Monthly Archives: December 2014

Endure in Faith by Looking to Jesus

31 Wednesday Dec 2014

Posted by in Boasting in Weaknesses, Call to the Cross, Edification, Encouragement, Exhortation, Faith, The Believing 21st Centruy American Woman

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“And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.” 1 Peter 5:10-11

Jesus lived and died believing God, and so should we. Jesus lived by the truth that “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). For example, it was His belief in the faithfulness of His Father to answer His prayers, that motivated Him to forego the luxury of sleep, in exchange for hours of uninterrupted prayer with God (Luke 6:12). It was also the Lord’s faith in God that sustained Him for forty days of fasting and testing in the wilderness (Luke 4:1-2). It was Jesus’ trust in God’s wisdom to ordain His cross-suffering and His trust in God’s power to deliver Him through resurrection, which gave Him the ability to submit to God’s will and endure the horrors of Roman crucifixion for His people. Jesus endured all of the afflictions of His earthly life and especially the afflictions that He suffered on the cross by believing in the promises of God.

The promises that Jesus relied upon throughout His life are found in the Old Testament Scriptures. All the books from Genesis to Malachi (the Old Testament) contain promises that God specifically made to the Messiah, who was the long awaited suffering servant of God (Isaiah 52:13- 53:11). For an example in Psalm 16:10 we read, “For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption.” In this verse, we see that God had promised Jesus He would neither abandon His soul to Sheol; that is, the grave, hell, or the pit; nor allow His Son’s physical body to decay in the grave after He died physically. It was Jesus’ belief in God’s ability and willingness to keep this promise (and other promises similar to it) that enabled Him to humble Himself in faith and become “…obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:8).

When Jesus was on the cross He was thinking about God’s word. We know this because while on the cross, Jesus quoted from the Scriptures. Eyewitnesses of His crucifixion reported that when Jesus was being crucified, He cried out with a loud voice “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34). This quote is taken from Psalm 22:1 where the death, burial, and resurrection of the Christ was foretold. From this, we learn that when the Lord felt most troubled in His Spirit, He held most tightly to His Father’s promises. We should be mindful that Jesus’ confidence in the faithful fulfillment of the promises of God did not diminish the painful realities of His crucifixion. Jesus really bled, really hurt, and really died on the cross. His trust in God to raise Him from the dead did not belittle His cross-work. Conversely, it magnified it. Christ’s reliance on the promises of God throughout His life, and especially on the cross, magnifies the truth that we also can rely on God’s Word throughout the duration of our lives, and especially in the midst of our own afflictions. Since the Son of God was enabled to endure the agonies of the cross through His faith in the promises of God; we are assured that we will be enabled to endure in the obedience of our own faith, in the midst of our lesser trials, by trusting God and by relying on His promises.

If we truly desire to see God transform our lives, we must endure in our faith in God. We need to look to Jesus “…the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross…” (Hebrews 12:2); and be strengthened in our resolve to believe God. We must choose to persevere in our belief in God’s power to transform us, regardless of the many complex difficulties- which may be present in our lives. We need to rely on God’s ability and faithfulness to do all that He has said He would do for us, in us, and through us. God has commanded His people to believe Him. In all things- throughout the trials and afflictions of our live-  we must remember the promise of God that “…after you [we] have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.” And, it is for this reason that we can all say, “To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen“

We Must Be Firm in Our Faith

30 Tuesday Dec 2014

Posted by in Boasting in Weaknesses, Call to the Cross, Exhortation, Faith, The Sovereignty of God

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“If you are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all.” Isaiah 7:9

“We must endure in our faith; in our belief and our trust in God. For the Scripture says, “…My righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in Him” (Hebrews 10:38). We must endeavor to believe God and trust that He is always working all things (i.e., all the circumstances, all the relationships, and all the events of our lives) out for our good and His glory, even when this is difficult to do. We must trust God all the time – in the midst of seemingly overwhelming personal weaknesses, broken relationships, and even shameful pasts. We must stand on the solid rock of the promise of God: that He causes “…all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose…” (Romans 8:28).

Believing that God will cause all things to work out for our good and His glory can be difficult when those all things include abandonment, abortion, abuse, addictions, betrayal, chronic pain, divorce, mental illness, the shame of sexual and physical assault, or the insecurity that results from prolonged emotional abuse. But, regardless of how difficult it may be for us to understand how God will overcome our painful realities and transform us through them; the Lord still calls us to believe that He can and that He will do all that He has said He would do for us. Only He expects that we believe in Him. For we know that He has said, “…without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him” (Hebrews 11:6). Therefore, we must discipline ourselves to trust God and rely on His ability to work out His good will in our lives – no matter how impossible this may seem to be to us. In other words, we must be firm in our faith. For Isaiah 7:9 warns us, “If you are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all.”

Taken from Walking in Newness of Life: Experiencing the power of God in Resurrection by Identifying with Christ in His Death and Burial, pp. 95-96

Trust God More Than You Trust Yourself

26 Friday Dec 2014

Posted by in Exhortation, The Believing 21st Centruy American Woman, Walking in Newness of Life

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“Sometimes, we may feel as though we cannot trust anyone except ourselves. However, we cannot even trust ourselves as much as we can trust God. After all, our hearts can deceive us. Sometimes, we believe what we want to believe because it is easier to believe a lie than it is to believe a painful truth. We often believe what we think needs to be true, depending on how we feel, and despite what we know to be true. For example, how many of us have ignored the obvious unfaithfulness of a friend, because we could not bear the thought of losing the friendship? In those cases, we ignore the truth to our own detriment; and thus prove that we cannot trust ourselves as much as we can trust God.

