Not My Business!

We say that a lot, don’t we? Even if only to ourselves.

Ezekiel had something to say about that – well, God speaking through him, that is. I read it just now and realized it is the reason I feel the way I do about this matter. First, read this verse:

Ezekiel 33: ⁹ But if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, that person shall die in his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul.

Next, let’s consider who this verse applies to besides ourselves. Right off the bat, we know we must hold our brothers and sisters in Christ to a higher level of accountability. The unsaved do not know or believe in our ways. But is that who God is referring to when He calls this people “wicked?”

I believe God means those who are unsaved. We are to “warn” them. That means that if we see or know of someone doing something sinful, we are to tell them about Jesus, I think. Not to come down hard on them or make them angry or ashamed (although these are natural feelings that will come upon them), but to gently and lovingly reprove.

Is that going to make a wicked person happy? Or angry and frustrated? Come now – we all know why we don’t actually follow these words. We don’t want to be the bearer of “bad” news. We don’t want anyone to be angry with us. We want to be friends of all. Folks, Christ didn’t call us to do that. He didn’t call us to be judgmental and critical, but He did call us to speak truth.

Personally? I think the way to start this whole process is to SHOW, not tell. Due to a time constraint, this may not be possible, but if it is, let your actions and reactions speak volumes. This opens the door for further questions and communication. Speak. The Spirit will give you the words.

Now, what if the person doing something wicked is a believer? Does it really matter?

When you know or see something that is wrong, you are obligated to speak up. There’s no way around it. I feel personally responsible for the actions of others around me. If they’re in trouble and I did not help, I am responsible for that! If I don’t at least speak up, I am responsible for that! It’s tiring and overwhelming. Yes. But it’s part of loving others, my friends.

Does it require courage? Honor? Integrity? Of course it does. So, as I tell my boys all the time, handle your business.

Are you going to hell if you don’t confront your Christian co-worker on stealing office supplies? No. Are you going to answer for it? Yes. Are you going to hell for not telling your best friend that his wife is having an affair? No. Are you going to answer for it? Yes.

Are you going to hell for refusing to defend your spouse when others try to manipulate, hurt, offend, and cause trouble for him? No. Are you going to answer for it? Yes.

Are you going to hell for driving by a gas station and witnessing a man beating a woman and refusing to stop to help or even call the police? No. Are you going to answer for it?

You absolutely will. Courage is not the absence of fear – it is action in the very freaking midst of it. This Christian life is HARD. It is not meant to be easy and it shouldn’t be. It is a battle we fight against satan and his minions, and sometimes it requires us to do the hard thing. So fasten your seat belts and begin to see how amazingly freeing it is to follow the Word!

 

 

In Defense of Others – Part II

Last week, I posted the first of this two-part series about defending others, but today we are taking it to a totally unexpected place. At least for me. I had no idea God was going to push me in this direction!

First, let’s take a look at Scripture relating to today’s post, taken from Ezekiel 19:

10 Your mother was like a vine in a vineyard
    planted by the water,
fruitful and full of branches
    by reason of abundant water.
¹¹ Its strong stems became
    rulers’ scepters;
it towered aloft
    among the thick boughs;
it was seen in its height
    with the mass of its branches.
¹² But the vine was plucked up in fury,
    cast down to the ground;
the east wind dried up its fruit;
    they were stripped off and withered.
As for its strong stem,
    fire consumed it.
¹³ Now it is planted in the wilderness,
    in a dry and thirsty land.
¹⁴ And fire has gone out from the stem of its shoots,
    has consumed its fruit,
so that there remains in it no strong stem,
    no scepter for ruling.

In this passage, “your mother” refers to Jerusalem, while the “vine” is Zedekiah. The vine is taken by Babylonian kinds, who exiled the Israelites throughout other parts of the world.

We start off well. We start off vigorous. But over time, our morals and values – our beliefs – erode. And what was once a country to be proud of – The United States of America – is now a shameful place.

I’m ashamed of my country – yes. But I still believe in it. I have to defend the parts of it that are worth defending and let go of the rest! What is still worth defending in such a lost country?

The love of God. The love of family as God created it to be. The grace, mercy, and compassion we extend to others, whether they came here legally or look like me or not. Hope and passion for a better life. These are what inspire me and move me. What motivate me to help others. That’s what being American is about to me.

