Walking With Jesus

Death Is Not the Greatest Tragedy

“But now you are free from the power of sin and have become slaves of God. Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:22-23 NLT)

The loss of a loved one is difficult regardless of the circumstances of their passing. There’s a gaping hole in our heart and life when we lose someone to whom we were close. The agony of separation by death was never God’s design nor His desire.

Physical death was never God’s plan, so, understandably, it’s painful and emotionally distressing. Grief is a process that only became of part of our “normal” life cycle because of sin. The wages of sin is death.

Yet, God in His infinite wisdom and mercy allowed His only Son to experience death – literal, physical death, including a brief, but agonizing separation from His Father – to pay the penalty for our sin and free us from the horrible prospect of eternal separation from God. The word translated “death” in the above verse is defined in Strong’s Concordance as: “the misery of the soul arising from sin, which begins on earth but lasts and increases after the death of the body in hell.”

It is so common in today’s world to create an illusion of what death will be like and lead to, that it’s no longer man’s greatest fear. People are so wrapped up in their own goodness, especially if they’re engaged in a service-oriented profession, that regardless of how they’ve defied God and His heart’s intent, when they die they falsely assume “they’re going to a better place.”

The greatest tragedy isn’t that people die, it’s that they die without a saving knowledge of Jesus. When someone we know loves Jesus, dies, it’s bitter-sweet. On the one hand we’re happy for them. Their suffering has ended; they get to go home to Jesus and be reunited with loved ones and friends who also loved Jesus and preceded them to heaven.

But if someone hasn’t been forgiven of their sins and united with Christ by faith in His completed work on Calvary, their only prospect in the afterlife is grim. God grieves when someone to whom He’s reached out over and over continues to reject Him and chooses hell against His will and wishes.

There are those who believe God is cruel in sending anyone to hell, but the truth of Scripture verifies that anyone who chooses hell does so over the agonizing cries of a holy God to repent and turn from their sin. God sends no one to hell – EVER! We have a choice and to not make a choice to find hope and eternal life in Jesus is to choose!

Imagine you’re in a burning building. The alarm has sounded, and everyone is rushing to the nearest exit. Firefighters are on the scene directing people to safety, but as they scan each room searching to do their best not to leave anyone behind, they find an office door locked and blocked by large pieces of furniture.

Through the glass they gaze into the smoke-filled room seeing a man at his desk, continuing to work as though nothing was happening. They break the glass and frantically seek to create a path of escape, but the man is oblivious to their efforts. By the time they reach him, he’s dead from smoke inhalation. A preventable and wasted death.

That, my friends, is a picture of God seeking the lost, who day after day go through their life as if they will live forever. And the truth is, they will! It’s just not going to be the “better place” they’ve made up in their mind. It’s a place of eternal torment from which they will see and understand clearly what a huge mistake they made . . . but their understanding will come too late.

Fellow Jesus followers, we MUST be about our Father’s business of warning the lost at any cost. Please don’t miss an opportunity to tell a loved one or friend about Jesus. Beg them to listen, and explain to them what Jesus has done on their behalf.

The greatest tragedy in life isn’t death, it’s dying without Jesus as your Savor and Lord!

Blessings, Ed

Avoiding the “Bonk” (Part 2)

“Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord. Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many.” (Hebrews 12:14-15 NLT)

In yesterday’s post we began looking at the spiritual implications of the “bonk,” which is something that happens to runners who are dealing with a lack of oxygen at higher elevations. Notice some key words in the verses above. “Work at.” “Watch out.” What are the implications?

Like a runner, we have a goal, a destination that we’re committed to reach. Too many in the church today have a “one and done” attitude, with the result, we’re producing a growing number of “sprinters,” not “cross-country runners.” It seems that in too many people’s minds, if they “sprint” to the altar and say a quick prayer, they’re done, safe, secure! Now all they have to do is wait to die.

And, yes, of course, I realize that’s not the intent or desire of the leaders of the church, and it’s frustrating to many dedicated and devoted pastors and leaders. But if our bent was to walk in holiness and freedom from sin, why is the Bible filled with instructions to do those things? That’s why Paul says, “work at living in peace with everyone.”

