Being Good May Cause Great Trouble

I love grace! I need grace! God’s grace invites me to be his child. “By grace you are saved, through faith,” Paul reminds us, “not by works so no one can boast about his own goodness.”   Christians also need to make a commitment to excellence for the Lord’s sake. Sometimes we make a false peace with our sin. Some of us choose to be content to live with some crippling habit, by comforting ourselves with the promise of love and forgiveness in Christ Jesus.  Is that the right choice?

The old man was serving in high office despite being an alien, a captive taken from his home and carried far away to Babylon.  From the first, he had decided to honor the LORD without compromise.  Along with three friends, he choose not to ‘go along to get along.’  Now, decades later, he is second to the king, an administrator of great gifts. The council he supervised envied Daniel’s success, jealous of the trust of the king he enjoyed. "But Daniel, brimming with spirit and intelligence, so completely outclassed the other vice-regents and governors that the king decided to put him in charge of the whole kingdom. The vice-regents and governors got together to find some old scandal or skeleton in Daniel’s life that they could use against him, but they couldn’t dig up anything. He was totally exemplary and trustworthy. They could find no evidence of negligence or misconduct." (Daniel 6:3-4, The Message)

As we represent Christ Jesus in our world, we need to make the Daniel choice!  Wherever God calls us, we need to pray for the wisdom, courage, and endurance to be the best we can be, God helping us, for the glory of God. Daniel’s enemies realized that the only way to get to him was to use his faith. They knew his devotion was unshakeable, that he would not compromise even at the threat of death.  They came up with a plan to appeal to the king’s pride and need to consolidate his power and it worked. “Make a decree that nobody can pray to anyone but you for a month,” they told him.  He did!    "But when Daniel learned that the law had been signed, he went home and knelt down as usual in his upstairs room, with its windows open toward Jerusalem. He prayed three times a day, just as he had always done, giving thanks to his God. The officials went together to Daniel’s house and found him praying and asking for God’s help.”

Would we be tempted to excuse ourselves from prayers for that month? Would we justify our compromise with assurances that “God understands”?  Or would we, like Daniel, stay the course, unwavering in our desire to love and honor our Lord?  When the conspirators saw what they knew they would see,  “they went back to the king and reminded him about his law. “Did you not sign a law that for the next thirty days anyone who prays to anyone, divine or human—except to Your Majesty—will be thrown to the lions?” “Yes,” the king replied, “that decision stands; it is a law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be revoked.” (Daniel 6:10-12, NLT)

You probably know the rest of the story. Daniel was tossed to the lions but God showed up there and kept him safe all night.  The next morning the king brought Daniel out  and praised Daniel’s God for the deliverance. “I decree that Daniel’s God shall be worshiped and feared in all parts of my kingdom. He is the living God, world without end. His kingdom never falls. His rule continues eternally. He is a savior and rescuer. He performs astonishing miracles in heaven and on earth. He saved Daniel from the power of the lions.” The Message -Daniel 6:26-27

Grace does not excuse, it transforms.  Grace is not a reason for mediocrity but rather an empowering experience that gives us confidence to come into God’s presence. Want to live a life that shines brightly with God’s radiance? Want to get victory over a lying tongue, a lazy spirit, a doubting heart, over greed, lust, pride, gossip, faithlessness?  Here’s the word from the Word that points the way.  "Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need." (Hebrews 4:14-16, NKJV)   Amen!

“O Lord Jesus Christ,

Who at Your first coming sent your messenger

to prepare the way before You;

grant that we may be ministers of Your mysteries

and likewise prepare and make ready Your way

by turning the hearts of the disobedient to

the wisdom of the just,

that at Your second coming to judge the world

we may be found an acceptable people in Your sight,

for You are alive and reign with the Father,

in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, forever.

Amen”    

- the collect of the day, Common Book of Prayer

What to do with shame

Nobody likes making mistakes publicly. Sinning and being exposed is even worse. The natural tendency after failure is to feel worthless, to feel shame, isn’t it?  That shame often makes us want to run and hide. There is a better response- turn quickly to the Lord.  Instead of slinking around shamed and miserable, we can seek forgiveness.  We can reject a self-defeating attitude that says, "I am no good,"  to thank Him for ‘amazing grace’ that releases us from guilt.

Look at the love of the Father that the Spirit offers to us in Christ. "Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding." (Ephesians 1:4-8, NLT)  Did you take note of the primary actor in that love?  Yes, it is the Lord God!  He pursues us, not because we are perfect, or even because we are desirable. He chooses us because He is good and gracious.  His love goes beyond pity for us in our sorry sinful state. It is an active love that intervenes to change us. 

I confess that I have failed God and man in some big ways in my life. I’m not proud of those moments, but I refuse to wallow in them. God chose me to receive grace and that’s what I do. "Those who enter into Christ’s being-here-for-us no longer have to live under a continuous, low-lying black cloud. A new power is in operation. The Spirit of life in Christ, like a strong wind, has magnificently cleared the air, freeing you from a fated lifetime of brutal tyranny at the hands of sin and death." (Romans 8:1-2, The Message)  Accepting His forgiveness and forgiving myself lays the foundation for a holy life.

Paul started out as Saul, the Pharisee, religious yet rejecting God. He lived in an ugly parody of righteousness, centered on futile attempts to be good enough for God, that ignored the true state of his soul.  Then, he met Jesus and was shown the depth of his deception and depravity.   Saul, the man with the rich religious heritage, and sorry record of sinfulness, sees the truth that he is, despite his best efforts,' the worst of sinners.'  Does he run and hide?  No way. He goes public with his sin so God’s grace can shine ever more brightly against the backdrop of his failure. He says, "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life." (1 Timothy 1:15-16, NIV) 

We can drag around our sins and failures, letting them weigh us down, convinced that though we are going to Heaven, that here on earth we are worthless to God!   
OR, we can let Christ Jesus forgive the sins, restore us from our failures - and become favored children of God, in whom He shows off His power to save. 

