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“For he who finds me finds life, And obtains favor from the LORD.” Proverbs 8:35 (NASB)
How does one find favor with God?
To the Atheist or Agnostic the answer is simple. We are on our own. By sheer human effort we will make the world a better place because there is nothing other than what we see here. Mankind’s determination, education and provision (of money) will eventually see the eradication of violence, illness and death. Not a very promising future. Over the centuries we can see that man’s efforts to make life better have been fruitless, and, frankly, if this life is all we have to look forward to we are hopeless indeed. I love life. I love the beauty of this world, but my passion is for a better place.
Religion tells you that your best bet is to live morally. Morality, of course, is what you make it at the time. “I can live with my boyfriend/girlfriend as long as I’m faithful. God will understand. My parents went through divorce and I don’t want that to happen to me so I won’t marry.”
Statistics show, however, that rationalization like this about relationships doesn’t work. And morality that is dependent on our own standards leads to anarchy. Mankind has proven that he can not govern himself without standards that are ‘divinely ordained’.
Religion of another flavor will tell you that you have to jump through certain hoops to gain God’s favor and eternal life. Things like baptism or church attendance or community action or a whole list of other things are laid out for you. Follow the guidelines and you’ll have a chance. No thank you. I can play the lottery and have a chance at winning millions too. I’ll waste an occasional dollar on a lottery, but my eternal life is a little too important to play Russian roulette with, thank you.
Even ‘christianity’ (small c intentional) will tell you that accepting Jesus isn’t enough. To be a good Christian you need to follow a particular dogma, worship in a certain tradition, sing approved songs, read a certain version of the Bible… (The list is endless).
Bottom line is this. Man’s wisdom will lead you to frustration, confusion and anger. God’s wisdom leads to favor with God. So what’s the secret to finding favor with God? Jesus Christ. That’s it. Nothing more.
Let that sink in a moment. Having the Creator God look upon you with favor? Can there be anything more amazing than that? All your struggling, all your striving, all your activity to try to make you better, the world better or your neighbor better won’t bring you any closer to finding God’s favor. It’s not about activity, it’s about grace. Godly wisdom teaches us that relationship trumps activity every time. Don’t sell out to those who say you have to do something in addition to Jesus. He’s all you need.
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I get so tired of trying to please others, please myself and please you. Help me to live with the wisdom that teaches me that all I need for your favor is Jesus. Thank you for that awesome truth. Amen.
But God gives us even more grace, as the Scripture says, “God is against the proud, but he gives grace to the humble.” James 4:6 (NCV
I have a friend I’ll call Jim. Jim is one of the most kind, gentle and wise men I know. He’s got a very demanding job and even though it gets stressful, I’ve heard him comment on the struggles of his job, but never the people he serves. I’m guessing from the way I see him interact with his wife of 30 years that he’s a good husband. They still hold hands, still talk openly of their love for each other, still respect the opinions of each other. Looking at his children, he must be a good dad. Family time is frequent and even though they all have families of their own, joint family vacations are an annual event. Watching the glee with which his grandchildren scramble to him, he’s a good grandpa too.
On a spiritual plane, Jim not only knows the Bible, he has the uncanny ability to take some of the most complicated truths of God’s word and bring them to a level even a child could understand. He’s a great teacher in his words as well as his actions. He doesn’t get into meaningless arguments and when he speaks, his words are hard to refute.
So why to I give you all this information? Because Jim is constantly talking about his need for grace and how undeserving he is of God’s love! I still shake my head on that one. He’s the most humble and faultless man I know. Sure he’s human, but compared to some others I know (especially me) he’s the most deserving person I know to receive God’s grace.
Human logic would agree with me that people like Jim are deserving of grace and receive more grace because of the way they act. James 4:6 would even appear, on the surface, to support that notion.
The problem with that argument is that God has given each of us the full measure of his grace available. People that are humble don’t receive more grace, they are more aware of their need of grace.
Too often people confuse being humble with being humiliated. To be humiliated means that my opinion of myself, or the opinions others have of me tells me that I’m completely worthless and hopeless. I have no future. I am of no earthly value.
Being humble, on the other hand, means I’m well aware of my inability to live the life I desire apart from the power of God. I have worth. I have ability. I have gifts and talents the benefit mankind. But I have them simply because of God’s grace. Humility simply means we realize our need.
The more humble we are, the more we realize our need for forgiveness and the effect our weaknesses have on our relationships with God, others and ourselves. The more we realize our need for forgiveness the more willing we are to forgive those who don’t deserve our forgiveness. The more we realize our need, the more patient we are with the faults and shortcomings of others.
Does God favor the humble more than others? Certainly not! The humble person favors God more because he realizes that without God he can never realize the potential he has through God.
