Missed a blog post? Find prior posts at LoveAndGrace and tweets at Twitter.

And the king [King Josiah] stood in his place and made a covenant before the LORD, to walk after the LORD and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes, with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant that were written in this book. (2 Chronicles 34:31 ESV)

Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. (Galatians 6:9 NASB)

But those who trust in the LORD will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:31 NLT)

YOU SAY YOU’VE GOT PROBLEMS.

Well, me, too, but let’s take a look at the mess King Josiah faced.

Haven’t heard of him? Let’s change that.

Six hundred years before Christ was born, Josiah became king of Judah (the southern portion of Israel) at the age of 8. The Bible says he “did what was right  in the eyes of the Lord,” which means he purified the land of totems to pagan gods and cleaned up the Lord’s Temple.

About 10 years into his reign, the priests came across a book of writings from Moses. This book was given to the Israelites in the desert after God freed them from slavery in Egypt. In it, Moses told the Israelites of God’s rich blessings if they worshipped Him and remained faithful.

If they worshipped other gods, however, then God’s wrath would be upon them.

Remember this: the priests found this book of God’s instruction shoved in a dusty back room of the Temple, covered, no doubt, with dust and cobwebs.

Josiah knew his kingdom had been disobedient and that JUDGMENT was on the way.

A prophetess confirmed for Josiah that not only was God angry with the Israelites, but there was nothing Josiah could do to prevent judgment. God’s actual words: “My anger will be poured out on this place and will not be quenched” (v. 25).

Ouch!

But God in His mercy gave them a break: Because Josiah was faithful, humble, and showed remorse for his people, there would be peace in his time. Judgment would come following Josiah’s death.

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FACING THESE LONG ODDS, WHAT DID JOSIAH DO?

What would you do?

I know what I would do. I would cave.

I would figure no matter what I did or said to serve the Lord, no matter how helpful or encouraging I was, no matter how loving, forgiving, and worshipful I tried to be, it would make no difference. No one would benefit. Nothing useful from me. No souls saved. No fruit born.

Zip.

Friends, there’s a reason we’re writing about Josiah and not about me — and here it is.

The Bible tells us, the king marched over to the Temple and called the elders of his country to join him, and he stood in his place. His place. This was not a pew in the back of the room, where he could hide in the shadows, slipping in when the service was half over only to leave early.

This was a prominent spot, from which he could command the people’s attention.

From that spot, Josiah “made a covenant before the LORD, to walk after the LORD and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes, with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant that were written in this book.” (2 Chronicles 34:31 ESV)

With firm determination, knowing the odds were stacked against him, he did all he could do — he declared his love and devotion to the God of heaven and earth and ordered his subjects to join him in obeying God’s commands.

We’re told the people obeyed their king “as long as he lived” but reverted back to their old ways once the new king took over.

The result? God’s judgment was swift, and the populace was taken into captivity.

+++

SOMETIMES THE ROAD IS SO PITTED AND TORN, the headwinds so strong, even the bravest among us turn back.

Some 650 years after King Josiah made his stand, the apostle Paul faced a similar test. Paul dealt with crippling divisions in the church, where believers split up, siding with different evangelists. Paul would have none of it.

He had the right answer for the argument about which evangelist — Apollos or Peter or Paul, or anyone else, for that matter — was the most influential.

Paul said, “None of us.”

None of us?

“None of us,” he said. “All of us are called by the Holy Spirit to preach the Word of God, and God uses us each one of us according to the speaking and writing and service gifts he’s given us. We’re not the ones changing people’s hearts and claiming them for the Lord. We don’t accomplish anything on our own. “

Then who does?

“It’s the Holy Spirit of God,” Paul said. “It’s the Holy Spirit, not man, who works in people’s hearts and changes them.” (1 Corinthians 3:3-9, paraphrase mine).

+++

THERE WILL ALWAYS BE PUSHBACK.

Every time a door opens, and the Lord gives us an opportunity to enter in to give God glory, there will be a competing wind, trying to blow us back. The enemy hates God’s rule and is dedicated to gumming up the works.

We might never have the influence that King Josiah or the apostle Paul had, we might not have our names in the Bible as they did, and no pastor may ever cite to our lives as one might to theirs for a biblical lesson to ponder.

But God didn’t call us to that role. Paul noted that it was by “the grace [of] God” that he became an apostle for the Lord, but even so, he was just beginning the pathway. “I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it,” he said. (1 Corinthians 3:10 NIV)

We’re all builders on that foundation laid down by others before us, just as long as we heed Paul’s words to build only on the foundation laid by Jesus Christ. (v. 10-11)

Every time Christ’s people try to make a difference in the world, they will face pushback from the enemy.

