Why Should You Believe the Gospel?

The gospel is the heart, soul, and foundation of Christianity. The gospel says that Man is a sinner, a condition passed down to every human being from Adam and Eve, who rebelled against God and did what God expressly said not to do. The penalty for sin is death and eternal separation from God. But God still loves His Creation and He sent His one and only Son to earth. He lived a perfect, sinless life, and then died on a cross for man’s sin. Three days later, Jesus rose from the grave and returned to heaven, guaranteeing that all who believe in Him have eternal life.
That’s a lot to ask someone to buy into, isn’t it? C.S. Lewis wrote, “If Christianity were something we were making up, of course we would make it easier” (Mere Christianity).
If Christianity were something we were trying to mass-produce wouldn’t we make it more attractive to “sell?” Wouldn’t we create a “hero” who was invincible – who took out His enemies rather than letting them nail him to a cross? If we were making it up, why would we make it so hard to believe? Any fantasy writer knows your story can’t be too far “out there.” There have to be some believable elements to it to be a good story. But truth – they say – is often stranger than fiction.
Could it be that the story we are telling is true? Could it be that it is more than a “story?” Is it possible that this was God’s plan all along? It is not only possible, it is factual. Jesus said that the kingdom of God was prepared for God’s redeemed people “since the creation of the world” (Matt 25:34). Scripture also says that Jesus – the Son of God (Lk 1:35), the Word made flesh (Jn 1:14), the Lamb that takes away the sins of the world (Jn 1:29) – “was slain from the creation of the world” (Rev. 13:8). That means before God called forth the light, the kingdom was ready and waiting and the plan of salvation was already in place.
I can’t make you believe. But I can tell you that the gospel and Christianity are true. I can tell you that if you do not make a conscious choice for Jesus, you are choosing against Him. So choose well, Beloved. The consequences of your decision are eternal.

Doctrines of the Faith: Who is the Holy Spirit?

The greatest life pursuit of man is to know God. But that is not natural to our human, sinful natures. The desire to know God comes from God. He orchestrates it and provides the Teacher: the Holy Spirit. To have the Holy Spirit we must know Jesus Christ (Rom 8:9-11). Here you have the Holy Trinity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, uniquely three in one. It is one of the great mysteries of the faith, pondered by men for thousands of years. No one has been able to fully explain this Holy Oneness. I choose to take the Trinity on faith. In this part of our Doctrines study, we will focus on the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is a person – not an “it,” and He is equal in power, sovereignty, divinity, and all other attributes of God the Father and God the Son. We tend to think of the Holy Spirit as a New Testament entity, but the Bible tells us that He was an active participant in the Creation. Genesis 1:2 says “Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters” (emphasis added). The Holy Spirit was the power that generated all creation into being.
The Holy Spirit was visible in the Old Testament imparting power, strength, and wisdom to those God used to accomplish His sovereign purposes. However, the Spirit’s activity within man was only for the task, leaving the person when God’s work was fulfilled. One example is found in 1 Samuel 10 when “The Spirit of God came upon Saul in power” and he prophesied. Later, the Spirit departed from Saul when David was chosen by God to succeed him on the throne of Israel(1 Sam 16:14).
After Jesus’ resurrection and ascension, the Holy Spirit fell on the believers at Pentecost (Acts 2:1-12), giving them the ability to proclaim “the wonders of God” in previously unfamiliar human languages. He was the driving force behind the birth of the new church. The Holy Spirit now dwells within all who place their faith and trust in Jesus Christ, not coming and going as before, but literally “taking up residence” in the heart of the believer. He is our assurance that we belong to Christ (Rom 8:9).
We will look deeper into the Scriptures concerning the Holy Spirit in the next couple of weeks. For today ask yourself, Beloved, do I know God through His Holy Spirit?

Do You Believe the Bible?