The more we realize our need for God’s grace, the more that grace becomes available to us.
PRAYER: Lord God, I thank you for who I am. I thank you for my gifts, my talents, my abilities. I thank you that I am your masterpiece. But most of all, I thank you for your grace that empowers me to live to my fullest potential through your power, not my own. Help me live grace-fully in the presence of others so they are drawn to you. Amen.
“Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends. Revelation 3:20 (NLT)
Closed doors can send a variety of messages. We close doors for protection at night or when we leave home, making sure they are locked to keep out intruders. We close doors for privacy when we need time for ‘personal business’. We close doors for time to think about issues of the heart. Sometimes we close doors to hide. We could be hiding for simple reasons like a friendly game of ‘hide and seek’, of because we are guilty and afraid or ashamed. Generally speaking, a closed door means ‘do not disturb’.
Physical doors are relatively easy to deal with. We can see a door to a room or building and know if it’s open or closed. We can try the handle and tell if it’s locked or unlocked. In emergency situations we can break it down and enter by force.
The door to our heart is quite a different matter. The door to our heart is impregnable. We close the door to our heart for a variety of reasons. We close the door to our heart to protect us from further damage. We get hurt in love and vow never to be hurt again. We close the door to our heart due to fear. We opened it once and it was abused, neglected or stomped on. We are afraid to open it again because it may bring more pain. We close the door to our heart in anger when people or God don’t measure up to our expectations. We close the door to our heart when the feelings of guilt or inferiority are too great.
Perhaps you can add your own reasons to the list. Reasons why you have shut up your heart to others or to God. Some may be perfectly understandable. Others, you’d admit are suspect. Whatever the reason for your closed heart, here is something you need to know. Jesus is at the door knocking.
People knock at a door for two reasons. People knock at a door because they desire admittance. Let that sink in for a moment in regards to Jesus. He knows your heart. He knows every room. He knows every secret sin. He knows where you store the feelings of anger and hate and bitterness. He knows where the box of unforgiveness is stored and the jar of judgmental attitudes is found. Still, regardless of the condition of your heart, Jesus desires to come in.
The people in thechurchofLaodiceahad done some things that were repulsive to Jesus Christ. They are likened to a drink that is lukewarm when it should be hot or cold. Their condition is such that were they to be drunk, would be vomited out of a person’s mouth. Even so, Jesus longed to enter in. Such Grace! Such Mercy! Such Love!
Secondly, a knock at the door means that the person knocking realizes and respects the right of the owner to keep the door closed. I don’t have to open the door of my house, my room, my business to you. I don’t have to open the door of my heart to Jesus.
Jesus Christ will never force himself on you. He’ll always respect your right to choose, but he earnestly desires for you to choose him so he can enter in and built a relationship of love and grace. He earnestly desires to come in and help clean out the corners of your heart that haven’t been touched in a long time.
I grew up hearing sermons on this verse in a variety of ways to refer to winning the lost to Christ. While there may be some justification to that line of thought, the letter was written to the church. Jesus stands at the door and knocks and calls to us. Will you recognize his voice? Will you realize his desire to enter in to heal those damaged rooms of your soul? He’s waiting patiently. He’ll never force himself on you. He loves you too much for that.
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, you know my heart. You know the doors I’ve closed to you and others. You know the feelings of guilt and fear I have when I think of opening those doors. Thank you for your grace and mercy. Empower me by your Spirit to be willing to open myself completely to you. Every door. Every closet. In your name I pray, Amen.
But you, LORD, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high. Psalm 3:3 (NIV)
King David has gone down in history as being a mighty warrior, battling giants, defeating perennial enemies of God’s people and bringing peace to the Promised Land. He was a courageous leader. Patiently waiting until God placed him on the throne, building around him a loyal and respected army, unifying the twelve tribes ofIsraeland making her a force to be reckoned with. Throughout the Old Testament, in the years following David, the Kings of Israel are compared to David in their military valor, leadership and perhaps most importantly, their allegiance to the God of Israel.
With all of his victories, there was one battle that King David never consistently overcame: the battle for his heart. While he is referred to as the ‘man after God’s own heart’, David’s heart wandered from the path he so desperately wanted to follow.
David’s struggle with the heart is shown in its ugliest form in the story of Absalom, the son of David who so longed for his father’s attention that he was driven to start a rebellion among David’s own people. A rebellion that tore the palace apart, dividedJerusalem, and threatened to destroy the nation ofIsrael.
We can weather the storms from the outside with courage, but the battle for our hearts, the battle from within can destroy us. During this time of humility and disgrace, David is driven from the throne, and pens the words of Psalm 3. Tucked away in the words of this song from his heart, verse 3 offers us encouragement during our time of weeping and anguish; during those times when love has been ripped from our hearts.
