get their friend noticed by Jesus. Jesus noticed the four friends, too. These men accepted if Jesus saw them, He would heal their friend. With that faith, they climbed the roof because they were desperate for a solution. How long did these men ponder their dilemma before going onto the roof? Mark does not say, but he shows their faith as they went upstairs with their paralyzed friend on a pallet. This pallet, some commentators consider, was a thick, quilted mat. Others understand it was like a mattress or army pallet of cloth and two rods. Whatever it was, it would be unwieldy to lower the man through a hole in the roof.

After digging through grass, dried mud, plaster, rock, and/or wood, the four men “let the pallet down” using ropes at each corner. The paralyzed man could not move to lessen injury if the pallet lowered askew. He had to trust his friends. The paralyzed man had learned to trust them since he could not take care of himself. The paralyzed man had faith and agreed to let his friends take him before Jesus, hoping He would heal him. He must have realized that since Jesus could heal his paralysis, He could heal any injury he received if he fell off his pallet. The faith of these men in Jesus, the Healer, gave them hope.

Jesus regarded the faith of the four men and their paralyzed friend. He recognized their realization of His power and authority. These five men acknowledged Jesus could do what was necessary to heal the paralyzed friend. Jesus had more in store for them that day than they expected. After seeing the faith of these five men, He said, “Son, your sins are forgiven” (vs. 5). Jesus understood they trusted in Him. He recognized the men had more than just a head faith or an emotional feeling. The trust of these five men in Jesus showed itself by visible actions. Jesus rewarded the men’s faith that, when faced with obstacles, kept strong. Do you stand firm in your faith in Jesus when difficulties confront you? God said He would never leave or forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:6 & 8, 1 Chronicles 28:20, and Hebrews 13:5). Jesus reminded people of this promise. He did not leave or forsake this man and the hope his faith gave him. Jesus rewarded his faith with forgiveness. Forgiveness was more than the five men sought, but the relief it gave must have been breathtaking.

Jesus did not heal the man first. He addressed the Jews’ understanding of why a person is sick. Jews considered sickness of any kind a punishment from God for a person’s sins. Jesus addressed that idea by first telling the man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” He did not say, “I forgive your sins.” He used a passive verb to show He acted for God, like rabbis act for God, as a mediator for this man. Jesus knows each person sins. The Jews understood that, too. They offered sacrifices to God regularly to atone for their sins. Jesus did not say He healed the man. He offered the man what he needed most: forgiveness. Forgiveness did not cure the man of his paralysis. The people recognized this.

The five men wanted to be in front of Jesus. Obstacles did not keep them from Him. Jesus saw each of these men. He recognized them and rewarded their faith in Him. Though they had not sought forgiveness, when the paralyzed man received it, he undoubtedly felt relieved. The paralyzed man might have thought, “Jesus knew what I needed most.” Regarding the religious leaders, Jesus raised two issues. By what authority does Jesus forgive sins? What is the relationship between sin and sickness?

Restored

⁶But some of the scribes were sitting there and thinking it over in their hearts. ⁷Why does this man speak that way? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins except God alone? ⁸Immediately Jesus, aware in His spirit that they were thinking that way within themselves, said to them, “Why are you thinking about these things in your heart? ⁹Which is easier, to say to the paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven’ or to say, ‘Get up, and pick up your pallet and walk?’ ¹⁰But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,” He said to the paralyzed man, “I say to you, get up, pick up your pallet, and go home.” And he (the once-paralyzed man) got up and immediately picked up the pallet and went out in the sight of everyone, so that they were all amazed and were glorifying God saying, “We have never seen anything like this!” (Mark 2:6-10 [NASB])

The scribes of the synagogues dedicated their lives to copy the Torah. They taught at the synagogues what they had learned from rabbis’ teaching. The scribes watched Jesus heal and forgive the paralyzed man. They contemplated what the five men did and what Jesus said to the paralyzed man because. They considered how He taught like one with authority. The scribes might have thought in their hearts, “Why does this man speak that way? He is blaspheming!” (vs. 6) They considered and wondered if what Jesus taught was in the Law? Was it a fabricated teaching? Teaching fabricated ideas, as if they are from God, is blasphemy. Should the scribes trust what Jesus said? Should they challenge Him and report Him to the rabbis?

The scribes’ prime consideration for these questions was, “Who can forgive sins except God alone?” (vs. 7) They did not recognize Jesus as the Son of God yet. For Jesus to forgive a person of his or her sins meant the person did not need the Law to receive God’s forgiveness. Sinners did not need priests as their mediator. This meant they would not be offering a sacrifice at the temple for their sins. That would decrease the priests’ allotment of food for themselves and their families. Under the laws, God allowed only priests to be intermediaries and only God can forgive sins. God ordained them to fulfill the rituals of atonement, not anyone else. That means they saw Jesus as assuming God’s position of forgiving sins and assuming their positions as intermediaries between people and God. Thus, they judged Jesus guilty of blaspheming for assuming He is God. The Torah teaches the judgement of any person who blasphemes is death (Leviticus 24:10-23).

Jesus was aware of the scribes’ reflections. As part of the Godhead, He knows all things. Jesus realized the scribes did not look positively at Jesus forgiving a man for his sins. He knew they considered Him to be blaspheming. Instead of the scribes speaking out and challenging Him, Jesus challenged them about their deliberations. Because Jesus understood their thoughts, He proved to them He is God, though they did not want to admit it. What does God detect when He searches your heart? Doubt, fear, or trust?

How did Jesus confront these scribes? He said in verse nine, “Which is easier, to say to the paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven’ or to say, ‘Get up, pick up your pallet, and walk?’” Which is physically easier to say of these two statements? The first statement has six syllables, and the second has nine syllables. The first statement is easier to pronounce. Since Jews concluded sins cause sickness, if a person got well, that meant God had forgiven the person’s sins.

Mark wrote what Jesus said in verse ten. Jesus said, “But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” Jesus realized the people wanted visible proof of Jesus’ authority to forgive sins. With Jesus’ question, He offered a way to prove His authority. Jesus healed the man to authenticate what these people could not verify by sight — forgiveness. People cannot see forgiveness, but they can see when a person is well. Even though saying “Your sins are forgiven” is easier, Jesus knew He would confirm Himself as the Messiah by healing the man. The people would see the healed man and know God forgave Him. Jesus, as God’s mediator, would prove to the scribes and other people He is who He says He is, the Son of Man.

