Tag: teaching

Water

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(John 4:5-26)

The Word of God can be a challenging book to read. It can be difficult to see the big picture of how it all fits together. It can be frustrating to wrestle with why God thought certain sections were worth including in Scripture. Remembering where a certain narrative is recorded or which book includes this verse isn’t always so easy. Struggling with doubts about why the Bible is the one religious book we can trust, while all the others are man-made fabrications that lead people astray. It can all be overwhelming.

This is why it is good for us to sit alongside Jesus and the woman at the well. It’s as if we are right there with them, longing for a rest, taking some time to slow down, pause, and recover with the refreshing interaction between Jesus and the Samaritan woman. After all, to make sense of the Bible, to sort it all out, is to see Jesus and spend time with Jesus. Only when we know him do the pieces of the puzzle start to fall into place. Through time spent with Jesus, we get a glimpse into the window of the very heart of God.

We see a Savior packing all of the work of soul-saving and salvation into his short, three-decade-long life, taking time out of his ridiculously busy schedule for just one soul. To see him care so much, to be so invested in one heart, to cast aside all cultural taboos and any faux pas because the eternity of even one soul matters more to him than the opinion of others and how he comes off – this is to know God as he wants to be known. So let us enjoy our time together as quiet bystanders in awe of Jesus’ love for people, for individuals, as he provides exactly what this woman – and we – need. 

First things first, how and why did Jesus get to this point? Our account begins rather abruptly with a “so,” leaving us wondering what preceded. What preceded was an explanation of why Jesus had to be on the move. He had been in an area with a high population of religious leaders. They were starting to take note of Jesus’ influence, which was surpassing that of John the Baptist. It may have been that Jesus didn’t want to draw more of their attention and have to worry about more frequent interactions with religious opposition at this point in his ministry. It may have been that Jesus didn’t want to lend to the perception that he and John the Baptist were rivals. Or, since it wasn’t going to be too long before John the Baptist would find himself in prison, Jesus may have left to avoid a similar fate. 

On top of all of those considerations, geographically speaking, there were other roads Jesus could have traveled to avoid going through the heart of Samaria. Many Jewish people would do just that to avoid the unfavorable shadow of a “purebred” Jewish person having to have anything to do with a “mutt” Samaritan.

But right before this interaction, John records for us, “Now he had to go through Samaria” (John 4:4). “Had to,” didn’t mean there were no alternative roads he could have taken to avoid Samaria, because we know there were. No, “had to” means that this encounter was divinely appointed. It was slated to happen on God’s eternal planner that Jesus would radically impact not just one woman’s life, but, as a result of this very encounter, that many in the whole town would eventually come to call him their Savior by faith.  

She was slow to get it at first, as we all are. But, given the circumstances, it’s understandable that she was not expecting any conversation to unfold with this weary traveler by the well. Not only did the man initiate the conversation with a woman, which was culturally uncoomon on its own, but she recognized, likely by his dialect, that he was a Jew, prompting her shocked response at being asked for a drink. “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.) (v.9). No upstanding Jew would have been willing to drink from the bowl or cup of a Samaritan. 

Take note, however, of how Jesus responds – not just to this inquiry, but to each concern the woman expresses. Rather than diving into a treatise on the past and present relations between Jews and Samaritans, Jesus begins to direct the conversation to the one thing that mattered most. She needed to understand and ultimately believe that he came to bring her not what she thought she wanted, but what she needed: eternal salvation. 

Even as Jesus steered the conversation toward the spiritual, referring to the “gift of God,” making mention of who was asking her for a drink, speaking of “living water,” and finally even mentioning “eternal life,” still her reply demonstrated she wasn’t tracking. “The woman said to him, ‘Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water’” (v.15). Figuratively speaking, she was still looking down into the well, when Jesus was leading her to look up to the heavens. She was stuck on the physical and temporal, while Jesus longed to turn her attention to the spiritual and eternal. 

You ever have that kind of frustrating conversation? The one where you are gradually trying to ease your way into a tough or challenging discussion that needs to happen, and the other person doesn’t pick up on what you’re really talking about? More often than not, those situations are our own fault, because we’re not speaking clearly and we’re expecting the other person to do the heavy lifting in the conversation. We’re trying to avoid saying what we should actually just come out and say and hoping the other person picks up on it and connects the dots. Then we’re the ones who get angry when they don’t, when it’s really our fault that we aren’t communicating clearly. 

