Tag: gospel

Giving God Glory by Getting God’s Glory

adbLeave a comment

(2 Corinthians 3:7-18)

The world’s glory is like a disappearing act. The darling company that is behind the skyrocketing stock symbol today will have investors and shareholders scrambling for months after its shares suddenly plunge. Once the A-list celebrity everyone was talking about is in a movie that bombs or generates some negative publicity, we move on to the next big name. The championship team was all anyone talked about, until they barely mustered a winning record the following year. The world’s notion of glory is pursued by so many with such drive and determination, only to find out it’s nothing but a mirage.

But there is glory. Real glory. And that glory is God’s glory. 

You want to know something astonishing about God’s glory? He wants to share it with you! The same author of these words from Corinthians wrote elsewhere that God desires “that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thessalonians 2:14). How amazing is that?! A glory unlike the world’s disappointing version of glory, but a real glory, and God wants you to share in it!

So how do we come by this glory? How do we take our share in it? There are two channels by which God reveals his glory in Scripture: law and gospel. 

In the Old Testament, God’s glory was visible to the Israelites while in the wilderness on their way to the Promised Land. When God first gave his Ten Commandments on Mt. Sinai, his glory was enough to terrify the Israelites through loud crackling thunder and lightning, trumpet sounds, and smoke around the mountain. Then, as the Israelites wandered, there was a special place outside of their encampment called the tent of meeting where Moses went to meet with the Lord face to face. Whenever Moses was inside the tent, God’s glory was visible via a cloud column standing at the entrance. Then, after God gave Moses his commandments for the second time, his glory was manifest through Moses’ radiant face. “When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the Lord” (Ex. 34:29). God’s glory was visibly associated with the law God gave to his people. 

When we think of God’s glory in connection with the law, we may not be drawn to that type of glory, and understandably so – it’s terrifying! But make no mistake, God’s law is glorious.

To appreciate the reality of how glorious God’s law is as it stands on its own, imagine how different a typical day would like for the rest of your life if you and everyone else kept the law perfectly. You’d wake up in the morning to fill up with the Word, then see headlines in the news that were only positive. Any exchanges with family members result in smiles. The drive to work sees commuters politely waving each other ahead of them. Work is filled with happy employees encouraging one another and offering any help wherever it may be needed. A scroll through social media leaves you feeling uplifted and blessed by how good God is to so many people. A few errands after work leave you delighted by such pleasant customer service, which you of course expressed your appreciation for. You are excited to arrive home, knock out a couple of chores – which hardly seems like an appropriate label for something you enjoy doing so much – and then prepare dinner. Afterward, a little down time with a book or show, then some more with the Good Book, some prayers, and off to bed.

If we were able to experience how amazing that life would be, we’d understand how glorious God’s law is! If we could all live perfectly, our minds would be blown. Take it a step further and consider why we long for heaven so much: no sin! Only perfection!

Well, what are we really describing? Perfect obedience to the law. So the law itself is glorious because it is in perfect harmony with how a perfect God longs for everything to be.

But, as Paul describes in our verses this morning, we have a better understanding of why it isn’t natural for us to perceive of God’s law as glorious. “Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, transitory though it was, 8will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? 9If the ministry that brought condemnation was glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness! 10For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory. 11And if what was transitory came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts!” (2 Corinthians 3:7-11). That covenant, that ministry of the law results in only one thing: death! Why? Not because there’s anything wrong with it, but because it so clearly exposes what’s wrong with us and what we deserve because of it. 

So the law itself is glorious and reveals God’s glory, but it will never be the avenue to our pursuit of glory, because it can only kill those who sin against it. Think about what this means when it comes to Christian living and obedience. Our obedience isn’t carried out under the misunderstanding that glory is somehow attached to the law. In other words, rules and keeping the law are not the bottom line. We don’t strive to live that way or teach our kids to live that way just because it’s “the right thing to do.” That is moralizing. There is no glory attached to that. Instead, the law assures us that there is no such thing as a “good” Christian, regardless of how much we might throw that term around. There are only perfect Christians, and that label will never be attached to us on the basis of the law, but only through the other channel by which God reveals his glory: the gospel.

