Anxious no more

Most of us know what it is like to go into some situation feeling anxious, uncertain about the outcome. A decade ago, facing major surgery for the first time in my life, I was laying on a hospital bed just outside of an operating room, shivering, not from cold but from fear! I was anxious about my life, about pain, about the what would happen to me in that room. A kind doctor came, put his hand on my arm, and assured me that I would be just fine, and then he gave me an injection that knocked me out.  When consciousness returned a few hours later, I had learned more about trusting the process and letting myself be confident in the skills of the people who have trained to care for patients like me.

Are you a confident Christian?
Do you trust God in a way that allows you to live for Him without anxiety, without wondering if you are ‘good enough?’

Does your faith draw you to true devotion, a life that is completely given over to Him?

My morning reading in the Word took me to the end of Paul’s first Thessalonican letter. He addresses us with words of assurance, turning our focus to the faithfulness of God.

"May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through.

May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it." (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24, NIV)

*He is the “God of peace.”  In Him we can discover serenity, a rest for our souls, that is not found anywhere else in this world. Because of the coming of Jesus Christ, which we are now remembering in this season of Advent, we are not alone, left to our own schemes to secure ourselves in a world that is filled with all kinds of uncertainty. We can know the God of peace and, in Him, find the confidence to lay aside our fears.

*He will “sanctify you completely.”  That word is often misunderstood as having to do with ‘churchy’ things, only for pastors and religious professionals. In fact, we all can know the confidence that flows from being made acceptable for a holy God, made whole through Christ Jesus. He has a purpose for your life! He has gifted you to fill that place. As you lean on Him, learn from Him, listen to Him – He will ‘set you apart’ from the ordinary, the profane, and make you into a person that fulfills a high calling.  Could there be more confidence than knowing who God made us to be and then living that destiny?

*He is able to “keep you blameless” ready to meet Him.  We need never trouble ourselves about whether we are good for God!  Naturally, we are not. In fact, outside of His grace in Christ, we are ‘objects of wrath.’  But, because of Jesus, we fear His judgment no longer. He actively intercedes for you, for me, in the throne room of the Almighty. He covers us with His righteousness, a gift of grace, that we receive by faith.  And, we are declared blameless, justified. “Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?”  (Romans 8:33)  Confidence results from faith in His salvation that is completed in us.

*He is “faithful.”  I am sometimes faithless. Humans are too prone to failure.  I can identify with the lyrics from the hymn …

Oh, to grace how great a debtor

Daily I'm constrained to be.

Let that goodness like a fetter

Bind my wandering heart to Thee.

Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it;

Prone to leave the God I love!

Here's my heart, oh, take and seal it,

Seal it for Thy courts above.

How can we pray those words with full confidence?  By knowing that our salvation rests on HIS faithfulness, His covenant of grace, not on our flawless efforts.

On Sunday we will go to the Story in Luke for our second Advent Sunday text.  It is a word from the Word for us today. Read it, believe it, and leave fear behind.  "And this is how you will recognize him: You will find a baby lying in a manger, wrapped snugly in strips of cloth!” Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God: “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to all whom God favors.” (Luke 2:12-14, NLT)

________

Come Thou Fount Of Every Blessing (Nettleton)

Come Thou fount of ev'ry blessing

Tune my heart to sing Thy grace

Streams of mercy never ceasing

Call for songs of loudest praise

Teach me some melodious sonnet

Sung by flaming tongues above

Praise the mount I'm fixed upon it

Mount of Thy redeeming love

Here I raise mine Ebenezer
(a marker stone of an encounter with God set by Jacob)

Hither by Thy help I'm come

And I hope by Thy good pleasure

Safely to arrive at home

Jesus sought me when a stranger

Wand'ring from the fold of God

He to rescue me from danger

Interposed His precious blood

O to grace how great a debtor

Daily I'm constrained to be

Let Thy grace Lord like a fetter

Bind my wand'ring heart to Thee

Prone to wander Lord I feel it

Prone to leave the God I love

Here's my heart Lord take and seal it

Seal it for Thy courts above

John Wyeth | Robert Robinson

© Words: Public Domain

Safe Religion

People who are fervently committed to a cause can be difficult to be around. They won’t bend or compromise. At your family table this Christmas there will probably be one or two who will take the conversation in a direction that leaves the rest of the people uncomfortable. It might be their ideas about what to eat, or the best way to use money, or their political persuasions that demonize one party and canonize the other.  

Do you serve Christ Jesus with a fervent, uncompromising commitment?
Do you serve Him with single-minded devotion, every other decision formed by your desire to follow Him?

Some of you may well be thinking, “Oh, Jerry, I don’t want to be one of those people, those ‘true believers’ who obnoxiously push their religion on others.” Nor do I! But, I do not want a safe religion, a tame God, or a Jesus that is just for Sunday School stories for children.

Radical is not always a bad word, especially when it comes to faith. A carefully contained, neatly packaged religion may offer us some comfort, to be sure.  Are you one of those Christians who seeks ‘balance,’ who want just enough “Jesus” to quell any fear of judgment, but not an all-encompassing relationship with Him that shapes your daily choices?

Paul writes to us to say - "Do not put out the Spirit’s fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt. Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil." (1 Thessalonians 5:19-22, NIV)  As you read that do not necessarily think that God is requiring you to sell your home, abandon your job, and move to some remote place to share the Gospel with an unreached tribe. That’s often the caricature of radical faith that forms in our minds. In reality, knowing Jesus in a revolutionary way starts right where we are, in our familial relationships, how we treat others, where we look for joy.

The Spirit of God is speaking to every Believer, every day, but it is possible to stifle His voice. How?  Lots of activity that leaves no time for prayer and reflection will do it.
Focusing too much on ‘what I want’ will surely do it.
Starting to think that you can make yourself right with God with excessive religiosity is definitely a way to quench the Spirit.  