Oh, it is so easy to quit.

+++

USUALLY, THE PUSHBACK MAKES SENSE:

“It’s raining pretty hard. Maybe now’s not a good time.” “Oh, my, look at all the traffic. Probably should wait.” “I’m feeling tired this week, and my back’s been acting up. I should rest.” “I’m not sure I want to commit right now to something regular. Let the young folks (retired folks, folks without children, folks with children, married folks, single folks, employed folks, folks on vacation) step up this time.”

(Those excuses, reworked slightly, were said recently by someone I know well.)

We may not want to, but too often, too easily, we say:

• “Why bother? It’s not worth it.”
• “This is not how I want to do it.”
• The odds are long, the payoff uncertain. I don’t see what difference I can make.”
• I don’t like the deal, Lord. Better not count on me.”

We’re not likely to cite Cain, but we all know his comment to God about Abel. “Am I my brother’s keeper?” (Genesis 4:9 NIV)

Short answer from God … to me and you: “Yes, you are.”

+++

GOD WON’T LET US DOWN. He knows the obstacles in our way. So, He’s given us some words to cheer us up and keep us in the game.

The Holy Spirit inspired them, Solomon wrote them, and we can live by them:

In spite of many daydreams, pointless actions, and empty words, you should still fear God.  (Ecclesiastes 5:7 GW)

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PRAYER: Heavenly Father, sometimes we are so ashamed of our faithlessness, our weakness, our willingness to quit. The Lord Jesus said the road would be tough and only a few people would find their way and persevere. O LORD, help us be mindful of the Kingdom’s work and how you left the job in our hands, with the Holy Spirit’s counsel and power. The Lord Jesus urged us to abide in Him. He promised us He would abide in us. Without Him, Heavenly Father, we can do nothing. With Him, we can do more than we could ever ask or imagine. May we rely on the LORD with all our heart and understanding, knowing that as we acknowledge You, You will make our paths straight. In Jesus’ loving name we offer this prayer. Amen

Missed a blog post? Find prior posts at LoveAndGrace and tweets at Twitter.

And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.” (Genesis 2:16 NIV)

“You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. (Genesis 3:4 NIV)

“The thief [Satan] comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I [Jesus] have come that [you] may have life and have it to the full. “ (John 10:10 NIV)

You are of your father the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he speaks from his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of lies. (John 8:44 CSB)

SHE: I’LL BET MY WEEKEND WILL BE MORE FUN THAN YOURS!

HE: Why’s that?

SHE: John’s in town.

HE: John?

SHE: Yeah, Dodo. John. He’s like this really cool guy I knew at State. He’s divorced and all, so he’s, like, free, you know?

HE: Okay. And?

SHE: And? Like, we’ll party with some friends, go to a club, you know; then he’ll  spend the night at my house. Way more fun than what you’ll do.

(SHE nudges him and winks)

HE: I don’t know about that.

SHE: Why, what’ll you do? Hang out with some boring Christian friends and spend the whole time in church?

HE: Oh, I see. I don’t think you understand. Can we talk?

SHE: Sure, but it’ll cost you.

HE: How much?

(SHE points to a coffee shop)

SHE: I want a mocha latte.

(THEY enter coffee shop)

(HE orders a latte for her and dark roast for himself)

(THEY find a quiet corner)

SHE: So, tell me, what’s the mystery?

HE: No mystery.

(HE sips coffee and puts cup down)

HE: I know you think your weekend will be more fun than mine. I’ve got to admit, it sounds really attractive.

SHE: Told ya.

+++

HE: IN FACT, BECAUSE OF MY SINFUL NATURE, I could imagine spending a weekend like that, too. Not with John, of course, but maybe with his sister. Does he have a sister? Never mind. Oh, sure, I can think of all sorts of pleasures — self-serving, self-gratifying — that sound like fun. Fun until you do them.

SHE: What do you mean, fun until you do them?

HE: Some of that fun you’re talking about will lead to misery. Okay, there could be an excess of alcohol. That’ll impair your judgment. Or, there could be some hard drugs. Illegal for starters; addictive, if continued. Then, there’s the sex. Sounds great, right!

(SHE smirks)

HE: How many unwanted pregnancies do you think will get started this weekend? How many diseases will get passed around? Not only that, but how many hearts will be broken when hookups end? Any abortions down the road?

SHE: I don’t think you get it.

HE: I get it. I do. You might not get caught — this time — but is your life on track to fulfillment? I mean, you’re, what, 34, 35? Never married. No husband, no kids. Living in a condo listening to the same tunes you rocked to in college. Nothing to show for it.

SHE: You’re a downer.

