Day 1 - Week 74 - Where are we??

Sometimes as you are traveling along, you just get to going and become oblivious to exactly where you are.  You've been making good progress and get caught up in the accomplishment rather than taking in your surroundings, and if someone stopped and asked you where you were, you'd have no idea.

Where are we?  We've covered a lot of territory, but where are we in our journey?  Have you committed many of our previous 73 verses to memory?  Do you know that we've gone through the Four Corners, down the Romans Road, across the Word of God, into Prayer, found Assurance, presented Praise & Thanksgiving, stood strong on Promises, marched to Obedience, experienced the Fullness of the Holy Spirit, enjoyed a picnic of God's Kind of Happiness, and are now climbing the mountain of Faith.  Yes, right now, if we look around, we're in the middle of the mountain of Faith.  And it is a good place to be!

Now if you're wondering where we might be along the journey of the Appalachian Trail, well we're just about 3/4 of the way through our trip...and we're in the beautiful state of Vermont.  In 1995, Robert & I traveled through Vermont in early October.  We had always heard of the beauty of the fall colors, we had seen pictures, but we were not prepared for the breathtaking display of God's artistic wonder of leaves of such vibrancy and brilliancy.  One afternoon it rained as we drove through the countryside, and the moisture on the leaves just added a richness to their color.  It really was one of those times that we said, "We never imagined it would be this beautiful!"  I'm including a picture, but I'm telling you, pictures do not do it justice.  If you ever have a chance to go to New England in the fall, don't miss it!  We would love to go again. 
Let's imagine sitting at this point, realizing that we still have 1/4 of our journey ahead of us, but taking some time to think back on the miles that we have most recently traveled, and then, after we've reflected on where we've been, just really soaking up the beauty of where we are!

The Holy Spirit's Role in our Lives (6)
Ephesians 5:18 "And don't get drunk with wine, which leads to reckless actions, but be filled with the Spirit."
Ephesians 5:19 "Speaking to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making music in to the Lord in your hearts."
Ephesians 5:20 "Giving thanks always for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."
Ephesians 5:21 "Submitting to one another in the fear of Christ."
Galatians 5:22 "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control."
2 Timothy 1:14 "Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you...guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit living in us."

Joy: God's Kind of Happiness (12)
Psalm 118:24 "This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it."
Philippians 4:4 "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!"
Philippians 4:5 "Let your graciousness be known to everyone. The Lord is near."
Philippians 4:6 "Do not worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God."
Philippians 4:7 "And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."
Romans 15:13 "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope through the power of the Holy Spirit."
James 1:2 "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds."
James 1:3-4 "Knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. But endurance must do its complete work, so that you will be mature and complete, lacking nothing."
1 Thessalonians 5:16 "Rejoice always."
1 Thessalonians 5:17 "Pray constantly."
1 Thessalonians 5:18 "Give thanks in everything, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."


Faith: Trusting God and Resting in His Word (12)
Ephesians 2:8 "For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God's gift."
Ephesians 2:9 "Not by works, so that no one can boast."
Ephesians 2:10 "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."
Galatians 2:20 "I have been crucified with Christ; and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."

Yes, our most recent verses are worth sitting back and soaking up...they are verses on this mountain of faith that we are on, and they are verses of beauty.  And now we add to these four verses, the next three which are a series of verses starting with Colossians 3:15 and going through Colossians 3:17. 

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. - Colossians 3:15

Our faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior brings with it some wonderful benefits.  Faith brings peace, and faith brings with it a fellowship of other believers...I have seen that fellowship in action today as Christian friends offered support and love to one who needed just that.  I thank my God for the peace that He brings to us...through our faith, and through our family of faith.
 

Day 4 - Week 73 - Galatians 2:20 "I have been crucified with Christ; and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."

It's amazing sometimes how when you are focusing an aspect of faith, you get messages from multiple sources on the same subject.  Not long ago, we had some sessions in our Bible study group on Hebrews.  At the same time, our Sunday morning adult Bible class started studying Hebrews.  More than one of the e-mail daily devotionals that I received during that time focused on...Hebrews.  It became obvious to me that God wanted me looking into His Word as conveyed in the book of Hebrews.

This week we're focusing on the giving up of self in exchange for the taking on of Christ's attributes in our lives.  This morning I received a wonderful devotional from David Jeremiah, one of my favorite Bible teachers of our time.  Listen to what he says...

