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For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form. Colossians 2:9
Most people don’t reject Jesus, they reject religion. After all, how do you spurn a man who heals the lame, stands up for women and outcasts, gives mothers back their dead children, and refuses to condemn the guilty?
Ask the man who sat by a pool for 38 years before someone named Jesus came along and finally showed they cared. As he picked up his bed and returned home do you think he had a bad thing to say about Jesus?
As the woman who’d been suffering from hemorrhaging for 12 years how she felt about Jesus. By touching him she made him ceremonially unclean. By ‘being found out’ she not only interrupted the ministry of a very important teacher, for a brief moment all attention was turned on her. Think she felt defamed or ridiculed as she felt her body suddenly stop bleeding?
Ask the woman walking home with a son who, moments ago, was being carried to his grave along with all her hopes for grandchildren. Do you think she doubted the power of God to bring life to the dead?
Ask the woman who closed her eyes expecting rocks to fly at any moment. After he raised her to her feet and told her she was no longer condemned. Do you think she went away thinking God could never forgive her past mistakes?
I could go on. The young mom who suddenly could feed her hungry children because the great teacher miraculously produced enough food for over 5,000 people from some kids sack lunch. Or the parents of the man who was blind from birth and now could see. The man who brought home his son, now completely healed from demonic powered seizures.
Fact of the matter is a study of Jesus Christ reveals a man who did absolutely nothing that others could look down upon, except maybe those intent on legalistic rules and regulations. If you want an example of who God is, look to Jesus. If you want an example of what a loving compassionate father, look to Jesus. If you want to see what grace looks like, look to Jesus.
I can’t explain what it means that Jesus was completely God and completely man. 100% human and 100% deity. I can’t explain it. I can’t explain it, but I like it because this example of love, forgiveness and mercy give me strength to go on.
With Jesus the voices of your past become silent; the accusations of the present fall away; the reminders of your weakness become foundations for your strength.
PRAYER: Lord Jesus. Once again I come in humble praise for all you showed in your life here on earth. I thank you for coming to live among us so we could catch a glimpse of the Father. Empower me now with your Spirit to show those around me your grace. Amen.
But you have made me very happy, happier than they are, even with all their grain and new wine. Psalm 4:7(NCV)
With 2012 now upon us many look back over the past year and reminisce about the highlights and the challenges; our victories and our failures; those things we can take pride in and those that bring shame and remorse; events and people that make us happy and those that still conjure up feelings of anger and hate.
Nearly all of us are looking to the horizon and wonder how the economic and political climate will affect our lives. Some are battling the pain of physical illness or relational distress.
So where is the ‘happy’ in ‘Happy New Year’? How much would you give today in order to assure yourself that 2012 will indeed be a ‘happy’ new year? No doubt you’d say, “Well, I’d give all I had for that assurance! But no one can promise that.”
To a certain point, of course, you would be correct. There are no guarantees in life. But because of the grace offered to us by Jesus Christ there are guarantees we can take to the bank, so to speak.
Psalm four is referred to as an evening song. It was a song that was often sung at the end of the day. A song that, in a sense would lead the singer to reflect back over the past day. He would reflect on the good and the bad events as well the joyful and the stressful ones.
Verse 7 is the climax of the song. The Psalmist comes to the conclusion that he is happier with what God has given him than anyone around him who is blessed with the most prosperous life.
How can he make such a statement? First of all he is reminded of the source of true joy and happiness. That source is God, through Jesus Christ. The prosperity of the world is empty and fleeting. But, God is the same yesterday, today and forever. He isn’t changed by circumstances, political upheaval, natural disaster or physical adversity. He alone is the source of our happiness.
Secondly, the Psalmist reminds himself (and us) that the joy God gives is for today. He doesn’t say ‘You will’ or ‘You did in the past’. He states plainly, You ‘have’. Present tense. For today, not tomorrow or some point in the future.
Thirdly, and this may be the most important, the Psalmist reminds us of the location or the seat of our hope and joy. Again, contrary to human wisdom, we are reminded that true joy, happiness and hope comes from within. It’s in our hearts. You can take my home. You can take my health. You can take my career and my financial stability. But you can’t take what’s inside me.