This case, though, was not one of Jesus lacking clarity in his communication; rather, it was an example of the chasm that exists between fallen sinners and a righteous God. If you need a reminder of how wide that chasm is, just look at how thick the Bible is! We’re so obtuse and spiritually clueless that God needed to record one account after another to show us our lost condition. He needed to cover every possible path someone might think they could pursue, only to arrive at a dead end every time.

In its simplest form, God’s law is easily summed up with the word “love.” “Love me,” God says, “and love your neighbor.” That’s it! But for us to see how miserably we fail at it, God records take after take throughout history of people failing at loving him and others perfectly. To our shame and embarrassment, he has to spell out specifically the countless ways we violate his command to love.

Jesus’ next request of the woman shows just that. “He told her, ‘Go, call your husband and come back’” (v.16). In an effort to officially shift the conversation into the spiritual realm, Jesus brings up her current living situation, knowing full well it will raise the issue that needs the most attention: the condition of her heart. That’s what God’s law does. It reveals what we think is hidden. It shows what we think can be covered. It displays what we feel can be tucked safely away unnoticed. And she realized it.

Her reply shows that her awareness has shifted from the physical to the spiritual. “‘Sir,’ the woman said, ‘I can see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem’” (v.19-20).

Some take the view that the woman was attempting to change the topic away from the matter of her adultery. However, it seems just as plausible that she realizes the conversation is a spiritual one, her sin has been exposed, and now she is naturally focused on what to do about it. So she asks about the right way to worship, presuming that must be the way to go about it. She wants to see if this man, who is obviously a prophet, may have insight into the right way to worship. 

By nature, that’s how we operate, isn’t it? In some way or another, when we do wrong, get caught or called out, or just plain feel guilty about it, we naturally resort to thinking about what we must do to make everything right. Indeed, though it may not revolve around a building or a Sunday morning service, for many, that’s really their understanding of worship, isn’t it? Many view worship as the required activity that we have to keep up with to counter all of the ways we’ve violated God’s law of love. We want God to just tell us how to make things right so we can carry on with our lives. 

But Jesus shoots down that idea when he explains to the woman that she’s asking the wrong question, and that worship isn’t about finding the right location, but about something else entirely. He explains that “salvation is from the Jews” (v.22), and as such, what matters far more than location, religious rites, or even right behavior, is worshipping “in Spirit and in truth” (v.22 & 23). In other words, worship that is pleasing to God is not a matter of doing the right thing, but of having the right heart. And Jesus qualifies that by adding that it’s also a matter of truth. Because without the truth, our hearts would only succeed in driving us further away from God. 

So what is the truth? Jesus made it known to the woman with his final big reveal. The Messiah – the Savior – she was waiting for, was the very one to whom she was speaking! He alone could promise to satisfy not just dry lips and a parched throat, but a dehydrated soul, with his living water that wells up to eternal life. Jesus could provide what none of her past or current relationships ever could: a heart cleansed and purified by the living water of salvation. 

Friends, it isn’t easy. We are tired. We are worn out. We are thirsty. But don’t make matters worse by seeking to satisfy your thirst with worldly stuff that will only leave you in a worse condition. Drink up. Guzzle in all the grace you can. It will not run out. It will not fail to quench your thirst. It will not disappoint. It will leave you, too, with a clean conscience and a heart that is whole. Less of what will only leave you thirsty again and more of what will never leave you thirsty. More of Jesus and the living water only he can provide. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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To Prioritize Growing in My Faith

Holy Spirit,
Prompt me to prioritize my spiritual growth. As with any growth or learning, spiritual growth doesn’t happen accidentally or unintentionally. If I don’t plan for time to read, study, and apply your Word, it’s rather foolish of me to assume I will grow in my faith. Guide me in sorting out my schedule so that I eliminate distractions and hindrances, including anything that may be harmless but not productive. Help me set up boundaries to protect my intentions to deepen my faith. Fill me with the necessary self-discipline to move forward in setting up and establishing these paths for pursuing your righteousness.

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

Faith

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(Genesis 12:1-8)

What do we really need? In my last post/sermon, the answer was “a gift.” Anything that is going to make right our relationship with God that has been naturally shattered by our sin has to come from him, since we can’t earn it or fix it. It must be given. It must be received. It must be a gift, and it must be by grace. And it is.

But we need more than that. Why? Because, while salvation from God is entirely a gift, entirely by grace, and entirely through Jesus Christ, not everyone will benefit from it. Something else is needed. And, while we have a name for that “something,” you’ll notice we don’t see the word for it at all in our verses from Genesis 12. The word is “faith,” and you can search through Genesis 12:1-8 with a fine-tooth comb, but you won’t find it anywhere. The word “faith” isn’t even in our verses at all. 