What is it about to you? Blessings!

 

In Defense of Others – Part I

1 Samuel 19: ^{4 “}And Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father and said to him, “Let not the king sin against his servant David, because he has not sinned against you, and because his deeds have brought good to you. ⁵ For he took his life in his hand and he struck down the Philistine,and the Lord worked a great salvation for all Israel. You saw it, and rejoiced. Why then will you sin against innocent blood by killing David without cause?”

I have always been what I would consider a loyal person. I first noticed this at the age of approximately four years old, when an adult – who was enraged – threw a fork at the wall in the room we were in. And, inadvertently, almost hit my brother in the head.

She wasn’t angry with him. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. I didn’t care – I flew at her and attacked her. I didn’t have to think. I just acted.

Loyal? Yes. As to whether my behavior was appropriate or not, I confess – I vacillate. Part of me feels like a Sunday School teacher would forcefully admonish me for violence, especially against an adult – an elder. The other part of me is just that – me. This behavior was not an abberation – it was part of who I am – and I struggle against that part of me a lot.

However, would I be loyal to someone who isn’t loyal to me? Therein lies the rub, and the answer is “no.” I feel that if you don’t treat me with loyalty, then you’re on your own. Again – is that the right thing to do?  I don’t know, because the people who aren’t loyal to me are people I don’t trust; people I have to guard my heart from; people who expect my loyalty but don’t want to give me theirs. Again, that rub – what’s right and fair here?

One reason I really like Jonathan, King Saul’s son, was that he was loyal to his best friend – the future king of Israel, David – against his own father. Jonathan chose wisely. His father was fallen out of favor with God because he had sinned and was too proud to admit it. Part of the reason King Saul hated David so much was that it was apparent to everyone that David was now in favor with the Lord – that he had been annointed by Him. King Saul saw that his days were numbered and it drove him stark-raving mad.

For some of you, standing up in defense of someone to your parent would be an easy thing to do because you don’t respect him or her. I don’t mean in a sinful way – I mean the way Jonathan felt about Saul. On the other hand, some of you have parents who are godly men and women, and the idea of bucking that system makes you decidedly uneasy and uncomfortable.

What’s the right thing to do here? The truth, as I see it, is to defend what is right. But please note that Jonathan did not get all up in Saul’s grill, so to speak. He was calm. He was strong. He was right. And he would rather upset his father than go against God.

Are you going against God when you allow people you love – such as your parents, your spouse, your friend, etc. – to hurt another and not say anything? Please take some time today and consider this matter. Because if you are, you aren’t just hurting someone close to you, someone in an untenable position. You could be sinning against God.

It’s easy to see how angry the world is. Was it always like this, or did social media make it so blatantly obvious? There are far too many folks letting words fly when they ought to hush.

The people who are afraid to speak Truth end up getting a pass. They don’t cause any trouble, do they? Or do they? Recognize where your priorities are, and act according to the Word. God gives you the courage to do what is right. And once you begin to live your life this way, as in all other things, it becomes a habit and not something to be frightened of. Be a friend like Jonathan. Blessings!

 

The Freedom of Biblical Law

That’s an oxymoron, right? Modern-day Christians are given one axiom in regards to the Old Testament law versus the love-driven, Spirit-driven, Jesus-driven life of the New – and that is that the Law no longer applies. This belief – this precept – is pounded into us.

We like it that way, don’t we? That way, all we have to do is love. And that provides us the perfect shelter of all kinds of wonderful things – pre-marital sex and homosexuality to name two current topics of intense debate and discussion (although we gloss over pre-marital sex and living with our partners pretty quickly.) In the name of love, we can love whomever we want to – and then take it further. We can sin with total abandon.

If I haven’t lost you already, please keep reading. Because what we are being told chokes us – the Law – is in point of fact what sets us free. Christ said, “you shall know the Truth, and the Truth shall set you free.” (John 8:32). Of course He was referring to the Word, and y’all, the Word includes the Old Testament. That’s right.

Don’t be frightened by this. Consider the good news of Hebrew 10:1 in that “the Law has but a shadow of the good things to come.”