Unfortunately, many don’t like to work at anything. They like to idle their time away doing the least they can possibly get by with. Why is it so difficult to get someone to read the Bible regularly? Forget about studying, memorizing, and applying it. Could it be we haven’t painted an accurate enough picture as to what’s at stake?

Note Paul’s words above: “for those who are not holy will not see the Lord.” Whether that means in this life or the next, the point is the same. Holiness means to be set apart for sacred purpose. It means to be wholly God’s to do with as He sees fit. Holiness doesn’t intentionally ally with the enemy of our soul to carry out the will of our own desires. And yes, I understand that holiness is a process, and there is part of that that only God can do. But there’s also a part that only we can do.

At some point each of us must decide who’s going to rule our life – sin (our own lustful urges) or God. It’s not like anyone is fooling God. He knows our heart and He’s done everything imaginable and more to make it possible for us to live pleasingly before Him. But there comes a point when we must make up our mind to do what’s right, what’s honoring to God.

Paul says, “watch out” and “Look after each other.” Why? “so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God.” Salvation is a free, undeserved, unmerited favor that is all God and none of us; however, when we receive it, it comes with requirements that are non-negotiable. How so?

Paul writes in Philippians 2:12: “Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases Him.”

We’re saved FROM sin, TO holiness and right living. Is it too much to assume if there is no effort being put forth to obey God and little or no evidence that we’re seeking to live in the power He’s provided, then the seeds of salvation have not been planted?

The only reason we have a need to avoid the “bonk” is because we’re in the race. So the logical question then becomes, if I’m not bearing the fruit of a God-enriched life, am I not connected to the Vine? Have I not entered the race?

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Avoiding the “Bonk”

“So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.” (Galatians 5:1 NLT)

While I can’t personally imagine the horrors of slavery, having been a pastor for many years and spending a fair amount of time visiting and speaking with those in prison, I believe the Lord has given me insight into understanding why returning to prison (slavery) is appealing to many who have been released. Apparently, this isn’t only a current problem, but one with which many early believers wrestled as well.

In a Family Life devotional by Janel Breitenstein, she wrote: “A friend of mine is readying to run a half-marathon up Pikes Peak. Aside from the curious question of why she is friends with the likes of me, she has been trying to overcome the “bonk.” I have not heard of this term in the same way in which she refers to it, so I lean in. The bonk, she explains, is when her body simply can’t go anymore in her 7,000-plus foot ascent, the summit of which will be at a height of over 14,000 feet. (To help one comprehend the lack of oxygen and general sanity: Trees give up growing around 11,500 feet.)”

While you may not see yourself as a “runner,” the Bible refers to us as Jesus followers using that metaphor. For example, in Hebrews 12:1: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.”

There is a sense in which each of us is subject to the “bonk” as we run our race of faith. In much the same way as our body craves oxygen, our spirit’s should crave Jesus, our breath of life. The good news is, nothing, absolutely nothing, can keep us from having our desire for God satisfied. Even if someone chokes the life out of me, my spirit will rejoice because I’ll then be transferred from this life of pain, heartache, and suffering, to my joy-filled, never to struggle again, body of eternal life.

But in this life sin is constantly nosing around, looking for a way to deprive us of our needed time with the Lord. And if we’re not alert and sensitive to what’s happening, like a runner who hasn’t trained and isn’t prepared for the effects of thinner air, we’ll allow the enemy of our soul to choke our spiritual life, depriving us of our infilling of God’s presence.

Until we realize how desperate we are for God’s presence 24/7, we’ll waste time that we should be devoting to God’s written Word and miss out on His holy presence. Yes, of course, God is always with us, but the point here is, we’re not always with Him. As Paul urges us in the Galatians passage above, it takes effort to stay free.

That’s why many ex-prisoners commit crimes shortly after being released in order to be sent right back to prison. Why? Because that’s become their new “frame of reference.” It’s what they’ve become accustomed to and transitioning to life outside of prison is more than they can handle. It’s the same reason people remain in abusive relationships. At least there they know what they’re dealing with. And as sad and sick as that may be, we often do the same thing in our walk with God.

Walking with Jesus is a 24/7/365 proposition. When we let our guard down and begin dabbling in sin that we’re fully aware is wrong and pulling us in a bad direction, we must let that be for us a huge “red flag,” sending us to Jesus and the faithful friends He’s put in our life who will walk with us back to safety.