(HE chuckles)

HE: That church thing you mentioned. Yeah, I’m going to church Sunday, but it’s not the boring gig you think it is. I’m joyful. I’m praising the living God who created me, who loves me so much He sent His Son to die for me, to pay the price for my sins. Not just things I do or even say, but the things I think about or imagine.

+++

SHE: GET OUTTA HERE! WHAT EVIL STUFF DO YOU THINK ABOUT, DUDE?

HE: Pretty much the same things you think about. Maybe even some of the things you’re hoping will happen this weekend. You see, we’re pretty much the same. Here’s the difference: I took stock of my life three years ago, and I just realized things were not adding up right, you know? I mean, I have these talents, or gifts — everyone does — but I wasn’t using them for anything useful.

SHE: Yeah, I remember you saying something about that.

HE: Do you remember my searching around for something better to hold onto than parties, booze, and girls?

SHE: Yeah, you were a real pain then, asking us all of those questions about why we’re here on earth, and whether there’s any plan for us, and where we’re headed. You seemed to have found an answer — for you, of course — but that Jesus thing just isn’t for everybody.

(HE opens the Holy Bible app on his smart phone)

HE: Yes, it is. He’s for real, and He’s for everybody. Sooner or later, each of us has to answer the one question He asked his disciples. “But what about you?” He asked. “Who do you say I am?” It’s in Matthew, Chapter 16, Verse 15. I’m quoting from the NIV translation.

(SHE scowls)

SHE: And?

(HE flicks through the Bible app)

HE: Well, one of the disciples, it was Peter, said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” That’s in the next verse, in Matthew. That was from the English Standard Version.

SHE: All those versions. You’re a regular smarty pants, aren’t you?

(HE ignores her taunt)

HE: You see, each one of us — you and me, and your friend John, for that matter — will have to answer that question some day.

(SHE sips coffee nervously)

HE: So, who do you say He is?

+++

(SHE DOESN’T ANSWER. CONTINUES SIPPING COFFEE)

HE: Let me guess, the Great Cosmic Killjoy. The Big Meanie. SuperCop. Something like that, right? Someone who’ll steal your vibe, knock the fun right out of your weekend, and the next thing you’ll be doing is dishing out slop in a soup kitchen to a homeless vagrant with fleas in his hair. And to top it off, you’ll sport a Happy Face with a big grin and sparkling eyes.

SHE: Something like that.

HE: You know, the Bible says something about that.

(HE consults his Bible app)

HE: It’s in 1 Corinthians 1:18. One translation, the New Century Version,  quotes it this way: “The teaching about the cross is foolishness to those who are being lost, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”

(HE looks directly at her)

HE: What that means is that without the Holy Spirit in your heart, everything Jesus had to say sounds like gibberish, but once you accept  the truth of who He is, everything falls into place.

SHE: Okay, I’ll bite. Tell me more.

HE: CS Lewis put it like this in his book Mere Christianity. Let’s see if I can remember this right: “Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance; the only thing it cannot be is moderately important.”

(HE pauses)

HE: Put another way, Jesus told us He’s God. He could be lying or He could be delusional. In either case, we could ignore Him. But if Jesus is Who He says He is, then He is God. Then, we had better look at what He tells us. He says He came into this world to give us life and to give us a life that’s robust and full of grace.

(SHE frowns)

HE: See, the Bible tells us that God loves us so much that He didn’t even spare the life of His own Son, giving Him to death to pay for our transgressions. So, with that being said, how will He not also give us all good things?

SHE: You mean, like that church thing?

HE: No, I don’t mean going to church. I mean worshipping the living God! I mean giving praise and thanks and blessing to the One who makes all of this worthwhile.

+++

SHE: I FEEL SICK.

HE: What’s the matter?

SHE: Suddenly, this weekend with John doesn’t sound like so much fun, after all.

HE: Okay, so what are you going to do about it?

SHE: I don’t know. Probably still go through with it. I mean, our plans are made already, you know? It’s way more easier to go through with the plans than to change them, right?

HE: Easier, right.

(SHE drains her coffee)

HE: Maybe not smarter.

(SHE looks at him. Discards her cup. Returns to table)

SHE: Are you done with your coffee?

(HE looks at her sadly)

HE: Yeah, I’m done.

(HE stands up and discards his cup, pouring out the remaining coffee)

(THEY leave silently after a quick hug)

HE: Would you like me to pray for you?

(SHE shrugs)

SHE: Okay

HE: Jesus loves you. Satan doesn’t.