Jesus used the Son of Man title fourteen times in Mark’s gospel. Daniel 7:13-14 is where this title first occurs in the Bible. In these verses, God gives the Son of Man eternal dominion, honor, and a kingdom. The “Son of Man” does not have the military connotations the title “Messiah” has. The Jews expected the Messiah to be the victor, who delivers them from Roman rule and reestablishes the kingdom of David. If the scribes had understood Jesus used this title, “Son of Man,” as Messianic, they would have understood Jesus’ purpose earlier. But the scribes misunderstood its meaning as Jesus used it. Do we have the right idea of who the Messiah is? Do we want Him just to be our hero? Are we expecting Him to be like the Son of Man, about whom Daniel prophesied?

With this title attributed to Himself, Jesus proclaimed in verse eleven, “I say to you, get up, pick up your pallet, and go home.” He declared His authority to the scribes and the people by ordering the paralytic to do these three things. Notice Jesus did not discuss His command with the paralytic’s four friends. The faith was the paralytic man’s own. He himself had to accept the authority Jesus has over sin and illness. This man had to trust in Jesus to enable him to arise. He had to act on this belief by picking up his pallet and going home, too. The paralytic man’s mental belief showed in his outward actions.

With the healing of the once-paralytic man, Jesus showed His divinity. He can powerfully and authoritatively forgive sins and heal. Jesus showed who He is by His power and authority. The people were “amazed,” Mark said in verse twelve. They glorified God.

The scribes did not express amazement, according to Mark’s retelling. They realized Jesus’ success came at their expense. The scribes and other religious leaders had lots to lose if Jesus is who He said He is. He would become the mediator and high priest for the Jews and others who believed in Him. Jesus, being the Messiah, would make the priests and sacrifices redundant. The priests would lose their income and their status in the community.

In Mark 1:32-34, Mark stated an entire city gathered to see Jesus heal the sick and cast out demons. This time, they saw the declaration of forgiveness by Jesus. They listened to His grand declaration of His right to do it. Jesus, Mark wrote, has the power to forgive sins, to heal, to cast out demons, and to preach and teach.

5 people’s faith took the man to Jesus.

1 man’s faith accepted health and forgiveness.

Everyone glorified God and exclaimed.

Application and Conclusion

We may not be sick now, but we have been. We may not have demons, but we could have in the future. We might not trust in Jesus, but we can. People came to see Jesus for themselves, to listen to what He taught, and to watch as He healed and cast out demons. Until this moment in Mark, people had not seen Jesus authoritatively forgive sins as if He is God. They glorified God because they saw Jesus heal a man and forgive him. Does your faith cause everyone around you to be amazed and to glorify God because of what He did?

We come to the point the Jews faced that day. Will we believe in Jesus? The four men considered Jesus could heal their paralyzed friend. The people accepted for themselves that the stories they had heard about Jesus. The scribes were curious. They later felt fear-fear He would take away their way of life and fear He would lead the Jews astray. The religious leaders were the keepers of God’s word and the way to go before God from a distance. Each of these people encountered Jesus from hearing about Him, seeing Him, and some, by believing in Him as the Son of Man. Each of us today encounters Jesus through reading this Bible study, reading the Bible, hearing about Jesus, and seeing miraculous healing. We face Jesus in our minds, hearts, bodies, and spirits. Jesus speaks to our spirits before and after we have professed faith in Him for salvation.

Today, you can hear about and come to have faith in Jesus through watching a church service on television, on the internet, or in person. You have the chance to meet Him on your own by reading your Bible and by praying. The four friends had faith in Jesus to heal their paralytic friend. It was the paralytic’s faith in Jesus that healed and forgave him. Today is your day to decide who Jesus is for you. Is He the Son of Man, the One who has dominion, power, and glory, as Daniel declared? Will you believe in Jesus by faith that Jesus is the Son of God who came to be your mediator and forgiver of your sins so you can be in God’s presence now and forever?

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not a result of works so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9 [NASB])

For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. (Romans 3:28 [ESV])

And to the one who does not work but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness. (Romans 4:5 [ESV])

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through Jesus Christ. (Romans 5:1 [ESV])

Being forgiven and saved from the judgment you deserve because of your sins comes by faith in Jesus. Nothing you can do will earn salvation. Just faith.

Nevertheless, knowing that a person is not justified by works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the Law; since by works of the Law, no flesh will be justified. (Galatians 2:16 [NASB])

 

Fear or Trust

 

The LORD Almighty is the One you are to regard as holy. He is the One you are to fear; He is the One you are to dread. Hosea 8:13 (NIV)

Let me be perfectly transparent; deciding to return to South Africa (SA), where we have lived and worked, has been a very hard decision. I would like to say it was not and that my walk with Jesus has grown me so I always decide at once to do God’s will. But, let me tell you, I am human. Like you, I have senior-aged parents, adult children, grandchildren, and friends in America whom I miss terribly and whom I cannot help, especially my mom, stepmom, and stepfather. Life is easier here in America. I generally can find anything my mind can ever think of wanting. (That does not mean I need it!) I am now vaccinated against COVID-19 here. I would not be in SA. The variants in South Africa are more virulent so I do not trust that I am safe from them. Let me say it again; this has been a very prayerful season in America. Each time we go on stateside assignment, we are prayerful. This one was, for me, a wrestling with God to figure out His will exactly and to bring myself in alignment with Him.

God and I have been having deep and long conversations about returning to South Africa (our home) since I arrived here in October for my third child’s wedding. This conversation became more desperate by the end of March when I had not heard from Him definitively if we can stay in America or must go back to SA. Since becoming a Christian, when I professed saving faith in Jesus when I was fourteen years old, I listened to my ministers teaching that unless you hear from God to change what you are doing, keep doing what He last told you. As I asked God if He wants us to go back to SA, I heard nothing from Him in my first months in America. I understood that meant, “Yes.” God wants me to return there. But being human and hoping for a new direction, I asked and kept on asking. I asked prayer-sisters to pray as I battled with God about this. Understand this, God did not battle with me; I battled with Him. My battle was seeking to understand for sure if I must return to SA. It was a battle of my will against God’s, though I already understood what He wanted me to do.