That is what Paul was referring to as a greater ministry than the one that “brought death” and “brought condemnation,” the one that was “transitory.” Paul’s point was that since the glorious law when applied to us can only kill and condemn, it cannot compare to the gospel, which has an entirely different purpose. “Will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? How much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness! For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory. And if what was transitory came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts!” (v.8, 9b-11). 

This glory is a glory that the world cannot find and that no made-up religion can ever offer, for as Paul wrote, when it comes to the veil of the law, “only in Christ is it taken away” (v.14b). The gospel news is that “whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. (v.16). Jesus kept the law perfectly, so righteousness comes only through him. “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (v.17). The gospel offers freedom in place of the law’s condemnation, and only through Jesus, because he alone kept the law perfectly in our place. The gospel offers freedom in place of the law’s condemnation, and only through Jesus, because he alone paid the price for our sinful law-breaking. What could be more glorious than that?!

And if this gospel glory is only through Jesus, then what does that say about proximity to him? If freedom is ours through the glorious gospel, which is inseparable from Christ and only comes through Christ, then where else do we want to be than where he is? 

Consider the visual aid God provides to illustrate this. What happened when Moses met with the Lord in the tent of meeting? His face was radiant… for a time. Eventually, though, after he was done meeting with the Lord, the radiance faded.

What happened when the disciples accompanied Jesus on top of the mountain? They saw his radiance… for a time. Eventually, though, after they departed down the mountain, the radiance faded.

What happens when God’s people gather where God is wherever his Word is proclaimed and his sacraments administered, just as they are today? By faith we see his radiant glory, though it is hidden in the water attached to his promise and the bread and wine set apart for his purpose. Where the Word is, there Jesus is, and where Jesus is, there is God’s glory. 

But what happens as we distance ourselves from Jesus? The glory fades. Or, to state it more correctly, the glory appears to us to be fading, when in reality it still remains; it just looks like it’s fading because we can’t see it as clearly the farther away we are from it. 

Then, the further away we are from it, or the longer we stay away from it, the more we become accustomed to a glory-less life. We forget how glorious it is to be in the presence of his glory. So we chase the world’s ideas of glory here and there, thinking we catch little glimpses of it.

But as stated earlier, such perceived glory comes to nothing. It is but a mirage. And we live such glory-less lives only because we have distanced ourselves from the Lord of glory himself.

Paul described one way it happened in his first letter to the Corinthians: “None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory” (1 Cor. 2:8). They didn’t get it either. They thought glory could be achieved through the law, but since Jesus and his message stood in the way of that, they killed him. If they would have understood and believed the relationship between God’s glorious law and his glorious gospel, and how they work together to lead us to Christ, then they could have known true and lasting glory.

But we don’t have to suffer the same fate, for we know where God’s glory is and where to find it. We join the psalmist in gushing about it: “Lord, I love the house where you live, the place where your glory dwells” (Ps. 26:8). God’s house is where his glory is! That is the place where his glory dwells because that is the place where the gospel is dwells. Unlike Moses, however, the glory doesn’t have to fade when we depart from there, because if that glory is wherever the gospel dwells, then I take that glory with me and let it dwell richly in my home and daily life. 

That glory is for us, and it changes us. “And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” (v.18). Jesus was transfigured on the mountain; his people are transfigured – changed – to be more and more like him, through the gospel.

There is no greater way to give God glory than by getting God’s glory. Let the gospel saturate your soul. Hunger and thirst for it more than whatever else it is you’re chasing after in life right now, which is glory-less. We know where to find real glory. It’s where God is. And where is God? Wherever his Word is.

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

adbLeave a comment

To Remove Barriers to the Gospel

All-Powerful God,
When it comes to your gifts of salvation and the faith necessary to receive it, you deliver those gifts through your Word. However, you don’t only work through your Word, but oversee all things in the universe to suit your purposes, bless your people, and even serve those who are lost in unbelief.

With that in mind, I humbly ask you to arrange whatever is necessary to remove any obstacles that may be hindering the hearts of my unbelieving friends and family from hearing and believing your Word. Take away anything that might be clouding their reason, obstructing their common sense, or deceiving their hearts. While doing so won’t directly save anyone, I pray that it may clear a path for the gospel to reach their ears and ultimately their souls. Do all that is in your power to give the Holy Spirit the opportunity to transform their hearts and change their eternity.