(SHE nods)

(THEY depart in opposite directions)

+++

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, Creator of the the universe and all of life. Help us see the benevolence of Your grace and mercy. Help us see Your love as You reach out to us. Help us see the gift of Jesus Christ, who bore our punishment. Help us live our lives in gratitude for Your saving grace. In Jesus we pray. Amen

 

This is Part 2 of a 6-part meditation on Galatians. Part 1, “No Other Gospel,” is available at Galatians 1.

Missed a blog post? Find prior posts at LoveAndGrace and tweets at Twitter.

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” (Galatians 2:20a ESV)

“Yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ … because by works of the law no one will be justified.” (Galatians 2:16 ESV)

GRACE IS GOD’S FREE GIFT TO MANKIND.

It is a gift that was not chiefly bought nor casually given. In fact, the apostle Paul says our very bodies are temples in which the Holy Spirit lives. “You are not your own,” he writes. “You were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God with your body” (1 Corinthians 6:20 BSB).

What boggles the mind is this: Considering the stakes at hand — our eternal, everlasting, without-end destiny — you might think mankind would rush into the open arms of Jesus Christ, thanking Him profusely with tears and hugs for providing God’s grace through His sacrifice on the Cross for us.

You would be wrong.

Most people appear to be stuck on the words “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me,” and that’s where they stop. They don’t want any part of it, no shifting of controls from me to Him. It’s my life, and I’ll live it the way I want to. Stay back, Jesus.

Unless I need Your help, then I’ll let You know.

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DOES THAT BOTHER YOU?

It bothers me.

Aren’t you totally bummed to realize that most of the smiling faces you’ll encounter today are not remotely interested in receiving the grace offered by their Savior, nor are they willing to let Him take the controls of their earthly lives, even though the payoff is eternal life instead of eternal punishment.

Even the introductory clause of having been “crucified with Christ” is a meaningless  mess of words for most people, who have no idea what that means.

Really, for most people who have ever lived, the Cross was just a tragic end a long time ago in a primitive culture for a man who might well have been a gifted teacher and, possibly, an extraordinary healer, but it was nothing more than that.

Those who lived before the Cross ignored the law and the prophets.

For those of us who believe, however, it is the most incredible act of love and self-sacrifice the world has ever witnessed — at least, that part of the world that’s paying attention.

Paul, again, tells us that “God made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we would become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21 NET). The apostle Peter called the crucifixion the shedding of “the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God” (1 Peter 1:19 NLT).

But what is that to an unbelieving world?

Paul, again, states it this way: “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18 ESV).

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SO, WE’VE SEEN THAT MOST PEOPLE do not want to cede control over their lives to the One who can give them life, and life abundantly (John 10:10), but what about that second part, about being “justified” by works or by faith? What’s up with that?

“Justification” is just a big word that means a person has been made “righteous in the sight of God.”

Paul says it this way: “not because I have my own righteousness derived from the law, but because I have the righteousness that comes by way of Christ’s faithfulness—a righteousness from God that is in fact based on Christ’s faithfulness (Philippians 3:9 NET, emphasis mine).

In other words, Jesus lived a sinless life, and God credits His righteousness to my account — blotting out my sin-stained life — the moment I accept His Son as my Lord and Savior.

That transfer of Christ’s righteousness for my unrighteousness is my Ticket to Paradise!

The really big deal with that is that the alternative way to earn God’s favor is for me to live a sinless life — and I lost that one a long time ago.

“There is none righteous, no, not one,” Paul writes. “There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. … There is none who does good, no, not one” (Romans 3:10-12 NKJV).

The prophet Isaiah was just as blunt, saying that in God’s eyes, “All of us [that includes you and me] have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6 NIV).

+++

Most of us probably figure we’re on the good side of the Bell Curve. We haven’t killed anyone, or cheated on our spouse, or stolen our neighbor’s car, so we’re good.

Not so fast. Not in God’s eyes.

See, God is perfect; we are sinful.

James, the half-brother of Jesus (they shared a mother), tells us this: “If someone obeys all of God’s laws except one, that person is guilty of breaking all of them” (James 2:10 GW).

All of them. Murder. Rape. Adultery. Theft. Slander. Lying.

Lest we think somehow God only keeps a record of what we do, no, He also keeps a record of what we say and what we think, as well.

Try this from Jesus’ own lips: “But what comes out of the mouth [our words] comes from the heart, and this defiles a man” (Matthew 15:18 HCSB).

And what about thoughts? “Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, ‘Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts?’” (Matthew 9:4 NIV).

How about this one from Jesus: “You have heard that it was said to our people long ago, ‘You must not murder anyone. Anyone who murders another will be judged. But I tell you, if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be judged’” (Matthew 5:21-22a NCV, emphasis mine).

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THERE’S JUST NO WAY AROUND IT.

