Colin S. Smith's Blog, page 21

The Gospel is for All Kinds of People, So Why Not You?

For this purpose I was appointed a herald and an apostle—I am telling the truth, I am not lying—and a true and faithful teacher of the Gentiles (1 Tim. 2:7, NIV).

Paul was “appointed a herald and an apostle… to the Gentiles.” “Gentiles” means all the nations of the world outside of Israel. It’s hard for us to grasp how astonishing this was in the early church. God made a covenant with Israel so, to many people, the God of the Bible was the God of Israel. When Paul says “I was appointed an apostle to the Gentiles”, he has to add “I am telling the truth, I am not lying.”

Paul’s Missionary Strategy

Paul had three roles throughout his life as a missionary:

a.) a herald—wherever he went, he proclaimed the gospel.

b.) an apostle—a pioneer sent to plant churches where they did not exist.

c.) a teacher of the true faith. He established the church by teaching truth and refuting error.

Today, there are millions of people who would say that Christianity is the religion not of the Jews, but of “the West.” But gospel churches take their stand with Paul and say, “The good news is for all nations.” Our calling is to herald the true faith to all nations. Why?

Preach the gospel to all people because Christ died for all people.

This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men–the testimony given in its proper time” (1 Tim. 2:3-6).

This is a marvelous statement of God’s redeeming purpose in Jesus Christ. And there is an important discussion about what Paul means when he says that “God wants all men to be saved” and that “Christ gave himself as a ransom for all men.” Does “all” mean “every single person”? Or does “all” mean “all kinds of people”?

People come to different conclusions on this, but I’m convinced that “all” means “all kinds of people.” And I believe that for three reasons:

1. That’s what “all” means in the beginning of 1 Timothy.

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people (1 Tim. 2:1).

God does not expect us to pray for every single person in the world, but to pray for all kinds of people in the world.

2. The Bible never suggests every single person will be saved.

On the Last Day, some will enter everlasting life while others go to their everlasting destruction (Matt. 25:46).

3. The word “ransom” in verse 6 means the payment of a price.

If Christ paid for the sins of “every single person,” hell would be filled with people whose sins had already been paid for.

That’s why I believe that when Paul says “all” he means “all kinds of people” and not “every single person.” That leads to this wonderful application: God wants “all kinds of people” to be saved. Christ gave his life to ransom all kinds of people. There will be people like you in heaven, so why not you?

“All People” Means You

In Heaven, there will be people with the highest degrees and the greatest minds, and there will be people who never learned to read or write. There will be people who earned millions of dollars, and people who lived all their lives in abject poverty. There will be people from stable families and people from dysfunctional families.

There will be people with your personality type in heaven—so why not you? There will be people from your race, people who speak your language, so why not you? There will be people who were once caught in every kind of vice known to mankind, but have been redeemed by the blood of Christ, so why not you?

“There is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man, Christ Jesus” (1 Tim. 2:5), so that means that Christ is the mediator for you. God wants people like you to be saved. Christ gave His life as a ransom for people like you.

Why not come to Christ and trust Him as your Redeemer today? If you come to Christ, He will never turn you away.

The gospel fires missions because Christ died for all. If you believe that all roads lead to God, there is no reason for world mission. People can find their own way. But Paul says that there is one mediator between God and man. If there is one mediator, there must be one gospel. If there is one gospel, it must be for all people.

Therefore, let’s renew our commitment to a ministry of the Word and prayer on a global scale. That’s the passion of a gospel-centered church.

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Photo: Pixabay
This article is adapted from Pastor Colin’s sermon, “Gospel Ministry”, from his series, 10 Distinctives of a Gospel-Centered Church.

How Two Midwives’ Faithfulness Bore Fruit—and Yours Can, Too

From the moment they deliver their babies, loving parents want to give their children what is best. They work to build homes that are spiritually grounded, physically safe, and emotionally secure. They strive to establish families that bear fruit. But even the safest, happiest, and most fruitful families face a fearsome threat: an enemy who seeks to destroy them.

It’s been this way since the curse in the Garden, when the Lord prophesied that the seed of the woman would crush the head of the serpent (Gen. 3:15). Ever since, Satan has wanted to kill the Messiah and is always stalking the seed of the woman.

Pharaoh was one of Satan’s pawns in this process. Imagine the threat children faced under the king of Egypt’s ruthless reign. Exodus 1 describes Pharaoh’s fear that the increasing numbers of Israelites were “too many and too mighty” (v. 9). He feared their growing power and the potential for a male Hebrew leader to rise up against him. According to his evil plan to constrict and restrict Hebrew lives, this tyrranical king wickedly enslaved them and ordered the first anti-Semitic holocaust: the abortion of every male born to a Hebrew woman (Ex. 1:11-16).

The good news is that no threat from an earthly sovereign can ever thwart the sovereign will of God. According to God’s good plan, two faithful Hebrew midwives courageously honored him by preserving the baby boys’ lives. Their faithfulness to deliver human life bore fruit with eternal significance for the deliverance of all God’s people. In their story is a promise for you to believe today: Your faithfulness can bear fruit according to God’s will.

Two Ways Faithfulness Bears Fruit

 

1. God honors those who honor him.

But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but let the male children live… So God dealt well with the midwives (Ex. 1:17-20).

The midwives, Shiphrah and Puah, clearly honored God’s will more than Pharaoh’s. Their courage is commendable. By refusing to murder babies, they valued life as God does, and he gave them honorable mention in the pages of Scripture. Isn’t it fascinating that throughout the entire book of Exodus, no reigning king of Egypt is ever named, but the midwives are named in the first chapter?

Arrogant Pharaoh may have seen Shiphrah and Puah as nothing more than lowly slaves with a messy job to do. Surely a majestic monarch would not envy their humble position, poised before the Hebrew women sweating on the birthstools, hands ready to deliver life through the painful, groaning journey of birth. But God saw them, knew them by name, and called them. “Shiphrah [“beautiful”] and Puah [“favored”], your faithfulness matters to me. I have planned to use the work you are doing, and my will cannot be thwarted.” God had called them according to his sovereign purpose to deliver human lives. Ligon Duncan says,

Without those faithful women, the Messiah would not have come. Their refusal to bow to the genocidal plans of this tyrant was an integral component in bringing about the line of promise, succession, and even the bondage of Egypt, so that the Messiah of God would eventuate in this world born of Israel.1

What incredible fruit was borne from the midwives’ faithfulness! When you are going about your work, however humble or messy it may seem, the Lord sees you and calls you by name. Believer, you are beautiful and favored in God’s sight.

