May 12, 2023
In Acts 9, we learn of a man called Saul of Tarsus, one of the most religious men who ever lived. He could boast, “I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day.” What was his story?
Saul was a devout Jewish man whose family strictly adhered to law and tradition. We see him here in chapter nine on his way to Damascus, seeking to destroy the new Christians who were disrupting the religious world. He was so full of hatred toward Jesus and his followers that he fiercely and doggedly tracked down and persecuted Christians, even going after them outside Jewish territory. He was focused and deadly serious about his mission.
Consider God’s action. Saul was headed toward Damascus, and suddenly he was engulfed by a blinding light from heaven. He was terrified and confused. Why was this happening? Was God trying to make him feel guilt and condemnation? Was this the end of the road for Saul? Was God going to pour down wrath and judgment upon him for persecuting his people? No, God let down the light to get Saul’s attention because he was planning to make a profound and life-changing announcement. As a trembling Saul waited for judgment, he instead heard the voice of mercy. The Lord told Saul that the terrible things he had done to persecute the Christians was forgiven and that all of his sins were covered.
Surely Saul did not see that coming! Picture him lying flat on the ground in the blinding light and hearing the voice of Jesus. Instead of hearing condemnation from a holy God for the path he was on, he heard, “I am Jesus!” There was not a word about Saul’s wickedness. Why? Because the one he persecuted was his greatest friend. The Lord even changed Saul’s name to Paul to cement this permanent change in his mind and in the minds of everyone he knew.
Beloved, this same Jesus offers us the same mercy. Deserving judgment and denunciation, we hear him say, “I am Jesus, your Redeemer.” Thank him this day for the mercy he has shown you.
May 11, 2023
We must once and for all understand what Christ did for us at the cross. He forever took away the sin which separated us from God; from here on, we will always have the right to enter his presence without hesitation. We are accepted in God’s sight. There is not a single thing in his heart against us!
Stop and consider the sublime efficacy of Christ’s blood. We are fully pardoned because the cross cleared us in God’s eyes. We may lose sight of that, but God never does. The veil was torn to allow us to enter directly into God’s presence. He says, “You are accepted! Come boldly to my throne, for you are my beloved.”
Settle this in your heart. If God is satisfied, we should also be satisfied. Is there anything between you and your Father in heaven? You may say, “My heart condemns me! I’ve said and done things that would grieve the Spirit. I feel unworthy, and the heavens seem closed off to me.” To all this, you can answer, “But God is greater than my thoughts or feelings, and he has accepted me!”
Do you hate your sins? Have you confessed them? Do you believe that “that through this Man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins” (Acts 13:38 NKJV)?
Many Christians falter when it comes to accepting forgiveness. They live with unnecessary fear and bondage because they don’t understand the victory of the cross. There is now nothing blocking access to God except our fear and lack of knowledge. When the veil was split, he came out of the holiest of holies to directly commune with you and me.
How incredible! God was so anxious to forgive us that he made himself a sacrifice for our sins. Sin was judged and the offense was removed. Now God can say, “For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more” (Hebrews 8:12). He has closed the distance between us!
God does not desire to impute sin against us. Instead, he seeks to reconcile us to himself. He longs for us to live in the blessedness of knowing the sin question was forever settled at the cross.
May 10, 2023
I believe that ever since the cross, God has had but one great intention for his people, and it will not change until Christ returns in glory. His intention is for us to understand the mystery of the gospel, revealed first to Paul the apostle. “By revelation [God] made known to me the mystery…which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as has now been revealed…by the Spirit…. And to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery…” (Ephesians 3:3-9, NKJV).
What is the “mystery?” It is simply this; Christ’s body is still here on earth! The head is in heaven, but we who love and serve him are his hands and feet and heart, his visible body. Paul emphasizes this in his letters. “For we are members of his body, of his flesh and of his bones” (Ephesians 5:30). “And he is the head of the body, the church…” (Colossians 1:18).
God’s full intention for these last days is that every member of his body, each one of us, must be a true expression of who Christ is. People who don’t know Jesus should be able to see him in us as clearly as if he were here in the flesh. We are called upon to appropriate so much of his character and glory that the world will be filled with hope and will find the answers to their needs.
That is a tall but essential order. It isn’t enough to know Christ. We are called upon to be full and true expressions of him. We must ask ourselves, “Do my actions represent who Christ is? Would Christ, in his physical body, abuse his body? Would he indulge in adultery or other sexual sins? Would he cheat, gossip or lie? Would he try to spread the light with a pocket of darkness in his own heart?”
God tells us to continually keep before our eyes his one great intention, that we as his body honestly and purely reflect who he is. Set your heart on being a true expression of Jesus Christ.
