Love – See you in Heaven

How do I share the gospel with a religious person? Part 3

“¹⁴ And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, ¹⁵ that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:14-15

In addition to confronting a religious person with the truth about his need for new birth (John 3:1-8) and the origin of Jesus Christ (John 3:9-13), we must also confront them with Jesus’ grace (John 3:13-15).

“No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven.” (John 3:13). Jesus had authority to teach about heavenly things because He lived in heaven. No one has ascended to God. Instead, God has come down to us in the Person of Jesus Christ. Jesus knows best how to get to heaven because He lived there. No one knows better how to get to your home than you. To find out how to get to heaven ask the One who lives there, Jesus Christ. What does He say?

“¹⁴ And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, ¹⁵ that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:14-15). Why do you suppose Jesus used Moses and the serpent illustration from the Old Testament? Perhaps Nicodemus had just finished teaching the passage in the synagogue? Whatever the reason, Jesus turns Nicodemus’ attention to Numbers 21. The people of Israel were on the way to the Promised Land. They were complaining against God and were dissatisfied with the manna He sent them. To discipline them, God sent poisonous snakes among the people, resulting in many physical deaths (Numbers 21:4-6). Moses then asked God to remove the snakes. God told Moses, “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten when he looks at it, shall live.” (Numbers 21:8).

In a similar fashion, all of mankind has been struck down by sin. Sin has sunk its fangs in our spiritual souls and the venom has made its way to our hearts and we are dying in our sins. But God saw our hopelessness, and lifted up His Son on the cross to die for our sins. To be born again and experience eternal life, Nicodemus needed simply to “look and live,” just as in Numbers 21 one had to “look and live.” Jesus explained their “look” as simply believing in Him. “¹⁴ And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, ¹⁵ that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:14-15).

To Nicodemus, the admonition to look and live would have been both personal and effective. Having fasted, prayed, faithfully attended the synagogue, observed the feasts, and honored the Sabbaths, he was tempted to look at what he had done to give a him a right standing with God. Instead, now he discovered he must look to Christ alone for eternal life. He must believe in Him. Being born again is all about a personal relationship between a holy God and a sinful people. How can this be? How can a holy God have a relationship with a sinful people? Because GOD came down to earth (John 3:13). And why did He come down? That He might be lifted up on the cross (John 3:14) to die for our sins so that those who look up or believe in Him, should not perish but have eternal life (John 3:15). Faith alone in Christ alone gets you to heaven.

Have you been born again? Is there anything keeping you from trusting in Christ now as your only hope of heaven? Four hindrances almost prevented Nicodemus from coming to Christ. These are four obstacles that can prevent any religious person from coming to Christ:

1. Pride. A religious man was told he must be born again. Religious people don’t like to be told this because they want to look to what they have done, not what someone else has done to get them to heaven. When I tell a religious man all he must do to get to heaven is believe in Jesus, he says, “But I’ve lived a good life.”

2. Tradition. We often hear a religious person say, “What will my family and friends think if I go against what we have been taught and trust Christ for eternal life?” Nicodemus was a ruler of the Jews, a teacher, a religious leader. He couldn’t trust in this miracle-worker. His colleagues would reject him.

3. Ignorance. “No one ever told me this before.” Many religious people have not been told that all they must do is look to Christ in faith to get them to heaven.

4. Misunderstanding. Many religious people have said, “Don’t you think I’ll get to heaven if I believe in Christ plus my good life?” The only condition for eternal life is belief or trust in Christ (period), not plus something else.

I think we underestimate Satan’s strategy. Satan is a deceiver. You won’t recognize him by his dress or conduct. He might even wear the suit of a preacher. He’ll probably encourage you to be as much like God as possible without being related to God. Satan is on the side of religion; he’s not opposed to it, as long as religion leaves out a Christ-alone salvation. That way, he can deceive people into an eternal hell.

Nicodemus reminds us that the best of people is not so good they can earn their way to heaven. God takes us to heaven on the basis of His Son’s performance, not ours. He offers eternal life only on the basis of grace – favor we do not deserve. Grace with anything added to it ceases to be grace (Romans 11:6). If we trust in anything in addition to Christ for salvation, then we’ve fallen victim to Satan’s deception. Christ and Christ alone saves.

When presenting the gospel to the religious, confront them with the truth of their need for a Savior – they are sinners who deserve eternal separation from God. Then share God’s grace with them – that Christ died for them and rose again and they can have eternal life simply by believing in Christ for it.

Do you have religion without Christ? Why not turn from religion to a relationship with Jesus? Jesus invites you to believe in Him for eternal life. The word “believe” means to trust or depend upon Christ. Several years ago, a friend of mine visited the Houston Astrodome. Suspended three hundred feet above the playing field was a twenty-seven thousand-pound gondola. That gondola was held in place by five cables which are each 5/8 of an inch thick. When a newscaster sat in that gondola, he was trusting the cables to hold him. Everything he has done and everything he is means nothing. He must depend on them to hold him.