Let’s look at this more closely tomorrow.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Accomplishing the Impossible(Part 2)

“The disciples were astounded. ‘Then who in the world can be saved?’ they asked. Jesus looked at them intently and said, ‘Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God.” (Mark 10:26-27 NLT)

Perhaps a major reason we wrestle with that which, in our minds, is impossible, is because we take for granted what we now view as possible. Think of all the impossibilities surrounding the birth of Jesus, in fulfillment of dozens of Messianic prophecies. A virgin became pregnant and had a baby in Bethlehem; angels appeared, not only to Mary and Joseph, who named the baby Jesus, but to shepherds; wise men were guided by a star to bring gifts to Jesus; an elderly man named Simeon recognized the infant as the Messiah; along with Anna, a prophet, who also recognized He was God in human form.

Even today, if you know Jesus as Lord and Savior, you are a walking miracle, recipient of the impossible. Salvation, as noted in the verse above, is a human impossibility. Think of all the impossible situations that, by God’s grace and with His help, become possible: We run into many impossibilities in our faith journey with Jesus; in overcoming sin, guilt, and shame; in our marriage; in our sicknesses and pain; in our grief, isolation, and fear.

The list is virtually endless of the ways we depend on the Holy Spirit’s intervention in our lives – i.e. the impossible circumstances He enables us to navigate through the power of His Spirit. The writer of the Hebrew letter wrote in 11:1: “Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.”

In a very real sense, we accomplish the impossible every day by faith. Of course, it’s not “we” who are accomplishing anything, but Christ’s presence and power working in and through us. Jesus said in John 15:5: “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in Me, and I in them, WILL PRODUCE MUCH FRUIT. FOR APART FROM ME YOU CAN DO NOTHING.” What is the clear implication? Nothing is impossible for those who believe and remain in Jesus.

What “impossible” challenge are you facing right now? Your health? Finances? Relationships? Grief? Your marriage? Loss – of direction, of a loved one, of hope? Whatever it is, bring it to Jesus . . . and leave it there! Stop trying to figure everything out alone. Place your trust in Jesus and begin (again?) to walk faithfully with Him.

Someone asked Henry Ford a question for which he didn’t immediately remember the answer. When criticized he said something to the effect: “Why should I try to remember anything that I know where to go to find the answer.”

Those of you who know me easily recognize that there’s a lot I don’t know, but you may also realize that I don’t worry about that. My concern doesn’t center on what I don’t know, but on Whom I do know. Anything I need to be everything God has called me to do, be, say, or think, He’s already provided, I just need to ask Him to give it to me.

You are the “impossible” waiting to happen! If you know Jesus you’re filled, empowered, and enabled to be everything He’s designed, created, called, and equipped you to do, be, say, or think. You’re far more than you’ve ever dared dream possible, largely because you may be focused too much on yourself, and not focused enough on Him.

In the verse at the top of the page, the Bible says that Jesus looked “intently” at His disciples. It means to look with more than your eyes. It means to gaze upon thoughtfully. When you begin to look at Jesus that way, you will experience the impossible in your life.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Accomplishing the Impossible

“It was by faith that Moses left the land of Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger. He kept right on going because he kept his eyes on the one who is invisible.” (Hebrews 11:27 NLT)

Have you ever marveled at the accomplishments of someone who is really good at something? At Christmas time I have to listen to David Phelps sing O Holy Night, in a way I had never heard it sung before.

It’s also interesting to me that no one had ever run a mile in less than 4 minutes until a 25-year-old medical student named Roger Bannister, who was running for the Amateur Athletic Association, won the mile race with a time of 3 minutes and 59.4 seconds. It was commonly believed to be a physical impossibility, yet once Bannister broke the record others have also. Hicham El Guerrouj is the current men’s record holder for the Imperial mile with his time of 3:43.13.

We often read the Bible with the proverbial “rose-colored glasses,” holding people who to us are “giants” of the faith, with such esteem we can’t imagine our lives being lived with anything near the kind of faith they possessed. In our minds they accomplished the “impossible.” And the truth is, they did! But nothing is impossible for God, and He is able and willing to empower and enable me and you to do “impossible” things in and through our lives if we’ll only trust and rely on Him.