When you face a moral dilemma and choose to honor God, he will honor you. He may even use your faithful work to point the way to eternal life in Jesus Christ.

2. God blesses those who fear him.

And the people multiplied and grew very strong. And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families (Ex. 1: 20-21).

The midwives’ fear of holy God fueled their obedience. What was the immediate result? God’s people multiplying. God’s people growing stronger. God’s people bearing the fruit of the womb and establishing families. It must have seemed like things were going really well for God’s people—like he was preserving them as previously promised to Abraham (Gen. 12). But consider what else followed the midwives’ faithful actions: “Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, ‘Every son that is born to the Hebrews you shall cast into the Nile…’” (Ex. 1:22). The midwives had foiled Pharaoh’s Plan A to wipe out the nation of Israel, but this didn’t seem to stop him from forging ahead with Plan B.

Sometimes things get worse before they get better, and God’s blessing doesn’t always feel like a reward. Even after Pharaoh died, the Israelites still “groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help” (Ex. 2:23). Shouldn’t God’s promised blessing have arrived by now? Did he even hear them anymore? Sometimes faith falters, and you get tired of crying out for God’s help. Obeying God can seem futile when it doesn’t bring immediate freedom.

When you don’t see the fruit of your faithfulness, believe the promise of Exodus 2:24-25: “And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. God saw the people of Israel—and God knew.” God sovereignly saw Shiphrah and Puah, and he sovereignly knew. He knew perfectly what every one of his people needed most: rescue. His greatest blessing was not the temporary reward of babies to hold, or multiplying numbers of people, or strength in those numbers. No. God poured out his greatest blessing through the preservation of one son.

Through the saving of Moses and the preservation of his family line came the ultimate rescuer for sinners, Jesus Christ. On the cross, God poured out his greatest blessing through the sacrifice of his one and only son. He is the only one who preserves you today and will endure with you for all eternity.

Your faithfulness to the Lord is not futile. Just as God saw and knew and named his servants, Shiphrah and Puah, he sees and knows you. Through whatever work he has called you to do, God plans to use your faithfulness for his glory. You can bear fruit by serving God’s work of re-birth—the multiplying of new believers. You can bear fruit by serving God’s work to build his church—the strengthening of God’s people. Your life can bear increasing likeness to Christ, the rescuer whose victory over sin and death has already crushed the head of the serpent. Though Satan still seeks to destroy your faith, his work is futile. Nothing can thwart the sovereign will of God to bless and preserve your life in Jesus Christ.

 

Photo: Pixabay
1. Ligon Duncan, “The Midwives, Who Feared God”, Resources-Sermons, Reformed Theological Seminary, accessed October 10, 2020, https://rts.edu/resources/the-midwives-who-feared-god/.

 

A Gospel-Centered Church is a Praying Church

Gospel ministry is ministry in which we share Christ’s passion for the world. The gospel did not come to us so that it could end with us. Christ trusted it to us so that we could bring it to others. A gospel-centered church is a missional church with a passion to bring the good news of Jesus Christ to all people. And this mission begins with prayer.

The church’s ministry of prayer is one of the themes of 1 Timothy 2. Paul speaks about the place of prayer in public worship. When the congregation gathers, we are to bring requests, prayers and intercession with thanksgiving. Committing to intercessory prayer in public worship is increasingly out of fashion. But God has given this ministry to the church. If Christians do not pray for the world, who will?

Prayer Reflects God’s Heart for the World

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people… (1 Tim. 2:1)

Paul clearly does not mean that we are to pray for each of the 7.8 billion people in the world. That would be impossible. When Paul says that we are to pray for “all,” he means “all kinds of people.” Philip Ryken describes how the public prayers of the church should have a “global perspective.”

They should include the great issues of the day and the vast nations of the world. Intercession should be made for renewal, revival, and reformation in the church… [and] for missionaries, evangelists, and church planters. The sufferings of the persecuted church and the desperation of unsaved humanity should be brought weekly before the throne of grace. [1]

In verse 8, there seems to be a strange jump when Paul speaks about men arguing and disputing. But notice that Paul is still speaking in relation to the prayer ministry of the local church: “I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling” (v. 8). The ministry of prayer flows from the atoning death of Jesus. It is our sacred trust and it must not be hindered by arguing or disputing.

A gospel-centered church is not about us; it is about the gospel. God “desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim. 2:3-4). So, when we gather, our public prayer can reflect God’s heart for the world.

Pray for Those in Authority

…for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way (1 Tim. 2:2).

All the rulers in Paul’s time were pagans, so it is striking that Paul says Christians should pray for these pagan rulers with thanksgiving! Imagine praying for Nero with thanksgiving!

For us today, this means that we are to pray for our president, our senators, and our representatives. We are to pray for those who hold public office, whether we voted for them or not, and we are to do this with thanksgiving.

Notice what we are to pray for those in government: that we may “live a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way” (1 Tim. 2:2). Our objective is not that politicians will change society. It is that we should live in peace so that the gospel will change society.

The Bible does not encourage us to put high hopes in human government. We do not pray that the government will lead us into godliness. Only the gospel can do that, and the gospel is not trusted to the government; it is trusted to the church. God’s purpose for government is that there should be stability and peace.

I thank God for all those who are called to serve in public life. We need more Christians in politics—a high calling for our most able people. But it is not the calling of the church.

The church is not a campaigning organization for social or political change. Our calling is gospel ministry that changes human lives—not by the imposition of human laws, but by the regeneration of human hearts. Thank God that politicians write laws that restrain evil. But that’s all the law can do—restrain evil. Christ pours out grace, faith, and love. Our hope is in Christ changing human hearts through the gospel.