What we do, God sees as “filthy rags”; what we say, God sees as “defiling” us; and what we think, God sees as “evil.”

So, we are totally dependent for our salvation on Jesus Christ.

Considering how we don’t measure up in God’s eyes, those words from Scripture that we quoted earlier now sound beautiful and reassuring. I have been crucified with Jesus Christ. Christ lives in me. We are justified not by our good works but through faith in the Christ.

Paul said it clearly in Ephesians 2:8 NLT: “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.”

Amen, brother.

Now, that’s Grace!

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PRAYER: Holy Father, Lord God Almighty, we are so unworthy to approach the throne with our petitions except through the blood of Jesus Christ. Would You forgive us for our lack of faith? Would You soften the hearts of our family members, friends, and neighbors who do not know You or care to learn about You? Would You just grab us in Your loving arms and never let go, even when we act, talk, and think viciously evil, self-defiling filth? God be praised with all power, honor, and glory forever. Thank You, Lord Jesus, for Your amazing sacrifice for us. Thank You, eternally, Lord Jesus, for claiming us as Your own. Amen

This article is the first of six articles on the Book of Galatians, each one highlighting a central theme in each of the six chapters of Paul’s letter to the church in Galatia.

Missed a blog post? Find prior posts at LoveAndGrace and tweets at Twitter.

Really, there is no other Good News. But some people are confusing you; they want to change the Good News of Christ. (Galatians 1:7 NCV)

Dear brothers and sisters, I want you to understand that the gospel message I preach is not based on mere human reasoning. I received my message from no human source, and no one taught me. Instead, I received it by direct revelation from Jesus Christ. (Galatians 1:11-12 NLT)

THE APOSTLE PAUL COULD HAVE WRITTEN GALATIANS TODAY.

Two thousand years ago, he felt the strong need to admonish new Christians in the various churches throughout the area of Galatia — both in the agrarian northern region and in the urbane, commercialized southern region — that they must not change the central truth of the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Sadly, many so-called Christians today — operating under the rubric of “progressive Christianity” — are busy revising the Gospel to “update” it according to contemporary society’s “reason” and “experiences.” They base their doctoring on a perverted sense of God’s loving nature, while conveniently ignoring His role as humanity’s judge.

Paul told the Galatians that no such doctoring of God’s eternal truth was needed and that the faithful should abstain immediately from believing anyone who would teach a variance of what Paul, himself, had taught on his missionary trips to the region.

“I am astonished,” he wrote; “that you are so quickly deserting  him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel — not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ” (v. 6 ESV).

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PAUL CLEARLY STATED that this was not a matter of pastoral jealousy. The issue was the distortion of the central message of the man “who gave himself for our sins [that means, He died for us] to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father” (v. 4 ESV).

In Paul’s time, the central question facing the early church focused on the Jewish nature of Jesus and His disciples and whether converts from the Gentile world — considered pagans and outcasts throughout Jewish history — had to convert to Judaism and be subject to Mosaic law before becoming followers of Jesus.

Today, the central question facing many of the churches is how to minister to a rapidly changing secular culture without becoming corrupted by its immorality or rendered useless for failing to acknowledge it.

Many well-educated and well-read Christians have fallen into the trap of embracing the culture’s progressive mantra of “inclusivity” and “tolerance” by promoting a watered-down gospel filled with empty platitudes of God’s forgiving grace that — to be applicable to today’s reality — must also push aside as archaic God’s instructions for proper living.

+++

THE HOT-BUTTON ISSUES TODAY focus on the culture’s new-found support for homosexual marriage as well as more established assaults on biblical teaching concerning the sanctity of life — abortion, euthanasia, and government-run health care [scarcity of resources need to be apportioned by governing boards, which will determine the value of an individual life].

The writings of pastors and theologians in support of the “progressive Christian” belief is filled with well-reasoned human arguments designed to fit God’s timeless laws into a space built on a holistic interpretation of Holy Writ devoid of biblical reference.

No more “cherry-picking” of biblical admonitions against homosexual unions (especially Leviticus 18, 20, and Romans 1), for example. Instead, they are thrown aside as being part of an archaic legal system that, somehow over time, has morphed into an acceptance, with the acerbic addendum that failure to see the wisdom of such heresy labels the critic a “homophobe” or a “bigot.”

Seriously.

+++

BACK TO PAUL.

Still astonished at the backsliding he’s witnessing, he declares that the gospel he preached “is not man’s gospel. For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus  Christ” (vv. 11b-12 ESV).

Anyone who teaches a gospel contrary to that spread by Jesus and His followers, Paul says, “let him be accursed” (v. 9 ESV).