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

Have Faith in Your Feet

adbLeave a comment

(Romans 10:12-17)

It’s required to navigate icy walkways in the midwest after a snowstorm. The hiker on a precipitous trail needs it. So does the baby learning to walk. The older we get the more we struggle with it. Having faith in one’s feet. When our steps are uncertain or unsure, we’re more likely to misstep or stumble. When we step forward sure-footed and with confidence, however, we’re usually alright. It makes a difference to have faith in our feet. Each step depends on it.

Paul says it’s important, too, albeit for a much more important reason. When we have faith in our feet as we carry out the mission Jesus has invited each one of us to join him on, we have what amounts to the difference between life and death for others. When our feet bring the good news to others, we have what the Holy Spirit uses to create faith. So let’s make sure we have faith in our feet for the reason that matters most. 

First, Paul reminds us why faith is so important: “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (v.13). To state it as simply as possible, believers of Jesus Christ go to heaven. So, then, how does one become a believer? Paul lays out how that happens by essentially reverse-engineering the process. “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent?” (v.14-15a). 

In order to believe in Jesus Christ, a person first has to hear about him to know who he is. And, if anyone is going to hear about him to know who he is, that means someone has to communicate that to them. And, to know who is responsible for communicating that to them, one has to know who’s responsible for it. 

It’s often said that one something is everyone’s responsibility, then it ends up being no one’s responsibility. In other words, unless a responsibility is delegated to a certain specific person or group, then everyone tends to assume someone else is taking care of it. Ultimately, because everyone assumes someone else is taking care of it, no one does it. The thing is left undone.

But when it comes to the process Paul is describing here, it really is everyone’s responsibility. Every Christian was called to communicate Christ when they were called to Christ. To be a follower of Christ is to a disciple-maker of others. It isn’t complicated. You don’t need me to dissect these words and walk you through the process of disciple-making, because what is asked of us couldn’t be easier: people who know Jesus talk Jesus to people who don’t know Jesus. Pretty simple, right? Not complicated at all. 

So rather than focusing on how we do that or why we don’t, or how to overcome whatever hangups we have, or addressing any fears we might have, or dismantling the excuses we shield ourselves with, we’re going to give more of our attention to the important outcome. It’s the person on the other side who makes this process so important. Here’s the why that drives all of it: “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ” (v.17). 

This verse, coupled with verse thirteen, is essentially everything we’re about. If someone asks you why your church exists, why it’s here, don’t get so caught up in everything else that you forget that we’re here to lead people to be saved by calling on the name of the Lord, and that happens only when faith receives and believes everything Jesus has done for them. That is why we are here. We want everyone to be saved. 

Do we speak enough about that these days? Are we more concerned about offending someone or making someone angry? Maybe it’s a lack of knowledge. Maybe it’s indifference. Whatever is behind it, we cannot stick our heads in the sand and pretend to ignore the reality for everyone who does not call on the name of the Lord: they will be cut off from him forever. 

There is a real hell, and everyone without faith in Jesus will end up there. And I think part of the reason we as Christians may not be as comfortable speaking about it is because we are so concerned about giving the impression to outsiders that we somehow derive a sick, twisted joy from getting to declare that. We feel as if nonbelievers have pegged us as getting a kick out of telling all the sinners out there in the world that they’re going to hell, so they better shape up. They see it as an “us vs. them” thing rather than the reality that we’re all on the same sinking ship of sin, it’s just that in Jesus, we’ve found the only life boat that can rescue us. 

While on this hard topic of hell and how we handle it with nonbelievers, it also affords us the chance to ask ourselves how/if we have contributed to the negative perception others have of us in this area. Do they notice us more naturally talking to them about going to hell than about Jesus taking them to heaven? Are we more comfortable announcing warnings than we are the good news? Is it possible that nonbelievers know we’re believers, but are surprised that we don’t talk more about it or care enough about them to share what’s important? Do they interpret our silence as indifference or a lack of concern about them? 

In a video over fifteen years old, a man expressed his admiration for Christians sharing their faith. He talked about a time someone handed him a Gideon’s Bible, and the impact it had on him. He said, “If you believe there is a heaven and hell, and you think it’s not worth telling someone about it, how much do you have to hate him to not proselytize? To believe that everlasting life is possible and not tell people? This man cared enough about me to proselytize.” While the man in the video was sure to point out that this kind effort didn’t change his mind about being an atheist, we can appreciate the point he is making. You may recognize the man in the video: self-proclaimed atheist, Penn Fraser Jillette, half of the comedic magician duo known as Penn and Teller. 