Philip Ryken explains the connection between prayer and peace:

Christians who do not pray for their political leaders tend to disturb the peace. They are cynical about their political opponents and rejoice when they fall into disgrace. Since cynicism about the government is so prevalent in the evangelical church today, we may well conclude that Christians are not always diligent in prayer for people in authority. [2]

If we pray for our leaders in the nation or church, it will affect the way we speak or write about them. You can disagree with the people for whom you pray, but you will not be cynical or unkind about them. You will pray for God’s blessing on them. You will rejoice in any success that God gives to them. This kind of praying is good, and it pleases our God and Savior.

Men, Don’t Be Passive in Prayer

I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing (1 Tim. 2:8, NIV).

The ministry of prayer is a privilege given to men and women. But Paul is calling men to take the lead here. Women have often excelled in this ministry. Paul says to the men, “Don’t be passive here. I want you to lead in prayer.” Here is what God is calling us to do in verse 8:

1. Lift up holy hands. 

You can’t pray effectively as long as you are holding onto a sin or grudge. The only way to pray is to come before God in faith and repentance in the name of Jesus Christ, who alone has clean hands and a pure heart. He is at the right hand of the Father, and He is there for you. You can pray because of Him.

2. Pray without anger. 

Divided churches cannot advance the gospel. Christians in dispute with each other cannot accomplish much in mission. Husbands are to treat their wives with gentleness and respect so that nothing will hinder their prayers (1 Pet. 3:7). Our Lord tells us: If you come to pray and remember something between you and your brother, go away and put it right first (Matt. 5:23).

3. Pray with faith. 

The word translated “disputing” is the word from which we get the English word “dialogue”—a conversation with two voices. It can mean argument or doubt. So, pray without a second voice! In other words, pray with faith. Don’t be double-minded.

Paul says, “There is one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all men” (1 Tim. 2:5). If there is one mediator, there must be one gospel. If there is one gospel, it must be for all people. Therefore, let’s renew our commitment to a ministry of prayer on a global scale. That’s the passion of a gospel-centered church.

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This article is adapted from Pastor Colin’s sermon, “Gospel Ministry”, from his series, 10 Distinctives of a Gospel-Centered Church.

1. Philip Ryken, 1 Timothy: Reformed Expository Commentary (Phillipsburg: P&R Publishing, 2007), 59.
2. Philip Ryken, ibid., 62.
Photo: Pixabay

Help for Stagnant Hearts

“I just feel a bit…” My friend furrowed her brow as she wrestled to find the exact word.

“Stagnant,” she finally said, with a despondent look on her face. Without the regular accountability of attending church in person, and with the disruption of everyday routines and her tiring shift patterns in pediatric intensive care, she was struggling in her faith.

It’s not the greatest word, is it? A puddle is stagnant when it’s been there a bit too long with no fresh rain falling on it. Water so murky, it no longer reflects the sky like it used to.

I have to be honest in saying that, throughout COVID-19 lockdown, I too, struggled with feeling stagnant—and I’ve written a whole book about meditating on God’s word! I was still in the habit of Bible reading, but let’s be honest: there’s a fine line between a habit and a rut. I wasn’t being changed by what I was reading, and so I wasn’t reflecting God at all well to those around me.

There’s help for stagnant hearts in Proverbs 2:1-6, where the Bible teaches us how to read the Bible.

Reading the Bible is Like Searching for Hidden Treasure

My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding—indeed, if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding (Prov. 2:1-6, NIV).

In this passage, listening to God’s word is likened to searching for hidden treasure. That helps us know how to read the Bible and get past that stagnant feeling about it.

Let’s just slowly walk through that description and dig deeper into what those words mean. Searching. Hidden. Treasure.

Treasure

…if you look for [God’s Word] as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God (Prov. 2:4-5).

Treasure. That’s how the writer of Proverbs describes God’s word in verse 4. Why? Proverbs 2:5 further defines the reward for searching in God’s word: we will “understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.” Infinitely weightier than any worldy treasure, of supreme worth, we can know this God! What riches!

When our hearts are stagnant, we reach for the Bible on the shelf without being prepared for how weighty it is. We need to raise our expectations—of Scripture. Bible reading is far more than ticking off a box on the reading plan. Through it we can know God! What greater treasure could we ever hope to find?

Hidden Treasure

…indeed, if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding…then you will understand (Prov. 2:3,5).

Why is this treasure “hidden”? Proverbs 2 shows that it’s hidden in the sense that it is a gift that the Lord gives, for “from his mouth come knowledge and understanding” (v. 6). And verse three hands us the tools with which we are to dig: “call out” and “cry aloud.”

If we dig into Scripture armed only with the tools of our own experience, it’s little wonder that our hearts are unmoved by what we read. We need to lower our expectations—of ourselves. Whether we are Bible scholars or baby Christians, we must recognize that we cannot know God unless he gives understanding. Believing that the Lord promises to give wisdom (v. 6), we can ask him for more insight.

Searching for Hidden Treasure

…accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding… (Prov. 2:1-2).

Searching is not easy. As we call out to the Lord for insight, we must also turn our ears and apply our hearts (v. 2). This is a real challenge, especially at this time when we are physically separated from our churches. Going to “church online” can result in Zoom fatigue, lack of accountability when watching alone, and struggling to concentrate. There are things we can do to help ourselves, such as taking notes and connecting with a friend to discuss what we are learning. But, essentially, turning is repenting: confessing where we have been distracted by the treasures of this world, and turning to Christ for forgiveness and help to treasure him.

Searching implies a goal: finding the treasure. Proverbs 2:1 tells us what to do when we find it: accept and store up. Proverbs challenges us to think of our hearts as a treasure chest—far from a stagnant, murky puddle. Seven times in six chapters of Proverbs, we are told to store up God’s commands within us, to write them on the tablet of our hearts (2:1, 3:1, 3:3, 4:21, 6:21, 7:1 and 7:3). Memorizing God’s word is integral to the vitality of our walk with the Lord.

We’re quick to put in the effort to help our kids memorize maths equations to pass exams. Do we invest even a fraction of that effort into learning treasure that is of eternal value? Writing a little symbol on our hands or texting a Bible verse to ourselves can help us remember the truth we’ve learned and can motivate us to repent of ways we haven’t lived in line with it. Meditating on God’s word throughout the day can help us to obey and worship God.