Furthermore, we cannot trust ourselves, as much as we can trust God because we are fallible. That we are fallible means that we can make mistakes; that we are subject to error. Sometimes we make mistakes out of blind or willful ignorance. At other times, we make an error in judgment because we, simply, do not know what is best; for, as humans we are limited in our knowledge. We frequently mistake the motives or meanings of the words and actions of other people. And, often, our past situations and relationships obscure our ability to perceive our present realities (our relationships, situations, and circumstances) accurately. This is one reason that the Bible warns us that we cannot even trust our own hearts. God’s word says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). Instead of trusting in our own hearts, we should learn to trust God to give us the wisdom that we need for all of the relationships, situations, and circumstances in our lives. We can trust God in all of these things because, unlike us, God is infallible (that is, God is not capable of making mistakes or being wrong).”

Taken from Walking in Newness of Life: Experiencing the power of God in Resurrection by Identifying with Christ in His Death and Burial, pp. 29-30.

God Always Keeps His Word- So We must Trust Him

22 Monday Dec 2014

Posted by in Testimony, The Believing 21st Centruy American Woman, The Nature of God, Walking in Newness of Life

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“God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?” Numbers 23:19

Trusting in God is a necessary means to the end of experiencing the many graces of walking in new life in Christ. God is the only sure foundation for our lives, and if we are going to walk in newness of life, we must know and believe (deep in our hearts) that we can always trust God. After all, our new life is completely dependent on the trustworthiness of God to change us and make us holy. Of course, we begin to know that we can trust God when we start to think about God in the right way (as we considered Saturday). However, there is more to trusting God than simply acknowledging that He is real and that He is holy, even demons do that (Luke 4:33-34; James 2:19). Truly trusting God requires understanding that God is the only person Who is always worthy of our trust, and also understanding why God is the only person that is always worthy of our trust. Trusting God also requires understanding that we cannot even trust ourselves as much as we trust God.

Often, women who have been disappointed by people that they have put their trust in, feel as though they cannot trust anyone, including God. Perhaps, you are one of those women. I use to be one of those women. If you are, then this Scripture may help you, as it once helped me: “God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?” (Numbers 23:19). That Scripture is very interesting, is it not? In it, we read that ‘God is not a man that He should lie’ – as if to say that all men lie. The Scripture also says that ‘God is not a son of man, that He should change His mind’ – as if to say all men change their minds. It is probably for these two reasons that, in John 2:24-25, we read about Jesus that He “… Did not trust himself unto them, for that he knew all men, and because he needed not that anyone should bear witness concerning man; for He Himself knew what was in man” (John 2:24-25). The Numbers passage above ends by asking a very good question regarding the trustworthiness of God: “Has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?” Personally, I think that this question is the only question that matters when it comes to whether or not we can trust God. We must ask ourselves, “Has God always done what He said He would do?” If the answer to that question is no (which it, emphatically, is not) then we should not trust God. However, if the answer to that question is yes (which it, emphatically, is) then, we must trust God.

Christianity Is about Divine Transformation, Not Self-reformation

20 Saturday Dec 2014

Posted by in Encouragement, Pauline Theology, Power Paragragh, Reformed Theology, Salvation, The Believing 21st Centruy American Woman

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Walking in newness of life is about glorifying God and becoming holy. We do this by living our lives in the conscious reality of the awesome holiness of God revealed to us in His Word and through His Son and our Lord Jesus. As we  live our lives in the conscious reality of the awesome holiness of God, we will be changed by the glorious reality of who God is.  For, Christianity is all about God making people holy by allowing them to see the holiness of God in the person of Jesus Christ (Romans 8:28-29; 2 Corinthians 3:18). As we live life in the conscious,  awareness of the most holy, all-powerful, perfectly moral, exceedingly excellent, resplendent and glorious Divine Being (who is our Creator God and the Sustainer of our lives) we will become progressively holy (i.e., set apart to God) in all of our thinking, speaking, and behavior.  Both our salvation and our sanctification are the work of God. That is why I write Christianity is about divine transformation, not self-reformation.

Much Given – Much Required

19 Friday Dec 2014

Posted by in Edification, Encouragement, Exhortation, Power Paragragh, The Believing 21st Centruy American Woman

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“Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.” Luke 12:48

There is a sense in which all man-kind has been given a measure of grace from God- for which all man-kind will be required to give an accounting to God.  All of us were created with the abilities of thought, emotion, and expression through language; so that all of us could know God, love God, and worship God. In other words, all humans were given the basic abilities needed to glorify God. Even so, Christians have been given a greater measure of God’s grace. Therefore, we will be required to give a greater accounting to God for that which He has given us. God has regenerated our mental and emotional abilities; He has given us the eyes that are necessary for recognizing the indescribable worth of God in His holiness. He has given us the renewed abilities necessary for responding to His indescribable worth in loving adoration and worship of Him. Believers have been reconciled to God, and “… have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator” (Colossians 3:10). So you see, we (Christians) are the ones who have been given much. Therefore, with everything in us and with everything that has been entrusted to us, we should make much of God.  For we know that the Day in which we will give an accounting to God for what He has given to us is fast upon us, and we also know that  “Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.”