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.

To Know Him is to Love Him

To know, know, know him is to love, love, love him
Just to see him smile make my life worthwhile
To know, know, know him is to love, love, love him
And I do.

Written by Phil Spector and first recorded by “The Teddy Bears,” this song hit the number-one spot in 1958. Through the years it was covered by many other artists and I bet as you read those lyrics, you were singing the melody. I know I did as I typed them. Do you remember those early days of love, when you just couldn’t get enough of your beloved? You wanted to spend every moment together, learning all you could about one another. What is her favorite flower? What is his favorite song? What makes her happy? What makes him laugh? Her fragrance was intoxicating. You hung on his every word. You became “a student” of the one you love, trying to discover all the wonderful things about them, like hunting for hidden treasures. It seemed that the more you knew about each other, the deeper your affection went.
Do you have the same desire to know and love God? Jesus said, “This is eternal life; that they may know you . . .“ (John 17:3). He also said, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matt 22:37). That’s not a casual Sunday-only relationship.
He is the greatest and deepest love you can ever know. Perhaps it never occurred to you that you can know God, but over and over His Word expresses His desire for us to know Him. The apostle Paul said God wants us to “seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him” (Acts 17:27) The same principle in our earthly relationships holds true in our relationship with God.
I have discovered that the more I come to know Him, the more I love Him and the more I love Him the more I want to know Him. Beloved, can there be any better pursuit for your life than to seek to know and love God? Not just know about Him, but know Him. In the Bible, the word “know” implies a level of intimacy that describes a marital relationship. It means there is nothing that comes between the husband and wife. It is deep. Committed. Unbreakable. Everlasting. That is the love God desires from us. “My heart says of You, “Seek His face!” Your face Lord, I will seek” (Psalm 27:8).

Of Doctrine and Demons and Truth

Paul wrote to Timothy, “Watch your life and doctrine closely” (1 Tim 4:16). Doctrine at its root is teaching – imparting information from one person to another. That’s my calling. But I’m not just teaching history or mythology or fantasy – it is truth. It is the Word of God. And it has the power to change lives. That is why I handle it with the utmost care. It is a huge responsibility.
There are a lot of teachers out there who will try to tell you what the Bible says. I’ve sat under some excellent teachers and some not-so-great teachers. Some teach from a classroom or a lectern, and some teach with their lives. Some teach by being godly examples and some teach us by being examples of what not to do or be.
Did you know that the devil has teachers too? Paul also told Timothy, “In later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons” (v. 1). You’d better believe demons are teachers too. But they don’t always teach in direct opposition to the Scriptures. They often teach in shades of truth. They will take just enough of the Scriptures to make it sound right, then twist it to get you off track.
For example, the culture’s favorite verse is “Do not judge” (Matt 7:1). But they do not understand the context. Jesus is speaking in the sense of condemning people – judging them unworthy of God’s grace. But He affirms “judgment” in terms of discernment. Like helping a brother remove the speck of dust in their eye (after clearing out our own). He says we do not throw sacred truth to dogs or pearls to pigs (v. 6). That is a judgment call. A few verses later, He said we are to be “fruit inspectors” (v. 15-120). He is calling us to wise discernment.
They also love verses about loving others. But they don’t understand that the most loving thing we can do is warn them about the coming wrath of God against those who do not believe in His Son. Humans want love, but the culture demands permissiveness in the guise of love. If my granddaughter wants to play in the busy road does love mean I let her go or I protect her from harm?
Do you see why I am such a stickler for careful Bible study and true doctrine? What you believe, what you think you know, affects how you live – and it affects your eternal security. Be wise, Beloved, only the truth will set you free.