The moment we put away our Bibles without capturing what we’ve learned and deciding how we will store up that truth throughout the day, we’re in danger of walking away unchanged. When we open our Bibles searching for hidden treasure, as Proverbs 2:1-6 instructs, the Lord transforms our hearts.

Stagnant puddle or treasure chest: which do you want your heart to be?

 

Photo: Pixabay

 

Will My Commitment to Ministry Hurt My Family?

If you love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and strength, what will be the impact on your family? If you extend yourself in serving the Lord, will it hurt your children?

These are very real questions for many parents and grandparents. You love the Lord and you want to serve Him. You want your life to count for Him, but you also have a family. You feel a tension between these two things.

When Moses says, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart” (6:5), he immediately goes on to describe the impact on the family. The best way to love and serve your family is to live for the Lord. Indeed, any other choice will be destructive to the people you love. Here’s the principle: Love the Lord first, and your family will be blessed. Love your family first, and your family will suffer. But how does this work out in practice?

Align Your Life Around One Consuming Passion

Putting your family first is the worst thing you can do for your children. Aligning your life around a single passion is not the same as prioritizing. People sometimes say, “God first, your family second and ministry third.” I have never found that helpful.

How can you separate loving God from serving God? Loving the Lord is seen in obeying His commands and in devoting your life to serving Him.

When the issue of loving God and loving your family is raised, people often say, “Well, you have to keep a balance. You should set aside time for ministry, and time for your family.” It sounds good, but it is surprisingly unhelpful. If serving the Lord and serving your family have to be kept in balance, it means these two things have become separated: They are on opposite sides of the scale. They are being weighed against each other. I don’t want my family to be weighed against the Lord, I want my family to be weighed for the Lord.

Instead of looking to maintain a balance, try to achieve alignment. Moses tells us how to do that:

Your heart

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. These words that I command you today shall be on your heart (Deut. 6:5-6).

Loving the Lord has to begin in your own heart. Luther says, “This first commandment is the chief source and fountainhead which flows into all the others.” And, “Where the heart is rightly disposed toward God and this commandment is observed, all the others follow.” [1]

Your conversation 

Talk of them when you sit in your house… (Deut. 6:7).

Don’t let your love for the Lord, your work for the Lord, or your giving to the Lord remain private. Talk about it with your family. Let them see, as they grow, and in an appropriate way, the passion that drives you.

Your example 

Bind them as a sign on your hands… (Deut. 6:8).

The hand is the means of action. Let this love for the Lord that is in your heart, and in your conversation, also be put into practice through your commitments, your choices, and your ministry. If you want to align your family around a single passion for the Lord, you have to step out and lead by example yourself. Don’t just talk about it. Do it.

Your family   

Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates (Deut. 6:9).

Bring your children increasingly into this great consuming passion of your life. Let them participate in it, as they see it.

Seeing a passionate love for Christ in my father and mother has had a life-shaping impact on me. My father worked two jobs to sustain the family. He served on the church board (they were called “deacons”), taught a Sunday school class, as well as editing and producing the church magazine. It was a family production line—typed by my mother and then duplicated, collating the covers and the inserts, and then stapling it together in our home on Friday nights. My folks lived Deuteronomy 6:9. My parents wanted me to catch a glimpse of living for one, single passion for the Lord. And I saw it!

My wife and I have tried to follow that model in a small way in our own family. When we came to The Orchard, we decided to get to know as many of the people as we could. So, we invited all the members of the church to our home. There were about 800 people, and it took a year of Sunday evenings to do it.  Our boys were ten and eight years old at the time. They got involved-opening the door, giving out name tags, and serving coffee.

People often ask me, “How do you protect your children from the pressures of life in ministry?” Our children have received immeasurable benefits from their exposure to ministry: the people they have met, experiences they have enjoyed, and life lessons that they have learned. It’s the tapestry of a family that’s trying to live out a biblical commitment to ministry: “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Josh. 24:15).

Let the Cross Explain the Passion of Your Life

As you live with one consuming passion for the Lord, your life will provoke questions. It will need explaining. Moses did not say “If” but, “When your son asks you, ‘What is the meaning of the stipulations, decrees and laws the Lord our God commanded you…’” (6:20, italics mine). If you love the Lord with all your heart, soul, and strength, expect questions from your children. “Why do so many people come to our home? Why are we giving all this when it could be used for other things? Other families are not like this…”

So, why are you living with this one consuming passion for the Lord? Tell your family the truth of Deut. 6:21. “If it wasn’t for the Lord, I would have been a slave. He redeemed me from past slavery, and He has promised me the future inheritance of His promised land.”

When your children ask you why you are living for the Lord, let the cross explain it. Tell them what the Lord has done for you and what He means to you. Tell them, “The Son of God loved me and gave Himself for me. Everything I have, I received from Him.”

Live for your family and you will lead them into the desert. Live for the Lord and you will lead your family into the Promised Land.

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This article is adapted from Pastor Colin’s sermon, “Tell Your Children Why”, from his series, Take Two: The Power of a Fresh Start .
[1] Martin Luther, “The Large Catechism of Martin Luther” (Fortress Press, 2010), 54 http://www.amazon.com/Large-Catechism-Martin-Luther/dp/1452803072/.
Photo: Pixabay

 

 

 

Running an Unexpected Course

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God (Heb. 12: 1-2).

The Christian life is a race. Running it requires focus and faith. There is a starting place for all runners: putting their faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. And there is a specific destination: eternity with Jesus Christ. There is a start and there is an end, but what happens between the two?

The author of Hebrews calls us to run the race with endurance. But each of us must run a specific course—”the race that is set before us” (Heb. 12:1). The terrain affects the momentum with which we run and the effort we exert. The more challenging the obstacles in our way, the more endurance we need.

Suffering is Part of the Race

While sickness, loss, and grief are common in our fallen world, each believer’s specific experience with suffering is unique. Some “races” include heartbreaking devastation and others inexplicable pain and sorrow. The challenges along our courses vary in depth and length; however, the charge is the same for each individual: run the race set before you.