Christ paid for our sins by dying on the cross. God now comes to you and asks you to depend upon Christ as your only way to heaven. It doesn’t matter if you are a child who is nine or an adult who is ninety. It matters not if you are a morally good person or if you’ve spent more time inside a jail than outside, you must trust in Christ to save you. Perhaps you can identify with Nicodemus – you’ve always believed the way to heaven was by living a good life or by believing in Christ plus something else. But now you understand you were mistaken and you want to trust Christ alone as your only way to heaven. Again, the promise is “Whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:15). If you are now believing in Jesus alone for His gift of everlasting life, you can tell Him through prayer.

Prayer: Lord Jesus thank You so much for abandoning everything in heaven to come to earth to offer Yourself as a sufficient sacrifice for all of my sins. I am simply amazed that You would love me that much! I am now trusting in You Jesus (not my good life or my religion) to give me everlasting life and a future home in heaven. Thank You for Your grace that gives me what I could never deserve. Thank You for the everlasting life I now have and for the future home I will have in heaven. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Who is Jesus Christ? Part 2

“All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.” John 1:3

Not only was the Word present at creation (John 1:1), He was also the Agent of creation. “All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made” (John 1:3). Does this verse say that all things were made through evolution? No! All things were made through Christ (cf. Colossians 1:16)! Everything that exists owes its existence to the Word. He is the Creator God. Apart from Him, there is no existence. Jesus Christ created this universe. The Word is our CREATOR GOD.

I believe in the Big Bang alright. God spoke (BOOM) and the universe came into being (Genesis 1). Through Him all things “were made (1:3),” but He always “was” (1:1). The Creator knows our inner workings better than anyone; He knows our needs and what it will take to bring us to Himself.

A doctor had hired a new secretary. She was pretty and thin. Part of her responsibilities was mailing out the bills to all the doctor’s patients. The doctor began to notice that it was taking more time than should be necessary for her to fulfill this task, and so he observed her one day. He discovered that rather than using the wet sponge to seal the envelopes, she was licking each one. This took a long time. The doctor asked her to use the sponge instead of licking each one, but the new secretary said that she would rather do it the other way. The doctor tried all kinds of motivations to try and convince her to do things his way. He tried telling her how much quicker it would be, he told her that her mouth wouldn’t get so dry. He even tried switching the type of envelopes that he used to one of those kind that had nasty-tasting glue. Nothing worked.

One day, a patient came to her window to pay her bill and noticed that the secretary was licking the envelopes. She said to her, “Did you know that each envelope has about 1 ½ calories?” The secretary immediately stopped and began using a wet sponge. Sometimes it takes a woman to communicate in a woman’s language.

Likewise, it takes the Creator to communicate in His creation’s language. The Creator of the Universe loved you and me so much that He became a Man without ceasing to be fully God (John 1:14) so we could approach Him. Jesus came to us to speak our language so we could understand Him. Christ spoke to us with love when He took our place and punishment on the cross for our sins (cf. Romans 5:8) and rose from the dead (I Corinthians 15:4-6).

Think of how our Creator God, Jesus Christ, must have felt when He came to earth? The Bible tells us, “He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him” (John 1:10). The Creator of the world came into the world and the world did not even know He was here. The world He made ignored Him.

Imagine how He felt as He inhaled the air He created and walked by the Sea of Galilee that He had made. As He ate the fish He spoke into existence and spent time with the people He had created, how must He have felt when no one thanked Him for the air they breathed and the Sea that provided their food and livelihood? It must have hurt for Him to go unrecognized. But it gets worse.

“He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him” (John 1:11). Not only was the Creator ignored by the world in general, He was rejected by His own Jewish people. Unlike the world, the nation of Israel knew He was here, but like the world they didn’t care. They turned away from their Creator and Messiah. No doubt this deeply hurt the Lord Jesus. But did He give up on the world and the nation of Israel? Does He give up on us when we ignore Him or turn away from Him?

Even though the world did not know Jesus as its Creator (1:10) and His own Jewish people rejected Him as their Messiah-God (1:11), Christ did not stop loving them. He still offers salvation to individual Gentiles and Jews who would receive Him by believing in His name. “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name” (John 1:12). Notice that the way to receive Christ is to “believe in His name.” In New Testament times, a name represented a person. Jesus Christ is the One who died for our sins and rose again. The moment you believe or trust in Jesus alone to make you God’s child, you are born into God’s family forever.

Please understand that when the Bible says you must receive and believe in Christ, that does not mean you must simply accept Him as a Person like you would accept me as a person. Accepting me as a person will not get you to heaven. Accepting as history that Jesus existed, died and rose again will not get you to heaven. Some people accept Christ’s death and resurrection as an historical fact but are still trusting in their own works to get them to heaven.