Do you believe the Bible is the truth? The world will answer with a resounding “NO!” and I would expect no less. But I have heard and read many well-meaning (and often well-educated) religious people downplay what the Scriptures so plainly declare. They try to explain away clear text like the seven days of creation. They look for “logical” or “scientific” reasons for creation, the flood, the destruction of Jericho’s walls, or even the resurrection of Jesus. It is confusing at best and destructive at worst.
It’s not just the religious elite. It happens in the pews and the Sunday School classes –I heard a woman who had been in church most of her life say that Noah’s ark and Jonah’s whale were just fairy tales woven into the Bible – they didn’t really happen. If that is so, it begs the question, what else in the Bible didn’t really happen? Sadly, it even happens in the pulpit. I have heard pastors do a soft-shoe dance around clear teachings from the Bible condemning the culture’s favorite sins.
And I have even heard it from some of you. Oh, you believe the creation account, Noah’s ark, Jonah and the whale, and the glorious resurrection of Jesus. But you don’t believe God could never forgive all your sins. I see you, struggling under the weight of guilt and shame that Jesus left in the grave. I see you because I have been you.
And you doubt God’s love for you. Trust me when I say I used to feel the same way. Used to. Past tense. But then the Spirit gave me a revelation. If I am going to teach the faithfulness of God’s Word – if I proclaim that the Bible is true and trustworthy I must also believe when the Scripture says that God loves me with an everlasting, unfailing, never-ending, perfect, holy love. And so do you.
Above all I believe the Bible is true because of Jesus’ own words: “Sanctify them by the truth; Your Word is truth” (John 17: 17). The Scriptures are trustworthy (Ps 8:28) – every jot and tittle. God’s Word cannot be true about some things and untrue about others. Beloved, you can rest yourself in the promise – God loves you. You can take Him at His Word.

Reading Between the Lines

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28)
“Nothing in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:39).
These are two great verses and we love them. We put them on artwork and t-shirts and even tattoo them on our bodies. They speak beautifully of God’s purpose and His love – what more could you need? But maybe you missed the ten verses that lie between these two jewels. They bring 28 and 39 together like the covers of a beautiful book, bound up in one theme: Love.
In these verses, we see our purpose – to love Him and obey Him, and we see His purpose – to make us more like His Son. We could stop right there and be utterly blessed. But let’s continue on. We see the “golden chain” of His divine choice and calling. We see that He justified us and glorified us. We see His favor – that He is for us and no one can be against us. We see His mercy in giving up His own Son to save us and His promise to give us all things. We see His everlasting presence – no trouble or hardship or difficulty or danger will ever separate us from His love. In fact, nothing in all creation – and everything is His creation – will come between us and God’s love. We see His love defend us against every accusation of the enemy. We see the power of His love that conquers every foe, even death – and makes us more than conquerors. We see that His love that will last for all eternity.
Paul said he was convinced of God’s love because He saw the love of God in “all things” – working together with one purpose – to glorify His Son in our lives. By the way, did you notice that only one verse out of the twelve addressed our love for God and the rest focuses on His great love for us?
Beloved, are you convinced? Do you trust Him and His heart for you? Hear this again, loud and clear: If you are in Christ, nothing will ever separate you from God’s love. Not. One. Thing. What more could you ever need?

What Do You Think . . .

Two verses struck me this morning as I was flipping through the Psalms. In Psalm 10, the psalmist talks about the “wicked man” saying, “in all his thoughts there is no room for God” (v. 4) Then in chapter 14, David pronounces a second truth about this man” “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ “ (v. 1). One seems to be a natural recourse of the other. If there is no room for God in your thoughts, you will conclude that there is no God. And you would be a fool. That is why our thoughts are so critical to our spiritual well-being.
On any given day, it seems a thousand thoughts run through my mind – work, school, family, church, ministry, chores, friends, plans – I am sure the same is true for you. There is no end to the things, people, and responsibilities that pull us this way and that. Our thoughts naturally run to these things. The question we must ask ourselves is, where, in all those thoughts, is God? Are we trying to “fit” Him in between thoughts about our kids and what to fix for supper? Do we give Him a passing consideration before the family meal or as we tumble into bed. “GodthankyouforthisfoodandallourblessingsAmen.” I can’t count the times I’ve fallen asleep trying to pray on my pillow. Does He cross our minds at all through the day? And if we actually do think about Him, what are we thinking? “I wish God would fix this problem.” “I hope God will straighten my kid out.” Our prayers tend to be “God, bless my sick Granny and make my boss give me a raise.”
It’s time for us to think – and think differently – about God. You and I must train our thoughts on Him.
That means we think about God as the One who is “high and exalted” (Is. 6:1), yet always with us (Jos. 1:9). We consider that He “thunders from heaven” (Ps. 18:13), yet also sings over us like a Father (Zeph. 3:17). We meditate on the fact that He “rules over the nations” (Psalm 22:28), and yet “bends down to listen” to our prayers (Psalm 116:2 NLT). We must think about Him as more than our “fixer” and see Him as the high, holy, exalted God of heaven and earth who also created us, loves us, and cares about and for us. Beloved, what are you thinking about right now? Is there room in your thoughts for God?