Whoa! Consider what Beth Moore said on the subject of this verse – and this doctrine – “The law poured concrete into God’s mold for human relationships, but it also whispered a kingdom to come in which order, sanity, health, and decency dwell under the safe shadow of Christ’s scepter. Jesus’ second coming will usher in a world in which children can’t be sold for sex or shot in their schoolrooms.”

The key world here is “order.” Not “sacrifice” or “altar” – “order.” The Law of the ancient prophets isn’t applicable in that we don’t have to go through a priest to get to Christ or to God, and we don’t have to sacrifice animals and food to please God and ask for forgiveness, or even to celebrate what He has done for us.

But the Law is much more than that. Matthew Henry, a wise man whom I use often to discover the context of verses that, on their own, mean one thing, but taken as a whole with a chapter or book, can mean quite another – put it like this: “Here the apostle (meaning Paul, the author of Hebrews), by the direction of the Spirit of God, sets himself to lay low the Levitical dispensation; for though it was of divine appointment, and very excellent and useful in its time and place, yet, when it was set up in competition with Christ, to whom it was only designed to lead the people, it was very proper and necessary to show the weakness and imperfection of it, which the apostle does effectually, from several arguments. As, [t]hat the law had a shadow, and but a shadow, of good things to come; and who would dote upon a shadow, though of good things, especially when the substance has come? Observe, 1. The things of Christ and the gospel are good things; they are the best things; they are best in themselves, and the best for us: they are realities of an excellent nature. 2. These good things were, under the Old Testament, good things to come, not clearly discovered, nor fully enjoyed. 3. That the Jews then had but the shadow of the good things of Christ, some adumbrations of them; we under the gospel have the substance.

First of all, what is “Levitical dispensation?” Well, “Levitical” refers to the Levites, a segment of the Israelits of the Old Testament set aside as priests. Easton’s Bible dictionary defines “dispensation” as “[t]he method or scheme according to which God carries out his purposes towards men is called a dispensation.” Therefore, how the Levites carried out God’s plan towards their fellow men, while of “divine appointment,” could not compete with Christ. At the time, it was a necessary thing for the Israelites. But Christ’s birth, life, death, and resurrection denied its usefulness when that curtain in the Temple was rent in two!

Matthew Henry acknowledges that the Law had its own weaknesses – and you don’t have to guess what the most important one was. It was that no one could follow it to the letter. And even if a person did, the sheer willpower of doing so would delete all actual closeness with God, because there would be nothing genuine left over to give to Him. God knew that. He wanted to give them a blueprint for how to live their lives in a pleasing manner to him and to each other. Here is the key point: to each other. He gave them direction, He provided a way out of immoral and chaotic worldly living. And when they – inevitably – screwed it all up, He gave them a way to make peace with Him, with each other, and with themselves.

But the ultimate goal wasn’t the Law – it was the love of Christ. Grace, mercy, and forgiveness do not negate the Law – they make it possible. By that, I mean they make our lives worth living when we fail. All the sins the Law listed are still, in essence, sins today. Some of them are more about what we feel and believe in our hearts rather than what we act out, but they are real, and they are relevant.

The Law brings freedom because it ushers Christ into His rightful seat at the table, folks. Just like we know our kids need boundaries for security reasons – and not just physical safety – we know in our hearts we need rules and order to survive what is truly an anarchic world – but taking it further into the depths of those very same hearts, we know we need the Law to thrive in it!

Blessings y’all!

Quality of Life – God’s Way

 

What does quality of life mean to you? Well, Google defines it as “the standard of health, comfort, and happiness experienced by an individual or group.”

The question is, who decides that standard? Because the world is what creates that benchmark, and because the world operates quite differently from God’s word, you’re always going to come up short by defining your quality of life on worldly canons such as money, fame, recognition, success, your career, the appearance of perfection in your life (including your spouse and children and other family members), popularity, how many followers you have on Facebook or Twitter, etc.

Joyce Meyer made an excellent point about quality of life. She wrote, “It’s not the things that happen to us that determine the quality of our lives; it’s how we respond to those things…how much we trust God with them. Doing what we want and getting our way all the time isn’t what will make us happy. Being selfish and self-centered is actually a miserable way to live.”