Picture a large boat filled with refugees from Cambodia coming across the Pacific Ocean. It begins taking on water and lifeboats become a necessity. Three passengers find themselves in different situations. The first passenger has no knowledge that lifeboats save and, therefore, never steps into one. The second passenger understands that lifeboats save, but for some reason refuses to step into one. The third passenger not only understands the ability of a lifeboat to save, but actually steps into the lifeboat and in so doing relies upon it to keep him from drowning.

Which of the three is saved? Yes, the last passenger. He not only had the knowledge, but he uses it. A person is saved when he or she understands the ability Jesus Christ has to save and acts on that knowledge by trusting Christ alone. You are not saved simply by understanding Christ died and arose or even accepting His death and resurrection as a fact of history while relying on your own good life to get you to heaven. You become a member of God’s family when as a sinner deserving of hell, you trust Christ alone to get you to heaven.

Maybe you have ignored God all of your life like the world did. Perhaps you have turned away from His loving attempts to draw you to Himself much like the nation of Israel did when He walked on the earth. Please understand that Jesus still loves you and offers you a personal relationship with Him forever. All He asks is that you “believe in His name” – His Person – and He will place you in God’s family forever!

Just as Jesus never stopped loving the world or the nation of Israel for rejecting Him, so when non-Christians initially reject the message of the gospel from us, we must not stop loving them or exposing them to the gospel. Christ never stopped loving me the first time I heard and rejected the gospel and I am eternally indebted to Him for that! The least I can do is show the same kind of patient love toward unbelievers who need to hear the gospel more than once before they believe it.

Prayer: Precious Lord Jesus, I bow before You as my Creator God. You know me so intimately and thoroughly because You created me in my mother’s womb. You know me better than anyone, and yet You still love me unconditionally. Thank You for making me, me! Thank You for everything about me. Thank You for never ceasing to love me even though I used to ignore You or even reject any of Your attempts to love me. Because You are my Creator God, You have the power not only to take me to heaven when I die, You also have the power to take care of all of my needs. You have the ability to change me from the inside out as I learn to trust and obey You. Just as You never stopped loving me even though I rejected Your initial attempts to share Your gospel message with me, help me not to give up on those who initially reject my attempts to share Your gospel message with them. Help me to show the same kind of patient love toward others who need to hear the gospel as You have shown to me. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

When the Lord is my Shepherd I shall have no want for comfort

“Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.” Psalm 23:4b

About six hundred times, the Scriptures refer to sheep, lambs, ewes, sheepfolds, and shepherds. God seems to be saying to us, “If you want to learn something about the Christian life, watch the sheep. And if you want to know something about Me, watch a faithful shepherd.”

In the first half of verse 4, we saw that one of the paths our Good Shepherd leads us down goes through “the valley of the shadow of death.” David writes that he was comforted by his Shepherd as he led him through this dark time in his life. He says, “Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.”

The “rod” refers to a great oak club about two feet long with a round head in which the shepherd pounded sharp bits of metal. He used the rod to defend his flock against wild beasts. A skillful shepherd not only swung the club to smash the head of a predator, but he would also throw the club like a missile over the heads of his sheep to strike a wolf or mountain lion lurking in the distance.

The “staff” was a long walking stick that was bent or hooked at one end. The shepherd used his staff to restrain sheep from wandering or hooked their legs to pull them out of holes into which they had fallen. He also used it to pull branches aside when a sheep got tangled in a thicket or to beat back the high grass to drive out snakes coiled on the path.

The sheep take comfort from the shepherd’s power.The word “comfort” means to give strength. To comfort is to give strength by supplying power. God offers us more than a handkerchief to dry our tears – He offers us His power and His might. But if we are honest with ourselves, we may be somewhat afraid of God’s power perhaps because we think He is like us – unpredictable. One day we are up and another day we are down. One day we are all smiles and another day we are all frowns. We suspect God is that way. One day He uses His power on our behalf and another day He wants to flex His muscles some and hurl a thunderbolt into our lives.

We need to remember that our Good Shepherd is as gracious as He is powerful. God cannot use His power outside of His love. His grace limits His power just as His holiness limits His love. God will not move in might except to carry out the desires of His heart.

For example, let’s say you have a daughter who becomes very ill with the coronavirus. When the doctor examines her, he then rushes her to the hospital. He tells you that he is not sure she will live through the night. You are standing there, watching helplessly as your little girl struggles for her life. In those moments, some great truths in Scripture come to your mind. First of all, you know that God loves you and He loves your little girl (John 3:16). After all, He loved you enough to die for you both (Romans 5:8). You know that nothing and no one can separate you both from His love (Romans 8:35-39).

