Month: October 2024

It’s never too late to turn back to God and ask for another chance. The Lord will amaze you with His grace, mercy, and unfailing love if you only will turn around. Look at the Parable of the Prodigal son in Luke 15:11-32, We see a young man hellbent on ruining his life and a father’s willingness to forgive…a striking illustration of our Heavenly Father’s love for us. Or we could look at the criminal on the Cross next to Jesus who repented & trusted Jesus a short time before his death. (Luke 23:32-43) Turning back to God is called repentance…a moral reorientation of our soul…a heartfelt acknowledgment of the err of our ways, and a conscious determination to follow Him. And just like that, God forgives and restores…filling our lives with His grace, and mercy.

Here and in Romans 12:4-5, the Apostle Paul uses the analogy of the human body and its various parts to illustrate the Church as the Lord designed it to be. We as Believers should support & serve one another in unity, love, and grace. So, when someone comes to us with a personal problem, our job is to listen & validate rather than shower them with our experiences. Sure, the Lord is very good about bringing people across our path going through exactly what we have walked through in the past, but still our story must be short and centered on what the Lord did, not on us. If we’re waiting for them to take a breath so we can regale them with our “my story’s better than yours”…it just becomes one upmanship and not helpful at all. To make someone feel validated in the midst of tribulation, we are to support them with Scripture, confirm & bear witness to God still working in their life, and love them through the turmoil.

Even though his parents had dedicated him to God from birth in a Nazirite vow, selected as the one who would begin to deliver the Israelites from the Philistines…and even though God early on blessed his life with superhuman strength, and the Spirit stirred within him…Samson’s life was filled with unwise decisions, an unchecked temper, compromise upon compromise, unbridled pride, and the inability to control his sexual desires. But still God was able to use him. (Hebrews 11:32) For despite all of Samson’s massive mistakes, God still accomplished His plan & purpose through him. Consequentially, you may look at your messed up life today and conclude that God could never use you…that you’ve wandered too far from Him to be of any good…but all you have to do is look at Samson and know you’re never too far from God’s plan & purpose.

Jesus calls all…the weary, the addicted, the burdened, and the hopeless, to find rest & refreshment in Him. No where in the Bible does it tells us that we need to have our act together, our character all shined up, and ourselves all pretty & perfect BEFORE the Lord will accept us. In John 7:37 Jesus said, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.” Jesus has no prerequisites, and no requirements beforehand that have to be met before He will accept anyone into His Kingdom…He only demands our faith & trust in Him. “Come to Me”, had me thinking this morning about a great old Hymn by Charlotte Elliot that George Beverly Shea sang at the Billy Graham Crusades. It’s first verse went something like this: “Just as I am, without one plea, but that Your blood was shed for me, and that You bid me come to thee, O Lamb of God, I come, I come.” Jesus wants you to come to Him just as you are today… with all your problems, addictions, and mental health baggage…and He will give you the peace you’ve been searching for.

What the Apostle Paul was explaining to the Church in Phillipi was “The Already and the Not Yet.” Justification is by faith, and faith alone on the basis of Jesus Christ’s merits, not ours. Our ongoing Christian Walk, imperfect as it is, finds its focus and power in Christ’s death and resurrection. Thus, as our personal fellowship with the Lord deepens, so does our participation in His sufferings. In verse twelve, this prize not yet won but what Paul strove for was “The not yet”… Salvation in its fullness. Know then as a Believer, you too will share in Christ’s suffering… but also know that your suffering will prepare you to share in His glory.

You may think I’ve got my life together…I don’t. You may think I’m better than you…I AM NOT. Daily I mess up and make unwise decisions. I say things that shouldn’t be said, judge others harshly in my mind, and occasionally yell at the dog. To think that I’m superior in merit, rank, or position over anyone else is absurd, for I know how corrupt my human nature is. If wasn’t for Jesus, I would still be that beggar looking to fill the insatiable appetite inside, that only the bread of life could satisfy. (John 6:35) Without Him, I’d still be wandering in the world’s darkness, lost and doomed. (John 8:12) I am no better than you, but praise God, I am not like I used to be…for I have found the Way, the Truth, and the Life through my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. (John 14:6)

The Apostle Paul wrote the Book of Romans predominantly to Gentiles, but being a Jew himself, he had also brought the Gospel Message to his countrymen. Though in Philippians 3:5-6, he showed that his confidence was not in his lineage & pedigree as a Jew under the Law, but under God’s grace. He wanted both Jew and Gentile to realize that they were all sinners and had all been adopted by God as His children. Hense, the wall of separation between Jew & Gentile was removed…with no human distinctions or preferential status. (Galatians 3:26-28) And we have that same trust and security today that God providentially watches over and preserves His people, in order to accomplish His ultimate plan and purpose for the Kingdom.

We can’t go through our Christian life cherry-picking what we will accept & reject in the Bible…either we receive God’s Word as infallible, or we don’t. Jesus quoted Deuteronomy 8:3 in Matthew 4:4 when He said, “Man doesn’t live by bread alone, man lives by every Word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.” Every Word in the Bible is fit for God to direct, provide, and give us victory. His Word is truth, (John 17:17) in a world swirling with falsehoods & lies. So, we can’t pick and choose what we’ll accept & what we’ll reject in His Word…for it just shows how prideful we have become…thinking we know more than God. Proverbs 10:8 tells us that, “The wise heart will receive commandments.” and in contrast, I Thessalonians 4:7-8 warns us, “For God didn’t call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. Therefore, he who rejects this instruction doesn’t reject man but God…”

Earlier in Chapter 18, God had allowed King Jehosaphat to escape death from the imposing Syrian army. But God also chastised him for his past doublemindedness. So here in Chapter 19, King Jehosaphat personally traveled throughout the kingdom drawing people back to God. He also set up a court system to enforce the Mosaic Law…charging these men to use the Law to influence their decisions…not politics, cronyism, family ties, or under the table bribes. Sure, they had many negative cases & situations arise, but they were to place their trust, heart, and mind steadfastly in God’s Word, not their own understanding. And in doing so, would draw the people back to God by their obedience.

How’s your prayer life doing? Is it something you look forward to, or is it always an arduous endeavor? What do you do when you know you should pray, but you don’t “feel” like it? Well, join the crowd! Even the disciples struggled with prayer and asked Jesus to, “Teach us to pray.” (Luke 11:1) So let’s look at prayer from a different angle. Charles Hodge calls prayer the converse of the soul with God…taking our feelings & emotions out of the equation of communing with our heavenly Father and placing it at a far higher realm. So not “feeling” like praying has no merit whatsoever. Neither is the sweet phrase we use so often addressing someone who’s going through a tough time…”I’ll pray for you.” but not taking the time to actually do it. What a terrible waste of an opportunity to build not only your faith, but theirs as your prayers are made known to God. (Philippians 4:6) So from now on, when you don’t “feel” like praying…pray twice as much, twice as hard, and with twice the fervor…and see what happens.