Tag: sacrifices

Bible, bible study, Christian, Christian Church, christian encouragement, christian men, Christian women, Faith, god, Jesus, Jesus Follower, religion, scripture, Uncategorized, wisdom

It’s Not You, It’s Him

krisshetter 
Philippians 1:6  “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

In a survey done a few years ago about what Christians believe, more than half (55%) agree that “everyone sins a little, but most people are good by nature.”  I have to assume that when people answer questions like this, they’re thinking specifically about themselves and people they love.  Because friend, if you believe this you haven’t poked your head outside in a while, like a long, long while.  You haven’t been to a kid’s sports event.  Apparently, you were asleep during the great toilet paper crisis of 2019.  That’s just the small stuff.  If you really want to know how good we humans are, read up on your national and international news.  War, rampant fraud, poverty, murders, rapes, greed – getting the true picture of all that goodness?

Christians who believe they are basically good then must erase the need for Jesus.  I suppose this error still works for that 55% since the survey also found that almost half (44%) say that Jesus was a great teacher, but he was not God.  Thus, we don’t need anyone to come and save us from our sins, right?  We don’t need anyone to clean us up, clothe us in majesty so we can stand righteously before the One True God.

That definitely wasn’t the prophet Isaiah when He was brought before God.  Isaiah 6:5 shows us his situation — “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”

Isaiah, when brought before God, saw how unworthy he truly was when compared to our Holy and Majestic God.  My friends, it’s not until we realize we are just as unclean can the clean-up truly begin.

When we do, so many of us start working really, really hard at getting “cleaned up.”  We clean and we clean.  And like Lady Macbeth we cry out, ““Here’s yet a spot,” she cries, desperately rubbing. “Here’s the small drop of blood still.””  Her sin caused such guilt and shame she sleepwalks constantly washing her hands. 

Oh, we may fool ourselves into thinking how much better we are for having gone (or thought about going) to church a few times, or even regularly.  In fact, our piousness may ooze out of our pores.  We give to the right causes (just enough not to hurt) and are righteously offended by other’s not-so-godly behavior.  We volunteer (or at least we want to) and we wear our symbols of our faith.  But still that spot won’t come out.

“Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? .... But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” 1 Corinthians 6:9-11

If you recall my first post, “The Coat of the Holy Spirit” I wrote about three phases of sanctification:

  1. You were sanctified (Justification)
  2. You are being sanctified (Sanctification or Made Holy)
  3. You will be sanctified (Glorification)

Of these, which are you to keep scrubbing away to get those spots out?  This is, of course, a trick question. It’s all Him, not you. All He asks is for you to listen, trust and obey His Word.

So how have we been sanctified?  By the sacrificial blood of Jesus Christ.  He chose you before time began.  Only the blood of Christ satisfies the requirement God has to give the guilty mercy and grace.  Remember, we are ALL sinners.  We all deserve death and eternal separation from the Most Holy God.  The gift of Christ was given freely because “God so loved the world…” John 3:16.

“But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because God chose you as first fruits to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth.” 2 Thessalonians 2:13  

You are being sanctified right now, even by reading this post!  You are gaining wisdom (I hope), which was given by Christ to the disciples — to generations since, to me, pastors, teachers, fellow believers — imparted to you!  The Holy Spirit, imputed to you by Christ, is living inside you opening your heart, your mind, your eyes and ears to God’s Word and promises.  

“In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade.” 1 Peter 1:3

Lastly, you will be sanctified when we see Christ again and rise from the dead, fully healed, fully restored as God has planned since creation.  How beautiful is that?  A gift from our Creator to those who simply believe.

So, who is responsible for making us holy?  The short answer is always Jesus.  When we love Him, we desperately want to obey Him, to please Him with our love. 

Thank you, LORD, for doing the work for us.  For not having us make endless, pointless sacrifices to try and wash the spots off our souls.  For being the only True God who loves us so much that He died for us.  No other man-made gods have done the same.  That is love.  And for that we can be eternally grateful.  Amen

And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. 2 Corinthians 3:18

This week’s question: Do you struggle with the word “obedience?”  Why do you think God calls us to obedience to Him?

30daysofpraise, Bible, bible study, Christian, Christian Church, christian encouragement, christian men, christian parenting, christian podcast, Christian women, Faith, Jesus, Jesus Follower, prayer, religion, Uncategorized

Open Communication

krisshetter 
“Then Moses said to them, “This is what the Lord has commanded you to do, so that that the glory of the Lord may appear to you.” Leviticus 9:6

Holy God, it amazes me that you, in your infinite and powerful ways wants to talk to me.  That the God of the universe wants me to come to you each and every day with my needs and my fears.  Today I come to you with praise and thanksgiving that you love me so much.  Amen

I heard a description of an early  “church service” the other day.  The first half was open to anyone and featured scripture reading and the teaching of the gospel.  Then the pastor would call out, “the doors, the doors” and it was the message to those who were not baptized or confessed believers to leave.  The doors would then be closed and the second half of the service commenced.  This is when the holy gift of communicating with God began.  The church membership would have an “upper room” type meeting with breaking of bread and prayer to the Most Holy One.

What I like about this is that shows reverence to the second greatest blessing God bestowed on us (the first being Jesus’ sacrifice for our sins) – a loving, two-way path communicating with God.  A gift given to believers by Jesus and spurred on by the Holy Spirit that lives in the children of God.  I’m not suggesting only believers should pray, it’s just an acknowledgement of the seriousness of this gift we’ve been given.

In the Bible verse today, we see the seeds of God’s desire to communicate with us in the priestly ministry of the ancients.  God spoke through Moses on how to address Him through sacrifices and other holy activities.  He tells the priests in training that when they take these steps, they will see God’s glory revealed to them.  The same is true with the gift of prayer.  

“One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” Luke 11:1

The disciples, just as in Moses’ day, desired to learn how to communicate with God.  How to open up the heavens so they could see the glory of the One Almighty.  And so Jesus taught them the prayer I mentioned yesterday, what we call “The Lord’s Prayer.”  It starts with reverence, placing God in our hearts and minds rightly where He belongs.  It moves on to acknowledging God as the provider of all our needs and our submission to Him.  We then ask for forgiveness and to forgive others.  And finally for daily guidance.

The gift of prayer is God’s message to us that we are not believers of a god who is unable to do all things, or a god who can’t be trusted, or a god to whom we need to beg to hear us.  Before we pray we need to be fully informed of how we view Him.  If we don’t believe He is merciful then we might believe He will punish us if we bring our sins to Him.  Our prayers should always include a request for wisdom about Him so that when He answers our prayer – which He always does – we will understand the answer and see the glory in His ways.

Today, I want to leave you with this beautiful prayer from King David showing us how to glorify and praise God in all His magnificent ways.

Psalm 63

1 You, God, are my God,
    earnestly I seek you;
I thirst for you,
    my whole being longs for you,
in a dry and parched land
    where there is no water.
2 I have seen you in the sanctuary
    and beheld your power and your glory.
3 Because your love is better than life,
    my lips will glorify you.
4 I will praise you as long as I live,
    and in your name I will lift up my hands.
5 I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods;
    with singing lips my mouth will praise you.
6 On my bed I remember you;
    I think of you through the watches of the night.
7 Because you are my help,
    I sing in the shadow of your wings.
8 I cling to you;
    your right hand upholds me.
9 Those who want to kill me will be destroyed;
    they will go down to the depths of the earth.
10 They will be given over to the sword
    and become food for jackals.
11 But the king will rejoice in God;
    all who swear by God will glory in him,
    while the mouths of liars will be silenced.