Sunday, I told God, I recognized you want me to return to SA, but please, as I read Isaiah 8-11, show me explicitly. (I hate to admit that because that shows I am still weak. We all are. Hopefully, we are growing to be more like Jesus each day.) God honored my request and showed me His answer explicitly in His word. He taught me as He taught the Israelites, through His prophet, Isaiah. How I wish I were not comparable to the Israelites. Really, we all are like them. Our spiritual graphs go up and down like theirs did. Remember this, I never doubted God wanted us back in South Africa. I wished He wanted us in America. That point is where God met me.

The first thing we must know about Isaiah 8:1-18 is these are the words God spoke to Isaiah telling him what He will do to the Israelites and why. Isaiah’s written words were his response to God’s foretelling His disciplining the Israelites. Isaiah is like each Christian. God calls us to be His messengers and tell the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We each must remember He is Almighty. God is the only one who is Holy. Holy means He has never sinned. Can any of us say this? He is the standard for our lives.

In Isaiah 8:12, God told Isaiah not to fear or dread anything or anyone except Him. This fear is the reverence and awe of God and the fear for my life. Basically, God said, “Do not be afraid of what they may do to you but know I will discipline you, like them, if you do not obey Me.” Since God is holy, we need to fear, revere, and live in awe of Him. Because He is holy, no one is like Him. Paul wrote about this sinful state. He said, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” in Romans 3:23 (NIV). We do not need to fear anything or anyone else because God is Almighty. He destroys false Gods and reigns preeminent over all created things. As God’s messengers, those He calls to tell other people about Jesus, we do not have to fear other people or created things. Because God is holy, we should obey Him in fear and awe.

What does Isaiah 8:12 have to do with my situation? Well, God pointed out to me what caused me to ask for clear confirmation of His will for me to return to SA-fear. Fear was my excuse. I checked my heart and mind and determined of what I feared or dreaded (Is. 8:13c). I noted two things: having to leave family and friends and facing the third wave of Covid-19 in South Africa, where most recent cases are the Delta variant. Mentally, I did not want to face that crisis again. (I said I am human, remember.) Physically, I did not want to get the virus. I know doctors there with Covid-19 patients and they were afraid. Of course, other doctors are not afraid. God used Isaiah 8:13 to help me understand what caused my need for confirmation instead of just trusting Him. He reminded me He is holy and Almighty, and I do not need to fear or dread anything. I should fear only God with awe.

God told me one other thing in this speech to Isaiah. He said I should revere and be in awe of Him by being gratefully obedient to His will for my life. That means I need to “cheerfully” prioritize His will over my family and friends. Remember that verse in 2 Corinthians 9:7 where Paul wrote, “Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” (NIV) Being a “cheerful giver” comes from our trusting God. We should give our tithes, our offerings to God, whether of our money, time, family, friends, and life, cheerfully, not reluctantly. We should give Him all we are and have each day because His love never fails. We can trust Him. God’s calling of us to be about His business never stops. He calls each of His children to tell the gospel to all people. God wants each person to know this, just like He did the Israelites. Our telling the gospel is one way to tithe of our time and self. If we truly love the Lord, we will want to give back to Him that which He has given to us for His purposes, our lives in obedience to Him. Does that mean there will not be tears when you say goodbye to friends and family or when you must bury your parents at whose side you could not sit when they died? No, there are tears. God gave us tears to help release the emotions of sorrow and joy. (Aren’t tears wonderfully refreshing?) With this part of the passage in Isaiah 8, I needed to decide if I would dread returning to the people of SA or if I would cheerfully go because they are the people whom God loves and to whom He sends me to witness and minister. Instead of dreading or fearing my return to SA, I can be like Isaiah was when he said in verse seventeen, “I will wait for the LORD. I will put my trust in Him.” We can completely trust God. If you are honest, He has never failed you. And He will not fail you. He loves you and loves the people whom He puts in your path daily.

When we completely trust God and not fear or dread what might come, we can experience the hope God gives each of His children. He gave us this hope when we professed Jesus as the Messiah, God’s Son. Yet, many of us allow fear and dread to overshadow that hope. Nothing ever can overshadow God or anything from Him, even hope. Nothing can hide the Truth and Light. What is this hope? Isaiah tells the Israelites this hope from God in Isaiah 9:2, “The people walking in darkness have seen a great Light; on those living in the land of deep darkness, a Light has dawned.” (NIV) This hope is for the near future and the distant future. The Israelites had seen a great Light. They saw the fire lighting their way in the darkness when they left Egypt. And they would see this same light again. God was telling them to have hope because He would lead them back to the Promised Land after they became captives to Assyria and Babylon. God is faithful and will keep His promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. For the Israelites, the distant future held the hope of the Messiah, who One would come from a virgin and would be “God with us,” Immanuel. This hope God gave to the Israelites through Isaiah’s prophecy is a hope we Christians can hold on to even today. When we completely trust God and allow His hope to shine a Light for us and lead us, we do not dread or fear. We align our hearts with God to be cheerfully obedient, so the entire world will know about Jesus.

What have I relearned from God’s loving compassion and forbearance with me during this stateside assignment time? I can allow dread and fear to keep me from walking in the peace God gives through the hope He gave to me when I became a Christian. I can allow my excuses to keep me from serving God and have no peace about it. Lack of hope affects the heart, mind, soul, and strength and keeps me from loving God with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength. God spoke of this through Moses in Deuteronomy 6:4-5 and Jesus spoke of it in Matthew 22:37, too. Jesus added one other commandment. It sums up the last six of the Ten Commandments. He called it the second greatest commandment when He said, “And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.” I cannot do either of the two greatest commandments if I allow the fear and dread, which comes from Satan, to keep me from trusting and loving the Lord with my whole being. And do not get me wrong; I love God to the depths of my being. My commitment to Him 44 years ago when I became a believer in Jesus and 21.5 years ago when I first left America to go to South Africa show the depth of my love for Him. I have made this same decision every time I returned there after our stateside assignment times. Does my heart want to stay in America? Yes! But my heart longs even more to follow God. He continues to lead me to South Africa.

Ask that same question to yourself? Do you love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength? If you do, then you will have no problem saying yes to the next question. Do you love your neighbor as you love yourself? Do you love them enough that you will do whatever God asks of you, go where he tells you to go, and live with and minister to the people He loves and has called you to serve? See, that is the rub. We must love God enough that no matter what He asks of us, we will not dread, fear, or offer excuses for not “being able” to go. I am still learning, but I can say God is my everything and my family falls in line right behind Him in my consideration. It does not mean I love my family less. I love them enough to show God means everything to me. It shows them just what everything means and becomes an example to them of love for God.

