Day 32. Peace Treaty

Read: Romans 5:6-11

Let's spend a little more time mediating on this truth. Only God can bring us to a place of peace with him, and apart from Jesus mankind is at war with God.

“For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God”
There are 2 Greek words that can be used to describe enemies. One word means that both parties are offended with each other. Paul uses a word that means just one party is offended with the other. We are the ones who have offended God by sinning and declaring independence from Him, first in the garden, and ever since in sin. When the 13 Colonies declared independence from Great Britain, they were essentially declaring war. Unlike Britain’s relationship with the colonies, God has NEVER done anything to harm you or mistreat you. Imagine a young boy running away from his parents because he doesn’t like a rule because he just wants to break it! What if the rule he didn’t like was don’t hit your sister! If he ran away from them in the middle of a crowded city or in the woods, Who is at fault? The Boy. However, what are those parents going to do? Find him! God is actively working to save too. Even though we can’t find it in ourselves to stop breaking the rules (this is called sin by the way) God has made a way for us to be found, through the message of the Cross of Christ! Jesus died to “condemn sin in the flesh” (Romans 8:3) and exposing just how great our need for forgiveness and redemption (or being bought back from slavery to sin) really is! So great that God the Son would have to become human and die to pay for our sin debt. By doing this we are free to fellowship with God. We are also freed to become alive, that is live in obedience to Jesus but submitting to His Spirit in us and his word. Notice! We don’t become and remain alive by making up for past mistakes, we become alive and stay alive because Jesus makes us alive and keeps us alive by His Spirit. So we must submit and live, no longer as enemies, but rather at peace with our Creator, our Savior, our Master, and our King.

Day 31. Points to ponder.

Here's a little review of last Wednesday evening. Think about these statements.

1. God does not like us just the way we are. OK, people are going to get mad at me for this. I can see it. But buck up it's true. This is why the Bible teaches that we MUST repent from sin. Repentance is turning to God and away from self-righteousness (which is a sin) and other aspects of sin to trust in Jesus as Savior. It happens in our conversion experience, and it happens continually as God reveals sin in our hearts as believers that we must flee from (thus sanctifying us). In Acts 17:30 Paul plainly tells the people in Athens that God commands all people to repent. He doesn't like them just the way they are, because they are sinners.

2. God loves us for what we are. What are we? People made in His image. Genesis 1:26 tells us this very plainly. The fact that we were made with the original purpose of demonstrating the righteous character of God in His creation and rule over the earth is a BIG deal. God loves us because He created us for Himself!

3. God loves us in spite of who we are. Romans 5:5-10 is one of my favorite passages of scripture. Paul clearly states that before we come to faith in Jesus and become part of his family, we oppose His will. This makes us enemies. God loved us even though we sinned, making ourselves His enemies.

4. God loves us too much to let us stay this way. God called us to Himself, sent His Son to die in our place, and The Holy Spirit is present with us in our lives because He doesn't want us to be sinful enemies of Himself . He wants to buy us back from sin, make us alive again, pardon us completely, and give us the ability to become more and more like Him. Romans 8:29 tells us that God's purpose for every Christian is to be conformed to the image (likeness) of His Son Jesus.

Are you able to accept these truths?

Embrace the God who is worthy who embraces us even though we are not.

1 John 4:19

Day 30. Rubber and Glue

ROMANS 12:9-13 (NASB)

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. ¹⁰ Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. ¹¹ Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. ¹² Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. ¹³ Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

I’m rubber and you’re glue. Whatever you say bounces off of me and sticks to you. I used to be an expert at this saying. If we don’t want what someone else is dishing out, we will typically react in 3 ways: Get mad and show it. Get mad without showing it. Or, overlook the offense from the other person. We have so many opportunities in this world to rub shoulders with things that qualify as evil. Think of 3 people you know from school, your family, or your neighborhood who would gladly do something with you that the Bible calls evil. 

If we have repented of self-righteousness and sin and trusted Jesus as our Lord and Savior, We have the Spirit of God so we must be setting our mind on the truth of God’s word. We have the ability to love sincerely! We don’t have to “wear a mask” by doing good things so others see us for personal glory or gain. Instead, we desire to do what is right because of the working of the Holy Spirit in us and to please our Master, Jesus. ANY TIME we serve God for our own self-promotion or self-centered desire or for credit or accolades, we are being insincere and deceiving others as a "love pretender." (Yes I just made that up, but you get the drift) This idea of hypocrisy is a tough thing to conquer, and we will never be completely free from this struggle of selfishness and sin until we are made new in heaven. But, in the meantime, we can be like rubber – letting evil motives, thoughts, and plans bounce off of us, refusing to give in to them and overcoming by the power God has given us to be free to love Him and obey Him in Christ.