Yet you loved your little girl, too, and you are helpless to do what your love desires. Then you realize that the God who loves you both is also the God of power (cf. Jeremiah 32:17). And you know that He has the strength to do what His love desires. If God chose that your daughter stay with you, He had the power to keep her alive. And if God chose to take your daughter home, this, too, would be His loving choice. He has the power to do anything that His heart knows best.

The comfort of God can calm our fears because we can rest our lives in His strength. Would it really comfort us if all our “whys” were answered? Why the child had to meet that deadly virus? Why all of this social distancing? Why did the train have to be there the moment those teenagers crossed the railroad tracks? Why all the flooding and property damage from the typhoon?

If God simply gave scientific or philosophical explanations to our bruising questions, could they really comfort us? A child is not comforted by being told why she has contracted the coronavirus. Nor is a child comforted by being told why her finger hurts when it is bruised in a car door, or why her tummy aches. She is comforted by knowing that her mother loves her, and that she can do something about her hurt.

We can obtain much comfort from the defending rod and staff of our Good Shepherd, not only for ourselves but for others. We may not be able to visit people face to face right now, but we can pray to the One who can be there with them to comfort them with His powerful love and presence.

Prayer: Good Shepherd, there is so much in life that I do not understand. Many people are going through dark times right now. There is much chaos and confusion in our world today. But this chaos and confusion begin to fade away when I turn the eyes of my heart towards You. I really do not need answers to my questions right now. I need You O Lord. Knowing that You love me without condition and that You have the power to take care of me always, is the greatest source of comfort and security for me at this moment. Thank You so much for Your rod which You hurl at the enemy when he whispers lies that provoke fear in my heart. Thank You for Your staff which You use to guide me or rescue me when I get into trouble. I need You Jesus. Nothing more and nothing less. Thank You for being a faithful, loving, and all powerful Shepherd. My trust is in You. In Your name. Amen.

Transformed from a tree of shame to a tree of splendor

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed.” Luke 4:18

After Jesus had been tempted in the wilderness by Satan and ministered in Galilee (Luke 4:1-15), “He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. As His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read” (4:16). Christ then read verses taken from Isaiah 61:1-2 which describe the promised Messiah’s ministry on earth hundreds of years prior. His gospel is for everyone, including “the poor” (4:18a). His gospel heals, not hurts “the brokenhearted” and “proclaims liberty,” not labor to those who are “captives” or in bondage (4:18b). When Jesus said, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing” (4:21), He was saying that He was the promised Messiah Whose gospel would bring blessing to those who are broken.

There is a progression in Isaiah’s description of the Messiah’s gospel preaching ministry that is relevant to those who are struggling with shame and the bondage it creates. All people have hidden wounds in their lives. They may be in the form of hurtful memories such as a mean word on the playground or abuse in the home. We try to medicate these wounds with behaviors, substances, or emotions. But Jesus came to “heal the brokenhearted,” resulting in “liberty” from that which we could not break free (4:18a). Shame imprisons us, but the Savior liberates us. His gospel grants spiritual “sight” to us so we can begin to see ourselves through His eyes and no longer be “oppressed” by shame-based lies (4:18b).

The biblical text does not tell us if Jesus read verse 3 of Isaiah 61, but this verse is a continuation of the Messiah’s ministry on earth. His healing grace will “console [not condemn] those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty [not a beating] for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise [not punishment] for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified” (Isaiah 61:3). Our brokenness brought great sadness to us, but Christ’s grace will “console” us, changing our sadness and the “heaviness” of shame into “joy” and “praise.” This inward transformation will make us a blessing to others, like oak “trees” flourishing in “righteousness” because of the outrageous love and grace of God.

The word translated “trees” is the Hebrew word אַיִל (ayil) which refers to a terebinth tree – a prominent, lofty tree much like an oak tree (Isaiah 1:29; 57:5). We may not think much of Isaiah’s reference to an oak tree, but in ancient times, people sacrificed to and worshipped their pagan gods in groves of oak trees. The use of the word “trees” (ayil) in Isaiah 1:29 and 57:5 is revealing.

“²⁹ For they shall be ashamed of the terebinth trees (ayil) which you have desired; and you shall be embarrassed because of the gardens which you have chosen. ³⁰ For you shall be as a terebinth whose leaf fades, and as a garden that has no water. ³¹ The strong shall be as tinder, and the work of it as a spark; both will burn together, and no one shall quench them” (Isaiah 1:29-31). God would judge those who had forsaken Him to meet secretly among “the terebinth [oak] trees” to worship the false gods of the people around them. The reason they would be “ashamed” is because those who worshipped these pagan gods were required to participate in a wide variety of sexual practices, including orgies, adultery, prostitution, and the bloody sacrifices of children.