In the Chronological Life Application Study Bible (page 792), a commentator wrote this statement. “Although God may not always spare us from troubles, He will lead us safely through them if we follow Him wholeheartedly.” That is my God and I trust Him completely.

Will you trust the Lord today with your life, the lives of your loved ones, and your future? 

With God, there is no more fear or dread. 

For unto us a Son was born and given whose name is Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. And there will be no end to the greatness of His government and peace. With justice and righteousness, He will reign on David’s throne forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty accomplished this. (Isaiah 9:6-7, my interpretation)

God is still in control.

We have security in Him for our rapidly changing world.

Will you trust God?

Gift

 

¹⁴When Jesus saw this, He was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. ¹⁵ Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.” (Mark 10:14-15 [NIV]) 

      If you have been to church or read your Bible, you will have learned of this discussion Jesus had with His disciples about little children and their guardians. These guardians sought Jesus’ blessings on their children. This happens today when a famous person comes to our towns and cities. We seek an audience with that person so they can kiss or hold our child. This blessing makes our heart feel good. In our minds, to be in the presence of a famous person means we are famous for that moment. We are someone more than the sum of our individual parts; it must be true since that well-known person chose to be with us. Later in life, we remember that time and recall how special we felt to have the famous person choose to be with us and to hold or kiss our child. Was this what the guardians of the children in Mark 10 wanted? Did they seek Jesus so they could have their moment of fame? Conversely, did they seek Him because they believed in Him as God’s Son and wanted God’s blessing on their children? We can look at this from the child’s perspective. Did the children hold back from seeing Jesus or did they run, skip, and scamper to Him? Let’s consider Mark 10:13-16.

     Jesus was in Judea, in this passage. After being tested by the Pharisees about teachings on divorce, a different discussion with Him began. People brought their children to Him for Him to bless them by placing His hands on them. The disciples rebuked these people. At this, Jesus saw and corrected the disciples. He wanted the children to come to Him. Jesus made the children an example for adults. In a society where children had no power or say in life, Jesus placed them on a pedestal as a teaching model. This pointed out children are important. Jesus made sure the people who listened to Him and those who would hear and read about His words and actions later would recall this point about salvation. He told the people the kingdom of God belongs to people who are like children (vs 14). He did not say it only belongs to or is for children, but people like them. Did this mean people who are full of energy, weepy, needy, quiet, humble, trusting, sincere, welcoming, or accepting? Yes, Jesus calls all people to receive salvation. He specifically told what He meant with this statement by His comment in verse fifteen. He said people must receive the kingdom of God like a child. The kingdom of God belongs to children, and only those people who receive it like a child may enter it.

     The definition of “receiving” helps us understand what Jesus meant when He said a person must receive the kingdom of God like a child. “Receive” comes from the Greek word dechomai. Dechomai means to receive in a warmly welcoming and receptive way. Whenever someone gives anything to another person, two actions occur, giving and the receiving. Receiving cannot occur without giving, but that does not mean every person receives each thing given to them. Jesus taught, in this passage, that the children actively received in their innocence and simplicity what He offered. They did not stand back and question what Jesus would want from them, what motives He had, if He attached strings, and why they should receive it from Him. Most children happily and actively accept gifts given to them. In their innocence and trust, they actively welcome gifts into their lives. In this passage, Jesus said people must receive the gift of salvation and eternal life He gives with welcoming and active acceptance.

      Like a coin, receiving involves another actor–the Giver. No one can receive anything if nothing is given. Like a child actively and warmly receives a gift with innocence and simplicity, a giver of a gift must actively pass to another person what he or she wants to give. In this case, Jesus said God gives His kingdom to people who are like children (vs 15). If nothing is offered, nothing can be received. Still, if something is offered, it does not have to be received. People, being wary of receiving something for nothing for fear the price will take away their freedom, often choose not to receive a gift. They do not trust the giver and sometimes the gift. People often lack this trust and faith in the Giver, and they will not accept the gift Jesus offers to them.

      In these verses, Jesus raised people’s perception of children. Their innocence, simplicity, and greater willingness to act, set them apart as the best example at that moment to show the response needed for people to become children of God. God, the Giver of salvation and life in His kingdom, offers this gift to each person. Jesus made the point each person must actively accept the gift. To be an active receiver, a person should be like a child who warmly and with trusting faith accepts God’s gift of cleansing from sins and eternal life. Each person who accepts a gift actively participates in the transaction with the giver. For righteousness and eternal life with God, a person must actively join with God in receiving by faith what He offers because of His grace and love. This gift requires a high level of self-involvement from the recipient. When both sides of this transaction occur, blessing happens. The greatest blessing of any person’s life occurs, a restored relationship with God.

      Will you be childlike and respond to God calling to you to accept His gift? Will you warmly receive what He offers you-cleansing from sins and a place in His kingdom for eternity? God keeps knocking at the door to give us the gift of His grace and love. You need only open the door and let Him in to give you a place in His kingdom. Life for us should be about having righteous relationships with God and other people. Life as a child of God is about receiving His gifts with trusting faith. Life as His child is a blessing. 

What keeps you from having the trusting, innocent faith of a child?

Give that to God and ask Him to give you faith.

Faith is a gift from God for everyone who asks.

Trusting Relationship

“Then Jesus said to His disciples, ‘If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.’” (Matthew 16:24 [NASB])

We may have read this verse of Scripture in the past or for the first time just now. Each time you may have wondered what that really means. “Surely Jesus didn’t mean we had to carry a cross around,” we say. “Surely Jesus didn’t mean we couldn’t work or have a family or have a home,” we think. With this verse, Jesus told His followers then and through eternity, to be His disciples, the ones who follow Him, we must deny all rights to our self to Him. We must trust God so much that we will do His will no matter what He asks of us. The cross is the pain of following God’s will. Jesus didn’t wake one morning and say, “I must have nails put into my hands.” The purpose of the cross for Jesus was to do His Father’s will, to provide salvation for all who would believe in Him as the Son of God, the Savior of the world.