I will go and help here because (so these people will think I’m a good girl). I will go and do this (then I will feel like God will be pleased with me). No No! Don’t serve for the praise and approval of men, serve God because He approves you by Faith alone in His Son!

Still, cling to what is good. Be obedient to God’s word. Obey! Be devoted to the body of Christ! Mourn with them, Praise with them, Laugh with them, Serve them, honor them above yourself. Don’t do it for what you will gain from them. Do it for the joy that comes in loving and obeying Jesus. These are GOOD things. Be like glue with these things. Get stuck in a joyful habit of doing them. Cling to them.

Day 29. Indwelling Sin

Romans 7:13 Therefore did that which is good become a cause of death to me? May it never be! Rather it was sin, in order that it might be shown to be sin by effecting my death through that which is good, so that through the commandment sin would become utterly sinful.

Paul wrote this passage in a letter to a group of Christians in Rome, some Jewish who knew the Law and some Gentiles who were less or not at all familiar. He already established that everyone is guilty before God in Romans 1-3. All have sinned and everyone who judges there neighbor essentially judges themselves (Rom 2:2-3). In other words, we can’t say that we aren’t sinners, and we can’t say that we are better than our neighbor. We are guilty of breaking the Perfect Law of a Holy God. Paul goes on to tell the most wonderful news. There is a way to become righteous, without any condemnation from the Holy Judge. Faith in Jesus brings justification (legal declaration of righteousness) for sinners. This means that Jesus took the penalty we deserve. Following the law perfectly is no longer the only way to have God be TOTALLY free to come dwell among us in peace. Jesus is the way! No one has any room to boast, except in Jesus! Instead of falling in line with the first man who sinned, we can escape death, and inherit eternal life.

Now death that comes from sin; that is the topic at hand in Romans 7:13. Did the demands and commands of God’s law cause us to die? No. Sin did.

Think about this. Can you remember anyone ever telling you NOT to do something, then you just HAVE do it? That is the same principle as SIN in your flesh (the unredeemed part of a person). If you did it after being told not to IT IS YOUR FAULT! It is not the fault of the person who told you not to. You did it, not them. That is what Paul is teaching about the Law. Don’t lie. Don’t steal. Don’t covet. These commands awaken sin in the flesh. But IF we have surrendered in faith to Jesus and received the Holy Spirit, we have a greater power than ourselves to combat sin. On your own you have NO power to overcome sin and become like Christ. In your flesh, nothing good dwells – See Romans 7:18. The Greek word translated “dwells” referred to a base camp for military operations. Our natural self is just a base camp for sinful attitudes, desires, and behaviors. At least that’s what Paul says. Oh how wonderful to know Jesus. Through His life, death, and resurrection he is able to take our place, and set us free from the body of this death (Rom 7:25)!

Are you struggling to overcome a sin? Remember, you are not able to overcome the condemnation that comes from struggling to be approved through God's perfect Law, but Jesus is. Trust wholly in Him!

Romans 8:10 says “If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness.”
 

Day 28. He's coming. Now What?

1 Thessalonians 5: 1-11 About the times and the seasons: brothers, you do not need anything to be written to you. 2 For you yourselves know very well that the Day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. 3 When they say, "Peace and security," then sudden destruction comes on them, like labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. 4 But you, brothers, are not in the dark, so that this day would overtake you like a thief. 5 For you are all sons of light and sons of the day. We're not of the night or of darkness. 6 So then, we must not sleep, like the rest, but we must stay awake and be sober. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. 8 But since we are of the day, we must be sober and put the armor of faith and love on our chests, and put on a helmet of the hope of salvation. 9 For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him. 11 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up as you are already doing.

The church at Thessalonica had endured some false teaching. There were rumors that Jesus had already come. There were other rumors that since Jesus already returned everyone who believed in Christ, but had already died were lost for good. Paul wrote his first letter to address these and other issues that the church faced.

Question: Are you ever worried about what is coming? When Jesus will come? How it will happen?

Paul addresses this concern here in the beginning of 1 Thessalonians 5. In verse 1 Paul discusses the uselessness of trying to figure out seasons and times in order to know exactly when Jesus will come back. In fact if someone tells you that they can predict this, they are contradicting the words of Jesus himself to his disciples in Matthew 24:36 that no one knows the day or the hour when he will return except the father. Paul appears to confirm this to the church of Thessalonica. Now, we certainly are closer to Christ’s return with every passing moment, but the Bible teaches that Christ’s return could happen at any time. The fancy word for this is imminence.  This is important because it excludes people from pursuing Jesus with wrong motives. Ever hear someone say “Well I’ll accept Jesus before I die,” or “I’ll ask Jesus to forgive me if I get in an accident.” This is a VERY DANGEROUS presumption! Jesus’ return is going to catch every unbeliever by surprise “like a thief in the night.” His return will come in the midst of unbeliever’s declaring “peace and safety.” Paul says they will not escape the judgment to follow.