So, what do we do with the schism rendering our established churches, at best, impotent and, at worst, a laughing stock to the entire non-Christian world?

Just as the Episcopal church split a dozen years ago over the role of avowed homosexuals in the priesthood, so now the United Methodist Church is facing the same debacle, with the venerated John Wesley being used to prop up both sides, regardless of what he might have taught.

One side — now labeled “conservative,” not to indicate they are energized by God’s Word but that they are throwbacks to days long gone — points to clear biblical passages warning us about homosexual practices. Those passages include God’s destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah for their sexual sin.

The other side, which fancies itself “progressive” — as if it has flung aside the shackles of God’s outdated commandments to become hip and modern — claims God simply could not have foreseen the “romantic love relationships” that today’s same-sex couples enjoy.

+++

SO, THE CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE, who exists outside space and time, could not have foreseen the wonderful discovery His rebellious creation, within a brief flicker of a human’s lifespan, wants to represent as God’s will, to include those homosexual acts that God calls “disgraceful” and “unnatural” and to say they are nothing more than an expression of true soul-mate love by people whom God made “that way.”

Oh, please.

Is that excuse — God made me this way, so it’s okay — any more believable than the “dog ate my homework”?

Look, we all sin and are born with sinful natures. That’s what Genesis Chapter 3 is all about. The rest of the Bible is about how to undo Adam’s rebellion, a resolution that required God to step in, in the person of His Son, Jesus, to take the bullet for us to get the job done right.

The question is not whether we were born with a predilection for a particular sin, it’s what do we do with that predilection — do we embrace it  and codify it into respectability, or do we fall to our knees and implore the One who made us to help us through this trial?

The book of James, written by the half-brother of Jesus, exhorts us to “count it all joy, my brothers and sisters, when you meet trials of various kinds, for know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness” (James 1:2-3 ESV).

Living with a sin pattern is not godly. Embracing a sin pattern in the name of “inclusivity” and “tolerance” and “love” is not godly.

What is a godly response?

Recognizing as Paul told his disciple Timothy, that “[a]ll Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right” (2 Timothy 3:16 NLT).

What is godly is to stay with God’s teaching in His Word, not with rewriting it to suit our “present wisdom.”

Franklin Graham, the son of acclaimed evangelist Billy Graham, said it this way: “God’s Word is the truth and the standard we will be held accountable to, whether you like it or not, whether you agree with it or not, and whether it’s politically correct or not.”

He also said, as Christians, we should love people enough to “tell them the truth and warn them about the dangers and consequences of sin.”

The apostle Paul minced no words in his teaching of God’s truth in Galatians 1: “As I have already said, so now I say it again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!”

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PRAYER: O Lord, it saddens us, and it must sadden You even more so, to see so many friends and colleagues leaving the Truth of Your Word for a false gospel preached by the secular culture and embraced by religious leaders who are failing their flock. Lord, be merciful to those who mistakenly believe their interpretation of Scripture is true to You, but please weaken their influence and impede their efforts to redefine Your church. In response, Lord, we ask that You raise strong Christian voices that will speak boldly, and with authority, the Gospel’s eternal message, including both Your promises and Your commandments. We also ask for Your mercy on us. In the Name of Jesus we lift this prayer. Amen

 

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“It is not what people put into their mouths that makes them unclean [Jesus said]. It is what comes out of their mouths that makes them unclean.” (Matthew 15:11 NCV)

“I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.” (Ezekiel 36:26 NLT)

WHEN IT’S TIME FOR A SPRING CLEANING OF YOUR HEART, WHERE DO YOU GO FOR HELP?

Do you dust off an old do-it-yourself manual or buy the latest self-help paperback that promises you that, basically, you’re OK, but you need some tinkering around the edges, and we have a 30-day plan that will do just that?

Or do you look in the mirror, take a deep breath, and admit that the root of your problem is contained in the image staring back at you?

If you’re like me and probably millions of other folks, you’d feel much more comfortable finding a quick-fix solution that comes in a box or magically remakes your life after you slap some reminder notes on the refrigerator and maybe your bathroom mirror.

The last thing most of us want to admit, let’s face it, is that the problems we face — that internal angst that senses that things just aren’t right with our lives no matter how diligent we are in making adjustments — stems from … us.

Maybe the cartoon strip character Pogo got it right, after all: “We have met the enemy and he is us.”

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NOT SURPRISINGLY, GOD HAS A FEW THINGS to say about our dilemma.

He points directly to our hearts as the incubator of our troubles. In Jeremiah 17:9, God  says of the heart, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” (NIV) Other translations quote God saying the heart is “desperately sick” (NASB and ESV), “desperately wicked” (NKJV),” “cunning” and “beyond help” (CEB) and “incurable” (HCSB).