We may think, “I can’t do that. How can I trust God, Who I cannot see, to take care of me and give me what I want and need?” That question is the apex of the problem for people. First, all we want is not what we need. It places our desires for more ahead of God and shows our discontent for what God has given us. We want more, more, more like a child in a toy store. That question shows we have not given ourselves wholly to God. Maybe you truly gave your heart to Jesus in your past, but when you ask this question, you show you have not grown in your knowledge or relationship with God. You show you do not trust Him to lead your life to “green pastures” like David wrote in Psalm 23. Now is the time to resolve that dilemma. We each individually must decide if we truly will be followers of Jesus. Doing that will mean giving up our right to ourselves and trusting God in everything and for everything. Trusting in God is the key. If you cannot do this, then you should wonder if you truly have been saved.

The second part of this ultimate question, “How can I trust God to take care of me,” shows our lack of faith in God’s love and power. If you cannot trust God for this, then can you truly say you’ve truly trusted Jesus for your salvation. God’s love is the backbone, the reason, for the salvation He provides. If you do not believe in God’s love, you do not trust God saves or can save you from your sins and the ultimate penalty of sins, death. This last thing, being saved from death, or your lack of trust that God can save you from death, shows you do not believe He has the power to save you from what every person you’ve ever known or heard about has experienced, ceasing to be alive on earth.

Trust is the key for both parts of the first question. Without trust, faith, in God’s power to forgive our sins, provide for our needs, and save us from death and sin, and in His love, you cannot deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Jesus. You have no power to deny yourself. You have no strength of conviction to carry a cross for God’s purposes, and you show you are not willing to follow Jesus. Trust in Jesus, in God, is the only thing we need to do to receive salvation from our sins and from death. If you cannot believe in Jesus as God’s Son for salvation, you cannot do what Jesus said His followers must do in Matthew 16:24.

Do you really trust God? Do you trust His love for you, and His power to forgive your sins and give you eternal life? If you can truthfully say yes to these questions, then you truly are a follower of Jesus. So, what keeps you from doing what Jesus told His followers to do? What keeps you from doing God’s will with your life, that is “taking up your cross and following Him (Jesus)”? Be honest with yourself. Examine your heart, mind, and spirit. What keeps you from giving God your whole being-heart, soul, mind, and strength?

Without living for Jesus, your boat has no compass. You motor or paddle around aimlessly until your strength or the gas in the motors is gone. That’s it and life is done. Nothing more remains for you. Living for Jesus gives you a compass and purpose. Your purpose is to follow Jesus, to deny yourself, take up your cross (doing God’s will), and following Him.

Don’t live without a compass.

Trust in God. You will have a purpose.

In that day, everyone in the land of Judah will sing this song:

Our city is strong!

We are surrounded by the walls of God’s salvation.

Open the gates to all who are righteous; allow the faithful to enter.

You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in You, all whose thoughts are fixed on You!

Trust in the LORD always, for the LORD God is the eternal Rock.

(Isaiah 26:1-4 [NLT])

Lord, I thought I believed in You. I thought I trusted in You. But now I read your Word and think about it, I realize I have not entrusted my whole life to You. Please, Lord, forgive me for holding back and for not taking up my cross and following You. Forgive me for living life on my terms and only trusting You for that moment I decided to be saved. I realize, I never allowed You to have my heart and life. Lord, I give them now to You. Take all of me, my heart, soul, mind, and strength. Grow me to be more like You and use me for Your purposes. Use me for whatever You will. I will deny myself, take up my cross, and follow You. Amen.

Bursting Bubbles

Bubbles-innocuous, light, breezy, and safe;

No harm from bubbles, just gladness and glee.

Yet, when we consider life’s encounters again,

We know bubbles, safe bubbles, leave a film few can see.

Intentions run high and emotions explode;

Feelings burst forth with harsh actions and words.

Like bubbles need air to gain release from soap,

So, emotions need intentions to cause one to hurt.

Emotions burst forth with expelling of air,

With action they cause harm to a person unaware.

Intentions inflate emotions aimed to cause harm;

They touch upon the person near like a storm.

Yes, bubbles are soft, light, and breezy we see,

But when touched, their pop leaves a sticky ring.

It remains until washed, a reminder of fun,

But sticky, emotion-bubbles, we don’t want that sting.

Those emotion-bubbles, unsought and avoided

Leave a film of pain on the body, heart, and mind.

What should have been fun, a relationship of trust,

Turned into emotions bursting sore and maligned.

Fear, pain, distrust, questions arise with each breath.

Heart broken, now unknowing, what else is there?

Lingering onward and uncertainty rising,

Will emotions erupt, bursting, showing no care?

Fear takes over, heartbeat quickens wond’ring

Where’s the love and do I risk myself daring?

Bubbles-light, airy, free, and endless fun

Unless bubbles spring from emotions unbound.

Still, like all bubbles, their film can be washed off.

With water, the film from the wound is expunged.

For emotion-bubbles, the water comes from eternal springs;

It brings with it cleansing from pain, fear, and grief.

The Washer is from Whom all life gets its being

And by Whom film-pain from sin is removed, is cleaned.

The waters for cleansing flow from His mercy seat;

Flowing endless, downward for all in great need.

These waters, offered in love, flow pure and free

As a gift of His compassion, love, and mercy.

God’s waters bring life, health, and healing;

They bring together the hearts for Him who seek.

By His waters, lives, hearts, are joined richly together

Protecting, encouraging, and richly nurt'ring.

From water, bubbles are made with intent of people,

Adding breath and intention to form floating air-balls.

From water comes healing, health, and connection,

A mercy from the Father Who created us all.

Consider anew each bubble you create;

Will it float light, breezy, playful, and safe?

Or will you form your emotion-bubble

And cause darkness, fear, heartbreak, and pain?

God wants each relationship to blossom and thrive,

So, He sends His eternal waters to wash sins away.

Redemption, cleansing, new and abundant life

Comes from accepting His grace and by Him being saved.

 “The thief only comes to steal, kill, and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10 [NASB])

“Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming form the throne of God and of the Lamb, in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.” (Revelation 22:1-2 [NASB])

Rocks, Wrecks, and Relationship

“I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith, in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.” Galatians 2:20 [NASB]

This last week in our Bible readings, we learned Jesus taught His disciples and followers in Matthew 6:33 not to worry about what they would eat, drink, or wear. Trust God. He is in control. If God provides food, drink, and beauty for his birds and flowers, how much more will He care for His greatest creation-humankind? God takes care of His people. We can trust Him so don’t be anxious.