Jesus Cares About All of You

Several years ago I came home from work to discover that someone had broken into our apartment. What they took was of little value but the one thing they stole that really mattered was my peace of mind. The next day I told a coworker about our ordeal. He said, “Be grateful no one can steal your salvation.” Honestly, I was annoyed that he dismissed my feelings so flippantly – and so “spiritually.” Of course I was grateful that my salvation was eternally secure, but was my relationship with Jesus only good for the next life? What about the days when my heart is hurting, when my body aches, when my nerves are frazzled, and my load is heavy? Do I face those days and seasons on my own?
Let’s ask the widow of Nain whose only son had died. Jesus encountered his funeral procession and his broken-hearted mother. Luke said, “When the Lord saw her, His heart went out to her and He said, “Don’t cry.” He was moved deeply by this mother’s pain and He touched her heart before He touched the son’s coffin and raised him from the dead (see Luke 7:11-17).
When a great crowd of people stayed and listened to Him teach for several days, He was concerned for them. He told His disciples, “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way.” He miraculously stretched a few loaves and fishes to feed more than four thousand people. He cared about their souls, and their empty bellies (see Matthew 15:29-39).
What would the leper say whom Jesus not only healed, but touched with His own holy hand (Matt 8:1-4). Or the centurion who came to Jesus to beg for healing for his servant? The man was made well by Jesus’ spoken word (Matt 8:5-13). How about Peter’s mother-in-law and a house full of sick and demon-possessed people who received healing? Ask the sick little girl and the sick old woman – Jesus ministered to both of them (Mark 5:21-43). All through the Gospels, He healed the physically blind, sick, and lame, comforted the hurting and marginalized, and ministered to the spiritually unwell.
Beloved, Jesus cares about you – all of you – body, soul, and spirit. He came to redeem and restore and He came to heal and comfort. Trust me when I say you can trust Him with your life – now and forever.

Grace

Joy asks a thousand questions a day – that’s how she learns and so I try to be patient with the never-ending stream of “Why?” and “What?” and “How?” Yesterday she saw some honeybees in the ligustrum bush and started asking about what they were doing which became how do bees make honey. So after her bath, we surfed YouTube for videos about bees.  She loves to learn new things and I love to help her explore the world around her.

But sometimes she asks questions with a different motivation. We have rules in our house that have been in place all her life. They haven’t changed just because she isn’t here all the time anymore. She knows the rules well, but sometimes she will ask the question hoping to catch me off-guard and give her a different answer. I may be old and slow, but I’m no dummy. The rules are the rules.

God gave the Israelites the law – the commandments and regulations that must be strictly observed to maintain a relationship with Him. He is holy and righteous and His people must live holy and righteous lives. The law was given to instruct them in His ways and ensure their standing before Him. But the people failed to keep the law – “Everyone did as he saw fit” (Jud 21:25). Which meant they did not obey God’s law. Man was and is still sinful. Sin demands death. The Israelites relied on animals to die in their place, but that was not enough.

Then Jesus came on the scene. He said that He came to “fulfill” the law and the Prophets – but not to abolish them (Matt 5:17-20). What did He mean? The purpose and demands of the law had not changed. What changed was how one approached God. Under the law, all the rituals and rules – God’s “house rules” – must be followed to a T. But Jesus came “full of grace” (John 1:14). He lived the perfect life that man could not live. And He died to fulfill “every jot and tittle” of the law. Jesus – God in flesh – shed His divine blood to meet the demands of the law. All who receive Jesus’ work are under grace.

That means if you are a believer, you can breathe a sigh of relief because Jesus did all the hard work for you. And He sent His Holy Spirit to live in you and help you live out your holy standing. The rules haven’t changed, but how we obey them has. Beloved, you cannot; but Jesus did. Now you can live in grace.