A disciple quotes Jesus giving this description in Matthew 15:11 (NCV): “It is not what people put into their mouths that makes them unclean. It is what comes out of their mouths that makes them unclean.”

Not a pretty picture, for sure.

God also has some things to say about our efforts at self-improvement. “Cursed is the man who trusts in man,” He says in Jeremiah 17:5 (NKJV) and “Cursed is the man who trusts in and relies on mankind” (AMP).

The cure, according to the Creator of the universe, the One who made us and fashioned us in His image, is to turn to Him, instead, and let Him heal us.

Listen to the Lord in Jeremiah 17:7 (NCV): “But the person who trusts in the LORD will be blessed. The LORD will show him that he can be trusted.”

Big difference.

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SO, ON THE ONE HAND, mankind can rely on its own wisdom and understanding, all of which God notes come from an evil heart, or, on the other hand, men and women can fall on their knees and trust the One who made them, who understands them, who knows “how they tick.”

Should be an easy choice. One way works; the other way doesn’t.

Yet part of the legacy of that evil heart is that humans don’t want the remedy when it’s attached to the need for obedience.

Solomon wrote in Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV): “In all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil.” 

Continuing in Proverbs 3, we read in verses 11 and 12 (NCV): “My child, do not reject the LORD’s discipline, and don’t get angry when he corrects you. The LORD corrects those he loves, just as parents correct the child they delight in.”

Even when the Lord lays His hand on us, it is with the tap of correction, lovingly applied, to scoot us away from evil and back toward the pathway that leads to God’s good graces.

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INCREASINGLY, IT BECOMES CLEAR that we need to listen to what God has to say about our human condition and less on what Dr. So-and-So on TV has to say, no matter how many books he has sold.

God not only says He has the diagnosis for our problem, He also has the cure.

“And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. And I will put my Spirit in you” (Ezekiel 36:26-27a NLT).

In the New Testament, we learn from God that His plan for conducting this needed heart transplant is through His own surgeon, Jesus Christ. Peter, the apostle, says in Acts 4:12 (ESV): “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

Jesus, naturally, said the same thing during His earthly ministry: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn  the world, but that the world through Him might be saved” (John 3:16-17 NKJV).

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WHAT’S OBVIOUS HERE?

God wants to change our hearts, not our outward appearance, not our public persona, not our facade, not our public face.

Anyone can strive to “get real” on their own — maybe slap some “great sayings” on the refrigerator; determine to increase personal motivation to stay positive or smile more or say “please” and “thank you” to a stranger, even when they probably don’t deserve it; and maybe stick a toe into a non-profit service center now and then.

It won’t last. It never does. Once the euphoria of the initial gung-ho speech we give ourselves wears off, we’ll be back to the pit, where our depression, distrust, bitterness, and insecurities run rampant.

There’s that “desperately sick” thing the Bible says about the human heart to consider.

No, the resolution to our ills does not rest within our power to change. It must be a complete make-over by the Master and Creator, and that requires our recognition that we are sinners, that He died to release us from sin’s bondage, and that He needs to take up residence in our hearts.

It takes a “new heart,” as the Bible says. It requires letting the Lord give us “a tender, responsive heart.”

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PRAYER: Dear Father God, the Almighty Creator and Ruler of the Universe. We come to You in humility, confessing our great need for Your healing hand, Your forgiveness for our pride and stubbornness, and Your guidance for our path. Please, LORD, change our “hearts of stone” into “tender, responsive hearts,” hearts that yearn after the LORD, that love His majesty, and that give Him all praise, honor, and glory. In Jesus’ Name we lift this prayer. Amen

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“Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live!” (Deuteronomy 30:19 NLT)

This is good and pleases God our Savior. He wants all people to be saved and to learn the truth. (1 Timothy 2:4 GW)

The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. (2 Peter 3:9 ESV)

GOD WANTS US TO CHOOSE LIFE!

How different this statement is from what most of the world believes, yet how basic God’s love is for those who have been bathed by the Holy Spirit.

Mention a saving faith in Jesus Christ, and many, if not, most non-believers quickly claim that God, the creator of the universe, is a “cosmic killjoy,” who “cramps their style.”

They’ll say He offers little or nothing for their lives. By the way, wasn’t He that “old dude” from the Bronze Age that gave us a bunch of rules and regulations, like waiting until marriage for sex (like, that’s going to happen!), and you can’t get drunk or party hearty, and He doesn’t much like gambling, either.

Add to that He’s not politically correct. He hates gays and lesbians, is very judgmental, and, worst of all, His followers are bigoted hypocrites and judgmental do-gooders, who insist on imposing their beliefs on everybody else. They’re like ISIS without the face wrap.

