Remain Confident

Psalm27

There’s so much to be afraid of. A man could walk into my grandson’s school and shoot him. The economy could keep getting worse and we won’t have enough to live on when we retire. One of the terrorist groups could get through our defenses and bomb my home. This year a hurricane could hit Myrtle Beach. Someone I love could get cancer (again).

I don’t really sit around worrying about these things. I know God cares for me and will take care of me and those I love.

This Psalm reinforces that. God is our light and our salvation. God’s light is more than being able to see. God’s Light (Jesus) is what saves us. And that salvation is so much more than just knowing I’m going to heaven.

According to the Psalmist:

I don’t need to be afraid; I can be confident even if I’m attacked.

I can live in the house of the Lord where He will hide me when troubles come.

God has called me to fellowship with Him and He will hold me close, even if others abandon me.

He will teach me how to live and lead me along the right path.

These promises aren’t just what I can look forward to in Heaven. I will see His goodness while I’m alive.

All I have to do is wait patiently for Him.

There’s so much I could be afraid of. But there’s no need. The light is shining and He will and does save me.

Christmas, A Season of Light

Luke1:78-79

This Christmas season was unusual for many of us. We were shocked by the unfathomable evil that occurred in Newtown, Connecticut when a man killed 20 children and their teachers. We wept with the bereaved families and wondered how we could celebrate the joyous occasion of Christ’s birth. One thought that brought me to tears was of the parents putting away presents their little ones would never open.

But by Christmas day, I was able to push away my thoughts about those grieving parents and enjoy watching my grandchildren open their gifts. Was I selfish and uncaring? Probably. But this year, as I grieved with those parents, I’ve come to understand the need for Christmas in a way I never had before. We have to celebrate Christmas because it’s the event that brought the light into the world. It’s the moment when the evil has been overcome.

In Matthew 1:20-21, we are promised that Jesus will save His people from their sins. This salvation isn’t just individual. God knows I need salvation from my many sins. But He sent Jesus to save all His people together. We all need salvation from our sins and the evil that we do because of them.  We not only live in a wicked world, we’re part of it. We need salvation from dictators who kill their own people, from crazy men who shoot children in schools, from people who tell girls it’s okay to kill their babies, from . . . the evils that happen all across the world, every day.

These are our sins.

The good news the angels brought to the world is that the Morning Light from heaven – Jesus – was born to give light to those who sit in darkness, the shadow of death. He came to guide us into the path of peace. So we have to celebrate Christmas. It’s the moment of great hope we all need.

Christmas is truly a festival of the light. It’s the advent of the unquenchable light that destroys the darkness, the evil.

Today is the first day of the Christmas season. So, for each of the next 12 days, I plan to post a devotional about the darkness and the Light that overcomes it. We don’t have to celebrate the coming of the Light only on Christmas, but it’s a good time to start – especially if we have recently become more aware of the awful darkness, as we were this year.

Gates

Psalm 118:19-24

In Guatemala City, rich people live behind high walls. You can’t see their gardens or their houses from the street. If you’re a curious little kid, you can peek through wrought iron gates but you won’t see much. With just a glimpse of stone houses and colorful gardens, I used to imagine fairy tale style lives happening behind those walls.

But gates aren’t for looking through. They are a way for the residents and their guests to go into their home. They are also a reminder that what is on the other side is forbidden to those who don’t belong.

In the Bible there are numerous mentions of the King riding through the gates. He gets to go in because the gates open into His home. What’s exciting about this passage is that the King has invited me through the gates. I don’t have to stand out in the street and peek through the bars, hoping to catch a glimpse of Him and imagining what it’s like inside.

The gates are standing open for me. When I go through them I go right into His presence. I’m one of the guests who’s welcome in the house.

This passage also tells us that the cornerstone is the stone that was once rejected. I’m not going to analyze the metaphors here, but I will point out that Acts 4:11 says that Jesus is that rejected cornerstone. The Psalm is about Jesus. He’s the King that welcomes me; He’s the King that the gates lead to. 

But not everyone is welcome through the gates. They’re opened for the righteous to pass through. And here’s the really amazing part. King Jesus came out through the gates to find me, even though I wasn’t righteous. Then He made me godly and invited me in. I’m a welcome guest because the King made me into the kind of person who can be in His presence. 

So when I go through the gates that lead me into the presence of the Lord, I will thank Him. 

And on the day I go through the gates that lead me into the presence of the Lord, I rejoice. In fact, any day I spend in His presence is fully joyful (Psalm 16:11). 

I get to do that every day.

Sweet Grapes

Isaiah 5:4, 2 Peter 1:3-9

I can hear the disappointment and grief in God’s words. He’s done everything He can for me. He’s given me everything I need to live a godly life. And yet, I produce sour fruit. What more can He do?