Historians have marveled how an uneducated, rugged boy like Dwight Moody could sway great crowds and lead thousands to Christ. Responding to these questions, Dr. R. A. Torrey wrote a tract after Moody's death in 1899, entitled, Why God Used D. L. Moody. He said, in part, "The first thing that accounts for God's using D. L. Moody so mightily was that he was a fully-surrendered man. Every ounce of that 280-pound body of his belonged to God; everything he was and everything he had belonged wholly to God. Now, I am not saying that Mr. Moody was perfect; he was not... nevertheless I know that he was a man who belonged wholly to God."

Torrey went on to say that Moody was greatly moved by this statement by Henry Varley: "It remains to be seen what God will do with a man who gives himself up wholly to Him." Moody replied, "Well, I will be that man."

We can all be that man or woman. God wants to use us, but we must give ourselves wholly to Him.

"If you and I are to be used in our sphere as D. L. Moody was used in his, we must put all that we have and all that we are in the hands of God, for Him to use as He will." ~ R. A. Torrey

Mr. Jeremiah titled today's devotional, "Wholly and Holy" and used 2 Chronicles 16:9 as his text.  That verse in the NIV reads, "For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him."

I may never be wholly holy, but I would sure like to be wholly committed...no "fence riding", nothing lukewarm...100% God-seeking. That's a goal that I believe is God's desire for us.  Wholly committed to allowing His Spirit to have complete dominion within this fleshly body of ours, crucifying our earthly desires and selfish motivations to allow His life to reign.  I want God's eyes, when they are ranging through this earth, to see the heart within me as one that is turned toward Him, a soft heart, waiting for His hand to shape.  A heart like Dwight Moody's that was ready to do whatever God led Him to.

This week's verse also brings to my mind the words of John the Baptist.  What wisdom he revealed as he saw Jesus' ministry coming forward, replacing his.  He knew his purpose had nearly been accomplished, as he announced to his followers, "He must increase, but I must decrease." 

When we take on the life of faith in Christ as our Savior, the same statement applies to us.  He must increase, we must decrease.  His life, in us...by faith.

Day 3 - Week 73 - Galatians 2:20 ""I have been crucified with Christ; and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."

You know, this verse encapsulates the whole concept of Christian faith...memorize this verse and you don't have to worry about delivering your testimony...you can recite this verse and explain the transformation that occurs when you accept Jesus Christ as your Savior.

When that happens, when a person understands the powerful love of God that allowed His Son to come to earth, to explain God's love to us, to die for us and show us the power that God has over death through the resurrection...then that person is able to state that they have shared in Jesus of Nazareth's crucifixion.  That they have been willing to give their earthly life away in order to share in the eternal life that is now available to them through Christ.  They have been "reborn" as Jesus told Nicodemus.  They see that they are not only flesh and blood, but eternal spirit, created for eternity.  With the realization of eternal life, mortal life is no longer so necessary to hold on to, temporal existence and the momentary joys that come through material gain are now seen through eyes that can visualize the briefness of the things that we now touch and see, in comparison to the eternal, glorious life that awaits us as children of the Most High.

The reborn person sees that while we are still alive in the fleshly bodies that we have been given, we are so much more than that fleshly body.  We have Christ living within us...prompting us toward His good works...works that have been prepared for us in advance.  We know that this fleshly body can do things that will make eternal differences, and we know that those works are what we are called to accomplish. 

So, when someone asks us as Christians, "What are you living for?", what should our response be?

"I have given my life to Christ, the One who died for me.  The rest of my life here on earth is dedicated to doing what He calls me to do...every day. He died for me, I will live for Him."

That's pretty much it - Galatians 2:20 - our life, in Christ, for Him, who died for us.

Day 2 - Week 73 - Galatians 2:20 "I have been crucified with Christ; and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."

Do you ever have one of those days that you just feel sorry for yourself?  For whatever reason?  Sometimes it's justified, isn't it?  Tonight, I'm feeling a little less than wonderful...upset stomach, chills, tired, just that vague "yukky" feeling you sometimes get.  And I'm feeling a little sorry for myself. 