After the Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew 8:20 Jesus told a scribe who wanted to be His follower that the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head. In this chapter, Jesus did not revoke what He’d said in 6:33. He expanded on it. Jesus made a bold statement with implication. He meant even the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head; do not expect you will have more than Me. The cost of being a disciple requires giving your whole life. Did Jesus mean God would not or could not give Him and His followers a place to lay under shelter? No, He meant, trust God’s heart even when He doesn’t give you a place to lay your head. He has a plan and for now it doesn’t include a bed under shelter. Have hope. Keep God’s peace which He gives through Jesus. Do you have peace and contentment even when God doesn’t provide what you need right now knowing His plan is best? This provides peace and contentment; anxiety does not.

With Galatians 2:20, Paul explained to the church in Galatia how he could continue to be a disciple of Jesus even when he had little or no food to eat. He said in this verse, “I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith, in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.” [NASB] What does this have to do with trusting God, believing He will provide all my needs, keeping hope and peace, and being content knowing His plan is greater than what I can see? Paul said, he does not live in his own strength or for his own purposes. As a believer in Jesus Christ, he had been saved from his sins and was being sanctified daily by the Spirit. Because of this, Paul did not live out his will or life from his old natural self, but with the new life Christ gave him. He identified with and was crucified with Christ. Jesus lived in Paul’s body. Paul had given his whole being to God-heart, soul, mind, and strength. When he did this, he was crucified from his old sinful, self-willed person and was made into a new man by Christ through His life, death, resurrection, and ascension. Paul lived by the faith he had in Jesus to accept when he had enough and when he didn’t, and when he didn’t have anything. He was at peace because he trusted God to give Him what he needed in His timing for His purposes. This trust because of our hope and faith in God gives us peace and contentment. This shows a life in whom Christ lives because of His love for the person. It shows because of a person’s love for God through a close relationship with Him and evidence in obeying Him.

When Paul was saved from his sins, by faith (the faith God gives a person and the faith that person activates/uses to believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God), he was saved from his sins, his shame, and the power of death. This means he was also saved from himself. Jesus in us as the Holy Spirit gives us the power to withstand temptation and sin. In our old nature, we do not have that power. By faith, Paul was saved from his sins and Christ came to live in him. Each day after his conversion, Paul, by his decision, chose to be more like Christ so he acted, spoke, and thought more like Christ and people saw Jesus living in him. That is faith in action, a daily giving our whole heart, soul, mind, and strength to Him in love. It requires trust and faith in God and His plan for our lives and the world. It requires recognizing we can do nothing to make this world a better place of our own will and design. God’s plan from the foundation of the world is to bring all people to a saving knowledge of Him. Paul’s faith grew. His trust in God grew. Paul trusted God to take care of all his needs. He had hope for his salvation in the future when Jesus returns. Paul had hope in Jesus each day to carry him through pitfalls and to give him what he needed. Even on days when Paul’s physical needs went unmet, Paul still had faith in God. He trusted in Him and God’s plans because he knew Him and loved Him with his whole being. This absolute trust came from peace and brought peace. It brought contentment with it as Paul trusted God.

Consider when Paul was on the ship going toward Rome and the winter storms tossed the ship and crashed upon the rocks. Remember when a viper bit him while they started a fire trying to get warm after swimming to shore. Next remember, Paul did not die from the snake bite, but ended up healing many people on that small island. We do not read that Paul was upset about not having food, dry clothes, a bed, or fresh water to drink. He trusted God’s plan to get him to Rome. Paul knew God had a purpose for their ship crashing on the rocks at that island. He had faith in God. Paul trusted Him. His hope in God sustained him because he knew God’s plan was greater than what he himself could discern. Paul was at peace and was content with where God put him for that time. He was daily and moment-by-moment being sanctified. This growing in Christ, the being sanctified, caused Christ to live in Paul’s body so Paul wasn’t seen, but Jesus was. By this, Jesus received the glory and praise. John said something similar when asked by his disciples what he would do now that the Messiah had come. John said, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” (John 3:30 [NASB])

When we allow God to have our whole being, when we love Him with our heart, soul, mind, and strength, then our relationship with Him becomes closer. We begin to become Christlike. When people look at us, watch us, and hear us, they no longer see who we were before we became Christians, but instead they see Jesus and are amazed and glorify God. All this takes faith in action and leads us to become Christians, seeking a deeper relationship with Him, growing in faith, hope, and love, gaining more peace, and having contentment. None of these is a once-off occurrence. As you daily walk with the Lord and seek His will, you grow, and your life becomes less about you and more about Jesus. You will decrease, and He will increase so that people see Jesus more and more in you.

Do you live by faith in your flesh or faith in the Son of God who loved you and gave Himself up for you? This is what Paul asked Peter in Galatians 2:20.

What keeps you from giving God everything and letting Him become your everything?

Is your faith growing? Are you activating it by seeking God, seeking His truth, and seeking to live in obedience to Him?

Are you living with the hope Jesus gives you and the peace and contentment that come from knowing God will provide all your needs?

Remember what Paul said to the Romans,

“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28 [NASB])

God has a plan. He has a purpose. You are part of the plan. He will take care of you.

Trust Him. Have Hope in Him.

Receive Peace from Him. Be Content.

Lord, I am weak. There is nothing in me that can save me from my sins. I realize I need you to save me from my sins, shame, and death. Lord, I need you to save me from my plans so that I seek You and Your best plans. Help me remember when I fear You don’t care that Your plan is okay, and I can trust You because of Your great love for me. Forgive me for when I run off and do my own thing. Forgive me for not seeking and obeying You. Forgive me for not activating my faith in You and then doubting Your love and care for me. Help me to trust you and to have all my hope in You. Give me Your perfect peace and contentment. Lord, live in me so that I decrease and You increase. Let the world see You in me as I walk in this body. You are God and I am not.

True Light and Peace

Coming to the end of a year, a question often arises. Do we look back before looking forward, or do we face only the future closing the door on the past? To answer that question, we must ask another. Is the fear of pain from the past too great to consider when thinking about the new year? Let’s conjecture that looking back helps prepare us for the future and helps us see and experience both joyful and hard times with balance, with peace. How can these be?

Consider what John said in John 1:10. He spoke of Jesus, the “true Light,” when he said, “He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.” The Son existed before He created the world, and yet the world did not know Him. Still, God did not count that against humanity completely. He desired to have a relationship with each person, who though sinful was loved by Him. God’s desire for a relationship led Him to plan a way for each person to receive complete cleansing from sins and renewing of a right relationship with Him. This plan is God’s provision of salvation from sin’s penalty by the pure sin sacrifice of Jesus, His Son, the Light John spoke of in John 1.

