Today, I forgot both my hymnal and the book from which I get some of my daily reading in a place I won't be able to access again until tomorrow. But, in my dorm room, I have a copy of My Utmost for His Highest, and decided to see what Oswald had to say today. The entry for today talks about the need for Christ to fulfill the Sermon on the Mount in us, because we cannot do it under our own power, but then it also gets into some notes about how it is God who initiates in our lives and how "the drawing is done by the supernatural grace of God, and we can never trace where His work begins" That bit hit me because it's a question I've actually struggled with on and off for a number of years. See, I can answer a lot of questions about my testimony, like when I was baptized, and when I started actively hearing from God and interacting with Him, and when I submitted my whole life to Him and His purposes, and even when I came to believe that the claims of the Bible were true. But these didn't all happen in the order that seems to be expected, and if I'm honest, I'm not entirely sure I can honestly say I know the exact moment my salvation occurred. This is a problem for me, because it has been made very clear throughout my life that many around me believe that anyone who cannot tell a defining "here was my salvation moment" story never really had one. I have a point where I know for certain I was, truly, a Christian after it; I'm not sure whether or not I was truly a Christian before it. I cannot trace where the work of God fully began. Would it be better to assume I was a Christian from my youth, and simply very poor at following my Lord; or to assume that God was very active in my life, even going so far as to protect me from spirits and grant me two singular moments of prophesy (which have never been replicated, they were for a particular moment, they came and were delivered and time progressed, I see little benefit in talking about them much now), when I was still far from Him? My salvation now is not in question. I have struggled with the claims of teachers and preachers who tell me that I must have a story that matches their expectations, but have come to a place of peace about it. My question is, what is the exact moment salvation starts? What things can we trust God will occasionally do in the lives of the unsaved? If the author is right, and it should be remembered that his book is not scripture so it may not be, and we can really never truly trace where His work begins, does it even matter if I know whether or not I was saved at 6, or 10, or 25?
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And working together [with Him,] we also urge you not to receive the grace of God in vain-- for He says, "AT THE ACCEPTABLE TIME I LISTENED TO YOU, AND ON THE DAY OF SALVATION I HELPED YOU." Behold, now is "THE ACCEPTABLE TIME," behold, now is "THE DAY OF SALVATION"-- giving no cause for offense in anything, so that the ministry will not be discredited, but in everything commending ourselves as servants of God, in much endurance, in afflictions, in hardships, in distresses, in beatings, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in hunger, in purity, in knowledge, in patience, in kindness, in the Holy Spirit, in genuine love, in the word of truth, in the power of God; by the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and the left, by glory and dishonor, by evil report and good report; [regarded] as deceivers and yet true; as unknown yet well-known, as dying yet behold, we live; as punished yet not put to death, as sorrowful yet always rejoicing, as poor yet making many rich, as having nothing yet possessing all things.
2 Corinthians 6:1-10 (NASB) Hymn: "O God, Our Help in Ages Past" Isaac Watts, William Croft I find myself unable to accept the doctrine of a Pre-Tribulation rapture. I used to hold to it, when I was a kid and attended a church where it was a given, but when I set out to start testing my beliefs this one fell away pretty quickly. My abandonment of that doctrine was heavily influenced by disagreements with my peers about whether or not it appears in scripture, but even beyond that, I find it inconsistent with the character of the God that makes Himself known throughout the Bible. My wife and I spent much of our morning looking into some missions agencies, and one of them included a certain view of Dispensationalism in their statement of faith. After this, I did my daily reading, and found myself reminded of the character traits that gave me pause about the whole affair to begin with. Apparently this was going to be a theme today. It’s remarkable that in all his writings, Paul’s prayers for his friends contain no appeals for changes in their circumstances. Timothy Keller God is not in the habit of removing His people from trouble anywhere else in scripture. Noah had protection, but went through the same flood everyone else did. The Hebrew people did not leave Egypt until God was done judging it. The prophets received the full weight of the people's rejection, and persecution has never fully been absent from the global church. Jesus promises His people that they will have trouble. God never promises to remove us from trouble, but rather that He will be with us through it. Too often, we try to find rest in the idea that God will eventually fix things, that He will eventually remove us from our circumstances. And while it is true that God will restore all things in the end, that He is victorious over all our troubles and will someday set all things right, that is not our primary source of hope. Our hope is that God is with us, now, and will be through any trial and tribulation we face. Not only do we have the promise that troubles will come, and that He will be with us through those troubles, but we have clear statements that God is most glorified in these times and will use them to help us grow in our walk with Him. When we seek an escape rather than the growth waiting for us, we miss the point of our trials entirely and mistake the purpose God has for trouble. Consider the book of Esther. We tend to note that it is unique among Biblical texts in that it never overtly mentions God, but talk less often about how God is pervasive throughout the entire story. He is there the whole time, placing His people at key places, protecting His chosen agents, answering prayer. Esther herself recognizes her dependence on God by asking the people to fast and pray for her before she takes any action. She is constantly in communication with her people and leaning on God to bring her through. Our hope in tribulations doesn't need to lie in some idea that God will remove us before it gets worse. Because even when we don't see God, even when He is not overt, we know that He has promised to never leave us. Our hope is in the God who is here, now, and will continue to be here even when the worst days come.