But, while the word faith isn’t in our verses from Genesis, faith itself is very visible. We see what faith looks like. We see faith put into practice. We observe faith. So let us see it and celebrate it in Abram, and let us rejoice in it by reflecting it in our lives also, all while thanking God yet again for providing exactly what I need: faith.

What does God’s gift of faith do? Faith listens, it acts, and it is blessed.

Look at this gift in the life of Abram. Genesis 12 starts out with the words, “The Lord had said to Abram” (v.1). Here is the first point – rather obvious, I admit – yet without it, faith cannot exist. It has to hear the Lord speak. Abram didn’t have the Bible we do today. He didn’t have Scriptures to read, study, and digest in order to listen to God. God simply spoke to him directly. We can’t miss this easily overlooked point about faith. It listens. It hears. God speaks, and faith’s ears perk up to hear what God is saying. 

God doesn’t promise to speak to us directly, as he did to Abram. Nor does he need to. In fact, we ought to be relieved that he’s given us something more reliable to listen to than his direct voice: he’s given us his Word. That may sound backwards to some today, as a person might naturally presume that God speaking directly to me is more desirable than “settling” for his Word.

But if we bend our ears to some voice outside of the Word, how do we know it’s God’s? Are we sure it’s his, and how are we sure? Because we like what we hear? Because it validates what I’ve already made up my mind to do? How do we know it’s God’s voice and not our own voice? Or echoes from a movie we saw, a conversation we had, a speaker we listened to, or even the voice of the one who does his best to masquerade as an angel of light, Satan?

If I shared all of the times people told me that God directly spoke to them or told them to do something directly, and then compared all of those results, do you know what we’d have? Lots of confusion and chaos! And, God apparently changing his mind quite a bit and giving some pretty bad advice to some and new and improved guidance to others that the rest of us are not privileged to have!

On top of all of that, I realize how things like social media and all of our methods of communication have played games with my own memory (“Did I actually communicate with a person in real life, was I there, or am just remembering an update they shared online?”). That’s made it difficult at times to nail down reality within my own memory. Am I sure then, that I want to risk the uncertainty of God speaking to me directly and me mixing up the details?

Faith listens to what God says, and what God says is clearly laid out for us in Scripture. Let’s keep our ears tuned to the Bible and not look to or hope for other revelations. He hasn’t promised them.

For many of us, that’s where we’re stuck in our Christian life, right here at this step. This is where the growth needs to happen, by simply listening to God in his Word. I don’t know if anyone has ever written anything as profound as what I’m about to write, but… read your Bible.

Often. Daily. Frequently. More than you are.

That’s what faith does. It listens to God’s voice. Start there. If you haven’t done that yet, or don’t know how to start or how to get back on track reading the Bible, there’s no shame in acknowledging that, but… you should be ashamed of continuing to be OK with that if you do nothing to change it. No excuses. Because faith is inseparable from the Word. 

When faith grows, it moves on to the next step (while always continuing with the first: listening!). Faith listens and then acts. Following the blessing promised by God, take note of the short sentence that follows.“So Abram went, as the Lord had told him” (v.4a). He listened to what the Lord told him and went! See how listening informed the action Abram took? He didn’t just act in some form or fashion that he thought best, but went “as the Lord had told him.” Faith listened and then acted – as directed by God. 

Abram’s faith didn’t just stop there, either. Look at how else it acted each time he arrived at a new rest stop. When he arrived at the great tree of Moreh at Shechem, “he built an altar there to the Lord” (v.7b). Then, he arrived at the next stop, “with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord” (v.8).

Have you ever stopped to consider the effort that kind of worship required? We pat ourselves on the back for showing up at church on Sunday, but imagine the effort required in the construction project of building an altar every time you wanted to worship! And, at 75, Abram was no spring chicken! Abram’s faith acted, both in obedience to what God had commanded him to do, but also in the natural outflow of worship, reflective of a heart inclined toward God.

How does our faith look in this department? Where does it have opportunity to get put into action? Where does it obey? Where does it worship (not just on Sunday morning, but daily)? Again, for many of us, faith in action looks like the first step we already talked about – getting to know your Bible. That is a faith that is listening and acting. So start there. 