In Isaiah 57, Israel’s rebellion against God among the groves of oak trees included adultery and idolatry. “³But come here, you sons of the sorceress, you offspring of the adulterer and the harlot! ⁴ Whom do you ridicule? Against whom do you make a wide mouth and stick out the tongue? Are you not children of the transgression, offspring of falsehood, ⁵ inflaming yourselves with gods under every green tree (ayil), slaying the children in the valleys, under the clefts of the rocks? ⁶ Among the smooth stones of the stream is your portion; they, they are your lot! Even to them you have poured a drink offering, you have offered a grain offering. Should I receive comfort in these? ⁷ On a lofty and high mountain you have set your bed; even there you went up to offer sacrifices” (Isaiah 57:3-7). God summons the idolatrous Israelites who were acting as though their father was an “adulterer” and their mother a “sorceress” and a prostitute (57:3). They were mocking the righteous minority among them (57:4) and they burned (“inflamed”) in their lust for the “gods under every green tree” (57:5). Pagan gods were strewn among these oak trees. God’s people worshipped “the smooth stones” in the stream beds and offered sacrifices to the gods “on a high and lofty mountain” (57:6-7).

Then Isaiah says, “Also behind the doors and their posts you have set up your remembrance; for you have uncovered yourself to those other than Me, and have gone up to them; you have enlarged your bed and made a covenant with them; you have loved their bed where you saw their nudity” (Isaiah 57:8). The Israelites deliberately turned their back on the Lord and placed symbols of these pagan gods “behind the doors and their posts” to remind them of the gods they worshipped.

You may wonder what these symbols looked like? They were often highly sexual. For example, the goddess Asherah was the goddess of fertility. The symbol identifying her was a phallus. When God’s people are described in the Old Testament as meeting at the Asherah “poles,” it is talking about them gathering around a tall tower or temple built in the shape of a man’s genitalia.

What God is telling us in the book of Isaiah is that the “oak trees” were common places of unrighteousness – especially sexual sin and immorality. So when Jesus offers to heal broken hearts, free those in bondage, and transform them into “trees of righteousness” who will display His glory (Luke 4:18-19; cf. Isaiah 61:1-3), we come to a new and profound understanding. In the very place where the Israelites engaged in sinful, shameful, and degrading practices, He promises to make them oak trees of righteousness. And He promises to do the same with us.

God wants to meet us in the hidden places of our greatest shame and struggle to help us heal. He is not uptight about our sin and shame. His grace is far greater than either (cf. Romans 5:20). But most men and women who are struggling with shameful and degrading practices want to hide themselves from God and have lost hope. They have settled for the ongoing cycles of defeat and shame. But Jesus wants to transform them from a tree of shame to a tree of splendor. And He does this through His love. His perfect love casts out fear and shame (I John 4:18).

“The Lord your God in your midst, the Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing” (Zephaniah 3:17). After defeating all His enemies at the end of the Tribulation (3:15), King Jesus will be in Israel’s “midst” like a “Mighty” Warrior to “save” them from harm (3:17a). Like a Bridegroom, King Jesus “will rejoice over” His people, Israel, “with gladness” and “He will quiet” them in the security of “His love” for them as His bride (3:17b). King Jesus “will rejoice over” His bride “with singing.”

God wants to celebrate who we are! “He will rejoice over you with singing,” not condemn us or shame us. He wants to heal and quiet us with His love. He wants to transform our tree of shame into a tree of splendor so He is glorified. Will you place yourself in a position for Him to do that?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, even though I am afraid and ashamed, I invite You to do what You were sent to do. Please heal my brokenness deep inside of my heart, liberate me from bondage, open the door where others have locked me up and thrown away the key, comfort and console me in my grief, grant me beauty instead of the ashes of humiliation, the oil of joy in place of mourning, the garment of praise instead of punishment for my spirit of heaviness, that I may be called a flourishing oak tree of righteousness that is a blessing to others and magnifies Your name. In Your name. Amen.

How does God want us to respond to His intimate concern for us?

^“19Oh, that You would slay the wicked, O God! Depart from me, therefore, you bloodthirsty men. ²⁰For they speak against You wickedly; Your enemies take Your name in vain. ²¹Do I not hate them, O Lord, who hate You? And do I not loathe those who rise up against You? ²²I hate them with perfect hatred; I count them my enemies. ²³Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; ²⁴And see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” Psalm 139:19-24

How does God want us to respond to His intimate concern for us (by creating us and planning out our lives)?

1. By disassociating from evil (139:19-22). First David says, “Oh, that You would slay the wicked, O God! Depart from me, therefore, you bloodthirsty men” (139:19). David uses very strong language here. He wants God to kill the wicked. Have you ever prayed this way to the Lord? David is giving his anger to God as he prays. He wants nothing to do with the wicked in view of God’s loyal love to him. The reason for this is given next. “For they speak against You wickedly; Your enemies take Your name in vain” (139:20). David was opposed to God’s enemies because they spoke against the Lord with wicked intent and for deceitful ends.

