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God is working in you to make you willing and able to obey him. Philippians 2:13 (CEV)
Living a life of obedience was never intended to be done in our own power. One of the first acts of grace was for God to instill in us the desire to do the things necessary for us to live under the power of the Holy Spirit.
That’s good news for those of us who are weak in our walk. Often we come upon a challenge in our lives and don’t know which way to choose, or don’t want to do what we know we should do. But God will guide us through these times if we let him. He will never force us to do what we don’t want to do, but he will always encourage us to do what is best for us and for others.
Philippians 2:13 also contains a challenge for us. We can not idly sit by and expect that God will do the work for us. A farmer may pray with all sincerity that his fields be plowed, but unless he puts his hand to the plow there will be no crop. In the same way we can pray for good health and that we’ll lose weight. But if we never exercise and eat our fill of unhealthy food there will be no positive results in our endeavor to be healthy.
We serve an almighty, omnipotent God. A God who, through his power, created the universe and controls all of nature by his will. But he will never force us to do anything against our will. The human will cannot be forced to do anything, yet a will that is in tune with God will be able to accomplish great things.
So why do we have the struggle Paul so adequately identifies in Romans? Why do we continually do, think and feel in ways that are repulsive to us while at the same time we struggle to do the things we truly want to do?
Sometimes we fail to listen to God’s leading. Jesus promised us his Spirit as a helper, not a tyrant; a guide, not a dictator; freedom to choose, not a brainwashed mind. When we listen to him he exerts an influence on us that makes us willing to obey Him.
Other times we struggle to follow God’s leading because God works in slow ways, like a crock-pot. We live in a microwave world and serve a crock-pot God who works slowly to accomplish his will. We often lack the patience for him to do things in his timing.
Your Heavenly Father never intended for you to be in this alone, but he never intended to do all the work of the relationship either. Relationships that grow slowly grow stronger over time. Let his power work deep within you to guide you. He knows your weakness and is willing to walk with you to be an over-comer.
PRAYER: Father God, I earnestly desire to see you work in my life, but struggle to do the things I know you want me to do. Help me to live according to the promise that you never intended me to do this alone. Empower me to see your direction and listen to your voice and then to act on what I hear. In your name, Amen.
But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’” Luke 15:32
You see the stories. A child is lost. Parents beg for help and the safe return of their precious child. Teams of law enforcement personnel and volunteers form quickly to find the child. News reports are issued and everyone, everyone is called on to look for the child.
In far too many cases, the scenario ends sadly, but in those situations where the child is found safe there is great celebration. Tears of joy and ‘high-fives’ abound. Heartfelt ‘thank-yours’ come from parents and family members. The child is home, safe and in the arms of those who love him/her.
In the spiritual realm there is also much rejoicing when a ‘child comes home’. Think of the jubilation we feel and multiply it a thousand-fold in heaven. What is significant in the story of the prodigal son isn’t what happened so much as what we don’t find.
There is no questioning about the prodigals sincerity upon his return. No period of ‘probation’ to see if he really had changed his ways. No consequences laid out before the party could happen.
Note the wording in the NIV. ‘But we HAD to celebrate.’ There was no question in the father’s mind. No second thoughts. No apprehension. A celebration had to happen and the sooner the better.
Too often, we who are steeped in years of ‘church-iness’ are cautions in our acceptance of those who ‘return home’. Oh, we celebrate initially because that’s what you do, but at the first sign of a slip-up we tend to think ‘well, you can’t really change those kind can you?’
Too often we require steps to spirituality to prove the life-change in a person before we accept them ‘back’ into the fold. Remember too that the prodigal represents one that was in the ‘fold’ at one time and left. By today’s standards we would think of him as a once-upon-a-time church-goer who’d left the faith, tarnished our good name and then returned for forgiveness.
When a sinner comes home to the Father it doesn’t matter if he comes for the first time or comes after going astray. The Father welcomes him back with open arms. There is no question in his mind that the ‘prodigal’ will fail. It’s a given. The Father is never surprised by our sin. Never shocked by our lack of obedience. Never amazed when we choose our own way.
On the other hand, he is never unwilling to take us back when we come home. All of us are prodigal sons and daughters. All of us can come home again regardless of why we went astray.
PRAYER: Father you know me better than I know myself. You know how easy it is for me to stray from you. You know how hard it is to accept those who have gone astray. Thank you for forgiving us in spite of our ability to be obedient to you. Empower me with your Spirit to live according to your word. Amen.