Lastly, our hope and joy is superior to anything the world can offer either through ‘new religious experiences, political change or social action. Think of it! The best that the world can offer us is like scraps from the table of God. There is nothing on earth that compares to what God has given us through Jesus Christ.
The Grace, mercy and forgiveness we have through him is better than having all the latest toys, the biggest house on the block, the best grades or the corner office. All that is fleeting and temporal. But the hope we have will last for the new year and for all eternity.
The joy of the world can make us look happy, but the joy of the Lord affects the heart.
Thomas Watson once said, “There is as much difference between heavenly comforts and earthly, as between a banquet that is eaten, and one that is painted on the wall.”
PRAYER: Lord God, as we enter into this New Year there are rumblings on the political and economic fronts. We don’t know what natural disasters await us. Thank you for the hope we have in you through Jesus Christ. Empower me with your Spirit to live according that hope. Let me live in such a way that others will be encouraged along the way by the hope they see in me. Amen.
“I leave you peace; my peace I give you. I do not give it to you as the world does. So don’t let your hearts be troubled or afraid. John 14:27 NCV
It will happen all across the world today. Some places will have seen it by the time you read this. In a variety of ways, places and circumstances, ‘the ball will drop’. As people watch it drop they will celebrate the dawn of a new year.
Some will use this as a new beginning. Old habits will be left behind forever (or temporarily at least), diets will be started (or restarted), resolutions will be pledged, prayer vigils for world peace, eradication of hunger, and a variety of other causes will be staged.
But in all the hysteria, in all the celebration, lurking in the corner of people’s minds will be the monster called fear. Oh, he may lay low for awhile, a day or two, just to make you think that things really will get better. But he’ll be back. He may come in the way of a terrorist attack or natural disaster for a world-wide effect. He may come more subtly too. You could lose your job this year or a loved one or…the inevitable, this could be the year others lose you.
I don’t mean to be some Debbie-downer and spoil your celebration today. I do really hope that each of you will have a happy, blessed and safe New Year. There is one way we can all assure ourselves of a happy New Year regardless of what goes on around us and that is to claim the promise Jesus gives us.
Jesus was well aware of what lay ahead for his disciples when he made this promise. He is well aware of what is in store for you this year too. When Jesus promises peace his promise isn’t for external peace, but for a peace deep inside our soul. It’s a peace that comes to us regardless of the external events of our lives.
So, while I sincerely wish all of you a Happy New Year, my real prayer for you is that you will have a Peaceful New Year grounded in the fact that Jesus Christ loves you, gave his live for you, and promises that no matter how bad things get in 2012, he knows what lies ahead and promises to walk with us along the rugged, painful and sometimes terrifying journey. Jesus is the only real source of peace you will ever find and ever need.
PRAYER: Lord Jesus you’ve heard all the prognostications for 2012. Better yet, you’ve been there and back. My prayer for this world is that we will find the peace you have promised by putting our trust in you. May each of us live a life of peace grounded in you so others will find the way to peace with you as well. Amen.
He took away your pride when he let you get hungry, and then he fed you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had ever seen. This was to teach you that a person does not live on bread alone, but by everything the Lord says. Deuteronomy 8:3 (NCV)
Imagine what it must have been like being ripped away from everything you’d ever known. Sure, it wasn’t a perfect situation. The environment was getting more hostile all the time, abuse and murder were becoming common. But at least you had great food, a warm bed to sleep in and a relatively good idea of what tomorrow would be like.
Now, every day is an adventure. Sure, the first few days were okay, even exciting. But the excitement has worn off, patience has worn thin and you can’t bear the thought of one more night in that tent! The beauty of your surroundings has been replaced by wilderness. Not just physically, spiritually too.
This was the plight of those leavingEgyptfor the Promised Land. They were yanked from a situation that was dangerous, yet predictable; secure, yet confining; familiar, although they were foreigners in a far off land.
The wilderness wanderings of God’s people are a beautiful love story of grace. While inEgyptthey were not forgotten. The worse things got for them, the more they called out to a God they barely knew. The beauty of it all is that he heard their cries and delivered them from their enemy.