Then he writes, “Do I not hate them, O Lord, who hate You? And do I not loathe those who rise up against You? I hate them with perfect hatred; I count them my enemies” (139:21-22). David affirms his loyalty to God by rejecting those who have rejected the Lord. We are to completely disassociate ourselves from those who reject God and rebel against Him as we consider that they are our enemies as well. For example, those who kill unborn children have rejected the Lord and His handiwork. We can disassociate from the evil they commit by supporting political candidates who respect and defend human life in the womb, and thereby show our loyalty to God. Another way to show our loyalty to God is…

2. By being open to and led by Him (139:23-24). We need to be accountable to God because our hearts are self-deceived (cf. Jeremiah 17:9). We trick ourselves into calling evil good. David prays to God, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties” (139:23). Thus he ends this psalm like he began it—with a reference to God’s searching knowledge. David wanted God to “try” or test him, as a refiner tests metal, to show that he was loyal to the Lord. Since God knows all, he would know David’s anxious thoughts. Likewise, we are to ask God to examine our thoughts and motives which may not be thoroughly committed to Him.

Then David prays, “And see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (139:24). David is asking the Lord to see if there is anything in him that is hurtful to the Lord. And if there is, he asks God to guide him in the right way. Have you prayed like this recently to the Lord? The more we understand God’s intimate love and concern for us, the more we will open our hearts to Him. He will not reject us nor condemn us for our struggles. He already knows all about them. He understands us better than we do, and He still loves and accepts us. Knowing this invites us to approach Him honestly and openly.

Prayer: Father God, the more I understand and believe Your intimate concern and love for me, the more I want to be loyal to You. You deserve my very best, not my leftovers. Forgive me for closing my heart off to You; for thinking that Your love and concern for me are imperfect like my own love and concern for You. The more I embrace You and Your outrageous love for me, the more I want to disassociate from evil and embrace what is right in Your eyes. Because You know everything about me, and still love and accept me, I come to You with an open heart right now asking You to show me if there is any area in my life that is not fully committed to You. If there is anything in me that is hurtful to You, please show me and guide me in the right way. I also want to pray for unborn children in the world right now. Please show their mothers that they are carrying a human being inside of them that is made in Your image. Direct these mothers to give birth to their children. Help those who are overwhelmed with their pregnancy to choose life and put their children up for adoption rather than destroy Your handiwork. Please bring Jesus’ peace and forgiveness to those who have already aborted their babies. May they find everlasting life and forgiveness through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone. Please bring an end to the slaughter of unborn children. I beg You, Lord, to forgive our nation’s sins, our church’s sins, and our own sins. Please lead us in Your everlasting way. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Why does God know me so well?

WHY DOES GOD KNOW ME SO WELL?

^“13For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. ¹⁴I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well. ¹⁵My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. ¹⁶Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them. ¹⁷How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! ¹⁸If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand; When I awake, I am still with You.” Psalm 139:13-18

The reason God knows me so completely and thoroughly (139:1-12) is because He formed me in the womb and scheduled the course of my life (139:13-18). God “formed my inward parts” – the real me. He “covered” or wove my veins and arteries (139:13). Notice the word “me” in reference to the embryonic development of a baby. This is a person in the eyes of God, not a piece of tissue or a glob of cells. Do you realize that at the embryo stage of development, your arms, legs, eyes, ears, brain, heart, liver, and lungs were already developing? Your chromosomes were all set to make you a boy or girl. If we could read God’s plan in our DNA, we could tell even at this stage whether we would be tall or short, have light or dark skin. We could tell if we would talk and sing with a high or low voice, and many other things. God knit our body parts together according to the plan He wrote in our DNA code.

We are not the product of a series of genetic mistakes as evolution teaches. We did not evolve from dead stuff to a living being. No. We are the result of an all-wise and all-powerful Creator who carefully formed us in the womb. This is why God knows me intimately because He carefully formed me in my mother’s womb.

This is why I will praise God because I am the product of His awe-inspiring handiwork (139:14). Are you able to say with David, “I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well”? God’s written plan for you in your DNA is unique. There is only one you. Your face, your features, your voice, your style, your background, your peculiarities, your abilities, your smile, your walk, your handshake, your manner of expression, your view point – everything about you is found in only one individual since humankind began – you!!! You will not find another you throughout human history. Why? Because God wanted you to be you and no one else! Your mold was broken, never to be used again.

When was the last time you praised God for you? All of you? When was the last time you praised Him for your looks, abilities, mannerisms, etc? Let me encourage you to look in a mirror today and say, “Thank You, Lord, for making me, me!” Praise Him because you are a product of His awe-inspiring handiwork!

