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Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are his child, God has made you his heir. Galatians 4:7 (NLT)
A slave has no decisions to make about daily schedules, what food to eat or where they will live. A child is given new choices every day.
A slave has no future other than that decided by the master. A child is groomed every day to believe that they can be anything they want to be.
A slave lives every day with the fear that they may be ripped up from where they are and taken from their family. A child is secure in the knowledge that they are loved and that they can always come home.
A slave lives knowing that all relationships are temporary, that those closest to him may be gone tomorrow. A child lives with the assurance that those who love him will always be at their side.
A slave lives with the presupposition that love is based on performance, that he is loved for what he does. A child lives with the foundational truth that he is loved for who he is, not for what he does.
A slave lives for today because tomorrow there is no hope for tomorrow. A child endures the struggles of growing up because he knows that his future is full of hope because someday he will receive the inheritance.
A slave knows that if he leaves, death is certain. A child knows that if he wanders he can always come home. Always.
A slave, even if he were to become ‘legally free’ still holds the DNA of slavery. A child will always bear the genetic marks of son-ship.
A slave sees a master. A child sees a loving father.
Brothers and sisters, if you are a follower of Jesus Christ, you are a child of the living God. You no longer need to live as slaves. You are a child of the King. Regardless of where you are, or where you have been. You have hope based on the person of Jesus Christ, not of yourself.
PRAYER: Father God. Daddy. I’m in awe as I’m reminded once again of who I am. It’s so easy with life circumstances to be deceived into seeing myself as a failure rather than your child. Forgive me for my doubt. Empower me with your spirit to live as your child. Thank you again for Jesus. Amen.
“I am the LORD, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me? Jeremiah 32:27
The prophet Jeremiah was confused. The walls of Jerusalem were surrounded by an enemy much larger and more powerful than the army of the people of God. Defeat was imminent. There was no hope. Yet in the midst of this struggle Jeremiah is told to go buy a particular piece of land. He questions God about this, “Why buy land if we’re going to be killed or, at best, led into captivity?”
To paraphrase, God tells the prophet: “I’m God. I’m God of everything. I’m God of the enemy, I’m God of you. I’m God of those who doubt my existence; I’m God of those who refuse to obey me. I’m in control of every living thing and all of nature. I’m in control of any aspect of life. Of those who acknowledge me and those who don’t.
Times really haven’t changed much since the days of Jeremiah. People still doubt God’s existence. People still question why he acts the way he does. People still determine for themselves how God will respond to their situation. It’s especially hard at times to trust a God who, from our perspective, allows natural disasters to wipe out towns and entire families. It’s easy to question God when divorce devastates ‘good families’ and leaves children emotionally scarred in its wake or when trusted public figures deceive us.
Our Heavenly Father is passionately in love with us. He could make us comfortable, but he chooses to make us strong. As a loving parent he realizes that the best way to make us strong is to bring things into our lives that may hurt or make us struggle, but will, in the end make us able to withstand greater adversity.
Regardless of what you are going through, remember that ultimately God is in control. It may seem the enemy is closing in. It may seem, from our perspective that we are in a hopeless situation. If so, we are right where God wants us, for when we come to the point where we realize we can’t, God shows us he can!
If you water a young tree every day its roots will never grow deep. The tree that endures the drought and the storm and the dead cold of winter is the tree that has placed roots deep in the soil for nurture, strength and endurance.
The Christ-follower who endures the attacks of the enemy and learns to withstand the unfair assault of our evil generation will be able to stand because their roots of faith have grown deep in the knowledge that no matter what happens, their God is in control.
PRAYER: Father God. I thank you for the fact that you are God of all things. Sometimes I feel surrounded by people and circumstances that make me question your actions or your strength. Forgive me for those times of doubt. Empower me to trust you even when I don’t understand you. Help me to be comfortable even in the hard times. In your name, Amen.
I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 (NLT)
He spoke in generalities. He didn’t give dates and times. He certainly didn’t rescue us from it. He gave us a promise though…peace during it and victory after it!
Try to imagine the emotion as the disciples listened to Jesus’ teaching on the future. He didn’t mince words. He told us there would be natural catastrophe’s that would boggle our minds. We warned us that relationships would fail. We’d have to endure the pain of being let down by people we thought loved us. We’d be misunderstood, falsely accused, mocked, and even physically harmed. We’d endure the agony of waiting in the doctors office as they worked on a loved on in the next room. We’d pace the floor at home waiting for the phone to ring with the doctor’s test results. We’d stand helplessly by the graveside of a child who ‘died far too early in life’.
When you think about it, sometimes life just sucks! Sure there’s the beauty of the sunrise or sunset. There’s the majesty of mountain grandeur and fall colors. The silence and purity of new fallen snow; the awesome miracle of a new life. But even with all the good of life there’s just so much pain. Sometimes all the tragedy and pain in life makes one wonder if God really does know what’s going on.
Whatever you are going through right now. Whether it is financial disaster, worry, suffering the consequences of your own stupid decisions, the pain of relationships gone bad or watching a loved one be destroyed by the effects of cancer, or whatever else is pulling you down. Remember this. Jesus told us there’d be trouble ahead. While we are in this world we can really expect no less than that. None of this should really be a surprise. We were warned over 2000 years ago. But don’t miss the ‘pearl in the slime’. “I have told you so you will have peace…I have overcome the world.”