But deliverance never comes without struggle. Those who struggle with addictive behaviors; are trapped in abusive relationships; are struggling with illness or financial disaster will tell you that. Deliverance doesn’t mean you get to waltz gracefully from imprisonment to freedom without some struggle. The enemy doesn’t give up that easily.
Stuck away in the story of the wilderness wanderings is the story of manna. The story of God’s provision. The story of giving just what each person needs at the time it’s needed.
Manna appeared daily on the floor of the wilderness. It was new every morning to remind the Israelites that God’s love was new every morning as well. Each day was a fresh start.
Manna taught God’s people that yesterday’s failures and victories were to be left behind. Each day was a new chance to see God’s work. In fact, if you tucked manna (your past) away for later use it turned rotten! Yesterday is gone. Today is a new day of God’s grace.
Manna met each persons need individually. Those who gathered too little found that the amount they gathered was just enough for the end of the day. Those who gathered much found that the excess was gone by the end of the day.
Manna, like grace, was personal. I get what I need from God. You get what you need from God. There were no rules, no discussion on who gets what or why. Manna was available to the ‘good, God fearing Israelite’ as well as the rebellious and struggling one. Just as grace through Jesus Christ is available to all regardless of their situation.
With Jesus there is no lack.
There was, of course, a downside to manna, just as there is grace. Not a flaw in grace itself, but a flaw in human thinking. God’s provision was essential for their survival. Yet, soon the Israelites were complaining about manna. They began to take God’s provision for granted. May we never take the grace he’s given for granted. May we never forget the price paid for our freedom: the death of Jesus for our sins.
PRAYER: Father, thank you for the lesson of manna. Help me to see your new provision every day of my life. May your grace always inspire me to live with hope and expectation for what you have for me. Amen.
And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him. Hebrews 11:6 (NLT)
When the Russian Cosmonauts went into space in the 1950s they reported there was no sign of a creator God and no evidence of creation.
It seems ironic that the very sky these men saw as proof of God’s ‘non-existence’ is the same sky that reminds me of the awesomeness of his creation! New advances in technology have given new evidence of a vast, uncharted universe. Planet earth is a tiny speck in the grand scheme of the universe and mankind an even smaller speck.
Still, there are people who echo the words of the cosmonauts. They don’t, of course, make their prognostications from a spaceship. They do it from a classroom, an easy chair in front of the TV, and on the street corner. They wonder about God’s presence in the hospital room, the disaster relief office and the courtroom.
When times are good our search for God isn’t usually a priority. But when the journey of life becomes full of potholes and boulders it’s different. During those times when we realize we can’t fix what we are facing, we look for someone who can.
Many have sought God, and frankly, have found him to be non-existent. Prayers have gone ‘unanswered’. The cancer has come back. The lost child has been found murdered. The divorce has become final. The accident victim dies. In all of this, the question screams out: “So, where is God now?”
I don’t mean to minimize the pain and agony life brings our way, nor do I intend to categorize all of our emotions into a one-size-fits-all approach. But in the midst of our crisis of faith we need to honestly ask ourselves a question.
Do we diligently seek God as he is or do we seek the God we want? Some view God as a Santa Clause type individual. The God they want sees them being good and brings toys to good girls and boys. Of course, this philosophy never allows for the naughty list. Santa loves everyone.
Others seek a vending machine God. This God is a little more pleasant to the senses. If you are good, he will reward. Save up your good acts. Be a moral person. Go to church. Follow the Ten Commandments. Help old ladies across the street. Be involved in your community. End result: Blessings of God.
A diligent seeking after the God who is requires our faith in a God that may not always be understood, but is always love. His actions are beyond comprehension, but his forgiveness is without requirement. He’s not about what you do, or have done. He’s about what Jesus has done and can do in your life. He’s not a tame God. He can’t be put in a box. But his thoughts, his actions, his desire is for you and you alone.
PRAYER: God, I’m having a hard time understanding how you work. So many times I’ve sought you without relief. I now realize I was looking for the God I want, not the God I need. Show yourself to me in a new and amazing way so that I can grow in a love relationship with you. Amen.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 