When David says, “My frame was not hidden from You” (139:15a), the word “frame” refers to his bones or skeleton. When he says, “When I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth” (139:15b), he is referring to the fact that the development of a human being is hidden to the human eye. Even though he was unseen to the human eye, he was still a person (“I”). In David’s day there were no sonograms or ultrasounds like we have today. So you could not watch the development of a baby in the womb. God alone saw the development of a person in the womb. Thanks to technology today, we can observe the prenatal development of children and see that they are fully human from the moment of conception.

When David says, “Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed” (139:16a), he is referring to the egg cell stage of development. Life truly begins at fertilization when the sperm and ovum meet to form a single cell. All the characteristics of each person – sex, eye color, shoe size, intelligence, etc. – are determined at fertilization by the baby’s genetic code in his or her chromosomes. Every person begins as a separate single cell. Nothing new is added but oxygen and nutrition. All of us, from the moment of fertilization were a unique human being never to be repeated in all of history. When an abortion is performed, the abortionist is slapping the hand of God and destroying our Maker’s handiwork. He is destroying a person, a human being.

During the egg cell stage of development God scheduled the course of my life. “And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them” (139:16b). God planned all the days of our lives including all the things that would happen to us before we were even born. That is how special each of us is to God. Each of us began as an idea in the mind of God. He was thinking about us before our lives began. Since God is the One who has planned a human life, it is not our place to decide when that life should end. Only God has the right to give or take life (Deut. 32:39).

The “thoughts” God has toward us probably refer to His forming of our bodies and planning our lives (139:17-18). These thoughts God has toward each of us are “precious” and innumerable. Do you ever feel alone and insignificant? All of us can and do. Please know that God is always thinking about you. Why? Because He is your loving Creator. The best parents in the world cannot give constant attention to their children twenty-four hours per day, but God can. He is with us all the time giving us His whole attention. The Lord is constantly thinking an uninterrupted stream of loving thoughts toward us as though nobody else in the world existed.

How can God be personally involved with over 7 billion individuals at the same time? I do not know for sure, but I do believe it is no problem for the Creator of the universe. Perhaps the answer is in the speed of His thought. There are approximately 7.8 billion people in the world today.[1] God created things in nature that pulsate at incredible speeds. I learned recently that strontium atoms vibrate 430 trillion times per second.[2] If God thinks that fast, He could think of 55,128 loving thoughts toward you and every person on earth every second. Who knows how He does it. Just enjoy it!

Do you ever wake up in the morning feeling insecure? David reminds us, “When I awake, I am still with You” (139:18b). God has not only been thinking loving thoughts of you throughout the night, but when you wake up in the morning, He is still there with you giving you His loving attention. Let’s take a moment to worship our all-loving, all-wise, and all-powerful Creator.

Prayer: Precious Lord, I bow before You as my Creator God. You know me so intimately and thoroughly because You painstakingly formed me in my mother’s womb. I am fearfully and wonderfully made by You and I praise You for this. Thank You for making me, me! Thank You for my face, my eyes, my ears, my nose, my voice, my background, my peculiarities, my abilities, my smile, my walk, my handshake, my mannerisms, my view points. Thank You for everything about me. Thank You for planning the course of my life with Your innumerable loving thoughts toward me. Knowing how much You love me and care for me invites me to trust You every moment of my life. I look forward to spending today with You. Help me to see myself as You do. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

[1] https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/

[2] https://www.vox.com/2016/5/26/11784888/atomic-clock-strontium

Letting God’s light shine where darkness engulfs our brokenness

“⁶ If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. ⁷But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” I John 1:6-7

The apostle John is writing to Christians so they may have fellowship or closeness (1:3-4) with God Who “is light” (1:5a). Light provides a source of comfort and warmth. Light is necessary for growth. Light exposes what is hidden in the darkness but it also offers hope and guidance out of the darkness. John tells us “in Him [God] there is no darkness at all” (1:5b). There is nothing sinful or deceiving about God. He is pure and holy, loving and true, gracious and merciful. The more we see Him for who He truly is, the more open and honest we will be with Him.

One of the conditions for fellowship with God is to “walk in the light as” God “is in the light” (1:7). Notice John says to walk “in” the light, not “according” to the light. Walking “according” to the light would refer to sinless perfection as a condition for fellowship with God. But the preposition “in” refers to walking in the sphere of God’s light where there is no darkness or dishonesty. In other words, to have fellowship with God we must be open and honest with Him, not sinless, as we walk in the light with Him.

When I claim to be close to God (“have fellowship with Him”), but I am dishonest and distant from Him, I “lie and do not practice the truth” (1:6). But when I “walk in the light” where God is, being open and honest with Him, I have closeness (“fellowship”) with Him and other believers who are in fellowship with Him. And “the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses” me “from all sin” and shame so that I am not even conscious of it.