Others of you, though, are or ought to be more mature in your faith. God didn’t call you to faith to stay at the level of faith at which he called you, but to grow and mature. Faith doesn’t mature when faith doesn’t act. So ask yourself this tough question: where am I disobeying or disregarding God’s call to action for my faith that is keeping me from maturing? Wrestle with that question.

Then, as you uncover the answer – or rather, answers, plural – repent of them. When you’ve done that, turn to the gracious God whose love and forgiveness for you will never run out, and ask him to lead you on that path of a mature faith that acts.

Do you know where the confidence to carry out that practice comes from? It comes from the third thing that faith “does.” It’s blessed. When faith listens and acts, blessings follow, and low and behold, guess what happens when blessings follow? They prompt us to listen and act even more! It’s like some beautiful divine cycle that God had in mind. Listen, act, blessing, listen, act, blessing, etc. Do you think it’d be a good cycle to get your life on board with? I do! So does God. 

Hear again how God blessed Abram’s faith. “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you” (v.2-3). Do you remember all of the achievements Abram had accomplished at this point to deserve such a gracious promise from God? Did you look at the preceding verses and chapters to see the record of Abram’s righteousness?

Oh, that’s right – there isn’t anything!

That’s because God was the initiator of this blessing. It wasn’t set into motion by Abram’s own obedience or righteousness. Rather, God promised it and prompted Abram’s own obedience and righteousness. 

That’s how it is with us, too, isn’t it? God doesn’t just promise to bless us when faith listens and acts, but he blesses us so that faith listens and acts in response. Yes, we’re sandwiched in blessings! God blesses us on the front end and the back end because that’s who he is. 

In fact, did you even know that this promise God gave Abram was about you? How did God bless all people on earth through Abram? Jesus, that’s how. Jesus would come from the great nation God promised Abram, and as his one divine descendant, all people would be blessed through the Savior, Jesus Christ. That’s you. Blessed by the gracious gift of salvation we talked about last Sunday – the gift that is exactly what you need. Blessed also by the faith to believe and receive that gift. Blessed to be called into the same family of faith as Abram and all believers ever since. Blessed to be washed in forgiveness through your baptism and fed and filled up with forgiveness in the Lord’s Supper. Blessed to have the blessing of the Bible dwell richly in our homes and lives. 

You have exactly what you need; you have faith. It receives the eternal benefits of everything Jesus did for you. But don’t shortchange it, as if that’s all faith was intended to do, to serve as the conduit by which we receive eternal life. No, it’s capable of much more, which is why God gifted it to you. God showed that to Abram, who listened, acted, and was blessed.

Will you let God show you what faith is capable of receiving from him? 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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For the Blessings Received by Faith

Spirit of Life,
Thank you for the gift of faith, by which we have the sure confidence of our salvation, completed in full for us by Jesus. Faith that is healthy and growing is faith that is blessed. When we listen to your Word and put it into practice, we see and experience the blessings you promise. While this should not surprise us, we often react as if these blessings came out of nowhere and could never have been anticipated – even though you so plainly promise them! How much room our faith still has to grow! Increase our faith so that we boldly expect you to deliver on your promises when we listen and act accordingly. And, fill us with humble gratitude for how richly you still bless us even when we don’t.

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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For a Faith That Acts

Spirit of Life,
Thank you for the gift of faith, by which we have the sure confidence of our salvation, completed in full for us by Jesus. Faith that is healthy and growing is faith that acts. When faith listens, its natural response is to act. However, since the Old Adam in me is bent on self-service, it opposes any activity of faith that is directed toward others. Therefore, take me back to my baptism, where that part of me needs to be drowned again and again, and raise me up in newness of life, eager to put my faith into practice. Whenever I hear your Word, allow my heart and mind to collaborate with my ears so that I am contemplating how I might put your Word into practice. Compel me to be not just a hearer of your Word, but also a doer of it. Moved by the power of your grace and grounded in the certainty of your gift of eternal life, grant me a hard-working faith.

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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For a Faith That Listens

Spirit of Life,
Thank you for the gift of faith, by which we have the sure confidence of our salvation, completed in full for us by Jesus. Faith that is healthy and growing is faith that listens to you. And, since you speak to us through your Word, drive us to it daily. Protect our ears and our hearts from any voices that aren’t yours, since rather than strengthening our faith, they only starve it. Help us become better at recognizing false teachers by growing more familiar with your true and trustworthy teaching. Shut out all the endless noise in our lives so that we can hear your voice clearly and feed our faith.

