Tag Archives: Living for Jesus

Justification

Living in the Spirit

June 9, 2022

Scripture Reading: Romans 5:1-5

Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

The Greek word, dikaioó, means The believer is made righteous/justified by the Lord, cleared of all charges (punishment) related to their sins. Moreover, they are justified, “made right, righteous” by God’s grace each time they receive (obey) faith*.

We may think of the word justify meaning to give an acceptable reason for having done something wrong. But this justification is more like the prophet Amos’s plumbline (Amos 7:7), a tool used to make sure, for example, a wall is perfectly straight so that it will be able to last for years withstanding storms and other forces that might destroy an otherwise weak wall. I think that God’s plumbline is always available, and we need to examine ourselves routinely to see if we are following God closely.  

Living for Jesus, a life that is true,
Striving to please Him in all that I do;
Yielding allegiance, glad-hearted and free,
This is the pathway of blessing for me.

Refrain:
O Jesus, Lord and Savior, I give myself to Thee,
For Thou, in Thy atonement, didst give Thyself for me;
I own no other Master, my heart shall be Thy throne;
My life I give, henceforth to live, O Christ, for Thee alone**.

Prayer: Lord, create in us clean hearts so that we can see clearly how to live in your justification. Amen.

*https://biblehub.com/greek/1344.htm

First verse and Refrain of the hymn Living for Jesus by Thomas O. Chisholm see at https://hymnary.org/text/living_for_jesus_a_life_that_is_true

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

To Life

Eastertide

April 24, 2022

Scripture Reading: John 20:19-31

But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, ‘We have seen the Lord.’ But he said to them, ‘Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.’

A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.’ Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.’

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name. –John 20:24-31

The Greek word for life is zōḗ* and it means—life (physical and spiritual). All life (2222 /zōḗ), throughout the universe, is derived – i.e. it always (only) comes from and is sustained by God’s self-existent life. The Lord intimately shares His gift of life with people, creating each in His image which gives all the capacity to know His eternal life.

Life is a precious gift from God not to be taken for granted and not to be wasted. Our lives are the product of God’s love and we are called to live into and through that love. It was best illustrated in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus the Christ. His life is the model for our living in bad times and in good, in the doubt of Thomas and the certainty of our author, John. I rather like the Hebrew take on life as played out in the musical Fiddler on the Roof describes life thusly,

  1. Our great men have written words of
    Wisdom to be used
    When hardship must be faced;
    Life obliges us with hardship
    So the words of wisdom
    shouldn’t go to waste.
  • God would like us to be joyful
    Even though our hearts lie panting on the floor;
    How much more can we be joyful,
    When there’s really something
    To be joyful for**.

God is with us in spirit and in truth, loving us completely, and holding us to the high expectation of building a world ruled by God’s love.

Prayer: Lord, on this first Sunday after Easter, grant us the guidance to understand the wisdom of those who shared your history in word and in deed and the perseverance to take joy in your service no matter how stressful it becomes. Amen.

*https://biblehub.com/greek/2222.htm

**source: https://www.lyricsondemand.com/soundtracks/f/fiddlerontherooflyrics/tolifelyrics.html

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Communing with God

Lent

March 15, 2022

Scripture Reading:

Isaiah 55:1-9

Seek the Lord while he may be found,
   call upon him while he is near;
let the wicked forsake their way,
   and the unrighteous their thoughts;
let them return to the Lord, that he may have mercy on them,
   and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
   nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
   so are my ways higher than your ways
   and my thoughts than your thoughts. –Isaiah 55:6-9

When can the Lord not be found? When is God not nearby? My experience tells me that I am the one who is lost, and I am the one who has pulled back from God. For two or three months after my mother died, I said my nightly prayers and got the sense that they were not getting past the ceiling. Grief does that to people. Finally, one evening as I prayed, I had the great sense that the very heavens had opened, and my prayers had not only transcended the ceiling but had indeed reached all the way to God’s abode. I also hold tightly to the scripture Romans 8:26, Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words.

On the other hand, I am guilty, at times, of wanting God’s ways to be my ways and wonder why God does not share my logic. To enjoy the abundant life the Lord designed for us we must seek the Lord not only in our prayers but also in our study and sharing with other people of faith. The challenge with that is we can invest more time in trying to convince others that our ways are God’s ways until we, like the first-century Pharisees, perceived God’s ways that Jesus modeled as a threat to the more comfortable ways we have established.

Prayer: Lord, create in us clean hearts and right spirits to incorporate your ways of being into our ways of being. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Living Savior

Living in the Spirit

July 25, 2021

Scripture Reading: John 6:1-21

When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, got into a boat, and started across the lake to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. The lake became rough because a strong wind was blowing. When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the lake and coming near the boat, and they were terrified. But he said to them, ‘It is I; do not be afraid.’ Then they wanted to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the land towards which they were going.

Something unusual happened on a body of water at night in a storm, involving Jesus’s walking on water. It is recorded in three of the gospels*. Another story is reported that Jesus was asleep in a boat, a storm arose, and he quieted the water. The disciples express fear of the weather in these stories, causing Jesus to question their faith as he calms the storms. What are we to make of this? Why were the stories significant enough to appear so often?