The course of my own life had seemed rather predictable until June 27, 2019, when cancer and I met face to face.

Cancer was not even on my radar until a small lump in my neck turned a just-to-be-safe doctor visit into some very serious conversations. Suddenly, I was forced into a new world of doctor appointments, CT scans, biopsy surgeries, and scary words. Lymphoma. Chemotherapy. Radiation.

To say I struggled with my diagnosis is an understatement. Cancer terrified me and laid hold of my family. I was a mom to four great kids ranging in age from five to eleven. My husband and I had just celebrated fourteen years of marriage. We were enjoying summer fun—swimming, hiking, bonfires, catching fireflies, and eating too much ice cream. We were also gearing up for a cross-town move. Cancer had no place in my plans.

Suddenly. we were trying to explain to the children what chemo is, and that Mom was going to be sick a lot and lose her hair. We even had to answer their sincere question, “Mom, could you die from this?” Like so many others battling cancer, facing that reality was paralyzing and I wanted so desperately to wake up from the nightmare.

So how are we to run the race when suffering is part of the path? Hebrews 12:1-2 gives three practical instructions for staying the course.

Run with Endurance

When we “run with endurance” (Heb. 12:1) a course that includes suffering, it is truly a marathon—not a sprint. The course is long and hard, and we get tired and discouraged. Endurance requires patience and the steady, step-by-step feeding of our minds with truth.

For me, cancer was a long, hard season during which I could not care for my family as I typically would—no time for volunteering in my children’s classrooms, and almost no capacity for cooking and cleaning, or even for story-reading with my kindergartner. I was able to endure these losses by meditating, day by day, on these truths: the Lord goes before me (Deut. 31:8), the Lord is with me (Isa. 41:10), and the Lord is good (Nah. 1:7)—even when my circumstances are not.

Toss the Weight

Enduring suffering requires focus, and carrying extra weight is unhelpful and distracting. While difficult circumstances may not be our fault, a sinful response only adds to the burden we carry. For example, it can be tempting to give in to our fear and allow it to shape a version of the future that hasn’t happened.

During my battle with cancer, I had to stop entertaining anxious thoughts and start tossing the weight of that burden to Jesus. 1 Peter 5:7 reminded me that it was the “mighty hand of God” that had placed me on this unexpected course. Humbling myself and “casting all anxieties on him” helped me to run the race with focus and to “lay aside every weight, and sin that clings so closely” (Heb. 12:1).

Look to Jesus

While suffering, we have a choice about where to focus our attention. It’s easy to rehearse a narrative that places our lives on center stage and elevates our status as the lead character. The truth of the gospel is that Christ invites us to play a role in his redemptive storyline. Since Jesus is “the founder and perfecter of our faith” (Heb. 12:2), he can give us a new perspective for the race.

Don’t get me wrong: we can’t ignore our suffering. But just as Christ endured the cross “for the joy set before Him” (v. 2), redeeming multitudes of sinners according to his Father’s plan, God has a purposeful design for the course of our lives. The less we focus on our challenging circumstances and look instead at Jesus’ example, the more we develop a kingdom perspective. God can use our suffering as a means of training us to run with greater reliance on Christ.

Within days of my cancer diagnosis, I sat in my kitchen, completely overwhelmed. A dear friend stopped by and saw me sinking under the weight of my circumstances and fears. She spoke with godly wisdom, “Kim, this isn’t anyone else’s race. It’s yours. Run your race.” Especially when God calls us to run an unexpected course, we will need an increase of Jesus and a decrease of ourselves (John 3:30). More of Jesus to help us lay aside the weight of fear, comparison, and self-pity. More of Jesus to tell us truth in suffering. More of Jesus to give us his eternal perspective. There will be obstacles, but Jesus, the Overcomer, will help us to endure.

Photo: Pixabay

Own it! How Repentance and Faith Fuel a Fresh Start

Often it seems that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. In Deuteronomy 1, Moses is making this plain when he tells the Israelites that what was in their parents is also in them.

God’s people are on the cusp of entering the Promised Land, and Moses says, “Let me remind you how we got here…” Moses goes back 40 years: “The Lord our God said to us at Horeb, ‘You have stayed long enough at this mountain…’” (1:6), and he tells the story of how the people rebelled against God.

You were unwilling to go up… You rebelled against the Lord… You grumbled in your tents and said ‘The Lord hates us…’ You did not trust in the Lord your God (Deut. 1:26-27, 32).

Why is Moses saying this? Is he blaming the children for the sins of the parents? No! He is teaching the children to learn from their parents. You will face the same temptations, the same struggles they did.

The people of God had refused to trust Him and, instead of entering the Promised Land, they wandered in the desert for 40 years. What defeated them, their children must now overcome in their own lives. What is in them (and us) by nature, that must be overcome?

By nature, I rebel against God (Deut. 1:26).
By nature, I treat God with contempt (Deut. 1:27).
By nature, I blame others (Deut. 1:28).
By nature, I resist the truth (Deut. 1:29-31).
By nature, I refuse to believe (Deut. 1:32).
By nature, I am under the wrath of God (Deut. 1:34).

Moses is saying to God’s people, “Don’t think these natural, sinful impulses stopped with your parents. All of them are also in you.”

By nature, this is our condition today. The sinful human nature crosses all economic and social barriers. By nature, we have no basis on which to enter the land of promise that is full of good things.

When God’s people realized they had messed up in their rebellion and unbelief, they decided to try and put it right. They were sure that they could fix their own problems. They decided to go up to Canaan after all, but God said to them, “Don’t go up because I will not be with you. You will be defeated by your enemies” (Deut. 1:42). They went up anyway and were completely defeated!

Turning over a new leaf doesn’t change us. Trying harder won’t work; it’s never the answer. So, where can we find the power for a fresh start? What hope is there for us to change the future—to get into the “promised land”?

Owning What is Ours Brings Hope

In Deuteronomy 5, Moses summons all of Israel and reminds them: “The Lord our God made a covenant with us at Horeb” (vs. 2). God had made this covenant before they were born, but it is for them.