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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For Faithful Gospel Preaching

Heavenly Father,
Sundays are sacred. Wherever your Word is proclaimed in worship today, let it be done so accurately and with clarity, and include a balance of law and gospel. Comfort afflicted souls while also afflicting souls too comfortable with sin. Where stories and illustrations are provided, work through them to offer not mere entertainment value, but to enlighten and reinforce your promises and truths. Allow the gracious news of forgiveness and salvation through Jesus to predominate in the messages. Through such faithful preaching, Lord, feed the sheep of your flock well.

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

A Gift

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(Romans 5:12-19)

What do we really need? We aren’t actually so great at distinguishing what we truly need from what we want. When we speak of upgrading something that is operating just fine, or replacing an older item with something just because it’s newer, we’re really in the realm of wants more than needs. And, while we joke about previous generations hanging on to things well past their shelf life – “nothing a little duct tape or glue or thread can’t fix,” that generation may have perhaps had a better handle on the distinction between wants and needs.

That distinction is important because, if everything is a need, then it waters down what we really need. And more than any other, this season of the church year, which we refer to as Lent, reveals exactly what we all truly need.  

Good news! I think you’ll like what Paul says we need in Romans 5. He says we need a gift. Well, who could complain about that? Who doesn’t want a gift?

But… Paul isn’t just speaking of a gift that we want, which we may or may not get, but a gift that we need, and a gift without which we cannot succeed. Or live. Or love life to the fullest. FOMO is real with this gift, because without it, we are truly missing out. We can enjoy only the best that this world and its temporary, short-lived goods can offer. And frankly, that all leaves quite a bit to be desired. But with this gift, not only can we enjoy all of those things to the fullest for what they are, but we can rejoice and celebrate that we genuinely have something worth far more.

Before we jump right into exploring the size and shape of this gift, before we inspect the wrapping and shake it around to try to figure it out, notice how Paul explains why we need this gift. He paints a disturbing picture of the state of the world as a result of one catastrophic event: the Fall. “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned—“ (v.12). Not only does this explain how sin entered the world, but it also sheds light on why even the best of this world will still leave us unsatisfied – because since the Fall, everything in the world has had the fingerprints of sin and death all over it. 

Looking more at Paul’s writing in these verses, it may appear as if Paul was describing a time when people who sinned weren’t really doing anything wrong. But when Paul wrote that “sin is not charged against anyone’s account where there is no law” (v.13) and “those who did not sin by breaking a command” (v.14), he wasn’t implying they weren’t guilty of anything (remember, he had already clarified that “all sinned” in verse 12!).

Rather, his point was that, even though God didn’t give the law until later at Mt. Sinai, the law wasn’t needed to prove that people sinned – death had already proven that! It was obvious that all had sinned because everyone ever born had died! The law was simply a sort of diagnostic test to help identify sin so that people could see it and know why death reigned.

The law was like a sign posted near Sunset Cliffs that warns a hiker walking close to the edge that they could fall and be injured or die. But, whether that sign is there or not, the same result would occur if someone walked off the cliff. Whether they see a sign or not, they would likely die. The sign just warns them of the danger. The law God gave just exposed sin and warned his people of the danger of it, but make no mistake: they were guilty of sin regardless of the law, and death was the proof.

Paul referenced the one selfish act that ushered that reality into the world. That act is recorded in Genesis 3. “When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. [The Lord God] said, ‘Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” The man said, “The womanyou put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate” (Gen. 3:6, 11-13). Adam & Eve bought the lie that they were missing out, that God was withholding something from them, that he was keeping hidden that there was more for them to experience. So they disregarded God’s one command – just the one, the only one, remember – and sought to serve themselves. 

The result of that selfish act of rebellion has been that the children have acted like the parents ever since. In other words, we naturally see the same selfishness in ourselves.

Doesn’t that explain why we have such a hard time distinguishing wants from needs? When I am so naturally self-absorbed, I filter everything that happens in life through the lens of how it affects me. Even when I do manage to put others first, eventually I want to be recognized for it!

“I put up with a lot today at work, so I deserve that impulse buy.” “I am constantly putting the kids first, so I owe myself a bottle of wine or a few drinks.” If no one else is going to acknowledge or reward our selflessness, we’ll make sure to take care of rewarding ourselves. How selfish is that?!? No wonder I confuse wants and needs – I am constantly fighting against that innate part of me that imagines the world revolving around me!

