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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.
In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:16
What is God like? Is he an old man who’s completely lost touch with the new things of the world? Is he some irrelevant being or concept that has no real bearing on life in the twenty-first century? Perhaps he’s an angry, vindictive being set on making our lives fearful, miserable and guilt-ridden? Or a God of feeble love, making demands and then changing his mind because he wants everyone to be happy. Maybe, as some think, he’s dead!
There have been many scholars, smart men and women, who have devoted the better part of their lives to proving God’s existence, or his demise; who’ve tried to prove he’s involved in everything, or in nothing at all. But when Jesus walked on earth, he never spent any of his time trying to prove his Father’s existence. Instead his whole life on earth was filled with proving what God is like.
How did Jesus do that? By giving the blind man sight; telling the woman guilty of adultery she was forgiven and not condemned; by pleading with those who were set in their sinful ways or depending on religion to get them through, to come to a relationship of love with God. The list goes on. Healing of the little girl; the raising of his best friend from the dead; reaching out to the homeless; showing kindness to the leper and the widow. Jesus didn’t prove the existence of God, he lived it.
As Christ-followers we shouldn’t waste our time in silly arguments over the existence of God or what he is like. Stop telling the people around you what God likes or dislikes; hates or loves or accepts or rejects. Instead show them what God is like.
Show kindness and acceptance of the person who is of a different sexual orientation. Spend some time in jail (your choice, not the judicial departments!) sharing the love of Christ with those who are there; be kind and polite to the server at the restraint who still hasn’t brought your coffee; be faithful to your spouse; speak without criticism or cussing and swearing; act in love when others react in hate; accept those who reject you; pray for the person you hate more than anyone in the world; stay away from ‘questionable jokes’ and the porn sites.
We weren’t sent here to prove that God exists. He doesn’t need our help in that regard. We were sent here to make such a difference in our world that even the atheist will praise God for our existence!
PRAYER: Father God, Thank you for the example Jesus left us of your love, acceptance and character. As I walk my way today, I ask that the actions I take and the interactions I have with people would leave them in an attitude that says “He/she is what God is like!” And when I get opportunity, empower me to speak your words of love and acceptance when I’d rather spew judgment and criticism. Amen.
However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived”— the things God has prepared for those who love him— 1 Corinthians 2:9
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to win the lottery? I think about that every time the lottery gets to be up in the hundreds of millions. Even the thought of that is astronomical. Can’t even fathom what that would be like.
We have many reasons for wanting to win the ‘big one’. For some it may be to get out of debt and be able to provide comfortably for our families now and in the future. Some may have more noble aspirations. To build a hospital for example, or to give money towards medical research or solving some social issue that we are passionate about, or to missions. All very good reasons and worthwhile causes to be sure.
Whatever reason we have for winning the lottery, there is one glaring problem we each must admit too. No matter how much we win, or what we spend it on, the results will be temporary. The words of King Solomon ring loudly. There he was, the great King of Israel. He was wealthy, wise and powerful. Anything he wanted was at his fingertips. Yet in all his glory, this great man of God wrote (and I paraphrase) “I could have anything I wanted but soon found out everything in life is really useless. I gave myself everything a man could possibly want. Women, palaces, vacations. You name it. If I wanted it, I went and got it. And what I learned is this. The really important thing is to love and obey God. Nothing else will bring us joy.”
The truth is, it’s not what we have on earth that really counts but what we are building in eternity. Paul writes, (again, my paraphrase) “God loves you so much that the things he’s prepared for you will blow your mind. You can’t even imagine the great things he has for you. It’s astounding!”
Our finite minds can only understand and fathom what we see here and now. We can’t see even one second into the future. Each of us should live to build our treasures in heaven. Treasures that are eternal. Imagine what it will be like in heaven when we see how our lives have affected people. I want to be surrounded by lives that have been touched by my love, my mercy and God’s grace. Those are the things I want to strive for so that someday, I’ll see Jesus and He’ll say, ‘Well done thou good and faithful servant. Look at the crowds of people that are here because of your kindness.’ Sound outlandish? I don’t think so. With God’s help that is my desire.
I know I’ll fail some and hurt others unintentionally. But my failures will not allow me to give up. I’m off to win eternal rewards!
PRAYER: Father God. My mind is spinning as I try to comprehend the things you have in store for me. It’s so easy to get bogged down here on earth with worries and concerns. Help me to remember that you have awesome things I can’t even imagine waiting for me. Help me to build my wealth in heaven by living for you here on earth. In Jesus name, Amen.