Jesus Messiah

I love etymology – the study of words and word origins and how their meanings have changed throughout history. There was a time when “cool” meant not hot or cold. Then cool described someone who was hip and fashionable, someone to be admired and emulated. From there cool came to mean aloof, and then it evolved into dispassionate or unemotional – which could be a good thing or a bad thing. A cool person was unruffled in a crisis. Or they completely disengage with others. A cool retort, a cool movie, a cool snap in the weather, a cool dude, a cool demeanor – they all used the same word but applied different meanings.
The ruling principle in hermeneutics – the interpretation and application of the Scriptures – is to discern the author’s original intent and the best way to do that is to research the original language of the text. I have discovered so many fascinating and challenging things by studying the Bible with a concordance at the ready. (And don’t forget about the importance of context, context, context.)
Here is a cool word study (did you see what I did there?) as an example. In the creation account, after all the birds and animals and creatures were named, the Scriptures says: “But for Adam, no suitable helper was found” (Gen 2:20). The word helper is ezer and it means one who assists or supports in times of hardship and struggle. It is the same word used by the Psalmist to describe the Lord: “We wait in hope for the Lord; He is our help and our shield” (Ps 33:20). (We’ll dig into “shield” another day – fascinating!). When the Israelites defeated the Philistines in Mizpah, Samuel set up a stone of remembrance and named it Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far has the Lord helped us” (1 Sam 7:12). Robert Robertson wrote the hymn “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” and included the line: “Here I raise my Ebenezer” a reference to this passage and to God’s help in his own life.
One of my favorite words is “Messiah” – the divine title of the Lord Jesus. In the ancient Hebrew, “ah” was the root word for “the Lord.” A name that ended in “ah” always referenced the Lord. Now I’m taking a little creative license here, but look at the word again and think about this: Have you ever gotten yourself in a mess? Jesus is the Messiah. Do you see it Beloved? Jesus is Lord (ah) over the mess (Mess) I (i) made of my life. That’s good news for us messy people!!

On Earth as it is in Heaven

I’ve been in many worship services where “The Lord’s Prayer” is recited by the congregation. One part always makes me want to shout, “Wait! Do you understand what you’re saying? Is this really your heart’s desire?”
“Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Mtt 6:10).
Have you ever stopped to think about what that means and why Jesus included it in His model prayer?
I believe Jesus wanted us to recognize Him as King and His rule as sovereign. The king’s will is the law of the land he governs. God – Jesus – is Creator and King of the entire universe – He governs the heavens which includes the angels and the earth which includes human beings. In heaven, His will is the absolute priority of every celestial creature. When we repeat this prayer we are saying the same of ourselves, that His will is our absolute priority, that we have no other will except His.
The question of God’s will has been a constant theme for generations. We want to know God’s will for our lives, but this verse invites us to look for the bigger picture and how we fit into it. While God does have a will – a plan and purpose – for our individual lives, that will is encompassed by the greater will of God: to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under the sovereign authority of Christ (Eph

1:10). The ultimate purpose of all existence is the Lordship of Christ Jesus. God’s plan was firmly fixed from before time began. All of human history has been moving toward one result: the coronation of Jesus Christ as the King of kings with “authority, glory and sovereign power, everlasting dominion, and a kingdom that will never be destroyed” (Dan 7:13-14).
So when we pray “Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven, we are surrendering our will to the will of God and committing to being part of ushering in the Kingdom of God and Christ. Like the angels in heaven, we are swearing our total allegiance to the authority and rule of the only rightful Ruler of the universe. This is God’s will for your life. He created you to be part of His eternal kingdom. Beloved, as you consider the words of this prayer, ask yourself, “What would the world, my neighborhood, my home, church, and workplace look like if God’s will was done on earth as it is in heaven – in me?”