But, try as we might, it’s not just a switch we can turn off. It’s not fixed by all the effort we can muster in the world, because we can’t get rid of the selfish traits passed down to us from our first parents. Selfishness cannot be addressed with an antibiotic like some bacteria. It isn’t some virus that can be avoided with a vaccine. It is who we are, and we are helpless to fix it, no matter how hard we try. No, going to church doesn’t make us better people – there are a lot of jerks that go to church! Going to a Christian school doesn’t provide students with a moral compass that magically enables them to make all the right selfless decisions for the rest of their lives. We can’t fix our selfishness. It condemns us.

So why do we go to church or a Christian school then? Because it is where we receive the gift, a gift received only by grace – a Bible word that means “undeserved love.”

Not earned. Not deserved. Not merited. And with that assurance, it’s a gift that is extended to all people. Everyone. If not earned or deserved, then we’re all on equal footing. Our upbringing doesn’t come into play. Our intelligence doesn’t factor in. Our paycheck holds no value. We’re all in the same boat, helpless to earn or deserve it, which makes us perfectly ready to receive what can only be received as a gift.

Let that sink in. Read and reread verses 15-19 again and again, but do so taking note of some common themes. First, note the connection between the words “gift,” “grace,” and “Jesus Christ.” They are inseparable. They go together. They belong together. There is no gift without grace, and there is no grace apart from Jesus Christ. 

Second, note that there is not a single mention of anything for you to do. Only to receive. Not do. Oh, there was plenty of focus in the early verses on how what we do results in death, but no mention at all in these verses of your doing, your obligation, your requirement, your expectation, your have-to’s, musts, or shoulds. Once Paul shifts his focus to the themes of gift/grace/Jesus Christ, those phrases completely disappear.

Do you see it? This is exactly what you and I need! Not a checklist or a personal improvement plan or a scolding to do better. We need a gift. It’s our only hope!

And Paul says that gift is ours through the grace of Jesus. Grace that we see in Jesus’ perfect life, devoid of even an ounce of selfishness. Grace that Jesus displayed, not only by being able to obey, but even in delighting in perfect obedience. Grace that drove Jesus to the ultimate act of obedience in humbling himself to death – even death on a cross – so that we might have the gift of life!

Only this gift overrules the condemnation passed down to us through Adam, which we daily demonstrate we deserve. It overrules it with the declaration of justification, a Bible word that means God says we’re not guilty. We’re not condemned. By faith, that is the gift of grace we receive through the life and death of Jesus Christ. 

And even though Paul spends a few verses comparing what we received from Adam with what we receive through Christ, his whole point is that really, there’s no comparison at all! The one is completely unlike the other, superior in every single way. Consider the ways this gift differs from what we originally received from Adam: they differ as to their source, their verdict, and their results.

As to their source? One came by an act of disobedience; the other came entirely by grace. “But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many!” (v.15). Adam’s efforts gave us disobedience, whereas Christ’s lavish us with grace.

As to their verdict? One brought condemnation, while the other brought justification. Adam’s sin says “GUILTY!” to every one of us. Jesus’ gift, however, declares “NOT GUILTY!” to all!“Nor can the gift of God be compared with the result of one man’s sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification” (v.16). To remain in Adam, outside of faith, is to retain that verdict of condemnation, but to belong to Christ by faith is to be assured of a guilt-free record that declares us not condemned. 

And because of that, there is no comparison between their results. One ensured that death would reign, while the other graciously overthrew that reign and replaced it with life. “For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!” (v.17). Though we will all die, Jesus has the last word and reminds us that death doesn’t rule. Life does. Life to the full for as long as he grants us on earth, but eternal life forever beyond that. Only in Jesus has that sting of death been removed, because it is helpless ever again to overthrow Christ’s guarantee of life. 

What do we really need? Nothing. Not a thing. By faith, you already have all that you need in the gift of God’s grace to you in Jesus Christ. Put all your wants to rest and find instead the satisfaction and serenity of living daily in the peace of knowing you have exactly what you need. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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To Rekindle Our Love of Worship

Heavenly Father,
Sundays are sacred. Nevertheless, it’s easy for us to approach worship with ho-hum hearts. We see the same people, sing the same songs, pray the same prayers, and hear the same Scriptures. We see it all as so monotonous and mundane.

Forgive us! How shallow we are for ever giving your Word such shabby treatment. Have mercy on us! How wrong we are to shortchange your sacraments by viewing them as nothing more than a lengthy add-on to the service. 