This is the Gospel that we celebrate this Advent.

"He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him … Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." (John 1:10, 12, 14, NIV)

No matter how badly you have failed someone or even God Himself,  no matter how far you may have fallen, there is a Savior whose grace is greater. That is the good news.  Believe it, receive Him, and see what God can do with you! Take a few moments to quiet your heart today. Don’t run from the Spirit, ashamed or afraid because you know your sin.  Instead, open your heart. Own your failure without excuse, then let God's love pour over you. 

Thank Him for the Cross of Christ, where all your sins were fully forgiven!  
Thank Him for the grace that closes the gap between your good intentions and your human tendency to fail.  
Thank Him for loving an imperfect child like you. I thank Him for loving one like me, every day.  

Here is the word from the Word – a prayer. Read it again and again, accepting what it says as true for you:
"I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources
he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit.
Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him.
Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.
And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should,
how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is.
May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully.
Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.
Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen." (Ephesians 3:16-21, NLT)

______________________________

Once I was straying in sin's dark valley,
No hope within could I see.
They searched thru heaven and found a Savior,
To save a poor lost soul like me.

O, what a Savior, O, hallelujah,
His heart was broken on Calvary.
His hands were nail-scarred,
His side was riven,
He gave His lifeblood for even me.
What A Savior
Marvin Dalton © 1948. Renewed 1976 Stamps Quartet Music (Admin. by Integrated Copyright Group, Inc.)
CCLI License No. 810055

What makes him tick?

 

Her tone was desperate as she warned me of the “evil teaching” of a well-known pastor who, in reality, is a solid and orthodox leader in the Church. “He’s just not a Christian, I know it!” the words tumbled out of her equally angry and fearful. I recognized the lines were not coming from her own conclusions. She was repeating what she heard from her TV and she was deceived.  I was so sad for her. This dear elderly lady spends too much time watching fringe preachers late at night who build their audiences by stirring up controversy. Using statements taken out of context and following wildly speculative theories that alarm, they dupe sincere saints into sending them money to ‘save Christianity in these End Times.’  

Are you discerning?  

Are your heart AND mind both engaged in your practice of faith?  

It is commendable to ask hard questions of those who claim to speak for God! 

In the pulpit, with Bible in hand, I am given a high privilege by those gathered and it is the most sobering part of my pastoral calling.  My prayer is that the Spirit will do His work through me as I study and prepare with a disciplined mind. Unlike media ministers who exist in a one-dimension world on a screen, those who hear me teach have opportunity to know me, to see if my teaching is grounded in a life centered on Christ as Lord.  Peter warns Christians that not all who claim to speak for God really do! "But there were also false prophets in Israel, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will cleverly teach their destructive heresies about God and even turn against their Master who bought them. Theirs will be a swift and terrible end. Many will follow their evil teaching and shameful immorality. And because of them, Christ and his true way will be slandered." (2 Peter 2:1-2, NLT)

Do I want to stir up controversy and make elderly Christians angry and fearful like the old saint I mentioned a moment ago?  Not at all.  I appeal to us all is for real discernment, for a willingness to step over our preferences and prejudice and to ask the Spirit to help us to see clearly.  In the book of Acts we find a good model. Paul and Silas went to a small city called Berea. They went to the local synagogue to preach the Gospel of Christ. How did the Bereans respond? "Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true." (Acts 17:11, NIV)

There is a saying – “Follow the money!”  If a minister spends a great deal of his time raising funds or if a ‘Christian’ leader lives a lavish, self-indulgent life, I would urge you to think twice, to look long and hard, before you send funds or accept teaching from him. If there is no transparency in the teacher’s words, if he or she is not submitted to others in relationships that allow for difficult questions to be asked about motives,  at best they are flawed.  More likely, they are false!  There is nothing wrong with asking God to show you what makes him tick!  

Need we be fearful or angry?  Not at all!  Peter says "God knows how … to hold the feet of the wicked to the fire until Judgment Day. God is especially incensed against these “teachers” who live by lust, addicted to a filthy existence. They despise interference from true authority, preferring to indulge in self-rule. Insolent egotists, they don’t hesitate to speak evil against the most splendid of creatures. … they’ve left the main road and are directionless, having taken the way of Balaam, son of Beor, the prophet who turned profiteer, a connoisseur of evil." (2 Peter 2:9-10, 15, The Message)  Don’t look for or listen to those who offer formulas that ‘guarantee’ a life without suffering.  The sad, but true, fact is that there are false preachers, those whose ‘gospel’ is not gospel at all. "These men are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them. For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of sinful human nature, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error. They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity—for a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him." (2 Peter 2:17-19, NIV)

Desire Christ. Love the Scripture. Practice humble service. Build and maintain close ties with a group of people who are ‘working out the implications of our salvation’ with one another.  This is the word from the Word- a Advent reminder for all Christians. "Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you." (Revelation 3:3, NKJV)  "Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown." (Revelation 3:11, NKJV)

___________

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

O come, O come, Emmanuel;

And ransom captive Israel,

That mourns in lonely exile here,

Until the Son of God appear.

Rejoice, rejoice,
Emmanuel, shall come to thee,
O Israel.

O come, Thou Wisdom from on high,

And order all things far and nigh,

To us the path of knowledge show,

And cause us in her ways to go.

John Mason Neale | Thomas Helmore

© Words: Public Domain