God made a covenant of grace before we were born, too, and it is for us. He promised to redeem sinners like us through His Son, Jesus Christ. This covenant was not written on tablets of stone; it is sealed in the blood of Jesus Christ. His blood was poured out for us. His body was given for us. Through the shedding of this blood, Jesus sealed a new covenant for the forgiveness of our sins.

Two great events shaped our lives before we were born: What’s in us, by nature, goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden. What can be in us, by grace, goes all the way back to the cross of Jesus Christ. And we change the future through repentance and faith.

Own it: Repentance

We need to own what is in our nature. This is what the Bible calls “repentance.” Knowing what we are up against in living the Christian life, we can pray: “Lord, by nature I’m a rebel who treats your kindness with contempt, blames others, resists your Word, refuses to believe, and deserves to be under Your righteous judgment.

When we tell ourselves what great and good people we are, we will never make progress in the Christian life. Owning what is in us, by nature, is where repentance begins and how it continues.

Own it: Faith

We need to own what is ours, by grace. This is what the Bible calls “faith.” We need to know who we are in Christ. We need to be clear about what our Savior has for us in living the Christian life.

Faith looks at all that the grace of God has done: God has made a covenant for us, He has sent His Son to redeem us, and He has given His Spirit to empower us. Faith says, “All this is mine!” Faith begins when I own what is mine, by grace.

Fresh Start, New Future

Moses was leading a new generation who stood on the verge of change. Would they follow what was in them by nature? Or would they receive what was theirs by grace?

What about us? Will we follow the impulse to hear God’s Word, or will we follow the impulse of unbelief? Will we spend our lives praising God, or will we treat Him with contempt? Will we own what is in us, by nature, or will we spend our lives blaming others and end up under the wrath of God?

Repentance and faith are not only what unbelievers do to become Christians; both are what believers do to live as Christians. God calls us to a life of repentance and faith in which we sustain an ongoing fight against what is in us (our nature) by laying hold of what Christ has for us by His grace. We can lay hold of these gifts:

The Son of God loves me and gave Himself for me.
The Lord reigns, and nothing happens to me unless it comes through His loving hand first.
I don’t understand all that He allows to come into my life. Nor do I expect to, because He is God in heaven and He sees the events of this world from eternity. I am only on the earth in a little capsule of time. But I know that I can trust Him. I know that He is for me.
I know that I am forgiven and not under His wrath. I live in His mercy and am never alone, because He walks beside me.
By grace, I have come to love Him, to trust Him, and to count Him worthy of the supreme devotion and sacrifice of my life.

This is faith.

My prayer is that God would breathe increased faith into our souls. May we see that, in all our battles and struggles, Christ is for us. We can embrace Him with faith that says, “If God is for me, who can be against me?”

 

Photo: Unsplash

 

This article is adapted from Pastor Colin’s sermon, “Change the Future by Owning the Past”, from his series, Take Two: The Power of a Fresh Start.

Four Ways to Turn from Frantic to Faithful

For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith” (Rom. 1:17).

We all had plans for 2020, but this year has thrown us curveball after curveball. In the middle of such uncertainty, it is human for us to become frantic, especially when our health, our jobs, and our communities are jeopardized.

The frantic life means a person has been tuned-in to what’s going on in our society—pandemic, riots, divisiveness—or perhaps just what’s going on in his or her own life—loss of routine, loss of a job, or worse, loss of a family member. If you’re not frantic, you’re likely not aware of all the chaos.

Here’s the good news: when we live the frantic life, the faithful life is close by. The faithful life is like the frantic life, in that it says, “I’m not in control” and “I don’t have the power to change this.” But unlike the frantic life, the faithful life also says, “God is, and God does, and he is sovereign.” You see, the faithful life means a Christian is focused on what the Bible says especially when he or she is tuned-in to the chaos of the world.

Don’t waste your frantic life—turn it into a faithful life. Here are four biblical ways to do so:

1. Follow the commandments of God, especially when it sets you apart.

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome (1 John 5:1–3).

In our world, being righteous is not in style. Being divisive and mean-spirited when facing others, and being dismissive and proud when facing God—that’s the way of the world. Observing this lawlessness in others makes us frantic first because we are offended by it. But when we live without daily contemplating God’s commands, we swim with the current—and our own sin leads us away from God and into more frantic living.

This is why it is so important to know and to follow God’s commandments, precisely because it sets us apart as Christians.

Now, you might expect that phrase to imply you’ll get some attention. In our culture, standing out usually means getting more followers, likes, etc. But perhaps following God’s commandments sets us apart precisely because it takes us away from the spotlight. What if God’s commandments were shaping us so “that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way” (1 Tim. 2:2)? Now that would really involve being set apart from the world!

2. Believe God’s promises, especially when the world is evil.

[God] brought [Abram] outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness (Gen. 15:5–6).

The world Abram lived in was evil, plain and simple. His life was constantly in danger, his household was often on the move, and his wife was barren. Mankind no longer lived in Eden, that’s for sure! But when God made a promise to Abram, Abram listened and believed. he knew God’s goodness would always outweigh the world’s evil.

His faith was counted “to him as righteousness.” Why? Not because he was naïve, pretending nothing was wrong with the world. His faith was commendable in light of his awareness of the evil world.

A promise said to Abram also contains truth for us: “I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing” (Gen. 12:2, italics added).

God promises to bless us so that we will bless the world. In other words, God blesses the world through his people. So, if you’re frantic about the evil world, Christian, believe that God is using you to do something about it!

3. Trust in Jesus, especially when you feel overcome by the world.

For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? (1 John 5:4–5).

Get this: John says here that if you have faith, you have overcome the world. Talk about getting rid of a frantic life!

But how can this be? What is it about faith that John can say that it “is the victory that has overcome the world”? Remember Jesus’ words: “In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). So, it is through faith that we are united to Christ—his victory becomes ours!

This is such a needed truth. When you feel like the world has crushed you, Jesus’ victory is yours. When you’ve been enticed by the evil of the world, Jesus’ victory is yours. When your godliness leads others to overlook you, Jesus’ victory is yours. Praise God!