For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fool. Romans 1:21-22
Relationship is an interesting thing. The more one puts into it, the more they get out of it. First of all, we need to define ‘relationship.’ In a relationship, both parties benefit from being together. If only one person’s needs are being met it’s not a relationship. It’s an arrangement.
It’s sad to say, but many marriages never get to the ‘relationship’ stage. As a result one person feels like they give and give and give with nothing in return. Eventually the stress is too much and divorce (either emotional or physical) happens.
The same is true in our spiritual lives with God. Many people believe in God or a god of some sort. But knowing God or about God and being in relationship with God are completely different. Compare it to a physical love relationship.
What does a perfect love relationship look like to you? Don’t you think constantly about the other person? You go to work. You go about the mundane tasks of life. You hang with friends, deliver the kids to soccer practice and fold the laundry. But in the back of your mind there is always that thought of the person you love.
The same is true in our spiritual lives. The God of the universe earnestly desires a passionate love relationship with you. But relationship with God, like any relationship is a two-way street. Our Father God has given everything for us, even his only Son, Jesus. What does he want in return? Our love. Love shown through obedience to the things we know we should do. Love that is shown through avoiding the things we know are wrong.
When love is given and not returned we call it being ungrateful. When we are ungrateful to God for his blessings it makes our hearts insensitive to his desire to draw us to himself. We show ingratitude by compartmentalizing our lives. God is good on Sundays. God is looked to in the face of adversity or severe trial. As one pundit remarked, “When a jetliner is going down, there are no atheists on board!”
The longer we live lives that are ungrateful to God, the more our hearts grow insensitive to God and his leading. Will God still bless us? Sometimes, but those blessings may not satisfy. We can receive outward blessing and still harbor inner turmoil. Turmoil that we seek to fill with other gods like financial security, new ‘relationships’, social action, or religion.
Your Father God in heaven is real. He earnestly desires to have a relationship, not an arrangement with you. Part of that process is showing him living gratitude in your thoughts, words and actions.
PRAYER: Father God. I don’t want to be one of those who never shows my gratitude for all you’ve done for me. Forgive me for following my own way and expecting your blessing when I’m really being ungrateful. Empower me with your Spirit to enter into a passionate love relationship with you. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.
Rich and poor have this in common: The LORD is the Maker of them all. Proverbs 22:2
Try as we might to avoid it, we put labels on people. We judge them by the way they dress; the work they do; the church they go to; whether they go to church; their sexual orientation; their marital status and a whole list of other things. We don’t even realize it half the time!
I wonder how much anger would be removed from the world if we could just grasp the truth of Proverbs 22:2.
“The Lord is maker of us all.” It’s not our education that makes us. It’s not the government or unions or social status that makes us what we are. It’s the Lord God of heaven that determines the important things about us. I don’t buy into the idea that we are ‘all God’s children’ in the spiritual sense. Spiritually speaking there are plenty of passages in the Bible that tell us that a child of God is one who has accepted Christ as Savior and repented of their sin and called Jesus Lord.
But the Bible also says we are all made in God’s image, male and female, rich and poor, Christian or non-Christian. We don’t always understand the big ‘why’ questions. For example, why are some people rich and some poor? Is it because rich people are smarter? No. Is it because they try harder? Sometimes, but certainly not always. Is it because they were born into a situation that gave them their wealth? Again, sometimes but there are many people who have risen from poverty to wealth.
What is it then that makes us rich? The answer is really two-fold. First of all we need to re-define wealth. Wealth isn’t determined by what you have in your bank account, the size of your pension plan or your social standing. True wealth comes from within. It’s an attitude. So, in one sense we can all be wealthy in the things of the heart.
Secondly, anything we consider of value: money, talents, spiritual gifts, etc. comes directly from God. True wealth is not a government option. True wealth is not a result of unions or political action. God determines, for whatever reason, who is wealthy. Period.
Seek to grow wealthy in the important areas of your life. Seek to show mercy. Sow love. Cultivate compassion. Grow in the riches of Godliness through reading God’s Word, prayer and fellowshipping with others. Stop looking at what other people make or do or have. Focus on what God has given you. He is the true source of all wealth and His wealth lasts for eternity.
PRAYER: Another day Father where your word has cut me to the bone. So much of my anger, frustration and anxiety comes from what I have physically or what I want. I so often forget that anything I have or others have is directly a result of you. Forgive me for judging what others have as though it’s unfair or greedy. Empower me to seek True Wealth through you. In Jesus name, Amen.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 