Rekindle in us the love of worship. Draw us to delight in being in your presence. Let our ears and our hearts perk up when your Word is read, and move our mouths to joyfully sing songs of praise. May we glorify you in a worthy manner with our worship, even as you edify and feed us through it. 

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

Picked for a Purpose

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(1 Peter 2:9-12)

The lone remaining member of the family is the only one to have survived the car wreck. It took the lives of everyone else in her family, leaving her to spend the rest of her life wondering, “Why me?” Why, of everyone in the family, was she the one who was spared? Veterans who have come home to their families after war have felt the same nagging question when reflecting on all of their friends who were not as fortunate to return: “Why me?” “Why me?” is also sure to shape the thoughts of the patient who was just told it’s terminal after leaving the follow-up appointment with his oncologist.

The answer to the “Why me?” questions in those scenarios is this: we don’t know. God hasn’t revealed his specific answer to those situations in his Word. The Bible doesn’t explain why it wasn’t another family member who lived, why the surviving veteran wasn’t KIA and others were, or why the tumor wasn’t found to be benign. We can speculate all we want, but that will never satisfy us if we demand an answer that ultimately will remain known only to God.

However, just because we don’t know the specific answer to those specific scenarios doesn’t mean that everything remains unknown to us. We can direct our thoughts to what we do know about God and his promises in his Word and apply those to our situation. As we do that, the Holy Spirit sheds light on some possible answers to those questions, “Why me?” In one case, God may have allowed that tragedy for the purpose of uniquely qualifying that individual to comfort others who experience something similar. In another case, the loss may be what God uses to draw someone closer to him in faith. God shapes and refines us most often not through ease and comfort, but through hardship and adversity.

Whether or not we have endured any experiences related to those mentioned, we do have answers to another “why me?” question. It’s one most believers have considered at one time or another: why did God choose me? Why am I a believer? Why not some other religion or belief? Why Christianity? Why am I a Christian?

The answer? You were picked for a purpose. Actually, you’ll discover many purposes if you read through the whole Bible. But we’re going to give our attention to the two purposes revealed in the verses from 1 Peter. One of those purposes is very well known to just about every believer. And we’ll get to that one. 

But the other purpose is no less beautiful, even if it is not as well known. I believe that this purpose, if not only known, but embraced, believed, and lived, has the potential to significantly alter the lives of those who hear it.

Some of you know it; others, not so well. Others know it, but have not combined it with the faith to change their outlook on life. When I say this purpose can be life-changing for people, I mean it. It can eliminate the need for pills. It can result in the cancellation of the remaining counseling sessions. It can improve relationships.

Do I have your attention? Are you ready for it? Do you want to know what this purpose is for which God picked you? Read 1 Peter 2:9 with again, but stop after the fourth comma. “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession,…” Why did God pick you? To be his. That purpose stands on its own. Yes, there is much involved in living out our callings as Christians, but we cannot zip right past this purpose just to get busy with the doing. We have to bask in the “being.” 

And we have our choice! Who doesn’t like choices? We want options. We want things our way, the way we like them. So God puts together a list, and although all of them are true for believers, some may have more meaning than others. Think of the individual who has lived life always being overlooked or passed over for someone else. Not by God! No, because God chose us – he didn’t settle for us or get stuck with us, but chose us. And “a royal priesthood” carries with it a social status that some have never experienced, having been born into what they perceive to be a low rung of the socio-economic ladder. The believer with a tender conscience, crushed by the slightest sin or slip-up, is part of a “holy” nation. And the person from a broken home or who was adopted and perhaps has always struggled with feelings of being unwanted is God’s own possession. You were picked for a purpose: to be God’s!

We heard all about this in my last sermon post. Does that mean I shouldn’t be repeating the same thing again? Am I so unoriginal that I have to regurgitate the same stuff week after week? How about this? I’ll stop repeating it when 1), the Bible quits bringing it up, and 2) you start believing it. When those two things happen, then I’ll give it a rest; I’ll quit repeating the same thing.

But until then, hear it again: you are special. God used Peter to call you his “special possession.” And yes, that is what you are! And yes, that is one of the purposes for which God picked you!

And it sinks in more when we recall how drastically different our natural status before God ought to have been. Our natural arrogance of denying there’s a God or turning from him should have classified us as a “rejected” people. Our boorish behavior and classless treatment of others is a far cry from any designation of royalty. Our hatred and unholiness speak for themselves. Peter reminded us in this way: “Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy” (v.10). 