John said more in verse ten. He said, “The world did not know Him.” This word “know” comes from the Greek word ginosko. It means to realize something through personal experience. If you recall meeting a person unfamiliar to you, first you may have seen the person, but not known the person’s name. Next you would have heard the name of the person, but not met the person. The following step in an experiential relationship of knowing a person was being introduced to the person or meeting and introducing one’s self to the person. The next step of knowing this new person was to look purposefully for the person where you expected him or her to be, like at school or the shop. The following step would be to call the person to get to know him or her better. Later you may have planned together to go jointly somewhere. As you spent more time together, you learned of the person’s likes and dislikes. You strove to give him or her what he or she liked. Finally, you committed with your heart, mind, body, and soul to be best friends, husband and wife, or some other close relationship. This is what ginosko means. It means a gradual, experiential knowing someone.

Moses taught this same understanding of our verb “to know” to the Hebrews when he returned to Egypt and led them from Egypt to the Promised Land. The word he used was yada. Yada has the same meaning. Moses showed the Hebrews the power of his God when he proclaimed the plagues over Egypt. Next, he showed them the cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night telling them it was God’s presence protecting and guiding them. The Hebrews learned to recognize and expect God in those ways. As Moses set up a tent of tabernacle wherever they encamped, the people learned that meeting with God is real. He is as near as your own being and as far away as the heavens. They saw Moses’ face glowing from being in the presence of God’s glory. Moses continued to make God known to the Israelites throughout His forty years as their leader. By the time the Israelites entered the Promised Land, they knew God and covenanted with Him that He would be their sole God and they would be His people. The Israelites came to know God experientially, too.

This understanding of “knowing” is what John meant when he said, “The world did not know Him (Jesus).” Through the Old Testament period, the Jews had the commandments of God, which were to lead them to Him to have a relationship with Him. Still, the Jews often strayed from a relationship with God. They sinned, and He disciplined them. The Israelites enemies captured, scattered, and/or took some of them into captivity. Their national land size decreased. The Israelites worshiped other gods. Finally, during the 400 years before Christ’s birth, silence reigned over the land when no prophets of God spoke for Him to the Israelites. “The world did not know Him.” John was right. Even the Jews did not know Jesus. “Jesus came to His own (the Jews), and they did not know Him,” John said in verse eleven.

We each need to consider our first question and answer it for ourselves. Do we look back before looking forward, or do we face only the future closing the door on the past? Knowing God is not just an intellectual action. It is a response of faith and acceptance of Christ, the One who made God known. When we consider our first question, we must decide if we know God through Jesus Christ. Can you hear His questions?

“Did you know Me when happiness came to you this year? Did you seek Me to thank Me for what I did for you and for being in a relationship with you? Did you seek to use the blessing I gave you for My purposes or did you withhold it?”

“Did you know Me when the dark abyss knocked at your door? Did you seek Me and My will or did you turn your back on Me doubting My love for you?”

In each of these situations, you can do God’s will. What is His will? That we know Him, love Him, and show our love of Him by our obedience to Him. That we glorify Him, not ourselves or what we own, will do, or will become. Oswald Chambers surmised that if we follow God’s will and experience pain, then we are being pulled by other things and God. We are torn in two. Chambers says that comes from lack of trusting God to take care of us. Pain, also, comes to grow us. God allows pain to occur. Sometimes we grow more when walking through pain. When Peter saw Jesus walking on the water in the storm, he immediately climbed from the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. While he kept his eyes on Jesus and not the storm-tossed waves, he walked. When Peter took his eyes off Jesus, he sank. (Matthew 14:22-33)

God allows storms to grow us. We have a choice in how we will approach each storm. Will we trust God and walk while keeping our eyes on Him, or will we take our eyes off God and flounder? How well we know God, ginosko, determines the answer to this question. If you only know God when someone points out what He did, then you might succumb to the storm. If you know God as your personal Savior and have a deep, personal relationship with Him through regular Bible reading and studying, praying, and listening to Bible teaching and preaching, then you will grow stronger in the Lord as you walk with Him. A close relationship with God includes loving Him and doing His will. Paul said in Romans 8:28, “We know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” From this close relationship with Him, trust grows. When trust grows, then the peace of God, given through Christ becomes part of a person’s life through the joys and trials. Jesus spoke of this peace He offers in John 14:27 when he told the disciples He would soon go prepare a place for them. He said, “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.”

As we consider the new year coming, we return to our first question. Do we look back before looking forward, or do we face only the future while closing the door on the past? Are you afraid to look back at this year when looking ahead to 2019? Do you only consider the future and slam the door on the past because you don’t want to face it again? If you know God, you do not have to fear the past or the future. You do not have to make resolutions to ensure the upcoming new year is better than this year. Instead, trust God to take care of your new year and your pain from this year. Allow yourself not to be self-sufficient, but to trust in God. How do you do this? How do you trust God with your year and your life? Get to know Him, really know Him. Knowing God starts as an intellectual exercise, but it must go beyond the mind to the heart and soul. Oswald Chambers said, “Belief is a deliberate act of my will, not an intellectual act, where I deliberately commit myself to God and obedience to Him.” (My Utmost for His Highest, December 22^nd) Truly knowing God is a deliberate act of your will. Jesus told us to love the Lord with our heart, soul, mind, and strength. Once you begin truly knowing God through seeking Him with your whole being and through belief in Jesus as your Savior, then you trust Him more and receive the peace He gives to every believer.

When you get to the start of the new year, looking back helps you recall where you walked with your eyes on Jesus and where you did not. It helps you gauge your relationship with God so you can grow closer to Him with each day of the new year. Looking back at the last year helps you see where you had peace because of knowing God.  It helps you see where you did not have peace because you tried to manage in your own strength. You can experience peace in the new year when life is stormy and when calm. Knowing and trusting God through Jesus Christ gives peace for all situations.

Are you ready to slam the door on this year thinking next year has to be better? The new year can be better if you seek the Lord to know Him with your heart, soul, and mind, and obey Him. Knowing and trusting God does not mean you will not experience storms. It means you can live with peace during the storms.

Knowing God grows trust and gives peace.