I know what you might be thinking – how you would really, really love to get your way all the time! That having things worked out to your specifications would be just great. Take it from someone who’s living that way a lot of the time – that’d be me – it’s not true. She’s right – it is absolutely miserable because I know it’s wrong and it’s not fair to others, and since I’m used to pushing people around sometimes to get what I want, it’s a hard habit to break.

The world would call that ambition, or even excellence – if it only happened at work. Other women might applaud me for being “strong.” But here’s  the thing, y’all – taking advantage of others and feeling entitled are not signs of strength; they’re actually signals of great weakness.

It is meekness – humility – that make a person strong. Kindness. Love. Generosity (with money and time). Consider Acts 20:35 – “In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

How about Colossians 3: 12-14: “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.”

Buying What We Already Have

Good Sunday morning to my followers out there – all five of you – blessings! A little levity is a good thing.

I hope y’all are up and at ’em, getting ready to worship in God’s house today. Before I get prepared to do so, I want to tell you about something I learned this morning. One of my small group’s teachers clued us in on this a few weeks ago, and as I was going through my small group and sermon notes this morning, I felt obliged to share.

Money. It is such a necessary object, isn’t it? This doesn’t just apply to religion or spirituality or whatever you choose to call it – it’s just a basic need we all have. But as you’re going to see, we often try to buy what we already have.

The case in point for today is the Samaritan known as Simon Magnus, a character from the Bible’s Book of Acts. His story is told in Acts 8: 9-25. He believed that only certain people have access to God – otherwise known as a gnostic. He was, however, baptized in Christ Jesus and taught with Phillip. The disciples found out about him and sent men to tell them both about the Holy Spirit.

Here’s where Simon fell into the same old trap we all do, from time to time. Simon saw the men sent by the disciples during the laying on of hands. And what did he want? To buy the Spirit.

What do you want to buy, that you already have? Peace? Joy? Security?

Why do we, over and over, attempt to buy what we already have? Because there is no amount of money that can actually buy these things, yes? So what’s a person to do?

You already know what I’m going to say, don’t you? The Lord giveth all these things unto us, y’all. And He never takes away what we need. So what do you need? Ask Him. Get to know Him through the Word; study the Bible diligently. Push through when it’s hard. Once you begin to understand the Word, you will know exactly what you need to ask for. And hang in there till He gives it to you.

Blessings today, friends.

End Times – & All That Jazz

End-timers. You know the ones. They can be found around dinner tables, in their churches (with their pastors preaching about it!), and huddled in friendly groups, their voices high-pitched and their eyes casting anxiously about. For you. Many of them are looking for you.

You know the ones. The ones who aren’t saved. The ones who aren’t believers in the Word of God. OR – get this – the ones who are, but don’t agree with them.

I’m one of the latter. I have had this argument shoved in my face more times than I can count. It drives me batty, but I’ve come to realize that from people I know, it comes from a well-meaning place. Sort of.

Many times, I have tried to get my opinion – what I believe the Bible says – across to others. I don’t think I’ve ever actually been able to articulate it properly. Then, voila! Today I came across Acts 17: 30-31.

³⁰ And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: ³¹ Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.

Before you decide I’m trying to scare you just as much as radical end-timers, hear me out. I realized why I want you think about end times.

Because if you aren’t saved, if you don’t believe in Christ – guess what? You aren’t living right now. Right now – these are YOUR end times. You’re stuck, you’re in despair, you’re afraid of your own shadow – you are, in short, entirely miserable. And you don’t have to be!

Yes, the Bible tells us of signs that will occur when Christ comes back. And yes, I am one of those Christians who – personally – wants Him to come on! But on the other hand, what do end-timers miss?

The point – the entire point of Christ’s coming in the first place. To save. To heal. If the end times come quickly, how many lives will be lost to hell? Think about that, y’all. We still have time to usher others to Christ!

So here’s my take on end-times, if you’re still with me (and I hope you are). Nobody can tell when they’re coming. And pretending that we’re in them and you know it, especially if you’re a pastor, is a scare tactic. And thundering that opinion that we are in the face of other Christians is beyond rude. I’m sorry, but it is. We have enough petty, divisive issues we all need to get over, brothers and sisters. This is certainly one of them.

The Word says He will come “like a thief in the night.” (1 Thessalonians 5:2). So there it is. If you can predict when a thief will target your home, then by all means – get in my face. Otherwise, keep your fears and your anger to yourselves. Please? Thank you.