But grace doesn’t call us what we are by nature, but what God has picked us for. Grace doesn’t force us to live under the labels we earned for ourselves, but calls us what God has made us. Chosen. Royalty. Holy. His prized possession. That’s what you were picked for.

This life-changing truth can impact everything in your life: how you view God, how you view yourself, and how you view others.

If it’s true that God feels that way about me – that he picked me not out of obligation or as some random name out of a hat, but because he deliberately, willingly, knowingly wanted me to be his, then that reality absolutely affects how I think and feel about God. There is no one and nothing in my life that could ever matter more! Someone who feels that way about me doesn’t have to ask for or demand my love and loyalty in return, because he’s already got it. 

And, if the Almighty God calls me all of these things, and backs it all up through the redeeming work of Jesus on my behalf, then it also shapes how I feel about me. Whose opinion of me matters more than that? Not someone else’s. Not even my own! So if the One who knows me better than I even know myself feels that way about me – and my best or worst days have no bearing on it, then how can I feel anything but positive about the person looking back at me in the mirror?

If God calls me his chosen, royalty, holy, prized possession, isn’t it the height of arrogance to think I know better than he does and think so little of or so negatively about myself? There’s simply no place for such a view. I need to start seeing myself as he does.

Finally, when I know how my loving God feels about me, which positively influences how I feel about me, then it also changes how I view others. I don’t need to pour myself into people pleasing (at least not for the purpose of earning the praise or affection of others!). I don’t need to pretend I can get everyone to like me. I don’t need to stress out over finding Mr. or Mrs. Right when I know it has zero impact on how God feels about me. And, I start to view others the way God views me. The bitterness, resentment, animosity, hatred, indifference, etc. that I may have felt about certain individuals or in general toward certain groups begins to disappear. It is replaced by an increasingly genuine desire to love them as God loves me and to want them to know how much God loves them, too. 

Lo and behold, that brings us to the second purpose for which God picked us. Recall early on that I mentioned two purposes Peter provides in these verses. The second is more familiar, and it’s found after the comma where we stopped earlier. “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light” (v.9).

You – chosen, royalty, holy, prized possession of God, you – were picked also for this purpose: to “declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” You were picked to talk up God, to make him known, to let others know who he really is. That means we’re not content to let whatever hair-brained or half-baked ideas about God that others have drummed up in their own minds or regurgitated from some other teacher or teaching go unchecked. We simply treasure God and that other person too much to allow anyone or any teaching to falsely misrepresent him. 

The Bible’s doctrines and teachings are absolutely essential – after all, they’re how our understanding of and relationship with God grows. However, too many people choose to be so put off by the “rules” and teachings of the Bible that they’ve never actually taken the time to get to know the God of the Bible. When unbelievers are consistently quick to explain that they can’t believe because they don’t agree with this or that teaching, all they’re revealing is that they’ve never really gotten to know God first. They’re turned off by the teachings, but why should we expect anything else if they don’t know the Teacher? They have not come to know the One who reveals himself as the embodiment of love! 

Peter seemed to be aware of this, since he didn’t write that the purpose for which we were picked was to argue or debate others into the kingdom by proving the validity, the wisdom, or the correctness of all of the Bible’s teachings, but by declaring the praises of God.

Praise who he is and what he’s done. Lead others to get to know who God is – the gracious, merciful, patient, loving God who has sacrificed so much to demonstrate the depth of his love for us. You are uniquely equipped to declare those praises to others! Not because you went to the Seminary or aced a class or had some intense, in-depth training, but because you know from experience what it’s like to have been called out of darkness into his wonderful light. You know how wonderful it is. You, therefore, are as qualified as anyone to declare to others the praises and promises of God!

And one last thing. Please, literally for the love of God, please back up your words with the way you live your life. “Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us” (v.12). Others aren’t just listening to the words that come out of your mouth. They are paying attention to your life to see if it validates your words.

If the impression they get from you is that grace means it doesn’t really matter how a person lives, how is that any different from how they’re already living? They already live however they want to. They’re already doing whatever they want. If all your talk about Jesus and faith has not resulted in any noticeable change in your life, then why should they be drawn to a life that looks no different from theirs? No, “live such good lives” that the quality and character of your life stands out so much they can’t help but be drawn to know more about the God who made that change in you. 

Why me? Why you? You were picked for a purpose – to be known by God and to make God known. He picked you to make you his own – chosen, royalty, holy, prized possession – and to make him known. Others are wrestling with “Why me?” for countless reasons. Give them the best answer to that question. Make known to them the One who has done everything to make them his own, too.