4. Keep in step with the Holy Spirit, especially when the world is a wasteland.

[The blessed man] is like a tree

planted by streams of water

that yields its fruit in its season,

and its leaf does not wither (Ps. 1:3).

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Gal. 5:22–23).

The Bible tells us that we, as Christians, bear fruit. In Psalm 1, the “blessed” man is “like a tree” that yields fruit and never withers because it is connected with water, its life source. Christians have a constant source of power, because we are rooted in Christ and filled with the Holy Spirit. And in Galatians, Paul explains the kind of fruit we bear.

When we are frantic about the poor state of the world, the way to respond is by faith. Faith knows that following God’s commandments defines His people. Faith knows God promises to bless the world through his people in Christ. And faith knows that Jesus has overcome the world already and his victory is ours.

So, living by faith means walking boldly in this plan to bless the world, especially when the world seems like it will never get better. For it is all the more important to offer the fruit of the Spirit to a wearied world craving love, joy, peace, and the rest that Jesus offers (Matt. 11:28).

Isn’t it amazing? In God’s marvelous plan to bring us into a greater Eden, he has let us be Edenic trees to the fallen world, proclaiming the gospel and bearing fruit that glorifies God and entices others to turn to him.

 

Photo: Pixabay

How to Become a Man or Woman with a Mission

The book of Deuteronomy has significantly shaped my life. Over forty years ago, I read it in one sitting in the library of the London School of Theology, where I was studying. Our professor said, “If you want to feel the weight of this book, you need to read it right through at one time. You’ll never get the impact of the book if you break it up.” It’s thirty-four chapters, so that’s a fairly long read. I came out of the library that night with one overwhelming impression: I never realized that there is so much of the love of God in the Old Testament.

That discovery was defining for me. I saw clearly, for the first time, that the Bible is not two different books with two different messages—a nasty, old book full of laws and a nice, new book full of love—as if there were two different Gods, or that God had somehow changed during the course of history. No! There is one God and He never changes. We are to love Him as we fear Him and we are to fear Him as we love Him. He is as much to be loved in the Old Testament as He is to be feared in the New.

Deuteronomy is for all of God’s people—for leaders, families, the church, and entire communities. Why? So that we can learn to fear Him and obey His commands. Kings were instructed to “read it all the days of [their lives]” (Deut. 17:18). Every seven years, it was to be read before the entire community. “Assemble the people—men, women and children…so they can listen and learn…” (Deut. 31:10-12). This book is even for people who have forgotten the Lord, as did God’s people who experienced half a century of national leadership without access to the Word of God.

Deuteronomy is a story about God’s people facing a major transition. This book is for people on the threshold of an entirely new experience. The book’s great question is: How can the people of God with a faith become the people of God with a mission? How can you move from being a person with a faith to a person with a mission? How can we move from being a church with a faith to a church with a mission?

Two Steps to Move Toward Mission

See, I have given you this land. Go in and take possession of the land that the Lord swore he would give to your fathers—to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—and to their descendants after them (Deut. 1:8).

1. Break free from being defined by your past. 

Think about God’s people standing on the verge of the Jordan, less than 100 days from entering into the land of Canaan. They had all been born in the desert—they didn’t know anything else.

Imagine you’re in your late 30s, and you were born in the desert. You have a young family of your own, and your children were born in the desert, too. God has been good to you. He has provided manna every day, and you’ve never known anything else. You believe in Him, and you’re grateful for all He has done for you. But your whole life has been shaped by the instincts and choices of your parents. They were believers, but they were so cautious, so afraid of risk, and that has defined you.

The only faith you have ever experienced is a faith that leaves you wandering around, experiencing God’s provision, but not doing anything to advance His purpose in the world. You’re a believer, but your life has no defining mission! If your life is going to count for God, you need to break free from being defined by your past. You need to be freed from thinking that believing in God and enjoying His provision is all there is.

2. Overcome your fear of the future.

God was calling His people to do some things none of them had ever done before. Moses says, “We’re going to live in houses!” How do you live in a house when the only thing you’ve ever known is sleeping under canvas? Moses says, “We’re going to plant crops and raise harvests!” But the only thing you have ever known is gathering manna from heaven.

God was leading them to a place they had never been and to a life they had never known. Maybe you are going to a new school, or you are starting a new marriage, and everything is new. When you move into something you have never experienced before, there are always fears.

Here’s the challenge God’s people were facing: Can we break free from the past, or will the past always shape us? Can I overcome my fears of the future, or will these fears always hold me back?

And so Moses gets up to speak the words in this book to a community of believers who were defined by the past and afraid of the future. He speaks to people with a faith but not with a mission, and what does he speak to them about?

Moses spoke to them about the call of God because, when God calls you, He gives you the power to break free from the defining patterns of the past. And Moses spoke to them about the love of God because, when God’s love pours into your own soul, it empowers you to overcome your fears of the future. Perfect love casts out fear (1 Jn. 4:18).

Run the Bible story forward 1,300 years, and we find Jesus with His disciples on the night that He was betrayed. Picture these men gathered around Jesus. They have a faith, but they don’t yet have a mission. They are believers, but nothing about them is changing the world. Then “Jesus showed them the full extent of His love” (Jn. 16:33), because the place is full of fear and they are all so discouraged.

After the crucifixion, the talk among the disciples was all about going fishing, retreating to what is safe and familiar. Then the risen Christ comes into the room. He breathes on them and says, “Receive the Holy Spirit… As the father has sent me, so I am sending you” (Jn. 20:21-22). When they receive the love of Christ and the call of Christ, people of faith become people on a mission.

If you ask, “Why am I stretching myself to be a leader? To serve my family? To love my church? To support my community? Why am I making these sacrifices in ministry?” The answer is: Because God calls us to be more than people with a faith. He calls us to be people on a mission.

You, too, can become a man or woman with a mission when the love of Christ enables you to overcome fear, and the call of Christ breaks you free from being defined by the past.

 

Photo: Pixabay

This article is an adaptation of Pastor Colin’s sermon, “Make a New Beginning”, from his series, Take Two: The Power of a Fresh Start.