Well, really?

That’s a 180-degree misstatement of the Bible, but we shouldn’t be surprised. The apostle Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 1:18 NIV, that “[T]he message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of  God.”

Add to that the words of the prophet Isaiah regarding the world’s rebellion against
God: “They have refused his teaching and have said to his messengers and prophets: Don’t tell us what God has shown you and don’t preach the truth. Just say what we want to hear, even if it’s false” (Isaiah 30:9-11 CEV).

In other words, those who are steeped in the world’s wisdom will not understand God’s message of salvation nor will they respond to it.

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THAT’S WHERE WE COME IN.

Our job is to share the testimony of Jesus’ life-changing work in our lives. The ultimate “proof” of His love for us is how He reworks us from the inside out to conform us more to the life and character of Jesus.

As the apostle Paul explained, “I am certain that God, who began the good work with you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns” (Philippians 1:6 NLT). The apostle John said: “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12 ESV).

God offers salvation to everyone who accepts it, but that offer — and our acceptance of that offer — must be on His terms, not ours. S. Michael Houdmann, founder of Got Questions Ministries, said it this way: “We must come the way He has provided. We cannot create our own paths or come to a holy God based on our own efforts.” 

The Lord has provided one way, and one way only, to reach Him. It is through belief in Jesus Christ as God’s Son and our Savior. No other way. Not through Muhammad, not through Buddha, not through Moses or Elijah, not through Brahma, Vishnu, or Shiva, and not through Joseph Smith’s Mormons.

Not through our good works and charity, not through incense and crystals, and not through our “inner spiritual selves in oneness with the universe.”

Through Jesus Christ and Him only.

Jesus made it clear: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one goes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6 GW). Later, the apostle Peter, filled with God’s Holy Spirit, added this: “Only Jesus has the power to save! His name is the only one in all the world that can save anyone” (Acts 4:12 CEV).

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WE ARE AMBASSADORS for the Gospel.

We read in 1 Peter 3:15 CSB: “[B]ut in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, ready at any time to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.”

My friends, how can we be the ambassadors for Christ — “salt and light” to the world — if we who have heard the Good News barely register its meaning in our hearts? When God tells us to choose life over death, He wants us to jump full in for the Gospel, just as He has given all to reach us.

God has given us free will — which includes the freedom to make bad choices, harmful decisions, destructive pathways — that includes the freedom to choose Him and His  offer of eternal life with Him! In Genesis 2, right at the beginning of the Bible, God announced to Adam when Adam was the only human around that he could eat the fruit of any tree in the Garden of Eden save one.

“Your choice, Adam,” God said. “You may not eat from that tree, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; but if you do eat from that tree, on that day you will certainly die, and the special relationship you and I enjoy today will be destroyed” (Genesis 2:16-17, author’s adaptation).

In a pivotal scene in the Bible, known as The Fall, we see Adam and his wife, Eve, standing by that same tree that God told Adam to avoid. What were they doing? Talking to a serpent (Satan), who was encouraging them to disobey God. How? By casting doubt on whether God really said they would die (Genesis 3:1).

Yet, exercising the free will their Creator gave them, Adam and Eve joined together to believe the serpent over God. What a terrible choice, but they exercised the free will God had granted them.

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GOD PURSUES US STILL, encouraging us to make a wiser choice; in fact, to make the only choice that will reconcile us to Himself.

In his book, Knowing God, British-Canadian theologian J.I. Packer writes that God, in setting his love on human beings “has voluntarily bound up His own final happiness with theirs”; that is, that God has purposed to bind His complete happiness with our happiness, which can happen only when we are reconciled to Him through Jesus Christ.

Jesus, the Christ of God, who came into the world to die for our sins, told us the Father did not send Him into the world to condemn the world but to save it through Him. That truth is the exact opposite of the falsehood the world believes.

“Whoever believes in him is not condemned,” Jesus said, “but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” (John 3:16-17 NIV)

The choice is ours to make for our own lives, but God has made it clear that He wants us — longs for us — to choose a relationship with Him.

To choose life. L’chai-im!

TO LIFE!

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PRAYER: O LORD, our Heavenly Father, how we have sinned against You in our rebellion and faithlessness. How patient You have been with us and still are. How loving and merciful You are. Yet, LORD, we know You also are just and will judge us with a righteous hand according to our deeds and misdeeds. On Your mercy we come, confessing our sins and praising Your holy name. Thank You, Father, for giving us Your Son to die for our sins, so that we, believing in Him, can be reconciled to You. Thank you, merciful Father, eternally. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.