The verse from Hebrews above, noted that Moses was able to accomplish the impossible because “he kept his eyes on the one who is invisible.” That sounds very spiritual yet seems unattainable to people like us. But is it? The invisible becomes visible in the heart and mind of those who dare to keep their “eyes” on Jesus”

In Hebrews 11:1-2a we read: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.”

When Jesus, Peter, James, and John came down the mountain after experiencing the miraculous vision of Jesus speaking with Moses and Elijah, a desperate father brought his demon-possessed son, whom the other disciples couldn’t heal, to Jesus. Of course, Jesus healed him instantly, but this baffled the disciples who had tried and failed.

“Why couldn’t we cast out that demon?” To which Jesus said: “You don’t have enough faith” Then He said: “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.” (Matthew 17:19-20) What’s Jesus’ point?

Simply this: our walk with Him is faith-based, faith-lived, and faith-dependent. Did you notice what the disciples asked Jesus after being unable to heal the demon-possessed boy? “Why couldn’t WE cast out that demon?” Because WE have no power except it’s given us through faith in the only One who can!

The reality is, it’s impossible to live a life of faith in Christ in the energy of the flesh. The longer we walk with Him and the more we saturate our heart, mind, soul, and strength with His life and love, the more the invisible becomes visible, and the more the impossible becomes possible!

We’ll look at this a little more closely in tomorrow’s post.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Grace and Karma

“For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.” (John 1:17 KJV)

If you’ve been around church very long you’ve probably heard grace defined as “God’s undeserved gift of love or kindness,” which is right, it’s just incomplete. To seek to define grace fully is like trying to define Jesus Himself. The above verse in the New Living Translation says: “For the law was given through Moses, but God’s unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ.”

Strong’s Concordance expands the definition: “that which affords joy, pleasure, delight, sweetness, charm, loveliness.” And further it says of grace: “of the merciful kindness by which God, exerting His holy influence upon souls, turns them to Christ, keeps, strengthens, increases them in Christian faith, knowledge, affection, and kindles them to the exercise of the Christian values.” What’s my point? Grace is a whole lot more than we can think or imagine!

Grace is like the billions of gallons of water held back by a massive dam. It has so many manifestations of expression we hardly do it justice saying it’s “God’s undeserved gift.” Look around you – yes, literally – stop reading and look around you. Everything you see is a gift from God. Your sight is a gift from God; your ability to read, write, think, move, work, drive, have the material things that you see. The list is endless of the ways God shares His life and love with us.

We’re alive by grace, find hope in Jesus by grace, worship by grace – there isn’t a single detail of our life that we enjoy and appreciate that didn’t come from God. “Yeh,” you might think, “but I bought this house, I paid for these nice pieces of furniture, the groceries in my cabinets, the cars in my garage, the beautiful landscaping in my yard, the cloths in my closets, the luxuries I enjoy.”

Oh, I forgot, you mean with the money you earned with the energy, knowledge, and ability the Lord gave you? You mean because of the education He provided, contacts and other benefits He led you to? The point is, we couldn’t exist on this planet without the grace of God. And He doesn’t just extend His grace, mercy, kindness, and love to “believers,” those who profess faith and trust in Him.

Even the faith we use to seek Him in the first place is a grace gift from Him! See Ephesians 2:8-9, especially the part that says in reference to our “saving faith”: “…and that NOT OF YOURSELVES!” Remove the grace of God from this planet and you know what you have left? Hell! The absence of God’s presence and the absence of the influence of His mercy and grace would bankrupt civilization.

A lot of people today speak of karma. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary it means: “the force generated by a person’s actions held in Hinduism and Buddhism to perpetuate transmigration and in its ethical consequences to determine the nature of the person’s next existence.” In it’s broader context it is largely understood to be the equivalent of the common expression “we reap what we sow,” or “what goes around comes around.” Or, in other words, “you get what you deserve.”

Josh Howerton wrote: “Grace is the opposite of karma. KARMA: you get what you deserve GRACE: you get what you don’t deserve.” While it’s impossible to separate the grace of God from ANY life, whether someone is walking with Jesus or professes to be an atheist, the activity of God at work in human life is evident in numerous ways.

My main point today is simply this: you can entrust the outcome of your life to chance (karma), or be assured of your outcome by yielding your life and allegiance to Jesus and by receiving what only He can provide (grace, forgiveness, mercy, newness of life, and an eternity with Him in heaven). To me it’s a no-brainer: I’m hanging with Jesus in this life and the next!