Three truths from this little verse should energize us to follow him:
“You are my shield around me…” The word shied is better translated as a buckler, as a coat of armor that encircles a man entirely as he goes into battle. We are protected from the attacks the great enemy uses against us. Those attacks may come from people, even from religion. Those attacks may come from above us, below us or behind us. What a wonderful picture for us to hold on too. Se can’t possibly see all the attacks that are coming our way, but our shield and protector, the Creator-God of the universe, our Heavenly Father who loves us with a never ending love, has set his power on protecting us from attack.
“You…are my glory”. Does Gods’ protection mean we won’t suffer? No. Does it mean there won’t be hardship? No. But along with the things God allows into our lives is the promise that he will strengthen us to endure and grow stronger. In the midst of his humiliation, when many of his most loyal subjects deserted him and he was forced to leave in shame, David remembers that some day he would return in triumph. He may not have been sure how that would come about, but he trusted his Lord. Present suffering didn’t keep David from seeing future deliverance. Whether sitting on the throne, or running in disgrace, David was confident his God would deliver him. How true for us as well. As we endure this present struggle on the journey of life; during those times when the wounds of our heart seem unbearable, our hope is eternally set on the Lord.
“You, Lord…lift my head high.” It’s easy to spot someone on the street who is enduring hardship and pain. They walk with their heads towards the pavement. It could be a momentary struggle or a life-long battle they are facing. Their pain could be recent or the festering puss of a wound scabbed over, but full of infection below the surface.
The person who lives in confidence walks with his head held high. His eyes are to the future, not the present. His focus is on others, not himself. Their eyes are full of life, not of emptiness and sorrow. During those times when the pain is too great; the pressure too severe; the future too dark and worrisome, we in our human frailty can not so much as lift our heads to see the future that lay ahead of us.
No worries. Our lord and savior Jesus Christ lifts our head for us. When the journey is too harsh and the enemy too great for us to see our way through, we need only see Jesus. Are you struggling in the journey? Let him be the one to lift your head. Trust him to show you the hope you have for the future. He is your shield of protection. He believes in you when everyone else abandons you. He shows you hope for your future.
PRAYER: Lord God, I’m tired. The attacks from outside aren’t nearly as painful as the battle that rages within. Thank you for your promise of protection. Help me to feel your arms around me. Thank you for your salve of healing for my wounds. Empower me to live strong in adversity. Thank you for lifting my head so I can see the future glory you have for me. Amen.
The Lord hates what evil people do, but he loves those who do what is right. Proverbs 15:9 (NCV)
It’s time to set the record straight. God hates what evil people do. Simply said? No news here you say? But look again at what the words say, or better yet what they don’t say.
GOD DOES NOT HATE EVIL PEOPLE. Religionists, even some that call themselves christian (small ‘c’ intentional) will tell you differently. Maybe not in words, but in actions; by the way they make you feel; or by the heartless advice they give you. Ever noticed how you have a tendency to want to duck when someone says “I’m telling you this in love”?
Let me repeat. God does not hate you if you are living in sin. God does not hate you if you are a felon, an abuser, an atheist. But also, let me emphasize that God hates the evil actions of people. Why? Because evil actions hurt people. Evil actions hurt the victims and the abuser.
If you are struggling with sin right now, it’s important to know that God hates your actions, but he doesn’t hate you. If you are a victim of ‘evil actions of others’ know this. God hates the evil as much as you do. Every blow you receive, be it emotional or physical, hurts him as well. Why? Because even though God hates evil actions, he loves people.
Tucked away in the second part of this proverb is another truth each of us can lean on. The English translation doesn’t quite do it justice. The phrase ‘but he loves those who do what is right’ could be better paraphrased as ‘God takes joy in those who strive to do what is right.’
Fact of the matter is, all of us are evil. Some are evil in their actions. Others are evil in their refusal to work towards forgiveness. Some are evil in direct rebellion to God, others are evil because their actions, while well-meaning, are contrary to the love and acceptance of God.
If you are in an abusive situation today; if you are struggling with addiction; if you are living a secret life that terrifies you, know this. God hates your actions, he doesn’t hate you. He is passionately, madly in love with you. You are worth the fight he’s making to bring you to himself.
It may surprise you but here is another truth. God doesn’t expect you to be perfect, he knows your humanity will keep you from that. He does, however desire to help you live as holy as you can through his Son, Jesus Christ.
PRAYER: Father God, thank you for your promise to love me no matter what. I’m tired of hearing people put me down because I struggle with things I know you hate. Help me to live in holiness and to forgive those who have hurt me because I know this is the ‘right thing to do’. Amen.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 