The past eighteen months have felt like an out-of-control storm or two with a pandemic and a messy election hitting at the same time. We have all longed for a superpower to calm the waters, right our life’s ships, and provide smooth sailing during these challenges. Jesus had presented a fresh and compelling way of being among his followers. However, it was not accepted by the powers-that-be. Therefore, following Jesus was dangerous at times. Doing the right thing, doing justice right is always tricky when the principalities and powers are threatened. Paul describes it this way in Ephesians 6:12 For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

We must remember this:

I serve a risen Savior, He’s in the world today
I know that He is living, whatever men may say
I see His hand of mercy, I hear His voice of cheer
And just the time I need Him He’s always near
He lives (He lives), He lives (He lives), Christ Jesus lives today
He walks with me and talks with me
Along life’s narrow way
He lives (He lives), He lives (He lives), Salvation to impart
You ask me how I know He lives?
He lives within my heart

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for your presence and guidance as we attempt to sail the seas of life. Amen.

*Also see Mark 6:45-56; Matthew 8:23–27; Matthew 14:22-33; Mark 4:35-41; Luke 8:22–25

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Inbirthing of Faith

Living in the Spirit

June 3, 2021

Scripture Reading:
2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1

But just as we have the same spirit of faith that is in accordance with scripture—‘I believed, and so I spoke’—we also believe, and so we speak, because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus, and will bring us with you into his presence. Yes, everything is for your sake, so that grace, as it extends to more and more people, may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God. –2 Corinthians 4:13-15

The word “believe” bothers me. In religious circles, it is associated with faith. However, “believe” has gained a quality of what one thinks is the truth until it is proven not to be. Our ancestors believed the world was flat until they discovered it was not. Explorers sailed out to sea on faith that the unknown was worth knowing. Abram, identified as an early monotheist, left the world with which he was well acquainted in search of what he did not know. Hebrews 11 describes the history of such faith among God’s followers.

The following is an excerpt from Strong’s Concordance regarding the word believe (my emphasis added):

pisteúō (from 4102 /pístis, “faith,” derived from 3982 /peíthō, “persuade, be persuaded”) – believe (affirm, have confidence); used of persuading oneself (= human believing) and with the sacred significance of being persuaded by the Lord (= faith-believing). Only the context indicates whether 4100 /pisteúō (“believe”) is self-serving (without sacred meaning), or the believing that leads to/proceeds from God’s inbirthing of faith*.

Paul’s letter tells us that our belief must be wrapped in the knowledge provided by the spirit of faith. Therefore, we, too, must carefully seek the Lord’s guidance based on God’s inbirthing of faith and not as a way of serving ourselves. A local church many years ago posted this on its marque: If you do not live it, you do not believe it. That advice has served me well. However, that advice must be coupled with discernment regarding whether we believe something because it serves us well or is vital to God’s plan.

Prayer: Lord, flood our world with your inbirthing of faith. Amen.

*https://biblehub.com/greek/4100.htm

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

They Will Know We Are Christians by Our Love

Eastertide

April 20, 2021

Scripture Reading: Acts 4:5-12
The next day their rulers, elders, and scribes assembled in Jerusalem, with Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. When they had made the prisoners stand in their midst, they inquired, ‘By what power or by what name did you do this?’ Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, ‘Rulers of the people and elders, if we are questioned today because of a good deed done to someone who was sick and are asked how this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you, and to all the people of Israel, that this man is standing before you in good health by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead. This Jesus is
“the stone that was rejected by you, the builders;
   it has become the cornerstone.”
There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved.’

My heart breaks a little every time I see a social media post or other media linking Christianity to hate or privilege or prosperity. I find myself not using the word Christian instead choosing to use Christ-followers. I recently read an article, sorry I cannot cite it, that chastises those of us who are giving up on that word of identity. We do need to own who we are and whose we are.  If that is the case, we need to be who Christ calls us to be and do what Christ calls us to do. Every word and every deed playing out in our lives needs to reflect the image of God in us, the truth of God with us, and the hope of Christ’s vision of a world ruled by love. Micah 6:8 describes this attitude well:

He has told you, O mortal, what is good;
   and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
   and to walk humbly with your God?

Justice and kindness both have the quality of balance. Justice denotes equality and equity. Kindness* sometimes translated mercy, extends to the lowly, needy and miserable a hand up to bring them in sync with the fulness of life. Humility is the fulcrum that makes justice and kindness possible.

Prayer: Lord, help all know we are Christians by our love. Amen.

*https://biblehub.com/hebrew/2617.htm

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Eternity is Started

Kingdom Building

September 27, 2019

Scripture Reading: 1 Timothy 6:6-19

pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith; take hold of the eternal life, to which you were called and for which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses….

As for those who in the present age are rich, command them not to be haughty, or to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but rather on God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, generous, and ready to share, thus storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of the life that really is life. –1 Timothy 6:11b-12, 17-19

The phrase take hold of the eternal life is written in present tense as something we should do right now. The case can be made that followers of God have been working toward the fulfillment of the Kingdom of God since Adam and Eve left the garden. Jesus, however, made it clear that ushering in the Kingdom of God is our prime directive, if I can borrow language from Star Trek. The scripture above gives us behaviors that will help us in the work necessary to complete this assignment.

Righteousness equals justice and is visible in our everyday relationships as individuals, families, communities of faith, and governmental entities. While we think we have come a long way in the area of justice, we have a long way to go. Psalm 98.9 tells us that at the presence of the Lord, for he is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with equity. Part of our job is to work toward that equity for all people.

We do that work through love, endurance, gentleness but then the writer of Timothy uses language we associate with violence Fight the good fight of the faith. The type of fighting I believe the writer is talking about is the perseverance necessary to love the unlovable, to endure at the side of the oppressed until they are freed to be who God create them to be, and to do that all in a gentle manner—quite a challenge. He also tells the rich to be rich in good works. That applies to all who are rich in the love of God.

Prayer: God of the Past, Present, and Future, thank you for the opportunity to work toward your kingdom. Give us the strength and courage to continue that journey in the chaos of our world today. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.