"I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth. Because you say, 'I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,' and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked, I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and [that] the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see."
Revelation 3:15-18 (NASB) Hymn: "O Could I Speak the Matchless Worth" Samuel Medley, Lowell Mason Oh, the myriad ways we've attempted to define a lukewarm Christian. It has become apparent that, in the modern western churches, we can apply the label to basically anyone who does not exhibit a passion for Christ in the way we expect or demand. But what did our Lord actually say of the lukewarm? In Revelation, where we get the term, God explains what it is about the church of Laodicea that causes Him to call them lukewarm: a belief in self-reliance and their own resources that blinds them to their deeper spiritual poverty. Wealth appeared to be doing a good enough job of meeting their physical needs, so they lost sight of the fact that their reliance was actually on God and that the greatest wealth is not physical. The insistence on self-reliance, the desire to provide for ourselves rather than rely on God, can take forms outside of wealth. The disciples struggled with questions of status, for instance: They came to Capernaum; and when He was in the house, He [began] to question them, "What were you discussing on the way?" But they kept silent, for on the way they had discussed with one another which [of them was] the greatest. Sitting down, He called the twelve and said to them, "If anyone wants to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all." Mark 9:33-35 (NASB) Immediately after this, Jesus takes a child in His arms and tells them that those who receive a child in His name receives the Father, and I have generally heard this passage used to focus entirely on that point. But Jesus is primarily dealing with the disciples, and their desire for station, and their desire for control. They must become servants to be great in the Kingdom of God. There is authority in being a parent, but the job of taking on a child is primarily one in which you serve. Children rely on adults for everything, from food to shelter to basic knowledge of how the world works, and there is a certain degree to which these things must be provided in a way that it will be fruitfully received. I cannot force my kids to learn in a way they can't learn, no matter how much authority I have in their lives or how much I'd rather teach that way. To receive a child is to receive someone helpless, in need of constant service, and to perform a thankless task that will continue for many years into the future. Picking up a child was a vivid illustration of what He was just telling them: they cannot hope to gain standing before the throne of God by taking absolute control of their world and those around them. This desire for control, for self-reliance, to be the source of our own resources rather than subject to the will and work of God, is a form of arrogant ambition. When we allow ourselves to fall into the trap of this desire, we lose sight of our need for Christ and the glory of His work in our lives. And the result is devastating, "for where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing" (James 3:16, NASB). But we must be more like David who, despite wealth and strength and military power, still saw God as the source of all His provision and protection and saw mankind's relation to God as one of a helpless subject enveloped in an amazing grace. Blessed be the LORD, my rock, Who trains my hands for war, [And] my fingers for battle; My lovingkindness and my fortress, My stronghold and my deliverer, My shield and He in whom I take refuge, Who subdues my people under me. O LORD, what is man, that You take knowledge of him? Or the son of man, that You think of him? Man is like a mere breath; His days are like a passing shadow. Psalm 144:1-4 (NASB) David asks for blessings, for material wealth and prosperity and safety, but he never loses sight of the source of these things. In losing sight of God's provision, and thinking ourselves capable of meeting our own needs, we become like those James condemns in chapter 4 as asking with wrong motives and seeking to fill our own desires. Let us strive ever more to, like David, respond to God's provision with thankful hearts and a recognition of our own inability to do what He has done for us. May we never grow so focused on our own provision that we become lukewarm, but let it ever be said of us: How blessed are the people who are so situated; How blessed are the people whose God is the LORD! Psalm 144:15 (NASB) "If you will fear the LORD and serve Him, and listen to His voice and not rebel against the command of the For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.