I want y’all to experience the love of Christ. That’s my mission – my purpose. I know I have a ways to go! But I know I have been redeemed, my guilt and shame cast away, because of His love. That’s a wonderful thing! Blessings!

The Lies of Satan

I am not about to tackle this topic in-depth because I do not have the knowledge to do it. But I came across an apportionment of Scripture to this effect and thought I’d share with you the following:

John 8: ⁴² Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me. ⁴³ Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word. ⁴⁴ Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. ⁴⁵ And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.

Christ was speaking, at the time, to the men who wanted Him to stone an adulterous woman. Do you remember the story? He asked who should cast the first stone – because that person would have to be without sin. He was stooped, drawing in the sand, and was not looking at them. But when He did look up, He was all alone with the woman.

Apparently, these men sought Him out later and He had this to say to them – that they could not understand His message – the Gospel – because they were “of the devil.” Yes, satan is indeed the father of lies!

I’m not getting into the whys of it. You know why. It isn’t because you’re bad – it’s because he is! So why do we believe the lies of satan?

Because he attacks us at the most tender, hurtful, feeble places – our hearts and our minds. If you don’t know by now just how susceptible our minds are, you gotta do your research. Our minds can adjust to just about anything and when you couple that with a lack of faith, doubts about the Godhead, our own natural, human weaknesses, and the suffering and pain of life, voila! The slimy deeds of satan have fertile ground to take root.

Y’all, all the bad stuff we feel comes from the father of lies! Christ, God – the Spirit – they do not come to harm us. They come to heal us. There is a BIG difference between conviction – the goodness of God – and shame, guilt, and self-loathing – the freaking words of the damn devil. I’m not gonna apologize for that word – if it were up to me, God would send him straight back to hell where he belongs. So if I use a curse word, the one thing I’d used it against would be satan. He is damned! He has no place in the light. He is darkness.

Life is life. Bad things happen. Are every one of those instances of satan? Nope. Sometimes God puts us through trial to strengthen us. If you believe that we are here for the sole purpose of leading others to Christ, then how do you think you’re gonna do that if you’re not a pastor, say? Do you think your sheer example will always do the trick?  Or do you know that the suffering and pain you have endured has made you a creditable person to someone going through the same thing? A person who has zero hope?

Good things happen, too. They happen a whole lot more frequently when we get out of our own way. That’s not possible when we are letting the lies of satan determine our choices. Our lives. You can’t be a blessing to others – you can’t gain their consistent trust – if you aren’t living in the light of God. HE IS the Way, the Truth, and the Life!

Minding Your Own Beeswax & Whatnot

Oooooh, goody goody! I found a passage in Thessalonians that just made my heart sing! Some very simple verses caught my attention, and I promise I have done my due diligence in finding out what Bible commentator Matthew Henry says, but I can’t wait to add my own thoughts!

1 Thessalonians 4: ⁹ Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another,¹⁰ for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more, ¹¹ and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, ¹² so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.

It’s actually verses 11-12 that I wish to have you consider this morning. So here we go!

1. “To aspire to live quietly.” Henry’s observations coincided quite nicely with mine on this one. If you, like me, are not quiet by nature, this portion can be disheartening. But Henry and I agree that it means to have “a calm and quiet temper, and to be of a peaceable and quiet behavior.”

Whoops. He got me there at the end. Well, we can all agree that peace is of the utmost importance in this life when it comes to living a godly life. We aren’t to seek strife. We aren’t even to be striving all the time! Being calm and peaceful in a tense or negative situation is our aim. But Ecclesiastes tells us there is a time for war and for peace (chapter three, verse eight) – basically a time for every purposed under heaven. So it’s the learning when to stay quiet and when to talk that’s difficult.

I think an excellent point about living a quiet life is akin to living a simple life. Complications steal our joy and peace, and while we all have to cope with complications every now and then, we don’t have to go looking for them – bringing them on ourselves!

For instance, as a mom, I have a choice: to employ my kids’ time in activities non-stop or to halt all the nonsense. It is nonsense! If your child has some ah-mazing athletic or musical gift, that’s one thing. But if you’re using sports and other extracurricular activities as babysitting or just because everyone else does i, you’re missing the point of a quiet life! SO many people complain about their time being sucked up by myriad events each week – even missing church on a regular basis! Well, y’all, you’re doing it to yourself.