Advent 2023: God in Flesh

Genesis 1 says that when God created the heavens and the earth, He spoke them into existence. “Let there be . . .” light, sky, land, seas, and plants, sun, moon, and stars, fish and birds and animals. Everything except man was created by the power of His Word. John declared that the Speaker/Creator became “the Word made flesh” (Jn. 1: 14). Jesus, the Son of God. He proved Himself as God when the wind and waves obeyed Him (Mk 4:39). He proved His authority over the spiritual realm when He spoke and cast demons out of a tortured man (Mk 5:1-20). He spoke with such authority that a centurion’s servant was healed from a distance (Lk 7:1-10) and a dead man walked out of the tomb (Jn 11). He was – and still is – the all-powerful, all-mighty God of the Universe. Nature, spirits, sickness, and even death have no choice but to obey Him when He speaks.
Yet He came to His creation as a helpless babe in the arms of a peasant girl – the only one who responded to the sound of His voice. Still, I wonder . . . did the wind and waves begin to still at the sound of His cries? Did the demons tremble when they recognized Him cooing? Did the stars shine brighter when He protested the hunger in his belly? Despite his diminutive human state, He was still God. Still the Creator and Sustainer of all things. Still the Author of Life. Still the long-awaited King. Did creation recognize Him, even if His image-bearers did not?
Yes, He was a baby just like any other baby. He needed someone to feed and clothe Him, to carry Him from place to place, to wrap Him in swaddling clothes from the cool night air. But He was a baby unlike any other and I imagine all of heaven was in awe at the sight of God in tiny flesh, so helpless and frail. I believe the creation that obeyed Him “in the beginning” knew that these were no ordinary cries. There was always power and authority and sovereignty in the sound of His voice. It was just small and quiet on that holy night.

Light in the Darkness

The first thing God did when He created the heavens and the earth was turn on the lights (Gen 1:3). He brought light to the empty darkness. That is good news for those of us who struggle with depression; the light of God penetrates even the deepest, darkest places.

Listen to David’s words from Psalm 139:

“If I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I say, ‘Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,’ even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you” (vs. 8, 12-13).

Maybe you are fortunate enough to not have to deal with depression, but there are a lot of us who do. Mental health is a huge issue in the world today, and, let’s be honest, it is also a multi-billion-dollar industry.  Depression degrades life and often destroys it. It is no respecter of persons – young and old, rich and poor, powerful and famous and common – even people who appear to “have it all” also have issues with depression.

I’ve “made my bed in the depths” many a night and tried to hide away in the darkness often. But God always finds me. He brings His light and love and leads me out of the pit.

For a long time, I had a picture in my mind of God walking through a dark, dismal cave with a lantern in His hand, calling my name as He searched for me, but I studied the creation account and saw something I had not noticed before.  God declared, “Let there be light” on day one but He didn’t create the sun, moon, and stars until day four. Where did the light come from on day one? From Himself. That is the light He brings to me when I am lost in the darkness of depression. He doesn’t need a lantern because He is the Light.

I’m not trying to be super-spiritual. I know depression very well so I am speaking from my own experience. I also understand that some depressive episodes are overwhelming and deeply painful. I have been there too. And God has never failed to bring the light. Never.

I don’t know whether you are in the gray zone or the deepest, darkest blackness, but I know that God cares about you and is coming with His light. Please reach out for counseling or medical help and trust the Light to come.  Beloved. He loves you too much to leave you there.

God’s Will

We have all wondered, “What is God’s will for my life?”  It’s a good question but there is a bigger plan in place than just your life and mine. First, let’s widen the scope.

Paul said God’s will, “is “to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ” (Eph 1:9, 10). We get a glimpse of that in Daniel’s heavenly vision of the coronation of “the Ancient of Days” (Dan 7:9-10). The big picture of God’s will for all creation is the sovereign rule of His Son.

Now let’s scale this back to a more personal level. What is God’s will for you and me? That depends on where we are in relationship with Him. God has a will for His redeemed children and He has a will for those who are not His children.  Paul told the Athenians that God works in the lives of people “so that men would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him” (Acts 17:27). Everything that God does in the life of an unbeliever is designed to draw his attention to his Creator. God never meant for man to blindly stumble through life and hopefully trip over Him. He acts with purpose and intention in every circumstance, even down to “the times set for them and the exact places where they should live” (v. 26).

When the unbeliever becomes a believer God’s will sharpens – and often so do His methods. Paul declared that God’s purpose for every believer is “to be conformed to the likeness of His Son” (Rom 8:29). That is His “good, pleasing, and perfect will (Rom 12:2). That is what everything after conversion is working toward – to make you like Jesus.

Does that mean God doesn’t have an individual purpose for you? Not at all. God gives His children gifts and talents to serve Him and the church. Your love of music or art or your natural giftedness with children point you to His purpose for you. I have loved words and writing since I was a little girl because God’s will for me is to be a writer and He gave me a big mouth because He wanted me to be a teacher.

Whoever you are, wherever you are, God’s will is that you will be His child, reflecting Jesus in the world, and be part of the heavenly crowd at His Son’s coronation. Everything is working toward that end. Because that, Beloved, is what your life is all about.