As believers, Paul assumes that we are already living according to the “light” of God’s truth, so then this sudden return of Christ will be joyful since we are expecting and longing for His return. Since this is the reality and direction of the believers in Thessalonica and ought to be in every believer’s life. This is true because God “appointed us” to salvation, not wrath and judgment. The verb appointed in verse 9 speaks of a one-time action. When we were saved we were placed on a new course. Before we were on a course ending in wrath. Now we are on a course ending in salvation in the end through Jesus Christ. Because of this reality Paul tells the church to:

1.   Be sober.

In other words, remain alert in your mind. Be renewed by scripture. Live according to truth as is delivered in God’s Holy Word.

2.   Put on the armor of faith and love on our chests

Yes, think armor of God from Ephesians 6. The breastplate covers your vital organs and faith in Jesus provides our righteousness, saving us from the deadly blow of condemnation for our sin. Love is the means by which Christ’s sin paying, God satisfying blood was shed for us, and God pours this love into our hearts by The Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5). The love of God is demonstrated in the death of Jesus. Our ability to be forgiven and pleasing to God comes only through faith in Jesus’s death and shed blood. Our victory over sin is only a sure hope if Jesus rose again, showing that he defeated death and sin for us. In the meantime, we live spiritually with Jesus, because we died to our old self to live with him anew.

3.   Put on the helmet of Salvation.

The mind is a terrible thing to waste. We should keep it fixed on things that are above. In other words we should be looking forward to our reward, our inheretance, not our current situation on earth. We should renew it every day in the truth of God's word and prayer. Salvation has a future when we meet the Judge who is our savior and enter into His presence. Keep your focus on that Day.

4.   Encourage one another.

Bottom line. Life stinks sometimes. But fellowship with God’s family can be sweet all the time. Encourage each other in the truth of Jesus’ return!

Day 27. Jeremiah & Me

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations' (Jeremiah 1:5)


Have you been wondering what God has in store for your life? 

The Bible is clear in stating some amazing things about the prophet Jeremiah. Jeremiah preached to the nation of Judah around 600 B.C. Judah was at the time worshipping idols and refusing to follow the pure teaching of God's law. They were continually insincere, dishonest, adulterous, and unloving toward the helpless. Jeremiah was God's man. The bible describes him as the "weeping prophet" in Jeremiah 9:1; 13:17; and 14:17. Jeremiah was weeping over the sin and rebellion of his countrymen and there unwillingness to repent. God would eventually use the nation of Babylon to judge the Israelites. Babylon really had things going for them. Babylon's capital was located on the banks of the Euphrates river. She had a strong government and military, lots of resources, the famous hanging gardens, a massive ziggurat (pyramid), and an advanced level of technology and culture. Babylon was the greatest most modern nation in the world at this time. They had the ancient equivalence of nuclear bombs, iphones, smart cars, and cool clothes. However, they were idolators. Imagine how sad this was for Jeremiah. A nation that worshipped idols and did not acknowledge the Creator God would destroy a nation that God had established to worship, obey and represent Him to the world. How hard would it be to stand not only against the powerful Emperor threatening with the impending envasion of your beloved country, and also against your countrymen who refuse to worship the God who made them a nation? Tough. Jeremiah felt pressure from every direction. How did he hold up under such difficulty? He knew the Lord God, and He relied on him. Consider the following ways Jeremiah was able to continue faithfully serving God, even when all were against him.

Jeremiah acknowledge God's power and sovereignty! "There is no one like You, O LORD ... Who would not fear You, O King of the nations?" (10:6)

Jeremiah acknowledged God's righteousness! "Righteous are You , O LORD" (12:3)

Jeremiah praised God! "For You are my praise" (17:14) 

Jeremiah brought his problems to God and trusted God to help him! "Do give heed to me O LORD, and listen to what my opponents are saying" (18:19).

Jeremiah was willing to suffer for God's righteousness sake! "...Know that for Your sake I endure reproach" (15:15)

Jeremiah spoke honestly and truthfully when he spoke to God! "Your Yourself know that the utterance of my lips was in Your presence" (17:16). 

Every believer is called to endure with Christ. Let's glean from Jeremiah today and continue faithfully with the Lord.