 So, how do we let the fire burn in us?  We listen, love, and learn.

Marriage is a great illustration for the way to know Christ wholly. A marriage that remains alive and warm must be tended by two people who make their relationship a priority. They do not smother each other, jealously possessive, but they keep their relationship exclusive, look for ways to please their spouse, pay attention to the subtle cues about the other’s needs, offer affection and affirmation.  They endure the up’s and down’s of emotions, weather storms, and know that passion ebbs and flows in all relationships. Overall, they define themselves by that singular relationship with their spouse – ‘married,’ turning the ‘me’ life into the ‘we’ life.

IF we want to know Christ, we will give ourselves to Him intentionally in much the same way. No longer will we think of owning ourselves. He owns our affections. We will make worship, prayer, and meditation an important part of life and will pay attention to what the Spirit says. When God speaks to us we will not contemptuously brush Him off.  Nor will we become silly, gullibly eating up everything that somebody says God told them. We will be wise and we will make the choice to embrace the best, the highest, the pure – for Jesus’ sake.

Here is that word from the Word again. I pray you will marinate your mind in this practical word of the Spirit, praying to make Christ the center of all of life.

"Don’t suppress the Spirit, and don’t stifle those who have a word from the Master. On the other hand, don’t be gullible. Check out everything, and keep only what’s good. Throw out anything tainted with evil. May God himself, the God who makes everything holy and whole, make you holy and whole, put you together—spirit, soul, and body—and keep you fit for the coming of our Master, Jesus Christ. The One who called you is completely dependable. If he said it, he’ll do it!" (1 Thessalonians 5:19-24, The Message)

_______

Build My Life

(What is your foundation?)

Worthy of ev’ry song we could ever sing

Worthy of all the praise we could ever bring

Worthy of ev’ry breath we could ever breathe

We live for You

Jesus the name above ev’ry other name

Jesus the only one who could ever save

Worthy of ev’ry breath we could ever breathe

We live for You

We live for You

Holy there is no one like You

There is none besides You

Open up my eyes in wonder and show me who You are

And fill me with Your heart

And lead me in Your love to those around me

I will build my life upon Your love

It is a firm foundation

I will put my trust in You alone

And I will not be shaken

Brett Younker | Karl Martin | Kirby Elizabeth Kaple | Matt Redman | Pat Barrett

© 2016 Martin, Karl Andrew (Admin. by Arkyard Music Services Limited)

Kaple Music (Admin. by Bethel Music Publishing)

Bethel Music Publishing

CCLI License # 810055

Peace!

 

A young girl in elementary school, bright and beautiful, went on and on about all the drama in her life, all the terrible things she suffered at the hands of others. I don’t doubt, for a moment, that school can be tough for a kid! As I continued to listen, her Mom joined right in, talking about the awful administration and uncaring teachers. I realized that the girl had been taught to see the world as a place of threats, to regard others as enemies. Every perceived slight had to be met as a challenge, every person subdued. Without a real change life is going to be very difficult for that little girl, because she will find exactly what she has been trained to look for – a fight.

Christians are taught to radically change their approach to life, to those with whom they worship and live. Paul’s inspired words to us are practical.  "Now we ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone. Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else." (1 Thessalonians 5:12-15, NIV)

Live in peace with each other.  What a timely word for us. Ours is a confrontational, combative, deeply divided world. Some suggest that America has not known such deep divisions since the Civil War. Christians have been drawn into the so-called ‘culture wars’ and many fight, tooth and claw. Only someone who is naïve or foolish could say that there are no real differences. There are! But, if we believe the Gospel of Christ we know that must not meet conflict with loud words, power plays, or threats. We are to walk in the way of the Prince of Peace, the Man who met His enemies with Truth and Love, who counsels us with that famed phrase, “if someone strikes you on one cheek, turn the other also.”

Paul tells us that a key choice of the peaceable person is PATIENCE.  The word he used in the first language of the New Testament would literally be translated to ‘suffer long.’  Patience is more than putting up with that other person. It is learning about them, engaging with them even when it hurts, working for understanding. Contemporary ‘wisdom’ advises us to discard the difficult people in life, to throw away those we see as toxic.  God says love them and suffer long with them, with the hope that love can conquer.

Real peace can be found when we are secure in the love of God, when we come to understand that our first priority is to please Him and that He is our Advocate. "That is why we can say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper, so I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?” (Hebrews 13:6, NLT)  Do you believe that? Is your soul’s security anchored in the amazing love of the Lord?

The first Law taught reciprocity: meet threat with threat, take eye for eye. Jesus changed that with a radical call to bold, profoundly expressed love.  He says “You have heard that the law of Moses says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and on the unjust, too. If you love only those who love you, what good is that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much." (Matthew 5:43-46, NLT)

Are you choosing peace?  Peace with others flows out of a heart that rests in God. The place to start is with Him, finding restoration and reconciliation, coming to know how much He loves you. Then, loved, you can love others with more than words. 

Here is a word from the Word.
"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." (John 14:27, NIV)

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Blessed Assurance

Blessed assurance Jesus is mine

O what a foretaste of glory divine

Heir of salvation purchase of God

Born of His Spirit washed in His blood

This is my story this is my song

Praising my Savior all the day long

This is my story this is my song

Praising my Savior all the day long

Perfect submission perfect delight

Visions of rapture now burst on my sight

Angels descending bring from above

Echoes of mercy whispers of love

Perfect submission all is at rest

I in my Savior am happy and blest

Watching and waiting looking above

Filled with His goodness lost in His love

Fanny Jane Crosby

© Words: Public Domain