Blessings, Ed 😊

Forgiveness and Transformation

“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” (Romans 12:2 NLT)

God’s design and desire for us is to become a brand-new species of being, one that has never existed before. That’s what Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:17. But how does such a miraculous transformation occur? We must be born again of the Spirit of God; otherwise, we’ll not be enabled to see Jesus for who He is – Messiah, Savior, Lord of all creation. (John 3:3)

But what does this have to do with forgiveness and transformation? Everything!

Imagine waking up from a deep sleep. You don’t recognize your surroundings and it’s dark, very dark. You realize as you become more alert that you are in some kind of structure, but nothing is familiar. You feel your way along until you find what seems to be a door, so you open it only to be blinded by the brilliance of the light. You’ve just been born again!

The doorway to eternal life, is Jesus (John 10:9) and the “key” to opening that door is prayer, having a conversation with Him, receiving the gift of Himself that ushers us into a whole new way of thinking, learning, loving, and living. The key ingredient in that process is forgiveness of our sin.

Forgiveness isn’t simply getting a clean slate from God in order to stay in the darkness from which we’ve just come. Meeting Jesus is walking out of the darkness into the light of His life and love. The cleansing blood of Jesus washes our inner self, freeing us of guilt and shame and filling us with His Holy Spirit. We don’t walk in newness of life with Jesus in our own strength and resource. We’re given a “Helper,” an Advocate, an eternal and powerful Companion who not only empowers and enables us to do and be things we could have never done or been without Him, but He is also the agent of change, renewing and remaking us from the inside out.

We don’t progress in our faith apart from the ministry of the Holy Spirit. His purifying presence allows us to overcome sin, defeat the power of the enemy in whatever form he may attack, and pursue holiness apart from which we’ll never see God (Hebrews 12:14). This transformation doesn’t begin until we’re forgiven and cleansed and made into a suitable dwelling place for our new best Friend, the Lord Jesus.

It also doesn’t continue in and of our own strength and effort. Yes, of course, we have a vital part to play in the process of becoming all the Lord Jesus died to enable us to become, but it’s never independent of the incalculable efforts of God’s Spirit working in, through, and on our behalf.

Forgiveness and transformation, while related, are different inasmuch as they have different purposes. Forgiveness is an ongoing process that is dependent upon our cooperation. There is no forgiveness without confession and repentance, which we addressed in yesterday’s post. But transformation is a gift from God that only He can give.

On some levels it’s like how our physical body works. We “fuel” our body by giving it food that becomes our source of energy, that allows a zillion other things our body does and allows for us to do. While we don’t “fuel” our own transformation, we do contribute to its growth by maintaining a quality and growing relationship with the Lord through the formation of godly disciplines, obedience to His directives, finding our place of corporate worship and service in and through His Body, the Church, and sharing His life and love with those who don’t yet know Him.

Trying to honor God and pursue transformation without first being forgiven is like serving guests food on dirty plates. If our goal is to honor our guests and serve them well, we’ll need to make sure we have clean plates on which to serve them.

We cannot honor the Lord unless and until we serve Him with clean, forgiven, and empowered lives, that ultimately lead to our becoming a whole new creation in Christ Jesus, putting our old, soiled self behind, freeing us to be all God created us to become.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Repentance and Salvation

“For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death.” (2 Corinthians 7:10 NLT)

Without any desire to judge the intent of a person’s heart when they come to Jesus, but based on the words of Paul above, I believe to a large degree the reason a lot of people “wash-out” of their “commitment” to Christ, is their lack of repentance. What is repentance?

Repentance is a change of mind that leads to a change in the direction of a person’s life. It’s a military term that paints the picture of a soldier making an about-face. They’re walking in one direction, then make a 180 degree turn and begin walking in the opposite direction. The implication for those of us who are Jesus followers, we’re walking in an ungodly, disobedient direction in our life, but we repent – by God’s grace and with His help – we allow the Lord to change the direction of our life.

It’s an act of God that is reflected in our attitudes – in the way we think, coupled by a change in the direction of our life. In short, we’re walking away from God, but upon repenting, we are now walking with and toward God, which reflects our desire to submit to His authority in our lives.

