All Things Work for the Good...

Romans 8: 26 - 29 (NIV): 26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will. 28 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. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

 

    Romans 8:28 is many people's favorite verse in the Bible. What could be more comforting and encouraging than this? But it is important to read it in context and understand what Paul means by it.

    He says it in the context of us not knowing how best to pray. We think we know what is best for us, but we really don't. God, however, does. So his Spirit leads us in our prayers to pray for God's will above our own. This is how Jesus taught us to pray too. And God's will for us is that we become like Christ. Nothing else is God's will for you.

    Paul says God predestined us to become like Jesus. This doesn't mean he only chose a few of us to become Christians, it means he wills that every Christian become like Christ. So everything that happens to us believers, good or bad, is molding us into Christ's image. The sufferings we endure make us like Christ and that is why God allows them. Paul is talking about God's ultimate goal for us: to be glorified -- to be Christ-like. To have the mind of Christ, the humility of Christ, the faith of Christ, the love of Christ.

    Now it us up to us to trust God. To believe that he knows what he is doing. To have faith that he is always up to something good. To believe that he is orchestrating all things in our lives to mold us into the likeness of his son. Not everything that happens to us will be pleasant, but it is all for a purpose. And that purpose is to make us like Jesus.

His Banner Over Me is Love

Song of Songs 2:4 (NIV):  He has taken me to the banquet hall, and his banner over me is love.

   Song of Songs is a beautiful love story between King Solomon and his bride. It celebrates the love between bride and groom. This verse is surely one of the most famous in all of scripture, but what does it mean?

    Its first meaning was that the groom had brought his bride into his banquet room -- literally, "wine house" -- for the celebration of the marriage. They are finally together and the life-long relationship can begin. And he's not some poor peasant, he's the king! He owns the best banquet house in the world. He possesses the finest wine, the best food, and the nicest accommodations that can be had. He has every worldly possession money can buy and he is offering it all to her.

    "And his banner over me is love," she says. A banner was a flag, a standard. It flew over a house to identify who the owner was. When Israel was in the desert, the people would use them to find their homes among all of the tents. Later, royal families would fly them above their homes to signify their identities. True, banners were used as a rallying point for troops in battle, but this is not a battle scene, this is a love scene.

    His love is covering her like a banner. His love is his banner.  It is showing her who she belongs to and that she is safe under his care. It gives her the identity of his name and all of the wealth that goes with that.

    But there is more to this story. It doesn't just celebrate Solomon and his bride, it celebrates Jesus and his bride -- the church. Jesus said he was the bridegroom of the church (Matthew 9:15). See also Ephesians 5:31 - 32 and Revelation 19:7.

    The good news is that Jesus is our very rich groom. He will take us to his banquet table and feast with us. And his banner over us is love. We are safe beneath it and we can find our identity by it. We belong to him and he belongs to us. And others will know that we are Christians because God's love covers us and flows through us now and for all eternity.

Choose You This Day

Joshua 24: 14 - 15 (NIV): 14 "Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. 15 But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."

 

    This is at the end of Joshua's life. He was reminding the people that God had answered their prayers and had brought them to the Promised Land. God had freed them from slavery, parted the Red Sea for them to cross, fed and sustained them through 40 years in the desert, helped them defeat their enemies, given them Jericho and placed them in the land. Now it was up to them to choose whom they would worship.

    Joshua told them to choose between God and the gods of their forefathers. We are still tempted to this day to worship as our families do. If our parents do not fear God, it is a temptation for us to follow their example. This is why Jesus said, "do not think that I came to bring peace on earth, but a sword..." (Matthew 10:34). Jesus said he would cause strife in families because not everyone will choose to worship God alone.

    Some Israelites would be tempted to worship the local, Amorite, gods. These were pagan idols. We are all tempted to follow the culture around us and adopt its attitude toward God and faith. In our culture today, we see many who pursue wealth and fame and pleasure instead of worshiping the true God. The media makes it sound like we are simpletons or bigots if we believe in God and serve him alone. Movies make it look like we are missing out on life if we love God with all of our hearts.

    So whom do you choose? Will you give God all of your heart or will you worship idols and the false gods of your culture? God has given us the right to choose. We must make up our own minds, but we must understand that there are consequences to our decisions. As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.

Blind Bartimaeus Receives His Sight

Mark 10: 46 – 52 (NIV): Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (that is, the Son of Timaeus), was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" Jesus stopped and said, "Call him." So they called to the blind man, "Cheer up! On your feet! He's calling you." Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus. "What do you want me to do for you?" Jesus asked him. The blind man said, "Rabbi, I want to see." "Go," said Jesus, "your faith has healed you." Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.

