Month: November 2021

“He has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature.” 2 Peter 1:4

“And it was so.” Genesis 1:7, 9, 11, 15, 24

            Do you ever wonder if God’s promises will come true? Maybe you’re not sure if they actually apply to you. Or you wonder if God is really bigger than your problems. When we look around at our society, it’s easy to think that there’s no solution to the problems we see. Our circumstances seem so overwhelming that we can’t imagine how even God could bring good out of what we’re enduring. Or perhaps you believe that God can and will keep His promises, but you don’t know what those promises are. In fact, there are some who aren’t even aware that we have promises from God.

            The verse quoted above from 2 Peter says that He has given us promises. But not just any promise. His promises are very great and precious! If you’re not sure what those promises are, I encourage you to begin seeking them out. Dig into God’s word and find out what He has promised you. If you don’t know where to start looking, start with one word: prayer. Ask God where to look. Ask Him what He wants to show you. I think you’ll be amazed at how God will lead and direct you. It may not happen in a minute or a day, but He will lead and guide you to the exact promises He knows you need to hear during this exact season of life.

            Has anyone ever made a promise to you and then not fulfilled it? That hurts, doesn’t it? Let’s turn the tables a little. Have you ever broken a promise? I’m sure there was a very good reason for it. At least, I can always come up with what I think are good reasons for the times I’ve broken a promise. But it’s still a broken promise. Because of those kinds of experiences, it’s easy for us to believe that God doesn’t always keep His promises. We know He’s a good God, so we believe He intends to keep them. But what if situations change? Will that change His promises? Or what if He doesn’t really have the power to do what He promised? He may want to fulfill His promise, but something happens and it’s no longer possible.

            Take a look at the first chapter of the Bible. The very beginning of time. It started with, well, nothing. Nothing existed except God. Out of nothing, God created everything. Have you ever created anything? A painting, or music, or a story, or a meal, or a building? We can be creative in so many ways. But not one of those begins with nothing. I dare you. Try creating a meal out of nothing. No ingredients. No nothing. Or create a painting with no paints or canvas. Or a building with no building supplies. We can’t do it. But God did. In fact, all those things we use to be creative were actually created by Him.

            How did God create out of nothing? He spoke. That’s it. Over and over in Genesis 1 it says that He said, “Let there be . . .” Five times that’s followed with, “And it was so.” That’s the pattern. God speaks and it happens. If you ever begin to doubt God’s promises to you, just take a look at creation. Look at the sky. God spoke that and it was so. Look at plants and trees. God spoke those into existence, and it was so. See the sun and the moon? After God spoke, it was so. Look at any animal, from gnats to elephants. God said, and it was so. When I realize that God’s words could do all of that, it’s kind of hard to think that He couldn’t keep His promises to you and me. He can and He will keep those promises. Every one of them. Maybe not in my time or in the way I think it will happen, but every single one of His promises will be fulfilled. Praise Him for what He’s already done, and for what He’s going to do! If He has spoken it, it will be so!

“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:2

            Have you ever talked with an author about something they’re in the process of writing? It’s so interesting to hear them talk about what’s already in their mind. If they’re an author of fiction, it’s as if the characters are friends of theirs and they are relating the story of something that actually happened. Before a single letter is put down on paper, they already know the story and the characters. They may not have all the details worked out yet, but they know that it will all become clear if they just continue pursuing it. If the work is to be non-fiction, they have a deep interest in the subject and have done research until they know it backwards and forwards.

            For the most part, that describes Jesus. He’s the author of our faith. He wrote the story. The only difference is that He has always known the end of the story. Unlike human authors, there was never a time of working out the plot in His mind and wondering where it was going to end. From before the beginning of time, He knew the end. And that includes writing the story of our own faith journey.

            He’s not just the author of our faith. He’s also in the process of perfecting it. Nothing about us will ever be perfect this side of heaven. If you’re a perfectionist who can’t seem to accept imperfections in yourself, give it up now. It’s not going to happen. If you get down on yourself because your faith wavers and isn’t perfect, know that God doesn’t expect us to be perfect. He does expect us to allow Christ to lead us toward perfection. There are two huge differences between those two concepts. One is that He never expects us to do it on our own. We are to fix our eyes on Jesus, the One who will perfect us. The other is that He doesn’t expect us to reach it. That’s why He will make us perfect in heaven. We won’t do it. He will. And it won’t happen here. Only in heaven.

            When we’re working so hard to try to make ourselves perfect, where’s our focus? That’s right. On ourselves. How much better to fix our eyes on Jesus! What have you or I ever done for ourselves? Not much. But look at what Jesus has done. He endured the cross. He took all our sin on Himself. He scorned the shame heaped on Him. He experienced death and the grave. He rose again. He’s now seated at God’s right hand in heaven. I don’t know about you, but I’d much rather have my eyes focused on Him than on my puny little attempts to be good. If I’m looking at my attempts, no wonder my faith wavers! But when I focus on Him, everything changes.

            If you’re going through a period where your faith seems a bit shaky, readjust your focus. Remember who wrote your faith journey. Take your eyes off yourself and your circumstances and place them squarely on our beautiful, perfect Savior seated at God’s right hand. The One who is and has always been perfect will make you perfect, too. Until that happens, He’ll give you the faith to continue the journey, all the way to the glorious end!

“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.” Romans 8:1, 2

            What amazing and freeing verses these are! I’ve heard them quoted often and have often quoted them myself. No condemnation! That sounds wonderful, doesn’t it? In fact, too good to be true. I’ve heard these verses used as an argument to say that God will never punish us or send anyone to hell, principles which seem to be refuted elsewhere in scripture. So I decided to look into the meaning of the original Greek words to find any nuances that don’t exist in our English translations. Do you want to know what the original word translated “condemnation” means? It means condemnation. Law means law. Sin means sin and death means death.