The plot thickens when our “sorrow” isn’t for our sin, but because we got caught. Our regret doesn’t lie in our violation of God’s law and the breaking of His heart, but rather in the fact our sin became public. Obviously, it’s a two-pronged process. Yes, of course, we’re embarrassed when news of our addiction becomes known or when our spouse files for divorce or we’re fired from our job for inappropriate behavior.

And often that’s the catalyst for finally getting the help we need, and, as part of that process, seeking forgiveness. That’s legitimate and is not uncommon in a person’s life who genuinely desires to find salvation in Christ. But the truth is, repentance and salvation aren’t simply the way we begin a relationship with Jesus.

Repentance, turning away from our sin and seeking forgiveness and cleansing, is an ongoing process for a child of God. We’re not saved and immediately set free from all sin. We’re forgiven, but sin continues to haunt us. The reality is, the closer we walk with Jesus the more we hate our sin and disobedience, thus the more quickly we repent and seek the Lord’s guidance in getting back on track.

Salvation from sin is an instantaneous event in the sense that every sin past and present is forgiven, and we’re cleansed and freed from the guilt and shame that they’ve caused. And the grace and forgiveness are appropriated for even every future sin. That’s why we need to keep short accounts with God.

John wrote in 1 John 2:1: “My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father.” And in 1 John 1:9 he writes: “But if we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.”

So, the process, as I understand it becomes: when we disobey a clear directive of God; we confess, we agree with God’s estimate of our dwelling on wrong thoughts, harboring wrong attitudes, or committing wrong actions; we seek forgiveness through Christ our advocate; then we repent, we turn from our sin, receive forgiveness and continue our walk in newness of life.

Salvation, as is Sanctification, is an ongoing, life-long journey. Ideally, every time we fall, we rise with greater determination to rely more fully on the Holy Spirit, by going immediately to Him when we sin, learning from our failure, and seeking greater closeness and more continued fellowship with our Savior in and through the ministry of His Holy Spirit.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Belief and Hope

“I have the same hope in God that these men have, that He will raise both the righteous and the unrighteous.” (Acts 24:15 NLT)

As we continue our look into the “couples” of the Bible, today we’ll consider the relationship between hope and belief. While similar in some ways, they stand alone in the emphasis they offer in God’s Word.

Hope focuses on our expectation of a positive outcome in a circumstance over which we have little or no control. We hope the weather is nice for our picnic, or we hope our sports team wins the big game or we hope we’ll one day go to heaven.

In the Bible hope and belief are more closely aligned. For example, I have hope in the soon return of my Savior, the Lord Jesus, but my hope is built upon my belief that the Bible is true and Jesus’ promise to return will happen according to what the Bible teaches.

Belief is a decision I make based on the information I have available. It’s a conviction that informs my life how to live out my belief in real time. It’s a deep conviction based on the reliability and truth of that which I believe.

As it relates to our faith in Christ, our confidence doesn’t rest on the strength of what we believe, but on the character of the One in whom our trust is centered. While our lives are guided by what we believe to be true, if the foundation of our belief is based on a wrong or faulty understanding, our hopes can be dashed when the truth is revealed.

It frightens me to think that the basis of many believers’ faith isn’t Jesus at all. Yes, of course, they “believe” in Him, in the same sense that they believe the earth is round. It’s information that is true, but it doesn’t govern the way they orchestrate their lives. Belief in the Bible refers to that upon which our decisions are based, thus the roadmap for our life.

If Jesus is alive, as He claimed to be after the resurrection, and if He is returning as He promised He would, and if we genuinely believe that with all our hearts, minds, soul, and strength, then every decision we make, every activity in which we engage, every relationship in which we invest time and energy, every word we speak or write, every breath we take, every detail of our life will be motivated and directed by that belief.

Nothing, no detail of our life will be unaffected by the power of that belief. And on the basis of that life altering, life defining belief we have hope – confident expectation that one day sooner than any of us can imagine, in the twinkling of an eye – we’ll be in His holy presence for all eternity.

The reality is, we can’t have one without the other. Hope based on belief in something that isn’t true or isn’t possible isn’t hope, it’s deception. And that’s exactly what Satan delights in having people believe. If Satan can convince me that because I prayed a prayer of confession and repentance and on the basis of that prayer I can live anyway I please, but am eternally secure in my confidence that I’m going to heaven, I’m believing a lie because that’s something the Bible doesn’t teach.