       Bartimaeus didn't let the noise of the crowd stop him from crying out to Jesus. It was against custom to yell at a rabbi, but he had too so Jesus could hear him in the din of noise on that busy road that day. And Bartimaeus acknowledged that Jesus was the Christ by calling him "Son of David." Don't let the crowd stop you from crying out to God.
    Like Bartimaeus, we don't know how many more chances we have. Jesus was passing through Jericho for the last time, on his way to the cross. When Jesus stopped and called to him, he threw his cloak aside so that it wouldn't slow him down. That coat probably held every possession he owned, but he threw it all away to get to Jesus. Don't let your material possessions come between you and God. Bartimaeus realized that all of his possessions were just pennies in a poor man's pockets compared to the greatness of knowing Christ. Go for broke.
    Why did Jesus ask him what he wanted? Wasn't it obvious? But Jesus wants us to tell him what we want and need. Bartimaeus could have asked for a coin. He showed true faith and asked for what he really needed – his sight. Have faith and tell God what you really need. Don't cheat yourself.
    Finally, after Bartimaeus was healed, he followed Jesus. That's what we should do too.

Humble But Victorious

1 Peter 5:5 – 9 (NIV): All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." 6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 8 Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith.

    Peter pleads with us to be humble. This is the one trait we must possess to be used of God. He cannot use people who are full of pride. (In this case, a proud person is one who says, "I'm doing it my way and I don't care what God wants.") A humble person is submissive to authority. He respects and listens to people who are more mature. A humble person doesn't think he has all the answers. He puts others first, realizing that we're all in this together.
    Then Peter writes, "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." Notice this verse follows his reminding us to be humble. A proud person says he doesn't need God, but a humble person gives God all of his cares, worries and anxiety. A humble person knows he needs God and cries out to him. Go ahead, cry out to God -- he loves you more than you can imagine.
    And while you are at it, ask God for help defeating your enemy the devil. The devil is real - he is our enemy and he is seeking someone to devour. He will steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10). He is like a lion on the prowl. Don't try to outsmart him. Don't ignore him or pretend he doesn't exist. But he is a defeated enemy and he knows it. How do we beat him? Peter says to resist him, standing firm in the faith. James says, “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you.” (James 4:7-8). Paul says to put on "your armor" (Ephesians 6). We defeat him with God's power, not ours. We beat him by resisting his lies and standing firm in our faith. Stand firm, be humble, and hang in there!

Amazing Grace

Romans 5: 6-9 (NIV): You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him!

 

    The verses on the “Roman Road” to salvation are 3:23, 6:23, 5:8, 10:9-10, 10: 13. Since this passage contains the middle verse, you could call it the heart of the Gospel. It tells us that God loves us so much that he came and died for us - even while we were his enemies. He died for us while we were sinners who did not believe in him or even know him. That's an amazing truth - that's amazing grace! What this tells us is that God's love is unconditional. We did not and cannot earn it.

    It is important for us to know this because it reminds us that God loves everyone and we cannot earn more of his love than anyone else. Even while we were under God's wrath, he still loved us enough to die for us. So we should never look down our noses at another person or think that God loves us more. This passage also reminds us to love each other unconditionally, like God does.

    This brings up an interesting question: If we can't make God love us more than he already does, why try? For me, it’s because I want to please him and I want him to be proud of me. I want to build a friendship with him; I want to know him more and more and become more and more like Christ. Hebrews 11 talks about people who show their faith and then says, “Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God.”

    God, like any good parent, loves his children whether they are good or bad, but I want to be a child who is pleasing to him. How about you - are you God's child? Then make him proud!

Delight Yourself in the Lord

Psalm 37: 4 – 9 (NIV): 4 Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. 5 Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: 6 He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. 7 Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. 8 Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret--it leads only to evil. 9 For evil men will be cut off, but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.

    David was seeing something that bothered him. He was seeing wicked men succeed in life. That went against the prevailing thought of the day. He had probably been taught that God would cause you to succeed if he was pleased with you. We still struggle with this idea today – won’t God bless us with success if we trust in him?

    But the world is simply not that black and white. Some people become very successful even though they do not care for God. Some people who love God just can’t seem to get ahead. David encourages us to keep on trusting in God no matter what we see around us. To delight in God is to enjoy him. And not just a little, but enjoy him most of all. This is the heart of the message of the Bible: God wants us to fellowship with him, to love him, to depend on him, to receive our joy from him. When we do this, he will take care of us.

    Waiting patiently for God is trusting in him even when we are not seeing him act on our behalf. We pray to God and tell him our needs, then we wait on him to answer. This is what trust is all about. For one thing, we trust that God knows better than we do what our desires and needs truly are. When he hope in God – and this means we put our trust completely in him – we will inherit “the land”, we will possess his promises. And God promises courage, strength, joy, and above all, salvation.