            Then I was struck by the very first word: therefore. When we see the word “therefore” we need to ask what that word is there for. Going back into chapter 7, I see that there has been discussion on the struggle with sin. It talks about the fact that we do what we don’t want to do and don’t do what we want to do. If that sentence confused you, join the club! That concept has confused many. Paul is basically trying to answer a question that plagued many back then and still does today. That question is why we continue to sin when we’ve been saved from sin by Christ’s death on the cross. He talks about being a slave to sin. Can you relate to that? Is there a sin or bad habit you just can’t seem to break? I know the answer because every one of us has something that holds us tight and doesn’t want to let us go. Some of those are more obvious than others, so you may think you know of someone who doesn’t struggle in that way. Don’t you believe it! If you’re still alive on this earth, you still have an area where you want to please God but just can’t seem to break free of sin’s hold.

            God’s word promises that He will free us from that. If that’s true, then why do we still struggle? Because we are still works in progress. I’ve heard of people who accepted Christ into their lives and immediately their desire for what held them captive is gone. The never wanted another cigarette, or drink, or hit of a drug, or whatever their overriding sin was. But that’s not the usual way of things. It’s normally an ongoing battle to fight against that addiction, winning freedom over it inch by inch. And even if God did do that for you, there are other sinful desires that will very quickly take the place of the one that was removed.

It’s important to remember that those who don’t know Christ don’t fight the same battle because they are easily convinced that sin is no big deal. They may want to break free of the hold a specific addiction has on their life but it’s we who know Christ that really are in the battle. We’re the ones who know that not only does that sin have a hold on us, but it keeps us from full communion with our Lord and Savior. I picture being held tightly by an assailant. Those who don’t know Christ are more likely to just give in and go with the assailant. But those who know Christ fight back, trying to break free of the hold. Unfortunately, in addition to being in that battle, many of us join another battle by believing the lie that when we become Christians, we should be perfect and no longer sin.

And that brings us to these verses at the beginning of chapter 8. If we have the Spirit of God living within us, there is no condemnation. Sit on that for a minute. No condemnation! Not any! Nada! We still have the struggle but there are two major differences now that we know Christ. One is that we have the Spirit to help us in that struggle. And the second is that we are no longer condemned for that sin. That doesn’t give us free reign to continue in sin, but it does give us freedom to stop beating ourselves up over it. God knows our hearts. He knows that we love Him more than the sin. Or at least that we want to love Him more than the sin. He still condemns the sin, but He knows that the sin isn’t us and so that condemnation isn’t on us. We are (or can be) free from the guilt, fear and condemnation we so often place on ourselves. See yourself as God does: free! Truly free!

“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the world of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15

            I’m about to walk that fine line between grace and works. This verse seems to be full of works, especially when taken by itself. “Do your best.” “Present yourself.” “Workman.” Those all scream works, making us believe that it’s up to us to work hard to become all that God wants us to be. Nothing could be further from the truth. It’s very true that God expects us to work for Him, but we do it in His power and by the leading of His Spirit. I think it’s important to remember that this verse is in the middle of a discussion about our words. The previous verse talks about quarreling over words, and the following verse discusses godless chatter. Taken in that context, what does this verse mean?

            I think it means that part of the work we’re to do involves our words. Not just what we say but how we say it is important to God. But now we’re to go a step further. God tells us to handle the word of truth correctly. First, we need to know what God means when He says the word of truth. I can answer that in one word. The word of truth is the Bible. It’s each and every verse written in those 66 books, even the verses we don’t like. God speaks to us in other ways, such as through other Christians, or through circumstances, etc. But if you think you hear God telling you something that contradicts what’s in the Bible, it’s not truth and it’s not really from God. It’s so easy to be led astray to something that is easier to hear and therefore easier to say. But if it contradicts scripture, you’re contradicting God. Let me give you an example. God loves everyone. (true) Therefore, God wants everyone to be happy. (not necessarily true) Therefore, a loving God will never discipline us and will never allow anyone to go to hell. That’s absolutely not true. Do you see the slippery slope? We take one truth, twist it to fit our definition of love, then come to a conclusion that’s much easier to hear and therefore easier to say.

How do we correctly handle the word of truth? The first step is to know what the Bible says. Spend time in the word. Study it. Meditate on it. Memorize it. Let it sink deep into your heart. Secondly, ask the Holy Spirit to be your teacher so you can understand it from God’s perspective. Using the example above, if it doesn’t make sense to you that a loving God will allow some to go to hell, ask the Spirit to make it clear to you. Ask for His help in understanding this. And finally, don’t give in to the temptation to water down God’s word to make it a little more palatable to others. That doesn’t mean we condemn others or try to shove the Bible down their throats. We are to speak the truth in love. But we still speak truth. We do it in the way and at the time that God directs. And remember that just because we’re speaking truth doesn’t mean it’s all doom and gloom. The truth may mean that someone needs to give up the sin that seems so enticing. But it’s also true that God is waiting to bring that person into a place of total freedom in Him. That’s very good news!

Let’s not skip any of these three steps. Don’t say you’re speaking for God if you don’t know yet what God’s word says. Don’t explain God’s word to others if you haven’t been taught by His Spirit. And don’t spend all your time immersed in God’s word and neglect sharing His truth with others. When we do all three of these things, we will be able to unashamedly present ourselves to God and God Himself will approve. That’s something worth working for!