Insecure? Remember Your Rescue Story

Some Christians say they have a boring testimony. Perhaps they came to faith in Christ at a very young age—before a dramatic lifestyle change could have occurred. Perhaps they don’t remember not knowing Jesus as Lord and Savior, or they don’t recall saving faith as a dramatic event that happened on a specific day. It’s not that their justification isn’t genuine. But when it comes to telling their story of salvation, some just don’t see it as the miraculous rescue that Scripture says it is.

When I was thirteen years old, I nearly drowned in a whitewater rafting accident. God mercifully provided the means of my physical rescue that day. Since then, this experience has served as an illustration of God’s miraculous, spiritual rescue work described in Psalm 40.

I recall that saving day when I was lifted from a kind of watery “pit of destruction” (Ps. 40:2)—as if it were yesterday.

A Miraculous Rescue

I had heard the warning the first time. “Do not sit on the edge of the raft!” the tour guide barked again, raising his voice above the noisy throng of sweaty, middle school students. “And if you fall out of the raft, do not try to stand in whitewater. Even if it looks shallow, the rocks under the surface can trap you, and the current is stronger than you think. Float on your back, legs straight and toes up, until you pass through the rapids.” For emphasis, he thumped his double-bladed paddle on the sand and shouted, “Do not sit on the edge of the raft! And DO NOT STAND UP in the water!”

We awkward adolescents had struggled into ill-fitting life vests, and now we struggled to stand still and listen to these imperatives. We were impatient. Just let us go have fun. We were arrogant. How hard is it to ride a boat through some bubbles? My mind wandered, and I cast a sideways glance at the eighth-grade boy I liked. I heard the river gurgling happily beyond the trees. I heard the warnings; I just didn’t believe they pertained to me.

It was smooth sailing at first. I sat, secure in the bottom of the boat through the first set of rapids. Thrilling! I rose to my knees for a better view. The raft bumped against boulders as we bounced our way to the placid water on the other side. Easy! In the next set of rapids, I perched high on the raft’s slippery edge. And there was that boy again, waving back at me!

Suddenly, my mouth was full of water, body spinning. I came up gasping and disoriented, the raft out of sight. Though the water was only chest-deep, the current was surprisingly forceful and threw me against a huge, weathered boulder. The danger was real! Forgetting the warnings, I followed my instincts. I wanted solid ground, and I tried to stand.

Only one foot pressed into the boggy river bottom. My other ankle throbbed, painfully wedged in a rock—undercut on the upstream side. Pulsing, the powerful rapids pinned me against this rock as I frantically tried to free myself. I screamed and waved my arms, but my shoulders ached under the current’s relentless pressure. I tried to keep my chin up, but water filled my eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. The cold was dizzying, and I suddenly wanted to sleep. Choking on the river, I could not save myself.

Had God not planned for a trio of professional kayakers to hone their skills on the river that day, this story would have a different ending. The craggy boulders and raging water were inferior to their strength. Navigating the rapids like they owned them, the kayakers had heard my cries. I don’t know how they untangled my foot, but I can recall being heaved up to the rock and held there, while I spewed water and couldn’t speak. I simply rested on the rock, and I was safe.

Thirty years later, the terror of that day has faded, but God’s grace remains clear. He had provided instructions for my navigation of the river; I had dismissed them. God had provided boundaries for my protection; I had rejected authority. The slightly-irregular shape of my left ankle serves to remind me that pride went before my fall. My foolishness trapped me, and I was unable to rise from it. But God, in his mercy, heard my cries and provided the means for my rescue. In the security of a solid rock, I found rest.

Safe in Christ

Psalm 40:1-3 describes three ways God accomplished the miracle and blessing of our salvation. But these verses also remind us that he is still blessing us and keeping us in Jesus Christ today.

1. The Lord hears.

I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry (Ps. 40:1).

Jesus said that we will face trouble in this world (Jn. 16:33), but God has shaped our hearts to desire rescue. Jesus’ willingness to leave his throne and die like a criminal on the cross proves that he inclines himself to our needs. Through his resurrection, Christ overcame the power of sin. Since the Lord drew near to us through this sacrifice, we can draw near to him at every time of need (Heb. 4:16). When we believe, “My God will hear me” (Mic. 7:7), Charles Spurgeon says we are remembering that the Lord listens perfectly to the cries of his beloved.

Because God is the living God, he can hear. Because he is a loving God, he will hear. Because he is our covenant God, he has bound himself to hear us. If we can each one speak of him as “my God”, we may with absolute certainty say, “My God will hear me.” [1]

2. The Lord lifts.

He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog… (Ps. 40:2).

A “miry bog” is a wet, peaty place that thrives on decomposing matter. [2] Christians (like the rest of mankind) were once bogged down by the heavy burden of sin. We were actually dead “in the trespasses and sins in which [we] once walked” (Eph. 2:1-3), but God made us alive together with Christ! In his miraculous mercy, God did for us what we could never do for ourselves: he “raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (v. 6-8). The Lord lifts the weight of condemnation so that those who are in Christ can battle sin with his strength. When we are weary of this world, the Lord lifts our eyes toward heaven where Christ has secured for us a seat at his table.

3. The Lord secures.

…and [the Lord] set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure (Ps. 40:2)

In this life, we may face all manner of insecurity—economic, professional, and personal. Yet in Christ, God has provided a firm place to stand. Psalm 27:5 says he will “hide [us] in his shelter in the day of trouble… he will lift [us] high upon a rock.” To be blessed and kept in Christ is to be safe. Even if we don’t encounter physical danger, we are prone to insecurity when we feel alone, are in over our heads, or need to make a difficult decision. But when we fear the Lord more than our circumstances, we can believe that he makes our “steps secure.” He establishes the way we should go (Ps. 37:23) and will “instruct in the way [we] should choose” (Ps. 27:5).

Remembering what Christ saved us from (the pit of destruction) increases our gratitude for his miraculous rescue. Remembering what Christ has saved us to (freedom to live with and for him forever) can increase our worship as we follow him with secure steps.

He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God (Ps. 40:3).

 

1. Charles Spurgeon, The Promises of God, revised and updated by Tim Chester (Wheaton: Crossway, 2019), Jan. 31 entry.
2. Merriam-Webster, s.v. “bog”, accessed September 1, 2020, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bog