Surprise!

Ever found yourself in the middle of a situation that you never thought possible? Maybe it is a great thing and you feel ‘lucky’ that it happened to you. Or, more likely, it is some sad or difficult development that blindsided you.

If you are a planner like me, you have a preferred path, goals set, and preparations made to achieve those things. It is good to plan and prepare. I love the old saying, “Those who aim at nothing, hit it every time!”  The surest way to live aimlessly is to drift with the currents.

 There are those things we think could be possible, but that we hope never happen to us. We purchase insurance to repair our vehicles in the event of an accident but we hope never to make a claim. I know injuries are possible in various situations and I take precautions to make them less likely. That’s just common sense. But …

There are always unforeseen things that come our way, things that change everything – like divorce, chronic illness, career loss, a relationship that breaks down without explanation, natural disaster, and even spiritual crises.  It’s not always the awful, terrible.  Good things can disrupt our lives too – an unexpected promotion, an opportunity in business, conceiving a child, the discovery of love, or spiritual awakening!

Christian, through it all the critical choice is faith –
“Lord God, steady me on my way, keep me faithful and true!” 

In the times that test us with sorrow, without a renewal of faith we may well turn into bitter and miserable people, full of self-pity.
In times of great blessing, without grounded faith we may grow apathetic about the things of God, feeling that we have life in our grasp, under control.

I am a great believer in what are called ‘spiritual disciplines,’ things like regular church attendance, service, generosity, prayer and meditation, and regular Scripture intake. We do not do these things because they will make God love us more, nor are they a way to eliminate every surprise along the way.  Regular disciplines of the Spirit ground us, build strength of character, and create channels for the Holy Spirit to flow into our life.

Jesus told a story to illustrate the importance of building a solid foundation. “Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.

But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”  (Matthew 7)

Surprises will come. That’s life! In spite our best preparations we will deal with unforeseen circumstances. Build a foundation that will hold up in those days.

In the book of James, the Spirit urges us to greater faith. Let this word from the Word encourage you today, knowing that God is Lord of all. "Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. . . . The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results." (James 5:13, 16, NLT)  Join Job in this declaration of faith today. "But He knows the way that I take; When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold. My foot has held fast to His steps; I have kept His way and not turned aside." (Job 23:10-11, NKJV)

Amen.

More than an act

This weekend, I watched some gifted teenage students step into roles for a stage production of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Nick, who is a kind and grounded young man, transformed into the selfish and cruel archdeacon of Notre Dame. Other students convincingly became soldiers, gargoyles, and street people. Rachel brought Esmeralda to life, singing “God Help the Outcasts” with such heartfelt emotion that real tears rolled down my cheeks.

But when the curtain fell, the costumes came off, and the characters faded—the students returned to being themselves.

Let me ask you this: how do you understand what it means to be a Christian? Is it something you put on—like a role you play on Sundays or around certain people? Or is it who you truly are?

How wonderful to know that people who are the children of the Heavenly Father. do not just act like a Christian. In Christ, that is who we are.

Jesus met a man hungry for spiritual reality, a religious leader who apparently felt a disconnect between how he acted and who he truly was. Knowing his need Jesus told Nicodemus – “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.”
 “What do you mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus. “How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?”

Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life.  So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again.’”  (John 3) 

What a revelation! We are born into God’s family, becoming children of God, not by human heritage or religious effort, but through the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit Who is accepted by faith. This makes a whole new way of living possible.

Paul teaches us that “this means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!”  (2 Corinthians 5:17)  This way of life emerges from the inside out. We gain a new identity through Jesus and it changes the ways in which we think and act. It is never just a role we learn, it is a way of life.

A person who has not come to Christ in faith and received the gift of the Spirit will only find himself frustrated by trying harder to ‘act like a Christian’ through determination. With concentration and effort he can control the natural impulses but in a time of stress, fatigue, or excitement his true nature will break through the act.

Having experienced the new birth and entered the life of the Spirit, we can take up Paul’s direction “to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Romans 12:2)

In this new life in the Spirit, every day is shaped by Christ in us.
Love replaces hate.
Peace replaces fear.
Hope replaces futility.
Life overcomes death.
Eternity envelopes time.

I want to end this thought today with excerpts from one of the most magnificent passages in the Scripture, the 8^th chapter of the book of Romans. Those inspired words are full of meaning, describing the new life of the Believer.

Meditate on this word from the Word and then go be that person that God made you to be.

“So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death… 

Letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God.

But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.) And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God. …

You received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children.” (Romans 8)

Thank God, we are alive in Him, a new creation. Let’s live that way!
Amen