Category: Thoughts and Meditations

“By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible.” – Hebrews 11:27

For many, 2020 has turned into a nearly endless test of endurance. How do we persevere and live without fear? It can’t be based on what we see, that’s for sure! Headlines are bad, numbers are terrible, tweets and posts are vile, relationships are strained, activities are curtailed, and routines are destroyed. How can we endure??? The same way Moses did: by faith.

We must have faith that the invisible God of the Universe is present with us, as He’s promised over and over. We must have faith as if we see Jesus Who lives in constant union with us. We must have faith as if we see the Holy Spirit Who lives within us, sealing and guaranteeing our future inheritance in heaven.

We must have faith in the person and promises of God. We must have faith that He is all-good, all-wise, and all-powerful, and that while there’s a ton we don’t understand, God is truly working all things together for good. We must have faith that God is our very present help. We must have faith that He hears every prayer and delights in our praying. We must have faith that He will never leave us nor forsake us.

We must have faith that God loves us so intensely, powerfully, passionately, and personally that He sent His only Son Jesus to suffer and die on a cross to save all who put their faith in Him from guilt, shame, sin, and death. We must have faith that our lives have purpose, meaning, and significance, no matter how painful, and that’s found in living and growing the Kingdom of God wherever He’s placed us in His wisdom. May you endure without fear, by faith!

“For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” – Mark 10:45

Service must be at the heart of every follower of Jesus. The Kingdom of God is a place of humble service rather than entitlement as we follow the sacrificial example of King Jesus.

On this day we thank everyone who has served this nation and purchased our earthly freedom at the risk, and often cost, of their lives. Thank you to all who have worn the uniform of this nation across the centuries to the present day!

May this day also remind us that as followers of Jesus we’re all called to serve sacrificially – our Lord, our neighbors, our families, our brothers and sisters in Christ, and the most vulnerable around us. Our Savior set the example for selfless service and we should each periodically reflect on where and how we’re called to serve.

No follower of Jesus ever truly retires from Kingdom service until we enter into glory, so if COVID or the challenges of life have temporarily taken you out of service, it’s time to seek God‘s will and resume serving!

“It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” – Hebrews 10:31

Let these few words sink in. They aren’t how we like to think about God, so carefully read them again, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” In our present day we major on the kindness, love, and mercy of God. These things are all wonderfully true. However, we must never forget the righteousness, holiness, and justice of God which are equally wonderfully true.

These qualities mean that terrible judgment waits for everyone who remains in sin and rebellion under God’s wrath. That’s every single person who draws breath who hasn’t yet been redeemed by the blood of Christ. Every single person you know who hasn’t yet put his or her faith in Jesus Christ is under God’s condemnation.

Take time to contemplate the horrors of a Christ-less eternity. An eternity of hopeless separation from God’s presence. An eternity of God’s rightful wrath. Every person has sinned and fallen short of God’s glory and standard. Every person is naturally under condemnation and the only rescue comes through the blood of Christ. We must believe in Jesus to receive God’s gracious redemption. There is no other way.

Our current, “You do you, I’ll do me” culture is simply a very wide and comfortable one-way highway into the hands of the living God! As followers of Jesus, we can’t be content with that. We must be praying for those we know who remain under God’s wrath. We must be loving them. And we must be sharing Christ with them. Who are you committed to offering salvation by introducing them to Jesus Christ?

“And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” – Hebrews 10:10

Who’s that “we”? Everyone who puts their faith in Jesus Christ.

What does it mean to be sanctified? To be made clean, holy, sacred, and set apart for God. To have our sins washed away, our guilt wiped out, our shame erased forever. To be set apart from this ugly and fallen world for the holy purposes of God. To be made like Christ Himself.

How does this miracle happen to us? Not by our own efforts!!! Not by our own self-discipline, rule-following, moralizing, or virtue! We are sanctified by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. In His atoning death and resurrection, we are made holy forever. Not because of anything we do, but because of what He already did for us.

This is the good news of the Gospel: we aren’t responsible for saving ourselves. We aren’t in some tenuous position of holiness before God trying to hold on by our fingertips and hard work. The hard work was already done for us so that in us, God sees only His Son.

We don’t need to exhaust ourselves trying to saves ourselves or feeling guilty because we aren’t good enough. Of course we aren’t! But Jesus is!

Once we embrace this truth, really believing it deep in our hearts, it sets us free. It sets us free to actually live the holiness we already have in Christ. It sets us free to pursue increasing personal holiness out of love and gratitude for the holiness we’ve received as the free gift of God by grace through faith. We’re set free and empowered to live the truth of what we already are and that’s a beautiful thing!

“Therefore speak to them and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Any one of the house of Israel who takes his idols into his heart and sets the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and yet comes to the prophet, I the Lord will answer him as he comes with the multitude of his idols, that I may lay hold of the hearts of the house of Israel, who are all estranged from me through their idols.” – Ezekiel 14:4-5

Idols aren’t just funny little statues we bow down to. The idols of our hearts are those elements of our lives and worlds that functionally rule over us. We love to make idols in our hearts! They can be very good things that we take too far. These are the things that delight us enormously to contemplate or possess or that fill us with dread, fear, or rage when we fear we might lose them.

An idol can be anything that functionally takes priority over God in our heart. Idols are the things that keep us from worshiping God or worshiping enough. They are those things which always seem to take priority over God in our lives – that crowd out reading the Bible or praying or worshiping or gathering with other Christians. Our careers can become our idols. Our kids’ athletic or academic achievements can become our idols. Our comfort and peace can become our idols. Our health and safety can become our idols. Our politics, politicians, and leaders can become our idols. Our pleasures (sex, addictions, entertainment) can become idols. Our financial status, 401(k) balance, or cash in our pocket can become our idols. Our cars, houses, and gadgets can become our idols. And the list goes on.

God wants all of your heart. Jesus said to, “Love the Lord your God with ALL your heart and with ALL your soul and with ALL your mind.” There can be no place for idols in our hearts. However, even as followers of Christ, we keep setting up new idols! We must recognize them for what they are and take them off the throne of our hearts. We must let God reign in our lives over any and everything else we value. Period.