Belief in Jesus doesn’t simply reveal itself in the words that I speak or even the words I pray, but in the lifestyle I adopt that reveals trust in the truth of Scripture coupled with disciplined obedience to a lifestyle devoted to growing in my likeness of Jesus. And please don’t hear what I’m not saying. Just as the words of a prayer don’t save me, neither does a disciplined lifestyle save me. Jesus’ completed work on Calvary is the basis of our salvation.

When we by faith in Christ alone respond to His invitation to be born again and begin a relationship with Him, our belief stirs in our heart to allow the Spirit of God to make needed changes in our speech and behavior. But this is not a means of “earning” our salvation, it’s simply a means of giving visibility to what I believe is taking root in my heart and changing the way I live.

Every good and perfect gift comes from God alone and to Him belongs all glory, honor, and praise. Our changed lives give those with whom we share our belief confidence that the same Savior who is changing us can change them for His sake and to His honor and fame.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Joy and Delight

“The women ran quickly from the tomb. They were very frightened but also filled with great joy, and they rushed to give the disciples the angel’s message.” (Matthew 28:8 NLT)

Joy isn’t the giddiness experienced by a child as they open gifts at Christmas. It’s a deep, abiding satisfaction that gives evidence of the delight of our heart with who Jesus is and what He’s done for us. Joy, in that sense, is a uniquely Christ-centered response that rises up in us and produces emotion that can range from ecstatic jubilance to reverent calmness.

As lovers of the Lord Jesus, we respond to His presence and the gift of His loving sacrifice in different ways. Joy, at least for me, is more an inner realization that God has gifted me in unique and extraordinary ways, as He does every one of His children, that result in varied responses contingent upon where I am in my walk with Him and what else is going on in my life.

Think of the first time you understood Jesus hung on the Cross for you. Remember the moment you yielded your life and allegiance to Him. Being unchurched and ignorant of the Bible’s teachings, when I knelt before Him in contrition and humble acknowledgement that I was a sinner in need of His forgiveness and grace, the joy of His response resulted in almost uncontrollable crying. When I rose to my feet, I literally felt lighter, as if the weight of the world had been lifted from my shoulders.

In retrospect, as I remember how powerfully the Lord touched my heart and life, I can more easily understand why the women who discovered the empty tomb were both frightened and filled with great joy. Any time we’re offered a glimpse into a miracle, it brings fearful emotions, as well it should. Fear isn’t necessarily a negative emotion.

Reverence in the presence of God and His holy activity, on some levels MUST give rise to fear as we ponder our appropriate response. To be disrespectful inasmuch as we downplay or underestimate what God is doing or has done, cheapens and lessons the impact and value of not only what He’s done, but who His is. Perhaps that’s the very reason Jesus taught His disciples and us to always enter prayer with addressing our heavenly Father with honor and reverence.

“Hallowed by Your name” is an instruction that alerts us and should make us mindful that we’re not chumming with our buds but bowing our heart and life before the Master Designer and Creator of all that is, both seen and unseen. This is the glorious God of the Bible, given visibility in and through His Son, our Savior, the Lord Jesus.

Joy is the feeling we have when having been adrift in the ocean for a day and night, the rescue helicopter hovers over us, and our “savior-rescuer” lowers himself into the water and places ropes around us to lift us to safety. Delight is resting in the security of knowing our nightmare has ended and we’re finally on our way home.

In this season of my life the joy of God’s presence is sometimes almost overwhelming. His closeness to me is comforting and satisfying like nothing else I’ve ever experienced in my 75 years on this planet. My delight in being His child, I pray, is evidenced in the priority I give Him in my life, in my marriage, in what I write in these posts, how I treat my family, friends, and neighbors, how I serve Him through the ministry of my local church family, in the investment of my time and resources, and in the deep longing He’s given me to see everyone in my spheres of influence come to know, love, and serve Him as He deserves.

The longer I walk with my Savior the more easily joy is given rise in my spirit, resulting in deep and satisfying delight in His love for me and my love for Him. May you experience joy and delight in your walk with Jesus in this new year in ways you’ve never experienced before.

Blessings, Ed 😊