But then I read this verse and I'm reminded...nothing is really about me anyway.  If I don't feel good for an evening, so be it.  One little night in my little earth story is pretty inconsequential, for I have already "been crucified."  My life is invisible...or it should be.  My life has been replaced with that of Jesus living within me, and if I'm not allowing Him to do so by pridefully overriding His presence by demanding my own, then I have not yet been completely crucified, and I have some additional dying to do.

Wow - I just wrote that and I am fully convicted that it's true about me...I often do not allow Christ to fully live within me and I know that there is still much of me to be crucified.  I cannot make this statement as convincingly as Paul did for I often demand my presence, my way, my truth, stifling His presence, His way, His absolute truth.  But I pray that I am in the process of being crucified, that I am in the process of allowing my selfish desires to be replaced with the desires of the Spirit of Christ dwelling within me. 

And I am reminded (as my momentary "not feeling so well" pity party wanes) that crucifixion is painful...that letting go of self is not necessarily enjoyable or pleasant, especially when I am focusing on self.  But just as Jesus endured the pain of the cross, which pain I cannot even begin to comprehend, by focusing on His mission of obedience to His Father, when I focus on what God desires for me and from me, I am given the ability to endure my crucifixion...a crucifixion of much less magnitude, but nonetheless, the crucifixion that I am called to.

Day 1 - Week 73 - Continuing on in Faith!

This week we'll add our fourth verse in the series of "Faith: Trusting God and Resting in His Word"...do you have the first three down?

Ephesians 2:8 "For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is God's gift.
Ephesians 2:9 "Not from works, so that no one can boast."
Ephesians 2:10 "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

Do you see a pattern? What is grace "for"?  To save us.  What is the miracle of our transformation through our new lives in Christ Jesus "for"?  To accomplish God's good works here on earth.  But what is the catalyst for these wonderful actions to start taking place?  FAITH.  And with the response of faith, the reactions to faith start occurring:  our salvation immediately...and then good works to be accomplished all throughout our saved lives.

What kind of transformation takes place when we place our faith in God and in His Son as our Savior?  Well our next verse talks about that miraculous transformation:

"I have been crucified with Christ; and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.  The life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."  Galatians 2:20

This is a powerful verse of faith.  When we can recite this verse with true commitment and conviction, we can expect true transformation.  For this verse express a complete surrender of self in order to allow our lives to take on all the attributes of Jesus...to be a humble servant, ready to do whatever it is that our Father asks of us.  We give up all "rights" to our earthly plans...we completely put our lives in His hands.  And we do so because of the acceptance of a love so amazing, so unnatural, so utterly undeserved, that we know we will never fully understand, but in which we completely trust. 

Amazing love, how can it be, that you my King should die for me?

Amazing love, I know it's true, It's my joy to honor You, in all I do, I'll honor You. ~ Chris Tomlin

Let's review our past verses so they stay close to us...

The Holy Spirit's Role in our Lives (6)
Ephesians 5:18 "And don't get drunk with wine, which leads to reckless actions, but be filled with the Spirit."
Ephesians 5:19 "Speaking to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making music in to the Lord in your hearts."
Ephesians 5:20 "Giving thanks always for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."
Ephesians 5:21 "Submitting to one another in the fear of Christ."
Galatians 5:22 "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control."
2 Timothy 1:14 "Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you...guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit living in us."

Joy: God's Kind of Happiness (12)
Psalm 118:24 "This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it."
Philippians 4:4 "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!"
Philippians 4:5 "Let your graciousness be known to everyone. The Lord is near."
Philippians 4:6 "Do not worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God."
Philippians 4:7 "And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."
Romans 15:13 "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope through the power of the Holy Spirit."
James 1:2 "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds."
James 1:3-4 "Knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. But endurance must do its complete work, so that you will be mature and complete, lacking nothing."
1 Thessalonians 5:16 "Rejoice always."
1 Thessalonians 5:17 "Pray constantly."
1 Thessalonians 5:18 "Give thanks in everything, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."


Faith: Trusting God and Resting in His Word (12)
Ephesians 2:8 "For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God's gift."
Ephesians 2:9 "Not by works, so that no one can boast."
Ephesians 2:10 "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."
and now
Galatians 2:20 "I have been crucified with Christ; and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." 

Dwell on this verse this week, and remember that you are now living, even though you are still living in a fleshly body, the life of Christ in you.  Because of your faith in Him, He lives in you. 

Faith.