That’s it! That’s the nugget we can hold on to, the life preserver in the midst of the ocean, the high ground in the midst of the flood. Jesus knows…He’s overcome the world. Peace of mind will never come to us in life if we base our peace of mind on world events and our own accomplishments. Peace of mind will only come when we base all we have on the overcoming power of Jesus Christ in our lives. He alone is our stronghold.
PRAYER: Father God. I’m in awe at the amount of relational, natural and political pain I see in this world. Somehow it’s a little easier to bear when I remember you warned us about all this. Empower me with your spirit to rest in the peace I can have in you. Protect me from worry and fear. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.
He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. Mark 14:33
Jesus knew pain. Throughout Jesus’ time on earth he was used to dealing with pain. Not his own as much as the pain of others. He identified with the pain of the parents whose son was demon possessed. He felt the pain of loneliness the lepers felt as social outcasts. He saw the embarrassed humiliation of the prostitute and the woman caught in adultery. He saw the hopelessness of the paralytic and the fear in the blank stare of the blind man.
They came from a variety of backgrounds and bore a huge amount of pain and despair. Jesus hurt right along side them and offered compassion in their darkest hour like no one else ever had. His hand of compassion and understanding lifted many a soul from the deepest darkest night so that they could see the light and hope of tomorrow.
All the pain Jesus dealt with, nothing could prepare him for that night in the garden. Son of God? Yes. Surrounded by angels ready to rescue him at any moment? Certainly. But none of that kept him from feeling extreme agony that night in the garden. He needed to be alone, but not without some companionship. He took his three very closest friends with him. He was in utter despair. Fear gripped him. This was Jesus in humanity. Alone. Scared. Full of anxiety.
When we come to those times we think no one cares. When the darkness of the night surrounds us. When we look for answers but find none, remember this time in Jesus life. He understands like none other what is ahead. He knows what it’s like to be so full of despair and anxiety that his very guts seem to be tied in knots. He knows what it’s like to seek comfort from God and not get it. He knows what it’s like to pray and feel unheard.
Jesus knows your pain. The next time the road ahead is hidden in a bank of fog, remember this night in the garden. The next time you feel completely abandoned by friends and even God, remember the agony of his loneliness when every one of his friends abandoned him. The next time you wonder if God even cares, remember the great drops of blood he sweat as he looked into an uncertain future.
Jesus, like none other offers you the hope to carry on, the companionship I the midst of loneliness, the strength when the battle makes you to weary to want to go on. There is no night too dark, no fog too thick, no despair so deep that he can’t comfort you. He’s only a prayer away.
PRAYER: Dear Jesus. I can’t imagine the pain you endured that night in the garden. The loneliness, the anxiety, the feeling of separation from God and the ones you loved must have been excruciating. Thank you for doing that all for me. Empower me with the presence of your Holy Spirit to press on. Remind me daily of your love and understanding of my turmoil. In your name I pray, Amen.
For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit. 1 Peter 3:18
The Leper probably thought Jesus came to heal for, as a result of Jesus’ touch he was not only physically healed but he was able to go home to family and friends.
The woman caught in adultery probably thought Jesus came to forgive those, like her, who had failed miserably in life and found themselves in a place they never thought they’d be.
To the parents who were forced to interrupt the funeral of their little child, he no doubt came to raise the dead and restore hope to families who have suffered the loss of a child.
To those who were in bondage to a ruthless religion set on performance and rules, it must have seemed like he came to rescue them from the irrelevant and oppressive system of guilt, shame and fear.
Obviously in one sense all those people and thousands more had good reason to think that. Their hope was restored. Their emotions were healed. Their bodies, once racked with pain were healed. But, that’s not why Jesus came. Jesus Christ came for one purpose and one purpose only. Oh, sure, he gave us a glimpse of what God was like. He showed us the power of a loving Father and the emptiness of religion gone irrelevant. But Jesus came to die. That was his sole purpose in coming.
The manger. The teachings. The miracles. All valuable lessons. But if he hadn’t died for our sins all of that would have been wasted. If he hadn’t risen from the dead, none of us would have the hope of eternity with him waiting for us.
Now, you say, there are many people who have died for a cause. It’s being done on a daily basis. Many who give their lives to rescue others and help others ‘in the line of duty. You’d be right of course. But all of those people who die for a cause are still dead.
Jesus separates himself from them for two major reasons. One he was without sin himself. Jesus Christ, the son of the living God was completely innocent of any wrong doing. Secondly, unlike the others, Jesus lives! He defeated death so that you can have eternal life with him.
That’s grace! There is nothing you can do to earn it. Nothing you can do to keep it. All he asks in return is that you love him and show him that love by living for him. Jesus’ only reason for living was to die so that my only reason for living is to live for him.
PRAYER: Dear Jesus, Thank you for the examples you gave here on earth of love, healing, mercy and compassion. I praise you for your willingness to die for me even though, in my rebellion, I continue to do things I know I shouldn’t do. Empower me with your Holy Spirit to show you my love by living a life set-apart from the fickle morals of our society. In your precious and holy name, Amen.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 