It’s okay to have questions

Doubt can be dangerous for Christians. Doubt often causes us to distance ourselves from God. Distance leads to disobedience and soon our faith atrophies. God wants us to believe without wavering. But sometimes that’s hard. If anyone should have believed without wavering, it was John the Baptist. Even in the womb, Jesus’ cousin recognized the Lord, leaping at the sound of Mary’s voice (Luke 1: 41-45). John’s whole life was, “to prepare the way for the Lord” (Luke 3:4). He declared Jesus as “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” How did he know? “The one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ I have seen, and I testify that this is the Son of God” (John 1:29-34).
Later John asked a big question, “Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?” (Luke 7:20). What changed? John was in a prison cell after speaking out against the Roman king and his adulterous marriage. He had faithfully proclaimed the coming of God’s Kingdom. He had rebuked the religious elite and the irreligious royals. And rather than blessings, his efforts brought down wrath. He did what God asked of Him and the results were harsh. He would lose his head over it. Can you blame the poor fellow? Haven’t you and I questioned God for less?
With all that he knew, John – weary and discouraged – began to doubt. But Jesus didn’t chastise John. He pointed him back to the evidence. “What do you see, John?” “The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor” (Luke 7:22). Look beyond your circumstances, John. You preached the coming of the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 3:1). You spoke of my power (Mark 1: 7). Your own words are being fulfilled in Me. Then He added, “Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me” (Luke 7:23).
My questions made me search for answers. And those answers strengthened my faith. Ask your questions Beloved. He will not chastise you. He will give you answers that will ground and strengthen your faith. Jesus not only has the answers, He is the answer.

It’s okay to not be perfect

I never considered myself a perfectionist until I started back to school. Suddenly every assignment and every course had to be an “A.” The first B I got felt like a total failure. I expected to be perfect.

I find it interesting that while the Bible uses the word “perfect” just forty-two times, the word “good” appears more than six hundred times. After completing each day’s creative work, God examined what He had done and “saw that it was good.” In the original Hebrew, this means that God found His work “pleasing, favorable, and satisfactory.” Think about it – if God, at the zenith of His creative work, was content with “good” shouldn’t “good” be good enough for us?

There’s more: He promised a good land to the Israelites when they escaped Egyptian bondage (Ex 3:8). Jesus said the Father gives “good gifts” (Mat 7:11), He proclaimed the soil with the greatest harvest good (Luke 8:8) and Paul tells us to “overcome evil with good” (Rom 12:21) – not perfection. Even the Gospel that saves us is called “the Good News” (Acts 5:42). Why then are we trying so hard to be perfect?

God didn’t saddle us with this obsession for perfection – it was the enemy who planted that impossible seed. But we have watered and nurtured it until it has become a weed of gigantic proportions and, as weeds so often do, it has choked the life out of us and the “good works” we were created to do (Ephesians 2:10). It’s his way of keeping us distracted, dissatisfied, frustrated – and fruitless. Perfectionism will drive us to the point of exhaustion as we push ourselves to reach for an unreachable standard. Or, on the flip side, it will leave us in a state of paralysis, fearful of even attempting anything because we know we’ll never measure up. I’ve been both – and it’s no way to live. You and I will never pull off perfection this side of heaven. And that’s okay.

Only God is perfect and making you perfect is His work alone, through the blood of Jesus and the power of the Spirit. But you won’t see the perfectly finished product until you stand before Him in heaven. So hang all your perfectionist tendencies on Him and be free from that burden you were never meant to carry. Beloved, being good is good enough.

When the Rooster Crows

Have you ever noticed how hard it is to recognize sin in the moment? Peter sat in the courtyard outside of the place where Jesus was being tried, and three times denied his association with the One whom he had sworn just hours before to never abandon. It wasn’t until the rooster crowed that Peter woke out of his sin stupor and realized what he had done. And it broke his heart. Oh, Jesus had tried to help him. He warned him when they stood on the Mount of Olives: “Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times” (Matthew 26:34) and again in the Garden: “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41).
The flesh wants what the flesh wants. It doesn’t care about your spirit when temptation dangles like a carrot on a stick. Or an adult website. Or an attractive coworker. It will rise up in you and me and take control. There’s something about the lure of sin that dulls our spiritual senses and makes it easy for our weak flesh to fall for the bait. In that moment we’re only thinking of pleasure. It’s after we have spent ourselves for sin, that we wake up and realize what we’ve done. Which is what Peter did when he heard the rooster’s call. He suddenly remembered Jesus’ dire prediction and “he went outside and wept bitterly” (v. 75).
It’s no wonder that Peter later wrote, “Be self-controlled and alert” (1 Peter 5:8). He learned the hard way the necessity of being sober and vigilant. The enemy is on the prowl – looking for an opportunity to take you and me down. He knows your vices, he knows my weaknesses and he takes full advantage of them.
Paul, under the leadership of the Holy Spirit, said we must be aware of the devil’s schemes (Eph 6:11) and look for the way out of temptation (1 Cor 10:13) – and there is always a way out. The problem is most of us are looking for the way in. When the Bible says “Flee evil desires” that means you get away from the temptation. You don’t stand there and toy with it. You will fall every time.
I confess I am by no means an expert on resisting sin, but I know Someone who is and His advice is to “Watch and pray.” And run away. Beloved, don’t let the rooster crow on you.