But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without hoping to get anything back. Then you will have a great reward, and you will be children of the Most High God, because he is kind even to people who are ungrateful and full of sin. Luke 6:35 (NCV)
Ten lepers approached Jesus one day (Luke 17). There’s more to the story than what is just written in Luke’s account of the gospel. Lepers were forbidden to approach anyone. Those who got close to lepers were considered unclean. But Jesus took a chance on them, he told them to go to the priest and show themselves to him. On the way they were miraculously healed. Only one of the men returned to thank Jesus for all he’d done.
So, what happened to the other nine? We aren’t told but I think I know. They went on their way, just like 90% of the people you may know who never think to say thank you. In God’s kingdom he doesn’t expect anything from those who he shows grace too. We can’t earn his favor, nor can we repay him once we’ve accepted the gift of healing. The only thing we can do is what the one leper did; we can praise God for his free gift.
How does that relate to our lives as Christ-followers? It’s human nature to gravitate towards those who treat us kindly. We may do favors for people with no expectation of return, but we are far more likely to continue to give to those who give back in some way. It’s draining to always give and never get anything, even a thank you, in return. Yet that is precisely what Jesus teaches us to do. Lend with no expectation of being repaid. Notice the wording. Lending implies repayment by its very definition. If repayment isn’t expected it’s not lending, it’s giving.
That’s what grace is all about. Giving with no expectation of return. Grace is being kind to others when you know that they won’t show any gratitude and may even return your kindness with abuse.
Yet another dichotomy in the life of the believer. Giving grace to the undeserving. But grace by definition is showing kindness when it’s not deserved and will never be returned. Your Father did that for you when he sent Jesus Christ to die on the cross. He extended kindness to you when he knew you were undeserving and could never repay him. Yet he reached out to you in spite of yourself.
How can you show grace to someone today? It can’t be done in your own power. It can’t be done with expectation of gratitude or reward. In fact, the opposite is true. Showing grace to those who don’t deserve it is the best way to show Jesus to those who need him.
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I thank you for the example you gave us of the lepers. They were completely unable to repay you for the grace and healing to offered them, yet you healed them. Most of them were ungrateful, yet you gave with no expectation of reward. Empower me with your Spirit to show that kind of grace to those who need the forgiveness and healing only you can give. Amen.
Now they were more afraid than ever and said to each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!” Mark 4:41 (CEV)
When you need to make the winning shot, or score the winning touchdown you look to your ‘go to guy’ the MVP, the one who seems to thrive on the excitement and tenseness of the situation. In most cases you don’t put the rookie into that situation. He doesn’t know the game, he lacks confidence, and he may choke under the pressure.
I remember watching a professional basketball game on TV one time. The underdog team had played its best game of the season and was within a point of tying the game with a few seconds left. They were playing the defending champions on their home court. As you can imagine, the crowd was going wild.
On the free throw line stood the home team’s rookie sensation. He was the one that had been keeping them in the game all night. As he prepared to make that shot to tie the game, a veteran player from the other team walked past him and slapped him on the back. The TV cameras just happened to zoom in at that moment and you could see the veteran smile and say “Don’t choke.”
That’s all it took. The rookie shot the ball, bounced the game-tying shot off the front of the rim, and it was rebounded by the veteran to end the game for the home town team! He listened to the words ‘don’t choke’ and focused so much on what was said he missed an easy shot to tie the game.
When you are in the midst of battle you don’t want someone who is going to choke. You want someone that you know will get the job done. There will be close games. There will be battles and struggles to contend with. But with your ‘go to guy’ in the game you know the outcome is more likely to end in your favor.
In life, my ‘go to guy’ is Jesus. Unlike a sporting event, I don’t go to him because he is my best hope; I go to him because he is my ONLY hope. Unlike a sporting event, putting Jesus on the line doesn’t give me a better chance of victory, it guarantees my victory.
The disciples were in the boat. It was dark. Most of them were fishermen and knew the dangers of the storm. Perhaps they’d even lost a friend or two at sea. As their terror mounted, Jesus slept. He knew the outcome. He wasn’t concerned.
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, the storm I’m going through now has me more than a little worried. I’m scared! I can’t fight the battle ahead of me without your help. I need you in control of this situation. Empower me with your Spirit to rely on you for the outcome. I put all my hope and trust in your ability to work all things out to your good. Amen
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 