Whatever the reason for our lack of evangelism efforts, we need to go back and apply these verses to ourselves. We need to repent and rejoice that all of our sins have been forgiven, including our dismissal of our calling as Christians to evangelize. Make no mistake – that sin is as deadly and damnable as any other, and even more damaging than many other sins, because not only does that sin accuse and condemn you and me, but it also by default leaves our neighbor who never heard the gospel lost in unbelief! So when Christians clam up, we sin against our holy God, but we also leave our neighbor condemned in his ignorance. Lord, have mercy on us for forgetting and neglecting our own spiritual health and that of our neighbor when we refuse to be the beautiful feet bringing good news to others! 

And he has! Remember, the good news we fail to share is also the good news we need to hear: we are fully forgiven in Christ. Let the Lord’s words to Isaiah resonate in our hearts: “your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for” (6:7). Let Jesus’ words to Simon Peter ease our fears and sharpen our focus: “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people” (Luke 5:10). Without fear, and filled with faith, we embrace Christ’s calling to fish for people.

Let’s be clear. The only way anyone can be saved is through faith in Jesus. How does the Holy Spirit create faith in a person’s heart? Through the good news of the gospel, that in Jesus, sinners have the Savior they need. 

Let’s also be clear. That means that the family living two houses down from you will not come to faith because you are a good neighbor. Your boss and co-workers will not  come to faith because you are the understanding and patient employee. Your friend will not come to faith because you are a good listener when she is struggling. The panhandler will not come to faith in Jesus because you gave him lunch or a couple bucks. Your family member will not come to faith because you were trying to be sensitive and not “push your religion” on him. Now, are all of these things good things? Yes! Do we want to be and do these things? Yes, absolutely!

But they can’t be the only thing. No one will come to faith unless we take that next step and share the good news, for “faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ” (Romans 10:17). Don’t leave the job of letting your light shine undone by avoiding the crucial step of sharing the only message that creates faith. 

What difference can you really make? It depends on whether or not you believe that what Paul wrote about God is true. Is he the “Lord of all [who] richly blesses all who call on him…?” (v.12). If he is, then believe he’ll richly bless your efforts, and let’s get to work in leading others to call on him so that he can also richly bless them. Let’s get to work in leading others to call on him because ““Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (v.13). Let’s go out and earn the reputation of having beautiful feet. Let’s get our beautiful feet to work bringing the good news to wherever we live, and marvel at God doing his thing through our efforts.

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

adbLeave a comment

To Comfort the Mourning

Loving Redeemer,
You came into a world all too familiar with the grief of loss. You experienced it firsthand as you mourned the loss of your dear friend, Lazarus. Yet in that moment of grief you unveiled a powerful demonstration of why you came into this world: to minimize mourning and ensure that it will one day come to an end altogether. In raising Lazarus from the dead you foreshadowed your own resurrection, which would limit death’s reach and hold out eternal life to all who believe. 

Having risen and ascended, you now entrust that message of salvation and eternal life to us. No matter the cause of mourning, we have the solution. Make me bold to proclaim it, that those covered in tears and ashes of sadness may know joy again. As I speak your words of hope and life to others, turn grieving to gladness and sorrow to splendor. Lift up those weighed down by the crushing blow of death and grant them life to the fullest here and now and for eternity.

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

adbLeave a comment

To Free the Captives

Loving Redeemer,
As Isaiah prophesied, you came to proclaim freedom for captives and release from darkness for prisoners. The imagery of being imprisoned paints a powerful picture of how trapped so many are by their sin. While many experience the physical consequences of their sin, literally serving time behind bars as convicted criminals, Isaiah’s visual applies primarily to those who are figuratively and spiritually captive. For those ensnared by addictions to vices like drugs, alcohol, or pornography, it is as if they are held captive and are slaves to such things. Others feel imprisoned by guilt, unable to free themselves from it no matter how hard they try.