Romans 8:19-22 (NASB) Hymn: "Yield Not to Temptation" H. R. Palmer In the beginning, God created mankind, and then He gave mankind a job to do. Adam was placed in the garden, not just to enjoy it, but "to cultivate it and keep it" (Genesis 2:15c, NASB). The very next thing we have Adam doing is, at God's request, naming the animals, an act which showcases his authority over them--an authority that God had by virtue of creating them, but handed off to Adam. When Adam is punished for his fall in the next chapter, the world itself is cursed. This connection between the people and the land continues all through scripture. Mankind is given a sabbath rest, and commanded to give the land one as well (Leviticus 25:4). One aspect of the exile of the nations of Israel and Judah was to give the land the sabbath it had not received (2 Chronicles 36:21). The world, subjected to futility, longs for redemption alongside mankind, as described in Romans above. Finally, in Revelation, God remakes creation in a perfect state after condemning "those who destroy the Earth" (Revelation 11:18d, NASB). Why does the land itself suffer so much hassle? Why does God make such a concern about how we treat the world? There are a few interrelated aspects of this to explore. One is that, as image-bearers and wielders of some measure of God's authority over creation, mankind was designed to serve as a race of priests. As such, we are to be as God to the created order, and as creation before God. Another is that the punishments handed out to Adam, Eve, and the serpent directly relate to the core of who they were all created to be. Adam and Eve have been commanded to work the land and multiply, and their curses reflect their imperfect ability to meet God's commands. But today's reading highlighted another. In 1 Samuel 12, Samuel is following up on the coronation of Saul. Saul has already been anointed by Samuel, named king by the people, led a successful military campaign to save Israel from the Ammonites, and made peace with the select few people who didn't expect him to be suitable as king. Things are going well. But Samuel takes a moment to ask the people why they have chosen to have a king instead of God, and reminds them that this decision was a sinful one. But he also ties the fate of the people and the king together. "Now therefore, here is the king whom you have chosen, whom you have asked for, and behold, the LORD has set a king over you. If you will fear the LORD and serve Him, and listen to His voice and not rebel against the command of the LORD, then both you and also the king who reigns over you will follow the LORD your God...Only fear the LORD and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider what great things He has done for you. But if you still do wickedly, both you and your king will be swept away." 1 Samuel 12:13-14, 24-25 (NASB) The books of Kings and Chronicles show that this impact goes both ways. When the people begin to falter, the king fails to bring them back. When the king falters, the people follow. The governor is never removed from the governed, that which holds authority is influenced through the same avenues by which it influences. God has put creation, to some significant degree, under the authority of mankind. When mankind falls, creation falls; when creation suffers, mankind suffers. We are in a connected system. Are we taking our responsibility over the land seriously? How do we interact with the Earth? Are we honoring God in our practice of authority over creation?
Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have [its] perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
James 1:2-4 (NASB) Hymn: "At Calvary" William R. Newell, Daniel B. Towner Jesus knew what awaited Him in Jerusalem. Luke tells us that "he set his face to go to Jerusalem," knowing full well what would happen there (Luke 9:51b, ESV). We know that He knew, not only because we trust in His divine foresight, but because He told His disciples what was coming. And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. And He was stating the matter plainly. And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. But turning around and seeing His disciples, He rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind Me, Satan; for you are not setting your mind on God's interests, but man's." And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it." Mark 8:31-35 (NASB) In Mark 8, cited above, Jesus asks the disciples who everyone else says that He is, then asks who they believe He is, then celebrate's Peter's recognition that He is the Christ. Then He begins to explain what lies ahead, and Peter stands against it, and Jesus condemns that response and resumes teaching. Now, I don't actually believe that Jesus was changing the topic when He began explaining His upcoming death. What I mean by that is that, while it is widely recognized that this was all one conversation, I've heard very few attempts to connect Jesus' coming death with His questions about everyone's perception of His identity. I submit that this is what Jesus was talking about the whole time. His questions highlighted the expectations of the people around Jesus, and how He was subverting them. He wasn't living up to what people expected of John the Baptist, but He was kinda close. He spoke like a prophet but seemed to have authority beyond theirs. He met some of the expectations of the returning Elijah, but even that didn't quite stack up. He slipped into a number of categories of what the world was expecting, but He didn't quite fit in any of them, and so people didn't know what to do with Him. The answer, of course, was that He was the awaited Messiah, but there was a reason that didn't make the list of outside interpretations: the Messiah they were expecting really had very little in common with the Jesus that walked among them. And this is where the next part of the conversation goes. Peter, having confessed that Jesus is the Christ, is suddenly being confronted with the realization that even his own ideas of what that means are being subverted. He was close enough to see the Christ in Jesus, but not yet close enough to realize what that meant for his notions of a Christ. Jesus sets about removing false notions and replacing them with truth, Peter pushes back, and Jesus makes a very firm rebuke that forces him to listen. He then continues subverting expectations, talking about laying down one's life, taking up crosses, standing beside the Christ not in worldly victory but in suffering. And we can enter into that suffering without shame, looking forward in joy. James notes above that our trials should be treated as occasions for joy, not because of what they are, but because of who we will be on the other side of them. Jesus, who set his face "as flint," as described in Isaiah 50:7, can also claim the surrounding lines that He would not be disgraced or ashamed; even when tortured, put on public display, stripped, hung on a cross as a reproach both from the Romans and from His religious environment (after all, any hung from a tree were accursed), Jesus could come through without disgrace because He knew what awaited on the other side. "There I will cause the horn of David to spring forth; I have prepared a lamp for Mine anointed. His enemies I will clothe with shame, But upon himself his crown shall shine." Psalm 132:17-18 (NASB) Jesus knew what death awaited Him, and He knew what victory He would claim over it. And as such, He could go forth, confident in the knowledge that no trial or disgrace He faced on this earth would surpass the riches in glory He would receive after it. And we, who have died with Christ and share in His sufferings and His victory, can look forward with the same joy and confidence that He had, regardless of what shame the world tries to lay on us, because we too shall some day be on the other side of death.
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Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. Copyright by The Lockman Foundation
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