Day 4 - Week 72 - Ephesians 2:10 "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

"Good works"...wonder what that really means?  There are all kinds of good works, aren't there?  What about the good works that non-Christians accomplish...I mean we have to admit that happens, right?

Certainly it does.  There are people who every day do nice, good things who profess no faith in God, and others who profess faith, but not in Jesus Christ as God's Son.  Does their non-faith disqualify their meritorious acts as being labeled as "good"?  No, we can honor non-believers who exhibit kind, compassionate behavior through their acts of generosity and feelings for their fellow humanity as "good people"...they are.

I think the thing to note in this verse is that just as it states that as believers in Jesus we have become "God's workmanship" (objects of His work, His labor), we then are given His work to do. His work is the ultimate good work, and unfortunately, non-believers are not able to participate in His work.  Those tasks are reserved for those who have come to belief and have been recreated through their faith in Jesus Christ as God's Son. 

While there are good people who do good works outside of faith in Jesus, the only ones who can do God's good work are those who have become His workmanship, who bear the mark of His hand on their lives, showing where He has whittled away the things in our lives that keep us from being able to completely follow His directives. 

And what is God's work?  Anything and everything that brings more people to the knowledge of the gospel and it's saving power (Matthew 28:19-20).  Anything and everything that follows the greatest command: to love God above everything else, and secondly to love others more than ourselves (Matthew 22:37-40).    If we can analyze our deeds and see that they fall into these categories, we can be assured that we are doing the good works that God has set before us.  These are works that are pleasing to Him, and that bring Him glory.  These are works that the Holy Spirit will open our eyes to as we go through our days.

When your eyes are opened, when your spirit is prompted by His, move.  Do the task that He has set before you.  Your faith will be affirmed - your convictions deepened as you follow in obedience.

Good works or God works?  They can be the same - they can be separate.  I want good, God works to lay before my Father when I arrive at His throne.  The works that He gave me to do and that I didn't miss doing for Him.  I hope I have a few...just so I can bring them to Him with a smile of pleasure on my face in the presentation.  What a wonderful feeling that will be to have something, anything, to offer my King as a very small token of my appreciation of the Gift He has given me....Jesus....and through Jesus, the right to be called His child.

It makes me start to think differently of how I am spending the very precious gift of time...while it is today, I have time to work for Him!

Day 3 - Week 72 - Ephesians 2:10 "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

Have you ever wondered about the theology of predestination?  There are those who believe, due to certain Scripture references, that we are, individually, predetermined to eternal destinations of either heaven or hell.  Personally, I adamantly do not believe in predestination of our eternal souls...to me, that theology eliminates the whole message of the Gospel --- that God's love for us prompted His action to make a way for us to enter into a state of salvation, through our choice of acceptance of His gift of love.  I believe the predestination that is often mentioned in the Bible references the plan of God that He had before any of us ever came into being...before we were, He predestined that we would have a choice to obey or rebel.  He predestined that He would provide a choice for us to make, and He predestined that His Son would pay the price for our sins.

This week's verse contains another aspect of predestination that I accept: God's predestination of opportunities for each of us in our lives to accomplish good on His behalf.  I believe that every one who comes into relationship with God through Christ Jesus, becomes a new creation, (2 Corinthians 5:17) separate and apart from the mortal creature of our earthly birth.  We become a new work of extreme value, because we are now God's hands and feet on this earth.  We are now capable of joining with Him in His work here, moving at His prompting, to do the big, and the small, things that He needs done in peoples' lives.  Things that we are uniquely positioned and equipped to be able to accomplish for Him. 

Does that excite you?  I hope it does! 

Does it make you look at your life a little differently...with a little more uncertainty?  I hope it does!

Just as James reminds us that our plans are certainly not set in stone (James 4:13-15), we need to realize that our Christian lives should be easily adapted to God's directives. 

God is ready to give us the most interesting and exciting lives we can imagine (well actually, we can't imagine!)...allowing us to participate with Him in His eternal plans.  Can you get any bigger than that?  Whatever you have planned for your life, I daresay, it can't compare! 

Give it up...give it all to God...He will show you wonderful things!  Join the Psalmist in this prayer of requisition to our Father to see His work, to join with Him, and to achieve success in our accomplishment of it...

Show your servants the wonderful things you do; show your greatness to their children.   Lord our God, treat us well. Give us success in what we do; yes, give us success in what we do.

Psalm 90:16-17