2. “To mind your own affairs.” Well, this couldn’t be more clear! Henry explains why this causes a problem in our lives by stating the following: “Those who are busy-bodies, meddling in other men’s matters, generally have but little quiet in their own minds and cause great disturbances among their neighbors; at least they seldom mind the other exhortation, to be diligent in their own calling.”

Wow, Mr. Henry. Don’t sugarcoat it or anything! You see, he points out what we already know from personal experience – meddling in others’ problems just creates disquiet – angst – in our hearts!

3. “To work with your own hands” – this exhortation is two-fold, so let’s take the first. Does this mean that a businessman in a suit and tie, in a nicely temperature-controlled office, is doing something wrong?

No, it doesn’t. Works is work. Is physical labor more difficult than mental labor? Having done both, I’d have to answer in the affirmative. But that’s not what Paul is writing to the Thessalonians about!

What he meant was the work that God has called you to do. And that’s not necessarily your job. A pastor is working with his or her hands every moment, pretty much. Their work and their calling are the same. But what if, like my own husband, you have an office job and talent working on cars?

He’s in luck because twice a year, our church hosts a car-care service project. But if my husband only put those skills in serving others to use twice a year, he’d be wasting one of the gifts God gave him to help others! Instead, when he sees a need he pitches in, often spending his own money to do so. I could resent the time that occasionally takes away from his own family, but it clearly is a talent that he’s using to serve others. The work of his hands! Quite literally!

The work of your hands may be tutoring, singing in the church choir, teaching at school or at church – the things that come naturally to you are the things that God uses as your work. Now, when I typed the word “naturally” I had to remind myself of Moses.

Moses had zero desire to speak before Pharoah about God. Heck, he wasn’t too keen on going back to Egypt at all, seeing as how he murdered an Egyptian and that’s why we was out in the blasted desert in the first place! Not only did he have a fear of public speaking, but also he had a fear of being punished for murder!

Sometimes God takes our fears and erases them. Others He works with our natural abilities. In Moses’ case, He used his brother Aaron as the speaker. But Moses was the true leader! What might not seem natural to you at first can quite quickly become a natural talent.

Avoiding using these talents to serve God doesn’t just do Him a disservice!

4. “So that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.” Henry wrote that the command to use the work of our hands “is enforced with a double argument; namely, So we shall live creditably. Thus we shall walk honestly, or decently and creditably, towards those that are without.”

God is clear – it’s not honest living to keep our gifts to ourselves. My husband could use his talent of working on cars to only serve our own family. That wouldn’t cost him as much money as it would to give that service away to someone else – even a stranger!

We once gave an old car away to a single mother. When we did, we put in the most expensive battery we could buy, knowing she wouldn’t have the money to replace it. At the very least, it bought her some time.

Does that make us super-special Christians? NOT AT ALL! Following God’s commands – obeying what He tells us to do – doesn’t make anyone super-special. It’s just what we’re expected to do.

Go be a blessing with your talents and gifts today!

 

The Work of Faith

 

John 6: ²⁷ Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.” ²⁸ Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?”²⁹ Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”

The Bible passage above is quite a revelation! I think it means that when we think of “work” and how it relates to our salvation, we think of “works” instead. Good works. Living a godly life. The phrase that easily convinces us that good works get us into heaven far more believably than simply believing in Christ does.

So, we spend most of our lives trying to “be good,” and if you’re like me, failing miserably at it. Which then leads to confusion over our own salvation. And because no one wants to talk about their own sin, we believe we’re the only ones who are such miserable failures. Even when someone prominent, like a transparent pastor, admits to his or her own sins, we think – nah. It’s just a story. It doesn’t count because surely this person is so amazing and Spirit-filled that he/she is going to heaven no matter what.

John makes it clear, y’all. The “work” of faith is simply faith.

If you think that sounds easy, then you haven’t had your faith sorely tested yet! Mine is on a regular basis. But then, I’m a cynical, distrustful person. So faith is super-hard for me. Even those of you who see the best in people – who are so darn optimistic – there will come times in your lives when your faith is put into question, and Jesus is telling us that it is those times when the “work” comes into play.