The Person Who Prays - Belief in Power of God (part 2)

Introduction

In the last Bible study, we learned God chooses to hear, listen, and answer the prayers of a righteous person. Righteousness comes from God because of absolute faith in God, like Abraham, Moses, Noah, and Job displayed in their lives. It is an unwavering faith in God that acts upon what God has said to be obedient to His commands. Righteousness also comes from God’s mercy and forgiveness of our sins through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ, on the cross to die the death penalty for all humankind. A person receives righteousness from God when he or she acknowledges Jesus is the Son of God, believes He lived and died to save him or her from sin, and confesses with contrition his or her sins to God. Righteousness cannot come from anything we do. Because God is righteous and defines righteousness, it can only come from Him.

As you noticed, righteousness requires belief in God and in Jesus Christ as the saving sacrifice for our sins, our willful disobedience to God and His laws. Belief is the next aspect of the person who prays we will study.

Belief

Belief in God is the attribute second most spoken of by the Bible in a person who prays. The Bible writers most often stated it as “having faith in God.” In this category, five Bible verses speak on “prayer” and two teach about the verbs “to pray” and “to ask.”

In Matthew 17:19-21 Jesus confronted the disciples who were unable to cast a demon out of a young boy. He rebuked them for their little faith. When the disciples asked Jesus why they could not drive the evil spirits out, Jesus replied, “Because of the littleness of your faith.” Their belief in the power of God was small. Jesus told them even a faith as small as a mustard seed could make mountains move. Nothing would be impossible when they prayed and fasted with and for this kind of faith. The kind of faith Jesus spoke of in this passage comes from the Greek word pistis and means a conviction of the truth of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and their power to bring about that for which they pray and believe. This faith has implicit trust and confidence in God.

Matthew 21:22 and Mark 11:24 record Jesus speaking further on this. Jesus said belief brings receiving that for which you ask in prayer if you ask without doubting. God grants the prayers of the person who believes when he or she asks from Him. Prayer is tied to faith without doubt. A person who prays, but without faith, has no communion with God, does not know His will, has a heart unchanged by His Holy Spirit, and therefore does not pray in conjunction with God’s purposes. This type of prayer will not effect change in the person who prayed or the situation for which the person prayed. Prayer requires righteousness of the pray-er and belief by the pray-er in the triune Godhead.

Paul had great confidence in the faith and prayers of the Philippian Christians. In Philippians 1:19, he stated his deliverance from imprisonment would occur through their prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. Paul believed in the power of the prayers of believers. He rejoiced expecting God to work in his situation and saw already at the time God’s hand in his imprisonment because men of the praetorian guard and others in prison were able to hear the Gospel. Christ was proclaimed even while Paul remained in prison.

Later in this letter to the Philippians, Paul taught the believers in Philippi more about prayer. In Philippians 4:6-7, he said, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Paul trusted in the power of prayer by believers. Even in the midst of his own personal misfortune, he taught the Philippians not to be anxious, but give everything in their hearts and minds over to God in prayer and supplication. Paul told them to expect answer - do not doubt - and begin thanking God for what He will do in answer to their prayers. He told the Philippians to trust in God and His love that He would hear and answer them so that they would have the peace of God in their hearts and minds even though having peace during their times of trial made no human sense. For Paul, effective prayers came from faith and trust in God, without anxiety, that expected God to hear and answer and caused a peace and eruption of thanksgiving to flow forth from the person who prays. Righteousness and belief are paramount for Paul in his teachings about prayer and in his personal life of prayer.

James agreed with Paul’s teaching on prayer. In James 5:15, he stated, “The prayer offered in faith will restore the sick.” In this part of his letter, James spoke about the elders of the church going to the sick person, praying over him or her, and anointing him or her with oil in the name of the Lord. The elder did not make the sick person well, neither did the oil. Rather, the faith of the praying person in the power of Jesus Christ to heal the sick brought His power to prevail in the sick person’s body to make him or her well. The power of Jesus Christ made the person well. The faith/belief that Jesus could and willed the health of the person brought it to pass in that situation.

John spoke of this same required belief by a child of God. He recorded in John 16:26-27 Jesus said, “In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I will request of the Father on your behalf; for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me and have believed that I came forth from the Father.” Jesus told His disciples because of their love of Him that came from their belief and trust in Him and His saving power, God the Father loves them. Jesus will not have to beseech the Father to act for His disciples because the Father will, out of His love for them and because of their love for Jesus, answer their prayers – give them that for which they ask. Love acted out toward Jesus Christ because of belief and trust in Him results in communion with and union with God the Father whose desire is to care for and answer the prayers and requests of His children. The believer’s faith Jesus Christ and His power caused the faith of the praying person to be effective in prayer because of God’s love for him or her.

    Each of these men spoke of belief in terms of the Greek word pisteuo. Pisteuo means to think to be true, to be persuaded and place confidence in God and Jesus Christ because of a conviction and trust in the triune God. That trust aids in obtaining what is needed or prayed for, and in receiving salvation.

Relevance and Conclusion

Faith is void without the person or thing in which a person trusts having power to effect anything in the life of the person who believes. The Canaanites and later the Israelites placed their faith in false gods such as Baal, Asherah, and Molech and received no power from these gods to aid them in their lives. Today people who trust and put their faith in things or beings other than Jesus Christ will not receive blessings or help in their lives. If a person places all his or her faith in him or herself to provide all necessary things for life, that person is only human and cannot stop bad things from happening or give life after death. That person cannot provide forgiveness for sin or give eternal life. That person is just that, a created human being. Only the Creator of humankind and all things can give eternal life, cause help to arrive for every situation, heal wounds, forgive the judgment due for sins, and love people even though their sins make them unlovable. Only belief in the One true God can cause our prayers to be effective by God answering them in His power. For prayer to be effective, the person who prays must believe in God and must be made right before Him, made righteous by God's forgiveness of sins through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ as the sacrifice for sins.

Today we each must decide what or who we are placing as gods in our lives. We must recognize on whom or what we place our trust and determine for ourselves if that person or thing is almighty, all-knowing, and able to forgive us our sins and love us to and through eternity.

When you look at yourself and your life, in whom do you place your ultimate trust for your life?

God is the only One who has the power to forgive your sins.

He can and will give you perfect peace because of His love for you and His power.

With Him you can walk in strength and trust knowing you have a hope for the future.

Will you lay aside your false gods - those things upon which you relied instead of God?

Will you accept Jesus Christ as your Savior and believe only in God?