I believe I John 1:6-7 speaks to the process of healing that God wants all of us to experience. When we experience trauma in our childhood which may be intense (ex. physical or sexual abuse, etc. ) or less intense (ex. frequent moves, a hurtful word on the playground, etc.), we may retreat into the darkness of fear and shame, blaming ourselves for what happened to us. We don’t trust anyone nor do we believe anyone could love us. Often times we pick up where our abusers left off and we abuse ourselves with critical self-talk and/or addictions. We may feel engulfed in a sea of darkness and hopelessness.

But Jesus wants to shine His light of love and truth into the darkness that engulfs our wounds. He wants us to understand that when trauma took place in our childhood, He was there with us with tears in His eyes. And He is saying to us, “It was not your fault. I love you and I am so proud of you.” And even though we may abuse ourselves as adults, Jesus is still with us, waiting for us to welcome Him into the darkness where we have been hiding under the weight of our fear and shame. Jesus wants to shine His light of love and truth into the broken and wounded areas of our souls – not to condemn or shame us, but to heal us. And the more we permit Him to shine His light in the depths of our wounded souls, the more eager we will be to walk in the light of His love and truth, being open and honest with Him.

Prayer: Lord God, please help me to perceive You as You truly are. You are light. You are all that is pure, holy, gracious, love, merciful, and true. There is no darkness or deceit in You. As I grow in my understanding of Who You are, I choose to be open and honest with You, Lord, because You are a good good Father who is eager to forgive me and cleanse me, not forsake me nor condemn me. When I focus on my sin and shame, I retreat into the darkness where You are not. I shut You out of my life because I perceive myself to be too bad for You to love me. But the truth is Lord, You know me better than I do and You still love me and cherish Your time with me. Please help me to say “good-bye” to the lies that isolate me from You and Your family. Please cleanse me of those lies and hold me in Your everlasting arms of love and mercy. Hold me tight my Lord and never let me go. I don’t ever want to be alone again. Thank You for letting me be open and vulnerable with You. Thank You for listening to me and loving me as I am. Oh how I appreciate Your gentleness and graciousness with me. I love You heavenly Father, Lord Jesus, and Holy Spirit. You all are the best. Thank You all for loving me far more than I deserve or can comprehend. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

How can we treat believers better who differ with us about Christian liberty?

“⁴For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. ⁵Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus.” Romans 15:4-5

In Romans 14, the apostle Paul admonished the Jewish and Gentile Christians in Rome to accept and love one another despite their differences concerning their Christian liberty. Beginning in chapter 15, he tells the stronger Christian whose faith permits him to eat all foods and observe every day the same, to “bear with the scruples” or weaknesses of believers whose faith did not permit him to exercise his Christian liberty to the same extent (15:1). Instead of pleasing himself, he was to put the welfare of others before himself like Jesus did (15:2-3a). Paul then quotes King David whose commitment to building up the physical house of God is to be displayed by Christians in their commitment to building up God’s spiritual house (15:3b; cf. Psalm 69:9).

Notice that when Paul seeks to motivate his readers to treat one another better, he does not refer to some seminar or some promo on Facebook. He refers to the Bible in verse 3 when he quotes King David (cf. Psalm 69:9). By referring to the Old Testament, Paul was showing that Christians can receive from the Bible the instruction (“learning”), perseverance (“patience”),“comfort,” and “hope” they need to bear with one another despite their differences regarding their Christian liberty (15:4). But he does not stop there.

The reason the Bible can give us everything we need to bear with one another in the family of God is because of the Person behind the Bible: ^“Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus” (15:5). Knowing the Bible is not enough to treat one another better. We must know the Author of the Bible if we are going to treat one another better (cf. 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21). The more we know God who is love, the more loving we will become toward one another (cf. I John 4:7-8).

Do you have teenage girls? They must be very careful with internet chat rooms. Teenage girls can fall in love with evil men on the internet because the words they read have a person behind them. As she hangs out with this man on the internet for days and weeks, he eventually says,“Can we meet at the park this Saturday at five o’clock?” She has been trained all these years not to hang out with strangers, yet now she goes to meet this stranger. Why? Because she has fallen in love with someone she has never seen. The reason she has fallen in love with someone she has never seen is because of the power of the written word. Why? Because behind that written word is a real person. If an evil man can take the words of a computer and transform a teenage girl so that she will go meet him in private at a park somewhere and risk her life because she has been overwhelmed with the word, then how much more can the God of the Bible overwhelm us with His written Word so that we change from what we might normally do because we have been overwhelmed with a love relationship with Someone we have never seen.

Do not underestimate what the God of the Bible can do in our lives when we sit down to hear His voice as we read and apply the Bible to our lives. Spending time with Him in His Word can transform us so that we treat other believers better who may differ with us concerning Christian liberty.