Navigating the Unknown

Life is full of unforeseen twists and turns. A job loss, a death, a difficult diagnosis, a child in serious trouble, a decision that shakes your family – we all will face life-altering situations. We will all ask, “What do I do now?” “Where do we go from here?” “How will I cope with this?” It’s pretty unnerving to not know what’s up ahead. I understand this uncertainty very well. As I pray and seek God’s Word, these are the promises I’m clinging to.
God is my guide along the way – “[The Lord] leads me…He guides me…” (Ps 23: 2, 3). God knows where I’m going – even if I don’t. He knows the path I must take and what challenges lie ahead. He knows the best place to cross the river and where to stop and rest for the night. I can follow Him with confidence because He is a good guide.
God is always with me – “The Lord your God will be with you where you go” (Jos 1:9). God knows I need the comfort of His presence as I make my way through unknown territory. He knows I will become anxious and I will have sad days. He also knows I will wander from the path if I lose sight of Him. He is carefully attentive to me, knowing when I need encouragement, strength, help and comfort.
God will provide along the way – “These forty years the Lord your God has been with you, and you have not lacked anything” (Deut 2:7). As He guided them through the wilderness, God provided the Israelites with water (Exodus 15:22-25; 17:1-6), food (Ex 16:4; Num 11:31-32) and even kept their clothes from wearing out – for forty years (Deut 29:5). Jesus reminds me that my Heavenly Father knows all my needs, and is committed to providing all things for me if I will trust in Him (Matt 6:25-33).
I don’t know what uncertain path looms large before you, but God does. He has promised to be with you, to care for you, and to lead you all the way. To where? Your heavenly home. You and I may not be able to see what tomorrow holds, but we know Who holds tomorrow. Take His hand and let Him lead you, Beloved, He not only knows the way, He is The Way.

The Power of Your Words

This may surprise you, but sarcasm comes naturally to me. My mom was always after me about it. “If you can’t say anything good, don’t say anything at all.” That’s one of the reasons I tend to stay off of the Book of Faces after I post the day’s devotional. I do not trust myself to not get snarky. It’s just that – gosh – some people really deserve it.
But that’s the “old man” in me. That phrase comes from the Apostle Paul who wrote often about the tug of war between who we were before Christ and who we are to be in Christ. Even though our sin has been put to death by the Lord Jesus, our urges and desires remain until we are perfected. It is a life-long battle. For some, it may be drugs or alcohol or physical pleasure or materialism. But God has been working on my mouth for a long time for good reason.
Years ago I read in Isaiah, “I have put my words in your mouth and covered you with the shadow of my hand” (51:16). That verse grabbed my heart and I prayed that God would put His words in my mouth. The next day another verse came to life – very clear in its meaning and application for me: “If you utter worthy, not worthless words, you will be my spokesman” (Jer 15:19). Boom! I had a calling and a caution. I have bitten my tongue more than once – and failed to more than once.
Jesus said, “Men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken” (Matt 12:36). In the original Greek, that means idle words, useless words, lazy words, ineffective words. In other words, worthless words. So then, what are worthy words? Words that are productive, words that accomplish God’s good purposes, words that work hard for the good of others, words that edify. As Paul wrote, “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen” (Eph 4:29).
Solomon said, “The tongue has the power of life and death” (Prov. 18:21). Your words can do great harm or great good – you and I need to use them wisely and carefully. Beloved, let’s commit to speak only “apples of gold in settings of silver” (Prov. 25:11)