You’ve tasked me as your messenger to proclaim the freedom you won for them. Let me make known to them that your saving work has thrown open all prison doors – those of guilt, addiction, and all other enslavement. Let your gospel be for them the key to set them free, and compel me to go to work with that key as often as possible – the prisoners are waiting to be free!

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

adbLeave a comment

To Bind up the Brokenhearted

Loving Redeemer,
For more reasons than we could possible imagine, many are brokenhearted. Their hearts are heavy because they grieve the loss of loved ones. Their hearts hurt because others have harmed them, sometimes emotionally; other times physically. Their hearts are broken because their own past wrongs leave footprints of guilt that they cannot sweep away. 

You saw this when you walked among us. You hurt alongside the brokenhearted. But you also came to heal them, to bind them up. With your powerful touch and your healing words, you restored and made well again.

You give us the same powerful Word to bind up the brokenhearted. Let me speak that Word with the confidence and courage that it can heal wounds and soothe spirits. As I speak your Word, let the medicine of your grace and forgiveness, your mercy and relentless love, bind up the brokenhearted as only you can do, and as personally and intimately as each individual needs it. 

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

adbLeave a comment

To Enrich the Spiritually Poor

Loving Redeemer,
There are so many who are spiritually poor. You have given me the good news to not only brighten their day, but to enrich them with what matters for eternity. Help me to see those without faith in you as they are spiritually: poor and penniless. No matter what earthly riches they may have, they are completely empty-handed without you. I have the message that changes that. I have the gospel. I am rich. Lead me to use the riches I have in your Word to transform the lives of those who are impoverished without you, so that they, too, might become rich.

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

adbLeave a comment

For Renewed Commitment to Be Your Witness

Loving Redeemer,
Your Word uses a so many different pictures to illustrate the condition of those without faith in you. Let those images serve as vivid reminders of how lost those without you truly are, so that they regularly remain in my thoughts and on my heart. 

But it is not enough merely to think about them, for that will bring them no closer to you, Lord. No, let my words and actions serve to continue carrying out the work the Holy Spirit anointed you to do. This week, as I reflect on the prophet Isaiah’s poetic descriptions of the lost, may they generate in me a deeper concern for the lost, a more urgent desire to actively engage them with the powerful gospel, and a renewed level of commitment and determination to follow through with those desires and carry out my calling to be your witness. Use me in your work of evangelism to reach the lost. 

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

adbLeave a comment

To Be Attentive to the Preaching of Your Word

Heavenly Father,
Sundays are sacred. They provide me with the opportunity to hear the preaching of your Word when I gather with believers in worship. And, when the under shepherds of the Good Shepherd know the sheep of their congregation, the sermon often speaks specifically to the flock in that congregation. Open my ears to listen for your law, that it might uncover or expose any sin in me of which I am unaware. And in any areas where I have become too nonchalant or even comfortable with sin, let that same law accuse and convict me, for that is its work.

But that is not its greatest work of your Word by any stretch. That work belongs to the sweet and soothing certainty of your gospel, which points me to Jesus and his complete pardon from my sin. Let my ears perk up when the preacher pours out your gracious forgiveness to wash over me. May the good news be proclaimed with color and variety, so that the gospel doesn’t become washed out by the grays of monotonous and mundane preaching. Let your preachers and their sermons be a breath of fresh air and new life as they direct our eyes and our hearts to our Savior.  

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

adbLeave a comment

To Imitate the Angels and Shepherds

Dear Lord,
The angels and the shepherds played critical roles in Jesus’ birth by sharing the joyful news. The angels appeared to the shepherds in the fields, alleviated their fears, and proclaimed the good news to them. Keep my eyes and ears open and alert to those around me who are also crippled by certain fears and need to hear and believe the good news. Make me a messenger to calm their fears and reassure them with the good news of a Savior who has been born for them. Give me the wisdom to help them see how your coming into the world brings true peace for them.

The angels’ role was also important that first Christmas because the shepherds would not have had any news to spread around if they had not heard it from the angels. As it did for the shepherds, let the good news of my Savior always stir my own heart to action. Make me zealous and eager to consistently make him known to others. Fill me with persistent passion so that rather than being sporadic or streaky, my evangelism efforts are a normal part of my daily living. As you used the angels and shepherds to carry out your mission that first Christmas, continue to use me to carry it out today and always with the strength and confidence you provide. 

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.