May 9, 2023
There is nothing in the Old Testament quite as strong as the warnings of Paul against affinity with the world.
“Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be my people” (2 Corinthians 6:14-16 NKJV).
In the Old Testament, when God wanted to reveal the power of his presence before the wicked Egyptians, he drew a line of separation. This line divided God’s people in Goshen from the rest of Egypt.
“The Lord will make a difference between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt. So nothing shall die of all that belongs to the children of Israel. For at this time I will send all my plagues to your very heart, and on your servants and on your people, that you may know that there is none like me in all the earth” (Exodus 9:4,14).
God wants everyone to see the difference between those who love him and the rest of the unbelieving world. He wants us to be an example of a delivered, trusting and victorious people.
The reasons for separation today are the same as they were in ancient times. In every generation, God draws a line that shows the stark difference between righteousness and wickedness. Nothing else fully captures the attention of those who disobey and brings them to repentance.
Jesus said, “I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you” (see John 15:19). The world loves its own, but under the New Covenant we have been reborn. We are new creatures in Christ Jesus from a different world. May he help us joyfully embrace this unique and wonderful position! Only those who are truly unmixed with the world, separated unto Christ, have any power to save it. “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If any man loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him” (1 John 2:15).
May 8, 2023
Mental and spiritual self-care is a hot topic. On Instagram, the hashtag “loveyourself” has been used around 42 million times. However, in modern culture, self-care is attached to a “me” mentality. Is there even such a thing then as biblical self-love? Can Christians unselfishly practice self-care?
The answer is a resounding “Yes!” When a new buzzword like “mindfulness” (self-care techniques) crops up in the culture, we think it’s a new idea. However, true biblical self-care is addressed and exampled throughout the New Testament. The approach diverges from that of Eastern religions in that the focus is God-centered, not centered on self.
Romans 12:2 is a core scripture on mindfulness. Paul writes, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Romans 12:2, NKJV).
There it is. If you want to be healthy, begin by turning your attention to pleasing God. In your daily prayer and meditation, ask him, “What truly matters here?” As your mind and spirit align with the Holy Spirit, you can see what matters: spending time with God, serving others with compassion, being present with loved ones and generous with your time and attention, creating a peaceful, positive home, and addressing challenges with the mind and direction of the Holy Spirit. Whatever is important to your life, God will reveal.
When we have the mind of Christ, the Holy Spirit works enthusiastically in harmony with us. In prayer and meditation, my faith and creativity begin to flow. The fruits of the Spirit are more emergent. I am less judgmental and more patient. In re-centering my thoughts on him throughout the day, I am fit to fight the twin enemies of self-criticism and people-pleasing. Most important, I can see the unseen, the wisdom of the Holy Spirit at work in miraculous ways.
Jesus himself understood the power of quiet time, often retreating from the crowds and noise to pray. He knew that most of the action of life takes place in the quietness of the inner man and that spiritual and mental health are foundational. If we are weak and unhealthy, we cannot effectively minister or care for others.
Anchor your mind in the Holy Spirit, and “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7).
May 8, 2023
The New Testament is the story of stories, and it starts off all wrong. Most adventure stories begin with the wondrous “Once upon a time”, but Matthew starts his book with a genealogy. Why in the world would he do that? The greatest story ever told starts like a phone book with a long list of unpronounceable names. This is important, though. What makes this list amazing is that some names belong to people who had sketchy pasts.
One of these names is Rahab from the Old Testament book of Joshua whose act of saving Hebrew spies got her inducted into the hall of faith. “By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies” (Hebrews 11:31, ESV). Not only was she saved, but she married a Jewish man.
Now don’t miss this. Almost every time Rahab’s name is mentioned in both the Old and New Testaments, it says, “Rahab the prostitute.” How would you like that, if every time someone said your name, they included with it the worst season of your life? Can you imagine that act or the time you regretted most was the tag line connected to your name?
What if it looked like this? I’ll use my name so I don’t indict anyone. Tim the thief. Tim the embezzler. Tim the adulterer. Tim the baby aborter. Tim the wife beater. Tim the divorcee. Tim the porn addict. Tim the alcoholic. Tim the unemployed. Think about the label that would be after your name. For Rahab, the label ‘prostitute’ connected her to her past.
If time healed wounds or shame, we wouldn’t need God. Time is not that strong, but God is. There is only one place in the entire Bible where ‘harlot’ or ‘prostitute’ is removed from Rahab’s name. It’s when her name is connected to Jesus in Matthew’s genealogy: “…Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David the king” (Matthew 1:5-6). The only way that the past lets go of us is when it’s confronted with a future in Jesus.