What more can God do than everything?

So why am I not producing sweet grapes?

I’m shortsighted and blind. I’ve forgotten that He’s cleansed me from my sins.

I know something about poor vision. I started wearing glasses when I was eleven because I was nearsighted. I could see things that were close but everything far away was blurry. That changed when I had cataract surgery. I chose to have the doctor install lenses that allow me to see distance. But that means I can’t see things that are close up anymore. For a while I used reading glasses, but now I have bifocals. Either way, I can’t see what’s right in front of my face. I’m shortsighted and nearly blind.

When I apply this image to spiritual matters, I realize I must keep the knowledge of salvation right in front of me. The only way I can see what God’s done for me is to hold the Cross close and look straight at it. When I do, I can see that He’s given me everything I need to live a godly life; His great and precious promises. That’s all I need to produce sweet fruit.

Just like grapes, I want to grow a little every day. They start with a little bud on the vine, then a little cluster of tiny balls; they grow bigger day by day until they are a large cluster of sweet globes, perfect for eating or making the best wine. 

Here are the little globes of fruit that will grow if I cling to His promises:

Faith – I believe God loves me because Jesus died for me.

Moral excellence – I live by God’s standards.

Knowledge – I study God’s Word to learn more about Him and who He is.

Self-control – I sacrifice what I want in order to do what He wants.

Patient endurance – I rest in God’s goodness in the midst of suffering.

Godliness – I imitate Jesus in every attitude and action of my life.

Brotherly affection – I enjoy God’s people, my family.

Love for everyone – I show my love in practical ways that let Jesus shine through me.

I have a choice. I can remember my salvation, rely on God’s promises and bear sweet fruit or think of myself, forget what God has done for me and bear bitter fruit.

I can’t imagine anything worse than disappointing God.

A Matter of Choice

Acts 13:45-49

Christians in every place and time have a cultural blind spot. We accept some things without question because they are so integrated into our lives, even though they may not be Biblical. I think the concept of freedom is one of those blind spots for American Christians. We expect to have a voice in every decision that affects us. We expect to have the freedom to choose.

There’s a strange dynamic around choice in this passage. God chose and the people chose. Each got what they chose, but there was an order to it. First God chose, then the people chose. 

God chose the Jews to be a light to the Gentiles. The Jews chose to reject the message. But they were still a light to the Gentiles. They got what they wanted (or rather didn’t get what they didn’t want), but that didn’t cancel God’s will.

God chose for some Gentiles to believe. The Gentiles chose to accept the message gladly and thankfully. They got what they wanted which was what God wanted.

In both cases, God’s will was accomplished. In both cases, the people chose.

At this point I could write about freewill vs. God’s sovereignty, but I’m certainly not qualified to say anything profound about that. It’s more useful to think about the choices I make and whether they please God.

I know I don’t always make choices that please Him. When I don’t, I’m rejecting Him and what He offers me. I’m like the Jews who were jealous of Paul and wanted the praise he was getting. I want to be front and center. Even so, He has still chosen me and He still uses me for His purposes. 

When I do choose Him and all He offers me, it’s because He has chosen me. My response is thankfulness that He has chosen me to receive salvation. All I do should be done with humble gratitude.

God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. 1 John 4: 9-10 (NLT)

The Human Dilemma

Psalm 24:3-6 

In Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis describes the dilemma that all people face. “Only a bad person needs to repent: only a good person can repent perfectly. The worse you are the more you need it and the less you can do it.”

This dilemma is apparent in this passage. The only people who can stand in God’s presence and worship Him are those with pure hands and hearts. But no one is pure, so no one can stand in God’s presence. Thankfully, God has offered us a solution to the problem since we have no way to solve it. Lewis goes on to say, “The only person who could do it perfectly would be a perfect person . . .”

Jesus

Before I can worship properly I need my Savior to put me in right relationship with God.

Now that I’ve established that, I can look at the requirements for worship. My hands are about what I do and my heart is about what I love. My actions and attitudes.

What I love (what motivates me) and what I do (how I act) must be pure.

Dictionary.com defines Pure as being “free from anything of a different, inferior, or contaminating kind; free from extraneous matter; free from foreign or inappropriate elements; clear; free from blemishes.”

The greatest commandment is to love God with all my being and to love my neighbor as much as I love myself. If I want my love to be pure I have to put God and my neighbor before myself. Pure love is unselfish love; it’s loving the way God loves.

And pure actions should flow from pure love. As John said in his first letter (v. 18)

     "Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions."

So I must love God first, other people next and myself last. And if I do, it’ll determine how I live. Then I’ll have a right relationship with God my savior and I’ll be able to stand in His presence to worship Him. (I love the way God works in a circular fashion to resolve the human dilemma.)